We have a senior sanctuary kitty in bad shape. Turner has been here since she was 8 weeks old. Some low-life put her inside a paper bag, duct taped the bag and tossed her on the highway when she was a kitten. She is now 20 years old and she has lived outside most of her life. I did try to keep her indoors but she shuts down- stops eating, gets depressed. Her decision was to be outdoors so that’s where she has been. She has access to the 24/7 enclosure where the cats can come into the patio enclosure or outside, just not in the house.

I haven’t seen her around for a few weeks and the other morning I caught sight of her and she has lost so much weight. We had into the vet late last year where she was showing signs of kidney failure and now, I just need to trick her inside or trap her and get her in to ease her out of this life and into the next. I almost had her yesterday but Delilah did one of her famous crashes inside the house and the  noise scared the patio kitties. They all scrambled to the only exit before I could shut the door to escape. Turner and Gadget arrived at the same time and in a freak occurrence they both went through the door and got stuck! Gadget is a big Maine Coon and there was a lot of screaming as they struggled to get outside. I was trying to intervene but I was in danger of getting bit- finally they extracaited themselves and now Turner won’t go near the patio enclosure neither will Gadget.

I am going to have to set out all my traps at one time and see who I capture and hope I catch Turner in the process. I would say just guessing- she now weighs about 4 pounds. 🙁

It was a total bust. When we got them back home, both the cats were so stressed. Jet-Eye was open mouth panting! A long way to ask these sensitive cats to travel for nothing. Hanna is hiding in her hutch and Jet-Eye is decompressing upstairs.

People are contacting me  privately asking me what happened. I don’t want to go into the details right now- they aren’t important anyway. What is important are these two cats who had to endure such a long ride and are now going to need a few days to recover. Hanna is hiding in her hutch and growls at me when I even approach her and Jet-Eye who I had in the house for a few hours is back alone in his enclosure. He is eating now- which he wasn’t doing before when I offered him food. Hanna isn’t eating either- but I kind of expect that.

There is always a reason for everything and I am sure God will make it quite plain soon why this trip turned out to be a major disappointment.

“Ah- hem may I have your attention please!” Someone who just read my blog and lives in Oregon has contacted me and she wants to adopt Jet-Eye! She is coming over tomorrow to pick him up and no home check is necessary because she adopted from us already and has passed the home check with flying colors!

Here is Odie Cologne after his neuter. I don’t know- looks pretty “feral” to me!

But you know us crazy cat rescuers, we have to test the limits- so deep breath, eyes closed- here goes the first pet……….

Hmm Feral they say? How about a belly rub?

Well maybe not a belly rub- but definitely NOT feral- just one scared kitty who had too many scary experiences in a week’s time! He is an absolute sweetheart and bone skinny! 🙁

Jet-Eye has a home! He is going to meet his new owner on Monday. Ironically, Jasmine also has a heart murmur. She understands the kitty is living on borrowed time, she lives by herself with no other animals and we have been texting and talking since the ad hit online. She sounds like the perfect candidate for him- but will know on Monday when we meet up in person.

I picked up the new stray this morning. A male, now neutered. He  has a white stripe down his back! I have decided to call him Odie Cologne which is the name of a famous skunk of King Leonardo. His name is also significant because he reeks of tomcat pee and I do mean reeks. He is NOT feral and when they gave him back to me, I saw there was blood on the towel in the cage and I said something to the girls. They were reluctant to even tell a vet about it because he was “so unhandable” their words not mine. I was stunned- it wasn’t just a little bit of blood- it was enough to raise my red flag, but they didn’t want to bother? So I took him to my other vet and explained the situation without telling them the name of the clinic where he got neutered. Funny thing about this “feral” cat. I was able to  using a towel, lift him out of the carrier gently and place him on the table. We put a towel over his head, and I  held him while he was checked out from head to toe. No “feral” cat would tolerate such  handling. His blood was coming from his paw- looked to me like being in the trap for five days, he had slashed his pad open on the wire. We put salve on it and I brought him home. He is in the deck enclosure decompressing. I put Revolution on him because he has really bad ear mites and tons of fleas- but his bath is going to have to wait for 8 days. He is so stinky right now- he is about two years old and is really a beautiful boy with that white stripe down his back.

So, as it always seems- one out, one in. If Monday works out, waiting in the wings is a feral queen and six, four day old kittens. I hear they are also crawling with fleas- but I don’t have any place to put them right now- so hoping the person takes my advice about putting diacotomous earth crystals in the nest.

Besides Jet-Eye going up for adoption, we are also listing Delilah the kitty who was owned by meth heads. They left her behind after a drug raid on the trailer park and never came back to claim her. She is a beautiful 2 year old Mack Tabby with copper points. Midge came over this morning and gave her a photo ops moment. I am sure she will end up on our 2018 Calendar!

And here is Jet-Eye who I hope finds a home this week!

Just dropped a cat at the vets. No idea if this cow kitty is male/female. It has been in the trap for 5 days so I left it there to be tested and spayed/neutered if not already. If I had to guess, I would say it is either a female or a neutered male because there are no tom cheeks showing. It was trapped by a farmer who was after a coon. Such a scared kitty too- face is scarred from ramming the cage bars. I wish someone would devise a trap that was kinder to the strays who are scared out of their paws when caught up in them. I will pick the cat up tomorrow and will know by then what gender it is and now all I have to figure out is where am I going to put it? 🙂

Toby Tyler is right where he belongs!

I just have to add- I LOVE the way he matches with the couch! LOL

We didn’t visit long but Greg and Dawn were simply delightful and I know that once Toby decompresses (yet again) he will be a wonderful addition to this couple’s relationship. I will miss him and yes, tears were shed once he started down the road.

I put Jet_Eye back into the enclosure. He is having so  much problem catching his breath and is a whirling dervish in the house with the other cats. I don’t like that he has to be by himself but until I can find the right home for him- that’s how it is going to be.

I just got these photos of Toby in his new home. They are going to keep his name and he didn’t even hide from them!

And so to the girl who tried to prevent me from taking him- I say to you that he was not your cat. He was a stray and now he is a loved, and pampered pet who will live a long, wonderful life with the person who originally called me about him and worried about him even after you drove her away. And that is my final say about that.

And to Toby-Thank you Toby Tyler for blessing our lives and enriching our days. I will miss you and the tears coming down my face are tears of joy. No more scrambling to survive outside in the elements. Through these photos, sweet kitty,  you are showing everyone: Toby Tyler is King-

He will leave Weds afternoon and his new home is in Canby by Portland. The woman who initially called me about him (not the woman who tried to prevent me from rescuing him) has a boyfriend who is interested in adopting Toby. There are no other pets in the home and no future plans to get any. This morning I took him back to the vet (he is so scared of vets) 🙁 I got him chipped vaccinated and evaluated and they said his ears look great, his tail is all cleared up and he is good to go. I got him chipped because I don’t ever want him to be found in the middle of a field again trying to survive. He is a very special boy-

Speaking of his tail, the end of his tail is a hook, not a fork just adds to his uniqueness. He was so glad to get home and back to the place he is comfortable with- I decided to give Dawn the harp of hope CD that she can play on the drive to Canby to keep him less stressed. I will be sad to see him go- but so happy that someone loves him enough to get him out of Dodge fairly quickly. As much as I was falling in love with him, I never think it is fair for cats to have to live here very long. It’s just not the better life for them.

This morning, he was waiting at the door for me! He followed me around the enclosure as I emptied his pans, refreshed his water and food bowl. He loves the AD and I didn’t even have to put a bit on  his mouth before putting the bowl down. He ate the whole thing! I gave him fluids again, he is only slightly dehydrated. In order to help him drink, I pulled out a ceramic water fountain made by  my friend Ebi and set it up. When the water started shooting out of the frog’s mouth, Toby Tyler was intrigued enough to investigate and he drank for the first time!  People who often feed stray cats never seem to understand they need water as badly as they need food.

I put more Vitamin E on his tail and his ears and I am so relieved to say it seems to be working so I think the cancer is out of the equation! Yesterday, his ears were as hot as coals and today they are cool as a cucumber.

Not only is he eating, but his ears are clearing up!

He was by the window when he spotted Cooper. It is safe to say that he would have been at risk for any stray dog or any pet let off the leash. He does not appear to like dogs at all!

When Coop tried to get closer- I was grateful there was a window between them. I think the fur would have flown!

I opened up the catio door for him- he stuck his head out the flap- I could see that he will have trouble with flaps until his ears heal completely- but he wanted NOTHING to do with the cold weather- even though the catio is of course roofed over. He ducked his head back inside and looked at me like “Woman are YOU NUTS!” Then he went and laid by the heater.

Yesterday, he was hiding a bit from me and today he was following me around the place. The woman who called me about him has plans to come over next week and see him. I think she will be surprised at how far he has come in a very short time.