Panda Express Feral Getting Fixed

[kalynnda13]

So Wednesday I was picking up food from Panda Express (a chain Chinese food place). It's near a major street and other food places, so there are a lot of cars. As I'm pulling in, I see a young tabby cat/older kitten. When I approach the cat (as any good cat person would do), it goes down a storm drain.

I talked to the manager at the place on Thursday. They've been trying to catch the cat for a few months but didn't have a trap. So I came over Thursday after work and set up the trap with some nice smelly tuna. Of course, with the traffic, I had someone park by the trap and scare the kitten/cat. Then some nice people were concerned the cat was just recently dumped. Finally, after about 45 minutes, the kitten was in the trap and it sprung!

The kitten/cat, named Panda, spent the night in my garage in the trap and is now at the local low-cost spay/neuter to get fixed and ear-tipped. Since the location where I trapped the kitty is so dangerous, I'm going to release him/her in my much quieter neighborhood. I know it's not ideal to change locations, but right next to a major street with tons of cars pulling into fast food joints is definitely not a safe place to live. I feed several ferals, and I know others in my neighborhood do as well.

I just wanted to share.

 

[maggiedemi]

Great job, thank you for helping him/her! I love the name Panda. Maybe she will enjoy being with the other cats in your colony.

 

[chrissycollete]

So kind, at least the cat has a chance. I wish more people could take cats in.

 

[tabbytom]

Thank you for getting Panda fixed and relocating him

Hopefully he fits in well at the new environment. Do keep us posted of his progress

 

[Shane Kent]

Always nice to read something like this on a Friday, especially a long weekend. Made my weekend that much better. Thank you for sharing

 

[Sarthur2]

If possible, keep the cat in your garage or home for a few days and feed it and spend time with it. It will likely stay around your place if you do this.

Is the cat tame enough to go to a no kill shelter for adoption? It sounds young enough for socialization. This would be the best case scenario.

Thank you for caring!

 

[kalynnda13]

UPDATE: Looks like little Panda is only 4-5 months old. She was already pregnant, poor thing. We have her in a cage in our house and will try to tame her. We've had mixed results with our "house feral" Coconut. We'll just have to take it a day at a time.

If she can be tamed, she will become cat #9.

I'll keep you all informed.

 

[maggiedemi]

Did they spay her or will she be having the kittens?

 

[kalynnda13]

She was spayed. That's the policy at the low cost spay/neuter place I took her to. My personal philosophy is if the cat looks pregnant, let her have the kittens. But Panda is less than 5 months old...she should definitely not be having kittens at her age.

We are leaving her alone in the cage tonight. She has food, water, litter, and a place to hide. The cage is covered. Tomorrow we'll assess where she is at.

 

[kalynnda13]

Somewhat sad update: We've decided to release Tiny Tabby (as we ended up calling her). After a week of working with her, she still hides as soon as she hears us. She does come out to play, and will only eat in our presence if the food is very close to where she is hiding (i.e. she doesn't have to move). When we aren't there, she moves around but seems to be looking for a way to get out.

If things were different - if we didn't already have 8 cats including one "house feral", if we had a room we could put her in, if she showed any progress - we would work with her longer. But we don't have the time and energy right now and it's not fair to her to keep her in a cage.

I have to remind myself that we've made her life better. She's been spayed and has had time to heal. She will have access to food, water, and shelter and not be on a very busy street. I hope she will hang around and maybe we can work with her outside.

I just wanted to let you know.

 

[tabbytom]

I hope she'll cope well outside. Is the place where she's going near you?

Thank you for having her spayed.

 

[maggiedemi]

You did your best and helped her by getting her spayed. Hopefully she will stick around and be your outside feral. I wish we could save them all, but we can only do so much.

 

[kalynnda13]

Good news on the Panda front. Last night I saw glowing eyes in our back yard and confirmed it was her. We have a low deck, left over from a pool, and lots of bushes in that area, so it's perfect for a kitty to hide in. I put out food for her in the area, and will continue to do so. I've also confirmed (by accident) that she is using the feral house. I'm glad she's sticking around. Maybe, with time, she'll become less fearful.

 

[tabbytom]

Bravo! That's good news!

 

[Shane Kent]

I put out food for her in the area, and will continue to do so. I've also confirmed (by accident) that she is using the feral house. I'm glad she's sticking around.

That's great news. Living at your place in a cat shelter and getting a steady source of food is far better than the storm drain you found her at.