CumbreCats TNR and Rescue

MONTE CALA HAS A NEW FAMILY  TRAPPER REPORT One of our part-time cat feeders in Monte Cala was informed by her neighbours about a new mother cat and her kittens. She went out, examined them all, and reported back to me. Together, we quickly devised a trapping plan. First, I focused on a mother cat with a very beautiful kitten that looked like a Siamese. As usual, the mother was black, like so many cats in that area.  Since the female cat was used to the feeder, who had fed her very little the evening before, the mother cat was quite hungry the next morning and already waiting when we prepared the trap. We used a remote-controlled trap because a few already neutered cats were hanging around. The feeder lured the others away with food, leaving the mother cat to enter the trap quickly. She was successfully trapped. Since we were already in this area, we decided to continue trapping. We set up both traps, the normal one and the remote-controlled trap, and then the waiting started....

Good morning, everyone. My name is Bear, and I live on Cumbre del Sol, a lovely mountain community in the province of Alicante on the Costa Blanca. My passport says my name is Osito, which I prefer because it sounds more regal, of course. However, Mom insists on calling me Bear or, even worse, Beary-Bear. But she loves me so much that I'm willing to live with the little names she comes up with. Don’t tell her, but I am very fond of her too for a number of reasons. If she knew, I would probably never hear the end of it. My story began about eight years ago, more or less. The vet wasn’t quite sure. I don’t consider myself a real senior, although I am starting to feel the weather changes and the cold winters in Spain in my bones. Now, if you are a house cat, this is less of a problem because you have your heated mansion, your lovely warm basket, or your human’s bed to keep you warm. The best-case scenario, of course, is keeping warm on Mom’s lap for as long as possible. Somehow, thoug...

Tragic Kitten Rescue: A Tale of Heartbreak and Hope in Liros Zone Trapper Report Early this month, I received a call for help from another trapper in the Liros zone who spotted two very ill kittens needing urgent medical treatment. The following day, the trapper caught a black kitten and took it to Veronica, our vet. Sadly, it was too late for any treatment, and the vet had to put the kitten down. On the same day, the trapper managed to trap the mother of the kittens. She was taken to Veronica for a health check and neutering. Fortunately, the mother was healthy enough to be neutered. After recovering, the carer released her back to her family. The next day, the brother of the first kitten was trapped and taken to the vet. Tragically, the vet diagnosed this kitten as being too far gone to be treated, and it was also put to sleep.  Both kittens were around 10 weeks old. The other kittens in the litter seemed to be okay. The feeder will monitor them closely and continue efforts to tr...

Trapping is Tricky Business in the Lirios Zone ### Trapper Report "This Monday morning, I set out to trap a mother cat whose kittens are around 10 weeks old. The kind CumbreCats carer was informed not to feed the cats in the morning. While I was preparing my trap, I noticed behind me a beautiful, mostly white cat with half of her face black. I didn't see an ear tag, so I figured she was not yet neutered. Immediately, I prepared a second automatic trap with fresh fish food and placed it in the garden behind me. However, the white cat disappeared. Next, I set up the remote-controlled trap with tasty fish food in the carer's garden and gave the kittens some biscuits to lure them away from the trap. The mother cat quickly realized what I was trying to do and hid in the bushes, watching me intently. She didn't come any closer to the trap. Meanwhile, the white cat returned, ate the trail of snacks leading into the automatic trap, and then disappeared. After I refilled the tr...

Community Feeders Are Very Important for Spotting Sick CumbreCats Cats Trapper Report   For around 18 years, a large, handsome, feral tiger cat made his rounds among various trusted neighbors in Olivos, who met him with kindness and fed him breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Despite their efforts, he remained feral, hissing and swiping at any attempt to pet him.  During the winter months, it was noticed that he had a health issue in his mouth, with lots of drool, sometimes bloody, dripping from his mouth. He struggled more and more to eat dry kibble. Many attempts were made to trap him in various locations, but he wouldn't trust the traps. No matter how hungry he got, he would not go in. One of our cat-loving neighbours persisted, continuing to serve him breakfast inside the trap every morning. Finally, the cat went all the way in. The trap closed, and he was taken to the vet early that morning. After sedating him, the vet inspected his mouth and found a terrible sight. Cancer had ...

BACK TO BEGONIAS Our Head Trapper was back to the Begonia zone to complete a family mission. TRAPPER REPORT  I was trapping again in Begonias. I had already trapped two female cats and one male from this family. Today, I aimed to trap the rest. Unfortunately, two mother cats lost their kittens; a fox killed them. On the first day, the cat carers managed to save the kittens by chasing the fox away, but the fox did not give up and eventually caught them. Before I started trapping, the cat carer was informed not to feed the cats, so they were hungry when I arrived. All the cats there were black. The carer fed one cat while I set up the trap with tasty fish food. It took only 10 minutes for the first hungry cat to enter the trap, and I could press CLOSE. We transferred the cat to the transport box, and I prepared the trap again.  Another cat was already close to the trap, so I only needed to hide until she approached. Carefully, she sniffed around but eventually, her hunger won, a...

Catching CumbreCats in Kalmias One of our volunteer trappers received a message from a homeowner on Kalmias. The owner had a security camera set up in her garden and spotted a mother cat with three kittens nesting there. Trapper Report "The kind-hearted lady asked for help feeding the mother cat, who looked very frail, in her absence. If the mother and later the kittens got used to the feeding point, they could eventually be trapped and spayed once old enough. An automatic food dispenser was installed. Word quickly spread among the Kalmias cats about the new food source. Soon, the suspected father and more cats showed up, bringing the total to five adult cats. The mother cat moved her three kittens to a new location due to too much human interference. It was agreed with the owner to start trapping the adult cats. Everything was set up on the morning of May 24th. It took a long wait, but one by one, the cats started to appear. A beautiful fluffy black cat, identified by an ear tip,...