Street cats depend on humans for food, either through direct feeding or by scavenging for scraps we throw away. They also need drinking water and shelter, which is sometimes hard to find. We encourage people to adopt in place, which means becoming a caretaker for a street cat or colony.
We’ve adopted the colonies at Wellington and Tommy, as well as colonies on our private land. We make sure the cats in these colonies have regular food and water, adequate shelter, and monitor their health.
Monitoring a colony means you can also see when new, unsterilized cats show up, and catch them for sterilizing. All you need to do is create a safe feeding spot and bring food and water regularly. It’s just like having a pet, but instead of them living inside your home with you, they live outside. You get to know them, they get to know you, and it’s very rewarding to know you’re helping make their lives better.
It’s also good for the community, alleviating the problem of cats begging for table scraps at restaurants or destroying merchandise (which has happened at Tommy), causing the business owner to see the cats as a nuisance. We want street cats to be a welcome and appreciated part of our communities, not perceived as pests!
Are you a street cat caretaker? If so, please contact us at streetcatsofvis@gmail.com or on social media. We’d love to meet you and your cats and include you in our mapping project. We may also be able to help you with food, or help you get cats to the vet for sterilizing.
Photo by Jonathan Webb @straysinsquares
