Kubota, my four year old neutered feral had worked himself into quite a state. After falling victim to a urinary tract disease, he had been whisked to the vet and was poked, prodded and medicated. Now back home, he was confined to sick bay, his howls of protest filling the house. He was adamant in his demands. He wanted out, and he wanted out now! Sitting at the computer, trying to get some work done was proving futile. Any semblance of clear thought was being chased out of my head due to his relentless yowling. This cat serenade needed to cease; calm had to be restored.

Racking my brain to find a solution, I remembered a recently acquired product, Snugglekittie. This was the brainchild of Julee Roth of Aspen, Colorado. Its primary objective is to offer comfort to motherless kittens and nervous pets.

Equipped with two separate heat sources and a battery-powered heart that duplicates the heartbeat of a mother cat when activated, Snugglekittie is so well thought-out in design, that even its eyes and nose are simply outlined in stitching. This is done in an effort to stop an active kitten, from removing detachable pieces and possibly choking.

Borrowing a chapter from Nature, the manufacturers of Snugglekittie created a pouch in the belly. Just as a mom kangaroo nurtures her Joey where he can be warm, smell her scent and be calmed by her beating heart, so can a distressed domestic animal have his or her fears allayed. For within this Snugglekittie pouch, is held the heart, the heat packs and that all-important unwashed sock of the owner, which assures your pet, that you are nearby.

Kubota and his howls of outrage prompted movement, and I grabbed Snugglekittie and headed upstairs? Twenty minutes later, I was settled back down in front of the computer. The house was peaceful. As the computer booted up, I found myself marveling at the scene I had just been privy to. Kubota had immediately leaped onto my lap to greet me. When I offered him Snugglekittie, he just gave it three perfunctory sniffs, and then turned his attention back to me. I broke open a heat pack, turned on the heart, and slid both items, along with an unwashed sock back into the pouch. I then placed Kubota near it, and watched as he began to knead the back and head vigorously.

Once he had mashed down Snugglekittie to his own desire, he settled on top of the belly and closed his eyes. Reasonably sure that when I moved, he would leap up and once again demand my lap, I carefully slid off towards the end of the couch. I was impressed when he remained calm and did not stir. I tiptoed out of the room, turned off the lights and left him and his new buddy alone.

The two retained their close friendship during the entire week that Kubota was in confinement. Peace prevailed; Snugglekittie had delivered on its promise. Every year in the springtime, kitten season brings me batches of orphaned babies. It has been difficult to watch these infants grow up with no mother to cuddle them and no heart songs to help ease them to the transition from womb to independence. But now, armed with Snugglekittie, I am prepared and even looking forward to these new arrivals! Order at snuggleme Beware of imitations! This is the original creator?s website

Jeanie, the one who recently adopted Sims just called and asked if she could have another black kitten. At first, I thought Sims wasn’t working out, but it turns out that he is doing wonderfully and she wants another of his brothers! That will mean that the last black boy will be leaving tomorrow and then we will just be left with two of the BP kittens- Frasier and Sharky who, as I said before we are keeping-

The day has dawned crisp and cold. The turkey, put in at 2:00 a.m. and baking slow in the oven has permeated the house. The kittens, enticed by this lovely smell are clustered around the oven (at a respectable distance) They are wondering about this new, wonderful smell and when will they be able to taste this delicacy? The older cats on stand-by on the cat condos in the dining room know the routine. They will feast, but not until later. Not until the bird comes out of the oven and has cooled to their expectations….but there is always hope..

The black plague litter 🙂 is dimished now. Several of the black beauties have found loving, caring homes. There are two left and they are our “keepers.” We are keepiing Sharky and Frasier, because they are biters. I am working with them slowly to get them over this tendency, but in the process, I have fallen hard for these black kitties who have already endured unimaginable suffering.

As I look back on the year, I pause to wonder what I am most thankful for and the answer is clear. I am most thankful for my faith in God which leads me through each day, helps me overcome any struggles I face and leaves me with a warm toasty feeling of being loved.

Because of Him, I am married to a wonderful. patient man who puts up with my cat obsession and he puts up with me! Not an easy task! I know that he faces more health struggles next year, and through my faith in God, I intend to stay grounded by his side even though part of me might feel like running out the front door screaming and racing down the highway as if my hair is on fire! He only gives us what He believes we can handle.

I am grateful for all the kittens that have passed through my home this year as I learn from each and every one of them, special lessons no one else can teach. I am grateful for so many of my readers who take time out in their day to email me and share amazing stories about the cats and kittens they rescue! I am grateful for Carla and although I have not heard from her since her divorce. I hope she is well. I hope she is surrounded by the cats she loves and I hope she finds a man who shares that love and can make her feel whole again.

I have to work today, so I need to sign off and get ready to go in. I just wanted to stop for a moment and thank all of you for your support, your kindness and yes even your criticisms about how I live my life. I may not publish all the comments that come through here, but I do read each and every one.

May you all find what you need to keep going in such hard times. May you find time to snuggle your face down into soft fur, pet a silky belly without being attacked and have a loving critter share your life and bless you with their unconditional love-

Thank you ALL!

The Cat Writers’ Convention is over and this year I was unable to attend. I was thrilled however to learn that my website felinexpress.com has won a Muse Medallion for the third year straight! I read all the judges comments for the winners and was happy to see so many friends this year among the winners list: Dusty Rainbolt, Paul Glassner, Cimeron Morrisey and so many others! I wish I could have attended, but time was the crunch and Mike cannot be left alone for long any more. He was just diagnosed yesterday with Dupuytrene’s Disease so I am doubly glad I decided to stay home this year.

Thatcher, Sawyer and Wallie went to the vets yesterday. Wallie’s eye is slowly resolving on his own and the danger of losing his eye before he is 6 months old has been released. The vet believes he will be okay! Wallie is also 14 months old and perhaps just stunted in his growth, but his lower incisors are coming in so he bears his age well!

All three kittens have ringworm so here we go on the ringworm war one more time. I have a lyme sulpher spray to use on the kittens as well as oral meds. Thank the good Lord I am immune to getting ringworm so I don’t have to wear gloves or take precautionary measures when handling the wee ones. The babies are just now about 5 weeks old.

This morning, I drove up to Santa Clara with four black kittens for company. I came back with two, having approved a lovely home for Piper and Simpson. The family is large and loving, no dogs, a beautiful home and with all the kids, the kittens will never be bored.

I am so relieved, because when I was contacted, the woman only wanted black cats- and the kids were so well-behaved and respectful toward the kittens who were of course overwhelmed by the new place, the new smells and the activity. But I think within one or two days, Simpson and Piper will find laps to sit in and will get along just fine.

I just put up several kitten ads on Craigslist and I got four hits right away. I hope that I can meet with these potential adoptive families and find the best possible homes for my cats and kittens.

Due to recent developments, I really want to get back to my ten core kitties and just stop rescuing. That being said, every time I declare that I want to stop, my path crosses cats or kittens in desperate need of help and I find that I cannot say no. Wallie will be losing his eye soon so I have to find the funds for the surgery. If these adoptions go through, I will have some funds to play with. It seems to always boil down to money these days which makes me so sad. There is room in my heart for these wonderful felines, but not in my pocketbook.

Here’s hoping I can find good places filled with people with warm hearts who will love these cats and kittens as much as I do. 🙂

Almost a year ago today, Muddy arrived at our home. A tiny black and white kitten who had fleas as big as cruise ships crawling all over her tiny body. She was listless and near death and her revival came with the administration of a few drops of my favorite exotic coffee- a mudslide- thus her name.

The caffiene jump-started her heart and she has survived and thrived under our care.

She will crawl on my lap then inch up my chest. Grabbing my neck with both of her paws, she hoists herself up to my ear and nuzzles hello. Then she stands on my shoulder (ouch) as if to claim me, slides down and settles in my lap periodically putting her paws into my mouth (if I let her, which I don’t)

This is a nightly ritual for us and she will kiss me gently on the chin before she settles down to sleep.

Mike and I discussed this morning about putting up a tree this year. I can’t believe it is getting so close to making the decision- but WalMart already has Christmas decorations!

With the abundance of kittens, even if we do anchor the tree down like we do each year, we are certain that the kittens will not stay on the floor admiring our work, but will be climbing the tree on a regular basis.

Can’t blame them, cats are supposed to climb trees. There have been some years where we have put a tree in here, completely bare of decorations for one purpose only- to teach the kittens in the home how to climb up and down trees correctly, just in case they found themselves outside and needing to climb.

Without mom in the picture, kittens don’t know how to climb trees right. Oh sure, they can scamper up a tree with the best of them, it is getting down they find challenging.

Mom would show them how to back down slowly, and they would follow by her lead. But without a mom, the impulse in them is to head down head first which can result in two things- either they climb so high that looking down scares the paws right out of them, and they stay stuck in the tree. Or, they try to head down head-first and end up falling and hurting themselves (depending on the height of the tree.

So we could put a tall one in here and show each kitten the proper way to climb up and down, or we could just forget putting a tree in here at all. I do know that if we decide to put a tree in the living room, the only decorations on it will be the kittens!

The hazards of decorated trees are tinsel (poisonous to cats if they eat it) Glass ornaments that get knocked on the floor and shatter- pine needles after they are dry, falling off and being eaten can pierce internal organs- even the tree water poses a danger to cats if they drink it (and they always try) They can get tangled up in lights and strangle, they can nibble on the cords and get electrocuted- yep lots to think about if you have kittens in your home at Christmas time. Even presents can be dangerous. Ribbons are choking hazards and decorative adornments can be toxic.

As it is nearing the end of the year already…where did the time go? I am staring at the many emails in my file labeled blog questions.

Since I started this blog, and it was a tough go at first, I have had so many readers contact me regarding questions they have about either my life, or their own struggles with stray kittens or cats.

Generally at the end of the year, I dump all the emails and start over again, but this time, I decided to try something new and blog some of the questions and my answers- in a condensed form!

I do answer everyone’s comments either privately or publicly if the answers are legitimate ones. The ones I refuse to answer come from those ghoulish types who want to know details about the abuse suffered by some of the cats and kittens here. Those I refuse to answer. I also don’t answer if you want to link up to my blog. If you want to link it, go ahead, but I have no real clue how to return the favor. I am not on here to turn this into an advertising billboard, like other sites seem to go towards. I am here simply to share my life, for better or for worse. To help out others when and if I can. So without further ado, here are some questions asked of me this year- and there is no way I can put them all here- so I have selected just a few:

Q: I just saw pics of your cat enclosure on another website. It doesn’t look very plush for the kitties. Why is that?

A: I guess I could say that perhaps the plushness isn’t my clowders style. These are cats used to hiding in dark corners, under cars, inside barns, boxes, bushes, anywhere they can find refuge. It has been my experience that buying the best cat condos, cat perches, and cat furniture results in two things. 1) The furniture gets sprayed on. 2) It lasts about a nanosecond under the constant assault of kitty claws and kitty play.
Most of the furniture i do have was given to me in return for professional reviews found on another one of my websites www.catreviews.com

I need to make these cats feel at ease, so you will find rough planks, straw beds, and other outside type objects in my cat enclosure. I haven’t heard one of my cats object to what they are provided. The best object in the enclosure, the one that gets the biggest workout is a tree trunk and limb we dragged in early on in the construction. It makes the best scratching post around, dulling those sharp kitty claws that can do so much damage.

Q: I just spent two days reading your blog in its entirety. I cried so many times over your stories. How can you do this day in day out without killing people?

A) Trust me, when I first started out, it was all I could do to contain my rage over some of the cats and kittens who came under my care. But I learned, that sadly, most of it was from ignorance, although some of it was intentional, because we do have people with dark souls who walk this earth. I just pray daily over these creatures and ask God to help me keep my perspective and my temper in check!

Q: I’m curious how long it takes you to change litter pans in your house?

A: This is a tough question because it depends on how many cats are here at the time. Currently, I will tell you that it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes to change out and clean all the litter trays in the cat enclosure. This doesn’t even touch the pans in the house- and i don’t use regular litter pans. Personally think they are worthless except for young kittens. Stray cats will instinctively want a large area to cover their waste. They poop in one container, then move off and find another location to pee. Domesticated cats have had that bred out of them over time, but not the strays. I use large kiddy pools as my litter containers in my enclosure, and they can get clumsy and heavy when you are trying to lift them and pour soiled litter out of them into a wastebag.

OK, one more question and then I need to go to bed, as I open the shop in the morning. This one needs a bit of explaining before I post it. The woman who asked this initially- well, we both had some heated emails between us and I do not believe in what she does. She calls herself a “feral kitten tamer” and her MO is that she has many strays that she feeds- she does not trap, neuter, release- BUT when the queens give birth and she finds the nest, she takes the kittens from the mom, no matter what age they are, and she “tames” them. GRRRR…don’t get me started on this cycle of life she is wreaking havoc with.

Q: How DARE YOU tell people that any aged feral cat can be tamed! What gives you the right to lie to people?

A) (And I had to really pray over this one before I answered her)

First off, I don’t claim to be an expert. I learn every day about the ways of these cats. I also don’t “tame” them. They cannot be tamed- they can however be socialized. In the thirty some years that I have been working with strays. I have met three true feral cats that could not be worked with on any level. One was sent to a feral cat compound, the other two were so aggressive and ruined that they were euthanized.
I read your email several times and cried more than once. The damage you are inflicting on this so called “kitty family” is insurmountable. Your clowder is more than likely inbreeding now and you are allowing this mating to go on unchecked. Honestly, if I knew where you lived, I would have a team of true rescuers at your door with traps and vouchers for the vets to spay and neuter every one of them. Your email leads me to believe that your feel strongly you are a “Kitty Savior” I have met several just like you in my life, and I will tell you that you seriously need help with your stray cat population. You are not a rescuer my dear, you are a hoarder. You never once talked to me in the series of emails about vetting your cats, taking the kittens in to be tested. Your homemade recipes to cure fleas, worms and ticks makes me shudder. Honestly, I would shut you down in minute if I could.

The two kittens, one boy and one girl (Sawyer and Thatcher) are settling in nicely. There is no feralness in them, so they have been handled from a young age. Every time I go into the room and look at them, I just wish they were still with their mom snuggled into her warm belly and taking of the milk bar whenever the pangs of hunger begin.

I am feeding them canned kitten food and kmr every three hours just to put some weight on them. I was concerned with Sawyer as he seemed to have problems pooping- hopping from litter pan to litter pan and crying and crouching. Then I remembered a trick an old vet shared with me long ago, so I took his temperature and a few minutes later…Houston we had poop!

They are sleeping on top of the dog cage with snugglekittie nearby. God Bless Snugglekittie, she has comforted so many kittens in her long career here. Thankfully, she is machine washable and holds together quite well. I have long lost her beating heart (I think the dog ate it!) and the heat packs that she comes with are gone as well. But she is here, sure and steady as a nursemaid and the latest arrivals are cudddled into her stuffed animal warmth.