Recent Content by misskalamata

I called the owner today. While the situation isn't good, it is not quite as bad as I'd thought. The cats will become outdoor pets; they are not being abandoned outright. She already feeds strays in her yard ... so, there is always food and water out. She has an insulated cooler in the yard with...

No, I don't know what the cats' living conditions or litter box situation is, other than that the owner uses non-clumping litter. We struck up a conversation as she was loading cat litter into her shopping cart. (She has a third cat, a kitten, who doesn't live in the basement and whom she plans...

Thank you, FeebysOwner. I just submitted a message to PAWS. Willowy, I'm not sure. My initial impression was of abandonment, but I may be mistaken ... I think she did mention some kind of sheltered enclosure in the yard (I don't recall exactly what it was). I don't remember the owner saying...

Hi, A customer came into my workplace today and told me about her problems with her indoor cats and her intention to release them outside in the near future. She says she has no choice. I persuaded her to give me her contact info so that I could look into alternative options and then get back...

I think my "good idea" to get the cats comfortable with the traps backfired. I got one of the traps on Friday, zip-tied it open so it could not shut, placed it in the cats' shelter area, and instructed the other cat feeders to put the food inside the open trap. I figured this would get the cats...

Well, today's trapping failed. I'll try again Thursday. She was too smart to go in the trap.

I'm so grateful for everyone's input. One more question that I hope someone can answer in the next 6 hours: I have two traps. When one cat gets caught, what should I do? Wait and hope that the second cat gets caught, too? Cover the trap with the cat, but don't move it yet? Or should I...

I hate to even ask this... but is it possible for her to have been pregnant with kittens that died in the womb and stayed inside her? I assume that's not possible, that she would be seriously ill if that happened. In November, we thought she was pregnant, but no kittens appeared, and she still...

Now I am thinking that maybe I can put plastic sheeting over the carpet in the spare bedroom and keep the cats in there, instead of the garage. I use the bathroom, so I don't think that would work. Do trapped cats tend to cry and yowl, or do they mainly stay quiet as long as the cage is covered...

Thank you everyone so much for the answers and suggestions! I spoke to the TNR lady again today. I was mistaken about the expectation of leaving the cats outside in the traps ... she clarified that they should be kept in a garage, shed, etc after the spay. I think I will be able to use a family...

Several presumably feral cats live behind my workplace and are fed by multiple people from my work and other neighboring businesses. We can get 5-10 feet away from the cats, no closer. We suspect that all the cats are female, since one is calico and nobody has had kittens this past year that...

The vet said that the few reported instances of cancer after microchipping all involved other factors, such as vaccines given at the same location (some of which are KNOWN to cause cancer), and so the link between the chip and the cancer is debatable. She also said that the older, larger chips...

I've read that microchips have a small risk of causing cancer or other reactions. Would this risk be magnified for an FIV+ cat? He is scheduled to get chipped tomorrow. Should I be concerned? He is indoor only, but I worry that if he got out and wound up at a shelter, he would be immediately...

I'm wondering if anyone's cat has experienced this, and how you dealt with it. My 17 year old cat is believed to have peripheral neuropathy due to chronic kidney disease. She can't stay standing for any length of time, although she can walk unsteadily from place to place. She eats while lying...

Well, I only noticed it recently, but she might have had the issue for a while and I just never noticed. The vet said she might have some residual nerve damage from the stroke she had two years ago. She walks okay, so I'm not going to worry too much about it.