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Butterfly Garden

Monarch cats-in-a-bag

bluebirdms_z7ms

15 years ago

Four cats in lunch bag ~ at bedtime two were near the top in J shape. This morning those 2 were pupa and another keeps crawling around near top of bag, but not done the J thing. Other one is on the bottom of bag and is not well; two of smaller ones still in plastic container look the same. They look smaller and are not eating although there is movement in their body like they need to throw up. I've put fresh leaves by them and moved the larger, well cats to bag so I can keep check on these 3 sick ones. Is there anything I can do?

Sylvia

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Comments (2)

nardaf
15 years ago
I would put them in a larger container with punched holes in the lid(one of those food plastic containers), not in a dark lunch bag. I think all beings need daylight, not darkness, to thrive. Put a clean paper towel shred in the container. (I always thought it was cruel to raise cats in a bag)

Caterpillars can sit still for a long time when they are close to shedding their skin, so leave them alone. They will come around once the skin and the head capsule is shed.

If you have the luxury to have lots of milkweed plants nearby, take cuttings and put them in water bottles (make sure that you plug any opening with aluminum foil so the cats can't fall in and drown). Cats like to be on upright plants,just in nature. Then put the bottle(s) in a safe enclosure (something out of mesh, for example).

What makes you think your cats are actually "sick"? Just curious....
bluebirdms_z7ms
Original Author
15 years ago
I thought they were sick because they were just lying on their side and not eating and looked smaller than the day before. The smaller ones were in a plastic container, but one of the larger ones I took out of bag. I had large net windows in the bag and it was sitting on window ledge.
With the BST I had pots of parsely which they were laid on inside a 10" high plastic container with holes in it and another 10" one upside down on it and I used the little plastic containers with water and stems sticking in dirt when my pots of parsely ran low. They did very well pupating and eclosing in that set-up.

Sylvia
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