Our mission is to rescue as many of the cats that roam the areas around Temple University as possible. We will place all adoptable cats, and find a humane solution for caring for any feral cats.

Current goals:

• Get people interested in organizing, fundraising, trapping, and fostering.
• Get a better idea of how many cats there are in the entire area
• Figure out how we can use this as an opportunity for spay and neuter education!

Meet Big Bunny! He’s up for adoption, which we never really thought would happen. He has always hung back while we fed the other cats and we were never able to pet him, let alone touch him. He never seemed the least bit friendly – we were pretty sure he was feral, as we’ve seen him around for a long, long time.

Two weeks ago, after we narrowed the colony down to 2, he decided to let us pet him – and suddenly he became of the most affectionate cats we’d ever met! He absolutely loves to be petted, especially if you scratch his big old cheeks. He is a really great cat, and he’s not the least bit scared or skittish. He’ll come right to you and start rubbing on your hand – he’ll even jump up on his hind legs to reach you. He is an absolutely fantastic cat who deserves a great home.

Big Bunny got his name because of Bunny – you can read about her here. She has something wrong with her back legs and hops like a Bunny. Big Bunny is very clearly related to her – we assume her father, so the name just stuck. They look almost identical (Big Bunny is older, though).

BB, as we like to call him, has some marks and scratches and old bites on him, but they all seem to have healed just fine and are covered over by his thick fur (Although the vets had to shave his cheeks to make sure an old wound was ok, so he looks a bit silly these days!) We think he’s around 3 years old, so he’s got a long life of living inside and taking it easy ahead of him!

We are planning to catch 5 cats this Friday morning and have them fixed at PAWS on Saturday, but we need help! These cats are friendly (except one, who is shy, but we may not be able to catch him), and we would hate to have to release them when they can be adopted.

There are 3 older kittens – Sadie, Lucy, and Jude- (6-9 months) who are very sweet! We believe they are Athena’s kittens.

There is an older male cat, Apollo – he may be the kittens’ father. He is standoff-ish, but he will allow you to pet him.

There is another male cat, Mr Bell, who has a collar but seems increasingly neglected, and I don’t believe he has an owner.

The last cat is Big Bunny – he is the father of many of the cats we’ve rescued, and he may be hard to catch.

Our goal is to get at least 5 of these cats on Friday!  If we do not have enough foster homes, we will have to release the cats after they are fixed – and they are really sweet and friendly!

Edgar was adopted on Super Adoption Day, and we received an email update from his new family:

Edgar is now Zorro, II. He had no problem settling into our home and was loving to my entire family. My biggest concern was with my daughter Arianna as he was already somewhat grown. Zorro has been a wonderful addition to the family. He has set up his own routine with all of us. In the morning he makes sure he gets us all out of bed when the alarm goes off. His little paws come up to my face if I sleep through the alarm. Meanwhile my husband leaves between 5 and 6 in the morning, so he does go down to walk him to the door with a sleepy face. He waits for us all to get prim and proper and then follows us down again for breakfast. He spends the days with my mom and chills and cuddles with her and when my daughter Arianna comes home from school, it is play time. Catch the fish, the ball, they chase each other. It is rather amusing. When he is done playing he goes under the dining room table and stretches out. If my daughter wants to continue to play and he does not, he swats his paw at her which is enough to give her a fright and she backs down. He has NEVER scratched my daughter or any of us. He is really a gentle and kind cat.

He likes to eat when we eat and he is always present in our company. He loves sitting by an open window or screen door to take in the breeze but has no real desire to go out which is a relief. Now the bed time routine is also amusing. I take my daughter up to wash our hand and faces, pj’s etc. Zorro follows us up watches the whole routine. Jumps up onto the bed to listen to story time and get a few more scratches behind the ear from my daughter along with a continuous purr. Then he lies with me when she falls asleep and nurses. Yes, he still nurses. The paws go and he sucks on my clothes. He always likes to have a part of his body touching your body. He usually then sleeps on the chair with his towels.

He loves to play peek-a- boo in the towels. He most certainly a catsanova! Very loving and caring about all of us. I hear him check on my daughter and he goes down to the living room and meows if it gets too late and my husband is still down there watching TV as if to say “hey, it’s late. The rest of the family is asleep and I am getting tired of waiting up for you on my watch, let’s go, it’s time for bed.”

And my husband speaks right back to him, “yeah I am coming, I know it’s late.” If my husband falls asleep on the couch, he is prime for a long nap with him as if to protect him and us all.

Needless to say we have all adjusted rather well and feel very blessed to have such a wonderful cat with his personality fitting right into our family affairs. I will need to send you pictures once I am able to get a few online for you.

Great news – a couple who met Bunny at Super Adoption Day have decided to adopt her! She went to her new home this weekend, and we are eagerly awaiting updates.  We currently only have 2 cats in foster care, but we have more that we need to catch! There are a few females who will be pregnant soon if they aren’t already, and we need to get them off the streets! If you can foster, or even hold a cat for a few days while it recovers from surgery, you can help us get these cats off the street. Please contact us through our website if you can help.

Super Adoption Day was a great success! We raised about $50, got a lot of people interested, and best of all, Edgar was adopted! Click here for pictures of the event

Photo by Courtney Apple

Head over to Aroundmainline.com to check out the article about Temple Cats and Citizens for a No-Kill Philadelphia‘s Super Adoption Day!  The article is great, with fabulous pictures by Courtney Apple. You can see the whole slideshow here.  Thanks so much to Sarah Lockard and Aroundmainline.com for this great exposure on our cats!

And make sure you come out to Super Adoption Day this Saturday, May 22nd! We’ll be there with info and adoptable cats! Super Adoption Day will be from 10am-4pm at the Piazza at Schmidt’s in Northern Liberties, and it’s going to be the largest adoption event in Philadelphia history! Click here for more info and directions.

Also, there has sadly been no news on Holly – she is still missing. We have gotten 2 potential leads but haven’t found her yet, so please keep your eyes peeled in the Roxborough/Manayunk area.

You may have already heard on twitter or facebook, but one of our foster cats, Holly, has gone missing. Her foster mom noticed on Monday morning that she hadn’t been seen since Sunday – she must have darted out the door when it was opened late at night, and got out without noticing. Her foster parents are very upset, especially since they’ve been caring for Holly since November and have seen her through her pregnancy and cared for all 6 of her kittens. If you live in Roxborough/Manayunk, please keep an eye out for her!  Luckily, Holly is spayed and microchipped, so we are just hoping she is safe.

Little Jim (now Darwin) was adopted by the same person who adopted his brother Michael (now Simba). She decided his brother was lonely and now they are playing together happily! Momma cat Holly still needs a home, however!

Both Gracie and Duey have been adopted! Check back for updates, we’ll be adding a “Success Stories” page soon!  Thanks so much to everyone who helped with their adoptions!

Temple Cats is really starting to make a difference! So far, we have rescued 11 cats/kittens from around Temple, not counting Holly’s six kittens. However, we have not found homes for all of these cats yet! Holly (and one of her kittens) still needs a home, as do Edgar, Bunny, and Zeus, who are in foster care, along with Duey, Simon, and two others who are with PAWS. If you can adopt, foster, donate, or volunteer, please contact us!