Action Volunteers for Animals - Toronto West

Our Feature Pet
PATCHES: Her Story

Patches was born on March 31, 2008 in a side yard on Richwood Street in the Lexington Green subdivision in Toronto. She was one of five kittens in the litter (three are deceased). Her mother is “Mother Cat” and her father, judging from the markings on Patches, was “Snowball” (deceased). Both were feral (wild) cats from the homeless and feral cat colony of Lexington Green.
Patches was apparently abandoned early on by “Mother Cat” and the remaining kittens moved to another location to be cared for. We are familiar with “Mother Cat” and she has done this before - where she has abandoned one or more of her litter because she knew that they were ill or that they had health issues that would indicate that they would not survive. Patches did indeed have significant problems. Unbeknownst to us, the infant Patches was living alone and on her own with no food source (a resident on Richwood Street later told us that they saw Patches sometime after she was born and she would be seen consuming dry kernels of uncooked rice that were thrown out in the yard). As unbelievable as it is, this little kitten survived off the land with no one feeding it and no fresh water source for four months!
Patches first appeared in our backyard on the morning of Saturday, August 2, 2008, having somehow making her way from Richwood Street to the feeding stations that we maintain for the feral cat colony. She was a walking skeleton. Just skin and bones. When she stood, both bones in her rear legs protruded up into the skin on her back. She was obviously at the point of starving and it was heartbreaking to see her like that (We named her “Patches” because of the odd black markings on her nose, forehead and chin). We immediately began putting out all the Fancy Feast dry cat food that she could eat along with abundant fresh water and anything else we could feed her to “fatten her up”. She would show up every day to eat and quickly took on the form of an attractive, shapely kitten. In a little over a month, Patches was a permanent fixture at our feeding station/shelters.
Even though Patches was looking much better physically, we could tell that she was not completely healthy. She was quickly befriended by a neutered male cat “Cecil” in the colony (an older brother of hers by a previous litter) and they got along wonderfully. By the first of October, we could tell that Patches was in distress as she sometimes was not wanting to eat and occasionally seemed ill. We often called her the “weak one” of the cat colony. When the cold weather set in this past fall, we could see that Patches was not tolerating the cold very well and, every night, “Cecil” would take Patches into one of the cat shelters next to our rear sliding glass door and curl up with her to keep her warm. Seeing this was extraordinary. By December, we could see that she could not endure the ice and snow and bitter temperatures.
The night of December 7, 2008 when it was bitterly cold and we were having a major snowstorm, little Patches was standing in the snow at the rear sliding glass door as if to be asking for help. Not knowing exactly what to do, we went to the front of the house. By the time we opened the front door, Patches was now sitting on our front porch! We quickly got our life squad cat carrier, opened the front door of the house and gently called to her. Within seconds, she readily walked into the house and right up to the heating vent in the hallway. When we opened the cat carrier, she readily walked right into it! These actions are unheard of for a feral cat. Feral cats do not just walk into a strange house, let alone a cat carrier. We knew right then and there that this little kitten must be remarkable! We placed her in a large bathroom in our basement, separated from two other cats (both are rescues) who live with us.
Subsequent veterinary care at Rexdale Animal Hospital, with generous help from Action Volunteers For Animals, showed that Patches was indeed very ill. She was infected with Giardia and was suffering from a severe upper respiratory infection with symptoms of pneumonia. This forced us to keep her in isolation until such time that she received a clean bill of health. Her treatment was lengthy but she took all of her medicines like a good girl and today she has a clean bill of health! Patches was spayed on February 5, 2009, has received all her shots plus her two booster shots and also received kitten deworming treatment (Revolution Blue). As of this writing (February 16) Patches is still in the “isolation room” because we want the veterinarian to remove her stitches and give us the “all clear” before we open the bathroom door and introduce her to the “next phase” of her life. We want this to happen quickly because she has been confined to the bathroom for over two months. We must emphasize that Patches has been a model resident in that bathroom, living very quietly and causing no problems whatsoever. It has been a pleasure to have fostered her through this ordeal.
Patches is quite comfortable with us (her caregivers) and will let us pick her up and hold her for short periods, but she can be “skittish” at times. She probably would be initially somewhat fearful around strangers and this is to be expected, especially since she is semi-feral and lived in the wild for over eight months before we rescued her. Patches recognizes her name when she is called. She adapts easily and adjusts quickly to any situation she is placed in. The person who adopts Patches will certainly get a pet that will become a well-mannered and truly devoted companion in a forever home. She is truly a remarkable cat and a survivor.
The above information compiled by the Lexington Green Homeless & Feral Cat Life Squad


If interested in any of our pets please
click here to fill out an adoption application for an AVA pet.

Who We Are

Welcome to the home page of Action Volunteers for Animals! Action Volunteers for Animals is just what its name suggests: an organization of people who are active on behalf of non-human animals, and who give their time and energy without monetary reward. AVA began in 1972 as a group of Toronto Humane Society workers who kept THS shelter animals alive during a strike of regular shelter staff. They decided to continue to work together after the strike ended, and to call themselves Action Volunteers For Animals. AVA became a registered charity in 1980. Our spay/neuter program was responsible for sterilizing and returning to good health, an average of 5.1 homeless and/or injured animals per day in 2004. We also help individuals on government subsidized income who are unable to cover their beloved pets’ veterinary expenses. 99% of all money raised goes directly into our vet fund!All this money is raised through our many fundraising efforts. Our funding comes from donations, membership fees, garage sales, and our annual Bazaar which is held each November. AVA receives no government funding, preferring to maintain its independence. .


Our organization serves Toronto and the surrounding area and helps animals in two ways: through hands-on work and through the promotion of animal rights Please note that AVA does not have a shelter but operates on a foster home basis therefore AVA will provide assistance to those who are willing to take an active part in the rescue of an animal, in other words, are willing to foster. Of course special consideration will be given to the elderly and infirm.



Please Help us Continue to Reduce the Needless Homelessness and Suffering
by making a donation.

You can turn that donation into a gift for that person who has everything too.
Place a donation in honour of that special person and the charity will mail a card indicating your gift to the honouree(please indicate what type of card is needed in the "Message/Instruction to AVA box" provided by CanadaHelps.Org)

Adopting A Friend

There is an adoption process and there is an adoption fee that is designed to offset some and not all of the veterinarian costs to the charity, protect the pet and, in so being, is simply a token of good faith. AVA, to the best of it’s ability, tries to adopt these pets, who have been members of our foster families, to responsible pet owners, in other words, people who intended to have their pets altered in the first place and who will also want to treat the pets as members of their families. In other words, we know that these people will realize that the fee is no where near that charged by regular veterinarians.

All adult animals available for adoption are microchipped, vaccinated, neutered/spayed, dewormed and defleaed. Regarding kittens, they will have had their 1st needles and have been dewormed and defleaed at the time of adoption and arrangements and funding for the neutering/spaying and, microchipping will occur at appropriate time.

Feline Fees:
1 Feline Microchipped, dewormed, defleaed, vaccinated, neutered/spayed $150…..$275 for a pair. Our pets come with a complimentary 6 week pet insurance package offered by PetSecure.

Special Need Felines – Negotiable…….We are a no-kill charity so we have many special need felines …..geriatrics, diabetics, amputees, mobility problems….inflammatory bowel(needs special diet)…..food allergy cats (need special diet)…..and there are many more categories……Need a challenge??? Adopt a Feral!

Other Animal Fees: Negotiable

Come Visit Us!

In the west end of Toronto, AVA has the luxury of showing our adoptable pets at a free range cat adoption centre called
Endless Tails Pet Nutrition Centre
5-1891 Rathburn Road East,
Mississauga, ON,
L4W 3Z3
Phone: (905) 290-0378

Click here to take a virtual tour of Endless Tails......
For more information please give us a call on the AVA line at 416-439-8770. Please be patient and leave a message if there is no answer as these souls are probably busy cat wrangling. Phone calls will be returned within 24 hours.

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Action Volunteers for Animals - Toronto West
Mississauga, Ontario
Website: www.actionvolunteersforanimals.com
Phone: 416-439-8770

Email: actionvolunteers@yahoo.com
Click here for a list of pets at this shelter

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