Goodbye and goodluck

[cpietra16]

HI edwina, I think I am guilty of not responding to your pics...but I assure that I did look at them and smiled....I will make a point of commenting more....

[Dog Dancer]

Like many of the others I don't get on here alot, and when I do I love to read and stay updated, but I don't always have time to post. That said I have posted threads that get lots of hits and very few replies. Yeah sometimes it's hard not to be hurt, but I don't take it personal. We can't all be "hotties" all the time on the thread board. Stick around Edwina, most of the peeps here are so kind and generous you'll be shaking your head in no time wondering why you were concerned at all. Don't forget it's summer time and we don't all have the same amount of time on the computers now.

[14+kitties]

You are very fortunate in having an organization that will help out so much in your area.
So let's see what we can do to help with suggestions....
Do you have a "free" paper or anything in your area where you can advertise for a live trap? If not then see if you can pick up a smaller one. Here they cost less than $100. In the States it would be less I'm sure. You don't need a huge trap to do the job. In fact I just googled Home Depot in the States and found a medium sized one for $45.00.
As for catching something you don’t want… if you do cover the trap with a blanket or large towel, take the animal to the farthest part of your property or back to where you think it would have come from, lift just the end of the blanket from the open end and quickly lift the door. You may have to tip the end to get the occupant to leave. Don’t freak out. Just do it calmly and quietly and then walk away. I caught a couple of possums last year. Cute little beggars. Skunks can be released the same way.
Or, alternately, is your feeding station for the ferals close to your home? If not you can move it there. Set the trap up nearby. Only keep the trap set for when you can keep an eye on it. This way if anything you don’t want caught comes near you can scare it away just by going closer to it. Most of the animals you don’t want caught are only out and about at night.
Most organizations for feral cats are set up so you can bring in cats at short notice. You can bring them in right in the trap. Just bring a carrier along so kitty can be moved to it after surgery.
As for where to keep the kitties; I use large dog crates. They are ideal for a litter box, an area for blankets, food and water. Kitty can be kept in there while waiting for appointments too. It’s ideal for recouping. The crates are something else you can advertise for. Or you can find quite often for a reasonable price.
When you domesticate a cat/kitten so it can be rehomed please consider charging a nominal fee for it. A free kitten(s) advertisement is an ideal situation for people who come and get the kitten(s) and either take them to a lab where they get paid or feed the kitten(s) to snakes. Yes, it does happen. Even a nominal $20.00 fee to “help cover the cost of food” usually is enough to keep these losers away.

I know it’s a daunting proposition but believe me, it is much better to do this than to not have the ferals neutered/spayed. They will continue to procreate. In a few years if not fixed they will be bringing their family, their family’s family, and so on………
Sorry this is so long. Didn’t mean it to be.

[babymomma]

Edwina, I definatly get where your coming from.. Ive had a few threads totally overlooked in the past few weeks. Even one that i thought was very imprtant, and i was kinda proud at how my girl was doing. I got one response. And ive never wanted to mention it cause when i think about it im afraid somebody is just gonna think im being whiney and wanted attentoin or something. But it isnt a nice feeling to be overlooked.. And I know soetimes people just dont notice the thread or havent seen it.. but, yea.. Stick around girly

(I only read the first page of replys, because i wanted to respond.. Sorry if the topic of thread has changed.)

[edwina]

Thanks guys , i think i will staying for awhile, you have convinced me.

14+ i will be looking around the small papers we have for a trap, i know you can 'borrow' one from the game commission, but for as many cats that get dumped here, i want one of my own. I dont need a large dog crate, i have a small pen + a rabbit pen to use if needed. I put freckles in the rabbit pen when i have oggie out running around, they dont like each other very much. Its a guy thing.

[Tundra_Queen]

Originally Posted by edwina

Thanks guys.

I put oggies pics back up in the photo section.

Yeahhhh I'm so glad u are going to be sticking around.

I know u said u don't want a dog crate, but if u had to keep the cat longer until u could get it to the vet a bigger trap might be handy.

Debbie

[edwina]

The small pen i have is bigger than a dog crate.

[Chaser]

Just to chime in with all the others.....I'm glad you stayed, as you seem very devoted to helping animals.

Keep in mind that these threads come up in Google searches etc. and this site gets thousands of visitors every day. Those all count as "views", so a lot of non-members view threads. Almost every thread gets at least 5 times more views than it gets replies.

In addition, although I'm a regular member I browse a lot on my Blackberry at work but the setup of the site makes it very hard to respond to posts on it. Therefore by the time I get home I can't always remember what I wanted to say in each thread I viewed earlier in the day. Again, contributing to the more views than replies.

[Toonces]

edwina I have been a member of this board for a few years and the people here are fantastic, I too am sorry I never posted to any of you pics (which are great btw) I don't get on much with dial up and a teenager in the house hogging the internet but I do get on from time to time and I can tell you what you are doing is great, keep up the good work and know that there are ppl here that are just as devoted as you and what you are doing is truley apperciated