I’ve been feeling a bit punky lately. Laurel will pick-up on it first. I think she might take her cue from Kota   He seems to know before the pain hits that it’s coming. Once he’s been over to me to offer his comfort, Laurel will show up.

Just recently, Addie will also come to share my lap. It’s quite comforting to have these two lap-warmers on me. Although petting them is out of the question for now (sometimes my fingers don’t feel as if they belong to me anymore).

I’ve already turned down one corrective surgery the doctors want to do on me. Unfortunately, this time around, I don’t have that option. I think the worst part of the whole scenario is once they do the surgery, I will be unable to do much for 6 to 8 weeks. As happy as I am to have these kitties on my lap right now, post-surgery that will not be possible. I have to figure out how I’m going to manage keeping them out of the living room, kitchen and bathroom while I recover. I suppose I will cross that bridge when I get to it. For now I will just enjoy the harmony of having these two kitties getting along on my lap.

Ms. Addie is showing every indication of a bladder infection this morning. Frequent trips to the litter box, resulting in only pea-size drops of urine. She squats so long that I was able to slide a paper towel underneath her to see if she’s passing blood, which she is not. She is not dehydrated, but she’s also not drinking that much.

I called the vet, but they are only open half day and they are slammed busy. So I have confined her. I put her on Hills Science Diet Urinary Tract both dry and wet. I also used the antibiotic they gave me at the emergency room recently. Ground it down to a fine powder, called a friend of mine, who is a crack vet tech so she could help me figure out how many piles I needed to make of this wonder drug she told me 10 and to give Addie one portion of that 10th every 12 hours.

So Addie is in the cat room, she has three bowls of water. She loves to push ice cubes across the floor so there are a couple of ice cubes in one bowl. In the other bowl because she loves ping-pong balls are two ping-pong balls floating around I also rubbed a tiny bit of table salt on her gums to make her thirsty. We will see how she goes throughout the day and tomorrow. Hopefully, the infection will clear up quickly and I won’t have to add to my already large vet debt.

Update: 8:00 p.m.- Addie just peed. I couldn’t be more pleased with the way that this is turning out. Her peeing as much as she just did, confirms my suspicion that she had a bladder infection. It must’ve really hurt for her to pee, so now that it doesn’t hurt. Hopefully she will pee more. I will keep up with the antibiotics. if she keeps peeing in larger amounts, I will also stop putting salt on her gums. I’m just so relieved I couldn’t find any open wounds on her. Sometimes she will tussle with Aspen and Laurel, so this just confirms that her infection was internal.

“Crazy Cat Woman Smothered to Death by Beloved Cat!”

Last night during another frigidly cold 20° temperature drop. Our power went out. I was sitting in my chair when it happened. I grabbed the flashlights and made the rounds, looked outside and saw that my neighbors were also dark. They had been predicting black ice, so I assumed that some of the ice must have landed on the wires and caused a problem.

I was already wearing my hoodie. It’s oversized and it’s very comfortable and warm. I grabbed a couple blankets just in case it was going to be a long time without power. I settled back in my chair, Laurel jumped on my lap. She loves to snuggle on my shoulder. She gets highly indignant if she doesn’t get her way.

I was petting her and I noticed her ears were really cold. We don’t have central heating here so she must’ve been in the back room when the lights went out. I had my hood up over my head and she climbed up on my chest, went to snuggle on my shoulder, she changed direction heading for the inside of my hood. I tried to dislodge her. She was very close to choking me. My head and her body cannot fit inside my hoodie! It’s oversize, but not that oversized!

I finally was able to get her out of it. I placed her on my lap and before I knew it here she comes again and she’s trying to crawl back into my hoodi. We had a few minutes of tussling over this before she finally understood that this wasn’t going to happen. Mom needs to breathe. These cats are so funny. Their characters are coming out and they are both a delight and a challenge. But I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Yesterday, I received a stern letter from the Health Department. It told me that I could not “euthanize, get rid of, or otherwise discard said cat: “Bently!” I had to quarantine Bentley for a period of ten days. After that they would be in touch with me regarding how he was doing.

This letter was generated, because I let my guard down. I got careless and for that carlessness, Bently bit me. He did not do it intentionally. He did not mean to cause me any harm. He did it because I was petting him while I was on the phone. He is pet- aggressive in a big way. When you start to pet him, he loves it. However, it over-stimulates him, and he will attack.

The bite ended up with me at Urgent Care the next morning. This was odd, because he did not break my skin. The bites did not bleed. It hurt like the devil when he attached to my arm, but when he finally released me, I could only see red spots where his teeth and claws had been. I just put cold water on it and went on with my day,

The next morning, my hand was swollen and quite painful. Again, no blood- it just hurt more than I thought it should. I also needed to update my tetanus. I knew before I left, that even though he wasn’t rabid, I would be required to quarantine him (Oregon has strict laws about this).

It ended up, that according to the doctor, Bently had punctured my knuckle. They gave me an updated tetanus shot that was fairly new on the market and stronger than the other pre-existing shot. They also gave me a new type of antibiotic to take. Ironically, afterward. I was sicker than a dog, not from his bite but from the injection and the antibiotic. I stopped the antibiotic the second day of taking it and just had to ride out the side effects of the Tdap injection. I still am unable to lift my left arm this morning past my waist. Bent bit me on the right hand/arm.

This is what happened because I didn’t follow my own rules with him that day. He jumps on my lap all the time to get petted. Long ago, I learned a painful lesson that I needed to let him decide it was time to jump down, and not encourage him to do so. The doctor at Urgent Care laughed when he first walked into the room and saw me.He said “So, you are here for another cat bite I bet?” This is the fourth time this year that he has treated me for cat bites. None of those bites were from Ben until now. I told the Dr. It’s an occupational hazard.

Here is Bently snoozing on my lap. Looks so peaceful, but looks can be deceiving! 🙂

Kota is in respiratory distress. I am sitting in the parking lot at the vets office right now with Kota. He started last night. His breathing became shallow and slow. On a normal dog their respirations should be 30 breaths per minute. The highest his breath got was 16 and the lowest was seven. That’s when he was at rest. When he’s active and walking around, his breaths increased to 55 breaths, per minute. Please say a prayer for this wonderful dog. I am so concerned and confused right now about what’s going on with him he was doing so well. But then all of a sudden he has plummeted. I know he’s in pain, because when he’s in pain, he will come to me and put his head between my legs and drop his head. That’s when I know that he needs comfort . He was doing this to me early in the a.m. Just pray for him please. I can’t take another hit on our vet bill. But he is my heart. Ever since Michael died he’s not left my side. He has saved my life twice, I really hope they find out what’s wrong with him finally and fix it. I hope I can return the favor and save him.

*******UPDATE*********

This morning, other than finding the regular things that are wrong with Kota- he checked out fine otherwise. After answering some tough questions from the vet, she informed me that the reason Kota is having breathing difficulties is because he is catching my stress. She said that we are both so entertwined and connected that he can smell my stress level rising even before I can realize that it is rising to the stratosphere. She’s giving me mild sedatives to give him which will help his breathing and his anxiety.

I was, I can’t even think of the word of how I felt when I realized that I was the reason that he was presenting with such symptoms. I thought when I rushed him to the vet this morning that he was having heart issues or fluid problems on his lungs. But he was just ianxious about me. I am going to try to keep my balance from here on in.

I am still missing Michael like crazy (although my primary care provider informed me a few weeks ago that I should’ve only grieved for Mike for a year.)I should be over it by now that is her diagnosis. Trust me I’m trying to be over it but I miss him like crazy. He was a big part of me for so long and not having him here is still extremely difficult. I don’t care what my doctor says about that.

So I left the vet office, feeling grateful for the diagnosis, but guilty for causing it. It was an expensive lesson that I won’t soon forget. Thank you to those who prayed, I was really concerned driving to the vet as well as very confused  after looking in all my books to see what he might have going on, he had none of the symptoms of anything such as poisoning, shock lung disease, or any respiratory illness, other than the fact that he was struggling to breathe.

Thank you for your prayers

This morning, at about 4 AM, I let Kota outside for his bathroom break. My outdoor lights were on, however, unless I go to the barn and switch on the main switch, all my property does not light up at the same time. Instead of going to his potty spot,  Kota vanished into the darkness.

This is not typical behavior for him. So I called him back, he returned immediately, but to my surprise he was not alone. He was accompanied by a fawn! He wasn’t attacking the baby, she was just coming with him out of the darkness. I quickly called him inside and grabbed my robe,  slippers and a flashlight. By the time I got back outside and had my wits about me, she was vanishing with mom across my pasture.

In a world that is seemingly feeling like it’s spiraling out of control, it was so calming to just have a moment of relief. To see two creatures, who normally would not get along very well, coexist, even just for a few seconds next to each other was like a breath of fresh air which I really needed especially right now.

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Last night without any invitation on my part, Addie jumped up on my lap. I quickly took a selfie. She looks quite proud of herself. It’s a slow process but she’s finding her way to totally trust me.

Addie has been here now just over 30 days. During the night, she is a bundle of energy. She races with the other cats up and down the stairs, they tumble down the hallway, scattering area rugs in their wake. This morning when I went into my office, I discovered that one of them (my money is on Aspen) she had opened my file drawers, and scattered all my files all over the floor. What a mess!

I have started doing a lot of interactive playtime with all of them right before bedtime. Sometimes it works, other times not so much. Addie has also decided that Kota’s bed is the best place in the house to sleep.

While she is on it, she will charge Kota if he tries to lay next to her. It’s the funniest thing to see this tiny little Torti kitty challenge this big black German Shepherd. So I thought well I’ll just go out to the barn and bring in his second bed so that he has a bed and she has a bed. That didn’t work so well!

She liked this one too! Silly kitty.

Monkey has been in his new home for over two weeks now. Last I heard, he’s fit in with the whole family, they love him a lot. He is the only kitty in the house. So I can imagine they treat him like the king. He believes he is! After he left, I could feel the whole house let out a big sigh. The balance returned between the three kitties, they were able to find their way with each other. Even though all three of them are female.

He was quite the instigator to a lot of the issues they were having. I did caution, the people that adopted him to not get another cat at least not right away. Monkey does not like to share his attention with another animal.

I’m almost finished with the book by Anne M. Martin – “Foods Pets Die For.” This has not been an easy read by any measure. It certainly has been eye-opening. She challenges the reader within her pages to be very careful and read all the print on all bags and cans of pet food. After I read the challenge, I took out my trusty magnifying glass and did just that. I was amazed to see that on the dry food, in really small print, there is a warning that says: “If you get any of this product on your hands, wash your hands immediately!” This is the food we are supposed to feed our beloved pets?

I would go into greater detail as to what she has discovered in her investigation of the pet food industry that falls into our dry and wet cat food and dog food. But I can’t because it just distresses me to no end. It is not a regulated industry. It is a self regulated, industry and all sorts of flotsam and jetsam end up in the mix. Dry food is the worst, but as a friend of mine recently pointed out to me, what can you do when you can only afford so much money to feed your pet. There’s little out there that is quality, and that includes the broader more expensive brands. Unfortunately, according to the author, even those expensive brands are not of good quality. Especially after a sell out, ingredients change. She does list nine ingredients to steer clear of: meat meal, meat and poultry byproducts,bonemeal, animal fat, or tallow,, copper, zinc, and iron. I just want to highly recommend that you pick up this book and take a look at it. It will make you more aware of what is going on with companies that we are supposed to trust.

I am anxiously waiting for Friday, hoping for the first time in many days that it won’t rain. They can’t dig a trench when it’s raining. Hopefully by the end of the day I will have actual water flowing through pipes instead of garden hoses into my house. They are also going to test the water to make sure that there’s nothing unhealthy lurking within. However, looking at the weather forecast for the week, it doesn’t look hopeful that it’s not going to rain.

Well, I need to run now, I hear noises from my office. I suspect that Aspen is up to her antics again, and my files are once again probably spread all over the floor. Kittens can’t live with them, can’t live without them! LOL!

Laurel has developed a very unhealthy attraction to plastic. Not plastic toys, but anything wrapped in plastic becomes her ultimate goal is to conquer. It’s been so concerning, she has made several trips to the vet just because she has what he calls “the feel bad’s.” With all the testing that they’re doing they cannot seem to pin it down into one diagnosis. I know what it is, she has eaten plastic in the past unnoticed by me. Now with even all of our attempts to childproof all the drawers, cupboards and closets. She still seems determined to find and kill any piece of plastic she can locate.

Last night I woke up to the all to familiar dreadful sound of plastic rustling. I quickly sprang out of bed, running into the kitchen I turned on the light. I found her completely immersed in eating a plastic grocery bag. I have no idea where it came from? None of our cupboards or drawers or closets were opened. She must’ve just found it stuffed somewhere. It is quite concerning how obsessed she is. She’s not eating very much. I’ve tried her on everything from baby food, to safe human food. It seems her palate only wants plastic.

A friend of mine was telling me about a book she recently read about micro plastics. In it, the author has discovered that these small micro beads of plastic are being found in everything from adults, to babies!. They are being found in livestock, cats and dogs. Apparently no one is immune. I have had cats in the past to have wanted to lick the grocery bags, or even P on the black garbage bags. But I’ve never had a cat as obsessed over plastic as Laurel shows herself to be

My struggle right now is to get her to eat. We’ve tried appetite stimulants, I went to the feed store and got a few feeder mice. She’s just not interested.

She went to the vet two days ago they gave her a shot of Cerenia, they took x-rays, although they know plastic won’t show on the x-rays. They could find no evidence of obstruction. The only thing they discovered, which was concerning to them was her colon wall, and her bowel wall appear to be very thick. They suggested to sound an ultrasound. The budget does not support that test.

Since we are still without potable water, when I buy water now, I have to immediately unwrap it and throw the wrapping’s deep down in the trash. Otherwise, she will dive in after it. It’s very odd to say the least.

They are going to fix the well on the 27th of this month and I cannot wait. You just never know how much you take something for granted until it’s gone or out of reach. The water coming out of my irrigation well right now is extremely nasty smelling  They tell me that this will be fixed once they put in the brand new tank. Something about the old tank is so ancient, that the sludge is just sitting at the bottom of the tank with nowhere to go as the tank no longer holds air. All I know is I need this problem fixed before winter sets in. The garden hoses that bring the water into the house currently or just adding to the problem of unpotable water.

This post, will not be about cats or kittens. This post is about something much more precious, which is water. This will be the 31st day since I have experienced “water inconsistency” in my home. I suppose it’s the way they label things now. They don’t call people without homes homeless, they are now houseless. They don’t call kids who are starving in the United States as starvation, they call it food inconsistency. As I learned recently, they don’t call people who are dealing with a dry well, what it actually is. a dry well, they refer as I have water insufficiency.

I drive to town every two days and fill up my jugs with as much water as I can carry. Several of the gas stations I talked to would do this for me for a price. I found one, who lets me take the water for free. I’m not talking about 50 gallon jugs that I’m filling up. First of all I have a 5 gallon jug that when I fill it up I can barely lift it. I’m talking about juice containers and old water bottles, things of that nature.

I’ve had people come out, they are “experts in their field” some are pump experts, others are well drillers, and others are well constructors (which I never even knew there was such a creature.) They are not free. I wish they were. So much for free estimates. I also talked to the Water Master, who I found a very delightful man. He was full of a lot of information. He told me that my water table is very low. He told me that on this street alone in the last year, there have been 17 new wells drilled. He also said that a lot of these houses that have stayed empty for so long and are now occupied , they are occupied by people who are used to paying high water bills. He said he’s discovered that the thinking among these people when they first discover that they don’t have to pay for water is they don’t worry about it. They don’t realize that water may be free, but it is not endless.

It takes me about an hour and a half to do my dishes. I have graduated to paper plates. I cannot use my washer. Going into town to do my laundry last week was a real culture shock for me. I have to be honest,  the last time I went to the laundromat was a long time ago. To wash clothes was $.50 to dry a quarter. Those days are gone.

I’ve had one well claimed dry, and the expert said that he would certify that it was dry. Yesterday this well sprung a leak, after somebody who said he knew what he was doing decided to redirect the irrigation well water to the domestic well. Unfortunately, about an hour later, my domestic well just blew up. Literally exploding water everywhere. The pressure cracked pipes, damaged casings, and even blew the top off my two year old pump comply off!

I am looking for funding. What I am finding is that due to the political issues, they have put a freeze on what they consider “nonessential funding” unfortunately this non-essential funding involves the elderly of which I’m one. So although there are grants out there that I could get. They have frozen them, so nobody gets them.

I’ve had quotes on how to fix the problem, going anywhere from $2,000-$12,000. The problem is even to qualify for funding you have to have estimates. Even the experts that have been out here who have told me that before they left, I would have a written estimate in my hand, can’t seem to follow through with what they promised. I am paralyzed because I can’t apply for funding without knowing how much money I’m going to need.

So here I am, jumping into my truck, driving into town and filling up these jugs every two days. I am repaying this courtesy with my cooking. I take most of my meals and make dinners and then can them for winter. The gentleman is very appreciative of what I’m doing. He is a bachelor with four children. I wish I was a better cook, I definitely wish I was a chef. But I do honest, home-cooked meals. The food they give you at the food bank is plentiful. I’ll put together whatever I can with what I have to make things work.

I am sorry to be such a vast departure from what I’m all about which is my cats. When they redirected the irrigation, well to the house, the mineral content in it was alarming. I had to boil it for three minutes until all the minerals formed this nasty ring around my pots. Then I had to clean the ring off, and re-boil the water in another pot for three more minutes. That was just to get potable water for my animals.

I have done everything I can do to get this process going. I have filled out a Dry and Abandoned Well Report for the government. I have applied through the government for a grant, which again is there, but isn’t. I have contacted 10 organizations that help the elderly with low income.. I have called 21 well drillers, six pump companies. I’ve had only four replies. Only three people have come out.

I am sitting here, treading water, trying to stay afloat. Wondering when I’m going to have water coming back through my pipes into my house. From where I’m sitting right now. It looks very bleak. They all tell me on the phone:. “Don’t worry as soon as it starts raining your wells will fill up.” It’s supposed to be raining hard right now, according to the forecast but there’s nothing falling from the sky.

Thank you for letting me vent. It’s been a totally overwhelming time for me lately. All kitties are fine, they are getting the best water I can offer them. I am doing the best I can with what I have.I always do.

“May God Bless your day”

M.A.

Both Monkey (aka Turtle) and Addie have been brought together in short spurts of time over the last few days. It has not gone well. I think we might have been rushing them together to soon (because the family waiting in the wings are becoming a bit insistent of taking both home). It isn’t in the forecast in the moment. They are coming over Saturday to see the kittens (and I think) to also try to persuade us to let them take both of the kittens home with them. Again, that is not going to happen. The two kittens are not getting along with each other, although Addie is very submissive to both Aspen and Laurel. She is openly hostile towards Monkey.

These introductions done properly can be accomplished successfully, I wouldn’t have put these two together yet, for a least another month. Addie simply wishes to kill Monkey, she is intent on hurting him. I am going to talk to the family to see if they can change their minds and only take one of the kittens. The family has another female cat already.But again, even if they decide on only one, doesn’t matter how much they beg, the kittens are still not quite ready for a new home.

We also have introduced Monkey to Kota. Monkey likes to crawl into Kota’s ear! I can’t allow that- Kota currently has an inner ear infection. Although the photo below shows a calm Monkey, he does not stay that way very long. He likes to bite Kota’s paws and tail hard! I have to stand by and referee, to make sure that Kota stays safe.

Rushing this process is backfiring a bit on me, I thought it might, but with three little girls waiting in the wings and sending me sweet notes about how much they love these two kittens, I decided to chance it. Now, I wish I had followed my instincts and let more time go by before the introductions officially began. Live and Learn as my Dad would say.