December 2, 2009
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Back in the C, N and R…
Almost seven months to the day that we ended the CNR of the cats at the Bitan Bridge, we’re back and after just one night, I’m scratched, bit, cut and bleeding. It feels damn good!
Two of the last cats we caught were pregnant and we didn’t get them before they had their babies. Two survived, which we don’t know if they are brother and sister or not as both mothers took care of them. They are both now big enough, and friendly enough to get fixed without any problems… or so I thought.
The male who I named Orange Nuts is super friendly, lets me pick him up and play with him and he follows me everywhere at the bridge. Callie, his calico little sister, is more shy and stand-offish, but still very sweet. We figured they were a good start to the possible ten or more cats we need to pick out of the different prides. They were pretty easy catches, but with a little time in between hands on catches, I forgot a few things…
Never, no matter how friendly a cat is, pick him up by the sides like a house cat and bring him towards a cage. He was happy, he was friendly… then he saw the cage door open. Before I knew it he was twisting and had all his claws in different parts of my skin. I could have let go, but I knew it would be almost impossible to get him again if I did, so I held tight and got him in. All four fingers on my right hand plus the palm of my hand are cut, plus two fingers and my wrist on my left are sliced open pretty good. This is only a seven month old kitten.
I got gloves for Callie and got her by the back of the neck and the back legs so there was no way she was going to fight out of my grip. She did attempt to tear the cage apart from the inside out which was impressive for being the smaller of the two.
The best part of the night was Brandy’s catch. One of our old catches has been very sick. We are guessing it may be feline AIDS. She showed up about two months back drooling, violent and not being able to hold down food (and no, it;s not rabies… Taiwan has never had a case of rabies). For the longest time she could barely eat, choking it up or growling and screeching in pain attempting to eat. We thought maybe there was something lodged in her throat, but she won’t let anyone near her. In the last few weeks, she has become more active, but smaller. She was a regular sized cat before and is now a quarter of her size. You can see her ribs, her fur is falling out and very matted, she can’t meow properly and still has trouble eating. I hate to say it but she looks like she should have died a month ago.
For some reason when Brandy came to visit the cats with me last week, the sick cat followed her everywhere. Brandy caught her before so maybe she feels a connection to her, I don’t know. Neither of us have caught a stray in a long time, but Brandy was smart and knew she was hungry, so she put the food in a basic carrier and just allowed her to go in and eat it. When she finally had three legs and her very shrunken body in, Brandy closed the cage and quickly locked the door. Of course the cat had a fit and we couldn’t pick up the cage for fear of the loss of our fingers, but I’ve been trying to get this cat looked after for a long time now and it was just the simple trust she had in Brandy that will get her the help she needs.
So, we are now up to 46 catches at the bridge. I don’t know where we stood with points when we finished last time (I know it’s bad, but we are competitive with each other), so if we start again, I would have to say I got two points tonight for Orange Nuts and Callie while Brandy scored at least five for the sick cat. I think I should get bonus points for blood loss, but I will reign supreme when I get Big Orange, the 50 point cat into a cage by the end of this month. He trusts me now after a year and even if I lose a limb, I’m going to get him…
I hope!
Comments (3)
As a fellow cat lover, my thanks to you — this is such a cool thing you two are doing. Amazing, even. You have my respect and admiration, both of you.
I know you’ve probably told us before in your blogposts, but how are you paying for the neuter/spay/vet care for these cats you’re catching? How much does it cost for each cat?
@Alchemies -
There is a vet here in Taipei who has a clinic that is funded by the government and he does all the neutering for free. Shots and other things will cost, but Animals Taiwan, the group I volunteer for, actually covers what we have done.
I pay for all the food I bring, and the care of the cats I have in my house myself, but it really isn’t much. We are really lucky to have this vet who does so much for the animals here.
You are doing a great thing. I feel for those kitties you mention in each post. the last cat you mentioned looked just like my cat and I thought if his sad end when i was with my cat Trouble last night. I like hearing about your cat adventures and successes. keep at it.