- Joined
- Mar 6, 2016
- Messages
- 89
- Purraise
- 139
Hi everyone. Happy New Year.
I live in southern New England. We just got socked with 15-18 inches of snow yesterday, but I'm happy none-the-less.
This past July someone dumped a VERY pregnant cat in my neighborhood. She is a small and young brown tiger. She looked less than a year old, and probably her 1st heat. I tried catching her back then but one day she showed up and was no longer pregnant, so i stopped trying to trap her for awhile. I knew her babies were somewhere close though I could not find them. I decided to make sure the Mom was well fed.
Over those weeks we developed a routine. At 7am I would put 2 cans of wet food outside my door. If she wasn't waiting she would appear within minutes. My neighbor leaves dry food out for any strays (or skunks) but good wet food won me the prefered feeder designation from her. At first she constantly watched me while she ate, any sort of body movement she would bolt.....but as the days went on she would eat without looking up at me. I started talking to her while she ate, not making eye contact, just letting her hear my voice all the time. If I moved towards her she would walk away then stop, then return if I retreated. So we established a 10 foot rule. She started coming around in the late afternoons for more food (kittens were somewhere getting bigger). So for four or five weeks this was our routine, 2x's a day feedings at 7 o'clock. I would tell her about my day as she ate, then watched as she would stroll off into the late summer dusk of night. When I named her is when I knew I was in trouble, Laureline.
On a heavily rainy night in late August I awoke at around 3am thinking I hear a cat crying outside my window. I grabbed my flashlight and looked around from my bedroom window. I thought I saw a little black and white kitten soaked and crying near me neighbor's porch. I put on a pair of pants as fast as I could and ran out the door to get this kitten somewhere safe. In the minute it took me to get out there she was already gone. I literally went back to bed thinking I might have just imagined the whole thing. Really bizarre.
One night towards the beginning of September I saw Laureline sitting in my backyard just staring at my house. I quickly opened a can of wet food for her and placed it out by my kitchen door. She just sat there and stared would not approach, so I went back inside to watch her from my window. THEN, as she moved forward (I'm getting goose pimples as i write this) two little things came out from under the bushes. They were so gorgeous! A tiny grey and white tiger and a grey and white tuxedo. I now knew that I didn't imagine the kitten that rainy night. Those kittens wolfed down that can of food so fast. I was so excited I opened 3 more cans and brought them outside. The kittens bolted so fast as I approached, but Laureline just sat calmly about 20 feet away, not moving at all. The kittens came back, gorged themselves as Mom watched over them. When they were full she then approached and ate. Our routine was modified from that day on. I put out 4 cans of food 2x's a day, I no longer sat outside while she ate. Kittens eat first, Mom watches. Kittens wash themselves and play while Mom eats, I talk to Laureline while she eats then they head off into the night.
Fall is here - I'M WORRIED about their safety, the upcoming Winter and Laureline getting pregnant again. I know I want to catch them, but I don't know what to do. I do not want to catch the Mom before the babies, etc, etc. I need help!
I get put in contact with a local TNR group in Rhode Island called Pawswatch. The local person comes over, gives me 3 traps. We go over what I should do, I'm ready. I've been noticing over the past couple weeks that when Laureline walks away the little tiger follows her. The grey and white Tuxedo is a little more independent. Not only does he stay behind, but I've seen him come to me for food completely on his own. First night - I catch him. The grey and white tiger took another week to get (Fresh cooked chicken atop the wet food drew them both in). I brought them both to the woman from Pawswatch and they have both been given a clean bill of health and have since been adopted.
That was late October. I start seeing less and less of Laureline. Once every two weeks maybe. Some nights the food goes uneaten, sometimes it's gone. It's getting dark so early now, food is starting to freeze in the bowl......where are you?
I won't leave the trap out overnight, or when I'm not home. I put a little trail of Tuna leading into the trap. I watched her one day walk into the trap (following my Hanzel & Gretel trail) but she stopped and looked at the bowland left the trap. She walked around the outside and used her paw to retrieve food from outside the trap. I knew I liked this cat!
This method was not going to work. So my local Pawswatch person gave me a Dropper trap. The 1st night I set it up, she went in and ate. Of course it in the 5 minutes I wasn't watching, but at least she was fed.
The past week it has been bitterly cold here, maybe 3-10 degrees fahrenheit overnights, mid teens during the days. She wont eat dry food so I been putting out a new can every 3 hours or so...as fast as they will freeze solid. Her usual feeding time is around 7pm so I warm up a bowl of shredded chicken around that time too. I got the dropper string coming from my porch in thru my LR window, the food is in two white bowls, though its dark I can still make out the outlines of the bowls under the dropper, the shadows are shifting...is it....i think, I pull the string. I grab for the flashlight - I got her! Laureline
I know you hate me in this moment, but your gonna be okay. She's spitting at me as I transfer her to a regular trap. I cover the trap and bring her inside. No more will you have to freeze and forage, you will be safe and loved (if you let me). She is so small, maybe 4-5 pounds. I don't think you would have survived the winter. I take her to the Pawswatch woman and we notice right away that she has a small puncture wound on her back.
She was to be taken to the Clinic this morning (that may change due to the snowstorm). We'll make sure she is healthy, get shots and spayed. The Pawswatch woman is gonna set me up with a large dog crate so i can work with her when she gets home. I do not think she is a true feral, i think she was housecat that was dumped.
So here's where I will take any advise -
My place is pretty small. There is no room where I can isolate Laureline from my other girls except to crate her. My other two girls were adult shelter adoptions (see my other posts). I want to try to socialize Laureline and make her part of the family, so any advice on how to do this will be most appreciated.
I am aware that what's best for Laureline may be giving her up for adoption, or even a TNR. I also don't want to ruin the nice world my two girls (Onyx and Jinxy) already have. I want to work with her but I have to admit I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to resocializing. The woman from Pawswatch will continue to work with me, but any advice would be appreciated as well.
Thanks for your time and input. ~ Chris
I live in southern New England. We just got socked with 15-18 inches of snow yesterday, but I'm happy none-the-less.
This past July someone dumped a VERY pregnant cat in my neighborhood. She is a small and young brown tiger. She looked less than a year old, and probably her 1st heat. I tried catching her back then but one day she showed up and was no longer pregnant, so i stopped trying to trap her for awhile. I knew her babies were somewhere close though I could not find them. I decided to make sure the Mom was well fed.
Over those weeks we developed a routine. At 7am I would put 2 cans of wet food outside my door. If she wasn't waiting she would appear within minutes. My neighbor leaves dry food out for any strays (or skunks) but good wet food won me the prefered feeder designation from her. At first she constantly watched me while she ate, any sort of body movement she would bolt.....but as the days went on she would eat without looking up at me. I started talking to her while she ate, not making eye contact, just letting her hear my voice all the time. If I moved towards her she would walk away then stop, then return if I retreated. So we established a 10 foot rule. She started coming around in the late afternoons for more food (kittens were somewhere getting bigger). So for four or five weeks this was our routine, 2x's a day feedings at 7 o'clock. I would tell her about my day as she ate, then watched as she would stroll off into the late summer dusk of night. When I named her is when I knew I was in trouble, Laureline.
On a heavily rainy night in late August I awoke at around 3am thinking I hear a cat crying outside my window. I grabbed my flashlight and looked around from my bedroom window. I thought I saw a little black and white kitten soaked and crying near me neighbor's porch. I put on a pair of pants as fast as I could and ran out the door to get this kitten somewhere safe. In the minute it took me to get out there she was already gone. I literally went back to bed thinking I might have just imagined the whole thing. Really bizarre.
One night towards the beginning of September I saw Laureline sitting in my backyard just staring at my house. I quickly opened a can of wet food for her and placed it out by my kitchen door. She just sat there and stared would not approach, so I went back inside to watch her from my window. THEN, as she moved forward (I'm getting goose pimples as i write this) two little things came out from under the bushes. They were so gorgeous! A tiny grey and white tiger and a grey and white tuxedo. I now knew that I didn't imagine the kitten that rainy night. Those kittens wolfed down that can of food so fast. I was so excited I opened 3 more cans and brought them outside. The kittens bolted so fast as I approached, but Laureline just sat calmly about 20 feet away, not moving at all. The kittens came back, gorged themselves as Mom watched over them. When they were full she then approached and ate. Our routine was modified from that day on. I put out 4 cans of food 2x's a day, I no longer sat outside while she ate. Kittens eat first, Mom watches. Kittens wash themselves and play while Mom eats, I talk to Laureline while she eats then they head off into the night.
Fall is here - I'M WORRIED about their safety, the upcoming Winter and Laureline getting pregnant again. I know I want to catch them, but I don't know what to do. I do not want to catch the Mom before the babies, etc, etc. I need help!
I get put in contact with a local TNR group in Rhode Island called Pawswatch. The local person comes over, gives me 3 traps. We go over what I should do, I'm ready. I've been noticing over the past couple weeks that when Laureline walks away the little tiger follows her. The grey and white Tuxedo is a little more independent. Not only does he stay behind, but I've seen him come to me for food completely on his own. First night - I catch him. The grey and white tiger took another week to get (Fresh cooked chicken atop the wet food drew them both in). I brought them both to the woman from Pawswatch and they have both been given a clean bill of health and have since been adopted.
That was late October. I start seeing less and less of Laureline. Once every two weeks maybe. Some nights the food goes uneaten, sometimes it's gone. It's getting dark so early now, food is starting to freeze in the bowl......where are you?
I won't leave the trap out overnight, or when I'm not home. I put a little trail of Tuna leading into the trap. I watched her one day walk into the trap (following my Hanzel & Gretel trail) but she stopped and looked at the bowland left the trap. She walked around the outside and used her paw to retrieve food from outside the trap. I knew I liked this cat!
This method was not going to work. So my local Pawswatch person gave me a Dropper trap. The 1st night I set it up, she went in and ate. Of course it in the 5 minutes I wasn't watching, but at least she was fed.
The past week it has been bitterly cold here, maybe 3-10 degrees fahrenheit overnights, mid teens during the days. She wont eat dry food so I been putting out a new can every 3 hours or so...as fast as they will freeze solid. Her usual feeding time is around 7pm so I warm up a bowl of shredded chicken around that time too. I got the dropper string coming from my porch in thru my LR window, the food is in two white bowls, though its dark I can still make out the outlines of the bowls under the dropper, the shadows are shifting...is it....i think, I pull the string. I grab for the flashlight - I got her! Laureline
I know you hate me in this moment, but your gonna be okay. She's spitting at me as I transfer her to a regular trap. I cover the trap and bring her inside. No more will you have to freeze and forage, you will be safe and loved (if you let me). She is so small, maybe 4-5 pounds. I don't think you would have survived the winter. I take her to the Pawswatch woman and we notice right away that she has a small puncture wound on her back.
She was to be taken to the Clinic this morning (that may change due to the snowstorm). We'll make sure she is healthy, get shots and spayed. The Pawswatch woman is gonna set me up with a large dog crate so i can work with her when she gets home. I do not think she is a true feral, i think she was housecat that was dumped.
So here's where I will take any advise -
My place is pretty small. There is no room where I can isolate Laureline from my other girls except to crate her. My other two girls were adult shelter adoptions (see my other posts). I want to try to socialize Laureline and make her part of the family, so any advice on how to do this will be most appreciated.
I am aware that what's best for Laureline may be giving her up for adoption, or even a TNR. I also don't want to ruin the nice world my two girls (Onyx and Jinxy) already have. I want to work with her but I have to admit I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to resocializing. The woman from Pawswatch will continue to work with me, but any advice would be appreciated as well.
Thanks for your time and input. ~ Chris
