Trapping Osama

[Anne]

Oh what a sweet looking kitty!

Thank you so much Laurie and Gary for saving this sweet little furball!

Hands up those of you who took one look and said - I wish I could take him home to me

- my hand is up in the air! I'm sure he'll find a home soon enough. Though I wonder if we should contact someone in the press about this? I wonder if David is going to write about it in his column? I'm just thinking with a bit of PR not only will this cat be snatched up - but Judi will get more potential adopters and more recognition of what she does.

 

[debby]

That is a great idea, Anne!!!

 

[valanhb]

Hooray!! Samoa is gorgeous! How funny that David was so scared of a sweet kitty like that. :laughing:

 

[hell603]

How can anyone be afraid of this baby? Now he does have a chance for a good/loving home dwithout being hungry or cold ever again!!!!!!!YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[lotsocats]

Gee...my office is freezing, but I feel all warm inside after reading this!

Samoa is gorgeous! I wish I lived closer...I think he would make a perfect member of my feline family!

I do hope that Horsley writes up this experience. I am overjoyed that we helped this man open his heart to the plight of this poor abandoned kitty!

 

[okeefecl]

Well, after telling my friend Samoa's story and showing her his picture, she said "I'll take him in if no one wants him."

Add Ohio to the states that are willing to have Samoa!

 

[ldg]

Judi had to leave this week for a conference, and then, poor thing, she has to have some surgery on her hand, so it might be a little while (sometime next week) before we hear anything further.

But watch out - if they don't get him adopted out (which Judi also does for a living), Gary and I just might consider using our air miles to get him sent to you! He sure does deserve a good home! (Well, they all do, don't they?)

And I LOVE that Judi would get press for her work. She is so dedicated to the animals of Amarillo. She and her staff spend hours and hours and hours day after day, week after week, and month after month working to get pets adopted into happy homes. Judi actually has a TV show three times a week that is dedicated to pet adoption from the shelter. And she is working to lobby the City of Amarillo for a low-cost spay/neuter program, and any press I'm sure would help!

 

[valanhb]

Any updates on Samoa? How's our little guy doing?

 

[ldg]

Judi was at a conference all last week through Sunday. She had surgery on her hand Monday. She wasn't sure if it was outpatient or in-hospital. She left her home number with us though. Great minds think alike, Heidi,

, because just about an hour ago Gary and I called her at home. We got the machine, and left a lovely message letting her know she's in our prayers, and we hope all went well with the surgery. I hope we'll hear how both she AND Samoa are doing soon!

 

[ldg]

Judi says everything went great and she's going to be O.K. (Sigh of relief!)

She let me know via e-mail last night that Samoa went to the vet yesterday for his shots and to get neutered. It turns out he was already neutered, confirming suspicions that he was once a pet. His story is going to be aired on ABC! She says, "He is so sweet and tame. We just love him. We will get him in a great home. He deserves it."

 

[hissy]

Laurie-

That made me giggle! About him being neutered I mean. Please give more details about his story being on ABC when you can? Maybe some of us will finally be able to see this gorgeous creature then!

 

[valanhb]

WOW! ABC, that's so cool! If you find out, can you let us know when it will be aired? Hubby's a CBS News fan, so I have to have a good reason to switch news programs.

I'm so glad both she and Samoa are doing well. I can't believe that a sweet, tame little kitty could possibly terrorize Mr. Horsely that much. Poor little guy (Samoa, not David), he must have been so scared all the time, which would be why he acted the way he did.

 

[ldg]

I think it's going to be on Amarillo's local ABC, so I don't know if you can see it in Denver - but I'm not sure. She'll let me know when she can.

I didn't write it before because I wanted her permission, but in the hand surgery they did find a bone tumor. She said it's all right to post it here, but fortunately she got the results, and it is benign.

Poor thing has been away from work for some time (conference all last week), so she's busy catching up, just had surgery, and I keep bugging her for info!

Anyway, she did write:

I just wish you could see Samoa - he is King of Critter Camp.

Also, she's kept in touch with David, and he did pick up the Vet bill, which is really fantastic.

 

[ldg]

Ooops - excuse me Heidi! I didn't mean to write "Denver." I know how you feel about Denver (

) I just meant, I don't know if it'll be available outside of Amarillo.

 

[valanhb]

No problem, I am considered in the Denver Metro area, so I don't mind, too much.

I was hoping it was making the national ABC feature. Guess I was finding the platinum lining on that one!

 

[ldg]

Well - she did use "ABC" in her e-mail (as opposed to the local call letters), so I'm just not sure. She said she'd let me know when it'll be on, so hopefully she'll let me know if she's talking local or national. I sent an e-mail asking, but she's been recuperating and catching up, so I don't expect to hear back today, anyway.

 

[ldg]

Well, I haven't heard from Judi yet. I really hope all is O.K. for her, I'm worried about her hand. Between running CritterCamp and recuperating from her hand, I'm sure she's busy (and tired!).

But in the meantime, I hadn't found time to post this yet, and I think I really should. We've chatted here about Mr. Horsley's turnaround in his opinion of stray/feral cats.

After Samoa was trapped, I wrote Mr. Horsley a concialiatory note, explaining that I'm new to ferals too, but we weren't presented with aggression problems, just garbage problems. I pointed out that the main problem was one of education, and what happened between him and Samoa was a perfect case in point. I included info from some of the work I've been doing (about how eradication doesn't work, numbers and costs related to stray pets and euthanization under most animal control policies now, etc.). And I closed by thanking him for becoming concerned for the cat, acting to help it, and writing the follow-up article that did mention resources.

He wrote back:

Laurie -- Thanks for writing. I, too, am in the midst of a learning curve about feral cats. I honestly never gave them much thought until this particular alley cat started causing problems.

I've had cats my whole life (there's one in my lap as I write this--she tries to type every now and then) but domestic cats are quite different from wild ones. The wily old tom we caught yesterday was closer to a wild animal than any pet I've ever kept. He didn't appreciate being trapped,either, but I think his life might be taking a turn for the better--if only he could recognize that.

I've begun to do a little reading about feral cats. The same dynamic that causes coyotes to increase when ranchers try to kill them apparently works where feral cats are concerned. When coyotes are trapped or poisoned, the remaining animals produce larger litters, thereby ensuring the survival of the population. The trap/neuter/release program makes sense insofar as
it recognizes that mere removal of individual cats doesn't address the problem or change anything in the long run. But if no one is feeding the re-released cat, it continues to be a problem by scattering garbage and eating baby birds (I'm a bird person too). Judi said she knows of a woman who might take Osama to a remote farmhouse once he is neutered and pacified. I wish him nothing but a long and happy life, far away from my yard. -- David

...and I guess it really does illustrate just perfectly the problem. Like he said, he "never gave them [feral cats] much thought..." And you know what? Neither had I! We became involved with the ferals for the reason David just mentioned - the garbage scattering. Unfortunately, he's still a bit mis-informed. Urban sprawl in general and pesticides are far more threatening to baby birds than stray and feral cats are... but nonetheless, it all just goes to show how even just a little education can go a long way.

 

[debby]

I am really glad to hear that David's attitude about ferals is changing! That is great! I hope Judi is alright. Please let us know if/when the show will be aired, if it will be aired on national ABC or just her local one...I would not want to miss it if it is national!

 

[Anne]

Laurie - I beat you to it this time

David Horsley has published another Samoa follow up:
http://www.amarillonet.com/stories/1..._horsley.shtml

 

[ldg]

Well - maybe it will help get Samoa adopted? It was wonderful of him to give Judi such a great review.