- Joined
- Aug 17, 2012
- Messages
- 4
- Purraise
- 0
Hello,
I am new to the board and wanted to introduce myself.
We were always dog people until Lucy showed up. Lucy was a nearly starved feral who stopped by our house about a year ago. I started to feed her and tried to get her to come closer. She was a tiny calico with a shortened tail. I guessed her to be about 6 months. A close look convinced me she was pregnant. I started to arrange my schedule around Lucy's comings and goings. I searched for all the information I could find about ferals. I tried all the suggestions for acting catlike, which seemed to encourage Lucy to come to eat while I was on the porch. Lucy entered the house one morning (with the door behind her open) and meowed three times. Later that morning we saw the two kittens she had had under our shed. She had already had the kits!! Lucy was an incredible mother, guarding them, teaching them, and barking quick orders for them to hide when we got too close.
As the kittens grew, they became more independent. We have fox and fisher cats in the neighborhood. We made the decision to trap the family to keep them safe.
My husband built a very large trap with a pull up door - if anyone is interested, I will send link for the plans. We captured all three together. The vet spayed Lucy and put a chip in her in case she wandered. I learned that ferals were often put down immediately... and we knew that Lucy would probably not be a house cat, so we hoped that if she were trapped, she would be scanned and we would be contacted. We were able to keep Lucy in for 10 days... initially she was recovering from the surgery and then it just seemed cruel to keep her in. We opened the door and left her food outside where I had been feeding her. She stayed nearby for a few days...looking for the kittens, I imagine. She disappeared and has not returned. Outdoors isn't very friendly. I miss her.
We kept LuLu and Larry, the two babies, and they are doing well. They are totally socialized with us-- very snuggly and very vocal. They like being brushed and concede to having their nails clipped. LuLu is double pawed! They hide when company arrives. They are about a year old, were both neutered by six months. They are precious members of our family.
Lucy's mom
I am new to the board and wanted to introduce myself.
We were always dog people until Lucy showed up. Lucy was a nearly starved feral who stopped by our house about a year ago. I started to feed her and tried to get her to come closer. She was a tiny calico with a shortened tail. I guessed her to be about 6 months. A close look convinced me she was pregnant. I started to arrange my schedule around Lucy's comings and goings. I searched for all the information I could find about ferals. I tried all the suggestions for acting catlike, which seemed to encourage Lucy to come to eat while I was on the porch. Lucy entered the house one morning (with the door behind her open) and meowed three times. Later that morning we saw the two kittens she had had under our shed. She had already had the kits!! Lucy was an incredible mother, guarding them, teaching them, and barking quick orders for them to hide when we got too close.
As the kittens grew, they became more independent. We have fox and fisher cats in the neighborhood. We made the decision to trap the family to keep them safe.
My husband built a very large trap with a pull up door - if anyone is interested, I will send link for the plans. We captured all three together. The vet spayed Lucy and put a chip in her in case she wandered. I learned that ferals were often put down immediately... and we knew that Lucy would probably not be a house cat, so we hoped that if she were trapped, she would be scanned and we would be contacted. We were able to keep Lucy in for 10 days... initially she was recovering from the surgery and then it just seemed cruel to keep her in. We opened the door and left her food outside where I had been feeding her. She stayed nearby for a few days...looking for the kittens, I imagine. She disappeared and has not returned. Outdoors isn't very friendly. I miss her.
We kept LuLu and Larry, the two babies, and they are doing well. They are totally socialized with us-- very snuggly and very vocal. They like being brushed and concede to having their nails clipped. LuLu is double pawed! They hide when company arrives. They are about a year old, were both neutered by six months. They are precious members of our family.
Lucy's mom
