My Feral And Rescued Cats

[surya]

Good Job catching all those kitties Jcatbird. The kittens are adorable. I had sad day today. I found another dead kitty at my colony across the street by the dumpster. Now I only have one left over there. She is lying in a locked gated area that I could not get into to remove her body because the employee's didn't have a key. I will have to call the manager in the morning to see if he will let me remove her body. She was completely feral, so I was not as emotionally attached to her as I was to the others, but I still feel really depressed. I needed to share with another cat lover as I am alone in my grief for her.

 

[maggiedemi]

I needed to share with another cat lover as I am alone in my grief for her.

I'm so sorry. They all matter. Sending you this ((hug)).

 

[Jcatbird]

surya
You are not alone. I am crying with you. I may not be there but it grabs my heart too. I got a strong visual as I read your post. I have had to gather many lost kitties and have them here in my yard. It has gotten harder each time to find a place to put them. My old hands have trouble digging through the heavy roots now. I have more than twenty in one place. Not one was a natural end. The pain and frustration of having them go has left me up many nights. It also drove me to fight harder to keep saving the ones I can. My hands were tied from stopping others but I could use every resource of my own. My own two hands, my home, my energy my heart and my mind. You are not alone. We work side by side and do what little we can. We cry together over eachife gone. If I were there I would climb that fence for you and you would be able to let someone else relieve you of that task. You might even smile to see an old lady climb like a kid. Write me back and I will answer. We rescuers have to hold each other up sometimes.

 

[surya]

Thank you so much. My rescue friend just called me and she will take Stella, the deceased kitty to the vet tomorrow and have her body cremated. She is fostering Stella's two kittens. I trapped them when they were around three months and they are not the friendliest kittens. She boards them at a cat spa and they do not get a lot of play time. So I pray they will get adopted. You are so sweet Jcatbird, I can imagine you trying to climb that fence! It is a great comfort to me to have your shoulders to cry on Jcatbird and Maggiedemi.

 

[maggiedemi]

If I were there I would climb that fence for you and you would be able to let someone else relieve you of that task. You might even smile to see an old lady climb like a kid.

I think you're pretty wonderful.

 

[Jcatbird]

I am glad to be there for you. I would guess that the babies will be much sweeter when they find love in a home. Someone will see their potential. You really would have laughed to see me vault that fence! Lol
Tried to PM but it would not go through. Just wanted to tell you that I have been inspired by your rescues. I have read your posts and followed your search for the lost kitty and rejoiced when you found her. We share joy and grief. I chose a name for one of my most precious Gingerbread babies because of something you said. My smart, sweet and gentle Avatar is named to honor you. She carries a part of your thoughts with her. What you are doing for ferals and rescues will go on. Just keep doing all the wonderful things you do. We all need you on our side.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Good Job catching all those kitties Jcatbird. The kittens are adorable. I had sad day today. I found another dead kitty at my colony across the street by the dumpster. Now I only have one left over there. She is lying in a locked gated area that I could not get into to remove her body because the employee's didn't have a key. I will have to call the manager in the morning to see if he will let me remove her body. She was completely feral, so I was not as emotionally attached to her as I was to the others, but I still feel really depressed. I needed to share with another cat lover as I am alone in my grief for her.

 

[dustydiamond1]

surya
You are not alone. I am crying with you. I may not be there but it grabs my heart too. I got a strong visual as I read your post. I have had to gather many lost kitties and have them here in my yard. It has gotten harder each time to find a place to put them. My old hands have trouble digging through the heavy roots now. I have more than twenty in one place. Not one was a natural end. The pain and frustration of having them go has left me up many nights. It also drove me to fight harder to keep saving the ones I can. My hands were tied from stopping others but I could use every resource of my own. My own two hands, my home, my energy my heart and my mind. You are not alone. We work side by side and do what little we can. We cry together over eachife gone. If I were there I would climb that fence for you and you would be able to let someone else relieve you of that task. You might even smile to see an old lady climb like a kid. Write me back and I will answer. We rescuers have to hold each other up sometimes.

 

[Jcatbird]

@ileen Thank you for the compliment. I have to be honest about the manicure.... it comes and goes. Lol working with the kitties leads to broken nails. The kitties have just taught me how to regrow my claws quickly.
M maggiedemi You are a very special person yourself you know! I love your purrsonality! You have a good heart and spirit. Your interest in so many things is also inspiring. Keep it up! You are right about the jailbreak of the kittens. It was fun and very funny. They are so fast it seemed like there were a dozen instead of just four. All the big cats were in awe. Whistle was a little dismayed by the attention I have the babies but I made it up to him and Banjo at bedtime with extra snuggling. I think they will be demanding that again tonight!

The Flower kittens and Gingerbread babies are withdrawn tonight so I am not going to disturb them with a lot of photography. They need peace. Their Mlms have left to be spayed and all the babies are upset. They also all got worm medicine today. Kind of a hard day for them. I have snuggled them and given them all special food treats. Tomorrow I will be spending a good part of my day working on the well pump or we won’t have water but after that I will spend the rest of the day giving attention to the babies and the evening to BJ. I want to spend as much time as possible with the kittens while I can. Sadly, some, of possibly all, of them will be leaving me for foster care. I hope that some of them will stay a little longer but I can’t hold them back just because I will miss them. I need to let them find homes while they are young and can bond well with new families. Their Moms will be coming back and I will need to devote time to them too. They will need care after being spayed. It will be a very full week.
BJ came looking for me today. That is encouraging. We have established a routine of sitting together in the woods while he eats and then a little time afterwards just keeping each other company. It may be my imagination but he looks a little happier. I took him some chicken this morning but his usual ham this evening. When I left him he followed me out of the woods and took a spot nearer the house to lay and watch the butterflies. Maybe he will come a little closer tomorrow. I got a picture of him today that , I think, reflects his more positive attitude. His head is held high, tongue out with his long tail up. He is such a Handsome big fellow! The picture made me smile. He shows Cattitude!
@Norachan This one is for you!

I hate to leave you all without a few new pictures so here are a couple of updates.

Thrasher the wild, is now learning to really snuggle a human. She likes to sleep beside me anytime I sit on the sofa. She is becoming less aggressive every day.

Whistle is growing and continues to recover from his Florida adventure. He still slaps new people if they try to pet him but we are working on that.

And just in case you ever need to hide from a dose of worm medicine, Bright has found the perfect spot. People have trouble finding you if you are in the back of a drawer in the bathroom vanity! Her little Gingerbread face gets me every time!

 

[dustydiamond1]

@ileen Thank you for the compliment. I have to be honest about the manicure.... it comes and goes. Lol working with the kitties leads to broken nails. The kitties have just taught me how to regrow my claws quickly.
M maggiedemi You are a very special person yourself you know! I love your purrsonality! You have a good heart and spirit. Your interest in so many things is also inspiring. Keep it up! You are right about the jailbreak of the kittens. It was fun and very funny. They are so fast it seemed like there were a dozen instead of just four. All the big cats were in awe. Whistle was a little dismayed by the attention I have the babies but I made it up to him and Banjo at bedtime with extra snuggling. I think they will be demanding that again tonight!

The Flower kittens and Gingerbread babies are withdrawn tonight so I am not going to disturb them with a lot of photography. They need peace. Their Mlms have left to be spayed and all the babies are upset. They also all got worm medicine today. Kind of a hard day for them. I have snuggled them and given them all special food treats. Tomorrow I will be spending a good part of my day working on the well pump or we won’t have water but after that I will spend the rest of the day giving attention to the babies and the evening to BJ. I want to spend as much time as possible with the kittens while I can. Sadly, some, of possibly all, of them will be leaving me for foster care. I hope that some of them will stay a little longer but I can’t hold them back just because I will miss them. I need to let them find homes while they are young and can bond well with new families. Their Moms will be coming back and I will need to devote time to them too. They will need care after being spayed. It will be a very full week.
BJ came looking for me today. That is encouraging. We have established a routine of sitting together in the woods while he eats and then a little time afterwards just keeping each other company. It may be my imagination but he looks a little happier. I took him some chicken this morning but his usual ham this evening. When I left him he followed me out of the woods and took a spot nearer the house to lay and watch the butterflies. Maybe he will come a little closer tomorrow. I got a picture of him today that , I think, reflects his more positive attitude. His head is held high, tongue out with his long tail up. He is such a Handsome big fellow! The picture made me smile. He shows Cattitude!
@Norachan This one is for you!
View attachment 253439

I hate to leave you all without a few new pictures so here are a couple of updates.

Thrasher the wild, is now learning to really snuggle a human. She likes to sleep beside me anytime I sit on the sofa. She is becoming less aggressive every day.View attachment 253441
Whistle is growing and continues to recover from his Florida adventure. He still slaps new people if they try to pet him but we are working on that.View attachment 253442
And just in case you ever need to hide from a dose of worm medicine, Bright has found the perfect spot. People have trouble finding you if you are in the back of a drawer in the bathroom vanity! Her little Gingerbread face gets me every time!View attachment 253440

 

[surya]

Jcatbird, I am having trouble logging into the site, I have to reset my password everytime I log in. So there is probably a technical problem with my account.

The manager didn't have a key to get in the gate. He gave me the phone number to the landlord and they said they would call me back in a couple of hours. The seemed unconcerned. This is a gruesome task because it is very hot here and there are fly's all over her body. The manager told me I should just cut the lock, he can't get in there to get his carts. I don't have a tool to do the task or I would. If the body gets too bad, I won't be able to do the job because I am very sensitive to odor and will gag.

 

[Jcatbird]

Okay. You can only do so much you know? I can offer some suggestions if you do decide to try and get her. I have had to recover some and I used clumping cat litter to cover them. I gave it time to harden and was able to remove the cat. I don’t know if you have a shovel but it would lift her and then place her in newspaper , heavy trash bag or a box. I am so sorry. A locksmith could get in. Storage unit buildings usually have what you need to cut the lock on hand. The sanitation department might be able to help. Try calling them. Most cities have a crew that handles animals. Make sure you have someone to give them permission to go in. Tell them it is a health hazard. I am sure someone picks up trash there. Find out what company goes there and call them. A last resort might be animal control. Many of these resources might be willing to retrieve her for you. I would not hesitate to ask anyone I saw for help to get my cat out. Sometimes you find good samaritans. Appeal to everyone and just tell them you simply want to get your cat. I don’t know what kind of businesses are around you but even there you might find help. No one wants a deceased animal nearby and if you make it clear you want to take your kitty away they might be grateful. Please let me know how things go. I’ll have you on my mind.
If you cannot get her then please don’t feel bad. She has already left that body. She is somewhere far better now. You may be troubled now but she is not. She is safe. You did everything right by her. You loved her. That counted a lot more than this does. I wish I was there beside you. In spirit, I am.

 

[surya]

I did find a nice man to cut the lock for me. Her body was in bad shape, so we put her in the dumpster. Thanks for the good thoughts. Good bye precious little kitty. I hope I see you again one day.

 

[Jcatbird]

surya I am glad there was someone to help you. I think most people have a lot of good in them. Now you can try to let her go. You are such a great person. I hope things will get easier for you now. Check in anytime. I enjoy hearing from you. We can swap more bug stories or something.

 

[Jcatbird]

All the kitties are doing well today. All cages and boxes were scrubbed after the babies got their worm treatments so we have a fresh start. One litter is scheduled to leave tomorrow. The Moms will return. The Gingerbread kittens are now used to and unafraid of human interaction. My world will be very different when they leave. They are better prepared than I am.

Thrasher was horrified that I let the Flower babies escape and run wild so she took the job of babysitter while Flowers is away. She is quite strict with the kittens.

When I put the kittens in their playpen they did try for some “wild time”.

They even bounced off the walls!

Until Thrasher checked on them

One look from her and everybody toed the line!

 

[rubysmama]

It's hard to chuckle while tears are running down your face, but that's what happened today.

I was still sobbing over Stella (RIP sweet girl ) when I saw the cute pics of Thrasher "babysitting" the kittens.

 

[ParkBaby]

I am on a limited income but have managed to rescue and rehome 32 cats. I ask everyone I meet if they know anyone who will give a fur ever home. The vet, the post man, the grocer, my doctor, nurse, tax preparer and contact every rescue group in this state and those nearby. I still have more to go but getting there.

These cats were being shot, burned, tortured and abuse. I gained their trust, started feeding them and one by one brought them in to calm them for adoption and vet care. It is a long and pricey process but some shelters offer discount vet services, spay/neuter and immunization. Go online. Network!

Many pet food and pet supply companies will send you coupons if you contact them. I called. DON'T give up. If you are a cat guardian you're a kitty hero! Try to get them homes. I am still trying to get some Savannah cats, a Blue Smoke, Calico, Marbled Tabby, Gold tabbies, Grey tabbies etc. adopted. I won't give up either. 32 have been saved I am amazed but it tells me the possibility to get all adopted is there. Don't give up! Kitty Kudos to you! Look around you. Someone you cross paths with is looking for a nice kitty. Maybe someone on this site!!!

Do not listen to negative comments. You are doing the right thing. If you are not part of the solution, then you are part of the problem. I rarely have time to post but wanted to reply to all of you. Keep your chin up.

Hello,

You are doing amazing things for kitties!
I am a caretaker for a few kitties. One of them has a home waiting for her. Tried twice to catch her (with a towel and without a towel) and failed.
Do you have any suggestion on how to catch her? She has been TNR-ed as a kitten, now afraid of carriers.
Otherwise, very affectionate with us, we can hold her, pet her and she even takes short naps sometimes on our laps.
Thank you in advance for any suggestion!

 

[Jcatbird]

ParkBaby Thank you. I do love all kitties and I think you are awesome! You say you can hold and let her. Can you keep a carrier next to you and open to slip her into? I feed my kitties in a covereved carrier to get them used to them. I start with a yummy treat and put the plate just at the opening. If kitty eats there( I don’t stick around while they eat so they dkn’t Suspect I will shove them in.) then I start to move the dish further into the carrier at each meal. If I get kitty to start eating at the.back of the carrier I them start keeping them company while they eat. When they trust that I just reach over and quickly shut the door.
If that does not work you can try putting the carrier inside a. Add cardbox to hide it. Then follow the same steps. Failing that you can always use a trap. If you don’t have one you can probably borrow one from a local shelter, Humane Society or rescue group. If you plan on doing many rescues you can purchase one fairly inexpensively from Harbor Frieght, Amazon etc. If the cat is trap shy you can hide it with tree branches, leaves, straw or in a box. There are lots of catching tricks. I get most kitties with the food in the carrier trick. I leave the carrier out all the time so they don’t see it as something new and strange. I make sure the door is wedged open when I am not there. I hope this works. It does take a little time but I am betting that since she is already used to you that you can get her. Please let me know what happens or if you need other tips. I am now at 67 saved and gone to adoption. You are doing a great thing by saving this kitty! I’ll be waiting to hear!

 

[ParkBaby]

Jcatbird: Thank you so much! Very useful!
I was thinking too to use cardboard inside or outside the trap...
Need to try ASAP.
The girl is afraid of any carrier after our attempts to catch her. 2 years ago we caught her, but she escaped from the carrier...
Since then she runs as soon as she sees the carrier.
But a box and catnip inside maybe will attract her.
I admire you so much for what you do! Cannot imagine how you were able to help so many kitties...
It is so difficult to find a home for an adult kitty...
Thank you again, all my best!

ParkBaby Thank you. I do love all kitties and I think you are awesome! You say you can hold and let her. Can you keep a carrier next to you and open to slip her into? I feed my kitties in a covereved carrier to get them used to them. I start with a yummy treat and put the plate just at the opening. If kitty eats there( I don’t stick around while they eat so they dkn’t Suspect I will shove them in.) then I start to move the dish further into the carrier at each meal. If I get kitty to start eating at the.back of the carrier I them start keeping them company while they eat. When they trust that I just reach over and quickly shut the door.
If that does not work you can try putting the carrier inside a. Add cardbox to hide it. Then follow the same steps. Failing that you can always use a trap. If you don’t have one you can probably borrow one from a local shelter, Humane Society or rescue group. If you plan on doing many rescues you can purchase one fairly inexpensively from Harbor Frieght, Amazon etc. If the cat is trap shy you can hide it with tree branches, leaves, straw or in a box. There are lots of catching tricks. I get most kitties with the food in the carrier trick. I leave the carrier out all the time so they don’t see it as something new and strange. I make sure the door is wedged open when I am not there. I hope this works. It does take a little time but I am betting that since she is already used to you that you can get her. Please let me know what happens or if you need other tips. I am now at 67 saved and gone to adoption. You are doing a great thing by saving this kitty! I’ll be waiting to hear!

UOTE="Jcatbird, post: 4725485, member: 10010980"] ParkBaby Thank you. I do love all kitties and I think you are awesome! You say you can hold and let her. Can you keep a carrier next to you and open to slip her into? I feed my kitties in a covereved carrier to get them used to them. I start with a yummy treat and put the plate just at the opening. If kitty eats there( I don’t stick around while they eat so they dkn’t Suspect I will shove them in.) then I start to move the dish further into the carrier at each meal. If I get kitty to start eating at the.back of the carrier I them start keeping them company while they eat. When they trust that I just reach over and quickly shut the door.
If that does not work you can try putting the carrier inside a. Add cardbox to hide it. Then follow the same steps. Failing that you can always use a trap. If you don’t have one you can probably borrow one from a local shelter, Humane Society or rescue group. If you plan on doing many rescues you can purchase one fairly inexpensively from Harbor Frieght, Amazon etc. If the cat is trap shy you can hide it with tree branches, leaves, straw or in a box. There are lots of catching tricks. I get most kitties with the food in the carrier trick. I leave the carrier out all the time so they don’t see it as something new and strange. I make sure the door is wedged open when I am not there. I hope this works. It does take a little time but I am betting that since she is already used to you that you can get her. Please let me know what happens or if you need other tips. I am now at 67 saved and gone to adoption. You are doing a great thing by saving this kitty! I’ll be waiting to hear![/QUOTE]

 

[Jcatbird]

ParkBaby You keep in touch and let me know how things go. I’m pulling for you! Persistence, hope and faith in finding other good people is how it works for us all.

I have news tonight. Some good for kittens and some a worry.
Flowers and Kelly are spayed and have returned home. They are doing fairly well but missing their babies terribly. Me too.
All of the Flowers babies left for foster care early this morning. Flowers is looking everywhere for them and it is breaking my heart. I had hoped to keep them a little longer but at 8 weeks the foster wanted to prepare them go for adoption soon. I had little choice and had to accept the chance to find them a safe place and love.
The other news has me worried. All three Gingerbtead babies went to the vet today. They are running a fever. My friend took them to foster along with the other kittens but they will be isolated for now. If the fever continues tomorrow they will be taking antibiotics the vet prescribed. If they are sick I may bring them back here. If the fever passes they will go to foster care. I am very concerned. Being without all seven kittens has left me sad tonight. I feel like meowing with their Moms. Lol
BJ ate tonight and then settled in very close to where I sat. He laid down almost against me but at my back. That is better but the fact that he chose to lay behind me tells me he is not ready to be touched yet. He needs more time and I will give it to him.
I did take more funny pictures of the babies but for tonight I am saying my goodbyes through photos of them.

I know you are confused little one.

The look you give me makes me think you know you are leaving.

Just keep looking up

Don’t fret or get upset

Trust

Have kitty faith

Hold on

Come let me hold you once more

And say goodbye.