Introducing the Big Daddy Colony: TNR in Avondale

Kim and Joann trapped last week with great success: fifteen cats and kittens trapped so far, and there’s a lot more.

 

Kim reached out to me this year about her neighborhood. Joann and Kim started trapping and working through her area in Avondale last week.

 

Kim trapped two kittens and a male feral cat. Once the kittens were spayed/neutered, the feeder adopted them into her home. The male feral cat was TNReturned outside.

 

She also trapped a sick cat that visited her yard sporadically. She has been trying to trap him for over a year, and believes he finally went in the trap because he was so sick. She called him Big Daddy, and the colony is named in his honor. Big Daddy was taken to Roscoe Village Animal Hospital, where after a thorough examination and tests, they all made the hard decision to humanely euthanize him because he was just too sick. RIP Big Daddy.

 

Joann trapped along with Kim throughout the neighborhood and saw a lot of cats and talked to a lot of feeders. Some TNR was done here before by Erica from PAWS Chicago and other volunteers, because they saw a mix of ear tipped and non-ear tipped cats. Kim has also trapped 22 cats visiting her yard in the past two years.

 

They trapped this beautiful TNR’d cat a few times, who also loves to pose. Her name is Georgita. Georgita

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And a lot of non-ear tipped cats. eartipped orange one of the daddys IMG_0443-2 IMG_0471-2

A lot of these cats are fed by a man named George. George feeds these cats no matter what, and also tries to impede trapping. He moved the traps, closed them, and did everything he could  to stop them. George is an outdoor hoarder and there’s nothing we can do but to work around him and wait until he leaves.

 

Joann and Kim also discovered that this restaurant feeds other cats. Check out these cats waiting for their dinner in back! IMG_0477

The restaurant employees and several people throughout the neighborhood were all for TNR. Joann and Kim talked to a lot of neighbors and found out a lot of people feed and were concerned for the cats. TNR always involves community outreach, and more people that live in this area need to help trap. They also discovered a few other hot spots that we are hoping to work on, with colonies of 10-12 cats. In all, Kim has estimated there may be up to 50 cats within these few blocks.

 

They trapped in a few people’s yards and near where George feeds. So despite his ongoing efforts to stop them from trapping, they trapped eleven more cats and kittens. That means these cats are hungry. They range in all kinds of ages and litters.

 

All of these cats are currently at PAWS’ clinic for TNR surgery. Some of these orange cats look absolutely identical. IMG_7741 IMG_7745 IMG_7750 IMG_7755 IMG_7759 IMG_7761 IMG_7763 IMG_05061

If you know of anyone that lives in Avondale and cares for cats that can TNR, or would like to help us in any way, please contact us at the link above or at [email protected] , or call 773-609-2287

 

 

 

 

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RIP Big Daddy, the Colony Cat Named in Honor of the Avondale TNR Project

When I first started talking to Kim a few months ago about all of the cats she was seeing in her colony and neighborhood of Avondale, I was determined to help her mostly because of a cat named Big Daddy. Her Big Daddy Colony is named after him to honor his memory.

 

Big Daddy was a colony cat that kept coming back to her yard the past two years, looking worse each time. He evaded all of her trapping efforts, and in the meantime she TNR’d 22 other cats.

 

Big Daddy would only come to visit Kim’s yard to feed sporadically. He was clearly sick, but still surviving.  Big_Daddy-2

Some of the following photos may be upsetting to see.

 

Joann helped Kim trap at the end of May and they trapped a lot of cats. In the meantime, they also trapped Big Daddy. We think that at this point he was so sick that he went into the trap because he knew he needed to. Big Daddy was dying.  Big_Daddy_atVets_1_May2016

Despite all of that they could not get near him. He was only safe to handle once he was in the trap. Kim took him straight to Roscoe Village Animal Hospital. They have been amazing. They are close to us, open seven days a week, will treat cats in traps, and we can normally get an appointment the day we call. This is all invaluable to us colony cat caregivers providing care for feral cats in traps. The low-cost clinics can only do so much. These colony cats need full service vet care.

 

But this vet care is expensive. Big Daddy’s total vet bill was $341. If you’d like to make a donation towards his care, you can do so through the Paypal donation link at the top of this page, or directly through paypal.com with [email protected] Big_Daddy_Vet_Bill-3

 

Big Daddy had to be sedated for an exam because even though he was weak, he was still feral. Big_Daddy_atVets_3_May2016-3 Big_Daddy_atVets_2_May2016

He was first tested for FIV/FeLV and tested negative. We were all very surprised. They then thought he may have been coming down with pneumonia. He was underweight and very sick. A few days before he allowed himself to be trapped, Kim found him in her garden defecating on himself, but not allowing her to come near him. His body seemed to be shutting down. Any treatment would involve more tests, and most likely extensive recovery in a crate indoors. That would be very stressful for him, and the outcome was completely unknown and could not be guaranteed. They decided to humanely euthanize him instead.

 

RIP, Big Daddy. You were loved. We are so thankful to Kim for caring for you while you visited her garden, and letting her help you in the end. You deserved a dignified death at the end of your hard life.

 

 

 

 

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How to Convert a Feeder into a Cat Colony Caregiver

Joann found the Land Colony last summer in Avondale while we were TNR’ing all over the place there during the height of kitten season.

 

Margie and her husband, Pepe, were feeding the cats in their yard, and there were just too many. Joann saw several two-month old kittens.

Margie was on board with TNR, but Pepe was not at the time. We moved on to do TNR and foster kittens from several other colonies in Avondale.

 

We don’t know what happened to those kittens in the photos, but Margie called us a month later because she found yet another sick kitten in her yard. Simon had a URI and was infested with parasites. He was starving and underweight. Obviously he was also super cute and friendly. His rescue was a group effort from all of our friends from start to finish. We fully vetted him at Joann’s vet, our friend Elissa at Rockstar Pets fostered him, and he was eventually admitted into PAWS Chicago’s adoption program.

 

And then, on another twist of amazing fate, my TNR friend, Trudy O., saw Simon’s story and shared it with her neighbor. Her neighbor adopted Simon along with another kitten together there!

So obviously there were a lot of cats that Maria, Pepe and others were feeding, but we weren’t allowed to TNR yet. We were still in contact with them while we had Simon to let them know everything that was happening, but Pepe still did not want us to trap the cats. Fast forward to last week, six months later, when Kim V. and Nellie J. heard about this colony again because neighbors complained to animal control.

 

This time, Pepe was more on board with TNR although he still is worried. Kim and Nellie talked to him, Maria, their daughter, and tons of neighbors around the area who all feed the cats. Everyone loves the cats, feeds them, and wants them around to control the rats. No one wants the cats killed. But it’s the same old story – there are just too many of them. Maria and Pepe found kittens dead in their yard this winter, frozen from the low temperatures. They were realizing that they had to do something. Kim and Nellie were now allowed to freely TNR.

 

Last Friday night they showed up, and trapped 11 cats in just a few hours. They could have trapped at least a dozen more, but they ran out of traps and only had a set number of appointments..

 

They brought all of the cats to Anti-Cruelty Society for their TNR surgery. A LOT of cats were brought in that day for spay/neuter surgery.

THANK YOU, Nellie and Kim!

They think one of the cats miscarried in the trap before her surgery. Kim saw this when she picked up the trap off of the floor.

Out of the eleven cats, eight cats were female, three cats were male. Two of the female cats were pregnant with ELEVEN kittens total. 

 

Can you imagine if ALL eight females were pregnant? With those rates, 40-48 kittens would be born there this spring from just this bunch. Not to mention the other females still not trapped. You can see in the photos below Kim and Nellie trapped three tortie cats that night, but they saw at least five more. We all know tortie cats are female.

 

All eleven cats are currently recovering and doing well in Kim’s recovery space.

TNR and colony care and management doesn’t stop there. Kim and Nellie took it upon themselves to show everyone how to properly care for the cats afterwards. Currently the only shelters the cats have are cardboard boxes with plastic tarps and towels. Kim and Nellie are going to help them provide better shelters.

 

There are also outdoor electrical outlets so we’re hoping Maria may be able to provide electric outdoor warming bowls for food and water, and perhaps even heating mats for them to lay on. In the meantime Maria has also asked about costs for everything, and is even interested in possibly throwing a fundraiser for the cats. We’ll keep you posted if they do!

 

Maria has also agreed to register now as a feral cat colony caregiver in compliance with Cook County’s Managed Care of Feral Cats Ordinance.  Kim will be returning the cats there this week, and trapping again. We think once the cats are returned, then EVERYONE there will see how much the cats thrive and are better off with TNR. Kittens won’t be born and dying. The TNR’d cats won’t roam to mate and fight – they will remain to eat in their own territory. Kim is also talking to Maria about establishing set feeding times and a feeding station for the cats so they will all see how many cats they have and how much to feed.

 

Persistence, patience and follow-through is crucial to not only trapping cats, but also in working with the feeders. Sometimes it can take months and YEARS to get a feeder on board. Communication is key, and sometimes you have to walk away for a bit. There’s always more to be done with people who want your help. And then later you can come back and ask again. We are very excited about this change of heart and hope the momentum continues.

 

 

 

 

 

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Introducing the Charlie Chaplin Colony: In Honor of Melanie and Her Cat, Lumpy

Melanie emailed me mid-October looking for help for the cats on her block in Avondale. When I looked up her address I knew we HAD to help her – she lived just a few blocks from my rescue partner, Kim, and three other colonies we did this summer: the Big Daddy Colony, the Polska Kittens Colony, and the Wild Wild West Colony. Coincidence? Nope. This area has a huge cat overpopulation problem but it can be contained with diligent, consistent TNR and colony management. We’re already well on our way. About 30% of the cats we trapped this summer from here were admitted into no-kill shelters.

 

Melanie estimated were 7-10 cats coming to her yard, but she knew there could be more. She also knew there was a mama cat and kittens, because they visited at one point recently. That means the kittens were just weaned. When she inquired about the costs, Melanie offered to sponsor any care as needed. She just lost her beloved pet cat, Lumpy, very recently, and wanted to continue the care of the outdoor cats in her honor.

 

Just look at beautiful Lumpy. As Melanie explained, “Not to brag, but she was the funniest, chattiest, softest, best beast on the entire planet. Sigh. I miss her terribly. And yes, she would always sit like this. The best!” We agree! She was gorgeous! img_1919

Melanie told Kim and I that an elderly Polish neighbor left cat food every morning in her front yard, which is why the cats were congregating their in the first place.

 

We asked her to communicate as best as she could with everyone to stop feeding the cats for a day or two. She didn’t know who the Polish lady was,… yet. When we arrived as planned at 5am on a Friday morning, we saw the food on her front steps. img_9205

We threw out the food, and set up the traps regardless. Melanie has a beautiful yard and garden, perfect for the cats to hang out and hide in. And perfect to keep traps hidden in.

 

We set up traps in her front yard.

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And we set up traps in her back yard. img_9207 img_9208

While we were setting up traps in her back yard, we heard the ones in the front yard snapping shut immediately.

 

TNR was ON.

 

We trapped five cats that day. Cats started visiting from all around us.

 

This one came by to hang out under my car. Yup, we got her. img_9218

We set up a Cats In My Yard sign on Melanie’s front gate to explain to everyone what we were doing. It’s translated in Spanish and Polish. We saw A LOT of people stopping to read the sign. Everyone was into it and gave us the thumbs up after reading it, or asked us more questions. It’s a great way to spread awareness of your TNR project in the neighborhood. img_9242

All of the neighbors were into what we were doing, and we have plans to trap in their yards. The elderly Polish feeder came by, and agreed to stop feeding for the weekend. She is also going to show us all of the other places that she feeds cats!

 

The next day we set up traps again at 5am and got another four cats. At this point we had nine cats trapped for TNR.

 

During that time, a little cat came wobbling up to us. Clearly something was wrong with her because she was walking very funny, and we were lucky to trap her. I’ll write more about her and her injuries later.

 

Melanie also trapped the mama cat and found her four kittens in a garage down the street from her with the help of neighbors. I’ll also be writing about the kittens more later.

 

The whole weekend the cats stayed in my garage in their traps in preparation for PAWS Chicago’s low-cost TNR clinic. img_9279

The next day we were ready to bring the healthy adult cats to PAWS. That morning Melanie trapped one last cat, so there were now a total of eleven cats going there. Jim helped us out with transport.

 

All eleven of these cats were TNR’d, then recovered at Kim’s house, and returned to Melanie’s yard.

 

Katler is the gorgeous mama cat, whose kittens are now in foster care for eventual admission into PAWS. img_9307

Big Tux Jackson is the big male eleventh cat who was trapped at the eleventh hour at the last minute. img_9321

Tommy Two Ears is a fairly friendly male cat who lost most of his ears from fighting, frost bite, or who knows what from being on the streets. We’ll be keeping an eye on him to see if he’s interested in being in an indoor home – it’s hard to tell for now. img_9267

Chinny is another male cat that seems fairly friendly. We tested him for FIV/FeLV, and he was negative. We’ll also be keeping an eye on him to see if he’s interested in being adopted into a new permanent indoor home. img_9228

Inky 1 is a black male cat, identical to his brothers, Inky 2 and Inky 3. Fun fact: he loves to shred newspapers into tiny pieces, hiss and lunge whenever he can, and emits bathroom deposits in impressively huge quantities. Cleaning his trap while he was in it was quite a comedic endeavor. img_9215

The funny part was Melanie was well aware that there are three black cats. She just named them all of the same.

 

Here’s Inky 2, also male.  img_9249

And Inky 3, also male. img_9259

Melanie thought there was one tabby cat, but little did she know there were two.

 

Here’s Wee Tab, a female brown tabby. img_9231

And Alt Tab, her female brown tabby sister or doppelgänger. img_9264

Then check out Big Skinny, a male grey tabby. img_9253

And Little Skinny, a female torbie. Fun fact: this girl ate more than anyone. img_9233

In the meantime, Melanie purchased a few outdoor shelters from Kim for her yard to help the TNReturned colony cats stay warm in the winter, and set up a permanent feeding station in her front yard.

 

We are excited to continue TNR with Melanie and all of her neighbors on the block. Working with such kind neighbors is a dream come true when you are doing TNR.

 

I’ll also be updating soon about what is happening with the four kittens and injured cat. We also know there are more cats out there from this colony. Please contact us if you’d like to help, 773-609-CATS (2287) or [email protected]

 

Or donate through the Paypal button at the top of this page or through [email protected]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Helping Sherbert, a Senior Colony Cat, Get Full Medical Care

Sherbert showed up sick, dirty and disheveled while we were trapping for the Avondale TNR Project. His fur and ears were filthy, and his breathing was congested. IMG_0900 He’s the 55th cat we trapped for vetting in Avondale so far, but he is the first one that was already TNR’d by someone else, as you can see by his ear tip. IMG_8477

It was clear something was wrong. But he was trap savvy, and one night Joann used a drop trap.

 

It worked, but he acted so strangely in it. He would not move, and just laid down in it, almost as if he was playing dead. We didn’t know if he was just exhausted or scared, or both. IMG_8470

Eventually he went into the regular Tru-catch Trap. IMG_8368

I took him the next day to Roscoe Village Animal Hospital. First they determined he was FIV-/FeLV-. Then they went ahead and updated him on his vaccinations and treated him with antibiotics for a URI, cleaned his ears, and gave him Revolution for fleas. They also did bloodwork to determine his overall health status.  IMG_8487

In the meantime they traced his microchip to Tree House, who has been attempting to reach the person who TNR’d him in the first place four years ago.

 

The vet said it was clear that Sherbert is pretty much a senior cat, and his teeth were really, really bad, most likely causing stomatitis. This explained why he might have been so dirty – this condition is painful and cats stop grooming themselves as a result. It is also painful for them to eat. They recommended he get a full dental, but first he needed to recover from his infection.

 

Kim put Sherbert up in my feral cat recovery lounge in her house so that he could eat and sleep as much as he needed with a little more room for comfort. This lounge is a dog crate and trap attached together so that feral cats can be moved easily from one part to the other. I have used it for several feral cats during their recovery. IMG_8424

He’s doing well in the crate, but he hasn’t shown any signs of friendliness so far. I know this photo is dark, but you can see they really cleaned up his fur.

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I am planning on taking him back to a vet for a full dental next week so that he can hopefully eat without pain in the future. We are getting quotes from a few vets because the highest one so far was for $1500.

 

There are a lot of feeders in this area and people who let their unfixed pet cats outside, which is really why there are so many colony cats. Without comprehensive TNR, the feline population has exploded here. We are doing what we can to help Kim get the population under control. So far we’ve reduced the population in three alleys by almost half in three months because of TNAdoption for friendly cats and kittens along with TNReturn for feral cats.

 

In the meantime, I’m a firm believer that feral cats deserve full medical care as well. If something is treatable, it will get done, just like with a pet cat. I will post the total cost after the procedure next week. If you would like to donate for his $489 vet bill so far and his upcoming dental, you can do so through PayPal at [email protected] or at the donate link at the top of this page. Thank you!

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Introducing the Polska Kittens Colony from Avondale

Back in June we met the owner of a Polish restaurant in Avondale feeding three feral female cats. They would wait outside the back door in the alley for their meals.

 

We are calling this the Polska Kittens Colony. It is the next alley over from the Big Daddy Colony.

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She fed them raw ground beef from her restaurant. We have donated beef wet cat food to her since. IMG_7838 She said they all just had kittens.

 

We soon saw what she was talking about.

This mama cat was moving the kittens from the garage to a basement accessible from the outdoors, and back again.

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We talked to the owner of the basement as well, who owns a grocery store.  The owners of the garage were not available. Other neighbors told us that these feline families were being moved all around by the mama cats and disrupted by kids and drunk men in the alley, that they didn’t have a clear idea of how many kittens there were, or who had them. This alley is BUSY with lots of traffic and people.

 

We decided to let everyone be, and that Barbara, the owner of the restaurant, should call us when the kittens come out to be fed after they are weaned.

 

So about six weeks later in July, Barbara called on a Friday and said she saw kittens running around outside of the garage. IMG_7895

Joann went there immediately and first trapped the last female cat that we knew about from the Big Daddy Colony. Esther was pregnant and TNReturned. We couldn’t believe she was already pregnant – we had trapped her kittens in June, which were all admitted to PAWS Chicago. Here’s Esther, the mama of some of the orange creamsicle kittens. She is the 28th cat trapped from that alley this summer.

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Then Joann and Kim trapped all three lactating mama female cats and six little kittens at the Polish restaurant.

 

Here’s Abby the Tabby.

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Sterling. IMG_0798

And Tabitha, the star of the video moving all of the kittens around. IMG_0808

These mama cats were kept for recovery for a few extra days in Kim’s laundry room. IMG_0816

They also trapped six kittens: Harley, Jordan, Payton, Penelope, Poe, and Shakespeare. We guessed they were from 2-3 litters because of their sizes. It’s really hard to tell when you are not the one who is feeding the cats yourself, or have a set location for the colony. The kittens were trapped, three to a trap. IMG_0772 IMG_0773

Kim and Elissa started socializing and fostering them. IMG_0794 IMG_0778

One of the black kittens had this gummy gunk all over his side. It has since been combed out. Who knows what the heck they were getting into in that garage! IMG_0788

Some of the kittens were quickly ready for their close-ups! IMG_0007 IMG_0042 IMG_0013 IMG_0010

Then on Monday, Joann got a call from Barbara saying she found another kitten. Joann went to trap him immediately. Kitten #7, Lucky Johnny, was absolutely frantic, meowing his head off after being alone all weekend.

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Long-time supporter, Kati E., donated and sponsored his care. Thank you, Kati!

 

All seven of these kittens are being fostered currently by Kim, and went to PAWS Chicago for their first round of vaccinations on Monday. They will be admitted for adoption in August. They are currently being fostered by Elissa. IMG_7990 IMG_7981 Then, on Wednesday of this week, Joann got ANOTHER call from Barbara about two more kittens there. Joann again went to trap immediately, and got THREE more kittens.

 

Meet Rutabega, Radish and Turnip. All three of them were at PAWS today for their first vet appointment, and will also be admitted to PAWS Chicago’s adoption program in August. IMG_0249

We think we now have all of the kittens, but Barbara will call us if she sees more or other intact cats. We have now trapped 38 cats and kittens from the Avondale TNR Project in tow alleys. Almost half of these cats will be admitted to PAWS Chicago and adopted into indoor homes, rather than living on the streets. If you’d like to help us traps cats, foster or make a donation, please call us at 773-609-2287. Thank you!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Helping a Caregiver with Feral Cat Colony Management

Caring for feral cat colonies means continuing to TNR any new intact cats that show up. That’s the basis of colony management for all caregivers.

 

Kim V. has been caring for her Big Daddy Colony in Avondale for years. She TNR’d about a dozen cats there so far. Most of them hang out in her yard. IMG_0179

She contacted us to borrow traps for a few cats still needing TNR and additional medical care.

 

Specifically this orange cat, who needs to be neutered and shaved. IMG_7017

We dropped off a dozen traps at her home a few weeks ago. Her indoor rescue cats made sure to investigate. IMG_0180 As soon as she set the traps cats came to investigate. IMG_0182

So far she has TNR’d two new intact males this month. She is still trying to trap the orange cat and another cat that appears to be sick. She is also pretty sure there is a black kitten down the block from her. In the meantime she also trapped several ear tipped cats, so having the extra traps came in handy.

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Saving Simon, the Sick Kitten, Off the Street

Say that five times fast! A woman named Margie called from another location in Avondale about a very sick kitten she found in front of her house, by himself right in her front yard.

 

It was supposed to start raining with tornado warnings really soon so Joann went straight to her house to pick up the kitten and took him to her vet at Animal Medical Center. He enjoyed a meal while they examined him. He was really hungry. IMG_7782

Simon is about seven weeks old. He is very sick and was treated for URI, ear mites, fleas and possible other parasites. He’s totally snotty and sneezy. Despite all of that and his crazy day, he is friendly love bug and wants to be held.

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Our friend Elissa, owner of Rockstar Pets, is now fostering him. Thank you, Elissa, you are a true rock star! She’s fostered for us before.

 

She already sent us an update. He’s busy gorging himself on wet food and kitten milk. IMG_7787

Within just a few hours today, we were able to change Simon’s life around. Joann got the call at 9am, he was vetted by noon, and in Elissa’s home a few hours later. His outcome could have been very different had he stayed alone outside, too sick and too friendly to be safe. Now he’s cared for and dry in a foster home and will hopefully be ready for adoption in a few weeks.

 

Simon’s vet costs so far are $278.13  If you’d like to make a donation towards his care and all of the other cats we’ve vetted this month, you can do so through the PayPal donation button at the top of this page, or through PayPal to [email protected] IMG_7757

Our total vet bills this month for Big Daddy, Puffy, Reese, Ziggy, and now Simon, is $1,984.13, and the month isn’t over yet.

 

Along with Simon, we have six other creamsicle kittens – Bert, Ernie, Bosco, Rascal, Oscar and Phoenix – and Reese, an FIV+ adult male cat, in foster homes.

 

If you are interested in fostering Simon or fostering other friendly cats and kittens from our TNR projects, please call 773-609-2287 or email [email protected]

 

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Using a Drop Trap for Trap-Savvy Cats

We think Maribella is the mama cat to at least some of the kittens being fostered from the Avondale TNR Project.

 

In true mama cat-like fashion, she’s been very hard to trap. George, the feeder there, will not stop feeding, so that doesn’t help either. In fact, there’s been a lot of things happening here that have thwarted our efforts and things escalated last week, including involving the police, angry neighbors, and more dead cats, but I’ll be writing about each in separate posts. It’s hard to wrap my mind around it otherwise.

 

So, since traditional Tru-catch traps weren’t working because the cats are being fed no matter what, Joann spent a few days last week using a drop trap in Ray’s courtyard. We’ve been trapping there behind the gate so that we can stay out of George’s way.

 

This is what it looks like. IMG_7728

The cats were quite interested in the trap. FullSizeRender-6

This one was even playing with the string. FullSizeRender-6 copy

You can see that those cats are ear-tipped. But finally the tabby mama cat went in after two days of trying. Joann transferred Maribella from the drop trap into the Tru-catch trap. IMG_7727

Maribella is now currently at PAWS Chicago for her TNR treatment. She is the 21st cat we trapped so far at this project, all almost within the same alley.

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Avondale Kittens are Ready for their Close-Ups

We brought the kittens from the Avondale TNR Project to PAWS Chicago for their second round of vaccinations. They ended up needing a little more vetting than that.

 

These kittens are hilarious. Robin has been fostering them and keeping track of their shenanigans. She sent us photos, and I couldn’t tell them apart. I was convinced she was sending me photos of the same two kittens, when in fact there’s six of them. They stayed with me the other night in my bathroom because we had to drive them to PAWS for their vet appointment the next day.

 

When you see them in person, then it makes more sense. There are some true look-alikes in there. Also, they’re hard to keep track of and rarely stop moving, in true kitten fashion. Robin said that when they run they look and sound like “a herd of stampeding orange elephants.”

 

My bathroom is tiny so they didn’t have as many places to go to. In the morning I found them all in the sink. IMG_7627

Yes, there’s five kittens in there. The sixth orange one was who knows where at this point.

 

 

Some of the kittens are more relaxed than others, and they started posing for close-ups.  IMG_7629 IMG_7634

Some are more fearful than others, like this tiny little guy, but it really depends on what situation they’re in. Robin has been working really hard on socializing them. IMG_7632

Basically there are two litters, and the older, larger litter is more social at this point.

 

In the car and carriers somehow they are even more hard to keep track of. The orange ones were all over the place. It was like an orange kitten convention.
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The creamsicle kittens were more photogenic this time. IMG_7656 IMG_7651

Joann and I took them to PAWS where they determined that all six kittens are boys! They received their second round of vaccinations, and saw they were starting to get URI, upper respiratory infections. They sent them all home with two weeks worth of doxycycline. They are back with Robin who is busy socializing them more and administering the meds daily for each of them. She is amazing!

 

Their next appointment at PAWS is this June 30th.

 

 

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