I am so relieved to say that last night, and only through the Grace of God, I was able to get close enough to Ash to scoop her up and bring her inside! She had eluded me all day and as I went out for the nightly feed, she was lying with the others under the catio. I stopped and petted Bentley and Poe, and she came out from underneath her hiding place. I ignored her, which I believe threw her off her game and when I started to tickle her with one finger under her chin (she was nowhere near enough to do a safe grab) she leaned into the rub and that’s when I scruffed her and ran her quickly into the house. Thank You God. I did not want her to spend a night outside with all the critter action we have going on.
Her brother who missed her and cried for her constantly, did not recognize her. She had other foreign scents on her fur. So I put real vanilla extract (not that imitation fake stuff) on both their noses and at the base of their tails. An hour later, they were once again best buds and snuggled in together. I’m going to go to Home Depot today and get one more plastic trellis and brace off the last two downstairs windows so this will never happen again.
This week, Governor Brown signed a bill that has been sitting on her desk for over two years now. This bill will impact small rescue organizations that are non-profit (such as myself). After looking at all the changes included in this bill, I have determined that it is best for me to just step away from rescue. So in Jan of 2022, I will surrender my non-profit status. The normal fee in the past to renew your non-profit has been $50.00 a year. Now it is $375.00. I will be honest with you, if I have $375.00 it will go to my vet, or to get cat food and litter.
There is a huge list of changes needed to follow this law, including if you have over 10 animals and you keep them in outside enclosures, you must keep them on a solid floor and have working sinks inside. The paperwork required is more detailed, and if you get a new animal, you cannot accept that animal until they give you the required paperwork. Ferals in the field don’t usually come with paperwork. Not the kind the powers to be require.
When you fill out “their” paperwork, before they will approve it, they come out for an inspection. If they find that you in violation of any of the new rules, you can be fined heavily. They are making rescue harder than it already is and for what?
I was told that these “changes” will stop puppy and kitty mills and hoarders. To that end, I told the woman on the phone that in my line of rescue most hoarders don’t apply for non-profit status and people who run puppy and kitty mills don’t either- so who was she kidding? You know the old saying, you can’t fight city hall. With Covid now in the works and not going anywhere soon, I am tired, and a bit stressed out all the time wondering how I can keep this up on my own, so I am stepping down.
You are more than welcome to contribute if you wish, but the funds will no longer be tax-deductible after this year. I am 66 years old, I have been rescuing stray and feral cats since I was a toddler. My Daddy taught me everything early on that he knew about these cats that he loved so much. I have come up with ideas to improve my rescuing and trapping skills over the years. I’ve lived with them my entire life and I love them with all my heart. When Ash escaped, I learned of another way to get a reluctant cat into a trap. You stuff the toe of panty hoes with canned cat food and hang this inside the trap over the food dish! This way the cat is so preoccupied in trying to get to the food, the trigger will engage and the cat will be caught! Novel idea given to me by Dusty Rainbolt a fellow rescuer in Texas. I wish I had known of this trick years ago!
On that note, I wish you all a good day.. Stay safe, we are being struck with large cases of the Delta virus in our county, so it is back to full masks inside public places as of today. Our valley is full of smoke this morning, so many fires burning in the Pacific Northwest and California right now. It’s a month early for fire season-
Prayers to all-
I know of the rule changes and agree that it won’t affect those the government is pretending to shut down. But I think you are right to end your official rescuing; you’ve certainly done more than your share – you’ve done a lot of everyone else’s.
That you have caught Ash is wonderful. It must feel like pulling a drowning man from a freezing sea into a lifeboat. That trick with the vanilla extract I’ve not known before (real extract, of course, which makes sense – especially to cats.) I will tell others about this. I’ve learned much from you over the years.
And the trick with the panty-hose – sorry, but I will have to improvise something slightly different… It makes sense, too, and is a variation of something I’d read about the Vietnam War. When the Viet Cong wanted Americans or South Vietnamese not to see a trap on the ground, they put something noticeable above. This too will be remembered.
I suggest that you rethink your decision to forego the renewal, as it might affect donations to a greater degree than the fee. Just make people aware of what the situation is and they may help you out.
Thank you for your input, I will take it under consideration. For me, it is a lot of money to come up with in a very short time-frame.