Marathon of a Different Sort

Sometimes cat situations are not so easy.

The most difficult ones are always when cats and kittens are not being fed, just sighted somewhere.  This makes it hard, because there is nowhere you can trap them, like at a place they usually get fed.

Such was the case with a mom and kittens spotted in rural Linn.  Nobody on the short street wanted to feed them or even knew where they hung out for sure.

Dutifully I set traps and immediately began to catch baby possums.  Or teen possums, really.  Over and over again.  But finally, middle of the night, the second night, still having seen no kittens, I caught their mom.  I'd been spending my time, exhausting myself, driving back and forth to check traps every few hours, or sitting in a homeowner's driveway, who is away on vacation, where the kittens were spotted.

It wasn't all bad.  The nights are beautiful out there.  The stars vivid!  It's literally dark, not like the city where I live, lit to almost daylight by street lamps and paranoid neighbors front and back porch lights, and garage lights.  There's no darkness to be found in the city.

I loved it and marveled at the darkness and the quiet.  And yearned again to leave city living behind.

I finally spotted kittens one night late, two of them.  One black, one tabby, out in the dead corn patch.  I set a trap, but the kitten I caught was white and gray.   So there were more than two.  Then I caught a tabby, too, and thought maybe there was just one left.  Until I spotted another tabby kitten.  That would be the last time I saw those two kittens, despite herculean efforts on my part.

I finally brought two teen possums home, so they'd stay out of the traps.  They'd be in the trap every ten minutes.   I housed them in a cage with a carrier and soon they were even using the litter box.  Wow!

I caught another unknown adult, who will be fixed tomorrow.  Mom, I named her Gypsy, was fixed Monday.   I thought my barn cat placement friend might be able to place her, but turns out she is full and headed off on vacation.   Today I made the decision, after finding a big fat skunk in the trap, to take mom back.  She is the kittens' only hope.  So I did, and I took the possums back too.  They waddled off, feet paddling noisily on the barn floor as they scrabbled for cover.

I don't have trouble releasing skunks without getting sprayed.  So far anyhow.  My smaller trap is of a height skunks cannot get their tail over their heads to spray.  I just calmly release them without any trouble.  So far.  This huge one this morning was no exception and waddled off.

I had to be at the Speedway to catch some cats.  I'd taken the drop trap over a couple days ago for them to prefeed under.   I caught mom and three of the teens with the first drop.  Mom was the most important catch.  This had been her third litter.  I caught a fourth teen later when he appeared.  The fifth was a no show.  I hope they catch him soon, so he too can be fixed tomorrow.

I also picked up a kitten from a relative of some folks who found her with her head stuck in a chain link fence.  They were going to keep her but their landlord said "no".   Kata will take her Saturday.

I came home after returning mom and the possums to take a long long much needed nap.  I dreamed I was at a seed warehouse where long ago, I had trapped over 200 cats and that an ex employee was calling the office making threats and suddenly someone yelled he was outside.  I saw him through the window with a gun and looked under a cabinet thinking I could break out the back and through the wall, then I thought I better jump through the back window instead but it was a cliff behind it, but I saw him outside again and that's when I woke up.

I suppose the dream was prompted by the latest workplace shooting.

I feel renewed from my nap.  Tomorrow 8 or 9 local cats will be fixed at whs.   Five from the Speedway, six if they catch that last teen, plus the unknown from the rural barn and two from down in Brownsville.  So it will be a good day tomorrow for local cats.

Gypsy's two boys, 8 weeks of age, are in my bathroom and I think will be fairly easy to tame.  They are robust and clear eyed.

Gypsy on the right, and the two kittens I did catch, both boys.

Unknown catch, wild, good shape, will be fixed and vaccinated tomorrow.