About Olalla Farm Feline Spay & Neuter Project
First things first! Olalla Farm Feline Spay & Neuter Project has a process for adoptions and it’s important to know how our process works since it’s different than most large shelters, rescues and Humane Society’s. We are NOT your normal cutesie kitty rescue. We are a “rough n’ tumble” “wild west” kind of rescue. We deal with spicy cats and kittens all day every day. We believe that ALL cats and kittens, whether they are spicy or friendly deserve the same level of respect and care, including access to essential medical care, food, water and shelter.
We are primarily a TNR group (“trap”, “neuter”, “release/return”). Our sole mission is supporting local feral and community cat colonies within Kitsap, Pierce and Mason counties.
“Supporting” means to us: providing free and low-cost spay/neuter, vaccinations, de-worming, flea treatment and emergency medical care to cats and kittens who have NO OWNER, providing free winter shelters and access to food and water.
We provide these essential services to approximately 5-20 cats and kittens per week. These services include physically trapping on-site, education around TNR with our local community, free traps to borrow as needed, quick access to medical appointments (ear-tip only) with our clinical partners Kitsap Humane Society, The Humane Society of Mason County, Pasado’s Spay Station and Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project in Lynnwood and Renton, pre and post-op hold and care including medical observation by a veterinary medical professional for a minimum of 24-72 hours, feeding, watering and cleaning, transport to and from medical appointments, re-release, monitoring and tracking of multiple colony sites.
Many of the sites we support have an “on-site caretaker”. This is NOT an “owner” of the cat(s) but a person on-site willing to be a direct point of contact in coordinating efforts, sometimes who assist with the efforts or otherwise assist in supporting the colony in a responsible way.
Our services provide maintenance in population (i.e. avoiding over-population of feral and community cats in our area), reduction of the spread of disease, reduction of aggression, marking and spraying from feral Tom’s (un-neutered males), alternative placement of select cats and kittens for re-homing as either spoiled indoor-only kitties or “working cats” / “barn cats” / “mousers”.
Most of our kittens are trapped from feral cat colonies after they are weaned from mom and under 2 months old. This is a CRUCIAL time period where they have the chance to be socialized and adopted out to forever homes instead of having to be returned back to the colony.
We NEVER TRAP WITHOUT A PLAN and we do not trap feral moms with active litters while nursing unless it is an emergency.
All adults we trap, are returned to the colony unless there is a potential for adoption. We do occasionally come across friendly adult cats in feral cat colonies. These tend to be cats who have been previously owned but abandoned or discarded by their owners, or who have had an owner pass away. These cats tend to “fail to thrive” in the colonies. We often find them in far worse shape physically than the others in the colony and/or “depressed”.
Males specifically tend to get targeted by other dominant males within the colony. Most of these cats have no outdoor survival skills; unable to successfully hunt, avoid predators or understand or have the ability the ability to navigate the hierarchical structure of the colony. They actively seek human affection and attention and rely more heavily on support from humans and the other cats in the colony to survive.
Any feral cats who have an immediate threat to their lives such as a neighbor actively shooting cats, irresponsibly trapping and re-locating without proper procedure, or otherwise intentionally harming cats go into our “Barn Cat Program”.
Most of the cats we support are considered “feral” (“spicy”, aggressive, non-adoptable, not friendly). A VERY small percentage of the cats we support will qualify for our “Feral to Fab” program.
Our “Feral to Fab” program gives kittens between weaning age to approximately 2 months of age from feral cat colony sites a chance to “graduate” from our program after socialization with an experienced foster. Once they “graduate” you will find them up for adoption with Ziggy's or PAWS of Bremerton!
If you come across an adoptable kitty from our rescue, they have been through QUITE the process to get here!
We are NOT a “first come, first served” adoption application process. We DO NOT OFFER a “pre-approval” option. The kitties choose who THEY go home with, not the other way around. All of our adoptable cats and kittens are in our care for a minimum of 2 weeks, most 30 days and some between 30-90 days. Some of our kitties require extensive medical care and treatment and/or an expert foster home to work on socialization and understanding indoor kitty manners.
Our adoptable kitties are with Ziggy’s for one week - we drop off our kitties with Ziggy’s on Monday and choose forever families by Saturday. New pet parents who are approved get to pickup their kitties from Ziggy’s on Sunday!
If you are approved for an adoption, you will get a CALL from our rescue by the end of the day Saturday! If you do NOT get approved, you will receive an email.
We do occasionally get called onto random hoard house cases, abuse/neglect cases or assist in supporting our fellow small, local cat rescues in the area if they reach out for help and we are able to assist.
We also partner with multiple cat rescue organizations on The Big Island and Maui in Hawaii including Honi Honi Cats Maui, The Good Cat Network and Surf Cat Ranch Maui. These rescue orgs specifically support their own local feral and community cats. Our team visits the islands once a month to volunteer our time at their large-scale TNR clinics and fly some very special adoptable cats and kittens back to the mainland to assist in boosting their potential of adoption. You might get to meet some very special kitties at Ziggy’s who come all the way from Hawaii!
Last but not least, the ear-tipping. We know it’s not everybody’s favorite. But there are multiple reasons it is essential for TNR rescue groups. When a cat or kitten comes into our “Feral to Fab Program”, they don’t all graduate. Some end up being placed as barn kitties or working cats, meaning indoor/outdoor or outdoor only cats. We determine what’s best for each individual cat on a case-by-case basis, but ultimately if they end up being placed as indoor/outdoor kitties or outdoor only, we require the ear-tip.
It’s a fast, painless procedure performed by a licensed veterinarian while the cat or kitten is under anesthesia getting their spay or neuter. It’s a nationally recognized process to identify, as trappers and rescuers, cats who do not require trapping for spay and neuter. When we see the ear-tip, we leave those kitties alone unless there is some sort of emergency that requires intervention.
While we will do our best to avoid any younger kittens getting an ear-tip, you might see some with ear tips from time to time. These are either kittens from Hawaii where the ear-tip is required by their local rescue and TNR groups or spays/neuters performed with our local clinical partners where non-ear tip is NOT offered for particular clinic days. We work with the medical appointment slots we are given. Some of our partners offer non-ear tip options, some do not.
OUR ADOPTION PROCESS WITH ZIGGY’S:
Step 1: Take a look at who we have available for adoption with Ziggy’s on this sheet FIRST! We have pictures, profiles and background stories for all of our adoptable cats. You will see “available now”, “coming soon” , “adoption pending” or “adopted” attached to each cat, kitten or bonded pair.
We update this regularly so please be assured that it is current and up to date. If there is a cat, kitten or bonded pair listed as “adoption pending” that means that we feel we’ve found the perfect fit for them, we’ve processed that adoption application and there is already a family in the process of being approved. Please DO NOT apply for a cat or kitten who is listed as “adoption pending”, “adopted” or “coming soon” unless instructed otherwise.
Step 2: If there is a cat, kitten or bonded pair you are interested in, you MUST meet them in-person first! We want to know you love their personalities and have more of a connection with our kitties than simply wanting a specific looking cat or kitten.
Please schedule a reservation with Ziggy’s via the link below, preferably sooner in the week rather than later if possible, especially if there is a particular cat or kitten you are really interested in.
Step 3: APPLY for the cat, kitten or bonded pair you are interested in AFTER meeting them in person at Ziggy’s by Saturday at the latest if possible! If there are multiple you connected with, that’s okay. Please let us know in the comments section who would be your preferred and secondary choice if there is one. https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/P7V8YVN?fbclid=IwY2xjawRfYJhleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFYTE1XMWcxWGpZUHpySHNLc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHoN0tI9zhwOTkFTdZ67mI-3sBTcphLvC1iKI6gb5OjZdopAx6ovo4ODaZy9p_aem_4u8Kacl7ZGOYGnjvIvXO6g" rel="noopener" target="_blank">
Step 4: You wait! We need time to review all of the applications, determine best fit for the kitties, make calls to potential adopters with any questions we might have and make a team decision on who the cat, kitten or bonded pair really responded to the most. We take multiple factors into making our final decisions and don’t make these decisions lightly. These kitties come from horrific backgrounds and require a lot of love, care, compassion, training, resources and time. We want to be sure they are going to the perfect forever home!
If you aren’t chosen, please don’t let it deter you from trying again! We have LOTS of wonderful cats and kittens coming through regularly and we promise that there will be one (or maybe two!) who would make the perfect forever kitties for you and your family. Any applications who are not approved will receive a communication via email.
We note certain things people are looking for in an adoptable cat or kitten and do our best to reach out if we have one come up who we believe would make the perfect fit!
If you ARE chosen, you get to pick up your new forever family member(s) on Sunday (at the end of the week when are kitties are featured at Ziggy’s). You will receive a CALL from us letting you know that your application has been APPROVED. Please then call Ziggy’s confirming pickup day and time afterward (and don’t forget your “adoption kit!”)