Community Cats | Savannah's Paw Tracks

Archive for the tag “Community Cats”

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

I’m gonna paw over the typing keys to my Mom L for this blog post. But first, let me ask every reader of today’s blog post to do me, Savannah the Former Shelter Cat, a huge favor. PLEASE TAKE ACTION TO STOP EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS DISTRICT (EBRP)FROM SHOOTING ANYMORE ABANDONED COMMUNITY CATS. Thanks my pals for offering your paws to hit the “send” button on your letter to the persons Mom L identifies below.

Hi everyone. Mom L here!

Thanks sweet Savannah, my “Nana”, for letting me have your blog today. I will make this short so you all have time to take action and send emails to East Bay Regional Parks personnel I identify below with their contact information.

But first, let’s review what’s happening here in the East side of the San Francisco bay area in California and why everyone who reads this blog needs to take action, no matter where you live. We need GLOBAL involvement to convince a local parks district to stop hunting innocent abandoned community cats like they are “big game” to be shot and killed! The East Bay Regional Parks (EBRP) district is funded in part by public funds and they are expected to be our stewards of the parks and the animals that call them home—including abandoned community cats!

THE SITUATION
A video is worth a thousand words. Let’s start with this investigative report from a local bay area tv channel, ABC Channel 7’s I Team reporting.

EBRP has not even agreed to eliminate their policy that advocates and sanctions killing abandoned community cats on EBRP property by gunshot. There is no part of the policy that states they must first seek out assistance and guidance from local nonprofit cat rescues nor local municipal animal services. This is NOT OVER and will continue on if we cannot let them know that the whole world is watching their every action.

Please help us get JUSTICE for Sherbet, Milton, Jerry, Wildflower, Panther, Cali, Tabitha, Simone, Bear, Blue, Whispy, Lucy, Sylvia, Lilimom, Button, Ollie, Nova and more!!

Some of the cats have been saved thanks to their feeder, Cecelia Theis and Island Cat, Resources and Adoption. Here is a sweetie being cared for at Marin Humane Society.

Suspension of killing the cats IS NOT ENOUGH (click for update)

EAST BAY REGIONAL PARKS CAUGHT OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH STATED VALUES
They say the right words but they do not “walk the talk” they spew out on their website. Their only excuse to this colony’s feeder/caregiver is that “gosh, some of our staff have cats as pets and feel awful, but a lot of them don’t like the cats”.
Values: How We Work
Respect: We honor the land we steward, each other, and the park visitors we serve.
Resilience: We creatively adapt to change. We address challenges with empathy, perspective, and determination.
Relationships: Our greatest strength lies in the trust, accountability, and teamwork we cultivate with our colleagues, partners, and the public we serve.
Responsiveness: We communicate openly, honestly, and reliably.
Transparency: We hold the public’s trust through meaningful stakeholder engagement and access to timely and reliable information on decisions and performance.

WHO TO CONTACT WITH YOUR CURTIOUS CONDEMNATION OF THIS POLICY
Robert Doyle, General Manager (bdoyle@ebparks.org)
Matt Graul, Chief of Stewardship (mgraul@ebparks.org)
Doug Bell, Wildlife Program Manager (dbell@ebparks.org)
Dave Riensche, Wildlife Resource Analyst (docquack@ebparks.org)—he and another staff member are the alleged organizers of the cat shootings. They apparently asked for some gun owning employees and they laid in wait until after the cats had been fed, the feeder Cecelia had left and the cats were lounging about cleaning and rolling in the grass and head butting each other; feeling full and safe. The cats were picked off while they appeared to not even be on EBRP property then the bodies removed.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Ward 1 Board Member: Elizabeth Echols; eechols@ebparks.org
Ward 2 Board Member: Dee Rosario; drosario@ebparks.org
Ward 3 Board Member: Dennis Waespi; dwaespi@ebparks.org
Ward 4 Board Member: Ellen Corbett; ecorbett@ebparks.org
Ward 5 Board Member: Ayn Wieskamp; awieskamp@ebparks.org
Ward 6 Board Member: Beverly Lane; blane@ebparks.org
Ward 7 Board Member: Colin Coffey; ccoffey@ebparks.org

SAMPLE EMAIL MESSAGES—FEEL FREE TO USE OR CUT AND PASTE
Sample One:
I am commenting on the recent Investigative Report published by local ABC Chanel 7 News. They exposed a common practice and policy at EBRP that sanctions and supports the violent eradication of abandoned community cats by gunshot if found on or near EBRP properties.

This policy is archaic and the time for its removal is long past. Just because these cats were abandoned, then formed a close family knit colony near an area where some endangered birds may nest, doesn’t give EBRP permission to intentionally avoid all humane management paths open to them and default to the path that enables some trigger happy staff to line the cats up at their trusted and safe feeding stations and execute them in front of each other.

There are ample cat rescue nonprofit groups in all the counties where EBRP owns land who are ready to help humanely trap and relocate the cats. Not to mention the city and county municipal animal services that will help make sure the cats lives are not in danger. Why does EBRP continue with this barbaric policy? Is it because some staff take pleasure in shooting these small cats?

Your choice to continue this policy will make global headlines. But for now, this east bay community is watching your every move relative to adoption of humane management of abandoned community cats found in and around all EBRP land. “

Sample Two:

I am writing to express my anger at the reprehensible actions of EBRPD personnel who shot and killed feral cats living on district property. I am also writing to demand a full and public accounting of these events, as well as to demand an immediate change in policy.

Surely there were numerous alternative, humane actions which could have been taken to deal with the issue of the cats allegedly harassing wildlife. The Bay Area has hundreds of animal shelters, rescue groups, animal welfare organizations and Trap/Neuter/Release programs which could and should have been consulted for help. Shooting these terrified animals who are feral through no fault of their own simply should not be an option. It is especially galling that this policy was implemented by a parks organization whose mission should include protecting all life contained on its lands, for which it is merely the steward.

As a concerned person, I implore you to reverse this cruel, inhumane, and frankly ignorant policy and explore alternatives with animal welfare organizations who have expertise with a complex but not unique issue.

Thank you.”

UPDATED NEWS ON THIS ONGOING SITUATION—As of December 12
From Oakland Animal Services and the Board of Directors of Friends of Oakland Animal Services

LINKS TO FURTHER RELATED INFORMATION
California regulation of feral cats
Cats impact on birds and wildlife
Science for TNR advocates

Please read the UPDATED information. There is another opportunity to address the EBRP Board of Directors THIS WEEK IF YOUR COMMENTS ARE SUBMITTED NO LATER THAN 3pm PDST ON DECEMBER 14. You do not have to be a USA citizen to add your voice to our cry for #justiceforoakportcats

PAW PATS AND HUGS, SAVANNAH AND MOM L

Posted in Community Cats, paw it forward and tagged Community Cats, paw it forward

07 Dec 2020

13 Comments

Fun and funny

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

I have some pretty silly photos and short videos to share with you that I just know are gonna make you giggle. Especially this time of year when families all over the world are trying to figure out how to keep their kitties safe from those pesky holiday trees and other crazy stuff!

So last time Mom L did a Kitchen Kat Klinic was about a week ago. Miss Gemma who hosts this clinic for Community Concern For Cats has a house full of rescue kitties all ages and many are just waiting for adoption. Some of these kitties always try to take over the clinic and show off!!

This 6 month old kitten decided that Miss Gemma’s back looked like a great place to hang out! And then the same youngster dropped off into a deep nap with her Siamese buddy!

And there you have silly KK aka Katie hanging out with ~~her~~ my three way tunnel having a blast running inside and out! Thankfully she has not learned that that green spot in the middle of the tunnel is my logistical control for the tunnel’s intergalactic travel.

Got bag! Will travel!!

Of course there is always TKS who thinks every bag will take her anywhere she wants to go.

Now you see a kitten, Tomas, and his mom cat Conchita, who Mom L and Dad P and I helped rescue. A very loving and kind and compassionate couple contacted us way back in early May of 2020 to help them bring this precious, extremely scared Mom and her son into their home. Tomas and Conchita are living inside in the lap of king and patient caring guardians. Tomas is now very bonded with both his new guardians and Conchita is learning to trust human all over again.

AND—Conchita has spoiled her son!

Tomas is now bigger than his Mom and yet he still demands that she give him his daily wash!! Silly mancat! Check out his approach to Christmas Tree inspection.

There you have my Fun and Funny post. So hope you all enjoyed sharing some of our special moments here at home and with our continuing rescue work with our city’s abandoned community cat population.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH

Posted in Adult Cat Rescue, Community Cats, Feral Kitten Rescue, foster kitties, Project Delta View Cats and tagged adopt adult cat, cat photo, Community Cats, feral cat rescue

09 Nov 2020

18 Comments

A little help from my readers

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

It’s been a while since I asked, actually pled, for your help in SHARING, PROMOTING a cat I have embraced as one of my Paw It Forward efforts. Scotty is the young adult cat, maybe 3 years old, who is now embraced by me and Mom L and Dad P as an OFFICIAL Paw It Forward effort.

You saw Scotty for the first time as part of my Friday Memes blog post.

Meet Scotty, abandoned by his “human family” when they moved out of a large apartment complex very close to where I reside in my castle.

Mom L and Dad P and I have now helped over 40 cats from that apartment complex in the three years we have lived in my castle. Remember, at least 30 of those kitties were both kittens, juveniles and young adults in that pawful hoarding situation we stumbled upon in 2018.

Sweet Scotty was left behind when his humans moved. He thankfully eventually found my pawsome furriend Miss Kandi! She started feeding Scotty around May of this year. He was so very hungry.

Do you see how thin and dirty he was? This boy was so happy to find Miss Kandi. And then Miss Kandi and Mom L, Dad P and I lept into action!!

We got Scotty neutered! Whew! Then we tried surrendering him to our partners at our county animal services, but this darling boy cat just shut down. Soooooo—we found a temporary foster situation and just look how his in thriving!

Scotty is roaming around in a nice enclosure with four other rescued friendly abandoned cats. He is just the most gentle soul.

My request from ALL OF YOU WHO READ THIS BLOG IS THIS:

PLEASE SHARE SCOTTY FAR AND WIDE WITH ANYONE YOU KNOW WHO LIVES IN THE SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA

Scotty deserves an indoor home. He is available for adoption and can have a ‘meet and greet’ anytime. Please contact Mom L at rodgerslcr at gmail dot com.