The commonly held view that full grown feral cats will never be adoptable is quite correct for the most part but there are exceptions to be found in certain managed colonies; while kittens born from ferals can be socialized and make excellent adoptable pets, their parents are not often given that opportunity; and yet we know of special cases where these adult ferals have been socialized by colony caretakers to the point where adoptions have been possible, especially by those who may prefer an adult cat; whether these cats were formerly someone's pet , strays or born from true ferals are often not what makes these cases so exceptional or different from other ferals; undoubtedly, we know that each and every cat, including ferals, are individuals with their own characteristics and abilities to relate to humans and with an uncanny ability to adjust to new homes and habitats if necessary; but colony caretakers know very well that the key ingredient that makes a difference, as in most worthwhile things in life, is the unconditional love and caring that colony managers give to these cats who always respond with that very same love and trust.

Several cats of this little group became pets - at least to the people who were feeding them. They did not mind to get picked up and sneaked occasionally even in the house. They all were neutered or spayed and vaccinated. As you can see they enjoy their life. No wonder that some of them found a good home which helped to keep the colony very small. Newcomers are being trapped and neutered or spayed. They live very peaceful together and do not fight with each other.

We are happy to report that mother cat "Cheerio", and her six kittens have all been adopted and are adjusting to their new life on a large farm; not all of our rescue stories have good endings and we were very fortunate that Cheerio and her babies were under the foster care of a very caring and loving Welland family who gave them a chance for this new life; animals that are neglected, abused, and abandoned into our communities are really an entire community's responsibility, especially the local humane societies; the countless unwanted cats and their litters didn't ask to be disposed of and treated as expendable; far too many in our society have contributed to this problem because of a lack of compassion and respect for the dignity of all life; the family mentioned above chose to make a difference with their unconditional love and made enormous personal and financial sacrifices; many other individuals and families are making similar sacrifices (and many can least afford it) to save the lives of cats that deserve to live; local shelters have failed to be proactive in addressing the overpopulation crisis and, in fact, tend to shift responsibility and blame to those of us trying to save animals with our care,feeding and spay/neuter programs; Welland Feral Cats needs your support to be able to continue to assist all those who would like to be responsible pet owners or give cats a chance for adoption but need assistance with such expenses as spay/neuter fees; there are other kittens waiting for a loving home and a chance to give their special gifts of unconditional love...please consider assisting in any way you can and become part of the solution.

I would like to thank councillor Janice Wing for clarifying the NFHS's proposed changes to its no-kill policy; it is reassuring to know that they will continue to save "healthy, adoptable animals" but sadly, "animals who have serious health issues" will be expendable due to the cost of trying to save them; unfortunately, we are still in the dark in not knowing what criteria will be used in determining whether an animal lives or dies; but the issue here is that the rationale being argued for a change in policy is that the adfditional cost of $150,000 is not sustainable, at least not without additional sources of funding.
Did the NFHS not receive a substantial increase from the city of Niagara Falls in the 2011 budget? and this would be in addition to their budget allotment in 2010 which was $477,542 taxpayer dollars; and, of course, fundraising, public donations and any government assistance such as grants are separate sources of income.
Niagara Falls residents might want to know how the NFHS is using these considerable operating resources, especially when saving animals and giving them an opportunity for life should be a humane society's number one priority.
The overpopulation crisis is due to multiple causes including: irresponsible owners, the disposable mentality that treats animals(especially cats) as expendable commodities, lack of enforcement of cruelty laws and the lack of affordable spay/neuter fees and their related costs; and Ms Wing correctly points out that a change in thinking is needed; but many people were obviously trying to do the right thing by bringing animals to Niagara's only No-Kill shelter to save them; as Nathan J. Winograd of the No-Kill Advocacy states: "most people want to build a better world for animals. And they are waiting for us to show them how, to give them the means to do so".
No-Kill is a movement away from control and killing towards compassion and life-saving and while it may require hard work and concerted effort, IT IS ACHIEVABLE! It requires such initiatives as shelter and offsite adoptions, foster care, working with rescue groups, support for TNR programs and a strong volunteer base; and while shelters are moving towards establishing onsite spay/neuter facilities in their respective jurisdictions, this does not reduce the dire need for Niagara's own High Volume, Low Cost, Spay/Neuter Clinic which will be independent and self-sustaining and serve the general public and all organizations alike ( a number already are fully operational in Newmarket and Barrie); such clinics can perform over 5000 surgeries per year at nominal cost and without "income" qualifications; and let us disspell the myth that local or regional vet clinics will suffer a loss in business and income because of low cost clinics...quite the contrary, as more animals are saved and a good number of them will be adopted and find new homes with good owners, then the need for regular vet services will increase proportionately.
Let us also disspell the myth (perpetuated by humane societies and shelters themselves) that no-kill is not realistic or possible because it is too costly or because of weak economic conditions; what has been too costly(especially for the animals) has been the fight to maintain the status-quo, the lack of leadership and the unwillingness to embrace change on the part of shelters across the province.
In Niagara alone, thousands of savable animals still face untimely deaths each year (no, it's not euthanasia!), not to mention those abused and killed because of animal cruelty.
NFHS's efforts to save lives has been courageous and remains commendable and one can only hope that they will, indeed, be able "to return to their original vision" in the near future.
Find out more about NO-KILL at www.nokilladvocacycenter.org and read "The No-Kill Declaration."

Respectfully, on behalf of all those who cannot speak for themselves, Tony Porcaro (Founder, The Welland Feral Cat Support Group)