The Ballad Of Peachy & Bootsy (Part I)

On Thursday, using traps we borrowed from the nice folks at Panther City Feral Cat Coaltion, we caught - well, I should say our neighbor caught - he had been feeding them so they trusted him as much as they were able - this is convoluted - there were two ferals our neighbor had been feeding.  He was the one who brought the cat who was known as Wookie but who is now called Vince to our house as I discussed previously here when Vince showed up looking bad & all torn up.  Anyway, there were these two other ferals, we discussed trapping them to fix them, & got the traps.  But it was our neighbor who got the ferals to be comfortable around the traps, & he then put food in them, & they walked right in.  It was the first time I'd seen that & it was extraordinary.

They were so frightened.  We put them in my garage & covered them up.  We needed to keep them overnight to take them to a clinic the next day to get them spayed & neutered.

We called the two cats Peachy (he was the one we thought was male, & we think he could be related to Vince, perhaps his son or grandson) & Bootsy (we presumed she was female & her name had nothing to do with bass guitar but with cute little white "boots" she seemed to have on her feet, contrasting with her mainly furry black body).  I was up late Thursday working on the show & I could hear the cries from the garage - mainly I think from Bootsy.  I don't think Peachy vocalizes except perhaps when he's in a fight.  While Bootsy is black & sweet & demure, Peachy is scarred & rugged.  I of course felt sad hearing it & I had to keep reminding myself we were helping them, not torturing them.

The next morning, our neighbor drove us to a clinic in Cleburne (just a few miles down the road) (he has a truck) where they offer free spaying & neutering but only for the first twelve or so cats.  We arrived more than thirty minutes early, & Bootsy & Peachy were fourth & fifth.  I was impressed, & a little terrified, at the assembly line process they have, but they're doing good work.  I was a little sad to leave the kittens there but I knew they were in good hands.

There's more!  I'll continue tomorrow.  Plus, I'll have pictures.  Promise.