I AM Jaguar Julie -- A Cat Lady

We didn't just start to do our part with the feral cat colony in our neighborhood. In fact, it goes back a couple of years to September 2005 when we saw that Precious was pregnant and ready to deliver.

It was a Friday afternoon and I was working in my home office. I had taken a break for lunch and was watching out the back window that faces the natural area. There was Precious cautiously walking through the back yard. She walked over to the neighbors' hose unit and shimmied underneath. When my husband came home that night, I told him I knew where the kittens were. We went over to inspect them, and found a bundle that was mostly black with one whitish kitten.

Our plan was to rescue the kittens on Saturday morning. It was a great plan; however, Precious got smart and moved the kittens late Friday night. So, it seemed to be well over one week when, again I was working out of my home office. It was raining mildly and I started to hear a faint cry. "Hmmm, I thought ... I wonder what that is?"

I went out onto the patio and then stepped out the back door. There to my amazement, behind a bush that was under my office window, was a little black kitten crying for it's mommy. Well, I scooped the little critter up and called hubby. "The others have got to be close by," says he. "Go see if you can find them."

I grabbed a large box, filled it with newspaper and a couple of towels. First, I walked a bit back into the soggy natural area, carefully trying to avoid the poison ivy. No luck. It was on my second circling of our house that something caught the corner of my eye. Under the bushes up against the house of our other neighbor were the 4 other kitties. The whitish-orange one happen to be the one that caught my eye as I surely would have missed the black ones. Nabbed 'em!

We estimated that the kittens were at the most 2 weeks old when we took them under our care. That meant another 6 weeks of personalized daily care. Unfortunately for us, we had a vacation coming up that had to be postponed!

As we approached the 8 weeks of age for the kittens, I went to my local PetSmart and posted a sign. It was relatively a quick task of finding homes for the 4 blacks as they went to 3 different families.

The whitish-orange male I was 'keeping' for a couple that we know. We had to talk them into taking Scooter. All it took though, was one visit and they were hooked. Today, we are thankful for our friends as Harley Scooter has become the most socially active cat I've ever seen!

The Tuesday after Harley Scooter was adopted, Precious was spayed. She's become a member of our family!

Well, the 3 spayed pregnant females gained their liberty! Interestingly enough, Pug was comfy in the pet bed and did not want to join Spot and Blackie as they ambled away to join the feral cat colony after more than 7 days of recovery.

HOWEVER, now that we have cleaned up the bedding and are making way for the next 2 that are scheduled for spaying/neutering on April 15th, something new to deal with!

Our two male tabbies appear to not be feeling well. Bandit, the older male has the runs and has been ceremoniously depositing them on the futon to let us know. And, Tigger who was neutered in January seems to have either an upper respiratory distress or trying very unsuccessfully to pass a hairball.

I'm hoping to at the least get Tigger checked out today and then perhaps Bandit.

Well, our work is continuing. It was on 'tax day' that we again got up early, grabbed the two carriers and nets. Poor cats ... at least this time hubby didn't put on the motorcycle helmet that makes him look like Darth Vader for sure.

This time, trying to coax the rascals into the carriers was a bit easier in that we KNEW what to EXPECT! Yep, up the screens again -- those screens are so torn up!! Hubby grabbed the ladder and was able to nab Callie. Next, we went for Blackie #2 [I have got to come up with a better name].

The 20-25 minute trip into Orange Park to the vet's wasn't as bad as the previous trip. Callie and Blackie #2 weren't as vocal.

This makes 5 spayed females in April 2008 so far!

FCNMHP was founded in 2001 when Rick DuCharme, founder and president, developed the SpayJax program in response to a request by the City of Jacksonville for a city funded spay/neuter program. Following SpayJax, SpayNassau was developed along with two other low-cost programs. In 2006, our Trap-Neuter-Return program was developed to offer low-cost spay and neuter surgeries for feral and stray cats.

The mission of First Coast No More Homeless Pets (FCNMHP) is to eliminate the killing of dogs and cats in our community through free and low-cost spay and neuter programs. Spay and Neuter Programs are the only proven method for controlling the pet overpopulation crisis! As more surgeries occur, the shelter and euthanasia rates decrease. We have a truly exceptional plan to end the needless killing of adoptable pets. We are committed to reaching those who need our assistance. --FCNMHP.

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