Glad He Didn't Have a Gun

Yesterday I got a phone call from a fellow that I had taken in cats for. He said that 2 new kittens had shown up at his place, that needed to be trapped and fixed. He thinks that the cats must be coming from one of two neighbors houses. That these folks have a puppy mill and that he has had problems with them in the past. He also mentioned that a boyfriend of the one gal had borrowed some traps from the Coalition and had taken in some cats for spay/neuter. It sounds like a case where someone started a TNR job and didn't complete it. Recently I got involved in another similar situation, where the colony caregivers started the job catching a few cats at a time, until they got down to the last few cats, then I got called in to finish up the job. Now it is quite a challenge to catch 1 or 2 cats out of+/- 30 cats that have watched all the others get caught, and are trap wary. I wouldn't mind spending hours catching the last 2 cats if I had gotten paid to catch the previous 28. But to spend hours and hours for one cat...not going to happen. (I say that, but what did I do but spend hours catching the main mama cat). My advice to future trappers if you have a big colony like that, set it up so that you are able to trap the majority of the cats in one go, then while those cats are having surgery and recovering, go ahead and catch the remaining cats. Get the job done then move on to the next job. Catch all the cats. TNR fails when you leave behind a female or that male cat who by some miracle has kittens the next spring. Also, follow up several months later with the colony caregiver to see if you missed any cats or if any new ones have shown up. You can then teach them how to target trap, using a plastic water bottle to hold the trap door open and a string to pull when the cat you want, goes into the trap. Or use a drop trap and let them sit there for hours while you are out trapping another colony.

OK, back to the story, having gotten the addresses I decided to take a ride out there and check out the situation. It was a pretty day for a drive, sunny and cool. I have had good luck in the past when I have gone knocking on doors, most people welcome the offer of help. The first house was a bit daunting with a big sign on the door announcing that trespassers would be shot. There were plenty of chickens, cats and dogs. I was greeted by a big friendly lab. I thought I heard someone inside but nobody answered the door, and I didn't want to press my luck. I have a tendency to knock on a door then step back and try to make myself look small and non threatening. At the second house an older lady was just coming out of the door. I explained I was with the Blanco County Cat Coalition and someone had mentioned that she may need help getting some cats fixed, she wanted to know who, I told her that a neighbor had had 2 kittens show up on his property and had thought maybe that they came from over here. She said that she would have to ask her son about it. She then went inside, while she was inside I saw at least ten cats who scattered when I looked over the porch rail, at least half were calico or torty's (meaning females). She came out and told me her son had said no, and that they only have one litter of kittens a year, except last year they had 2 litters but only 2 kittens survived because a neighbor's dog had come by and killed the other kittens. Well what could I say, except that I would leave my phone number in case they changed their minds. Also that if they did get the cats fixed and started running low on cats I would be happy to bring them more. She walked with me out to the car and while I writing down my phone number, out of the house comes her son. I was then told in no uncertain terms what he thought of people that didn’t mind their own damn business. And that on his own property he can have as many or as few animals as he pleased. I had to agree, but felt it necessary to point out it becomes other peoples business when his animals start showing up on other peoples property. He said then those people should shoot those animals, that is what he does. After he went back in, his Mom confided in me that his bark is worse than his bite, and that he doesn't even like to give animals shots, because he doesn't like to hurt them. I replied “well he may like animals but I am not so sure how much he likes people, so I will now back away slowly and be on my way.” Looking back on the interaction I can see that these folks were already defensive, that having so many dogs they have been questioned in the past about how they take care of them. The shame is that the cats will be left as is to continue breeding, and dying.

Sally Sonic part 2, introducing Guy Gray

The very next day I got a phone call about a cat that had been hit by a car the previous week. I knew the cat, I had taken him in for surgery not long ago. I had seen him the night he got hit. I was on my way home from the library when I saw him too close to the side of the road. I had stopped the car and told him to get out of the road. I guess he didn't listen to me, most cats don't. Evidently there was a squirrel in the road that had been hit, that was more interesting than his fear of the road. He is a very handsome fellow, solid gray with a bit of white on his chest. Beautiful golden eyes, and friendly. A stranger to none, he has that innocence that some animals have whom have never been treated unkindly. The folks that claimed him had said that they would take him to the vet to get him looked at. A week had passed and the poor cat was still dragging around a broken leg. I had been hearing about this poor kitty off and on for a week, it seemed that a few people were concerned about him but nobody was willing to take action. I was fed up! I called the vet and explained the cats condition and made an appointment that very day. I didn't wait to get approval for payment from the Cat Coalition, I didn't want to wait any longer the cat needed help, Now! Then I stopped at Lew's apartment and told him I had a cat situation, that the cat had been hit by a car and I didn't know what the outcome would be, that it could be a broken pelvis or he may need to have his leg amputated or even may need to be euthanized. Bless his heart he said “Bring him here”.

I went over to the house of the people that had claimed the cat, they brought the cat out from inside, his back leg was just dangling. I asked if it was their cat. They said no, I told them that I had heard that they were going to take him to the vet, they said that they had hoped he would get better on his own. I told them I would like to take the cat and do what needed to be done, they gave permission. I took the cat to Lew's, we had cleaned out the crate that Sally had been in. On this day I was the one that had a Dr.'s appointment, so Pi took Lew and the cat to the vet. The leg was broken near the hip and had to be amputated. I visited Lew and Guy Gray (Guy because he is such a pretty cat that we need reminding that he is a boy) the next day and it was remarkable how well Guy was doing. I guess after dragging around a broken leg for a week it was a relief to have it cut off. The pain he must have been in, can you imagine? Something I have learned from animals is that they are not emotionally attached to their body, if they lose a limb or an eye, they just compensate. They don't mourn the loss like we do. They live in their bodies, they are not as attached to them as we are. Something for further contemplation.

Guy was still not sure about the dog, but it didn't take him long to figure out Fate was harmless and in a short time they have become friends. It is a wonder to see the three of them together. Lew needed something to keep him going, Guy needed a loving home and Fate just needs to have someone to please and someone to play with.

We all still remember Sally, but the pain is fading. Guy cannot take her place, but he is here now and she is gone. I can only hope that as more people practice TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) there will be less suffering in the world. There are many untold stories like Sally's, many that are much worse. Sally's end was peaceful, she wasn't hungry or cold, she didn't suffer cruelly.

I find it remarkable that Lew was willing to open his heart and home to Guy so soon after the heartbreak of Sally. I have had the honor of working with several veterans that have witnessed starvation and suffering overseas, it is these folks that are willing to sacrifice a bit themselves in order to alleviate the suffering of others. Thank you all that by your small and great acts of love you make the world a better place!

Sally Sonic

In the past two months I have had several outstanding cat encounters. The first kitty that touched my heart was a little fuzzy calico that I trapped behind the local Sonic. I knew there was something wrong with her 'cause she didn't run away when I first put the traps out. She stayed hunched up next to the dumpster, I have seen that type of behavior before. My little Mia kitty was like that when I first met her. The poor kitties just stay huddled up to conserve energy and also to make themselves a smaller target, less vulnerable to other cats. Cats like these have just given up, they try to stay near the food source and expend as little energy as possible. Unfortunately when food becomes available the other cats get it first, so the weaker kitties get weaker and just get to the point were they are waiting to die.

So I went ahead and put the traps out, very slowly and carefully so as not to scare her away, hoping that the smell of stinky wet cat food would draw her in. She didn’t move, I continued on, setting traps behind and around the local feed store. When I got back to the Sonic she was gone and the trap was empty. What had happened was that someone had come out of the Sonic and put trash into the dumpster and had scared her away. Drat! That happens quite a bit when trapping, someone or something comes by and scares the kitties away. I did not catch her until the next night, by then I had caught 7 other cats from behind the Feed store and the Sonic. Early the next morning I took them all into the Austin Humane Society to be spayed or neutered. All the cats were deemed healthy enough to withstand surgery. Normally I keep the kitties one night after surgery to keep an eye on them and to make sure they are completely out from the anesthesia, then I release them back to were I trapped them. I really did not want to release this kitty, as I knew there was something wrong with her, but I didn’t know what.

Now comes the human interest part of the story, I have a friend (Pi) who knew of someone (Lew) that wanted a calico kitten. He wanted a kitten because he has a small dog (Fate) that he wanted to become accustomed to cats. He wanted a calico because he had had one back when he was younger and it was a really good cat. Now understandably most people that want a kitten want a friendly, healthy, happy kitten. I think that was what he wanted, but what he was willing to take was a scared, feral, kitty that was sick in some unknown way. Remarkable! We set him up with a crate, litter box, food and water and everything else we thought the kitty would need. The next day I get a phone call telling me the kitty is eating, drinking, pooping and peeing but cannot walk. This generated mulitable phone calls to other board members of the Blanco County Cat Coalition to get approval to take the kitty (who is now named Sally Sonic) to the local vet. It takes at least three board members to agree to spending money on medical issues, this is because our funds are limited and need to be spent on our main focus of spay and neuter. Well we all agreed that, because Lew was willing to adopt Sally and we had already invested in her getting spayed that we would approve to spend up to $200 to try and get her healthy. Yea! A trip to the vet, Dr. Philip, determined that Sally could move her head, had feeling in all four paws and her tail. Was eating and eliminating fine, he checked her gums and she did not look anemic, sure she was under weight, but a lot of ferals living out of dumpsters are. But she did not have an awareness of where her paws were. He said that she probably was not born like this or else she would not have lived this long, and that since there was someone that was willing to take care of her it would be worth it to give her a chance. That the next week or two would show either improvement or decline. Lew assured us that if there was any hope at all he would do whatever it would take to make her better. And he did just that, he cleaned her up, brushed her, cut the mats out of her fur. Cuddled her, gave her physical therapy moving her legs around and massaging down her back, cleaned her bottom after she pooped, and petting her. Fate helped, at first Sally was scared of the dog, but soon figured out that Fate was harmless. Fate helped with cleaning Sally, she especially was good at helping clean Sally’s face after she ate. For the next week we all watched for and celebrated every little improvement, hoped for the best, but tried to prepare for the worst. About 10 days later that day came, it seemed that Sally had developed an infection in her incision, and had started to act like she was in pain. So it was back to the vet. Lew could not take her because he had his own doctors appointment that day. He is an older gentleman that served his country in Vietnam and as a result suffers. I took Sally in, on the way she started bleeding from a sore on her bottom and had developed a sore on her mouth. Dr. Philip confirmed and assured that there was no hope for improvement and that she would only suffer if we did not put an end to it. I called Lew and he gave permission, he had said goodbye that morning before he had left for his doctors appointment.

Skip this next part if you don't want to read about Sally’s death. I am including it for various reasons. Such as; death is a reality that most of us do not want to face, none the less, it is a fact of life. Maybe if more people were aware of the harsh facts of life that feral cats face they may be more willing to spay, neuter and vaccinate their pets. After all the feral cat epidemic started with people not being responsible for their cats.

Sally's death was not horrible but it was not easy either. I have watched Dr. Philip euthanize cats in the past and it has not been horrible. But poor Sally, her veins, in her little legs collapsed as Dr. Phil inserted the needle. In the end he had to use a vein in her neck to administer the drug. He explained that using the vein in the neck was no worse than using any other vein, it just is something that might be upsetting to people, so he asked me to stop recording at that point. Maybe it is weird of me me to record a cat being put down, but it was done and posted on facebook in hopes that maybe, just maybe it will prevent suffering in the future.

Rest in Peace Sally Sonic!

What I find remarkable about this story is Lew, that he was willing to allow this kitten into his life knowing that by doing so he was opening himself up to potential heartbreak. Which indeed is exactly what happened. I really admire people like Lew that are willing to do good even if it hurts. He is one of my hero's! His story does not end here.....
To be continued...

Kitten being euthanized, hard to watch but not horrible

A Rainy Day in Austin,TX

Yesterday was a long chilly, tiring day. A day of steady rain temperature in the mid 40's. A good day to stay home in front of the fire. Alas, I had 7 cats loaded into the car and ready to go to Austin. I needed to by on the road by 5am, so I set an alarm for 4:30, woke up at 3:30. It didn't seem worth it to try to go back to sleep for only an hour.

Sixty miles in the dark and pouring rain, several minor adrenaline rushes and quite a few prayers, we all made it safely to AHS (Austin Humane Society). Misery loves company. A few minutes after my arrival, Marcia pulls in, she also had brought 7 cats 60 miles in the dark and rain. We commiserated for a few minutes, then retreated to the shelter of our cars.

Thank you Mike for unlocking the doors a few minutes early. Had all the cats checked in by 7am, then as my usual routine, went to MacDonald s for my second breakfast. Then to my favorite parking lot to catch some zzz's. I spent a few peaceful hours napping snug in my car. Unfortunately I can only sleep so long before the chill and aches creep in. What to do until the cats are ready to go home. Walmart? Nothing I really needed. Goodwill? Every time I go I spend money, plus not a good day to by trying on clothes, I had too many layers on. Plus 'taint natural undressing when it is cold outside. So I did something that Rennies do when the weather is bad, I went to see a movie. American Sniper, not a good rainy day movie, good guys and bad guys. I wish life were that simple.

Uneventful ride home in the rain, all kitties fed in my car and tucked in for the night with a heat lamp to keep them warm. It took a while, but the wood stove finally got the house warm, after a hot shower I was ready for bed.

Fast forward... 5am I am awake again, this time waiting for daybreak so I can see to release the captives. This is one of my favorite parts of the job. It is such a relief for them, after being though so much to be back in familiar surroundings and for me to relinquish responsibility for them. Also by now they can be pretty stinky, I am always anxious to get the traps out of my car, laundry sorted and the car aired out, which will be a challenge today as... it is still raining!

Phyllis

Chess Club Café Kitty

Cows and Cats

Another day up before dawn, this was one of those cool gray kind of days that is common this time of year in Texas. Not one of those misty-moisty days, but one where the clouds are low but not quite touching the earth. It was cooler than yesterday, a sweater and jacket day. One that was comfortable if you were moving around but chilly if you sat still. Rain was predicted starting at 1pm, once is starts raining trapping is over for the day.

I really dreaded telling  Phyllis that her cat had escaped, she took the news as well as can be expected, she did cry a little. The missing cat is the remaining son of one her favorite toms, BonBon.

Phyllis did come out to my property and called for him. The best I can hope for is that somehow he makes his way home or that he hangs around here and eventually I will be able to trap him again.

So, today we got 3 young adults, which makes 7 out of 9 caught. There are two mama cats left, one Phyllis has not seen in a couple of weeks and one who was around early but then disappeared for the day. So all in all it was a good trapping job, with only 1 or 2 cats left, Phyllis will be able to handle the rest herself. I thought I was done for the day, but no.....

I was to meet some friends for lunch at the Chess Club Cafe, I arrived early and took a seat by a window. Glancing out what do I see but a little cat huddled on the back porch of the restaurant. She was close enough to see that she did not have an eartip. Hmmm, now what? I asked about her and yes nobody minded if I tried to trap her to get her spayed. But I was warned “she didn't do humans”. Problem was all the traps I had with me in the car had cats in them. So what I did was transferred 2 litter mates into one trap, thus freeing up one trap. As I snuck around the back of the building, she scampered around the side, luckily I was able to see what hole she used to dive under the building. At first I set the trap on the back porch, no luck. Then I moved it to right in front of the hole. Bingo! She is a pretty little kitty, light orange and gray, not a torty, but a torby. Maybe I will be able to get a picture tomorrow. What a great way to trap. Set the trap, go in and have a nice lunch with friends come out and the cat is in the trap. Nice and easy!

Sally and Rosie supervised the trapping the last couple days.

Sally

Rosie

Ya Win Some and Ya Loose Some

The situation is this; Phyllis is a kind lady that is taking care of about 32 cats of her own, then when her neighbor died she sorta inherited those cats also. She managed to catch and get fixed all but one wily female. Who promptly presented her with a litter of feral kittens. Fast forward and now there are 9 cats to catch. Luckily Mama Kitty only seemed to have one litter a year, unfortunately she would not bring the kittens around until they big enough to be hard to catch. Poor Phyllis did what she could, but with only one trap and a small car, she was fast becoming overwhelmed.

Yesterday morning I arose at break of dawn, and drove out to Rust Ranch. It was a pretty morning in Texas with the sun just coming up and the birds greeting the morning with song. The temperature was comfortable to be warm enough in a sweater. I had high hopes that we would be successful in trapping the cats we needed to catch. We had set up the situation for success, by bringing the traps out a few days ahead of time so the cats would be used to them. By feeding the cats in the traps with the traps tied/wired open, to lull them into a false sense of security. We had decided to trap two days because not all the cats showed up every day. Now was the first day of trapping, Phyllis withheld food yesterday afternoon but unfortunately not in the morning. So the cats were hungry, but maybe not hungry enough. She had all her regular fixed cats well fed in hopes they they would stay out of the way. The first two cats we caught were the two males. Males seem a bit less wily than the females, I can only suppose that the females are like that because of the responsibility of taking care of the kittens. Wherein in the males seem to be interested in easy food and sex. Hmm...sound familiar.

We had caught three altogether when I had to leave to keep an appointment, when I returned Phyllis was so excited she claimed that a miracle happened, we caught the wily Mama Kitty that she had been trying to catch for 3 ½ years! She said the kitty just showed up and walked straight into a trap!

Yeah a victory!

Now comes the depressing part, I brought the 4 trapped cats home with me to keep them safe in their traps away from the coons that hang around Phyllis's. I have a car port that I can set up folding tables to put the cats in traps on. Now I have learned from sad experience that you have to secure both ends of the traps so if one accidentally falls off the table in will not open releasing the cat. I could have swore that I had done that! About 1:30 this morning I heard a crash, and when I went to investigate there was a trap on the ground with the door wide open and the cat gone. It was too dark to see exactly what happened. I am sure I secured the trap, I can only guess that kitty had been pawing at the door and had worked the twist tie loose then when the trap fell off the table it landed upside down and the door autocratically opened. This is disturbing in many ways, an unfixed cat is now loose in unfamiliar territory and I have to tell Phyllis that I lost one of her cats.

To be continued.......

The Empty Trap, if you look closely you can see the untwisted twist-tie.

Another Trapper Would Understand

When trapping cats you have to adjust to their schedule, that means you are setting traps just before dusk and dawn. I usually trap at night, which causes me to have a somewhat broken schedule. I may sleep in the afternoon then stay up late trapping. Catch a few hours sleep then get up really, really early to be on the road by 5am to be able to get to the Humane Society by 6am. To be first in line.  It is important to be one of the first ones there, as first in, is first out. So if you are lucky you will beat Austin's afternoon traffic. Needless to say that by about 7:30 am I am tired, so it has been my habit to borrow a few old blankets to make a pallet in my car to sleep on. A slight misunderstanding arose when a worker saw me take the blankets. Thinking that I was stealing them. Later when questioned I explained that I was only borrowing them for the day to sleep on.  I explained that when I put 15 cats in 15 traps into my small car there is not much room for blankets, thus my borrowing for the day habit. This brought a round of laughter, and a bit of head shaking. Is it strange that I should park in a church parking lot and burrow under a pile of blankets for a few hours? Another trapper would understand!

Don't you just hate it when.......!

 

Three nights of trapping, three nights and was I able to catch that BIG Black Tom, No! He would not go into a trap. I thought that maybe a bigger trap might be more appealing to him, but no. He sniffed around at the entrance  but would not go in. Rotten cat, I Will get him, I have another plan.......
But until then here are pictures of the two girls I was able to catch.

What Is a feral cat?

 

A feral cat is a domesticated cat that has returned to the wild, or the descendants of such an animal. Feral cats are not socialized to people and therefore are not adoptable. They don't belong indoors and are wary of people. However as members of the domesticated cat species, they are protected under anti-cruelty laws.

They are both predators and prey!

They lurk in the shadows, between dawn and dusk, in alleys, cemeteries and barns. They are predators, that stalk campuses, prisons and warehouses. They are prey, that hide in barns, culverts and parks. They are the feral cat, wherever there are feral cats you will find the feral cat trapper.