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Conference misery::feline_v1

Title:	Meower Power is Valuing Differences
Notice:	FELINE_V1 is moving 1/11/94 5pm PST to MISERY
Moderator:	MISERY::VANZUYLEN_RO

Created:	Sun Feb 09 1986
Last Modified:	Tue Jan 11 1994
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5089
Total number of notes:	60366

934.0. "Wild Kittens - How to Handle?" by AIMHI::UPTON () Wed Dec 02 1987 14:15

    
    	I'm writing this for a non-dec person.
    
    	PROBLEM:  This friend was adopted by a stray female cat.
    She was left behind when the people moved (nice hugh) and so
    he's been told on her own for almost a year.  Well when he
    started to feed her, she naturally became his.  Unbeknowing
    to him at the time - she was pregeant.  She has had the
    kittens (2).  They are totally wild.  No one can handle them,
    believe I tried.  She hid them when they were real young and
    you couldn't get near them.  So now they are 5 months old, 
    beautiful, but WILD.  He can pet her and brush her, but not
    the kittens.
    
    	Now the trouble begins.  He has gotten her neutered, but
    can't get a hold of the kittens and is afraid they will start
    to breed.  My husband and friend went over to help capture them
    with gloves on and they just get under things, up trees you name
    it and no one can get near them.  He called the Vet and asked if
    there was something he could put in the food (?) as an oral birth
    control.  The Vet said he had no such thing and he had to bring
    them in to examine them before he could do anything for him.
    
    	How can he get them to the Vet.  They have never been touched
    by human hands.  He wants to do the right thing by these cats, but
    doesn't know - what to do.
    
    	Any idear?  This poor guy is trying to take care of someone's
    mess - the original owner who just discarded this cat when they
    moved like it was an old pair of shoes.
    
    	Sorry this was so lengthy.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
934.1	hav-a-hart	NHL::DALEY		`Wed Dec 02 1987 14:47`	6
	Have you tried a Hav-A-hart trap, and use Figaro Tuna-flavored Cat Food placed in the back of the trap? If the cats are fish eaters - they will have a hard time resisting going into the trap as this such a strong smell. If they don't go after the tuna, perhaps they can be enticed into the trap by pieces of chicken. We have had fairly good luck with Hav-A-Harts.
934.2	GOOD LUCK...	AIMHI::OFFEN		`Wed Dec 02 1987 17:32`	42
	I HATE, HATE, HATE people that have no regard for animals. I know what your friend is going through because I also have a cat that was abandoned by its owners two years ago. No one can get near him. He shows that he wants attention but will not let anyone near him. He has been scared by the not-so-nice kids in the neighborhood since he is totally black. I have tried to get him to come to me but he won't. I do put food out for him and my indoor female is madly in love with him. She goes crazy whenever he is around. Typical Teenager. We also had two kittens just "dropped" out of a car window this past summer. One of which my daughter saved from under the wheels of another car. The new owner that we found for the "little sweetheart" took him to the vet for a checkup and shots and ended up putting the little baby to sleep. It seems when he was "dropped" out of the car window he hurt something inside and had internal injuries. As to the second kitten, I never saw it again. It was probably hit by a car or starved to death in the woods behind us. There is one more sad story to add. Some people got a kitten from the local pound (they just had to have a kitten). After two weeks of having this kitten they put it outside and refused to let it in. Various people, including myself, put food out for it. Every time I drove into my driveway, I had to stop half-way in, get out of my car, shoo the kitten away, drive a little further in, get out of my car, shoo the kitten away again and finally drive all the way in. I went away to Maryland for a vacation and when I got back I didn't see the kitten around. I was hoping that he finally found a home, but no such luck. Two weeks later I found out what had happened. My next door neighbor started his truck up in the morning to go to work and heard this wierd sound. Well...........you can imagine the rest of the story. Now you can see why reading your story and others like it upset me so much. Good luck in trying to get the kittens. I hope you can get them before the real cold weather and heavy snow gets here. I'm sure they won't survive seeing they are so young. Sandi
934.3	when it is cold, remember to blow your horn before starting vehicle	VAXWRK::SKALTSIS	Deb	`Wed Dec 02 1987 17:53`	8
	RE: .2 Now that the weather is getting cold, it is probably a good time to remind everyone that you should make a point of blowing your horn before starting up your vehicle just in case a cat has climbed inside. Deb
934.4	Make sure the vet knows beforehand!	CLUSTA::TAMIR	To a cat, all things belong to cats	`Thu Dec 03 1987 13:44`	14
	The best thing is the Hav-a-Hart trap. I assure you they will go absolutely nuts and will fight like crazy to get out. If your mission is to trap them and get them to a vet for some shots and neutering, make sure you vet agrees beforehand, as it will take some extra preparation on his/her part to be ready to handle such a situation. You a welcomed to borrow my trap, if you're local. I live in Nashua. Re .3, my neighbors must think I'm nuts when I go out to my car every morning and bang on the hood saying "OK, everybody out of the pool!". Fortunately, my strays are wise enough to run as soon as they hear the house door open. But, it's a point worth remembering! Mary