thankful for friends....

We are sure some of you remember our posting about Katniss - the girl cat that was spayed by the shelter but then left outside with no real care.

Well, after finally catching her, mom's friend Miss Emily took her and set her up in a pen outside to let her adjust to being somewhere new (this is pretty standard with ferals). After 3-4 weeks they let her out....and didn't see her again. They eventually had to move the food out of the enclosure as it was attracting raccoons.

It was hard cause they didn't see her after that. There was food up on their deck as they have other ferals. But she wasn't seen. It was one of those times where mom had to admit that they had done everything they could to help her and that was the point - regardless of the outcome.

However....Miss Emily was volunteering on Friday when mom stopped at the adoption center to check on the kittens. And they got talking and mom asked if Katniss ever showed back up. And lo and behold - she has!!! Miss Emily said she has to sneak a peak around the corner of the drapes to their deck to see her or Katniss will run, but she has seen her out there several times - a couple with their one "friendly" feral Corduroy. Mom was thrilled.....they managed to catch her, move her and she is doing ok in her new location. YAY!!!!

Random Fridays

Katniss update: She spent Monday night in the bathroom at Miss Emily's house singing (very loudly) the songs of her people. So Tuesday night she got an introduction to the outside enclosure. MOL It is a very nice set up with an insulated cat house and food and water in another enclosure. Plus the whole thing is enclosed so she can have a chance to adjust.
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Mom did some of the "cat" laundry last weekend. It made it out of the dryer....and onto the coffee table.

No, it still hasn't been folded.  MOL
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We gotted a new Drinkwell Fountain from Petsafe when they were on sale. Mo was the first to use it. Everyone has shown some interest except Saffron who seems afraid of it.

However, mom got home Wednesday night and the kitchen had a pond. Seems the gasket that protect the wiring is faulty and the bottom of the fountain has a leak. So mom is contacting the company about getting the gasket replaced. Thankfully our kitchen is tiled so no damage to the floor. But that would explain why mom seemed to be having to fill it a lot.
     PS - we got an email this am from the company and our replacement part is on the way!!

We got her.....

First - a statement from the management: mom volunteers for two different groups. The "shelter" is a limited admissions group. The "rescue" is no-kill, TNR based. The shelter is run by paid staff during the day and volunteers in the evening - and the same group that mom had issues with this summer with the space kittens. Some would tell mom to move on, but she like the volunteers she works with and helping the adopting public. So, while this is about a cat and that group, this isn't a referendum on mom continuing to work with them. She may not agree with the director, but since she doesn't have to work with her all the time, mom is willing to go with it.
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This summer there was a young cat that showed up in the parking lot of the shelter. She was skittish but wouldn't run like a true feral. The admissions policy for the shelter is that the cat needs to be adoptable. This girl was going to require some serious work. So volunteers were concerned about her. However, the director decided to trap her, spay her and release her.

But....the director then sent an email that they "didn't want a feral colony and would not provide shelter/food for her". Mom - among others - wasn't happy about this. Mom asked for permission to trap her and move her....and didn't get an answer.

Mom spent some time thinking about this girl. We have our feral girl here so mom had some concerns. Allie has to be our first concern - what if she didn't like the new girl? If this new cat decided not to stick around, we live near some big roads and that made mom nervous.

Then our friend Miss Emily posted on facebook about her feral cat. Well Miss Emily lives about 20 minutes away and not near a big road and has some land. So mom emailed her and they went back and forth a few times. Miss Emily and her husband said they would take in this girl and they even had a shelter so she could be contained until she adjusted to her new environment.

On the sly, mom started trying to trap the cat. Mom caught a raccoon.....saw the girl often....fed her when she could. But could NOT get her into a live trap.

Last weekend mom was at the rescue talking and another volunteer mentioned that she had a drop trap and mom could borrow it.

Mom didn't get a picture of it set up cause she forgot the camera.

Saturday night mom went over to the shelter. The cat met her in the parking lot and even watched mom set up the trap. Mom put some food next to the trap to get her attention. And then it was wait. The girl ate the food next to the trap. She then walked in, sniffed the food...and walked back out. Don't move mom.....well the girl went back in and mom yanked the string. With a satisfying thunk, the trap dropped and the girl was caught inside.  WOOHOO!!!

Even better, Miss Emily was near our house at another event. So she stopped over last night and picked up our girl. She is going to try her out in the bathroom for a couple of days to check her temperment and see what happens. With any luck, she is shy and we can rehab her and find her a home inside with someone. If not, Miss Emily will take her out to the enclosure and let her adjust to her new surroundings before letting her live in their yard.

Either way, Katniss (after surviving the shelter hunger games) will be loved and cared for with food and shelter by Miss Emily. THANKS!!!! 

And we have to tell you, if you have never done TNR, mom says there is something seriously satisfying about trying to catch a cat that needs help and finally hearing the trap drop or close. Want to try it? We bet there is a group in your area that could use your help.  :)