Last I blogged it was October 4th, now it is the 9th and the kittens are both still at the vet’s. They don’t quite know what is wrong with them, just that there is something wrong. It was not a prolapsed rectum as originally felt. They ended up sedating Ashes and doing a thorough exam. All they could determine is that she has a very infected bum. They have been using a steroid ointment combined with an antibiotic cream on her rump but she is still having diarrhea. Eugene is also having bum issues. They have discussed anal fissures, anal polyps and finally just decided to keep them under observation for about another week to see if anything clears up. It is very frustrating.

There was an incident that occurred between me and one of the vet’s there that prompted me to ask that the kittens care be turned over to another vet immediately.  Once the smoke cleared, it was relayed to me that it was just a big misunderstanding, but I am still not keen on this vet working with me in the future and they are respecting my wishes.

I miss my kitties and I hope they can solve this soon. I am going to hate to see my next vet bill- it was already hefty, I can’t imagine what all this one-on-one care is going to cost us.

On a personal note, I went to doctor today over my leg and knee injury (from when Kota crashed into me) The brace is not working and it looks quite likely that surgery on my knee and my foot is in my future. 🙁 Here in our hometown for the first time since March) our Covid cases are skyrocketing. 31 cases day before yesterday and 19 cases yesterday. Is this because people are getting lax and having pandemic anger or pandemic depression? No one is sure. Most of the local schools are doing distance learning except for two.

I am not keen to have surgery in the middle of a Covid Pandemic and am grateful the doctor will wait until things calm down. Plus, I need to make arrangements for Kota (who I think my vet’s family will watch him for me) and my cats and kittens. Lots on my heart right now. Mostly it is about these kittens and the mounting vet bills. 🙁

Although the vets insisted that all would be well if the kittens stayed on special food and prebiotics, Ash continued to get worse. I threw up my frustration on FB on Saturday and then called the vet and told them that I really needed to see a vet about Ashes. They told me they were booked solid and to just “drop her off.” I firmly believe that they never fully read the drop off form and I was afraid that we would get nowhere. But I agreed.

When I got there, I was waiting a long time for them to just come out and pick up the carrier and let me drive off. I am thinking to myself, what the hell? Then the tech came out and said the Dr. had made a spot for me and did I want to come in and talk to her first? Of course I did.

I told her that if she could look at Ashes’ bum and tell me that it looks “normal’ I would walk out the door and not bother her again. I also told her I am not in the habit of wasting vet’s time and something was horribly wrong with Ashes’ bum. I told her that when I am allowed by Ash to touch her bum lightly (without her screaming in pain) it felt hard and not normal.

She picks up the kitty and looks at the bum and said: “oh my, look at all this inflammation!” She took her in the back to clip her rear and I looked up at God and asked Him to please let her respond to them, as she does to me. If you touch her bum, she hisses, spits, growls and screams at the same time and tries to bite me.

All of a sudden the show started and as I listened to this precious girl screaming in pain and my heart was breaking for her, I was also saying to myself: “Do you believe me NOW?”

The vet comes back and tells me she has a prolapsed rectum which is what I’d been saying all along. But because she is such a fluffball her hair was hiding it. Ash will have surgery on Monday, so they can keep a better eye on her, and they will push the rectum back in place, do a purse stitch, keep her an additional day then send her home.

As i left, a vet tech said “Mary Anne, thank you for being so attentive.” I just looked at her and said- “I have to be.”

I am their voice. Sometimes if I just accept the professional’s word that all will be well soon- it doesn’t get better, it gets worse. If I don’t speak up, they don’t get help. I am just so glad she will be out of pain now and has a chance for a new, and wonderful life from here on out.

First of all, I failed the gender test (yet again) Ashton turns out to be a female, so her new name is Ashes. Holiday is now called Eugene. I had to change his name due to vet records. I had a Holiday years ago, so had to come up with a new name.

Both kittens have been hospitalized for several days. It was frustrating to take them back there because in so many aspects- playing, eating, drinking, affectionate, they were doing great. Where the concern for them on my part was the lack of motility. They were both eating like they had holes in their stomachs, but nothing was being produced. Ashes would leave spots of stool in the litter pans about the size of a dime. I would watch her try so hard to poop normally but it never happened.

Eugene on the other hand was passing large amounts of blood in his stool. It was dark red blood not bright red, so it was indicative of the blood being in his system for longer. They both were dewormed on their second day here, so worms were not an issue. I haven’t even seen any worms passing in their stool. They still both were passing flecks of ashes and dirt. So although our vet debt is now cringeworthy, I had to take them in.

I am waiting to hear on the results of the fecals they finally were able to collect yesterday. Apparently, neither kitten was passing enough to even qualify for a fecal sample. I know that Ashes is stressed out because the first phone call I received after I dropped them off was a question- Did I know that she had explosive diarrhea? I did not know this. She was not having that issue here. I suggested it had to be due to stress.

I spent the majority of the night getting up and down to check on the kittens. They are starting to feel so much better and although they are in a large dog cage, it is clear to me that they want a bigger world.

So this morning, I  kitten-proofed my bedroom and left the cage door opened so they can explore if they want to. They have several hidey-holes to crawl into and nothing they can get underneath unless they decide to slip down  between the mattress on the bed and the wall. Past kitties have done that and it is a pain to pull the bed apart (It’s a California King) to find them.  I hope I have stacked enough boxes to discourage that action from occurring.

Here are the little darlins after their vet visit. The gravel and rocks are moving through them and although the poo is still black as soot and smelly, the vet feels that the food they are are now will go a long way in helping that move through as well. They had their first vaccinations and we dewormed both of them.

Walmart has pulled the donation rug out from under us as of last Friday. They told me we needed to go to a website called Good360 and sign up with them and get out donations from them.

After jumping through all the hoops and faxing all the paperwork required to get authorized. we were approved. They are crediting us $500.00 per month to purchase cat food from their catalog. The only problem is, they don’t have cat food unless it comes in pallets. In order to have a pallet even delivered to my friend’s shop- I have to come up with over $1,000 that they call an administration fee. I’ve looked at this website until I can’t stand it anymore and I don’t see anyway that they can help us. The one Walmart that is signed on with them in over 50 miles from my house and directly in the way of the Holiday Farm Fire which is still burning.

So I am just putting a plea out there- My cats are eating Purina Natural Dry and Fancy Feast wet. If you can see your way clear to help us out- I would so appreciate it. Also right now with the kittens who eat more than their fair share of wet food- I am feeding them Fancy Feast Kitten canned and Kitten Chow.

I’ll try to figure out my wish list again. But I keep failing at it miserably. I’ll give it my best shot. Thank you for any  help you can offer, and please if you can’t help- I totally understand. But I had to ask because our situation when it comes to cat food is suddenly a bit tenuous.

These two babies arrived yesterday. Their mom had succumbed to the smoke, but these two were left behind. They are both boys, I am naming the grey one Ash and the white one Doc Holiday. Right now, they are quite weak, they have been given fluids. They are very feral and very scared. Ash is pooping gravel and hair and Holiday isn’t pooping at all. I will be doing all my tricks up till Monday morning when I can get them evaluated at the vet’s. They are eating and are quite fierce about no one interfering between them and their food bowls. They grab the bowls and hang on for dear life growling all the while. I have to be quick to add food to the bowls otherwise, I would be shredded meat. LOL!  I think they are right at the cusp of being weaned, but they are so hungry they don’t want the bottles, they want the food!

Mr. Baker has a really severe UTI.The vet said that something inside of Baker is driving him to continually flush out his kidneys. Even though the urine draw was so dilute there was a lot of blood in the urine. Stones were ruled out. He was given a Covenia shot and I take him back in two weeks for another urine test. In the meantime, I will keep all three giant dog bowls of water full for him so he can continue to help himself out of this latest challenge.

This morning, a volunteer went on my behalf to Walmart to pick up our standard cat food donation. She was told that this would be the last day for those donations. After several years of them helping us out with cat food both dry and wet, they will stop.

We have been told we have to register with this organization that oversees all non-profits. Once out registration is complete (I just finished faxing them all the legal paperwork they required) They will make a determination if we will be able to get any outside help to feed our sanctuary cats. I was reading there terms and agreements, and if they do qualify us for help, I am to keep accurate records of all donations coming in through their partners and where and when the pet food is being used.

The rainstorms are still coming through town. We had high winds last night and slamming rains. The cats were screaming outside because of how wild it all was. Thunder, lightning, under different circumstances I would have been out on the patio enjoying the show. It was crazy stormy and I was Molly’s comfort. She was quite upset having her sleep interupted! She is such a diva. I am glad that Kota is not scared of storms. He snoozed his way through it all.

It feels good to be home again and close to the ferals. But it’s a definite uneasy peace to be sure. I am unloaded, but not unpacked. The fires are still going- and so many of them are still burning. I pray that these rainstorms are doing some good at helping the firefighters, but I know the real concern is the wind and flash flooding. I am certainly grateful for the brand new roof on the house. I think the old roof would have collapsed last night in the wind and the rain.

I know so many of you are dealing with so much chaos in your world. Please stay safe. Love those who love you back and help those who cannot at this time find their footing..Above everything else, be kind. Kindness seems to be in short order these days.

I am back home and my cats are back with me too. I am missing Crazy Eyes and Ms. D is looking pretty hammered. But I was back as much as I could be to check on them while I was out of the house. Baker is unfortunately not doing well. I don’t know if the stress of moving him and the others had a play in how he is acting right now. He will not stop drinking water. I timed him yesterday, he drank water for an hour straight! He is very lethargic and when he eats, he hurls it up immediately.

I did weigh the pros and cons about moving him. It was either get him to safety in case the fires broke rank and moved in- or move him and hope that he is strong enough to deal with the sudden changes. He goes to the vet in the morning for a recheck.

I wanted to talk to you guys for a few minutes and catch you up on what has been going on.  I am sure most of you know that the West Coast is literally in flames right now. Here is Oregon, my home is being threatened by the Holiday Farm Fire and I am evacuating today. I found a place to put my semi-feral cats that isn’t being threatened by fire. I feel like I have abandoned them, they left this morning.

Leaving behind, are my full feral cats. I have a lot of food, water and other diversions left  for them. I feel so bad, because I promised them long ago, that I would never abandon them. So I am breaking my promise to them. Under the circumstances, I don’t know what else to do. If the fire does breach the hill and come over and they have to run- they will be running toward the river. There, they have a chance of surviving, otherwise- well, it’s all up to God..

I don’t know when I will be able to log-in to my blog again. That’s one thing I cannot work from my cell phone just my PC.  My truck is packed to the roof and I am so tired right now, I am falling asleep at the keyboard. Not sleeping well these days.

Kota and Molly will be with me- I will be staying with a good friend for now. Beyond that, I do not know, Please all of you, just stay safe- these are turbulent times for so many..

Photos of the sky over my pasture

And here are my cats going to what I pray stays safe shelter

I had it all set in my head. I was going to log in and tell you about the cat that I found in a local park. She was old, she was bony, she was barely moving. There were people moving all around her. Ignoring her pleas for water and assistance. She was declawed, weak, dehydrated she was dying. But people were partying around her. She wasn’t hidden, she was under a tree.

I happened to be visiting a friend that lived on that street, and I stopped at the park to give Kota a run. I saw the kitty, so I left him in the truck and ran over, She was so debilitated. There was a little girl almost on top of her playing with a balloon!  I asked her if she knew anything about this cat? She just shrugged her shoulders and told me the kitty had been there for awhile.

I raced back to the truck. Thankfully,  I had a small blanket tucked under the seat. I picked her up gently, rushed her to the vet. On the way to the vet she died. She was a Siamese, someone had decided her life wasn’t worth much. (That decision was made when she was declawed). I named her Spark and left her with the vet so they would cremate her and do a community scattering. Our ground here is so hard that even my tractor could not have made a dent in the soil.

So I was going to share all of that and call it a day, then on Saturday the 30th, a day that will stick in my mind forever. I got a call from a friend. She had recently lost her Bull Mastiff and she had found another dog that she had at her home. The owner was there at the time, and she wanted me to come by and meet the dog and give her some tips about how to introduce him to the five kittens she adopted from me a few years ago. I asked her if the dog was dog friendly, she left the phone came and said Yes, Dan (the owner) said his dog was dog friendly. So I brought Kota with me, a decision I shall forever regret.

Kota is very intuitive about dogs. I did not teach him this, he just knows that with aggressive dogs, he immediately goes submissive. On his back, paws up, no threat. They back off because that is a pack way. For shy dogs, he lays down so his belly is flat, he lowers his head and lets them sniff him until they are satisfied that he is okay. And for happy, active dogs he is a tornado of play.

We get there and I keep him in the truck. I have been around dogs long enough to know that when they are on their property, they are highly protective. I told my friend that I was going to take Kota for a walk and that she and the previous owner needed to go down the driveway and walk away from where we were standing (a few houses down)

So they come down the driveway and this dog is HUGE!  He is bigger than a Mastiff. They start walking. The dog is focused on the street ahead of him. I am about a yard away and ready to make a giant swing into the street far enough away to keep us safe and come up in the street ahead of them,

Well this brute finally saw Kota and it was on. He didn’t even show one “Tell” There was no growling, no barking, not a raised lip, no tucked tail or low body posture. NOTHING! He lunged and in doing so (I found out later) broke the metal ring on his collar where the leash was and he knocked over his elderly owner.

But he was on Kota. Kota went submissive, didn’t matter this dog was on the kill. Kota was screaming, like I never want to hear him scream again. The dog was laying on Kota with both of his front legs in his mouth. He was chewing on him like he was a piece of chicken. Kota is screaming, he’s not fighting back.

I just jumped in. I was screaming. I grabbed that damn dog’s collar and I yanked as hard as I could. I pounded on the side of the dog’s face with my fist and I am screaming Get off my dog! He finally let go of Kota and Kota took off screaming. He was shot out of a cannon, he was moving so fast. It happened by the University of Oregon. There were people during the fight coming out of their houses, cars were stopping, people were getting out of their cars. It was like a circus.  All this was happening during the fight. The dog ,he didn’t bark when he was on Kota, he roared. I’ve never heard anything like that.

So there I am, I have this dog, I am behind him and I have his collar in both hands. I am keeping him off the ground with all my might and I don’t know to this day how I did that? This dog,  it would turn out was over 200 pounds. I am 180.

So he turns and he sees me. It  was eerie. The look in his eyes- he was cunning. He lunged backward and threw me off balance. I fell into the gutter, and I felt this tremendous pain in my bad knee and my foot. I saw him back up and crouch down. I met those black eyes and they were narrowed. I knew he was thinking he had me.  I also knew, that even if I ended up in the hospital I was going to kill that son-of-a-bitch.

I was getting ready to bring my legs to my chest and kick this brute with all my might. He went to launch on me and he was grabbed by onlookers, i think. (Its all sort of a blur). I tried to get to my feet and a this kid built like a football player leaned in and said Where do you hurt?”  I told him my knee and my foot and this kid just lifted me up under my arms like I was 40 pounds.

I turned around screaming Kota’s name over and over again. I wanted whoever might have him to know that someone was looking for him. I had flashes of thoughts that someone would see him, stuff him in the car and take off with him, or he was  laying somewhere dying. I tried to hurry but my leg wasn’t cooperating.

I finally got to the street where he disappeared. People were reaching me, telling me it was okay that the dog was gone. I didn’t care about the damn dog. I wanted Kota..I Iooked down the street and I saw him clear at the end. He was flanked by the two female joggers who went after him after he fled. They wanted to bring him back to me, but he couldn’t walk.

When I reached him, we were both shaking. I put him on the down, stay and he laid down on the grass. I carefully searched him looking for bite wounds, broken bones. His front legs were swelling at an alarming rate. The guy who helped me up had followed me. He told me that he could carry Kota back to the truck for me.

I told him I couldn’t let him do that. Although my dog is the sweetest dog on the planet and a service dog, I explained. He also just got attacked with such ferocity that if he was injured internally and you hit a pain spot, he might bite you because he is not himself.

I bent down and I talked to Kota. I told him I had a big Ask. He had to get up. I had to get him to the truck and get him to my vet. Bless his heart, he got up and both of us limped back to the truck with people following us. There were people on the adjacent streets coming out, They did not see the attack, but they heard it. I still hear it in my head at night. The noise was unbelieveable.

On the way to the truck, the owner appeared. I  put out my arm at full length and told him to go away. I did not want to talk to him right now. He said to me:

“I have one question”

I snapped back “WHAT?”

Then he asked me the strangest thing:

“Did you see any red on your dog?”

I looked at him, and I said, no, I did not see any bite wounds.

To which he replied “Oh you won’t he NEVER leaves bite wounds!”

Well, i already knew the man was a liar and a pastor! This photo taken two days after the fight proves he lies. His question to me and his answer showed me this dog has done this before.

And these aren’t even the bad ones! Those are inside his leg, one going up into his chest with a drain in it. I won’t show those.

Kota has 10 bite wounds. He has soft tissue damage to his front legs, his left side where he was slammed to the ground. When we shaved him, he has bruising from neck to tail on his belly and on his left side. He is on Rimadyl, Cephalexin, Trammadol and CBD oil. He is having nightmares every night, as am I. He is on house arrest for months. I take him by his leash to his pen four times a day to potty. If he doesn’t have pain killers on board, he can only walk two steps before he collapses.

I have filed a report against the owner. If I told you my friend still has the dog, you wouldn’t believe me but she does. At least the last time I talked to her she does. She “feels sorry for the dog. It wasn’t his fault!” I have tried with all my might to talk her into taking this dog and surrendering him, but instead she is keeping him. She goes outside with him and reads her book! I told her she has a suicide bomber in her backyard and she has no idea when this dog will trigger. She doesn’t believe me. If she goes as far as to let him in the house, he will barrel through the door of the basement and kill the cats and the bunnies who now live down there.

I thought she was senile by how she was talking, until one night about 2:00 in the morning, I got these strange texts from her that were unreadable. Fearing the dog had finally gotten to her, I called her and in 5 minutes I knew, she was stinkin drunk. I have parted ways with her. The police tell me I cannot do anything about her keeping this dog. She is a grown lady and if she wants a killer dog, so be it. I can’t even go over and get my cats back. They have no rights or standing in the law.

I could kick myself for being so stupid about all of this. I never take anyone’s word for it when they tell me their dog is dog friendly. But I trusted her. I would learn later that the owner spent three days with her and the dog prior to my arrival. WHO does that? Who adopts a dog out and then spends 3 hours or 3 damn days with the adopter. That would be a red flag for me right there.

So I have parted ways with this woman. My focus is on Kota and getting him back to health. I will no longer be able to use him for Service. He has been retired. I cannot trust that taking him into public places will not trigger him if he sees another giant dog, or smells something, or sees something that triggers him into attack mode. He has PTSD now and so do I. The vet said once he is better, he will be put on Prozac in a low-dose. He still has nightmares, he screams in his sleep. He’s trying to constantly crawl into my lap and freaks out every time I go outside without him.

I am so mad at myself. I caused this gentle boy to endure this pain. I hope he forgives me for all of this. I’ve asked God to forgive me too.  The vet said that two things saved Kota. He weighs 90 pounds and he DIDN”T fight back.

This is the Red Zone dog that attacked Kota. I had posted on FB about this attack. I received a private message from a gal in Idaho that trains dogs- service dogs, attack dogs, guard dogs, she does them all. This is not a bull mastiff. This is a mix of two South African dogs a Boerbol, and a Kanga. Both dogs are fiercely protective and are used to hunt and kill lions.

She said that looking at what she called Level 3 bites on the photo, tells her that his dog has been trained to bite the body suit. You know those big inflatable suits they use in police work for attack. She said this dog needs to go to the bridge immediately. I have no control over that. He bit my dog. had he bit me perhaps I would have more standing on what happens to him. My friend insists that he is “so loving, so gentle, so wonderful”  I just want to throw up when she tells me this over and over.again..

Thanks for letting me get all of this off my chest..I hope Kota comes out  the other side the same as he was, but I doubt it. All his work we were doing in nursing homes and children’s hospitals will now cease. And this dog? I hope my friend comes to her senses and puts him down.