The Cat House on the Kings: More TNR & A Bridge Rescue

Jun 27, 2015 | 2015 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale

Jackie is a part of Cat House On The Kings in Parlier and does a monthly column on the Cat House here at KRL.

Selma: The Continuing Story

Selma Kittens-Sebastian and Mr. Squishy Beans will soon be ready for their furever homes!

My Selma colony continues to challenge and mystify me. I haven’t seen the original ginger mom cat or her older daughter at all since they all disappeared together. Her son, “Lil’ Boy,” has been around a couple of times. I see her children, the tortie mom whose kittens are tearing through my house like little tiny furry tornadoes. Much to my chagrin, her sister has shown up with two kittens that look very much like her sister’s three. I have been unable to catch the kittens thus far. Unlike the ones I captured earlier, these two are very wary of humans and will have to be trapped. And even more chagrin: there is a new cat there, a large classic tabby.

Vagrants and truckers continue to provoke my ire by allowing their animals to eat the cat food, harass the cats, and steal the food and water bowls. I finally left a foam plate sign hanging from the bushes saying, “Please don’t disturb the cat food. Don’t be an a**!” I had to ask a lady trucker to please walk her dog elsewhere so I could feed my cats. The water bowls are now milk jugs cut in half because I figure no one will steal those. The food dishes are aluminum pans from the dollar store.

Lil Boy in Selma

So in Selma I now have to trap the two sisters, the two kittens, and the big tabby. And my list is only getting longer.

Lady in Denial Needs Help. Can You Spare a Dollar?

I have a new name on my list of people who need help with cats. Ironically named Catalina, an elderly lady in a nearby town has 30 (yes: I said 30) cats living on her property in town. I just always wonder, “At what point did you realize you had a problem?” I would be willing to bet that neighbors are less than thrilled by the sheer number of cats this woman has. The town has no animal control so there is little that anyone could do.

Fortunately, a friend of mine happened to meet this woman and my friend called me to see if we could help her get them fixed so she could stabilize this incredible number of cats. How could I say no? Lynea was not happy about someone with 30 unfixed cats and asked me to “handle it.” I knew Lynea meant that if she had to talk to this person, well, let’s just say the woman would receive a very stern lecture!

The cats will start getting fixed as soon as appointments can be made. This woman is unable to pay the $10 per cat fee. If 30 people could each send in, say, $10, or 60 people each sent $5, or if 300 people sent $1, it would pay for this project. (7120 S. Kings River Road, Parlier, CA 93648) In the memo line, put “Jackie/OC TNR Project,” or just click here: www.cathouseonthekings.com/contribute.php#donate

Thanks in advance! Truthfully, anything to help offset the cost of the $300 to fix all these cats would be greatly appreciated. The good news here is that the cats are tame, so trapping won’t be necessary.

Injured McKitty

I received a call from the caregiver of the McKitties that were TNRed last year. Her favorite cat, Tom-Tom, had an injured leg. She was very concerned because the paw seemed very large. So I met her in town and when I peeked around the corner of her feeding station, I saw him and his grossly swollen paw. I spent the next four days trying to trap that guy to no avail. The only thing I caught was one of the previous TNR cats!

I told her she’d either have to net it or—since the cat allowed her to pet it—she could usher it into the trap and slam the door. However, the cat now wasn’t showing up for meals. I had to tell her that one of two things would happen. Either the cat would get septic and die, or the abscess would burst and the cat would probably be fine. Fortunately the second scenario was the one that played out. A few days later I received a joyful text from the caregiver that her Tom-Tom had returned, skinny but with no swelling or limping!

New Bridge-Kitten Rescued

Bridge Kitten

On June 10, Reedley officially dedicated the new bridge on Manning Avenue. On June 18, construction workers finishing up some last minute details heard meowing. A tiny kitten was discovered in the bridge’s very deep storm drain. There was no way for the kitten to get out. The speculation as to how the kitten got into the drain was not pretty. Let’s just say that it is suspected to have been a deliberate act. But the good news is that these absolutely amazing, caring, wonderful workers rescued the kitten and brought it to The Cat House. With the temperatures in the triple digits, he would not have survived down there for long. You guys rock!

Funny Story

Sid’s Kitty

I’d just spent the past two weeks working on The Cat House newsletter and had sent everything off to the printer. I was at my line dance rehearsal when I got an email from Sid, our printer. He said that when he left the door open a feral cat had got in and was hissing and spitting and he didn’t know what to do. I asked if he was sure it was feral, and he said yes. I told him that the best we could do was to TNR the cat. He didn’t know what that was, so I explained. He said okay and that he had the cat in a box. I was somewhat puzzled as to how he got a feral cat into a box, but I contacted Martin Papaleo and asked him if he could please go pick up this feral (in Fresno) and TNR it. He said yes and I let Tammy Barker know what was happening. Well, the feral cat turned out to be a very small, very scared kitten! Martin picked up the kitten and Tammy said to bring it to Petco. The kitten will be fixed and put up for adoption.

Wrapping It Up

The Cat House on the Kings is bursting at the seams! In just the first six months of this year, we have taken in over 900 cats and kittens and even some dogs as well. If you are a Facebook fan then you’ll have read some of the heart-wrenching stories of abandonment and rescue. Fortunately some of the kittens will be taken in by other rescues where kittens are in high demand.

You can also follow us on Instagram. Please visit our website and while you are there, check out the Kitten Cam at our Petco Adoption Center. Researchers say that watching cats playing is very cathartic. Don’t forget to sign up to receive our newsletter, written by yours truly!

Check out more animal rescue & pet related articles, including more Cat House columns, in our Pet Perspective section and remember that if you buy an ad in KRL you can designate 10% of the ad price to go to the Cat House.

Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 21 years, Frank, and their 2 children. Jackie currently writes for Traffic Magazine and for The Cat House on the Kings Feline Rescue. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms.

13 Comments

Stacy on June 28 at 11:08am

There are about 8 feral cats where I work. I caught two a few months back and fixed them. I have been unsuccessful at catching the mother cat that continues to have litters of kittens. A coworker has kitty morphine. Do recommend using this to help catch the cat? It makes me really nervous and I’m not sure it’s a good idea. Any thoughts?
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:16am
  
  I wish I had seen this sooner. Eek, do not give it morphine. It might kill the cat, or the cat could get away from you and become unconscious and thus easy prey. You can email me at jackiejoy@hotmail.com and we can discuss various methods to catch this cat.
  Reply
Lorraine on June 30 at 5:44am

Hi Jackie – I wanted to send you some $ for that lady who needs help TNR the 30 cats – I tried to go online but it only brings up the regular page for Cat House on the Kings and there wasn’t anywhere to put a note that it was specifically for that one lady. Is sending you a check the only way to go? I don’t have a problem with that just that online is always so easy.

Lorraine
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:19am
  
  Hi Lorraine,
  Sorry, I thought there was a memo area on the online link. You can mail or use the online link and send an email to:
  Crystal@cathouseonthekings.com letting them know where you would like your donation to go. Thank you so much!!
  The first wave goes in on the 17th, will update in my next column.
  Reply
Virginia on June 30 at 8:26am

As always, Jackie Dale is wonderful! I’m mailing my check today. Thank you Jackie.
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:31am
  
  Thank you SO much Virginia, it means the world to me that people are willing to help. Your donation is greatly appreciated and I am humbled by your opinion of me. Thank you.
  Reply
Juliet on June 30 at 9:10am

Just donated $50 to CHOTK to help pay for the Jackie/OC TNR Project. I saw no subject line to put where my money would go so please look for my donation. Thank you. I really look forward to your column every month.
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:28am
  
  Thank you SO much Juliet! I will make sure the ladies in the office direct your donation to my project. The first wave of kitties are scheduled for the 17th so I will update everyone on how it went in my next column. This is a huge project but that is what we do.
  Reply
Doreen A. Smith on June 30 at 9:42am

Thank you for all you do Jackie. I met you at the tree planting day back in the spring. My boys and I helped plant trees at The Cat House on the Kings.
We try to do our part in our neighborhood. A stray black female wanders our neighborhood. We feed her and give her fresh water. We caught her and had her spayed and vaccinated. She would be invited inside with our other four but she has been an outside kitty for far too long and won’t have it. She comes in as far as the entry way but no further. Our four will try to go visit her on the front porch but they don’t like the outside and dart back in pretty quickly. Plus, we really don’t want a chance of them getting out so we closely watch their exploits and usher them back in right away. The other four protest loudly when a neighbor’s big gray male steals food from her bowl. They have a perch in the window that oversees the front door. We’ve named her Squeak for her soft high pitched meow and she leave us “presents” on the front mat fairly regularly. She’s always up for a petting but hates to be picked up. I’m fairly certain that neighbors probably feed her as well but she knows when feeding time is at our house because she’s always waiting for us. During the winter we had a warming mat ready for her on the front porch.
Just a reminder that everyone can do something to better these kitties lives.
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:26am
  
  Hi Doreen,
  Yes I remember you. That is just the sweetest story. How kind of you to look out for kitty. A warming mat and everything! We have one that someone left in my yard. She stays outside, comes really close but wont let me touch her yet. Once i left the door open and she came inside for just a minute and then darted back out. If everyone did their part for their neighborhood, it would certainly be a wonderful thing wouldn’t it? Thanks again.
  Reply
Diana Bulls on June 30 at 2:18pm

Jackie, as usual your article was great. Sent a donation for the OC/TNR project. Good luck there. We have totally enjoyed getting our “kitten fix” this spring/summer. The first 4 foster babies went back to PetCo the first part of Jun and two have been adopted! The older two of our current batch of fosters are waiting for their “operations”, while the two little ones are just busy growing. I only wish I could keep all of them. Thanks again for ALL you do.
Reply
- jackie dale on July 2 at 9:22am
  
  Hi Diana,
  Thanks SO much for your donation. Fostering is so much fun. I am a multiple foster failure, which is why I have 12 cats. Fortunately we have the room. Thanks again for the donation and for being an awesome foster parent!
  Reply
Rebecca on July 3 at 7:01pm

I have a best friend who traps feral cats for spaying and neutering and returns them to their homes. It is such a good thing for people to do. Feral cats provide a benefit to the communities in which they reside. Until my friend started doing this I was unaware of the process. Many rescue organizations actively participate in helping feral cats. Thanks for the article spreading the news.
Reply