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Joe American · 12-13-2008, 09:28 PM

Stay with me on this one, its kind of a long story.

Back in May, a feral cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in the back yard of my shop.

My boss said "shoot them", which wasn't feasible due to the neighborhood, so I called the county animal control folks, and they kindly dropped off a live trap with instructions to call back when I had something.

Well, the first day netted a whitish kitten, and since we had spotted at least five kits total, plus mom, I released it to allow for preparations of a temporary holding facility in the shop. Reason being to hold the captives and be able to reset the trap.

On the second day, (Wednesday) a boon! Three kittens at once!
They were sequestered, the county called, the trap reset that afternoon.

Thursday, momma kitty, hissing, spitting, pissing, and whirling like a dervish.
Again, call county, this time let THEM empty the trap, rebait, reset.

Friday, I'm very optimistic about a successful completion of the mission. First thing in the morning, a coal-black kitten is extracted from the trap and moved to the 'holding cell'.

Then, about noon, I see one of the other employees walking towards the shed where the kittens have been hiding and where the trap is set.
A minute later, he comes back into the shop, carrying the box that he was sent to get out of the shed, and says to me "It was in the trap, George."

I say "What do you mean WAS in the trap?"
"It ran out when it saw me."

"So you are saying you scared it out of the trap before the trap was sprung?"

"Uhhh, yeah."

So i check the trap, put in a little more food, and grumble my way back to work.

An hour later the bosses wife comes over and begs to see/hold the black kitten.
I warn her to be careful, feral kitten scratches might be bad, don't drop it, etc.

I turn around, and God help me hear "Oh! it's so fast!"

It's Friday afternoon, the animal control office closes at 4:00, and two HUMANS have been outsmarted by two three week old kittens.

So, 5:00 rolls around, I'm annoyed, and shutting off radios, compressors, and fans, when a very faint mewing gets my attention.
The black cat has wedged itself into a space between some plywood and can't move.
I extricate the animal, and put it in holding.

Now is when SWMBO gets involved (she works in the office).
It is decreed that the kitty WILL come home with us, NOT be left in the shop.

10:00pm, it is suggested that I return to check the trap again. (can't leave a kitty in the trap all night!)

So I come home with the whitish one, actually siamese/chocolate tipped.

Great, now we own two kittens.

Fast forward to last night.

While we were out, one of those cute little rascals jumped up on the kegerator and bumped a tap handle.

Three gallons of bourbon barrel porter on the floor, and an empty Co2 tank is a nasty surprise to come home to at 12:45am.

So, yeah, I'm a little pissed.

Tenchiro · 12-13-2008, 09:42 PM

...and comeuppance was served.

homebrewer_99 · 12-13-2008, 09:45 PM

So, what's for dinner? Meow chow?

BarleyWater · 12-13-2008, 09:48 PM

I don't even keg yet, but I do know this. Cat owners need locks on their taps (it helps out with teenage kids too). I have heard many stories of a beer lost to the rug that was just about to be ready to drink, or people going into the garage, unable to find the leak that is causing the puddle on the floor, only to find upon closer inspection that it is beer.

Christian · 12-13-2008, 10:00 PM

This has happened to my uncle more then once..........but it was because of his dogs.

Zymurgrafi · 12-13-2008, 10:05 PM

I'm a little pissed too.

No, wait... I'm wicked pissed!

KayaBrew · 12-13-2008, 10:13 PM

You should've killed the bastards. A dog would never do that to a bourbon barrel porter.

**Saccharomyces** · 12-13-2008, 10:39 PM

I would never have unlocked taps around our cats, not even the adult ones. They have a way of messing things up. Lesson learned.

We took in two kittens back in July. It's been up and down, but overall I'm happy we took them in, they are very well behaved, well adjusted, and friendly cats since we got them from such a young age.

**bull8042** · 12-14-2008, 04:25 AM

Kittens are great... I love them with a little salsa verde!

**Nurmey** · 12-14-2008, 04:27 AM

I don't have anything to add, I just need to continue to stalk Bull8042.