Cats

Last night was an exciting night at Catherine North Studios, as we prepared to bring Daphne in to the clinic to be spayed.

Catching Vanderbilt last week was a straightforward affair. The clinic lent us a humane trap to use. It took a dish of tuna and about 90 seconds to coax Vanderbilt into the trap.

Catching Daphne, on the other hand, was a totally different matter. Apparently, word spreads fast in the feral cat community: “Don’t go for the tuna, it’s a trick!”

After several hours of Daphne doing everything BUT get into the trap, we tried to just sneak up behind her and catch her by hand (Plan B). We nearly got her too, but she’s a squirmy little thing!

Plan C was to trick her into coming into the studio, which we finally managed to do with a package of chicken-flavoured Temptations (evidently the crack cocaine of cat treats).

And then the real fun began.

This is a good time to remind everyone that Daphne and Vanderbilt are feral cats (unlike Mamie, who is very tame and friendly). D&V may look super cute and tame in the pictures, but they really are WILD animals.

Once inside the studio, Daphne acted a lot less like a housecat and a lot more like a panicked squirrel. After tearing around the studio several times, through the kitchen cupboards, behind the console, under the ping-pong table and across the stove (!), she eventually parked herself up on top of the kitchen cupboards.

Eventually, our very own Jordan “the cat whisperer” Mitchell managed to bring her down and put her into the crate. (Thanks Jordan!)

We brought Daphne to the clinic this morning. Her surgery went well and she’s doing fine! She’s back at the studio now, resting in the big dog crate with Vanderbilt at her side. (We managed to tempt Vanderbilt out of the rain and into the studio this afternoon — which is another story altogether!)

Tomorrow we’ll release Daphne and Vanderbilt back into their territory. More to come!

It turns out that Mamie, the mama cat who moved into the backyard behind Catherine North Studios, is pregnant (again!). But we have some great news to share — thanks to Lisa Winn from Ladybird Animal Sanctuary, we’ve been able to place Mamie with a foster family that will take care of her until her new kittens are born.

Unlike Daphne and Vanderbilt, Mamie is a sociable cat who doesn’t shy away from human company. She is certainly going to be scooped up very quickly once her babies are weaned and she’s put up for adoption.

Mamie moved out on Thursday night, and we miss her very much. Many of us at the studio had grown really attached to her. But we still have her kittens Daphne and Vanderbilt to remind us of her.

PS We can’t say enough nice things about Ladybird Animal Sanctuary. Founded by singer/songwriters Janine Stoll, Lisa Winn, and Melissa McClelland, Ladybird is a non-profit organization whose goal is to help reduce the extraordinary number of pets euthanized in Ontario each year by taking a load off of the shelters that are bursting at the seams with unwanted animals. Please check them out and give them your support.