Steve Ball's mission to provide medical care for eight cats.

My name is Steve Ball, and I'm retired. My wife and I, and two cats, live on my monthly Social Security check. We live in Stanton, Orange County CA.

I have two emergency expenditures for cats. The first need is vet care for my cat Shadow, and potentially Blossom (she currently seems well, but the vet wants to look at her, as well). The second need is for funds to TNR (trap/neuter/release) and pay for medical exam costs for six feral cats who are surviving inside the enclosed (i.e.: the cats are trapped) atrium of my apartment complex.

Shadow:

Shadow (so named because--though she is chunky--she can move like a shadow when she wants) is a 12-year-old black domestic short-hair. We got her as a feral kitten, adopted from a homeless couple we met when we ourselves were homeless.

Yesterday, I shelled out $1,800 to the veterinarian... and that's the start - just to get Shadow in-the-door. That exhausts my emergency money.

(This is the same vet that we had her checked out at when we got her, and the vet is actually quite reasonable. But Shadow's been strictly an indoor cat, and we haven't had her back to the vet since then, simply because we couldn't afford it.)

So, Shadow started having trouble eating a few weeks ago. She's always been chunky (15 pounds). She lost lots of weight, but it didn't seem to bother her. She was active and seemed happy. But then she started "masticating" (like she was a dog with peanut butter in its mouth) when she ate. We thought it might be a bad tooth, and switched to softer (pate) food for her, which seemed to help.

But yesterday morning at 1:30am she vomited up either old part-digested food from the previous night, OR old (brown) blood and what looked like a small stringy black blood clot.

So I called the vet at 9:00am, and she was at the vet by 10:30. Since she hadn't been to the vet in 12 years, I had to pay an upfront deposit of $1,800 for a whole page of shots, a battery of x-rays, a full-spectrum blood test, flea treatment, etc. etc. etc. for a total of $2,100. This is before actually treating her whatever is actually wrong with her. They kindly wanted only $1,800 to start work.

The feral cats:

And on top of all the above, we have the ongoing and coming expenses for the six feral cats.

We live in a single-building apartment complex with 335 units that surround an inner 2nd floor atrium (parking on the ground floor). An animal inside the atrium can't get out of the complex without human help.

Some guy used to walk two cats in the atrium. Sometimes they were on leashes, but usually roamed free and came to him when called. They were VERY people-shy, one-person cats.

Then one day the cats appeared in the atrium alone, and the guy hasn't been seen in months. He either died, or moved and abandoned the cats, so they became feral inside the atrium. And then the female had four kittens. Now there are six feral cats in the atrium.

They are all living in a "stuff" pile on my next-door-neighbor's patio, and (since the neighbor is partly disabled) it's fallen to us to feed them (piles of food on the patio ledge between our units). He does leave water out for them, and they can get water from the atrium pool and fountain).

I had called management about this weeks ago. No help there. They are concerned about liability, since they think someone else in the complex might be claiming them as theirs.

And local Animal Control "is not accepting new clients" meaning they are full-up with feral cats at their shelter. I was told to go get some traps and trap the cats, then take them to the main animal shelter a two-hour-and-one-transfer bus ride away (I don't have a car).

So I called around and ended up talking to someone at the same vet's office that I took Shadow to 12 years ago, and have her at now. She is arranging for someone else to bring some traps to the complex, place them on the guy's patio, then come back and deliver the six feral cats to the vet, for spaying, neutering, exams, and a lot of that same stuff they are doing for Shadow.

I was told that "arrangements" would have to be made to help cover the cost of all that. That's still up in the air right now, but it is another looming expense.

The feral cats are skittish, so it is difficult to get clear photos. I'll try to get better ones. There are two tabbies, the mom and the dad. Two of the kittens are black and white with white paws and tail-tips. The other two kittens are medium-hair cream colored, and are just stunning.

Here are the two cream kittens and mommy (who we've named Sugar since she acts like she really really wants to be adopted).

Here is one of the black and white kittens.

Here's Sugar, again.

Here's the first scene, again, but with the addition of the other black and white (half behind the left cream).

And here's a head shot of the daddy, who we have named Spice (he has attitude and is quite protective of his family. He DEMANDED entrance into my apartment, and sprayed my screen door). Note the collar he is still wearing (one reason why management is reluctant to act).

So that is my story.

DISPOSITION OF THE DONATIONS:

Stanton Animal Hospital (8591 Katella Ave, Stanton, CA 90680, google for phone number) helps run and fund a TNR (trap/neuter/release) program for feral cats.

This program will be the beneficiary of all donations over what is needed to cover:

(1) costs for Shadow's diagnosis and prescriptions and (at vet's insistence) a checkup visit for our other kitty, Blossom, who seems healthy; and

(2) the trapping and medical costs to help the six feral cats trapped in the apartment complex atrium.

Thank you for your support and God bless.