Sunday, December 30, 2012

12/24/2012 to 12/30/2012




HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Relocations and In Take
December Closeout 
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get


Relocations and In Take:   I placed 0 (just too cold) with in-take at 3. 

I have some barns waiting for it to warm up or for friendly cats. Hope the weather warms up soon. I HATE THE COLD! Give me a nice warm day and night so the cats can be comfortable in their relocation cage.  

I took in a cat from Dallas Animal Services that has been caught in a BEAR TRAP! The last time I checked, Dallas does not have any bears….but….some IDIOT has a bear trap. GEEZ! 

December Closeout:  I placed 26 in December in 6 north Texas counties. I will do the 2012 closeout next week. 
            Collin               Ellis                  Hunt
            Denton            Grayson           Rockwall

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Mansfield:  Originally put Tommy and Truman in that heated workshop. THEN – the ranch manager also took Avalanche, a white cat from the Tri-City Shelter. Well, Truman and Avalanche are “hanging” together and Tommy has moved to the pool house. Looks like Tommy is a loaner. BUT – it is a safe place and insulated.  

·         Argyle:  A lady named Jamie is moving out of state.  She had 2 feral cats that needed to be relocated. A friend in Argyle offered to take them. She has some big caging in her backyard because she used to have 2 cougars – YES I SAID COUGARS! Both have now passed away of old age so the caging (really big with a top) was available for the relo. So, Jamie took over the first cat but she got out like the first night or something – really quick.  Cats can get out of a very small opening under a fence or between the poles and the gate.  Cat #1 – GONE! Yikes! So, we put up a cage in the garage and put cat #2 in there. We are now at week two and now CAT #1 has been spotted coming in and out of the garage to “see her friend”. YEAH – this is great!      
·      
          Lucas:  Jackie is living large in a triple garage in Lucas. She has her own “couch” and heater. The kids love her and the rodents are gone from the garage.  

·         McKinney:  Harley – OH MY GOSH! Harley has turned into a “love bunny” – quote from barn owner. She follows her around, get in her lap, and wants to be LOVED at any and every moment! Congrats, Harley!  

·         Wolfe City:  Batman and Molly – what beautiful black cats. They came out to see me and wanted to be petted. The barn owners are pleased because they are both staying in the barn and not venturing out over to the house. The 14-year-old barn cat is “adjusting” to the new youngsters in his life.  

·         Justin:  Jackie and Jamie went to a barn in Justin. It has a loft where they can hang out – so did not see them…but the food keeps disappearing.     
      
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
·         A guy in Weatherford has about 15 cats that only 5 have been sterilized. He cannot afford to continue with the vet work. Feral Friends still has a vet on their list that is in Weatherford and I hope to work through them to get this problem resolved! 
·        
          Check this out:  Four months ago a lady purchased a condo in Dallas. Two months ago she adopted two cats (sisters) from a local rescue group or shelter. Before Christmas, she left and has not been back! She left a patio door open enough for the cats to get to the litter box on the patio. NOW – the cats have jumped from the patio and gone to one of the neighbors – hungry and spooked! The neighbor took them in and started calling from a list of no-kill groups and that is how they got to Barn Cats. Tomorrow we will be off to get them scanned for a microchip that will perhaps tell us what group they came from originally. POOR KITTIES!   Scared and alone!  

 I am not looking forward to the first of the year…all the females are pregnant and kitten season will soon be upon us.

Remember:  A female cat can get pregnant while she is nursing a litter!

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.           Peg             

Tuesday, December 25, 2012

12/17/2012 to 12/23/2012



MEOWY CHRISTMAS!

Relocations and In Take
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get


Relocations and In Take:   I placed 7 with in-take at 3. Problem is that 2 out of the three were part of the 7 that got placed. Still have some that have been here a month or more.    
2              Garage in Van Alstyne
1                    Barn in Rockwall
3               Bonham 
1                    To Adoption Group

The barn in Rockwall is now managed by a guy I worked with many years ago in Bartonville. He was at Star Gate Sport Horses then. He had a heater set up to keep “Denise” warn during her cage time. I appreciated that and I am sure “Denise” will like it, too. I really do not like to put out a single cat this time of year because 2 or 3 will keep each other warmer.  BUT – “Turtle”, the current barn cat, needs a friend….so….”Denise” is that friend. 

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Denison:  Saw Tigger in his workshop/office/man cave in Denison. Chief is there somewhere…just not obvious. Tigger has made himself right at home.    

·         Nevada:  Little Boy and Suzie are still hiding out in the garage in Nevada. But the food keeps disappearing and the rodents are GONE!    

·         Flower Mound:  Saw Lucy when I went to pick up equipment. She looks good. The other three will be more elusive…but I am sure they are still around. Meg, the Great Pyrenees, will see to that. 

·         Flower Mound:  Starlet has hit it big in Flower Mound. The home-owners have converted a swimming pool equipment storage tub to an insulated hidey box for her…heated bed, feeder, waterer, and litter box. She is spending her days under the deck where the rodents are hiding. All is well in Flower Mound!

·         Celina:  I set up a triple cage in a hay loft here. The caregivers for the 2 cats delivered there after the shots were updated. WELL – the ranch hand would never answer his phone and then would not return my phone calls. I finally called the barn owner who gave me the gate code – that DID NOT WORK! Bottom line:  It took me longer to get the equipment back than it did to set up that triple cage in a hay loft!   
      
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
SAME AS LAST WEEK:  Slow time for phone and emails – thank God!   The holidays are upon us and I am glad for a little relief. 

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.           Peg             

Monday, December 17, 2012

12/10/2012 to 12/16/2012



Relocations and In Take
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get


Relocations and In Take:   I placed 7 with in-take at 1.  Finally catching up on intake and I got all the cat cages out of my family and dining rooms! 
1                    Mansfield:  workshop cat
1                    Midlothian:  Adoption
2                    Wolfe City – Their 14 year old barn cat can no longer “keep up”. 
1            Lucus:  garage cat
1                    Argyle:  garage cat
1            Bonham

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Aubrey:  Magic and Pepper have moved from the horse stall to the tack/feed room…where the mice are! All is well in Aubrey 
·          
      McKinney:  Harley was being reclusive in the cage at the barn site. As it turns out, the barn owner wants her to “be more friendly”. I offered to switch her BUT – she put in the time and energy and Harley has come around and has come out from the hidey box and making friends. YEAH! 
·          
      Celeste:  Crash, Chumpkins, and Cheddar are being reclusive but the food is disappearing. She has 3 donkeys so they are still around – just not obvious!
·          
      Mansfield:  Tommy and Truman are hiding in the barn/workshop walls – well that is where the rodents are hiding, too! They are “leaving bodies around” each morning. 
·          
      Argyle:  Kelly and Kendra from Feral Friends are hanging out in the barn in Argyle. The last 2 (Ashley and Martha) did not stay – so it is good these two are staying around. 
      
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
Slow time for phone and emails – thank God! The holidays are upon us and I am glad for a little relief. 

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.           Peg             

Saturday, December 15, 2012

12/3/2012 to 12/9/2012



Relocations and In Take
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get


Relocations and In Take:   I placed 9 with in-take at 8.  Finally:  One Less!
            2          McKinney
            4          Adoption Group   
            1          Flower Mound
            2          Justin

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Desoto:  The ranch hand heard a noise in the hay barn and went to investigate. It turned out to be 3 of the “boys” going after a big rat. It scared the ranch hand and he fell over backwards – oops! The “boys” and the ranch hand are doing fine – but the rat did not make it. 
·         Lewisville:  Jilly Bean is doing well in the garage environment and KILLING stuff! The family is happy.   
      
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
·         UPDATE:  The Greenville Six were all spayed and neutered on Friday thanks to Feral Friends. There are 3 girls and 3 boys….we have prevented a kitten EXPLOSION that would have happened in February! I would like to place all 6 together and will soon be calling barns that have previously said they would take additional cats. WISH ME LUCK!   

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.     Peg             

Sunday, December 2, 2012

11/26/2012 to 12/02/2012



Relocations and In Take
November Closeout
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get


Relocations and In Take:   I placed 11 with in-take at 13…numbers still going the wrong way.
            2          Office/Workshop/Man Cave in Denison
            2          Adoption Group (the 2 kittens from Greenville) 
            4          Barn in Flower Mound
            2          Barn in Aubrey
            1          Adoption

November Closeout:   We placed a total of 45 cats in November in 6 North Texas Counties:
            Colin                Denton            Grayson
            Dallas              Ellis                  Hunt

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Red Oak:  Sophie and Sam are doing well in their new barn home. The owner has prepared a nice, high hidey-place for them and it is working out well. I saw both during the pickup of the equipment. ALSO – there were MANY, MANY mouse bodies in and around their cages…definitely DOING THEIR JOB!  
·         Desoto:  The 4 are hanging out around the main and hay barns and are working. The barn owner is pleased with the rodent body count.
      
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
·         “No good deed goes unpunished” – quote from Judge Judy:   I received a call from an elderly lady in the Greenville area. She was talking to me but her son was “feeding” her questions/etc. in the background. So, I just asked to speak with him. Both parents are in their 80’s and live in the country.  People continue to dump cats there, they feel sorry for them and feed them, and they breed! Now there about 15 to 20. He had 5 in a cage. After much discussion about the spay/neuter clinic in Greenville, he said they could not afford to get them done. I said Barn Cats would help pay if they can get them to the clinic. I really thought he was trying to “do the right thing” so I said I would take the 5 cats that he has caged…but….they need to be separated. I explained how we do that and he said he had 9 carriers so using 5 would not be a problem. His mom has an empty room and the transfer could be done there. 

      He called back on Friday and said his sister would be bringing the cats to Dallas and I gave her directions. Unfortunately, she had that gigantic cage with 6 cats (not 5 cats) in it together. One door was missing so he had wired some sort of fence piece over it. It was about 6’ tall and on rollers. The cats had a cooking pan and a glass mixing bowl in the cage. There was no food or water or litter box present. IN FACT, the cats had pooped in the mixing bowl – GROSS! To make matters worse, I only had 3 empty cages in the back cat rooms so 2 were set up in the garage….trying to help this family out and now the son refuses to answer his cell phone. 

      Each is now in a separate, clean cage with food, water, and a litter box. All will be tested, sterilized, and given shots on Friday. I would have sent that whole thing back to Greenville but it would only be the cats that would suffer…poor things. I hate it when cats get stuck in a situation like this. ANYWAY – the cats are safe and in clean quarters. I am sorry for the remaining cats. Barn Cats will NOT be able to help with the spay/neuter and/or taking any additional cats from these people.

Thanks following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.     Peg             

Sunday, November 25, 2012

11/19/2012 to 11/25/2012



Relocations and In Take
Our Cats after Release
Earthquake in Mansfield
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get

Relocations and In Take:   I placed 2 with in-take at 6...oops – going the wrong way again. Things are always slow during any holiday week.                                                                              
  2          Barn in Nevada

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Dallas:  Picked up equipment after the relo of “Lizzie and the 4 Angels”. It is an enormous horse boarding/riding stable. I did not see any of the cats but they are seeing dead rodents…good stuff!  
      
Earthquake in Mansfield:  I placed “Tommy” and “Truman” in a heated barn east and a little south of downtown Mansfield. Well – there was an earthquake (2.2) there midweek with the epicenter just about right under their barn. Wonder if the boys felt it?

Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
·         REMEMBER FROM LAST WEEK:  I am trying to work with a guy in Corsicana. UPDATE:  I called him over the weekend and sent him to check on the spay/neuter clinic on Monday. He called from there but gave the phone to the person at the front desk. HE WAS AT ANIMAL CONTROL – NOT THE SPAY NEUTER CLINIC! I asked the officer to direct him to the clinic and she knew where it was on 5th Street. He was going there – BUT – once again – HAVE HAD NO WORD FROM HIM!

·         A family in Greenville has a problem with folks dumping cats in their neighborhood. I took some teenagers from there about a year ago….very friendly cats and in good health. She was back on the phone asking for additional help this week. I went on Sunday, picked up a mama cat (looks pregnant again), one teenager, and 2 almost 2 month old kittens (calico and orange – supper cute). ALSO – left her a large carrier and a trap to get all the others sterilized. If she uses Cause for Paws in Greenville, Barn Cats will pay!!!!! Hope she GETS AFTER IT before additional kittens are born.

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.           Peg             

11/12/2012 to 11/18/2012



Relocations and In Take
Our Cats after Release
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get
 
Relocations and In Take:   I placed 7 with in-take at 5.                                                 
2          Heated Barn in Mansfield
2          Heated Barn in Celina
3          Barn in Celeste

Our Cats after Release: 
·         Venus:  Saw “Vicky” this week. She is living on the front porch in a feral house and/or under the house there in Venus. She looked really good – her new name is “Lucinda”. She has filled out and is “working” to control their rodent problem.      
·         Rowlett:  Cutsey and Peppermint have become KILLER CATS there at the warehouse.  Each has a special spot on top of a cabinet or storage area with a comfy bed and many toys. They find dead mice almost every morning when they come to work.   
·         Burleson:  I did not see Mickey, Manny, and Mona but the barn owner, Frank, sees them each evening for their canned food. 
·         Royce City:  Well – AJ and Houdini have settled right in. AJ is still skittish but Houdini has become just something shy of a LAP CAT! Sue and Gary have worked wonders with those two cats…thanks! 
           
Phone Calls/Emails You Don’t Want to Get: 
·       I am trying to work with a guy in Corsicana. I found him a spay/neuter option with the Humane Society of Navarro County but now he says he cannot afford it – I remember it as free but may be confused  I told him BARN CATS WILL PAY but you need to get payment information – check or credit card – and I will pay for the sterilization and rabies shots. That was 5 days ago and NO ACTION. Sounds like another Valley View…same song…second verse! 

Thanks for following the Barn Cat Blog.  See you next week.           Peg