Jackie Dale-TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Still Lots of Kittens, Some Finally Left, Working on a Deadline

Sep 30, 2023 | 2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

The Never-Ending Kitten Parade

Although I kept saying I wasn’t going to take in any cats/kittens during our home improvements, I apparently have a hard time saying “No.” I got a call from one of my feeders about an injured kitten at a local strip mall. I went to check it out and as I pulled up, I immediately saw the kitten. It was just sitting there with another cat that I assumed to be the mother cat. As I approached, it continued to sit there until I got very close. However, the kitten’s retreat was unusually slow. I probably could have grabbed it but I don’t like to get bit so I grabbed a net. I easily netted the kitten and then I realized I didn’t have a carrier with me. The kitten needed immediate medical attention so I just twisted the net closed and set it in my back seat. The kitten had a protruding eyeball and one side of his face was scraped up. The vet said that these looked to be the result of some injury, not just a bad eye. The vet said the eye was beyond saving but the kitten was too weak for surgery. So, I brought the kitten home of course.

Popeye

While I was at the vet, one of the techs approached me about a small, single, calico kitten. It had been brought in by animal control as “sick” but the kitten looked perfectly healthy to me. She was also super cute, although a bit shy. I sighed and said, “okay, I’ll take her.” I couldn’t bear what I knew to be the only other alternative. I put her in my bathroom but she quickly escaped and has been running around with the other kittens. She is still a tad shy, but has been showing significant improvement daily.

Fast forward two weeks and “PopEye” had gained some weight and off to surgery he went. Upon his return home I noticed an odd spot on his fur. Popeye also had ringworm. And that is exactly why I keep all incoming cats and kittens isolated for at least two weeks. I immediately put the little guy on Intrafungol along with a weekly fungal bath. He is now ringworm free and his eye stitches come out soon.

Finally, Some Cats Go OUT!

AirRaid

My friend Janice and I were absolutely thrilled to finally get the green light from our favorite rescue. They wanted some cats, no kittens though. Only five months and up. Fortunately, SEVEN of my cats met the criteria and I drove the group there myself. I had five, 5-month-olds ,and two adults. One of the adults, AirRaid, was rejected due to a pretty severe case of stomatitis. Stomatitis is an incurable, extremely painful disease of the gums. In most cases, the only solution is to pull most/all of the teeth. Cats can lead relatively normal, healthy lives without teeth. However, this procedure is pretty expensive. We are waiting for an opening at the rescue. They have a feline dental clinic but there is a waiting list. AirRaid is still here while we wait. My son has been putting him in a harness and walking him around the yard to relieve his boredom and give him some exercise.

The next day I received a message from a gentleman in Reedley about a pregnant stray cat in his neighborhood. He said he had read my column and was reaching out to me because he couldn’t find anyone who could help him out with this cat. He and a neighbor had been feeding the cat but neither was in a position to take in the homeless mom-to-be. I arrived to find the very friendly cat was indeed, quite pregnant. I took her home and she had her babies a few days later. Two of the babies have inexplicably passed away after a few days and I’m closely watching the rest.

Pregnant Stray- Now mom to 6!

Then here comes a super friendly kitten from the local shelter. The little tabby and white fellow spent his two weeks quarantine in a small outside catio before joining two others in the larger catio. I took him to the vet because his stomach was so fat that I was concerned about worms, but it seems he is just a bit of an over-enthusiastic eater.

One of the adopted brothers

The rescue said they had room for some MORE cats. HAPPY DANCE!! I sent three, 4 ½ old kittens, as well as a fluffy orange girl who had been in foster with a friend, and two 5-month-olds who had been looking for a place to go. All of these cats went over on a Friday. By Monday, ALL had been adopted. My two fluffy brothers even got adopted together!

Other adopted brother

Back To Work

Lucky cat went to rescue!

My vet returned from her vacation and I immediately launched back into helping people get cats fixed. One was easy. A beautiful white cat who had been previously rejected for surgery due to a bad case of diarrhea. The other four were a handful. The “kittens” turned out to be about six months old. No longer kittens and definitely semi-feral. They were accompanied by their mother, also feral. All four of them were orange. They arrived at my home in a large dog crate that barely fit through my doorways. We got it into the kitten room and then the fun began. My son tried to grab the first one. It went ballistic and tried to climb straight up the walls. In about 60 seconds, the cat managed to destroy the room, knocking virtually everything onto the ground. We cornered the cat, threw a blanket on it, and got it into a trap. By now we are tired, sweating and very frustrated. I decided to try to trap the rest. I set traps, opened the kennel door, and left the room. One cat went into the trap. I saw another one was still inside the kennel so I maneuvered a carrier into the kennel and eventually “forced” the cat into the carrier. Only one to go and this cat was not inclined towards cooperation. After chasing around the room for a while, I cornered the cat and once again managed, after many sweaty minutes, to force the cat into a carrier. The cats in carriers then had to be transferred into traps. The owners gave me a nice donation and I jokingly told them that “I earned every penny of it!”

How Many Cats Can I get Fixed in 10 Weeks?

Lucky cat went to rescue!

So, the vet leaves again in 9 more weeks. She will be gone for all of December and January. That gives me a very short amount of time to complete my list of TNR projects. One of these projects involves trapping up to 20 cats. I’m going to do my best to get as many cats fixed as possible before the deadline.

DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS GREATLY APPRECIATED!! I can’t operate without them. For example, cats that come in stray or from the local shelter are fixed and vaccinated with those donations. Not to mention veterinary costs. PopEye’s surgery alone was over $400. 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 P O 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.

1 Comment

Marjorie Dawson on October 1 at 2:53pm

Jacke, your son is a total Rockstar with AirRaid. What a great guy! I will donate a bit and hope he gets his surgery soon.
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