Dirtbag Tea Party

OMGWTFKITTENZ

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Thu, 01 May 2008 10:02:45 -0400

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More rescue kitties...

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:24:53 -0400

Last night I spent a couple of hours trying to trap the last kitten, who was with Momma Cat hanging around under the deck at my friend's house. The last kitten was tricksy, though, so we put momma in a crate with some salmon, and then put the trap right next to her with some food in it. When Momma finished her salmon, she gave a cry for the baby kitten to come join her, and he ran up, smelled the food in the trap, ran inside to check and BAMMO. Kitten! I took them both home last night.

Pretty Jezebel

Today, Momma Cat, who I'm naming Jezebel, went to the SPCA to get spayed. They made me pay for it because she's friendly and wasn't in the cat trap, which... whatever. I went ahead and got her tested for everything and got her all the shots and stuff, too, because, well, whatever. If I'm gonna pay for part of it, I might as well pay for all of it I guess.

The kittens I got signed up with the rescue organization last night, and they are going to the vet today. I think Thurman's bent paws are fixable with some physical therapy. I've been working with him, massaging his paws, trying to get them to straighten out a little. If nothing else, he thinks that is fun playtime. All four kittens have eye infections. I think one of the black ones, Houdini the escape artist, will probably need one of his eyes removed. I don't know what I'll call the other black and white kitten. I try to name kittens in batches so the shelter knows they're related? But I dropped the ball this time by calling the big red kitten, "Big Red" and by naming Thurman, too. I guess I could still change all of those. I thought about calling them all by H names: Houdini, Hank, Hal, Holden, etc. I don't know. Any suggestions, people?

The kittens are pretty glad to have their momma back, and she is pretty glad to have them with her. They are much more relaxed when she is around, and Houdini didn't try to escape once all night, which is amazing, because he can turn his head sideways and squeeze through the bars! It is only a one-inch gap!

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HURRAH!

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Sun, 26 Aug 2007 22:22:38 -0400

Tonight, after weeks of working with her, I got Agent 99 to purr. And MAN, did she let it all hang out. It was like she'd been holding it in for so long that she couldn't stop once she started. I hope we can keep going in that direction. I was worried I was going to have to re-release her.

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Kitteh update

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Mon, 06 Aug 2007 09:02:28 -0400

Well, momcat is doing well, I let her free on Saturday and she took off like a gunshot, she couldn't have been happier to be free. I saw her Sunday, and I've been feeding her in the same old location, hoping she brings the black kitten back to that spot, so I can trap the black kitten and work on taming it. Momcat is staying well-fed, at least, so that'll help her heal from her surgery. I hope she is keeping a low-profile, but who knows. I am probably foolish to think that she would bring her kitten to be trapped. She eats next to that trap but won't fall for MY tricksy human ways again!

The kittehs are doing pretty well. They still hiss a little bit at me, but they have stopped spitting at me and trying to swat my hands. They realize that the hands bring the delicious spoonfuls of all-meat pureed baby food, which they LOOOOOVE, so they tolerate my presence. They are even venturing out into the other parts of the cage when I am not looking---they even ate a whole bowl of kitten kibble last night. They are very skinny so I am encouraging them to eat as much as possible. Today I picked them both up for a few minutes and held them in my lap and tried to get them to eat some baby food. Gray tabby went for it, but orange wasn't having my bullshit. They both were glad to get back into the cage, huddled in their corner. Baby steps with the feral kittens, baby steps. It is hard, because I want to cuddle them and kiss their (de-wormed) bellies, but obviously that will be a while.

Anyway, I set the trap again today for the last kitteh, I hope I catch him/her, but if not, I'll keep moving the trap around that area and hope that I just luck out. Persistence (and wet food) is the key.

Thank you all for the generous donations!

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Help for teh kittehs

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Sat, 04 Aug 2007 07:05:15 -0400

A few of you have asked if I was going to accept donations to help the stray kitties I'm rescuing. I don't personaly need the money, but I thought about it, and you know who does? The rescue organization who is placing these kittehs for me.

The Richmond Animal League has been placing these kittehs for me, and they are super awesome (even if their website leaves a little to be desired). These people LOVE animals, and they have been awesome to me when nobody else would help. One day I was there visiting Gus, and a woman was picking up a kitten she was adopting, and the adoption staff was all crying, saying goodbye. They LOVE kittehs. They are Good People.

YOUR GENEROSITY IS BOUNDLESS. Donations closed. You can still donate to the shelter on their website, if you wish. Thank you so much for your help, the shelter and the kittens are so grateful. I am in awe of your generosity and kindness. Thank you.

You people are Good People. The kitties, and RAL, are grateful. I am bowled over by your love and generosity. The kindness of you internet friends always touches my heart. We all send our love. Photos will be posted of kittens as soon as possible.

EDIT: update, two of three kittens trapped and safely at home. Name suggestions?

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Momcat Update

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Fri, 03 Aug 2007 16:41:47 -0400

Well, she's back from the vet, and the vet, being awesome and herself understanding the kitty rescue plight, only charged me $75 for the spay and the shots. I love you, Dr. Jack! They gave me the cat's rabies certificate with the little rabies tag, and I laughed. What am I going to do with paperwork for a cat that I am releasing back to her natural habitat? So funny. I can't wait until three years from now when I get a reminder in the mail that "Torti Feral" is up for her rabies renewal. Ha ha ha. Sure, I'll bring her right in. ;)

Mommacat is in the basement again, this time with plenty of food and water. She did NOT like me opening the cage door and she kept trying to make a run for it, but she wasn't sure which way to run, so she just ran in circles in the back of the cage. Dr. Jack also loaned me another cage to try to trap the kittens but said I might have better luck with a cat carrier and leather gloves. Uh, no thanks, these are a little big for that, I think. I'll try the trap route. I will probably set the traps and just wait. I'm going to have to have Robert, the guy who helped me find them, and probably Allen, come help me lift the metal grates to get down into the window well where the kittens are living. I also need to go buy some wormer, I keep forgetting that. I should've bought some at the vet, but I guess the OTC stuff will work in a pinch like this.

I'm feeling relieved that this saga is almost over. Momcat is spayed, she's alive and bright eyed and fine. I know where the kittens are, and how many she's had. I went from feeling really sad about this whole endeavor to feeling pretty confident and reassured, which is, I guess, ultimately why I keep doing this.

Quoth the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.

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More feral kittens, damnit.

nobody@vox.com(styro) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 14:19:13 -0400

Remember when I rescued Fatbutt and her brothers, Coal and Gus, AKA the "Gutter Gang?"

Well, I tried for a while to catch their momma, but she continuously eluded my capture and I kept catching Possums and realized she either was too smart for the trap, or she had moved.

I got a phone call today from one of the landscapers saying she'd moved. And she's had another litter of kittens.

Fuck!

I'm going to call my vet and find out what mornings she does spay and neuter appointments, and start trapping again. I am going to have to rehome another set of kittens---hopefully they are small like these guys, because Gus was too feral to be tamed and he is languishing in Rescue, which sucks. Both for him and for the rescue. I should have neutered him and released him.

Cross your fingers that the babies are tiny, people. Because if they're big, they're going to have a crummy life (after I trap and neuter and release them) living in the gutters here where I work. I guess it could be worse, but I just feel bad for feral cats. It is a shitty life.

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