It's the Barn Life for Us - YAY

Happy Monday and happy, happy, happy cat update!!!!!! This is a very cat heavy post - the whole thing really - so if you don't like cats or feral cats you may want to skip to the end! HA HA!

On Thursday I worked with the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat and Pittsburgh Feral Cat Management Team worker Margo to catch our four kitties in the woods near my home. SHE IS AMAZING! She does this all over Pittsburgh to help save, heal and relocate (in some instances) ferals and injured ferals.

It went so smoothly it was truly AMAZING! She is going straight to Heaven for all she does for these animals!

So, she showed up and we set up three traps right in front of their house. She the amazing little house they made??? The food bowls are setting right out front of the front door. They also have a back exit for quick escape!!! I worried what would happen when they condo lawn people had to dump more crush there...they may be crushed!

So, like I said we took three traps and put a piece of cardboard on the bottom. We smeared it with tuna and then took a paper bowl and filled it with sardines in oil. Then we set the traps! The whole time it is raining so hard so I thought there was no way these cats woudl go in this tiny metal area to get the sardines...well, I was wrong!!!! Very wrong.  You can see the three traps in the photo below.

We walked away back to our cars for five minutes and by the time we walked back we had already caught two!! We caught the grey one and fluffy one first. Gloria calls them Buttons and Queenie.

 The traps close very slowly so they were both still eating as they had not realized they were even trapped yet! As soon as they saw us and realized they could not run away, they went NUTS!! It was super sad but we threw large sheets over the top of the traps and they immediately started calming down. We then took them to Margo's car so they were safe and warm in the back. She lines the back of her car with pee pads so they can pee in the trap and not have it everywhere!!!

We went back and set the fourth trap and walked up to my house to wait and have coffee. We waited 1/2 hour and went back down; we caught the third!! So we took him to Margo's car.

She had an appointment that day so she had to leave. I was asked to check the trap every half hour and just bring the trap with the cat into the condo when I got the fourth. Margo was coming by later that night to get the final cat.

Within the first 1/2 hour check - I walked down and we got the forth! We had not see it all day so I think it was out hunting and came home like "Hello...Hello...where did everyone go???" LOL! At least they got a great sardine meal!!!

So ...he he is in our condo hallway on cardboard and pee pads! HA!

I had to use my snuggie to cover the cage as I ran out of extra sheets! HA HA! It's okay - now that I am menopausal I don't need any more warmth!! HA! Here is a peek at the last holdout -Buttons!!! Gloria calls him Mr. Independent since he was always out and about when she would arrive everyday! Fitting since he was the last one we caught! He was not a happy camper when I peeked in...hissy little guy! HA HA!

So below is a close up of all the sweeties the morning before we caught them!!!! The fluffy one on the left is Queenie (She was the first to be caught in the traps and it turns out she is the only girl of the bunch!!!!).  Hunkered in the middle is Blacky (He is the third one caught and is confirmed to be a boy). The tuxedo cat on the far right is Buttons (He was the last one caught and is the one in the trap in the picture above. He is confirmed to be a boy).

Last, but definitely not least, is Boots (He was the second one caught and is a confirmed boy also!!!) This is the guy that loves Gloria and would run out when she came to feed them and let her pet him!!!

So, they were all caught and then taken to be spayed/neutered the next day by Margo. She said they all did great! Queenie was not pregnant (we were worried about that as she is really fluffy). They were all given meds for worms, rabies, etc and all checked out with clean bills of health! YAY! So while Margo worked on the plan to release back into the woods on Sunday - I began my pleading on Social Media for a barn that needed cats! I messages the lady that I got my barn kittens from and asked her if she needed them.She said she had a friend with a farm that was looking for barn cats to help out with their mice problem! YAY!!! I messaged her and she loved the idea of having them come live in her barn! YIPPEE!

So, we are all set! They have had a few days to hang out and recover a little and we will be taking them to the barn to get them all set up on Tuesday night! SO happy they get to live a fun and warm life at a large farm in Washington County!!! For the first few weeks they will live in cages so they get used to farm noises and understand that this is their home and then the farm owner will release them to live free in and around the barn! BIG Thank you to Shari for welcoming our babies into her farm!!!!

So that is the latest cat update! Also, I am so happy we got them on the rainy day we did because this happened the next morning...

I would have hated to know they were out in the freezing snow!!!

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers for the cat situation! No doubt it helped with finding the barn and the really record time trapping of the four sweeties!!! You guys rock!

 Check this out...a beautiful pair of cardinals that have been hanging out near the bird feeder on my porch!!! Sooo pretty!!!!

See them?!?! The Mom is on the branches right below the Dad!!!! Sooo pretty!!! The cats love watching them also! HA HA! To be honest, the bird feeder is really like cat entertainment at my home! LOL!

Onto the dog bite update...The hearing is Wednesday so I will let you know how that all goes. 

Thank you all for your undying support and kind words...I truly think it helped wit the super quick trapping and success of everything cat related! I do not know what I woudl do without the support I get from this blog!

I hope everyone has a fantastic week - hugs to you all!

How was your weekend? 

 

Just Another Wednesday

Happy Tuesday Wednesday everyone!!! Wow! It is hump day and I am calling it Tuesday! 

Can you tell I did not sleep at all last night??? It is going to be a long day!! UGH!

It is another lovely, dark day in the Burgh this morning and I am praying for sunshine! I think I may need to go tanning soon. UGH! 

I mentioned yesterday to someone that my cat is obsessed with the fish tank.This obsession comes and goes. It is really strange. For months he will ignore it and then all the sudden he will not leave it alone!! This was him after work last night! HA! He would not get off and leave the fish alone! HA!

"I know I can catch it!!!"

"Mom, what is the big deal if I want to sit on top of the tank????"

Carzy crazy cat! He did this a lot when he was little which is how he got the name Trouble but it comes and goes...very weird!!!

So we found this adorable colony of cats near our condo building and it looks like we are going to attempt and catch and neuter/spay if possible this Thursday. I am getting all the help from Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team. I promise to document the whole thing. These little guys are girls are super cute and I can not wait to see them up close!  If the cats are friendly, I think the Pittsburgh Homeless Cat Management Team will try to find them indoor homes which I would love!! If they are not friendly then they will release them back to where we found them after the spay and neuters heal.  It kills me to think of anything suffering outside although they have done very well so far out there! We will find out soon!  

Lastly!!! I FINALLY have an update on the dog bite situation! 

As far as the county is concerned; the hearing is next week (the 12th) at the magistrate for the bite, my prescription cost which they refused to pay ($10) and the fact that the dog was not registered or up to date on shots. It will be a hefty fine for them I think.  

Also, as far as the condo board is concerned...The condo board sent them two letters requesting they re-home the dog since it bit a resident or they would be fined. They kept the dog anyway. Their fines are now up to $1500 and then next step was the condo boards lawyer sent them a letter to re-home the dog (by the 22nd of January) or we are filing in court. So we are filing in court. They actually called the lawyer on the 29th and said they re-homed the dog but the lawyer said it is too late. So off to another court date we go. The dog is definitely still there...some of my neighbors have seen it....so yet another lie. I just REALLY wish they would move but no chance! 

They will harass the building residents for years to come I am sure!! UGH!

But I promise to keep you all posted on that also!

Nothing super exciting here...just life with a few ups and downs...

I hope everyone has a great day - HUGS to you all!