Yesterday, we went and visited Rosa and Moochie and I am happy to say that Moochie’s diarrhea is gone and she is feeling much better. We started her on the steroids and the anti-nausea medicine as well as the chemo pill. I am not sure why they are giving her the chemo pill, I always thought you got that after the radiation therapy when you are chasing cancer- but I am not a vet and I trust mine. Jerry, Rosa’s husband of 65 years is being placed into a nursing home then will go into a memory center to manage his altzheimers. I am glad we didn’t take Moochie away from her- all the time we were there yesterday, Moochie was sitting on Rosa’s lap and I know bringing her great comfort. I know with our home, Tripp is Mike’s kitty now and brings him a lot of smiles in his day. Cats are important to our well-being so I am glad both kitties are doing well. and can provide support for their humans. Mike has MRSA again (this will be his fifth go-around with it) They did a culture on his leg yesterday because it looked inflamed. His doctor is still a bit miffed at me because I didn’t take Mike to his appointment last week. I was too sick to make the drive and we didn’t have anyone else who could take Mike. I was a bit surprised at how nasty the doctor was to me when I called to cancel the appointment- but I am trying to stay open-minded about this new doctor. He makes it hard to like him though when he acts like a child and throws mini tantrums on the phone! LOL

It was a stressful few days of trying to keep him hydrated and his fever down but I am so happy to say that he is completely back to normal now. Unfortunately, now when he sees me coming- he flees so having him finish his antibiotic is off the table right now. But his temp is back to normal, he is eating and drinking and playing with the other cats.

E-Bay is holding a contest where if you go to their homepage and search for CATS Inc., among their charities and click on us and then click on add to favorites- we will be entered into a drawing for anywhere from $1,000- $10,000. You can also find us by our EIN number which is 45-2849720. The amount of people who click on us will determine if we will be put into the drawing for the monies. It runs to October 4th so please spread the word and tell a friend or two to vote for us as well-

Tripp has been declining lately. It started with vomiting white foam, which led to him not eating and running high fevers 105.9 this morning. I could take him to the vet, but I know the routine. They would give him fluids (which I have done) they would give him anti-nausea meds (which I have here already) and they would start him on antibiotics. So, I have done all of that and more. His temp is now 103.9 F but he is just flat. He is depressed and he is confined to the bedroom where I hope he will start feeling better soon. He is drinking water (which is a wonderful sign because it rules out distemper) He’s had a tepid bath and is sleeping right now. I was up and down with him all night as he vomited most of the morning away. he has turned down, tuna, baby food and baked chicken- so I went and got him some kitty krack (fancy feast) and thankfully, he is eating that little by little. I will keep track of his fever but hope by tomorrow afternoon he is a bit brighter than he appears now. It came on so suddenly- he is Mike’s kitty so my fingers are crossed that he can return to Mike’s lap soon.

The rest of the test results came back and sadly, Mooch has intestinal lymphoma. We are going to give the special food and meds a try for about two weeks and if the diarrhea goes away, then we will put her on Steriods and a chemo pill. But if it looks like she is suffering or losing her quality of life, Rosa has asked me to step in and stamp her Bridge pass. 🙁  Doggone it anyway- was just hoping this would be a matter of an intestinal parasite and not cancer.

Over ten years ago, this black cat was adopted out to an elderly couple and has lived the high life ever since. Her owner Rosa reached out to us tonight- her 93 year old husband has been rushed to the hospital with possible kidney failure and she wanted to know if we could watch Moochie for her while she stays next to her husband. I told her I would come over and pet sit for her and that’s when she broke down on me and told me that for over five months now- Moochie has had severe diarrhea! 5 months- holy smokes. She said that in the time frame her husband had been falling quite ill and she was diagnosed with being legally blind. She had no way to help Moochie and her caregiver refused to do a vet run for her.

I ran over to their place and found Moochie in a really bad way. She was severely dehydrated and dripping goo all over the house. 🙁 I gave her fluids and some of the Wright Stuff for her diarrhea but tomorrow, despite still having a large vet debt- we are going to take Moochie to the vet and have her seen. She is ten years old. Rosa also confessed that because she was so limited, her neighbor had gone to the store and bought Sargents flea and tick medicine and put that on Moochie and Moochie started getting sick right after that. She said she didn’t want to bother us but had no other options. Moochie’s diarrhea is pretty severe from what I saw- so please pray this is reversible for her. Having it so long is not a good thing-so I just hope we didn’t get this call too late. I’ve had other toxic cats from this over-the-counter product and the outcome on a few didn’t turn out in a good way.

About 6 or so months ago, we received an older tomcat from another rescue group. They had no room for him and deemed him unadoptable for a multitude of reasons (especially his high feral state). When we took him in for the neuter, we had a brilliant (or so I thought) idea of having the vet put a calming collar on him to help facilitate his socialization process. He would be put alone in one of our enclosures and we would work closely with him due to his health issues (he was going blind).

As I was carrying him from the car to the enclosure (after his neuter) the handle broke and he escaped! He scrambled under the house and I rarely caught sight of him. I named him Magoo and have been trying so hard to get close to him, not only because his vision is limited but that collar- it wasn’t a breakaway. I was afraid it was going to become embedded.

This morning, I went outside early to feed and Magoo was waiting for me. I have been slowly sneaking contact with him in the early morning feeds with choice food to distract him and while he is eating, attempting to pet him. It’s taken a bit of time, but finally this morning, I was able to slip bandage scissors under that blasted collar and get it off him! He has made pals with Mk and I sense that MK understands his limitations and has become his eyes. It is always amazing for us to watch the transformations of these so-called feral cats- how they adapt to their situation and try to get along within the clowder. Magoo is an old boy, and we have no intention of caging him up and making him miserable. He knows the lay of the land, he knows when the food is going to arrive and now, much to my delight , he is first in line with MK playing the role of his seeing-eye cat!

Our food is our main concern now. This week’s donation consisted of two small bags of dry food and one 12 pack of canned. We are going to have to become quite creative in order to keep food in those trays outside. It’s a challenge, guess we will see what happens.

This dog is so smart. I can see him always processing things in his mind and figuring out how to please us. I haven’t had him long but he has learned his boundaries (no chasing cats) no going in the kitchen unless asked and so recently, I stepped up his training. He has now learned to bring Mike items that Mike drops. And Mike drops a LOT of things in his day because the neuropathy is spreading.

To train Kota in a service dog setting means several thousand dollars we have to spend- time away from Mike which I can’t afford to do and travel to and from Millersburg which is about an hour away. When I told this “trainer” that I couldn’t commit to the time and the money- she blew up on me! She told me that I really wasn’t a “committed” person and it takes time to train service dogs properly. I almost told her to take a leap, but I didn’t. Her fee was $2,500.00 for a16 week course.

The other night unable to sleep, I was surfing cable channels and happened upon one called Rescue Dogs to Super Dogs and it was amazing. Regular people with health and mental issues training their own rescues brought to them by two professional trainers. It was awe-inspiring and I thought “Maybe, just maybe, I can train Kota for all our needs.” Using what I saw on the show as well as what I already know- yesterday for the first time- Kota opened the fridge door and stepped back, sat and waited for his reward instead of lunging towards the meat in the fridge! My hope is to eventually get him to fetch Mike’s diabetic kit and bring it to him when his blood sugar drops. When Mike’s blood sugar drops he gets shaky, cold and starts to shake and doesn’t know his own name or who I am. It has been happening a lot lately. 🙁

I know it is going to take a long time, but I know this dog is smart and I know he wants to just please and be mentally stimulated. I want him happy and when I ran a video last night of him doing his trained behavior, I was pleased in the re-watch to see his tail going ninety miles an hour the entire time!

The other day, I did take him for a walk and he got away from me and climbed a tree! He was 5 feet up and when he jumped down, he was limping on his back leg and all I could think of is here we go, another Cooper. But it was a sprain and he is fine now. The vet looked at me like I was crazy when I told him what happened but then I said “What do you expect him to do? All his best friends are cats!” LOL

Here he is in a public park on the down wait command-

Almost ten years ago, we had a storm here in Oregon that was pretty substantial and will always stand out in my memory as the Storm of Surprise.

I had just let the dog out briefly. It was midnight and when Brandi came back in, on her tail was this drenched, soaking wet,long-hair black cat! I shut the door quickly so the cat wouldn’t go back in the storm. She was a matted mess just under a year old and terrified. I popped her into a cat carrier and took her the vet in the morning. She was fine-

I called her MK (Mystery Kitty) knew nothing about her except after her spay she showed me inside living wasn’t agreeable for her. So I put her the one enclosure that accesses outdoors 24/7  She’s been outside, unapproachable, inaccessible until this morning.

Because we have a new dog here- I have been making it a point as Kota learns cats are not playthings, if Kota isn’t with me, I make a ticking sound with my tongue. I use this sound when I feed- or when I approach a kitty without intent. This morning, I was feeding the clowder and making my noise and MK walked right up to me and brushed my leg! I reached down and she allowed me to pet her and play elevator butt- who knew this stray loves elevator butt!

All these years of no contact and to suddenly gain trust? It was simply amazing.

I am smiling when I announce that all five have been adopted out. My hope is they live long and happy in their new homes. They did not stay at the shelter long at all!

On a more somber note- hearts and prayers going out to all who have been in harm’s way with this wild weather. Stay safe and keep all loved ones close both two and four-legged. We are dealing with these wildfires but at this point, all we are having to do is breathe unhealthy air. I don’t think I could evacuate even if ordered. I wouldn’t leave my ferals behind even though they are not confined anywhere.

Please stay safe- Sue, I know you are dealing with Irma you have my prayers-same as my sister Gwen- scary times.