Last Monday, I sat down on the couch and thought I felt okay, just “tired.” My eyes immediately closed (although I had gotten a rare 8 hour sleep the night before). I awoke a few hours later with a muddled head and I was surrounded by warm bodies. Rocky, my Maine Coon mix had settled around my neck and was purring into my ear. Matuse (my tuxedo male) was lying on my chest, Sierra (Rocky’s sister and a miniature version of him) laid sprawled on my legs looking up a me intently. Muddy was on the armrest stretched over my left arm and Chappy (who usually only visits me at midnight and later) claimed my other arm.

I felt weighted down as if submerged in water and I was finding it hard to breathe. Shaking the cats off had little effect- they immediately sprang back to their positions all the time watching me. When I shook them off initally, I thought that breathing would be easier, but it wasn’t their weight that was hampering my breathing. As I finally managed to get to my feet, my legs buckled under me and I fell to the floor projectile vomiting just missing the trash can several feet away.

I managed to get to the bathroom where I will spare you the details but I was really sick. Turns out, I had contracted the neovirus and it hit with a vengeance. I was down (and I do mean down) for five days. All the symptoms bestowed themselves upon me and by Thursday I was simply asking God to let me die. I was so sick I couldn’t even go to the ER because the only decent one is over an hour away from our home, so I tried to push fluids, slept when I could and dealt with what nature threw my way. It was dismal and all through it, warm bodies kept trying to comfort me, although most of them were gently removed because even the weight of a kitten on my stomach was more than I could bear. But all the cats, even Dash remained in the living room where I was recovering the entire time I was sick. When I was rushing to the bathroom, Mike said it was like watching the parting of the Red Sea because the cats would back away and leave me a path to the BR door.

I don’t know how they knew before I did that I was ill. It is not the first time these cats have turned mentalists, but if they could have brought me chicken soup or hot tea, I sensed they would gladly do it. When the chills hit, I found myself not only covered in extra blankets from a concerned and anxious Mike, but once again covered in cats. Mike says he swears that if I had died (and I literally felt like I could have) and they cut open my brain- cats would come running out.

I am not 100% but I am better and in researching this benign sounding virus, I find that around in the 1940’s this virus mutated and split off into the cat world becoming the calici virus! Maybe, I am part cat! LOL The virus is resistant to all the known flu vaccines and just like a loving spouse, I can’t keep anything to myself so now Mike has it. The only time I have ever been so ill was years and years ago when I contracted shegella and ended up in the hospital for three weeks.

Before the flu hit- we put a new roof on the cat enclosure! YAY! Paid off the vets!! Stocked up on pet food and helped out some other folks who rescue like me privately. It was glorious and I look at this illness as satan’s way of stealing the blessings of the smiles received on my end.

I did a lot of soul-searching and praying during recovery and have decided to maintain the same status as before. To go non-profit means that I need to be recognizable to the public (which means being off a busy road) many stray cats are suddenly going to be flying over my fences! I have currentlyunder my care and in my life twenty cats, and as Mike pointed out- “If that isn’t a cat hotel, I don’t know what is!” So I am NOT going non-profit (it’s really costly to do it right) I will stay private, and if I place another cat here into a loving home or God forbid, lose one- I will replace it with another who needs all that I can offer. For as I found out many years ago, there will always be cats in need of rescue no matter where I am.

Just want to say- Nice to be back to the land of the living with all my mentalist cats!

I have been emailing a follower of my blog lately. She has found herself suddenly in the midst of strays and has taken five into her home (she had three already) She was asking me about how many litter pans she needs. I told her six is ideal (one per cat and one more besides.) Cats don’t like to pee and poop in the same spot. They will if they have to, but it is against their nature.

She asked me how many cats I have currently (26) and how many litter pans I have and how in the world do I scoop these pans out on a daily basis. When I shared with her my system, she told me I should blog about it- so here it goes.

First of all, I don’t use litter pans. I hate litter pans. They are to small for anything other than a kitten, so I hit the WalMart and buy those under the bed containers that are plastic, and other similar sized containers. Those are my indoor litter pans and I have ten upstairs, two in the hallway, three in the bedroom and four downstairs. They are scooped several times a day (and I cheat) I took an old beat-up cat carrier and disassembled it. I tossed the cage door out and I use the bottom of the carrier as my holder for soiled litter. I pour all the soiled litter into this “dustpan.” Then a strong plastic bag is slid over the opened end of the dustpan and the litter pours right into the bag. No mess, no litter on the floor because the open end acts like a pour spout. I scrub out the containers, spray the bottom of the pans with PAM cooking spray (the wet litter won’t stick then) and dump the new litter on top. I also don’t use cat litter. I would go bankrupt if I did! I use a combination of PDZ and Stall Dry. The PDZ actually eliminates all the ammonia smell and the Stall Dry comes in 40 pound bags that last a long a time. PDZ wesbite is here PDZ. Stall Dry comes out of Canada and their website can be found here Stall Dry

In the enclosure, I use plastic kiddy swimming pools as “litter pans” I have ten of those inside the enclosure. I scoop with a small garden rake into a trash can lined with a heavy plastic bag. Works just fine for me. The only time I have accidents is when the cat isn’t feeling good. They like the extra room these type of containers offer them and it also stops litter pan ambushes.

I have had such a wonderful day in town buying supplies for the animals and spreading some of this gift to others who do what I do. I truly do not feel worthy of such a gift not in the magnitude that it was sent. I have had others drop off food and blankets here and the house and leave a little something behind as well that helps out. But to be able to pay off the vets was simply amazing and I about gave one bookkeeper a heart attack when I paid her! I left extra there at the vet’s office in the “kitty” so to speak, to be used as a buffer down the road when needed.

It was so heartwarming to go the feed store and load up on cat food but this is god sent because today only there was a sale on the food I normally buy! So the kitties made out! I am still bordering on the line of stunned and OMG did this really happen.

Charlie is in an uproar today and I am not sure why. It could be that I just changed the bedding and the comforter brought down from upstairs smells foreign to him, because ever since I laid it across the bed he has been terrorizing the other cats. Or it could be the new room humidifier I picked up in an effort to make the air a bit cleaner in the front room. Invader alert, I suppose tilting the familar smell of the house off for him and he has to reassert himself.

He is so tiny to be so alpha, but that is the way of it. Perhaps he feels that by being such a bully, he can keep the others at bay and stay safe in the clowder. But right now, he is being a royal pain in the butt!

The money arrived today from the benefactor overseas. I am still so very stunned that a stranger would reach out with such kindness and help someone they only know through emails and this blog. I have already sent her a private thank you and I know she is reading this. I just hope that she understands the impact this gift is going to have on the lives of cats in this area. Just the realization that I can pay off my vets in full drives me to tears of gratitude.

Our plans are to extend the cat enclosure another 8 feet and add a second level- a sun room where the cats can go up and catch some sun. There is a roofer coming over tomorrow to give us an estimate of what it would cost to put a new roof over the entire enclosure as the old one has been beat down by the branches of the century old pine tree that towers above it.

I meet with a lawyer on Tuesday to discuss going non-profit and the name of my shelter (I have nixed the idea of a cat hotel) will be Hissy’s Haven. Stocking up on supplies is another must and purchasing three more Drinkwells will also be priority as the motors of the ones here have burned out long ago. We will be adding electricity and water to the enclosure and I will be installing a running fountain in there so the cats can play in the water.

I am still so stunned and I had to laugh when the bank president told me today that he never thought this would pan out for me. He figured I was getting scammed like the 99% of the population when it comes to the Internet.

I am so grateful for this gift and I plan on paying it forward for a very long time.

I leave in just a bit to take Alex to the vet. He is gaining weight, he came here weighing just over 4 pounds and now weighs 6.5 but the swollen gums stuck to the back of his throat is indicative of a viral infection. I hope he tests negative for the common viruses, but he leaves to be tested. I hope they can draw the blood, he is still so paper thin. I have had him on pain meds given to me by Dr. Vicki but he still grinds his teeth when he eats from pain, and giving him a pill is impossible because he screams if I touch his tongue or his throat with the pill popper. So hold your breath- say 10 hail mary’s or pray that he will be okay- I will let you know after the visit.

Alex has joined other wonderful, loved kitties. He tested positive for FeLV and I had him euthanized. Although I know that they can live a little while with leukemia with managed care, I also have seen first-hand the suffering this disease can bring and I chose not to extend his pain- Goodbye sweet boy-when we meet again, you can tell me all about where you were all these years and then we will spend the rest of our days together-

I have been volunteering now for over 6 months at a thrift shop that helps the homeless and the down-and-out. Although I enjoy what I do there, I left the place for good today after finding out I was sharing the same space with a “suspected” child and animal abuser. The person has multiple counts against him and it was a real stumbling block for me sharing the same building with him, not to mention being in the same room. I been working with abused cats for so long now, but have never been directly confronted by an abuser. I do not know exactly what this man did, nor do I wish to know. I just know that for my own sake- I needed to leave. I know that God says we must forgive, but sometimes, finding forgiveness is difficult, especially when the one needing forgiveness hasn’t repented.

About ten years ago, I rescued a kitten (feral) and brought him home. I worked with him, socialized him, fell in love in him and decided to keep him. Seven years ago last November, he escaped from the house and we looked for him all over but could never find him. A year later, I stopped putting food outside in the feral feeders because the skunks and coons had moved in and I figured at that point, this was all I was feeding.

Last night I came home, to find Alex on the freezer eating! He is pencil- thin and has fresh wounds on him that are not bleeding- a matter of grave concern as this means he is anemic. He has no flesh on him at all, but he is eating and drinking, so the feline specialist feels that keeping him quiet and watching him is preferable to stressing him out and running him to the vet. I can’t even get him fluid as he has no fat anywhere! He isn’t hiding from me- he was matted and smelly and I took my clippers to him this morning and removed all the mats.

Tomorrow, I will worm him, and then I will just watch him carefully and try and get some weight on him. But oh my gosh! He came back home after all these years! I am encouraged that he has an appetite- because this means that wherever he was, he was finding food or being fed and feline hepatic lipidosis hadn’t set in. I don’t know if he will make it or not- but time will tell. I have him on antibiotics and nutritional supplements. I am sad because I do not know what he went through the entire time he was gone, but I am so elated to have him back with us!

Tonight, when I went after work to feed the feral video kitty- I found her dead in the parking lot. I suppose it was just a matter of time as she would cross busy roads and shopping parking lots in the middle of the night in search of food. Try as I might, I could not find her nest- and would only see her navigating the main streets crossing and I would hold my breath and pray she made it safely. The trap has been fetched- it has been sitting inside the large cement pipe where she often hid, but she never once went into it. Instead, I would find her lying on top of it, or cleverly pushing the food out with a cautious paw. I am sorry little girl- you deserved so much better than to meet your fate under a car tire. 🙁 I couldn’t even bring her home to bury her as the ground is frozen. I did place her in some shrubbery in the middle of the field- That is the best I can do for her.

25 REASONS I OWE MY MOTHER

1. My mother taught me TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE .
“If you’re going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning.”

2. My mother taught me RELIGION.
“You better pray that will come out of the carpet.”

3. My mother taught me about TIME TRAVEL .
” If you don’t straighten up, I’m going to knock you into the middle of next week!”

4. My mother taught me LOGIC.
” Because I said so, that’s why.”

5. My mother taught me MORE LOGIC.
“If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you’re not going to the store with me..”

6. My mother taught me FORESIGHT.
“Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you’re in an accident.”

7. My mother taught me IRONY
“Keep crying, and I’ll give you something to cry about.”

8. My mother taught me about the science of OSMOSIS.
“Shut your mouth and eat your supper.”

9. My mother taught me about CONTORTIONISM.
“Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!”

10. My mother taught me about STAMINA..
“You’ll sit there until all that spinach is gone.”

11. My mother taught me about WEATHER.
“This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it.”

12. My mother taught me about HYPOCRISY.
“If I told you once, I’ve told you a million times. Don’t exaggerate!”

13. My mother taught me the CIRCLE OF LIFE.
“I brought you into this world, and I can take you out.”

14. My mother taught me about BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
“Stop acting like your father!”

15. My mother taught me about ENVY.
“There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don’t have wonderful parents like you do.”

16. My mother taught me about ANTICIPATION.
“Just wait until we get home.”

17. My mother taught me about RECEIVING .
“You are going to get it when you get home!”

18. My mother taught me MEDICAL SCIENCE..
“If you don’t stop crossing your eyes, they are going to freeze that way.”

19. My mother taught me ESP.
“Put your sweater on; don’t you think I know when you are cold?”

20. My mother taught me HUMOR.
“When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don’t come running to me.”

21. My mother taught me HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT .
“If you don’t eat your vegetables, you’ll never grow up.”

22. My mother taught me GENETICS.
“You’re just like your father.”

23. My mother taught me about my ROOTS.
“Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?”

24. My mother taught me WISDOM.
“When you get to be my age, you’ll understand.”

25. And my favorite: My mother taught me about JUSTICE
“One day you’ll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you.

As for my mother and our disastrous visit last year? We found peace with each other in our last phone conversation. I finally got up enough nerve to approach the subject and let her know how much she hurt me. She said she doesn’t even remember saying those things, but she did apologize. For that, I am grateful. I can let the sorrow and anger go now, completely.

The fog outside is the consistency of pea soup and I am grateful to be inside right now, even if it means that sitting in my computer chair also requires me to not be able to lean back, because Everest has snuggled into the seat for the night.

I would also give any computer teacher a heart attack, because I am not maintaining proper posture. My feet are not flat on the floor because of two pups who are snoozing comfortably wedged somehow between the chair’s rollers. My head isn’t even facing the screen, I am sitting sideways with the keyboard in my lap as Charlie is napping on the deskspace where the keyboard normally rests.

It reminds me of a creative college course in writing where the instructor set us up in front of a darkened screen and she told us to just start writing our thoughts without looking at them first. It was an interesting assignment and showed a lot of creativity just under the surface that finally broke through during the second hour of the assignment.

So I am essentially typing blind, with an erect back (otherwise I would smash Everest) “Why not just move the cat?” Someone may ask- I would counter- “Why move him just because I am uncomfortable?”

I have been absent from this blog for several days. Some may speculate after my last whining post that I was off feeling sorry for myself, but if I was feeling sorry for myself it had nothing to do with a lost friend, but more with a tooth extraction that went horribly wrong.

I am still in pain though the darvocet takes the edge off at least for now. With my extensive medical history (5 major surgeries in four years) my body doesn’t respond quite the same with pain medication as other people. It takes a lot to knock this type of pain out for me.

The extraction was Weds and I am hoping by Tues I will be fit enough to venture out into public and go to work. I have a lovely bruise that looks like Mike just socked me right across my cheek, and my lip droops like a Saint Bernard’s lip droops after he slurps water. The drool also rivals any a Saint Bernard can produce and is quite embarassing.

My dentist is “upwardly mobile.” He doesn’t just go in and pull a tooth, instead he has to push the darn thing out (less trauma to the gums) so he says- although I wept the entire ride home from the pain, enough so Mike was ready to go back and beat the guy up for not giving me any anesthesia. Not true about no anesthesia, but Mike spent the time out in the parking lot with the dogs in the truck and he didn’t understand my new speech pattern…

“Noth dear, heth gav me somethingth for pan” however, to his credit, Mike is also 80% deaf in the ear directed at me when he drives his truck and I am the passenger.

My speech impediment is gone now, but my lip still curls downward when I smile. I look like a demented Doctor Demento! I know that soon the pain will also leave, I just wish it would depart immediately instead of hanging around reminding me that I am indeed mortal!

Monday, we welcome another resident into the house. He will be my first cat hotel resident. His name is Wilson and he is a Mackeral Tabby who can’t find a forever home and is currently in limbo waiting for a someone to love him.

He is a former feral rescued from a colony in Bend Oregon and even microchipped! But all efforts to notify his owner have been in vain, and he has somehow ended up in Washington State. I was emailed his story, and I told them I would take him- his photo is displayed.

He will be in the bedroom with Fiona and I hope the two of them get along. Time will tell I guess. He is a handsome boy-

I posted on a forum I frequently visit about my desire to open a retirement home for cats. I asked the members to help me come up with a name, and one special lady sure did that! I will keep the name under wraps until I achieve my non-profit status then I will tell you. But the name encompasses everything I am trying to create for cats that people no longer want because their “cuteness factor” has faded and they are growing old. Here, they will grow old with us and know love and comfort until they draw their final breath.