failsafe4felines.org - Failsafe success

Happy Easter Helen, and thank you so much for the kitties and your email! Boots, Hannibal, and Tinker Bell are doing well. Although we have very few "sightings," we know they are thriving as the litter box is always full, the food is eaten and the water always needs to be refilled :-) Yesterday we opened the garage door for the first time, and left it open/ajar about 12 inches overnight so they could wander out and explore. They have found a great home in our attic...which they managed to "squeeze" into via a hole under the eave access in the garage. We never see them together, but we do see each of them individually when they come down to feed, drink or potty. They are growing, thriving and since they love the attic....we are basically rodent free! I am hoping that with the garage door open/ajar, they will do a little more exploring. We plan on leaving the garage door open/ajar until we decide where to put their permanent kittie door. At this point, we are relying on them to tell us where they want us to install it, LOL!

Momma (whom we have named Cookie, cause I already have a cat named MommaKat), is becoming more adventurous. She will come out from under their hiding place to eat if I tap the dish. She allows us to pet her and scratch behind her ears (which she swears she does not like, but the purring gives her away). She was walking around the room yesterday, still in ninja mode, but nonetheless walking around the room – all the while with me sitting at my computer and talking to her.

Peanut hisses and fzzts at us but has let my daughter touch him a couple of times. He too has come out a couple times to eat even though we are sitting right next to the dish. He is soooo very cautious and so protective of his mother. But he seems to be mellowing out just a bit. Last night when I had to water my plants which are up against the window, he hissed at me because I was getting too close to him, but once I apologized and explained that I had to water them or they would die, he closed his eyes, and seemed to say – well fine, just hurry up and get it done. :) He didn’t hiss at me after that.

Botox will not come out if we are there, but my daughter has been able to touch him without his hissing at her. He just seems to be very shy and follows Peanut’s lead. Although he stayed in the same hiding place and didn’t seem to move for a few days, he now sits on the window sill with his family, and moves around from one hiding place to another, becoming acquainted with the room.

All three of them love to sit on my windowsill and look outside. Even if we are at the computer desk which is right by the window, they will sit there so long as the curtain is pulled down. We are allowed to pull the curtain back and talk with them so long as we stay at the computer. I can even open the window a little bit when they are on there, and they don’t seem to mind.

I have allowed some of my mellower cats into the room. They have introduced themselves, and now eat in the room also. Neither they nor the family have a problem with it, and this way once the family is outside, they will be familiar with some of the cats out there.

I don’t know if Sheri shared, but Botox got out after being there only a couple of days. I felt so badly, knowing that I could not catch him to bring him back with his family, but after about an hour or so, my dog half growled indicating there was a stranger amongst her cats, and sure enough I saw him jump in from the open window and run under my bed. With my daughters help we guided him back into the computer room and reunited him with his family. He’s a smart one! I’ll try and keep you updated.

To Whom It May Concern,

Gann Products Company is a family business,
located in Downey for over 25 years. It's
employees are well aware of the over population of
felines in the city. We have made an attempt to
get as many feral and semi-feral cats spayed or
neutered as possible, doing so with our limited
knowledge and trapping capabilities.

We met a representative of Fail-Safe 4 Felines,
while at PetSmart in Downey, a few months ago, and
found the information given to be very useful and
informative. She explained the organizations
goals, purpose, motivation and dedication to
assisting all those with humane concerns relating
to the over population of cats in the Downey area.

Gann Products has received hands-on assistance,
from Fail-Safe, with trapping, transportation of
the cats to a reputable veterinarian, basic health
treatment needs explanations and surgical updates,
on all cats during their procedures. All of this
has been handled in a professional manor.

Our company has found the volunteers who make up
the staff of Fail-Safe 4 Felines, to be very
dedicated, helpful, resourceful, knowledgeable,
and equally as important, they are genuinely
concerned for the cats and the surrounding Downey
community.

Fail-Safe 4-Felines should be utilized by the City
of Downey, and it's businesses, as well as local
residence's in resolving the over population and
general health needs of feral cats in our city.

Sincerely,
Bob Eggink

Bob Eggink
General Manager
Gann Products Company, Inc.

I am writing this letter to say thank you to Failsafe4felines for solving what was becoming a very big problem in my Downey neighborhood. Over a period of several weeks my family, neighbors, and I noticed several adult cats and their kittens ranging in age from a few weeks to a few month living nearby without homes and human families to care for them. One mother cat was living with four kittens under a vacant house next door to me and at least two other mother cats were living across the street with 3 and 4 kittens each. One young cat and one tiny kitten died crossing the street looking for food as no one was feeding them. No one did anything about the remaining cats and the population grew. Finally with my daughter’s help we contacted the S.E.A.A.C. and were told that they do not capture feral cats but were willing to rent us cages. Luckily we had heard of Failsafe4felines from a family with a similar problem in Downey. We called and they responded even though they were terribly busy with the cat population at Rancho Hospital. We were desperate as the vacant house next door had been sold and exterminators were coming to spray under the house. One day we got a knock on the door from a Failsafe Volunteer. The volunteer spends countless hours along with others at Failsafe4felines to help save feral cats living in Downey. She came to our rescue and helped us trap the mother cat and four kittens. Even though these kittens were wild, they have all been tamed, adopted and are now living in loving homes being properly cared for. Two of the kittens are with families that have children with Autism and they have become a cherished member of the family providing opportunities for loving and playful interactions. Over the next few weeks she continued to come over almost daily to help trap and transport the remaining cats to have then neutered, de-wormed, micro-chipped and released. These cats have also had a tiny bit of one ear clipped which is the universal sign that they have been neutered so they do not get captured over and over again. Unfortunately these cats were not able to find homes as they were older and wilder but the good news is they won’t have kittens. This has been a success story for my neighbors and I as well as the homeless cats. I only see four young cats left traveling from yard to yard looking for food and a safe place to spend the night. Even though they are homeless they are healthy. One is even getting a little friendly while trying to “talk” me out of a bit more canned food.