A busy few months
Cat trapper’s diary
The life of a volunteer trapper is certainly never dull and the last few months have been pretty full-on. Cats seem to do the most random things. One day I went to take a look at a colony of feral cats living near an electricity sub-station. In the scrub surrounding it I spotted a mum with some kittens. The only access was through a locked gate so an emergency call was made. A man from SSE turned up, let me in and I was able to take the mum and 2 kittens in to care. Not a very comfortable place to raise a family but something different for SSE!
The next call was to a young mum who had wandered in to a house and given birth to 4 kittens in the home owner’s under-stair cupboard – warm and comfortable I suppose but not very convenient for the other residents! A nice and easy pick-up though for a change.
Then a call came in to a pregnant cat in Hayes. Sadly the cat wasn’t pregnant but had a massive tumour in her abdomen so we had to let her go. However if I hadn’t had that call, then the lady up the road wouldn’t have known who to call when another cat: the lovely Dolly decided to come into her lean-to, and give birth in her tartan shopping trolley! Mum and six adorable tabby kittens about 2 days old were rescued and have now been spoilt rotten ever since by their foster family.
Then along came Tatty Cat – I think local strays must believe I have a ‘Great Escape’ type tunnel in my back garden as this is the 5th cat I have rescued this way. There must be a sign somewhere! Tatty Cat turned up, loudly let us know he was there, strolled in to our kitchen and made himself at home. Tatty Cat is so called because he was in a bit of a state – very skinny and had a skin condition. After lots of care and treatment he has improved no end, but he still meows a lot – hence he’s also known as Tatty Chatty Cat.
Then came Tiddy Tabby – he’d been under a car crying for 8 hours so was kindly picked up and handed in to our vet. When transporting him in the car, he decided to have a magnificent poo in the carrier. Unable to bear the smell, I had to pull over to clean everything up. He decided to explore while I was otherwise occupied and disappeared into the back of the car. I couldn’t open the door in case he escaped, so I continued my journey extremely carefully. Luckily the traffic was solid, so I crept along in 1stgear trying to ignore the looks from other drivers as a kitten peered out of the back windows at them. Eventually Tiddy finally decided to put himself back in the carrier so I could breathe again. Now called Dash-Dash, he’s a beautiful, lively and exhausting chap.
This is just a selection of calls – there’s been so many more where we’ve taken in mums, kittens, strays, etc. and we are always nearly full. But that’s part of volunteering – I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Carol Willingham
June 2021