Today Mr. Ash went to a new home. He has a large farm to roam on as soon as he gets used to his new life. It borders the start of the forest and there are other barn cats there who he will hang around with. I find it interesting that during kitten season people are contacting me wanting older cats. It is quite refreshing-

Right now, he is being kept in a shed with plenty of space to roam, food and water and litter pans. I suspect in a week or two he will be fully acclimated and make this farm his territory.

Took Brandi on the Cascade Trail for a walk this morning. As we were passing a thick patch of blackberries her nose went straight up and she started circling. I know this sign, but we were in the middle of nowhere. Literally, no one around as far as the eye can see, no homes, no campsites, just trees and wilderness.

I let her off the lead and told her gently to find the kitty. She made a beeline for the blackberry bushes but she couldn’t get in, they were to thick. I picked up a branch and started parting the berries. I saw a small box on the ground and so did B-dog- she dove for it and pushed it over to me. I lifted the lid to find two kittens inside! One black, one gray. Brandi was whining, so I put her in a down command and picked up the black kitten. He wasn’t here anymore. Then I picked up the gray kitten, who squirmed weakly, but she was alive! I gave her to B- who gently gave her a bath.I put some water into the mouth and the kitten swallowed weakly. We raced home.

Gave her fluids, got rid of the fleas and gave her some Karo syrup and coffee sugared with KMR. Then we went to the vet-she was dewormed and examined and sent home. I gave her a bath and then gave her to Mike to snuggle with.

Here she is looking much better than when I found her. She is a bit unsteady on her feet- but a cute little bug. I am calling her Fern.

God Bless this Dog who has fallen into our care- I did not train her to find these lost creatures- she finds them all on her own,

This German Shepherd is amazing. I have taken her for six outside the property walks and she has “found” three cats on these walks (all of them ill). I have learned by watching her when she is on the scent of a cat. Her nose shoots straight in the air and then she circles three times and whines. Nosing the area where th cat is at, she paws at the ground and looks at me as if “Please Mom pay attention!”

My neighbor came over today and her calico cat got out a few days ago. She wanted to see if mayber her cat Lucy found her way to my crew. I told her about Brandi and her cat nose and she was skeptical, but she wants her cat back.

I took Brandi over there on a long line and asked her to “find the kitty.” They have six acres of blackberries and grape arbors. 20 minutes later, Brandi alerts to a patch of blackberries near the fence and a calico kitty shoots out, running straight for the house!

I tell you what- she constantly surprises me with all she can do.

A little girl who will turn 13 tomorrow will find to her surprise her parents have given her a loving black cat for her birthday.

Vaughn went to a new home today and right now he is in the parent’s bedroom waiting for the big surprise in the morning when the girl returns from an overnight trip to find him in HER bedroom.

When I took him over to meet part of the family, he showed no fear of his new surroundings and settled down underneath the drapes near the air conditioner! Smart kitty it is 103 degrees today!

I was impressed with his new home, there are no other animals (except a gerbil) and no expectations of getting any more animals in the future. He went over in the carrier without a hitch and I will check in on him in a few days. I hope that Melinda will be as thrilled with him as her parents are and I wish him a long, happy life with this little girl.

It’s clear to me that these two will have to go to the same home together. They are never apart. Knowing they are brother/sister and should be asserting themselves and striking out on their own in the group, leaves me to wonder what sort of trauma has bound them so close together.

I am working on the CATS Inc., facebook page on and off. Hoping that someone close enough might see one of these cats or kittens and be moved enough to adopt one or two. If they want two, I know just the pair!

I carefully pick him up and he tenses and tucks deep into my arms. His trust meter is broken, this “once” feral kitty no longer trusts that I am out for his best interest. In the past few days he has been poked, prodded, stuck, squeezed, pricked, isolated and confused. His coat is greasy and lies flat against his skin. He is eating but barely- rather than put him upstairs in isolation, we opted to rebuild the cage inside the enclosure so he could be where he would be the most comfortable.
His mom, Dash was lying next to the cage this morning when I came to check on him.

He tucks deeper into my arms and trembles as if to say “What next?” Next consists of crushed baytril mixed with mackeral oil. I hold my breath as the syringe slides into his mouth. He laps it greedily- success! Thankfully he only gets pilled once a day. I just didn’t think popping a pill down his throat would lend well to the trust factor.

I pet him and tell him how wonderful he is and that he will beat this thing. He looks up at me, his green eyes wide and bright, no longer clouded with mucous and drainage- it may take some time, but Chappy is on his way back to us now.

Chappy has a soft tissue injury and inflammation of his hind end. Whether he got in the way when my place was “visited” or what is anyone’s guess. He is on meds and bed rest and I am sorry to say he is REALLY hissed off at me!

He is stumped therefore he is keeping Chappy for a few days to monitor and get blood and urine samples. What bothers him most is the incredible amount of muscle mass this cat has lost and the fact that he only eats when you feed him- drinks when you give him a syringe of water- which is assist feeding is not normal behavior. At least we can rule out FHL!
Said he can tell just by the look of him that he feels puny-and for now that is all I know-

I kept hearing him cry after the house went quiet. Not angry cries demanding to be released from his temporary confinement. Small cries, intermittent seems like he is in pain.

He is in Quarantine and the room is pretty much devoid of furniture for reason. I went and piled up old blankets and pillows making a temporary soft chair on the floor next to the wall.

When I picked him up, he hissed and tensed up. I placed him in my lap as I settled down on the new chair. I was wearing an old terry cloth robe who has seen better days. It is one that has held many a kitten or cat either when they are being fed, or being comforted. I tucked him down into the folds and started petting him gently. Harp of Hope music playing, I fell asleep with him still mewing.

Before I nodded off- I prayed that God would help my vet find answers today. Chappy’s temp is still subnormal, he was so cold- 98.8 at last check. I think he slept a bit, but I could still feel his mews and my heart broke knowing he was beyond my reach to help him.

I woke up at 6:00 a.m. he was still doing the occassional meow. I stretched my stiff back and he didn’t move off my lap. I ended up slipping off the robe and leaving it around him. Went outside to the bleach step, changed clothes and shoes and went downstairs. I wish my appointment was this morning and not this afternoon and so we wait…

Over fifteen years ago now, I went in to see my vet with another cat who was infested with earmites. As I walked into the clinic Dr. Sullivan (may he forever R.I.P) who was at the front counter saw me coming and he beamed his wide smile and said- “Mary Anne, just the person I was looking for- come with me!”

I sighed, because I knew full well what “come with me” really meant. He wasn’t going to give me samples of kitty products, slip me some cat medications on the sly, ask me to test a new cat litter, or present me with food for my group. It was kitten season and undoubtedly, someone had dropped off a kitten in need of a home (mine.) I followed him back to the all-familiar back room where he put dumped kitties and we stopped at this metal crate that contained three emaciated kittens (mostly black).

He told me that they had been found at a near-abandoned campground in Washington by a retired couple who just drive around all year chasing the sun in a motor home. He said they had brought them in late last night, and he didn’t think that keeping them in a metal crate when he KNEW where they would get more love was with me. I sighed again- but as the saying goes- “There’s a sucker born every minute” (and I was born twice). I told him I would take them.

Two of them were the fluffiest, skinniest kittens I had ever seen. Evidently had Persian somewhere in them. I put them upstairs in the kitten room and gave them food- they wouldn’t eat! These kittens were probably 8 weeks old when found-and in the coming days I would find myself frazzled beyond belief trying to get them to eat something- I tried every brand, I tried tuna, baby food, mackeral- nothing- no dry food either so I was assist-feeding and baffled as the vet had checked them out head to toe and pronounced them neglected by pretty healthy by all standards.

One afternoon as I was on my knees in the room watching them again (not eat) I thought about where they came from- an abandoned campground that people still did camp at and I had a burst of inspiration. I scrambled to my feet, ran downstairs, grabbed some raw hotdogs and a pair of scissors and cut that hot dog into mighty small pieces. Placing the pieces on a cookie tray, I went back upstairs and put it on the ground- they DOVE for it. So for a few days, I would give them typical campground food slowly mixing it into the dry and wet food until they were only eating cat food. I named one Chaplain (now Chappy) one Dash and the last one Dillon.

They started to grow, to catch up for lost time, only one (Dash) well, she didn’t stop growing- she became huge- towering over the other two kittens until I realized that she was the mom! That’s how undernourished they were.

Dash and Chappy are still here living with us. Dillon was adopted out to couple with no children and no other cats.

Chappy’s routine he set was in the day, he was virtually invisible staying outside in the tunnels or in the enclosure, but at night, when I was asleep, he would creep into the house and lay near me. If I tried to touch him, he would bolt. He stopped bolting when I stopped trying to touch him and just let him be who he wanted to be. But I rarely saw him in the day- just at night.

About a week ago, he started coming into the house in the daytime and lying behind the couch. I noticed his back legs were turning from black to silver because he is a senior man. But this change was strange as darkness is his friend and I wondered and just watched.

When he walked, he would wobble a bit and if I tried to go to him, he would hiss at me so unlike him. Now I not only watched but I worried.

Last night, I woke up around 3:00 a.m. to a moaning sound- a low moan like a cow does right before she gives birth. It was unsettling and I grabbed a flashlight and went in search of who was making the noise- it was Chappy.

He was once again behind the couch and I knew that if I approached him, even if he was injured- he would elude me and run through the tunnels. So I boarded up the exit to the patio- the tunnel entrances and then went to fetch him- RIGHT! LOL An hour later, I finally captured a squirming Chappy and was trying to put him in the cat carrier. He would have none of it and the minute he was in- and I was trying to shut the door- he would escape…….life around here can get interesting at times. The other cats who were in the house were now gathered interested wondering why mom was so flustered and Chappy so hissed. But I finally got him and I went upstairs and made my last room ready for him. He has all he needs until Monday when I have a vet appointment and I will also take Chappy in at the same time and get him looked at. I knew, once he was released from the cat carrier he would be a formidable opponent but by Monday if he is left alone and only observed outside the room, he would be calmer. At least that is the hope.
As I watched him during the release, I saw that he was limping and what I suspect might have happened was during that butt-heads raid on my enclosure- the person who did damage also threw out the padding I have on the irrigation culverts that serve as tunnels to the enclosure. The tunnels are at a slant so without traction on the smooth plastic, the tunnels can turn into a slide. I suspect maybe Chap tumbled down this slide and landed wrong.

He’s not a fighter and although some people might call him semi-feral, he isn’t that either. He is just a cat who was born outside away from humans therefore human touch can make him nervous and put him on edge.

I didn’t want to leave him up there without apologizing for capturing him in the first place, so I was able to go to him, ignore his hissing and growling and pet him and tell him I loved him and was just concerned about an injury.

It could be that confinement will cure him- being still and quiet with enough food and water available will make him better and by Monday he will be fine, that’s my hope.

When I shut the chicken wire door to the room, he yowled for about 20 minutes but I don’t hear him right now. I will be leaving him alone until Monday so he can decompress. I did comb him out before I left and checked for heat traces on his body and found none. If he doesn’t eat or drink or use the litter pan by Sunday, I will know that something is really up and on Monday he will be seen by my vet.

My husband woke up during all the fracass of trying to capture Chappy and said he wished he had a video camera- I would make it on YouTube!

Chappy is the kitty with the white chin in the front in the photo below-