My Kitties are Missing

[Liberalynn]

Most of you know I have been taking care of a family of ferrals who have been living in our barn. Well though the Mom and Dad have been here on and off today, all four of the five month old kittens are missing.

I am really worried about the one I call Missy, since she has a bit of a handicap in the way she walks.

I was scheduled to take the Mom to by spayed tomorrowing morning but I postponed as she keeps taking off on me, and I am not sure I can get her tomorrow to make the appointment. I think she is looking for the kittens.

I searched the neighborhood and contacted some neighbors. If they aren't here tomorrow I am going to check the local shelter.

Asking for postive thoughts and wishes that they all return safely. I miss them all ready.

[hickman]

1. Maybe they're just off exploring.

Here's hoping for you.

[Liberalynn]

4. Thank you.

I hope so too. This is the first time they wandered off. I hope they find their way home.

[Arugula Latte]

2. Oh, no.

I'm so sorry.

Here's hoping the kitties make their way back soon.

[Liberalynn]

5. Thank you.

I'm thinking they must have followed their Mom some place and then got lost. Maybe they will figure out a way home or hopefully she will find them and lead them here.

[DawgHouse]

3. I hope they show up and are safe and sound!

[Liberalynn]

6. Thanks.

Even though they are ferrals, I have gotten really attached.

[Pool Hall Ace]

7. Sending kitty vibes

{{{{ Kitties, return to Liberalynn }}}}

Here's hoping that the feral furries find their way back to you.

[Wcross]

8. Cats are like that.

They only are around when THEY feel like it. I have had cats go missing for days at a time, they always have come home eventually.

[graywarrior]

9. I hope they come back safe.

Mine is a rescued feral. God love ya for taking care of yours.

[Liberalynn]

10. Bless you and Thank You

Graywarrior, Hickman, Oregonian, Pool Hall Ace, Dawg House, and Wcross!

All but one of the kittens came home this morning. The little handicapped one that I call Missy and was most worried about, is one of the ones back and she is doing great. I think she missed me as much as I missed her. She sat in my lap for the longest time purring and looking up at me after I fed them. The other two nudged me a couple of times and purred before jumping up in their favorite spots to take their naps. I think their little adventure tired them out.

I am hoping the one kitten still missing, Sparky, and the father Cole, will return home soon.

Just wanted to update you and thank you once again. The positive thoughts helped a great deal.

:grouphug:

[Kajsa]

12. Sorry I missed this thread, yesterday.

I'm so glad to hear the kitties are back!
Here's sending good vibes that the one lil guy
and the father kitty come home, soon.

We had a feral, a beautiful male tabby for
10 years. During this time, he once took off
for 12 days. We thought he was gone for good.
But no, he came back, he was a little jumpy
at first but soon settled back into his routine,here.

Like i said, I'm sending positive vibes for the missing
two fur babies.

Bless You for caring for them!

:hug:

[Liberalynn]

19. Thank you.

Twelve days is a long time. I am glad he came back to you. Thank you for taking care of him for ten years too. It is good to know that are good people like you who look out for the ferals.

The fur babies are so precious.

Today I just sat out there and watched them eat, play and sleep. It is so good to have them all back home now.

[Kajsa]

26. Thanks!

:hug:

[Pool Hall Ace]

14. That is a big relief to hear that the majority have come back!

{{{{ Sparky and Cole, return to Liberalynn so she can take care of you! }}}}

[benny05]

16. Come back Spunky and Cole!

Our pets are beloved...

Thoughts for them...

[catbert836]

11. I know how frightening it can be to have a cat go missing...

I have two, and the fat one, Caramel, used to love to get out and explore. One time he scared the wits out of me when he broke through a porch net while I was eating and took off. I ran around my neighborhood for an hour looking for him, but finally gave up. When I got back, he was sitting in my chair, and was very content after devouring my salmon. Now he doesn't dare do those things anymore- he's reached middle age, and grown soft.

Here's hoping your kitties come back soon- like all cats, they seem to have perfected the art of scaring their pet (you) out of your wits.

[Liberalynn]

21. That is one naughty but clever kitty.

I am glad he was safe. Sorry about your dinner. :hug:

It's good he's sticking closer to home.

This group is so different from the barn cats we used to have when I was younger. The barn cats used to stick pretty close to home.

I remember though on the days the farmer who rented our land cut the fields. I'd call them to feed them, and they wouldn't come.

Then I'd find them all in the field, waiting for some hapless mouse or mole, since the mice didn't have the crops to hide behind any more.

[Mz Pip]

13. Glad they returned

Ferals are pretty territorial and don't wander far, though un neutered males can roam pretty far looking for a female.

We took one of our feral kitties on vacation with us and he howled the whole 4 hour trip in the car, then it took him a day and a half to stop howling when we got there. He enjoyed himself after that but we won't be taking him anywhere unless we absolutely have to.

Hope the other one returns soon.

Mz Pip
:dem:

[Liberalynn]

24. That must have been one very long trip.

I don't blame you for not taking him on another unless you have too.

Once when I was a teen, we saw one of the barn cats a little farther out in the field than he normally was given too. I was afraid he'd go in the road so I asked my Mom to stop the car, thinking that we'd give him a ride home, and I'd put him back in the barn.

Let's just say he was not happy about it. He went nuts, lots of growling and jumping, and yowling. I thought he'd be okay since we'd taken him in the car before to get his vaccinations. Guess he wasn't pleased with being interrupted on his trip. As soon as we got closer to the house, we let him back out in the field and to find his own way back to the barn. LOL. I ended up with several bad scratches out of the deal.

It is good to know the females won't travel to far, and hopefully Cole might stick around more too, when we neuter him.

[judaspriestess]

15. bless you on having the momma cat fixed

now we have to get the daddy fixed then eventually the kittens, unless you plan on taking them to the shelter. I WOULD LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO GETTING THE DADDY NEUTEURED. please pm me so we can work something out. Thanks
judaspriestess

[Liberalynn]

17. Update:

Sparky and Cole came back this morning. So they are all safe and sound. The kittens seem a bit tired but none the worse for wear. They devoured their food and then slept most of the day away.

I have a call into the animal shelter that has the ferral spay/neuter program, and am going to reschedule Cally, and Cole. The kittens have to wait until next month as the the shelter prefers not to spay/neuter until they are six months.

Thanks again for all your good wishes and support. It helped me a lot. I was so worried about them.

[BarenakedLady]

18. Yay!

Great news.

[lavenderdiva]

20. this is fabulous news, Liberalynn!

Thank you so much for posting the update- I'll bet they were worn out when they got home! No wonder they slept all day. No telling what all they got into!!

Good for you for getting them spade/neutered at the 1st opportunity...

[Liberalynn]

22. Sometimes I wish they

could talk. That way I could find out where they went on their adventure, and tell them not to worry me like that again.

I'm just glad the mamma cat found them and led them home again.

:hug:

[lavenderdiva]

23. I'll bet mamma cat gave them a talking to-

'cuz I'll just bet she was worried sick about them too!!

[Kajsa]

25. Yipee! Yahoo!

All the kitties are safe and sound!

:loveya:

[Hand]

27. Hooray! Um... how about some piccies?

[Liberalynn]

28. Here is Some from when they were younger

I haven't got my latest ones developed yet, but will share when I do



The red kitty is Sparky, the one on the side is Missy, she's the handicapped baby.

This is Sparky again, with Mom Cally, and Ernie




Stormy was hiding in a corner on this picture day, so sorry she is not in this pic.

This is Cole daddy and Cally

[Hand]

32. Thanks! Wonderful kitties!

No wonder you were so worried--they're quite a crew! That picture of Sparky reminds me of my departed bunny Mimi, who's my avatar! :loveya:

[Liberalynn]

33. You're welcome and thank you!

Mimi was a very beautiful bunny!

[Hand]

38. More bunny piccies here!

http://community.webshots.com/album/133256710YIIxos

[Liberalynn]

40. Thank you for sharing those.

What gorgeous bunnies. That is great that you adopted Violet from the SPCA. I love the names you chose as well.

[Arugula Latte]

29. Yay! Glad they're back!

:applause:

[Liberalynn]

35. Thanks!

[Jamastiene]

30. Here's hoping they all return safely and ready to be spayed

and/or neutered and given tons of love.

[Liberalynn]

36. Now that they are back

I can reschedule with a nearby humane society to have them spayed and neutered. They have a feral cat program that they are running and they offer the surgeries, a check up, and vaccinations for low cost as they are trying to encourage the community to help the ferrals out whenever possible.

We are planning on taking Missy to our dog's Maxie's vet to see if there is anything he can do to help her get around better. He's a really great vet. His specialty is equine but he sees dogs and cats too. He did hip dysplasia surgery on our previous German Shepard Riggs, and Riggs lived a happy and long life because of it. So I am hoping he can help Missy too.

She can walk and run for the most part, but one of her back legs seems to be very stiff and she topples over a lot. She's such a happy kitty though otherwise. She's very loving and full of spunk. She doesn't let her handicap stop her, she's always tackling the other cats, has the best appetite and follows me around like a dog.

[nicehuman]

31. My cat is a feral I took in two years ago

It was quite a project to get her to trust me. She still runs around the house at 90 mph if someone approaches her too quickly. She is very sweet though and will jump up on my lap and let me pet her. Just don't try to pick her up. I saved a link on how to tame ferals if your're interested. I definately found it helpful.
Arlene in NJ

[Liberalynn]

34. Thank you Arlene

I definitely would be interested in the link. I have gotten Cole and Cally pretty much tamed as well as Missy, Ernie, and Stormy. I just can't seem to get Sparky tamed. She frightens easily and runs off.

I think I am also going to have to find away to start feeding her separately because she lets the other cats steal her food without fighting back. She tends to back out, if they come up and start eating out of her bowl, and then she goes and hides until their finished. She ends up just eating whatever the others happen to leave.

I'd carry her to a different spot and feed her, but she won't let me pick her up.

[nicehuman]

41. Darn the link isn't working

http://campuscats.org/articles/tiger.html

They are rebuilding the site. The most helpful thing I found was stop leaving out food. I started feeding Alley off of a plastic spoon. This way she was forced to interact with me. Initially I caught her in a have-a-heart trap. I kept her in a spare bedroom with the tv on to get used to house noise. I would spend time in there to get her to trust me. Feeding off of the spoon was definately the breakthrough though.
Good luck.

[hyphenate]

37. I sure hope they come home!

I know what it's like waiting to see them and they don't come! :(

[Liberalynn]

39. They are all back safely now.

I just hope they don't wander off and scare me again.

You are right! It is hard when they don't come home. I had a favorite barn cat, a long haired black and white named Sylvester, when I was in my early twenties. He was one of the few my Mom agreed to let in the house and we all loved him. He was quite a character. Every morning my Mom would let him in and he'd run straight up to my bedroom and park himself on my bed, and meow loudly until I woke up. One day this little girl and her Mom stopped and said they'd seen him sitting on our front porch and thought he was beautiful, and asked if they could have him.

I explained very nicely that he was a beloved family member, he had a good and loving home and I very sorry but that I was not willing to part with him under any circumstances.

The next day he came up missing. I put up flyers, called the humane society, and since I worked for the city then, the city manager even asked the cops to keep an eye out for him, unfortunately I never saw him again.

I cried for weeks. I am sure that little girl and her mom stole him, I just hope they took good care of him. He was my very best furry bud.

[nicehuman]

42. I tried to post the link but I see it didn't work

so I'll try again. The feral cat website is called alleycat.org. Here is also a PDF file that I found from them that had quite useful tips on taming a feral. It wasn't easy and I had doubts that our feral cat would ever tame enough. It was like having a squirrel in the house initially.Here is the link:

http://www.alleycat.org/pdf/Congratulations.pdf

Good luck. It was work but also quite satisfying and my crazy little cat is a nice family member now.

Arlene