BARC

I met with PJ at BARC last night, he and I took several traps and a couple of carriers back to my house. We set them up around the yard and waited. And waited.

And waited.

He said in some trapping situations, he can't catch the ferals fast enough, catching them and putting them into carriers and putting the cages back out just in time to catch more. But our cats were proving to be either too smart or too distracted by the mild weather to check them out. PJ eventually went home and we were feeling a little like the parents of the dumb kids at school.

Just before we went to bed I checked the traps. They were all empty … except for one! Grumpus had been caught! I picked up the cage and put him in the basement. He wasn't too upset either, he whined a little bit, but otherwise didn't seem to mind getting to sit in a warm space for the night. I gave him some more food and went to bed.

In the morning the traps still appeared to be empty when I looked out the back window. But when I went outside, I found George in one! Unlike Grumpus, George was super pissed to be in the cage. He was hissing and flailing around like the cage was electrified. He calmed down a little when he saw Grumpus (misery loves company). I went upstairs to get him some food when I saw that another trap was sprung!

The cat we call Russian Blue II had gotten trapped in the time I had taken George inside. Turns out he's just a really dark gray, but I don't think he's a Russian Blue. He too was rather annoyed to be in a cage. I gave them all food and left them to chill out in the cellar.

There are still two traps out there. I thought of trying to move the cats into the carriers so I could put the traps back out, but I'm afraid to mess with that considering their fiestiness (except for Grumpus, who I'm beginning to think is just somebody's pet cat, he's totaly content in his cage).

So we're doing great here, but the real prize would be the female tuxedo cat. She showed up a little while ago and sniffed around at the traps. But she didn't get caught unfortunately … yet. I'm hoping she will come back and become ensnared before this afternoon, when I'll have to take the traps (full or otherwise) back to BARC. But at least these 3 boys will get neutered!

Tonight I am meeting up with some good folks who have been doing some TNR (trap-neuter-release) work in the neighborhood. I'm borrowing some traps and setting them up in the back yard, in an attempt to capture some of the feral cats that hang around. Once fixed, they'll recuperate in BARC's warehouse space, and then they'll be returned to the yard, no longer a burden to society. That is, if we can catch any.

These cats seem pretty smart to me. Will they fall for the trap? What's more, what if one cat does get caught and the others see it happen? Will they put 2 and 2 together and steer clear? They will be baited with tuna, and i didn't put any food out for them this morning, so I'm hoping they will come around as soon as we show up. If they don't go for it right away, I'm not sure what we'll do. I'll be home tomorrow, so maybe I can hang around and deliver the cats once they become ensnared in my clutches.

I just hope we get the cats that actually need to be fixed. We have two cats, Freddie and Big Jon, who are already fixed, but not yet ready to live the pampered lives of indoor cats. Unfortunately, they strike me as the likeliest subjects to get caught. Oh well, I'm sure some time in the hole with give them much-needed insight.