Freedom

Thomas was the first cat to come home to be released. Male cats recover quickly from neutering. It was Wednesday, just three days after he was trapped. The trapper came in the chilly October evening. Here is a photo of Thomas just before his release. 

He shot out of the trap so fast when that door opened that I couldn't get a picture of him running free!

Next to return home were the kittens. The plan was to release them outside because I had no spare room in my house to use to try to tame them. People told me it was very difficult to tame a feral kitten that was more than a couple months old. Our kittens were about 7 months old now. Our trapper suggested we try to tame them anyway. She said they were very mild and Nala even purred when she was fed. She suggested the kittens be released into a dog crate inside the house instead of being released outside. Okay. Let's try. If it didn't work out, we would just let them go outside.

Now I had to find a big dog crate quickly. The kittens were coming home the next day! I knew one friend who had a huge crate for their German Shepherd that they were no longer using, but I couldn't get in touch with them.  Another friend had a crate not as large, but it would do. I borrowed hers. The crate was set up with blankets, a small litter box, food and water in our basement away from the hustle bustle of the house. What an exciting turn of events! Well, for me and the girls. My husband was not so thrilled!!!!

The kittens arrived on Friday evening. The first kitten was transferred easily from the trap into crate. The challenge was to transfer the next kitten into the crate without the first escaping into the basement. It took a little time but we did it. Both kittens were beginning their life on the inside!

Duchess came home on Sunday evening. She was kept by the trapper the longest due to the fact that she was an adult female. We wanted to be sure she was well healed before she returned to the wild. She shot out of the trap super fast like Thomas and disappeared into the darkness.