The former Twist of Fate "sanctuary" used to have several feral to semi-feral cats that lived in the barns on the property and would run free but also occasionally interact with the other rescued animals. Three of those cats are named Aria, Bravo, and Cute, pictured above from left to right. There is also an additional photo of Bravo in the original petition with a goat named Leader. 

I don't know when or how Bravo (gray and black tabby with white markings) and Aria (smoky gray and tan in color) first came to be with Ashley DiFelice at TOF, but the old Patreon has photos of Aria starting in August of 2017 and Bravo in October 2020. Cute's photos date back to August 2019 - he's orange and white and he wandered onto the property as a tiny kitten. A few weeks later Ashley was able to trap him and take him in to get neutered and vaccinated. 

I found old posts for several other cats as well: Halloweener who is all black from October 2019, Nora (all gray) from October 2017, and three unnamed cats from February 2020. She most likely posted about them more on her old Instagram account, or shared photos of additional cats besides the ones named here. 

When all of the sanctuaries showed up to rescue the 100+ abused and neglected animals in July 2022, it was difficult to pin down all of the barn cats (as you can imagine!) since they were used to coming and going as they pleased - it was hard to even tell how many there were. There's definitely a good reason why the expression "it's like herding cats" exists to describe something that is near impossible!

In those first few days of the rescue while Ashley was still at the property and supposed to be caring for the remaining animals until they were placed, she at one point tried to specifically take Bravo with her because he's so friendly, but fortunately Caitlin of Rancho Relaxo (@boochaces) intervened by feeding him elsewhere and saving him from her. When Ashley couldn't find him she unsurprisingly just left him behind like all the other animals that she stopped caring for and feeding.

Because Rancho Relaxo took over the former Twist of Fate property next to their own sanctuary they also took in all of the cats and after finally being able to get a head count there ended up being twelve of them! In addition to the 5 other animals that they took in from the cruelty case (Brahman cows Mintaka, Betelgeuse, & Rigel and horses Moose* and Tommy) they now had a total of seventeen new mouths to feed. 

Bravo, Aria, Cute, and the other former TOF cats continue to roam freely at their new home and are well-fed with any and all medical needs or emergencies cared for by Rancho. However, because they are all barn cats, typically pretty feral, will sometimes disappear for days or weeks at a time, and many only come at night to eat it is still difficult to get photos of most of them. I have also mentioned a few times before that Ashley didn't keep very good records for the animals, if at all in some cases. Regarding Halloweener, Nora, and the three other unnamed cats mentioned above, we've still been unable to match them up with the cats currently living at Rancho for all those reasons.  However, many of the photos of TOF from when it was in the filthy shambles that Ashley left it in show piles of empty cat food cans strewn all over the floor, so it's possible that the cats were being fed all along. Or it's possible that those cat food cans were all incredibly old and any and all surviving cats only made it simply because they were feral barn cats and they caught and ate the local wildlife. Either way, our best guess is that the cats all survived and are now happily living at Rancho Relaxo. They'll show up during the day for food or just to hang out in the hay or sunshine, and they'll also pop up on the trail cameras too! 

I also previously shared the story about the litter of kittens who were found living in an actual pile of trash on the property and their mother. Kittens Zero, Linc, and Lucy were all adopted into private homes and Mama Smoke* lives at Rancho. 

If you would like to make a donation towards the care of the 12 cats or the other 5 animals at Rancho Relaxo from the former Twist of Fate, you can do so via their website, PayPal (boochaces@aol.com), or Venmo (@boochaces). They often have fundraisers on their Instagram account as well. Rancho also has an Amazon Wishlist, a GoFundMe, and adorable merch like tees, sweatshirts, totes and more on Bonfire! You can also make a monthly donation in any amount by joining their Patreon, and you can also join the Rancho Relaxo Takeover Patreon (formerly the Twist of Fate Patreon but now solely under the control of Rancho Relaxo) - this money goes towards the care of all of the animals that they took in from the cruelty case as well as additional expenses that they were forced to take on as a result, like the mortgage of the property. Even $1-5 per month goes a long way! Plus by joining the Takeover Patreon you're among the very first to know updates about the case. 

Also, the barn cats all need monthly sponsors! If you would like to sponsor one of these babies, please email Rancho Relaxo board member Ryane at ryaneg@ranchorelaxonj.org. Please note though that sponsoring typically comes with photos of the animal sent to their sponsors, barn cats are so elusive that it might be difficult to provide those at times! I mean there are many times when I can't even get a photo of my own cats in the house. Rancho goes through sooo much cat food every day though, and monthly sponsors would really help them out with this, plus flea treatments, medical care and more. 

Meow! And thank you all for being here. 

*Moose will have his story shared soon! You can read Rigel's story here, Mintaka & Betelgeuse's story here, Tommy's story here, and you can read the story of the "trash pile" kittens and their mom here. 

Unfortunately I'm still posting this: 

Ashley DiFelice's next court date still has not been announced. I have emailed the prosecution team a couple of times already to see when it will be scheduled or why it is being delayed but so far haven't heard anything. I'll update as soon as I know anything though! Please continue to share the petition in the meantime. Thank you!