Kitten Hunting Day 7.....
"95kg Man 1, 2.5kg Kitten 0 After Extra Time"
So, finally, after many many early mornings and late nights trying, I finally managed to catch LBK the semi feral kitten who had been living under next doors shed. And what a battle it was!
Having discovered that cats learn quickly that heading into a trap like its three sisters had done is not a good idea (although I caught one of the neighbours cats again just as I had done last week), I needed a new catching method so purchased and fitted a new, lockable cat flap on the summer house; the kitten had been used to sleeping in there overnight with its Mum. However, what I didn't realise was that the kitten didn't know how to use a cat flap and no amount of pushing Mummy cat in and out of it was going to encourage him/her to give it a try (there was a cat flap but the door had broken off it so it was basically just a gap in the wall).
Next idea....large net....nope, that won't work: too many trees in the garden. Drugged food....been watching too many cartoons again. Sigh. Harpoon...... er, now you are just being silly.
In the end I decided to block lockable cat flap with a metal box which no one less than Eddie Hall would be able to move and then load the summer house up with food hoping the kitten would go in where upon I could simply wonder in, and it would put its paws up and say it was a fair cop..... Well part of that went okay: the kitten went into the summer house and I was able to lock the door with it inside. Part 1 done.
Part 2 would be to get into the summer house without the kitten escaping....done! And then...grab the kitten.
This is where things started to go wrong. The last thing the kitten wanted was to be caught and put into a carrier so it put up quite a fight resulting in quite a bit of blood being spilt....my blood. I have six cuts to my right hand and two to my left. The kitten was finally overcome and placed into a large cage where it promptly went mental and started throwing cat litter around! One feed later it had calmed down a little but was still quite upset.
This morning therefore, LBK went off to the vets to be "done" before going to a rescue/rehoming centre this afternoon. Its poor Mum: "Pearl" has been very listless overnight but I suppose she will get used to it with some TLC and best steak.
Finally...just looked at our brand new lockable cat flap. It is now in four pieces. We once had a 7kg cat who destroyed a locked cat flap but one which is only 4 months old...blimey....wouldn't like to me this cat down a dark alley!