5th black cat from Tipsy's

I let the Caring Harts for RIT Cats group know that they can have two spots for tomorrow, but to let me know if they're not successful. If they're not, I like to try in the morning for a cat at one of the colonies I've been TNRing. This hasn't really worked so far (in my getting a cat in the morning), but it's worth a try to take adantage of the available spots.

The woman who's been trapping with me at the bar colony trapped an adult cat today, though. So I'm really hoping that RIT only gets one cat... I don't know if they'll have enough time to do more than two. Depends on the gender.

I got a call from the woman who does the landscaping at the photo studio about a feral cat trapped in a cage left out in the heat for over an hour. She actually called the hospital first. They called me, and I told them to give her my number. Not sure how long the cat was left out there, but it was hot. I thought the woman who had been trapping was going to call me, but I ended up having to call her. She said she was going to wait until tomorrow morning to see if we had time... don't know why. I just told her to give me a call as soon as possible - that's definitely helpful!

When I went to pick up the cat, she had him in the car. The windows were rolled down, but I fear that the cat had definitely gotten overheated. I brought him over to the hospital and put him in the cool bathroom over a wet towel. I also slid a small dish of water in there for him/her. Poor cat's tongue was sticking out when I got him, he was so hot! We had a meeting later that afternoon, so I checked on him again, and he seemed much better. I hope no lasting damage occured due to the heat!

Unfortunately, I found out today that the woman helping me had to release the black and white kitten! She was under the assumption that the caretaker was going to take him, but when that didn't work out, she had nowhere for him to go! Same as me, so I don't blame her - I just wish we had more options for these babies! I gave her another woman's number, but it seems that though the people want to be able to take them in, when it comes down to it, they find reasons that they can't. It's regrettable, though, because I think they are at least 8 weeks old now. And if I had known, I would have had the kitten fixed before release. I did let her know, though, that if she doesn't have a place for the kittens, I will have them fixed before we set them back out there. Saves us the trouble of trying to get them later on.

I wonder also if she released the kitten - and didn't hold on to him for a few days to try to find another option - because he is sick. I know that this is the kitten she wanted to bring in for an exam. And when I went to refresh the cats' water today, I saw the poor baby, eyes all gunked up and red. *sigh*

BUT, along with the adult cat, she also got the other black kitten. What she's going to do with that one, I'm not sure, since she couldn't keep the black and white one. Maybe it really was because he's sick?

I heard that the owners of the photo studio are irritated about the caretaker giving milk to the cats, as it's giving them diarrhea. And they're pottying in the studio's backyard. I don't understand the milk thing! Water is essential for cats, milk is detrimental. They do make safe-for-cats milk, though.

Someobody seems to be helping with the water, though. I hope the caretaker is! That would be great.

Anyway, I'll let you know the gender of this black cat tomorrow after surgery, b/c I've no clue! = )