Sigh.... rough night....updated. The saga continues.

[Code2High]

So I fixed seven feral cats last summer for my neighbors that had been feeding various mama cats and their offspring across the street for a few years. I got the whole bunch in one big yank on a handful of strings. It was an exhausting but successful TNR project.

Feral cats have short life spans... By the time my neighbors moved away in October, five cats were left and another vanished before I could get their feeding station moved over to my place. So I've been feeding those four since the end of October. They get a bowl of warm kibble and canned food soup every night on the bench in front of the house. No more cheap grocery store kibble, either... it's the good stuff mine eat.

Last night only three showed up, and they seemed anxious. I thought uh oh, Wiley Coyote got a cat. But no... I went outside to look around before going to bed, and found number four, paralyzed in the rear end, on the porch. My efforts to get the cat in a crate resulted in the cat dragging itself away to the styrofoam under the bench. We have animal control here, but they are not going to respond to a call like that in the middle of the night. I decided that rather than risk a trip to the ER by grabbing the cat, or risk the cat feeling the need to drag itself away further, I would do what I could to create a sheltered space. So I covered the bench with a sheet to create a tent, put an old knit scarf in beside the cat, and put water and food within reach, just in case, then headed for the shower.

My last check before falling into bed (after two am by this time) found the cat lying on the scarf. Seeming relatively calm.

This morning, scarf pulled out from under the makeshift tent, and no cat. Looked all over... no trace. I am left hoping that a coyote did indeed finish the job. Which is a very unusual thing to hope for, but still seems to be the best case scenario here.

I think if I am going to live in the sticks where feral cats abound, a pair of cat tongs might be a good investment.

[Code2High]

Dragged herself out, ate a little, went back in the crate. We remain on wait and see.

[Code2High]

Two of the others were in the crate for part of the night. Then when I came home, the injured one is in there and has not come out. The fire is going and the indoor animals are fed and settled soam heading out to see what is up. Not sure where this is going but I am just goingn to flow with it for now.

[CA_POPPY]

Oh,drat! The will to survive is amazing, but it is heartbreaking to see stuff like this. I guess you have to look at it like the starfish story. You can't save them all, but if you save one...

[Code2High]

Went out to set up crate. Cat took off, dragging back end. Moving a lot faster than expected.

Not much I can do at this point. There's a crate out there, on the styrofoam for warmth, with a blanket inside, partly covered with a sheet.

[Code2High]

And...she is back. Was under the car, yelling at me when I walked out to feed the others. I went inside and decided to take the dogs out to pee and gulp down my dinner before getting involved with this situation. When I came back out she'd moved under the bench (about 15 yards from the car) and was still vocalizing. I moved the pan of food which should have been empty but wasn't, under the banch and she immediately began to eat.

Now I have to figure out what do to. It was a lot easier to say "get the cat and put her down" before she showed up on my porch wanting dinner. I'm just saying. She's still paralyzed but evidently she knew where to go that was safe, she kept herself there for days, and showed up here for food. I still don't really think it's a survivable situation, but it's just hard to square that in my head with the fact that she seems to have been surviving for days and showed up wanting food.

I'm going to put Pen's crate out there with a blanket and see if she'll go in there on her own. I still don't really have a safe way to force the issue.

Argh. My head hurts....

[nabi]

you can only do what you can..you provided that cat a nice comfy place to rest...for those few hours it felt loved.

[Code2High]

CatandJim wrote:
Hugs.... Thanks for doing what you can do (((( Susan ))))))

Thanks Cat...

It was just so sad that she came to my front door for help and you know, the best I could do was... very little.

On the upside, as Judy noted, my neighbor and I insured that there will be no litters born next year. This particular line, which started with the mama cat of the current/last mama cat that produced the three I have left, goes back several years and who knows how many kittens. Her mama is long gone, this one was the only one that survived and stuck around from her two or three litters, and this one had already had two litters. So what I got so worked up about has happened over and over again, but no more once the current three have gone. Which I suppose they will. I really hate having outdoor cats. Too much stress. I wish there was a better option for them, but good homes for feral cats are pretty hard to find, and I already have five cats inside.

The three survivors were on hand for dinner tonight. Still seeming a little off, but that's no wonder. They inhaled their soup and went on about their business.

And now I'm off to bed, grateful that I won't be waking up in the morning with the sinking feeling I had this morning.

[magnusfide]

Chipping in my thanks too. One summer we spent a week sitting on the back porch waiting for a coyote pack to migrate through our property again. There were 5 of them, all adults. We shot and killed the leader and two others. They haven't returned.

Coyotes and wild boars have become a huge nuisance where we live and we're allowed to shoot on sight. The damage they've done to cattle herds is extensive and grotesque, not to mention the toll on neighbors' pets.

[jkmcmom]

Thank you for caring for the feral felines in so many ways. Let us know how your little crew of cats are doing.

[CatandJim]

Hugs.... Thanks for doing what you can do (((( Susan ))))))

[Code2High]

Crowe wrote:
You're a nice man.

I'm pretty sure Susan's female but Ive no doubt she'll still appreciate the thoughts.

Sometimes, as hard as it is, you have to let nature take it's course. One animal is saved a potentially long and painful demise and another gets to live another day. That's how it works. Despite what we'd like to think, humans are a big-and now essential-role in how it all plays out.

Indeed!

[2oldman]

Crowe wrote:
You're a nice man.I'm pretty sure Susan's female but Ive no doubt she'll still appreciate the thoughts.

Oops.. forgot the "wo" in front.

Unfortunately we lost 2 beloved cats to what likely was coyotes last summer.

[Code2High]

The others don't hang out where the food goes at night. They eat it all, quickly, and then go wherever they go for the night. But we live in an area that is full of predators and prey...and last night that was more or less okay.

[Deb_and_Ed_M]

Predators have to eat, too 😞 Sorry for the loss of a cat, though...