Scarlet's Story

This has been a strange yet productive week. Eliza ended up going with the rescue woman Saturday morning since Friday night just didn't work out. Now, the rescue woman knew about the pregnant red female (who we named Scarlet) we've been trying to catch and she wanted to trap her if we could, but I don't see Scarlet often enough to even try. On a whim, the woman decided to bring her trap with her when she came to get Eliza. She had a friend with her who also does TNR (trap-neuter-return for feral cats). They wanted to get an idea of where Scarlet comes out in case they could ever come and try to trap her, so I took them around and showed them where I normally see her and where I think she lives. The other woman found some cat tracks on the other side of the fence that separates the buildings from a steep hill down to some train tracks and started following them, just to see if she could get an idea of where her den might be.

Some background on Scarlet: We met Scarlet shortly after we moved into our apartment two years ago. She has always interacted with us - we could call her, talk to her, she would come towards us and meow back at us, but she would never come within about 10 feet. In the two years we have known her, she has had 3 pregnancies and out of those, only 2 kittens survived, and I haven't even seen THOSE two kittens in a month or two, so I don't know if they're even still alive at this point. This is her fourth pregnancy. We have been trying to catch her ever since we met her.

Fate works in strange ways. The day that I was moving out of that area and the last chance I thought I'd really have to see Scarlet again was the day that she was finally captured. While following the cat tracks, we saw a red cat bounding clumsily through the snow. The rescue woman ran to her car and got her trap and supplies and after about half an hour and moving the trap several times and throwing food at her, I heard the trap snap shut and I burst out crying. I was just blubbering away. TWO YEARS and four pregnancies finally came to an end. It really makes me question fate, God, or whatever you want to call it.

Now, there is a tiny bit of doubt that we trapped the right cat. I usually see Scarlet at night and I've never seen her super close up, but the cat in the trap was freaking out and wouldn't really hold still for me to get a good look. The snow made the red fur look much richer than Scarlet's and the cat looked more fat than pregnant, but again, the cat wasn't staying still. I sent a picture that I just happened to have of Scarlet to the rescue woman and she said she thinks it's the right cat, but I'll have to wait until she takes her to the vet to make sure. If the cat is pregnant (or recently birthed, God forbid), then we know it was her. Hopefully I'll find out tomorrow.

The only thing that bothers me about this situation is that it will be a pregnant spay - meaning the kittens will be aborted. The only comfort I have in this is that I'd rather have it that way than newborn kittens dying in the snow and cold outside. There just aren't resources for kittens and there is no good way to care for a truly feral cat and her kittens, so I know this is the best solution.