The Momcat Chronicles: A Little Bit of Feline Paradise

     With so much suffering in the world--animals and humans alike--it inspires hope to discover someone who is devoting her life to helping animals whose situations would otherwise be desperate. T.C. Flynn, who created and runs Cat Habitat, is just such a person. This past weekend I went with my friend Charmaine, another Feline Network volunteer, up to north county to visit the Habitat. It's a beautiful sprawling piece of land, safely fenced and enclosed, where little white igloos peak up from among a profusion of almond trees and other shrubs. As soon as Charmaine and I arrived, the more people-oriented members ot the 80 or so cats that live at the Habitat, came strolling up the path to greet us. Some were shy, some curious, others eager for tummy rubs. Several followed us around the entire time.
      Charmaine and I had come up with a particular goal in mind--to see how Socks and Fruity, the Habitat's newest members, were doing. These are two older gals who, until a couple of weeks ago, lived near some apartment complexes in Pismo Beach. Charmaine had been feeding them there every day for six years! I have watched these gals come out to greet Charmaine when she pulled up in her vehicle with their food. Their situation was made impossible, however, by a few unkind people in the area whose lack of empathy and compassion is truly astonishing. They insisted Charmaine 'get rid of" the cats--as if there were anywhere to take them, these two ferals who've been living on the street all their lives.
     Into this dire situation came T.C. Flynn. After much effort on Charmaine's part, Fruity (originally named 'Fruitcake" for her comical ways) and Socks were relocated to the Habitat, where they spent their first rainy week snuggled inside a shed designed for kitties making the transition to life in the Habitat. After those first few days, when the sun came out, they were ready to go outside into their new world. It's a wonderful world, with plenty of shelter, good food, and no predators, but it's still got to be scary--not only a new environment but one filled with new faces. As Charmaine said, "It must be like going to a party where you don't know anyone."
     On the day we visited, Fruity was being shy and stayed in whatever hiding place she'd discovered (and there are so many places a cat can hide at the Habitat!) but Socks seemed completely at home. She followed Charmaine around the entire time we were there. Other cats perched in the almond trees, watching, while another pair seemed intent on protecting the bags of cat food in T.C's wheelbarrow, sure to be the first one's to eat when it was dinner time.
     Every cat at the Habitat has a story to tell--and all of them, to one degree or another, are sad ones. Fluffy is an elegant grey and white long-haired kitty who was rescued from an area where cruel people were putting ground glass in the cat's food. Mama is a gentle, sweet kitty rescued from an elementary school where kindness to animals was not something they wanted the kids to learn. Oliver is a solid grey tabby who got into trouble for sneaking into a building at night trying to get warm. He was rescued just in time from Animal Services. The little black female I named Braveheart was living in a woodpile up at the Mesa. Another of my rescue kitties, Twinky, was being 'evicted' from her safe haven by a home owner with plans to board up the little crawlspace where she'd taken refuge. Every cat at the Habitat has been granted a new life, free from hunger, cold, and the danger of human and animal predators.
IF YOU CAN HELP: The Cat Habitat needs funds and volunteers.
             Contact T.C. Flynn at CAT HABITAT, PO Box 577, Atascadero CA 93423