I was afraid to move, for the pressure on my chest was heavy. It was hard to breathe and in the light that filtered through the window, I could see the shape of a kitty- a BIG kitty and he was not moving! That kitty turned out to be Denver! He and his sister arrived here Jan. 15th an owner surrender. After he was left, each night at midnight on the dot, Denver would reappear from under the bed. He would prowl the entire length of the room, hugging walls, stopping at doors, peering underneath and crying plaintaively. It became a nightly ritual. In the day, he would stay under the bed and only eat food if it was pushed under for him. I never saw him, until this morning.

Early on, I contacted his last owner and inquired about “Buster” Denver’s first name. I was told by Nathan, that he works the swing shift and would arrive home sometime before midnight. He would spend a few hours with his “Buddy” at his side, before going to bed. Buster would sleep on his chest.

I was thankful, Denver hadn’t decided to sit on my stomach. I needed to pee! But we just lay there. He allowed me to scratch him under the chin, but no further. Then nature’s call became to strong for me to ignore and I had to get up. The minute I moved, he was gone.

His grief for Nathan and being left is palpable. He is eating and drinking and using the litter pan but he is also grieving. Some people believe that cats aren’t capable of grieving. I am here to tell you that they are. It isn’t always a death of an owner, it can also just be the disappearance of one such as Denver is dealing with now.

Jennafer just posted on my blog under yesterday’s entry! Thanks Jen! Stumbles has a fan club here. I am now going to share the photos she sent me this morning. (Why is it everyone but ME takes great pictures of cats?) LOL I think it’s because of my camera- at least that is the excuse I am using.

Here’s our boy and THANKS again to all of you who pitched in with prayers, financial help, emails of support and got us through to another victory. I love you ALL!

Stumbles has his new home and he will be so cherished and loved! Rob and Jennafer are wonderfully, caring people and they can’t wait to get to PetSmart and get him “stuff!” LOL They are even going to stay with the same vet until his leg gets all straightened out, even though the drive from their home to my vet is a little over an hour. He will be living upstairs in their townhouse for the time being in a padded carrier I let them borrow. He just wanted to be held, loved, rubbed, honestly you wouldn’t even know he has been abused by someone because he holds such pure love for people. He will reign KING! Here’s a pic I snapped and sorry for the eyes- they caught the flash wrong

Stumbles

After being with him a few minutes, Rob said they should call him Hambone because he is such a Ham. I didn’t say anything, it is a pet peeve of mine to find cats named after food-it just seems wrong to me. But Jedi’s new people are calling her Crackers because she is such a firecracker, so it looks like i am outnumbered about that theory. All I want them to be is loved, cared for and be somewhere that I don’t have to worry about them any longer. Both cats got the homes of a lifetime this week and I couldn’t be happier!

Here I was ready to vent my frustration (which I just did in another email) about Stumbles and his situation, and God has intervened and told me to have a quiet soul and He will be in charge.

There was a family I met with yesterday who were all over the idea of having Stumbles in their home UNTIL I told them that in two weeks, he needs to be re-checked at the vet’s. In 6 weeks, he needs to have x-rays to see if the leg is healing correctly and not for two more weeks after that will his cast come off- if there are no further complications.

They sat there in stunned silence, until the Mom said “I have a good idea, let’s adopt Stumbles AFTER his cast comes off!” The kids actually cheered and I sat there biting the inside of my lip trying not to tell her where she needs to go. I stood up, told them it was “nice” to meet them, but they aren’t suitable for his needs. Again the stunned looks followed me out the door.

So after venting in a private email, I received another email from an interested couple in Eugene and I told them everything I could about Stumbles and his needs. I left nothing out. The girl said she didn’t care! She figured already that he would need aftercare and vet visits and she doesn’t think her boyfriend will care either, but she meets him at noon for lunch and they will talk about it. She will be back in touch.

If this works, I will get Stumbles out on a day pass, take him to meet them and see how it goes. If it falls flat, I will take him over to a friend’s for an overnight stay and then take him back to the vet. I don’t want to get my hopes up, but it is costing the organization to keep him where he doesn’t need to be! And despite all he has been through- he LOVES people. He has a mission, and I hope to God that this home is where he is supposed to be and he can do what is needed and get a ton of love in return!

Ms. Jedi has a new home! The two people in her new home fell immediately in love with her and she (after hiding for about 5 minutes under the rocker) climbed up in Ken’s lap, wrapped her soft paws around his arms and fell fast asleep! I am thinking about this time; “what am I chopped liver?” LOL She totally disregarded me! He looked over at me and beamed and said

“That’s it, I’m toast, I can’t move the rest of the night!” It was then I knew that she was where she needed to be. I bent over her and scratched her on the chin and told her to be sweet. She opened her eyes, took her front paws and lowered my head to her mouth and bit me over my eye. A love bite, a goodbye and thank you bite but she is Queen now and she knows it!

I couldn’t be happier even though her special cage will now be empty but I suspect sometime in the future another kitty will need it. I drove home with smiles and tears and told God: “We did good on this one!”

I was able to get one platform in place for now. Once Mike is up to it, we will build a second larger platform at the top of the cage where her cat carrier will go. I think she likes it- she was looking out the window when I left. I need to get those see-through bird houses that attach to the glass (outside) you can see the birds inside through a special viewing panel, but they are protected with the regular birdhouse in the front-

Here’s Jedi testing out her new platform

Taylor, our ten year old Maine Coon-Persian mix has trained Mike quite well. I had to laugh earlier because Bentley was in Mike’s lap and Taylor got downright indignant that “HER” lap was occupied. She stood on the edge of the bed and yowled like the hounds of hell were after her. Mike finally put Bent on the floor and picked up Taylor- but she hopped back on the bed and yelled again at him. He had to get his heated blanket, wrap himself up in it, then pick her up and wrap her inside.LOL I told him he was well-trained. Got me thinking and wondering- have any of you been trained by your cats?

Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would be digging snow out from in front of the cat enclosure door here in Oregon! In Alaska, we planned for that because that’s what happens in Alaska, it snows A LOT! But in Oregon? I did manage to get into the enclosure and get the food out for the kitties. They can get into the house through the tunnels, but not me- I just don’t fit through those dang things! I suppose in a dire emergency I could fit but it wouldn’t be pleasant to see.
So much snow on the ground and the barn kitties love the new heated water bowls a Saint sent them this last Christmas. It’s 21 degrees in my neck of the woods- what is it in yours?

I put out an ad for Stumbles adoption and I received almost immediately a reply from a lady in Corvallis. She has been looking for another cat for 6 months now. I applaud her for not making spur-of-moment decisions on adding another cat to her home. We’ve had a few emails back and forth, and my hope is she is just letting the idea simmer in her brain for awhile and then she will get back to me. There is a strong possibility IF I can find the right home for him, that he won’t have to spend much more time at the vet’s. I also gave her my blog address so she can check me out a bit. What you see here is what you get in real life. I just put my life out there and hope someone learns something along the way (and that would also include me in the learning).

I want to go and visit him today, but there is a warning to all to stay indoors and not drive unless absolutely necessary. Although I can drive in this stuff (after the crash course in Alaska) *G* It’s the other people I worry about. So I will stay home and hope the techs are giving him lovins.

The vet said yesterday the leg has stopped swelling! YAY! NO bone infection DOUBLE YAY! He seems to be tolerating his cast well and all he wants is someone to pick him up all day and carry him around. What a lover. I hope Laura and I can meet, she sounds like the type of person I am always looking for to adopt traumatized kitties!

Jedi’s cage isn’t quite finished (yet) but at least she can now be inside of it at night. We still have to put in the platforms, build the outside patio perch for her and do some tweaking to make an way for her to get outside to her private porch.

Here is her new “pad”

I opened up the cage door and carefully scooped Stumbles into my lap. He burrowed deep into my chest and I could hear his purr motor starting up. All he wanted to do was to be cherished. We sat there for quite awhile. Next door, I could hear the yap of small dogs anxious in their surroundings, but he seem unfazed by the noise.

They had to once again remove his cast and recast him because of the swelling in his leg. There is a suspicion of a bone infection and tests will be taken next time they re-cast him to find out if the suspicions are true.

He is so doggone sweet! I introduced myself to him and told him how sorry I was that he couldn’t come home right away, but soon, I told him, very soon he would be able to do so.