Five Cats in Today's Haul

 I just delivered five cats up to be fixed at the Salem clinic.  

Through extremely heavy rain and wind.  But its not that cold, at least.

I hadn't kept up on the forecast, to know it would be wet, windy and wild today.

I went to the big Lebanon colony, but due to heavy rain yesterday also, the cats were not swarming, as they usually do.  Also probably because they're skeptical, since 18 of them were fixed in the last ten days.

But I caught three, two big males and a youngster.  I use the drop trap, which has been set up on their back patio for weeks.  She feeds daily under it.  It's propped up so it can't fall down over the cats, when I'm not trapping.   When you have a colony that large to trap piecemeal, you have to make it easy.   The drop trap makes it easy to target the unfixed ones, but you have to have a colony feeder who will feed under daily.   Fortunately, these folks are eager to get these cats finally fixed.

Billy Bob, or Cheeky as I call him, one of the massive males, has a huge right cheek abscess.

We shall see what the vet says.  He'll be tested and the caretaker wants him euthanized if positive for FIV.  He'll be fighting another two months, while hormones recede, so he'd be spreading it to other cats if he has it.   One of the 15 I took to FCCO ten days ago was end stage FIV and was euthanized.

Billy Bob (Cheeky).  You can see that drooping abscess on the left of his mouth.

This is Fabian, another big male, Siamese mix.  I didn't even know there was yet another Siamese mix to catch, but there he was.

This is TwoTone, a very young kitty and even if male, is not old enough to be fighting and breeding, so getting him fixed now, if he is a boy, will spare him all that.  Turns out TwoTone is a girl.  The other black and white teenager, fixed at the FCCO, was also a girl.

There are still three males I know of to catch there, plus one or two more teenagers.  On it goes, but cutting the number of unfixed cats down there to almost none, compared to when I started.

Anyhow, I was so grateful to find help unloading those big boys this morning, at the clinic.   My back is sore from big cats in big traps.

The other two cats are boys also, from Albany.  They got referred for help from the apartment lady, who had the 15 unfixed in her place.  She'd adopted a kitten to them, who is today being fixed as an adult male.  Plus another of their males.  There probably are at least 6 or 8 more they have needing fixed.  But it will get done.  Eventually.

First two volunteers from there...Mad Max, who was once a kitten at the apartment ladies place.  And Bandit, a very amiable big brown tabby.

Mad Max from Albany

Bandit, from Albany

I try not to watch the news lately, because it causes me great stress.  My niece is now deployed in Europe.  She's an army doctor.   She promises to stay safe.  We all feel for the people and animals of Ukraine and what they are going through and deplore the aggression and lies that led to this completely senseless suffering and destruction.