Thank you for an amazing year!

Huge THANK YOU to everybody who helped SOKS in 2025. It was our best year so far! Here are the highlights:

SOKS founder, Ewa Dozier, next to a car trunk full of kitties on the way to a vet clinic.

·       937 cats spayed/neutered. Amazing!

·       SOKS volunteers did educational outreach: we loaned traps to residents teaching them how to safely and humanly catch stray and feral cats; we also taught a community class about the trap-neuter-release process.

·       SOKS volunteers helped with transportation to veterinary clinics when people could not take the cats themselves because of health or work-related issues.

·       We found foster homes for cats recovering from medical treatments or kittens too young for adoption. In many cases, SOKS volunteers took the animals into their own homes!

Of course, none of that would be possible without donations which paid for vet fees, medicine, food, gas, equipment, etc. Thank you to our faithful donors: Adrienne, Dogwood Animal Rescue Project, Dolores, Fund 54, Michael, Nancy, Paula, Robert, Thomas, Vicky, Whiskers & Meows.

We are also grateful for help provided by the following organizations:

·       Stockton Animal Shelter

·       Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

·       Animal Protection League

·       Abandoned Cat Team

Silvia, one of wonderful SOKS volunteers, made many colorful, fitted covers for traps

Last but not least, I am grateful for a wonderful group of SOKS core trappers: Barbara, Judy, Vicky, Jeanann, Elizabeth, Tammy, Silvia, Kelly and Monica. I wouldn't be able to do it without you!

Thank you to the many volunteers who took it upon themselves to care for and feed the feral cat colonies in our communities.

You all make a difference. Thank you!

The incredible journey of Han: How a microchip reunited a cat with his owner

When Katie found Han on the side of a highway in Hawaii, he was a small, wet and dirty kitten. She gave Han a loving home and care.

Because Katie was a responsible pet owner, she took her new cat to a vet where Han got examined and vaccinated. He was also neutered and microchipped.

After a few years in Hawaii, Katie and Han moved to Stockton where her mother lived near the Pacific campus. They stayed there for one year until Katie found her own place in the Quail Lakes neighborhood. The moving date was set for the 4th of July.

They had just arrived at the new apartment, when the Independence Day celebrations started. Han did not care for the loud firework sounds. He got scared and ran in panic!

Katie spent hours searching for Han, but he was nowhere to be found. The next day and for many days after, she kept searching hanging posters in the neighborhood and posting on social media.

She was not giving up. Whenever she would drive to work or to visit family, she was always on the lookout hoping to see Han and bring him back home.

Years passed.

Recently, a friend of mine, who is a cat owner and who helps with TNR and cat adoptions in our community, noticed a beautiful stray cat in her Stockton neighborhood. She made a connection with the animal by feeding it for few days. Eventually, my friend was able to trap the stray and check if it had a microchip. The chip was there, and a quick scan revealed that the cat's name was Han and how to contact his owner.

After four years, Katie and Han were reunited!

There were many tears of relief and joy. Han was back safe with his family which now included Katie's son and a couple other cats. All ended well.

Han’s story is a powerful example of how important it is to microchip your cats and dogs. You can do that at the Stockton Animal Shelter or at special events in and around Stockton.

Katie and Han are reunited after four years!

SOKS helps a large cat family in Stockton

Not long ago, SOKS received a call from a Stockton resident, Debbie, who needed help with a large colony of feral cats living in her backyard. The cats were not neutered and the colony kept growing uncontrollably.

Eight SOKS volunteers gathered traps, blankets and anything else we might need for such a big operation. In the end, we trapped all cats, 11 total!

But trapping is just the first step. The cats had to be delivered to a veterinary clinic were they were examined, treated, and spayed/neutered. After that, our wonderful volunteers picked them up and took care of them until the animals recovered and could be released (learn more about TNR). It is a great accomplishment to be able to attend to an entire colony from the beginning to the end.

Debbie said, "I am so happy that the cats are not going to have any more babies and will live healthier lives from now on."

As it sometimes happens in the course of our work, especially when so many cats are involved, we lost a couple kitties. Unfortunately two females needed to be put down because of untreated pyometra, an infection of uterus caused by multiple pregnancies.

Pyometra is more common among dogs than cats but, if left untreated, it can be life-threatening. Of course, feral or stray cats are more vulnerable when they are not spayed. A female can get pregnant 2–3 times in a single year! When they get an infection, the bacteria multiplies in the uterus fluid leading to fever, loss of appetite, swelling and pain. They really suffer!

Ewa with rescued kittens

During the TNR in Debbie's backyard, we also captured a kitten born without an eye. The area where the eye should have been, was infected and painful. The vet treated the wound and the kitten is now in a new home with his sibling. It will live a healthier and happier life despite its disability.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this successful TNR story! We are especially grateful to the City of Stockton's Animal Shelter who provided us with an invaluable support. We made a difference TOGETHER!