Operation KK: Part Two

After my failed attempt on Friday to capture any kittens, I’d kind of lost all hope of catching them and doing something good for them. However, I set the traps back up anyway and went home for the night. I decided I’d let them sit out overnight and in the morning I’d exchange them for new traps since the ones I had weren’t keeping the kittens in them.

Saturday morning I woke up bright and early (9am) to get to the kitten shop by 10. I got to Kacey’s around 9:40 and put the first (empty) trap in the car. The trap had been set off and it looked like someone had evaded my capture a second time. Oh well. I figured that would happen. Then I went to get the second trap because I’d begun to lose all hope that I’d be able to catch these kittens.

But then I saw one. In the trap! OMG! I really caught one this time!

I ran back to my car to get the sheet I brought and put it over the cage. The kitten immediately calmed down. Wow! I was so proud of myself! The trap actually worked! Maybe I’ll be able to get them after all!

Kittens 1 and 2

So, I had a kitten…now what?

I took it (trap and all – under the sheet) back to my apartment, set up the litter box, food, and water and released it into the bathroom. He had to appreciate the air conditioning! I cleaned out the cage it’d been trapped in and headed back out to exchange the non-working trap at the Cat Shoppe.

Once I got back to Kacey’s I set up both the traps. One at each end of the tunnel I’d seen them in. It was upwards of 100 degrees and Kacey was home, so we decided to go sit in her apartment for a little while in case the kittens were watching us and remembering what had just happened to their brother/sister. And if I did catch something, it wouldn’t be out there very long.

After about 30 minutes, we went back out to check the traps again and, to my complete and utter surprise, I’d caught another one! Whoa! This is awesome! These traps really do work!

I ran to get the sheet from my car, put it over the cage, left the other trap set, and headed home to release that one with its brother/sister already in my bathroom.

Here, I’ll go ahead and mention that I’d left my can opener on the back of my car and didn’t realize it until I was pulling into my apartment complex. As I got out of my car, I thought it was great that my mom had bought me two of them because I was never going to see that other one again. But lo and behold, there it was! Still sitting on the back of my car just where I’d left it! This day could not get any better!

After releasing the second kitten into my bathroom, I gave them both about an hour to get acclimated to life on the inside before I went to check on them. They were both huddled up behind the toilet, but the first one I caught absolutely freaked when I came in. He left his bro/sis behind the toilet and ran all over the bathroom trying to find a place to hide (which I did not give them on purpose – they need to get used to me!). He jumped into the trash can, decided that wasn’t good enough; jumped into the shower, but I could still see him so that wouldn’t work either. Then he jumped onto the toilet (I had previously closed the lid) and onto the bathroom counter where he saw his reflection for the first time. This cat then proceeded to jump into the mirror thinking (I guess) that it was another room he could hide in. However, this being a mirror, he smacked his nose into the glass. Every time. It took him four times before he figured out that wasn’t going to work and he needed to find some other place to hide.

Dazed and confused, he finally decided to light in my basket of hair products/lotion. This is where I got to touch him/her for the first time. I’m pretty sure the only reason this was allowed was because he couldn’t see straight after the mirror incident. He hasn’t let me touch him since.

Anyway, an hour after the suicide attempt, I went to check on the traps again, and guess what?! The 3rd one was in the trap, chillin and waiting on someone to let him out.

Okay, he wasn’t ‘chillin’ per say. He freaked (as expected) when he saw me approaching him with a sheet. So I covered the trap and took him home to be added to the not-so-happy family now residing in my bathroom.

Kittens 2 and 3