Can you visualize a cat roping rodeo event? No, I did not mean a calf roping event. I did mean a cat roping event. This morning our intent was to get Fuzzy and Harry, aka: Harriet into the veterinarian for shots and also to take away the possibility that Dennis and I were contributing to the rampant wild cat population.
We had a plan that sounded pretty good as were sitting at the dining room table last night over supper. The vet tech said that when cats were netted they would not put up much of a fuss, but rather just become immobile while hanging in the net, thus allowing us to position the net in close proximity of the carrier and then reach in and grab them by the nap of their neck. We were prepared with a possibility of two different sized nets, plus Dennis’ heavy leather gloves.
This morning, with coffee cups in hand, we ascended onto the unsuspecting group of porch cats. They were all excited to see us, as Dennis has put the food bowl away last night before he came into the house.
The first of the two nets was too much of an oval and didn’t appear to have the look of a circle of netting coming straight down on the cat. The hardware on the net needed to be flat on the floor after it had been thrown over the cat. We found that out on the first try. A sliver of space and Fuzzy was gone and in hiding.
I put out a bit of food on the floor and of course all six were upon it as if they had not eaten for a month. We decided to get either one and Harry was nabbed. Talk about a blur of gray fur and netting material. It was all Dennis could do to keep the frame of the net pinned down flat onto the floor. It took a bit and Dennis was able to lift the net with Harry swinging in the bottom of it. Sure didn’t look like an immobile cat to me. Cautiously, the cat, the net and Dennis’ arm were in the carrier. It was much like trying to flick off a piece of sticky gum off of your finger, only there were teeth and claws involved. Finally, one down and one to go. Harry in the carrier was tucked into the back seat of the car.
It didn’t take long and Fuzzy was back checking out to see if he couldn’t quiet his hunger pains by finding a piece of the dry cat food. Voila! The net was thrown and Fuzzy was under it. When Dennis lifted the net to navigate toward the carrier, there was no way Fuzzy was going to swing low in that sweet chariot. In a heart beat, he was climbing his way out of that three foot long webbing of net. Dennis tried to push him back down and guess who won?
Okay, so one of the cats ended up at the veterinarian’s this morning. Fuzzy is back to chowing down with the rest until such a time when Dennis will strike again. Fuzzy is so dog-gone fuzzy that Dennis thinks he is a male. Worse case scenario, Fuzzy will wander off to spread his seed, but Harriet won’t be giving us any wee ones.
Life on Stauffer is anything but boring, and that is the tale of the cat roping rodeo. Dennis thinks calves would be easier.