Romica Tapoi has been feeding stray cats for years in the backyard of his home in Dunning, Chicago, US.
His home is in foreclosure and he is hoping to find homes for all of the cats before he is forced out of his.
“Wherever I go I feed animals.”
His kindness towards the local stray cats began in 2011 when he took in Kitty, a black and white who was abandoned in the Dunning neighbourhood.
Tapoi then started to put out food for other stray cats and it built from there to 30 cats. Tapoi constructed shelters and beds in his yard.
“One by one they came and that’s how it started..”
“My house is [in] foreclosure. The money is running low for food. First time in seven years. Most of the cats who live in my yard don’t know how to look for food….and if I leave from here and lose my house nobody is going to take care of them.”
He found himself in dire straights and the community stepped in.
Tapoi’s difficulties were shared using the video on this page with the “Chicago Community Cats” page on Facebook.
Kim Vonesh of Chicago Community Cats, saw the video. She felt that she had to help and relocated 11 of the cats and kittens.
She arranged for fosters to help.
“As long as I have fosters lined up, I can get them to the vet and then get them into a safe place,”
Tapoi is very grateful for the generous help he’s received by the community.
“It’s no words to say…overwhelming”
There is a Go Fund Me page which has raised almost $1000 to date. The fund raising page says that most of the cats were “sick and friendly”. There are some feral cats as well. They will go to a clinic for neutering and release. Eight kittens were sick needing veterinary treatment. This is where the bills mount, hence the fundraiser. The vet bill is likely to outstrip the $1k raised so far (15 Nov 2018).
