Operation Fix-A-Cat wrap up

This is (hopefully) the final episode of Operation Fix-A-Cat. It's taken about three months to catch the targeted neighborhood strays and get them their shots and neuter/spay done. The final tally: Six neutered/spayed and released back into the neighborhood, seven unknowns sent to animal control, and two more that had to be quarantined after they bit me. The first of the biters I reported on back in January. While I've regained most of the use of my right thumb, it is still visibly swollen compared to my left, and there are still visible marks on my left hand as well. The last of the targeted cats was one of last year's crop of kittens, from the same litter (we believe) as Blackie and Fluffy, both of whom have featured in earlier reports. Unlike those two, this one, dubbed "Tiny" by my neighbor (who couldn't tell them apart), looked almost exactly like the mother - who was the first biter. Not only did she look like her mother, she acted like her too: She also bit me, and managed to draw blood through the leather gloves I was wearing. I didn't realize that she had actually gotten through the gloves until the blood soaked through them from the inside. Even so, the damage was much less than last time; maybe a half-dozen spots total. Here she is, still in the trap, having convinced me to leave her there:

We definitely wanted to get this one as she had shown all the signs of being in heat about two weeks before we finally got her - naturally the day after the appointment I'd made for her at the clinic. The unexpected part was the five cats that I'd never seen before that showed up in the trap during the week we were trying to catch this one. Sadly, the six that we released back into the neighborhood have been targeted by the park management because of complaints about the number of loose cats. I've been in negotiations with the management to allow a select few (hopefully about six . . . ) to remain as rodent abatement troops. The undecided question is what to do about them when it comes time for me to leave. Since that doesn't appear imminent, I'm not too worried about it. For now, the traps and crates have been put away - I've had enough of messing with extra cats, and my resident four are feeling a bit neglected by all the attention devoted to the various strangers.

Next time, I'll get back to airplanes, I promise!