By 3:00 a.m. Alaska still hadn’t eaten a thing. With her refusal to take fluids, I was so afraid this was going to turn out to be an intussusception (blockage) and the only way out of that is surgical/medical to take over. She was trying to use the litter pan and I was force feeding her laxatone to get things going. No sleep for the wicked last night (me) Every time I turned the lights off she would yowl as if demons were chasing her. She was pushing her litter box all over the cage and was clearly miserable.
I decided to hook up one of those child night lamps we have here. This one is a pretty broad based one with fish swimming around the rotating belt inside. We used it years ago when our grandchildren were small. I hooked it up and set it to the side of the cage. Turned it on and shut down all the lights. IT WORKED! She went over to the side of the cage probably fascinated by the fish swimming and fell asleep. This morning, her dinner plates were empty, her litter pan full! Perhaps it wasn’t just the parasites that were making her so uncomfortable, maybe this Siamese has a fear of the dark. We were able to get a few hours sleep after all.
This morning, she looks better. That haunted look in her eyes has vanished. I put out food but she doesn’t seem interested. In time, I think she will eat and in time, she will be okay without having to have seen the vet again.
Thank you to ALL of you for your prayers and support through this year. I don’t know how else to say this- our gratitude is overwhelming. NONE of this would be possible if you didn’t believe in what we are trying to do here. If you guys shared the same small-town attitude of folks around here and just swallowed the rumors that we are hoarders- we would have never been able to help as many cats and kittens. All if them: Jedi, Stumbles, Licorice, Matilda, Roscoe, Jetta , Jordan (the list is endless) all cats whose futures looked so bleak now have forever loving homes. We may be the first step to their new life, but you ALL are the windows that open up to new opportunities. Thanks for taking the pressure off with prayers, donations of food, caring personal emails and monies and other supplies. Even one box of trash bags sent to us, drives us down on our knees in thanksgiving for your belief that we do make a difference.
Our thanksgiving dinner this year will be sparse (our choice not to over-indulge) but our hearts will be full of thanks to all of you for EVERYTHING. Even when I felt I was walking a very short plank and going to fall into the water below- someone would elevate the situation and show me that HOPE is always possible.
God Bless ALL of You!
Mary Anne
Maybe Alaska will eat only at night for the first while. She may not be eating right now, but she ate last night, and got rid of what she needed to. The pressure is off for now. What a great idea to use the night-light – an inspiration. Who would have thought? Evidently, you did!
People who think you’re hoarders should consult their dictionaries (though it’s doubtful they’ve ever used one.) A hoarder doesn’t give anything away; how many cats have you given to loving homes? And they can check out your cat food supply, that disappears pretty quickly, too. Hoarders have a completely different mentality about things, than you do. You want the cats in your care to go – just to decent homes. It’s rather like accusing a policeman of loving crime; after all, he’s always associating with it, right?
Just want to add that hoarders don’t spay or neuter, provide vet care, or a clean place to live. In the state I live in, there are no limits for the number of animals one can own. The belief is that any cruelty or neglect of animals and neglect of property are already addressed by other laws. It is also the belief that the number of animals owned is a personal decision addressed under our right to the pursuit of happiness. As long as the animals are well kept and the property maintained, there is no issue. Just food for thought.
God bless you and yours MaryAnne and I pray that you and Mike have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. May God continue to enfold you in his loving arms.