Advice on cheap / free web hosting....way off topic

Hi Fred, Very admirable work that your wife and the group are doing. The feral-cat situation exists here in Rhode Island too. Three of our four cats were rescued feral as young kittens. They are siblings and came from a very similar group that traps/captures the animals, has their health assessed, vaccinates, spays/neuters and releases. (same process..)

We got our kittens by answering a local "Craig's List" ad. A woman and her mother brought them to us in a cage. She had no website-info. She didn't even have an email address. She accepted our offer of a $100.00 donation, and actually left the cage for us.

They try to place the kittens in homes if they're young enough. If the animals are out in the wild for too long, their chances of being domesticated as "pets" is slim. I'm sure that you/your wife knows this already.

IMO.. female kittens that were feral, may be more resistant to domestication than males. I believe that it's their instinct as well as the teaching by the mother cat to hunt for food to feed their babies.

What I'd like to see; are TV/radio/newspaper ads that educate people who take/keep cats as pets. For example; "female cats" that are allowed to go outside should be spayed.. to prevent an accidental pregnancy and a resulting litter of kittens that can't or worse; won't be cared for. That's how the whole problem started.

Pet-owners can be ignorant and irresponsible. Adults as well as children need to be taught that keeping a pet comes with consequences. Periodic Veterinary wellness check-ups (and the associated expense of such).. the cost of food and the chore of keeping a litter-box clean need to be realized before they take-on the responsibility. Too often; the excitement/joy of taking-in a new pet wears-off after they're used to having one. Cats are very easy pets to keep. They're generally independent creatures.. but can be very social and affectionate. Unlike canines.. they don't require much of your time. A cat is purrfectly content to be left to its own devices. Feed it, keep its litter-box clean.. and IMHO.... keep it indoors where it's safe. Indoor cats generally live to the age of 15-20 years if their general-health is good.

These are some of the things that many people aren't aware of. Cats (and dogs..) as pets, are also known to have a positive affect on the treatment of chronic-depression in people.

I wish I could offer more info on the web-hosting thing.. and will look into programs here in my area to see if I can get you some information Fred.