Bruno has scored big time!

Here's a happy update on a cat who was living rough in the neighbourhood last year. Bruno was clearly a stray who had been a pet at one time but had been on his own for a while. After feeding him for months, I found him a foster home. Last September, Terry and Laird kindly agreed to take him in. He wasn't the best guest at first. Although he was fairly tame, he initially had some aggression issues. They were unbelievably patient and he finally settled down.

By January they had decided that he was theirs, so lucky Bruno has a forever home.
As you can see from this picture, he is clearly well fed and well loved.

My batting average is on the rise

Yesterday I returned to the colony at Weston and Rogers Rd to continue trapping.

I'm happy to report that it turned out to be a 4 for 4 trapping day. The first 3 were pretty easy, the last one took about 20 minutes but we caught a young black and white female at the end.
So out of this batch there was one female, and three males. Oddly, one male was already neutered. He must have been someone's cat who has joined the colony. A couple had URIs, their noses all congested, so they got antibiotic shots.
Unfortunately there were a few we knew were female that we didn't get but I'll just keep trapping. It makes for a long day, up at 6 a.m., trapping, working, feeding my ferals, transporting, home at 10 p.m. but it's worth it. Those two females would have probably had at least two litters each this year.

Us 2, cats 0

You know the old saying from the Wide World of Sports, the thrill of victory, the agony of defeat, well yesterday was all victory.

Pseudo, who had the injured paw, came back to the colony with his bandage that was supposed to come off still on and after a week it was still there so Steve and I got out the drop trap yesterday afternoon. Boom, 3 minutes in, Pseudo went under and we had him. He's back at the vet's, may need to stay a few days, he seems to have ripped out a suture or something.

And last night we renewed our efforts to catch Buddy. At 9 p.m. we saw him go in the trap, but he outsmarted us, just licked the trail of Fancy Feast leading in. I went to bed in preparation for the 5 a.m. shift and Steve put nice stinky sardines only at the back of the trap, no trail leading in. I guess by night five Buddy was getting hungry because at 11:15 I was awakened by Steve's victory call.
Buddy was home again safe and sound. He came out of the trap as though nothing had happened, purring, friendly, ready to play and eat.
I'm very grateful that's the end of Buddy's big adventure. We'd really better watch that door now!

Buddy 2, Us 0

Last night we trapped 5 raccoons, 1 neighbourhood cat, but no Buddy, although twice he went into the trap, ate the bait near the front and then backed out. So frustrating!

I mean I've trapped more than 30 cats, this isn't my first time at the rodeo but this guy is wily. And when we go out and call his name nothing, it's as if he has amnesia and doesn't know us anymore.

We also left the door open for a while (after herding all the other cats into a room, and trust me, that's a feat unto itself) but all we got was a very nice raccoon who would have been happy to move in.

We'll be back out tonight with our KFC and Fancy Feast.

Let's hope my rematch with Pseudo this afternoon goes better.

Trying to trap my own cat

Our worst nightmare has happened. Buddy, our rescue from last fall, somehow slipped out the door Wed afternoon. As soon as we realized we started searching and put up flyers.

Thankfully we have sighted him during our night searches but frustratingly, he has gone rogue and reverted to his former life, and runs when he sees us. So last night we set up traps and took turns showing up. We saw him once, he ran, we trapped three raccoons, and then at 5:30 a.m. he approached the trap, ate a bit, backed out, stared at me through the window, and left. It would be easier to trap one of the ferals at the yard. We just want Buddy to come home. He's hungry and cold. We saved him from life on the street, we don't want him to live like that again. We're sad and frustrated and sleep deprived.

On top of it all, Mimi, one of the Caitlin's ferals I was feeding occasionally has disappeared. And Pseudo, who had the injured paw, still has the bandage on, I don't know why it hasn't come off, so I have to try to re-trap him to get him back to the vet. I'm on the edge but I have to hang on. Buddy, please come home.

It helps to have friends

When you're a feral cat, it's better to be part of a colony. I feel sorry for the ones who are alone. These three (Pebbles, Lionel and Socks) are clearly good buddies.

A new episode of Cat Trappers

I answered a plea for help from a woman Lesley met at work who has been feeding a dozen cats in her laneway for over a year, none of them have been fixed, and with spring coming hard and fast, the colony could double in size by the end of year if nothing was done. I always think I'm too busy to help, but I know that if I don't, more cats will end up living the unenviable feral life so I loaded up the car yesterday morning at 7 a.m. and drove across the city.

We trapped two of the cats (it's a start) a cute little grey female and this guy, who had a wire wrapped around his hips. The wonderful vets at the THS clinic cleaned up his wound and gave him an antibiotic shot. With a bit of recovery, he should be fine. I'll keep trapping more until I get them all.
Sometimes I think I could be cleaning out my closets or doing my taxes or having lunch with a friend or even paying more attention to my own cats instead of this, but then I save a cat from suffering from injuries, and stop another from having litters to live in a dilapidated shed, and the day that starts at 7 a.m. and ends at 10:30 p.m. , driving all over the city, with cats in traps in the car, is all worthwhile.

Oh my aching paw

On the weekend I noticed one of the UBs at Hank's limping. We call him Pseudo-Maggie because he looks just like our Maggie.

When I got a closer look it appeared to be a nail problem. Since he wasn't putting any weight on it, I pulled out the trap and amazingly, after a bit of following him around, he went in. Off the vet he went. Poor Pseudo had an overgrown nail that had become infected. They flushed the wound, and stitched it up, plus pulled out a loose tooth and treated an ear infection.
He's staying in for a week to heal up but he is eating well. That really must have hurt.

On another note, from March 1 - 31, Global Pet Foods and Hill's Science Diet are inviting Canadians to nominate outstanding animal shelter and rescue volunteers for the first Heroic Heart Pet Service Award. The award will recognize four volunteers across Canada who have demonstrated outstanding care and compassion to homeless pets. Nominations can be made at local Global Pet Foods stores and on-line through Facebook.com/GlobalPetFoods