Feral Cat Fund, Cataldi Park, San Jose (fundraiser ended)
Donation protected
Help fund the care for feral cats, Cataldi Park area, San Jose, CA .
I'm Jason, and this is my dad, John Oncay.
My dad lives in San Jose in an average suburban neighborhood near Cataldi Park. About fifteen years ago, a litter of kittens appeared in the hedge in his front yard, and his life changed forever. Having a sensitive heart (don't we all), he couldn't let them suffer, so he started putting out plates of food for them. He also invested in a live animal trap so he could catch them with the hopes of having them spayed/neutered and keep any other generations of cats from suffering the difficulty of living in the wild.
I'm Jason, and this is my dad, John Oncay.
My dad lives in San Jose in an average suburban neighborhood near Cataldi Park. About fifteen years ago, a litter of kittens appeared in the hedge in his front yard, and his life changed forever. Having a sensitive heart (don't we all), he couldn't let them suffer, so he started putting out plates of food for them. He also invested in a live animal trap so he could catch them with the hopes of having them spayed/neutered and keep any other generations of cats from suffering the difficulty of living in the wild.
That was the first generation of cats in his life, and he gave them names like Jackie, Teardrop, Missy, Richard, and Mimi. Since they were wild catch, they didn't exactly seek out physical affection. In fact, they would hiss or scratch if anyone tried to come too close, but he fed them anyway. Over time, they started to expect him to emerge early in the mornings to feed them, and because of his caring heart, he would give them each their own individual plate so they wouldn't have to compete.
Over time, five cats became eight cats and then more and more wild cats in the neighborhood learned about the kind human willing to put out a meal so they wouldn't have to suffer.
Most of them remained wild and shy, but my dad would talk to them every morning, patient and kind, and some warmed up to his touch. A few will approach and visit with him every day at the 5:00 A.M feeding time. With closer interaction, he also learned which ones had problems with their teeth or injured paws, and that turned into more trips to the animal doctor and bills that amounted to thousands of dollars over time. In some cases, if he found the kittens young enough, he was able to find them adoptive parents, but the cat community in his front and back yard had grown to nearly twenty cats, all meowing for a meal early in the morning, a meal he serves without fail, seven days a week.
Dad turned to NextDoor, an online neighborhood communication site, and he pleaded with folks to spay/neuter their cats. He worried about all the needless suffering that the cats were enduring, and he connected with some neighbors who were trying to help. He also worried about them hunting the local birds. With some volunteers, he started taking a shift at the park nearby since there was a community of wild cats living there too, some suffering various ailments or close to starvation. He sometimes sets out his trap and then waits in his car, watching carefully for that moment when he might catch the cat who needs the most medical care. Over the years, he and some neighbors have spayed/neutered more than sixty cats and found homes for nearly forty of them.
My dad is retired, so he is trying to manage all this on a limited income. He doesn't have the budget for this, but he makes the sacrifice anyway. The bills for dry cat food have added up over the years and he goes through fifty pounds a month. He also boils chicken when the price is cheap or buys wet food at the dollar store for all the cats who struggle with the dry food. Recent medical procedures, including spaying for $250 and a surgery for an abscessed tooth costing $1000 have prompted me to suggest a GoFundMe page.
If you have read this far, you understand how much your help might mean to my dad and the couple of volunteers in his neighborhood. My dad has twenty-one cats who visit his house for food every day and who receive love and medical care from him, and then he goes to the park to feed the smaller group of cats who live there. I once asked him why he has to wake up so early to manage all that, and he explained that if he doesn't go during those early hours, they might be too nervous to come out and eat.
We hope that you can help. Donations would go toward medical care, spaying/neutering, and the many bags of food that our little feline friends consume. Dad's ultimate goal is to catch the last few who need spaying/neutering and then provide just the basics so these animals can live without suffering.
We also hope to provide more stories and pictures to show how your help is making a difference. Please follow this page to see updates, and feel free to message us with any questions. Thank you for your kind heart and generosity.
Over time, five cats became eight cats and then more and more wild cats in the neighborhood learned about the kind human willing to put out a meal so they wouldn't have to suffer.
Most of them remained wild and shy, but my dad would talk to them every morning, patient and kind, and some warmed up to his touch. A few will approach and visit with him every day at the 5:00 A.M feeding time. With closer interaction, he also learned which ones had problems with their teeth or injured paws, and that turned into more trips to the animal doctor and bills that amounted to thousands of dollars over time. In some cases, if he found the kittens young enough, he was able to find them adoptive parents, but the cat community in his front and back yard had grown to nearly twenty cats, all meowing for a meal early in the morning, a meal he serves without fail, seven days a week.
Dad turned to NextDoor, an online neighborhood communication site, and he pleaded with folks to spay/neuter their cats. He worried about all the needless suffering that the cats were enduring, and he connected with some neighbors who were trying to help. He also worried about them hunting the local birds. With some volunteers, he started taking a shift at the park nearby since there was a community of wild cats living there too, some suffering various ailments or close to starvation. He sometimes sets out his trap and then waits in his car, watching carefully for that moment when he might catch the cat who needs the most medical care. Over the years, he and some neighbors have spayed/neutered more than sixty cats and found homes for nearly forty of them.
My dad is retired, so he is trying to manage all this on a limited income. He doesn't have the budget for this, but he makes the sacrifice anyway. The bills for dry cat food have added up over the years and he goes through fifty pounds a month. He also boils chicken when the price is cheap or buys wet food at the dollar store for all the cats who struggle with the dry food. Recent medical procedures, including spaying for $250 and a surgery for an abscessed tooth costing $1000 have prompted me to suggest a GoFundMe page.
If you have read this far, you understand how much your help might mean to my dad and the couple of volunteers in his neighborhood. My dad has twenty-one cats who visit his house for food every day and who receive love and medical care from him, and then he goes to the park to feed the smaller group of cats who live there. I once asked him why he has to wake up so early to manage all that, and he explained that if he doesn't go during those early hours, they might be too nervous to come out and eat.
We hope that you can help. Donations would go toward medical care, spaying/neutering, and the many bags of food that our little feline friends consume. Dad's ultimate goal is to catch the last few who need spaying/neutering and then provide just the basics so these animals can live without suffering.
We also hope to provide more stories and pictures to show how your help is making a difference. Please follow this page to see updates, and feel free to message us with any questions. Thank you for your kind heart and generosity.
Organizer
John Oncay
Organizer
San Jose, CA