Up and Down Cat Roundup

 At first, I didn't think I'd have more than two cats going to be fixed today.

I'd lined up three boys, to start, for my five reservations.  Then I planned to trap at the junk shop colony, for any of the three remaining there unfixed.

I hate going there, but it had to be done.  I hate the moment I get there, I get pressured by the three  guys who live on the property to take them all away.  Doesn't matter they caused the problem in the first place.  Doesn't matter they don't lift a finger to help catch the unfixed ones.   Doesn't matter I've told them repeatedly I just get cats fixed that they'd need to call adoption groups to get them homes. They are an entitled bunch of guys.  They are being provided cat food even, to feed them, by another local rescue.  It's not like that takes a lot of effort on their part, to put out cat food in the morning.  You'd think it was some monumental extreme effort job of some kind.  Not something that takes like five minutes of their precious down time a day.  None of the three work.  All three are younger than I am.

The three boys I thought I had lined up were a north Albany boy, a south town trailer park boy and the black male found in a horse stall in Tangent, who, turns out, was not neutered afterall.

But the trailer park folk did not catch that male and the Tangent boy went to the vet and has an infection now, in that front leg wound and his neuter is put off.  But the N. Albany lady did catch her boy.  So I had one cat.  Maizy.

Maizy is a massive male.

So it was off to the junkyard where I sat for hours but finally caught the poor boy with the raw balls and diarrhea.   He's not in good shape and will remain with me for giardia treatment, which takes five days in all.

Mudbottom, from Lebanon

I tried again yesterday there, but the orange girl, long ago spayed, Rosy, ran off the gray tux female I was after twice within three hours.  It was frustrating.  I almost had her under the drop trap before Rosy did her thing and ran her off down towards the brothers' trailer.

I'd given one spot by this time away to Viv in Silverton.  So I still had two spots to fill.

I headed to Sweet Home, and the Wheelchair man's colony.   There were still four needing caught there.

I had three traps along.

Once there, I pounded on his door.  He said "Come in" and immediately began reading to me from an Ellen G. White book, verbatum, for some reason.   I had told him I was raised an Adventist.  Ellen White is their prophet.   I suppose that's why he decided I'd want to sit down and be read to from one of the dozens of Ellen White books.   Um, no.

I told him I was here to catch some more cats and he kept reading.   He kept reading as I went out the door finally, saying I had to get at it since I was getting my second Covid shot later on.

He followed me out the door, in his wheelchair, contining to read.  I said that won't do me any good, I'm an atheist now.  I said it goodheartedly and he laughed out loud when I did.  I repeated it twice.  Then he gave up and went back inside.

The young fixed boys eagerly awaited me, watching as I set up the drop trap.  The moment I backed off, after putting a plate of wet food in the center back, as bait, they moved in and began to chow down.  Wheelchair man has lots of cat food, including a bag I sent up with someone else two days earlier and yet he feeds them rice.  Or noodles.  Or potatoes.   I told him clearly again, you can't be doing that.  You may be a vegetarian but they are not.  They are carnivores.

I'd also cleaned out one storage container bed he had there, given him by someone, and filled it with new straw, and brought a second one for the cats to have a warm dry clean place to sleep.

It was quick that the unfixed girl, I knew of, and one of the two unfixed brothers went under the trap together.  I yanked the cord and dropped the trap over them.  I ran out and covered it with a heavy sheet before transferring them out.    It was then that the elusive caregiver pulled up in a nice looking newer white pickup.  

Long Tom

Half Bake

Winnie

I introduced myself and gave her my card.  She went inside and i transferred the two cats out to live traps and set it up again.   In under five minutes the other brother showed up and went under the trap and I caught him.   I was just putting him in my car when she came back out and left.  That was fast, I thought.  His place had looked pretty good inside though, even before she came.

I had been offered another spot by another trapper an hour earlier and declined it.  But now I had five cats and four spots since I'd given one away.  So I texted the lady with the giveaway spots back and asked if I could get that spot of hers and she quickly gave it over to me.

After I got home, I unloaded the cats, then headed to the fairgrounds to get my 2nd Covid shot which only took half hour total, the set up was so fast and efficient.   I was impressed.  It had vastly improved over even the time I got my first shot, three weeks ago.

So far this morning I don't have any side effects and its been over 12 hours.  Hoping for the best and heading off right now to the clinic with five local cats to be fixed.