Quigley, who we are now calling Quincy (seems to fit him better) went swimming in the river today totally unplanned. I had taken him for a walk and he broke away and flew into the water where apparently, he was in his element.  I held my breath because out in the middle of the river, the current is quite strong but he stayed near shore. Next time, I will take my lunge line and I think that Brandy’s life jacket will also fit him. The cats in the house have become accustomed to him. The only time I am a bit anxious is when some of the cats are under the hospital bed and he sticks his head underneath and whines at them. He doesn’t go for them, just wants them to come back out and say hello.

I am glad I have worked with him about chasing cats inside- the outside cats are still his challenge and we are working through it. He can be a bit headstrong. I took him to see Mike again and “Nurse Bella” came into the room at that time. Nurse Bella is a 7 year old tuxedo girl who used to belong to a former patient. The woman got better and took her cat home with her when she was released after several months there. Once home, Bella vanished and showed up later at the nursing home crying to get inside! Apparently, this happened more than once so her owner relinquished her to the nurses and Bella has it down. She has several places she visits, she gets scraps from the kitchen. She does not pee or poop inside the home, she cries to go outside! She met Mike a few weeks ago, and he fashioned a cat toy for her, so she comes into his room and sleeps on his bed for awhile, then goes on to her rounds. With Quincy in the room-she ducked under the bed and hissed until we left. I don’t think large dogs are in her rounds and NO she is NOT declawed.

Starting Monday, there will be a second and last push to get the rest of that  outdoor colony trapped-neutered and released. Twelve of the twenty cats have been done, now it is the tricky part- catching the rest of the fourteen cats without re-catching the ones done last week. It had to be done this way though- as the slots for the spays and neuters fill up fast.

It means another several trips driving the cats up to Sa and then picking  them up the following day. I find it interesting that several of the kittens done last week are now following the caretakers around like pet cats. I think maybe they are trying to say thank you as some of them (not even 6 months old were very pregnant.

Donations would be wonderful to have right now as the spay and neuters are done on a donation-basis. Most of the cats were lured inside the traps thanks to some canned food arriving a few weeks ago via Amazon.com. “Thank you M- for that much-needed arrival.