(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Trapping, Tipping, Snipping, Preventing Homeless Kittens. A Colorado State Open Thread, 7/31/2023 [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-31 Last year a wild yellow mama kitty used to roam around our back yard with a couple of kittens in tow. We made attempts to catch them, but we might as well have tried to catch the squirrels in the trees overhead. They were just too wild and quick. Once in awhile a big burly yellow Tomcat would join the group. Undoubtedly, he was daddy of the brood. Young feral kitties adopted our place as home. Now what? Fast forward to this year, and the kittens have grown to almost-adult (teenage) size, still with sweet kitten faces. But they are feral. Over the winter, Mr. babushka built them an insulated shelter from directions on YouTube. We provide cat food and water. Mama cat hasn’t been around since last year, but big yellow Tom showed up, paying far too much attention to the young kitties this spring, if you know what I mean. Both of them are females. We couldn’t let them make a bunch of homeless kittens, and we couldn’t catch them. What to do? I spent a week on the computer and my phone and social media researching, texting, messaging, emailing, learning about cat groups, calling veterinarians. Responses were slim and discouraging. A group called “No Kill Colorado” responded to my message on facebook with a referral to “Agents of Chaos Cats,” so I messaged the Chaos group. They sent me a digital form questionnaire to complete, which I did. Captured! Kitty Two waits for a ride to the TNR (trap, neuter, return) veterinarian. After submitting the form and exchanging messages, we scheduled a night for trapping. The first day planned fell through. It was one of those nights that the storm gods flashed and thundered and dumped the sky. No feral cat would have been out in that weather. Humans would have been foolish to try. So, we tried again the following night. Screen traps, canned food, dry food, sliced lunch meat … they ate snacks placed near the traps, but were leery of going in. Much patience and coaxing got one of them in and the door closed. Panicked kitty ricocheted around the wire cage like a furry ping-pong ball until the trapper got her into a transport cage. All the commotion had sent the other cat running for the hills, which meant we were done trapping cats for the day. The next day, the second cat was lured into a dog kennel with a dish of wet food, and we quietly closed the door behind her. She didn’t panic and fight the way the first one had, and we were glad about that. Let me outta this thing! Kitty One, or is it Kitty Two? bails for freedom after being vaccinated, ear-tipped and spayed. Several days later, both cats arrived home in the dog kennel and were released in the back yard. Since then, they have been making up for their adventure by catching up on food and hunting squirrels. They will never catch one, but they do catch mice and give the local squirrels some exercise. The best part? They can live out here happily ever after without making litters of homeless kittens. Kitty One and Kitty Two don’t have real names, yet. Do people even give names to feral cats? What should their names be? Suggestions are welcome in the comments. Agents of Chaos TNR works the Denver metro area and north; with the AgentsofChaosTNR Facebook page here. No Kill Colorado is statewide; here’s the No Kill Colorado Facebook page. Even if you don’t have cats to TNR, they appreciate sponsors of what they do. We are happy to be home again, but we’re still mad at you … Moments after their release, Kitty Two glares at me while Kitty One gets a drink. Since then, they have learned to like wet food twice a day, and one of them will come up to the screen door when it is time for food. Will they ever be tame? I don’t know, but they can live here happily with no homeless kittens in their future. In Colorado Today — In Colorado news, Biden Has Decided To Keep Space Command In Colorado, Rejecting Move To Alabama. I see this has made the front page of DKOS, but I’m leaving it here because this is a big story and a big deal. WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has decided to keep U.S. Space Command headquarters in Colorado, overturning a last-ditch decision by the Trump administration to move it to Alabama and ending months of politically fueled debate, according to senior U.S. officials. The officials said Biden was convinced by the head of Space Command, Gen. James Dickinson, who argued that moving his headquarters now would jeopardize military readiness. Today, the 2023 monsoons are rolling in. I’ve tried to get some pictures of the clouds, but no image can capture the feeling of incoming storm clouds in real life. The flood watch starts at 4, and it will be a weather watching kind of week, especially for folks who live in areas prone to flooding. One of our afternoon storms a few days ago knocked the power out for a good long time. That was one of the things I don’t miss about living out with the sagebrush and prairie dogs. It doesn’t happen in town nearly as often as it did out on the hill where our REA pole with the electric meter was the tallest thing around. There were times that meter was fried plumb in half and we still had power to the house. I don’t know how. The breaker box out there always had issues though. I can’t imagine why. /s Summer in Colorado brings wildfire season. Wouldn’t it be great to have a single site to check the status of current active and contained fires in the state? The Colorado Sun has a wildfire page with current news and updates. Links on their site provide information on preparing for wildfire, tracking air quality, safely using the backcountry and getting emergency alerts. Yes, they want you to subscribe. Worth doing if you can, but no paywall if you can’t. This is your open thread. What’s happening in your part of the state? What will you remember most about the summer of 2023? [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/31/2178199/-Trapping-Tipping-Snipping-Preventing-Homeless-Kittens-A-Colorado-State-Open-Thread-7-31-2023 Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/