Heidi Chronicles - A Tribute To Kitty

I thought perhaps I should preface this with a little reassurance about the name change. I am the person who has been posting the Heidi threads all along. You will probably remember me by a different name and may be a bit confused by the new name. Please don't be. I am the same person just with a new username. I requested a name change for purely personal reasons and DG admin was kind enough to take care of that for me. So with the name issue resolved, on with our 'show'.

This is (normally) the ongoing story of Heidi and friends raccoons and other wildlife that visit my backyard wildlife buffet. It is the winter downtime right now. We've just been chatting and biding our time until Heidi and the others return in spring (ETA late Feb). Make no mistake that this thread will be about raccoons once more just as soon as they get back from their winter rest.

Until then...a feral cat showed up at my door with kittens a few weeks ago. Thus began the winter timeout mini saga of Kitty the feral cat and my efforts 1st to get rid of her and later to adopt her. Hmm. Doesn't that scenario sound familiar somehow, the '1st to get rid of...later to [keep]' part? I think I've seen that played out somewhere before.

Anyhow, with animal control on her heals, it's hard to say for sure where Kitty might be at this time. She is very much on my mind now, so this winter timeout thread of the Heidi Chronicles is dedicated to Kitty wherever she is and to the hope that she will be able to find her way back home one way or another and that she won't be too terribly frightened in the mean time.

Prior thread: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1067623/
Original thread that started it all (for those who wish to start from the beginning, highly recommended):
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/603944/

Below is a pick of Kitty. Since many members disagree with me and since I've now seen her picture on everything from the Iams bag to a cat magazine, I'm going stop calling her 'ugly'. Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder, and I've grown to love her and to see tremendous beauty in her chartreuse eyes and immense grace in her steps.

Edited to add an explanation about the name change.

This message was edited Feb 1, 2010 6:08 PM

For those who are wondering what an 'ordinary house cat' is doing in the wildlife forum, well 1st of all she is holding the place for Heidi and the raccoons while they are on winter vacation. 2nd, Kitty, as she is currently known, is a little bit wild and a little bit tame, so for now she is kind of like wildlife to me.

I will have to agree with the others--she's lovely! I'm anxiously awaiting an update on her capture..

Thanks, KyWoods!

If you are having some difficulties with my new moniker, know that you are not alone in this. As I mentioned to someone else earlier, I am experiencing difficulties, too. Mostly in the form of the "Oh, is that me?" moment. If you've ever gone through the marital name change confusion, then you might recall those moments of hearing your new name called, pausing for a moment while waiting for someone else to response, and then being jolted to reality with the "Oh, yeah, that's me" thought. It's a lot like that.

I acquired 2 traps, both raccoon sized - that way they will do double duty if needed in the future for anything. I put one in the back yard with sardines and one at the front door (hidden from prying eyes behind the porch columns and hedges) with tuna. (Terese, I thought of you when I opened the now expired can of tuna I found in the pantry and saw the lovely white flesh. A dbl check of the label showed it to be white albacore, but as it expired in May 09, I think it best for this use.) Luckily, between the expired can of tuna I found in the back of the pantry and the sardines I had purchased a while back for the raccoons, I had everything I needed right here.

I haven't seen Kitty or the kittens since breakfast and am becoming very concerned now. Kitty loves tuna, and I fear that she might have been willing to venture into the "enemy's" trap for a bite of it.

I believe I just heard a trap slam shut. I'm off to check on that. Hoping to find Kitty in there.

Cheryl... i think Ms Kitty is very beautiful... I love her markings.

Thank you, Terese!

I guess we all have our view of what is beautiful and not, especially in animals; hence the plethora of breeds with totally different looks, sizes, coats, etc. Honestly, I thought she was a bit homely when I 1st saw her, but I must admit to a preference for furry critters like Persians (and Maltese). I am, however, able to see the beauty of form in long graceful lines such as those of some international models whose beauty is not the classical form. Early on I likened Kitty with her long lean lines and graceful walk to these models. I have since learned to think her chartreuse eyes and soft back on gray stripes pretty as well, but now I figure my eyes are biased by my love of her for who she is. Kitty drew me to her with her winning attitude which I found totally impossible to resist.

Thank you.

Unfortunately, it seems that trapping cats is harder than it sounds.

This time I got the little black kitten. He had fallen for those large chunks of white albacore tuna in the trap at the back door. I went out, talking to him, telling him "it's ok" and opened the trap. The poor little fella was so distressed by that time that he stood at the back of the trap, clinging to the cage, and crying at the top of his lungs for his mom to come and help him. She was nearby and visibly upset.

I did my best to calm them both and to show the kitty that he was now free to leave. Moments later he ran out of the open end of the trap to freedom. Kitty came near me looking confused and frightened. She had the look of a convict on the run with an APB on her head and every department on the lookout for her, and who could blame her. She looked for obvious reasons as though she no longer knew who to trust or where to go to find safety and food.

Widget is barking again much as he did earlier when the kitten was in the trap. This may be a sign, so here I go to check traps again. With 2 traps, one on either end of the house, and 4 or more cats plus who knows how many raccoons, I imagine I will get lots of exercise tonight.

Well, Widget has turned out to be a good indicator of when something is in the trap. Odd, since he doesn't bark when the cats are on the patio, only when one is in the trap. Does he somehow understand that this is something I would want to know? Animals are almost always smarter than we think.

This time it was the tri-color gray tabby kitten in the trap. Now I've caught everyone except mom. In hopes of assuaging her concerns about me and knowing that a bit of tuna will not prevent her from wanting more, I went out with a small amount of Iams with a few good chunks of tuna on top and some liquid from the can. I put that near my feet, sat down, and called her to me. While hesitant at 1st, she came fairly quickly, and also allowed me to pet her.

I've reset the trap and am waiting. The cats usually hang out at the front door. They've only come to the back for food a few times in the morning. They know that I go to that door in the mornings to let Widget out. They have my schedule memorized now. Anyhow, it is odd to find them hanging out at the back door tonight. It seems the tuna must be the draw. Despite seeing the black kitten get trapped, they are all hanging around in hopes of getting those large chunks of tuna from that trap.

Some pics from yesterday. These are not pics of Kitty, nor, and this is important, are they intended to be good photos. That last part is critical. Most people probably wouldn't see the point of intentionally taking bad photos, but it's what they are to be used for that matters. These photos are not intended to be viewed. I took them as photo references for paintings. As such, I am only concerned with the cabbage or the flowers. The background is irrelevant as it will not be in the painting. So when you see houses out of perspective and cats hanging off the sides of cars and such, note than none of that matters. I just need views of the cabbage and flowers as seen in various lighting and from a variety of viewpoints. These alone will form the basis of the paintings I will to do, so there was no point to trying to set up a good background and overall design for these photos.

Although I was not even talking to Kitty at all, she showed up and was determined to hang around and watch. She ended up more or less in about 1/2 of the pics. I post some of those here just to show how far we had come and how much she was beginning to behave like any other pet cat.

I was working on the trunk of the car in a hurry to take advantage of the quickly dying sunlight and needing a place to put the cabbage for the photos. Here is Kitty on the roof of the car looking down at me. I call this one, "So, what are you doing there?"

Still on roof of car. Here is, "Ok, ok, I'll pose for one picture and one picture only."

Kitty down on trunk now checking out the produce, "I think I'll get a closer look to see what is so special about the cabbage." Note how she is hanging off the edge of the white car to look at the cabbage. I should add that I was taking macro shots and was only inches away from the cabbage.

Oops. Almost posted to the other thread. here's a nice cabbage - with Kitty's tale in the pic.

I call this one, "I'll just sit over here out of the way. Pretend I'm not even around."

Here is "Where's Kitty?"
Hint. She IS in the pic. So, can you find Kitty?

Maybe this will help

Here I have backed away from the car a bit, am holding the flowers in one hand and camera in the other. As you can see, Kitty is now hanging OFF the end of the trunk to get in the middle of things - or as close as is possible without standing on air.

Here is Kitty sitting calmly while the noisy group was approaching on the sidewalk, a group containing, an adult male and female talking, a baby carriage, and 2 large dogs. The car was parked in the middle of the drive such that the trunk where we were was only about 1/2 car length from the sidewalk. Amazingly, given her feral status, Kitty stayed in this position the entire time even as the group passed close by us. She seems to realize that she is home now, and thus does not have to run from people.

Edited to add that only a few days prior, Kitty would have split in a hurry.

This message was edited Feb 1, 2010 7:42 PM

Another pic of Kitty as she sees people coming on the sidewalk.

Lovely plants and kitty! Is that kitty in the lower right corner??

Here, the last in the series, is Kitty inches from the camera. I was hoping to get a pic of her but she turned away to look down the street (more people, it's a busy sidewalk). I had moved away from the trunk a bit to take flower photos. As you can see, Kitty felt lonely and came to the end of the trunk to try to stay in the limelight.

Thanks, KyWoods,

Yes, that is her. Looks awfully cozy there doesn't she? Except for the few pics where I turned the camera on her alone, I wasn't trying to get pics of her, but she was determined to be in the middle of whatever I was doing. Isn't that so like any 'normal' pet cat? You know how they love to hang out with you and get in the center of whatever you are doing.

I wish my KittyCoon was that trusting! So, I guess animal control didn't 'get' her today. Good!

Oops! I entered the wrong shot for "Can you find kitty?" Here is that shot. So, now can you find her?

KyWoods,

Nope. As you can tell from the title of this thread, before the black kitten set off the trap making her whereabouts known, I had grown very concerned, but, no, so far Kitty is still running free, and I have 2 traps out there trying to catch her myself.

Is that her sitting on top of the car??

I can't begin to tell you how disappointed I am in Charleston Animal Control. They seem most uncaring to me. The TNR program seems like an assembly line project. Apparently, no one can be bothered to take the time to pull a gray tabby female out of the group if caught and call me to come adopt her. One would expect animal control officers to care more about the welfare of the animals, and I can see no valid circumstance in which the cat would be better off as a feral constantly fighting for scraps vs a well cared for (and likely spoiled) pet. But, clearly, they don't care, and that surprises me very much.

I had expected most animal control people to be like Ruth, but the guy I spoke with today sounded, honestly, more like someone who had grabbed the job in a bad economy just to have a paycheck. The rate of unemployment in Charleston is very high, BTW, commensurate with that in some areas of FL and CA and among the highest in the country, so it stands to reason, I guess, that people would be grabbing any job available and animal control might be overrun now with people for whom it is just a paycheck. Just a theory, of course, but based on the attitude I got from the guy this morning who neither seemed knowledgeable on the subject nor concerned for the welfare of the animals.

KyWoods,

Yes, that's her on top of the car, only bits and pieces of her gray fur showing through gaps in the flowers.

Ok, KyWoods wins the "Where's Kitty" challenge!

I'm so sorry to hear this about your Animal Control officer. Ours runs a highly successful rescue group that I volunteer for sometimes.

KyWoods,

About KittyCoon, I wish she were that trusting, too. Maybe someday. The trust Kitty placed in me and the time she spent with me went a long way toward winning me over and changing my mind from "I don't want a cat" to "I have to get her before animal control does". Having her come to hang out with me while I was taking the pics was very nice, hard to explain, but just a very nice memory.

When she 1st came down on the trunk I started to hurriedly gather everything up to get it away from her. I didn't want anything to damage the lovely outer leaves of the cabbage before I had a change to get lots of photos - and I'm still not through. I'm so accustomed to Widget, and sweet though he is, he's like a bull in a china shop. He doesn't mean to damage stuff, but he would be sure to trample all over the cabbage and everything else in his way. Just before I actually moved things, I remembered - although it has been a long time since my last cat - how gently cats are inclined to step around things and how they can move around the most delicate things without leaving a trace. So I left the cabbage, and she didn't harm anything despite being in the thick of things for much of the photo session. It's kind of nice for a change not to have Widget's hyperactive dog behavior to deal with all of the time. (Widget has other nice qualities, however.)

KyWoods,

I was, frankly, surprised at the attitude I encountered. The folks at the SPCA are just the opposite and seem very much concerned about the animals. Animal control is apparently part of the city police department, and they don't seem very animal or people friendly.

Well, I think I found Puddle. He has such a handsome face up close with nice contrast between the dark (blackish) parts and the white face. He's out back right now playing a few rounds of "Try to Get the Tuna". Yep, I'll be going out there soon to spring him from the joint. Think I'll see if he might pose for a few pics 1st if that happens.

For sure I'm going to have my hands full releasing trapped animals tonight. I figure I will likely catch a raccoon or two before it's over. I hope I don't catch Heidi. I hate to see any of the raccoons caged, but I especially don't want that for Heidi even if only briefly.

Puddle the Opossum? wow, havent heard about him/her in quite some time.

Wouldn't it be nice if you could just open your door... let Ms Kitty in and get her to sleep in a nice towel/blanket lined box ... then you could convince it is for her own good... and take her to get 'snipped'.

Oh, in such a perfect world.
.

It would be wonderful to see a pic of Puddle, if you can manage it!
Yep, sounds like you are in for an interesting night...

Terese,

Yes, it would be so nice if Kitty could just somehow understand that I am trying to help her. If the trap doesn't work, opening the door to let her in the house may be the next step - although I'm not sure where we go from there.

I saw the opossums a time or two in the last months that the raccoons were out there, but there was always so much else going on that I never mentioned it.

Well, it wasn't long before I got the signal from Widget that the trap was again occupied. I figured I would find an opossum in there this time, and I did. I didn't get Puddle though. Apparently, seeing me and the dog earlier was enough to deter him. I'm not sure who this raccoon is, but the 1st thing I noticed about the opossum was...

Unlike the kittens who freaked out when they got trapped and then forgot all about the food, the opossum was much more resourceful than that. He ate every crumb of that tuna. It cost him his freedom after all, and it was still good eating, so why leave it sitting there. LOL.

I did take a few pics, but I forgot about the cage. I don't like to see animals in cages, and I doubt you do either. Here is one of the better pics of the opossum. I spoke to him while taking pics and he stayed amazingly calm. Then I opened the door and set him free.

Even though I didn't replace the missing food, I think I heard the trap AGAIN. Going out to check...

oh.. looks like the poor guy got a scratch on the snoot.

I have been looking on youtube for helpful videos for you re: trapping a cat. Just a lot of simplistic junk so I gave up.

Terese,

Yes, I noticed that, too. Guessing he probably scraped it on some part of the cage. It wasn't bleeding openly though as there is no sign of blood around the area.