- Joined
- Jan 15, 2015
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- 41
- Purraise
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I have been caring for a feral colony of 10+ since around early February. All are related and related to my 3 I adopted over a year ago. A male and female kitten that mom began bringing in for food, were left here about a month ago. The home next door to me is vacant and they live under the house, but spend the majority of their time at my house. The closest I can get to them is about 4 feet. I have infrared cameras stationed around my yard and the feeding station so I can keep an eye and a record on who is coming and going. I know these cats and their schedules and habits. Tonight I put their fresh water and canned food down and walked away far enough and saw both kittens come over and eat. So I went inside to give them space. 1 hour later I went out to check one of the cameras and saw the little male sitting by the vacant house, totally normal. The little girl was no where to be seen.
These two were inseparable. Where one went, both went. I looked for her for over 4 hours. She is no where to be found. My fear was she had gotten into my dads truck (not normal), and when he left, she was taken by accident. We retraced the path he drove multiple times and found nothing. He had gone to Petsmart, so, we went back there. We searched all the bushes around the building, nothing. It's a large shopping center, so not a lot of hiding places. Nothing.
Needless to say we are devastated. Probably a bad thing, but we had named all the members of the colony, mainly for ID purposes, but for affectionate reasons too. Of course the little brother is looking for her. I feel terrible for him too. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the possibility of her being caught in the truck. The events that would have taken place to make all that possible are a bit fantastical, but not impossible. I don't think another cat harmed her. We have been watching these guys for months and there has never been and issue between any of them.
I guess I'm just hoping for a miracle and for someone to tell me I'm not the worst caregiver on earth for allowing something like this to happen. I knew when I began caring for them this was a possibility. I was taking every precaution I could to keep them safe. 24hr surveillance, registering the colony with my city, registering myself as their caregiver, trying to get everyone worked through the TNR program.
For people that have been doing this for so long, how do you deal with things like this?
These two were inseparable. Where one went, both went. I looked for her for over 4 hours. She is no where to be found. My fear was she had gotten into my dads truck (not normal), and when he left, she was taken by accident. We retraced the path he drove multiple times and found nothing. He had gone to Petsmart, so, we went back there. We searched all the bushes around the building, nothing. It's a large shopping center, so not a lot of hiding places. Nothing.
Needless to say we are devastated. Probably a bad thing, but we had named all the members of the colony, mainly for ID purposes, but for affectionate reasons too. Of course the little brother is looking for her. I feel terrible for him too. I am having a hard time wrapping my head around the possibility of her being caught in the truck. The events that would have taken place to make all that possible are a bit fantastical, but not impossible. I don't think another cat harmed her. We have been watching these guys for months and there has never been and issue between any of them.
I guess I'm just hoping for a miracle and for someone to tell me I'm not the worst caregiver on earth for allowing something like this to happen. I knew when I began caring for them this was a possibility. I was taking every precaution I could to keep them safe. 24hr surveillance, registering the colony with my city, registering myself as their caregiver, trying to get everyone worked through the TNR program.
For people that have been doing this for so long, how do you deal with things like this?
