Charlotte was a Northside community cat. A pet food pantry, TNR, and a devoted caretaker made her life better at the end.

I held Charlotte in my arms yesterday as she was euthanized because of a massive tumor in her chest. For the past thee years, she’s lived in the Mexican War Streets, being fed by a 75 year old caretaker with a fixed income. Charlotte was trapped, spayed, and released. She showed no interest in human […]

Our Caturday Catchup

The ugly decision to target our vulnerable neighbors by halting SNAP benefits disgusts all of us. The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Pantry is responding two ways Pet food is not covered by SNAP. But the cutoff means families will need to use more of their available financial resources for food, prioritizing the […]

Video: And the sky is a hazy shade of winter

I’m trying in my own fumbling way to create content. Today, I made a longish video (5 minutes) touring the winter preparations for our cat colonies. I’m actually pleased with how most of it turned out. I have yet to master the art of clipping video and fusing new segments. View this post on Instagram […]

The Pet Food Pantry Needs Paper Towels and Baby Wipes for Cat Colony Spring Cleaning

The Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Projects pet food pantry has been operating for six months. We have 40 active caretakers/households registered and 60 total. We typically give 11-15 pounds of dry and 20 cans of wet each month. We’ve also been working to get people connected with each other, especially neighbors. We’ve […]

Gallery: Community Cats in Cold Winter Weather

A little background information here

How to Prepare Winter Weather Shelters for the Cat Colony

Yesterday, I got the winter shelters ready for the cats. Sort of. I use airline dog crates XXL, held together with zip ties, and covered with one of those warm but thin quilt type blankets. The crates and quilts/blankets were also donated. I bought the zip ties. Winter will soon be here. Inside each shelter […]

This Pittsburgh Pet Food Pantry Running Out of Cat Food

50 households caring for 650 cats. That’s how many folx are enrolled in The John P. Ruffing VMD Memorial Pet Food Pantry. And we do not have enough food to distribute for November. Obviously we don’t try to feed all 650 cats, but we do try to give something to each household. They are colony […]

Sign Up For “The Ruff” Pet Food Pantry for Cat Colony Caretakers

Cat colony caretakers,  feeders, and low income pet owners are encouraged to register for “The Ruff” Dr. John P. Ruffing VMD Pet Food Projects pet food pantry. We distribute based on donations received – we are brand new. This month we gave out 11 pounds of dry and 24 cans of wet to each of […]

A Cat Named Tommy Lived 16 Years, But Only One Week of His Life Inside

This is the story of a very specific feral cat by the name of Tommy. It is also parts of the stories of all feral cats. It is a farewell tribute. It is a call to action. Tommy first showed up in our backyard in 2017. He was sturdy and ate a lot of food. […]

These Northside Community Cats Need Help to Survive the Winter

It is Caturday. The community cats living at the Fort Faulsey need your help. We are hoping to collect some food, supplies, etc to help them get through the winter. Our neighbor, Marie, has been taking care of all of the colony cats, two feeding stations, etc. Since early August, 7 days a week without […]