Date: Fri 03-Oct-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

SNAN-Stott-cats-feral

Full Text:

John Stott's Compassion For Cats Gives One Paws

(with photos)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Look out the kitchen window into John Stott's backyard any day at 5 pm and

you're bound to see as many as a dozen cats waiting patiently, their eyes

riveted on his back door.

It's dinner time. The cats know it and so does Mr Stott, who methodically

fills plastic plates with cat food and positions them strategically around the

yard.

Mr Stott, 55, knows first-hand about the problem of feral cats in Newtown. For

the past 25 years he has lived just off Route 34 in Sandy Hook, and through

the years abandoned and feral cats, and their kittens, have shown up in

increasing numbers on his doorstep.

Mr Stott's wife, Shirley, who died last January, fed all the wildlife that

came out of the woods into their yard. As the numbers increased, however, the

task became almost an obsession.

"At first she said she would feed the cats only what our cat didn't eat," he

said. "But it seemed that as the times got better and we could afford more

food, we attracted more cats. We also fed the raccoons - I think we had

hundreds - and the birds. Shirley would fill our hatchback car with loaves of

bread from the thrift shops.

"If we went away, she'd leave three pages of instructions to be sure they were

fed properly," Mr Stott said. "In the winter, if we had a lot of snow, I'd

have to get out with a snowblower to make paths around the yard for the

animals."

"If a cat looked sick, Shirley would add raw eggs and an aspirin to the food,"

he said.

A few years ago the Stotts were troubled by foxes and coyotes that would come

out at night and often kill the cats.

"We had to put on a spotlight and a radio outside to keep them away. Otherwise

they'd come into the backyard," he said. "There haven't been any lately. They

were probably shot by hunters."

Chester, a large tomcat, was emaciated when he arrived at the Stotts home a

few months ago.

"He was a bag of bones," Mr Stott said. "He was walking on the knuckles on one

paw. I started calling him Chester - after Chester on (the former television

series) Gunsmoke . This cat was a sorry case but you could pet him so he

probably had been someone's pet. Now he looks great and he isn't limping at

all."

Mr T, a tiny, seven-week old tiger kitten, is living in a blanket-lined box in

Mr Stott's bathroom. The kitten scampers around the room, appearing healthy

but sneezing loudly.

"He's got a cold," Mr Stott explained as he caught the kitten and inserted an

eyedropper filled with medicine into its mouth. "I found him outside, lying on

the ground, cold and wet, about four weeks ago. He was shivering. I wrapped

him up in a towel and he slept for 12 hours. When he finally woke up, he

seemed fine, so I don't know why he has a cold now."

Earlier this year John Stott found four kittens on the ground, similarly cold

and wet. The mother was nearby but ignoring them. Finally, Mr Stott put work

gloves on, picked up the kittens and put them into one of the many small

doghouses which are used as cat shelters in his yard.

"The kittens stayed in there with their mother for four weeks," he said. "Then

I cleaned them up, brought them into the house, and was able to find homes for

all of them."

Then another batch of four kittens appeared in the yard. He managed to find

homes for them, too.

"I catch them, keep them a week or so in a bathroom and pretty soon you can

put them on your lap," Mr Stott said. "I usually give them numbers rather than

names because there are so many."

Mr Stott's daughter, Linda, who lives in Danbury, took two kittens from one of

the many litters that have been adopted.

"Right now I'm down to seven cats and big kittens," Mr Stott said. "I caught

ten of them - eight females and two males - and with the help of Newtown Spay

and Neuter, I was able to get their shots and spay or neuter them."

A big yellow cat which he has named Fresh continues to elude him, however.

"I spent two hours and two cans of cat food, a spoonful at a time, trying to

trap her," he said. "If I put out a Have-a-Heart trap, all the other cats

would go in, but not her. She is too sharp. I'm devising a special trap just

for her."

Two tough male cats also appear infrequently in Mr Stott's yard. "One has ears

that are flat to its head, the other has a gimpy leg that won't heal," he

said. "But they will be tough to collect."

Mr Stott, who is a crew chief for Sikorsky Helicopter in Stratford, built a

temporary home for the cats in his garage and placed shelters made of

overturned barrels in the surrounding woods.

"The cats also like doormats," he said. "I put them around the yard and

sometimes you'll see four cats sitting on one. They also like to roll them

up."

But Mr Stott admits that since his wife died he has cut back on the amount of

food that he puts out.

"I'm trying to discourage them - but you just can't," he said. "Some of these

mother (cats) are second and third generation in the wild."

The cost of spaying and neutering feral cats, and vaccinating them, can be

daunting. But Mr Stott learned that through Spay & Neuter, some area vets

would help at a reduced fee, about half the normal charge. That prompted him

to borrow traps and cat carriers and stop the breeding cycle of the feral cats

in his yard.

Mr Stott also has his own cat, "Gray-Gray," but he insists it was his wife who

was the cat fancier in the family.

"I'm allergic to cats," he said. "I'll only play with them until my eyes and

nose start to run."

The Spay and Neuter Association of Newtown (SNAN) has helped spay and neuter

more than 4,000 cats and dogs since it was founded in 1982. Membership is $10

a year; $5 for senior citizens and students.

The organization relies on fundraising and donations to perform its community

services. Donations should be sent c/o Box 352, Newtown 06470. For more

information, call 426-5730.

SNAN currently is sponsoring a Royal Feline Family Contest. To enter, send a

photo of your cat and a $5 entry fee, with your name, address, and telephone

number, and the cat's name and age, to SNAN CatContest, 48 Queen Street,

Newtown 06470 by November 1. Winners will be published in The Newtown Bee and

prizes will be awarded.