Dropped down to the 20’s here. This morning inside the grain bin, I found a mouse frozen. I put it by the heater (a vain attempt, I know) But with the amount of rodents my barn cats kill, I had hoped I could at least save this one. No go- it had gotten down into the bin and unable to get out, it lost the battle.

Racer ripped his lower eyelid. I am not sure how he managed to do this, unless it was just from rubbing his head along his stall wall. I put some antibiotic ointment on it. The swelling has gone down tremendously but now the eye shows some major discharge. The ointment is safe to use in the eyes for dogs and cats. It say anything about horses.

I am running out of hay already with this drop in temperature. Finding hay this time of year is a nightmare, but we finally found 800 pound bales! OUCH! Going to have to leave one bale in the trailer and pull from there. No way can we get the trailer back to the barn right now, we would sink clear to our hubcaps!

New arrival here. She has been here 24 hours and only picks at her food. She is a drop dead beautiful tortiseshell I am calling Brooke. Her hunger strike has me worried, that and her overly portly and very tight stomach. I started her on wormer today, and gave her some mineral oil. So far nothing is moving. She is very loving and friendly even after shoving meds down her throat, though she did growl at me a few times.

Mike saw the specialist today. He doesn’t believe that Mike has prostate cancer, but is re-ordering the bloodwork just to be sure. Thinks it all boils down to the diabetes. I get so angry at times. When Mike came home, Iwent out to the truck and found a stash of candy in the center compartment. I wasn’t spying on him. I was looking for a book I left in the truck The Cat Master. I didn’t say anything to him- after all, what is the point?

Not the Rainbow Bridge thankfully- but today, a major milestone occurred. Livingston (the kitty who was mauled by a feral dog) actually came into the room where our dog Kody was laying and walked near enough to sniff Kody’s nose then fled! But it put a smile on our faces because Livingston used to pee all over himself at the very sight of Kody. It gives me hope that soon this kitten can leave here and go to a home with another dog that is cat friendly and have a wonderful life.

All cats are getting back on track health-wise except for McKinley. Suspect that his dissapearance for several days ties into why he isn’t rebounding quicker. But, one thing is clear- sprayer or not, he will now be an inside only cat.

It snowed this morning and as huge flakes fell from the sky and drifted to the ground, the kitties lined up in the bay window to watch the show. Tentatively, paws touched the glass only to withdraw in surprise from contact with the cold. A few errant flakes landed on the outside sill and several kitty noses touched the glass in a vain attempt to smell the whiteness. The flakes quickly melted, because even though the panes of glass felt cold, the earth was still warm from the recent rain.

The snow didn’t last long, evaporating almost as soon as the flakes touched the ground, but the scene was beautiful and peaceful, a good diversion for kitties who once were so ill.

I had another encounter with The Pastry Man this morning as well. I delivered to him the sad news that his rottie had been hit on the road last night. Poor dog didn’t stand a chance. A dark dog on an unlit highway in the middle of a bad rainstorm. Pastry man went off on me, ranting and raving about things that could never possibly be- perhaps fueled by his intense sorrow at losing such a good friend. Still, when he threatened to shoot the messenger, I felt I needed to let the sherriff know. They are well aware of the man and knew before I even told them where he lived, they knew who he was. Apparently, he was in a horrible wreck many years ago and now remains the shell of a man he used to be, trapped within a mind bordering on paranoia. I feel sorry for him. It is never easy to lose a beloved pet, and he clearly loved that rottie.

Thankfully, the cats are recovering from this unknown virus invader. Today, most of them are laying content around the house and there have been no unpleasant surprises waiting for me. I did lose two families who were interested in adopting two of the kittens. I suppose the term “virus of unknown origin” had something to do with scaring them off, but I will not lie to potential adoptive families and adopt out sick kittens.

Today, I only have two cats that are actively ill. They are confined upstairs. All the others are running around like normal, eating and using the litter pans without any unusual problems. I will still be continuing the medications for at least two more days and I hope the worst is behind us now. It would be nice to blog about lighter things in the coming days than a group of sick kitties.

Received a call tonight from a lady wanting to adopt both Sierra and Rocky but not until Feb. She lives in Washington and won’t be in Oregon until the middle of next month. BUT after letting her talk for awhile, she let it slip that she would declaw both cats! Not if I can help it. I was polite, but told her that I didn’t think the cats would be a good fit for her home. Besides, adoptions are currently closed until I can get a handle on whatever is running amok with my group.

I really want these two cats adopted out together, but only in the best home I can possibly find. There is no way I would put them into a place where they were going to remove their claws.

Some of the cats now have uncontrollable diarrhea. 🙁 I have some of the cats on Albon to see if it makes a difference.

multiple piles of sick greet me every morning. cats are splayed out on couches, chairs, cat posts and tables not willing to move. snow is falling outside but they can’t be bothered to join in a game of chase the snowflakes on the window. at night, sleep is broken as cats get sick and i scramble up out of the fog of sleep to take care of the mess before one of us steps on it with bare feet. no, sickness is not pretty nor that cheerful to write about.

it takes a good 45 minutes to medicate everyone. neuter appointments have been cancelled because i am not going to compromise the kittens further by subjecting them to the stress of an elective surgery. i still have no answer as to what i am facing here. the cats are still actively hungry, some can keep their food down others sacrifice it to the gods of the carpet or tiles.

last night the vet called inquiring about charlie. the lab results aren’t back yet (typical) so she had nothing to add about what this might be. later on, i doused the lights and turned on the black light. i was sorry i did. i cleaned up all the stains i could find.

this must be what it is like when you have young children who can’t communicate but they just feel bad. when medicines given, are iffy at best and prayers are the only support holding you together. when worry gives way to screaming at loved ones, not because you no longer love, but because you love to much and they are an easy target for your stress.

food has been tossed out, replaced without much effect. well water has been taken in to be analyzed; i even emailed the litter company asking them if they changed their formula. it’s worth a shot, even it’s a long-shot. they haven’t answered me though. probably think i am some sort of mental case.

i feel like chicken little and the sky is falling. only this time, the sky (or the roof) is really falling. part of the bedroom ceiling that collapsed recently is still leaking. the roofers came out yesterday (finally) to give us an estimate. the highest bid, $5,000.00 the lowest just under $3,000.00 either way; they will be taking up part of the roof, putting a bit of a pitch in it so that the flat part is gone. apparently it is leaking where the joints come together. when it rains it pours, no pun intended.

i am not unhappy, it could be so much worse. kitties could be worse off, and the whole roof could have collapsed. according to one roofer, he is surprised it didn’t what with all the rain. i am just exhausted and out of ideas as to help this group. whatever is wrong will just have to run its course. i just hope they all come out healthy in the end.

charlie’s eye is swollen this morning. i am not sure why, suspect one of the older cats must have scratched him. i put some ointment in it, but he hates that so much. i had to do it four times a day when he first arrived here and he grew to dislike anything near his face or eyes. the cloudiness that exists there now is the scarring of the ulcer and will be there for life.

i have a couple articles i still need to finish, but until this swelling goes down on my finger, upper case is still a challenge.

all meds given for the night. i pray it is a quiet one.

the kitties are still sick, but no one is suffering. In a few hours they will all get their injections again (that was not fun). At least the needle is small enough not to be so obtrusive. But the medication must sting because they start jumping around when the plunger is pressed. they are all still actively hungry but some of them are still unable to keep any food down for a long period of time. I have started blending up a mixture of A/D kitten milk replacer and some probiotics. I will try this mixture and see if it helps. i hate this virus, whatever it is.

riley and charlie went to the vet this morning. charlie is still passing blood and his stool doesn’t look like normal stool at all. the vet sent some out to the lab and i should have the results backing within 48 hours.

riley even though he is vomiting blood has good pink and happy gums, no swollen glands, no dehydration or other noticeable problems. the vets are leaning towards a strain of the calicivirus or a form of the feline version of canine hemorrhagic gastroenteritis.

i have new meds to give everyone even the healthy ones just as a safeguard. panacur for all, metclopramide (injectable not oral) and metronidazole. holding my breath that the lab might give me some answers because right now, there are only more questions.

as of this morning two more kitties are ill, charlie being one of them. i’m just tapped out here. took trump in to have blood drawn. but the vet doesn’t think it will reveal much because there isn’t anything remarkable going on- no swollen glands, plugged systems- still insists it is virile. i am tired and going to bed early.