Jackie Dale

Jul 2022 30

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Slow Motion Summer/Relentless Heat/A Couple of Rescues

2022 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

by Jackie Dale

It has been a long month that seems to be passing in slow motion. Rescues are still full and not accepting cats or kittens due largely in part to the record number of owner surrenders. Lots of people adopted pets during the pandemic, but with life returning to normal, shortsightedness reveals itself. Such shallow thinking that one would adopt a pet without the intention of keeping it for life. Pets should never be a whim. Or a temporary distraction.

Jun 2022 25

Jackie Dale The Cat Mother/Cat Trapper: And Even More Kittens!

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

by Jackie Dale

There has not been a lot of changes since last month. This is the typical lull that happens every year. The shelters and rescues are over-inundated with kittens. People are busy with graduations, etc. and adoptions tend to drop off. Once things settle down, hopefully adoptions will pick back up. I am really hoping that happens very soon. My kitten count has risen to twenty-eight kittens, one teen and one adult. Plus there are seven more in foster homes.

May 2022 28

Jackie Dale The Cat Mother/Cat Trapper: The Golf Course Project/My Overworked Phone/Cat Holds Woman Hostage

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

by Jackie Dale

Since last month, things have not slowed down one bit. If anything, the pace has picked up until things really started to get crazy. Every kitten season, I traditionally lose five pounds because I’m either too busy or too tired to eat. With approximately twenty-two kittens and several adults here this month, it takes about two hours to feed and clean up after everyone. Then some of the kittens are moved into outside play tents for fresh air and sunshine.

Apr 2022 30

Jackie Dale The Cat Mother/Cat Trapper: Diary of a Crazy Cat Lady

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

by Jackie Dale

The past month has been a virtual whirlwind of cats and kittens. Almost every single day I receive a call or text regarding some cat-related issue. Around the middle of March, I took in two females: one adult and one about six months old. Both turned out to be pregnant. Just by looking at them, neither appeared to be pregnant, so I was surprised by the news.

Mar 2022 26

Jackie Dale TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Time Wasters, Hoarders, Hustle and Bustle

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

by Jackie Dale

It has been a very busy month. So busy, that when people waste my time, I get upset. Particularly when they are the ones who asked for help. This woman asked someone I know for help finding homes for kittens and a couple adults. I contacted the woman who took her time responding. Then when I asked for photos of her cats, they never arrived. I finally reached her by phone to make an appointment to see her cats. First, she tried to tell me which cats and (one) kitten she wanted me to take. I told her I needed to see the cats in person. We agreed on a Saturday at four o’clock. I also had two other owner-surrender cats to pick up that day so after picking up cat #1 at 3:30, I texted her to remind her she had not given me her address.

Jan 2022 29

Jackie Dale, TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Holiday Trapping/Getting Friendly Strays/A 2nd Chance

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

by Jackie Dale

The past month and a half has been like a vacation. I have not been taking many cats, and I must say, I really needed the break. With the hustle and bustle of the holidays, settling my father’s estate, and the vet being on vacation, it just seemed like the right time to pull back a bit. Not to say that I didn’t stay busy! I continued to TNR right up until the vet left on December 22. A very nice couple in Clovis hired me to trap the three cats living on their large property.

Nov 2021 27

Jackie Dale: TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Adding up the Numbers, Lots of TNR

2021 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

Since this will be my last column for the year of 2021, I went through my notebook to compile some statistics. I try my best to log in everything I do, but I may forget once in a while. However, the numbers are pretty accurate. Drumroll please!

Oct 2021 30

Jackie Dale-TheCat Mother/Cat Trapper: A Flood of Kittens

2021 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

Did you miss me? I didn’t write a column last month because my personal life has been in chaos.
For the past few months, I have been caring for a dear friend of over 25 years. She was diagnosed with stage four cancer and was basically in hospice. She also has an adult son who is autistic. She needed a lot of help and her family members were some distance away. Even though I was a little slow because of my foot, I spent a lot of time helping her.

Aug 2021 28

Jackie Dale—TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Transport/Hoarder/More Kittens

2021 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

Shortly after last month’s column, I had my foot surgery. I tried to empty out my kittens rooms beforehand, but alas, that didn’t happen. So I had to hobble around starting the day after surgery, and it wasn’t easy. I am not going to sugar coat it. It was really hard caring for thirteen kittens, and the new mom and her three babies while literally hopping around on one foot. I used crutches for the first week, but it was cumbersome. I would prepare the food bowls for each room and then carry them in on a large tray.

Jul 2021 31

Jackie Dale-TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: Still Lots of Kittens/Microchipping/TNR

2021 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Reedley News

by Jackie Dale

June ended with me still having nineteen kittens and one mother cat. The amount of work required to maintain all these cats and still have a nice smelling house is staggering. Up at 6 a.m. to feed and scoop, which takes about two hours. I generally hit the sack around midnight. Why so late? Because in addition to taking care of the kittens, I have a ton of other things to do each day. I have several “side hustles” to pick up some extra cash, a home and yard to maintain, and ongoing TNR projects. You know, a life, lol! But I take my rescue efforts very seriously. I am aware that some people may think I’m “crazy” to do so much work “for nothing.”