Six More Fixed and Rain Returns

I went to bed very early Saturday night, after getting back from the trip to the coast clinic with Calamity.   I just wanted to sleep off my horror of her death and thoughts of guilt that always plague me in such times. 

I also knew sleep seems to cure almost all ills for me.  Stress---I sleep it off.  Sadness--a good sleep and I feel better.  Pain---getting enough sleep seems to also help that.

So I slept ten hours.

The coast had been dreary---overcast but not cold.

The valley has been warm for days, with temps into the 80's.  But now, today, Tuesday, we're back to good old Oregon rain and drizzle and temps are not supposed to reach even 70 degrees for the next week.  Yuk.

Sunday I went over to the Lebanon Sisters again.  I haven't given up there.   I was to pick up two tame ones, but they could not find Gracie, one of the two orange tux long hair young girls they wanted to go this time.   I set up the drop trap, thinking I'd catch the mother daughter pair outside,  but I forgot the cord I use to yank the stand out from under it, to drop the trap.   One sister dug up a thick yellow nylon rope.  I untangled it and tied it to the stand.  I figured that would work fine even though it was a short line.

I put food under it in a pan and stood back, chatting with the friendly sister, as the usual assortment of cats ate and ate and ate some more, under the trap.   But suddenly, out came the unfixed daughter, a calico who had kittens in the utility room, but abandoned them.  All four had died.

But right behind her, was her mom.  They didn't know if her kittens had survived.  They had not seen or heard them anywhere.  She'd had them in the old car but then moved them.  There's also the problem of fixed females snatching a kitten to cuddle with, then abandon.  This happens often there, they said.

Both females went under the drop trap to eat at the same time.  I yanked the rope and the trap dropped over both.  I covered it with a large sheet I had in the car, to calm them.  I only had one trap along.  So I transferred one girl out into the live trap, then took her to the car, and transferred her from the live trap to a carrier, no problem.  I then took the trap back to the drop trap and transferred the second female from the drop trap to the live trap and put her in the car.

The second carrier in the car was for Sandy, the one tame one they could find.   Very quickly  I had three more females from the colony in the car and headed on home.

Sandy, a young girl, was spayed yesterday.

Tina, Tiny's adult daughter, whose four kittens had all died.  She was in heat again.

Tiny, Tina's mom, who has had multiple litters there, is now fixed.  HOwever, she was lactating.   They have not heard or seen her kittens, born over three weeks ago.

Sunday evening I picked up two more Lebanon cats and one from Sweet Home.  Toby, the male from Lebanon, wasn't happy at all to be in my garage and moped the entire evening.   He hissed and struck at me if I came near the cage where I'd housed him for his comfort.   Not even the three in heat females now sharing the garage with him cheered him.

Frisco, from Lebanon, a lovely torti, was pregnant.

Frisco, spayed yesterday too

Luna, from Sweet Home was in heat, as were Sandy and Tina.

Poor Toby.  I had a very hard time getting him from the cage back into a trap Monday morning.  He was sleep deprived and in a foul mood.  Finally, running late, I sprayed the trap and him with catnip mist.  Ten minutes later he moved into the trap.

Toby from Lebanon was neutered and weighed in at 13 lbs!

Today its raining off and on.  The bright greens are muted and covered in water droplets.  Probably good for them, to go from hot sun to this, the Oregon rain, today.

I've returned all the cats except Tina, who got a night here.  Her mom had to go back last night since she was found to be lactating at spay.   Sandy went home too, since she is mostly indoor but Tina is wild and gets a night here in the cat hotel.

How about some photos for the day, of the cats I watched last night, returning Tiny and Sandy to the Lebanon Sisters colony.  They weren't home when I arrived with their cats to return, so I sat watching the kitties until they did come home.

This girl is one of four females still in need of spay.