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BERKSHIRE ANIMAL D.R.E.A.M.S. Celebrating Ten Years as Champions for Community Cats WHAT WE DO 
Working with wild felines requires patience, and an endless supply of perseverance. In the end, we always get our cats! Leaving just one unspayed cat in a colony can start the population explosion all over again. We may keep a low profile when we are rescuing cats, but don’t be fooled; we are busy throughout Berkshire County and the work we do is crucial at stemming the tide of overpopulation of cats. We work on a small budget, but stretch each dollar a long way. We quietly continue our important mission, finding, capturing, and vetting the cats, and providing care after they are returned to their colonies. Remember, all of our trappers and caregivers volunteer their time, and work under some extreme weather conditions. Our managed colonies are fed 365 days a year by volunteers who are totally committed to the group of cats in their care. Each cat saved is a victory, and each colony completed is an affirmation that Trap-Neuter-Return works!
Dignified Rescues 
We named her Grace for the devoted, dignified concern she showed her kittens. She was a "throwaway" pet, who had given birth to four kittens under a barn and was skirting the paddock where we were setting our humane traps. She hovered nearby as we caught her kittens one by one, her fear battling her maternal instinct. By day's end, we had trapped her, too, and this devoted mama cat was happily reunited with her offspring. Though she was skin and bones underneath her fur, she had diligently cared for her four kittens (which are quickly becoming socialized and will be adoptable soon) providing them protection, food, and warmth as they grew. Grace was clearly not born feral. She shows the classic fear and wariness of an abandoned cat who, left in the wild, has become feral. Grace's story has a happy ending though, as she will be adopted by the family who found her and the kittens. She has been spayed and with time should once again be a friendly, trusting cat.
Education 
Our phone rings each day with people asking questions about cats found in the wild: What to do, how to help, should they be taken to a shelter, left alone or trapped, how to know if found kittens are orphaned or old enough to be taken from their mother… We love to share our knowledge and experience about feral cats and their behavior. We advocate for feral cats everywhere, spreading the word about the benefits of TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return). Does your group or event need a speaker or an informational booth?
Advocacy and Adoptions We currently have kittens and adult cats available for adoption. Medical Services Lacey was born in the hayloft of a dairy barn, and in her entire ten-month life, had never been able to descend the ladder to the ground floor and the outdoors. She was unable to walk normally without stumbling and listing to one side. Having lived in dim light or darkness her whole life, her eyesight was compromised, and Lacey was afflicted with lice, ear mites, and intestinal parasites. She was tiny for her age, and had only half a tail. What a challenge she would be-would we ever be able to correct her health deficits and find her a new home? It took three months of medication, de-lousing baths and a highly nutritious diet, but Lacey eventually was ready for adoption. She had won our hearts already with her playful disposition and joie de vivre, but would someone other than her rescuers see beyond this "ugly duckling" to the beauty within her? Indeed! Lacey was recently adopted by a mother and daughter who wished to give our little underdog (undercat?) a chance. At last check, Lacey and her new forever-family were all quite happy! P.S. Lacey's mother, also a barn cat, was so far along in her pregnancy with this year's first litter that we dared not have her spayed after her rescue. After a week in a foster home, this Mama cat birthed four kittens successfully, but a fifth died, caught in her birth canal in breech position. An emergency C-section saved Mama cat's life, and she and her four surviving kittens all thrived. Had this happened in the wild, Mama would have died an agonizing death from complications and the kittens would have perished as well. |
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Animal D.R.E.A.M.S. Inc. P.O. Box 1073, Pittsfield, MA 01202 | (413) 528-1328 | info@berkshireanimaldreams.org |
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