This morning we went to get Mike’s cast off and for him to be checked out. They found two holes in his foot so he is now admitted to the hospital and undergoing surgery as I type. He will stay in the hospital until the cultures are returned and the verdict decided about what to do next. There is a possibility that this time, he could lose his foot it is all weighing on what the cultures grow.

Last night, I slipped away to a small cafe to do some writing and just have some me time.

While I was there, I noticed a group at a table that looked like a typical family; mother, dad and daughters (2).
The dad and mom were on their cell phone, the older girl was on another apparatus and the littlier girl kept trying to talk to her family but kept getting shut down. Finally, she excused herself and went into the bathroom. As I watched her go, I felt that I should follow her so I did. No one at the table noticed I followed their daughter into the bathroom- they were talking on the cells or texting.

I heard the sobbing as soon as the door shut. I stood there for a minute and said quietly “Hon is there anything I can do?” The girl (Jessica) I found out later was very quiet- so I just washed my hands and waited. Soon, she came out of the stall and stood by me. I told her I had noticed her at the table and she seemed to want to share something with her family. “no one would listen Jessica whispered. I just wanted to tell them I got an A in Math.”

When she announced she got an A- I clapped my hands and told her Good Job gal! I hate math and I know how hard it is for some people. How cool that you know what you are doing and your teacher recognizes that!” She got this beautiful smile across her face and said “Thanks.!” Then she asked me my name. I told her and then left the bathroom.

I was standing in line to pay my check and the family was behind me. As I turned to leave, Jessica said; “Bye Mary Anne!” I turned and smiled and told her goodbye.

Ironically, no one even noticed she knew my name. Dad was on the cell again, as was mom and sister was chatting with someone.

We become to connected with all these electronic gadgets and sometimes I wonder if we notice how disconnected we are becoming to what really matters in our world.

Well, I am back- I think! Mike is home and it is a learning curve for sure dealing with his limitations at this time. The cats are no longer fleeing in terror when they hear the chair coming- and Mike was a bit miffed that Taylor hid from him for a few days and didn’t want any part of him. I told him it was because he smells funny- new smells the cats aren’t used to- the therapy center, the medicine and other odd smells. Taylor finally decided last night she would sleep with him again.

There are day care nurses coming in to take some of the load off of me. They are wrapping his leg and doing his vitals and just keeping him monitored. He does have a new growth near where they cut the old one off- so we go back to the doctor’s soon to find out why.

I got really sick while tending to all my sick kitties and am just now rebounding back a bit. I only have four active sick kitties now and Ashford and I had a long talk about the feline herpesvirus load he brought into the house!

The two girls in the bedroom- they are such a trip. Secret, the kitten- she wants me to pet her oh so bad. I can see it in her eyes and so I took the plunge and as long as I only pet her back and sides, we are buds. Touch her head- and she hisses at me and ducks underneath the bed again. But she loves to be stroked on her back, and I have to be careful because Mom is on the watch. When I pet Secret- Smuggles paw comes out from under the bed (fully armed) SWAT! She nails me! LOL i think she believes i am trying to hurt her kitten. But I did sneak in a pet on her this morning and boy was she surprised!

So life right now is a learning curve for all of us here and we are just taking it a day at a time. Anything beyond that is to overwhelming to consider.

This is the first day that I have been strong enough to sit up in a chair. I have been down for the count with a nasty flu- one of the nastiest in a long time. To add to that, Ash brought something into this house (even though they vaccinated him) and I have over a dozen kitties sneezing, discharging and being miserable. I have to take one into the vet this morning and I hope it isn’t to late for him. He has been rapid fire sneezing and now has blood coming from his nose which I hope is just from the irritation of the constant discharge.I can still barely move but he needs to see a vet and should have seen one days ago. I just wasn’t able to do it.

Mike comes home tomorrow and there is still so much to do to prepare for that event. All I want to do is sleep and try to get something in my tummy which so far isn’t happening. I feel like I have let these cats down by not getting them help sooner- but my health was as poor as my bank account is right now.

It’s 25 minutes to the vet and I just pray I can make it all the way there without stopping. I will wear a mask because this stuff is brutal.

I hope mcquire will be okay.

McQuire blew a blood vessel in his nose from all the sneezing. Pretty rare I was told for that to happen. It wouldn’t have if I had been strong enough to drag my butt and my kitty to the vet earlier than today. He is on oral decongestant and antibiotic because they open blood vessel makes his susceptible to other bacteria coming into the body.

Poor kitty he looks like someone smashed him in the nose, but at least he is going to be okay-

I have been sleeping in the living room on the hospital bed. It is a special order bed- longer and wider than the normal hospital bed and higher off the ground. Poor Dex- he tries so hard to get up there at night to be with me, but he can’t make the leap. I always have to help him. Then he snuggles down.

Lots going on lately here at home and with Mike and last night, I got violently ill. I made it back to the bed and I must have had a fever because I remember crashing around and moaning a lot.

Dex, I could hear him below me pacing and whining but I was so sore and sick, I couldn’t even lean down to scoop him up. I was just lying there trying to get comfortable and feel better and suddenly, I feel Dex beside me. He was pawing my leg and whining. He had made this incredible leap to my side! He slept with me all night- not on my chest as he normally did which I was grateful for as my stomach was pretty messed up- but along my hip and close. I woke up late this morning and he was still there watching me.

I love dogs of all kinds, but I have never had a lap dog. I like the big dogs, the protectors, the strong ones and this little guy every day he amazes me. He may be small in stature- but his heart and character is astronomically large.

This morning I succeeded in capturing Piper who has been pretty sick of late. Normally, I can get close to this beautiful tortie girl for she loves head rubs and pets. But for the last few days she has been acting off and I finally got my hands on her.

I was alarmed to hear her trying to breathe so I rushed her to the 24 hour animal clinic several hours from here. This place offers the best care around but you also pay through the nose for their services.

Piper has an acute viral respiratory infection. Because I have a quarantine room with an oxygen tent if needed, she was given two shots and she is now home with me. She is really sick and being an outside cat she is not happy about being confined. I thought she had pneumonia or bronchitis as bad as she was breathing. I would have preferred to have waited until this morning when my clinic opened up but I didn’t think I had that kind of time.

Today is clean my house day and try to make room for the wheelchair, scooter and various other items coming home with Mike. Unless we hear otherwise, he will be home June 6th.

I am going to do something right now and offer up on an auction a signed, Limoges cat ashtray with gold lining. I need to come up with the ER money and I feel like such a slob asking people for monies all the time for these cats. This way at least, someone will get something for their monies.

I don’t know how to set up a large auction on this block, but I have a ton of products here I could auction off. I am starting with this plate- please see photo. It is signed and the starting bid is $5.00. If you are interested, just leave a comment here and a way to get ahold of you. The auction will run till June 7th. Hopefully the photo will generate some interest-

He tested negative for all the nasties and he was the sweetest boy. The vet couldn’t even believe he was a tomcat- but he won’t be by tomorrow night- they kept him overnight so they could neuter him for him. They also need to do some exploratory stuff on him as well so it was a bit spendier of a vet bill then most. But he is so darn sweet and he just laid in my lap in between them drawing blood, poking and prodding him and getting a bit personal with him. The vet said he is a year old by the look of his teeth- but a 10 pound one year old kitty???

anyway say good prayers and send vibes support, pennnies whatever his way so that tomorrow there will be good news and I can put this lovely boy up for adoption!

This cat is ravenous to a point I have never seen before in any cat or kitten. When I am dishing out his food, he tries to bite the side of the bowl and jams his head into the can of food getting it all over his face. I dare not over feed him as his body condition is quite poor under all that fur. I have managed to remove all the mats on him except for one that is under his front leg. He tries to bite me when I work on that one. My friend will be coming over later and she will help me by wrapping him up in a towel as the mat impedes his movement of his leg.

Alhough he has three litter pans- and he does pee in those, he poops in the same corner. It’s not normal poop either but thankfully I don’t see any blood or parasites in there as I just wormed him yesterday. His eyes are still a bit goopy but he is a beautiful kitty and I hope tomorrow if I can get him into the clinic, they will have good news about him. I will have him scanned for a chip but not hopeful someone cared that much about him to get him chipped. But you never know.

Heard from the new home where Tandem and Axle are now living. They are thrilled with their two new cats and both cats sleep with the kids at night. I love it when a plan comes together, now I just pray that Ashford will be found relatively healthy and his outcome will be a happy one.

First spot open with my vet is tomorrow at 3:40 please send support and prayers that Ash will be an okay kitty

This sweet boy has been through it in life. He is still quite matted. I can work on his fur with the seam ripper for about 5 minutes before his tail starts switching and I see him become aggravated. He has these beautiful burnished copper swirls in his fur and I am combing fleas (dead now thank God) out of his fur at an alarming rate. he has also been declawed-sigh- so I have to be careful how I work with him or I will get bit.

He was sick in the room last night and despite having three large litter pans, he pooped in the corner.

He is very friendly but his testicles look a bit strange. I can’t quite figure out why they don’t look like a normal tom’s sac but they are just over enlarged, possibly inflamed. I am not on good enough terms with Ashford right now to explore his private parts….yet.

He is hungry all the time, but is in such bad body shape that I can’t just keep feeding him like a normal cat. He is a beauty though and I hope to be able to get him to the vet next week-

Tandem and Axle just went to a lovely new home today. No sooner had they left when I got a phone call from a friend of mine.

This boy is a mess! He is friendly, but man is he matted and shows months of neglect. I need to take him into the vet on Tuesday and get him checked out- is anyone reading this willing to sponsor him for a few months? I have room for him, food and litter for him and love but not the money needed to get him checked out.

I am calling him Ashford and will let him settle in upstairs before attacking all the mats on his beautiful fur.