Cat Tales & Success Stories
Abandoned Eagle Cat Needed Help
At the end of 2020 a kind Eagle neighbor reached out to Eagle Community Cats for help with this beauty. She had been coming to their backyard along the river occasionally for a few months and seemed scared. Over time they built her trust by feeding her and sometimes letting her in their home. As winter arrived they became really concerned for her.
Eagle Community Cats volunteers rescued her and found a microchip. Sadly, after many attempts to reach the owners, they never responded to our messages. We also discovered that they had sold their house over 6 months ago in the same neighborhood she was found. It appears she was left behind to survive on her own.
Her name is Duchess and she is about 12 years old. She was transferred to Simply Cats When she arrived, they discovered that this beautiful girl had cataracts in both eyes and 5 bad teeth that needed removal. Simply Cats fixed her all up and we are happy to report she was adopted by Brandi Wolf, owner of Eagle Life Magazine. She is one lucky, happy, and loved cat!
Mama Cat & 7 Kittens Rescued in Eagle
On Tuesday evening around dinner time, Eagle Community Cats received a call about a mama cat with kittens living under a pillar at a local Eagle business.
Two volunteers immediately went to assess the situation and after much patience, getting filthy and a few scrapes and scratches, we were able to rescue 7 four week old kittens. A volunteer rushed home with them and started bottle feeding. By 10:45 pm we were able to rescue mama cat we are calling Sadie and reunite them.
All of the kittens are thriving and healthy. Five girls and two boys. Mama Sadie is feral and extremely emaciated and dehydrated. She has worked hard to keep her kittens safe and fed.
Mama Sadie and kittens will be fostered with Eagle Community Cats and given lots of TLC. When the kittens are ready, they will be transferred to Simply Cats where they will be fixed, vaccinated and microchipped and ready for adoption. Mama Sadie will be fixed and released to a kind neighbors with a farm where she will be supported to live her life quietly with no more kittens in her future.
Kitty rescued after missing 2 months
This is “Kitty” - yes that’s her name! She was lost by her owners at the end of April. She is 10 years old and wore a collar with tags.
A very nice neighbor called Eagle Community Cats last week because he found her very scared and hiding under the cover of his John Deere riding lawnmower. He gave her a towel to sleep on, kept an eye on her and fed her until we got there. His family even fondly named her Adele. Her collar was missing - but we could tell she had one at some point.
Kitty did not have a microchip, so for the past week she has been fostered by Eagle Community Cats while we searched for an owner and waited for an opening at Simply Cats.
Lucky for Kitty, she was all set to go to Simply Cats today - BUT we happened to find a lost cat ad on Nextdoor last night with no picture. We called the person and it was her family! She lived in a neighboring subdivision and was far from home.
Kitty is a great example of why it is so important to microchip your pets, even if they are indoor only.
It’s a quick and simple process that doesn’t require anesthesia. Keep the microchip information current! If your pet is lost, a rescue or shelter will find you in minutes and it’s the most solid proof of ownership. Not sure how to update a chip? Ask us or your vet.
Kitty is also a great example of keeping an eye out for animals that may need help.
Many times outdoor cats need help.
Please microchip!
Tuxedo Cat Family rescued in Eagle Neighborhood
This morning, Eagle Community Cats received a message from a kind neighbor, Stacey, requesting help for a couple of kittens she noticed on her back porch that seemed hungry and scared.
With Stacey’s help, by 1:00 we were able to rescue not only both kittens, but their mama too. They are all velvet gray and white tuxedo cats. The kittens are mini me’s of their mama!
Mama is feral, sweet but scared of people. Kittens are also feral since they have never been socialized. They are all starving.
The whole family will be fostered with Eagle Community Cats. They will get lots of TLC and the kittens will be tamed up and socialized over the next several weeks. When ready they will go to Simply Cats to be adopted to families for a happy life! Mama cat will be fixed and returned to live out her life quietly with no more kittens in her future.
Please consider supporting their care with Eagle Community Cats and/or Simply Cats!
*Please spay/neuter your pets!
Injured Kitty Rescued From Eagle Storm Drain Pipe
One Sunday evening, Eagle Community Cats was contacted by two different neighbors about a starving kitty with an eye injury that had been hanging around their subdivision for a couple of weeks. We named him Storm.
Our kind neighbor Emily had successfully coaxed him out of the storm drain pipe he was hiding in and was able to pet him, but he was so scared he would run back in the pipe to hide. She realized how badly Storm needed help because she could feel his entire spine and his right eye was terribly damaged.
Emily ran over at 8:30 pm to meet with Eagle Community Cats volunteers and we coached her on what to do and gave her supplies.
After lots of effort late into the night, she and her husband Jerry were finally successful in getting Storm. by Monday morning, they'd brought him to Eagle Community Cats.
Storm was so relieved to be safe and warm he couldn’t stop purring and meowing, and he gobbled up two cans of food. Then he slept. We provided him some pain meds and immediately requested a space at Simply Cats. We were prepared to get him prompt medical attention due to the nature and urgency of his eye injury. With the volume of kitties needing homes it can take a week or more to get an opening at Simply Cats.
We are happy to report that Simply Cats had an immediate opening for Storm. He was delivered today and already has surgery scheduled for Thursday! He will finally receive medical attention and relief from the pain he is in! Soon he will be ready to find a family.
We would like to thank Emily and her husband, and Jerry for everything they did to help Storm. They recognized that this kitty needed help and with their teamwork and effort, saved his life.
We would also like to ask our community to please consider supporting Storm’s care at Simply Cats. This type of surgery can cost between $700-1700 based on the quotes we received from various local vets.
Kitty reunited after 24 days!
We are so happy to report that a missing kitty was reunited with her owner yesterday and wanted to share the details due to the circumstances involved.
On June 10th - Miss Kitty went missing from her home in Meridian. Jan, her owner, had recently lost her 13 yr old golden retriever to cancer. Jan was desperate to find her so she and her neighbor posted missing ads online for her.
Late Wednesday night, Eagle Community Cats received a call from two very kind Eagle neighbors, Jodi and Carolyn. They had noticed a cat hiding in a wild field area by Carolyn’s house. It appeared scared and very thin and matted, and a significant amount of its fur had been ripped away from its skin as if it had been attacked by wildlife. It was hiding in bushes and brush underneath trees where Great Horned Owls were perched. They put food out and kept an eye on it until we could arrive.
We rescued the cat and took it to safety. It was so grateful to be safe and fed it purred and meowed and loved getting petted.
Thursday night we found a lost pets post on Facebook for Miss Kitty. Jan’s neighbor Elaine had posted the ad for her. We got a hold of them and told Elaine it may or may not be her kitty, but wanted her to come see. Elaine immediately recognized Miss Kitty - and Miss Kitty was so happy to see her she immediately flopped over for belly rubs. Elaine was in tears. Miss Kitty was about 10 miles from home.
Eagle Community Cats volunteers are so grateful for neighbors like Carolyn and Jodi, who cared enough to recognize, have compassion for, and reached out for help for this cat. And for Elaine, who posted a lost ad in the effort of helping her neighbor.
Please consider:
- Microchipping your pets and keeping the chip info current. It’s the fastest way for a rescue to shelter to help it find home. It’s also the most solid proof of ownership. It doesn’t require anesthesia, and is quick and affordable to have done.
- Keep cats indoors or in a catio whenever possible.
- If you see an unfamiliar cat outdoors, take a moment to see if it needs help. Many times cats outdoors need help. If it does, reach out to a rescue for help.
We are thrilled for Miss Kitty and her owner!
Kittens and Mama Rescued Under Eagle House
Last week, Eagle Community Cats received a call from a neighbor about a tuxedo mama cat with 4 kittens that had been hanging around a Eagle neighborhood. The mama was a neighborhood local that has been around a long time and had multiple litters but has never been fixed.
Our volunteers were able to rescue mama and 3 of her kittens right away, but the 4th little girl was so scared she hid under a house and cried for 2 days. We are happy to report after much effort and patience we were able to get her and keep the family together. Turns out they are 2 sets of twins!
These kitten are beauties, and after many baths and handling are already taming up and super loveable. They are being fostered with Eagle Community Cats until they are transferred to Simply Cats. There they will be fostered until they are ready to be fixed, vaccinated and microchipped & ready for a family!
Mama cat has already been fixed and returned back home to her neighborhood where she will live out her life quietly with no more kittens in her future, and kind neighbors caring for her. We are so grateful for neighbors that showed compassion for these cats and reached out for help.
Eagle Escalante Kittens rescued
Last Saturday at about 3:30pm, the volunteers at Eagle Community Cats received a urgent call for help to rescue some kittens. A neighbor had noticed a cat coming and going in their yard for some time, but had not thought much about it. It turns out it was a mama cat that had kittens under a playhouse in their yard covered by raspberry bushes. They saw the kittens in their yard running in the grass and bushes but were unable to catch them.
We were not able to locate the mama cat, and the kittens were old enough to be on the move and get themselves into danger. Two of the kittens ran under a fence into a field along Hwy 44, and the others were in the bushes and under the playset. One volunteer was able to scoop one kitten to safety right away. Another volunteer with the help of a tall ladder was able to scale the fence that was on a berm and find 2 kittens hiding in the knee high weeds of the field. After some patience and raspberry thorns, the last 2 were finally caught at about 10:45 pm, and by midnight everyone was settled in, fed and cozy.
The kittens have been fostered and cared for by ECC since Saturday. It's not ideal for them to be away from their mama at this age. But they were very hungry and clearly in distress. They are thriving thanks to lots of TLC and high quality kitten formula. We are still trying to locate and catch mama cat to help her as well, but our worst fear is something may have happened to her because it is very unlike a mama cat to not come back looking for her kittens.
All five kittens will be going to Simply Cats tomorrow to be fostered and cared for as they grow. They will have a full health evaluation and when they are old enough they will be fixed, vaccinated, and microchipped and ready for adoption.
This is kitten season. If you see kittens please leave them alone and reach out for help. If the mama is disturbed she may move the kittens before we can arrive. When possible it's always best to try to get the mama cat too even if she's feral so she can give them the best care. We can help.
We want to give a shout out to the family that cared enough to call for help. They also were actively helping us as we all meowed to get the kittens to respond to figure out where they were, holding the ladder, putting kittens safely in a bucket to get back over the fence, climbing through raspberry bushes on hands and knees, searching through arborvitae, and keeping a watchful eye until we rounded all 5 kittens to safety.
Kitten Family Rescued in Eagle Subdivision
Last Friday, Eagle Community Cats received a call from a very kind neighbor, Janis. She noticed 3 kittens playing in her yard and porch, so she put food out for them but they ran away when they saw her. We immediately put together a plan & went out to help her.
When we arrived we met another neighbor and found out that someone had recently seen a car drive up and dump at least 4 kittens out of the car and drive away.
We managed to catch 2 of the kittens on Friday evening, and one on Monday evening in extreme cold. By late Tuesday night we caught a 4th kitten and their mama cat.
All of these kitties were terrified. Within 24-48 hours, the kittens all settled in and are tame. We are giving Mama cat more time but she is scared after her experience being dumped and trying to protect her kittens.
We are sad that someone made the decision to dump this family of kittens to fend for themselves in frigid temperatures instead of taking them to a rescue or shelter.
They are now enjoying the good life and have received meds they needed, food and water, and are warm and safe.
We are so grateful to neighbors like Janis and her other compassionate neighbors who took steps to reach out for help for them.
Mama cat and all kittens were fostered with Eagle Community Cats and transferred to Simply Cats to find their forever homes!
Tiny Kitten Rescued From Eagle Construction Site
One Friday afternoon, Eagle Community Cats received a call from Sam. He was looking at homes in a new subdivision in Eagle when he decided to take a look at a construction site. When he did, he noticed this little fuzz ball peeking at him from around a corner.
He acted quickly and scruffed it with a towel. Not sure what to do, he cut holes in the top of a box he found, put it inside and secured the lid with a cord.
A neighbor told him about Eagle Community Cats and he called us in a panic. When we asked him if the kitten was tame - he replied, “What does that mean? I don’t know anything about cats...I do know it didn’t like it when I grabbed it!”
Sam quickly delivered the kitten to us.
We are happy to report that “Little Sam”, named after his hero, is recovering. It’s clear that he would likely have not survived another 24 hours in the cold. He is extremely emaciated and dehydrated. It’s hard for animals like this to find water that isn’t frozen solid much less food in the winter, and it appears based on his condition he was fending for himself.
He’s now enjoying canned kitten food to his hearts content, warm blankets, fresh water, and learning that people are good.
In the winter, outdoor cats need help, even feral cats. We want to give kudos to Sam - he certainly saved his life by caring enough to help him even though he wasn’t “a cat guy”.
Little Sam will be fostered with Eagle Community Cats and when he’s ready he will be transferred to Simply Cats to find a family.
Kitten Rescued At Eagle Construction Site
In mid-December 2020 neighbors noticed some kittens at a construction site in their neighborhood in very cold weather.
They worked together to rescue this little guy and to bring him to Eagle Community Cats for some much needed TLC and handling, as he was terrified. We named him Nugget.
In spite of much effort, the other kittens disappeared. We think their mama cat moved them to another location, but we continue to try and to locate and help them too.
Thanks to Adriana and her kind neighbors, this little guy now has a better life. He has fattened up and learned that people are friendly, and is quite a charmer. He went to Simply Cats and was adopted.
With all of the development in Eagle, our community cat population is losing its barns, sheds, fields, etc and is being forced to try to survive more among us. In the winter, it’s hard for them to find water, food, and warmth. We are thankful for compassionate neighbors that help these animals in need. We are so fortunate to live in this community with neighbors like Adriana.
Injured Kitty Rescued Tonight in Eagle After Missing 7 months
Tonight, the stars literally aligned for a sweet kitty named Turtle.
A volunteer for Eagle Community Cats was out doing community cat colony care tonight as the sun was setting. At one of our many locations around Eagle, she noticed this calico cat. It was hiding in a nearby shed.
As the volunteer looked over, she saw the glimmer of Turtle’s metal tag in the shape of a star just as the sunlight reflected off of it. After looking more closely, she quickly saw the cat was in distress, as Turtle’s front leg was trapped in her collar and the collar was cinched under the front leg, around the neck and chest. The kitty was too scared come to her, so she set a humane trap and was able to coax the kitty in with food.
Our volunteers acted fast and got Turtle to safety. We carefully cut her collar off as it was embedded into her skin and had rubbed sections of her fur and skin off. This would indicate she’s been struggling with it for quite some time. Her wounds are significant, and she is in a lot of pain. She ate 3 cans of food and one entire bowl of dry food. She was so happy to be on a warm blanket and to get petted. Turtle had a microchip when we scanned her but the microchip was not registered with owner contact info. Turtle’s star tag luckily had a phone number that we called.
Jessica, Turtle’s owner was reached and is so happy and in tears. Turtle has been missing since May 2020. Jessica’s family had moved to Idaho this spring from Texas, and briefly lived in Eagle. During that time Turtle was lost when she was let outdoors. They never found her, they have since moved to West Boise, and thought she was dead.
Turtle will be going to the vet to get much needed care tomorrow morning. She is home tonight getting loved on and cared for & reunited with her sister cat, dog and Jessica’s husband & children.
We are so happy that Turtle survived her ordeal and is back with her family. Her injuries are significant, and she certainly would have died. We suspect she has been hunkering down and eating with the community cats we take care of for some time.
A few things we would like to remind pet owners:
- Please always use a break away collar on your pet. This collar had a buckle and had we not found Turtle she certainly would have died from this.
- Please make sure your pets are microchipped, and that the microchip is registered with current contact information. If you aren’t sure, your vet can help.
- If you are in transition to a new home or location and your kitty will be outdoors at all, please carefully and gradually acclimate your pet to its new surroundings. We strongly recommend indoor only homes when possible.
- If you see a cat outdoors that seems unfamiliar, please take a moment or see if it needs help. Many times cats outside are not just an outdoor pet, they may need help.
- If you have lost a pet, never give up hope!
Kitten Found Under Hood of Truck
In the fall, this little orange cutie was discovered under the hood of a truck that had driven from Boise to Eagle. He made the trip unscathed, just super scared and hungry. He was very sweet and what we call a velcro cat, if he was left alone he would cry.
He's a great reminder of why it's important to consider knocking on your hood as well as being aware that these little guys are looking for warmth as it gets colder - sometimes in all the wrong places.
We called him Sweet Potato, and after some TLC, he went to Simply Cats and was adopted very quickly!
And a special thanks to Elizabeth Early for helping her neighbor with this kitten and getting it to me!
Please consider supporting kittens like these at Simply Cats. Their phone number is 208-343-7177.
Three Kittens Rescued Off Beacon Light
Marie, one of our kind neighbors, saw 3 kittens by the road off of Beacon Light. We were able to locate them and caught three.
These kittens were wild/feral but after only 2 days of TLC, they started taming up and letting us pick them up and pet them.
We suspect they were by the road scavenging because they were starving, and were trying to find bugs or anything they could eat. After a few weeks they were fully socialized and went to Simply Cats, and were adopted!
Please consider supporting kittens like these at Simply Cats. Their phone number is 208-343-7177.
20 Kittens Rescued!
In the fall, 20 kittens ranging 3 days to 6 weeks old were been rescued from a property in Eagle. Five feral adult cats were trapped, fixed, treated with antibiotics, and released to live out their lives quietly and peacefully with no more kittens in their future. Six more will also undergo TNR soon as well. The property owners had no idea that these cats existed, as is common with feral community cats. They did note that their mice problem had diminished in the past year. Now they know why.
All of these kittens went to Simply Cats and were fostered until they were ready for adoption, and found homes. Some were adopted the same day they went on the adoption floor. Of the 20 kittens, eighteen were female. Of the 5 adult cats, 4 were female. We were able to prevent these cats and kittens from more litters and suffering.
Please consider supporting kittens like these at Simply Cats. Their phone number is 208-343-7177.
Feral Mama & Four Week Old Kittens
To All Cat Loving Neighbors!
This mama and 5 kittens about 4 weeks old was rescued last night from a neighborhood in Eagle right before the thunderstorm hit. They were living under a bush and the mama was starving trying to nurse & protect her babies and survive. Mama cat has been named Daisy.
The family will be going to Simply Cats, a non profit, no kill, cageless shelter here in Boise. Simply Cats goes to every length to provide any medical attention needed, fix, vaccinate and microchip and care for the kitties until they are adopted.
Please see below some information about Simply Cats - they are an outstanding organization that relies on private donations to operate.
Please consider supporting Simply Cats as kitten season is upon us!
Please consider supporting these kittens at Simply Cats. Their phone number is 208-343-7177.
Two Kittens Rescued
This duo was rescued when they showed up at a 5 acre property off of Beacon Light. A volunteer was called and was able to catch both of them over a 2 day period.
They were both about 7 weeks old, and were skin & bones, and starting to show kidney issues due to dehydration.
We are happy to say they fully recovered, gained weight, and were tamed up completely!
The little shorthair black girl was named Tilly, and the medium haired tabby boy was named Pete.
They both were taken to Simply Cats where they were adopted to wonderful homes!
Please consider supporting kittens like these at Simply Cats. Their phone number is 208-343-7177.
