FERAL CAT OF ORANGE COUNTY! Finding a feral cat in your bathroom

Several weeks ago we went to visit a relative in Orange County, CA. We were supposed to go to Alpine, CA, but due to the fire situation, we ended up at their home in Orange.

A homeless family of feral cats had taken up residence outside their front gate;  a mother and two small kittens. By chance, they trapped the female  kitten in a fenced area next to the garage and adopted her. When we arrived, the kitten had disappeared. They had kept it in a closed second bathroom along with their washer and dryer. The cat was gone.

Using tuna as bait we hoped to entice the cat out of its hiding place. We thought she was behind the washer and dryer. The tuna was set out, and a string was tied to the washer/dryer closet door. The cat would come out, we would see the cat, jerk the string and prevent the cat from going back behind the washer/dryer. Nothing happened! For several hours we watched the door and held the string. Nothing.

We took a break, shut the bathroom door and a short time later, the tuna was gone.

Prior to our arrival, a four-foot cat cage had been delivered for the  cat. We took a break and put the cage together; not a simple task, but the feral kitten could not run free.

The cage being ready, we turned our attention back to the bathroom again. Nothing. No cat. No tuna.

We went to Best Buy and bought a wireless camera that could be hooked up to a cell phone. We placed the camera in the bathroom and aimed at the washer/dryer and another helping of tuna. After some time,  the cat appeared, ate the tuna and disappeared; but not in the direction of the washer/dryer.

We pointed the camera at the sink and toilet and set out another helping of tuna.

At 11:00 at night the cat came out, ate the tuna and disappeared behind the sink. We caught it on the cell phone. On checking the base of the sink, we discovered it was hollow and the kitten was hiding inside the base.

The kitten was moved to the cat cage and kept there except when it was being held. It is still feral – look at its eyes – even when it is being petted.

The mother and the brother are still waiting outside the house, but the sister is on the way  to domestication.

Since this was first written, the mother has given birth to 2 or 3 more kittens; more feral cats. The next step is to catch the mother and take her to the vet for a bit of surgery.

Makes one wonder about all the feral children that are being separated from their parents at the border. But maybe being kept in pens with dozens of other children is not the same thing….. Maybe I just imagine that I see the kitten we captured in those kids. It is amazing how much the cat cage looks like the cages for immigrant children being held near the border.

THINK OLD!

SOURCES:

Wireless Security Camera   https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lorex-indoor-4mp-wi-fi-security-camera-silver-black/5824309.p?skuId=5824309

Cat Playpen  https://www.chewy.com/midwest-collapsible-cat-playpen/dp/45740

Feral Cats https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_cat

Feral children https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_child