The feral cat relocation: the release process

[feralvr]

Beautiful Treebie. :heart2:

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• ldg
• May 8, 2015

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• ldg
• May 8, 2015

I MISSED all of these pictures until today!!! Better late, than never. :bigwink: LOOK AT TREEBIE'S "CHUNKY MONKEY" FEET!!!!!!!!! OMG - they are just too darn fat and adorable just like Chumley's. Yes - a beautiful boy too. That is really super that Treebie and Smokey are now buds. SEE - that room confinement brought on all sorts of beautiful developments to unfold in their relationships. We always say... SLOWER IS BETTER. and I know in your case you had no other option but certainly this is a testimonial to confinement building trust, confidence and friendships to last a lifetime.

Thanks SO much for sharing. AND - now we can't wait to hear about how the boys are going to do in the beautiful shed out back !!!! :cross: :sun: :heart3::heart2:

 

[feralvr]

Yesterday? Two days ago? Recently.

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• ldg
• May 8, 2015

And this one says it all to my heart!! :lol3: A feral cat's dream come true!!! :9: Kohl is in heaven now. Thinking back to a year ago. OR should we not. :lol3: So much has changed for the better in ALL of your lives since then. My heart is overflowing, Laurie, with joy, happiness and JUBILATION ( :high5: :lol3 for all of the wonderful blessings that have come your way which you have passed on to all of your kitties. A splendid home it is for sure. :heart2: :lovegrin:

 

[mani]

Laurie...

What a wonderful update.

 

[shadowsrescue]

I missed this too.  I love reading about your adventures.  Thanks so much for updating.

 

[ldg]

The shed was installed a little over two weeks ago. It's made of wood and plywood with vinyl siding. What we didn't anticipate? The off-gassing of formaldehyde. It's something awful. We're waiting for the arrival of a green sealer ( http://www.greenbuildingsupply.com/...-Odor-Blocking-Sealers/AFM-SafeCoat-Safe-Seal ).

In the meantime, Gary and I did consulting work for a company that manufactures a product for - well, it has a lot of uses. But one of its functions is eliminating volatile organic compounds (such as the off-gassing of formaldehyde). http://www.hgiind.com/how-it-works/ Part of our payment was one of these machines (the smaller ones ). They work best with no air movement and lots of humidity. In the upper 80s and humid or raining, this is perfect weather for it. :lol3: It's closed up in the shed doing its thing.

And this will be the future home of the four ferals that are being returned outside. Yes, we're going to keep Froggie in. After having had to search for her when she disappeared for two days after her FIRST foray out (OK, it was just in front of a snowstorm), and with her history of disappearing (and not coming back, I've always retrieved her after seeing her completely by chance), we're not taking any chances. :rub:

Oh - the pictures are on the phone. I'll post this, and then upload pics.

 

[snugglecat]

I missed the recent update as well. I love seeing how happy and healthy everyone is. You have such beautiful kitties.

 

[ldg]

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• ldg
• May 30, 2015

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• ldg
• May 30, 2015

The trees are all filled in. But from up the hill a bit, looking down, you can see it's in the back corner of the (cleared) lot.

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• ldg
• May 30, 2015

 

[feralvr]

IS THE STINK GONE - the The off-gassing of formaldehyde ???!!! :cross: Did the Green Sealer come and work? OR have you not had time to reseal.... you busy-bee. HOW is the ODOROX working!! WHO would have thunk that for your "stunk" you would get a partial payment in equipment that had such a worthwhile use. :high5:

 

[ldg]

We had to get a new bulb for the Odorox machine, feralvr . :lol3: But once working, it WORKS. Gary-the-neighbor stopped by yesterday to say "hi," and we asked him to smell our shed for us. :lol3: "Does it smell like chemicals or wood?" We weren't sure whether or not we'd just gotten used to the chemical smell or what. He says - it smells like wood!

The sealer came. Hopefully we get that applied tomorrow (knock wood), at least one coat. You know my Gary - we're going to also insulate the shed.

They come on Tuesday to put in the windows we ordered originally, and to anchor it (it's not like we haven't had a few hurricanes out here the past few years!).

So who knows? We may actually have kitties out there next week! :cross:

 

[ldg]

The question of course is ... how long do we keep them caged?

 

[ondine]

I don't think you will need to cage them for long.  They're already familiar with the yard and just have to get used to the shed.  We you planning on crates in the tent again?  The shed won't be big enough, will it?

Insulating the shed will add a lot of warmth in the winter and help keep it cooler in the summer.  Opening the windows will be nice for them, too.

We have several cubbies in "the coop" where our outside guys sleep.  They eat in there when the weather's nasty and we also have a litter box in there.  The seldom use it, though because of the big sand box we built for them outside.  They'd rather use wet sand than litter.

All in all, an excellent job!

 

[feralvr]

:lol3: Neighbor Gary must have gotten a bit of a laugh on your asking of a favor. "Please - come and smell our shed!!" SUPER news that the little stink-kill machine worked. :high5:

I guess I would keep them caged for another couple of weeks. I mean, they already do know outside from last winter, so I think things will go pretty smoothly for them. Still - I know your Gary (and you ) and would keep them caged for a few weeks anyway just to be extra, extra confident. Plus - you can let them out once you are inside for your visits, feedings and cleanings. OH BOY - those BOYS are going to be SOOOO excited though.

 

[ldg]

BLERGH. I bought the wrong kind of sealer! This will remain tacky! It's meant for plywood behind stuff. Would have been nice if they'd put that in any of the written descriptions. :wife: But even the wood smell will be too much for at least Smokey, so we have to do something.

 

[ondine]

Oh bother.  I wonder if you can seal the sealer?

 

[feralvr]

Good grief..... it's always something holding up this whole process! You and the boys are certainly being forced to learn patience (MEGA :lol3 throughout this transition. Now what - order a new sealer?? I am not sure you can go over the sticky sealer with another one as it may not adhere properly. Since you will be needing to reorder the correct sealer, I wonder if you can return the other and they pay for return shipping? Boy - We are all (cats included ) going to be doing a dance once this is all said, done, and finished!

 

[ldg]

I'm not sure we're going to seal it. The odorox is working REALLY well. The stuff costs $50 a gallon, we need at least two, and the shipping was around $20. We have to pay the return shipping - and then the shipping for the new stuff. $60 in shipping? They're willing to waive the restocking fee. Even the wood smell is starting to calm down, so I think it's killing the pine phenols too! :cross:

We were going to insulate it. We bought the bat insulation (R-17) and the boards. The plan was to seal, put the bat insulation in, then put the board over it - that stuff with the blue on one side and silver on the other. The cats don't scratch at it. We just don't want "tacky" sealer under the insulation. They may absorb whatever the odorox didn't kill. And Gary wanted board insulation on the floor covered in a tarp. So we may just go ahead and set it all up after a few more days of the odorox machine running. With all this rain, the humidity is crazy. That is the PERFECT condition for the machine to work, because it is the humidity coming into contact with the lamp that creates the hydroxyls. So it is really cranking.

They DID put in the missing windows today! No screens, but we have netting we can use. And they can send us the screens, they just pop in. Gary is so pissed. Seriously.

 

[Norachan]

Someone needs to write a book on Pet Friendly DIY.

I spent ages looking for a cat safe indoor wood stain that I could paint their Kitty Highway with so it would blend in with the rest of the woodwork in the house. In the end I found one that is supposed to be suitable for stables and kennels.

I hope it all works out in the end. That's such a swanky looking shed you've got for them.

 

[feralvr]

:frusty: NO SCREENS !!!!!!!!!!! Really - they couldn't bring out the screens. Oh man - I can only imagine this is the icing on the cake for Gary. I can't help but laugh a little bit :anon:. I am seriously going to do a jig once the kids are all settled in the shed.

Well, being that I hate humidity and do not wish it on anyone , I am very, very happy to hear you are getting plenty right now for that machine to consistently be running!! Good little machine! :happy3: