Last time all the kittens were together
Malibu and her kittens have all moved on! It took just over 3 months, which seems both like a long time and no time at all. There's no time for us to rest, of course, we've already got another foster in the house, another calico! But more on her later. Here's how the family left when they moved out: (more…)
We mostly try to focus on TNR, finding colonies of feral cats and getting them all fixed up and returned. When we leave, everything is essentially the same, but the cats do not reproduce and are (we hope) healthier and happier than before. This solves one part of the multi-faceted problem of cat population control. Another facet is what to do with the 'nice' cats. (more…)
We recently completed a new TNR project in Bushwick. This time around we went to the opposite end of the neighborhood, up where all the bars and restaurants are. (more…)
I am obsessed with shelter. Mine and the feral cats we watch over. Luckily, my house, however unkempt and run-down, is pretty sturdy. I get antsy when I worry that the skylight may not be watertight, or the cellar may be taking on water. But so far we've been lucky (well, we did have a bunch of plumbing work done to ensure the cellar won't flood).
So my attention ends up mostly being about the cats' shelter.We already have a number of shelters out back, but some are starting to fall apart and will need to be replaced. I built most of them, so I'm always trying to figure out how to build a shelter that will last forever and need zero maintenance. In the past couple of months, I built a few types of cat houses, as well as purchased a ready-made shelter.
Lots has been happening in the real world! Currently, we're working on our 3rd bottle-baby kitten of the year! Lefty, above, was brought into our vet's while we were there for another cat. The guy who found him was clueless about kittens, let alone a days-old kitten with a cold. The vet examined him for free and gave us some KMR, and we took it from there. I had to bring him to work for a couple of weeks, secreted in my desk drawer, so he could be fed regularly. He's now eating solid food (though just last night he had a bottle for old time's sake) and looking more and more like a cat and not a fuzzy insect. He'll be up for adoption soon, although I suspect he will be claimed before that.
So much else has happened, including one of our foster cats (Lenny) getting lost and returning nearly a month later with a jaw injury. We also got our senior cat Mabel a much-needed Total Ear Canal Ablation surgery. I should probably make a separate post about that, there's not a lot of info on the web about it, so somebody may benefit from our (her) experience.
Meanwhile, winter is coming and the ferals need shelters! I'm planning to build some more this year, and step up from my usual storage-bin shelters to something sturdier. I'm planning a trip to the Home Depot soon!
