Tuesday night Cathy and I went back to the colony where we got Archie and Hunter. We took the drop trap and set it on the caregivers' deck where the cats are normally fed. The caregivers were not home. Shadow, a beautiful shiny black cat that the caregivers rescued when she was a kitten, watched us intently through the patio door. The grey male we previously altered watched us too, not coming too close, but crying plaintively because he had not been fed that day. He is only semi feral and Cathy and I have both been able to touch him in the past.
We got into the van and started the waiting process. It was not long before a large beige and white cat appeared. He circled the trap just once then walked in as if he knew the way. I waited a few minutes, hoping other cats might be attracted by the sound of him devouring the feast of sardines, but no other cats appeared except the grey, who circled the cage cautiously and tried to reach the fish with a paw through the wires.
I dropped the door and we bailed out of the van quickly. Cathy got a transfer cage and I brought the flashlight, my camera and a blanket. Inside the cage, the cat was doing acrobatics trying to free himself. I wanted to get a photo of him hanging from the top with all four paws, but he was becoming so upset that I stopped taking pictures and helped to get him into the transfer cage. The only good shot I got was this one:
Once he was in the transfer cage and we shined the light on him, we could see the notch in his left ear. A small, neat slit that means he is altered. We opened the cage and he was off like a shot into the night.
We stayed until after 9. We saw several cats, and some of them spent time inspecting the trap. One even went part way in to eat the fish offered just inside the door, but backed out without fully entering. We saw the black cat whose tail we amputated earlier this year, looking sleek and healthy. We saw the orange tuxedo that Marlah and I brought in with a wound on his neck, completely healed and looking good. There was another black cat, this one with a tail, that Cathy and I trapped a few weeks ago, and at least two orange males we are quite sure we also already altered.
Finally we decide to give up and go home. We are not actually sure there are still any un-altered cats in this colony, but the colony has certainly increased since the man next door moved. From the old man's place, at least eight cats have joined this colony, bringing the total being fed from four or five to twelve or thirteen. Two cats were euthanized and I have the two kittens in foster care.
Is this the last trapping for this year? Will I trap again next year? Good questions, and only time will tell.
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