Wild Goose Chase

Oh me, Sunday night's cat trapping adventures was nothing short of a wild goose chase. Thank goodness i have a patient husband who was willing to sit out there for 3 hours and help me!! As you know, we were trying to trap 3 females....2 at the stockyards and 1 down the road from there at a warehouse. We did manage to trap Murphy, the mother of my current foster kittens. Poor thing was dumped into the feral colony with those kittens about 2 weeks ago. I was SO relieved to get her out of there. Unfortunately, the other female, Smokey, was being impossible!! We tried our regular traps and the drop trap but she was not falling for it...not even close. She normally comes out with the other 5 cats (all of whom we have snipped), but she wouldn't budge from the stall. I honestly don't know how we are going to get her. Sigh. We finally gave up and headed to the other location which was even more frustrating!! We put 2 traps out along with the drop trap and it was one debacle after another. The target kitty, Maddie, would sit beside them, then run off, then come back, then get spooked again. Next, a mother raccoon and her 4 babies came out and proceeded to get in the traps several times. I just kept having to let them out and re-bait. They would saunter off looking sheepish....cracked me up....and then come right back for more. This went on and on and then FINALLY, we reconfigured our drop trap strategy and Maddie went in. Well, total drama ensued. Brian was holding the drop trap down while she jumped around, and i had to get the regular trap butted up against it. You have to work super fast and do your best not to get your hand in the wrong place if you know I mean. I was being so careful and then somehow, she escaped. I can't begin to tell you how upset and disappointed i was!! I just wanted to kick myself in the head!! And then all we could do was laugh because the night was so full of crazy antics....it just wasn't meant to be. So, we'll keep on trying!!
For now, i am just concentrating on Murphy. She came through her spay surgery and vaccinations ok, but I am going to take her to my regular vet this afternoon for a full evaluation. I put her in our upstairs bathroom last night and realized how terribly emaciated she is. She is losing her hair, has scrapes and scabs and a runny eye. I just cried when i realized how pitiful she is. On top of that, she is THE sweetest cat i think i have ever seen. She just wanted to curl up and make biscuits and purr. I know I am a broken record, but i simply cannot fathom abandoning a cat like that and expecting him/her to survive. It kills me. I pray that she will be ok and that a lot of TLC will bring her back to health.

Many THANKS to all of you who have written and given me words of encouragement!! I truly appreciate it.

Here are a few photos of the kittens and Murphy...sorry for the terrible quality...she kept moving and i couldn't get a clear shot.