December 11th, 2009 | Author: trancejen
I am going Christmas shopping. Not online, but in a store. With people. This makes me ridiculously happy, which should tell you just how damned badly I need to get out of the house.
My mom called off work, and we are picking up my stepdad and going to at least five bazillion stores, so hopefully I will have the better part of my shopping completed today.
There is a mama-cat and five little kittens across the street. We’ve been feeding them every day for months now, but it’s getting so damned cold out that we’ve decided to round them up and take them to the Humane Society.
How does one catch six wild cats? I don’t know, but I’m going to find out. I’m hoping they’ll be friendly because we feed them.
In other news, the J-Man’s Christmas list is an exhaustive list of expensive things, such as a Wii (right), a Playstation 3, and several expensive games. I had The Talk with him, letting him know that all gifts need not be ridiculously priced, and that true giving comes from the heart, blah blah blah, but I’m not sure that I’m getting through.
I blame it on the swanky private school, loaded with rich kids who probably all have Wiis and Playstation 3s already.
In still other news, my Bunco group’s Christmas party is tonight, at a local divey Mexican place that features GREAT food and cheap beer. I’m looking forward to cackling it up with the other hens.
Happy Friday.
“How does one catch six wild cats? I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.”
Jen, can you have someone take pictures of you trying to catch these cats in sub-zero windchill and post them on your blog?
Well? You ASKED people to supply you with subject matter!
My sister had a stray cat population living in an abandoned house near her. She contacted the local Humane Society and they gave her some live traps. The traps are totally humane; you just put food in them and then when the cat goes in the door shuts behind them. Then you take the whole thing into the Humane Society. You never have to don the armor and gauntlets to try and catch a frantic scratching feral cat!
It’s a really good thing to do; this will give these kitties such a better a life – they’ll be vaccinated, de-flea’d, treated for ear mites, spayed/neutered, and given whatever other medical care they need. If they’re suitable, they’ll be adopted out to a loving home. Much better than living on the streets and dying of starvation, cold, or feline leukemia!
I have to find a plan B for my mom, which will involve going DOWNTOWN next week. I’m terrified.
Also, I love the fact that you have a Bunco group. (and I’m jealous because I have a feeling I know where you’re going). But I have to know – WHAT THE HELL IS BUNCO? I’ve always wondered.
I don’t ask my 12 year old for a list. Never have. I get her stuff she saw throughout the year that I can afford. Heh, she is usually wondering how I knew she wanted it.
This year we got some ideas from the history on the internet. Stuff she looked up!
Dave: Um, Hell No.
Rumblelizard: i will definitely look into that.
Bibliogrrl: Bunco is like a dice game. It’s fun!
Amy M: I think you have the right idea!!
Just more proof I am the all knowing mom… don’t act up, because I know that too…
I actually emailed my sister about this and it turns out it was more complex than I originally thought. The Humane Society she originally contacted wanted her to trap the cats and then be responsible for them once they’d been treated/spayed/neutered! They wanted to re-release the cats back into her neighborhood once they were finished fixing them. My sister was like “Uh, no,” and went out and bought her own live trap and started just dropping the cats off at the Humane Society. After a while they gave in and started lending her the traps and they took responsibility for the cats. So, they might give you a bit of run-around if you contact them. Don’t know. It might be worthwhile contacting other cat rescue/no-kill shelter type places to see if you can get any help from them too.
Merry Christmas! This is a good laugh:
http://emailsfromcrazypeople.com/2009/08/03/devil-worship-and-christmas-lights/
I worked at a Humane Society that had a massive volunteer-run TNR (trap-neuter-release) program that spayed/neutered 5,000 feral cats a year. Rumblelizard, what that Humane Society told your sister is totally common, legit, and reasonable. Adult feral cats cannot be tamed to be housecats–that’s the definition of feral. Look up TNR. The idea is to round up all the adults, spay/neuter them, and let them live out their natural lives. The kittens, if young enough, can be tamed and adopted. Sorry, but your sister was being a pain in the ass getting around the rules like that. The rules are there for a reason and Humane Societies have limited resources… it’s not because they enjoy giving people the run-around. They chose to focus their resources on feral colonies that could be managed (ie someone would commit to feeding them).
Trance, I encourage you to get in touch with your local Humane Society or contact Alley Cat Allies about TNR programs near you.
Hmm, there might be some problems with the first link, because it returns a 404 error.