Ferals

I hope trapping the others goes this smoothly!

Oh guys, I brought the little one home. It was a girl, and the vet didn't even charge me extra because she was in heat. Oh she is so beautiful. She must be Princess' sister. Oh, I am just floating. She is healthy and they were very happy with the way the surgery went and she even came out of the anesthesia very, very well. You people and the way you encourage others is just wonderful. Thank you very much.

EVERY cat that gets fixed is one less litter!!!

Katie

Job well done! CONGRATULATIONS! Keep us posted on the rest of the group.

Caught Princess last night. She's the baby of the family right now and she is at the vets. I am so happy, this makes me two for two. Now because the vet is booked all weekend, I am going to hold off baiting the trap until Sunday night. I will give my babies some treats and leave the trap under the porch, but not set. Then I will try again Sunday night and hope I start catching the bigger girls. You guys have been so very, very helpful. Thank you all again.

This is such exciting news! Two cats in two days! Bravo!

Hi everyone. I really hated to do it, but I let Princess go home to her family. She was crying so piteously this morning for her mother, and I knew I just wasn't going to have the time needed to work with her. 30 seconds after I let her go, she and her mother were under the porch eating breakfast. I hurt, but I think I did the right thing. She would have to spend her life looking out the window at her family. We are taking a break from trapping today, and I will bait the trap tomorrow night again and see who we can get next.

I know you must be sad, but at least she is now spayed. Her life will be so much better now that she won't have to fight off horny males and won't have the danger of multiple pregnancies. And, even if she is not a part of your indoor family, it is clear that she is still a part of your extended feline family!

I am so happy for you and so glad you are being able to help this family of cats!

How well we know those plaintive cries! When we first brought in Lazlo it was because his family had taken off - and he was crying in the back yard for two days, all alone. (Turns out they were just on an excursion and they came back the day after we brought him inside).

He was not so happy to be inside either! He cried near the door for two days. But his family was coming and going, and we'd already got his purr motor going... we decided to take him out on a leash (boy were we naive about cats!). Long story short, he got off the leash, bolted up into the woods - I spent the afternoon lying on my belly (I could see him - he could see me) begging him to come back. Finally he trotted over, I picked him up, and we came back inside together. He never cried to go out again.

(In the end, three of his brothers and sisters ended up inside with us, and the fourth ended up being adopted out to someone else).

But those ARE pitiful cries - and I'm glad she's back with mum! Just look at it this way - you'll have two "sets" of pets. One inside, and one outside. If you live in an area that doesn't have a lot of traffic, outside can be a wonderful place for cats if they have food and shelter.

Bingo!!! I think I got MotherCat last night. She is at the vets getting her makeover. That just leaves Little Miss Tippy-Tail, and that is going to have to be a miracle. She doesn't like me, doesn't like the porch, doesn't care for the food, etc. etc. etc. Anyway we are still on a roll. :flash:

Holy cow! You are one lean-mean-trapping-machine!

KittenKiya...I think we need to import you to Virginia...got LOTS of cats you can trap here.

BRAVO on trapping momma cat!!

Katie

I know you guys are feeding your ferals, and I usually use just the dry cat food. But because I have found dogs running around at night, I have started taking up the dry food and just leaving a small plate of cut up hotdogs, bologna or milk. I am baiting the trap with the hotdogs and bologna and not putting down the night plate until after someone is in the trap. This has worked out very well. To get Miss Tippy-Tail, I am going to use hotdogs with cheese sauce. That should do it.

Make sure that the primary source of food for the cats is real cat food. People food is lacking vital minerals/vitamins that cats need to remain healthy. And, dry cat food is a lot cheaper than hotdogs!

To keep dogs out of the cat food, get a laundry basket and cut out a small cat-sized hole in the end. Turn it up-side down, and put something heavy on top and feed the cats inside. This will keep out dogs and large racoons, but not cats.

Also, if Tippy-Tail isn't attracted by the hotdogs and cheese, try some tuna or sardines or kippered herring.

One of my neighbors called me at work this morning. Little Miss Tippy-Tail is running back and forth from my yard to hers, and is very, very upset. I assume that it is because Mom got caught and vetted today. I don't know how to comfort her. She won't come near me whereas the others will run up to me sometimes, but never her. I know this sounds really stupid but I worry about her. She's the last one to be caught and it will take an act of congress and a miracle from God to get her caught. How can I comfort her?

I guess I didn't make myself clear, the kitties have food all day long until about 6:00 and then I bring in the dry cat food and put out the treat. It is sort of like having a treat before going to bed. Then the dry cat food gets put out 6:00 am. I had to take the food in because of the dogs.:icecream:

Damn, damn and double damn. It wasn't MotherCat. It was a boy. Got him fixed anyway but I was sure it was MotherCat. Back to the drawing board.

You keep going girl! We're all rooting for you!!

Too bad it wasn't momma cat. But...thank goodness there is one fewer randy male around to harrass and impregnate any unspayed females in the area!

YOU GO GIRL!

It wasn't momma cat, but like you said....

And re: comforting Miss Tippy-Tail... no suggestions. Unfortunately, we can only do for them what they will allow (or permit by default, like by being trapped ) I know you worry - that's because you care. All we can do is send a prayer up for Miss Tippy-Tail and send you some hugs.