The last few months, Shimmer has been acting out in strange ways. I have taken her to the vet three times, each time, being told “She’s not fat, she’s just likes her food.” She is three years old and 16 pounds! We do not have chunky cats here- it’s just not something we worry about. I took her back again and was told she has URI so they gave her a shot of Covina. Didn’t work- took her back a third time and was told it was “probably allergies.” To heck with that, this time I took her back in with every intention of doing full blood work or whatever it might take to get to the bottom of her issues.

Shimmer is a lovely calico girl. She has attitude and she loves you UNTIL you pick her up, mess with her, or give her meds and then she turns into the feral cat from hell! So this time, I held her during the exam and we finally discovered what was wrong with her- why she can’t breathe at night, why she is hardly eating (I know 16 pounds- but I never saw her eat that much.) She has really bad stomatitis- so severe that her throat was closing in on itself from the infection. I felt so bad, because although I can scratch her back and pet her- picking her up and doing a mouth exam is dangerous to say the least.  They gave her a cortisone shot and I take her back in two weeks to get a second one if the mouth doesn’t start to resolve. I knew something bad was going on with her- especially yesterday when I pulled the warm clothes out of the dryer and she hopped into the basket (I thought she was going to sleep on the clothes, but she ended up peeing on them!) That’s a clear sign that something is wrong with your cat when she is peeing on soft things or peeing in the shower. I am glad I listened to my gut.

I am happy to let you know that four of these beautiful rescued kittens have now found new, forever homes. The tipping point for the decision was that Skya who has come from being a shy, reserved kitty has blossomed into a lovely dilute tortie girl. She would follow Mike’s wheelchair around the house like a dog, and as it turns out, her new owner is also disabled- and a lot younger with so much love to give.

Hollister’s new owners did not seem to mind that she nibbles chins- she no longer draws blood (thank you God) they might have minded that more! Slyder and Pita have also departed our company and it brings me great joy to see how these kittens who were so hard to find their trust button for so long have turned out to be lovely, wonderful kitties. They are all beautiful kitties who deserve to have their own homes full of love and laughter.

This morning when I went in to feed- the enclosure was a mess. He had pulled out supplies in the drawers, ransacked the food cupboard, thrown over litter bags and torn them open. He was a busy boy. He has fled! I found a portion of the floor where he had found a weak spot and chewed and clawed his way to freedom. 🙁 My hope is just the containment was stressing him) and he knows that he can eat, find heated cat beds and safety here and he will be back. At least, he has a chance to survive being neutered and healthy. No way a sick cat could create such destruction. I took down the door separating the catio from the enclosure and the catio door stays open, because that is where Chessa sleeps and eats, so he can re-enter at any time, find his warm bed and hopefully understand he can escape at any time.

(Tripp laying with Kota)

Tripp who suffers a neurological disorder and is currently on CBD oil which quells his obsession to clothing and soft items he fancies has been missing from his normal napping spot (Mike’s lap) for a week now. Lately Mike has been unable to cope with Tripps obsession of him as well. Tripp will jump on Mike’s chest, knead his arms and stomach and even with his claws clipped, he still leaves wounds which isn’t cool. He will also reach out and scratch Mike’s face. He doesn’t do it to harm him, his neurological pathways are so messed up by toxins, he can’t help himself. Mike has been discouraging these “visits” of late.

So, I searched in the house and enclosure, calling, opening cans and Tripp never appeared. I was afraid he had gotten out with the delivery of Mike’s new hospital bed and given him up for lost. With my knee injury- I don’t go upstairs- but I did set dishes of food on the steps and the only cats coming down to eat were the core group minus Tripp. I need to also add here that twice a week now, Mike gets visited by a caring group of nurses who bathe and dress his leg for him. My washcloths of which I had over thirty were also vanishing. I asked the nurses if they inadvertently either tossed them in the trash (because they can get yucky) or perhaps tucked them in a plastic bag and took them with as they left. They assured, me they left them hanging after they rinsed on near the hamper. I was puzzled, where did they go? Was my machine eating them?

Mike was missing Tripp so  much that yesterday despite the doctor’s orders, I climbed up the stairs to the second floor. We have a set of cupboards that go alongside the stairs and years ago, we converted them to cat beds. We cut holes in each door, laid screen inside so the cats couldn’t fall out and topple down the stairs- and cut holes inside each cupboard leading to the next. What can I say, we are cat-driven here at home.

It was in the third cupboard that I found Tripp. He had dragged every washcloth they used on Mike into the cupboard and built a bed for himself! I picked him up checking for injuries or something amiss, and all he did was nibble my ear and purr. He ate the food I presented to him and then went back inside to sleep on his “bed.” I’m thankful I can buy washcloths fairly cheaply at the new dollar store in town! I don’t have the heart to take his carefully crafted “Mike” bed away.

We have two cats, one previously owned, one a stray one deemed “feral.” Both of them are showing me in all ways possible, they want nothing to do with humans. Poorly socialized and also stressed out to the max, Chandler growls the minute I open the door. If she is visible, by the time the door shuts, she is gone. I know where she is because her growls are constantly rumbling. Pretty sad when you consider the woman who owned her had her since she was a young kitten. She is eating, but barely. She has drained out the pet fountain twice making me think something besides her unease at being here might be going on. Yesterday was the first time there was poop in the pan and not a lot of it. She ate 3 sardines from her buffet of offerings.

On the other hand, the battle weary Bronson if he could- he would do more than spit, hiss, growl and swat if given the chance. Last night, as I lay in bed in the early morning, I heard a cat crying. Not consistently (thank you God) because the enclosure is near my neighbor’s bedroom window. But you could hear him howl throughout the morning until it got light. He is eating everything that is offered to him. I did try to approach him to see if he has been handled somewhat in the past, but he let me know quickly, he might be battle weary, but he is also battle ready! LOL

So we will let them decompress and take their time in this process and not rush them. I do get discouraged. I think it’s in human DNA when we serve to other creatures needs, we would like that acknowledged in some way. But they don’t work that emotion, they have their own time clock. Their paws march to the sound of a different drummer.

Every cat here in the sanctuaries were once in the same spot as these two with us. I remember Pita being such a handful that I considered taking up stock in betadine when I had to buy large bottles to cleanse out the wounds she left behind! Now, she is one of my #1 lap sitters and she follows me around the house like a dog. Hence her name. Her original name we considered it to be Holy Terror, so viscious her nature was once upon a time. So I try not to be disheartend coming from a generation who is used to instant cup-a-soup ,  411 directories that didn’t route you overseas and gas stations that used to be called Service Stations offering full service on the spot.

He is a boy and he is barely two years old. The reason he looks so hammered is that he has two abcesses one on the top of his face and one on his shoulder which usually means he has been battling with other Toms for dominance of females or for territory. This could also explain his missing eye.

The eye is gone- it is shattered and at the time of this injury he had to be (according to the vet) in tremendous pain, but now the globe has shriveled up and died and the pain isn’t there. The only reason to do the surgery would be for cosmetic reasons so we are not pursuing this at this time.

He has been neutered, his abcesses drained and cleaned. Unsure of how feral he is, the vet is reluctant to put drains in, so we opted for a heavy antibiotic shot and anti-inflammatory. They will de-flea and deworm him for us and I will keep him in the deck enclosure to see how he does with socialization as time goes on.

His canines are busted (probably in the fight) must have been some fight! We are going to call him Bronson because he sounds like he is a really tough guy. Orange Mist just doesn’t fit him at all. I will pick him up before five o’clock and his wandering days are over . Bless his fighting spirit and his heart

After so many trial and error attempts of trying to trap Orange Mist, I ended up tricking this cat into going into one of the enclosures. Once the cat was inside, I boarded up the access to the catio on the side and now this orange kitty that needs vet care so desperately is now inside the deck enclosure. I don’t know the gender- I am just hoping that with some more trickery, I can coax him/her into a carrier today and get this cat seen! The eye looks blown to me- but the cat needs a vet even when our budget is so low.

Here it is inside of a huge dog carrier top flipped upside down- (thank you Pat if you are reading this for donating this to me). This is the third time I have used it to trap cats that won’t go into humane traps or drop traps!  She is way in the back, but we have the heated pad under her and the heater going. I believe she is girl because if she is a boy she has been neutered. There are no jowls protruding. Her ear flaps are intact and I don’t think she is very old? I’ll know more after the vet visit which I hope and pray will be today.

This morning went to check on her and she was out of the hidey hole and on a shelf so with some gentle persuasion- I got her into a carrier! We are on our way to the vet.

I hope the eye can be helped.

Chandler, this morning, must be feeling better. She growled and hissed at me, charged me when I set food down near her and wouldn’t let me near her. She is acting just like the woman told me is her normal behavior- wild. She is eating a bit of AD so that is a good thing. I’ll just let her get used to her new world and decompress. But she is today, a far cry from the cat I had yesterday that let me bathe her three times without a battle! If I go near her, her growls warn me she means business. Just leaving her alone will show her she is in a good place, no one will hurt her and she will come around in time. I’m glad she is feeling more like herself. LOL

Yesterday a cat arrived here. I was told she was a Bengal (she’s not) I was told she was “wild” (she’s not). I was told she needed to be spayed (she didn’t) She is a very sweet mackeral tabby about five years old whose owner decided to help her out with fleas and dumped a BIG can of Hartz Flea Powder on her (very bad product). Her back looks like someone laid some hot wax on her and took a strip of fur off her in a big stripe! She is covered with scabs from head to toe. I took her the vet immediately and they tested her, gave her a cortisone shot, an antibiotic shot and went to spay her but found a spay scar. She is home, she has had a soothing bath because she is covered in fleas. I gave her three baths with DAWN and flea combed all the stunned fleas off of her to give her some peace. I saw enough fleas to cover Rhode Island! We have given her a Drontal and can’t flea treat her skin yet safely because even with the baths, she still has all that toxic chit on her. Too many chemicals for one small kitty. I am calling her Chandler. I almost cried during the bath. She was so painful from all the sores, it must have felt so good to be gently scrubbed and massaged as we worked to get all the toxins and fleas off of her. She was leaning into my hands and licking my fingers as I was bathing her! So much for being “wild.” Most cats fight the bath, she didn’t want hers to stop!

Here she is, she found a good spot in the bedroom to hide:

When I walked into the office this morning to pick her up, a couple sitting on the couch surrounded by cat carriers nudged one another. I heard the guy say “Isn’t that Mary Anne? I think that’s Mary Anne!” I looked over and saw a couple who adopted three kittens from us over three years ago: London, Paris and Glacie. They had brought in the two calicos to get their shots and I was able to slip into the room and say hello to the two beauties rescued so long ago. Of course their names had been changed, but they looked so beautiful and petting them, I knew that what we do here matters-

So this morning, seeing these beauties and remembering how bad they were when they were first rescued- it made me smile and know our work is good, it is out there walking around and making people happy. Here is London, Paris and Glacie after they were healthy and adopted out. The cat on top of the condo is a stuffed animal!

Time to do an overhaul on all the litter pans and I sit here in my recliner not very willing to move. (Well my spirit is willing, but my knee is still weak). We do a complete clean twice a month and it goes pretty fast (usually). I have asked the volunteers to help out. We will see who shows up for this task. Because we spray the bottom of the litterpans with PAM cooking spray which allows the litter to just slide out of the pans easily with no sticking. The job doesn’t take up to much time. I know recently they have developed a new litter called Slide, but you can accomplish the same job with just using non-stick cooking spray on your pans. One note of caution though- don’t overspray it and don’t spray the sides of the pan. The cats love the taste and tend to lick it up if it lands on the sides of the pans. Also, if you have a litterpan that has a stain on it that you can’t seem to get to come clean. Try using toothpaste and a small scrub brush but be sure to rinse thoroughly. They like the smell of the toothpaste, but it is not something that should be swallowed. Even though you put it in your mouth, the caution on the label says do not swallow. But it certainly removes stubborn stains without the smell of bleach assaulting your nose.

There are 32 litter pans in our sanctuaries- anybody want to grab a litter scoop and join us? Come on over! 🙂