2013 year in review

The last few years I've done a year in review, this year feels like it's been a blur, I continued my work with the colony of course but upped my TNRing and rescue work, I've lost track of the numbers but I think I've hit more than 200 cats either TNRed or rescued/adopted, and all of those were spayed and neutered too.  I probably took on more than I should have but it's so difficult to say no to cats in need, and I feel privileged that I was able to help so many.   I couldn't have done it without the assistance of many to whom I'm supremely grateful and I wish I had the space to thank them all but I must thank Joanne and Connie for their invaluable help, truly I could not have done it without them, to all our feeders, Sandi, Marisa, Tory, Michelle and Avril, to the foster parents including Kathleen, Michelle, Nikki and Susan.  Thank you to Donna at Global Pet Foods and Toronto Cat Rescue and Toronto Humane Society for their support, and thank you to everyone who donated.

I TNRed a few large colonies this year and in the process rescued a lot of kittens.  25 came out of Gloria's yard as I got all 19 of her ferals fixed over a few months.  It's extremely satisfying fixing whole colonies.  I also did some outreach work with lower income people with multiple cats, helping them rehome the kittens and get the cats fixed.

It was a year that brought me to my knees a few times, whether from exhaustion or being overwhelmed or dealing with difficult people and I always swear at least once a year that I'm done, but how can I be. There is still work to be done, time to turn the calendar and persevere.

In the colony, the start of this whole thing, things have been relatively stable.  Chester was adopted by Pat and Linda in the spring but in September we had the tragic death of Biffy, killed by a dog.

It's time to introduce the new members of the Cherry Street colony, I've been putting off writing about this until I knew the outcome.  Relocation is a dicey thing and best avoided, but these cats ended up at Animal Services and simply couldn't be returned to where they had been trapped so I agreed to take them and relocate them, I'm pleased that they have stayed, and have found the shelters and food we have supplied them with.  They are young females, and as with all of them I will do my best to care for them.  

Penny

Clara

Audrey

Happy New Year to all the cat lovers out there!  There's nothing better on a winter night than having a bunch of cats snuggled in bed beside me purring away.

A chilly Monday

Stubby seems to have been displaced by a racoon and has moved over to Hank's but the other cats don't like him, so he's still not eating as much as I would like but I don't really know what to do, just hope it resolves.

I feed on weekends at a building nearby and they have one of their ferals who has gotten trapped inside so last night I took a trap down and set it up, no luck yet, poor cat must be so scared and hungry.

Today I fed the ferals in my furry hat, they looked pretty chilly too, and the canned food froze within minutes of putting it down, eat fast my friends.

I was happy to rescue a cat who showed up in someone's garage on Christmas Day and didn't leave.  No luck finding his home so far, and I couldn't stand to leave him out in this cold so now Gus is safe and warm.

I also ferried Rosie to the vet for her spay along with Susan's fosters, Asia and Simon, although it sounds like Asia may be a foster failure.  Rosie was going into heat, good thing she got rescued and now is spayed.  She is temporarily with me but she's not really a good fit with the others so I need to move her somewhere soon.

Stubby in his new spot

I
'd better get working on my year in review, it was such a busy year that it seems a daunting task.

The emotional toll

For those of us who care for feral cats, there are a lot of resources on colony management, on Trap, Neuter, Release, all the practical matters, but what's never addressed is how to deal with the hard stuff, what do when your ferals get sick, how gut wrenching it is when they die.  We all invest a lot of time in these cats and feel protective of them, they are our cats too.

Joanne called me yesterday about one of her ferals who was ill.  Joanne is a wonderful woman I met a couple of years ago.  She has a TNRed colony in her neighbourhood and does recovery and short term fostering for me, and has become a good friend, we often talk about cat situations.

Hers was a tough one, one of her ferals was clearly not well, in fact was so ill that her husband was able to grab him and put him in a carrier.  We agreed that he would go off to the vet first thing this morning.  Sadly Tux (yes, all of our ferals have names) died overnight.  Obviously something was very wrong with him.  Naturally Joanne is upset, she has fed him for years.  But at least he had care and love, and he died inside safe and warm.

I've certainly felt the same grief when one of mine goes.  Right now I'm worried about Stubby, he's not eating.  I don't know if he's sick or stressed.  Pseudo is chasing him and because of the snow and ice he is having trouble getting to his ditch spot, and I'm not sure what to do.  It's a worry.  

I also discovered someone is stealing the cats' food, I think it's Harry, so now I have to wait around and catch whoever it is in the act.  How maddening, I'm just trying to take care of these homeless cats and some jerk is taking their food and water away.

Stubby in warmer days

These are the kinds of things that aren't in the manual, the kind of things that break your heart.

My kind of Christmas

Scooter and Ernie got up early and snuck downstairs to see if Santa had arrived yet.

 No Santa, and they quickly tired of waiting for breakfast.  Those humans sleep way too late.

After we took care of the colony at home, we headed out on our Christmas rounds.  We had two additional colonies to add to our route, so it was about three hours before we returned home.  It was a snowy day so not as many cats as usual, but I think we fed about 30 ferals today.  Christmas is just another cold day for them, but I love feeding them on Christmas Day, feels like the right thing to be doing.  Merry Christmas to all!

After the ice storm

Well we managed to make it down to feed yesterday, the walking was actually worse than the driving.  I guess the upside of the colony is that there aren't any trees to come crashing down.

We were wondering if cats had better traction than people and we quickly learned that they do not, they were slipping and sliding as much as we were.  It was obvious they were desperately looking for a bare patch to walk on but those were few and far between.

Arrow

MC

Me and Teddy

Morris

Socks

Tibbs

Stubby

Is it really only the beginning of winter???

How could they?

Sometimes rescuing cats feels like a Sisyphean task.  As fast as you can find them homes others are being discarded.  How did Rosie end up unspayed in a parking garage with nobody looking for her?  Or the other cats I find that are dumped?

I had an upsetting afternoon at the Humane Society on Friday.  I was in the lobby and a man came in with a cat in a carrier.  He is a super and found the cat abandoned in an apartment, who knows how long it had been there.  Unfortunately the THS can't accept strays so the cat was going to have to go to Animal Services.  The cat was lovely and I was frantically trying to think how could I save it.  I have two foster homes now available but they've both gone away for the holidays, and I don't even have an extra room now.  So I had to let go, knowing I can't save them all, that this happens every day.  There was another cat in the same situation, he had been left in a cardboard box outside the front door.  How could those people do that?  It's unfathomable to me.

So I focus on the ones that I have saved.  Here is a picture of Snowball sent by his new mom, the cape is instead of a cone while his paws finish healing.

I know there are many wonderful people out there, I'm reminded of that every day.  Thank you Shannon, for your generous donation, it's heartwarming how many have reached out to say they care and want to help the cats.

Today's goal is to somehow get to feed the feral cats in this ice storm, I have 30 hungry cats depending on me (and my car).

Angus is adopted!

I'm delighted to report that Angus was adopted yesterday.  I'm surprised it took so long, orange and white cats are generally popular, and he's a handsome friendly guy who's been available since the summer but Daniel fell in love and now Angus has a home for the holidays.  Angus came to me this summer he had been living in someone's garage.  His first two fosters didn't work out, and he went to Kathleen, who turned out to be the right fit.  Then we dealt with the challenge of his skin, he was biting at his fur and had scabs.  After steriods and a hypoallergenic food, his fur had grown back in long and luxurious.  Plus I had his teeth cleaned, but it's all worth it knowing he has found a forever home.  That's the tough thing, when you say yes, and rescue a cat, you never know what health issues you will run into.  I am thankful I could help Angus.

Angus - adopted!

Kathleen has been a great foster parent, Angus was her third foster this year.  I'm so lucky to have such great fosters, Susan is fostering Asia, one of the body shop kittens and Simon, the kitten who ran into Global Pet Foods.  It's a good thing he did, he had two abcesses.

Asia

Simon

In other adoption updates, Michelle has adopted Pip, one of the kittens from the last litter she was fostering.  Not a bad failure rate, I think she fostered 15 or 16 kittens this year and only kept one.

I heard from the wonderful woman who adopted the seniors Snowball and Caesar, and there is some kind of good news about Snowball.  Turns out he doesn't have cancer, but has heart and kidney failure.  This was determined with an ultrasound.  It's still a big problem, but those conditions are at least treatable, so I hope he will have more time as a result.  Mai is the best adopter for those cats that I could have imagined and I thank you all for your help with them.

I received a generous and unexpected donation from Dorothea, thank you so much, and she asked about whether I thought that progress was being made in terms of feral cats.  It's a great question, and certainly I think that things are improving.  When I first started feeding more than four years ago, there weren't many resources.  The last couple of years have seen huge changes, with free spay neuter clinics for feral cats, workshops for caretakers, shelter building workshops, all supporting and educating those who care for feral cats.  There is a real community out there and I believe we are making progress, that more and more cats are being TNRed, and those living in colonies are being well taken care of.  I'm proud to be a part of that.  I think I TNRed (Trap, Neuter, Release) more than 70 cats this year, and that's just me, I see so many people doing the same, those efforts will result in less kittens and less feral cats.

For the next few days, with nasty weather coming, I just want to make sure I get my ferals fed so they have full bellies to help them get through the cold nights.

Lots to report!

I feel like I'm behind in blogging, but it's been a busy few days.  On Saturday I did an adoptathon at Global Pet Foods on the Danforth, and even though it was the day of the snowstorm, four cats found homes!

Adoptathon at Global, thanks to Donna for all her help

One the cats who was adopted was Jack.  Jack is the cat that Connie found at her feeding station at the end of October, clearly dumped.  What a friendly guy, and it showed, he was very popular, and adopted by a lovely couple who came looking for a kitten but couldn't resist Jack's charms.

Jack, now in a forever home

As I was setting up Friday night, a woman called the store, she had meant to dial TCR but was looking at the homepage about the adoptathon and dialed Global instead, she found a cat and didn't know what to do.  Of course the staff passed the phone to me.  The woman found what she thought was a kitten in the parking garage of Gerrard Square eating garbage in the cold, and kindly bundled it up and took it to the THS but they can't accept strays and would have transferred the cat to Animal Services.  When she explained the situation to me I said bring her here, I'll take her in, it was clearly meant to be.

So little Rosie is with us right now, but she's not a kitten, the vet thinks a year, but she only weighs four pounds, such a sweetheart, but not eating much the last couple of days so we've run some bloodwork to try to figure out what's up.

Little Rosie

And then there was the storm, and the shovelling, oh how the ferals and I hate this weather.  We were too busy and cold to take any pictures.  Another bright spot in the weekend though was meeting Krista and Shawn, they came by on Sunday with a huge donation of Friskies that they and their friends got together.  I was so touched, and really appreciate the support, as do the cats.  At least they have full bellies to get them through the winter.

Nikki has taken over fostering the autobody shop kittens, aren't they the cutest things?

Christmas came early

I have amazing news!  A wonderful woman named Mai has stepped forward to adopt Snowball and Caesar.  She saw their story on The Panda Project's page on Facebook and was moved by their situation.

I feel confident they will be well cared for and loved for as long as they have.  She has already spoken to her vet about them.  I wish that Snowball's prognosis was better but I knew as soon as I saw him last week that he was a sick cat.  I haven't spent much time with these cats, but just during the vet exam you could tell that they are nice cats.  I think the guy who had them loved them but unfortunately there just aren't any no cost vet clinics.  There must be many cats in the same boat, their people care but can't afford vetting.

At least Snowball and Caesar have received help and I thank everyone who cared and shared and donated and helped to make this happen.

Good news and bad news

I spoke to the lovely Dr Eaglesome today about the senior cats.  The good news is that Caesar is in great shape for his age, and doesn't really have any health problems.

The bad news is Snowball.  He is very diabetic but that is most likely being caused by a large liver or pancreatic tumour in his abdomen.  She is amazed that he is doing as well as he is, in good spirits and eating well.  It's a large tumour that is pressing his colon against his spine and very sadly he probably only has weeks or months to live.

So now I desperately need someone to take these two in, ideally together.  Caesar could have a few more years, he just needs some TLC and Snowball deserves to spend his final days in a loving home.

There must be somebody out there, I just need to find them, and fast.

Sometimes this is so hard.

Thank you to all who have donated to their vet care.  It's so reassuring knowing I'm not alone in caring about cats and their welfare.

The senior cats' first step of their journey

Today we picked up Snowball and Caesar and took them to the vet.  Blue Cross Animal Hospital generously offered to give us great rates for vetting them.  I stayed while the cats were examined.  At first glance Caesar, the 17 year old seems to be in pretty good shape, but we will need to wait until the results of the bloodwork come back.

Snowball, who is 14, appears to have more health issues.  Beyond his nails, he is still unneutered, and there are probably reasons that he isn't keeping up on his grooming.  His abdomen is definitely swollen and the vet was concerned that it might be fluid, which is never a good thing, but we will need to wait on more test results for him too.

They sent me these photos after cleaning up Snowball's paws.  I love how he is eating the treats.  The cats were both very well behaved, such sweeties.  I was so happy to get them out of where they were living and get them the care they need and deserve.  Step one down.  I have a couple of possibilities of foster homes but I wish they could go straight into a forever home....one step at a time I guess.

If you would like to donate towards their care, you can donate via paypal or you can contact Blue Cross vet directly and have your donation applied to their account, the phone number is 416-469-1121.

Mostly good news!

I've been so touched by the outpouring of concern over the two senior cats I last posted about.  There are two offers of help with vetting and a couple of possibilities of homes for them so I'm feeling very positive.  They will be going to the vet in the next day or two and then we can go from there.  There still may be hurdles to overcome with potential health issues but I'm so grateful that they will have the care they need.  It really is wonderful how many people care about cats.  When I first saw those cats I felt overwhelmed thinking how can I help them, well it's only due to others that I can.

In the midst of dealing with all that, I got a call from Donna at Global Pet Foods about a kitten who ran into their store.  Poor thing was terrified, but they took it in, and I'm going tonight to pick it up.

Global kitty

Sadly, I have some bad news about the friendly black cat that I found a few weeks ago at the colony.  She had to euthanized this week due to kidney failure.   It really upset me but clearly she was already ill when I found her so at least she didn't die outside in the cold, suffering.

This cat thing is such a roller coaster of emotions.  The last couple of days I've cried both from sadness and from joy.

Senior cats in desperate need of help!

Yesterday was a tough day.  I found out about two senior cats that will be losing their home due to their person being evicted.  I went to assess them and see how I could help.  The apartment made my stomach turn, the only furniture was a couple of lawn chairs and stained mattresses on the floor.

Then I got up close to Snowball, the white cat, and it got worse.  All of his front claws have grown into  solid discs and he can't walk properly, his paws are caked with litter, it must be so painful.  His tail is dark and oily, I'm not sure what that is, and apparently he vomits a lot and is drinking a ton of water, signs of a health problem.  Still, he is a lovely friendly cat.

Caesar is a bit shyer and seemed to be in better shape but who knows.  He is supposed to be 17 and Snowball 14 but I don't know how reliable their information is.

All I wanted to do was take them out of there and get them to a vet, but I have nowhere for them to go, and I know from dealing with senior cats, that their vet bill could add up very quickly.  I need a plan, but there's not much time.

So if anyone reading this knows of anyone who would foster or adopt either of these cats, please let me know, they don't have to be together.  If I could find them a place I will find the money.  I felt sick leaving them behind.

I finished my day with more cat social work, spaying a couple of cats for my low income free kitten friends, it was after 11 by the time Connie and I finished our drop offs to more charming homes but at least I had the satisfaction of knowing that in both cases there would be no more kittens.

I tumbled into bed a bit depressed but profoundly grateful for my home, my life and my cats.

Kids and kittens

I just met Nikki a few months ago, and she very kindly offered to foster for me.  Foster homes are gold, without them I can't help all the cats and kittens who need it.

Her last batch of kittens got adopted very quickly.  Now she has three more, and they are getting tons of love and socialization.  She has kids too so that's great.  Both times when I have shown up with a carrier full of kittens the children were waiting outside so excited.   I think it's so important that kids grow up with animals and learn about that special bond.

I just love this picture, a kitten for every kid!

I remember getting my first kitten when I was twelve, we went to somebody's house, and I picked an orange one that we called Tigger.  It felt like the most exciting day of my life.  I made the mistake of picking the most playful one of the litter and he was a terror for a while but then he settled down and was part of our family for years.   And as soon as I moved out on my own the first thing I did was adopt a cat.

Clearly I have always loved cats but I'm still not sure how I got to where I am now, with all my cats and doing all this cat stuff but I'm just happy because of that these kittens will soon go to homes where I hope they will have a long and happy life.

A mountain of cans

This is what the kitchen sink looks like after a day of feral feeding.  I go through at least 15 cans of Friskies every feed.  The recycling guys must be wondering what kind of business we are running.  We have 2 full bins and then always a few bags on the side come pick up day.  Our ferals get both canned and dry food.  I think the canned food, even though it's Friskies, really helps keep them healthy, they get added moisture and lots of protein.  There is certainly no shortage of opinions about cat food and what's best, for the ferals I do the best I can financially to provide for them.

I try to feed my guys at home a higher grade of food but they often prefer Friskies or Fancy Feast, I make sure they mostly have good food with a bit of junk, kind of like kids who have to eat their broccoli to get cookies.

Many thanks to Sally and Stephen this week for their donations, it's really appreciated.  My ferals are looking nice and chubby, it will help them get through the long winter to come.

Ho ho ho happy ending

Molly, one of my neighbours who adopted Milo the kitten earlier this year, sent me this wonderful picture of Milo and her daughter Sophie.

Milo and Sophie, ready for the holidays

I love it when a cat gets such a wonderful home!  It's what I wish for all of them.

The winter routine begins

I know it's only November but it feels like winter already.  No trapping for me until spring, just feeding ferals, so I'm happy to spend most of the chilly evenings inside with my cats.

I fell asleep on the sofa one night and Allie took advantage.

 Blinky and Ernie have enjoyed watching the falling leaves and the squirrels cavorting in the yard.

 And Blinky has a new friend close to his own age.

Apollo or Paolo, was a summer rescue who was adopted and then returned.  It's a long story, don't ask, but he joined our gang, and now I'm not sure he's going to leave.  He's such a lovely little guy.

With darkness falling at 5 p.m., during the week I've been feeding the ferals at lunchtime, and my days look like this:  Wake up, surrounded by purring cats, drag myself out of bed, scoop multiple litter boxes, feed multiple cats, get myself ready for work, then make six trips to the car with food, water and bowls for feeding.  Rush off to work, already late, park, walk 10 minutes to the office.  Work for a few hours, eat at my desk, then go back to the parking garage, drive to the colony, feed all the cats, fingers numb all the while, rush back to the office, my lunch hour more than an hour, work for a few more hours, then go home, wash a trug load of dishes and load up food for the next day and of course feed my guys and scoop their litters again.  Good thing I love my ferals, I'm feeding five days a week right now, and it's just that much harder when it gets cold.  I feel even worse for them than for myself, I've provided shelters and hope they find warm spots to curl up in.

The kittens keep coming...

I keep naively thinking that since it's November the rescuing will slow down but this week that wasn't the case.  Katie, my vet tech, discovered a litter of kittens living at an autobody shop and my team swung into action to get them out of the cold.  I couldn't have helped them without Joanne and Susan.

Katie took a trap up to the guy feeding them and on the first day he caught two.  Joanne drove over and got them and stashed them in her bathroom, and the very next day the other two were trapped and rejoined their siblings.  Joanne took care of them for a few days and had them vetted and today Susan their foster mom picked them up.    Susan was fostering four other kittens but they moved on this week so she thankfully had space.

It's always gratifying to rescue kittens but it's especially satisfying at this time of the year.

Just as that was all taken care of, and I breathed a sigh of relief, another situation presented itself.  I was feeding the colony yesterday and Clayton who works in the yard, came over to tell me that a friendly cat had shown up.  I finished feeding and went over and sure enough a little black cat ran out, so friendly, and painfully thin.  Luckily I had a carrier in the car so in she went.  But then I had no clue what to do with her, no foster homes available, no room at my inn, so I took her to the vet for boarding and vetting as a start.

She didn't appear well so we ran some bloodwork and did an x-ray, little Sophie now Peyton, about five years old, had kidney failure, anemia and an infection.  One theory was pyrometra if she was unspayed.  I left her there for the night after paying a hefty bill, and tried to figure out what to do.

After some emails, the THS, who I have a good relationship with, agreed to take her.  At least she will get the medical attention she needs, and possible surgery,  and then they will find her a home, two things I can't provide right now.  Too many rescues, too many cats in foster homes.  I was sad to say goodbye to such a sweet cat but know it was for the best and she will be fine.  I'm just thankful she found her way to us, no way she would have survived the winter with those kind of issues.

That's the third tame black cat found around our colony in the last couple of months.  Sometimes I hate people, and anyone who could dump a cat, well it's beyond my comprehension.

My niece to the rescue

When my phone rang yesterday and I saw it was my niece, I was worried.  She never calls, we just text.  Turns out it was a kitten call what else.  Siobhan has been interning outside Guelph and was told that they heard a cat crying for the last 3 nights.  Of course Siobhan sprang into action and crawled under a portable to rescue this little guy.

Only a couple of weeks old, he wouldn't have survived much longer.  I told Siobhan about bottle feeding and off she went to buy KMR.  Luckily she was able to find someone nearby who has raised kittens before.

I am so proud that she saved this kitten!  Siobhan loves cats, and has fostered for me in the past.  Steve and I have already joked that we will have to leave her all our money and our cats.

Crazy Cat has not settled down, her behaviour is so odd, she doesn't appear frightened, she plays and sleeps on the bed, but when Sandi goes in she still lunges at her claws out.  She is going to be spayed tonight and then Ian, unable to stand the thought of putting her out in the cold, has agreed to take her in.

Cat rescue is rarely simple

I've pretty much stopped trapping for the season, but it's hard to resist a cry for help.  A woman I know has been feeding some cats in the ravine area behind her apartment building for the last few weeks.  Holly, the cat below was the first one rescued.  About six months old, she was friendly, and found a home just this weekend.

Holly Golightly

Earlier this week another cat was caught, and also proved to be friendly, so I went to pick her up.  As I was waiting, I caught sight of another cat, a calico, and when I approached her with food she came up to me meowing.  I opened the carrier and in she went.  I thought, fantastic, another one saved.

Well, this one hasn't worked out so well.  Sandi has been fostering and this cat is crazy.  She's clearly not feral, but she hisses and lunges at Sandi when she goes in the room.  We are hoping she is just traumatized and settle down, but aggression is a real problem.  I hate people who just dump their problems.  It's cold and dangerous where she was.  I hope I don't have to put her back but the options are few for a cat who attacks people.  Sandi is a cat person so for her to be terrified is saying something.

Cat rescue is rarely simple.  I also got a call from a tech at my vet, she found out about kittens at an autobody shop, so this week's mission is to get them to safety and warmth.

With the short days, I'm rushing down on my lunch hour to feed the ferals, and I'm down a feeder, so it feels like I'm always doing feral cat dishes and buying food.  We've even run out of room in our recycling bins.

The cat came back

Socks is one of the regulars at the yard, he shows up like clockwork at the sound of the clicker, so when we didn't see him last weekend we worried.  Then when he didn't show up Monday or Tuesday we worried more.  Steve and I searched the yard Wednesday for about 2 hours, climbing on boats, looking in windows and in dumpsters, wondering what had happened.  So many possible dangers.  Had he gotten hit by a truck, fallen into a dumpster, got trapped in a boat or something we hadn't even thought of?  By Saturday we sadly resigned ourselves to the fact that he was probably gone.

So when we showed up yesterday to feed and there he was in his usual spot by the dumpsters, I cried for joy.  Socks was alive and back.  Whatever happened to him he was hungry.

Don't scare us like that again, Socksy.

This week's offerings

Take a look at this week's cuties.  Aren't these kittens absolutely adorable?  These ones certainly won't have problems finding homes.

This is Indy, she was eating in caring woman's backyard in Scarborough and she reached out for help.  Although she was a bit shy at first she has really come along thanks to Joanne.

I got a call from Connie yesterday, she went to feed her colony and found this guy huddled beside the feeding station.  He walked right into a carrier and so off he went to the vet and hopefully his next step will be a foster home.  A pre-Halloween dump perhaps?

Tabby love

I went to visit Michelle's foster kittens the other night.  She has six! tabby kittens, and somehow she can tell them apart, I didn't have much luck.  Even though they are almost ten weeks old they are still tiny things but doing very well, Michelle is a great foster mom.  

I met a cat someone has been feeding for a while to assess and see if I could help.  He is a sweet cat, shy but clearly was somebody's pet at one point but has been out for quite some time.  Unfortunately I don't have an immediate solution but I hope somebody can help him out.

I totally forgot to note that it's been four year since I've been blogging.  Four years of feeding ferals, four years of trapping and rescuing.  That made me tired just writing it, must be the time of year.  My trapping is almost wrapped up for the year, I think I've TNRed almost 70 cats in seven months.  Time to put away the traps and get the shovels and handwarmers out.