One of the little black toms has been going to town on his belly, just suckling the heck out of his entire tummy area. He does not look sick, he is eating, drinking, playing with the others. I am used to kittens suckling on each other, generally paws, tails and testicles are the objects of choice for motherless kittens, but this is the first time I have encountered one suckling on himself.

I am not a fan of bitter apple or any other topical solution that is used to stop unwanted chewing or suckling. Besides, I don’t want this kitten to injest something distasteful…so, I took one of my old ped socks, cut a hole in the toe of it and stretched it over the kitten from underneath the rear legs, to the beginning of his front legs.

I thought it was difficult wrestling Mike’s diabetic socks on his feet every morning, but that is nothing compared to a squirmy kitten! Seemed like every time I got his rear legs into the opening, he would move and push them right back out. After several ill-fated attempts, I managed to put the sock on him, gently guide his tail through the opening and stretch it out across his body. He looks like he is wearing a sweater. To keep it in place, I gently fastened a piece of vet wrap around the bottom and the top of the openings making sure not to make it so secure that it might crush the kitty as vet wrap tightens the longer it is worn.

Now his brothers are chasing him around the room, not because he looks different, cats don’t go on looks, but because he smells different (the vet wrap) They really aren’t sure that this stylin black kitty is their brother!

Last night sleep was difficult. I kept thinking I heard the horses out in the pasture whinnying. Several times, I started to get up and check on them.

Old habits die hard, at the grocery store yesterday, my friend who works in the produce department asked me if I needed some throwaway carrots for the horses. I told her yes, then I paused and started to cry.

The people in town who know the lady who now owns the two boys tell me that they have gone to an amazing home. Although I am grateful for the validation that I did the right thing, they already had an amazing home! We went to dinner last night, a rare occasion for us, but Mike was also sad and we just wanted to feel better. The gal was there in the restaurant and showing everyone who would listen the photos on her phone of “her babies.” It really hurt. She has had them not even 24 hours yet lays such claim on them. I know, I need some whine with my cheese. I am completely grateful that they will be loved and have a good life. I just miss them so much and right now, my life feels very much out of balance. I just need time to work it all out.

Tomorrow morning will undoubtedly be the worst day in my life. After spending 12.5 years with my two horses, Racer and Traveler, they will both go off to a new life with someone who I hope will love them as much as I do.
This is not a decision I entered into lightly. It was not brought about by the fact of my mother harping into my ear every time we talk on the phone; ?Do you still have your horses? You really need to sell them you know.? It wasn?t decided on the weight of the obvious disgust of the step kids wondering why I have horses I no longer ride. I have not decided to put them up for sale to ?get rid of them to the first customer.? I have turned down six homes already.
I had decided the other day to remove all ads up for their sale and after I did that, I sank down on my knees and had a long conversation with God. It was the next evening when I received a phone call from a woman looking for two horses. One, a pasture pet, the other a rideable, trained trail horse.

After talking to her several times and checking her out with my vet. He gave her glowing marks, I decided to yes, sell them and turn them over to her and her family. They have five and a half acres and will soon be moving to her parent?s place (300 acres) Both horses will go together, both will be loved and cared for and I know this is the right choice even though it hurts so bad.
She also wants them for therapy- she was recently diagnosed with cancer and she has had horses her entire life, until 5 years ago after a messy divorce.
There are two kids to lavish attention to both of them, and she has listened to every detail about my care very carefully and asked me to write it all down.
I am doing this because I love them, but life changes. Mike, any time I am late coming home, if he goes out and tries to feed them or care for them, invariably he ends up getting hurt. He can?t rebuild all that fences that Racer keeps destroying, and I have to make a choice here, my husband or my horses.
I will miss them more than I think I can even comprehend right now, but I also know that this home is an answered prayer.

I was thinking yesterday if there was a reality show around my life, what it would it be called? Inside the mind of a crazy person maybe?

Would the cameras follow me as I care for the thirty some cats who live here with us? When I look at all who are underneath my charge, I think octomom has nothing on me! I am however wishing I was part octopus because there are times in my day when I need more than two arms to scoop litter pans, feed and pet kitties, administer meds, fill water bowls, play interactively and not be completely wiped out within a few hours.

I received a call yesterday about a “feral cat.” It was stuck in the barn, yowling and creating “a racket.” “Could I come and fetch this cat before it bit anyone?”

Armed with my arsenal that I use when rescuing a feral cat; thick leather gloves, a leather apron, humane trap, food and water. I struck out for this rural location.

Upon arriving at the address, I was met before i could even get out of the car with a woman wearing a worried look on her face. She was a bit frumpy, red in the face and clearly distressed. I rolled down my window and asked her to please back away from the car so I could at least get out. She finally backed away.

As I stepped outside the car, I could clearly hear the meows of a distressed cat. The tones were deep, not like a kitten and so I knew that I had an adult who needed help.

The woman hung back, wringing her hands and wiping them on her apron. As I started into the barn with flashlight, trap and food, she shouted to me: “Be careful it might be rabid!”

I stepped into the musty barn and it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. In a normal situation, once you enter into the same territory of a “feral cat” they become quiet and they run and hide. Not so this time. The yowls became more frenzied and I recognized that this cat was scared, hurt, God knows what.

Following the screams, I knelt down under a large workbench and shined my light into the depths.

Tucked in the farthest corner away from me there was a siamese cat. His eyes glowing in the light were fixated on me. The flashlight traveled down his body and came to rest on his source of torment. His right paw was riddled with porcupine quills. He had quills under his chin as well and was clearly in pain.

I talked to him quietly and slowly slid forward watching his movements. I had a dark towel in one hand, the flashlight in another. He stayed still although his sounds of distress grew louder almost into growls. Dropping my eyes and bending my head, I crab crawled until I was right in front of him. He didn’t flee, I think he was just to exhausted. He allowed me to wrap him in a towel and slowly extract him from his hiding spot. I carefully placed him into the trap, covered the trap and carried him outside.

The woman was waiting, she was all but dancing with impatience. “Did you get it? Did ya huh did ya get the feral cat?”

I looked at the covered cage where someone’s beloved pet huddled in pain and fear. I told her that this was not a feral cat, but one in agony. That the cat had tangled with a porcupine and come out on the losing end of the battle. She seemed disappointed that she didn’t have the pleasure of seeing a snarling, growling feral cat trapped in a cage.

I thanked her for calling and told her I needed to go, but first I asked if I could use her phone to call my vet. She produced a cell phone from her apron pocket. I called the clinic and told them I was on the way to the office with an injured cat. I gave them a estimated time of arrival and said I would be out of communications until then. I just hoped the vet would be there when I arrived. Then I hung up missing my own cell phone. I turned it in a few months ago to help cut down the cost in the household budget.

Thankfully, when I got to the clinic, the vet was there and we both pulled quills out of this kitty. The vet scanned for a chip and found one! YAY! Medicated the girl, gave her a shot and I had the pleasure of calling the owners this morning that I had found their cat. They were so thrilled. They had gone camping and the cat got out of the motor home and they said they lost her. They stuck around for a few days looking for her but finally had to go back home.

So if there was a camera following me in my life, I wonder what the audience would make of it? For as many purrsonalities that I deal with during the day, I could take on such drama as Big Brother and Real Housewives. For as many times as I race to the vet, run to the grocery store because I am out of kitten or cat food, or race around the house picking up hairballs and taking hair off our sofas, i could be a contender for Amazing Race. As for Real World- this in my world and it as Real as it gets.

You know it is hot when you go to take a shower and you can’t because eight baby kittens are sleeping in the shower stall…..

You know it is hot when you run the icemaker and suddenly at your feet are eight baby kittens begging for an ice cube to push across the floor.

You know it is hot when you find two baby kittens inside the dog’s water dish just hanging out in the cool water…

The heat wave continues with not much relief in sight. I did manage to capture the new calico that has been lurking around the property and I took her to the vet to be checked out.

She had a suspicious moving mass in her chest and belly (she was not pregnant) and the vet withdrew a large amount of thick yellow liquid from her chest. Suspecting FIP- she was sadly put to sleep and is now free from pain.

She was beautiful too. I have such a soft spot for the calicos. But the vet was 92 percent certain that she had FIP so we gave her death with dignity.

I am a few months past due on one my credit cards. I have no desire to not pay them, skip out on the bill. I am not a deadbeat, we are just really struggling now like so many others. I don’t even owe them a great deal of money. So last night my elderly neighbor calls because she got a phone call from a credit rep inquiring to my welfare!

Now my neighbor is facing her own challenges. Her husband is also quite ill. She was confused and upset wondering why I would give out an unlisted cell phone number that they have.
They are not on any emergency contact list, why would they be? I was upset as well thinking what the heck kind of right do these bill collectors have to chase a debt?

I called them immediately to find out how in the world they have the right to invade someone’s privacy? How come they called my neighbor and how did they find an unlisted cell phone number?

Get this, they go to Google Earth and pull up your address. Then they target your neighbors homes, go to a search engine put in the address and lo and behold- they have all types of information about your neighbors! If calling one of your neighbors doesn’t get your attention, they keep calling all around you until you answer them? ?

I was pissed and told them so. I have been a good customer now for quite some time and until recently never late on my payments.

Once they found out how ticked I was, they put me on “special arrangements.” Once I pay this card off, it will be destroyed. I will never use it again. I don’t care if it hurts my credit. For me, they crossed the line and they should never have invaded anyone’s privacy like they did.

I will not say who they are, not publicly, not yet. I have contacted several news and legal sources to find out if this sort of tactic is even legal or ethical. But I will tell you that I will never shop at their “Specialty Women’s Store” ever again.

Last night when I was coming home from work, as I pulled into our drive, I noticed a large, dilute calico that crossed my headlights. For a minute, I thought it might be Madison, but it was way to large to be her. This girl is beautiful and pretty beat up. By the time I was able to pull in and park, she was headed at a fast clip to the barn.

Because of recent donations sent to me (thank you to all who opened your hearts) I have extra cat food stored in the tack room. I was able to leave her a large tray of food and some water.

The sad part is, she looks pregnant. 🙁 I will be looking for her in the next few days to see if I can trap her and bring her inside. Boy, but she looks a lot like Madison though.

It is supposed to be the hottest weekend here in 15 years. It isn’t even noon right now and it is already 92 degrees. Most of the kittens are laying in the shower, but a few enterprising youngsters have upended the bathroom trash can and are sleeping against the cool sides of the plastic.

The older cats are outside on the porch, on the brick, or in the living room on the cool tile. If that doesn’t tell me something, then I am not listening.

I have to work tonight. Last night was hard, my foot started to really hurt about 9:00 p.m. But I am not going to complain. I have already lost a lot of my hours already and I need all the hours I can get right now. I found using an icy hot patch helped to alleviate some of the pain. I have to go see my primary care doctor soon as my hands are now starting to get numb. Not a good sign-

We took Gretchen to the lake this morning and threw her ball out for her to fetch. I stayed in the shallow end of the shore, but a few times, the ball drifted out a bit. She is a smart puppy. She knows where the water is deep before she goes to get the ball. She will come over and wait with me, until the ball bobs closer to shore before going to get it. I don’t know how she knows where the deep part of the lake is, she just does. I guess its the border collie thinking part of her.

I had to give Racer a bath today. His Royal browness is a fly magnet in the summer time. I used a new shampoo I recently discovered that has a fly shield in it. I will let you know if I see any improvement in the fly strikes on him.

Here he is after his bath

Last night, I dropped a cardboard flat into my freezer. There was nothing on it, just the flat of cardboard. This afternoon, I took it out of the freezer and put it in the kittens’ room thinking they might like to play in it. Immediately, they all crowded into it and fell asleep in the coolness of the corrugated cardboard. Nice way for them to beat the heat.

The kittens all got dipped today in such a lovely mixture of warm water and lime sulfer dip. Such a wonderful aroma! I suppose you can combine two scents; cooked cat pee and rotten eggs, and you will have the exact smell this dip makes! It is red-orange in color, but thankfully these are black kittens so the fur didn’t show any discoloration.

They were dunked up to their neck, and then I took a sponge and gently patted the areas around their ears being careful not to get any in their eyes.

I wasn’t gifted with tiny satellite collars to stop the kittens from licking this toxin, so I laid out plates of egg whites and milk and refreshed their water. This is what is recommended on the package label. They love egg whites, and so far, only one kitten has hurled food on the bed. So i am hoping they will be okay.

McKinley will be ten years old soon. Over the past few weeks, I have watched this wonderful barn kitty turn from 20 pounds of glory (He is part Maine Coon) to 13 pounds. Visits to the vet have been unsuccessful in determining what is going on with him. He is reclusive with me, hiding from me in the rafters, and fleeing from my presence instead of greeting me with headbumps and bonks.

This morning, as I was feeding the boys, he came out of the bales and head bonked me. I sat down immediately and he jumped in my lap. I wanted to cry. It has been quite awhile since he has allowed me to touch him.

As I gently stroked him, I grew alarmed at his pencil thinness state. I could feel his ribs and his tail bones. But, I made no attempt to capture him up and whisk him once again off the vets. They don’t know what is wrong with him.

We sat in the early dawn, cat and caretaker, loving on each other, until he decided he wanted no more. He jumped off my lap and ran out the barn door. Before he got to the horse fence, he turned around and looked at me. I know that look well- it is one I have seen before. He was saying goodbye. Then he ran as fast as he could across the pasture back into the woods by the creek. I watched him go and attempted to call him back several times, but he never faltered. I know with certainty, I will not ever see him again. He has gone off to die.

He had a great life here with us, with the exception of when I adopted him out to someone who tricked me into thinking he was going to be a cherished pet and he almost turned into pit bull fodder! Only by the grace of God did I get him back in time to rescue him from this gruesome death. Now, he meets death on his terms. He has said goodbye to me, and so like many before him, he will find a place where he can feel safe, lie down and sleep forever.

Goodbye my friend- run free in the heaven’s grasses and give J some special headbonks from me.

Dearly Beloved Cat Lover,

We are gathered together here today, in the midst of a ringworm invasion and in the face of a highly infectious fungi to persuade this parasitic fungus to leave on its own accord.

This is not an affliction to take lightly, but a battle to be waged with forcefulness and purpose.

A journey one must dedicate themselves to, consisting of topical ointment, boxes of rubber gloves, hand sanitizers, buckets of bleach and hot water and pills to place on resisting kittens’ tongues resulting in battle scars of scratches and bites.

If anyone can show just cause why these kittens should not be separated from this fungi, let him never speak and go forth instead into the library and research this pesky hitchhiker known as ringworm.

Ringworm is a skin condition caused by a group of fungi found within the environment. Typical on kittens, though not rare on older cats, studies have shown that short-hairs are easily infected, but long-hairs generally are the carriers.

This fungi whose technical term is dermatophytes attacks the skin, hair and claws of kittens attaching to the skin and spreading its spores leaving hairless patches of scabby skin in its wake.

Ringworm invasions can easily be spotted by your vet with a Woods lamp, but also a regular black light will show the battlefield as the kitten will glow fluorescent yellow-green wherever the invader has landed.

Typical areas of infection are: the face, paws, belly and neck. Once taking hold the spores can live in the environment for over 13 months causing re-infection to occur.

Kittens born without receiving the benefit of mom’s milk or who are malnourished are susceptible to this group of fungi. High stress situations such as crowded catteries, busy active households or cramped quarters of animal shelters hasten the spread of ringworm and infected kittens or cats need to be separated from the other resident cats within the home as soon as possible.

In certain breed cats, such as the Persian, the kittens have a higher rate of infection and a lower tolerance to this disease.

You can identify ringworm not only with the benefit of a Wood’s Lamp, but also by the growth pattern ringworm leaves on the coat. The fungi moves downward in a vertical fashion causing the kitten’s hair to fall out, there will be a circular patch of missing hair that will begin to scab over, or in severe cases, ooze from the lesions left behind.

If the ringworm invades the face (and that is the most common area that ringworm starts) once it gets close to the eyes, it can cause a type of conjunctivitis to occur, the kitten may also lose whiskers and eyelashes. Treatment needs to be done carefully in this case so that none of the prescribed medicine enters the eyes or the mucous membranes. In extreme cases of infestation, a complete body might be required to stop the spreading of the ringworm through the hair.
Generally, the fungi run themselves out within 30 days if treatment is applied.

Ringworm is not painful for the kitten, but it is an unsightly condition. Untreated, ringworm can lead to complications and when treating severe cases of ringworm, care should be directed toward the drugs given to you by your vet. Some of the drugs carry substantial risks in just the side effects alone. Boosting the immune system is advisable as this will help stem the march of the fungi across the kitten’s body.