Mourning Cats and More Cats

 It hasn't been easy around here lately as my elderly crew of cats fade.

Slurpy is gone now and Rogue too.   They died a week apart.  Slurpy's demise was sudden.  The vet thought maybe brain tumor.  She'd gone into seizures.   Rogue had been fading for months and when he began to wobble when he walked, I had to take him in.   His kidneys had failed him in his end.

The overwhelming losses lately are what prompted my last minute rush to Waldo Lake.   

Haley, Rogue's only surviving colony mate, has also been failing for some time.   She only began to return to the favorite haunt window pillow a day ago.  She and Rogue cuddled there, along with Nemo and Gracie, also both elderly.    

Slurpy's best friend was diminutive torti Tugs, who is very elderly.

She is still mourning for Slurpy and wanders meowing, looking for her.  In the video, Muffy rushes to comfort Tugs.   Tugs may be the oldest cat here now.   

My friend, who is trying to move, who lost her job, who also needs hip replacement, needs the cats she feeds fixed.   They're along a rural road, that is a killer.  People drive high speeds, like its a racetrack, along there.   I got 3 spots tomorrow so I went out early this morning to catch some cats.   I wanted to catch two tabbies and a lynx point male, all siblings, all a bit over a year old.

The first stumble block was to find an ailing RV parked there in the pull out, along side an ailing car.   Jumper cables snaked from the cars open hood to the RV's open front.   The RV occupant first peaked out at me from the draped RV front side window, then came out to talk to me.  She asked if I could jump both vehicles but then admitted both were out of gas.  "No," I said.   "Sorry."   My own battery is too old for that.

And what good would it do with both out of gas.   She's homeless.  How she got both an RV and a car to that known homeless camp spot, that is now highly patrolled, to cut down on the trash dumped there, I don't know.

I ducked through the gate and set a trap and quickly caught the young lynx point male.   There is also a lactating lynx point female and two tabbies.  One at least of the tabbies is a female with a young kitten.

I first had to chase a baby skunk off.  The skunk had immediately smelled the bait and made a beeline for the trap.   

I set another trap but by this time, had seen at least two more young skunks plus a huge fat waddling adult.  Great.

The next hour I spent going through the gate, running down the hill and chasing off the skunks, going back to the car, then chasing them off again.  A big MASSIVE lynx point male arrived on scene to add to the chaos.  I didn't know about him.   The two young adult tabby girls love him, it was apparent.  He and the skunks seemed on good terms too.

In the end I caught the two younger tabbies.   With their brother, the younger lynx point caught already, I had to stop because I have only three spots.

This boy, Mowgli, is caught

  

So are these two tabbies

Check out these skunks!   The big Lynx Point male's back can be seen just to left of fence post and the skunks.  The Abbytabby girl is eating in the front of the trap on the right.  

The giant lynx point heads for the trap

Abbytabby is top of the trap, the giant in front of it.  But it was the abbytabby I caught.

The three will be fixed tomorrow, then most likely return, as one has a kitten and the other may also.   Otherwise, they could be placed by the barn cat team, which would be great.   

Didn't take very long despite the skunk interference.

Goose

Ducky

Mowgli