I just trapped my first stray cat!

[tammywammy]

For the last two or three months, I've had about 5 stray cats that suddenly appeared around my house. At first I was giving them just water, but then one day I saw one and he was quite thin, so I started feeding them.

I finally got set up with a group in this area that helps you trap and get strays/ferals spayed/neutered. They came by to drop off 2 traps and the one friendliest cat got within reaching distance and I grabbed him by the back of the neck to pick him up and put him in the trap. Okay so it wasn't really "trapping" him, but he's in there. I've put a bowl of food and water in there for the night and he'll go to the vet on Friday. Tomorrow night I'll set up for another one to be trapped. I'm going to talk to my boss about a couple of days next week just coming in late so I can drop them off at the vet (I'm pretty sure he won't have a problem with me coming in an hour late).

So, hopefully in a couple of weeks I'll have all of them fixed. :)

[amerikat]

1. Way to go.....every cat trapped and neutered/spayed saves

many others from a cruel life. People think cats are fine on there own.
Really they need an owner to take care of them or they will die young.

[glinda]

2. Ferals do die young. I agree they need an owner. They also breed like crazy and interbreed

causing deformed hearts and other issues.
We had a pregnant female give birth in an old shed of ours. She had been living in the wetlands behind our old property. She had five kittens. She was too wild to pick up too. So I cut a net, looped a rope around the edges, strung it over the rafters and all the way into the house. Then I put a cardboard box with her kittens in it and some food and waited and waited. When I saw her, I pulled the rope and prayed that I had gotten her and I did!!!!!!!! I pulled the netted box into the house/workshop where my husband had built a floor to ceiling cage of chicken wire with even a window and perch in it. There they lived for two months until I could socialize the kitties and adopt them out. I adopted out three to indoor homes and ended up with two and the mom.
The two kittens, (now five yrs. old) have small deformed hearts. The mother now sits on our laps and demands combing. Who says you can't get a feral to tame down?

[tammywammy]

3. I'm lucky that there haven't been any babies yet

I seem to be dominated by males. I have one that's kinda friendly, I think he could definitely go to a home. I've been asking around to see if anyone wants a cat. I might see if I can bring him inside, but I have two cats of mine own and I don't know how my scaredy cat boy will deal with it.

Also, I set my traps out again last night and I managed to trap both of the ones I took to the vet last Friday. lol I let them go and when I woke this morning I did have one new one in a trap as well. I hope to get one more tonight, and I'll take them in tomorrow morning to the vet. My boss is being very cool about all of this. He did call me a crazy cat lady last week. He thinks it's a good thing and doesn't mind if I come in an hour or so late (we do have flex-time here).

[Warpy]

10. Many feral cats were once kittens in homes

and used to people. They were given to other homes and some dumb people tossed them when they weren't kittens any more.

Chances are the feral momma cat started out tame.

My own yard is a the neighborhood cat flophouse. I can tell that the cats have owners, though, they're all pretty well fed and some of them are love bugs.

[hamsterjill]

4. Yeah!!! Good for you!!!

That's wonderful! You are taking steps to be responsible for these kitties. Thank you! And every one of us who does this is another individual who can be a great ambassador for getting others to support TNR.

You go!!!

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

5. Good for you!

:thumbsup:

My neighbor trapped all his. He used a fishing net, chicken & a 6 pack of Mike's Hard Lemonade. :rofl:

[tammywammy]

6. I managed to trap two more to be taken in tomorrow morning

Well, first of all after I set them up last night BOTH of the cats from last week trapped themselves. Seriously. Orange cat looked pathetic when I caught him. lol

Then later on I did get another new one. It's been raining out, one trap on my back deck and and the other on my front porch (both are covered by the roof) and I have a towel, so I think it just looked like an inviting place to hide out for him. Tonight I put in a new bowl of tuna and an hour or so later when I went to check on it, one of the ones from last week was in there! So I opened it to let him out and I closed the door and then I realized there was another kitty in there too. He was freaking out! I moved him around to the back deck, and made sure both traps were well covered on all sides to calm them. I went out a while later and neither were crying anymore, it'll be tough on the drive to the vet in the morning.

The one that trapped himself twice (really, it was just to get the food, I know), is pretty sweet. He comes close and just wants to be petted. I'm hoping I can find someone that wants to take him in, I already have two indoor cats.

[wakemeupwhenitsover]

7. You've not only saved those cats, but a brazillion kitties.

:hug:

[tammywammy]

9. And that's the whole point really

I don't mind the 5 or so strays that hang around, but I sure don't want a ton of babies to start appearing either. My next door neighbor said it's good to have them, there's apparently rats that come from the golf course/park that's just a street over. He said he didn't mind the cats, and was glad to know that I'm just getting them fixed.

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Excellent! You are doing a wonderful thing for all of them.