He took a turn for the worse at the vet tonight and it was decided just to end his pain. I asked for a necropsy knowing full well that sometimes this gives you more questions than answers.

Goodbye Em- I am so sorry that you aren’t here with us, but I am so glad you are out of your pain.

There’s a glimmer of hope. After five barium studies it doesn’t look like the string idea is the problem. My vet said if the string was indeed cutting off passage, then Em wouldn’t have passed the barium the correct way. He is eating- he is playing- he wants out of his cage and I think he has captured the office staffs’ hearts! They are taking him out for lap time when they can. He is still there, the vet wants to force feed him some more try to figure out the strange shadow in his tummy and he might even come home tonight-

They are keeping him one more day as the barium study they did on him showed some unusual things. He will be dewormed later this afternoon in the hopes that what we see on the film are worm plugs, and then a second study will be performed on him. If it is a surgical fix, I have told the vet (with much regret) to just put him down. I am praying these are worm plugs that we are seeing in the intestine.

After investigating what I saw on the films further, I have a deep fear that he somehow got into thread or string and that is what we are seeing looped around his intestines. I am so careful about NOT giving kitties string- so he had to have found some sort of loose thread somewhere and eaten it. Once they get something in their mouth, because of the barbs in their tongues, they have no choice but to swallow it.

One of the owners from where I used to work has been hunting moles on his property lately. Yesterday, he had a brain fade and an accident and I was called in to work so his wife could get to the hospital.

Apparently, he poured gasoline and diesel down a mole hole (then forgot he did this) He then a few hours later went back to the same hole, poured black powder down the hole and lit it……BOOM! Knocked him backwards, knocked him out of his shoe and he twisted his back in the process. They rushed him to the ER where they dug debris from his eyes (he now has no eyelashes) he has burns on his face, and will be going to the eye specialist this morning. He got lucky with this bonehead stunt. Next time he needs to use chocolate ex-lax. Works every time and last time I looked, it doesn’t explode! (well at least not on the outside!)

Well, they don’t appear to know what is going on with his royal blackness. They are keeping him overnight and I am to wait for a phone call. I did make an appointment as well for tomorrow, late afternoon all they had available. Poor Em- he is so darn sick.

Emerson, one of the newest arrivals has started vomiting large amounts of yellow bile- never a good sign. I have him confined in the quarantine room in a cage and he will go to my vet tomorrow. I am hoping for answers, but at 10 weeks old, sometimes those answers aren’t available.

Last night, I spent some anxious hours at the ER Vet clinic with Delilah. it appears that she has had a stroke. Her rear end is effected as is half of her face. They have made her comfortable and she is back home now and resting. The good news is she is eating, but in order to use the box now she needs a lot of help. Joan, if you are reading this, it took all my reserve to handle the bill so I can’t ship you your auction item until the 1st- but I will get your items to you on that day. Same goes with Jennifer, Meceda and Mary if you stop by.

I asked the vet if we should just let her go, but he said to wait a few days, let the meds take effect and see what happens. Because she has good appetite he thinks she will come out of this. Time will tell-

Yes, I should have been finishing up my article about Moving with Outdoor Cats…yes, I should have been cleaning up my kitchen which looked like a war zone or going with Mike to his umpty-dozenth doctor visit or chasing the dust bunnies under the bed, but instead I stayed in the middle of the floor snuggling with Chandler Kitty.

There is nothing better in my book then snuggling with a young kitten. This is the first time he has allowed me the privilege of picking him up farther than a few inches. He is now 10 weeks old. This little black kitty with such warm paws, snuggling under my chin and turning on his charm and his purr motor.

He made biscuits in the palm of my hand and even though I winced once or twice (kitty claws are sharp little things) I just let him mark me. His warmth against my neck, his purr vibrating against my chest cemented the feeling that all is good and solid in the world when you have a kitty to snuggle with and tell you that they finally trust you, therefore; you must be a pretty good egg.

I was unable to tempt Chappy into the cage with food, catnip or special treats. So, I decided to go to the pet store and purchase a mouse and a very small cage. I bungeed the mouse cage to the side of the dog cage in the back and waited. The mouse had food, water and bedding inside his trap and the cage was narrow enough that the mouse wasn’t going to get killed in the process. Five minutes later, Chappy spies the mouse, goes in to investigate, I shut the door with the rope and boy did I have to hang on! He went ballistic lunging at the door and biting the wire. Poor kitty. I tied off the rope tight and ran to get Mike so he could untie the rope when I got to the cage door. The poor mouse was so scared, he bailed underneath the straw to hide while this scared, crazy kitty tried to get out of confinement.

I opened the door slowly, scruffed Mr Chappy and lifted him into a waiting carrier. Another round of ballistic kitty while I carried him to the cat enclosure and let him go. That was at 4:00 today. Not ten minutes ago, Chappy comes into the house, seeks me out and can’t get enough pets and love. I rubbed on him and loved on him and when I quit he bit me lightly so we kept up the love-fest. He is now asleep on the couch- oh and the mouse- he went to the neighbor boy Steven who is 8 years old and thrilled to have his first mouse- his mom? Not so much!

Operation Trap Chappy is now successful. All kitties accounted for and safe in the house. Thank you God- it was only by your grace that this happened.

I found the old dog cage at the local thrift store. The cage looked like it had seen better times and they were asking $20.00 for it. I negotiated down to $10.00 and brought it home.

Miss Dash’s son had followed her out of our home some time ago and we had been trying to capture Chaplain ever since. He was wise to the ways of the trap as most cats are when they see others being trapped inside, they know not to go near. There were plans to make a drop trap in the works, but as I drove home from the thrift store, a plan started forming in my head. What if, instead of building a drop trap, we modify and use the cage instead?

Hubby agreed so with the help of a regular flat-head screwdriver and small hammer, we removed the steel bands from the bottom of the cage and lifted it apart. Using a large, stout stick we propped up the cage in the yard and waited. Sure enough- Chappy came out from under the house and went inside the cage to eat.

I pulled the string- but as it fell he ducked out from under the darn thing and escaped! Darn!

Back to the drawing board……..