Foxy's Last Litter: A Triumph of Patience

Foxy (top of photo) shown at a feral cat feeding site prior to her spay surgery.

For nearly two years, Foxy eluded capture. “She was having kittens all over the neighborhood,” recalled Anna, a core member of Dakin’s Kitten Street Team (KST). “This street-smart, trap-savvy girl never stayed in one place or relied on any single feeder. It was so frustrating!”

KST volunteers humanely trap feral cats to bring them to Dakin for spay/neuter surgery and vaccinations. Adults ferals, too unsocialized to live domestically, are then returned to their outdoor colonies, a process known as TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return). Kittens under 12 weeks of age are socialized, and put on the path to adoption.

Since launching in 2020, the KST has served over 2,200 cats, and helped inspire Dakin’s Lion Tamers program, in which volunteers prepare feral kittens for adoption through socialization. The KST’s work has led to more than 1,000 cats and kittens finding loving homes, while preventing thousands more from being born into hardship and high mortality rates.

But Foxy did not want to meet the KST.

Anna first heard about her in summer 2023. A black-and-white cat with a history of litters, Foxy had been spotted near Boston Road in Springfield. Anna managed to trap her kittens and others in the colony—but not Foxy. “I left traps out for months,” she said. “She never came.”

Anna continued, “Last May we heard from someone a couple of streets over about a mom and kittens under a shed, and it was Foxy. I responded quickly but even by the time I got there, they had disappeared.” A month later, Foxy and her newest litter were seen visiting the caregiver again.

The chase continued until February 2025, when a college student nearby reported a group of feral cats in her neighborhood. One photo confirmed it—Foxy was back. This time, the team tracked her routine: she and her kittens emerged nightly at 6 p.m. The kittens were trapped quickly, but Foxy disappeared again.

Then, one April night, it finally happened. Foxy approached a trap, chased off another cat, and stepped inside. Anna, watching remotely, activated the trap door. Foxy was finally safe.

“After two years, Foxy is forever free from motherhood,” Anna said with relief.

The KST’s work in reducing the feral animal population in the Pioneer Valley makes a huge difference in the lives of vulnerable cats and kittens, and spares future generations the harsh reality of outdoor life. According to Anna, “I know we have impacted many people and the feral cats they care for. We hear it all the time, that caregivers who feed feral cats rest easier knowing that kittens won’t be born, and there are less mouths they have to worry about feeding.”