Two Feral Cats - Caught One

I finally caught "Two-Eyes" yesterday. This is One-Eye's much
healthier sister. I called my contact and she met me at the vets where
she takes all of her ferrals. This cat is also over a decade old. She
will be cleaned up, checked for infections and abcesses, given some
meds if needed, treated for fleas, updated on her shots (including
rabies and distemper) and released back here. The farm thing that
Linda (my cat Lady contact mentioned) is no longer an option.

After over a week of trying to catch either one of these cats, I
finally did. I tried every bait you guys mentioned and then some. They
would get close enough to eat the food I put at the entrance and just
past the entrance but wouldn't actually set the trap. Monday night I
tightly wrapped the trap in cardboard, and lined the inside floor with
cardboard to disguise it. It worked, within two hours of setting the
trap, I had Two-Eyes.

I've also been moving the trap around and checking it every few hours.

I see One-Eye every few days. I can get close enough to her to almost
touch her. She eats treats within a few fet of me and if she sees me
she follows me around if I stay away from the building and parking
lot. Because she has such limited vision, I can sneak up on her but
not close enough to actually catch her. She almost seems to be asking
for help. So I will continue trying to get her in the trap and also
gaining her trust so that I may be able to just grab her. Her wound
seems to have stabilized, at least it hasn't gotten any worse, but she
still needs medical attention.

Linda mixes antibiotics in with the food she has set out a few times a
week. I also learned that there may be as many as six or seven all
white cats here. I asked Linda if she wants me to release any
seemingly healthy ones but she wants to have them all treated. I am
photographing any I catch so that when they are released I can tell if
I have already brought them to the vet.

I saw for the first time the other day another cat in need of
attention. She has a growth the size of a golf ball on the side of her
neck. Linda thinks it just needs to be lanced and cleaned and then
give her some meds. She only hangs out behind a neiboring building and
won't come over to this feedin station, probably due to territorial
issues. I'll try to get her and One Eye, but this one is more skiddish
and won't let me get within ten feet. I had heard about her but didn't
see her till the other day.

Linda feeds over 400 cats in 50 colonies in the greater Hartford area
on a regular basis and is extremely grateful for my help. I've offered
to try to get all the cats out here for as long as she can spare the
trap. I've also been feeding these cats when their bowls are empty but
I don't want them too full since they may then avoid the trap.

I've also learned that the vet down the street may be systematically
euthanizing some of these cats. The colony was orignally over 20, and
some have been relocated, but others simply disappeared.

I've considered baiting the trap with catnip but I'm not sure how
effective that would be on a ferral cat. Any thoughts?

I will post updates when something significant happens but just
because I haven't posted in while don't think I've lost interest or
given up. I'm not going to post unless something important happens,
like catching a cat, or it's subsequent treatment. If you have a
question, feel free to e-mail me. To be honest, I haven't even been to
this group recently.

To those of who've accused me of "not wanting to get my hands dirty"
(coughMARYcough), I've dedicated myself to catching these cats and
having them treated, and thankfully, there's already a network in
place to get that done. I originally was trying to help 2 cats, now
it's seven or eight. I spend time before and after work and on my
lunchbreaks trying to get these cats. I've been here the past two
Saturdays and Sundays , settting the trap and walking the fields, even
though I live over 20 miles from here. My wife is concerned that this
will reflect poorly on how my new employers perceive me, but I work
for and with pet lovers, was hired in a position of relative
authority, and have some flexibilty in my schedule, and don't use any
company time or resources in my Quiotic quest. My boss even offered to
subsidise food for the trap.

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice. If
you (or anyone else) really wants to help, E-mail me and I will tell
you where to come to catch these cats. If anyone happens to catch
them, please let me know and I will let you know where the vet is.
It's important these cats go to this particular vet because he is
familiar with them.

I will update you when more happens.

Carl

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.


If
you (or anyone else) really wants to help, E-mail me and I will tell
you where to come to catch these cats. If anyone happens to catch
them, please let me know and I will let you know where the vet is.
It's important these cats go to this particular vet because he is
familiar with them.


You are so full of ****. Good luck with that.

"ceb2" wrote in message
om...
I finally caught "Two-Eyes" yesterday. This is One-Eye's much
healthier sister. I called my contact and she met me at the vets where
she takes all of her ferrals. This cat is also over a decade old. She
will be cleaned up, checked for infections and abcesses, given some
meds if needed, treated for fleas, updated on her shots (including
rabies and distemper) and released back here. The farm thing that
Linda (my cat Lady contact mentioned) is no longer an option.

After over a week of trying to catch either one of these cats, I
finally did. I tried every bait you guys mentioned and then some. They
would get close enough to eat the food I put at the entrance and just
past the entrance but wouldn't actually set the trap. Monday night I
tightly wrapped the trap in cardboard, and lined the inside floor with
cardboard to disguise it. It worked, within two hours of setting the
trap, I had Two-Eyes.

I've also been moving the trap around and checking it every few hours.

I see One-Eye every few days. I can get close enough to her to almost
touch her. She eats treats within a few fet of me and if she sees me
she follows me around if I stay away from the building and parking
lot. Because she has such limited vision, I can sneak up on her but
not close enough to actually catch her. She almost seems to be asking
for help. So I will continue trying to get her in the trap and also
gaining her trust so that I may be able to just grab her. Her wound
seems to have stabilized, at least it hasn't gotten any worse, but she
still needs medical attention.

Linda mixes antibiotics in with the food she has set out a few times a
week. I also learned that there may be as many as six or seven all
white cats here. I asked Linda if she wants me to release any
seemingly healthy ones but she wants to have them all treated. I am
photographing any I catch so that when they are released I can tell if
I have already brought them to the vet.

I saw for the first time the other day another cat in need of
attention. She has a growth the size of a golf ball on the side of her
neck. Linda thinks it just needs to be lanced and cleaned and then
give her some meds. She only hangs out behind a neiboring building and
won't come over to this feedin station, probably due to territorial
issues. I'll try to get her and One Eye, but this one is more skiddish
and won't let me get within ten feet. I had heard about her but didn't
see her till the other day.

Linda feeds over 400 cats in 50 colonies in the greater Hartford area
on a regular basis and is extremely grateful for my help. I've offered
to try to get all the cats out here for as long as she can spare the
trap. I've also been feeding these cats when their bowls are empty but
I don't want them too full since they may then avoid the trap.

I've also learned that the vet down the street may be systematically
euthanizing some of these cats. The colony was orignally over 20, and
some have been relocated, but others simply disappeared.

I've considered baiting the trap with catnip but I'm not sure how
effective that would be on a ferral cat. Any thoughts?

I will post updates when something significant happens but just
because I haven't posted in while don't think I've lost interest or
given up. I'm not going to post unless something important happens,
like catching a cat, or it's subsequent treatment. If you have a
question, feel free to e-mail me. To be honest, I haven't even been to
this group recently.

To those of who've accused me of "not wanting to get my hands dirty"
(coughMARYcough), I've dedicated myself to catching these cats and
having them treated, and thankfully, there's already a network in
place to get that done. I originally was trying to help 2 cats, now
it's seven or eight. I spend time before and after work and on my
lunchbreaks trying to get these cats. I've been here the past two
Saturdays and Sundays , settting the trap and walking the fields, even
though I live over 20 miles from here. My wife is concerned that this
will reflect poorly on how my new employers perceive me, but I work
for and with pet lovers, was hired in a position of relative
authority, and have some flexibilty in my schedule, and don't use any
company time or resources in my Quiotic quest. My boss even offered to
subsidise food for the trap.

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

I didn't shift over to anyone's camp but my own. You seemed like you were
all talk about helping this cat. I still think you're an asshole for
declawing your kittens when you *knew* what declawing involved. But I won't
let that interfere with trying to help you help this cat.

If
you (or anyone else) really wants to help, E-mail me and I will tell
you where to come to catch these cats. If anyone happens to catch
them, please let me know and I will let you know where the vet is.
It's important these cats go to this particular vet because he is
familiar with them.

I will update you when more happens.

Carl


Put the food out at the *same time* and *same place* every day so she gets
accustomed to a feeding schedule. After a few days, you can pretty much
count on her being there at the same time.

This technique will also build her trust in you and might allow you to
actually net her. I wouldn't advise trying to grab her with your hands
unless you have a pair of kevlar gloves. If you don't have a net, you can
use a tennis or badminton net as a throw net -- you can buy one at any
sporting goods store for about $25.

Its better to trap her than net her because you'll probably have a problem
getting her into the trap or carrier unless the net is a Duraflex. If the
vet works with ferals, he probably has a squeeze cage to make it easier to
examine and/or sedate her.

Since she seems trapwise - so, don't put the food in the trap; place it a
few feet away and everyday move the food closer to the trap. When you see
her coming right up to the trap to eat, put the food *inside* the trap the
next day.


Start thinking about building a winter shelter for the cats.

http://www.alleycat.org/pdf/feral_cat_shelter.pdf

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...=1&pCatId=3487

http://www.nitro-pak.com/product_inf...roducts_id/372

In article ,
enlightened us with...

I will update you when more happens.

I for one am glad to read the updates.
I'm glad someone is helping these cats.

Good luck catching One Eye.

--
--
~kaeli~
Does the name Pavlov ring a bell?
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

In article ,
enlightened us with...

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.



Mary, sweetie, darling, wonderful person who loves cats, when you act quite
this bitchy and obsessive about it, you make anti-declaw people look like
complete assholes who shouldn't be listened to. More moderate people will
just shake their heads and go "oh, well, if that's how it is, then they're
exaggerating. I'll just declaw, since these people are obviously off their
rockers."

You know how the PETA nuts actually do more harm than good? Yeah. This kind
of behavior HURTS us as anti-declaw campers. Just like people hear the words
"animal welfare" and start snickering about the latest antics pulled by the
PETA morons. They (mainstream culture) don't distinguish between animal
welfare and animal rights. So it hurts both causes.

Let it drop already, eh?
Declawing sucks, but what's done is done.

--
--
~kaeli~
Never say, "Oops!"; always say, "Ah, interesting!"
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/wildAtHeart
http://www.ipwebdesign.net/kaelisSpace

"kaeli" wrote in message
...
In article ,
enlightened us with...

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.



Mary, sweetie, darling, wonderful person who loves cats, when you act
quite
this bitchy and obsessive about it, you make anti-declaw people look like
complete assholes who shouldn't be listened to. More moderate people will
just shake their heads and go "oh, well, if that's how it is, then they're
exaggerating. I'll just declaw, since these people are obviously off their
rockers."

Thanks for sharing. Nothing personal, but I don't care.

[...]
Let it drop already, eh?
Declawing sucks, but what's done is done.

--
--


No.

"Mary" posted
in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav on Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:19:18 GMT:


"kaeli" wrote in message
.. .
In article ,
enlightened us with...

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.



Mary, sweetie, darling, wonderful person who loves cats, when you act
quite
this bitchy and obsessive about it, you make anti-declaw people look like
complete assholes who shouldn't be listened to. More moderate people will
just shake their heads and go "oh, well, if that's how it is, then they're
exaggerating. I'll just declaw, since these people are obviously off their
rockers."

Thanks for sharing. Nothing personal, but I don't care.

Mary shows us how a rational, logical, sensible human being acts.






--
K. A. Cannon
kcannon at insurgent dot org
(change the orgy to org to reply)

http://www.insurgent.org - Sponsored by Carlyle Group

Try not to let your mind wander...
It is too small and fragile to be out by itself.

On Tue, 27 May 2003 12:19:08 I was Wollkooked:

This spammer is full of ****. Get out of my mail or face legal action.
I have no such email addresses listed nor would I remove them if I did. The
spammer in question is a spammer--that's it, he has harassed and defamed me
and my companies for 7 years now and I really don't care what you want.
The ISP sending me this threat is hosting a defamation website that is
being sued and will be removed from the net+ damages. boink--I have
already requested at least THREE times that this abuser cease and desist
mailing me, therefore I ask that you take action to kill this offending
account immediately.

"K. A. Cannon" wrote in message
...
"Mary" posted
in
rec.pets.cats.health+behav on Wed, 10 Nov 2004 20:19:18 GMT:


"kaeli" wrote in message
. ..
In article ,
enlightened us with...

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where
you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.



Mary, sweetie, darling, wonderful person who loves cats, when you act
quite
this bitchy and obsessive about it, you make anti-declaw people look
like
complete assholes who shouldn't be listened to. More moderate people
will
just shake their heads and go "oh, well, if that's how it is, then
they're
exaggerating. I'll just declaw, since these people are obviously off
their
rockers."

Thanks for sharing. Nothing personal, but I don't care.

Mary shows us how a rational, logical, sensible human being acts.



*bows*

Thank you.

Good work! Thanks for hanging in there and getting one. Hope the other
one hops in soon, too.

She's a decade old, but that's not ancient. You've probably added
several years onto her life. I have my fingers crossed that her sister
is as lucky.

Rhonda


ceb2 wrote:

I finally caught "Two-Eyes" yesterday. This is One-Eye's much
healthier sister. I called my contact and she met me at the vets where
she takes all of her ferrals. This cat is also over a decade old. She
will be cleaned up, checked for infections and abcesses, given some
meds if needed, treated for fleas, updated on her shots (including
rabies and distemper) and released back here. The farm thing that
Linda (my cat Lady contact mentioned) is no longer an option.

kaeli wrote in message . ..
In article ,
enlightened us with...

"ceb2" wrote :

And finally to Phil, thanks for shifting over to Mary's camp where you
think abusive insults are more constructive than helpful advice.

Now this is rich. You paid to have the beautiful little feet of three
kittens that trusted you mutilated for the sake of your furniture, but
I am abusive.

Mary, sweetie, darling, wonderful person who loves cats, when you act quite
this bitchy and obsessive about it, you make anti-declaw people look like
complete assholes who shouldn't be listened to. More moderate people will
just shake their heads and go "oh, well, if that's how it is, then they're
exaggerating. I'll just declaw, since these people are obviously off their
rockers."

You know how the PETA nuts actually do more harm than good? Yeah. This kind
of behavior HURTS us as anti-declaw campers. Just like people hear the words
"animal welfare" and start snickering about the latest antics pulled by the
PETA morons. They (mainstream culture) don't distinguish between animal
welfare and animal rights. So it hurts both causes.

Let it drop already, eh?
Declawing sucks, but what's done is done.

A very wise and insightful comment. I think some folks get so
passionate about a topic, they don't understand how obnoxious they
come across to other people. Insulting others is never a good way to
get your point across (and I imagine they do know this) so it makes
one wonder whether it's more about being "holier than thou" than
advocating for the cause they say they believe in.

dragon