Tuesday, July 17, 2007

feral cat habitat and a kitten dilemma UPDATED!!!

UPDATE: As of late last night, the kitten was still trapped in the yard next door, yowling. At one point, it's mother was on top of the wall, crying down to it - one of the saddest sights ever. This morning, all was silent. There was no sign or sound of the kitten next door. I was worried that the owners of the next door villa had gotten annoyed and chased it out into the street. I went up on the roof, and was only able to see one kitten in the attic. However, this evening I went up there and saw three pairs of eyes reflecting in my flashlight - the kitten has been reunited with its mother and sibling :-)

Today was Constitution Day - a national holiday here in Korea. As such, I had the day off from work. Rob and I decided to go to GyeongJu (after all, it was Constitution Day 2001 when I *first* went to GyeongJu!) and I have tons of photos to share with you. However, you're going to have to wait until tomorrow to see them, as I am exhausted. Instead, for those of you who have wondered how a family of feral cats ended up in my landlord's attic:

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Meanwhile, there's a serious kitten-related problem. One of the feral kittens seems to have fallen into the neighboring villa's courtyard. The courtyard (like mine) is walled off by a six foot tall concrete wall. The kitten is big enough to climb trees, but apparently not big enough to jump to the top of a six foot wall. It has been over there wailing for over 24 hours now. I could probably climb into the courtyard - and if it were a friendly kitten, I would do that in a heartbeat. However, as it's feral and terrified of me, I can't imagine it would let me catch it. Then I would be trespassing chasing a feral kitten. Additionally, one of my students lives in that building! I'm going to try and talk to her about it tomorrow, but considering her level of English, I can't really imagine anything will come of it. Meanwhile, I don't want Mr. Yu thinking that this incessant kitty-wailing is coming from Mia! If only I had a humane trap. Sigh. Any suggestions?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you get a hold of a long wood plank to prop up in the neighbor's courtyard (with their cooperation of course) that would lead the kitten back home if it were to go up it? It may just find its way out one evening.

Just a thought.

Gwen said...

Oh, no! Do you think Mr. Yu's daughter would help? She seems to be an animal lover.

Diana said...

If you can get the neighbors' cooperation, large staggered boxes (jumpable height from one to the next for kitty) might be easier than a plank or ladder.