The Colony: Part Two
As promised, here is an update on how my colony of 6 cats are doing.
Yup, our colony has grown by one to 6 cats. Minnie and Wally have a brother that we've named Speck. For the speck of white on his chest of course! He's quite a lot bigger than Minnie and Wally, so we think he's a boy.
The colony is doing quite well, despite the onslaught of bitterly cold weather just after Christmas. Since last I blogged, I started giving them wet as well as dry food, much to their delight. Delight is an understatement, they LOVE wet food!
Fortunately, large cans of good old Friskies are cheap enough, so no problem seeing to their demand for the "good stuff." Twice a day they get all the wet and dry food, and even warm water, they need to stay healthy. It was nice to see them all eat heartily, knowing they had a reliable source of good food and clean water.
Minnie has remained her adorably sweet self. Always showing up at our door, meowing loudly for her food, and for some love.
I even went so far as to build her a little enclosed, insulated house made from a large plastic bin to sleep in.
I spent more and more time with Minnie when we could. Sitting on the steps, petting her, even picking up her for cuddles. Minnie loved the attention, purring loudly, rubbing us, even kneading and "making biscuits" in the air. It was adorable.
Even her mother, Smudge, started to warm up to us, chattering away and letting us pet her head. We were convinced Smudge was their mother, as she always watched over the others as they ate, waiting until they were done to have some food for herself. She was tough, she was adorable, she was appreciative of us. She was.....mom.
As to the others, while they were certainly appreciative of the food, they did not entirely trust us. To them, petting was out of the question. We respected that.
Still, there was something holding me back. Yes, Minnie is adorable, and beyond sweet, but would she adjust to being a house-cat? Never to be let outside again? Would she know how to use a litter box, would she get along with everyone once they were all in the same room? Would she wreck the place just from nerves?
Yes, all of that, and probably more, worried me, but first things first. No matter what, she needed to be seen by a vet, and if need be, fixed.
To my trusted vets I turned, and made an appointment for the earliest available slot: one week after New Year's Day. To my delight, my vet, the same team that saved Jackson's life back in 2015, let me know that they work with feral and stray cats and will work out a special price for me to have Minnie examined and spayed. A quote will be emailed.
That quote came out to nearly NINE HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS.
Now, I've already put their kids through at least one semester of college already. Was it really necessary to gouge me still more when all I wanted to do was take in an adorable stray cat and give her the chance at a better life?
Needless to say, I was LIVID. I cancelled the appointment, and my vet of nearly 4 years lost a customer.
Not more than an hour later, I had a referral for a new vet, one hour east of me, that specializes in spaying and neutering pets, and were known for their compassion, kindness and REASONABLE prices. Not to mention every single review I could find was a 5-star glowing review.
My $900 quote was now down to less than $150. You bet your sweet bippie I made an appointment, for Thursday, January 11th. I took the day off, and......we waited.
I waited through the bitterly cold early January weather.
I waited through the first major snowstorm of 2018, which, thankfully, Minnie made it through with flying colors, thanks to her new heat proof enclosure.
The night before Minnie's big day at the vet, any doubts about our decision to take Minnie in were eradicated in the best possible way.
Minnie curled up in my lap.
Minnie purred.
And Purred.
And Purred.
I was so happy tears of joy appeared in my eyes.
OK, message received.
Once the vet visit was taken care of, Minnie's life on the streets was coming to an end!
Yup, our colony has grown by one to 6 cats. Minnie and Wally have a brother that we've named Speck. For the speck of white on his chest of course! He's quite a lot bigger than Minnie and Wally, so we think he's a boy.
The colony is doing quite well, despite the onslaught of bitterly cold weather just after Christmas. Since last I blogged, I started giving them wet as well as dry food, much to their delight. Delight is an understatement, they LOVE wet food!
Fortunately, large cans of good old Friskies are cheap enough, so no problem seeing to their demand for the "good stuff." Twice a day they get all the wet and dry food, and even warm water, they need to stay healthy. It was nice to see them all eat heartily, knowing they had a reliable source of good food and clean water.
Minnie has remained her adorably sweet self. Always showing up at our door, meowing loudly for her food, and for some love.
I even went so far as to build her a little enclosed, insulated house made from a large plastic bin to sleep in.
I spent more and more time with Minnie when we could. Sitting on the steps, petting her, even picking up her for cuddles. Minnie loved the attention, purring loudly, rubbing us, even kneading and "making biscuits" in the air. It was adorable.
Even her mother, Smudge, started to warm up to us, chattering away and letting us pet her head. We were convinced Smudge was their mother, as she always watched over the others as they ate, waiting until they were done to have some food for herself. She was tough, she was adorable, she was appreciative of us. She was.....mom.
As to the others, while they were certainly appreciative of the food, they did not entirely trust us. To them, petting was out of the question. We respected that.
Minnie, however, was the stand out. She just had something about her that Ashley and I, and even our son, fell for almost instantly. They always say cats choose their owners, that they just KNOW.
Minnie just seemed to know.
She would look at me with nothing but trust and love in her eyes.
Minnie knew she had found her family.
More than anything, Minnie wanted IN. She was desperate to come inside and be a member of the family.
Despite my love for Minnie, I was concerned. Could I take in a third cat to our small 2-bedroom apartment? OF COURSE, all my friends, facebook or otherwise, told me. Cats are small, they don't need much, just a warm bed and a window and a clean litter box, she'll be fine!
Tucker did seem to adore her, after all, starting at her through the glass door like he was visiting her in prison or something.
Sophie being Sophie, she was the least enthusiastic to the idea.
Still, there was something holding me back. Yes, Minnie is adorable, and beyond sweet, but would she adjust to being a house-cat? Never to be let outside again? Would she know how to use a litter box, would she get along with everyone once they were all in the same room? Would she wreck the place just from nerves?
Yes, all of that, and probably more, worried me, but first things first. No matter what, she needed to be seen by a vet, and if need be, fixed.
To my trusted vets I turned, and made an appointment for the earliest available slot: one week after New Year's Day. To my delight, my vet, the same team that saved Jackson's life back in 2015, let me know that they work with feral and stray cats and will work out a special price for me to have Minnie examined and spayed. A quote will be emailed.
That quote came out to nearly NINE HUNDRED FUCKING DOLLARS.
Now, I've already put their kids through at least one semester of college already. Was it really necessary to gouge me still more when all I wanted to do was take in an adorable stray cat and give her the chance at a better life?
Needless to say, I was LIVID. I cancelled the appointment, and my vet of nearly 4 years lost a customer.
Not more than an hour later, I had a referral for a new vet, one hour east of me, that specializes in spaying and neutering pets, and were known for their compassion, kindness and REASONABLE prices. Not to mention every single review I could find was a 5-star glowing review.
My $900 quote was now down to less than $150. You bet your sweet bippie I made an appointment, for Thursday, January 11th. I took the day off, and......we waited.
I waited through the bitterly cold early January weather.
I waited through the first major snowstorm of 2018, which, thankfully, Minnie made it through with flying colors, thanks to her new heat proof enclosure.
The night before Minnie's big day at the vet, any doubts about our decision to take Minnie in were eradicated in the best possible way.
Minnie curled up in my lap.
Minnie purred.
And Purred.
And Purred.
I was so happy tears of joy appeared in my eyes.
OK, message received.
Once the vet visit was taken care of, Minnie's life on the streets was coming to an end!
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