I can do ANYTHING it takes to CATCH a CAT!

[bertha katzenengel]

The blood proves it!

I FINALLY caught SKITTLES today and she is at the clinic being spayed!!

I'M THE CHAMPION! I'M THE CHAMPION!

I had to lure her into the bathroom by putting one of her kittens in the closet. I'd tied a long string around the door knob and pulled it shut when she went in. Then I went in after her, put out the kitten, and it was on.

I almost got her when she was in the bathtub. She slimed me.

Then I almost got her when she was cowering at the side of the tub. She slimed me again.

Then she tried to hide in the sink. Poor pitiful frightened girl cowering in the sink. BAH! Pitiful my ass. On that attempt is when she drew about a half a pint of blood, and when she pooed me.

With every attempt she hissed and spit and ROWRed her heart out. And once she chomped on my finger - OW

I finally got her when she was on the window sill. She almost slipped away four times before I had her gripped but good, before I could move her off the sill and get her into the carrier.

Slime, pee, and poop all over me and the bathroom. Not to mention the blood (mine only). But I got her.

I feel really bad for having had to chase her down. But it had to be done.

:woohoo: I GOT HER! I GOT HER! :woohoo:

I'M THE CHAMPION! I'M THE CHAMPION!

[lizziegrace]

1. Damn Bertha!

I'm so happy you got her. And sorry she got you. Ouch!

You ARE the champion!

:hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

10. thank you!

:hug:

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. Good Lord! Is she feral?

[bertha katzenengel]

6. Semi.

She grew up in the house. She's allowed us to pet her, but never to pick her up and she's never jumped into a lap.

She's a tough nut to crack and I've been trying for three years. Her recent pregnancy was the last straw. I was determined to catch her or die trying.

:hi:

[GreenPartyVoter]

22. Make sure you get your shots! LOL

[some guy]

36. LOL

funniest response I've read this week.

"Is she feral?" "Semi" - dang, it's a good thing she's only SEMI-feral. :scared:


Good on you for catching her, and getting her spayed. :applause:

Sorry it was such a battle. :hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

45. LOL

And I found out she was in heat...

[KitchenWitch]

3. I am so glad for Skittles!

Even if SHE isn't!

:woohoo:

:yourock:

[bertha katzenengel]

11. She will be happier

but not for a few weeks . . .

:hug:

[Zuiderelle]

4. What an ordeal!

Congratulations on getting her! :toast:

[bertha katzenengel]

12. thank you!

:toast:

[WolverineDG]

5. Good for you, Bertha!

Sorry the cat had to be traumatized, but she'll (eventually) be glad you did it. Make sure your finger is ok where she bit you, though. Cat bites like that can get nasty (& I have the scar to prove it).

dg

[bertha katzenengel]

13. I washed it well (as the other wounds of course) and will

watch it carefully. Thanks! :hi:

[ThomCat]

7. I hope you and Skittles are both okay after all of that.

Congratulations! :patriot:

[bertha katzenengel]

15. I'm more worried about Skittles than me of course

I'm proud of my "battle" scars and don't plan to do anything to minimize their appearance, Neosporin commercials be damned.

:patriot:

[MissMillie]

8. I am SO afraid of YOU!

and here I thought *I* was a badass.....

[bertha katzenengel]

16. picture me

Red, sweaty, hair ridiculous, stumbling out of the bathroom, t-shirt shredded, jeans torn, blood dripping from face and arms, growling "who's next? bring it you bastards!"

Well it coulda happened that way. And it did, just about, except for the growling part.

[Gormy Cuss]

26. Extra ! Extra! Read all about it!

BERTHA KICKS SKITTLES' ASS!

[bertha katzenengel]

43. wonder why that NEVER occurred to me?

:rofl:

damn! that would've been the PERFECT title for this thread.

[huskerlaw]

9. Dare I ask...

WHAT is cat slime?!

Congrats on catching her though! :woohoo:

[lizziegrace]

14. I was wondering the same thing

but really didn't want to know the answer. :scared:

[bertha katzenengel]

17. Um . . .

Cats & dogs have anal glands. I don't know the glands' biological purpose, but when the animal is stressed it sometimes releases what gets stored in there.

It's not actually slime; it's just a few drops of liquid.

It. Is. Putrid.

'Nuff said.

[huskerlaw]

18. Ah, ok...

Given that description, Spencer slimed me at the vet once. You're right...putrid stuff!

[Oeditpus Rex]

19. Ah, but can you confuse one?

Monty Python — Confuse-A-Cat, Ltd.

[bertha katzenengel]

23. LOL

Not my kind of humor but I dig the premise :hi:

[ceile]

20. Oh, no! LOL!

Good for you. Be sure to get that bite checked out. Last time I got a bad cat bite, I ended up with a baseball size lump on my arm. Had to get a tetnus shot and ab's.

[bertha katzenengel]

24. I haven't gotten it checked out

but I washed it like mad initially and am washing it frequently now - and watching it. Thanks! :hi:

[MissHoneychurch]

21. ....

[bertha katzenengel]

25. Oh, hell.

Do you REALLY want to see a picture of my torn-up arm? I can't show you the other wounds... :blush:

[Maat]

27. Good for you, Bertha.

A few weeks ago, Mama Cat dropped her six kittens in my backyard. They've made themselves a cave - underneath our fake fountain rock. It is very cool and safe there. Wild Mama Cat was captured by "J." my neighbor, and brought to our neighborhood. He did not spay her. Now, I'm worried about my pool. Both my husband and I work out of the house, so we are monitoring things. The kittens are almost six weeks old.

We captured "Dexter," and adopted him, because he strongly indicated that he was NOT an outdoor cat (God/Goddess had made some kind of mistake), and wanted to wander off and come into our home (actually our neighbor picked him up). Dexter is VERY well-behaved and healthy, and affectionate, and has ALWAYS hit his kitty box. We took him to the vet, and he only has a bit of respiratory virus (the fairly non-serious kind), and the vet did his traditional initial financial soaking of the Maat family, and prescribed some antibiotics and a supplement. Dexter is thriving. I'm isolated him because he is so small, and because they were not able to test for feline leuk/HIV yet. I'm praying for all to turn out well. I don't want to set us up for heartbreak. Now, I have 4 indoor cats, with the addition of Dexter.

Dexter is precious.

We are trying to come up with a plan to capture Mama Cat and the kittens. I don't want to use that silly 'safe' trap we have, as it is all metal, and very yucky. I'm searching for something that is like a large plastic kennel.

Take care!

[bertha katzenengel]

28. suggestion

I've never tried this but I've heard of it.

Attach a brick to the bottom of a laundry basket. Get a big piece of plywood and put the laundry basket on it upside down. Then tie a piece of twine or strong string to a stick and put it under one edge of the laundry basket. Put some bait in the trap. Yank quick and hard when a cat or cats go in for the bait. The brick is a weight to keep the cats from just popping out from under the basket.

After that -- I guess it's strong gloves and a lot of luck.

I know, not the best idea. Sigh.

Good luck! :hi:

[Maat]

31. Thanks! I'm going to propose this to my hubby.

And, now, can you get me over my 'initial cat' paranoia? When we first get a new kitten, I always worry that the kitten appears healthy, but secretly has some dreaded disease, and that we will get attached, and then we'll have to put the kitten to sleep, and our hearts will be broken. Silly, huh? It's never happened in 25 years of cat ownership.

If we hadn't rescued Dexter, he might have drowned in our pool. Now, however, I worry that he might have Feline Leuk/HIV or something. Our other cats have been vacinated against those diseases, and the vaccinations protect 90% of the cats. Additionally, we have temporarily isolated Dexter in my daughter's bathroom for his own good. He appears to be totally healthy, but they couldn't test for the disease listed above for another week because he is too small. I'm just fussing. I could really use you telling me to calm down, and that I can handle this!

:hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

32. I'm a chronic worrier.

Mrs. V. might do a spit-take on that one -- it's a grave understatement.

I'm trying to live by a new rule: "There is nothing to worry about until there is something to worry about."

:hug:

[Maat]

35. Yes! Yes!

And worrying doesn't keep something from blindsiding ya'! Thanks for the hug!

:hug:

[bertha katzenengel]

41. Exactly.

I have been at my most miserable when my worst expectations have come true and I've said, "I knew it." What a bitter way to live.

[barb162]

29. Hey Bertha, you got a real way with cats there!

Seriously, I had a feral male neutered in October. Getting him in the cage wsas something similar to what you describe here. But I used oven mitts and used surprise to get him in the cage. At the vet's office he was jumping about 7' up the walls and that was after the vet gave him a shot for anesthesia. They get so scared; it's pitiful watching them in that state and impossible trying to calm them down.

[bertha katzenengel]

33. It is not easy.

I was mad at the humane society because they did not keep her covered after the surgery, and when they brought her out to me, the towel I asked them to cover her with was in a big plastic bag, tied to the handle of the carrier. :eyes: Anyway if you keep them covered while they're in the cage/carrier, they remain much calmer. Even the ferals. You done good in October. ;)

[Flaxbee]

30. oh hell bertha - how funny! And major, MAJOR kudos

to you for getting her! Lol - I can just see it. What a terrific thing you've done for her and her babies. Now she can be footloose and fancy free! Hooray!

We had a feral nesting in our garage when we lived in Virginia -- got her trapped into a smaller inner office space in the garage, but it took three days and two of us to get her - finally got her in a big net, scooped her up, tied the top (after she managed to somehow project/bounce her way out of it twice) and sped to the vet's office. Man, it is damn hard work. Congratulations! You da best!

on edit: yes - poor pitiful frightened girl, but you know you did absolutely the best thing in the world for her (though the absolute pitifulness of the ferals I've captured has almost - almost - made me change my mind about dragging them to the vet. Almost, but not quite). I'm sorry she was scared, and I'm sorry you were injured. As everyone has said, do watch your bite carefully. My sister's a vet, and a fellow colleague has permanent joint damage in her thumb from a seemingly docile cat who just chomped on her during the physical exam... Cat bites are fierce.

[bertha katzenengel]

38. Hi, Flaxbee

:hug: I will watch the finger.

I hate to see them scared. But it's better than the alternative.

[NMDemDist2]

34. with your bare hands?? you are a crazy woman!?! I always go armed with a thick towel

or blanket. Cover them with said weapon and grab em tight before they can wiggle out from under it

you are either very brave or very crazy :crazy:

[bertha katzenengel]

39. I am very crazy and maybe a little brave.

And completely compartmentalized on this one.

I did cover her with a blanket. Five times she clawed and squirmed her way out.

:hi:

[KamaAina]

37. Anything? Even riding a bus in Savannah?

http://www.catchacat.org/catchacat_index.aspx

Catch a CAT



It's "Chatham Area Transit", hence "CAT", tee hee. I wonder what their on-time performance is like? :shrug:

[bertha katzenengel]

42. Well, sure!

I'll catch a cat when I'm in Savanah. But don't ask me to let it hurt me. ;)

[Rising Phoenix]

40. ....

:woohoo: you bad as mf

[bertha katzenengel]

44. Heh heh.

:hi:

[Arugula Latte]

46. Yay, Bertha!

Glad you caught her! :toast: