Once at the vet, he escaped from the trap in the back room, and my vet had a heck of a time finding him and getting him back in. He said he was one of the cleverest cats he's ever seen.
Thanks to Becca.
Showing posts with label The Fields. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Fields. Show all posts
Friday, March 17, 2017
Wednesday, October 9, 2013
What I Take With Me to the Feeding Stations
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| My car loaded up for the feeding station rounds |
I thought you might like to see what I take with me when I go to the feeding stations. I take a lot more with me than I used to.
I bring several bottles filled with water. I fill them from my home drinking tap (there are two taps in Cyprus). The cats drink so much water I cannot believe it. The kittens drink a lot, too. When the water bowls are empty, and I fill them, that is the first thing the kittens run to get. It's especially important in the summer in Cyprus to supply water because there is no rain. I do provide it all year round.
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| Lots of large water filled plastic bottles go with me |
I used to take the kibble in separate, doubled plastic bags - doubled because one tiny cat claw and it is over for the kibble in the bag. It was convenient because I knew how many scoops to put in each bag for each station. But now it would ridiculous. I would be scooping all day. Now I put the whole 15 kilo bag of kibble in the back seat and a scooper, and fill and refill a plastic bag as I go from one station to the next.
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| The whole 15 kilo bag of kibble goes with me in the back seat |
I take another tote bag for canned food, plates, tissues to wipe the bowls, and extra plastic bags for trash and dishes. This tote bag came with me from America, it's from LLBean. It's sturdy and great with all the pockets for organizing smaller stuff.
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| Plastic plates, tissues, canned food, plastic bags, a scooper for the kibble |
I occasionally switch out the bowls at the feeding stations and bring them home for a good cleaning, so I carry some extra bowls with me, too, in case some look very dirty.
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| Large clean bowls for swapping out dirty ones |
Also, when they are not both occupied, I keep a small carrier in the car for emergencies. I only have two small carriers. I could really use a couple more. My other carriers are enormous and are for dogs, too big for the car or to actually carry.
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| A small carrier and a soft blanky |
I often take my camera.
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| My Camera |
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| A wind up flashlight for hands free at night |
And I usually keep a trap in the boot of my car, a couple of beach towels large enough to cover the trap, and a peepee pad. I keep a can of trapping bait in my camera case.
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| A trap |
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| Canned fish for trapping bait |
Sometimes for an occasional treat I will bring a big bottle of milk. They like that. I have also taken them yogurt before. Most like it, some don't.
A big plastic tote is best to actually carry from the car, because they are easy to clean, waterproof, and strong. The one I use now is from IKEA and it is giant.
So there you have it. That's what I take with me to the feeding stations.
Oh, and this doesn't go:
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| Lulu |
I try to make sure all the cats are out of the car before I leave the house! Sometimes I have been surprised halfway down my home road, and have had to turn back to drop off a cat or two.
Sometime I forget stuff, or run out of kibble, that's a bummer, but I am never very far from home.
Friday, March 8, 2013
"And Lilies are Still Lilies...."
“And lilies are still lilies, pulled by smutty hands, though spotted from their white.” Elizabeth Barrett Browning
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| Lily of the Fields |
After I left the park last Friday night, I went to Sammy's and fed the cats there, and when I was finished, rather than going back via the seafront road, I drove home via the fields behind our old house.
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| The fields behind our old house |
Two eyes shined out at me. I was exhausted, but I thought, "Oh heck, I have gotta leave some food."
It was near our feeding station in the fields, one Nik takes care of in the early mornings. I haven't been there in a long while. I was so happy and surprised to see it was Lily hiding there in the bushes. Those were her lovely eyes shining out at me, flagging me down. She was just as sweet and beautiful as ever.
It's always good to see an old friend and to know they are faring well. Doubtless the food and water Nik leaves there every day has helped her to survive.
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| Lily when I first met her |
It's good to know, lilies are still lilies.
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
The Feeding Stations Updated
It's time to update our map. I mentioned in the last post that we added a new feeding station this past summer. It is located behind an apartment building on the seafront road not far down from the Park. We call it "Sandra's" after our friend Sandra who has a seasonal apartment there and who led us to the struggling cats who live back there.
We have also moved homes since our last map so the new map reflects better our new distance from the feeding stations.
So the new feeding stations are as follows:
1. The Maisonettes
2. Sammy's
3. The Fields
4. The Apartments
5. The Park
6. Sandra's
7. Our House
We have also moved homes since our last map so the new map reflects better our new distance from the feeding stations.
So the new feeding stations are as follows:
1. The Maisonettes
2. Sammy's
3. The Fields
4. The Apartments
5. The Park
6. Sandra's
7. Our House
Friday, October 26, 2012
Hundreds of Felines Take Over Park
Here is a link to a story on Fox News where a cat population at a park in the USA is getting out of hand. I commend the volunteers in Hawaii who are working very hard out of pocket to manage the population and solve the problem humanely. I also commend the patience of the community who are not particularly happy about the problem.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1926808543001/hundreds-of-feral-felines-take-over-park/?playlist_id=903226511001
Here also is a story of another community in the United States who has come together to solve a similar problem. The kudos here go to KittyFixers and the wonderful residents of community of Southfield, Michigan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFR9b5LCSpg
We need people to come together like this in Cyprus, and we need to educate our communities and ask for their help in solving and managing the problem. I know there are isolated individuals doing what they can in their villages, but we need to come together in a more coordinated manner with manpower and a vision all over the island so we garner more support, both on the ground and financially . Nik and I are quite overwhelmed at the moment and estimate we are feeding about 100 cats daily. We are in desperate need of funds for spaying and neutering and veterinarians who will help us with reduced rates, or we could easily end up with a similar situation at our own park.
If you have any ideas, and/or can offer help please contact us. If you live in our area and would like to offer help on the ground, please contact us. If you would like to donate food, cans and kibble, please contact us. If you know of any veterinarians who can help us with reduced rates, please contact us. Thank you.
http://video.foxnews.com/v/1926808543001/hundreds-of-feral-felines-take-over-park/?playlist_id=903226511001
Here also is a story of another community in the United States who has come together to solve a similar problem. The kudos here go to KittyFixers and the wonderful residents of community of Southfield, Michigan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zFR9b5LCSpg
We need people to come together like this in Cyprus, and we need to educate our communities and ask for their help in solving and managing the problem. I know there are isolated individuals doing what they can in their villages, but we need to come together in a more coordinated manner with manpower and a vision all over the island so we garner more support, both on the ground and financially . Nik and I are quite overwhelmed at the moment and estimate we are feeding about 100 cats daily. We are in desperate need of funds for spaying and neutering and veterinarians who will help us with reduced rates, or we could easily end up with a similar situation at our own park.
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| many of the new young cats at the park are nearing adulthood |
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| some of the cats from our park feeding station |
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| Wanda, an unaltered female from the park |
If you have any ideas, and/or can offer help please contact us. If you live in our area and would like to offer help on the ground, please contact us. If you would like to donate food, cans and kibble, please contact us. If you know of any veterinarians who can help us with reduced rates, please contact us. Thank you.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Ants and Snails and Puppy Dog Tails or What Summer Feedings Are Made Of
OK, well, not exactly. But it rhymed. Summer feedings are actually made of ants and slugs and puppy dog tails... and hedgehogs. Winter feedings are made of rain, snails, and more ants.
We used to fight the ants vigorously by trying to outsmart them. We fought them with particular gusto outside at our house and over at Sammy's (where there is paving) with chalk lines. They worked for a time, but we had to keep drawing them because the cats unintentionally would wipe them away with their paws. Being an artist, I eventually ended up drawing elaborate and sometimes seasonal pictures around the bowls. I graduated to a box of colored chalk and grew in discrimination until I became a connoisseur of different brands of colored chalks. The best chalks were the softest ones and became stubs quickly. I bought a lot of chalk, a lot of chalk, but, no worries, chalk, like talk, is cheap and one of the last great deals on earth along with potatoes.
But then there was this great revolt. Suddenly the ants didn't care about our chalk lines anymore. They started storming right over them. They were like bacteria that mutated and developed a stubborn resistance to our antibiotics. It made us crazy. We've tried many things since then: cinnamon, lemons, towels, little towers and moats, and they have overcome them every time.
The slugs are gross and leave their trail over the food and bowl. They are very determined and not as slow as you think. We have seen some seriously fat ones. They will hang out all summer if there is a sprinkler nearby.
Snails are a winter problem. They are fast little creatures when they know where they are going and think no one is around. As soon as we go outside after the first fall rain (Cyprus is dry all summer), they will be everywhere. It will be hard to walk our dog Muji without stepping on one if not fifty if not a hundred. It's a horrible feeling to step on a snail. We try to walk around them.
Soon the snails will be a mighty force to contend with at the feeding stations. They will have to be plucked out and un-suctioned off when we are wiping and filling the bowls, and they will hide under the rims where they think we will never find them.
Hedgehogs hibernate in winter but often come to the feeding stations in summer. They are cute and don't eat very much, and don't come in in armies, so we don't mind them very much - just when they poop in the bowl, because they stand in it when they eat. Sometimes we have to pluck a stunned hedgehog out of a bowl, but that is rare. More often it is their poop.
Dogs are another matter. They are a real problem in summer. There is a surge in stray dogs right after hunting season ends, just before spring, when the hunters dump their no longer needed dogs on the streets and in the mountains. Some of these stray dogs find our feeding stations. They eat all the food we leave for the cats and drink all the water we put out. While we are happy that they get to eat, it can become a big problem as it was this summer at the park where dogs came regularly and scarfed all the food.
I can always tell when a dog has been at the park because, 1) the cats are not around when I drive up, and 2) the bowls are licked absolutely spotless and are usually a good distance from where they were left (and sometimes they are also mangled). The cats occasionally do eat all the kibble we leave out, (though we try to make sure we leave enough so they don't), but when they do, they ususally leave traces of kibble, just like they do in our home. Little bits fall out of their mouths when they are crunching and are unworthy for another go unless there is absolutely no other alternative. At the very least when cats at the feeding stations eat all the food, there is usually a little kibble dust left. Not so if a dog has been there. There's nothing but a spotless bowl.
So these are the things summer feeding are made of, and about which we complained to one another all summer like little whiners, along with the unbearable heat and the summer visitors from Nicosia who narrow our feeding hours. "Winter will be here in no time," we reassured one another. But soon we will be complaining about rains and soggy kibble, cold weather and cat flu, and of course, snails, and, no doubt, more ants, and we will say to one another, "Summer will be here in no time!" :)
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| Ants are people, too, so we don't like to kill them |
We used to fight the ants vigorously by trying to outsmart them. We fought them with particular gusto outside at our house and over at Sammy's (where there is paving) with chalk lines. They worked for a time, but we had to keep drawing them because the cats unintentionally would wipe them away with their paws. Being an artist, I eventually ended up drawing elaborate and sometimes seasonal pictures around the bowls. I graduated to a box of colored chalk and grew in discrimination until I became a connoisseur of different brands of colored chalks. The best chalks were the softest ones and became stubs quickly. I bought a lot of chalk, a lot of chalk, but, no worries, chalk, like talk, is cheap and one of the last great deals on earth along with potatoes.
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| Sylvia with one of my faded chalk masterpieces ;) |
But then there was this great revolt. Suddenly the ants didn't care about our chalk lines anymore. They started storming right over them. They were like bacteria that mutated and developed a stubborn resistance to our antibiotics. It made us crazy. We've tried many things since then: cinnamon, lemons, towels, little towers and moats, and they have overcome them every time.
The slugs are gross and leave their trail over the food and bowl. They are very determined and not as slow as you think. We have seen some seriously fat ones. They will hang out all summer if there is a sprinkler nearby.
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| That huge thing on the bottom right is a slug. Even Amber, pictured here over at Sammy's, is grossed out. |
Snails are a winter problem. They are fast little creatures when they know where they are going and think no one is around. As soon as we go outside after the first fall rain (Cyprus is dry all summer), they will be everywhere. It will be hard to walk our dog Muji without stepping on one if not fifty if not a hundred. It's a horrible feeling to step on a snail. We try to walk around them.
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| There is no shortage of snails in Cyprus. This guy will be waking up soon. |
Soon the snails will be a mighty force to contend with at the feeding stations. They will have to be plucked out and un-suctioned off when we are wiping and filling the bowls, and they will hide under the rims where they think we will never find them.
Hedgehogs hibernate in winter but often come to the feeding stations in summer. They are cute and don't eat very much, and don't come in in armies, so we don't mind them very much - just when they poop in the bowl, because they stand in it when they eat. Sometimes we have to pluck a stunned hedgehog out of a bowl, but that is rare. More often it is their poop.
Dogs are another matter. They are a real problem in summer. There is a surge in stray dogs right after hunting season ends, just before spring, when the hunters dump their no longer needed dogs on the streets and in the mountains. Some of these stray dogs find our feeding stations. They eat all the food we leave for the cats and drink all the water we put out. While we are happy that they get to eat, it can become a big problem as it was this summer at the park where dogs came regularly and scarfed all the food.
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| Puppy dog tails Dogs which we love, can sometimes feel like the enemy when trying to feed street cats |
I can always tell when a dog has been at the park because, 1) the cats are not around when I drive up, and 2) the bowls are licked absolutely spotless and are usually a good distance from where they were left (and sometimes they are also mangled). The cats occasionally do eat all the kibble we leave out, (though we try to make sure we leave enough so they don't), but when they do, they ususally leave traces of kibble, just like they do in our home. Little bits fall out of their mouths when they are crunching and are unworthy for another go unless there is absolutely no other alternative. At the very least when cats at the feeding stations eat all the food, there is usually a little kibble dust left. Not so if a dog has been there. There's nothing but a spotless bowl.
So these are the things summer feeding are made of, and about which we complained to one another all summer like little whiners, along with the unbearable heat and the summer visitors from Nicosia who narrow our feeding hours. "Winter will be here in no time," we reassured one another. But soon we will be complaining about rains and soggy kibble, cold weather and cat flu, and of course, snails, and, no doubt, more ants, and we will say to one another, "Summer will be here in no time!" :)
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
In the Absence of Ideal Solutions, We Take Rosie and Fuzz to the Shelter
We decided to take Rosie and Fuzz to the shelter at the end of last week.
It was a hard decision, and we are not entirely comfortable it it. It came down to weighing up the options, though none of them presently available was ideal.
It would be nice if we were weighing up between good and better. But in the absence of people willing to step forward and offer homes to these cats, and because we do not have the appropriate land for a sanctuary yet, and because our house is full, it seems always to come down to weighing up between bad and worse.
I had started picking Rosie and Fuzz up and putting them on the table to feed in the mornings, because I wanted them to get used to being handled, so they could be adoptable. They weren't thrilled with the idea of being picked up at first, but it wasn't long at all before they both warmed up to the idea, seeing as how it meant they would get special delicious kitten food that they wouldn't have to fight for, and they no longer had to worry about being pushed away from their plates by Baby's older kittens (who seem to have bottomless stomachs).
Soon after they got accustomed to being handled, they started meeting me up at the top of the park with the other older cats in the morning. This upper area is a lot closer to the dangerous seafront road. This development started making us even more nervous than we already were for their safety.
How we would have loved to have brought them home with us to live!
Seeing how quickly they were growing, and knowing the preference of people for kittens over cats, we decided Rosie and Fuzz's best chance to be adopted would be at the Paphiakos Shelter, whose policy is a no kill one for cats - before they get any older.
Soon after we took them to the shelter, two friends told us they would be euthanized there. There are many rumors about shelters and it is difficult to seperate fact from fiction. And animal lovers can understandably fear the worst. But Paphiakos has assured and reassured us they have a no kill policy for cats. They cannot say the same for dogs.
We trust that they are telling us the truth at Paphiakos and we trust that Rosie and Fuzz will be safe there, safer than they will be at the park where the cars are a danger, illness is a danger, and poisoning is always a fear.
We are still searching for affordable property in the area for a private sanctuary, and we have found another piece recently that is relatively affordable, but our reservation is it will not be big enough, being only 2.5 skalas as compared to the 5-6 we really need for the number of cats we are intent on relocating.
But until the day comes we are able to afford and secure an appropriate piece of land, we are unfortunately forced now to decide between bad and worse.
I miss seeing them every morning a lot. I know Squiggles misses them, too. I have not been able to get Squiggles to warm up yet to a touch. If I had we would have kept the three of them together.
It often adds up like this for us:
WORST: We could leave them on the streets where they can be killed by cars, poisonings, or cat flu
BETTER: We could take them to a safe shelter where they have a chance (even if small) of being adopted. They will be cared for, we trust, for the remainder of their natural life. Kittens will have the best chance of adoption in this situation.
BETTER: We can still hope for foster homes.
BETTER STILL: We can go forward and build a sanctuary where we will relocate and look after the cats with appropriate space, also making them available for adoption to qualified homes. We plan on doing this in any case, God willing.
IDEAL/BEST : We can find suitable, loving, safe, stable and permanent homes for all of the cats.
We ask for your prayers for Fuzz and Rosie that they will be well looked after at the shelter, and will be able to stay together and make many friends, and that a kind and loving person will adopt them both and give them the loving, permanent home they deserve.
It wasn't a happy day to take them to the shelter. It was a sad day. And we don't feel great about our decision. But we would feel even worse if something happened to them at the park such as happened to Zsa Zsa or Tweeny or Tweets, or all the others we lost before we started this blog. For now, that is what it comes down to for us, deciding between two not so hot options.
They are the first of the street cats we care for that we have ever taken to a shelter.
It was a difficult day.
BTW Paphiakos is collecting cans for recycling to raise money for their shelter. If you live in Cyprus, please save your cans for them and see their home page for drop off points.
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| Fuzz and Rosie in the carrier before their journey to the shelter |
It was a hard decision, and we are not entirely comfortable it it. It came down to weighing up the options, though none of them presently available was ideal.
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| Rosie and Fuzz came from the Park |
It would be nice if we were weighing up between good and better. But in the absence of people willing to step forward and offer homes to these cats, and because we do not have the appropriate land for a sanctuary yet, and because our house is full, it seems always to come down to weighing up between bad and worse.
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| Taking them to the shelter is not what we wanted |
I had started picking Rosie and Fuzz up and putting them on the table to feed in the mornings, because I wanted them to get used to being handled, so they could be adoptable. They weren't thrilled with the idea of being picked up at first, but it wasn't long at all before they both warmed up to the idea, seeing as how it meant they would get special delicious kitten food that they wouldn't have to fight for, and they no longer had to worry about being pushed away from their plates by Baby's older kittens (who seem to have bottomless stomachs).
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| Getting to know Fuzz |
Soon after they got accustomed to being handled, they started meeting me up at the top of the park with the other older cats in the morning. This upper area is a lot closer to the dangerous seafront road. This development started making us even more nervous than we already were for their safety.
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| Many of the cats meet me at the upper level of the park in the morning |
How we would have loved to have brought them home with us to live!
Seeing how quickly they were growing, and knowing the preference of people for kittens over cats, we decided Rosie and Fuzz's best chance to be adopted would be at the Paphiakos Shelter, whose policy is a no kill one for cats - before they get any older.
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| The kittens at the park are growing up fast |
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| Fuzz has grown a lot |
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| But being the smallest they often get pushed away from the food plates - that's Rosie in the middle |
Soon after we took them to the shelter, two friends told us they would be euthanized there. There are many rumors about shelters and it is difficult to seperate fact from fiction. And animal lovers can understandably fear the worst. But Paphiakos has assured and reassured us they have a no kill policy for cats. They cannot say the same for dogs.
We trust that they are telling us the truth at Paphiakos and we trust that Rosie and Fuzz will be safe there, safer than they will be at the park where the cars are a danger, illness is a danger, and poisoning is always a fear.
We are still searching for affordable property in the area for a private sanctuary, and we have found another piece recently that is relatively affordable, but our reservation is it will not be big enough, being only 2.5 skalas as compared to the 5-6 we really need for the number of cats we are intent on relocating.
 |
| We are still looking for agricultural land for a sanctuary for the cats - this one at 5 skala is perfect, but very expensive at about 350,000 USD |
But until the day comes we are able to afford and secure an appropriate piece of land, we are unfortunately forced now to decide between bad and worse.
 |
| We have 27 cats in the house at the moment right now, and more living outside |
I miss seeing them every morning a lot. I know Squiggles misses them, too. I have not been able to get Squiggles to warm up yet to a touch. If I had we would have kept the three of them together.
 |
| Squiggles misses Rosie and Fuzz |
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| Playing at the park |
It often adds up like this for us:
WORST: We could leave them on the streets where they can be killed by cars, poisonings, or cat flu
BETTER: We could take them to a safe shelter where they have a chance (even if small) of being adopted. They will be cared for, we trust, for the remainder of their natural life. Kittens will have the best chance of adoption in this situation.
BETTER: We can still hope for foster homes.
BETTER STILL: We can go forward and build a sanctuary where we will relocate and look after the cats with appropriate space, also making them available for adoption to qualified homes. We plan on doing this in any case, God willing.
IDEAL/BEST : We can find suitable, loving, safe, stable and permanent homes for all of the cats.
We ask for your prayers for Fuzz and Rosie that they will be well looked after at the shelter, and will be able to stay together and make many friends, and that a kind and loving person will adopt them both and give them the loving, permanent home they deserve.
 |
| Please pray Rosie and Fuzz will find a good home |
It wasn't a happy day to take them to the shelter. It was a sad day. And we don't feel great about our decision. But we would feel even worse if something happened to them at the park such as happened to Zsa Zsa or Tweeny or Tweets, or all the others we lost before we started this blog. For now, that is what it comes down to for us, deciding between two not so hot options.
 |
| Rosie |
They are the first of the street cats we care for that we have ever taken to a shelter.
It was a difficult day.
BTW Paphiakos is collecting cans for recycling to raise money for their shelter. If you live in Cyprus, please save your cans for them and see their home page for drop off points.
Monday, July 2, 2012
What a Relief - Trapping Big Van
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| Big Van |
Right after we lost Tweets, we started seeing Big Van everywhere. Nik saw him at the Maisonettes in the morning. During the day, I saw him at Sammy's, at the house across the street from Sammy's, at the house next door to Sammy's, in the fields, at the house next door to us, and finally, in our garden where he was starting to come more and more often. Later in the day he would come again to our house to terrorize Jazzy, Amber, and Sylvia, starting at dusk and on through to the middle of the night. Their screams would wake me, and I would go running downstairs and outside to urge him away and protect the others. I was so afraid one of them would go running in the street from fear, and Jazzy is particularly vulnerable because he only has one eye.
Jazzy
Jazzy is vulnerable with only one eye
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| Amber |
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| Sylvia |
We tried trapping Big Van on these days and nights, but, as before, it was to no avail. The minute we had the trap out, he was either gone, or he'd immediately turn his nose up at our bait. We began the lament that Big Van was the cat we would never catch.
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| Will we ever catch you, smarty pants??? |
We know that Big Van was Tweets' mate. But maybe what we didn't know was exactly how much time they spent together. Because I would've sworn he missed her by his behavior. Tweets never moved into our garden. She stayed true to Sammy's, likely waiting for his daughter to come back who used to feed her, and not wanting to give up the territory. The only time she would come to our garden was when the bowls at Sammy's were empty, and then only to cry and make a fuss as if to hustle me over there to fill them. And I would, and, as far as she was concerned, everything was OK then.
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| Big Van chasing after Tweets when she was still alive; Big Van and Tweets were mates |
I am in the fields every day, and though I do see cats back there, I never saw Big Van back there until after Tweets was killed. One day he was way far back there. But then I'll be a monkey's uncle if our elusive wanderer didn't find his way back to our house that very night to cause havoc.
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| I saw Big Van way back here one day while walking our dog, Muji |
You could argue that he was looking for a new mate. I am sure he was. But I would still describe his behavior as mooning around. It was almost as if he was asking us to trap him. I can't prove this, but I think it is true. I think Big Van missed Tweets. I think he was all alone. And I think he was tired of the game. This once handsome cat had surely lost a lot of weight and he looked rough.
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| We all miss Tweets |
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| Big Van, was he tired of the game? |
So, Sunday night, Nik and I settled out in the garden to eat our dinner. Nik was having souvlaki, I was having a veggie burger. (Try eating souvlaki indoors with 23 cats in your house.) From where I sat at the garden table, I saw Big Van come through our gate. I motioned silently to Nik. I asked what to get for bait. Nik decided to try the souvlaki since everything else had failed. He set some aside and got the trap out of my car. I went to prepare a place to overnight him should we catch him. Big Van smelled the souvlaki. He was as interested as we had ever seen him. But as soon as Nik put the trap down, Big Van turned his nose up at him, and cockily went back over to our outdoor kibble bowl to feed. Nik stepped in and firmly took the kibble bowl away. Big Van thought about it very briefly, and went over to the trap and walked right in. Nik calmly said, "We got him."
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"We got him." |
You would have thought we would have turned cartwheels and said a cheer, it's taken us so long to get here. But I think we are always so tired by Sunday night, and we have been trying to trap him for such a ridiculously long time, that we just took a calm moment, sighed, and silently high fived each other, and then went back about the business of putting him away for the night. Nik felt sure Big Van would finish the souvlaki in the trap, and sure enough, when we'd checked on him in the morning, he had eaten it. It was that good. Now does that sound like a cat that was upset to be trapped? That's what I'm saying.
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| Big Van in his glory days |
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