“There’s not much being written these days regarding Stomatitis,” my vet explained to me on Thursday in his treatment room over Bentley’s pain-filled meows.

“I like to attend as many meetings as I can during the year,” Dr. Steve said.”But when the topic is Stomatitis the room is packed. It’s standing room only. The frustrating aspect of these meetings is we leave  with  no more knowledge than we had before.”

At this juncture, Bentley’s cries have settled. He has been given a pain shot, a covinia shot, and a steriod shot. I asked my vet if he learned anything after the lectures, when he mingled with other veterinarians who were as frustrated as he was?

“Not really, There may be some new medication on the horizon or a mixture of two drugs that hold the disease at bay, but it’s all a Hail Mary and this point.”

I am very well acquainted with stomatitis. Bentley (my one survivor of distemper over 11 years ago) had a whopping case of calicivirus when he was a kitten. The one belief about stomatitis is that it is tied to this virus somehow.

Bentley’s mouth cycles in and out of stomatitis. I can look for major flare-ups in the summer during hot weather, and at the end of December. His last steriod shot was late December last year.

He drools, refuses to eat, drops weight at an abnormal rate of speed. If the discharge is heavy, he can lose his meow after he sounds hoarse for a few days. Although I always spot him drinking out of the water bowl, he will dehydrate quickly and need fluids several times a day. He shakes his head violently, as if he has bad earmites (he does not) He will paw at his face and get  what I call “dead eyed’ when you look at him. You know he is dealing with extreme pain. He also will not let me anywhere near his face to do a mouth check.

Years ago, I stumbled upon an article dealing with Slippery Elm Bark and Powdered Deer antler velvet. The article claimed that Slippery Elm is quite helpful when dealing with stomatitis. I decided to try it. 1/4 tsp sprinkled over wet food 3 times a day did the trick and in a few days, his stomatitis was reduced to two spots of red on the back of his throat. (One spot on either side). He would still have his major flare-ups but I could tell the pain was much less.

Then Covid hit and ordering became difficult. Supplies were limited, it was first come, first served, then the item went on back-order. I have been out of it now for several months. I just got some yesterday in fact. His pain this time was substantial. How he was acting so off and so odd, left me with concerns of either kidney disease (which stomatitis can be a symptom of) or cancer. Dr. Steve doesn’t think that either of these are in play right now. He said he would reverse his decision if in a week, Bentley is still dropping weight and not doing well. Then we will go to x-rays and bloodwork.

I had ordered extra slippery elm this last time, to hold us in case we run into problems getting it. I hope in a few days, Bentley is as right as rain, even in this extreme heat.

I am so relieved to say that last night, and only through the Grace of God, I was able to get close enough to Ash to scoop her up and bring her inside! She had eluded me all day and as I went out for the nightly feed, she was lying with the others under the catio. I stopped and petted Bentley and Poe, and she came out from underneath her hiding place. I ignored her, which I believe threw her off her game and when I started to tickle her with one finger under her chin (she was nowhere near enough to do a safe grab) she leaned into the rub and that’s when I scruffed her and ran her quickly into the house. Thank You God. I did not want her to spend a night outside with all the critter action we have going on.

Her brother who missed her and cried for her constantly, did not recognize her. She had other foreign scents on her fur. So I put real vanilla extract (not that imitation fake stuff) on both their noses and at the base of their tails. An hour later, they were once again best buds and snuggled in together. I’m going to go to Home Depot today and get one more plastic trellis and brace off the last two downstairs windows so  this will never happen again.

This week, Governor Brown signed a bill that has been sitting on her desk for over two years now. This bill will impact small rescue organizations that are non-profit (such as myself). After looking at all the changes included in this bill, I have determined that it is best for me to just step away from rescue. So in Jan of 2022, I will surrender my non-profit status. The normal fee in the past to renew your non-profit has been $50.00 a year. Now it is $375.00. I will be honest with you, if I have $375.00 it will go to my vet, or to get cat food and litter.

There is a huge list of changes needed to follow this law, including if you have over 10 animals and you keep them in outside enclosures, you must keep them on a solid floor and have working sinks inside. The paperwork required is more detailed, and if you get a new animal, you cannot accept that animal until they give you the required paperwork. Ferals in the field don’t usually come with paperwork. Not the kind the powers to be require.

When you fill out “their” paperwork, before they will approve it, they come out for an inspection. If they find that you in violation of any of the new rules, you can be fined heavily. They are making rescue harder than it already is and for what?

I was told that these “changes” will stop puppy and kitty mills and hoarders. To that end, I told the woman on the phone that in my line of rescue most hoarders don’t apply for non-profit status and people who run puppy and kitty mills don’t either- so who was she kidding? You know the old saying, you can’t fight city hall. With Covid now in the works and not going anywhere soon, I am tired, and a bit stressed out all the time wondering how I can keep this up on my own, so I am stepping down.

You are more than welcome to contribute if you wish, but the funds will no longer be tax-deductible after this year. I am 66 years old, I have been rescuing stray and feral cats since I was a toddler. My Daddy taught me everything early on that he knew about these cats that he loved so much. I have come up with ideas to improve my rescuing and trapping skills over the years. I’ve lived with them my entire life and I love them with all my heart.  When Ash escaped, I learned of another way to get a reluctant cat into a trap. You stuff the toe of panty hoes with canned cat food and hang this inside the trap over the food dish! This way the cat is so preoccupied in trying to get to the food, the trigger will engage and the cat will be caught! Novel idea given to me by Dusty Rainbolt a fellow rescuer in Texas. I wish I had known of this trick years ago!

On that note, I wish you all a good day.. Stay safe, we are being struck with large cases of the Delta virus in our county, so it is back to full masks inside public places as of today. Our valley is full of smoke this morning, so many fires burning in the Pacific Northwest and California right now. It’s a month early for fire season-

Prayers to all-

Imagine my surprise this morning at 4:00 a.m. when I went out to feed to see Magoo and Ash lying underneath my apple trees! I was so stunned at first, I should have reacted quicker. I did manage to get Magoo to come to me (thank God for our bonding sessions). Ash is still out there. She ran 7 times around the main enclosure to get away from me, stress pooping the whole way. I was not chasing her, just trying to see if she would come to food.

I have been out all morning, there is no sign of her. I am supremely worried, this is her first time outside and she has such a high level of PTSD, She has to be terrified. I have seven traps set out- all visible from windows of the house. I can’t let her brother out- he is white and these extreme triple digit temps, he would be strong in the running for Squamous cell carcinoma of the eartips. I am glad I at least had bonded to Magoo to be able to get close enough to him to grab him. I have left one way into the house, trying to be as safe as possible in doing so. If you happen to land on my blog and see this post please send prayers for Ash. She has to be so out of her element and terrified right now.

They did on the build, try to shore up all openings under my home, but cats are crafty and one has dug a hole under the wire and wood so I am hoping she is under the house right now and safe and will be fairly cool today. I can’t do anything other than what I have done. She will not go to any human (even me). I have to hope that she will find her way into a trap or into the house. This is all my fault. It has been so hot here that last night, I left all the windows wide open- usually shut the ones not protected from inquisitive kitties getting out.

Magoo is out of sorts, leading me to believe that not only does he miss his sister, but they were out well after dark last night.

“Come on God, please don’t let anything happen to her. She has survived hell on earth almost a year ago. She is afraid of her own shadow and I hope and pray that she is under the house. Please just give me a glimpse of her today so that I know she is okay. I really don’t want to lose her after all the strides we have made together- God, bring her home please??”

-Amen-

-Ode to Crazy Cat Ladies-

C-is for the Comfort
found within the purrs.

R-is for the Relationship
wrapped tightly up in fur.

A- is for the Awareness
in between the chaos and the strife

Z   is for the Zeal,
you’ve got a friend for Life.

Y- is for the Yowling,
heard only during feeding time.

C- is for the many Cat food cans
waiting down the line.
A- is for Aluminum,
it’s recyclable (Thank you Lord).

T-  is for the Tomcat
(now neutered) at your door

L- is for the Licking of the tongue
upon the face.

A-is for feline Agility,
the loveliness, the grace.

D- is for the town Debate,
Is she crazy? Is she sane?
Y- is for Yielding, to the One who truly reigns,
understanding this life is a calling
not one easily explained.

-Mary Anne Miller-

This morning, when I went to feed, I found a lot of blood within the food tray. The food was gone, but whoever was injured left a lot of blood. Using my flashlight, I tracked the blood trail but I lost it once it went off the table and down to the ground.

There is a mom racoon who comes to feed around 2 a.m. she has five babies (so cute) It could be that one of them lost a tooth, but it seems to be a lot of blood for a tooth loss? I’ve washed up the mess to keep the flies and yellow jackets from coming in. The only cat not accounted for this morning is Crazy Eyes. Everybody else came in to eat and say good morning. I don’t know who or what got injured last night, but it was crazy out there on the highway. The Jamboree is in full swing and the town is full of mostly maskless strangers, drinking and having a county-western good time.

I went to Safeway yesterday morning (wearing a mask) and the store was packed. I saw maybe 6 people with masks on- all employees had their masks on. Oregon had recently 1,000 new cases of Covid. They don’t break that down at all, how many were hospitilized/ tested for/ exposed to? You would think after all this time of learning about Covid they would have better tracking measures..

They keep sounding astounded that this corona virus can morph into so many other variants. Cats are born with the corona virus, that’s why they get URI. This virus can sit in their systems for years and morph into the fatal FIP without warning. What did they really think the coronavirus would do to people exposed?

Everybody please stay safe-crazy weather, crazy virus, crazy world..

We have had to substantially cut down the amount of canned cat food (and dry) that we are feeding the cats here. Monday, Weds and Friday are canned cat food days. But now, we find ourselves completely out of canned food and only $20.00 in the Kitty to buy any more.

For some reason, in our town I was told there is an aluminum can shortage? So canned cat food- Friskies and Fancy Feast are just not attainable right now. If anyone can help us out- please do-

I will try and straighten out my wish list on Amazon to make it easier, but if you need our physical address you can reach me at mothermary55@comcast.net

Thank you for your care and concern regarding the rescues here-

Early in the morning, even before my world is awake, the kittens have taken it upon themselves to wake me up. This early morning alarm clock can “go off” anywhere between 1:00 a.m.-4:30 a.m.

This morning, the alarm was a sudden crash of items hitting the floor. I jumped out of bed and turned on the light only to discover my bulletin board where I hang my jewelry had been displaced from the wall by active kitty paws. They were playing among the necklaces and earrings pretty happy to have found yet another toy to amuse themselves with. I, however was not all that amused.

I rescued my cosmetic jewelry that had dropped around their necks before it caused them to suffer a panic attack. I scooped up all the jewelry out of harms way for now. I will have to figure out another way to store them so the kitties don’t think they are play toys.

Lately, if I wake up before the kitty alarms are sounded, I will lie in bed and softly call to Ash. I say her name almost in a whisper, twice, two times in a row. Generally, she is laying with Kota between his front paws, so I know she is close.

She will jump on the bed and walk over to me, lay down close to my face and lick my chin. I learned quite early during this ritual that I need to stay perfectly still and not pet her, She will explore my face, nuzzle my ears and neck and when she is satisfied, she will then jump down and go snuggle with her buddy Kota. I call this my sweet spot in the morning.

I also learned during this time, to call to her only softly, because if I call to her in my normal voice, Magoo will come up and intercept our moment. He is quite jealous and that is when I will get bit. Both kitties are getting so big now- they will be a year old soon. They have several issues still based on what they experienced before arriving here. Both of them will get one mat on their back in the exact same place. Quite strange. They will not groom themselves or each other, the only thing I could hazard to guess about that inaction, is their fur or skin must have absorbed some of the toxicity of the smoke a year ago? But oh my, they love to be brushed. I could brush both of them 24/7 and they would never leave my side.

(Magoo who is an excellent flyswatter). His prey at the time? A mosquito!) He caught it and ate it too. LOL

Speaking of fires, there are currently 308 active fires in Oregon. One of them, the Bruler Fire could ultimately threaten my town. It is burning in the mountains on the other side of town and it would have to jump the lake to threaten people. Right now it is 10% contained and they just started putting sprinklers on the edge of the fire- drawing water out of the dam to soak the trees bordering the flames to stop it from spreading. Thankfully, we have not had triple digit temps in over a week and the winds have died down. This fire was caused by humans and it arrived three months earlier than the Holiday Fire last year.

The worst fires are up by Portland and also on the border of California and Oregon. My heart goes out to everyone caught in the line of fire, both two-footed and four footed. My eldest stepson called this morning, he was worried because the smoke has arrived where he lives in Alaska. I assured him that for now, we are safe. But fire season is upon us and it is concerning.

I have been concerned in the last few days, about how the 4th will affect the burn babies. Afterall, two kittens who will run in terror when I put a bag of groceries on the kitchen floor, or turn on the coffee grinder – how will all the whiz bang that goes on after dark. How or what will it manifest itself as on the 4th?

If I hadn’t seen it with my own two eyes, I would have never believed it. I’ve never witnessed it before. They ran to the chaos. They were fascinated with the noise and the lights. Instead of running away and finding a place to hide (that I wouldn’t locate in days) they loved the show!

Both of them stayed together, almost hugging each other and went to the windows and doors looking out into the night sky that was exploding with color and noise.I was texting a friend (in disbelief) at the time. She asked me what I thought they were thinking? I considered the comment for a moment and typed back:

“I think they feel like after all they have been through, this is a walk in the park.”

This morning, they are still hugging bodies and sitting at the front door looking outside.Maybe they are waiting for the second act to begin? We got lucky this year, all my neighbors went elsewhere to celebrate. That never happens, generally they hold big family gatherings and shoot off till morning. But there are other homes on the highway and they were certainly celebrating as loud as they could. It was just astounding to me watching their curiosity grow at every bang they heard.

It never gets any easier, even when you know that it’s just right around the corner.  That day when you have to make a very difficult decision regarding the euthanasia of your cat. Baker started slipping quickly downhill two days ago. It started with continuous vocalization- lasting even through the night and morning hours. Repeated visits out to his enclosure, only made him more agitated in his tone. He stopped eating, drinking, peeing and yesterday he vomited blood.

I had been holding on for a miracle. The prescription food was working for awhile, but just like the medications, they couldn’t keep what was already in motion from happening. I suppose in the long-run, while I was praying for a miracle  God delivered an unexpected one this morning. When I called the vet and told the girl what was going on, I was given the only appointment left open for the holiday weekend- the emergency appointment at 9:00..

I held Mr. Baker in my arms, as he was sedated and drifted off to sleep. I laid his 19 year old body  gently down on the table.. The  process continued. When the plunger hit home, he stopped breathing.

19 years ago, someone tossed him out of a car from the highway. He was just a baby kitten. He scrambled up one of our trees and Mike climbed up the tree to fetch him. That’s how long ago this arrival has been. He’s been with us ever since.

Now, I am praying for a second miracle, there was only $3.63 in the kitty. I wrote a check for $250.00 and they are holding it until my check comes on the 17th. I have been taking my own budget and buying food and paying the vet from its meager content. It’s what I do, they always come first.

I suppose, I could have put off this decision until Baker really started to suffer- but what kind of rescuer would that make me? Not a good one, I am afraid.

So Baker is gone and he will be sorely missed. My neighbors would get the biggest kick out of him as he did his daily walk-abouts only on our land, and then when he was done, he would follow me back to the enclosure wait till I opened the door and he would go in. Just like a well-trained dog. I never taught him this. It was just his way of saying good morning- and now good night to his world.

Yes, he will be missed…..

Oppressive heat has settled on the Pacific Northwest. I have lived here for over 30 years and I have never seen it hit triple digit numbers in my backyard consecutively. Yesterday, I drug out Kota’s old kiddie pools (there are three of them all have holes.) I stacked them up together, filled them with water and put the pool in the middle of my backyard. I put several large boulders in the pool so that the birds and other critters could get a much needed bath or drink. Our Little Creek is quite little- it is completely dry.

Last night, I woke up to these strange sounds outside.so I looked out the back window. Most of the motion detector lights were on by the barn, and the glow reflected the most amazing sight. There were several critters in the pool! A skunk was bathing, a racoon was washing his hands and a possum was perched on one of the boulders drinking.

I knew that my cell phone camera light wouldn’t carry that far, and if I turned on the porch light, these dehydrated critters would scram. So, Kota and I perched at the window for about 20 minutes watching this wild pool party taking place. Kota was a bit out of it- I had to take him to the vet yesterday as his allergies had gone up into another level. They have him on an antibiotic, a painkiller and prednisone as well as a special antiseptic spray for all his inflamed areas of skin. The pred makes him over-pant (just what he needs right now!) it makes him eat more and sleep more. I was glad he didn’t bark or react. From the look of the critters in the pool, they seemed to really be enjoying the exposure to the pool.

Today it is 111 degrees F and I have refilled the pool and added a few more rocks. I went out to check on the cats earlier,  two of them were perched on the rocks drinking out of this pool. They have bowls of water all over the property but maybe they just wanted to get their feet wet.

We are supposed to continue with the hot weather all next week. At least the local wildlife know where they can come and take a dip without worrying about traffic when crossing the highway on their way to the river.