Number 33

Things seem to work out sometimes.

I went to retrieve the equipment still out at the Lebanon colony where I'd trapped 32 cats not long ago, to be fixed.   The caretaker was hobbled with very bad knee pain and I could almost feel it in my own body, what he felt.  So I tried to get him to stay still and let me do anything requiring movement.

This was not just for him.  I suffer from empathy so intense sometimes I experience the physical or emotional pain someone else feels as if it is mine.

Then it was I saw the unfixed gray cat he'd told me about.  Then I saw a second.

I'd trapped only two gray cats before, both were females.  Now I'm seeing at least four gray cats.  Holy cow, I thought.  If we missed two or more grays, how many blacks and black tuxes were missed?  For now, I told myself, focus on the unfixed grays.

I caught one easily by tricking it into the trap and luring the kittens who wanted in there for wet food, away from it, leaving the set trap clear for one of the two gray males I was seeing to go in and spring it.

Here is a clearly right ear tipped fixed gray girl!

In this photo I took from my car yesterday morning, are four cats.  On the right, the fixed gray girl.  To her left, a black, to the black's left, is the rear end of another gray.  And his tail is to the side, revealing little nuts.  So that was pretty obvious that there was at least one gray unfixed male.  Actually there are two.  On the far left, is the chocolate point Siamese male kitten, now fixed.

Unfixed uneartipped gray atop the mower.

Number 33-a young gray talkative male, now fixed and sleeping it off in my garage!

Once I caught him yesterday, I thought to myself, I'll just call Heartland, whom I knew were doing surgeries, see if they can by any chance work in a male.  They said bring him over.   I told the guy the cost at Heartland, and he fished out the cash for it.  Heartland charges $40 to fix a feral.

It's really nice to have that option.  Not something I can pay for, for others but if someone wants ferals they feed fixed, if they don't have a lot, it's a great option!  For that $40, they get the ear tip, shots, flea treatment, tested for FIV/Felk and fixed.

They often also treat them for tapeworms, by sticking a droncit tablet up their butt when out cold on anesthesia.  They did that for this little guy and I was darn happy to see they did that on his records, because the cats out there have been very wormy, with both tape and roundworms.  When I pointed out roundworms in their poop and told the caretakers they'd halve their cat food purchases if they kept them free of worms, they were very enthusiastic about worm killing!  They had me order them a bottle of strongid online.

It can make a huge difference to keep ferals wormed in costs for food.

When I return Number 33 today, shall I make a play for number 34, the other gray?   I probably should, to get it done.  I'd have to hold him, til at least Sunday.
Sunday's the day I have reservations with the FCCO for cats from another Albany colony.  They don't know for sure how many they feed, yet, who are not owned neighbor cats.

 I know there is a black and white mom cat with three or four teens, a long hair torti, several orangies, and a huge black and white male, who looks a lot like Viktor, who used to be the rabbit people's cat until the police came to my door and asked me to take the three cats there, then thankfully Heartland stepped in to take the two boys (girl cat had cancer).  The rabbit people live just two houses down from this colony.  The rabbit people actually told me about this colony, and said the cats needed fixed.  Viktor got fixed through Poppa years ago, but this big lookalike male is probably related to Viktor and since he's three or older, possibly FIV positive.  Makes me sad to see the big males roaming unfixed and know they likely have FIV or worse.

Anyhow, I could try to catch the other Lebanon colony male, just to get it done, and hold him in my garage and make him one of the 10 to get fixed Sunday.  And why not, I think, it's a good idea, also in case I don't catch 10 at the other place, since it's not as defined a colony, intermingled with neighbor cats, so my initial success may be limited there.

I know if I missed two grays out there, at the Lebanon colony, then  I missed others.  For now I'll get the grays and pick off anybody else one cat at a time.  I will make sure they are all fixed out there.  Those are nice people!