Cat Trapping

Remember *The* Karl?! Aw, I really love this boy. He reminds me a lot of BT. A big, strong feral tom cat, who really, deep down is just a pile of mush that wants a home to call his own, and feel safe.

Finally got him trapped this past Sunday for his neuter. He had some pretty nasty battle wounds behind his ears, and neck. The vet shaved , cleaned, medicated and ear tipped him as planned.

We couldn't just let Karl take a trip without his partner in crime, so yes, we also trapped the Linx Point, which my husband so dearly named Storm.

Isn't that just an adorable face!

Storm was not too happy in the trap, as you can see in the photos the newspaper was shredded within minutes.

He also had wounds that needed cared for by the vet, and also an eye infection. Both boys were quite easy to trap. I originally set out the traps Saturday evening, without success. The only ones I kept trapping were the other cats in my existing colony. Sunday early morning I reset the traps with little hope, but within 10 minutes of each other, they both didn't hesitate to walk in.

We didn't get them back home until late, so they had to sleep in the traps overnight, until I could release them Monday morning. If any of you reading have ever been involved in TNR and releasing a feral, then you know the feeling you get, when you open that trap to release them. A feeling I can't really explain comes over you. Here is a cat you have never come close to touching, a cat born feral, terrified of humans. As a caretaker you build a special bond with these cats, a different sort of bond and relationship that you would with a normal household pet. They want to trust you, but they don't, and not trusting is what, for the most part, keeps them safe. We have this understanding. As they ran out of the traps, they jumped on the wall, stopped, turned, and just looked at me, then at their surroundings, then back at me, then they knew, they were home.

I have another kitten similar to Lacee who has shown up, I am now working on trapping. I also have a stray, that most likely was dumped, and causing quite a bit of ruckus around here. Those two are my next priority.

So many things have been keeping me away from blogging. Eventually, I hope, things will settle some. Until then, hope all is well with all my blog friends.