About UsWe founded Sammy’s Forgotten Felines in October, 2019. We were all involved in animal welfare and aware of a large feral cat colony outside of Kamloops. This colony had existed for at least 15 years. Various rescues or shelters had attempted to bring these cats in, but were never able to catch them all and the colony would inevitably grow again.
In the fall and winter of 2019, we were determined to help these cats. We couldn’t TNR the cats as the property owner could not have the cats return. We contacted other rescues who agreed to help by taking in some of the cats. 77 cats were trapped, spayed or neutered, vaccinated, dewormed, and tattooed and/or microchipped. Some were sick and needed extra veterinary care. The majority of the cats were socialized and adopted into homes. We did find sanctuary for those that found the socialization process too stressful. It was an amazing experience. Trap, neuter, rehabilitate, and re-home is much more attainable than we were taught and is now our goal. |
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But Who Is Sammy?
We met Sammy in 2015 when we all worked or volunteered for a different rescue. Sammy is one of the most caring and kind hearted humans we have ever met. He hates for anything to go to waste and collects day old foods from various businesses to feed the local wildlife. Sadly, that is where the problem began. Although Sammy means well, he often collects so much food that he ends up spreading it around his rural property so the local song birds and other wildlife can pick away at it. We aren't sure when the cats started to show up or how they got to his property, but Sammy welcomed them. Of course, as the years passed, the number of cats exploded. Sammy did not have the means to provide vet care and have the cats spayed or neutered and so the numbers grew.
At that time, the rescue we once worked for stepped in and removed 104 cats from Sammy's property. Many of the cats were euthanized as the rescue did not have the resources or time to rehabilitate them. The cats could not be returned to Sammy's property as he could not adequately provide care for them. In the end, the rescue did not trap all of the cats and over the next four years the colony grew again. It was during this time that we all left the rescue at different times.
At that time, the rescue we once worked for stepped in and removed 104 cats from Sammy's property. Many of the cats were euthanized as the rescue did not have the resources or time to rehabilitate them. The cats could not be returned to Sammy's property as he could not adequately provide care for them. In the end, the rescue did not trap all of the cats and over the next four years the colony grew again. It was during this time that we all left the rescue at different times.
Sammy and his cats were forgotten.
We all thought of Sammy and the cats often and in 2019, we received word that Sammy was being threatened with legal action due to his hoard of cats. Essentially, Sammy was right back where he started with too many mouths to feed and no resources to help them or himself. We were informed that the rescue who had helped Sammy previously was now planning to cull all of Sammy's cats. This news broke our hearts. We felt this wasn't fair or reasonable and we couldn't let that happen.
Sammy was very happy to see us again. He was incredibly thankful for our help, knowing his cats would be safe from harm. In October of 2019, we started trapping and over the next seven months we whittled the numbers down. We provided vet care, fundraised, and spent countless hours sitting in the rain, snow, and cold waiting for the traps to trigger. We reached out to other rescues to find placement for some of the cats as we did not have a shelter or fosters - only our own homes. It ended up being a successful collective effort! We trapped 77 cats with an additional five kittens being born in our care and all cats were found placement.
Sammy currently has two cats that are fixed. We check in on him from time to time to make sure this never happens again.
Without Sammy, we wouldn't have started this rescue. We have learned so much about feral cats and how they are incredibly misunderstood and we would like to change that.
We all thought of Sammy and the cats often and in 2019, we received word that Sammy was being threatened with legal action due to his hoard of cats. Essentially, Sammy was right back where he started with too many mouths to feed and no resources to help them or himself. We were informed that the rescue who had helped Sammy previously was now planning to cull all of Sammy's cats. This news broke our hearts. We felt this wasn't fair or reasonable and we couldn't let that happen.
Sammy was very happy to see us again. He was incredibly thankful for our help, knowing his cats would be safe from harm. In October of 2019, we started trapping and over the next seven months we whittled the numbers down. We provided vet care, fundraised, and spent countless hours sitting in the rain, snow, and cold waiting for the traps to trigger. We reached out to other rescues to find placement for some of the cats as we did not have a shelter or fosters - only our own homes. It ended up being a successful collective effort! We trapped 77 cats with an additional five kittens being born in our care and all cats were found placement.
Sammy currently has two cats that are fixed. We check in on him from time to time to make sure this never happens again.
Without Sammy, we wouldn't have started this rescue. We have learned so much about feral cats and how they are incredibly misunderstood and we would like to change that.
