The agony of decision making…

March 12, 2021

I would have never described myself as someone who has trouble with decision making. But meeting Mitsy changed all of that. From the moment I realised she was not a lost domesticated cat, but a semi-feral one, I started to agonise about these questions:

  • Is it up to me to take care of her? Who am I to interfere? She looks healthy!
  • And what does it mean, taking care of a (semi-)feral cat?
  • Will she co-operate or will she out-smart me?
  • Am I to accept responsibility for the bigger issue of the (semi-)feral/stray over-population in suburbia, while at the same time I personally had never ever dumped a cat or otherwise contributed to the issue?
  • Do I have the guts to welcome a (semi-)feral creature into my house? Am I up to the challenge?
  • Can I get hurt, physically? Can my rental property be damaged?
  • Where do I find a trap that will not hurt the cat?
  • How do I operate a trap?
  • How (the hell) do I transfer the trapped animal to a safe holding space?

I lessened my anxiety by collecting as much information as I could, and even in the days of internet, this sounds easier said than done.

First of all because there is an ABUNDANCE of information out there.
And second: all different people have all different opinions. Which appeal to me and sound valid, which are not at all my cup of tea?
And lastly: we live in a world that seems more and more reluctant to serve up the ugly truth without editing. With that I mean: trapping a feral or semi feral cat can get ugly. Or should I say: look ugly?

The Ugly Truth

It took us a long time to find honest footage of cats being trapped and their reactions to it. Not pretty. Not warm and fuzzy. But realistic. A lot of these creatures go nuts for a short while and then transition into a state of non-responsiveness, that is just as unnerving. Only to explode with sometimes frightful explosions, that look like aggression, but are, in fact, naked fear. The best I found was Kitten lady:

Kitten Lady Facebook

Kitten Lady Website

She is sensitive, but practical and extremely knowledgeable; not afraid to post videos that show realistic footage.

Being realistic: less chance of a disappointment

Most of these semi-feral cats have been looking after themselves for a some time and although they know to find humans that feed them, they consider us foe, not friend. We all know the footage of rescue cats turning into purring Disney figures, loving the bleeb out of their new ‘owner’. But we do not often see what the road towards this happy ending looks like… And sometimes there is no happy ending either. And that is, also probably, the reason some of the rescue organisations that advertise themselves as cat rescue experts, are surprisingly tight-lipped when asked for details.

It makes me think of the time I witnessed a deer getting struck by a car. I tried to do the best I could until the Animal Rescue ambulance arrived. Before they drove off, I asked who to contact to find out about the recovery of the poor deer. They advised against it. Reason? They often don’t make it. And they wanted me to feel good about my help, but also wanted to protect me from the crushing realisation that it might not have led to a happy outcome…

Rescue organisations: all sorts of communication styles

The rescue organisations I talked to personally were either specialised in a particular component of the rescuing, or they would simply tell me that they have their own experienced people for trapping, care-taking and releasing. Some closed their ranks when I asked to join and participate (after all, how else would I ever build experience?) I guess most of them have been disappointed in people too many times.

Some others bluntly told me that I would never see the cat again after it was trapped and taken away by them. Of course, all of this happening at the height of Covid-19 closures did not help. I can fully understand that rescue people have no interest in inviting the danger of infection into their homes. I was a bit miffed, I have to be honest, when my sincere offer to become a volunteer was simply refused by some – saying that they had plenty of volunteers. A lot of rescue people seem to have little trust in people. You may tell them that you will honour their request for anonymity, never disclosing their full name, address and other contact information. But their experiences have been so bad, that they simply don’t believe (in) you. Their reality has too often been that, the moment their location becomes publicly know, unknown persons dump litters of kittens and other unwanted critters over their fence.

A course in TNR: Trap-Neuter-Release

The best advice we got was to follow a Trap-Neuter-Release course. These training courses are often run by the Humane Society or a local rescue organisation. My husband and I both completed one of these courses, run from Toronto. And not surprisingly, it contains an explicit plea to never disclose the exact location of a cat colony or a rescue/foster home. Because it may invite people who poison the critters living there. And other bad behaviour. So I guess when we started this adventure with Mitsy, we were extremely gullible…

How do you choose the right trap?

Once we knew a bit more, our focus went to the traps to use. There were mean looking contraptions that we would not even consider, and more humane ones that were simply impossible to find in stores or online. ‘Out of stock’ was what we saw a lot. Maybe Covid was the cause for that. Only one rescue organisation was willing to let us use their traps. They came to our house and tell us about what to do in which situation. They were really nice and knowledgeable people and we were ready to start working with them.
Mitsy, as we know her now, had been around our yard for a couple of weeks by then, and we started to develop a bond with her. Not to the point that we could get close, but we felt a connection.
So it seemed normal to us to envision coming over for a visit once, after she was trapped, moved to the house of one of this rescue organisation’s volunteers and had her litter. We even contemplated adopting one of the kittens. But the temperature in the room instantly dropped below freezing when we asked if we could! The answer was ‘No’ and there was no wiggle room.

They did not want to give details about what follows after trapping. We caught them saying that the trapped felines are kept in someones garage, where they can calm down. They did not want an audience. Ultmately they refused to continue working with us when they heard we wanted to take on the caring for this (semi-)feral/stray ourselves. We returned the trap to them, and were ready to have a chat, but one they took it from the porch, they drove off quickly.

More questions about the trap

  1. How do I know the trap-mechanism is too powerful for the animal I want to catch?
  2. How do we prevent that a part of the animal’s body gets hit and injured by the triggered door? (I had nightmares about amputated tails and decapitated bodies….)
  3. How do we get the animal from the trap in a safe holding place (building, room, carrier, crate, etc) ?
  4. And, coming back to prepwork: what kind of (crate) shelter is most effective and secure for both mother and kittens, while still being safely accessible to us? Or should we use a room? And what would that room have to look like?
  5. How would we refresh food and litter in a space with a feral, fearful, aggressive or otherwise unpredictable cat?
  6. How would we get her and the kittens to the vet, if she stayed feral for the most part, and needed to go in for spaying?
  7. After trapping, would the animal ever trust us again, if there was a chance of domestication?

We had to invent lots of wheels ourselves and we ultimately found some rescue people willing to share all of their experiences with us. Elsewhere in this blog are posted reminder lists, practical tips and tricks that worked for us. We made notes of everything. So that we would come as prepared as we possibly could.

This is the message I took from it all:

It was up to us to make the decisions and find solutions, ultimately. So it was important to build confidence based on facts and experiences of others who were willing to share their tips, tricks, warnings, guidance and resources. In the end, the network and experience of the rescue group we decided to work with was what we needed most.

Keep reading our blog entries to find out how the project progressed and reached full circle.

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