10/15/03
Fender
is home ...at 1:30 last night after 75 days! There are so many details,
but the short story for now is that to the nightly buffet and open
studio window (complete with baby monitor), we added a trap. Yvonne,
you said "...try everything, something will click!" And Jennifer,
yesterday I reread some of your replies to Lori about trapping...last
night I moved the trap back to the edge of the woods and added CD
crunchies to the canned food (Fender eats both, but favors dry).
Pauline, your ideas have been in every effort...I had actually observed
a "cat highway" into the woods, so I went there and imagined the
way out from a cat's perspective. I placed the trap like a tunnel
on the way to the buffet...and that's the way he went!
It
was so amazing to find him there. I checked the trap every 1-2 hours..
.nothing... nothing... then there he was! We brought the trap in
through the studio window, then what a relief to close that window.
When we lifted the trap door, he bolted to the window, got behind
the curtain and cried and cried. We sat on the floor (door closed)
and spoke softly to him. I put the food dishes near the window and
after about ten minutes, he stepped out and ate first the canned
food, then the crunchies. He drank a little water, then looked around
the room. I mean, he just stood and looked.
Pauline,
here comes your favorite part...he walked over and bonked his head
on my knee. Then there was face rubbing and petting...he went back
and forth between mom and dad for 45 minutes! I slept in the studio
with him attached the rest of the night. He falls asleep quickly,
but wakes frequently at any sound. He has about ten times normal
twitches in his sleep. He is very anxious to come out of the studio
(he does not want to be left alone), but I want the veterinarian
to look him over first. Also, I think it will be like a new cat
introduction...he needs to smell more like us and less earthy. Pete
got one whiff of me when I came out, hissed and ran away! Fender
is quite a bit smaller, but not thin. His feet and legs seem more
muscular and his pads are thicker. He had remarkably few ticks and
fleas.
Well,
this is really putting the happy ending before the rest of the story.
I do not know why it was so difficult to write about our efforts
to bring Fender home...I guess that was all the energy I had left.
But this forum has been an important part of my life everyday. By
reading everything, I've gotten insight, information, and
encouragement.
Thanks
for all your kind and helpful words.
-Holly
