IN LOVING MEMORY OF HERSHEY

Georgina Feral Cat Committee are known, mostly, for the work they do with feral cats: trapping, spay/neuter, treat illnesses and injuries, foster, rehabilitate, and rehome kittens, and feed and monitor entire colonies. Although this is their primary focus, the committee also looks out for abandoned, neglected, and often-times abused, street cats.

Kit Kat is one of those cases, and a tail of how the community came together to ensure the safety, and wellbeing of their cats.

When the head of our local Military Museum received a call from someone stating they had seen six kittens running around the property, he and his wife drove there immediately. The couple found five of the kittens. One of their volunteers is also a volunteer with GFCC, so, the couple reached out to her for advice and assistance.

Georgina Feral Cat Committee found a foster parent, who went and collected the kittens. No one knows who made the initial call, but tips like this from the community are much appreciated.

The kittens were too young to be on their own, so members of the committee suspected the “sixth kitten” was, in fact, the mom. Founder Eva states:
I went over the next evening and saw a cat run off. We had volunteers going to feed. I went back the following evening and baited the trap. We sat in the car waiting, and before too long we trapped a cat. We didn’t know anything about here, but since she was a grey tabby, the same as the kittens, I suspected she was the mom. I took her over to the foster’s home, and we soon determined that she was not feral and was indeed the mom.

A couple of days later, Eva received a call from the local animal shelter. Someone had found the actual sixth kitten at the military museum.

They knew we had the rest of the family and asked if we wanted this kitten too. Of course, we did. We were able to reunite the little family.

The kittens were nicknamed ‘The Chocolate Kittens,’ and all received chocolate bar names.

Sadly, Hershey recently became ill. He was taken to the vet and given medication. His foster mom believed he was not improving; in fact, he was getting worse, so he went back to the vet that afternoon. Eva was in the vicinity of the clinic when the vet called, so she stopped by the office.

Little Hershey was looking good – running around exploring the exam room

The vet gave Hershey new meds, but he was not acting ill. Foster mom even reported that he was nursing from his mom and seemed to be doing okay. The next morning, she was heartbroken to discover that he passed.

The reality of the situation is that there would likely have been more tragedy for this little family if the community had not been there for them. The loss of Hershey is sad; it is upsetting to lose one of these precious beings. The work done by Georgina Feral Cat Committee makes a positive difference for many more.

 

Thank you to the committee for your dedication to the cats within our community,