Will they get away with murder

This past week while walking around Liberty Park, I noticed a sleek black cat poised above a mass of weeds in the field. Before I could blink my eyes the cat sprang onto her prey. She was poetry in motion.

I wondered where she lives and if she was a feral cat. Fortunately, there was a lecture at the Churchill County Museum about cats. I attended and was enlightened by the information.

I did not know that there are four different categories of homeless cats: stray cats who were once owned but dumped, feral cats who were born in the wild, barn cats who can be friendly or feral and community cats who are neighborhood cats fed by various people.

The lecture was facilitated by Fallon Animal Welfare Group. This group advocates the philosophy of trapping, spaying/neutering and returning. The cats who are trapped are spayed/neutered, given shots (rabies) and returned to their environment. This is a more humane solution than being euthanized. This approach stops the endless cycle of more and more homeless cats.

If you are concerned about the cat population in your area you can contact this group. They will help you trap the cats and, facilitate the neutering/spaying. You can contact the group at: 775-423-8650 or their website: http//www.fallonanimalwelfaregroup.org.

I keep looking for that sleek black cat but I haven’t seen her. My suspicion is she belongs to a local farm. I hope she has the benefit of shots and spaying because her life will be longer if she has the basics taken care of.

If you have a black cat, be sure to keep him or her in on Halloween. Pranksters have been known to relocate family cats, which is definitely not a treat but a trick.

THANK YOU FROM CAPS

Thank you to the many individuals, businesses and patrons who made our Murder Mystery Dinner Theater a success. Our shelter guests send a standing Paws Applause! to playwright Bob Gabrielli; to songwriter Kathy Gabrielli; to director David Doll; to music accompanist Mike Irby; to actors Teresa Summers, Ben Casad, David Doll, Steve Fraker, Diane Peters, Megan Salazar and Michael Peters; for culinary delights by Susan Van Patten and Churchill County High School Culinary class and yummy cupcakes by Sandi Fisk; and to CAPS board members who give unselfishly of their time, resources and love.

We especially want to thank CCHS Navy Junior ROTC who, year after year, helps make our autumn fundraiser run so smoothly. We send a very loud shout out to Donn Sheldon and his students who are always courteous, efficient and hardworking. Our community rocks! We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

WHO’S NEW AT THE CAPS’ ZOO?

Orphan Annie is looking for a good home. She is a gorgeous Russian blue domestic short hair cat. Annie is just 11 months old and has many playful moves. She is sweet, beautiful and would love to be an only cat. Don’t miss out on meeting her because she will delight you. .

CAPS’ NEWS AND EVENTS

Great news our 2016 Happy Endings calendar has arrived. It can be purchased at the following locations: Mutts, etc; 3-Dimension Shipping; Flower Tree Nursery; and the CAPS shelter.

CAPS will be at Walmart on Nov. 21, along with Ki and Urtle at our Kissin’ Booth. Come by and join their fan club. We have the Happy Endings 2016 calendar, shirts and caps, so please check them out before or after greeting our canine volunteers.

Flower Tree Nursery is again raffling a 15-gallon tree of your choice. The raffle tickets are available at Flower Tree, and they are $1 for one ticket and $5 for six tickets. Be sure to get your tickets soon. The drawing date will be Dec. 6, and the winner doesn’t have to be present to win.

CAPS’ mailing address is P.O. Box 5128, Fallon, NV 89407. CAPS’ phone number is 775-423-7500. Please visit the CAPS website (www.capsnv.org) and Facebook page (Churchill Animal Protection Society). Be sure to “Like” CAPS on Facebook because we are really likable.

Do you have questions, comments or a great story? Contact me jkwmil@outlook.com.

Kathleen Williams-Miller, a CAPS volunteer, contributed this week’s column.