“Mother Hen” Helps Feral Cat Colony In The Snow

There’s a village of snug little huts in a semi-circle in an area near Lake Saltonstall; the huts are stuffed with hay for warmth and some are covered with tarps. The morning prior to the latest snow storm, food had been placed out. Paths were shoveled to the entrances and a group of feral cats themselves had made paths up and down the hill behind the colony. Boards are strategically placed for protection from the bitterly cold winter.

Charlene Vessichio of Guilford, along with some friends, has been maintaining the site for about a year. She said it took ​“some perseverance” to establish a safe place for the cats by gathering hay and wooden skids, as well as plywood, which was picked up off the side of the road. The caretakers have the blessing of the property manager of the nearby office complex.

“I’m like the Mother Hen,” she says, adding that she has a list of feeders, their schedules and their phone numbers. ​“I take things to another level, but not everyone does that.”

She often makes two trips a day from Guilford to take care of the cats, even this week in the ice and snow. 

Vessichio is one of several Compassion Club members who maintain the 12 to 14 colonies in town. Feral cats are descendents of domestic cats or cats that were abandoned by irresponsible humans and left to fend for themselves. The Compassion Club and various local organizations, such as Forgotten Felines in Westbrook and the Greater New Haven Cat Project, trap, neuter, and release the cats that cannot be socialized; their kittens are usually socialized and adopted into loving homes. It is hoped that by neutering the cats, the feral population will be reduced. 

One could only imagine the effect of the most recent ice storm on the little colony and its residents. However, in the sunshine a day or so after, all was well. Paths had again been cleared out. Bowls of fresh food were placed in one of the huts. Five or six cats – two orange, a dilute tortie, a black and white, and a long-haired tabby – were out and about.

Vessichio says there are about 20 to 25 cats in the colony; 17 or 18 have been trapped and spayed or neutered and she’s concerned about making sure the remaining ones are fixed before spring. They all looked plump, healthy and well cared for and well fed. 

They seemed unconcerned about the mounds of snow that surrounded them. Vessichio said she spent a lot of time administering antibiotics and caring for a couple of cats that were sick. She has named them all and is working hard to socialize them. She hopes that process will be completed, and that many can be adopted out once the Compassion Club’s facility on Foxon Road in North Branford is completed. 

Winter is a tough time of year for feral cats and their caregivers. These cats look strong and well fed.

Eunice Lasala has trouble sleeping at night. She’s worried about the feral cats in the colonies she helps maintain through the Compassion Club.

“It really bothers me,” she says. Lasala is one of the founders of the Branford Compassion Club, which has been caring for, socializing, and adopting feral cats since 1997.While she is active as a trustee at the James Blackstone Memorial Library, president of the Branford Community Foundation, active with the Branford Garden Club, the Branford Animal Shelter, Hospice and more, she seems especially connected to the kitties. Approximately 20 feeders are in charge of the 12 to 14 colonies in town.

Because the cats don’t all come around when the caretakers come by to feed them, she can’t be sure they’re all surviving during this bitterly cold winter. Shelters have been constructed lined with Styrofoam and filled with hay for warmth.

Lasala said that many of the cats are spayed and neutered through the Hope Spay and Neuter Clinic in Waterbury, which offers low-cost services to shelters and animal welfare organizations.

Lasala was especially concerned about a colony over by the Mews where a 12-foot high snow bank buried a colony housing three 4‑month-old kittens.

And she is very proud of the colony maintained by Vessichio.

Lasala says a lot of cats were trapped in the area quite a while ago. While she finds it frustrating that a new group of cats has appeared, she is grateful that they are safe. Vessichio says many of the cats come from nearby homes; they are not spayed or neutered or housed safe indoors. A friend has already helped place six cats from that area.

Vessichio also takes care of cats in colony off North Main Street. She described having to dig out a kitten that was trapped inside a hut by the snow.

“It was a little long-haired gray kitten,” she says. ​“So sweet…”

With more winter weather yet to come, Lasala, Vessichio and the others who take care of Branford’s feral cats will have their hands full.

“We’re doing the best we can,” says Lasala.

The Branford Compassion Club will officially open its facility at 2037 Foxon Road, North Branford on Sunday, Feb. 27, noon to 4 p.m. A ​“Bare Bones Bash” was held last May shortly after the building was acquired. The organization has been working to finish off the interior since then.

Meanwhile, two guys who might some day wind up at the new North Branford facility, were playing games in the snowy outdoors.

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