lost dog reunited! tiny kittens!

The stray dog was reunited with her family yesterday afternoon. She had ventured over from 62nd and Evans. Thank goodness she made it across Cottage Grove safely! She ran into her owner's arms.

Below: Kindle and Connie. Yes, readers, these are two of four black Hyde Park kittens who will be seeking their forever homes in eight weeks or so. Please spread the word.

Curbing feral cat populations without killing

Curbing feral cat populations without killing: from the July 29 Chicago Tribune

Foster dog?

Seeking a foster home for the shepherd mix of yesterday's post. No microchip, no leads on an owner.

She's 46 lbs, so she's petite for a shepherd. She's been the perfect houseguest and gets really excited about going outside when she sees the leash. She's very friendly with all dogs and people she's met.

Can anyone foster? Christy, who found her, is waiting to see if any of the the rescue groups she works with could help rehome her, but she'll need a foster home, at least for a short time.

And below, a picture of Felix at the MJK Alley, just because this is, after all, a cat blog.

FOUND: Shepherd mix doggie

FOUND this morning (Tuesday): Sweet female shepherd mix at 61st and Ingleside. She seemed lost and scared. She has a worn collar but no tags. If you have any info or are missing your dog, please call 434-429-6045 or e-mail felxrabbit@yahoo.com.

Kismet

Awwwwwwwwwwww. Kismet is the most outgoing of the kittens and comes to visit Eevie when she visits the brood.

All are well, bigger and healthier every day!

Best Post Ever

Cat Cora--Mama Cat--has been reunited with her kittens and is nursing them all. They are in a clean, quiet, comfortable room, with plenty of food and water. And no construction going on right on top of them (although perhaps this lack of chaos will bother Cat Cora?)!

We set the trap last night and Monica and Carlos watched over it. Maybe forty-five minutes later they called ... she was in! Below is the video of the kittens and Cora getting their first whiff of each other after their separation.



Cora grabbed Kindle (we think) and ran under the bed with him:



And we put the other three mewlers near her. She stretched out and started to nurse ... her whole body seemed to unfurl in relief.



What an amazing outcome for this situation! Next: get ready to find homes for four kittens ...

Fourth kitten found!

Readers -- this afternoon I received a call from Roger at the construction site. He found the fourth kitten! It was in a gravel heap -- the construction site changes very rapidly; I don't think Cat Cora abandoned it but rather that the site is changing minute by minute. Eevie sped over and retrieved the kitten; it was covered with construction dust. When reunited with siblings, siblings crawled all over it: Eevie claims they seemed relieved. Here is a short video of black kittenball.

We've named this fourth kitten Kindle (don't know gender). Now we have Kindle, Constance (the first one we found), Karma (boy), and Kismet (boy). Mike H. had suggested those last two names some time ago; I'm glad to be able to use them on the Konstruction Kittehs.

Thanks to Ginny for the donation!

Cat Cora (construction site Mama)

An update on our Construction Site Cats. Good news and bad.

I got a call yesterday late afternoon from Connie, the original sighter of the kittens. She said Mama Cat was still there! I couldn't get over with a trap until after dinner, and there she was--as pictured--hanging out. The trap was set with some particularly wet and noxious kitty food, but she didn't go in even though it was obvious she wanted that food. Searching and careful listening did not yield the kitten, however.

In good news, a couple from the building across the street came out to see what we were doing to the cat and agreed to help by watching the trap. Monica called me at 10 pm to say the kitty was in the trap but ... it didn't spring! Bad news. It appears the door had gotten stuck on some construction detritus. Monica took the trap in, thus saving me a trip, and will help again tonight.

I've named this long-haired beauty Cat Cora, after "Iron Chef" Cat Cora, and to match her kittens. I'll unveil more kitten news later when Eevie sends me her update.

Huge purry thanks to Norah and to Margaret for helping out with donations. This is going to be an expensive rescue. Thanks to Kat and to Janelle for kitten formula. Thanks to Monica for helping on the trapping end -- this is such a relief. Huge thanks to Eevie for trapping, for taking the kittens to the vet, and for foster care! And thanks to Connie for putting up signs at the construction site yesterday (to alert the construction workers what to do if they find the kitten) and for finding these kittens and caring enough to do something about it.

I also want to mention that the Site Manager of this construction site was very helpful when I alerted him to the situation. He notified the correct person actually on site, and also let me know about other construction going on in that area.

Construction Site Kittens

Readers, a stressful and sad rescue.

On Tuesday I received an email saying there were kittens at the construction site at 61st and Ellis, where the University is building the new dorm. These kittens had been spotted on Saturday. Well, that was several days elapsed, so I asked the finder if she could show me the exact site ASAP. We met there at 2 p.m. but to no avail, as the construction was in very full, very loud, swing, and the workers would not let us onto the site. Below is a picture of the area the kittens had been seen on Saturday. Note that it appears to be where construction trash is thrown.



At 5:30ish Eevie and her husband went by the site, and kitten mews were clearly audible. They could also see one kitten who had been separated from the others.

At 7:40ish I met Eevie at the site. I found a way onto the site and picked up the kitten. Weak, sluggish, and with fly eggs on it (which will hatch into maggots) -- but alive. Below is a picture.



While we were assessing the kitten we heard more mews. Eevie, who, unlike me had smartly worn pants and sneakers, braved the construction site this time, and we found another black kitten--dead.

Still more mews coming from the pile of construction detritus. We decided to poke around a little ... and ... lifting up an orange cone (see top picture) ... three more black kittens! And a black cat! Surprise all around. And ... retreat.

It was clear now that Mama had brought her brood into this area, which was now being used for the construction workers to throw construction-related trash onto! Poor cats, it must have been so loud, so scary, and two kittens had slid down an aluminum sheet into an area where either Mama couldn't go or was afraid to go. The other three seemed very precariously located as well, and were clearly on the same slippery slope as their two siblings. So once again we waded into the breach and lifted the cone. Mama cat backed away, and we set out the trap. In the trap we placed the three healthy kittens (the fourth one was already in there) and a nice stinky can of tuna, and we retreated to wait for Mama Cat to spring the trap.





A fool-proof plan, I thought. But when I checked the trap ... Mama had actually removed a kitten! And we think she got the fattest and healthiest one, too!



By now it was dark, and we had no hope of figuring out where Mama had stashed that one kitten. So we left Mama with her one, and took the three we had. We will continue to monitor the site and try and trap those two. I hope we can get them. I hope we can get them soon. We need to notify the construction workers about this situation.

Meanwhile, the three kittens went to Eevie's home for at least one night. They may have to be bottle-fed, although a search of four Hyde Park stores yielded no kitten formula.

Your financial contributions or your donations of kitten formula are very welcome to this project. We may also need a foster home but will report back on the kittens in the next few days.

We left the dead kitten there. It had tiny white bits on its tiny front paws.

Theo Seeks a Foster Home -- and she'll pay!

Jennifer writes in: "I am seeking a home for my cat, Theo, for the 2009-10 academic year (mid-September to mid-June), as I'll be away from Chicago on a fellowship and can't take her with me. She's eight years old, sweet-tempered and rather shy; she gets along fine with other cats but has never been around dogs or small children before. I'll pay all expenses (food, litter, etc.) and I can offer $50/month in compensation as well. If you think you might be able to help me out, please contact me at jtwester@uchicago.edu. Thanks!"

found gray cat: portrait

A front-on shot of the gray kitty from previous post. Are you missing this beauty?

FOUND: gray kitty

Found on Saturday 18th: gray kitten/adolescent walking in the middle of the street (Kimbark and 54th just across from the tennis courts). The finders have taken kitten in but cannot keep. Please write to hydeparkcats@gmail.com if you are missing a kitteh or are interested in potentially adopting kitteh.

Calamity Jane

Two portraits of Calamity Jane, formerly Moe, formerly of the Parkview Kats project. Here she is after discovering the joys of catnip. Thanks again to Aimee and Mary Jean for getting this kitty to a home, and to Helenmary for the home! This pretty kitty was only four pounds and was suffering from a serious virus when rescued from the streets. Looking good, Jane!



And another big purry thanks to Mike H., our sustaining donor!

Sad news, cute video

Readers, a sad update on Stanley. Stanley died very suddenly last week. His last weeks, with his person Amanda, were all a cat, especially a former alley cat, could ask for. His food bowl was always full. He had his very own clean and quiet territory to lord it over. He had toys. He had a person who loved him and who he loved in return. Stanley, we will miss you, and we're all so happy your time on earth included love.

To cheer you up, a video of Akiba during his first vet visit.

Akiba, the next day

Akiba, rescued yesterday from an abandoned property next to the Akiba-Schechter school, rested comfortably overnight in a trap but, on inspection this morning, was deemed ready for petting. Petting led to purring. Purring led to snugging. Snuggling led to being taken to the vet for a round of Revolution (de-flea, de-worm, de-earmite).

Akiba is a boy and is about four months old.

"Mama, where is her mommy? Why her lose her mommy? Is her going to our house? I think her wants to go home" -- 3.5 year old vet-in-training.

Akiba

Thanks to Trish, who wrote in alerting us to this little kitten on an abandoned property on the 53rd block of Lake Park. Akiba (named for Akiba-Schechter Jewish Day School nearby) is an adorable little tiger kitten, maybe four months old. What was this kitten doing all by itself??? Trapping him/her only took two days -- hungry little thing.

Currently resting in my basement, going to Treehouse for assessment as soon as I can get an appointment ...

Fuzzy Figi

Aimee sent in these new pictures of Figi in all his fuzzy glory. She reports that it took about sixty tries to get these because he constantly walks toward her for more loooove. Figi is a Parkview Kats cat, already neutered and obviously not a feral. He's a friendly! And he is homeless. You can see the bowl of food in the corner of the picture, but we're seeking a forever home for this handsome man. He is very sweet, super friendly, and has adorable little half-mittens on his feet.

Pilsen TNR project: Yvette

Yvette does large-scale TNR in Pilsen. She also led our TNR workshop a couple months ago, and we work together when we can to help the kittehs. She has a blog too, which some of you may have seen. It's on the Best Friends Network, which recently unveiled a new design, and all the blogs now have new URLS. Here is Yvette's TNR blog. Good work Yvette!

missing cat alert

Itty Bitty Kitty is a semi-feral "pet cat" who went missing last night (Monday) from her home (deleted).

She will NOT come to her name or anything else and will NOT let you approach her. If you sight her, please CALL and we'll come with a humane trap. Please call (deleted) with any sightings.

UPDATE: As Susan suggested in her comment, Itty Bitty was probably hunkered down nearby just working up her courage to bolt across the lawn. She slunk back into the house about two minutes ago and attacked a tin of wet food. Now she's playing her favorite game with me: "Look at me, I'm so cute, don't even try to pet me." Thanks for the good wishes everyone!

porchcats / thanx

Months ago I reported on Porchcats, two cats living around Drexel and 55th.

Great news: female porchcat -- Portia -- has a home! Anna trapped her and had her checked out at the vet (she was already spayed) and another couple in their building, who were moving uptown, decided to take Portia with them. Portia was probably a "dumped" cat; she was not a feral. What a happy ending! We hope to get a photo of Portia in her home.

Male porchcat -- Balthasar -- was TNRed. He is angry at Anna, his feeder, but we'll report back on him soon.

Good work Anna!

Thanks to Helenmary for the generous donation! Keep up the good work with Jane (formerly Moe) and please send us a picture! And thanks to Adrienne for the sheets. Those will keep some needy animals more comfy.

Paloma

Hyde Park Cats -- now helping birds! Paloma had apparently fallen, hurt her wing, and was being stalked by a neighborhood cat. Marta saved her and kept her safe and fed on a diet of fresh corn and sunflower seeds. Marta is also my ninera -- my girls' caregiver -- so of course we found a way to help Paloma. This morning my two little girls helped do a big mitzvah by taking Paloma to the Flint Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation center on Northerly Island! Paloma will be assessed by a vet and, if treatable, they'll release her in Barrington.

The folks at Flint Creek really made this easy and I was impressed they would even take a pigeon (Paloma means dove in Spanish, and did you know pigeons are really 'rock doves'?). They do great work. Also, who knew Northerly Island was covered in fantastic wildflowers, that they have coyote babies (we didn't sight them) and a fox and a walkway on the docks and what a beautiful spot!

Please see Flint Creek Wildlife.

Robbie

Robbie is available for adoption! He was rescued from a hard life on the streets as part of the King TNR project (scroll down) and is currently in foster care. He is vaccinated, neutered, adorable as could be, totally friendly and housebroken, and wants a home.

ps That is not his tail in the corner; that is a rope. His tail is a perfectly nice fluffy gray one.