Dozen Cats Returned to the 'Wilds' of the Apartment Complex

Well, it was both a relief and a little sad to set free the first dozen altered cats this morning. The day was cool, which was good given the many stairs I had to walk, and the cats were definitely happy to be out of their traps and back in their territory. Out of the released 12, 9 immediately ran to the double tunnels. One (Daisy) ran through the building opposite, another (Bozo) ran around the side of the building and into the bushes, and one (Daphne) ran into the opposite tunnel.

Oh! I forgot to mention that upon checking on the recovering cats first thing this morning, I discovered that Mr Mistoffolees had not only torn up all of his newspaper (not unusual) but he had also managed to get most of the plastic sheeting on the floor in front of his trap pulled in with him and tore that up as well. You can see it in the picture at the top here, and there's two more that show the mess he made (clever kitty!) better here and here.

I've uploaded pictures taken of the kitties just moments before their return. (I knew I wouldn't be able to take pictures of them when they were actually let out of their traps-- they'd just be a streak of color dashing to hide!) Those are in the second Flickr Set. Thanks to Oddharmonic, cat names are starting to be added to the Flickr pictures in both sets so that you can search for a particular cat. Some cats have been sponsored but not yet named, so the process isn't complete.

After releasing the first dozen cats, then picking up Mustache and settling him in, I wrote another update for the apartment management. (I had run into a maintenance guy who seemed shocked that I was letting the cats return, so in my worry I wanted to keep the management apprised of the situation, remind them that the cats are being returned here, etc.) Then I cleaned out the 18 empty traps, swept up, and washed/folded all of the covers. Man, I hate laundry and cleaning and lugging things, so it's clear that I *really* like these cats to do all these 'chores' especially while already tired and sore from lugging traps around! :)

And, of course, tonight I'll keep an eye on Mustache, poor boy. Does he not have the most perfect mustache and goatee you've ever seen on a kitty?!?!

The Volunteer is coming over in a few minutes to collect the majority of the traps. I'm keeping some because there will be more clinics coming up soon and there's still the hope of catching Pigpen, Moo-Cow #5, Black-with-white-Toes and Splotch. ::fingers crossed:: Still, having ascertained (in whichever way) that 15 out of 19 cats are altered, that's pretty darn good. Yay us!