Jackie Dale

Sep 2023 30

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

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

by Jackie Dale

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.

Aug 2023 26

Jackie Dale-The Cat Mother/Cat Trapper: Transports, Trapping, and a Steady Trickle of Cats

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

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.

Jun 2023 24

Jackie Dale: TheCatMother/Cat Trapper/Cat Wrangling/TNR Drama/Microchips Work

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

My morning starts with immediate work. The leisurely cup of coffee is nonexistent during kitten season. The first thing I do is feed the many hungry bottle babies. I make the formula the night before to save time. Then, I have to clean the litter boxes because I do believe that the inside cats wait all day long in order to all go poop during the night. Next, I feed the outside cats. I have the cats that hang in the front, the cats that hang in the back, and the cats that live around the fringe of the perimeter. Everyone has their chosen area, and they pretty much stay there.

May 2023 27

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Strays/Raining Kittens/TNR

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

The month started with helping the residents of a small apartment complex with their resident “strays”. With one resident’s help we were able to corral the daddy of the group and get him into a carrier. I then took him home and transferred him into a trap. I also grabbed a young kitten who looked very ill. I fed and cleaned up the kitten and gave him a warm bed. However, the next morning he was gone. My consolation lies in the fact that he felt safe, fed, warm, and loved in his final hours … not die outside, cold, hungry and alone.

Apr 2023 29

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: A Long & Difficult Month at the Maternity Ward

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

The past month has been difficult. The sheer number of kittens needing help is overwhelming. There is a meme making the rounds that says: “It’s rude to ask a rescuer how many cats they have during kitten season.” When people ask me that question, I just sigh, shrug my shoulders, and say, “I don’t know.” In reality, the numbers for the past month have hovered around 23-27 kittens and cats.

Mar 2023 25

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Professional Cat Chauffeur, The Great Escape, It’s A Smelly Cat

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

by Jackie Dale

February was a month for spending quite a bit of time on the road. Driving Nadine, the Rottweiler, to the rescue required that I ask a friend to drive us there in her roomier SUV. Nadine was very well-behaved in the car, but we think she was nervous because her last ride in a vehicle didn’t go so well. She did not want to get out. However, once out and reassured she wasn’t about to be abandoned again, her personality bounced right back.

Feb 2023 25

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Slowest Month of the Year

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

January started out with a trickle of cats. A couple of cats here and there from the local shelter and one lady who paid me $100 to take in a friendly stray. Then came a call from the rescue, they were low on adult cats. I only had one cat, an FIV+ cat, who had been waiting for an opening in that particular unit. However, not one to waste an opportunity, I quickly rounded up some friendly, fixed adult cats to make the trip.

Jan 2023 28

Jackie Dale—The Cat Mother/Cat Trapper: Too Busy to Write

2023 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

The past few months have been so busy I didn’t even have the time or energy to write my columns for the past two months. The non-stop cat work combined with the holiday season just made for an extremely hectic time. In addition, the vet was leaving at the end of December, so I had to get as much done as I could before then. That included resuming trapping at the golf course. I had only been trapping there for a couple of weeks before the rains started.

Oct 2022 22

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Always Busy

2022 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

This past month has been busy, of course, when am I not busy? LOL. Kittens and cats are messy when kept in cages and maintaining a high level of cleanliness takes time. So, what’s been happening at the cat ranch?

Sep 2022 24

Jackie Dale-CatMother/Cat Trapper: Keeping Cats Alive & TNR in Brutal Heat/A Flurry of Tinys

2022 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

by Jackie Dale

In terms of heat, the past month has been exceptionally brutally here in the Central Valley. When the temperatures started climbing up to as high as 114°, it became an issue for my cats in outside cages. I had to make room inside for as many of the cats as I could. At the hottest part of several days, I put four of the cats each in a carrier and lined them up on my couch. At least they stayed cool during the extreme heat of the afternoon. I kept up this routine of musical cats for several weeks. The outside feral cats would lounge in the bushes where we would water everything down for them to keep it cool as possible.