Pumpkin's dad, Kevin called me about a year and a half ago. He'd been on the road and stopped at a motel for the night and the motel was home for about fifty cats. It was summer, and there were kittens everywhere, skinny, runny eyed, wild kittens.
Now this motel had some long term residents and yes, people put out food for the cats. The cats drank from a swimming pool and a low, foul creek. They lived under dumpsters, behind trash bins, and hid under the cars watching , watching , watching.
Most of them struggled to get enough to eat. many were covered with matts and scars. Welcome to the life of a feral cat colony.
Now Kevin is a man who does NOT look the other way when it comes to animals. So he wanted to know if we coudl take my cat trap out there and trap kittens, tame them and place them. He knew of at least one person looking for a kitten, and was certain we could catch many of these kittens.
OK. I know that feral kittens do not always tame. There is a window in their life where they do. If they are caught befor about 5 weeks old, they tame well. Older, they might be OK in a house, but it's not likely they will become a sweet, socaible and friendly cat.
We took my cat trap out and caught kittens. Not all of them, they were way to smart. They knew what a trap was. But we got a few of them.
Jackal was one. Wild and terrified, skinny, dehydrated, starved. The tip of her tail was dead. She came home with me and went into quarenteen, got medical care, and went into intensive daily petting and people contact.
A home waited for her...
But, she never 'tamed'. Jackal tolerates me. But she loves the cats. She is Boogar's girl, and has grow up free, fierce and strong. She never went to her 'new home' because they wanted a sweet and friendly cat. But she has a forever home with Boogar, and the others.
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