Tuesday, October 28, 2014

October 2014

As of the first of October I have TNR'd over 1,600 cats in 2014...August and September were especially busy as Suzie was taking time off and there were so many caregivers needing assistance. Phoenix was not as hot this summer making it easier to trap and aftercare. This was the first year I tried morning trapping and this worked out very well in most cases. My biggest colony in September was 39 cats at the Michigan Trailer Park. I had been there in 2011 and did over 60 cats at that time. It is a shame when the caregivers do not call me for assistance when new cats show up. There are still 6-7 left there to fix...this will be a challenge!

October off to a good start! The weather has become perfect for trapping. This past week was especially busy with one 19 cat colony and another colony with 38 cats to TNR. I got nearly all of them at both locations. Thank you Mary Buck for helping with the biggest colony and doing damage control with a challenging caregiver. There are still two litters out there that wandered out of the garage after the cats were released. The first photo below is of the cats before trapping and the second photo is after the second release (Note: These came off my phone and were taken at dusk and dawn respectively so the quality not too good):


Waiting to be fixed!
Thank you for fixing us!

The AHS clinic was especially challenging this month. We ended up with 127 cats in the door but this took more effort than usual. I did not trap for the clinic but had to be sure everyone came through with cats and they did! Bob and Barb brought in 28 cats from the East Valley (thank you both!) and I ended up having to aftercare and release 15 cats. These free clinics have helped so many caregivers and cats (thank you AHS!). 

Here are a couple of highlights from the last couple of months. The first is a photo of kittens brought out from under a caregiver's bed. We did catch the Mom and about 16 other cats for a recent AHS clinic. Too bad I did not get there in time!

Six newborn kittens!
Another memorable moment was this recent trapping job near downtown Glendale. It was hot hot out and we had all the cats captured in about 30 minutes. The photo below is of the very hungry cats just after their release early the next morning.

We though we were abducted by aliens!

These kittens ended up going up for adoption. They were tame and somehow found their way into a trap. All have gone to forever homes...

Get me out of here!

Here is an photo of a place I have trapped at many times. This is a MHP on Van Buren where most of the trailers are vacant except for the few where addicts go to get their drugs. Cats make there home under this one and several others in the park. 
...Notice the trap set at the right corner of the trailer

Below is a photo of the trap covers someone made for me back in 2005. I had 28 cats at the clinic that day and a total of 38 cats in from that colony over two days of trapping and three days of work including aftercare and release.
Happy Halloween!

And finally a photo from a trapping I did at the MHP I had been to in 2011. I did not catch the rabbit but he lived there with the cats! BTW - Dr. Anderson, at the North Phoenix S/N Clinic, fixes rabbits too...Please fix all your outdoor cats now before kitten season begins in the Spring. For assistance please call me at 602-717-2287 or call the Spay Neuter Hotline @ 602-265-7719 (SPAY).
I need fix'n too!