Updates on Tigress and Tabby

Tabby writes:

Mommy's making sure I eat something, but I don't want to!  She's force-feeding me canned food, but she can only get 1/2 teaspoon into me at a time before I absolutely refuse and spit the glob out.  I'm keeping the food down (except for once yesterday morning), but it's not tasting or smelling good to me.  We're hoping for the results of my blood test back on Monday.  The vet's office was supposed to tell us on Friday, but they didn't call, so my purrents will call on Monday to see what's going on with the results.  Thanks for all your purrs, prayers, and well-wishes!

Tigress writes:

I had a very scary couple of days!  I was inside in that trap thing for a few hours, then the humans picked me up and put me into a car.  I've never been in a car, and I was taught to stay well away from roads when I was still a very young kitten.  Being this close to humans is new to me, too, even though I'd seen them on the other side of the glass before.  The humans took me to a vet place, called the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, where they left me!  There were other cats in traps, and they were as scared and confused as I was.  We all were so quiet, except for a couple screaming cats, because we were so scared.  Since we'd all lived outside, we knew that silence was the key to being invisible.

It didn't work this time.  I was picked up again in the trap and carried somewhere, then given a shot.  I suddenly felt very sleepy!  When I woke up, I had been poked a couple more times (vaccinations), had part of my right ear gone (to mark me as a fixed, cared-for feral), and had been cut open then glued shut!  I had also been shaved on my belly.

While I was under anesthesia, the vet discovered that I was pregnant.  Mommy and Daddy had thought I might be, probably two or three weeks along, but made the decision to go ahead with my spay anyway.  They said that I would be much healthier that way, and not have to have all the stress of young motherhood.  It was a heart-wrenching decision for them, especially for Mommy, but they feel that it was for the best.  With the kittens, I was 9.1 pounds before my spay.

The humans came and took me back home.  I'm a very good car cat, actually, and they were really proud of me.  I didn't sing in the car, just watched everything going by.  Seatbelts are the most interesting part of the car!  I had gotten one of my claws caught in the trap wire, so I was bleeding a little from that, but it stopped right away.  I've got two extra toes on my right front paw and three extra on my left front paw, so it's no wonder I got one caught.

Yesterday, I was recovered more from the anesthesia, and wanting out of that trap!  I tried and tried to find a way out, especially after I peed on the newspaper.  My sister came inside to check on me and was trying to help me get out, but neither of us could find the way to open the trap.  Finally, Mommy took the trap outside and let me go.  I slithered out and zoomed under the deck, while my sister mewed happily.  I was back in a few hours for dinner, though!

Tigress back outside after recovering from her spay.  Notice her eartip.