It has been quite a week.
Our little colony of Fort Faulsey has five resident cats: Pretty Girl, Tony DiMera, Mx. Pajamas, Callie, and Oksana. I’ve ben caring for them since December 2020. All have been (or were) TNRd. They have a pretty good life – heated shelters, heated water bowl, decent food, clean water, occasional treats, and human companionship.
19kThat also extends to their health and welfare. Two previous resident cats were trapped because they needed dental work, common for feral cats. One, Jennie Jane, remains in the home of her caretaker because of her age and the severity of her teeth. She is still aloof, but has made friends with a house cat and has a safe, quiet life. Another cat, Tommy, was so very ill he had to be euthanized while still under sedation. I stroked his body while they injected the medication to stop his heart, weeping because he had never known a comforting human touch while alive.
Last weekend, I noticed that Callie was in discomfort and pain while chewing her dry food. She was crying and ended up vomiting. We immediately made a plan to trap and get her to a vet. She immediately made a plan to resist our plan and thus …the game was on.
I had two traps out for days. Did all the right things, including withholding food. Trying different combinations of bait. It was lesbian versus calico and the calico was easily winning. Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday. That’s when Oxsana waltzed into a trap and tripped the plate. Oksana has some respiratory symptoms so he’s going to the vet, too. He’s a social cat so he’s enjoying the life of Riley in his boarding spot.
His bonded companion, Mx. Pajamas, is bereft. He’s looking around, crying. Mx spends time with Tony DiMera but it just isn’t the same.
Once Oksana was secured, we turned back to Callie – she hadn’t eaten a proper meal in days except for what she stole from the traps. The rest of the colony cats were indignant that their meals were disrupted as we tried to avoid feeding Callie. If I had no success during the morning and afternoon, Marie would come down and ‘pretend’ to feed them, knowing Callie would follow her up to Fort Faulsey from my backyard. Where another trap was set that didn’t work.
Finally, we called in the big guns – Marie S and her drop trap. She offered to do it Thanksgiving morning at 7 AM. We agreed. This trap is like dropping an open sided cage on the cat blissfully eating tempting foods. When the trap is triggered, everyone jumps on top to keep it secure, put a blanket over to calm the cat, transfer them to a traditional trap, and that’s it. It takes more time to set it up and tear it down.
On Thanksgiving, I heated up food in the microwave which is a lovely smell at 6:30 AM. Everything was in place – first the boys came to eat and that caught her attention – they ate and left without any bother. So she tried it and bam.
The person who is holding/boarding Callie and Oksana was going to pick her up at 6 PM so she and I spent Thanksgiving together. She was very quiet and well-behaved. We had a good visit.
Both cats were transferred to crates and we decided to take Friday as a recovery day for all of us. I’m exhausted. But back up at 6 AM so I can head over to pick up the cats at 7 AM, pick up Marie at 7:30 AM, then head for the vet. It is an urgent care that works with ferals quite a bit. You get there, register, they triage based on medical need and you wait in your car. For an hour or two or longer.
Our hope is that Oksana needs an antibiotic shot, maybe update his vaccines, and is otherwise ready to roll. With Callie, we hope she needs a few teeth extracted. She’ll have to be sedated for x-rays and possible blood work.I’m hoping they can do the extractions then and there to keep it simple.
If you can help with our vet bills, that allows us to continue helping other cats.
Venmo @PittsburghLGBTQ
GoFundMe bit.ly/GivePghCatFolx
Stay tuned …
