OUR STORY.
A sanctuary where no stray is left behind.
If you’re reading this, then it has reached the right person. You probably clicked on the link to this website because you care about the lives of these cats, am I right? Let me tell you about our story…
The Colony is made up of a group of now seven cats, desperately in need of a safe and loving home. In the heart-wrenching reality they currently face, these angels reside in an exposed field without any adequate shelter. The absence of proper protection from the elements places their health and well-being at serious risk. It is crucial to recognize that every living being deserves a secure habitat to thrive within, and these vulnerable creatures are no exception. Given their current circumstances, urgent action is required to provide them with immediate relief and find suitable permanent housing solutions for this unfortunate cat colony. In the next few months, the city will be building condos on their land. When that happens, we will no longer be able to provide them with food and water, and a good number of them will most likely be severely injured in the process of construction.
I’d like to share with you their back story to bring light to the urgency of their situation.
One night as I was driving back from the mall, I decided to take a shortcut home to avoid traffic. I normally don’t take the backroads back home, but something was telling me not to take the freeway. As I was driving, I happened to notice an open field with many cats walking around. Naturally as a cat lover, I pulled over to say hello. It wasn’t until I stopped my car that I realized the nature of these cats. A good amount of them were severely injured, in need of desperate help. I called several rescues but unfortunately due to how late it was, they wouldn't be able to help until the next day. As much as it pains me to say. I had no other choice but to call animal control for those that were injured. Based on the severity of their injuries, I knew they needed immediate assistance, something I couldn’t give on my own.
Animal control came within an hour, and picked up as many injured cats as they could. They let me know the reality of the situation, being that those who were picked up would be euthanized. I knew in my heart that it was the right thing to do, as they would have suffered a slow and painful death if they weren’t picked up.
Fast forward to a few days later, I had been going back to that field every day since then, calling every rescue around me. Due to overcrowding in my area, nobody could take them in or help out. I knew there wasn’t much I could do on my own, but I tried my best to make their life as comfortable as possible. Since then, I’ve been coming back every day to give them food and water. At first they were pretty scared and timid. Afterall, these were feral cats I was dealing with, cats that only knew this empty field as their home their whole lives. It took some time, but after the consistent visits, they started to come out of their shell more and more. It started off with watching me from afar, to approaching me closer and closer. Now, the entire colony runs out as soon as they see my car pull up to the field, waiting for love and affection.
I later learned that these cats were living in the abandoned house on the property. The city bought the plot of land, which is why the house was demolished out of nowhere. At the time, the Colony was inside of the house sleeping like any other day. Before they knew it, the house came crashing down. Only a handful of them were lucky enough to survive.
As much as I’d love for this story to have a happy ending, we’re not there yet. We recently learned that the city bought what is left of their home. What was once a house, is now a plot of land, which will soon be condos built by the city. With this being done, we will no longer have permission to access the land to feed the colony. We have to figure out something ASAP. We need to find a way to remove the colony from the field and into a foster home. Although they are a big family, we are willing to separate them in order to give every single one a safe space for the time being. We need YOUR help.
Breanna Adame
Our mission is to be able to build a physical sanctuary in California, where we will focus mostly on non-adoptable cats. Sadly non-adoptable cats are often over looked. They tend to bounce around foster homes, never having a stable environment or safe space to call their forever home. The mission of the Colony is to provide a forever home for all non-adoptable cats, as well as cats that cannot be fostered due to overcrowding. It is our priority to make the Colony a welcoming environment with enough room to allow cats to feel like they have their own space, but also without being entirely excluded from the rest of the population.
We are aware that in a realistic viewpoint, this goal is going to take longer than we'd like. Which is why for the time being, our immediate goal is to take the Colony out of the dangerous situation they currently face. We will not rest until every single cat is out of that field.
Mission/Plan of Action:
Meet the President of The Colony
Hello, I am Rodger
Rodger is known as the president of the colony for his leadership and selflessness. When we first started taking care of the Colony, we noticed something interesting about their dynamic with Rodger. Every decision they made was first approved by him. He was the first to come out and assess our presence, while the rest of the Colony stood behind him observing. A few weeks in, I remember watching Calogero, being the brave girl that she is, yearning to approach us. Before doing so, she walked back to Rodger and he gave her the head rub approval. Immediately after, she walked right up to us, allowing us to rub her head.
We were absolutely in awe when we noticed the respect the whole Colony had for him. But it went beyond the surface of his leadership, it was his caring nature that stood out the most. Every time we would feed them, they would all go running up to eat, scarfing down their food. Rodger would sit back and watch them eat. It wasn’t until they were all finished, when Rodger would then approach the food, eating what was left. Rodger is a special cat, a leader at heart. Although he is happy playing the role of the care taker, he deserves to be taken care of as well.
Meet the Founder
Back story. I've been a dog person my whole life. Although I never played into the whole "dogs are better than cats" stigma, I also never thought twice about the existence of a cat. It wasn't until the year 2020, when my whole world changed.
It was peak pandemic, when I noticed this little greybie in the bush by my house. He was along side another kitten, both no bigger than the size of my palm. I tried to get a closer look, but he would run every time I got near. Not giving it a second thought, I went back inside like normal. As time went on, I started to notice them more and more, until one day something was different. This time he was all alone, watching me from behind a tree. Something about that moment shifted everything, I had never felt more of a connection to anything in my life. I instantaneously felt a sense of responsibility, the need to protect him at all cost.
Breanna Adame
Since that exact moment, I spent every single day outside, from morning to night. We would just sit there, about 8 feet apart, all day. Eventually 8 feet turned into 6 feet, 6 feet turned into 4 feet, until one day he hopped on the bench and sat right next to me. I wanted to scream in excitement but I also didn't want to scare him away. Instead, I did the exact opposite. I continued to work on my laptop as if he wasn't even there. We ended up sitting next to each other for a whole hour. Our dynamic changed after that day. He started interacting with me more. I would pick up sticks and slide them around the grass, as he chased it for hours. Although I still hadn't pet him, I knew he felt the same connection as I did.
Till this day, I will never forget the moment it happened. He was laid out on my porch like usual, and I was sitting next to him crisscross apple sauce. I put a finger on the floor, near his head. Then out of nowhere he put his little beans over my finger and looked at me. That was the moment I knew he trusted me.
I think the most beautiful thing about our dynamic was that we were both learning each other at the same time. Before that encounter, I had never even pet a cat before, and he had never even stepped close to a human for that matter either. We were both overly cautious about the way we interacted with each other because it was so new to the both of us.
All that to say, Kitty has changed the way I look at the world. Before him I never looked twice at a cat that was in my presence, in fact I probably wouldn't even notice if there was one. But now, not a single cat goes unnoticed. I've never cared so much about anything in life. It's as if I discovered a whole new species. Although loving these animals is a beautiful part of life, it also comes with a heavy burden. I am now aware of the issue at hand and I'm constantly working to find a solution. I might not be able to save every cat I come across, but I've made it my life mission to do everything in my power.
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Feed a stray
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HEALTHY cat = HAPPY CAT
Your contribution will aid in providing food, shelter, medical care, and love for countless cats who have been abandoned, abused or are simply unable to find a forever home. Any donation will help enormously.
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Meet Calogero "C"
Named after the iconic movie, the Bronx Tale, it was evidentially clear that Calogero was a city girl at heart from the moment we met.
When the Colony was first discovered, "C" was as small as the palm of a hand, but her size did not prevent her from giving into her curious nature. We discovered immediately that she was drawn to lights and chaos. Unlike most of the Colony, she was as bold as can be right from the start. With the loss of her mom, as well as being the only surviving kitten in her litter, she quickly learned to fend for herself, taking notes from the adult cats in the pack. Although she was the only kitten in the Colony, she had no problem fitting in and hanging with the big guys.
We noticed right away that she would observe the other cats, mimicking their every move with each cat acting as a mom to her. Now, being only about 5 months old, she is quickly maturing into a strong, independent and loving girl.
Meet ORange soda
Orange Soda is the most curious and loving boy. Although he craves affection and love, his trauma has made it difficult to let others in. We are proud to say however, they he has made the most progress of everyone in the Colony. From being the most standoff, to now running right up to us as soon as he spots us from afar, it is clear that he has learned to trust humans again.
After he started to get more comfortable and familiar with our daily visits, his personality came out immensely. We discovered later on that a homeless woman lived in the back of the field, and she is Orange Soda’s best friend. I’ve never witnessed Orange Soda become that excited at the sight of another human being. One day I was walking up as normal, when suddenly he RACES across the field. Only to find out that it wasn’t me he was racing with excitement to, it was the lady who lives among them, walking back to her home on the field. Orange Soda jumped in her arms, embracing her affection. It was in that moment when I realized what a cuddle bunny he actually is, he just has his guard up for a little while.
Meet Scar
Much like the rest of the Colony, Scar was one to keep his distance. It actually took a while to notice he even existed, because he was so good at hiding in plain sight. It wasn’t until about a week in that we noticed his presence lurking behind trees. He was 100% the most feral of the gang. We immediately noticed the wound on his head. He must have been injured during the demo of the house, which explains why he wouldn’t come out for the first week or so.
When he finally revealed himself, we immediately noticed the wound on his head. I tried my best to capture him so that he could be treated, but he wouldn’t let me get close enough. When it came to eating, he would stand far back and wait for us to leave before approaching his food. This went on for a good while, until he gradually started getting closer and closer. It makes me happy to say that he now stands right next to me as I fill up their tray of food. Although he still doesn't like to be touched, he loves following me around as I
make my way around the Colony. Oh, and his wound? Now a Scar!
Meet frosty
Frosty is probably the sweetest giri I’ve ever met. Not only is she beautiful, her personality iis even better. Frosty loves ear scratchies and will follow you around the whole time you’re at the Colony. She absolutely loves cuddles and won’t even touch her food because she’d rather be hanging out with you.
Every single time without fail, when she notices that we are leaving for the day she will run after us all the way to the car. She knows we can’t say no to that face, so she will guide us all the way back to the Colony by rubbing her head on our knee, and jogging ahead while looking back to make sure we’re following . If we don’t follow her she runs right back to us, rubbing her head, nudging us to walk. Although I’m not 100% sure where she came from before the Colony, I am convinced she was once an indoor cat, by her love for human contact and attention.
Meet Panther
If it isn’t already obvious how Panther got his name, take a good look at that face. Panther was the very first cat I noticed. It was impossible to not be drawn to him. I remember passing by the Colony for the first time, and there he was, staring right at me. His eyes were captivating, glowing through the dark. I knew immediately that his name was going to be Panther. He may look vicious and scary, but don’t judge a book by its cover. Panther is a big teddy bear, and loves silent chit chat. Every time I get to the Colony, there is Panther. Sitting in his favorite spot, high up on the fence watching down on the Colony as if it’s his jungle .
He has a silent meow, but it doesn’t stop him from communicating. As soon as he sees me there he goes, meowing away in silence. You can just see his mouth moving as if he’s roaring at me in a cute and innocent way.
Meet sylvia
This little girl is a ray of sunshine, a bundle of joy. Her circumstance doesn’t stop her from making the most out of life. She is the happiest cat I’ve ever known, always running around playing with all of the other cats. She is always the first one to greet us, her chaotic energy equivalent to a dog at the park. I don’t know a single thing about her previous life before joining the Colony, but what I do know is that it had to have been a good one.
Out of the entire Colony, Sylvia was the ONLY cat who showed no fear toward humans. She didn't even give it a second thought before running up to us and rubbing her head against our legs the first time we met. She brings so much joy to not only the Colony, but to us too. She deserves to have the best home and the most loving family.
