Thursday, January 03, 2008

Winter Storm.......Update

I see Winter only at night, that is the only time she comes to feed. If I turn on the outside light, she runs. She is very hungry, very thin. She is staying under the back deck; I assume she is sleeping in the nice bed my husband built for Mistrie, completely insulated and out of the weather. Mistrie is up in the woodshed, yet we see her making daily visits under the deck. Winter is a gray, shorthaired tabby, with white bib, white paws, and one white back leg. She appears to be very young (I say she, because of her size.) I just read the following on trapping and spaying/neutering in the winter from Alley Cat Allies, therefore, I shall wait until late winter/early spring. (We got another 3 inches (at least) of snow last night.)

"You are right to be concerned about trapping during very cold, inclement weather. Winter is harsh in much of the U.S. and, despite the fact that we all want to prevent spring litters, trapping in extreme weather conditions defeats the goal of helping cats by jeopardizing their health.
The stress an animal endures from the process of trapping, transportation, vetting, and recovery is considerable in good weather. When the temperature is below freezing, with snow and ice on the ground, the cats need their energy just to stay warm and in decent health. In addition, standard trapping procedure involves withholding food so the cats are hungry and will take the bait in the traps. In harsh weather, withholding food is simply a bad idea. And when a female is shaved for a spay operation, whether a side (flank) or stomach (midline) incision, removing even this amount of fur inhibits her ability to stay warm when returned to her outdoor home."


~CalicoMom Toni~

8 comments:

Gemini and Ichiro said...

Is she eating anything? I hope Mistrie is being nice to her!

Daisy said...

I am glad Winter has someone looking out for her.

The Tower Hill Mob said...

she sounds lovely,poor girl. we are thankful she found you folks and mistrie.

Anonymous said...

I'm so glad that she found her way to your house.

The Meezers or Billy said...

well, she found the best place in the world to be. we hope that she will continue to stay there where there's food and warmth. we are sending purrrsss to Winter

Just Ducky said...

Very interesting information in regards to winter ferals. Maybe the Baby/Lily at Juniorbee would have done better during the summer.

Hope Winter stays warm and eats by you. Then when it gets nicer you can catch her.

Purrs, we are supposed to get some thawing weather starting this weekened.

Mark's Mews (Marley, Lori, Loki, and Binq) said...

We hope you the best of luck getting Winter inside.

Ivan from WMD said...

Gosh, that almost sounds like Sophie! My mom thought she was a baby too because she was so little and thin. I hope Winter comes to trust you. I bet she will.