Sweeter than chocolate

From this morning's Herald

Tabby cat caught in trap will recover, but needs a home By BEVERLEY WARE South Shore Bureau Thu. Jan 22 - 5:43 AM

This cat will likely lose a couple of toes after getting his paw caught in a trap. Other than that, the tabby is recovering well at South Shore Veterinary Hospital just outside Bridgewater. (BEVERLEY WARE / South Shore Bureau

BRIDGEWATER — The tabby cat rolls on his side for a belly rub and purrs with delight as veterinarian Sally Ronalds happily obliges.
This fellow is the picture of contentment, save for the bulky fluorescent green bandage wrapped around his front left leg.
It hides the nasty damage wrought by a trap that clamped down on his foot. This cat dragged himself out of the woods with the trap still attached and hid under a house for several days.
"He’s a really nice boy," Dr. Ronalds said of the cat, who appears to be enjoying the life of Riley in the comfort of South Shore Veterinary Hospital in Wileville, on the outskirts of Bridgewater.
He has been here since Monday night. Now those who have been taking care of him want to know if this cat has a home. And if he doesn’t, they plan to find him one.
"He needs a big, strong name because he’s a big, handsome man; very strong," Dr. Ronalds said as she cuddles the nearly five-kilogram tabby. His foster parents — the ones who found him — think they may call him Trapper.
"There’s a good chance he’s going to lose a couple of his toes," the veterinarian said, but other than that he is fortunate to have escaped relatively unscathed.
This fellow has an amazing tale to tell.
Charlene Mailman’s dog was acting oddly last weekend, fussing around the doorstep of their home in North Brookfield, Queens County. They could hear a cat under there, but figured he would just wander back home.
But by Monday evening, he was still there — his cries loud and painful. Her husband Paul got a flashlight and could see the trap clamped onto the cat’s leg.
The cat ravenously ate the dog food they shoved under the doorstep, but he was stuck in there. Mr. Mailman eventually eased him out.
"We put him into a box, trap and all," and took him to the veterinarian, Ms. Mailman said.
"He was bleeding some. It’s a friggin’ sin, honestly," she said.
They arrived at the animal hospital at 8:45 p.m. Monday.
Dr. Ronalds cleaned his foot, gave him antibiotics and fed him. "He was very hungry."
Dr. Ronalds isn’t sure if this cat is somebody’s pet or just a well-socialized feral cat. He is well-fed and loves people.
He didn’t even get upset when she and Ms. Mailman held him down so that Mr. Mailman could take the trap off his foot. "He just lay there and let us do it."
The Mailmans are going to look after the cat until his owners claim him or a permanent home can be found.
Mike Boudreau of the Natural Resources Department said the trap is legal under certain circumstances. It is meant to trap weasels or muskrats. If it’s for muskrats, it has to be in or at the water’s edge. If it’s to trap weasels, the trap is supposed to be set so that nothing larger than a weasel can get caught in it. Traps must also be tagged.
Loretta Cook of Queens SPCA said the agency will take care of the cat’s vet bills and help find him a permanent home.
( bware@herald.ca)
There was a time when I used to let any of my kitties go outside when they wanted. In all honesty, I don't think I could have kept my eldercat Bear inside when she was younger. Over the years things change. As this area has built up more, the little pocket of woods behind my house has become one of the few undisturbed habitats left for local wildlife.

With so many more predators on my doorstep, I'm just not tough enough to have outdoor kitties anymore. Happily Bear is wise enough to understand the limitations age puts on her reaction time too. Everybody else just automatically became an indoor kitty when they came in the door. Between the coyotes and foxes and eagles and hawks it is a very good thing for them to peruse the world from the safety of their window seats.

Two of my kitties are tabbies - George and Morgan - so I can tell you first hand that tabbies make great companions. They're affectionate and run to the door to meet you friendly. Like all cats, they are brilliant enough to become devoted to anyone kind enough to offer them a chance at a good life.

Like many groups without a shelter, the Queens SPCA generally has more kitties available for adoption than dogs. In the course of my work with the homeless pages, I have seen that they keep their adoptables listed on petfinder, for as long as it takes. According to Laurie, who runs HART , they really pull out all the stops for their adoptables because they even 'delivered' two kitties that she adopted to her in the valley a couple of years back.

Valentine's day is coming... adopting a good sweet cat is a better way to add ten pounds ... and will last ever so much longer... than any chocolates would.