Posts (page 2)
I helped a local neighbor find her cat recently TWICE when he ran away, over a mile away from home both times. She wouldn't make him an indoor-only cat because she said he sat and cried by the door, and was "too annoying." So she got him back the second time (from a location almost 2 miles away) and DECIDED TO GIVE HIM AWAY. Well, I'm glad I went to all that work to help you find your fucking beloved pet just so you could just get annoyed and get rid of him! Fucking shithead.
I'm adding her to the list of people I hope DIE IN A FIRE. Also on that list: You, soccer mom in the Yukon XL who took a 15-point turn to get your monstrous SUV into your spot in front of CVS today. DIE IN A FIRE.
Two more girls spayed and re-released:
I can't help but think how many kittens would have been born in the next 2 months. We have so far, in this colony, spayed 6 females and neutered 1 male. All six of the female cats were pregnant. According to Wikipedia, a litter of kittens is typically 2-6 kittens, after a gestation of just over 2 months. You start doing some math there, and you realize what a timebomb we just diffused. A timebomb of wild feral kittens. We still have a lot of work to do, as I keep catching cats I've never seen before, like the black and white beauty on the right. As feral colony caretakers keep telling me: feral colonies are like icebergs, you're only seeing the top 10%. The remaining 90% of the problem is beneath the surface.
Bummer, the colony caretaker had fed the cats before we got there, so none of the cats were hungry enough to check out the snacks in our traps, except one curious little soul.
This one's at the SPCA today, getting "snipped and tipped" and I'll keep the cat overnight to watch for bleeding or bad reactions to the anesthesia, and then I'll release the cat back to its colony on Thursday AM.
I am trapping a local feral colony lately. We got four cats TNR'ed last week, and we're hoping for another four this week. Anyway, I thought I would post a little photo journal of what it's like to trap-neuter-return feral cats.
I've got four appointments at the Richmond SPCA tomorrow at 8am. They, like many SPCAs across the country, offer free spay-neuter appointments and rabies shots for feral cats. They are essentially the only reason I'm able to do TNR. Without free surgeries, TNR is too cost-prohibitive. I can't afford to pay for surgeries for these cats. I donate annually to the SPCA as a thank-you for this awesome free service they provide.
So tonight I'll set out my traps. Here are the traps loaded in my borrowed pickup truck, and then another shot of one of the cages with the cover I made for it: a quarter of a sheet with a hole cut in the top for the handle.
Everybody who knows me, knows that I am sort of a crazy cat lady. I'm not like, wearing a kittycat sweatshirt or anything, I don't feed a bunch of feral colonies, but I do volunteer at a shelter to take care of cats, I do feral cat trap-neuter-release, I have three cats of my own, and you know, I'm pretty knowledgeable about cats.
So when this cute orange cat showed up on my doorstep last week, I took pity on him and gave him a snack.
Well yesterday I got an email from a neighbor of someone who'd lost an orange cat. Turns out this was their cat! His name was Jasper, and he lived about 7-8 blocks away, across a very busy main road, and he almost certainly would not have found his way home---and I wouldn't have thought to put up fliers in that part of the neighborhood. Yesterday they came and picked him up and took him home, for which I was really grateful. They left me the collar I'd put on him with my phone number---in case he wandered home, I wanted his owners to call me so if he wandered off again on a cold night, I could get him home quickly next time.
His owner just called me to thank me for getting him home. I'm so glad he is home safely. He is a sweet cat, that Jasper.
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Also last night, my friend and I who volunteer at the shelter, did some feral cat trapping in her friend's neighborhood. We lucked out and right as we arrived with the traps, the lady who feeds the colony got home with a bunch of cat food! The cats SWARMED her, so we moseyed up and asked her if we could trap and fix and return all the cats, and she got all misty-eyed. "Would you? Really? For free? I have been wanting to do it, but I just can't afford it for all these cats..." She told us about how they have kittens, but most of the kittens don't make it to adulthood, and it makes her sad to see the females always pregnant, desperately hungry. She was grateful that we'd be able to spay the two pregnant females (thankfully, we caught both), and she was thankful that we had plans to come back and keep trapping, to get all of the cats fixed.
The best part was, since the cats were all hanging out waiting to be fed, they all went into the traps INSTANTLY. It was the fastest, easiest trap I've ever done. They smelled that Mackerel and BAM BAM BAM BAM, four traps snapped shut.
Usually when you're trapping cats, you place the trap where you've been baiting, and then you wait a couple hours, come back, check the trap, let loose a raccoon, rebait and reset the trap, wait another two hours, no cat, come back in another hour, see if you got a cat... It takes all night, it's exhausting, and frequently disappointing. So last night... last night was a night unlike any other. Those cats went down like deck chairs on the Titanic.
This morning they all went to the SPCA, and are being neutered. They are all scared and sad looking, but they will all come home sterilized and hungry, and we'll feed them, watch them overnight, and then re-release them Thursday AM. Also, we got the woman set up with our rescue organization so that she can take some of the food that is donated to the shelter and feed the colony. When rescue organizations get donated food, we can't really use it, because we feed all of our cats the same thing all the time to keep them as healthy as we can. The great thing is that all the donated food goes to feral cat givers, needy pet owners, and other rescue groups who need it. It is a really great way to "pass it on." I know it must get expensive for that woman to feed all those cats, so I'm glad we were able to get her hooked up with free spay-neuter appointments, and free cat food for the rest of their lives.
I am feeling really good about myself today. It has been a long time since I've done anything that lifted my spirits like yesterday did---finding Jasper's people, and trapping 4 cats lickety-split. It reminded me why I do the things I do. It reminded me why I care, and why I put the effort into Doing The Right Thing. I hope there is a sunshiney corner for me in Kittycat Heaven.
This is probably the best moped-related thing I've seen or heard in a long time.
Come to our rally:
The Hells Satans present: HELL RIDE `08 "Why'd You Break Your Moped?"
Richmond, Virginia, March 28-30, 2008
There has been an orange-and-white tuxedo cat who looks just like Chet outside our house all day today, rubbing our legs, being friendly, and trying desperately to be let inside.
Update: Photo:
I know he is someone's pet: I've seen him around the neighborhood, and he is clean, and friendly, and well-fed. But man, it is SO HARD not to bring him inside tonight. It is cold out there (30F) and the temp is dropping, and it is just windy as hell. I made him a little cat bed on the porch with a high-sided basket with a lot of wind-breaking blankets, deep enough so he can cuddle down in there if he needs to. He hasn't gotten in the basket but he is standing outside the door, begging to be let inside. ARGH, way to break a cat lady's heart, dude!
Allen said if he's still here trying to get into our house in a week, I can nab him and take him to the shelter. I just love him! He is a mega-sweetie!
Plus, he makes me miss Chet.
A post for Danielle, because I have called her, specifically, about each and every single one of these instances:
Scene: A couple in the most beat up Dodge Colt I've ever seen, the woman's throwing Tumbleweave out the car window, and there is a "W '04" sticker on the bumper. Lady, I have never seen two people who are LESS represented by that man than you and your husband.
Scene: A gas station in far western Richmond, the last outpost before The Country. A black couple pulls up in a red Nissan, and they open the doors and The Talking Heads are BLARING out of the stereo. The man looks like ReRun from What's Happening, down to the suspenders and hat, and the woman and he are both dancing, singing at the top of their lungs. LETTING THE DAYS GO BY, WATER FLOWING UNDERGROUND. The man is doing this crazy running-man dance and he is doing the Talking Heads arm-chop thing. (If you watch the video you'll know what I'm talking about.) Allen and I wave and sing along. That shit is FUCKING AWESOME. Same as it ever was! The whole gas station was rocking out.
And, I already told you about the gangsta with the enormous stuffed animals in the back seat. So we're up-to-date on that.
Followup: If you haven't seen Stuff White People Like, you need to read that shit. Water Bottles, Study Abroad, Expensive Sandwiches, Knowing What's Best For Poor People. Hilarious.
Today while on my way to lunch, the dude next to me in traffic was this super tough-looking huge muscled dude with a doo-rag and mirrored shades, toothpick in his mouth, bobbing his head and mouthing along to some hardcore gangsta rap he was blaring out of his stereo with all the windows down. Everything about this dude shouted BAD MOTHERFUCKER.
As he took off at the light, I noticed that belted into the back seat were two enormous child-sized stuffed animals: A smiling brown bear and a fuzzy yellow dog.
I have spent a significant portion of my morning seeking out and bidding on some really spectacular paint-by-numbers paintings on eBay. Specifically: PBNs of cowboys & indians (or anything super-western) AND PBNs of regal sailing ships, schooners, clippers, etc.
This is my new decorating strategy: pirates and cowboys.
Watch out eBay. I am coming in for the kill!
