Posted on 08/14/2014 6:57:14 AM PDT by beaversmom
BRANDON, MAN.—A Manitoba cat has been safely trapped after evading capture for weeks with what was believed to be a bird feeder stuck on its head.
According to the Brandon and Area Lost Animals group, Butterscotch is in good shape considering his ordeal and was being treated at the Grand Valley Animal Clinic.
Rescuers were originally concerned the ginger-and-white cat couldn’t eat or drink because of the device, but they later said they believed it could do both.
Toni Gramiak with the animal group said it now appears the device was actually an insect catcher, not a bird feeder.
She said the cat was waiting when a Brandon animal control officer went to check the trap early Saturday morning.
“Butterscotch walked into the trap, finally,” Gramiak said Saturday. “He was very scared.”
The cat was first spotted in the predicament on July 23.
Despite having the device on his head and much of its face covered up, Butterscotch was still able to run and jump and remained a fugitive.
Rescuers set traps baited with delicious treats such as sardines and tuna, but still had no luck. Then last week they reported that one neighbourhood resident was sabotaging their efforts by making noise and flashing lights to deliberately scare the animal away.
Dog captures sometimes take months, Gramiak said, but cat captures are usually much quicker.
“His vision and sense of smell was affected because of this contraption. So to get him to the trap, to get him to find the front of the trap, that was the challenge,” Gramiak explained.
At one point, rescuers arrived at a trap and found a Jack Russell terrier inside. The pooch had managed to pull free from a girl who was walking it, and sniffed its way to the bait meant for Butterscotch.
The dog was happily reunited with its owners.
There was previously no word on whether Butterscotch was male or female, but Gramiak said the cat is now recovering after being neutered, for free, by a veterinarian at the clinic.
Butterscotch will be held for several days for an owner to come forward, and will be put up for adoption by Funds for Furry Friends Animal Rescue if no one does.
Gramiak said the cat has no tags, identification microchips or tattoos.
The cat was given its name by the woman who first spotted him. She said Butterscotch was an occasional visitor to her yard before getting its head caught in the device and that he had gotten along well with her own cat, which she keeps on a leash.
Butterscotch was spotted during the past two weeks in the company of other cats, but fled whenever people approached.
News of his safe capture prompted dozens of Facebook comments expressing relief and congratulations to the rescue group’s volunteers for their perseverance.
Stuck kitty ping update...sorry sent to FR mail by mistake.
It’s truly a sad sack lot of volunteers who can’t chase down a cat with a bird feeder lodged round its head.
I don’t know if this is true as there is no mention in this story of it, but previously a story was posted on FR that someone was deliberately scaring the cat away from the traps. I’ll find the story.
This was the previous story about the person scaring the cat away. :
http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/3188298/posts
"Then last week they reported that one neighbourhood resident was sabotaging their efforts by making noise and flashing lights to deliberately scare the animal away."
Oops, I guess they did mention it. Bad eyes and foggy morning brain! Thanks.
Curiousity didn’t kill the cat...
...but it DID help it get it’s head stuck in a bug trap...
Glad the critter is OK. Not a cat person myself (got dogs), but it’s good to know somebody helped it.
Damn... that HAD to be uncomfortable. Poor kitty.
PING this one over to you! :) =^..^=
While Butterscotch was on the run it gained two pounds from birds landing right on its head.
lol!
Looks like he was boxed in...
bfl
Poor baby.
Glad it had a happy ending.
I bet Butterscotch becomes a pescaterian. No more birdies for him!
I love happy endings!
Fangs!
De nada, Chica.
*hug*
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