Pawley - and all of us - could use your vibes

I completely understand, of course. :rub:

Windchill was -20F here. It was 2 when I went out to feed them - and still with the crazy wind. I only saw Smokey, Baloo, Pawley and Khol. They were all OK! :cross: It doesn't warm up until tomorrow. At least it's only the one day and two nights...

I did see Little Dot. And she was in the feral villa. But the way I saw her ... I didn't know she'd popped out. I found out by STEPPING ON HER. I stepped on her foot - and thank goodness she yowled, because I didn't put my full weight on it. I think I scared her more than hurt her. :cross: But she RAN. And she did not come back while I was there. So I called a few times, and left, bawling.

I'm sure she came back. But I warmed up their canned food by placing it on the heat vents. I really wanted her to have warm food. My logical mind understands she's OK... my emotions aren't in sync.



At least... I'm pretty sure she's OK.... She sure was running without any problem....

OH hun.... don't cry !!!!!!! Although, I can understand how you must feel. I bet Lil Dot was back today - looking for lovin' and pets. :cross: I am sure it broke your heart to see her take off like that. She will forgive you, momma. :heart3: :nod:

SO HAPPY that your kitties are all alright and survived this polar blast. Now - we are all going to enjoy the balmy warm up. It will certainly feel like Spring is around the corner. :cross: :sun: We can wish....... :cross: No more "old man winter" :lol3:

She was! She did NOT come back last night - at least she didn't show herself while I was there. I didn't disturb the feral villa to see...

I didn't see her when I first called the ferals for the meal. But that's the last feeding station I fill, and by the time I was headed over there, she was sitting just outside the feral villa. I've leaned a board out past one of the entrances so there's a dry area for the food. She was sitting under there. And she did NOT come running over to rub on my legs or get pets. :lol3: She just sat and waited for me to serve her meal.

I went back to put food in the station near the villa, and I watched Dot eat, and then slip inside the feral villa.

So she's OK. I'm sure she'll be back rubbing my legs and purring for pets soon. :heart2:

We are FINALLY over the nasty temps. High today was 20F, and low tonight 14F. But the wind isn't AS insane, and tomorrow should be MUCH better!

I do hope I'll see evidence of the other feral kitties coming back to eat soon......

I'm sure you have the best ideas in terms of shelters (I have no idea, and no need for super cold insulation!), but I thought of you when I saw this idea:

LDG said:

So she's OK. I'm sure she'll be back rubbing my legs and purring for pets soon. :heart2:


I do hope I'll see evidence of the other feral kitties coming back to eat soon......

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CROSSING FINGERS on both accounts. :cross: :cross: Lil Dot - :rub: :rub: :heart3: And I bet by the time you read this - the other's will be back. I am SURE they are all around and you may just be missing them as I assume you cannot watch out that window day and night. :winkblue: :lol3: They are there.... :cross:

I hope you are not iced in either. Rain and then temp. dropping = bad. :slant: Spring can't come quick enough this year.

Little Ginger is safe inside with us, I started a new post for her.  Thanks to all for helping those outside in the freezing temps, and thank heavens they have had a few warmer days.

Love and purrs from our happy rescues, Mr. Patches, Picassa, Gray Girl, Mama Patience and the most recent addition Little Ginger.

YAY for Little Ginger!

Yes, Dot forgave me. She finally showed up yesterday. She didn't run over to rub all over me, but when I squatted down to put the food in her dish, she rubbed on my knee and purred for pets. :lol3:

I saw Tabby yesterday out the window! And Tommy today. I saw Peanutbutter and Treebie between the two terrible cold snaps, so I'm sure she's OK.

That means the only kitty I haven't seen yet is Babygirl. :cross:

Had a massive pet session with Pawley this morning. Of course, it was me reaching under the RV, though he was right at the edge.

This is just going to be a slow project, I think. The trap is set up, strapped open, and covered and dark, right near his "go to the bathroom" exit. Oh - and has his beloved sardines in it. At least they won't freeze during the day.

And no, we don't have ice. That'll start at night first, as it's very wet here during the day. I think tonight we start falling into the 20s at night. But the kitties are loving this sunny, warm weather!

A little sigh of relief on all of your updates! Except adding in vibes for Babygirl :cross: PLEASE have a sighting soon!!!! :cross:

And - on the massive petting session with Pawley. It always is a slow process - right?! But, I bet when the weather gets warmer/nicer, he will venture closer to that edge and may even come out - 1/2 way !!!!!!!!!!!!! I will keep having visions of you catching that little man. Who knows!!! Soon, he may be in your lap. :cross:

OK. As Pawley continues to live under the RV, and we continue to never see him out, and he continues to ignore the sardines in the trap...

We chatted with the vet about sedating him. We used 10mg of acepromazine today. He ate it right up in his dish of sardines. I laid a blanket out on the deck so I could lie down and just pet him. The stuff takes about an hour to work. He stayed with me - retreating a little and returning - for 40 minutes of petting. :rub:

Then he left to go into one of the shelters. It was the best possible one - easy access. Our plan, at that point, was to have my husband simply reach around with a plastic box lid, pull it out, and tape it on there.

It was a good plan - but Gary's out of practice. Pawley WAS in the box (we'd set up cameras) - but Gary forgot to "anchor" the back of the box against his shoulder or knee or something - which meant his hand holding the cover over the shelter wasn't on there very strongly. Well, Pawley was NOT sedated in any way, shape or form. He pushed the "weak" side of the cover and used his back feet to launch out of there (he pushed the box towards Gary as he left.

We have board insulation up all around the RV to prevent wind from whipping through under there - with little slats between some of the boards so the cats can easily get in and out. Well, he bolted out the nearest one, but barely went into the woods. It must have hurt. But he just sat there - I do not think he was aware we were trying to trap HIM. We do move things around, add shelters, etc., from time-to-time. I called to him, left out some sardines, and we left, just so everything could go "back to normal."

He was back in place and loving pets at the late afternoon meal. :heart2:

Called the vet. New plan.

We are going to wrap a crate with the same insulation, in the same way, that Pawley's current shelter uses. Stuff straw in it. We will leave Pawyley's shelter in place, but if we remove a straw bale, we can get this up front with easy access - near his current shelter. If he moves, great, it'll be easy. All Gary has to do is reach in and close the door. There won't be a weak side. If he uses the same shelter - Gary is now prepared.

AND... if he bolts, since we know where he'll go, we'll have a trap set, so he runs right into it. We will NOT cover it, so he can't see until it's too late that it's not actually an exit.

But hopefully none of this will be necessary. We're going to use lorazepam instead of acepromazine this time. The maximum recommended dose for managing anxiety in cats is 0.25mg. The vet cannot recommend or prescribe anything beyond that. But this is a medication Gary has. So I asked her some questions:

What's the toxic dose?
What's the risk if I accidentally give Pawley too much?
What are the potential problems of accidental overdose?
Etc.

The bottom line? The stuff is pretty safe, and the main issue (other than in very rare cases) is that he'd actually fall asleep - and stay asleep for longer, though "it clears the system pretty quickly."

The MAIN issue with lorazepam is when it is used in combination with other drugs. So that's not an issue.

We're going to use 0.5mg as Pawley likely weighs 10 - 12 pounds. From someone that uses it on occasion for anxiety in a dog, it apparently takes 20 to 30 minutes to "kick in." So with ANY luck at all, Pawley will fall asleep while I'm petting him.

Long silk underwear and the blanket on the deck made it quite bearable. It may be snowing Monday, but... I'll live.

I hope this time the plan works. :heart2:

I will be sending good trapping vibes to you on Monday.  I so hope you are able to trap Pawley.  What a relief it will be.  Of course cold cold weather is back in the forecast for next week again. 

Yes, all the very best vibes and hopes for a successful capture. 

Wow, great detail, LDG. I could totally picture the process as you are explaining it. Wishing you the best of luck in trapping Pawley! 

Good Luck and good vibes! I hope you catch your Pawley

No Pawley.

He wouldn't eat the sardines with the lorazepam in them. So I gave him some fancy feast with lorazepam in it. He ate a little, then retreated. No idea if he ate any of the lorazepam - all of it - none of it... :dk:

We were at a stand off for about half an hour. So as it's going to get cold, I gave him regular food and removed the dish with the lorazepam in it. He ate a little - but then left for his shelter. Almost no pets. I blocked off all exits from under the RV other than the one he used Friday, with the trap set at it.

...but then decided I didn't want him afraid of his shelter, if somehow he didn't run into the trap. So I put everything back the way it was, and we'll just... see. Maybe try again after warmer weather is back after this cold snap. No clue what we're going to do from here.

Oh, that little booger!  I swear they know.  Hopefully, he gets through this polar mess and decides he wants to be trapped and stay warm!

How frustrating and worrying for you.  But at least he has a warm shelter and food; and he survived the last ice-age ...warm thoughts and  fingers crossed this one won't be any worse.

AW hun.... had everything crossed yesterday morning for this to happen. BUT - he did eat some of the "L" in the FF and from what you told me - he did act a bit silly/relaxed later. SO - now you know, when he eats the whole dose - you will be successful in nabbing that little guy. :cross: All of I have to say about this cold/snowy weather is :wife: GO AWAY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I know that is the one big issue holding up Pawley's capture. :frown2: I guess we just have to be patient and wait for mother nature to calm.

It looks like the cold weather is returning again with a vengeance.  It is to be very cold here for the next 10-14 days.  I hope that when/if the weather breaks you will be able to catch him.

Have you ever tried pill pockets?  One of my ferals desperately needed to be wormed last summer.  I wasted so much money trying to hide the disgusting pill in wet food, tuna, baby food, sardines, etc..  I was at my wits end.  He would take one bite, spit it out and run away.  I finally started feeding him pill pockets.  I broke the pill up into about 4 pieces.  He basically swallowed the pill pocket and dewormer whole.  Yet it took 4 pill pockets to get it down him.   One of my other stray/ferals  who I brought inside the house last spring needed to be on medicine for 21 days.  We started with liquid and after a few days, he wouldn't eat the food if there was medicine present.  I tried 3 different flavors.  I then broke down and got a pill.  My choice was to try the pill pocket or hire someone to come to the house an pill him for 21 days at $10 a time.  Ugh...  We did the pill pocket and he loved it.  For 21 days, he happily took his pill. 

Keep us updated!

PAWLEY IS AT THE VET!!!!!

His eyes were goopy this morning - one almost gooped closed. He was not going to eat. He stayed in place - wanted pets, but I could not get him to eat. So I turned the crate up, scruffed him, and put my other hand over his eyes - and just dropped him right in. He meowed and pawed a little bit - but as soon as it was zipped and on its side, he settled right down. He must know he needs help. :heart2:

I suspect he didn't eat much yesterday because he didn't feel well - or had the URI and couldn't smell the food. Then the reason he ate last night was because he'd eaten at least some of the lorazepam - which also acts as an appetite stimulant.

Our vet is there today. She'll get to him at some point - probably later this afternoon. We're just... waiting for her to call. :heart2:

LDG said:

PAWLEY IS AT THE VET!!!!!
 

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