In May 2022, an acquaintance of my mother was struggling with too many cats. Initial guess by my mom was 30, but the owner thought it was more like 50 cats on site. I suspect it is over 60.
May 9, 2022: Upon initially meeting, I saw at least 20 cats that approached me. I did not see any indoor cats at that time.
May 10-11, 2022: That first evening, I was able to claim a handful of spots for the next day's clinic. The owner and I placed 5 cats in carriers. Seahawk, Seahawk girl #1, Seahawk girl #2, Calico / Caramel, and Marmalade were the first batch.
May 11-12, 2022: I was lucky enough to get 4 spots the next day, so the owner brought me 4 cats in carriers and a trap. These kitties were Gorgonzola, Romesco, Toast, and Blueberry Cream Cheese.
May 14, 2022: Upon returning Seahawk, Caramel, and Gorgonzola, I encountered an indoor mom cat, very thin, and nursing kittens from 3 litters. That mom, Merlot, and 5 kittens went to rescue. Itty Bitty was also collected that day and went to my clinic for an exam and treatments. Unfortunately another cat, Shiner, had given birth to 9 kittens the night before. Only 1 survived. She is still in the home.
Itty bitty was supposed to be 6 months old, but her teeth said 8 weeks. Her eyes were solid yellow, so perhaps she was somewhere in between the two. Her owner really wanted her back, specifically. She stayed on my home for treatment of some sloughed skin from the paws of her front feet as well as an eye infection. She didn't eat right away, so oral antibiotics were started. The same weekens, Seahawk girls 1 and 2 went to foster with someone from Nextdoor.
May 17-18, 2022: A few nights later, 7 cats were trapped. 2 appeared pregnant, Caramel Latte and Cinnamon Dolce. 2 other females may have nursed kittens recently, Creme Brulee (2 to 4 weeks post partum) and Cocoavin. A larger version of Itty Bitty, we will call him Stewie, went in the trap with Cinnamon Dolce. An older male, Gumbo, and a young cat, Mac'n'cheese were also trapped. Big surprise is that Stewie is a girl and both Stewie and Cinnamon Dolce are friendly!!
May 22, 2022: Itty Bitty was returned the following Sunday. A pregnant mom, Princess, was picked up. Owner knew she was pregnant but did not want to spay abort. I arranged for Princess to go to a rescue in between work breaks and lunch Monday. But when I returned home, she had a still born solo kitten. She was taken in to work the next day and the rescue paid to have her checked for more kittens. No more were found on xray or ultrasound. However, her post partum discharge was malodorous and cytology revealed pyometra. She had an urgent spay the next day. She and Cinnamon Dolce went to rescue together Thursday evening.
May 30th, 2022: Three kitties went to a barn home on Memorial Day (Cocoavin, Mac n Cheese, and Caramel Latte), then 3 more kitties were picked up, Pesto, Alfredo, and Ariabatta. They are shy kitties.
May 31, 2022: Pesto, Alfredo, and Arabiatta went in for neuter and 2 are slotted to go to a friend of a friend for taming. Theywere found to have heart murmurs, but they survived their anesthesia and have gone to foster with a friend of a friend.
Seahawk girls 1 and 2 will return to the kitten room once Stewie gets into Purrfect Pals.
June 3: Stewie is sneezing and isnt ready for adoption as a result. Alfredo took her place in the prison program (Stewie doesnt need it anyway). Seahawk girls 1 and 2 will likely also go to the prison program the following week. We need better names for them!!
June 7-8: went up to trap 5 cats at the site. Traps set one at a time. The friendly boys kept going in the traps and having to be released. Feral ladies would go in 75% of the way, then back out, so probably only trapped boys! One friendly boy has long hair and he had some bad mats. I told him that if he walked in the carrier, I would make sure he got neutered. So, he did. He will be getting a hair cut when we get home.
June 14-15: This week was trap an eartip or a male week. We ended up with 4 males and 2 females, but not the ones I intended. We did prevent 2 litters from struggling for enough resources.
June 21-22: The owner of the property got 4 kitties from indoors into traps or carriers. I succeeded in trapping eartips or already fixed cats. I saw several kitties return and glance at me today -- French Toast, Creme Brulee, Calico, Taz, Whitey, Sasquach, Linguini, and Muffin. Im glad to see them! I saw a few others, but they were of the brown tabby variety and they all blend together at this point!
June 25: Oreo and Mango go to MEOW. Ari, Pesto, and Stewie get intake at MEOW and await a spot on adoption floor. Adults from last clinic are moved into the bathroom from the shed. They are scared, but I can handle them and pet them.
June 27: Shiner went home.
July 10th: indoor cats getting fixed include Monkey, Princess's mom, Chutnet, Marmalade's brother, another cat named Compote, and Itty Bitty. 3 of Christine's cousins cats were fixed as well. We treated the household for fleas and roundworm. Battle wounds were the results.
July 14th: Compote, Chutney, and Monkey returned home. Itty Bitty's diarrhea may be her trip out of current situation. Owner still on fence about relinquishing her. She misses her the most. Itty bitty remains in my care for now.
August 12 or 13: Additional trail cams set up on preparing foe trapping at end of month
August 26th: up to site to evaluate next kitties to trap. Owner reports mom and 4 kittens indoors. Said she pulled her inside when she noticed she was pregnant.