The Forest Colony: Rebel Temptation

In the forest north of Shasta County, from the time of our fall 2021 founding throughout the following year, Northstate Cat Coalition trapped, spayed/neutered and rehomed 186 feral cats living in the forest with the essential assistance of FieldHaven Feline Center. During this time we met Rebel Temptation, a fragile new drop-off rejected by the forest cat colony, too timid to go near the trap when the other cats were around. Rebel Temptation was starved and sick when we first spotted him.

Over the ensuing weeks, we tried to trap him to no avail. Then, just before Christmas, we saw he had a large, ugly wound on his side and was getting weaker. With a daylong stakeout under a fig tree, NCC members with strategically placed traps surrounding him at a distance, watching and waiting for hours, with no luck. Then, with team backup, we used the last resort: a catch pole and a net — and we finally nabbed Rebel. After local emergency care, he was rushed to the Southern Oregon Veterinary Specialty Center. Over a week in their ICU, he remained in critical condition, but with IV antibiotics he finally began to heal.

But as soon as we were feeling optimistic, Rebel threw us a devastating curveball; testing positive for FIP: feline infectious peritonitis. This previously lethal virus now has a cure, but it’s not yet licensed for veterinary use. So we found a woman in southern Oregon to acquire the life-saving medication.

Rebel endured the painful but life-saving daily injections without a qualm at FieldHaven, where he also received a blood transfusion. After he was stabilized, he returned to us, where an NCC member who is also a retired nurse took over his care, continuing his daily treatments for the rest of the three-month FIP program. This was followed by the month-long observation period, then the final challenge of the FIP testing: He was negative — CURED! And after all his suffering, this super-sweet boy found the storybook ending he so richly deserved: Rebel was adopted by his devoted NCC foster mom, and has remained happy and healthy ever since. 

Thank you for making these success stories a possibility for our community’s most vulnerable cats. To make more happy endings please donate here.