Success Stories

Easter and Company- Easter and seven other kittens and their mother were left behind when people Eastersold their house in a small town and moved away. The new owners were not cat lovers or even pet people, but they are good human beings.  They valiantly agreed to shelter and feed the cats for life and pay half the cost to spay/neuter and vaccinate.  Good Shepherd paid the other half. The cats were all vetted and have very good shelter and food.

Finney –  At the age of eight, after a new kitten was added to his home, Finney Finneywas left at a vet clinic to be euthanized.  Finney and the new kitten did not get along. The vet clinic decided not to euthanize this beautiful boy, and the owner gave permission to find him a home. Goof Shepherd got him into a no-kill shelter and took him there.  The no-kill shelter was full of kittens in July.  Finny was not happy.   The volunteer who drove him to the shelter brought him back to Madison County and adopted him. He fit in with her other cats almost seamlessly. AND, his first friends there were two kittens. We think maybe Finney is just a very strategic thinker and had a plan all along.

GraylingGrayling was a community cat before the phrase was coined. He was trapGraylingped, neutered and returned in 2011 when he was 6-years-old. He lives in a small outdoor colony where a lady named Samantha takes excellent care of them. Grayling is a very smart cat. 

TabbyMolly and Tabby – After these two were evicted from an Mollyassisted living center in Winterset the owner boarded them at a local vet clinic and Good Shepherd looked for a place for them to go. Furry Friends Refuge kindly agreed to take them and place them for adoption.

Ninja– Ninja was tied outside for six years in Winterset until a Good Shepherd volunteer Ninjatalked to his family. They agreed to let him be adopted by a new family. His first family kept him tied to keep him from roaming, but they provided him with warm shelter and food and attention. He prefers the company of dogs to other cats and sleeps with three dogs at his new home.

Rocky – One of the happiest stories of 2015 – We discovered after trapping and taking this cat to the low cost spay/neuter clinic at a Madison County Vet Clinic (Summit VetRocky Clinic) that he was not feral AT ALL. In fact,  he is a very regal love bug. His teeth were in bad shape, and Dr. Hollen pulled some the day of clinic. Rocky started purring when he woke up and has hardly stopped since. When he was brought back to his caretaker, Jeanie, he went straight to her and climbed in her lap for snuggles – as if to say thanks. Later, an anonymous donor, who saw his story, donated a sturdy wooden insulated and heated house for him.

Settler’s Trail Rescue – Good Shepherd received a call alerting us that someone had dumped 20-30 cats on an isolated stretch of Settler’s Trail with no water or food in 90 degree temperatures. Read more here….

 WalteThree kittensr’s Gang –  Three kittens were born in a Trap, Neuter, Return colony in Winterset.  We call them Walter’s Gang!  Read more about Walter’s Gang here…