Sunday, January 30, 2011

Feral #2 Fixed

So it turned out this kitty was a girl, again!  She was much more mellow after her surgery and really didn't make a peep the whole way home or even the rest of the day.  I did leave some tuna in her cage and I noticed she ate it later in the evening, which was good.  I had already decided that I would release her Thursday night, which means I had kept her for about two days - same as the previous kitty.  Here's a picture of her just before I released her. 


She sure was excited to get back to her brothers and sisters! 

One night last week when I was feeding the cats, the security guard told me that a lady who works at the school contacted a local Humane Society and they might come out to help trap and spay/neuter some cats, which would be awesome.  In the meantime, I'll keep on with what I'm doing and prevent some more little kittens from running wild!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Feral Cat #2

Last night I went to attempt to catch another cat.  There are a ton of black cats at the school and I was thinking I'd get one of them this time, but after 45 minutes of waiting, no luck.  I decided to try my luck again in the area where the little orange ones hang out and before you know it, I had another one.  I checked the ear to make sure it wasn't the same kitty as last week, which it wasn't, so I took it home to the garage.  It's a sibling of the one from last week.  They all look the same! 




This morning I took it off to the SPCA to get fixed.  Thankfully there are programs that spay/neuter feral cats for free.  I'll head back there later today to pick it up, and I'll find out if it's a boy or girl.  Hopefully it's a boy so I can release him sooner.  I hate to keep them in the cage for very long. 

Day of Surgery

Early in the morning, I took the cat to the SPCA to get fixed.  Turns out it was a girl :)  So she was spayed and they make a little V-cutout on the right ear so that it serves as a marker that this particular cat has been spayed/neutered, just in case I were to catch her again.  The only bad thing about it being a girl is that she requires a longer recovery period of 3 days, whereas a male can be released after 24 hours.  Here are a couple pics of her after the surgery:  




I put a little shoebox lid in the cage with some kitty litter for her to use, but I don't think she really understands the point of it because unfortunately she sat on the first water bowl I put in there, and then proceeded to sit on the kitty litter :(  Her tail and but had kitty litter stuck all over it!  Anyway, I didn't really want to keep her for 3 whole days because it seemed like a long time, and I had read online that you shouldn't keep feral cats for more than 48 hours because it increases their stress.  After I finished my class on Thursday night, I decided I wanted to release her because she had started eating again and she seemed alert.  I also wanted to release her when her siblings would be around, and they usually come out at night.  

So, I took her back over to the school and put out some food to coax the other little ones out.  Soon enough they came, so I got her from the car and reunited her with her little family :)  

One down, lots more to go!

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Caught one!

So last night after I finished class, I headed over to the school with my trap and stinky tuna all ready to go.  When I got there, I noticed that someone had just fed the cats because their food containers were full.  I got worried that I wouldn't get one because they wouldn't be hungry.  But, you know what they say about cats - they're curious creatures!  After I set out the trap, I saw two of the little orange kitties very cautiously eyeing the trap.  I put a burlap cover on it so it wasn't some scary metal looking thing.  For a few minutes, they just walked around the outside of the trap, sniffing, pawing at the burlap, trying to figure out how to get the delicious tuna dish!  Finally, after only about five minutes, one of the little orangies fearlessly walked into the trap while his sibling watched....and BAM!  The door closed behind the kitty, who then proceeded to freak out and try to claw its way out.  I felt bad for the poor thing, but this is the right thing to do.  I took the kitty home and it spent the night in the garage.

Bright and early, we headed to the SPCA for its appointment.  Luckily, the local SPCA fixes feral cats for free so I only have to put in the time and effort, which I have a lot more of lately, so it works out well.

My first blog!

I've decided to start a blog about my adventures in trapping, neutering, and releasing some feral cats that live at a school nearby my house.  I first noticed these cats over a year ago because the school is part of my running route.  Over the past year, it seems as though the colony of cats has grown, and will continue to grow unless someone starts to get these animals fixed....and this is where I come in apparently.  After seeing a group of young, cute, orange tabby cats, I knew I couldn't ignore the problem the same way the school administration is doing.  To make a long story short, I finally got my hands on a humane trap, thanks to my sister who has experience trapping feral cats.  With the humane trap in hand, as well as some stinky tuna food, I am ready to begin my "fixing feral felines" project!