Another Hurdle

It seems that this little boy’s troubles are not far behind him yet. His bloat is still present and troubling. He has now been diagnosed with congenital megaesophagus which is causing him to when he is crying, to bring up milky bubbles from below. This happens now when I poop him. He is unable to just move the waste along and he cries so frantically when I am stimulating him.

I was told to instead of stimulating him, just give him a bath and towel him dry vigorously to help move the poop through the chute. It has worked only a few times.
The congenital disease is widely seen in Siamese, and as I mentioned before Huckles is showing signs of being a beautiful flame-point. I am just trying to keep this stress point down when it comes to pooping him and it is a challenge to be sure. There is no cure right now, he is too little to even consider fixing him. His appetite is still good, he is not lethargic- in fact he is just the opposite. He just has had such a difficult beginning and keeps having all these problems pop up as the days go on. He is 12 days old today.

Also, this year, in honor of Jeremy’s birthday- I have planted a garden. We have five acres that I could plant but I don’t have a rototiller so I am planting in old bathtubs, wheelbarrows and along the fence line where the dirt is softer and easier to manipulate. Since I do not have a green thumb- if this garden thrives, it will be because Jeremy’s Spirit is interceding. I have been known to kill cactus and that is hard to do!

July 4th Mike’s ashes will be spread on Hidden Lake in Alaska with his kids, his ex-wife and his grandchildren present. I won’t be there. I don’t need to be. The kids wanted their dad’s marker to be close- so I chose to send Mike’s ashes to his oldest son in Alaska and let them take care of the details. The one thing that Mike wanted besides to be scattered where we had our first date, is for a poem I wrote to be recited while his ashes are being dispersed. I believe his daughter is going to share it with the group.

I’m going to just post it here- it is untitled. I wrote it after we discovered that we were falling in love with each other.

We’ve discovered this,
a wonderful place.
Where we share our dreams,
our goals to chase.

It’s a place of intimate secrets
Uncharted by no other man.
An Island for our thoughts and dreams,
a sharing of our plans.

You can’t get there in a rowboat,
an airplane or a car.
Perhaps on a magic carpet,
Or the tail of shooting star.

It’s a place that you can reach for,
Only with tender, loving care.
But, if you have never loved someone,
There’s no way to take you there.

Another Obstacle

Huck had to be rushed to the vet this morning and this time, they took x-rays. On the film, it looks like clouds forming around his digestive system and bowel. Four vets looked at it and were all perplexed as to what it is? The final consensus is that it is congenital and he might just be able to deal with it as he grows.

He had a really hard visit. He had the biggest enema a little kitten could get with no return. I can see the impaction as I try to poop him, but it is so large that it just won’t move. I have three days of his new diet KMR and MiraLAX and pumpkin, and if nothing moves, I am to bring him back.

This is so frustrating, because I see what is wrong, I just can’t fix it. I did ask them two questions- wasn’t the substance moving around inside of him just milk? They said no, milk does not look like that on film. You can see a tiny bit of gas in his system as well but nothing alarming. And was he in pain? They said he might be a bit uncomfortable, but he wasn’t in pain. I disagree now because he moaned non-stop for about an hour after we got home. I would moan too, if I had all the invasive procedures he got today.

No more vet visits, the stress alone could kill him. Just going to do the best I can and ask God to stay in control of all I do for him.

Huckles Update:

Huck isn’t doing as well as I wish he was. There was a return trip to the vet, where it was discovered that Huck (now a boy) I always get that wrong when they are so young! He lacks the ability to push his stool through successfully after each feeding. He has become blocked, and it has been necessary (and heart-breaking) to help him because it means a kitty enema.

Enemas on any cat is not easy of them, but for kittens, it is ten times worse. I was told if he doesn’t poop, don’t feed him! The bloat is out of control. He looks literally like you could put a pin in his belly and he would explode like a balloon. He is not even a week old! If we stopped feeding him, he would die. That’s not an option.

I sought out the advice of a feline specialist and it is her thinking that the Queen must have been FeLV positive and that is why the little ones are having these issues. It does not mean that Huck has FeLV, just for his entire life, he will be a special needs kitty when it comes to this pooping issue.

She suggests that besides the pumpkin that I am using, I am to add Miralx (just a tiny amount) to every feeding. She also believes that not feeding him is not an option but also an enema every feeding is a bit excessive. I tried to tell my vet that kittens (especially at this age) do not always poop after being fed. But some vets you can’t tell them everything and she wasn’t my regular vet,

So we are feeding Huck every two hours round- the- clock. Putting soothing ointment on his tormented behind. He will latch onto the bottle for only a few seconds then he will look elsewhere for food (my finger my hand the blanket) It really breaks my heart. I let him eat as much as he wants and even though it is very little- he is still here, active and fighting.

When I try to give him a bit more, he develops horrendous breathing issues that scares me to no end- so that stopped me from giving him more. The specialist said it is because of the bloat, the backed-up stool. He is to get one enema a day only if no poop appears.

Poor kitty, he did not ask for this life, but right now, this is what has been dealt to him. I still call him Huckles, but as he grows (and I pray he does) I will shorten it to Huck. I named him in honor of Huckleberry Finn a book one of my granddaughters is currently reading and pelting me with information about it. LOL I don’t think she wants to read the whole thing and she knows Gamma has read it several times over.

So please continue praying for this little boy who is showing all the signs of being a gorgeous flame-point Siamese if he can stay in the game. Pray for me too, no relief for me except on Friday during the food run. But I can handle it- what I can’t handle is watching this brave kitten struggle for breath during feeding times.

Last night, I dreamed that Mike and I went to the Fair. He had both legs, all his hair and was in good shape and we were having a ball. Then, we went into a haunted house and he vanished. In his stead, Kota was with me and together, we combed through the entire fairgrounds calling out to Mike. We went down tunnels, up ladders, down into holes rode all the rides, no Mike.

I woke up with Kota licking my face and I was crying and shouting “Michael where are you?”  This is the first bad dream I have had since his passing.

Had to run to the store and usually, just letting Kota into the carport with the car door open and telling him to “load up” works. Not this morning, instead, he ran around to the front of the truck and started whining. I followed him and that’s when I found the box. It looked like it had been stepped on and when I opened it, I found two-  days old kittens inside! No telling how long they had been there- when I picked them up, their bodies were so cold. The gray one had all his paws crossed and at first I thought he was gone, but then he moved. I tucked them into my bra and raced into the house. Felt like I had just put two ice cubes there!

They have wounds on them, I believe they have been pecked by birds. For the first feeding, I had to tube feed them as they were so cold, they could not even swallow. But at the second feeding, I was able to use the syringe because they had spent two hours in the warming cage.

I am calling the white one Huckles and the gray boy is Mohammed because he is fighter. I didn’t think he would survive to the second feeding but he is still here. He is still very cold, even after being exposed to gradual heat, but they have now both pooped and peed which is a good sign.

Are they out of the woods yet? Not by any stretch of the imagination, but they are noticeably stronger and Mohammed’s tremors have stopped for now. Their umbilical cords are still wet! I would like to find out who did this and partially stamp on them! I told God that I was going to take a year off rescuing kittens because without Mike’s help, it wasn’t going to be possible. Why am I left feeling that this dream I had was preparing me for this rescue?The Bible says:  “Through God ALL things are possible.” Please pray for these little ones now in my care.

That’s what the vet called Molly this morning, when I took her in to find out why she has been a bit unsteady on her feet lately. I thought she might of had a stroke, but she had a really bad ear infection resulting in vertigo that made her lose her balance.

Molly is a sweetheart. She sleeps with me, she follows me around like a dog inside the house and outside as well. If I sit down, she is automatically on my lap. BUT when she is feeling punky, doesn’t feel well or has been injured and I try to help her- she turns into the feral cat from hell. It’s the strangest thing- even putting flea meds on her monthly is challenging.

I tried to look into her ears, but she would have none of it. She twists herself inside out like a pretzel and lashes out with teeth and claw if I persist in trying to find out what is wrong and treat it. So I took her in this morning so the vet could evaluate her and she gave him a run for his money. It took four techs and myself to finally subdue her enough that he could find the deep infection in her ears. She got drops in her ears that will last for thirty days. She received two shots and made quite the wrong impression about what she is all about. She is a tortie and they do have attitude. I just wish her attitude didn’t kick off into overdrive when someone is trying to help her.

Once again, she spent the majority of the time on my shoulders during the visit although it was not a friendly perch and I have the holes in my back to prove it.

Mr. Pigeon is back to his normal, feisty self now. I tried yesterday to get some photos of his rear end, but it was after I had to de-matt him and he wasn’t in the mood for his “photo moment.” LOL  He looks a big miffed in the photo, but that is because I had to use a seam ripper to get out his mats that were around his old wound and I am sure the skin is still sensitive there.

Also. yesterday Salem had to visit the vet. She is a  short-hair black kitty who only wants to live under the shop and not in a house. We rescued her over nine years ago when I got a frantic call from a college student. Her boyfriend had bought her a kitten for her birthday and she was thrilled, that was until he started drinking and decided this kitten would be great food for his boa constrictor! She beaned him in the head and put him to bed and called me to come and rescue this kitten. I couldn’t get there fast enough. I don’t know what she hit him with- but he was still out when I got there.

Salem has been here ever since and yesterday when she showed up to eat- I could see discharge coming out of her mouth. Since she is semi-feral, there is no way she would let me open her mouth (without biting me first) But I did manage to scoop her up and put here into a waiting carrier. I ran her to the vet where they found her canines were jutting out at an odd angle and causing her great pain. Thankfully, they did not have to sedate her to remove them. They were loosey goosey and just a bit of wiggling, they came right out. She is fine, she had an antibiotic shot to prevent infection and when she saw me this morning, she ducked under the shop and didn’t come out until I went back in the house. LOL  Hopefully, in a few days she will forgive me and we will be friends again.

On Feb. 3, 2017, we received a phone call from a woman fit to be tied. She had a cat for about a year, but he wasn’t getting along with her small dog, or her other cat. Now, to make matters worse (according to her) he had the “nasties.” Some sort of skin infection and a gooey eye. She sounded like she was at the end of her rope with him- so out the door I went.

Her small “friendly” dog that this cat didn’t like, met me at the door and tried to bite my ankles! Some sort of terrier mix no obedience training, spoiled to the max. She showed me where she kept “the bad kitty.” he was living in a cage on the dresser- no food, no water, no litterpan, just newspapers spread out underneath the cage. I wanted to scream at the woman, but I didn’t. Instead, I just gathered this black kitty with the “nasty eye” into my carrier and we soon  on the way to the vets.

Turned out that Jet had not been neutered. He was suffering from a fungus infection underneath his belly and legs that was not ringworm. he had a bad UTI, URI, he was a mess. he was a year old. When they cleaned up his eye to see what was underneath, it was not good. His eye was shrunken down into his head- misshapen and he was blind in that eye. The vet said that either he was born that way or had been injured and not treated. They also detected a heart murmur but said it could be from stress and pain.

Later on, we would also find out he had giardia. They decided not to neuter him right away until some of his issues cleared and his fever went away. I brought him home.

As luck would have it, prior to his arrival, I had adopted out Hanna to a woman in Eugene. Her name is Robin. Hanna was not fitting into the family and Robin called asking if she could bring Hanna back to me. Because my time was so full of taking care of Jet-Eye, I agreed. Generally, I would pick up a cat that didn’t work out. That was just the rule, but God intervened because in that transfer back to me, Robin caught a glimpse of Jet-Eye and fell instantly in love. She adopted him a week later.

I received a letter yesterday, informing me that his young kitty had lost his battle to cancer and become anemic from the chemo treatments. Robin has let him go despite her strong love for him. In this case, she loved him enough to understand that his force was fading.

I am sorry that he is gone, and she has to cope with loss. But I am not sorry that he lived with her and he lived large. He lived loved, and she kept in touch with me faithfully every month, sending me updates.  I hope to still hear from her. I enjoy her letters when they arrive in the mail and I know her to be a no-nonsense type of woman with a huge heart.I am glad that through this adoption of the kitty with the gooey eye, that she and I found a friendship. And that Jet-Eye was allowed to be in her life along with her bull mastiff and her residence cat Clancy. He had quite the life!

Thank you all of you who helped us over this last hurdle. The cat food started arriving right away and it was so needed! There weren’t many slips in the boxes telling me who sent what- but please know, we are grateful for ALL here who helped either by sending monies or food. I haven’t smiled much in the last 12 days, but I am smiling now.

As a side note, should any of you find yourself fighting with oral Thrush and the antibiotics the doctors are giving you are making it worse- I am here to tell you that Kimchi is your best friend! I read about it on the Internet and thought it odd but figured, I had little to lose. I served up a helping of this fermented cabbage and the next morning when I woke up, I only had one blister left on my tongue! I guess something in fermenting process produces this wonderful effect. Just thought I would pass it along.

Thank you all of you so very much!

Hi Guys, if you are still around to read this from time-to-time.

I apologize for my absence recently. There has been a reason, I promise. first off, I know there is something wrong technically with this blog. I am working to resolve it but right now, the solution is a bit out of reach.

Right now, I am posting to ask for food for our sanctuary cats.We are  still getting weekly donations, but they are slim to none. I hear rumblings as to why, but can do nothing about the events that happen locally around here. So we are just grateful for whatever they throw our way. Right now, it is just scraps. We are in great need for canned food- Friskies (anything but beef) is fine. They seem to love Blue Mountain but the price is a bit spendy for us right now.  We need dry food Friskies, Whiskas desperately. This time last year, our supply cupboard was full. This time, we have three cans left and only six bags of food.

On May 3rd I was bit by a hobo spider. Before I could intervene (once I flung the spider that landed on my hand) on the floor- the cats pounced and made short work of the biter. But a few days later, the bite went rogue and I ended up in the ER where they gave me multiple ouchey shots of lidocaine and lanced it open. They found, staph, mrsa and cellulitus.

They wanted to put me in the hospital but there was NO ONE who could step in and care for all the cats here (let alone Kota) So I ended up getting 10 hours of a high-powered antibiotic IV. Then was sent home with this “superfly of antibiotics.” I was told to take them all. But then I developed oral thrush. I gotta tell you guys, if you want to bring on the pain- this bacteria will bring it! Nine days unable to talk, eat, swallow. My tongue blistered, the lining underneath my tongue shed itself like a snake. I’d wake up in the morning, so weak hardly able to get out of bed.

The cause of this disease is antibiotics. The cure is the same. Finally, I decided to heck with it and went holistic and only the other day was I able to eat a poached egg. Took me an hour, but I gotta tell ya, it tasted like Lobster Newburg! I’m getting better by stopping the antibiotics. My hand is finally healing- had it rechecked yesterday and the end results were positive.

But that is why I haven’t been blogging (although I am writing again). Trying to get a bit of extra money for the kitties. That’s why I popped on- to ask for donations of food- will update my wish list after I post this. No one here is sick (besides me) LOL

Pigeon is completely back to normal and sleeps on my chest every night, with his lovely paws wrapped around my neck. What a blessing that is-

Thanks for listening if you are still around. I do love all of you. I did try to update our wish list. I only pray it worked. Again, we need Friskies canned food and Fiskies/Whiska’s dry food if anyone can manage this we would be grateful. We may not be able to actively rescue right now, but we still have wonderful (mostly senior cats here) under our care.

I apologize, my attempt to update my wish list failed. I am clueless as to why? I hope this does not hamper our attempts to bring in some food for these beautiful kitties-

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This weekend, was one that I was dreading. I had put off having a garage sale- first because of the weather (rain and snow in April!) Then I was dragging my feet because of the idea of selling off Mike’s belongings was just difficult for me. It was like the sale of his shop equipment-losing him all over again.

Unlike the shop contents being sold, I haven’t been there as his machines and his knives have been carted away. Going through all of his belongings, putting a price on them? For me, that was unfathomable. But I finally decided that this weekend, that would be the time.

I set up a huge piece of plywood on sawhorses behind the carport, and started bringing out the boxes one at a time. By the end of Weds, I had a huge pile (at least six feet high) of items for the sale. Some, belonged just to me, but for the most part, most was his. I called all my friends and said “Can you possibly help me with the sale?” But no one was free and it was all up to me. I almost cancelled again. Then decided it was time to put my big girl panties on and just get it done.

I started Friday and people came, but they were looking for deals- something priced $5.00 might fetch a dollar or a dime! It was pretty strange that first morning.

Then there was a lull of traffic. A truck pulled up and I had just gone to get another box of priced items to put out and these were some of Mike’s knives that he used to repair for Coast Cutlery. I don’t know if I ever shared this on my blog, but besides being a custom knifemaker, Mike was also the only Authorized Puma repairman for the United States. Other knife manufacturers soon learned of this, and he was getting knives that needed repair from all over. Some of these knives would arrive with letters.In the letters, the person would be ascribing human qualities to this knife.

I remember one example vividly where the man said the pocket knife was given to him by his Great Great Grandpa, and they were fishing out at the lake one year, the knife fell overboard , and although he dove repeatedly looking for his friend, his friend drowned. All felt lost. Then years later, when he was fishing the same lake with his son, the son’s line snagged on the bottom, and when they finally pulled the line up attached to it was this knife! It was just amazing.Mike took all those stories in his heart and he did a superb job of restoring and fixing these knives. So I was pretty much close to tears once I finished the boxes containing knives sent to Mike by the manufacturer’s to use for parts and pieces.

So, to get back to the weekend, this truck drives up. Nobody else is here and the man see’s these knives  and his face just lit up! He asked for a box and he bought them all, then he found some tools and bought those, and kept buying until the box was full!

He brought over the box and said “Can you make a deal for me?” I looked in the box and I saw my husband’s work and love, and I just started to cry. I was so embarrassed but I couldn’t stop. I told him that this was hard for me and told him why. And then I just turned around and hugged the gate with my back to him just emotionally caught up in this storm of tears.Kota was at the gate scratching, frantic to get to me. Then I felt this hand on my back. And I heard this man say “Miss?” I turned around and he was crying!

I told him, I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry.” And through his tears, he said that “no you don’t understand. Last week I lost my son. He was 27 years old and hit by someone who was texting while driving. he died instantly. And then we were hugging and crying together.

After a bit, he told me that he was from Salem (which is quite a ways from where I live). he said he was supposed to meet a friend for breakfast, but the friend never showed and while trying to get back on the I-5 he got lost and ended up “in the middle of nowhere!” He had just flipped a U-turn on the highway, passed my sign and swung in. He said as he turned into my driveway. He thought to himself, “what are you doing? You don’t want to go to a garage sale.” But, he said he felt drawn in.

Then he shared, that since his son passed away. He has found himself in places he would never go. But he finds, when he starts talking to people he meets during these times, that they too, recently suffered loss. He stayed about 45 minutes and before he left pressed money into my hand (he way over-paid for these junk knives) and he left.

Fast-forward to Saturday. I almost didn’t open up the sale. I had stumbled on the stairs and hurt my foot. Walking was really painful (turned out I had lost two toenails. But, I gobbled some aspirin and started my day.

Busy as all heck! I still had boxes and boxes of Mike’s stuff behind the carport, so I was just hustling and as soon as a table cleared, more stuff came out. One the things I found was his camera. It is a brand-new high end digital Canon camera with the works. He bought it before Jack drove him to Alaska that time. When I argued about him regarding the cost. He never told me what he spent on it- but I knew they were expensive and at that time, we really didn’t have the money. But he bought it anyway. When he got home (after he got out of the hospital because he came home septic over a no-seeum bite) I looked at the “pictures” he took. He stuck this camera out the window as they were traveling and took blurred photos the whole trip. I just threw up my hands and zipped my lips, but I was not happy.

As I pulled out this camera and looked at all the goodies inside, the price tag was still on it. So I just halved the cost and put the price, and then “firm” next to the price. So this truck drives up and this couple hop out. She was probably in her late 20’s and they came in. Friendly folk, just looking. I was sitting near the table where all the high-end stuff were displayed and she saw the camera case sitting there and literally gasped! LOL She ran over to her husband and I heard her say “Honey, she has my dream camera here!: He asked her how much it was and she replied, she was afraid to look because she knows how expensive they are. He told her to go look.

So, she comes back over and she picks it up, see’s the price and puts it down. I see the light fade in her eyes. So I said, “Do you like this camera?” She just turned to me and her eyes were dancing again. She told me that she looks at this camera several times a week on the internet, hoping she could afford one of them, but it never happens. She’s wanted one for a really long time. Then I hear myself saying- Do you have $200.00? If you have $200.00 and can give it to me right now, the camera is yours!”

She looked at me like I had just landed in a spaceship! LOL She said are you sure? I said yes, I am sure. It you have $200.00 the camera is yours!” She said she had to ask her husband and then I heard her tell him that for whatever reason, the lady just offered her a heck of a deal and if she had $200.00 and the camera was hers! He asked her if she had the money and then I heard her whisper (I have great hearing). This is really strange Brian. Before we left the house this morning. I heard God tell me to bring $200.00! I never bring that much money when we go garage sale chasing!”

As she paid for the camera, she was crying (at this point so was I) She said  “you aren’t going to change your mind before I get to the truck are you?” I told her No, I stand behind my word and as she walked back to her truck sobbing in joy. I don’t know who she was hugging tighter, Brian or the camera! LOL  I found my smile, my joy again. And went to fetch more stuff to put out.

Ok, I know this is a long post and I apologize- but it ain’t over yet and so go get more coffee and another donut! LOL

The last haul of boxes was everything that Mike used for his crafts- his woodwork, his whittling tools- does anyone even whittle anymore? All of the bits and pieces of knives, some broken some intact that he used for parts for these really cheap Coast pocket knives that broke if you just looked at them wrong. Puma knives, his early custom knives, His extra shop lights, his files (not computer) the tools. Just all of it spread on the tables. I just bowed my head and thanked Him for allowing me to make that one gal so happy and prayed that he would send someone along who might recognize the worth of the contents of the tables and give Mike’s life a new beginning.

No sooner had I prayed, this truck drives up. This gentleman hops out and I smiled, because he looked like a hippie. The long hair, very distinguished silver hair. Just his mannerisms reminded me of a hippie.

He came over first thing, shook my hand and introduced himself as Howard and said tell me about this- this looks like a man’s garage sale. This time without crying, I told him about Mike, what he did, what a nice man he was how  I lost him and explained about his life basically surrounding the tools. After I finished, he said, “Well guess it’s time for me to go to work now.” (I thought he was leaving), and then he asked me if I had boxes? I said, yes and he told me to fetch “several!”

This man, this beautiful soft-spoke soul-bought everything that Mike ever touched, used or belonged to him. He bought it ALL! He kept peeling off Benjamin’s from his clip. And what was weird is as I was fetching more boxes to fill up with goodies and trying to keep track of the money coming through. He would be shopping again, and I noticed several times, he was leaving his money laying around! There were other people that had arrived, and so I kept giving him back this wallet, his money clip. Then I also noticed, he kept dropping Benjamin’s on the ground! I kept hustling to pick them up and return them to him.

It was crazy. In retrospect, I don’t know if he was testing me, or because he was a senior citizen he just loses his fortune as he walks the world? But I was hustling to keep him and his money together!LOL Every time I returned the money, or the clip of the wallet. He would thank me and then tell me bring more boxes! He bought me out! I don’t even have to open today to get rid of anything of Mike’s. The only thing he bought of mine, was my scrimshaw tools and two pieces of ivory I scrimmed long ago. One was of one of my cat and the other was of my horse Racer. Other than that, everything that left in the back of his truck belonged to Mike.

And here comes the really strange part of this miracle. He gave me his phone number and said if I run into anything else that belonged to Mike that I wanted to sell, to call him. Then he drove off. I’ve called this number several times. II doesn’t ring,  no one answers and I hear instead of dead air, I hear tinkling of bells?

So it was an exhausting, exhilarating, emotional, sad and awesome garage sale. I think that when it comes to garage sales, not many people could say that afterward! LOL

Thanks for reading- and God Bless You All!