So, last Sunday I heard a cry in the garage. We used to have three large dogs, and we had a dog door cut into the garage door, so they could lounge in the garage but still chase squirrels when the squirrels got sassy. It’s been a while since our dogs have passed away, but we just left that dog door in the garage door.
Which means that our garage is sometimes used as a lounge for the neighborhood feral cats. So, I looked through the window into the garage, and sure enough, there was a cat in there. Bill went out, and found that the cat had a hurt leg. It being Sunday, there were no city services, so we set out a bowl of cat food and another bowl of water.
On Monday, I called various agencies and found that there’s a 2 to 3 week waiting list for humane cat traps, but I put our name on the list anyway. Monday afternoon, Bill goes out, looks at the cat, gives more food and water. He says that the leg looks noticeably better today. Tuesday, same thing…except now the cat is hollering AT Bill, apparently the cat has decided that Bill is the Giver of Food and Water. The cat’s leg looks MUCH better, and the cat lets Bill approach it.
So, I guess we have another outside kitty. I was afraid that we’d have to buy a humane trap and take it to the vet to be either treated or put down, but now I think that can wait. However, when our turn for the city trap comes along, that cat is getting trapped and desexed. Because even though I love kittens, I don’t want to be responsible for any more of them.
Is a humane cat trap the same as a Hav-a-heart trap? I’ve got one sitting around unused. Perhaps we could PM and find a way to get it to you, so you don’t have to wait 'till May? When I get home this afternoon, I’ll try it and make sure it still works.
Heh. What do you bait these traps with, I wonder? I will guess that we can use canned cat food, as it seems to attract cats very nicely. However, cats that are used to getting tuna juice can be lured by the mere sound of a can opener, no matter what is actually being opened.
Taco Bell works on cats, too. Occasionally my husband will get a craving for Taco Bell and get something. All three Bodoni kitties will beg for a share. When my husband’s cat was just a teeny kitten, my husband got a combo green burrito…and shared it with the kitten. A combo green burrito has beef, beans, cheese, and green (hotter than red) sauce. Charlie the kitten was about 10 weeks old at the time, but he gamely tried to eat a bite of burrito. He clearly thought that if Daddy ate this stuff, it must be good for him, too. I smacked Bill upside the head and told him to quit feeding toxic substances to his kitty, even if Charlie did beg for it.
Ah yes, the old “I’m a poor widdle kitty with an owie” approach to securing a comfortable berth. That’s how we have become the crazy cat people, first to be called when a feral shows up or a barn cat needs a retirement home.
Apparently this cat is not a true feral. It let my husband pet it when he supplied food this evening. We still haven’t determined whether it’s male or female, but I’m going to guess that it’s male, as it’s a yellow/orange tabby, and the majority of them are male.
And it does have a genuine owie, but the owie is rapidly getting better.
