Good news, readers. My masterplan worked and I caught Sorrento last week. I went into the rumpus room to feed the cats and deposited some food into the open cat cage, which I had placed on the ping pong table some weeks ago. This was her particular feeding station and the objective was to make her feel comfortable around the cage so she thought it was a harmless object. Feral cats are notoriously clever in recognising when somebody wants to catch them and usually avoid confined spaces such as cat traps and cages unless they're starving.
I just had a feeling this was going to be the day so I kept watch on her out of the corner of my eye while I did other things such as clean out the kitty litter. Sure enough she calmly walked inside the cage and I just quickly and quietly moved across the room to shut the door on her. She was completely taken by surprise. I covered the sides of the cage with a towel and then carried her to the car and strapped her into the seat beside me.
I had to take my dog into the vet at the same time to get some stitches and it took me about ten minutes to drive there. This was the first time I actually heard Sorrento meow. She had a quiet scared meow and I just talked gently to her, reassuring her that it would be all right. And indeed it was. I got her chipped, vaccinated, desexed and put on post-operative pain medication.
That night I picked her and my dog up. When I returned home, I walked into the rumpus room and slowly opened the cage door and stood back. She tottered out – still wobbly from the anaesthesia – and then she ran and hid behind some filing cabinets. I left her some food and checked again on her about two hours later. She was doing okay.
For the next few days she avoided me and gave me the evil eye if I came near her. After that she started to relax.
Yesterday I decided she was ready for the big wide world again so I let the door open to the rumpus room. It was a beautiful warm day and about ten of the farm cats were lounging in and around the base of the stairs in about a 10 metre radius. The dogs were there too. We watched Sorrento tentatively come out onto the landing and look around – sniffing the air and the area. Then she slowly came down the stairs and looked around. I let her continue in this way for about 15 minutes – the dogs' eyes and some of the other cats and mine upon her. I knew the rumpus room was her safe-place so I kept the door open, although I was conscious of the fact that I didn't want Lulu (our little blind cat) trying to get out. I slowly moved towards Sorrento to see what she would do and as predicted she turned around and ran back into the rumpus room.
A couple of hours later I repeated the same process and then again a few hours after that. Each time she expanded her territory and interacted with great excitement with some of our other cats she had not met yet. Desexed males are usually the kindest and most patient with new cats – in this case, Boston, Saffron and Snow – and of course, Sorrento's best friend Samson. I don't have a current photo of Sorrento unfortunately as the camera I usually use is on holidays with my parents – the one you're looking at is about three months old. But I can tell you she's a pretty girl.
Today I let her out again. This time there were no cats in sight and I was standing some distance away watching her. And then she called me with her meow – wanting me there to reassure her so I came to her side and she stopped meowing and came down the stairs. I then brought Aspen and Mambo (her brothers) to her side so she could relax even more. Sorrento began rolling around on the gravel, exposing her belly and being completely in the moment. I've never seen her eyes as soft as they were in those moments. Even though I haven't stroked her as yet, there seemed to be a real communication breakthrough today that really touched me.
Tomorrow I'll leave her out for longer and let her explore the area and make some new friends.
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