Well done! You are a star!!
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Well done! You are a star!!
Well the one - or maybe it's two? - is very suspicious. No cats came into Linda's yard all morning.
We got the OK from the neighbor and have just moved the trap over there. This person normally provides the cats with food when she gets home from work between 4 and 4:30 so keep fingers crossed.
Sadly, when we went over there we found a dead kitten at the foot of the porch steps. Mom cat has been moving them around again, sigh.
These cats have the life! Each morning Linda sets out breakfast. Her next door neighbor COOKS EXTRA Portguese food nightly. Her husband comes home for lunch daily and sets out lunch for the cats. Then afternoon tea at the neighbor directly behind Linda's house. Finally, Linda sets out supper between 7 and 8 PM. Linda says it is comical to watch "the tribe" come out from all corners, bushes and shrubs and walk up the grassy slope for afternoon tea!
Linda has bird feeders in her back yard. These cats have on occassion caught a bird, played with it and killed it, but they don't eat it. And she doubts they would have a clue what do to with a mouse! What spoiled cats!
It is a great thing you are doing! Keep up the good work!
Melissa
Wow, what a wonderful rescue project you and Linda have going! :) :) I'm so glad you're doing this - keep up the good work!
Well done Sandra, it's great hearing about your adventures, and I'm sure it's an adventure for the cats too! It'll be so rewarding knowing that you're helping, that's how myself and my mum felt when we trapped our garden ferals and when we feed them every day.
And you're keeping one? Just one, now are you sure about that! ;)
Sandie, you're an amazing woman!!! Kudos to you girlfriend!! Great job!! :D
At 7 PM this evening, we think we got the last one from the choco litter. HOORAY!
We phoned all the homes and said to put out food tonight and in the morning. Mom cat needs to EAT!
I will be scouting tomorrow to see if there are any other stragglers. Then we will develop a plan to find the kittens and get mom cat.
I will be driving this one to the sponsor's home this evening. She will take it to the vet in the morning.
Now talk about successful!!! And to think this was your very first attempt at TNRing!! A job well done!!!! :D
Oops! I forgot a step!
I drove this cat all the way to the sponsor's home; a 45 minute drive. First thing she says to me is: did you make sure it is not a nursing mom?
DUH!
So of course, it IS a nursing mom. Had to drive her back and release her. Hope her babies are OK, she was only missing for about 4 hours.
So we have TWO litters out there somewhere!
Update on the 5 we caught end of the day Wednesday: 1 pregnant female, 4 males.
So our sponsor has 3 females recovering, and 5 males in her basement in cages. She is being so helpful, holding on to the males while we try to figure out what we are doing. Normally, the males get released that same night!
And thus far, we have prevented the arrival of 16 more kittens into this colony!
I mentioned to our sponsor that PT'ers wanted to see photos. She laughed and told me to take a photo of my Ebony and post it for you! She said 7 of the 8 look like Ebony, an all black cat, neither she nor the vet has been able to tell them apart.
What an experience.
We had quite a fun time this evening. There is ONE cat left we want to catch. The trap was set and re-baited with fresh tuna every two hours. This evening at about 7 PM, this cat came out, walked right past the trap and up the steps to the porch and waited patiently for the woman to come out and feed it! So she got her carrier near the door, got some food, opened the door, sat and talked to it, fed it, petted it, trying to build the relationship. This cat has never let anyone touch it before. She worked with this cat for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, her husband called Linda, who called me, and we are all at Linda's house watching the saga unfold, hoping that somehow she can snatch the cat and get it in the carrier.
Someone out at the front of the house was walking a dog and the cat heard the tags jingle and took off.
Linda said this is hilarious, an 8 month old cat is outsmarting 3 intelligent women!
Well by now it is closer to 8 PM, and quite dark. Everyone said to forget it until morning. I decided to set the trap once more and return in an hour.
We now have a cat no one has seen before! She is small, and she is definitely part of the dark litter. We know its a she as we had to make sure it was not a nursing mom, and, well, it became clear it is not, but it is a female. **
So we STILL have one more to get!
Saturday midday, the 5 males will be released. So we have one more chance in the morning to catch a cat!
**Editted to clarify: this cat is NOT a female; it IS the cat the woman was feeding and working with for 20 minutes; it IS "crooked head," described in post 26 below. Because we couldn't find nipples did not mean it was a "she", only that it wasn't a "nursing she." No clue WHY the women who always work with these cats didn't recognize him in the trap and in the carrier after the transfer. But they do look different scrunched up and so frightened, poor kitties.
Part I is completed, I can't believe we made it this far.
First off, that kitty we caught last evening was in fact the one we were trying for; there are no others.
The women have been calling him "crooked head." His head is on a tilt. For some reason when he was in the trap and the small carrier last evening, they all decided that wasn't "crooked head." Hmm. Well, that WAS "crooked head," and the last of the tribe we have been tracking; except of course for the 2 nursing moms and their babies.
Little "crooked head" was seen by the vet this afternoon. It is a male. He was very weak and dehydrated. He got sub q fluids, has been neutered, and has had all his shots and dewormer. He is back at Kathy's house wrapped in a blanket sleeping it off. The vet said he was amazed the little thing has survived this long. As a kitten he got some type of ear infection which reached the inner ear and has thrown off his balance. It is a permanent handicap, and he can NOT be released. There is no way he will survive. He needs to be fed separately so he doesn't need to compete for his food. He will need to build up his strength, but he will always need special attention. And he will always be a small guy. Only time will tell if he can eat the amount he needs in the usual 3 feedings per day, or if he needs multiple feedings. It is not clear how well he can eat at this point.
So I will not take in the little girl; and one of the other women will. I will take in this little guy, who is receiving the royal treatment and will be "Little King." I'm sure that will get shortened to "King" with time. Kathy and vet found him extremely tame, easy to hold and pet, so the transition will be easy with him.
When I dropped off my Little King today, I picked up the 5 boys from Kathy and planned to release them this evening. We still had the trap set, as no one had yet determined that we did have "crooked head." Oh dear. When you remove 11 cats from a territory, other cats fill the vacuum. So this evening when I went over to collect the trap prior to releasing the boys, we had . . . a huge orange male! Where did HE come from? He seems to be a "stray," with a scraggly look about him. He will spend the night in a carrier in my garage, and tomorrow he will go to the vet to find out if he has been neutered; and if not, he will be. I only hope some owner somewhere over in that neighborhood is not worrying about their macho male all night and all day tomorrow.
I took pics of the boys, and of the release, so I will be posting those towards the end of the week (reminder, I still use a film camera; finished the roll, need to get it in for developing.)
Thus far:
-trapped, neutered, and released 5 males, all blacks
-trapped, neutered, and I will keep, 1 male, all black
-trapped, to be neutered (if not already) and released 1 orange male
-trapped, neutered, and will release on Monday, 2 females, all black
-trapped, neutered, and will rehome 1 female, black and white
-2 nursing moms and their babies still to be addressed. One mom is black and white, one mom is all black.
We know the black and white mom had at least 4 babies, all are black, and one has died. We don't know what the black mom cat has for kittens.
Wow, it sounds like you've had a great time helping those kitties!
I cannot wait to see your pictures!
Great Job!
Now that's what I call making a difference. How wonderful! Just a thought here: did the vet check King's ears for an ear polyp or is he positive it's an infection? Yodie Yodie walked w/her head crooked like that and it was because the ear polyp made her uncomfortable. Later, it grew and I had to have it removed. Don't want to plant a bad seed here but if he only thinks it's an infection and isn't positive, he might want to take a second look. But you're taking excellent care of little King and I'm proud to know ya. :)
I know I missed updating this thread for a few days.
We were done catching the adults, except for the 2 nursing moms. But just to be sure, we set the trap once more and caught a huge orange male. Turns out he has not been neutered either, so he will be neutered and then released. He appears to be a stray as well. Probably he was in a neighborhood near by and once we removed all the males from this territory he tried to move in.
I now have photos of the 5 males. They were released on Saturday evening.
This is "Big Daddy." He is a huge tom cat, scarred and scraggly and the father to most of these cats we are working with.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/BigDaddy.jpg
This one is "wild man." He likely would have grown into a tom and taken over this colony, forcing Big Daddy to move elsewhere. He rocked the trap the entire time he was in it. He rocked the carrier when he was in that. He was in a frenzy for the vet. The only one who was so wild and excited / nervous.
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...ts/WildMan.jpg
Male cat #3
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...Cats/Male3.jpg
Male cat #4
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...Cats/Male4.jpg
Male cat #5 (I took a few shots of this one.)
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...Cats/Male5.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/Male5001.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q...s/Male5002.jpg
I did take photos of their release, those pictures are still in the camera; will have them later this week. You can see they all look so similar! No wonder no one was really sure how many there were!
I expect that tomorrow I will be going to pick up the rest of the cats. One female for release, the huge orange male for release. One black and white female for rehoming, and Little King may come home with me, I'm not sure yet.
The black and white mom cat has been out and eating at all the 3 homes. No one has seen her babies though. The black mom cat has not been seen since release.
We have rung up $600 in vet bills, thus far. Pawswatch keeps reminding us that we have to refill the coffers, somehow. Working at their fundraisers, baking, and such, most likely.
Thank you so much for doing this for these kitties! I hope that they live long happy and healthy lives. You are giving them a chance. :)