Jackie Dale

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.

Aug 2022 27

Jackie Dale-TheCatMother/Cat Trapper: A Trickle of Kittens/Unwanted Donation/Good News

2022 Articles, Animal Rescue Adventures, Jackie Dale, Pets

by Jackie Dale

I keep a log book of sorts in order to keep track of incoming cat and kittens, my TNR projects, etc. This month’s page is uncharacteristically blank. The relentless triple-digit heat and being full to capacity continue to bring things to a standstill. I had to say “No” to a lot of people. “Sorry, there is no room at The CatMother’s Inn.” But truth be told, there is always a bit of room for the tiny little muffins that come my way.

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.