The soda pop kittens

Remember the little tortie kitten I rescued a month ago and that Michelle was fostering?  Well little Sprite found a wonderful home and is now sitting on her person's lap, how great is that.

The other two kittens I took to Michelle around the same time are now socialized and will be up for adoption through Annex Cat Rescue, meet Shasta and Fresca, such cute tabbies.

I went over to Michelle's to give them pain meds after their spay neuter and it seemed every room had foster cats, two here, two there, a kitten wandering around.  I asked her partner Joey where they came from and he said "I don't know, they just show up", sounds like what Steve would say.  God bless the patient men in the life of cat rescuers.  And mine has to be especially patient right now, our air conditioning has broken just as my body has decided to have hot flashes.

Sometimes it's easy, sometimes it's hard

This morning I had to get Pebbles to the vet for a dental procedure.  Pebbles is 14 now, the first feral kitten we rescued.  We didn't do a very good job of socializing her, we didn't know as much then, she's a good cat, but a bit hard to handle.  I had the big open top carrier all ready for her but who did I find in it all settled in, Oliver of course.  We did manage to get him out and Pebbles in, poor girl had three teeth extracted.

When I fed at the yard yesterday I noticed that Lionel was having trouble eating, I suspect a dental issue so I tried to trap him today but as soon as I brought out the drop trap every cat disappeared. Trapped too many times I guess.

Hey, I just saw that this is my 503rd post!  I didn't even realize I had surpassed 500!  And the best part is I've helped more cats than I've done blog posts.  If only I could trap Lionel, sigh, it's not always easy.

Team of trappers wins!

I'm so happy to report that after three attempts by me, two attempts by Gary, one by Marianne, it was Lesley who managed to seal the deal this morning.

Thursday evening I managed to trap one more kitten, but the last one, a fluffy little calico, eluded me.  I tried again last night to no avail.  With the THS appointment looming today I asked Lesley to try this morning.  She tried a new tactic, she trapped the mom and used her to lure the last kitten.

I was elated when she called me just minutes ago to say she got them!  Now the family will be reunited and go to the THS to find homes!  Just in the nick of time as construction is starting on Monday.  Woo hoo!

It takes a team

I've taken on the role of answering the stray feral email for Annex Cat Rescue, lots of people needing assistance and of course I want to help them all.

On the weekend there was an email about a friendly mom and four not so friendly kittens in the back yard of a house scheduled for demolition.  I reached out for help and met up with another trapper from Annex Monday night.  We could have trapped mom in 30 seconds but the kittens are wily and still nursing so not hugely food motivated.  We did manage to get one kitten with a kitten trap and Gary went last night and netted another kitten.  Today Marianne is taking a trapping shift, fingers crossed she gets them all, we have an appointment at THS on Saturday for them so time is a ticking.

Trapping is definitely not a science, every situation is different and requires different methods. Regular trap, drop trap, kitten trap, nets, it helps to have them all in your arsenal of equipment, the rest is timing and luck.