Trapping night last night. One of our caregivers has the drop trap in Sunnybrae trying to catch the last of three cats she's been feeding, so Cathy and I set out with three snap traps for the colony where we got Archie and Hunter.
The old man is gone now, fully moved into his seniors' apartment. We stop at the caregivers house next door and set up a trap on the deck. There's a small sleek grey cat hanging around the deck crying. He has not been fed today because we were coming to trap and he is not impressed. We recognize him as a cat we caught two visits ago and we can see the nick in his left ear. We don't want him to go into the trap, so I offer him a bit of the sardine we are using as bait and he comes quite close to me to get it.
We drive over to the next property, backing the van up the narrow lane in the dusk so we can drive out in the dark when we are finished. The yard is dark and shadowed by trees and the building the old man lived in stands stark against the twilight sky. As we get out of the van we spot an orange tabby tuxedo sitting on a pile of weathered lumber, looking at us.
Cathy carries two traps to positions in the yard. I carry the bait and blankets to wrap down the traps. There is absolutely no wind so we don't have to worry about the blankets moving and spooking the cats. The night is not cold but we get into the van and talk quietly so we won't be noticed. As we sit a black cat comes along the path from the caregivers' house next door. He stops, sits down and looks at the van. After a minute he gets up, turns and walks back the way he came. The light is dim, but I don't think he has a tail.
I can see one trap in my rear view mirror but the other one is around a corner, nearer the building. It is just getting dark when Cathy goes to check and comes back with the further trap. Inside is the orange tabby tuxedo. I have forgotten the flashlight so we put the trap into the back of the van so we can check out the captive in the overhead light. He sits quite quietly in the cage, gets up and turns around but does not struggle or hiss. We are not sure if his ear is notched, so Cathy takes the path to the caregivers' house and borrows a flashlight. She notices that the trap we left there is still set and empty. By the time she returns I am pretty sure there is a notch in the cat's left ear. We shine the light on him, and sure enough, the notch is there on the back edge of the left ear. This cat has been neutered. I look at him carefully. Earlier this year Marlah and I caught a tabby tuxedo with a miserable-looking wound on his chest. The vets treated the wound and gave the cat a shot of slow-release antibiotic. This looks like the same cat, but there is not sign of the wound.
I open the trap but the cat just sits and looks at us. I put my hand in (not recommended but I'm sure this one is not really feral) and touch him gently. As I withdraw my arm, the cat decides to go and shoots out of the trap and away into the night.
We get back into the van. It is very dark now and there has been no moonrise. An hour passes slowly and we see no sign of any more cats. We decide to call it a night. Cathy carries the two traps back to the van. We leave them baited because I plan to try and catch the wanderer that has been eating on our front deck for the past couple of months.
We drive around to the caregivers' house. The grey cat is still there, still complaining about the lack of food service and the trap is untouched. We take it down and Cathy gives the cat the bait. He comes right up to her and she is able to touch him. I get the rest of the can of sardines and approach him slowly. As as squat down to dump the fish onto the grass, the cat comes toward me, and I am able to touch his head and run a hand lightly down his back before he shies away. The caregiver comes out and we return the flashlight. I tell her about the cat we caught and let go. She thinks it sounds like the one that had the wound; she says he has recovered very well and the wound is no longer visible. As we back out of her yard, we see the caregiver placing a pan of food on the deck. The grey male is still the only cat around but he is watching the pan anxiously.
I drop Cathy at home. The caregiver who has the drop trap has not called so I know she did not catch the cat. Our other Sunnybrae caregiver calls to ask if she can take the wire off the snap trap where she has been feeding and try to catch the cat overnight that she has been trying to get. I am happy to say yes and she will call by 7 am if she gets the cat. I set traps in our front and back yard and check them twice before going to bed.
In the morning my traps are still set and still empty. I leave them set. There is no call from the caregiver and the only cat to go for altering is a non-feral female found behind TMH. The people who found her have been fostering her and now want to keep her. Because she was a homeless cat, ca-r-ma is happy to have her spayed. I have to pick her up early because the people leave for work, so we are there before 7 am. The vet is not open so David and I sit at Tim's sipping coffee until 7:30.
All in all, it was an unproductive trapping night, but I am always happy to see some of the cats we have altered in the past. They are always in much better condition than before surgery and it is especially nice when those that needed medical help show up looking hale and hearty. Perhaps next week we will be more successful.
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