Sad Cat, A Cat Update and The Police

"Sad Cat"
These are some photos of one of the stray cats in the yard. I’ve been calling this one Sad Cat because the stripes under his eyes make him look very sad. He could really be sad though since all the girls have been “fixed”. I’m still working on trapping him. For anyone who doesn’t know and is reading this, I’m working with the Baltimore County Animal Services and the TNR program they have. TNR stands for Trap, Neuter, Release. It is to control the overwhelming cat population and get them their shots. They drop off a trap, pick them up when you catch one, do what they have to do and return them in two days to where they pick them up from. If you remove a cat colony then another one will just move in and these cats also provide a service by keeping the rodent (rats and mice) population in check. It is a great program. You can usually tell a TNR cat because they will “tip” the ear. That way they know the cat is part of a designated colony. They also microchip the cats which is good.

"A Cat Update"
The three girls have all been trapped, spayed and returned. Sadly, Fluffers ran off when she was dropped off and has not returned although my husband believes he saw her just a couple days ago. She had been disappearing before being trapped for three or four days at a time. It makes me sad that she has not returned but she is better for it so I will try to dwell on the upside. Baby and Sylvester were back within an hour.

By the way, turns out Sylvester really is a Sylvia but she answers to both and the kids refuse to call her anything but Sylvester. I had been calling her Syl anyway. So, they are back to hanging out on the porch…

…and following me everywhere.

I was able to trap another stray before the July 4th holiday and I’m pretty sure he could be Sylvester’s dad. My husband named this one Tom (I know, real original 😉 but it seems to fit him). Tom is a really big boy and weighs a whopping 14 pounds! I originally thought he was a really pregnant female..lol. He’s just a really big boy!

I still need to try to, at least, capture Sad Cat and this other cat that is hanging around the yard. I’m calling the other cat Gray for now. I was worried that it could be a neighbor’s cat and didn’t want to send a neighbor’s cat off and be returned looking different so my husband took the photo over to confirm that it was not his. I did discuss this concern with Animal Services and they said if the cat is in my yard and gets captured then they will scan it before anything else to try to determine if it belongs to someone in the area but will otherwise be considered a stray and be spayed or neutered and ear tipped. I will see if the cat appears friendly in any way and if not then good chance it is a stray.

Oh! I forgot! There is another boy cat that I need to try to trap. We’ve been calling him Floppy Ear because he has an ear that was injured. I think he may have been hit by a car as he has a very small limp as well. He seems healthy otherwise. I really don’t want him to be put down but there is always the chance that could happen when they examine them. As you can see, he does look pretty healthy so,hopefully, he will be returned if I can capture him.

"The Police"
About half a week after starting the TNR program, the Baltimore County Police showed up to our door. They wanted to talk to my husband but he was at work. When I told them he was at work, they asked if I was sure about that..yes I was. They asked who all lived at my house and the ages of the occupants which I told them. Turns out, they got a call and the person accused my husband of harming the cats in the alley behind our house. I told them that we love cats and would never do that but we did just sign up for the TNR program. They said the person described was in his 70’s which would not be him. I showed them a photo of my husband with Baby on the front porch so they could see he was not in his 70’s. I cropped out my husband in the photo here but shows silly Baby laying on his lap. I do want to say that the Officers were very nice and respectful and were just doing their job.

They also asked if he was in the back yard doing work which he had been back there the week before pulling vines down. They asked if he bagged the vines? I’m thinking, uh-oh, are we gonna get fined for not bagging the yard material. I was honest though and told them I didn’t think he did but also told them what time he gets home so they could talk to him. Next day, a neighbor mentioned to me that another neighbor was taking shots at the cats in the alley. I asked if the person was in his 70’s and he confirmed that he was. Now, I’m pretty upset because my husband was accused and it defeats doing the TNR program. He said he heard it was a pellet gun and he was just scaring them but wait..it gets worse!
When Animal Services picked up Tom, I told them what I learned and she gave me a number to call. The number was for the police dept animal abuse division and a case was open on my husband..wtf! I told them what I learned and they came out to talk to us and they wanted to learn more about the TNR program. In the meantime, my husband realized that whoever called it in probably said the guy at the end of the alley. We are at one end and the 70 year old was at the other. We explained everything and they bought up about whether he bagged the vines and yard debris. He told them he had not but after it dried on the ground he ran it over with the lawn mower so there are no big heaping piles of debris out there. They said that the person accused was seen putting an animal in a bag. Now I know why they were asking and now I’m even more upset. The neighbor that told me this said I could give his name to the police. The police said they were going to talk to all the neighbors but were satisfied that it was, indeed, not my husband. When Animal Services returned Tom, I told her what had transpired and that it was upsetting.

She assured me that if they do get evidence on what the other neighbor did then they will prosecute him. I don’t want any issues with the person in the neighborhood so the police are handling it in a really good way and not approaching it in a neighbor against neighbor way but how they approached me the very first encounter. I really doubt they will get any absolute proof it was him but hopefully it will deter him from shooting at the cats.
Years ago Animal Services trapped a lot of the cats and put them down because we had a rabies scare. When that happened we got a lot of rats and mice around because the alley is in back of us as are some food businesses. Once the cats returned, they took care of the rats and mice so they really do provide a service here in the neighborhood. Luckily, Fluffers was returned the day after this had happened so I know it wasn’t her that he hurt but it’s still upsetting. Like I don’t have enough to worry about in my life already..just add this to the list!!