Necro, please be so kind as to give little Betty the full name of Betsy Ross. This would be in remembrance of the same Betsy Ross who stitched Old Glory a few centuries ago. Our Independence Day got me thinking this way, please forgive me.
dropzone, thanks for looking after our fine feathered friends. The next shout is mine.
Zenster.
It is now just about 7:30 AM CDT Sunday and I am waiting for 8:00 AM, or sometime shortly thereafter. I went outside yesterday evening to bait the trap, and found to my surprise that there was already a trapped cat in there. I had set a bowl of water in the front of the trap and hadn’t expected it to be tripped. Anyway, it’s the young, all black kitten, about 2 to 3 months old, last survivor of the original five. I called AC just before 8:00 PM last night, and they said he would go on the list, but if they aren’t here by 8:30 or so I will call again. This one might at least have a chance at being socialized, he’s cute and young.
My wife used to work animal control for a small county. There was always someone on call. For instance, if someone gets picked up on a DUI, what do you do with his 100 lb dog?
I think that fluiddruid is probably correct. Dispatch was probably not trained correctly.
Animal Control just came by and picked up the kitten. I need to go to the store and get another can of tuna or cheap canned catfood and bait the trap again. I was bummed to see the young one carted off, but he at least has a chance now. Even if he isn’t adopted his remaining life will be more comfortable.
True, but picking up traps isn’t considered urgent enough to bring in the on-call people, at least where I was.
I think it might be a worthy suggestion to focus on the training aspect if you do contact their dispatch center, Baker. If they’re animal control only, the case could certainly be made that knowing how the traps operate would be useful to those dispatchers. (Where I worked, picking up or dropping off of traps generated the majority of animal control calls, and if that’s all they do, then it would seem having a little bit of knowledge about the topic wouldn’t hurt.)
I just came home to an odd situation. After the young cat was picked up this morning the AC officer reset it. I placed another bowl of water in the front of the trap, and left for church, not expecting to find anything till I returned home after shopping for another can of tuna. The trap was sprung and closed, but there was no cat. I might have thought that something had jarred the trap and shut it, but the bowl of water was outside the trap. I called Animal Control and they haven’t had a call or been here since 8:30, so it’s a mystery. I hope some idiot isn’t tampering with the trap.
I used to trap feral cats downtown in the large city I used to live in Baker, it is amazing how smart they get about the humane traps. I saw one huge orange tom sit at the outside of the trap and manage to drag a bowl accross the panel that should have set off the trap, he must have been pulling it up at the same time he was pulling it towards himself.
Awww, sure thing, Zenster. Betsy Ross will be her formal name, and Betty will be her nickname. 
Well, Animal Control just left about ten minutes ago with another cat, an adult female. I don’t have a trap tonight because the cat was so wild in the cage the officer decided not to open it, and she didn’t have another cage. But I was told they will bring another tomorrow, and I believe them because the officer left the cage chain and lock behind, latched to my porch rail.
Two down and four to go, if my observations are correct. Three more adult females and a tomcat.
It hurts to see them get taken away, but as I said with the little one this morning, even if they aren’t adopted, their last days are more comfortable.
Good luck to you, Baker. My 12 week old Siamese mix kitten was brought to me by my sister - a neighborhood stray cat gave birth under her next door neighbor’s outdoor wooden cadenza. She feeds them twice a day, and my kitty (Siam) was the only one bold enough to walk out and approach her… he is a very happy member of our household, loves to curl up with our 10 year old Siamese. She is hopeful that she’ll be able to trap and tame the other 2 kittens and their mother soon. I do recall her stating that traps are dangerous for very young kittens (under 6 weeks old).
Best wishes to you from a fellow animal lover!
Thanks Blonde. The “young one” was old enough to be on it’s own, and was weaned. I guesstimated he was about 8 to 9 weeks old, so the trap was okay for him. The adult female caught just a while ago was not his mother, I don’t think, but probably an aunt. I have watched them pretty closely and think the adult females are all related, sisters or half-sisters, although one could have been the mother of the others.
Is that a Bach passage played upon xylophone?
Ah, that’s good. I have absolutely no freaking clue as to the word I am searching for: large wooden structure, detached, in the back yard? Gondola?
CABANA!
Gazebo?
:mad:
How on earth could anyone do that?!
What is wrong with people? Do they think that someone is going to pull over and get the dog? Do they think getting hit is painless?
This just makes me so mad!
Well, Animal Control returned the trap just after 3:00 PM and I called them about fifteen minutes ago because I’ve got another cat already. This is the tomcat, the black male that ran off the other tom and took over his territory. So even if I don’t get the remaining females, they may have a short respite from kitten bearing. When I called Animal Control and gave them my address the person on dispatch said “Is this the house we just returned the trap to?” and I said yes. They are getting to recognize me.
Like I said, I’ve long since disposed of the letter I had intended to write. The dispatcher probably had just had a bad day. I think I will write a letter though, this time praising Animal Control for it’s prompt responses. As others here have said, it’s a hard, thankless job.
Baker, congratulations on your most recent rescue! If you can trap the females, that would be optimal – a tomcat will eventually wander into the neighborhood, and they deserve a better life than the one they’ve been dealt. Even if they’re not adoptable and are put to sleep, it’s a more humane alternative to a life of starvation and fear.
And another one, about 45 minutes ago. That’s four cats in thirty-six hours. This one will have to spend the night in the cage, as it won’t be able to be picked up until after 8:00AM tomorrow morning, but it has the food and should be okay. As best I can tell there is only one more female that I have been feeding, so if I can catch her they are all taken care of.
Of course with my luck some more will wander by, but if that happens I will just get the trap back. And Blonde, thanks for the encouragement!
Well, the cat I mentioned in the previous post did not get picked up. I went to check on her last night about 10:30, and she was there. This morning I went out at 5:15 and she was gone. Someone probably thought they were “rescuing” her by letting her out of the trap sometime in the night. Now she’ll probably never come near the trap, even if there is food in there, but I will keep my eyes open and the trap set.
You tried, Baker. Good on you for attempting to rescue these poor animals. Just a mere few generations of these feral creatures breeding would run into hundreds of more strays. You have prevented untold amounts of suffering.