Part 5

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

I got ready for work and left the house, making sure my cat stayed in the house. He wasn't used to being kept inside this long, and was starting to get grouchy, as well as sneaky. Ike and I had played in the yard earlier- it's a morning ritual of ours. But I made sure to keep him on the side of the house opposite where the cages were. I didn't want him barking at the cages where the cats were. I realized that last night was the first time I could remember seeing the gray kitten since it had bitten me Saturday night. I put on some heavy gloves and went back to the cages.

During the night, the mother cat had managed to pull the entire fleece blanket that I had covering the two traps into the cage with her. She glared at me from the top of it. I could get no sense that she had ever been anyone's pet. The black kitten in the other cage panicked when I came near. I picked up it's cage and carried it to car. I wore the gloves not because I was worried about further exposure to rabies, but because I didn't like the idea of getting bit or clawed again.

Both the vet and her assistant were in the office when I got there. She mentioned that she hadn't heard from the lab yet, but she'd call them and then call me at work. I told her I'd be there as soon as I ran home and reset the trap. I said that I was hoping to catch the gray kitten soon, because I didn't want to keep the mother cat cooped up in the trap any longer than necessary. I didn't think it was fair to the cat.

I got home and reset the trap with another can of tuna. By now, my car smelled like rancid tuna. I filled a bottle with water, and while wearing gloves, eased open the door to the trap holding the mother cat, but only high enough to be able to flip the bowl back over. I closed the door, and filled the bowl with water from the bottle. She glared at me the entire time like I was a monster.

And to be honest, I felt like one.

My arms and back were sore. My thighs were sore and stiff, and hurt to move, like muscles feel after exercising heavily for the first time. I got to work and settled in. It was only a little after 8 a.m. I figured I'd go home and check on the trap at 10, but I had an idea later on. I'm on instant messenger whenever I'm on a computer, as is my roommate.


outsdr, 9:23 AM: Hey I need you to do something for me when you get a chance. If you look out the bathroom window, you can see the cat traps. At some point, look out and see if the silver trap has caught anything. If you can't see into the actual trap, you should be able to tell if the gate has dropped at least. This way, I don't have to keep running back and fourth today. The mother cat has been in the trap for over 24 hours now, and it's not right to keep her in there any longer than necessary.

Roommate, 9:40 AM: no still open

outsdr, 9:40 AM: K thanks. I didn't see either of the other two kittens out there this morning.


I concentrated on work for awhile. Around 10, my vet called. She said that the lab had gotten the package, had tested the two kittens, and neither of them were rabid, which was good. She also said that they didn't want her to ship any of the others to them, except for the one that actually bit me when, and if, we finally caught it. She was surprised by that, because she thought they might want the others for statistical purposes or something.

At about 10:30, I went home. The trap had been triggered, but nothing was inside it. The mother cat was lying curled up in the water bowl. I reset the trap, ducked inside for a few minutes to tell my roommate about it, then went back to work.


Roommate, 12:30 PM: trap triggered again, don't think anythings in it though, cause I see 1 black 1 white kitten outside of it, unless there's another cat, going to go check

Roommate, 12:39 PM: nothing. it's reset.

outsdr, 12:39 PM: K, thks. If you didn't where gloves, wash your hands throughly. Was the momma cat still laying in the water bowl?

Roommate, 12:41 PM: no

outsdr, 12:41 PM: I don't want to take any chances that would require YOU to get shots too. A, because THEY SUCK. B, because you don't have insurance.

Roommate, 1:14 PM: Good news. Caught another kitty. Bad news. The one you've been trying to catch wasn't it Only one left now is the white one lol

outsdr, 1:14 PM: God! Ok. I need about 10 more minutes to finish up this ad, then I can run home and get that one.


I finished up the ad I was designing, and drove home and got the trap. The mother cat had burrowed into the blanket, and only one baleful eye stared out at me. The black kitten, however, was crying loudly. "Sorry, kitty," I said. I put the trap in the car, and drove to the vet's office. The kitten cried the entire way.

My vet was alone when I got there; her assistant must have been at lunch or something. Jewel asked me how I was doing. "A little sore from the injections, but that's bearable," I said. "Emotionally, I'm getting tired of bringing kittens to you to be put down." She assured me that as tough as this was, I was doing the right thing, which I already new. I didn't like what I was doing, but the weren't any other options. I didn't have any place to quarantine or cage the cats until I caught the right one, and I needed an empty trap to do that. My vet also told me that not only didn't the city take stray cats, none of the private non-profit groups in the area did either, because there were just too many of them, and no one she knew personally was looking for a cat either. She said that a few weeks ago someone had captured a group of feral kittens and brought them to her to be euthanized; they had held them for awhile and had put up signs in the pet store, but no one had been interested. I told her I thought that even if none of them had rabies, it was best the rest be put down, including the mother. She agreed, because she said otherwise they would just go on and have more kittens, and they weren't ever going to move on from my house, either, in all probability, which would be a problem.

The kitten was still crying in the cage. Without her assistant there, she had no one to help her gas the kitten. She got one of her carrying cages, and we tried to gently dump the kitten out of the trap into that cage, but it was holding on tightly and wouldn't cooperate. I still had my gloves on, so I reached in and grabbed it as firmly as I could by the back of the neck, and trying not to hurt it, I pulled it out of the cage.

It was the first time I've ever heard a kitten scream in terror. "I'm sorry kitty," I said, feeling bad, "but I have to do this." I placed it gently in the bottom of the travel carrier, pulled my arm quickly out, and the vet shut the door fast. I got ready to go. I told her that if I hadn't caught the gray kitten by that afternoon, I was going to bring her the mother cat to be put down. "It probably sounds funny," I said, "considering it's going to be put to sleep anyway, but I don't want to be cruel to it by keeping it in the cage for another night."

I went home to set the trap again. I could still hear that kitten's scream in my head, and it made me feel sad. And angry at the people who let their pet's run around un-neutered, contributing to the stray problem in the first place. And I was angry at anyone who'd ever decided they didn't want to take care of their pets anymore, and had abandoned them, or just dumped them. And I was angry at the city, for not having a proper pound set up to take in stray cats.

And mostly, for not having a better solution, I was angry at myself.

More soon. I'm trying to finish up writing all this, and I'm posting it as I get decent-sized chunks finished.

Part 5

Thursday, May 31st, 2007

I got ready for work and left the house, making sure my cat stayed in the house. He wasn't used to being kept inside this long, and was starting to get grouchy, as well as sneaky. Ike and I had played in the yard earlier- it's a morning ritual of ours. But I made sure to keep him on the side of the house opposite where the cages were. I didn't want him barking at the cages where the cats were. I realized that last night was the first time I could remember seeing the gray kitten since it had bitten me Saturday night. I put on some heavy gloves and went back to the cages.

During the night, the mother cat had managed to pull the entire fleece blanket that I had covering the two traps into the cage with her. She glared at me from the top of it. I could get no sense that she had ever been anyone's pet. The black kitten in the other cage panicked when I came near. I picked up it's cage and carried it to car. I wore the gloves not because I was worried about further exposure to rabies, but because I didn't like the idea of getting bit or clawed again.

Both the vet and her assistant were in the office when I got there. She mentioned that she hadn't heard from the lab yet, but she'd call them and then call me at work. I told her I'd be there as soon as I ran home and reset the trap. I said that I was hoping to catch the gray kitten soon, because I didn't want to keep the mother cat cooped up in the trap any longer than necessary. I didn't think it was fair to the cat.

I got home and reset the trap with another can of tuna. By now, my car smelled like rancid tuna. I filled a bottle with water, and while wearing gloves, eased open the door to the trap holding the mother cat, but only high enough to be able to flip the bowl back over. I closed the door, and filled the bowl with water from the bottle. She glared at me the entire time like I was a monster.

And to be honest, I felt like one.

My arms and back were sore. My thighs were sore and stiff, and hurt to move, like muscles feel after exercising heavily for the first time. I got to work and settled in. It was only a little after 8 a.m. I figured I'd go home and check on the trap at 10, but I had an idea later on. I'm on instant messenger whenever I'm on a computer, as is my roommate.


outsdr, 9:23 AM: Hey I need you to do something for me when you get a chance. If you look out the bathroom window, you can see the cat traps. At some point, look out and see if the silver trap has caught anything. If you can't see into the actual trap, you should be able to tell if the gate has dropped at least. This way, I don't have to keep running back and fourth today. The mother cat has been in the trap for over 24 hours now, and it's not right to keep her in there any longer than necessary.

Roommate, 9:40 AM: no still open

outsdr, 9:40 AM: K thanks. I didn't see either of the other two kittens out there this morning.


I concentrated on work for awhile. Around 10, my vet called. She said that the lab had gotten the package, had tested the two kittens, and neither of them were rabid, which was good. She also said that they didn't want her to ship any of the others to them, except for the one that actually bit me when, and if, we finally caught it. She was surprised by that, because she thought they might want the others for statistical purposes or something.

At about 10:30, I went home. The trap had been triggered, but nothing was inside it. The mother cat was lying curled up in the water bowl. I reset the trap, ducked inside for a few minutes to tell my roommate about it, then went back to work.


Roommate, 12:30 PM: trap triggered again, don't think anythings in it though, cause I see 1 black 1 white kitten outside of it, unless there's another cat, going to go check

Roommate, 12:39 PM: nothing. it's reset.

outsdr, 12:39 PM: K, thks. If you didn't where gloves, wash your hands throughly. Was the momma cat still laying in the water bowl?

Roommate, 12:41 PM: no

outsdr, 12:41 PM: I don't want to take any chances that would require YOU to get shots too. A, because THEY SUCK. B, because you don't have insurance.

Roommate, 1:14 PM: Good news. Caught another kitty. Bad news. The one you've been trying to catch wasn't it Only one left now is the white one lol

outsdr, 1:14 PM: God! Ok. I need about 10 more minutes to finish up this ad, then I can run home and get that one.


I finished up the ad I was designing, and drove home and got the trap. The mother cat had burrowed into the blanket, and only one baleful eye stared out at me. The black kitten, however, was crying loudly. "Sorry, kitty," I said. I put the trap in the car, and drove to the vet's office. The kitten cried the entire way.

My vet was alone when I got there; her assistant must have been at lunch or something. Jewel asked me how I was doing. "A little sore from the injections, but that's bearable," I said. "Emotionally, I'm getting tired of bringing kittens to you to be put down." She assured me that as tough as this was, I was doing the right thing, which I already new. I didn't like what I was doing, but the weren't any other options. I didn't have any place to quarantine or cage the cats until I caught the right one, and I needed an empty trap to do that. My vet also told me that not only didn't the city take stray cats, none of the private non-profit groups in the area did either, because there were just too many of them, and no one she knew personally was looking for a cat either. She said that a few weeks ago someone had captured a group of feral kittens and brought them to her to be euthanized; they had held them for awhile and had put up signs in the pet store, but no one had been interested. I told her I thought that even if none of them had rabies, it was best the rest be put down, including the mother. She agreed, because she said otherwise they would just go on and have more kittens, and they weren't ever going to move on from my house, either, in all probability, which would be a problem.

The kitten was still crying in the cage. Without her assistant there, she had no one to help her gas the kitten. She got one of her carrying cages, and we tried to gently dump the kitten out of the trap into that cage, but it was holding on tightly and wouldn't cooperate. I still had my gloves on, so I reached in and grabbed it as firmly as I could by the back of the neck, and trying not to hurt it, I pulled it out of the cage.

It was the first time I've ever heard a kitten scream in terror. "I'm sorry kitty," I said, feeling bad, "but I have to do this." I placed it gently in the bottom of the travel carrier, pulled my arm quickly out, and the vet shut the door fast. I got ready to go. I told her that if I hadn't caught the gray kitten by that afternoon, I was going to bring her the mother cat to be put down. "It probably sounds funny," I said, "considering it's going to be put to sleep anyway, but I don't want to be cruel to it by keeping it in the cage for another night."

I went home to set the trap again. I could still hear that kitten's scream in my head, and it made me feel sad. And angry at the people who let their pet's run around un-neutered, contributing to the stray problem in the first place. And I was angry at anyone who'd ever decided they didn't want to take care of their pets anymore, and had abandoned them, or just dumped them. And I was angry at the city, for not having a proper pound set up to take in stray cats.

And mostly, for not having a better solution, I was angry at myself.

More soon. I'm trying to finish up writing all this, and I'm posting it as I get decent-sized chunks finished.

Part 6

By three o'clock in the afternoon, I'd finished all my work. My roommate had been checking the trap, and there was nothing in it. I'd reached my cut-off point for how long I was willing to keep the momma cat in the cage, so I drove home, put on my gloves, and picked up the cage with the mother cat in it, and headed for the vet's office.

Her assistant was gone for the day, but she had her husband there to help (Her office is built into her garage). We talked for a few minutes, although I can't remember about what it was anymore. Finally, however, my arm was tired from holding the trap, so I carried it into the examination room and put it on the table besides the carrier that held the kitten. The kitten immediately began crying, and the mother began calling back for it. It was pretty pitiful, and the vet said, "I don't really like this part of my job."

I said to her, "It takes a special kind of person to be a vet, honestly. And I'm not that kind of person; I realized that a long time ago. No matter how much I love animals, I'd never be able to be a vet."

She nodded. "So many people come through here and they say, 'Oh, I want to be vet someday because I LUV ANIMALS SOOOOO MUCH!!!' but all they think about are the fluffy puppies and kitties, they never consider things like, well, this..."

I shrugged and said, "You have to love animals enough to be able to do the right thing for them when it's necessary."

She shooed me out of her office as another customer arrived to pick up their cat. I told her I'd be back in 30 minutes, and went off to find something to eat. I ended up at McDonald's, and sat there with my chicken nuggets, just hoping that this could all be over soon. I'd started the rabies treatment, so I knew I was safe from that. All of the problem cats had been put down now, except for the final one to be caught, so they wouldn't be causing any more trouble in the future, and I wouldn't have to wake up in the night to hear cat fights underneath the trailer, and wonder how badly my wimpy cat was getting his ass handed to him this time, and would he need more "bubble-gum medicine", the anti-biotics the vet gave me that was bubble-gum pink and smelled like it too. And when the gray kitten was caught, I could get an answer to it's status as well. Was it rabid? Probably not. If I hadn't gotten the shots and taken any precautions, would it have turned out to be rabid? The perverse way the world works, probably so.

I got back to the vet's office close to 4 or 4:30. She told me that the mother cat had been a little difficult, because she'd burrowed down in the blanket and the knock-out gas hadn't put her to sleep. But it had made her groggy enough that the vet was able to reach in and inject her with enough sedative to knock her out, and then she could handle her well enough to put her out.

I told her I was going to set both traps when I got home, to hopefully double my chances to catch the gray kitten. I went home and did just that. I had been setting the traps in the same place now for two days, and it smelled like rotten tuna, scared cat, and crap. I took the blanket out of the trap and put it on the ground near the traps, thinking it might help attract the last kitten. The empty can of tuna and the water bowl from the trap went in the trash, and I baited it with a fresh can of tuna, set it on the ground, and went inside.

Talked to my roommate for awhile, then went to the bathroom to take care of a few things. I glanced out the window, and I could see that the cage door was closed on one of the traps. I ran outside to check, and there in the trap sat the little gray kitten that had inadvertently gotten the whole mess started.

Part 6

By three o'clock in the afternoon, I'd finished all my work. My roommate had been checking the trap, and there was nothing in it. I'd reached my cut-off point for how long I was willing to keep the momma cat in the cage, so I drove home, put on my gloves, and picked up the cage with the mother cat in it, and headed for the vet's office.

Her assistant was gone for the day, but she had her husband there to help (Her office is built into her garage). We talked for a few minutes, although I can't remember about what it was anymore. Finally, however, my arm was tired from holding the trap, so I carried it into the examination room and put it on the table besides the carrier that held the kitten. The kitten immediately began crying, and the mother began calling back for it. It was pretty pitiful, and the vet said, "I don't really like this part of my job."

I said to her, "It takes a special kind of person to be a vet, honestly. And I'm not that kind of person; I realized that a long time ago. No matter how much I love animals, I'd never be able to be a vet."

She nodded. "So many people come through here and they say, 'Oh, I want to be vet someday because I LUV ANIMALS SOOOOO MUCH!!!' but all they think about are the fluffy puppies and kitties, they never consider things like, well, this..."

I shrugged and said, "You have to love animals enough to be able to do the right thing for them when it's necessary."

She shooed me out of her office as another customer arrived to pick up their cat. I told her I'd be back in 30 minutes, and went off to find something to eat. I ended up at McDonald's, and sat there with my chicken nuggets, just hoping that this could all be over soon. I'd started the rabies treatment, so I knew I was safe from that. All of the problem cats had been put down now, except for the final one to be caught, so they wouldn't be causing any more trouble in the future, and I wouldn't have to wake up in the night to hear cat fights underneath the trailer, and wonder how badly my wimpy cat was getting his ass handed to him this time, and would he need more "bubble-gum medicine", the anti-biotics the vet gave me that was bubble-gum pink and smelled like it too. And when the gray kitten was caught, I could get an answer to it's status as well. Was it rabid? Probably not. If I hadn't gotten the shots and taken any precautions, would it have turned out to be rabid? The perverse way the world works, probably so.

I got back to the vet's office close to 4 or 4:30. She told me that the mother cat had been a little difficult, because she'd burrowed down in the blanket and the knock-out gas hadn't put her to sleep. But it had made her groggy enough that the vet was able to reach in and inject her with enough sedative to knock her out, and then she could handle her well enough to put her out.

I told her I was going to set both traps when I got home, to hopefully double my chances to catch the gray kitten. I went home and did just that. I had been setting the traps in the same place now for two days, and it smelled like rotten tuna, scared cat, and crap. I took the blanket out of the trap and put it on the ground near the traps, thinking it might help attract the last kitten. The empty can of tuna and the water bowl from the trap went in the trash, and I baited it with a fresh can of tuna, set it on the ground, and went inside.

Talked to my roommate for awhile, then went to the bathroom to take care of a few things. I glanced out the window, and I could see that the cage door was closed on one of the traps. I ran outside to check, and there in the trap sat the little gray kitten that had inadvertently gotten the whole mess started.

Part 7

I ran back inside to call the vet. It was only about 5:30, but she didn't answer the phone, and the machine didn't pick up either, which was unusual. I figured I'd take a chance that she'd be there when I got there, grabbed my gloves and went back out to the cage. I was afraid that it would somehow malfunction again, and the kitten would get out. But when I got back to the cage, the gray kitten ran around trying to get away, hissing at me, and the cage door seemed to have dropped pretty firmly, so at least I didn't think there was a chance of it getting out of the cage while I was driving to the vet. I'm not sure how I would have caught it inside the vehicle.

As I pulled up to the vet's office, I could see her standing outside with her husband and her daughter. I walked up and showed them the cage, very glad that I'd finally caught it. He looked small and helpless, and again, I hated like hell what was going to happen to him, to be honest, but I was glad that the end was finally in sight as well. My vet said that she would go ahead and put it down now, but it was too late to ship it to the lab. She didn't know if there was anyone there on Saturday to receive the package, so she told me she might not be able to send it out until Monday. She took the cage into the examination room to get things ready. I stayed behind and talked to her husband, who as it turned out, used to be the animal control officer for the town.

Go figure.

He tried to explain the reasoning of the city when it came to cats, although he blatantly told me that he thought they were wrong, even though he used to have the job. The animal control officer is part of the police department. He had worked it for 20 years, and then the city decided they didn't need an animal control officer any more, and fired him. After a period of time, it was clear that the city needed one after all. Instead of hiring back the vet's husband, a different officer was hired for the position, one who was older and had recently retired, but decided he wanted to return to work to keep occupied or some other reason, and I speculate probably was willing to do it for cheap. From dealing with the man as little as I did, I also doubt he makes any kind of waves or does anything more than the job he is told to do, no questions asked.

The reason the town does not do anything about cats, is that they always felt that there was no way to "track" a cat... meaning, that unlike a dog, a cat couldn't be licensed and given a tag and tracked back to it's owner if it was captured or caused problems. I said that was a bullshit reason, because if they had a proper place to take the stray cats to, such as the first vet I went to who is paid to take the stray dogs, they could hold a cat for a number of days, wait for it to be claimed, and if it was not claimed, euthanize it.

The other "unofficial" reason that I've heard is that there are too many cats, and they're too big of a problem to deal with. Again, I told him that I thought this was bullshit too, because the problem would just get worse if it wasn't addressed in some better way than ignoring it and hoping all the cats would disappear. Instead, now there are people poisoning them, or shooting them with BB guns, or worse, inside city limits, in residential areas. How long would it be before people's pet cats that wander around outside ended up getting taken down with "friendly fire"?

He shrugged and agreed with me on both points. About then, his daughter came out to get him, because the vet was ready for his help with the cat. I told them I'd come by the next day to get the cage.

I went home, packed up the remaining trap in the back of my vehicle (which REALLY smelled bad by now), played with Ike for awhile, let my own cat out of the house finally (He promptly went to sleep on the steps of the porch, of course, which he's never done before). My legs were stiffening up again, although they didn't hurt any more. Ike, the cat, and I went back inside, I called my boss to let her know we'd finally caught the kitten, then went to bed early for the night.

Friday, June 1.

It was a busy day at the paper, I hadn't slept well and woke up late, and never got a chance to stop at the vet's office for the trap. I told her this when she called me at noon. The lab was not open on weekends, so she couldn't ship out the kitten until Monday.

Saturday, June 2.

I went back to the emergency room in the afternoon for my follow up shots. Turns out that this time, there was only going to be one, and it was a much smaller amount with a much smaller needle, but later in the day, my arm felt like I'd gotten punched really hard there.

Monday, June 4.

Ike was scheduled to go see the vet. I needed some more medicine (he has bad arthritis in his legs, and gets 50mg of Deramaxx (deracoxib) each day that keeps him from getting worse as quickly. He was also getting tested for heartworms- they're really rare in this area, but my vet knows of three dogs in the town that have heartworms who's owners refuse to treat them, so she's started running testing clinics during the months. I err to the side of caution with myself, and I won't do any less for my dog. She told me she had shipped out the gray kitten early that day, and she expected to hear back from the lab the next day.

Which brings us, finally, to

Tuesday, June 5.

Today. I'm scheduled for another follow-up injection tomorrow, and there was no word from the lab today. So the story hasn't completely come to an end just yet, because I don't know if the gray kitten was negative or positive. I'm hoping to find out tomorrow. I don't know yet how much this is going to cost me beyond the $1,200 I know about for the initial shots. I don't expect my vet to pick up the tab for this; even if the state lab doesn't charge for the testing, there's the postage to be paid for, and what ever she charges me for euthanizing the six cats. But I know she will be fair with me, and will let me make payments if necessary.


I don't regret what I did; under the circumstances, and with the knowledge I had and the advice I was given, I feel I did the best I could. That doesn't make it any easier, but part of being an adult is doing the right thing even when it sucks really bad. I'll finish off the story when I find out the results of the test, but for now, it's late, and Ike wants to go outside and play fetch. I hope I never have to go through something like this again.

Because I'm never going to be able to forget that black kitten's scream.

Part 7

I ran back inside to call the vet. It was only about 5:30, but she didn't answer the phone, and the machine didn't pick up either, which was unusual. I figured I'd take a chance that she'd be there when I got there, grabbed my gloves and went back out to the cage. I was afraid that it would somehow malfunction again, and the kitten would get out. But when I got back to the cage, the gray kitten ran around trying to get away, hissing at me, and the cage door seemed to have dropped pretty firmly, so at least I didn't think there was a chance of it getting out of the cage while I was driving to the vet. I'm not sure how I would have caught it inside the vehicle.

As I pulled up to the vet's office, I could see her standing outside with her husband and her daughter. I walked up and showed them the cage, very glad that I'd finally caught it. He looked small and helpless, and again, I hated like hell what was going to happen to him, to be honest, but I was glad that the end was finally in sight as well. My vet said that she would go ahead and put it down now, but it was too late to ship it to the lab. She didn't know if there was anyone there on Saturday to receive the package, so she told me she might not be able to send it out until Monday. She took the cage into the examination room to get things ready. I stayed behind and talked to her husband, who as it turned out, used to be the animal control officer for the town.

Go figure.

He tried to explain the reasoning of the city when it came to cats, although he blatantly told me that he thought they were wrong, even though he used to have the job. The animal control officer is part of the police department. He had worked it for 20 years, and then the city decided they didn't need an animal control officer any more, and fired him. After a period of time, it was clear that the city needed one after all. Instead of hiring back the vet's husband, a different officer was hired for the position, one who was older and had recently retired, but decided he wanted to return to work to keep occupied or some other reason, and I speculate probably was willing to do it for cheap. From dealing with the man as little as I did, I also doubt he makes any kind of waves or does anything more than the job he is told to do, no questions asked.

The reason the town does not do anything about cats, is that they always felt that there was no way to "track" a cat... meaning, that unlike a dog, a cat couldn't be licensed and given a tag and tracked back to it's owner if it was captured or caused problems. I said that was a bullshit reason, because if they had a proper place to take the stray cats to, such as the first vet I went to who is paid to take the stray dogs, they could hold a cat for a number of days, wait for it to be claimed, and if it was not claimed, euthanize it.

The other "unofficial" reason that I've heard is that there are too many cats, and they're too big of a problem to deal with. Again, I told him that I thought this was bullshit too, because the problem would just get worse if it wasn't addressed in some better way than ignoring it and hoping all the cats would disappear. Instead, now there are people poisoning them, or shooting them with BB guns, or worse, inside city limits, in residential areas. How long would it be before people's pet cats that wander around outside ended up getting taken down with "friendly fire"?

He shrugged and agreed with me on both points. About then, his daughter came out to get him, because the vet was ready for his help with the cat. I told them I'd come by the next day to get the cage.

I went home, packed up the remaining trap in the back of my vehicle (which REALLY smelled bad by now), played with Ike for awhile, let my own cat out of the house finally (He promptly went to sleep on the steps of the porch, of course, which he's never done before). My legs were stiffening up again, although they didn't hurt any more. Ike, the cat, and I went back inside, I called my boss to let her know we'd finally caught the kitten, then went to bed early for the night.

Friday, June 1.

It was a busy day at the paper, I hadn't slept well and woke up late, and never got a chance to stop at the vet's office for the trap. I told her this when she called me at noon. The lab was not open on weekends, so she couldn't ship out the kitten until Monday.

Saturday, June 2.

I went back to the emergency room in the afternoon for my follow up shots. Turns out that this time, there was only going to be one, and it was a much smaller amount with a much smaller needle, but later in the day, my arm felt like I'd gotten punched really hard there.

Monday, June 4.

Ike was scheduled to go see the vet. I needed some more medicine (he has bad arthritis in his legs, and gets 50mg of Deramaxx (deracoxib) each day that keeps him from getting worse as quickly. He was also getting tested for heartworms- they're really rare in this area, but my vet knows of three dogs in the town that have heartworms who's owners refuse to treat them, so she's started running testing clinics during the months. I err to the side of caution with myself, and I won't do any less for my dog. She told me she had shipped out the gray kitten early that day, and she expected to hear back from the lab the next day.

Which brings us, finally, to

Tuesday, June 5.

Today. I'm scheduled for another follow-up injection tomorrow, and there was no word from the lab today. So the story hasn't completely come to an end just yet, because I don't know if the gray kitten was negative or positive. I'm hoping to find out tomorrow. I don't know yet how much this is going to cost me beyond the $1,200 I know about for the initial shots. I don't expect my vet to pick up the tab for this; even if the state lab doesn't charge for the testing, there's the postage to be paid for, and what ever she charges me for euthanizing the six cats. But I know she will be fair with me, and will let me make payments if necessary.


I don't regret what I did; under the circumstances, and with the knowledge I had and the advice I was given, I feel I did the best I could. That doesn't make it any easier, but part of being an adult is doing the right thing even when it sucks really bad. I'll finish off the story when I find out the results of the test, but for now, it's late, and Ike wants to go outside and play fetch. I hope I never have to go through something like this again.

Because I'm never going to be able to forget that black kitten's scream.