A & E runs a program called Hoarders late at night here. When I can’t sleep, I watch this program partly from fascination but also from dread. When they spotlight a home of a cat hoarder, I sometimes wonder if I fall into that category? My house is by no means clean- it is messy but liveable. I don’t have litter all over my rug, but I have a lot of cats and litter pans to qualify. I sometimes think my home might be showcased in the future, especially during feeding time when so many cats are around that it is hard for me to find a piece of tile to walk on without trodding on a paw or a tail.

This morning, I watched Animal Cops Philadelphia, and I wept along with other rescuers as they swept through a “No Kill” Shelter, only to discover over 150 sick and dying (or dead) cats in the basement. One poor boy had so much drainage coming from his eyes that he now is blind for life. I watched them carry off the cats in garbage bags, and try to save the hundreds that were so ill and I knew that although my heart is soft when it comes to these wonderful animals- I am not a hoarder, I am not evil and my cats don’t suffer nor will they ever if I have something to say about it.

Hope still isn’t eating. She is loving and headbumping me, allowing me to pet her, but she won’t eat. One session of force-feeding babyfood and water produced a cat ready for battle and a lot of frothing and foaming at the mouth. I have never seen anything like it and she will be going to the vet at 4:00 today. I have tried all my tricks to get her to eat and she wants no part of any of it. Not the KFC not the wet food that is mixed with a bit of catnip to stimulate an appetite. She is dehydrated but she is using the litter pan so she is at least drinking water. I am stymied why she isn’t eating so hopefully, the vet can shine a light on to the reasons why.