I got in touch with a friend of mine who helps run a rescue outside of Portland. I told her Mattie and the kittens story and texted her photos. They had a meeting and they have agreed to take the whole family from us! They have access to excellent vets, numerous foster homes and people who are skilled in helping cats and kittens in distress. Right now, on this end, it is me and two volunteers and that’s it. Plus we now have a $3,000 vet bill to worry about.

So she is going to meet me later this afternoon in a neighboring town and take the family. I could just weep, I am so relieved. The kittens are all doing great. Mackie is energetic, vibrant, eating, drinking playing with the others. His only residual from all he has been through (just like Mattie) is a bit of diarrhea. Nothing too extreme and the new rescue will be fully briefed on the situation and all vet records will be transferred.

I heard from the owner of the cats from the car. The gal had found herself homeless after her dad passed suddenly and she was keeping the animals in one car at parks and using a second vehicle to look for a new place. At first she wanted all the cats back, but when I explained what had gone on since she left them in the car. She decided that she only wanted one back- but she is still homeless. It was a long conversation and there was a LOT I did not say to her, but in the end, she decided to just let all of them go on to happier more stable lives. She works part time on minimum wage and has one mama dog with two puppies and a boyfriend to provide for- she didn’t say if he worked or not. By Oregon law these cats became ours 30 days after we first rescued them. She swore she would pay me back for the hundreds of dollars caring for these cats have cost us, but I told her instead, I would rather she just promise me that she won’t have any more cats in her life until she is sure that she can provide a stable, loving home for them. I mean come on, she’s homeless and she is going to repay us over $500.00?

So at least these cats can go on into loving homes with people who have been screened and home-checked beforehand. Can’t get much better than that.

The vet just called and Mackie is doing better. However, the barium is now just still in her colon and she needs to pass this before they release her. They are giving her injectable drugs right now, but need to put her on oral meds. Her gut is still so full of gas and other stuff that the drugs will not be absorbed so they are keeping her. But, she is climbing the bars of the cage and begging to be held- which sounds more like the old Mackie than the one I saw yesterday who could barely move.

3:47 p.m. Mack is back! First thing we did is give her a bath because she could have given the skunks a run for their money! Then she inhaled her food, got lots of pets and skritches from her adoring fans and is now fast asleep with her siblings. The I/e I ordered won’t be here until the 2nd so I just got creative with her canned kitten food and added probiotics, prebiotics and extra virgin olive oil. She is expelling watery diarrhea but the barium is still in there. Dr. is hoping that tonight will be the big reveal! LOL  I am just so glad to see her feeling more like herself.

This little girl showed up recently to feeders, scared of me and her own shadow. I would see her intermittingly hiding in the berry bushes that run along our fence line. This morning, when I went out to feed, I smelled something horrible. It was not the skunks. It was necrotic tissue and it was strong. I couldn’t find the source, so I put food out and went back in the house by our bay window and waited.

When I first saw her, I did not recognize her. She was moving slowly like a possum and her body was misshapen. I slipped outside and as I got closer, it wasn’t a possum it was Shy, the name I gave her. She has been attacked by a Tom and now is suffering from being neglected, ignored with no vet care. The side of her face is not wet- it is vanishing under the bitewound/abcess that now claims half her face.

Although she is so much in pain she moves slowly, she still eluded me and my heart broke. So many people have tormented her, she trusts no one. Please pray that I can somehow get her captured and get her help.

Warning- Graphic Photo Below

By the way, the bottle next to her does not contain poison. It is a mixture of water/vinegar that I have been spraying around one of the feeders. Appears the skunks don’t like the smell of vinegar.

Not sure where to begin. But this morning when I got up to check on the family, Mackie was only able to take about two steps and then she would just lay down and not move. She didn’t fall- she just laid down as if her bones were so weary they would no longer support her. I decided to do for her what we do for newborns who show no energy. I mixed up our homemade batch of Pedialyte (the stuff in the store has too many minerals that are bad for cats) This only has sugar, salt, baking soda and water. But I also added in a tablespoon of Karo Syrup.  I gave her the mixture but she still wasn’t moving, so I brought her a plate of I/d and she scarfed it up as if she hadn’t eaten in months!

About an hour later, she got up and went and visited all the litterpans. She tried to go, but nothing came out. So I gave her about 3ml of Extra Virgin Olive Oil within the next hour. Repeated attempts to the litter pans with no return. On her last trip, she just looked up and me and did a big ANGRY “Meow!” Then she laid down in the pan and didn’t get up until I lifted her into the carrier and took her to the vet.

She is there now. She smells to high heaven. I could put her in the skunk den and she would win hands down for the worst smell. 🙁 They put a toot tube up her and released this horrendous gas. It cleared the room literally. But they encountered not one poop.

She is there now, they are doing to her what they did to Mattie, they are doing a barium study (and there goes the vet debt again) but I want answers and if we can’t figure this out and she does not poop- she will start to vomit, she will become toxic and she will die. Before that happens to this sweet baby,  we will step in and end her pain first.

Please say prayers for her. The concern is that for whatever reason, the stool is getting stuck up higher in the colon than normal and she is so weak, she can’t pass it on her own. Again if the waste builds up, she will become toxic and lose this fight for her life.

I will let you know what happens. I am a nervous, emotional wreck right now.

3:45 p.m. Vet just called. The barium is stuck in her stomach, not moving one inch! They are going to keep her overnight, continue to watch the barium movement (or lack thereof by doing periodic films) Poor Mackie.

5:45 p.m. second call from vet. After over five hours of sitting in the tummy, the barium is on the move but it is very slow- almost trickling. Vet said this points towards lack of motility of the Ileus which usually shows up after extensive surgery or trauma. It can also occur (I am told) if there is a massive bacterial infection so they started her on antibiotics just in case. They will keep her until all the barium has moved and has passed (hopefully) through her system then call me to discuss options. 🙁 PLease pray for her, she has to be so sore and so scared and lonely.

When the kittens got back from foster care, Mackie was a bit subdued. She (he’s grown and now had a sex change because He is now a She!) Anyway, she was lying apart from all the other kittens, very lethargic and listless. I shrugged it off as just being tired and stressed although I noticed a bit of bloated tummy and when I listened to her tummy it was quite active. I took her temp, it was sub-normal and I also noticed she seemed to be constipated. I gave her a kitty enema with instant results and thought she would be okay in the morning. I was wrong. Her bloat doubled in size overnight, so I called the vet and off we went.

They don’t know what is wrong with her, just that she feels really crummy and they did do a draw off the fluid in her belly but at this time no FIP alarms have sounded, because the liquid is watery and low in proteins. I have been given a list of things to watch out for and if she displays any of those symptoms, I am to come back to the vet immediately.

On our way to the vet, I texted the gal who had the kittens for 10 days and asked her if anything out of the ordinary had happened. She told me no. AFTER I was ready to leave the vet, she texted me again and said she forgot to tell me that something had happened involving Mackie Said she was cleaning the room and moving furniture around as she swept. When she moved a dresser back to the wall, she heard a tinny meow and looked under to see Mackie stuck between the wall and the dresser. But, she said, Mackie appeared to be okay and she thought nothing more about it until I asked her.

The only thing going for Mackie right now in her favor, is she has an insatiable appetite. She is now on a special diet, which thanks to the donations from you beautiful people, I just ordered a case of Hills Digestive Care I/d it will be here in two days.

In the meantime, sweet Mackie is curled up in a tight little ball in the corner away from her group and the vet said she could tell that Mackie feels miserable. I just put the family back together and according to the vet Mackie can stay with her group unless they get really rough with her. So I will keep a careful eye out.

We received a shipment of Meow Mix single servings today. Thank you to the kind soul that sent these to us.

Please say a prayer for Mackie. She’s a different kitten that left here when going to foster care, and I am not referring to her gender re-distribution!

Last night, after we had gone to bed I couldn’t sleep. Partly it was the oppressive heat in the house (Mike is always cold now) huddled under blankets even in 80 degree weather and asking the heater to be kept on low.

At around 2:00 a.m. I just gave up and went outside to the enclosure to visit with Mattie who had been howling her tail off for several hours. I sat down in the chair and tried to coax her into my lap. She wasn’t having anything to do with me. I doused my flashlight and just sat there with her watching her to see if I could find a way to comfort her.

As I observed her, she wasn’t paying any attention to me. She was pacing the enclosure and for every noise she heard outside the wire, she would flinch. Several times, she jumped as if startled but even if I turned on my flashlight, I didn’t see anything alarming.

Our neighbors next door to us have some very barky dogs. They let them out and the minute the pitbull mix started his barking- Mattie just freaked! She jumped into the Introduction Cage and I found her inside the carrier trembling. Mattie is just terrified of the night.

Although this year, I declared that we weren’t going to take on any new rescues, I found myself in situations where cats were in dire need of veterinary care or other assistance and jumped right in. All my enclosures are full and Mattie is an only kitty type of soul. I knew if I put her in with any of the others, there would be a major cat fight.

With no other choice and knowing that what I just witnessed was pure terror. I carried her into the house and put her with her babies. It was magic!

They’ve been apart long enough to not know each other, but Mattie is amazing as far as her mothering instincts. She wouldn’t take no for an answer and in about 20 minutes time, the little ones had stopped hissing at her and they were all laying in a huge pile.

I didn’t want her to start producing milk again, so I slipped a dog shirt around her neck and taped it down over her belly so her nipples were covered. Funny to see her slinking around, looking at this alien hanging on to her, but soon she accepted the bit of cloth and started to eat some canned food with more gusto than she has presented since being here. The kids soon joined her and satisfied that they were once again a family, I was able to slip off and get some sleep.

This morning, they are all together. I checked the dog shirt and it showed on evidence of kitten activity, so I slipped it off her. Her nipples are dried up, no more redness or sores. I will keep an eye on her today and if I see them trying to nuzzle her, the shirt will go back on despite the hot weather.

What if this was part of what ails her? The separation of her kittens was done so early (because of her health issues) Maybe being with them now, will give her the strength to pull through all this nonsense she has endured and give her a new lease on life. One can only hope.

Enjoy some photos of her babies, they are growing like weeds!

“Mackie”

“Flash” and “Fog”

“Fog and “Smokey Jo”

And finally, “Reunion with Mom”

I am still astonished that she showed no aggression towards her family. We have been through this before many times, and any time we have tried to reunite a family back together, it has always failed. I was apprehensive about trying this out last night, but this morning when Mattie cleaned her plate for the first time since being here, I knew we had made the right call. This cat is extraordinary beyond measure.

The mackerel high-energy kitten we called NAO (which stands for Not Another One!) Is in a new place this morning! He is surrounded by Christmas Trees, acres of long grassy meadows stocked full of mice, and love like he has never before experienced I am sure he will never want for anything again. The loving souls who now surround him, show nothing but love for all living things.

We instantly fell in love with this boy, he integrated quickly into our home and our hearts. He was a bit rambunctious with Molly, Pigeon and PITA and they would wrestle long into night. Or play Indy 500 down the stairs and up the hallway.  I suspect his long confinement in that car and whatever he experienced before arriving here had a say in his behavior. I know he was owned by someone, and I don’t pretend to understand what led to the decision to take those animals and leave them in that car. But it was not a safe move on any level..

All of that is behind him right now, because this morning, I know he woke up realizing he was in Paradise!

Our next option is to find a home for 11 year old Solo. Solo is very pet-aggressive and will be harder to place. That plus his age. In his favor is the fact that he is orange, and orange cats and kittens are all the rage. If I could transfer that video off my phone where he dances on his hind legs, I know that would be key in finding him a good place. One of my friends said yesterday, I should be on Instagram. Since I have no clue what that really is all about, I will check it out today.

She was incredulous that I didn’t know what it was about and asked me if I had been hiding under a rock? I laughed and told her, “No, not rocks just piles of kittens and litterpans! ”

Here is Solo decompressing from his previous life and also one blurry one of him doing his dance. He is the sweetest boy and we will do all we can to find him that good forever- home!

Mattie’s fate is waiting on spay day which has been bumped back to July 2. They will do bloodwork before the spay (she still isn’t eating much) Right now, she is in and out of heat still. By July 2, she should be clear and good to go unless her WBC has increased or stayed the same. She had so many drugs on board to help her with whatever infection she was fighting so I am praying for a good outcome for her. She would have to be an only kitty in the house and those homes aren’t easy to find. If she stays here, she will be a huge enclosure all by herself. I keep introducing gradually some of the other members of the clowder here, but she wants nothing to do with any of our sanctuary cats (so far). That may also change a few weeks after her spay. Time will tell. She also wants to kill the dog every time she sees him outside the wire. She is still attacking my ankles so I have to be careful around her- but I suspect that is from pain and not from anything else.

We are out of canned and dry food. The one store that stepped up to donate is doing it’s best but for the most part, we are getting litter.Litter is important, but without food, litter doesn’t happen!

We know we don’t have the clout of the other shelters in the areas and most stores are committed to donating to them. I work on the wish list and I see what I put there as being on the list. But then others contact me and don’t see anything at all.

We have a total right now of 24 cats 4 of them are kittens. The list of the items that what we need are:

Purina dry cat food
Whiskas
Blue Diamond

Canned food- pate for the kittens- fillets for the adults (none of them like shreds except for the gravy)

We are staying away from the dyed dry foods-just don’t trust those red and orange food dyes.

If you need our address you can text me at 541-799-6194 I’ll be happy to send it to you.

We are on our last bag of dry food and have two cans of canned food left which is reserved for the kittens. In the kitty, we have $6.70 after making a vet payment to cover the euthanasia of Alexandra and the medication for Mattie. If I tap into that and get the food, we go NSF at the end of month because the bank charges us $5.00 a month if we can’t keep the balance at $100.00. Geez, that would be nice if we could do that.

Thank you and God Bless You-

M.A.

This morning as I was going to let Kota out, I glanced out in the field and saw a parade of skunks running to the feral feeders. Mom in front, babies staggering behind. I grabbed Kota’s leash and put him in his pen and then went inside to grab my cell phone. By the time, I got back the last tails were disappearing under the feeder- but I managed to get this photo of some of her young ones. I’m sure Kota wants to get up close and personal, but that isn’t going to happen. My biggest fear is Poe one of our outside semi-feral cat who is so intrigued by these critters will be the only cat that might get sprayed.

I think it’s a bit funny that based on some advice from a “rehabber” we elevated the feral feeders to stop wildlife from getting into them easily. Doesn’t appear to stop them- nor do the motion detector lights we installed.

Today, Mike had several appointments and so off we went. Kota in the truck, the wheelchair loaded on the ramp behind the truck and we were ready to meet the day.

Mike’s wheelchair weighs 154 pounds. I weigh 160- working with that chair and with him just wears me out. We finally finished all the appointments and on the way home, I stopped at the local take and bake pizza shop for dinner to go. I knew I was wiped out.

Got home, put the pizza in the oven, set the timer and then went and sat down in my chair for a few minutes. Before I knew it, I was asleep.

I woke up to Kota nudging the hell out of my arm. Mike was asleep in his chair and the kitchen smoke alarm was going off! I run to the kitchen and smoke is just starting to come out of the oven. Dang it, the pizza! I turned off the oven, opened the windows and doors and turned on the fans and only then did I open the oven door  to take out a very blackened, burnt pizza! I was so deep asleep in such a short time that I missed the timer going off- the smoke alarm starting and if it weren’t for Kota, who knows what would have happened? Pretty scary. Mike slept through it all- Me, I’m wide awake right now, hugging my sweet dog with all of my might!

Kota prior to the all the excitement- being tempted by shoes (which he loves to chew) at the prosthetic clinic. I am proud to say that only one command of “Leave it!” was all it took for him to become disinterested.