I was privleged to recently receive an advanced copy of Does This Collar Make My Butt Look Big? by Cat Author Dena Harris. This book could not have arrived at a better time, but it completely fooled me. It touts on the front cover that it is a diet book for cats, and as I have a few owner-surrendered tubbies laying about my sanctuary, I thought what better way to help them back to health by writing down recipes.

There I sat, pen poised at the ready (fat kitty on my lap becoming a paperweight for the notepad I would use to write down fabulous recipes)…opening up the book, I began to read.

What a revelation. Did you know that it isn’t Jenny Craig Diet but Catty Craig Diet? It’s not Weight Watchers, but Weight Stalkers, but the all time favorite diet of cats is apparently The South Beach Diet because of the promise of a large, warm litterbox waiting in the end for all the waste management that comes from a good, cleansing diet. Who knew?

With quizzes for all types of kitties ADD, OCD, even those who believe they might slip into a coma at a moment’s notice. Does This Collar Make My Butt Look Big? IS a recipe book. A recipe for laughter- so you can escape the ills that ail you and gain a bit of insight into the tongue-in-cheek humourous look at the cat world. (Just watch out for the hairballs.)

Highly recommend you pre-order this book through Amazon and stick it in your bag for some on-the-go giggles.

Does This Collar

Those were the words that followed me this morning as I went to the vet with more kittens to be put to sleep. My friend Haley helped me through the ordeal by encouraging me before the visit via phone.

My vet is worried. The kittens are dropping like flies and not all the kittens are dying from the same symptoms.He has been in contact with the Head of Histology at OSU and two of the kittens (who died from diffent symptoms) will be sent in and necropsied and tested. I gave them a cap of $300.00 and although I can’t afford to do this, I can’t afford not to. I need answers. Steve said when he told the expert everything that has transpired in the last few days- the man just kept going “Hmmm.” I don’t think it is a good thing for an expert to not weigh in on what he even thinks might be happening in my house of horrors.

The following kittens are now over the Bridge: Mannix, Cricket, Amber, Drake, Pirate, Morgan, Reece, Barnabus, Sullivan and KC.

I want answers, I need answers. This started happening a few months ago with kittens dying mysteriously and it was chalked up to FOUO (Fever of Unknown Origin).

The other four kittens still at risk are all healthy (so far) but that the thing about what ever the hell this is- the kittens were all healthy then they wobble and fall over dead or start dying. I take nothing for granted anymore.

I am shutting down now for five years or until at least we have some answers. I cannot risk anymore innocent, loving lives.

Not that I need any more complications but this morning on the way to town, I noticed on the highway a dog was teetering and stumbling. It was a large, white dog and no one was stopping. They were swerving around it, but not stopping. I found a safe place to stop and with great effort got this dog into my car. It was a yellow lab and he fell fast asleep in my back seat. I was going to the vet, so I just took him along. On the way to the vet, he woke up and fell off the seat and couldn’t get back up so he started to howl. Great, I have dying kittens and a howling dog in my car. What a spectacle.

We get to the vets, and with help I get this dog out of my car to be seen. He is about 8 years old. No chip- he has lumps all over him (vet suspects fatty tumors but also cancer) One lump near his rectum is really worrisome. He is 87 pounds and he is dead weight on his back legs.

I will try and find his owner in the next 30 days- but for right now, he has been given a pain shot and he is asleep at the feet of Mike. He doesn’t bother the cats or Brandy.

The remaining surviving kittens are: Paris, Lacey, Kojak, Cagney, Sofia, Roscoe, JediNight (although she is looking peaked) Bentley, Chauncey, Ashley and one other black kitty whose name escapes me at the moment. It’s been a rough couple of days. If you can help CATS Inc., financially right now- please do. I hope to not add anymore names in the coming days to the Bridge Count

The stray

Placed an ad on CL and “Aztec” has been reunited with his owner! They just picked him up. Apparently, the dog has a brain tumor and had a seizure the other day and went missing. They have been frantically looking for him ever since. God is good even though my carpet needs a good shampooing now! Poor boy can’t control himself and my carpet has been thoroughly baptized. NOT like that has ever happened here before! 🙂

Just learned that Aztec has gone over the Bridge. They took him into the vet and it was determined that his best days are now behind him. Beautiful dog, no more pain except for the owners.

Seems a strange growth has cropped up overnight on Mike’s neck. Hmmm- maybe he needs a CAT Scan?

JediNight

Not the best possible look into my world- but here is the video of the interview. I don’t think the law will change any time soon though

http://www.kezi.com/new-law-regulates-animal-rescuers/

You will have to copy and paste for some reason, I can’t seem to post links.

Reese’s preemie, Cricket has just gone to the Bridge. It was quite sudden. She was walking wobbly across the floor, then she just fell over and was gone. She didn’t even have time for a hug goodbye.

Reese had several strikes against her apparently. Even though they say cats have nine lives, she had expended all of hers. The results are in- she had a large gastric ulcer in her stomach. There was diarrhea within her digestive tract and lower intestines. She had hemobartenella and sadly, she had feline panaleukopenia also known as feline distemper. So this means that I stand to lose her kittens and will begin their vaccinations next week as they are not quite old enough yet to receive them. They will need to be boostered every three weeks until they reach 16 weeks of age, and I stand to still possibly lose some of them.

I have two actively sick this morning, so I will fignt my best fight, offer supportive care and TLC and see if there is another miracle around the corner for this litter. My hope is God will stay in control and not take any more kitties from this home.

I inform all of you cat lovers that Reece is dead. It happened quite suddenly late Friday and I thought it might be because of the dewormer they gave her at the vet, so I didn’t pay that much attention when she went off her food. By Saturday night, it was clear she was suffering and had lost a huge amount of weight virtually overnight! I had pulled the kittens off of her days ago because as I said in an earlier post, she had given them everything she had and then some. Her kittens are fine and playing with all of the others downstairs.

This morning, I found her near-dead and rushed her to the vet. The suspicion is that she ruptered her uterus while giving birth or that she had severe pancreatitis which is why she couldn’t keep weight on. It was to late to save her, so we let her go. I went ahead and ordered a necropsy (despite the cost) because for the sake of her kittens, I need to know why she died. The vet did not think it was distemper (thank you God) again, he believes she had an internal bleed somewhere.

Bless you Reece, you leave behind five beautiful, roly poly kitties who knew you were dying as well. When I was carrying her downstairs to take her to the vet, her kittens were lined up at the bedroom door, in unison screaming. Reese was inside the carrier, almost already gone and didn’t make a sound. I get goosebumps thinking about that moment when they were collectively saying “Goodbye” to their momma. So hang the damn vet bill. I need to know why this beauty suddenly plummeted into a place where no one could reach her.

Goodbye Beautiful

Chauncey, who is stepping allover my keyboard at the moment- slept with Mike all night long. Now she is pestering me as I type trying out her prowness on the keyboard and creating some interesting commands for my computer to figure out.

Yesterday, I pulled Reese’s kittens off of her. This poor mom has given it her all to these babies, and although I was feeding her 8 times a day and giving supplements, she is zapped. The babies are in with the others so now our bedroom houses ten kittens! To say it is disaster zone is an understatement.

Reece doesn’t seem to care that the kittens are gone which concerns me a bit, because most queens go crazy during the weaning period. But Reese is bone thin and she doesn’t have anything left to give her family. I have her outside with the others in the introduction cage. I think she is relieved her motherly duties are over. The babies are eating on their own and are healthy and roly-poly fat!

Just got back from a rescue run way the heck up off Ridgecrest Road deep in the forest. A group of hikers found a young black kitten wandering the woods when they were on the back trails. Kimberly, who adopted a kitten from me a few years ago, suggested to the group that I be called. I just met them at the trail head. I know where this kitten was dumped and it is someplace where nothing lives but predators! She is about 3 months old and scared as could be- major skinny- but she is safe now. Did I mention she is pure black? Figures! Hisses me off that someone made a special trip deep into the woods to dump her there. No one lives back there- no one.

At least, she is safe and for now- nameless.

Here she is:

Ever since Roscoe went bungee jumping, he has been doing so poorly. Right now, he has a URI that rivals anything I have ever witnessed in a kitty to fight. There are episodes of pure choking, he is grinding his teeth when he eats (evidence he is in pain) He has multiple sneezing fits- tries to wipe his nose away from existence as furiously as he paws himself. He is open-mouth breathing and worrying the hell out of me.

They have put him on three types of medications and he flips out big time when I try to give him his meds. I am talking full on battle- screaming, flipping around, biting, scratching. Forget wrapping this kitten up like a burrito and pushing meds on him- he is having none of it.

Because of his recent breathing treatments, visits, meds etc- my vet bill has once again skyrocketed. I really want to take this kitten in to the holistic healer in town- but I am tapped. The kitty holds $10.00 and I need at least $60.00 to get in the door.

Through all of his misery, he seeks me out for comfort. He is in my lap right now, burning up with fever, but I know that subcu’s are out of the question. The only way I have been able to get this kitten to take fluids is to fill up the dog’s water bucket to the brim and put him in front of it. He will then drink. He will take a bit of tuna juice, he is eating- he’s just so damn sick. I know he is miserable, and I am running 3 vaporizers round the clock to give him relief and praying so hard that another one isn’t about to leave us.

But he’s not giving up and our town healer is also an animal communicator. I know, sounds wierd, but he is tapped into them someway.I think the vets have missed something major with this bungee jumping kitty. I want to take this other option and right now, my hands are tied.