It's What I Do
It's What I Do
These are some of my tales from various rescue adventures.
Gender: male Member Since: March 18, 2008 Last Signed In: November 18, 2008 Blog Views: 621 Send To A Friend Sign Guestbook Add as a Friend
A sane end for Crazy.
I got Crazy The photos I promised. The cats just know me. Breaking point Still active Ouch! Who would have thought? Long Way Round Black Widow Kitten March 08 April 08 May 08 June 08 July 08 August 08 September 08 October 08 November 08 
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Hello again. I'm back again.I hope I got your attention with the title. After nearly four years, I caught the cat that I called Crazy Gray Cat.I believe Crazy had been a house cat at one point until someone had abandoned her at the site where I have taken care of her for nearly four years. Why did it take you me so long? She wasn't exactly forthcoming with affection. Let me say that I call her a she because that's what she looks like and I believe that she/he had been neutered since she has never had kittens nor had the "packages" that males have. Crazy NEVER got close to anyone. In a hearbeat she would vanish if anyone approached. At the same time, I think she missed her calling as an assassin since I would witness people walking toward her and without realizing, Crazy would be sitting on a wall, staring at the person and scaring them. Crazy was a smart cat and knew what a cat trap was and would never get near one, no matter what kind of food I placed inside it. She preferred to be alone. over the summer I would see Crazy at night, sleeping deeply until I was right behind her and then she would awake and then jump over a small wall and wait for me to place the food. The feeding area is tight and a feline has the advantage when it comes to me trying to net or grab them. In the past two weeks, Crazy would sleep in a parking lot, alone; waiting for me, the food guy to come by. It didn't matter if it was 9 or 11pm, she would sit alone, staring at the pavement. However, when I arrived she would come to life and briskly walk over to the area. I always worried that she was going to get hit by some Neantherdal who thought it would be fun to drive fast through a parking lot. Crazy would go to the feeding site and wait while having a hard time breathing. She has some sort of upper respiratory challenge. She scarf down her food and then jump over the wall only to return to her spot in the parking lot. Alone. Like I said, I couldn't net her behind this small wall because she would run. So, I took my chances and started petting her lightly. She was uncomfortable with it to an extent. Finally, two nights ago I decided I was going to catch her once and for all. Earlier that day I searched for her because I wondered where she slept. I found her in some VERY shallow shrubs that barely covered her. The sun shined on her while she struggled to breathe through her nose. If anyone were to walk past and scare her, she could run off and get hit by some passing car. This area is a high traffic spot. So, I feed her and watch her eat. Once in a while she looks up at me with her mouth covered with wet food. I slipped on my thick leather gloves and took in a deep breath. My heart was pounding so hard that I thought for sure that Crazy would hear it and run away because she suspected something. I signaled my partner, who was standing close by with a trap and then I reached down over the wall and picked up Crazy. At first she was rather calmer than I had expected, it wasn't until I started putting her in the trap that she freaked out put still went in. It was done. Crazy Gray was finally caught. I felt horrible. Why? Because I had become accustomed to her through these years. She was like an old friend that greeted me each night. I know it sounds a little nuts but you have to be there to understand it. Last night was the first night that I knew Crazy wouldn't be at this site ever again and it felt empty in a roundabout way. I told my contact to give me updates on her condition, I told my contact that I would understand if Crazy had to be put down because of a disease. I know that she won't be suffering alone and slowly because I did the right thing. And as I said before, I don't think she would have survived another winter in this area. But even as I write this, I have a heavy heart for some reason. I will post her picture soon. Thanks.
Sorry to have been away from the site but I just got back from LA and have busy with trying to trap while dealing with people who think they know better than I.
I believe where I last left all of you off was with Cash and her four kittens that were about three or four months old. Trapping these guys was impeded when someone started feeding TOO much food every night. You can imagine my disappointment when I would see this excess of food when I intended to trap. Finally, I made a polite note asking the person(s) not to feed since I was trying to humanly trap them and find homes for the cats. Two nights later, the note was acknowledged by a phone to me. I'll call the woman, Jennifer. Jennifer said that had known about the site for sometime but never knew who was feeding (you would think I would've gotten a note or something after four years of doing this area). Jennifer and I met at the site and I have met her personality types before, it's where they know everything and I know nothing and have gotten lucky in the past. No matter how many tales I told her, they were immediately brushes off and she attempted to order me around as if I was an employee. Well, Jennifer had another friend come out who was unaware of me and I had to explain myself all over again. This woman, "Janet", had the same attitude toward me, I knew nothing since she had been catching cats for 14 years. I respect the woman but she needed to understand that everyone works differently. Janet worked for a rescue group whom I won't name. Janet thought it would be a good idea to put up a sign telling people not to feed the cats because trapping was in progress. You could see this sign from across the street and this bothered me since we all know that I like things private and quiet because I don't want some irresponsible person dropping off their cat because they think I'll take care of it. With all these people wanting to help and thinking they can catch the two remaining kittens since I caught two at once the previous week, I needed some nights off and figured they could handle Cash and her kittens. I went to LA and was updated via emails about how frustrating it was trying to catch these cats. I think they bit off more than they could chew. I give them credit for trying and staying out there for several hours. So, yesterday, I called, Janet, and told her that I would take over again. She told me how hard it was to get them as if I had no idea what I was dealing with. I went out there and the two kittens almost ran underneath our vehicle since they knew the sound of the car and associated it with food. One white with gray patches and the other a black kitten. The white/gray came up to me and I set down some wet food and the white/gray started chowing down and allowed me to not only to touch him but pick him up. I put him in a carrier but he slipped out and ran. Yeah, I was ticked at him and myself. The black kitten simply followed him to another bush. The two stared at me with mistrust as I put down another plate of food. They ate just beyond my fingertips. I went back to the car and grabbed the net. I knew that I only had one chance at this. If I missed, these guys were not going to trust me any longer. I gauged which way they could run and how they would sprint. I used my "incredible" gamer skills and brought the net down onto both of them and pressed my weight on the handle so that they couldn't get away while my partner got the carrier. We were relieved to say the least. I called Janet and told her that I caught them. She was pleased but I could detect that she was slightly bruised in the ego. I informed her that she would attempt to catch Cash since I have been trying for three years. That's what I have been up to. In my next post I will show some pictures of the recent catches and plus I will talk about Crazy Grey Cat who I will have to trap in the upcoming week. Crazy has been around for three years but has fallen ill. Thanks for reading. |
