Pgh Lesbian Correspondents

Since I moved to Manchester in 2005, we have had many annoyances but rarely problems with porch pirates – we’ve had deliveries to our stoop, items dropped off to the side of the stoop and no problems.

Until today. Today someone stole my favorite cat trap, my old faithful, the first trap I ever bought way back in June 2018. Of all the things to steal …

Due to #ManchesterCatTrap we had removed it from our car and slid next to our stoop. When I drove Laura to work, I thought I should toss it back in the car but then decided to simply grab it later.

Well, later never came. We walked out of the house later that day to feed our community cat colony and I realized it was gone.

I teared up a little bit because there’s so much history in that trap. I did the impossible and trapped a cat for a second time after she had been released – she’s now living the life of Riley inside. I trapped some of our kittens. I spent one long July afternoon trying to trap a pregnant mama (Jennie Jane) and ended up with a tom, several groundhogs, a raccoon, our yard ferals, and almost a possum. No mama. I trapped a runaway foster for another organization.

I was so proud when I bought it and figured out the mechanisms. I trapped Mamma Mia, kittens, a few lost or stray cats, Captain Kirk. some of the Cassadines. My friend Ken did some repair work on it and left a blue clip on it for me. It is nice to think of Ken when I was trapping – he’s a good guy. It is just important to me and has value far beyond the financial costs.

I also got angry because I’m pretty sure porch pirates didn’t just coincidentally steal my trap a few days after Animal Care & Control showed up at our door. No, I don’t think they took my trap. But I also don’t think it was random. And that perhaps the person who reported us to AC&C took it, perhaps on a whim?

So since I started this effort to TNVR cats in Manchester and the Northside, I’ve

• Had AC&C sicced on us about things as wildly disparate as magically putting groundhogs into other people’s basements to the roving foxes terrorizing cat food bowls everywhere.
• Found a receipt for mole poison
• Have three sickly foster kittens
• Been accused of being a face mask pusher on decent cat ladies everywhere
• Had donated tent that collapsed on food it was covering
• Got physically sick, perhaps flare of autoimmune disorder
• Been demanded to turn over our project funds to rando animal person.
• Been targeted by same rando for the trapping plans of other people as a way to smack me down.
• And had my trap stolen.

What’s next – kitten napping?