Cat lovers from near and far joined together at Christopher’s in Groton
on March 15 for a fund-raiser that benefited Friends of Feral Felines
Inc. (FOFF). Between raffles, food, and good music, the event raised
more than $1,400 for the organization.
Vice President of FOFF
Jean Jones said the organization was founded in November 1997. Though
the group’s post office box is in East Lyme, she said FOFF covers all
of New London County. FOFF spays, neuters, and vaccinates between 100
and 200 cats a year.
“We neuter and release,” Jones noted.
“They’re released back to their caretakers…behind apartment buildings,
restaurants, in different neighborhoods, condo complexes.”
She said the members of FOFF don’t go looking for cats; for the most part, people come looking for them.
“We
get calls,” Jones said. “The calls come from animal control and the
people that call animal control. [Animal control] gives out our number,
the Waterford and East Lyme animal control gives out our phone number,
and we get referrals from the local vets.”
Life-long Groton
resident Karen Oddo has received help from FOFF in the past and decided
to head up the event at Christopher’s in an effort to give back to FOFF.
“I
trap, neuter, and release [cats] and it used to cost me money,” Oddo
said. “So I got in touch with Jean and she’s been helping me fund the
neuters and the shots. Since she was so nice to me with all the ferals
that I had, I was going to replace some of the money that she’s put
out…I happen to have a lot of connections with bands, so I figured I
would put something together.”
As a friend of the owners of Christopher’s, Oddo was able to hold the fund-raiser on a Saturday night.
The
room at Christopher’s was full of supporters and donors. Roy and Linda
Kiggans of Oakdale said they came to support Oddo and felt as though
the event was a success.
“My wife did the same thing when she
was working up in East Hartford,” Roy said. “The cat that we have now
was a feral cat that we rescued about 10 or 11 years ago now.”
Denise Dostoler of Pawcatuck, one of Oddo’s co-workers at Electric Boat, helped Oddo sell raffle tickets.
Dostoler
said, “A few years ago, there had been some stray cats on the company’s
property…it took several months to catch this stray cat that people
were feeding from the cafeteria…there was a notice that pest control
was going to come and we were afraid that they were going to kill the
cat. So we tried to catch it.”
Dostoler said it took about four months to catch the cat, which was finally caught by Oddo’s Have a Heart trap.
“It’s
just kind of a wire crate, you put some cat food in it and the cat goes
into this box…and the door closes..it doesn’t hurt it,” Dostoler said.
In her neighborhood, Dostoler said one can find quite a few feral cats, and over the years she has accumulated six.
“They’re
all rescued, but they’re not really feral,” she said. “They’re
domestic. They were someone’s pet but they were just abandoned…so
[Oddo] would help me in a lot of instances where I would find a cat and
it would need to be spayed and get shots.”
Oddo’s band Loose
Change began their set with Motown hit “Get Ready.” By the time they
were playing Bob Seger’s “Old Time Rock ‘n’ Roll,” people were out of
their seats and on the dance floor.
“We’ve been together for
about nine years,” Oddo said, referring to Loose Change. “It’s really a
compliment when people come to see us and tell us we’re good…we just
love to do it because we have so much fun, and if it wasn’t for setting
up and breaking down we would do it for free,” she said, laughing.
At
the end of the day, between donations and raffle ticket sales, Oddo
said the event generated more than $1,400 with more money on the way.
Contributors to the raffle were stores Majestic Jewelers and
Pentangle’s Boutique in Mystic and Sneaker Cafe and Send It With Love
in Groton.
Raffle ticket winner Denise Trites won the grand
prize of a diamond ring valued at about $1,300 from Majestic Jewelers.
Other winners were Margaret O’Shea, Jen Boudah, Cappy Belden, Dave
Vinica, Lori Matt, Patricia Charland, and Kathy Mastrionni.
All in all, Oddo was satisfied to see so many people support such a good cause.
“I’m
a cat lover, and seeing all the cats out there that are strays and
ferals,” Oddo admitted, “I just can’t stand to see them not have their
shots and have their kittens. The ones that are friendly of course, I
try to find homes for them, but the ones that are really feral, it’s
better to put them right back out where you get them.”
Tax-deductible donations may be sent to the Friends of Feral Felines, Inc., at P.O. Box 791, East Lyme, CT 06333.