Everyone who knows even a little about me will probably tell you, "Yep, she's a crazy cat lady!" Except for the "crazy" part, I wear the title proudly. Rescuing strays is something I have done since I was a child, much to my parents' dismay. My mom was an animal lover too, though maybe not as fanatical as I am. For the last few weeks, this little orange tabby has
visited my patio at least twice per day. I’m not sure if it’s a male or female nor how old he/she is – we’ll call it a “he” for the sake of simplicity – but he appeared to be about eight to ten weeks old when he first appeared. He has grown significantly, although the camera makes him appear bigger than he is. He is as wild as a March hare, even more skittish than my semi-feral rescue, Eli, who is now nearly four years old and has one of the sweetest natures of any cat I have ever known.
Anyway, when the weather turned cold yesterday, I decided to make a feral cat shelter for him. I don’t know where he hides or sleeps, although I suspect it’s either under my neighbor’s patio or among the clutter that covers it. My hope is that I can get him accustomed to my care and entice him to use the little shelter, eat the food I provide, and eventually step into a live trap so I can TNR him. For anyone not familiar with the acronym, it stands for “trap – neuter – return,” and it’s a program that many veterinarians participate in to provide discounted services for individuals who make the effort to take those three steps. It eliminates the potential for literally thousands of unwanted cats that each would produce if left intact. They can be valuable pest-control agents as well, and we definitely have more than our share of those in Florida.
John helped me build the shelter, which we made from a plastic tote, one-inch Styrofoam cut to line the inside of the tote, and straw for bedding. I added a little bowl of cat treats as extra incentive for the kitty to check out the digs, and it worked! Unfortunately, it drew a second visitor that I am not thrilled to have and will take steps to exclude from the shelter, although I’m not sure how just yet. I am open to suggestions – humane ones, that is.
I hope you enjoy the videos.
Comments