Tuesday, June 12, 2007

The worst current manifestation of...

...my dysfunctionality is my inability to take these feral cats to the SPCA... I have a BIG problem with having to be the decisive element in what brings their lives to an end.

So, as a result, here is yet another tail in the never-ending saga of becoming the bonified cat lady of H-town Texas.

This one begins before all the damn cats showed up and I was still actively rehabbing wild birds. I received two pigeons at about the same time- one pigeon had been injured to the point of being unable to fly ever again. The other pigeon was perfect, but to his detriment, HE fell in love with HER and would not leave her side, always walked on the ground as near to her as he could get.

In a typical rehab situation a flightless bird, (especially a non-native flightless bird) would be euthanized unless it was one of educational value, like a raptor or an owl - or a threatened/endangered species.

Federal law does not protect rock doves (city pigeons) as they are non-native and considered an invasive species. I could have made stew of the bird had I wanted... instead I opted for having she and her mate bask in their love for each other.

Eventually, I built a birdhouse for them. I am no carpenter so it wasn't the finest piece of architecture by any means. I placed a ramp running up to the birdhouse so that the handicapped pigeon and her companion could easily come and go from the house. The two love birds lived there for quite some time until eventually the female met her inevitable flightless fate. The male hung around the house for a few days, but soon afterward took to flying about the tree tops, zipping in and out for a final day before the call of the wild pricked his little ear holes and he decided it was time to look for another love to fill his feathered void.

The tacky little birdhouse has been there, uninhabited for a couple years. The "ramp" is long gone, I believe it was recruited to fill in for some other wood during a hasty repair job on the porch.

Number One on the bench below the birdhouse


Remember Number One and Number Two? The two kittens left behind in my shed after their mother was hit in the street? Well, One and Two decided that they liked the old high-rise condo and moved in a couple weeks ago.
Number Two hanging on the porch


They sleep up there at night, hang out on the little "porch" and on the roof during the heat of the day, and as of this morning I discovered something else they did up there... argh.
Bless their pointed little heads.

7 comments:

Jamie Lee Awesome said...

Ewwww kitty incest.

Aren't there any no-kill shelters in humble??

Michael-Ann said...

no... it isn't incest they are both females :) and no, there are no no-kill shelters. We have a couple groups: PALS and something else, but every time I have called them they say they have no room and ask me to foster the animals. BLEH.

Biddie said...

(( grin )) why can't some kind of kitty salt peter be available to give to ferals???

paisley said...

email them to me!!! i have six acres of nothing... and an old falling down cabin that my two cats live in ... the dogs live in the house with me... well they let me live in the house with them is more accurate!!!!!

i wonder if fed x does kitties.....

Michael-Ann said...

:D Paisley... I tried to stick them in my CD drive this morning to copy them to the hard disk and send them to you, but alas I could not even get one little paw in the slot!

Maybe I will try next to fax them to you???

Mom a salt-peter solution would be great... I would just blanket the whole yard in the stuff.

The cat population at the house has officially doubled in one spring-fling orgy-fest it seems. Stray cats have been hiding their offspring god-only-knows-where and are now beginning to bring them up to the front porch.

Mother cats are not concerned with taking care of just their own kittens, it is a big collaboration.

Geez. wottamess.

There is quite a mix in this pack o' kitties... black&white, grey, short-fur. long-fur, orange, black, tabby, even one Siamese for crying out loud.

Shelli said...

aw, the lil treehouse kitties!! wish i had a bunch of land, i'd come and take them off your hands!

JaneDoughnut said...

Our neighbors collect cats, and now cats - and fleas - are living under both our houses. So don't feel guilty if you do have to take some to the pound. It could be a health issue.

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