Heidi Chronicles - Almost Spring 2010

Hi Terese,

TNR = Trap and Release

That's the program Gladys was working on to begin with, the one where they catch the cats, fix them and return them to the neighborhood to live as strays. I just talked to Gladys, BTW, and she is thrilled.

The kittens are pretty good size now. I guess it's remotely possible, as with Kitty, that they will change their assessment of the kitten once they handle him, but I'm not too hopeful. Unlike Kitty who apparently grew up in a home and then was thrown out on the street, the kittens have grown up in the wild. At this age the director of the center said it's too late to convert them into pets that they will be able to place in homes. In an unrelated conversation with the workers, they intimated that they are positively inundated with young cats right now. They called this 'cat season'. They suspect that animal control didn't get back to me (as they should have) because they too are swamped. This may play a part in the situation. They just may not have the time and resources to try to tame kittens of this age.

The kittens, BTW, have taken a big jump in size in the last week or so. Just recently I said the girl was small compared to the mother, small enough that I couldn't imagine where she would 'put' a kitten much less a litter inside her tiny body. In the last few days I've noticed that the kittens are bigger, enough so that I'm starting to get Kitty and the tabby kitten confused when I see them separately and moving around outside. When I look out the door and see a tabby cat moving quickly about on the porch or walkway, I now often have difficulty discerning which one it is. Seen together, the kitten is still noticeably smaller, but the difference is quickly disappearing now and isn't enough to be so obvious when they are apart. I do think the kittens are quickly becoming cats.

Terese,

The trap and release is a relatively new program to deal with stray and feral cats w/o having to put them down. They trap them, spay/neuter them, give them rabies shots and such, microchip them as part of TNR (basically wards of the city), and return them to the area where they were picked up. The strays don't get homes, but they also don't get euthanized. They can't breed to increase the feral population, and some believe their presence will deter other ferals from moving in to the area. I'm not convinced that's true, but it one of the things Gladys is counting on. Anyhow, people in my area are willing to help feed them. Several people were feeding Kitty and the kittens all along before I got involved - although I didn't know this at the time.

I had put a lot of time and energy into trying to tame the kittens as much as I could, but I knew it was iffy and that time was working against me. From what the director said, the kittens were probably too old by their standards by the time Kitty 1st showed up here with them in tow - and it was a while after that before I could get close to her much less them.

When I picked Kitty up from her surgery a while back, they told me she had trust issues but wasn't feral. Among other things they said a truly feral cat won't let you get near them. They run and hide when they see you. That definition made me hopeful for the kittens because they hang around the door even with me out there walking around doing things. The black one was 'wallowing' on his back on the walkway the other day when I was walking on the same walkway to get to my car. He didn't bother to get up until I was about 5ft from him. Then he just ran (slowly, not for his life) into the flower bed beside the front door.

When I open the front door the kittens come running TO me hoping to be fed. (I could see that become something of a nuisance over time.) While they are eating I can walk by them, my feet 8-12 inches from them, to go sit on my bench. If I sit down on the 'floor' and put the food in my lap, they will come right up against me and eat from my lap. They even respond positively to my efforts to reassure them that "it's ok" when they are eating and hear noisy people next door or coming up the sidewalk. They aren't tame, but I sure don't think they meet the definition of feral either. On the other hand, if you recall the tabby kitten did scratch me up recently when I tried to restrain her. I guess I can see how they wouldn't make good family pets for the average home esp one with children.

BTW, I meant to clarify that last part a while back. Although I had a number of scratches on my hands and a few on my lower arms after my 'brawl' with the kitten that time, and most of the scratches drew blood, she didn't really hurt me in any substantial way. Having now forgotten my sister's ordeal with that flesh eating bacteria, I didn't even bother to wash the wounds or treat them with antibiotic. They closed and healed quickly and were not particularly painful. I'm sure she could have done me up worse if she really had tried. She was just scared and trying to say, "let me go."

This may well have been an error, but I did let Kitty go back outside this morning. Since the kittens usually hide out during the day and only show up here at night, I was surprised to see the tabby kitten at the door when I opened it this morning to let Kitty out. I guess maybe the kitten is confused and still waiting/looking for her brother. Or maybe she camped out there in the bushes all night to be near him in the cage. (I did take care to put the cage/kitten in the back seat of the car before I went upstairs to let Kitty out.)

I figured letting her out for the day would save both of us the stress of her being up there fretting and trying to get out. When I went up there this AM to check on her and possibly give her food, she was waiting at the door. As soon as I cracked it an inch, she was trying to wedge her head through. I figured it would be all but impossible for me to get in and out (twice) under the circumstances w/o letting her escape.

At the time, I figured I could just catch her again tonight when she came for dinner. Of course, now she is probably out searching desperately for the lost kitten. I guess this could upset my plans. She might not come back tonight. I'll set the trap tonight with tuna either way though.

Here's more info on the Trap Neuter Release program:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2776426/animal_charity_profile_alley_cat_allies.html?cat=53

Congrats on catching the boy, and hope you get the girl tonight!

Ok, here we go again. Day 2 of my personal TNR program. Kitty is upstairs screaming loudly to let everyone know her objections. The final kitten is alone at the front door where I gave her just about a scant tablespoon of dry food, just enough to entice her to the area where the trap is. The trap is set with tuna tonight.

Now we wait.

Kitty didn't love the idea of staying upstairs last night, but she didn't scream like she is doing now. Considering that last night I fed her a can of the yummy food, let her sleep in Widget's comfy, poof ball bed, and then let her go back outside at 7AM, you would think her memory of that experience would not be so bad - and I left her with another yummy can of food tonight.

I think she is particularly upset because she wants to be out there to watch over the remaining kitten. Last night when she stayed inside she lost one kitten - or so she thinks. I figure she is beside herself with worry now over what might happen to the other one out there alone while she is stuck in the bathroom. That's my take on it anyhow.

I went out to feed the raccoons, even sat out there for a while, but they never showed up. I knew I was a little early but was still surprised they weren't around. By the time I got back inside I realized the problem - daylight savings time. I wasn't officially on it yet yesterday, but today I had to get back in the groove to get things done. By the clock, I was out there maybe 30min or so early, but in reality...

I had a feeling it was too late for adoption for those kittens. I finally did catch the mother cat next door and got her spayed, but she was already pregnant at the time...not the way I wanted to do it. I'll let her go tomorrow. Now I'm trying to catch the remaining female kitten. So far 3 spayed and 1 neutered. Good luck getting the other kitten!

Thanks, Linda,

I was afraid of that, too. Good luck with yours as well.

I'm not too optimistic for tonight. I fear the lone kitten will hide out afraid to venture out and afraid to repeat the 'mistake' she saw her brother make the night before - and she surely saw it as those 2 hang together like an old married couple.

Fingers crossed just the same - for us both.

At least for now Kitty has stopped screaming. Hopefully, tomorrow when the lost kitten returns she will feel a little better about things. I spoke to soon. Just heard a loud meow. Must be coming from upstairs. I hate that she's so unhappy up there. It's difficult to hear.

Thanks, Ruth,

That good luck wish seemed to do the trick last night. The rug is still out there - I really need to bring it in and wash it, but it's there still. I can't put it on top of the trap though. With the Hav-a-hart trap that I have, something as heavy as that rug would prevent the mechanism from tripping because of the piece on top of the cage that has to travel through a 180deg arc when it trips. I'm pretty sure the rug would prevent that from happening.

I'm considering setting up the other trap tonight, too, the one from animal control. The SPCA said animal control would pick the trap up from there if I used it. I doubt the kitten would be able to turn it over and get free. Then again, I would sure hate to risk it since getting her in a trap a 3rd time might prove close to impossible. Also, I don't know how to set that one. Maybe I could figure it out if I brought it inside for a better look.

Heading out now to walk the dog and check the trap.

Oh, that was SO hard! (Biting back of hand)

So far no activity with the trap. The kitten was sitting out there on the porch waiting for me. She didn't even run away when I came out - even though she doesn't much trust me. When we came back from our brief walk, she was still waiting for us there on the porch.

I know she must be hungry and waiting there expecting me to feed her as I do every night. Poor thing. Out there all alone, no mother, no brother - and hungry. It took every ounce of my determination to keep from giving her a handful of food. She was waiting for me because I always provide food when I walk the dog. I'm such a mean, mean person not to feed her when she out there all alone and hungry. : (

I just kept telling myself that it's for her own good - and mine - that it's necessary. But I still feel SO horrible! I sure hope she goes in that trap tonight so starving her and disappointing her and being a big meanie will at least have been worth it. If she doesn't take the bait and go in the trap can I at least give her a handful of food in the morning? She'll still be hungry in the evening even if I do. Please!

Now I know why I didn't do this sooner. It's so painful. The emotional part, not the actual work involved.

KyWood,

I just came back from the DG Forum. Imagine my surprise when I expanded your picture of the 'error' page and found that it contained my 'big whiny baby' post from above. I guess that will teach me not to write sappy, embarrassing stuff. ;-)

I understand, believe me! It is hard, painfully so. Such hard choices...with all the cats I've known before, I've never had to make choices this hard. I'm glad that at least you don't have to pay to have the two kittens fixed. I haven't found any place like that. But at least it doesn't cost much in the small town I take them to...a spay/neuter clinic. I had to make the mother cat pretty hungry before I could catch her, BTW. At least she didn't trust me much anyway...I think she had been treated badly even before she was abandoned. When you think of the people who created these problems, leaving it for us to handle the consequences...I could never do that to an animal...or to another person.

This message was edited Mar 16, 2010 12:00 AM

I agree, it is sad that there are so many out there without a warm lap to curl up in. It sure does feel good to help them.

LOL, yep, the text is spilling out of its borders for me again...did it for you? I'll try refreshing again....

Edit: Yep, when I came back just now, it was fixed. Weird!

This message was edited Mar 16, 2010 1:03 AM

Had to make another trip outside when I remembered that I had completely forgotten to put out the trash and recycling - and they come early, early in the morning. So I assembled everything and then opened the door to find, OMG, the trap was sprung! I had her! Yippee! I was so elated as I really hadn't expected things to go so well.

Of course, I still needed to go over to the side of the trap to confirm that it really was her. That's when I noticed that the rug was stuck up against the side of the trap. I was certain I hadn't left it that way. I reached down to pull the rug away from the side of the trap - so I could see her - but it didn't want to come off. It was like STUCK on there really well. What the...? As I finally started getting pieces of the rug to come away from the wire much of the rug's fur remained behind still stuck to the side of the cage. I was still trying to make sense of this when I caught a really good glimpse of 'her' tail...but it was definitely NOT a tabby cat tail. Nope, definitely a raccoon tail. Bummer. I had caught a raccoon at the front door. (The situation probably compounded by the fact that by going out to the buffet too early, I missed the raccoons, and only left a few handfuls of food, and somebody was still hungry.)

To further compound the problem, I had set the trap up in a corner of the little 'porch' and oriented it such that I could not open the trap without standing in front of the door. Ouch! No way I was going to do that! So I had to pick the cage up, fat, pregnant raccoon and all, turn it around, point the door away from me and toward the walkway, and then open it. When I did so, I was essentially trapped against the door of the house, but with the door and raccoon aimed in the opposite direction I felt sure my charge would be more than happy to go away from the trap and me and toward the open yard and freedom.

The raccoon really didn't seem all that upset anyhow. It's sort of ironic really that the wild animals remain so calm in the trap while the semi-tame house cats freak out and wail loudly. Neither of the 2 raccoons I've caught so far have seemed at all agitated, nor did the opossum. None of them were hissing or showing teeth or taking defensive posture, not when I went up to open the trap or even when I picked this one up to relocate him/her to a better position for release. But the cats, on the other hand, all meow and scream when they are in there. Or is that just because the cats see me as at least a possible ally - since I feed them and such - so given they don't have a lot of options, they cry to appeal to me to help them? Don't know. Still seems like the wild animals would act defensive to tell me to leave them alone, but they don't.

The other thing that I find interesting about the wild animals when trapped is that, unlike the cats, the wild animals are pragmatic enough to go ahead and eat the food while they are waiting. The cats sit in there and stress out and always leave the fish behind uneaten (and I'm sure I would do the same), but the wild animals are able to stay calm enough to say, "Well, might as well go ahead and eat this food I came in her for in the 1st place. Not like I have anything else to do right now anyhow, and no sense letting perfectly good food go to waste." I really respect that - couldn't do it if I were trapped - but have to respect it.

Ok, here I go BACK outside to reset the trap and hope the raccoon has learned to stay out of it.

Hi Linda,

It sure is hard. When I realized I'd forgotten to put the trash out for pickup, I actually didn't want to go back out there again and face that poor, lone, hungry kitten knowing I'd have to pass her by AGAIN w/o feeding her. She WAS out there, too, but the raccoon helped me out a bit by keeping her at the end of the walk where I didn't have to face her up close and see her sad little face in the light. Now I have to go back out there with the tuna and do that. : (

It is annoying that people can't do the right thing. If Kitty's owner had taken her to the SPCA for spaying none of this would have been necessary. Failing that, she could at least have taken her to the SPCA rather than toss her out on the street. The SPCA charges you a small fee to surrender a pet, so that might be part of the reason people just toss the animals. Also, if you lack a heart, it's less hassle for you to throw the cat out the car door, something you can do on your schedule vs making arrangements to take it to the SPCA when they are open.

The only reason the SPCA is doing this w/o charging me is because we have that TNR program. For us it's a relatively new program. Our city council just passed the bill for it in late 09 I believe, and when I checked the newspaper discussion that preceded the vote, I was shocked to see how many people were adamantly opposed to the program. The way the TNR program normally works is that you sign up w/animal control, and they bring the cages and set them up in the yards of people who agree to monitor the cages and call animal control when they catch a cat. Animal control takes the animals to the SPCA for spay/neuter and shots and then releases them back into the same community where they found them. The feral cats don't belong to any of us, so we don't pay anything.

That's how it is supposed to work, but since I caught the kitten and took it in myself, I am very lucky that the director of the center believed my story and agreed to do the TNR letting me take the cats in and pick them up - and still not pay. She didn't have to agree to that, and I sure was glad she was willing to work with me. That's the difference between the SPCA folks who clearly care about the animals vs those annoying animal control people who are quite inflexible and seem to see it as just a job. One reason I'm doing all the work of trapping the cats and chauffeuring them to and from the shelter (which is in another city), is because the animal control people don't return my calls for days if at all, and I don't want the poor cats sitting in cages waiting for them.

Ok, now I'm really going out to reset the trap.

KyWoods,

I haven't seen any of that behavior where the words spill outside the box. I think it's good that you showed it to them. Sure looks like a bug to me.

This time I tried something different. I turned the trap around so that the door faces the shrubs. Previously, I've set it up with the door facing into the porch which may sound 'wrong' except that the cats/kittens usually hang out on the porch and eat on the porch, so facing it that way allows them to just walk right in there from the area where they hang out anyhow.

I was hoping maybe turning it around might (a) make it seem different from the thing that caught the sibling and (b) make her feel more comfortable sneaking in there from the hedges. Or maybe it will just make things easier for the raccoons and opossums.

I brought the animal control trap inside. In a few minutes I'm going to try to figure out how to set it. Then I'll set it up somewhere, maybe in the flower bed.

Oh, and now the trap smells of raccoon which can't be helpful in getting the kitten to go in there.

It has been a long time since you fed her a really good meal. I hope that by baiting the trap with salmon and cat food that she will rush right in and not pay too much attention to the scariness of the trap and it's smells.

Hi June,

No such luck. She's just too crafty, that one. The trap is still sitting there unused. No kitten. Bummer. I was afraid of that.

As much as it hurts, I'm going to try really hard to avoid feeding her today and try again tonight.

I haven't seen any sign of the little girl kitten this morning. Last night when I made the last trip out to reset the trap, she was waiting and watching from a nearby shrub, no doubt hoping I would leave her some of that tasty tuna. Well, I did actually, but I guess she was hoping I'd leave it somewhere other than the trap. When I got back inside I made the mistake of looking back out the side window. For the rest of the night (and still today) I could not get the image of her coming right up to sit by the front door, right there under the little side window, out of my mind. I went back to look again and again. She continued sitting there, waiting for me to return with her dinner - as I always do. Each time I looked out, she turned her head to look up at me with her sad little eyes.

Just picked up the boy kitten from the SPCA. I had let the mom out before I left home, so she was nowhere in sight when I released him. I let him go at the front porch right by the hedges. He headed down the space between hedge and house crying loudly and constantly all the way, for his mother and sister I guess.

The battle to trap the little girl continues. Oh, boy. Just realized it's going to be impossible now to feed the boy w/o feeding the girl. Argh! Suggestions?

Forgot to mention...while at the SPCA to pick up the kitten I learned that we have a Pet Food Bank to supply pet food for people in financial distress who are having difficulty feeding their pets. How cool is that?

Actually, yesterday morning while discussing the kitten, the TNR, etc with the SPCA workers, I mentioned that I would pay for the neutering (anyhow) except that I'm, shall we say, having a little cash flow problem myself right now. I just made the one sentence, didn't elaborate. This morning as I was walking out with the kitten, a worker ran up to me, handed me a paper, and said, "I heard you mention financial issues yesterday, and I wanted to give you this. You can get food for your pets until things get better."

The situation isn't that bad yet. I just know I need to conserve right now for possible hard times just around the corner, but I was SO touched by her actions. Touched that she had gone to that much trouble based on a single sentence. I was also touched to know that we have such a system here. I hadn't really expected that. On the [national/cable] news I keep hearing that pet shelters are particularly overrun (and staff, no doubt, overworked) as the current economic mess forces more and more people to surrender pets they can no longer afford to feed and care for. The Pet Food Bank seems like an excellent idea, a way to keep some of those pets in their homes until the economy improves, a way to save lives and probably even save the city tons of money in the long run over the cost of processing all those suddenly homeless pets.

Out of curiosity I read the information she gave me. There are rules, of course, to limit access by those who might abuse the system. Among other things, and I liked this, you have to show [vet or clinic] proof that the animal(s) have been spayed/neutered. You also have to agree to allow SPCA officials to visit the home/animals (if they ask to). The latter is to insure that they have a way to verify that the food is actually being used to feed pets should they suspect otherwise.

Every now and then the city does something impressive, not often but occasionally. This is one of those times, I think.

Edited to add: Wonder if one can get Pet Food Bank assistance for ones raccoons?

This message was edited Mar 16, 2010 10:48 AM

How odd! I also found a raccoon in my trap...checked it before I went to bed! And like you, I released it and reset the trap, hoping it wouldn't try that again. It must have been really hungry! Even chewed on the plastic lid I had the food had been on. It's probably been trying to steal food I leave for the kitties next door. I've noticed more fear in the kitties lately for some reason. They are really scared...I've wondered if coyotes,wild hogs or dogs have been around. During our big record-breaking drought (ended last September), pets were disappearing all over the area and there were even rumors of mountain lions. And the wild hogs...even I saw them...and saw a lot of the damage they left on the property.

Linda,

The raccoon that was in my trap did some serious damage to that rug. It's probably useless now. There's rug 'fur' all over the bottom of the cage STILL and sprinklings of the stuff here and there blowing across the lawn like dust bunnies. The rug wasn't even in the cage, it was beside the cage. Apparently, the raccoon reached through the cage with her hands, grabbed the nearby rug, and pulled it up against the cage while struggling to get free. Then she pulled major sections of the rug bare while trying to yank it through the tiny spaces in the cage wall.

Stealing kitty food is what the raccoon at the front door was up to. Now that the raccoons and opossums realize that I'm feeding kittens at the front door, I pretty much can't leave food out. I have to sit with the cats while they eat because the other critters know my feeding schedule and lie in wait in the hedges and around the side of the house waiting for me to set the food out. Then they come and take the food before the cats get much more than a few bites.

Mountain lions. Wooo! Scary! Although there is no documented evidence of them in this area (not now. they were here hundreds of years ago), there were many rumors of sitings in the rural area inland of here where I once lived. They are not known to be here, but it is not impossible since they once roamed this area in numbers. We have wild hogs though. When I say we have no large predators, I forget to mention the wild hogs. They have actually been known to come out of that forest and dig up lawns during the night. One of my neighbors put up wire fencing in the edge of the forest on his property, connected to my privacy fence to keep those hogs out of his yard a few years ago when the hogs plowed half of his backyard under - looked just like a freshly plowed field when they finished with it.

Poor kitties. I guess fear of such predators may be the reason Kitty kept her kittens in my backyard where the privacy fence would be a barrier to some predators like hogs and alligators. The other night Tom the feral male cat came by to eat. I got a good close up look at him for the 1st time looking down from the window beside the door. He's rather pretty from a distance, but up close he has a lot of scars with chunks of hair the size of quarters missing in places. He looks like a veteran of many wars, but I guess that is mostly from fighting other male cats.

A few minutes ago as I was typing my last post, 1st a friend called. Then while I was still on the phone, the doorbell rang. I went to the door still talking on the phone. Through the window I saw a man wearing a City of Charleston Police Dept jacket.

"I'll have to call you back", I told my friend, "There's a policeman pounding on the door. I have to see if I'm being arrested."

Naturally, I didn't think I was actually being sought by the police since I try to avoid even minor infractions of the law, but it is always a little freaky to find the police at your door. It was one of the animal control guys. He had come to retrieve their trap. I was hoping to use it tonight to see if a change of traps might work for the kitten, but he said they needed it and had already left it too long. In the ensuing conversation, he said because they are so understaffed on this new project they have a number of citizens like me who are doing some of the work, so now they have a shortage of traps.

We talked for a little while. He showed me how to set the trap should I need it in the future. I showed him how the large tom cat managed to wriggle out of his trap and showed him mine which is raccoon proof and surely tom cat proof as well - and much more idiot proof in terms of how to set it.

He took his trap back for now. He said they are rotating them because they have more people than traps and that he would bring it back later if I wanted. I told him given the situation, I would just use my own traps.

My cat Prince got into a real bad fight with something once. When we found him his head was all swollen up and there were wounds. Whatever got him had bitten through into his mouth, among other wounds. They couldn't tell us what did it, although I'm pretty sure a cat didn't do that. He needed 2 different stays at the vet hospital before he was on the mend. He's lucky to have survived. Living out in the country is safer for people, but not safer for their pets.

Linda,

That sounds awful. I glad you were able to save him.

Muffin, my Himalayan was an indoor cat who insisted on taking the occasional foray outdoors - or else after his requests were repeatedly denied he would begin to act out in quite intolerable ways. One day he returned home looking perfectly normal as I looked down on his head as he stood there at my feet. I spoke to him, and he raised his head to look up at me revealing for the 1st time what looked like something out of a horror flick.

His entire lower face was pulled off such that I could see the muscles, ligaments and such in his lower jaw and neck right up to his lower teeth. I could not believe my eyes, it was so horrid. He was apparently in shock. We rushed him to the vet who was about to close for the day. He spent some time in the hospital. When we got him back his 'face' had been sewn back on, the skin at his mouth held in place by threads tied around his lower teeth. (Although his face had been pulled 'off', the skin and fur had been left hanging from him like a bib, so they were able to put everything back together.) He had a drainage tube emanating from his mouth and was on strong pain meds.

When I saw him that day with his lower face missing, I could not believe he was still alive, but he healed and was eventually fine. You couldn't even tell that anything had happened to him because his long, thick fur completely hid any sign of scars. We never knew what happened to him. The vet said it looked like blunt trauma and theorized that he had probably gotten into an unfortunate brawl with a car bumper in motion. That was back before the advent of the 'uni-body' car panels. Bumpers back then were separate, heavy, aluminum finished pieces that stuck off a few inches from the car not the sleek parts of today that blend seamlessly with the car's body. With those old, metallic bumpers it was conceivable that one could act as a scalpel of sorts if something got caught up on it the right, or wrong, way.

We lived in the city then so contact with a predator (other than the car) seemed unlikely although not impossible. Veterinary medicine is incredible though, and it's come a long way still since that event.

Just got back from the buffet. No sign of Heidi again tonight. It seems she didn't get the memo about daylight savings time, and I keep grabbing everything and running out according to 'our' artificial clocks thinking I'm late until I arrive out there, find no one, and realize by their time I'm an hour to an hour and a half early.

Before I even sat down though, I heard some stirring on the fence. I thought it was Heidi, but a yearling came down the fence and toward me without a moment's hesitation. I'm not certain who it was, but it didn't read as one of Heidi's. I waited to offer food. I wanted to let the yearling choose her spot. She came right up to me stopping just beyond my reach (and I have short arms. have to hem 2-3in off garment sleeves). Her face and body language told me she would consider coming closer still for a yummy treat which she seemed to be eying me in search of.

I tossed her some food to one side and a few feet farther back to give us all some space. She had been standing in front of me where Heidi normally eats, and I wanted to keep that spot open should Heidi show up.

She was smallish although not really small for a yearling. She was not 'Precious' small. She was quite comfortable around me even at times turning her back to me to watch the forest as she ate. Part way through her meal the sound of something running through the forest rustling leaves frightened her and she ran. In response to my "It's ok" she stopped at the bottom of the fence looking alternately at me and at the forest. I could see that she was responding to me. I repeated the phrase, and she turned around and came back to eat some more.

I don't know for sure, but given her comfort with and reactions to me, I concluded this was probably the kit I had babysat last year when her mother would run off and leave her alone at the buffet where she would walk around searching for her mom and crying and I would offer her comfort and cookies. What she did by coming out alone with me was quite unusual. But for the rare ones like Dennis, raccoons other than Heidi are quite reluctant to come out alone with me. In summer when there's so much traffic out there, many appear to wait at the forest edge for Heidi to show up and then follow her lead.

Even when raccoons are left with me, even in groups of 2 or 3, after Heidi leaves, they will instantly behave differently than they had moments earlier when she was around. With her there they may come near me. When she leaves, they will either leave, too, or move back a ways often getting into the pool or walking about on the bank beyond the pool. Either way, the pool usually becomes their line in the sand when left alone with me.

This yearling not only came out alone with me but came close and did so quite comfortably. It did not behave like one of Heidi's yearlings. It showed extreme comfort around me, yet it was a yearling. The one (can't recall mother's name at the moment) I used to babysit seems the best guess as to this one's identity. Definitely one of the two kits from that same mother.

Just came back from my 2nd trip out to the buffet. While typing my last post I kept hearing something outside. Thinking it might be Heidi, I headed out. No sign of her though. Something(s) ran as I approached. I could hear that sound of something scampering across the forest floor rustling leaves again, the same sound which had frightened the yearling earlier except this time it was running in the opposite direction away from the fence. It didn't sound like a raccoon as they are so unbelievably silent. That's more the sound I've associated with opossums which, unlike raccoons, appear to scamper noisily across the forest floor a lot on there way to the buffet.

I also wondered about cats, but 'my' 3 were resting comfortably at the front door when I came back inside and peaked out at them. I've always wondered, if they live at the back of the yard, why the whole family tends to sleep quite reliably on my front porch until well into the early AM only to disappear to their other home before I get out each morning. I'm wondering if fear of the raccoons and opossums back there at night might be what keeps the cats at the front door esp now when the raccoons are expecting, hungry, and probably none too eager to share their territory.

Still no sign of Heidi out there.

Wow, what a shocking story--I'm so glad the vet was there and took him in, and that he made it.
I wish you the best of luck in catching the girl kitten!

The yearling I spoke of earlier seemed oddly reluctant to leave. I had gone out in short sleeves w/o a coat and was uncomfortably chilly. When the yearling headed to the fence to leave the 2nd time, this time of her own accord and w/o being frightened off, I was glad to see her go because I was eager to run back inside for my coat before any others arrived.

But the yearling got to the fence, climbed on the large flower pots and such the gardener had stacked there (on my request), and then just hung around for what seemed an eternity to my cold arms. Inside I was saying, "Go, go, go!" If Heidi were to arrive while she was hanging around the fence, I would be stuck out there in the cold for another 1/2 hour or more w/no coat. Still, I didn't want to frighten this one by getting up to go back to the house while she was there. If only she would just GO, but she didn't. Finally, she climbed the fence only to hang out on top of it for another eternity before climbing every so slowly to the fork of the Heidi tree where she took up camp once more. I thought she would never actually leave - reminded me once more of that frightened kit last year, how she would wonder the yard, climb the fence, climb around in the trees along the forest edge, etc but never leave until her mom came back for her.

Eventually, she climbed high up into the canopy of the tree, and I took that as my cue to go. When I returned with my coat, I waited a while but neither Heidi nor any of the others ever showed. If I could just get Heidi on daylight savings time.

Don't forget, ladies, that raccoons will sometimes attack & kill cats. So feeding at opposite sides of the house is a good idea.

Thanks, KyWoods,

I'm pretty frustrated now with the cat catching thing. Although I left the trap set at the front door, I'm none too optimistic for catching her tonight. She seems way too smart to go into that trap after all that has happened, not even for tuna.

I'm afraid I caved and fed them all anyhow. I left Kitty out there for a change (more on this later) and the 3 of them were totally driving me crazy out there trying to get food, hanging around the door, Kitty running inside every time I open it.

Not knowing what to do or how to handle the situation, figuring the boy kitten needs a decent feeding after his surgical ordeal, I decided to take a step back, feed them, and try harder tomorrow. I do understand that time is of the essence, but I didn't see much chance that the girl kitten was going to take that bait today.

I think the cats are all too upset right now after what has happened the last few days and thus too cautious. I wondered if giving them a break to calm down and stop looking over their shoulders for 'monsters' might help. Kitty has been beside herself today. I just think they are too stressed and even distrustful right now. The trap suddenly appeared out there the other night. The boy got stuck in there. He and the girl had a bad night with him in the trap. Then he disappeared leaving everyone to worry that he had been taken by a predator. During all of this I suddenly started hiding Kitty away upstairs and starving the girl. I just think they are on red alert right now and unlikely to get in that trap. I think it might help to let things return to 'normal' for a day so they can calm down. When they are calm again, maybe the girl will sneak into the cage for some tuna. This is also why I left Kitty out tonight, to let the 3 of them snuggle together on the rug, have family reunions, and de-stress.

I know there isn't a lot of time to waste, so I'm not talking about waiting weeks or anything like that. I'm starting to wonder if the girl will ever go in the trap. I do have another idea I'd like to run past you. It falls in the desperation category. I'm wondering your thoughts on the advisability of trying it. I don't seem to have a lot to loose at this point other than the fact that I will likely only get one shot at this so if I botch it, I'm done. I won't be trying it tonight either way though. Again, I've set tonight aside for de-stressing them.

So here is my idea. The kitten will come up to me for food, even right up to my lap when I sit on the floor and fold my legs "Indian style". I can even pet her some. If I pick her up she will shred my arms and hands, but I was wondering if I might be able to get control of her if I dropped either the rug or a thick towel over her. I don't know if I could move fast enough to grab her before she gets out of the towel/rug. I also don't know if I can get such an item in the air over her without scaring her away or if I can drop it fast enough to catch her under it vs dropping the item on bare ground behind her as she runs away. There is also the issue of other cats being in the way except that it's difficult for two of them to eat from a small can of food, so she will often stand there alone eating from the can of yummy stuff while the other two eat dry food from the dish beside me. There are some difficulties here, too, because Kitty is often in the way trying to take over the can before the kitten can get it, but the kitten does prevail to end up with the can often enough to make this viable.

My thinking is the thick towel would be the better choice. At 1st I thought the rug with its rubber backing would be best as it's weight would hold her down momentarily, but I think the thick towel is actually better. The rug would form a channel over her body making escape easier and its bulk would make it harder for me to get her wrapped up in it. Most of my towels are pretty ordinary, but I do have a couple of unbelievable towels I bought from either Overstock or SmartBargains. These are like the best high end resort towels one can imagine. Plain white, Egyptian cotton and so dense, thick, and plush they defy description except to say that using one makes one feel oh, so special. They're like 2in thick or so. One towel folds to about 10 - 12 in high, and they come out of the wash just as thick and soft as ever. Their one downside is the time required to dry them after a wash. Normally, I wouldn't use them for anything like this, but I'm desperate. I figure if anything short of a net would possibly give me a second to grab her, and unlike a net offer protection from claws, those towels must be it. Given that I am getting desperate, I'm even willing to toss her in the cage towel and all at this point.

My only other idea besides moving the traps around to other places in hopes of changing the look of the situation is to consider putting food in trap, perhaps starting right at the door at first with the trap blocked open (like with something heavy on top to keep it from tripping). I risk feeding other critters, but maybe if she/they could see others using the cage w/o getting stuck, it might be possible to de-mystify the thing, get them accustomed to using it, and then try again - at which point I would be as likely to catch the black one again as the tabby. Argh!

Or maybe this overnight rest is something I, the trapper, need. Maybe I'm getting too worked up about this - and transferring my frustration and angst to them.

slvrwilo,

I didn't know that about raccoons. I must admit that I'm shocked to see them eating from the same dish as they do at KyWoods house, but I didn't expect the raccoon to kill the cat. Then again, recalling the incident a couple years back where 2 or them ganged up on Widget (my little dog) one holding on to each end of him while dragging him around the lawn, I guess I could see how that would be possible if the cat held its ground long enough to provoke an attack.

I feed on opposite ends of the house anyhow but mainly because (1) the cats designed it that way by occupying the front porch and (2) from what I've seen the cats won't otherwise get anything to eat.

Thanks for the reminder.

My cats were raised with raccoons, but the ones they don't know could be a danger. Scary thought.

KyWoods,

Your situation there with the raccoons and cats is nothing short of amazing. Reminds me of videos I see of pet raccoons play wrestling with the family dog. In both cases the different species accept each other as friends and/or extended family. I just didn't expect to see it in the wild. Interesting to see what's possible. It's good that you got photos to document that incredible situation.

Personally, I wouldn't try to catch a kitten by putting anything like that over it...but that's just me. I caught the other girl kitten tonight...she was just hungry, I guess. After two other kittens and a coon were the trap before...fortunately I was able to check the trap from time to time, so none of the others spent a lot of time in there.

Just a quick note on the lighter side after all the serious subject matter.

I do sometimes get to see the kitten play, and given that their lives must be stressful, running in fear from everything as they do, hiding by day, coming out only in the relative safety of the night, it is particularly nice to see them get lost in frivolity even if only for a few precious moments.

Like his mother, the black kitten enjoys rolling on his back over and over on the walkway between the front door and the driveway. The kittens enjoy playing with the small toys I provide, rolling the little plastic 'cage ball' with the bell inside around the walkway, and play killing those spicy micey which still seem to be their favorites esp when I 1st take those mice out of their container of loose catnip, bits of the herb still clinging to the nap of the mice. They have given those mice a heck of a time already. Several are showing major signs of wear and tear.

The other night before all the trapping and starving began, I tossed a spicey micey, straight from the catnip container, into the flower bed in front of the little tabby kitten. She was hiding there in the narrow space between shrub and house where she had run when my presence disturbed her meal. As soon as the 'mouse' appeared she forgot all about her meal and quickly curled up on her side holding the cat with her front paws and thrashing it with her hind claws while biting it. The little boy quickly abandoned his meal to rush over there looking for a mouse of his own. I dropped another one in the same area for him, but somehow the little girl managed to claim that one, too. After that and for the longest time, she was completely spellbound as she play-killed her two mice.

Perhaps even more enjoyable are those rare moments when both kittens suspend their 'life or death struggles' long enough to play together. Sometimes one will begin playing with the tail of the other. That can lead to some amusing play moments.

They were especially cute out there playing in the pile of limbs the 1st night after the gardener deposited the limbs at the curb. They climbed in the limbs. They jumped from the ground to catch limbs held in the air by the pile. They chased each other in and out of the stack of debris racing across the top and disappearing into the pile once more. For a little while they were transformed from frightened feral kittens to the free spirits with which any cat owner is well aware.

Oh, yes, we have enjoyed hours of kitty-play entertainment like that. They are incredible acrobats!
Hmmm.....wonder what would happen if you hung one of those mice inside from the top of the trap...just thinking, I dunno.

Congratulations, Linda!

Good work. The girl kitten is very smart and especially cautious. Perhaps because she spend the early morning hours in the bushes watching her brother when he was caught in the trap. Perhaps because she has been in the cage herself already - the night I was trying to trap Kitty. I don't know. Even when she's really, really hungry, she just won't go in that cage.

I don't know. I'm just feeling very frustrated right now with all of it including the logistics of how to feed some and not feed others and how to get out my front door with starving cats in the way. I don't if they needed a time out or I did.