Right now I’m madly trying to take care of the stuff that is in my Dad’s storage unit becuase we have to be out of it by the end of the month, meanwhile I am doing work and research necessary for probate stuff and trying to keep my head above water with concert production, collaborations and group administration while still doing enough gigs to pay the bills.
On the home front I am in the middle of catching approximately 12 feral cats in the colony in my back yard and having them neutered/spayed, and it’s all going fairly well except my hands are mangled from a cat debacle with one of the moms and I’ve had an additional 2 bites from 2 of the kittens, the feral mom and the kitten are in animal shelter quarantine and the other kitten will be living with me for 10 more days, at which point I will take him to my vet and say, “Does this cat look like he has rabies?”
Arden Animal Hospital is the veterinary hospital I have been going to for the most part since Dr. Sahara and Dr. Ku retired from their practice over in Greenhaven. They have been really great about accommodating all the ferals I have been bringing in to them. So far it’s been 3 moms (one of which I had to release again to be caught later because she’s actively nurshing) and 6 kittens. I’ll need to spay/neuter the one quarantined kitten at some point and I think there are 2 more kittens out there that I haven’t managed to catch yet. One is a fluffy grey one that actually was trapped briefly but managed to get away. Not sure if I will be able to get that one or not…and then there’s the Tomcat with the big, funny head that seems to be fathering all of these cute little ones, and I haven’t ever even seen him. I’ve only heard about him from the neighbors.
The city program is out of vouchers and there are other free/discounted feral spay/neuter programs, but I just don’t have the time to wait because I hit the road again soon and the weather is such that I’m betting these guys could get another litter or few in before winter if left unchecked. It’s put me back a chunk of change, but I don’t have the time to wait
A couple of years ago there were 28+ cats in the colony behind the house that were all trapped and adopted out and so on. I don’t want another 28 cats back there. 12 is more than plenty.
The kittens are actually somewhat tame because the neighbors have been feeding them and handling them a bit. I suppose I ought to try getting them adopted out, but most of them are shying away from me as it is and re-trapping them could be a problem.
Plus they say if I adopt cats from the colony out, what is most likely is that new cats will move int to take their place.
I am overjoyed whenever I get a male for sure, because neutering is $10 less than spaying. The rabies vaccines for the cats who are old enough are free, it seems, and the only other cost is the flea/parasite drops I’m putting on them which is $14 a pop.
I guess the total sum should also include the trap rentals and my 2 doctor’s visits and the antibiotic Rx. By the time I’m done I’ll have about $1k invested in the colony. I should register it but I can’t think of a name.