It is now 5:30 a.m. and I fell out early last night. With three days running of sleep deprivation, I had to get some sleep or I wouldn’t be useful to anyone.
I was just in checking on Shell and she wouldn’t come out of her carrier. I finally, carefully lifted her out to discover that she had vomited in the night. I put her into another carrier while I carried out her soiled bedding. I can’t run a load right now, we are sitting at 12 degrees and the washing machine (on the back porch) the pipes are frozen. I took her bedding into the shower and washed off her pillow then threw that in the dryer.
I went back in and put the carrier on the bed and she walked right out. I was lying down and she head-bumped my face. I am so grateful that nasty, thick, smelly discharge is now gone! Gosh she wants to be petted and gets downright upset if I don’t comply. I am so used to working with cats that don’t want you to touch them and here I have a cat who wants nothing more than a simple pet, and I can’t really touch her much!
Her ears are cool as are her legs, but she is active and we had a gentle love-fest.
I needed to get her new litter, so I put her on the floor. She jumped back on the bed! Then she settled down for a little nap, keeping a careful eye on me as I made her environment as clean as possible.
She has stains on her back legs, but I don’t want to bathe her, so I settled for grabbing a baby brush and very, very gently brushed her and removed several small mats I encountered along the way. Her only fur left is on her head and chest, and the back of her rear legs.
I found myself wishing I had kept a few of the fleece cat bed bags that I recently donated but the problem with those “beds” are they don’t stay up and collapse around the kitty.
When I finished cleaning, she went right into her cage and up into her bed.
At any rate, she must be feeling better because before I left her room she asked me to share her list of Likes & Dislikes:
Likes: mom petting my head or my cheek* food appearing like clockwork in my day*my nice warm bed* the Drinkwell, fun to play with*my new home- there isn’t any mud in here!*the vet- he is very gentle with me*the big man Mike-though he does scare me at times*
Dislikes: the drool that keeps arriving in my mouth especially when I am eating and drinking* the big dog who keeps barking in the other room* mom taking my temperature- (but I show her) I rabbit-kick her hand away*being asked to come out of my carrier when I don’t want to.It’s so warm in there and it smells nice, why should I leave?
Oh goodness! I came over from the cat blogosphere:
http://www.blog.catblogosphere.com/
Poor little Shell. I will be praying for her, and I will be donating to her chip-in as soon as I get money transferred. Bless you for taking her, and so many others in.
I am not computer savvy, but if anyone wants to donate to Shell my website http://www.kitten-rescue.com has a Paypal button on the homepage. Her care is going to be long-term so anything will help out. Prayers will be appreciated as well.
God Bless ALL of you!
We just read your last few posts about Shell and all we can say is OMC!! Bless you for taking her in!! And we are purring that she can recover from all her ailments!! The poor thing!!!
Oh Dearest Shell, we will be purring loud, hard and non-stop for you to get better! You couldn’t be in better hands little one! Keep getting strong, ok?
Meowmy, Lucky, Busy, Hope and Gracie~
bless you for taking care of shell. i have to pay my house insurance then i will be able to give a little something now and maybe a bit more the middle or end of next month. shell will be a work in progress for awhile, but she certainly wants to live. i will add shell to my prayers.
You know, I have a good feeling about this. I think this little girl is going to pull through. I really do. She seems to have a spirit and joy about her that just might be what makes the difference. Fingers and toes and paws crossed from all of us!
Bless you for all your work with Shell. You’ve obviously shown her more love in the time you’ve had her than in her entire life. Sounds like she’s ever so slowly feeling better, especially if she jumped up on the bed for some lovins! Keep up the good work!
Sending comforting purrrrrrssss and healing purrrrayers to Shell and her mom. Shell will be a gorgeous kittie once she feels a little better.
Mom, if you have an electric blanket or electric throw or something similar you could use to cover the cage, that might be a quick way to help keep Shell warm and limit drafts as well. Even a regular blanket or some large towels would cut down on drafts.
There is a ChipIN for Shell at http://shellofacat.chipin.com/shell.
Give Shell a gentle head rub from us, OK?
I just wanted to thank you again for taking Shell in. She sure looks like she is doing well in your care. I sure hope she starts getting better soon but how could she not with all that great care. Have a great Sunday.
Sweet little Shell, I think of you a lot and pray for your recovery. I am so glad that you interract with mom the way you do in spite of all that you are facing. The bunny kicking made my heart smile, you are a very special kitty! Sending you our love everyday.
Marina, Joe and kitties
Dear Shell,
We are happy to read about your progress. Your caregiver is falling for you big time and she writes about you so tenderly. We will visit everyday to check on you.
Wow.. a few weeks ago i found a poorly kitten in my garden with cat flu, i have two cats myself that had it also. I thought it was a struggle with three cats with cat flu, but never shall i moan again. how selfless it is of you to continue when there are many who would have had her euthenized to take the easy way out. The fact that this cat is willing to go through pain just for a bit of love from you says wonders. Please keep up the good work.