Return

 It's return time, to an old colony.

I knew I'd be back at this place, when I last trapped it, over a year ago.

I first trapped at this location in November 2021.  I caught 23 cats and kittens there, in all.  I did not return 8 or was it 9 of them.   Smudge who lives here is from there.

I trapped there many hours on a freezing snowy Christmas day that year also.  And when the snowstorm hit for real the day after, and the clinic cancelled operation the next day, I was forced to hold five of the seven I trapped in my bathroom, but kept the two mature boys in my garage.

This is the location where I slipped when trying to jump the four foot wide muddy water filled ditch, as I began to slide and landed on the side of my face and right shoulder.   Now I have a huge floater and little LED like lights in that one eye on that side.  That's life.  We accumulate some issues with our actions.  Pretty soon I'll be going through deep ditches and mud with a walker.  And the trap on a rolling grocery basket.

I knew at some point there would be more, as the area the cats roam is vast and they are fed in different locations.  I can't monitor them all and the feeders don't necessarily let me know if there are more litters and new arrivals.   The main feeder at this location, the kindest man you might ever meet, died last fall, of melanoma.

A feeder got FCCO spots for next week.  I went to take a quick look yesterday afternoon.   I've had to take it easy, after inflaming my spine somehow.   The usual--right leg gets painful, as does my back, right shoulder and neck.

I could put a ladder over the four foot span of the ditch, but would have to attach a board to it.  I do have something that will work far easier.

In the short time I was there, I saw four unfixed cats and five already fixed cats.   However, one of the ear tipped cats I spotted isn't a cat I have a record of taking to the clinic.  Which, if anyone knows me, is driving me a bit nuts, to figure out how that one got fixed.

I checked records on most nearby colonies I've trapped to see if the cat was a wander in from another colony I knew, but found no matches.   I bet I figure it out in the end.

First the unfixed ones.   If I saw four unfixed ones in that short of time, I imagine there are quite a number not fixed.  The cats look incredibly healthy, all of them.

No ear tip on this almost friendly big black.

Eartipped cat on left, not eartipped on right.  I'm betting the cat on the right is an adult female.  It's the one on the left I have no record of taking to be fixed.

This young fluffy has no ear tip either.

Neither does this boy.

Saw some familiar faces.

Like this fixed girl

And this fixed boy

A second feeder got photos of some tabby on whites that I never got fixed.  Two or three different ones.  Anyhow, I'm giving myself at least three days to try to get as many unfixed ones as possible.  I will likely use my remote control trap, so I'm not wasting time catching fixed ones.  But, in case I do get lazy or the batteries die on the remote control, I'll take flea treatment, so if I catch one that's already fixed, I can flea treat before releasing.   There's no flat space there for a drop trap.

Big plans, eh?  Lol.  Made to be broken and changed.

No word  from the trailer park "feeding 60" lady.     

It will not be good trapping weather along that road this weekend.  Because.....its not supposed to rain.  So everyone and their dog and grandma will be outside, walking along that road or in those sports fields on other side of the road.   

Smudge, originally from this colony, now here

Fantasia

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