About eight weeks in the past I believed my barn cat was gone for good. She did not present up for breakfast or supper. I later discovered that she was hunkered down with 4 new kittens. Eventually, she introduced these kittens to my entrance door so they might study to eat on my porch too.
Those 4 kittens have been cute and regarded very wholesome. The hassle is that I did not want any extra cats. I began to test round to see the place these shy barn cats may very well be neutered and spayed. A good friend gave me the contact data for Happily Ever After, in Marion, Wisconsin.
One morning a volunteer named Mindy got here with six dwell traps. She helped arrange the traps and even baited them with yummy, canned cat meals.
All six cats (mom, father, and 4 kittens) have been on my entrance porch ready for breakfast. They weren’t glad after I introduced the traps out. In truth, all ran away.
We quietly watched from the home. (When Bob and I did this 20 years in the past, my late husband mentioned it was like fishing. There wasn’t a bobber, solely a closed lure door, however it felt the identical once we caught one.)
It didn’t take too lengthy earlier than the 2 grownup cats got here again searching for meals. Mindy and I watched from out my kitchen window as every cat approached the cages. The first one to be trapped was Mother Cat.
Daddy Cat wished to eat, however he was leery. He walked round and even sat on prime of one of many cages. It took some time earlier than he went inside one. Hurray! He was trapped, too.
Too dangerous not one of the kittens returned that day. I drove Mommy and Daddy to Happily Ever After for his or her scheduled appointments with out them. Darn.
I stored the 4 dwell traps on my porch, hoping for a return of the kittens. When darkness fell, I closed all of the traps. It was very potential I’d have caught a raccoon or opossum as an alternative of kittens.
In the morning, I found all 4 kittens have been sniffing across the closed traps. It was time for me to go to work once more.
Instead of attempting to set the traps on the porch, I introduced them inside my home. Three have been simple to reset, however one had an issue. The bar that may launch the door had come unhooked from the set off plate. It was a wrestle for me, however I lastly was in a position to hook the whole lot collectively.
Soon all of the coated dwell traps have been in place—they have been coated so the kittens wouldn’t draw back from them. The traps have been extra like a tunnel that wasn’t scary.
When I glanced out of the kitchen window, I noticed that one door was closed. Three extra to go.
It didn’t take too lengthy earlier than the second lure was sprung. Two down, two to go.
I watched and watched as these two kittens wandered across the traps sniffing, attempting to determine tips on how to get to the meals.
A 3rd door went down!
I waited for the final kitten to search out its manner into the lure. After half-hour I checked on my catches. To my shock, the final two kittens have been in a single lure collectively. My cat fishing had come to an finish.
All the trapped kittens and cages have been loaded into my automobile by my daughter Rebecca and son-in-law Andy. Those kittens will likely be spending time on the shelter till the subsequent scheduled time with a veterinarian—most likely every week.
In the top, all six cats will once more be dwelling and consuming right here. But none will likely be making extra infants ever once more.
Too many cats aren’t a superb factor. Check your space for organizations that may neuter and spay feral cats.
Susan Manzke, Sunnybook Farm, N8646 Miller Rd, Seymour, WI 54165; [email protected]; [email protected]; www.susanmanzke.internet/weblog.
