My Feral And Rescued Cats

[Jcatbird]

Jcatbird That is so awful. And so scary. For the cats. But also for you too. Hopefully the remaining cats you need to trap are smarter than the horrible people trespassing on your property.

Do you have any way to borrow a drop trap from another rescue group. I know that's what @ashade1 uses for her more trap savvy kitties. She's also mentioned that most cats cannot resist the smell and temptation of KFC.

It was a late night. I made sure to cut porch lights on every now and then to ward off anyone breaching the fence. I find all the kitties seem to be safe. I only glimpsed them today. No amount of bribery would bring them out. That is actually okay. They are safe and will work up an appetite for later tonight. I will be patient. I want them inside but hiding right now might be best. If I catch Mom without the babies I have found the risk to the babies is higher. I have borrowed a drop trap before. I am going to use it again. I didn’t think I would need it for Mitsy since she was willing to investigate the carrier. The situation may be different now though. No matter what method I use, the events last night have set me back. If there is a repeat performance I fear Mom will leave. It has happened before. I wish I could get a trap into the area they are hiding in. The trap I have may not work if a kitten steps on the trip plate but I am wondering if I can add a small weight to it to make it shut with less pressure on it. I am going to experiment. I have heard about KFC being the best cat lure. I just don’t have access to any. Yep! I live in such a remote spot they don’t even deliver the mail. At any rate, I will guard the kitties again tonight. I thank all for the help and good wishes. I don’t have any illusions of getting kitties tonight. Especially if there is more activity. I just plan to keep them safe and keep trying. Fingers and paws crossed that it is quiet tonight.

 

[azpops]

Jcatbird ; read somewhere in your thread, you were having problems with mosquitoes. Not sure if it will help, but I work outdoors, and during the monsoon season here in AZ. The mosquitoes are quite bad / as in all over the place. They'll bite through my shirt, crazy huh?

What I do is wear two shirts (which seems to help). I also want to mention, I wear black, so no worries of stains.

I spray my self and my shirt with "Repel Natural Insect Repellent (DEET-FREE)", as well as dotting both sides of my collar, and the outside of my sleeves with "Eucalyptus Oil". Presently during the dry summer months (as in the present), I only use the "Eucalyptus Oil".

This combos been working well, that I'll keep a half dozen plus cans of the Repel on hand, and a few bottles of the Eucalyptus Oil (ordered through Amazon). When monsoon season hits, the selves are usually empty.

I haven't tried this yet, but a acquaintance who is a retired Major, USAF. Told me while he was working with the Navy. The guards would use "Eucalyptus + Spearmint Body Lotion" to repel mosquitoes. I have the lotion saved in my Amazon list, so one day I'll give it a shot.

Pops

 

[Jcatbird]

Jcatbird ; read somewhere in your thread, you were having problems with mosquitoes. Not sure if it will help, but I work outdoors, and during the monsoon season here in AZ. The mosquitoes are quite bad / as in all over the place. They'll bite through my shirt, crazy huh?

What I do is wear two shirts (which seems to help). I also want to mention, I wear black, so no worries of stains.

I spray my self and my shirt with "Repel Natural Insect Repellent (DEET-FREE)", as well as dotting both sides of my collar, and the outside of my sleeves with "Eucalyptus Oil". Presently during the dry summer months (as in the present), I only use the "Eucalyptus Oil".

This combos been working well, that I'll keep a half dozen plus cans of the Repel on hand, and a few bottles of the Eucalyptus Oil (ordered through Amazon). When monsoon season hits, the selves are usually empty.

I haven't tried this yet, but a acquaintance who is a retired Major, USAF. Told me while he was working with the Navy. The guards would use "Eucalyptus + Spearmint Body Lotion" to repel mosquitoes. I have the lotion saved in my Amazon list, so one day I'll give it a shot.

Pops

Bless your heart! I am itching right now! I do wear two shirts! Lol My poor hands! I am going to try ALL the suggestions you gave me. I have a mosquito net hat but it scares the cats. I tried leaving the hat out for them to investigate it but it didn’t help. Gloves scare them as well. I spent a little time on a job in the rainforest and even though I contracted Malaria I would take those bugs over these any day. I have been just enduring it but if the oil works it would be the sweetest relief ever! I can’t wait to try everything you listed. Thank you for giving me that information.

 

[Jcatbird]

Tonight has been quiet so far. Very good. The cats are still frightened but I managed to get Mitsy to stick he nose out long enough to drink and nibble some food. Used a flashlight to look for her babies. They survived the night. One came out against Mom’s approval. The little silver. I lured it with a toy but it was temporary. Thrasher and her babies did not show at all. Flowers, the one closest to where the trucks were last night, squeezed out from under a building to eat as long as I stayed by her. She hissed at me through half her food. Her babies did not show at all but I think they are probably under the building. I only got a picture of little silver today but I was happy to get that! He looked tired. Poor baby. I will be after them again in the morning. I have a monitor set up for sound. If it isn’t tampered with I will be able to hear if the trucks enter the fenced area.

 

[Jcatbird]

I hate to leave with a sad picture so I am posting one of my rescues from 10 years ago. Mackie is saying thank you for helping Mom to help his cousins outside. He is extending a paw of peace and love to all.

 

[surya]

Arghh, bug bites are the worst part of trapping. Last year I brought home bed bugs hanging out by a dumpster trapping kittens. That was a nightmare.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Little faces up close. Gotta love them.

You do, indeed, gotta love them! And their little tails!

I am itching right now!

Try some chilled chamomile tea on those bites. It's good for any kind of skin itchies and ouchies. It will even sooth eczema, so I'm thinking bites would respond well, also. It is also safe for cats, so long as you are certain that it is the German variety, NOT the English one, and ALL commercial tea bags are German.

 

[Jcatbird]

surya you poor thing! Who would have imagined picking up hitchhikers like that? You really put yourself out there for those kitties. I haven’t rescued any dumpster kitties but I will keep that info in mind if that comes up. Ouch! At least I can run from the mosquitos. You deserve a medal for that rescue trip. Mamanyt1953 i will get some chamomile. German! Any relief from the bites will be heavenly. I must look a bit warped from the welts. Lol All in a night’s work. My buddy must truly have extended the paw of peace. All is quiet tonight. It rained all afternoon so the kitties stayed tucked in mostly. Mitsy came out to speak to me and her little silver watched from the escape route. I finally broke my feeding rule and put a dish near their hole in the wall. Saturday morning was their last real meal and they just would not come far from escape. Mom was looking a little poorly and I don’t want her to become ill in this heat. She drank a great deal of water. She and the silver ate a little but then were startled by a loud car and hid again. The other two kittens never showed. I left the plate and went back to collect it after dark. Bad timing on my part. I startled Mitsy and the tabby baby from eating. I still didn’t see the white and tabby. I will give them one more chance to eat and go back to collect the dish. I may regret having given food outside where I plan to trap them but if Mom gets sick then I have another serious issue to deal with. One good thing about going out when I did was that Mrs. Thrasher greeted me. She actually rubbed against a tree near me as though she was happy to see me. It’s the first time since I trapped her other babies that she has not run from me or given me the dirty looks. Maybe being scared by others makes her understand that I am the lesser threat. It gives me new hope that I may get her after all. Even Flowers le her babies out to watch me. Not one of hers ran as soon as they spotted me. They actually watched me. I was pretty sure I would be able to trap them but if they have less fear of me it will be better for them. I would say that tonight was a big improvement over the last couple of nights. The ups and downs of kitty catching! The only pic of outside kitties I got today was of Mitsy and her silver. Not the best pic but I was happy to see them and get it. The baby didn’t look sad like it did yesterday.

 

[Jcatbird]

Here is my funny part of the posting for tonight. Banjo found a new place to relax

Lots of fun at first. Reminds me of the quote from the Wizard of Oz, “ pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!”

Everything was fine until Banjo couldn’t figure out how to escape the curtains! Notice the ears down with concern.

Am I exploration takes place.

Oh thank goodness! There is a way out!

 

[Jcatbird]

Going to be brief tonight. My glaucoma is causing an issue. It poured rain today so no progress with catching cats. I did see the Moms and some of the babies. I also saw a cat I have never seen before. Beautiful white with one orange patch on her back. I hope she belongs to someone. I will post some pictures of the rescues that I hope will make you grin!

A hint to be fed! First in line!

A kitty pretending to be a jungle cat.

Everyone can appreciate a pretty orchid that smells good!

A nice nap after a good meal leaves everyone verrrrrry relaxed.

Hard to sleep with the lights on!

Little Frosty was serious about bedtime. Really! Turn out the lights! Hope to be back on tomorrow. Banjo and Whistle go for shots and checkup. They leave for Florida next week.

 

[Jcatbird]

Banjo and Whistle are moving to Florida next week. So far away! I shall miss them terribly! I am trying not to think about it. I spent so many weeks trying to save those little guys I think I put too much of myself into it. I try to hold back but I guess we all get invested in the kitties.
Today was vet day for Banjo and Whistle. All shots are done, no parasites present and all test were negative. The vet found them to be in excellent health from ears to tails! Yay! They are ready for their new home. They will be spayed and neutered by their new Dad. My vet won’t do it at this age so it will be a little while longer.
In case anyone is wondering how,previously, feral kittens do at the vet, I can tell you they were nervous. At first they clung to me but after the shots and blood work they were allowed to explore the room while we awaited results. They started out by hiding but by the end of the visit they had relaxed. Whistle even took a nap under a chair. My vet removes the carriers so they can’t retreat there in fear. In this case it worked well.Kitties are now home and all is forgiven! I will enjoy the time we still have together.

 

[Jcatbird]

Here they are, resting at home after a day of new adventures. I think Whistle is smiling but with one eye open to keep check on what I am up to! Lol Banjo might be giving me a tiny bit of attitude.

 

[Jcatbird]

Oh boy! Do not look if you are scared of snakes!!! I shall put this pic down the page if possible. No animals were hurt. This is one of the threats to feral cats.(and me) It was safely removed to the swamp. A very important reason to be doing rescues! The rain has brought them to higher ground. These guys give up their space to no one. Beware this pic. It is a cottonmouth.

 

[white shadow]

.
Good grief

OMG....keep yourself safe !

Is the Glaucoma more under control today?
.

 

[surya]

Eeek, did you catch the snake yourself? If so, you are much braver than me.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Re your cotton mouth...If you have outbuilding where they like to hide, just put a fresh bowl of Pine-Sol original formula down in there once a week. Pine-Sol is deadly to snakes, but they instinctively avoid it, so they just go away, they aren't harmed. We found this out when I was a little girl, living on Laguna Beach, Florida. Our motel property backed up onto a lagoon FULL of moccasins, and there were rattlesnakes, copperheads and coral snakes as well. We had well water, so we had a pump house where snakes LOVED to hang out to escape the heat. There was a guy who lived in the area who ran a snake milking operation who would come and remove them, but after the 20th trip or so, he told Dad about the Pine-Sol. He had inadvertetnly killed off most of his snakes trying to disinfect after an epidemic. We started putting out the Pine-Sol and never saw another snake. Later, when I married and moved to Louisiana, I lived right on a bayou. I mopped with Pine-Sol daily, and put dishes at my front and back door, and in areas where plumbing came into the house if there were gaps in the wall. I never saw a snake, and my neighbors were overrun with them.

OOPS! I didn't mean to write a book about this!

 

[rubysmama]

I don't freak over snake pictures, but I most definitely wouldn't want to come face to face with him.

I did mow into a garter snake once. It was in the lawn right near the street. Don't know how he got there. Don't know whether he survived his injury or not, as a neighbour got rid of him for me.

 

[Jcatbird]

.
Good grief

OMG....keep yourself safe !
Thank you! I will do my best to avoid bad snakes! That was a close one!
My glaucoma is something I have to deal with but working on it. I have a few vision issues but as long as I can see the snakes before they see me I am a happy camper! Lol It was a very good day.

Is the Glaucoma more under control today?
.

Eeek, did you catch the snake yourself? If so, you are much braver than me.

I can’t take credit for catching the snake. It crawled into a nearby open container with a lid! Shutting the lid with a shovel was just too easy! Pure luck! Someone else took the snake to release it. That was the bad part because I am sure he was very angry by then!

Re your cotton mouth...If you have outbuilding where they like to hide, just put a fresh bowl of Pine-Sol original formula down in there once a week. Pine-Sol is deadly to snakes, but they instinctively avoid it, so they just go away, they aren't harmed. We found this out when I was a little girl, living on Laguna Beach, Florida. Our motel property backed up onto a lagoon FULL of moccasins, and there were rattlesnakes, copperheads and coral snakes as well. We had well water, so we had a pump house where snakes LOVED to hang out to escape the heat. There was a guy who lived in the area who ran a snake milking operation who would come and remove them, but after the 20th trip or so, he told Dad about the Pine-Sol. He had inadvertetnly killed off most of his snakes trying to disinfect after an epidemic. We started putting out the Pine-Sol and never saw another snake. Later, when I married and moved to Louisiana, I lived right on a bayou. I mopped with Pine-Sol daily, and put dishes at my front and back door, and in areas where plumbing came into the house if there were gaps in the wall. I never saw a snake, and my neighbors were overrun with them.

OOPS! I didn't mean to write a book about this!

Write all you want! The information is gratefully received. I have Pinesol and will buy more by the drum full! It will be all over my property by this time tomorrow. I know Laguna Beach! I spent much time in Florida. It is a small world! That was quite an interesting story about the man who milked snakes. His loss was your gain. I am very glad you learned about the Pinesol from him. I intend to milk that info for all it’s worth. Terrible play on words, I know. It’s late so please forgive my silliness. It has been a long day. Lol
On a great note, Emoji got adopted today! Yay! My precious little one got a forever home. I was worried. Of the six that went for adoption at the rescue center, she alone remained. After the snake event it was very welcome news!
My day has been quite unorganized but I did work at catching kitties. I actually got one to enter a trap but it did not trip it. I am encouraged that it even entered the trap. Perhaps it will do it again tomorrow and I shall catch another kitty. I am going to leave you all tonight with a new picture of Mitsy and the kitten that entered the trap. I hope I will soon be petting them both.

Note the irritated posture Mitsy is displaying. I think she suspects me of trying to trap. Lol
I also post two of my favorite baby pictures of Emoji. The picture below shows her little cat attitude and the face that have her the name.

Below she is pictured with her brother Bee. I am so grateful that someone gave them their own forever homes. I will never forget the joy they brought to me and my love for them continues.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I know Laguna Beach! I spent much time in Florida. It is a small world!

Mom actually managed two motels on Laguna Beach. She started out at Catalina Court, a very small place across the street from the actual beach. This is where I learned about the Pine-Sol. Later, after a couple of other motels further up on Panama City Beach (and if you went there in the '60s, you might remember Larkway Villas. It was one of the first ones there, cottages in a semi-circle across from the dunes), she managed the Blue Dolphin Motel (later the Blue Dolphin Inn), and stayed there until her final illness.

 

[Jcatbird]

Mom actually managed two motels on Laguna Beach. She started out at Catalina Court, a very small place across the street from the actual beach. This is where I learned about the Pine-Sol. Later, after a couple of other motels further up on Panama City Beach (and if you went there in the '60s, you might remember Larkway Villas. It was one of the first ones there, cottages in a semi-circle across from the dunes), she managed the Blue Dolphin Motel (later the Blue Dolphin Inn), and stayed there until her final illness.

The Blue Dolphin!!!! My beloved Grandmother took me there. I may have happy tears! It was a magical time for me. It was just the two of us and it is a special memory for me. My mother was quite ill and I often cared for her so that trip was a treat for us both. It seems we have crossed paths! I love that. I grew up in the salt water. Anytime near a beach or salt air is a good time! When my mother moved us inland I felt landlocked at first. I wonder if you love the sea as well? I learned so much about all the living things of the water. Later I learned to love the woods, hills and mountains as well. I grew to love all creatures. I also developed my love of plant life. It served me well since I was able to support my daughter by hunting for and breeding endangered plants. It is such a wonderous world we live in! So many things to see and so many people we happen upon. Please share more of your Florida days. I love hearing about it. It takes me back.
For the cat news of today I had a Yay day! I finally caught Mitsy and her three babies!!! They are all beautiful. I have pursued Mitsy every time she appeared in the area. I knew her siblings and had caught them but Mitsy often vanished. I rescued the last litter she had here as a young cat. She adandoned them in fear. This time I got her kittens but I got her too. No more being afraid for them! They are safe and I just got to pet Mitsy on the nose. First time I have ever touched her. She talked to me too! I am so happy for them. The mosquitos were eating them up. Of course I will have to find more homes now but I have faith that it can happen as it did for Emoji yesterday. Which, by the way, Emoji is neice to Mitsy! It was a lucky catch this morning. The traps had not captured the kittens. Perhaps they were not heavy enough to trip them. I got them because all four went into a carrier to eat breakfast. I simply closed the door and brought them in. They are a little nervous but doing far better than I had expected. I think you can see by the photo they are okay. Whew! Four more out of harm’s way.