MORRIS – A beautiful yellow tabby cat, which came to be known as Sardine, started hanging out last October on Anja and Ken Carlson’s porch in Morris.

They fed the stray, knowing he sought refuge under their porch from the elements.

Perhaps Sardine knew he had found a safe place, since Anja is a volunteer for Spay It Forward, a low-cost animal spay and neutering organization based in Seneca.

Anja tried repeatedly to capture the cat in a live trap. In December, after he was missing for three days, he showed up again, this time with an injured paw.

Anja called upon Spay It Forward President and Founder Jennifer Bilyeu for help. They set up a drop trap and Anja put a sardine inside to entice the cat.

On the first try, the stray got the sardine and escaped, hence his name. But on the second try, Sardine was caught.

Upon closer examination, a portion of Sardine’s tail bone was exposed and infected. He had an injured paw and four teeth remaining – two broken and a third infected.

But Sardine also is a very affectionate, tame cat.

“Clearly he was someone’s pet,” Anja said.

Sardine’s injuries are not uncommon for cats living on the streets, Bilyeu said. They get into fights, many of them mate, spreading diseases such as feline AIDS (FIV) and feline leukemia.

Cats end up living outdoors when families have to move and can’t take them along or can no longer afford to care for their pets.

Sardine is one of the lucky former strays. He is doing well, has gained more than two pounds since having 5 inches of his infected tail amputated and awaits dental surgery for his broken and infected teeth.

Spay It Forward paid to have Sardine neutered, microchipped, vaccinated and dewormed. They also paid for Sardine's surgery, thanks to a charity discount the organization receives at Fox Valley Veterinary Hospital in Ottawa.

Sardine, who is 6 to 8 years old, will be up for adoption once he has recuperated. He is FIV positive, but can live out his life without complications or spreading it to an uninfected cat through casual contact, Bilyeu said. Since he is neutered, mating is of no interest to Sardine.

"If it weren't for Spay It Forward, Ken and I wouldn't have been able to help Sardine," Anja said.

Spay It Forward also helps hundreds of other feral cats living in colonies in places such as the Woodsmoke Ranch RV campground in Seneca, where it's estimated 300 cats are living, as well as cats living on farms and in neighborhoods in Grundy and LaSalle counties.

Some of the cats in colonies were once someone's pets, evident by declawing and other procedures they had done. That's how the colonies get started.

True feral cats aren't typically even a nuisance. They stay out of sight and don't bother people, Bilyeu said. But they keep reproducing and spreading disease.

Bilyeu estimates she has trapped, neutered/spayed and released 1,800 cats back into the wild over the years. She also has transported another roughly 500 cats for people who can't afford to do so themselves. Through Paws Chicago, Spay It Forward can get needed medical work done for $40 a cat. Animal owners who go through Spay It Forward pay just $60 at PAWS Chicago.

Feral cats cannot be made into pets because they will attempt to return to the wild. So Spay It Forward, through its Trap-Neuter-Return program, has the animals fixed, vaccinated and micro-chipped. Their left ear tips are taken off as a universal sign they have been fixed (there aren't nerve endings in the ear tip).

The feral colonies also are taken care of by volunteers who drop off food and water in designated spots on a regular basis.

Bilyeu spends six hours every day delivering food and trapping cats, after her regular full-time job.

Once they get their workup done, adoptable cats go to foster homes and are adopted out through the organization's Facebook page, www.facebook.com/SpayItForward.

Spay It Forward transports from 20 to 30 cats to PAWS Chicago every month. Some come from the wild. Others are strays living in people's barns and even garages. People feed them, but can't afford all the medical care.

Bilyeu will trap and transport those cats as well. They are returned to the families who care for them. If one is picked up by animal control, the microchip will trace it back to the organization, which can then identify who is caring for it.

Animal rescues and shelters are very important in the cycle, but stopping cats from reproducing goes to cure the bigger problem, Bilyeu said.

To those who ask why Bilyeu doesn't just have the feral cats euthanized, she said, "I am not God, it's not my choice to make. It's cheaper to trap, neuter and return than it is to euthanize them."

Loving pet owners could help by not letting their cats roam around where they will mate and spread disease, Anja said. If an owner needs assistance with getting a pet fixed, they can contact Spay It Forward.

"People should keep their pets inside," Anja said. "It's the responsible thing to do."