Two cats in Sunnyside, who were already TNR'd years ago, are losing their yard to renovation/reconstruction/sale of building. The lovely woman, Robin, who cares for them found a new place for them 1 block away in a beautiful back yard in Sunnyside Gardens. Neighborhood cats asked me to coach Robin because she is a new trapper. I am always thrilled to assist a new recruit!
Robin introduced me to Mr. Miyagi and Red Cat on Friday night. They are, indeed, a bonded and loving pair. I wish I had a better picture of this, they were so loving to each other, note the tails!!!
I chalked night one up to "Recon" because I did not know what I was up against. He was a complete mush and she was a smart, skeptical, and trap savvy female.
Did I mention Mr. Miyagi was a mush?
I set up 2 box traps and the drop. Mr. Miyagi helped himself to the buffet in the drop, tripped the box traps and then trapped himself. I was not concerned about trapping him, I needed to get her, so I just sat and watched him ruin a full night of trapping by showing her how all the traps work.
By the way, when he trapped himself, I pulled him aside to get him out of the way, but he howled the WHOLE time in the most pathetic, neurotic way (stay tuned for videos later), I had to let him out. Robin informed me he calls her like that when he can't find her. Red Cat was NOT going into a trap Friday night. We packed it in and met again on Saturday.
I don't have any pictures or videos of the trapping because it happened so fast I couldn't get any!
I set up the drop, Mr. Miyagi walked straight in and helped himself to dinner. My eyes rolled, "Males." Then, Robin says, "She's going in!" I look up, and there she is in the drop. I pulled the string and trapped them both in one shot. Fastest trapping effort ever!
I showed Robin how to transfer them from the drop to box traps.
Now, this is NYC, and you know how we roll here...with push carts!
Yep, we walked down the street with ferals in traps on push carts. Welcome to Queens, baby. Then, we rolled them through the gardens to their new home.
Robin had the crate set up, all we had to do was transfer them.
That's one.
Voila! Ready for their new life! They will stay in this relocation crate for a few weeks, then they will be released...
into their beautiful new home!
Their little house will be making its way over there too. Yes, they sleep in it together! Awwwwww!
Robin walked away with her reward...
The Mark of Meow!
Robin also takes in, fosters and finds homes for many cats she finds dumped in the neighborhood. She has such a big heart and I'm so happy I had a chance to meet her. I love coaching new trappers because it is such a beautiful thing to see people step up, instead of walk by. I'm always excited to be a part of it.
Thank you, Robin. You are such a wonderful person to care for Mr. Miyage and Red Cat. You've gone above and beyond in relocating them. Blessings to you.
A little mix of good and bad news here, but he is well and has made some friends. Mildred, bless her, called me and told me the cat I had described to her to look out for was turning up where she feeds. I grabbed my sneakers and was out the door. Sure enough, its Desmond. I don't know why he is going over there to eat when I set up a feeding station and shelter where I relocated him. Maybe he is uncomfortable there or maybe he just likes the new spot he has chosen for himself around the corner. Who knows, one of the girls from the outside area of the Bakery likes hanging out over there and the bodega kids hang there too, maybe it's better. What is upsetting is that he is crossing the street to go eat. But, like I said, he's well and looks good. He's in good shape, healthy and had made some friends. I'll be investigating to find out exactly where he is spending the majority of his time and hope to move a shelter and feeding station there to keep him from crossing the street. So when I went to see him where Mildred feeds, he was hanging out with some new friends, an orange guy, a tortie and a calico (I didn't get a pic of her, but she's a beauty).
Desmond's new friend, I forget his name, but he's a typical fun and charming, orange guy.
And this is Ghost-Kitty, named by someone on the block, no, I don't know why. She's a hoot and a big old fatty girl!
And over where Desmond seems to be spending his time are a couple of bodega cats you may remember, Bibi and Bo Dega!
Here's Bibi, spayed January 2012 when someone from the neighborhood was moving and "couldn't take her" so the bodega owner took her in.
And here's Bo, neutered in May of 2011 after the former kitty, sadly was hit by a car who I had spayed back in 2009. (She was Beauty and Beast's sister, Shannon's litter)
So Des has made some friends and I really hope they are showing him the ropes over there where he can stay safe and warm. I'll be working on getting him set up, but it will take some more work. Hang in there Des, please.
Meanwhile, around the corner at the bakery, the girls are still doing very well and I see them every weekend. This is Hitch's routine: WHO IS IT? It's me Hitch.
OH, IT'S YOU, PUT THE WET FOOD DOWN AND BACK AWAY. OK Hitch.
A LITTLE FURTHER PLEASE... OK Hitchy, just a second, but be nice to Grommet please.
Then as Hitch eats like she's been starving to death (despite the CONSTANT supply of food), Grommet shows up all stealth-like and cute:) She waits somewhat patiently while Hitch eats because Hitch will just slap her around if she goes to eat before Hitch is done. I don't get it, there's plenty for everyone. Cats! On a good note, these two were not well before relocating, now both have good weight on them and Grommet has stopped wheezing!!!
I ran past the Greasy Paws lots today and saw Beetle sun-bathing. He looks great, nice and full and healthy. Perhaps its easier to get a full meal now that it's just him and Hexbit and the drama of the summer has ended. The feeding area is now kept very clean, that is really nice to see considering it was one of the big points of contention. The other point was the cats eliminating on the lots, I see both lots are still utilizing the litter boxes I made for them, so I hope that is helping too.
On my way back home I passed by again and ran into the feeders that feed at the lot every day. It was so nice to see them. They tell me that Lucky, formerly Beep, who they took in from the lot is very happy in their home and LOVES his toys. I really enjoyed hearing how he was doing and all his fun stories of what he likes and dislikes.
They say things have calmed down a bit over at the lots. The lot that worked with me on this project, he has not had any interaction with since the relocation. The guy at the other lot, who was trapping and dumping the cats in an unknown park and still denies it, still gives him some dirty looks, but the confrontations have ceased. We talked about some concern about winter now that the shed is closed off, but I hope these guys do OK. If anyone has any room for properly and safely relocating the last two, please feel free to contact me. I'll never forget about them and hope to do some outreach next summer when I am out of school to try to find them a place but for now they seem to be doing ok and I hope that with the small number, 2, there will be more tolerance and they can all coexist in a peaceful and compassionate manner.
I had released Grommet, and for a couple of weeks saw no sign of her, until...
Needless to say, I was thrilled! I was so happy to see her and know she was safe and sound. She lives over in this corner with Hitch. It seems they are working out their new living arrangement...Hitch is still her sassy and nasty self! But Grommet must be OK with that because she chooses to stay over in that area with her despite the enormous size of the warehouse with unlimited hiding and nesting areas. I now see them both every Sunday when I go to refill all the water and dry food. And they come running fast when I pop the top of the Fancy Feast! Yay!
Now Hitch's attitude...well, we'll just have to see how it all unfolds. She comes pretty darn close to me now, so her comfort level is improving. Hitch used to be a sweet, carefree little girl, but something changed over Greasy Paws, we don't know what happened and she has been skittish with people and hostile to the other cats since. I hope she and Grommet can become friends again like they were when they were younger.Especially now that they have a safe indoor home with a constant supply of food & water and no worries about anyone trying to hurt them. I hope this reduces their stress levels so Hitch can chill out a bit and Grommet's respiratory issues can calm down. By the way, Hitch is putting on weight:) She had been in pretty bad shape when first removed from Greasy Paws. Grommet's breathing seems less labored and her weight looks good.
As for Desmond, aka Piston, who was released across the street at the production area, I have not seen him yet. The workers over there tell me they have seen him and he is eating at this feeding station I left. Stay tuned for an experiment in automatic photography...
That just leaves Beep, who was taken in by one of the Greasy Paws feeders. We hear he is still doing well...and may even be getting a little friend! A kitten friend!
I went by the lot yesterday and see there is still food and water out for Beetle and Hexbit. I do hope they are well. Maybe one day we can go back for them if we find a place for them to go.
For Hood, Muffler, Honk, and Turbo, who were trapped by one of the lot owners and dumped in some park, we hope you have found food and shelter and are well. (This person has not admitted to this, so we do not know where these cats were released. Our source, a friend of this person, told us he removed 4 and released them at a park far enough away they would not be able to find their way home)
For those who we think we have lost over the years; Hemi, Axle, Winch, Bolt, Torque and the new guy who never got a name, we hope you are resting in peace.
I released Hitch on August 17th. She ran to the back and is hiding to the right of the ladder keeping an eye on me. I have not seen her since, until today! The bakery manager assured me she has been seen on their other facility, but until today I had not seen her. And now he says he sees her in both places, but she runs like hell when she sees him!
I was refilling the feeders and waterers, and I heard a cat cry out to me. So I walked over and it was her!
I talked and blinked and she started to make her way down. I put down some food by her too.
Here she is making her way down!
Bon Appetit!
And there she is ladies and gentlemen! Without a doubt, a face you can not resist! HITCH!
While Hitch, now to be given the LOST name "Rousseau" as she is living at the Bakery, was working on her relocation...
We began trapping.
We were able to trap 3 of the 4 we were planning to relocate. Sadly we had to leave 2 behind.
Bolt
Piston
and
Grommet
We had initially thought there were only 4 left, until we saw this one coming around toward the end of recon and during trapping. Brown tabby, broken tail and has an ear tip. We are wondering if this is "Hexbit", whom we have not seen in quite some time.
Bolt and Piston have been the best of friends on that lot. So it was very hard for me to separate them. But Bolt is going to a home, and I wouldn't take that away from anyone. I hope Piston and Grommet will make friends with the resident cats at the Bakery.
Here is their final time together before Bolt's dad, a feeder that spent a lot of time with him, came to pick him up
And here is Bolt's new dad!
Bolt was a little concerned, but we hear he is making great progress and even comes out for pets:)
Huge thanks to you and your mom for taking care of this group for so long and for taking a chance on a street cat like Bolt.
Here he is in his new home!
And his new name is Lucky!
Can you think of a more appropriate name?
Off to the Bakery we go! Here is Piston's set up. Note, all the cats at the Bakery are named for LOST characters, so Piston's new name will be "Desmond".
It was, of course, a lot for him to take in at first, but as all of us involved in rescue know...as long as there is a litter box to hide in, everything will be OK! So he took to the litter box, then realized he had his own carrier in there to hide in. It took a couple of days for him to get comfortable eating and using the box, but he's living in his relocation crate now like a champ! This guy can eat!
And after some medication for her cold, Grommet made her way there too. Due to needing some meds, she is a week behind Desmond (aka Piston). Grommet will now be called "Penny" from LOST.
She was pretty scared at first, but now she's eating and using her litter box too!
Darn it she's cute!
And so petite!
And as I finished setting up Penny (aka Grommet), look who I found up on top of a stack of boxes pretending to sleep, but watching us to see what we were up to...Sun! Or as many of you know her, MAMA!
Take good care of these guys Mama, they need a friend over there.
Hitchy-poo is doing well so far. She didn't hide in her carrier today, but hung out in her shelf while I cleaned her litter box, refilled her food and water and put out some wet food. She is still a little nervous, but seems much happier here than in my kitchen. She'll be released in the warehouse soon. She just has to be isolated for a bit to get used to her new surroundings. Hitch is now in a warehouse with heat in the winter and AC in the summer. She's got it made in the shade.
Here is her set up, plenty of room, plenty of food and water, covered for privacy and calm, a shelf to hang out in:) She's doing great.
If you want to know more about relocation protocol, please click on this link to Neighborhood Cats.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
