Gimpy is just a teenager, living life on the edge, at the Lebanon 5th Wheel colony. But Gimpy lucked out. She was one of the first four cats I took in to be fixed from that colony, brought over in the back of a pickup, by a friend of the couple who feed the cats.
She was spayed. I flea treated her and wormed her and wished her luck when I met the pickup couple at the gas station and turned the four girls back over to the friends of the couple who feed them.
I was cruising craigslist early this week and saw an interesting "Found" ad. The ad showed a photo of a black cat lounging on her side. The text of the ad said "Found. Black cat. Young, recently spayed. Ear tip, so she probably went through an FCCO clinic."
I contacted the poster. It had to be Gimpy!
The man, however, lived on the wrong side of the river. How in the world would Gimpy end up across a river from where she lives? I told the man maybe it was her, but maybe it was a cat taken to an FCCO clinic by some Lebanon people who sometimes round up cats to be fixed in that area. I forwarded him a photo I took of Gimpy when here, before she was fixed.
This good samaritan had immediately carted her off to the vet and paid for her to be tested on FIV/Felk (negative) and put on antibiotics, for her URI. I think he also had her ears cleaned and treated for mites.
Gimpy lucked out.
I told the poster if it was her, I doubted the 5th Wheel couple who feed her and a zillion others would be out looking for her, especially not across a river.
But, Gimpy's owners did look for her. The young couple had taken her in after she was fixed and on Halloween night, she followed kids and ended up lost. About the time I was calling to arrange the next mission up to the 5th Wheel colony, the young woman and her kids were over checking out the cat found by the Good Samaritan, to see if that was Gimpy. I told her husband, "If you adopted her, it's Gimpy all right." They live close to the man who found her.
Gimpy lucked out and may reach adulthood.
The young woman had told me she doesn't like to even go up to the 5th Wheel couples' place because there were always dead cats or dead kittens. 11 kittens died in a couple of days after being turned out of the 5th Wheeler the couple up there live in, by the husband. The younger woman believes they were killed by dogs who frequent the property, and are owned by guests of the property owner. At least one, maybe two, died in this manner (shaken by a dog) in the last few days. She said some died when the burn pile was burned because they were sleeping in it.
Vince, the big polydactyl Siamese male, has disappeared up there since his neuter and may also have been the victim of a free roaming dog, whose owner was staying with the property owner. It is not a place where cats live long or easy lives.
But Gimpy's life may be different, more hopeful, more full of decent food and love. I wish all the cats from the 5th Wheel colony could have better lives. It is the indecency of overpopulation that causes such suffering.
Gimpy will get a friend from the colony. The son will choose. It's like playing god in some ways. He will choose a cat who may live a long life, rather than die before even reaching adulthood. He is leaning towards Gimpy's black tux sister, spayed two days after Gimpy. Or, he is thinking the torti point Siamese to be spayed today. White cats don't live long out there, not so much because they stand out to wild predators but because they also stand out to dogs and there are lots of big dogs who come and go out there.
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