outcast cat help | Savannah's Paw Tracks

10 Feb 2016

Feline Investigation: A Day At The Races

HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!

First, let me be clear. I am definitely NOT talking about any cat races…not even dog races. Got it? Good; then let’s move on.

As you know I have already been driven to investigate why Mom L keeps coming home with strange smells on her shoes and her note taking folder. I did a bit of undercover work to learn why some of those smells were on that folder, but then I started to see search topics she left open on our iPad. Things became more and more curious.

A Day At The Races With Luna and Milo…what does this mean?

That did it. I grabbed my FBI badge (Feline Bureau of Investigation) and headed for my favorite Three Way Teleportation Tunnel. I had to find out why Mom L had this on our iPad.

Whoa!!! What is this??!!! I thought I was gonna find a cat connection; na’mean??

And then, I found the ‘cat connection’…

Well, lo and behold, Mom L has been working on bringing this really awesome Happy Tails Ending story to you, my readers. And no, Mom L did not have any actual contact with the ‘relocation’ of these two cats but she had been planning on a big SURPRISE post for me to enjoy; I hope you luvluvluv it as much as I did once I learned the truth.

Ms Julie, founder of Outcast Cat Help (OCH) sent this to Mom L…
“We were contacted by a woman who wanted to adopt 2 cats for rodent control at the local Fairgrounds Racetrack. LUNA (grey female) & MILO (tuxedo male) were the lucky cats selected from Contra Costa County Animal Services shelter.

They went from the shelter to gorgeous stables with their own race horses to watch over.

They even have a goat friend. They are very lucky kitties.”

Tina, Milo and Luna’s gal pal

Relocation Process for Community Cats:

They need to be acclimated to the new environment to try to imprint it as their new home since cats are so territorial.
The general recommendation is 3 weeks to acclimate. The cats need to bond with each other if they haven’t already; usually this occurs while the cats are confined together during acclimation. The cats must bond to both the environment and to the humans; food is the best motivator for this. In many places, coyotes are a concern so if you train the cats with yummy wet food to come inside (the barn or whatever) before nightfall they’ll be locked up and safe.

Comments from the two cats’ relocation guardians:

“I can tell you that these cats were friendly kitties who were transported to the track in the height of kitten season in 2015, when adult adoption rates are very low. Their guardian set aside a roomy stall (12×12) for them to acclimate in and provided a large, soft sided dog crate in case they wanted privacy from each other.

Yes, Luna and Milo have other cats to hang out with

They received regular visits from stable hands who kept them in fresh food, water, and clean litter. They stayed in the stall for approximately three weeks. The stall was cooled with fans.

Luna taking a break from ‘Mousing’

After that, they were released to roam the stables freely. They enjoy sleeping on bales of hay, visiting the stable workers (who, it sounds like, are all cat lovers!), and hanging out with the horses and their goat friend, Tina.”

The Race Track grounds

Lastly, about the two cats’s safety:

“It’s a safe environment, deep inside the fairgrounds in a tightly secured area away from predators and fast moving vehicles. The kitties had never met before but have become good friends, as is frequently the case with neutered male/spayed female pairs. They pay for their room and board by keeping the rodent population down. The female kitty, Luna, is apparently quite the huntress, while her buddy Milo is more laid back.

Milo on mousie patrol

This is one humongous HAPPY TAILS ENDING!! Two ‘community cats’…aka feral were given a chance for a new life thanks to the Return to Field program; a transfer partnership between my former residence, a kill shelter, and OCH. Times, they are ‘a change’ing’…thankfully…