Betsy is now mojo-free. Area2 kitties continue to be elusive

Betsy has been sterilised on Thursday, 9 Oct. The four foetuses she was carrying have been aborted in the process. We sent on the little ones with well-wishes and sadness.

Betsy, as she is so friendly, will be prepped for adoption.

As has been mentioned, she was an Area2 kitty.

We had mentioned the frustrating situation with the kitties in Area2. Of the kitties mentioned, we have been sighting Bambi randomly ever since. mostly around the area’s eatery. But we’ve not managed to establish her schedule and have not managed to “get” her. She is now nursing a litter of kittens, as elusive and skittish as ever. In fact, the night we got Betsy, we were trying to find her, as she is super emaciated, probably due to the strain of nursing her babies. The good news is we think we may be getting nearer to a Bambi schedule – for the past week, btmao has managed to find and feed her 3 out of 7 times. The headache though is that we need to wait for her babies to be weaned, and we’re nervous as btmao found Stanley on the night we catnapped Betsy. Also, Bambi needs fattening up before de-mojoing. With an irregular schedule, that’s going to be a challenge.

The shy little white kitten with tabby patches has been sighted only once since, early this month. Also as skittish as ever. However, it seemed to be healthy, and is now a bigger kitten.

Sarsi, the last cat we saw has never been sighted since.

That doesn’t mean things are quiet in Area2. Even before Freda’s discovery in February, we know there are many elusive new kitties around there, due to irresponsible pet owners. We’ve had random distant sightings of a ginger cat, alone and chasing after another one whom we only heard. Between then and now, we’ve had one-off sightings of different cats. The most recent one is a 3-5 mth scaredy, mostly white calico kitten first sighted on 26 Sep 2008 sitting in the drains. It is likely a girl. btmao sighted her a week later, hanging  out near Bambi’s eatery territory.

Saba, as far as we can see is still intact, with the very virile and wanderful Stanley paying court to free-ranging pet cat just yesterday. We have decided to not offer any more help to the family due to 2 reasons: 1) the family shows no concern about the issue nor have them attempted to contact us about arrangements for Saba even though we see Sue, the woman of the house often enough on the way home from work; 2) since our last update on Saba, Sue had only called me once, but was more interested in trying to get the same “deal” for her friends than to make arrangements for Saba even though I had already told her sterilising Scottie, Sunny and Sumie was a one-off deal that we were paying out of our own pocket due to the circumstances.

Scottie was out and about, and as friendly as ever. We also caught a glimpse of Sunny. Though Sumie was not sighted, we believe she is well and about, as we’ve sighted her previously. All three look fantastic, and of course it is being mojo-less that gives them their sleekness.

Benji is still around, and seems to have moved back to his original territory, rather than stay around Saba’s area. But even he seems to have gotten in on the act, and is only randomly sighted. He was most recently sighted and fed on Thursday evening.

All in all, our report card on Area 2 this year has been quite dismal. Things have just not been going well in TNRM terms. But with Betsy catnapped, and Bambi finally letting us get a clue about her schedule, maybe the situation can be remedied soon. Hopefuly, we will not have to make difficult decisions as we did on Betsy’s behalf.

Area 2 new kittens

This being Good Friday, a public holiday, anyone in their right minds wouldn’t be waking up before the sun shines.

But us minions had an errand that would mean leaving home at 6.30am. Worried about the Area3 cats’ brekkie, btmao decided to wake up even earlier than usual to feed them. Since it is pre-dawn, I volunteered to accompany her.

As the feeder service does not start service until 5.30am, we walked out, which meant passing through area 2.

There we saw a few sights to boil the blood of minions.

First there was the torbie calico female, whom I last saw doing her guerilla thing. She was in a semi-faceoff with the chubby Siamese cross we first spotted last month. Since it was the pre-dawn, their quarrel sounded rather loud.

btmao decided to feed them to distract them from their feud. Clearly, the smaller torbie (we are calling her Bambi) was subservient to the chubby, and certain to be semi-pet cat, siamese cross (christained Sarsi) who nearly cleaned up the whole offering, leaving only 2 slivers of meat for the poor skinny and younger female. So much for being a Siamese-cross pet cat. This “breed” pet cat displays the typical ravenous nature of free-ranging pet cats. What a disgraceful reflection on the care the owners grant their pet.

As we waited on the duo, another kitten, younger even than Bambi appeared and called too. Sarsi and Bambi were scaredy enough but this one was even worse, scooting off into the drain at the slightest sign of approach.

btmao had to leave the plate in the drain and back 2 metres before the kitten would approach for food.

Closer look. We can’t determine the gender, but definitely this kitten is starved and needs a bath. The camera flash caused it to run for cover again, emerging only after 10 mins. We can’t tell if it was one of the kittens we sighted before we spotted Sarsi that first time, but looking at its size, we think this kitten is a little too young to have been an affiliate of that brood.

As it was getting a bit ‘late’ by this time, I asked btmao to go ahead and get to Area 3 while I waited for the kitties to finish up.

After them, I crossed to the main road, where what should happen but that I meet yet another kitten. But this one is super friendly and trusting, a tabby girl about 5-6 months old with a perfect straight long tail. She ran to me as soon she realised my presence and trotted over, and reverse-plonked herself down in a heap of furry tumtum.

She cried and tried to follow when I left after giving her head scritches and tum-rubbies. (I couldn’t feed her since I did not bring any supplies with me)

I am 99.9% certain she is Sabia.

Once again, us minions can’t help but seeth with anger at the nonchalance of so-called pet owners who allow such young kittens to wander and to be less than good providers of food. How can anyone who purports to love their cats be less than concerned about their kitties’ well-being? Especially when there’s clear danger as in Sabia’s family case?