She said "no" to trapping a colony. Sure. Right. Like that would happen.
I did turn this one down, when someone else had jumped in, gone over after someone posted about it, got the numbers of the people involved. This included former renters, a neighbor to the house the people had rented and the owner of the house involved. The renters set it afire with a cigarette butt, I was told, and now are couching it with a friend. They left a number of cats behind that they'd fed.
The person who jumped into it said it was seven cats, then five cats, then it was six so I had no clue and thought this was a great one to sit out. She didn't share the numbers either of the people involved. Time to let someone else do all the work.
Until she called me telling me the owner of the house had a trap set for the cats and had said he would dump them somewhere else if he caught them.
Shoot.
So I met her there and set traps and after hours, much of it after dark in very cold temps, caught three cats. And it was quickly apparent, there were more cats than had been claimed. This is not a person who is new to me, the renter man. Years ago, I trapped and removed a dozen or more cats he fed. But some folks repeat their mistakes. He never fixed the next one that came along and it started all over.
The renter wants two of the cats back. But has to first build some enclosure for them at his friends place. Then, get that done, buddy. Below are the two boys he wants back, Toby and Smokey. I caught Toby Friday night and Smokey yesterday afternoon.
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| Toby |
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| Smokey |
I don't have his number to tell him he has one week to get ready to take back his cats, after I get them fixed and hold them and feed them. I told the woman who does, to let him know.
Make an effort buddy, I'd like to tell him, because I sat two nights for hours in freezing cold on your behalf. Well, not really, on behalf of the poor cats left behind.
Anyhow, I've caught seven of them now. The original woman who got involved is holding four of them, including the two little teens and I've got three of them, including Toby, one of the ones the renter wants back. At least six of these seven will be fixed tomorrow. And there is at least one more to catch, maybe more. I just got too tired last night to keep going. The other five caught so far are two adult blacks, probably both boys, and two teenagers, both black, and a tabby.
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| Big black male |
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| The second kitten caught and I think he is a boy. |
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| I think the above kitten is a girl. |
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| Another black adult |
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| And the most recent caught, late last night, the tabby. |
In other news, there was a possibility of snow for the valley floor this morning but the early morning came and went and no snow. We've had an unseasonably warm and snowless winter in Oregon, so many are happy that even this late, the weather turned cold and snow is falling heavily in the mountains. We depend, here in Oregon, on mountain snow packs to supply water in the summer.
Your work is never done even when you try to take a rest. Is there any way you could start training another person to help you and to takeover someday?
ReplyDeleteI've not been able to find willing people who are honest. The work is hard, gut wrenching, long hours, dealing with all sorts of people. I was discussing this with a couple of KATA ladies when I ran into them at the Salem clinic. Their van was loaded in cats they'd trapped way out at a homeless camp beyond Cascadia. 36 they've trapped there so far. One of the two is over 70 now and the other, mid 60's. We were again lamenting what might happen when all the old cat trappers die.
DeleteIt may surprise you, but we too depend on melting snow for our water supply.
ReplyDeleteI never thought where you would get your water there, but it makes sense. Has to come from somewhere, slowly too, for a steady supply. Been watching the water struggles of Capetown. That can't end well unless they suddenly get lots of rain.
DeleteOh, bless you. I don't know how you do it. ~hugs~ Folks around here complain about rain and snow without understanding the importance. Ohio rarely sees droughts, I'm happy to say. Take care and best wishes to all the cats! Oh, and thanks for the kind word on my blog. I'm going to share even steamier stuff on my Sand Castles blog in coming weeks. Heh...
ReplyDeleteWhoa, even steamier! You have an active imagination. I couldn't write things like that would make me blush. We all worry about snow pack here, just part of living in Oregon I guess. And if its too dry in the summer and hot, or too wet in the spring, promoting under story growth, it's wildfires on our minds.
DeleteI can't imagine worrying about wildfires. That would be terrifying. Seeing footage is about all I can stand. ~shakes head~ My imagination is getting more wicked as I age. Don't feel the need to check out my adults only blog. ~grin~ And I have to tell you something I failed to mention about the AlphaSmart. In fact, I'd never heard of them either before complaining to two writer friends about not being able to stop editing and forward the story. They were popular in schools during a time when typewriters were disappearing but computers were still too expensive for the classroom. The teen daughter of a local friend recognized it and groaned in pained remembrance. Heh...
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