Bradner Colony TNR Project

Screenshot of TinyKittens page for the Bradner Colony

This colony’s property owner (PO) had approached TinyKittens towards the end of summer 2018 for help getting the colony TNRed, so the current estimated 30 cats don’t become 100 in the spring. (The colony is very well cared for, with food twice a day and ample shelter.) TinyKittens was busy with moving and caring for other cats at the time, but they had time and some space available after 2/3 of the Peanuts kittens were adopted in early December 2018. They hope to TNR the entire colony over the next month, bringing in any pregnant females and kittens for socialization and adoption. (Note: Bradner is a community in Abbotsford, near the border with Langley Township.)

Note: This page is for the fix-a-thon for this colony. To see updates for the cats and kittens who stayed at the colony after the fix-a-thon, check out the Bradner feral colony graduates, guests, and losses page.

The early visitors

Shelly and Gwen went to the colony on December 8, 2018, to scope it out and talk to the PO, but the opportunity to trap a couple of cats presented itself to them and they took advantage of it. They trapped another three kittens two days later. On December 13, 2018, they were given names from the Marvel Universe, in honour of the passing of Stan Lee.

• BA-01 Aunt May — Tabby female adult. Brought in December 8, 2018. About 1.5 to 2 years old. Possibly pregnant. (Certainly looks it giving the way her belly bulges out to the side, but they’ll know once they ultrasound and x-ray her.) She is NOT the mama to the ginger kitten or his siblings.
• The kittens:
  • BK-02 Groot –Ginger male kitten. Brought in December 8, 2018. About 6 or 7 weeks old. Very chirpy.
  • BK-01 Pepper Potts — Very floofy black female kitten. Brought in December 8, 2018. About 6 or 7 weeks old.
  • BK-03 Herbie — Short-haired black male kitten. Brought in December 10, 2018. About 6 or 7 weeks old.
  • BK-04 Hela —  Tabby female kitten. Brought in December 10, 2018. About 6 or 7 weeks old.
  • BK-05 Hera — Tiny tabby female kitten. Brought in December 10, 2018. About 6 or 7 weeks old.

The Fix-a-thon

December 12, 2018 – Big trapping day #1

This was the first day of full trapping at this colony. Shelly spent about eight hours there and trapped 12 cats, including the eight-month-old kitten in the video below.

1. BA-12, a ginger spotted tabby, was apparently the first one trapped (as of December 13, his catalogue page said he might be BA-03 — they both do look like they have the same Resting Feral Face ;-))
2. BA-06, a small young torbie female — Per Shelly, not lactating and thus presumed not mama to any of the current 6-to-7-week-old kittens.
3. BA-02, a brown tabby male
4. BA-08, a small ginger classic tabby male (may end up in with the kittens that are currently at TKHQ)
5. BA-09, a ginger male
6. BA-10, a brown classic tabby female — Per Shelly, not lactating and thus presumed not mama to any of the current 6-to-7-week-old kittens.
7. BA-13, a tortie female — Per the TinyKittens catalogue, she is also confirmed to not be lactating.
8. BA-14, a torbie female — Per the TinyKittens catalogue, she is also confirmed to not be lactating.
9. BA-15, a brown classic tabby
   (BA-05, a ginger mackerel tabby female with a “saggy milkbar belly” was originally flagged as having been trapped around this point in the day but isn’t flagged that way now; perhaps it was BA-16 that was actually trapped.)
10. BA-07, a tortie female — Per the TinyKittens catalogue, she is also confirmed to not be lactating.
11. BA-04, a ginger ticked tabby male
12. BA-16, a ginger female

The small ginger boy (BA-08) was brought in with the other kittens. The remaining adult cats will be hanging out on the sun porch.

December 13, 2018 – Big trapping day #2 and the first 8 surgeries

Gwen was on trapping duty today. Her goal was to trap an additional four cats. (Note: the vet they’re using can accommodate 10 cats each day so potentially had room for 10 cats total on December 14, meaning they could trap six today to go with the four left from yesterday.)

1. BA-05, the ginger mackerel tabby female with a “saggy milkbar belly” that Shelly had initially thought she’d trapped yesterday is now showing “at TK” (don’t know yet if BA-16 and BA-05 are the same cat)
2. BA-17, a brown mackerel tabby male
3. BA-11, a brown tabby male
4. BA-18 Anelle, a mackerel torbie female
5. BA-19, a brown mackerel tabby male
6. BA-20 Jean Grey (Phoenix), a ginger mackerel tabby female with ginger muzzle puffs who is missing her right back foot
7. BA-21, a ginger mackerel tabby female with lighter muzzle puffs

While Gwen was trapping at the colony, Shelly brought the ginger female cat from the previous day (BA-16) down to where the kittens were so that she could observe her better. (She wasn’t quite sure that this ginger wasn’t the same as BA-05. As of the end of trapping today, both are listed as being at TKHQ and not as duplicates of each other.)

Eight of the trapped cats went in for their speuters today. The remainder (except those held for observation) will go on December 14, 2018. In the evening, Gwen took BA-16 and BA-08 back upstairs to fast for their surgeries tomorrow. Later, Shelly brought two female gingers (BA-20 and BA-21??) and a torbie female (BA-18) down to the kitten room for observation as there is a small possibility they are pregnant and she wants to observe them before later taking them in to Mountain View for ultrasounds and spays. (She doesn’t want to risk the new vet missing any early-term pregnancies before spaying.)

Note: One of the new ginger females (later determined to be BA-20) is missing her right back foot.

December 14, 2018 – Second day of surgeries

The remaining cats (except the four females and the kittens in the downstairs room) will have their surgeries today.

Shelly took Aunt May (BA-01) and Jean Grey (BA-20) to Mountain View for ultrasounds and x-rays.  Mountain View had a little extra time today so Gwen took the other two females (BA-18 and BA-21) for ultrasounds and x-rays after that.

• Aunt May was a bit too full of poop to really tell on the images, but everyone feels that she IS pregnant. She will be staying at TKHQ and will go back for additional scans in a couple of weeks.
• Jean Grey IS NOT pregnant so her spay will be arranged. Once she’s recovered from that, she will return to the barn colony. Her missing foot has healed nicely and has calloused over so there is no need to subject her to more of being trapped inside than needed.
• They are 90% sure that BA-18 (now named Anelle) IS pregnant, and BA-21 (the other ginger) IS NOT pregnant. BA-21 will be spayed and returned to the colony once she has recovered.
• Four of the females who were spayed were already in heat. If they hadn’t been TNRed now, that would have been four more litters in the new year. The colony could well have doubled or tripled by spring.

December 15, 2018

• All neutered males are back at the colony. The females will probably go back tomorrow. Jean Grey will be spayed on Thursday. Both Jean Grey and BA-08 (now named Stanley) will be going back at some point as well. (Not sure when BA-21 will be or was spayed.)

December 17, 2018

• All eight spayed females are back at the colony. (Not sure if they went back today or yesterday, but the video of their release was uploaded today.)
  

Note: To see updates for the cats and kittens who stayed at the colony after the fix-a-thon, check out the Bradner feral colony graduates, guests, and losses page.