I DEEPLY REGRET THE DAY I TOOK A CAT INTO MY HOME by a CAT TRAPPER

I deeply regret the day I took a cat into my home. I hope you will listen to what I have to say with an open mind so we can teach our children well. The multitude of cats I have brought into my home now and over the years is way, way more than I care to think about. It took a lot of money – testing, de-wormed, vaccinated, spayed/neutered (before there was Fix Nation), antibiotics, sometimes surgery, diagnosing exotic diseases, cat food, cat litter, cat boxes, cat beds, cat carriers, cat toys, cat scratching posts, the extra money I spent on tuna, roasted chicken, and ham while trying to relieve my guilt because I wasn’t spending as much time with my older ones as they wanted, the brand new $200 VCR that went crashing to the ground after using it twice, etc, etc, etc, etc. not to mention the space it took to house the cats and their equipment. We all know how much money it takes to support such an effort (certainly some more than others).And you can add cat traps and trapping equipment (rope, towels, cage covers, quilts, etc) to the list for the trappers. And you can add trap-making equipment to the list for me. But it definitely was much, much more than the money. Staying awake all night with a really sick kitten and having your boss be really angry that you keep falling asleep at work. Socializing them 24/7, making trips to the pet store to buy those often really heavy bags of litter and cat food, cleaning litter boxes until life no longer becomes worth living, washing a newcomer in the bathtub –along with his brothers and sisters of course – so that you can get them clean and keep your other cats from getting their fleas, getting bit and ending up in the emergency room and then followed by the pharmacy until the late hours of the night where you do not even have the energy to get out of the car or know what day of the week it is and you fall asleep with your head bent against the steering wheel as the drool fills your lap when once more – you wake up to feel that life is no longer worth living. Spending hour upon hour at adoptions after you have just emptied your car of all it’s contents only to fill it back up again with cat cages, cat carriers, cat litter boxes, water, food, paperwork. Having no time to spend with your family (that is – IF you were lucky enough to have a family before you went into cat rescue) because God only knows there is no time to get one now. Having your husband divorce you because he is so tired of the dirty house, the smell of cats, his paycheck going to the care of cats, sleeping on a bed of piss, never knowing where his wife is all hours of the day and night, having to build a cat house so he can try to eat a TV dinner without cat hair in it. Having no friends you can call when you need them because you lost your “normal” friends a long time ago and now only have cat friends who are way too busy and overwhelmed to even help themselves – much less you. Worrying about what is going to happen to your cats when you die because there is no one available with the resources or especially the time to take them. OK, so I could go on and on and on and on but I think everyone gets my drift. What if all the time we spent taking care of these cats was instead spent TRAPPING the cats for spay/neuter? We are chasing our tales here ladies (and gents). And what if all the money we spent buying cat litter, cat food, vet appts, etc. we spent on donations to Fix Nation or other facilities as needed to stay in business to spay/neuter? Certain trappers I know could have the whole west valley trapped BY THEMSELVES if they didn’t spend every hour of every day running around like crazy taking care of cats that are/were in their possession. I could get the whole east Valley and Ali could get the central valley. But we all spend so much of our time either taking care of our cats or the feral cats that we feed that there isn’t much time for anything else. If we had directed all our efforts into trapping, there would be a ton less cats in the world so we would not be seeing cats lying dead in the streets, hoarding situations on TV, poisoned cats by the millions, incomprehensible death rates in the shelters. Not to mention it has ruined my life as well as theirs. When I walk by their screen door and they look at me with the longing look of a cat that wants to run in the grass, climb the tree, and smell all the things there are to smell instead of a small room where they cannot run, a room that  smells like antiseptic (and my cats STILL get sick on a continual basis), and an always dirty litter box, I am crushed. The thing is this. How am I managing NOT to take any cats in now that I am full and overwhelmed. Could I not have managed this from the start? Think about it. I should have left them out there where they took their chances at life and death like all creatures on earth. And what ever time they had on this earth was spent doing what cats like to do. Instead I spend my time and money taking them to vets that almost always charge me $250 for blood work (and antibiotics) and proceed to tell me the cat has an infection…….da……………like what, I didn’t know? Or charge me $200 for an exam and blood work only to tell me my old cat is in renal failure and there is only palliative care available. Again…..da. Or that the x-ray on his limping leg shows nothing and to wait and see what happens. I could have bought a house several times over for all the worthless advice and “diagnosing” my vets have done. And I find myself chasing my tail for tons of illnesses that I have given them  due to all the new animals I have exposed them to. What was I thinking? What were all of us thinking? Ask Cyndi Zacko what kind of difference we made. A tiny blip on the radar of all the cats that get euthanized each year at the shelter. For all the thousands & hundreds of thousand dollars and thousands & thousands of hours we have spent on our cats, we could have been trapping thousands and thousands of cats so that there would not be any homeless animals out there to deal with. And poop. Think about dumping the poop in your cat litter box in your front yard every few days. It is no wonder they poison the cats at every opportunity. My girlfriend has very poor eyesight for which she is scheduled to have surgery in the near future. I got out of my car recently at her house and was absolutely horrified so see all the piles of poop in her front yard. I am frightened for the day she has her surgery because when her eyesight has improved enough that she can see all the poop, there will be hell to pay. And of course not all of it may be from the cats but who cares. Certainly not her. Poop is poop no matter who it is from and her yard is full of it. I am sure if I wasn’t feeding ferals on her sidewalk that there would not nearly be as many cats in her yard to fill it with poop. And let’s face the facts, for every feral cat we feed to save their lives, there are thousands more getting  poisoned because no one is out there trapping them and preventing them from multiplying. Trappers are very valuable people and not everyone can be a trapper. I do not know many trappers. We all, as trappers, should have left the care of cats to the cat caregivers and concentrated on becoming better trappers. What were we thinking? 

Jan Weber  

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.

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.