I’ve been getting emails from those who regularly visit here wondering where I have been. I have been very quiet for many reasons. Mourning the loss of kittens whose moms were owned by people who do not care for their animals as they should be cared for. Kittens snatched early by exposure to FeLV: Twila, Indiana, Jackson, MacBeth, Hamlet, Troy, Triffles, and Grey Ghost. I had five of my cats randomly tested for Feline Leukemia and they came up negative, so I am breathing easier. It was not this house where they got this horrid disease.

I am contemplating my life now that Mike is in a nursing home (temporarily) and understanding that life can change in an instant. I know that as much as I love these cats, I need to stop or scale back my rescue. Financially it is ruining me having these sick ones dumped on me and being responsible to get them up and running and healthy. I owe my vets so much money now that I feel guilty everytime I look at them. They have done so much for me donating their time and drugs at no charge for special cases, but that is hardly fair on them either.

My parents who I have been emailing since Mike became ill, contacted me yesterday- they want to pay off our home! I can’t allow that. It is no one’s fault what happened here. It is life, it is choices- and I emailed them back thanking them but saying no. Unlike most people, I don’t feel that I am entitled to my parents’ money just because I am their daughter. They worked hard their entire life to enjoy their twilight years, and I have no right to expect them to bail me out when things get rough. God will provide a way for me- if I am thinking clearly and IF I am listening to His voice. I told them I loved them for thinking in this respect- and I also told my Mother, who mentioned I needed to scale back my rescue that I had already decided to do so.

I have been comforting adopted families as they deal with the sudden loss of the kittens they had grown to love. Grieving as openly as they are for the demise of these special babies who had so much to give.

I have been working amid the chaos known as the Oregon Jamboree. Fighting for my parking space at work with a drunken driver determined to “git to the festivities” regardless of the fact that she was taking the parking space I needed to do my shift. Ducking thrown beer bottles when a teenage couple soused to the gills decided to take their fight into the parking lot and hurl insults and Miller Lite! What insanity. Two more nights before the town goes back to its boring self.

So life has been busy and my comfort as always have been my cats. I was so thankful that the latest kittens tested negative for FeLV- they were my greatest concern for it is the kittens that are the most susceptible.

And now, I have horse stalls to muck, a garden to water, dogs to feed and cats to corral before I have to go to work-

Take care all of you readers and thank you for worrying about me and asking about the cats- We will be fine. As I told my mom, one thing I do know about myself. I am a survivor.