Finally! Back At It!

Well I'm finally back at it.

Back to trapping that is.

I began with a bang, taking on more unfixed cats at the same trailer park I worked last June, right before my break, in a frantic effort.  There were kittens galore and thankfully, rescues and shelters (mainly Heartland Humane) helped out big time taking in the kittens.

I then caught 5 more later on, earlier this year in fact.   Lots of the moms last June had been lactating but we had no idea where their kittens were.  Five showed up later on, as teens, so that's whom I caught earlier this year, to be fixed.

Well then right at lockdown time, one of the feeders contacted me about a new show black tux and said she'd seen a calico elsewhere in the park. 

Moment I got appointments, I called her up, then took over a drop trap.  She fed under it faithfully.  We walked the park and found that the calico was being fed at the other location, where I got four fixed last June, along with a new arrival gray tabby boy, a black and white, whom I presumed would be the same black tux eating at the other place too, and three orange tabby boys.

Wow.  Yikes.  I had only five reservations and already an Albany girl needed to go in badly.  She's another bird lady find in her neighborhood.

I wasn't going to leave one cat unfixed in that trailer park however.   I went over day before yesterday, and set traps to start at the one place with the many.   We caught Jasper the gray tabby first.

Jasper

The older orange tabby boy, Roman, roamed about my car then took off.  I decided to follow him, and found him down at the other place where I had the drop trap set up, so I drop trapped him there.  And by that time the calico was in a trap back at the first place.  She'd had kittens a month ago, but took off with three survivors after one died, then returned, without them, and has lounged around on the porch the last week.  Besides getting mounted again by the boys.  The kittens are presumed deceased.  This happens in cat land, especially with first time moms.  She's very young.

Dahlia, the little calico

Roman the older orange tabby boy

I went back over yesterday, set traps again, and the lady says "we caught the black and white".  I still thought it was the same black tux that also is seen at the other place.  I was surprised to find its a different one, a very small and very very hungry little black and white, sex unknown but kind of looks like a girl.

Yes, she's quite frightened in this photo but not scared enough to not eat three plates of food.

Then I drop trapped the black tux over at the other place.

They may be siblings.

By evening the last two orange boys, brothers were in traps too.

I got Karen, the gray tabby girl, from the bird lady and was all set for today, but could only get five of the 8 cats fixed today at whs.

Karen, from Albany

Check in was curbside pickup and so smooth!   Man alive, I loved it.   We were to line up along the curb in our cars and move forward, as one person's cats were checked in.  Once my turn, I had my mask on (required), unloaded the cats, handed them the paper work.  They swapped my cage covers for theirs and off I went.

The other three, the last two orange boys caught and Jasper the gray tabby, will be fixed tomorrow at the FCCO.  Karen has reservations, lots of them, this weekend, and I got one of the caretakers to call the FCCO about getting them done there, and got a form signed by her also.  Of course she was absolutely thrilled we caught all the unfixed cats in the park.  Four of the seven have a home to  go to, so won't return, reducing the cat load at the park, which is great.

So I'm full force back at it and happy to be back at it!