MamaKat

For the past 2 years we have been trying to catch MamaKat - she is the
mother-cat of Weeble, Ernie, Mimi & Moe (but Weeb is older & from another
litter).

This afternoon I look out back, and there, in the shade of our dogwood tree,
I MamaKat. This is her usual place, when she's hungry and wants food. With
her was a 3-4 week old black & white bitty! I knew she'd had another
litter, saw her moving one of them a few weeks ago. Looks like there's only
the one. Not sure if this was a single-bittie litter (as fat as she was
before, I doubt it), or the only survivor.

After I saw her moving the one, we bought some cans of kitten food to put
out, for when MamaKat taught the little ones to mooch. Today is the day. I
put out a can, and MamaKat stood defensively between me & Bittie, while
Bittie tried to hunker down and hide in the grass. Would have worked, but
s/he had to meow. As soon as I was safely back on the porch, with the door
closed, MamaKat then went to eat some, taking a big gulp, looking back at
Bittie, another gulp, look at Bittie. After about 3-4 gulps, she went back
to Bittie. I left them be for a while. Next time I checked, there was a
lot more food gone, and Bittie was being brave and wandering over to the
food dish (not really a dish, but a large Tupperware lid - the bowl to which
it's supposed to go is long gone), over MamaKat's protestations. It got to
the dish, there was a bit of food left, and it decided to try some. Hey -
this is good stuff! It actually got all the way inside the "dish" to eat.
By that time MamaKat had had enough of Bittie's insolence and when to get
her/him. Bittie didn't like that one bit! Cried that MamaKat was taking
him/her away from the goodies. They managed to finish the food, and at last
sighting were "hiding" behind our tomato plants in the front garden, cuddled
up between the creeping phlox and the house.

Posting a piccie to alt.binaries.pictures.animals - poor quality as it's a
camera-phone and taken through a (dirty) window. Bittie is IN the dish.
Dogwood tree is to the right, and so is MamaKat, just out of camera range.
Picture was taken right before MamaKat came & drug Bittie away from the
food. In the distance you see a yellow doghouse - we bought that for
MamaKat & her brood last winter - but they never used it - it was in the
garage, until we found a opossum living in it in there. Out it went. With
Mr. (or Mrs.) Opossum in it. Been there ever since. You can also see, in
the upper left, the rear half of the left rear tire of my Jeep . At the
end of the walk is the trap that MamaKat refuses to get trapped in I
know it would help if we would put the food IN the trap, but this is the
first we've seen the kitten, and we didn't wanna trap MamaKat and take her
away from any babies, lest the babies would die in her absence (or have her
abandon them after her release).

*HOW* can I convince MamaKat to let us take her to TED (local spay/neuter
clinic, they only charge $25 for ferals, and tip their ears, plus $8 for
rabies shot) so she will no longer have Bitties, and can therefore laze the
afternoons away under the dogwood tree, waiting for us to bring food????
Ping has talked to her through the screen door, and so has Weeble, Ernie
Mimi & Moe (her babies), but still she's leery of getting too close to us.
*sigh*

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy former-blonde
in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)©
email me at nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 22:43:21 +0000, Magic Mood Jeep© wrote:

For the past 2 years we have been trying to catch MamaKat - she is the
mother-cat of Weeble, Ernie, Mimi & Moe (but Weeb is older & from another
litter).

This afternoon I look out back, and there, in the shade of our dogwood
tree, I MamaKat. This is her usual place, when she's hungry and wants
food. With her was a 3-4 week old black & white bitty! I knew she'd had
another litter, saw her moving one of them a few weeks ago. Looks like
there's only the one. Not sure if this was a single-bittie litter (as fat
as she was before, I doubt it), or the only survivor.

After I saw her moving the one, we bought some cans of kitten food to put
out, for when MamaKat taught the little ones to mooch. Today is the day.
I put out a can, and MamaKat stood defensively between me & Bittie, while
Bittie tried to hunker down and hide in the grass. Would have worked, but
s/he had to meow. As soon as I was safely back on the porch, with the
door closed, MamaKat then went to eat some, taking a big gulp, looking
back at Bittie, another gulp, look at Bittie. After about 3-4 gulps, she
went back to Bittie. I left them be for a while. Next time I checked,
there was a lot more food gone, and Bittie was being brave and wandering
over to the food dish (not really a dish, but a large Tupperware lid - the
bowl to which it's supposed to go is long gone), over MamaKat's
protestations. It got to the dish, there was a bit of food left, and it
decided to try some. Hey - this is good stuff! It actually got all the
way inside the "dish" to eat. By that time MamaKat had had enough of
Bittie's insolence and when to get her/him. Bittie didn't like that one
bit! Cried that MamaKat was taking him/her away from the goodies. They
managed to finish the food, and at last sighting were "hiding" behind our
tomato plants in the front garden, cuddled up between the creeping phlox
and the house.

Posting a piccie to alt.binaries.pictures.animals - poor quality as it's a
camera-phone and taken through a (dirty) window. Bittie is IN the dish.
Dogwood tree is to the right, and so is MamaKat, just out of camera range.
Picture was taken right before MamaKat came & drug Bittie away from the
food. In the distance you see a yellow doghouse - we bought that for
MamaKat & her brood last winter - but they never used it - it was in the
garage, until we found a opossum living in it in there. Out it went.
With Mr. (or Mrs.) Opossum in it. Been there ever since. You can also
see, in the upper left, the rear half of the left rear tire of my Jeep .
At the end of the walk is the trap that MamaKat refuses to get trapped in
I know it would help if we would put the food IN the trap, but this is
the first we've seen the kitten, and we didn't wanna trap MamaKat and take
her away from any babies, lest the babies would die in her absence (or
have her abandon them after her release).

*HOW* can I convince MamaKat to let us take her to TED (local spay/neuter
clinic, they only charge $25 for ferals, and tip their ears, plus $8 for
rabies shot) so she will no longer have Bitties, and can therefore laze
the afternoons away under the dogwood tree, waiting for us to bring
food???? Ping has talked to her through the screen door, and so has
Weeble, Ernie Mimi & Moe (her babies), but still she's leery of getting
too close to us. *sigh*

--�
The ONE and ONLY
lefthanded-pathetic-paranoid-psychotic-sarcastic-wiseass-ditzy
former-blonde in Bloomington! (And proud of it, too)© email me at
nalee1964 (at) insightbb (dot) com
http://community.webshots.com/user/mgcmdjeep



Will send loud purrs that Mamacat will soon let you trap her. She must be
getting tired of having litters and losing them -- what a hard life. MLB

I can feel that this will be the time you get her. And she and her bitty
will get a good home.

"Magic Mood Jeep©" wrote
*HOW* can I convince MamaKat to let us take her to TED (local spay/neuter
clinic, they only charge $25 for ferals, and tip their ears, plus $8 for
rabies shot) so she will no longer have Bitties, and can therefore laze
the afternoons away under the dogwood tree, waiting for us to bring
food???? Ping has talked to her through the screen door, and so has
Weeble, Ernie Mimi & Moe (her babies), but still she's leery of getting
too close to us. *sigh*


What happens when you try to trap her? Does she just not go in the trap?
Have you tried different types of traps? Did you put a sheet of newspaper
in the bottom of the trap so she wouldn't step over the trip plate?
Phil P on h&b has described a type of trap that you manually set off, almost
like a box propped up on a stick, and you pull the string. I haven't used
it myself, but it might work in this situation since she and the kitten did
come up to the food, and this trap is safer for the kitten than a
traditional trap. Try pinging him on the other group.
Good luck, I hope she can be trapped. She's probably tired of having
litters!

-Kelly

What happens when you try to trap her? Does she just not go in the trap?
Have you tried different types of traps? Did you put a sheet of newspaper
in the bottom of the trap so she wouldn't step over the trip plate?
Phil P on h&b has described a type of trap that you manually set off, almost
like a box propped up on a stick, and you pull the string. I haven't used
it myself, but it might work in this situation since she and the kitten did
come up to the food, and this trap is safer for the kitten than a
traditional trap. Try pinging him on the other group.
Good luck, I hope she can be trapped. She's probably tired of having
litters!

-Kelly

You can also do this with most standard drop-door traps. You will need a
long piece of stiff wire (a straightened out coat hanger ought to work)
and a length of strong twine or small rope. Bend a loop in one end of
the wire. Open the door of the trap and thread the long wire through, just
under the open door, in such a way that it will hold the trap door open.
Tie the rope to the loop in the end of the wire. Place the trap in such a
way that the rope has an unobstructed path from the trap to you. When
kitty walks into the trap, pull the rope, the wire comes out, and the door
drops shut.

On Wed, 20 Jul 2005 22:43:21 GMT, "Magic Mood Jeep©"
wrote:

For the past 2 years we have been trying to catch MamaKat - she is the
mother-cat of Weeble, Ernie, Mimi & Moe (but Weeb is older & from another
litter).

This afternoon I look out back, and there, in the shade of our dogwood tree,
I MamaKat. This is her usual place, when she's hungry and wants food. With
her was a 3-4 week old black & white bitty! I knew she'd had another
litter, saw her moving one of them a few weeks ago. Looks like there's only
the one. Not sure if this was a single-bittie litter (as fat as she was
before, I doubt it), or the only survivor.

After I saw her moving the one, we bought some cans of kitten food to put
out, for when MamaKat taught the little ones to mooch. Today is the day. I
put out a can, and MamaKat stood defensively between me & Bittie, while
Bittie tried to hunker down and hide in the grass. Would have worked, but
s/he had to meow. As soon as I was safely back on the porch, with the door
closed, MamaKat then went to eat some, taking a big gulp, looking back at
Bittie, another gulp, look at Bittie. After about 3-4 gulps, she went back
to Bittie. I left them be for a while. Next time I checked, there was a
lot more food gone, and Bittie was being brave and wandering over to the
food dish (not really a dish, but a large Tupperware lid - the bowl to which
it's supposed to go is long gone), over MamaKat's protestations. It got to
the dish, there was a bit of food left, and it decided to try some. Hey -
this is good stuff! It actually got all the way inside the "dish" to eat.
By that time MamaKat had had enough of Bittie's insolence and when to get
her/him. Bittie didn't like that one bit! Cried that MamaKat was taking
him/her away from the goodies. They managed to finish the food, and at last
sighting were "hiding" behind our tomato plants in the front garden, cuddled
up between the creeping phlox and the house.

Posting a piccie to alt.binaries.pictures.animals - poor quality as it's a
camera-phone and taken through a (dirty) window. Bittie is IN the dish.
Dogwood tree is to the right, and so is MamaKat, just out of camera range.
Picture was taken right before MamaKat came & drug Bittie away from the
food. In the distance you see a yellow doghouse - we bought that for
MamaKat & her brood last winter - but they never used it - it was in the
garage, until we found a opossum living in it in there. Out it went. With
Mr. (or Mrs.) Opossum in it. Been there ever since. You can also see, in
the upper left, the rear half of the left rear tire of my Jeep . At the
end of the walk is the trap that MamaKat refuses to get trapped in I
know it would help if we would put the food IN the trap, but this is the
first we've seen the kitten, and we didn't wanna trap MamaKat and take her
away from any babies, lest the babies would die in her absence (or have her
abandon them after her release).

*HOW* can I convince MamaKat to let us take her to TED (local spay/neuter
clinic, they only charge $25 for ferals, and tip their ears, plus $8 for
rabies shot) so she will no longer have Bitties, and can therefore laze the
afternoons away under the dogwood tree, waiting for us to bring food????
Ping has talked to her through the screen door, and so has Weeble, Ernie
Mimi & Moe (her babies), but still she's leery of getting too close to us.
*sigh*

Purrs on the way for MamaKat and her latest babe. I wish I had some
advice on catching her, but I think some cats are just too smart for
their own good.

My Rocky was like that. He was caught ONCE in a trap that a neighbor
had set for a possum, and after that wouldn't even go on the same side
of a building where a trap was hidden. I probably fed him two or three
years before he let me touch him, and by that time he was a senior
citizen, at least for a feral. I've heard, but don't know how accurate
it is, that the average feral only lives to be 6yo. TED estimated
Rocky at 6-8 yo the first time I managed to catch him and take him in
to be treated for an abcessed leg wound (course two years later a
different TED estimated his age at 6-8, so he might have been 4 the
first time.)
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Spot
with loving memories of Rocky (RB)

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