by Jackie Dale

The past two months have been busy. I took in a white kitten from a local woman. She called two days later saying there were two more. Then, they asked if I could take the mom cat as well, and I said yes because then I would not have to bottle feed. Then, she said the cat got out. Oh, I just love that. She finally got the mom cat, and I made a third trip to town to pick her up. I was so annoyed by this I forgot to bring a carrier, so the cat had to ride on the dashboard on the way back. Not a problem for the now named Olive. Her three kittens are adorable.

I took in three more bottle babies found at a local school. The woman who brought them to me fell in love with one of my older kittens and adopted her. I asked her if things didn’t work out, would she please return the kitten to me? When I called in a week to inquire about how things were going, she told me her boyfriend said no more cats, so she GAVE IT AWAY TO A NEIGHBOR! I was beyond pissed and asked her to get the kitten and bring it back. She wouldn’t do it, and there isn’t much I could do about it.

I did more TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) for an elderly lady, bringing the total fixed so far to six. There are still quite a few more to go. I also trapped for an older couple in town. The mom cat had four kittens which all needed to be gone. I gave my usual “I don’t remove or relocate” speech but it turns out the people had already found a place for the whole family to go. A friend with a country home agreed to take the whole family as barn cats. They were willing to take them unfixed which, of course, did not fly with me. I told them that I would not trap unless it was to FIX. They agreed and the TNR went off without a hitch.

I had a flurry of transports before everything ground to a screeching halt. I sent eight kittens to a northern rescue. Two days later, six adults went to another rescue. Three days later someone sent me an urgent plea for three gorgeous, long-haired, white cats that were headed for the pound. I asked my rescue if they were interested and they said “Oh, yeah we are!” A generous donation was given, and I drove the cats on the two-hour drive.

I was barely home before getting a call from the shelter about three white Siamese kittens. I agreed to pick them up and while there, I noticed a large male cat who was residing in a cat carrier. That simply wouldn’t do so I made room for him in the outside catio area. The three kittens ended up going to The Cat House on the Kings.

I was trying not to take in any cats because my husband and I were getting some long overdue renovations done. The vet I use left on a one-month vacation, so we timed it to coincide with this down time. But here come two kittens I had already promised could come, then a bottle baby from the shelter. I also got a call from a woman who found an older kitten in her yard. She managed to get to it before her dogs did, and I went and picked the little girl up. She turned out to be the sweetest little thing, and Francesca is now waiting for a family to choose her. Another two bottle babies arrived, followed by a severely injured kitten who couldn’t be saved. A friend asked me to take in a small, black kitten, which I did. It turned out to have ringworm. Sigh. It is isolated and being successfully treated.

I returned to the local golf course after they called saying they once again needed my services. The club was still experiencing flooding from the nearby river and there were actually fish swimming in the flooded parking lot. This also meant the cats were trapped in that section, making trapping them a bit easier. I trapped all five cats that I was after, plus one that had already been fixed. There are still about five or six more cats left that need to be TNR’ed. I will resume trapping once the vet gets back in mid-September.

I had one last transport before the usual summer dead-time. Two adults and four, four-month-old sisters went to rescue. Since then, no interest from the rescues. While summer is always a slow time, we have also had some changes in administration at the rescues and we are worried that the new people will not be as receptive to helping us out as the previous people had been.

I took in another bottle baby from the rescue and, of course, they always seem to come with some random adult cat. This big, gray fellow was living in a cat carrier and was covered in poop. This cat was so starved for affection, I just know he was once someone’s pet. The first three weeks he was here, he cried, and cried, and cried. That loud, yowling, siren kind of cry that makes it sound like he’s being tortured. My husband named him Air-Raid. He is still here and still desperate for attention.

I was asked to trap for another elderly lady who had six kittens appear in her yard. The lady’s friend, who was also paying for this project, was putting a lot of emphasis on the fact that she and her friend were both elderly. I swear, if I had a dollar for every time I heard that reason, I’d be stinking rich. I finally told the lady, “Look, I’m no spring chicken either!” However, I took on the project and trapping the three-month-old kittens proved to be reasonably easy. I was able to secure some discount vouchers from The Cat House to help offset the cost. The woman was very upset that the cats had to come back. I had to explain to her several times that there was no place for the kittens to go, but if she did nothing, she would only have MORE cats. One of kittens was too small to be fixed, so I kept her at my house till she reached weight and was fixed. However, she has now tamed down and I will not be returning her. I’m sure the woman is relieved.

I was asked to do another last-minute TNR in downtown Reedley. The Cat House on the Kings was sponsoring this project. I did so despite the fact that it was right around 106°. Within 90 minutes, I had trapped a pregnant female and two five-month-old kittens. I returned the following night and trapped two more. A tipped ear alerted me that one of the cats had already been fixed. (I had TNR’ed here a few years back) I also caught the golden prize, the long-elusive mother cat. She had produced several litters but until now, attempts to trap her had proved futile.

The next day a friend who worked at the local CVS called to tell me a homeless gentleman had discovered two newborn kittens (along with a third deceased one), in the garbage bin behind the store. How could I say no? The kittens still had their umbilical stumps and were covered in garbage filth. I bathed and fed them. They only survived four days but at least they were warm, fed, and comfortable.

DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS GREATLY APPRECIATED! I can’t operate without them. For example, cats that come in from the local shelter are fixed and vaccinated with those donations. If you would like to contribute, I have a PayPal account jackiejoy@hotmail[dot]com. You can also support the post office and send donations/supplies via good old snail mail to Jackie Dale PO Box 1859, Reedley, CA 93654.

You can check out more animal rescue articles in KRL’s animal rescue section! Join our Pets Facebook group to help keep up with our pet articles.

Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 27 years, Frank, and their 2 children. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms in addition to her cat related duties.