It's What I Do - Acadius's Blog - SacPaws.com

It's What I Do - Acadius's Blog - SacPaws.com http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius These are some of my tales from various rescue adventures. These are some of my tales from various rescue adventures. en-us Ouch! http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/387 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/387 <font size="4">Hello again.<br /> I'm writing to report that I had an accident in trying to catch a feral cat.  <br /> Let me start off with last Sunday night where I was out doing a catch in Rancho Murieta and was chasing this very quick cat.  He was a gray little guy who blended with everything at night.  At once point I thought it was some debris laying around.  Yes, he was that still at times.<br /> I'm running around with a net and spot him and slowly approach from behind.  I was silent like a ninja and was within a couple of feet of him when I stepped on a dried leave and the cat heard me.  He takes off and I tell my partner to go after him and I would go around the building and head the feline off.<br /> I get to the back of the building and the cat is stone still as my partner closed in while I approached from the other side.  The cat decided that we were too close and was ready to bolt toward me.  And it did.<br /> At this point things went into slow motion in my head because the cat was about to escape me again.  Just as he was making his getaway I lunged my body into the air with net in hand.  Guess my Halo playing skills paid off because I landed the net opening right in front of the cat and he was caught.<br /> I brushed off the dirt and made sure that the cat didn't escape the net.  And talk about a biter, his teeth got through my thick leather gloves. I'm telling you, I need kevlar gloves.<br /> Now, let's cut to last night in the same area where there was one remaining cat who is crafty like fox.  At point I had this white cat within two feet in front of me but it turned around and ran.  Several times I walked the large area to see where the white cat (let's call him Fox) had gone.<br /> It was now 9:15 at night and the lawn sprinklers were going off in this area.  I'm walking around with a net and flashlight when I spot Fox.  I tell my partner that she needs to go around the other side of the modular building.  Fox sees me and bolts off but does a quick left turn and head under the steps that lead underneath the building.<br /> I'm thinking that he is heading toward another opening that would be on the other side.  I go running and slip on one of those concrete blocks that you see in parking lots (that's because it was a parking lot).  I fall forward, my upper body lands on the cement curb and grass while my lower body is still on the parking lot. <br /> So there I am laying face down, face in the mud with a thick stream of sprinkler water showering me.  I lift my head up and see the flashlight point in my face and I didn't know where I was for a moment.<br /> I felt ok until I tried to move my left arm.  I couldn't move it and there was a SURGE of pain shooting from the shoulder into my fingers.  The pain was paralizing and I couldn't get up.  I called out for my partner twice with no response.  It was one of those moments you see in a scary movie where the victim is unable to move with rain pouring down them around them and the flashlight is just out of reach.<br /> My partner freaked when she saw me face down and not moving.<br /> She helped me up with the water still striking us in the face and backs.  I laughed because I found it funny.  Fox the cat was nowhere to be seen but I'm he was snickering in the darkness as he controlled the sprinkler system.<br /> My shoulder hurt ALL night and at the suggestion of others, I went to the doctor.  Turns out that I have a cracked shoulder socket and there is a good chance I will need surgery.<br /> I'm laughing sort of because it's my left arm and I am left handed.<br /> I'll still feed my sites since I know these cat depend on this food plus the fact that Cash (the cat from previous stories) has new kittens a month old.<br /> I'll keep you guys posted.<br /> :-)<br /> </font> Who would have thought? http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/380 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/380 <font size="4">I believe I have mentioned that there is a cat whom I call Cash because she resides in a bank parking lot.  She has had several litters and I've been able to catch all but Cash herself.  She terrifies me because she has actually attacked me.  I can't blame her since if I gave birth to several kids and then someone came along with food only to take my offspring away for some reason.<br /> Anyway, there was one kitten from the last litter who evaded capture and is now four months old.  We tried to net him and chased him through the parking lot but it got away.<br /> Well, in the last two weeks whenever I appear with the food, the young cat would start to do the happy dance; where the cat is happy to see you and knows meal time is here.  You see that with domesticated cats.<br /> I'm talking with the Sheriff that patrols on the property about the cat who I call Kitty Cow (its coloring is that of a cow) and the Sheriff moves on and wishes me luck.<br /> I place the food but Cow is more interested in me.  I approach it and begin to play with some string and it wants to play too but not get too close.  After twenty minutes, Cow actually allows me to pet it.  I have never seen this happen with a pure feral feline.  Since I didn't have a trap with me, I pet Cow a few times and decided to leave its trust intact with me.<br /> The following two nights Cow had disappeared.  <br /> On the third night Cow showed up and was happy.  I begin to pet it and look over at my partner and signal to get the trap ready.  I pick up Cow and begin to walk toward the car.  Cow became nervous and struggled a little.  Just as I got it into the trap and the door was closing, Cow slipped out and ran for the feeding bush.<br /> I was devastated because I thought I ruined the trust.  My partner urged me to go right back.  It paid off because I lured Cow back out with some food, picked it up and placed it in the trap.  Man, Cow was loud but once it was home it purred and acted as if it had been housed before.<br /> Even as I write this tale, I am amazed how a cat who had NO human contact allowed itself to be approached.<br /> I hope you enjoyed this "tail".<br /> Yeah, I couldn't resist the pun.<br /> Next time I will write about the incredible catch I made on Sunday night.</font> Long Way Round http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/379 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/379 <font size="4">I know that I've been away for a bit but understand that I have been busy but I hope these new tales are worth it for those that are reading my posts.<br /> I will begin with a few weeks ago.  I get a call from mall security around ten at night telling me that there was a kitten in distress on their property.  Luckily, I had gotten home when I had wanted to and was still out and about.  I figured that this would be an easy catch since the last time that they had called me for a kitten there was minor effort (I closed myself in with a bunch of dumpsters and the lost cat).  <br /> I was told to meet security in the back of the mall and so I did but farther from the property than I had expected.  <br /> I will describe this area as best I can here.  The kitten was located within some pine bushes that span about 30 feet and APPEAR to be only a foot deep.<br /> I was sorely mistaken.  <br /> Truth be, these bushes were three feet deep and beneath was a maze of roots that formed perfect catacombs for the little brat to run through.<br /> So there I am with two other security guards and my partner, trying to "force" the kitten to the edge and catch him.<br /> I don't know at what point the flashlights had died but I was now looking for this kitten in street light.<br /> Did I mention the gunfire?  Yup, while I was flat on the ground, trying to see where the cat went, there was a series of pops and came what seemed to be return fire.  What I missed were the fleet of squad cars that arrived in the distance.<br /> I thought it was funny if someone drove by and saw only my legs sticking out from this mass of bushes and no movement while police are the distance.<br /> I became frustrated and tried to pull these bushes up from their roots just so I could get the kitten.  The little guy kept on moving all over and I would only get a glimpse of its tail.  It was something out of an Alien movie when the Alien is moving too quickly and all you see is the tail here and there.<br /> Finally, I told everyone to back away and I would find the kitten who was screaming non-stop for mommy who was nowhere in sight.<br /> He was less than two feet in front of me but still out of reach because of the large roots.  I kept on calling him and he could see my hand but ignored me.  I got the idea to get a plate of wet food and blow the smell toward him.  He smelled it and started to go toward it but once I started to go for him, he turned away.  So there I am blowing the smell to him before he went too far.<br /> He turned around and I managed to nab him.<br /> He was maybe a month old with ears that were too large for his head.<br /> I called him Yoda and he is doing fine.  It took us three hours  to get him.  <br /> So much for a quick catch.<br /> </font> Black Widow Kitten http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/345 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/345 <div><font size="4"><font face="Courier New">It's been a while since I have posted anything and that is because I have been busy.  <br /> It seems that the mommy cat who I call Cash has given birth again.  I say this because she appears to be bloated for the past few weeks and is suddenly thin again and very protective around the area in where I feed her.<br /> Last night I approached her at the site and she wasn't moving away like she normally does.  I was getting a little nervous as she started to hiss at me but she finally went into the bush.  Now, I'm on my knees with the food, water and a flashlight trying to remove the slugs on the dishes all the while Cash is less than two feet away from me in the bush and growling.  The kind of growl and hiss that I have grown to fear from her.<br /> I keep the light beam in her face so that she can't see me in case she attempts an attack but this time she started moving closer to me and to the side.  I wasted no time in stepping up my movements.  You would've thought that there was a bomb in the bush and I was Jack Bauer from 24 trying to escape.<br /> I will keep people posted when I see her new litter.  I have to say that I am amazed that she has lived this long in the concrete jungle since the normal life span of a cat in that sort of area is 2 years and she is three.<br /> One of the security guards in this area was telling me about how last week he was doing his patrol and was driving near a loading dock and heard the crying of a kitten.  He nearly gave up looking for the kitten because it was dark and he couldn't see it with his flashlight.  Finally, he saw a white marking move in a corner and it was a kitten that was just a month old and it was covered with Black Widows (four of them).<br /> He brushed them off and put the kitten in his truck and quickly fed it and cared for it.  The kitten is doing well and is living the high life as he told me.  I thanked him for having a kind heart and told him he is making a difference.</font></font></div> Been busy. http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/316 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/316 <font size="4"><font face="Verdana">These past couple of weeks have been hectic, to put it mildly.<br /> Out near Jackson, I had to go out and round up a mother and her older kitten and once I got them home and put them into separate carriers they seemed to calm down.  <br /> When I attempted to give the mommy some fresh water, she lunged at my hand and escaped from the carrier and ran free in my small garage.  I spent nearly two hours running back and forth around the parked car trying to catch the mommy.<br /> Dripping with sweat and having soaked clothes, I finally got her but only after she bit my finger RAW.  Yes, I wear thick leather gloves that ranchers use and she still bit through it.  I know, it was done out of love.  That's what I tell myself.<br /> It also turned out that her baby had some babies of her own but because of someone jumped the gun and recruited me without finding out ALL the details.<br /> On the good side, the kittens that I was told were crushed by the boulders have been seen my my own eyes.  They seem to have Siamese in them and they are VERY shy.  I can let the guilt go that I was feeling a few weeks back.  Can anyone blame me?<br /> It's disheartening being overwhelmed like this because of the animals that are left behind in foreclosed homes or people dumping their sick cat because they need to pay for gas.  It all trickles down.<br /> </font></font> Another night. http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/277 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/277 <font size="4"><font face="Comic Sans MS">    I've rescued three more kittens over the weekend.  I got a call from a gentleman named, Bill who tells me that he has four kittens in his backyard.  <br />     Normally, I don't travel too far out of my area because of the cost of gas but I went to South Sacramento because Bill didn't know what to do with them.  I went out there and saw that he and his wife lived in a really nice neighborhood that seemed to be dedicated to the elderly which meant it was quiet and clean.  I have to admit that this was a nice change compared to the rather "questionable" areas I have attended to.<br />     I was able to net two of the kittens and on Thursday and on Saturday and Bill was able to trap one after he had figured out how to set up the tender heart trap.  At first he had thought that it was a double ended trap but the back end opened to place the bait.  I had to chuckle to myself when he told me that the trap malfunctioned since one door shut and the other didn't.  He left the bait door opened so that when the trap door triggered, the cat simply went out the open side.<br />     There is one kitten and the mother left but Bill informed me that he would call me when he either caught them, he blocked the small hole under his patio so that they were not able to get back in to where they were hiding to begin with.<br />     I'll check back with him in a couple of days.  The kitten is somewhat approachable so I wouldn't be too surprised if someone picked the month old kitten up.<br />     BTW, it seems that there is rumor that the kittens at the other site where I was told that they were crushed have been seen.  I've been checking often but only see Olive (mommy) and her older baby but no babies.<br />     I'll post updates.</font></font> I tried. http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/269 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/269 <font size="4"><font face="Arial">     We caught four of five kittens at one of the sites.  We only discovered these guys several days ago.   I was checking over a small wall that leads into a shallow trench that holds bushes and plants and I saw a kitten so I got my partner and we got on each end of the wall where I pushed the kittens toward her.  The kittens would either go into the trap next to her or she would nab them with a large towel.<br />     I remember the first night that I could have sworn that there was a pure black kitten but all we were getting were these black and whites, I figured that the black kitten was an illusion caused by the angle of my flashlight or something.<br />     The other night I looked over the wall knowing that there was at least one kitten left, I spot a black and white.  We trap it in a towel and place the little guy into the trap.  When he emerged from the towel I discovered that it was the black kitten that I had first seen days ago.  This meant that there was one other left with a white stripe across his face.<br />     With the colder weather of late, the kitten is laying low and I can't blame him since we have been marching through his territory like some dinosaur from Jurassic Park, taking his brothers or sisters.  I'll get him/her.<br />     What is sad is that one of my other sites might have some deceased kittens.  About a month ago the elusive mommy cat had a litter and about a week ago I was told that the kittens had been coming out and eating the food that was placed out for them.  There were four of them and different colors.  Each night we would go out to this site and wait for the kittens to show up but only mommy and one of her older babies from a previous litter would appear.  I was confused since in the past, the mommy would bring her babies to the food.  I was concerned.<br /> Today, I checked with some of the employees that are near this site and are aware of what I do and I was told that the babies might have been killed.<br />     See, behind the site is a large auto repair area that is fenced in and had large stacks of pallets where the cats took shelter or played.  Seems that a week and a half ago there was a truck in the auto area that unloaded these VERY large rocks onto the pallets during the day.  This was the same group of pallets that people had seen the kittens playing and resting.  Since then the kittens have not been seen.  I don't blame the auto people since they were really not aware of the kittens.  I could only stare at this large pile of rocks and feel my stomach turn to acid and ice as I thought of what might have happened.  <br />     I have to keep on telling myself that I did what I could.  Whenever I was out in this area I would feed and stakeout the area.  Granted, compared to last year I wasn't able to go out there as much because of the cost of gas and that I am trying to balance a life for myself as well.  <br /> But I tried.  <br /> I really did try.  <br /> I'm sorry.</font></font> Pictures of some kitties http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/256 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/256 Sorry that it took me a while but as I have promised, here are some pictures of some of the recent kittens.  There will be more soon.  It's finding the time to upload them that is impossible.<br /> And yes, there is a picture of me, I'm the furry faced guy who looks like a kitten.  LOL<br />

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Not out of the woods. http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/238 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/238     Hello all.  This past week has been crazy in trying to locate kittens at three different sites.  I say three because one kitten introduced itself two nights ago when I had thought that there was nothing.  He/she is about a month old and is cute as as a button.  I can't believe I just used that term.<br />     I attempted to lay out traps last night for about two hours and the little guy was nowhere to be seen.  I'm not truly worried yet since during the hot weather the cat has lots of shade and water.  <br />     I did receive a call on Monday from a woman in Penryne who has a five month old cat who disappeared three weeks ago and was seen briefly last Thursday.  She told me that the cat was a indoor cat and only go out with her supervision when she pulled in the clothes off the line.  Long story short, the kitty wandered off into the "backyard" that is basically a large forest with with various life.  This woman is worried about her cat and called me to get advise, to my surprise she has done everything that I would suggest when it comes to catching a cat.  She called me last night and said there was no sign of the kitty, Fuzzybutts.  Imagine calling that name out in the middle of the night while the neighbors are out on their patio.<br />     I'm attempting to arrange a trip out to the area next week, with the cost of gas these days, I have to plan these things out.  OH, did I mention that there are Mountain lions and coyotes in the area?  Yeah, good times.  If I do end up going out there then I will be fine.  I have survived several major work/car accidents over the past years and live to tell *wink*<br />     On another note, I am going to try to post pictures of the cats I rescue.  I would have done these sooner but it's hard getting pics of the cats without getting the background of their location and we know I am justifiably cautious about revealing locations.<br />     Thanks for the feedback in previous posts.  I honestly didn't think anyone was reading these little "rants"<br />     ;-) Not always a happy ending. http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/227 http://www.sacpaws.com/home/Blog/Acadius/227     I've been busy since my last post and I wish I could report that everything has been well.  Not so.  <br />     A week ago I got a call from a woman named Sharon and she told me that as she and her daughter were cleaning their garage and lifted a tarp to discover a Siamese cat with four newborn kittens.  When I say newborn, I mean they were born with the past 24 hours.  Just as I was about to tell her to leave the mommy alone so that the kittens would get the proper care from their mother.  Instead, she immediately took the kittens and brought them inside the house and the mommy cat looked through the window with concern.<br />     When she had called me that night, I wanted to tell her that she should have left them alone.  I could've told her to place the kittens back in the garage/barn but doing that would've had mommy moving the babies to an undisclosed disclosed location and never see the babies again.<br />     I arrived to her house where the mommy cat was now inside and had moved one of the kittens behind the TV.  Her eyes told me that if she could protect just one then she would be doing her duty.  It wasn't easy getting her, she bounced everywhere and climbed up the drapes and finally sank her teeth into my hand (luckily I was wearing protective gloves).<br />     I brought the kittens and mommy back home where I made sure that they were comfortable in a large cage and left them alone for the rest of the night.  She nursed them and things seemed fine.  My contact picked them the next morning and brought them to her vet.  <br />     I was told that the vet did all they could and even fed the kittens by hand.  The bottom line is that the mother was stressed and rejected them.  The last kitten passed away a few days ago, there was nothing that could've been done I am told.<br />     I've gone through different scenarios of what could've been done etc etc.  But the bottom line is that none of this would've happened if someone hadn't abandoned the cat in the large field to begin with.  <br />     Me and others like me are cleaning up after others.  Foreclosed homes are making people leave their pets behind or the rising costs of gas and food are triggering people to abandon their cat or dog rather than deal with the price of the vet.<br />     I become disheartened when one these animals passes away because they didn't have a choice and we as human beings should know better.