Especially when the request comes from the police department. Call earlier from an officer who told me he was at Bi-Mart and there were nine cats inside of a car in pretty bad shape and could we take them?

I told him I was incredibly sorry but there wasn’t enough room here for one cat, let alone nine! I just wonder when they are going to realize that we have a bad stray cat problem in this town and there are little to no resources available to help out. Something needs to be done, with us out of the picture now the future looks pretty bleak for the strays. Only two rescues left in the area that might be able to help out.

My neighbor (the only one who likes cats) told me this morning that she recently lost her 12 year old kitty. The kitty presented with a bloody nose and wheezing. The cat was also vomiting. She rushed Pretzel to the vet where the cat died. The vet cited the cause as the new lightweight kitty litter by Tidy Cat. She was devastated and wanted to let me know that if we were using this litter to be careful.

I went online and checked and found all sorts of comments (some controversial) about this issue. So far what I have established- is that seven cats have died over using this issue. There are some harmful chemicals in this substance that can cause breathing issues in cats (not sure about humans). Other people stand by the product as not being harmful. You can research it yourself- there is a long debate on FB and you can read the reviews on Amazon- although sometimes those reviews aren’t always truthful or accurate. Just wanted to give a head’s up and we have 8 of these boxes donated and they will just stay unopened. I did read that one woman who paid $500.00 and her cat lived after extensive care, she was compensated by the manufacturer but not for the full amount.

Every year, I make it a point to publish this poem whose author so far remains unknown. It speaks to the heart and carries with it hope that God is still in control despite everything going on-

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, however you say it, however you spend it. Thanks for spending the year with us-

If you look for me at Christmas time
…you won’t need a special star –
I’m no longer just in Bethlehem,
I’m right there where you are.

You may not be aware of me
amid the celebrations –
You’ll have to look beyond the stores
and all the decorations.

But if you take a moment
from your list of things to do
And listen to your heart, you’ll find
I’m waiting there for you.

You’re the one I want to be with,
you’re the reason that I came,
And you’ll find me in the stillness
As I’m whispering your name.

-Anon-

I have been so distracted with Mike (his leg has started flaring up again) plus been pretty upset about an incident late night a few days ago that I didn’t explain much about the kitty in the narrows. I saw him being dumped. I say that because it is an orange kitten and around here, female orange cats are pretty rare.

The van that I saw,  was parked at the side of the highway in an inaccessible area- no emergency flashers and it was right after dusk. It just looked out-of-place and I was heading into town, so I slowed because I didn’t know what they might do. As I neared the van, it pulled away and I looked over on the shoulder and there was a little orange kitty! I couldn’t stop there. I was in Mike’s truck- and the shoulder is narrow and I would have been blocking traffic and being a danger to other motorists. The place where I could safely turn around  was up ahead a few miles, and by the time I did the U-turn and went back the kitten was gone! I did pull into the turnout and put food out (22 degrees that night) and I called till I was hoarse but he was gone. There is a half of a trail leading up into the hills and trees and blackberry bushes and all kinds of bushes up there- but no kitty.

I went out the next morning, drove the Narrows looking for him. I didn’t see him (made several passes) So I went home, got an insulated cat box, plastic dishes (no water dishes the water would have frozen in 5 minutes with this really bad cold snap we seem to be in at the moment. I did add water to the cat food and left out a trail of dry as well leading to the cat box.

I started searching again at night- and saw him each time, only at night. Because the turnout isn’t visible until you were right on it, and before you get there is a blind curve. I missed the turnout several times. Going up to the street where I could do a safe U-turn- same result, by the time I got back he was gone. A few nights I saw him just headed down the side of the highway- unfortunately, he was on the other side of the highway then me. It was frustrating. I knew he was out there- I knew he was scared and I knew he needed help. I couldn’t use a trap- it would be dangerous to park there and monitor the trap and just leaving it there, no matter what we did to insulate it- once that wire started to freeze that kitten would be in dire straits.

Three nights ago, I got a call from a woman who faithfully donates two bags of cat chow to our sanctuary every month since our other source dumped us. She had found a kitty who was pretty sick and she didn’t have the funds to help her (guess what?Neither do we!) and wondered if we could take her to the vet and get her fixed and evaluated. I told her yes and left in five minutes.

Approaching the Narrows, I said “God wouldn’t it be nice to see the kitten tonight on the right side of the highway so I could try and grab him?”

Well, sure enough, I saw him sitting by the side of the road in the weeds in a place where you don’t have a buffer lane to get off the highway (it’s near a guardrail) So, instead of going up to that street and doing a U turn. I pulled into the Center lane, went back a bit and figured I could safely turn the truck around if there was no traffic and not end up in the ditch. I figured wrong! I was headed for the ditch, and so I braked reversed prayed and then I hit my emergency flashers and was off the highway enough to be able to creep up to the turnoff which was a little bit ahead.

Then I looked over to the center lane, and there was a car there. It was keeping pace with me. And I am thinking, Oh, God he must have come around the blind curve, seen my brake lights and reverse lights and had to do evasive measures to not hit me. I was afraid to get out of the truck-figuring he was going to road rage against me, so I just sat there- watching him and watching the kitten who was still sitting in the weeds ahead of my truck.

Finally, I was getting ready to just go to the turnoff when lights, blue and red flashed from this car in the center lane, he reversed whipped behind me. He comes roaring up the truck “What the devil do you think you are doing?”  So I told him the story and when I was done, I looked over (kitty was STILL there!) He looked at me and said: “You did ALL of that over a CAT?” (I didn’t appreciate how he said Cat either) But I told him, “Yes I did!”

He asked for my license told me to stay in the truck, put the windows up and keep the engine running to stay warm because he didn’t want me to freeze and he would be back in a few minutes. I am sitting there, the kitten, God, he was right there. I could of opened up the door, gotten out scooped this baby up and got him safe. And I couldn’t move. So what I did I took my seat belt off- slid over, opened the passenger door. I had canned food on my seat, I popped the lid and I called really loud my kitty call hoping he would jump into the warm truck. I also turned the engine off. The kitten didn’t move. 🙁

The cop comes back, this time on the passenger’s side asking why the dickens (I’m softening the language a bit) 🙂 my passenger door was opened in freezing weather. I turned on my lights pointed ahead of me into the weeds where the kitten was lit up like a snowball with his spotlight and said “That’s why.” He looked at me like I had just crawled out from under a rock and this is what he said he to me:

“You did all this for a cat! You almost caused a multivehicle collision. The driver behind you had to slam on his brakes, when he did, he almost slid into my patrol car and I had to go into the incoming traffic lane to get out of danger!”

I was stunned, rattled started to cry apologize. What I didn’t say is that I didn’t see anything. No lights, didn’t hear brakes slam on, skids going on all that. I have really good hearing. I would have heard something, but I was in tears and all I wanted to do was scoop up the kitten and go home. When I asked him if I could- he looked at me like he wished he could burn me to the ground and said:

“What you can do, is drive into town to a brightly lit establishment and make a legal U-turn and go home. But, I leave you with one thought. What would it feel like for you to have to go see my wife and explain to her that I was dead because of a cat? I am an animal lover, but I will never sacrifice human life over a cat!”

So I drove away, he followed me leaving that kitten in the cold and berating myself for being so stupid. Haven’t seen the kitten since and have been out so many times at night looking. I hope and pray that what happened that some of the looky loos that night also saw the kitten when they passed “the bust” and came back and got him. Because I had spotted him every night and now he is not there. That’s what I pray happen and not that he figured out he had help so close and another human harmed him and he went up into the forest to sleep. I don’t know.

I was feeling pretty low about myself and I found out a few days later that what he told me- never happened! It NEVER happened. He made it up- the woman that I told used to be married to a cop and when I told her the whole story she just started laughing! She said, if I thought about it- had it been true- I wouldn’t have gotten just a warning. I would have been hauled off, or given a ticket. She said he was trying to scare me (he did a good job of that).

She said if it had been her, after he told me he was going to just warn me, she would have told him that she was going to get out of the truck, telling him first she was an unarmed female. She was going to go over to the weeds, pick the  baby up and get him safe. If he wanted to slap handcuffs on her and then explain to his superiors why she was in handcuffs- more power to him. Gee, I wish I had the backbone to have done that very thing.

So I abandon the search. It’s just not safe in that area to try and pull off without something bad happening. And yes,  the cop lied, but he was also telling me how it could have happened.We are not in summer or spring- we have a Arctic front that has hung on for weeks.  Plus the kitten isn’t there anymore.

(Sorry this was long-winded it was pretty convoluted if you think about it.)

God Bless All of You This Holiday Season. Mike’s youngest boy is coming to stay for a week to surprise his Dad (should be interesting he doesn’t like cats) So it has been a bit of a stressful week so far. I just pray the kitty came out ok and all of you have a safe, sane, lovely Christmas and New Years!

A few days ago, a beautiful, long hair gray kitty showed up at the feral feeders. She was heavy with kittens and I was so afraid that she was going to have them in this frigid cold. It took some time, but I finally coaxed her into the shop with food and once there, a welcoming fire in the wood stove and some warmed food and heated water must have convinced her that life here is pretty nice for cats. She is now sitting by our front door in a carrier, covered in a blanket on her way to get spayed (if it isn’t too late that is). If it is too late, at least she will have these babies in a warm room with humans at attendance to see to her needs. I am calling her Ghost because when she came out of the ice fog to eat- that is what she reminded me of. I am thinking we have time because although her nipples are visible, they are not yet swollen with milk. She has a bad URI though- this cold weather has been hanging around for weeks now. It doesn’t usually get this cold until after Christmas. Right now we are sitting at 25 degrees.

I had to take Fletcher and put him in the main enclosure. He is my porno kitty 🙂 He is also the strongest Alpha kitty that I have met in years and he is bouncing off my other outside kitties, running around like a terrohist and when I am feeding in the morning- he is gobbling all the wet food. He is plump and furry and the others are hiding way under the house and the food hasn’t been touched for days. So I sealed off the tunnels to the house and put him in the main and will be working with him to further socialize him. He’s a gorgeous kitty but he likes to bite hands and ankles and as stated his strong alpha tendencies are still roaring despite being neutered months ago! I’d love to get him into a barn somewhere and that will be my goal after the holidays are over. But for right now- he has a huge enclosure to prowl in, heated beds and heated water.

There’s a kitty I have seen a few times (again in the narrows) who does not have this and I am trying like the dickens to capture this orange kitty and get him/her safe as well. I sometimes, I wish I didn’t have the eyes to see what I see- but I have been this way my whole life.

Mike loves to tell the story about my first trip to Denali National Park in Alaska the summer I went to visit him. We boarded the shuttle bus and it goes around the park because at that time, cars were not allowed beyond a certain point. The bus driver aka “Guide” was supposed to point out wildlife- it wasn’t happening. I looked out the small window, and up on the mountain, I saw a small shape. I asked Mike “Is that a fox?” It was indeed. For the entire ride, I was the one shouting out the location of the wildlife that I saw including something rarely seen a wolf! People were running to our side of the bus to take photos and see the wildlife that the “Guide” missed. It was weird and kind of funny. When I left the bus, the Guide hissed in my ear “Don’t come back on my bus EVER again!” I assured him I wouldn’t. Anyway, these are the eyes that God gave me along with  the daunting mission to help those in distress.

This morning, I was walking through our pine trees with Kota. He was off the leash and we were headed for the creek. Kota was right beside me, when suddenly, he stepped in front of me and threw me off balance. I stumbled backward and almost fell. Kota was pressed against my legs and he was looking up intently into the tree. I thought it was a squirrel that captured his attention when suddenly with a huge THUNK this tree limb fell right by where Kota and I had been standing! It grazed Kota’s hip and the vet said he has a bruised leg- This limb was huge and would have done so much damage to both of us- thankfully it was an offbranch of the limb that hit Kota and not the full limb. It’s been so cold here- the trees are laden with ice and sometimes just the weight of the ice will bring limbs tumbling down without warning. I didn’t even hear it break- but beautiful Kota did. They gave him a pain shot and put him on a week’s cage rest. Tomorrow he gets ribeye in his breakfast!

Last night, quite late Mike’s blood sugar plummeted and I had to run to the store to get some sugared snacks to bring it back up. On the way home (It was about 10:30 p.m. I see a cat carrier at the side of the highway. As I drove past, I watched it pitch forward and thought (certainly not?) No one would leave a cat on the road in a carrier in 30 degree weather? Well guess what, they would and they did. I stopped and walked back and this cat was wild to get out. Thankfully, if the carrier had been thrown- it was sturdy enough to stay intact so I took kitty back to the house and examined her carefully. She is not fully feral but she isn’t socialized either. She was limping on her front leg- she is a polydactyl and I saw that her dewclaw was curled down into her pad- she was also full of mats from neck to tail.

She has been at the vet’s most of the morning. They have sedated her and started working on her- clipping her monster mats off (she is 18 pounds). By her coloring, she is calico/maine coon mix- gray and white, long hair with a badly infected paw. Those mats didn’t just spring up overnight- they take weeks and months to form. I am calling her Fluff because she really is a large ball of fluffy fur and maybe if I call her a sweet name, her wild side will tame down and she will be a lovely cat that I will be able to place in a home. I would guess she is about 8 years old. Whatever possessed someone to drop her in the night in such a precarious place is anyone’s guess and after paying for Solo and Slip- our fund isn’t going to cover the sedation and work she needs- but what do you do? Turn a blind eye and hope someone else will come along  and “help her.” Nope- you just listen to that small voice and know that it is guiding you to do the right thing regardless-

I’ll be dipped- she has a chip! Calling about her now

Ok that’s odd- her chip is out of Las Vegas! Maybe I should call her Vegas? LOL

She is back from the vet, she is pretty upset- she had two infected pads because the claws were growing into her pads of her feet. She was infested with fleas but not dewormed (They gave her a capstar) and they shaved her entire belly from neck to  butt. She is in foster care- we just don’t have room for her here at this time.Waiting to hear from her owners but if they think I am going to take her to Las Vegas, they have another thought coming! Not that I wouldn’t love to go and connect with some old friends there- but I can’t possibly leave Mike that long- or the other cats here.

Solo,  a feral orange girl who has lived inside a cage attached to our barn (with the door wide open all the time) has been injured and is walking wonky right now. If I had to guess, she has been bumped by a tire or rolled. She is very feral so the challenge comes in capturing her without getting torn up and getting her in and putting her to sleep. She was left behind when a hoarder was carted off to a nursing home and it took forever to trap her. The only time she has been to a vet is to get spayed and tested. We have had her 12 years and she was probably five when she arrived here. If I  even try to touch her back- she goes ballistic- looks like her hips are busted. 🙁

Update: At noon today, Solo took her last breath here on earth. She was surrounded by love, received gentle hugs and kisses on her final flight. She was gone before all the liquid found its way into her bloodstream which showed us she was clearly suffering. It was time to say goodbye to this golden girl who started life on a rough path. She was in such bad shape that this morning, I was able to reach into the cage, scruff her gently before putting her into a carrier. She had good years with us. I  will miss her coming out of the darkness to greet me when I have food for her and the others. Goodbye Sweetheart- I will remember you long~

It was 1992 and we had just moved to Oregon from Alaska. I had been fortunate enough to find a vet that made house calls. He had been to the house a few times giving his final stamp of approval on our main enclosure we were in the process of building. He said that he had a feeling, I was going to do great things for the stray and feral cats in Linn County.

I had stopped by his office that morning to pick up some medicine. There was a woman in the office with a boxful of kittens her and her husband had found in an abandoned campground in Washington State. Ben came out of the room and told the woman that he was sorry but they didn’t accept stray kittens and she would have to contact the local shelters. Then, he spied me in line and said “I know who might take them!”  He was right, they were in really bad shape- super skinny, malnourished, so weak their spitting and hissing wasn’t all that impressive. All five of them went home with me right away. We had deflead and de-wormed them and they just needed groceries.

I got them home and put them in a cage and set out cat food (both wet and dry) baby food, and left them for a bit to allow them to decompress. When I went to check on them again- none of the food had been touched although it was clear, they were starving. For three days- all the wet food, dry food, baby food we gave them went untouched and I became quite concerned. The vet had given them a thumb’s up healthwise, so why weren’t they eating?

I prayed about it and the light went off. They came from a campground so why not try them with campground food. The offerings were scarfed up right away- hot dogs chopped fine, hamburger meat, lunch meat- over the next few weeks, we transitioned them off the camp food onto cat food and normal food for kitties. They started filling out and growing, and one- didn’t stop growing, she just kept steadily gaining weight and height- turned out she was the mom! That’s how badly they were malnourished. We named her Dash, because she had this white mark under her nose that looked like a comma. Her four kittens were christened Hissy, India, Tipster and Chappy

India, Hissy, and Tipster were adopted out. Dash after she was spayed made it quite clear that inside life was not to her liking and after being ripped up a few times when she was in her feral mode, I accommodated her and put her outside soon her son Chappy joined her. They were always together.

When Chappy died this year, I put him out in the grass so Dash could say goodbye to him. She laid by him most of the day until finally, I had to put him in the ground. She would never be the same and retreated deep into the underside of the house. When I took her for her final visit, the vet looked at her x-rays and said “Mary Anne, she is a hot mess!” That’s the same thing he said when I brought Chappy to him to be euthanized. It just made me so sad.

I used to see her inside the heated cat carriers, coming to the food trays in the mornings and sometimes out in the yard, but the minute she saw me coming- she would dash off under the house. In the last month, she wasn’t around at all during the day and only visible at night if I laid down on my stomach and shone my flashlight under the house looking for her. Once the light hit her- she would retreat.

She beat the odds in the beginning of her life and in the end, the odds caught up to her. Now she is at peace sharing her space in Heaven with Chappy and the rest of her family.  Goodbye Sweet Girl- I am blessed that you were in my life for such a long time.

I have been able to end the pain for my senior girl. Robert went under the house a few hours ago and extracted her. I rushed her to the  vet where a mass was discovered in her stomach and we put her to sleep. I gave them a check.  She had a good, long life even being outside and yes, Dash was a brave kitty right to the very end.

I discovered when I got home that my check isn’t fully covered. It is $50.00 short. 🙁  I have to figure out how to cover it now and quickly but at least her agony is over and she is up in heaven with her family now. The vet said she wouldn’t have made it through another week.