Two or Three Very Trying Days

 I was off and on trapping at the Gills colony all weekend.  The final cat needing caught to be fixed did not show up in those two days.  Disappointment!  I had hoped to be done at least with the fixing end.

I caught everyone else needing fixed.   I was also to recatch Chatty and Winnie, to leave for a barn home today, but only caught Winnie.  In the end, we decided to send off Tortilini with Winnie.  I hope they get along.

I updated both on flea treatment.  They leave today, about 2:00.

8 other Gills colony cats will be fixed today.  Five adults, a dumped teenager, plus two kittens I caught in the first go around, that Julie in Lebanon is trying to tame but not having much luck at it so far.

Bad news first, the very aggressive male Smokey was euthanized due to being positive for FIV and the feeder did not want him back at the colony if positive.

Sorry Smokey, its not your fault.   So many irresponsible pet owners in your town, don't fix  their boys, who get and spread disease as a result.   It's pathetic.

The last three boys will be fixed--Smokey, Fluffy and Sunny.  And were!

Fluffy also has FIV, but the feeder lady wanted him back anyhow.  The city may allow 4 or 5 of the boys to remain.   If fixed and now all the boys are fixed.

Sunny, a light buff tabby, also negative on Fiv.  He is best friends with Chatty, so if SCR finds a barn home safe for light colored cats, they could go together to it.

Two more adult girls--Ghost and Brandy.  Plus a teen allegedly dumped ten days ago at the park.   I don't know the teens sex but the caretaker says its a girl.  I don't know how tame the cat is.   No time for anything when caring for 15 extra cats--all from the darn Gills colony.

This is Ghost, a tiny black tux girl, also tested negative and neither lactating nor pregnant but was post partum, meaning she's had kittens in the last four months but isn't nursing anymore.  Caretaker saw her with two older kittens but never saw them again.

Those fixed today will all return to the park until homes are found.   Except the two kittens go back to Julie's place as she continues to try to tame them.  

It will be an expensive day for the nonprofit.  All the cats have to be tested, which adds $35 each to the $50 per cat bill.   8 x $85 in other words.  $680 day.   Last Thursday and Friday, it was $425 for the nonprofit, to get five fixed at the private clinic.   Over $1000 spent from Thursday to today.   There's nobody out there doing fundraising events for HCC.  I can't do those too, plus all the trapping and transport.  I try to raise money online but I need to find a gold mine!  Time to get a lottery ticket and get lucky!

By this evening, after the 8 are fixed, four of the 15 cats here will be gone--the two kittens plus the two going to a barn home.

In the morning, the other six fixed will go back to the park after they recover from surgery.

A Portland lady is taking torti and her four kittens, not sure when, hopefully soon.

This is Brandy, a muted torti, also negative and also post partum but not lactating.  

This is the teenager dumped about a week ago there.  Cleo, now Clyde.  She's a he.  Also negative.

Then there are the two kittens, Ash and Nibbler, supposedly being tamed in Lebanon but I don't think theres' been much progress.  Both had lice and I was horrified they had not been treated by now, since they've been there probably two weeks.   Nibbler, the gray tabby, had a terrible ear infection from a polyp.  Those polyps make it hard for an ear to stay clean and dry and  often create infection.  He got convenia and she warned he shouldn't be placed as a barn cat and if not tamed, should be euthanized, as those polyps cause such misery.

Ash, male kitten fixed today, had lice but otherwise healthy.

Here is Nibbler, the little boy with the ear polyp, lice but negative on FIV/Felk

Anyhow, I dropped the 8 at the clinic.  I was excited when I left because on clinic days I go back through Jefferson and get an iced coffee at the Jefferson coffee stand.  I look forward to that treat a LOT.

I napped an hour and a half, then quickly got Tortilini and Winnie, who had been housed in a cage in the garage a couple days, into the carrier loaned me for this purpose by the  Silverton Cat Rescue barn cat team.   I drove on up to OHSS clinic parking lot and met the barn team member there, who took them off to their new life.   Good luck, kids!   

Tonight I'm caring for five of the Gills colony cats, who will return in the morning, to await barn placement.  We have three girls and two boy to place still.  Sunny, Chatty, Brandy, Clyde and Ghost.  That's pretty darn good to get it down that far so fast.  

Torti and her kittens will head to Portland in a day or two.