Rajah
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 17, 1999
- Messages
- 9,633
And I lost her each time.
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When I went out tonight to take the stray her food, I had an empty water bottle box -- deja blue. If anyone's familiar with their boxes, you know that the box has holes on 4 sides and is about the size of a carrier.
As I was walking to my car to leave the food and then take the box to the trash bin, I went "wait a minute, I wonder if she'd eat out of this". So I set the food in the box and set the box down in front of my car.
Then as soon as I turned away, I heard her mewing again. Again a "mew-hiss-mew-hiss-iwantmyfood-mew-hiss". I got the food, got the box, and set it down in front of the car she was hiding behind, backed away three steps and sat down.
Sure enough, almost immediately she climbed in the box and got her food!
Great, I thought! Tonight's the night! I got up and ran upstairs and got the carrier (the live trap is over at my parent's) and tied some string on the door, brought it down, and switched the food from the box to the carrier.
Then I left her, the food, and the carrier (with string run out to two car lengths down) and walked away to throw the box in the trash (the original reason I had the box with me).
When I walked back, I approached from the other side and saw her feet poking out of the carrier. So I hurried around, quietly as I could, and couldn't find her. I approached the carrier, carrying the string, and instead of just closing the carrier and *then* looking to see if I had her, I looked first.
Of course she ran out before I could close the door. That was time #1.
The second time, about five minutes later, I actually got her *IN* the carrier and the door closed, but of course she was scratching on the door and I'd forgotten a glove so was trying to figure out how to keep the door closed so she couldn't get out -- when she pushed on it hard enough it stretched the string (or maybe bent the plastic door) and she escaped.
She wouldn't talk to me for several minutes, ignored the carrier and the food in it, and though I knew she was still hungry, wouldn't do anything but lie down three cars away (oddly, under the car that I was sitting by instead of farther away from me).
After being given strange looks by two sets of passers-by, who got very interested when I explained what I was doing, I moved the carrier right to the car I was sitting by. I moved the plate out several feet away and she approached the plate again as soon as I backed off and sat down.
So I let her get a few bites, then stood up and moved the plate half-way between there and the carrier, sat back down again, and encouraged her to come eat from the plate.
Again, she ate.
Again I got up, scaring her away from the food, and this time moved the food right next to the open door of the carrier. It took her a few seconds longer, but again she approached and ate from the plate. When I put the plate *in* the carrier, though, she just lay down and wouldn't come near.
So I took the plate out and set it next to the door again and ran back inside for my last container of tuna (of course gave Blaze and Skye a bite) and a second plate. And a glove.
When I came back outside, she was eating from the plate again. I scared her away long enough to put some tuna on the new plate, shove it to the back of the carrier, put some tuna on the floor of the carrier just inside the door, put a little on the plate with the rest of the food just outside the door, and tossed two small bites to where she was hiding, then sat back again.
It took patience, but she ate those bites, came to the plate and licked it clean, then entered the carrier and licked the floor clean, then went back to the back and started eating.
So I pulled on the string to try and catch her.
THE DOOR GOT STUCK OPEN!
Of course she felt the motion as I tried to swing the string enough to pull the door *closed* instead of *open* and ran out and wouldn't approach anything more for the next 15 minutes until I admitted defeat, gathered up the bites I'd put on the ground and piled it all on the tuna plate, and returned the tuna plate to the place where I usually leave food out for her.
SO CLOSE!!
And one of the couples who passed me by asked if we were going to keep her if I caught her. I told them I didn't know. They said they'd been considering getting a cat. I told them if they'd keep her an indoor cat and not declaw her, we'd let them have her. I just wanted her safe off the street. They said nah, they wanted an orange or gray cat. I said she's orange *and* gray. They hmmed and continued to their apartment. It gave them something to think about so we'll see. So I've got a nibble on a possible home.
I'm debating whether I'll try again tomorrow night or wait until Friday, but we're so close to catching her!
Of course DH, who *started* this whole thing by seeing her in the first place, isn't being supportive at all.
He's not saying stop feeding her, but won't answer anything when I ask what to do with her if we catch her, won't go down and help feed her, and when I asked if I should try catching her tonight was kinda "uhhh...then what will we do with her?"
My answer of "leave her on the back porch until first thing tomorrow morning when we'll take her in to the vet and have her checked out" was just enough for him to say "if you want to".
Wow, it's been an eventful night. I still can't believe I HAD her and lost her.
Next time.....
But I'm getting ahead of myself.
When I went out tonight to take the stray her food, I had an empty water bottle box -- deja blue. If anyone's familiar with their boxes, you know that the box has holes on 4 sides and is about the size of a carrier.
As I was walking to my car to leave the food and then take the box to the trash bin, I went "wait a minute, I wonder if she'd eat out of this". So I set the food in the box and set the box down in front of my car.
Then as soon as I turned away, I heard her mewing again. Again a "mew-hiss-mew-hiss-iwantmyfood-mew-hiss". I got the food, got the box, and set it down in front of the car she was hiding behind, backed away three steps and sat down.
Sure enough, almost immediately she climbed in the box and got her food!
Great, I thought! Tonight's the night! I got up and ran upstairs and got the carrier (the live trap is over at my parent's) and tied some string on the door, brought it down, and switched the food from the box to the carrier.
Then I left her, the food, and the carrier (with string run out to two car lengths down) and walked away to throw the box in the trash (the original reason I had the box with me).
When I walked back, I approached from the other side and saw her feet poking out of the carrier. So I hurried around, quietly as I could, and couldn't find her. I approached the carrier, carrying the string, and instead of just closing the carrier and *then* looking to see if I had her, I looked first.
Of course she ran out before I could close the door. That was time #1.
The second time, about five minutes later, I actually got her *IN* the carrier and the door closed, but of course she was scratching on the door and I'd forgotten a glove so was trying to figure out how to keep the door closed so she couldn't get out -- when she pushed on it hard enough it stretched the string (or maybe bent the plastic door) and she escaped.
She wouldn't talk to me for several minutes, ignored the carrier and the food in it, and though I knew she was still hungry, wouldn't do anything but lie down three cars away (oddly, under the car that I was sitting by instead of farther away from me).
After being given strange looks by two sets of passers-by, who got very interested when I explained what I was doing, I moved the carrier right to the car I was sitting by. I moved the plate out several feet away and she approached the plate again as soon as I backed off and sat down.
So I let her get a few bites, then stood up and moved the plate half-way between there and the carrier, sat back down again, and encouraged her to come eat from the plate.
Again, she ate.
Again I got up, scaring her away from the food, and this time moved the food right next to the open door of the carrier. It took her a few seconds longer, but again she approached and ate from the plate. When I put the plate *in* the carrier, though, she just lay down and wouldn't come near.
So I took the plate out and set it next to the door again and ran back inside for my last container of tuna (of course gave Blaze and Skye a bite) and a second plate. And a glove.
When I came back outside, she was eating from the plate again. I scared her away long enough to put some tuna on the new plate, shove it to the back of the carrier, put some tuna on the floor of the carrier just inside the door, put a little on the plate with the rest of the food just outside the door, and tossed two small bites to where she was hiding, then sat back again.
It took patience, but she ate those bites, came to the plate and licked it clean, then entered the carrier and licked the floor clean, then went back to the back and started eating.
So I pulled on the string to try and catch her.
THE DOOR GOT STUCK OPEN!
Of course she felt the motion as I tried to swing the string enough to pull the door *closed* instead of *open* and ran out and wouldn't approach anything more for the next 15 minutes until I admitted defeat, gathered up the bites I'd put on the ground and piled it all on the tuna plate, and returned the tuna plate to the place where I usually leave food out for her.
SO CLOSE!!
And one of the couples who passed me by asked if we were going to keep her if I caught her. I told them I didn't know. They said they'd been considering getting a cat. I told them if they'd keep her an indoor cat and not declaw her, we'd let them have her. I just wanted her safe off the street. They said nah, they wanted an orange or gray cat. I said she's orange *and* gray. They hmmed and continued to their apartment. It gave them something to think about so we'll see. So I've got a nibble on a possible home.
I'm debating whether I'll try again tomorrow night or wait until Friday, but we're so close to catching her!
Of course DH, who *started* this whole thing by seeing her in the first place, isn't being supportive at all.
He's not saying stop feeding her, but won't answer anything when I ask what to do with her if we catch her, won't go down and help feed her, and when I asked if I should try catching her tonight was kinda "uhhh...then what will we do with her?"My answer of "leave her on the back porch until first thing tomorrow morning when we'll take her in to the vet and have her checked out" was just enough for him to say "if you want to".
Wow, it's been an eventful night. I still can't believe I HAD her and lost her.
Next time.....
I wouldn't trade them in for anything. Personality is what matters, not the looks. 
She hissed sometimes when she played and she hissed continuously when she went to the vet. But that was the extent of her viciousness. 
You GO, girl! You WILL get her!
