I was a volunteer trainer of fellow volunteers. I went out and purchased a bean bag cat and had his ear “tipped” by the tippers and showed my volunteers how do deal with an anesthetized feral cat, how to carry and transport them safely into their carriers to wake up and go back and not repopulate the feral community. Stats said that two cats can make 420K cats in seven years. Trap, neuter, release is my chosen path. Plus education so people don’t leave their kittens at a rec center or throw them out a car window behind a fast food place.
The bean bag kitty, Snowflake, had about as much muscle control under anesthesia as the cats did, which was good but it took extra care. Think about picking up a newborn and cradling the head. A newborn child, awake, had much more muscle control than an anesthetized cat. When we married and left town to places that shoot feral cats, I left Snowflake The Elder for the Volunteers.
One day the SFSPCA was there filming the large spay/neuter operation (pun intended) and they liked my volunteer speech using Snowflake. They had me do it over while the volunteers went to work, then I ran to Transport where I was needed. I’ve never seen the film however my butt must be in it somewhere!
A few weeks ago I got a pair of toy kitties on sale from Easter. A white Snowflake II for my office bookshelf as a remembrance, and a grey kitty for the baby downstairs. If he doesn’t like it, perhaps he’ll give it to his blind dog. They’re labeled bean bags but have very few beans in them. Zoe would chew them up and make a mess in an instant so she can’t get to them now!
I tried to get you a photo of the new Snowflake II but new computer, monitor, phone it cannot be done right now. All I can say is that if there is a feral cat spay/neuter program it’s worth a contribution, if not check out your local no-kill shelters. Volunteer! Dee
Cooking with Dee 