I am not referring to the approaching cold-weather, or the choking smoke that lays over the valley. I am talking about a decision. I made last week, after much consideration, procrastination, and reaching out to others who rescue within their homes. After listing the pros and cons of such a monumental decision, I decided to go ahead and move Ashley and Magoo into the introduction cage.

This decision was not an easy one for me to make. Moving them could mean a major upheaval, and setback from where we are right now. It would also mean for the first time in my life, I would not have cats in the house. The only cats from here on in that will be in the house will be bottle babies or small kittens. Once they have been weaned and spay and neutered, I will do everything in my power to find them loving homes.

I had cats in my crib growing up, I played with them instead of dolls. They were my best friends. Now my house is empty of cats and it feels very strange.there are no cat condos, litter, pans, cat toys nothing it feels like another planet.

When the carpet and the pad were pulled up and I saw the damage underneath, I knew that even though I “thought” I was smart and ahead of the urine game, clearly I was mistaken. If you have more than two cats in your home, and you bring in others, either periodically or consistently, one of the ways to communicate with each other is through pee-mail (as I have mentioned before). You cannot stop this interaction, it is instinctive. Of course they communicate in other ways, but one way that is not spoken about until litter box mistakes start to happen is how they talk through their pee.

The cats have been out there now for a week. Yesterday I realized that the move has helped both Ash and Magoo. I have had more contact with them in the last seven days then in the year they lived in the house. They are not in a small cage. It has three levels, and I have created warm caves inside to give them extra security. I decided while I was cleaning yesterday to leave the door open and see what happens.

After I emptied their litter pan and cleaned the cage, I left the door open. I settled back on the couch out-of-the-way to watch what would happen and be ready to stop any rumbles. Magoo was the first one to depart. He met pigeon first they sniffed, there was no posturing, growling, hissing, after they met, Magoo continued in, exploring his new world while pidgin watched intently from overhead. I observed him carefully. There was no twitching of his tail, his ears weren’t back he was almost indifferent. Magoo next met Bentley and PITA, no issues presented themselves. I was finally able to breathe again.

Ashley, soon followed she was more apprehensive than her brother. But no issues presented themselves when she met the other cats. However, she was the first one to jump back into the safety of the cage. Magoo wanted to stay out, but I put them back this was a first time experiment and it will be continued another day. I will do this gradually for the next few weeks, and then, depending on what happens during these experiments will determine whether I will leave the cage door open permanently, keep it open during the day and close it at night or not open it at all. I suspect that my next phase of this experiment will be keeping it open during the day, but closing it up with the kitties safe inside at night. Cats behaviors change at night their predatory instincts kick in . Both of these cats can spray to their hearts content out there and it won’t matter. It’s a dirt floor that gets treated every year with lyme and fresh dirt  I hope within the next two weeks they find their way safely into the group.

I am not sure if it is connected or not, but since the quake hit, I have noticed a remarkable change in the Burn Kitties. They no longer wish to hide (except when strangers are around) but the workers will be done with the build this Weds. Ever since the ground rolled under my house, the kitties are sticking quite close to me. Ashley now will get up in my lap and not claw or bite me. Magoo is content to come up, be brushed (he loves his brushings) and then he will settle down in my lap or by my side.

I was really apprehensive yesterday; I know the electrician is coming on Monday to fix all the electrical problems (and there are many). There is no place in the house where I can be absolutely sure the cats would be safe or non-traumatized. My only option was to put them inside the Introduction Cage in the main enclosure. I knew (or thought I did) that this drastic change in their environment would put them into a tailspin. But, I had no choice. Yesterday, I spent several hours preparing the cage for their four day stay. I put their tunnel inside, two of their litterboxes and blocked some of the wire so that the other cats when they came to investigate the new tenants, would only have a few social holes to do so. My challenge also was to prepare for this crazy strange weather we are getting right now. We should be entering the rainy season, but currently we have two weeks if not more of 80 plus degrees during the day. At night it does dip down into the 40’s so I ended up putting straw at the bottom of the cage, covering that with a sheet and putting their tunnel on top. They have plenty of food and water to last till Tuesday, in case they want to try to escape, I was just going to visit with them through the wire.

I was so pleased this morning, when I went to feed to find both of them out and about exploring their new home. Although it is a three-level cage and I can stand up inside of it, the cage isn’t that comfortable to step into. It was designed by Mike to my specifications to try to prevent escape artists from being successful. I was able to pick them up, hug them and say hello before leaving. That surprised me to no end. I would love it, if they could eventually get along with the four cats inside and visit out there among them.

I say that because when the workers removed the living room carpet, I was mortified by the condition of the floor beneath. Thirty years of rescuing feral cats showed clearly underneath that carpet. No one passed judgement, they just did what they knew to do to fix it. They were finally able to lay down the new flooring yesterday. I love it so much. I did discover with all the moving of furniture that happened; I have an active sprayer. I believe it’s Ashley based on where I found the new stains. It looks like when she is stressed, she will perch on top of a shelf or a bookcase and hang her bum over and let loose. If the sprayer was Magoo I would see the markings on the walls not only the floor. It would be nice if they could get along with the enclosure kitties to the extent that they could spend some time with the others and work off this nervous energy before being brought back inside. At least the new flooring is waterproof which will help.

I am grateful for this program that helped me to get where I am right now. It is not funded by taxpayer money, the program over the years has become self-sufficient. The monies put into the re-build will only be due if I sell my home or I pass away. There is a low-end interest on the loan, but it only exists for 7 years and then it goes away.

The workers have been so wonderful. They have managed to take a room that I spent my last hours with my husband in and turn if from sad to dark, to happiness and joy. Just removing his giant workstation that has set untouched in the corner since he passed, has helped me immensely. It was so big and cumbersome. Now the room is lighter, right now sparsely furnished but so much more open and welcoming.

They all loved Kota, I know he will miss them. He will miss tug and play, pets and love, and I know he will take up vigil every morning at 8:00 for quite a while waiting for that gate to open and his new friends to walk through. Even my feral cats were getting used to the guys, Salem walked by them yesterday and even let Russ pet her. One of the workers told me yesterday that Kota was spoiled. I told him, Kota is not spoiled, he is loved. All my animals are. My kitties will probably only be getting small amounts of wet food through the winter. At this point and time, it is the best thing I can do under the circumstances. They are loved as well-

I will share with you photos of my “new” old home. I hope you enjoy the photo journey. See if you can spot the cat on the roof? LOL!

Yesterday morning I slept in. Instead of getting up  at 4:00 a.m. I slept in an hour and a half. Fog had settled on the Willamette Valley and it was really cold. I didn’t want to face the cold without at least one cup of coffee.  I started my coffee and then sat down in my chair.

Since Mike’s departure, I started a silly game with Kota. I baby talk to him, telling him over and over: “I wuv you. ” as he hears this repeated he will start to crawl on my lap. He’s gotten way too big to get all the way in my lap anymore, so we have settled for halfway. Then he gets his morning hugs and I allow him to wash my face.

Yesterday morning, I started the routine with him, and he began to crawl on my lap. It was 5:30 in the morning. All of a sudden, Kota, stiffened, he cocked his head and pressed against me so hard that I could barely breathe. I was trying to get him off of me, but he wouldn’t budge. He simply pressed harder  and that’s when I heard it. A sound. I will never forget being that. I have lived through two big earthquakes. I heard the earthquake coming and then I felt the ground roll twice beneath me.

Kota started whimpering and pushing on me harder against the chair. I gave up and just wrapped my arms around him and held on. In the background, I could hear crashes as items fell off of walls and shelves to the floor. All of a sudden, Ashley and Magoo bolted into the room and slid under my chair. Then it was over.

Kota released me and laid down on the floor at my feet  I could see that he was quivering, so I slid down out of my chair and sat on the floor. He put his big beautiful head in my lap and we just hugged each other. I turned on TV to find out that the earthquake hit 14 miles from my home in Lacombe. They said that reports were coming in and people were feeling it from the Willamette Valley clear to the coast, and even as far as into Washington state.
it certainly got my attention.

When I finally went outside, I found that we lost several large limbs off our trees. The concrete poured the day before had cracked. When the guys got here, they had to figure out how to fix it because it had shifted. A picture of Michael fell off my wall onto the floor several other items fell off my wall. And off my shelf one of my Garfield collectibles shattered. A basket of flashlights I keep for emergency sake on top of the refrigerator also slid to the floor  there have only been minor reports of damages. No one was injured or killed with this quake  it was only a 4.4 magnitude but it was the first time since moving here that I actually felt an earthquake  It’s not that Oregon doesn’t have earthquakes. It’s just that they’re so small you hardly feel them.

I really do “wuv ” this dog,  thankfully, I believe the feeling is mutual.

I have been enjoying time out on the small deck in the mornings, watching the world wake up. Being that I cannot get Magoo-goo to reset his alarm clock (he goes off without fail every morning at 4:00 a.m.) I go out at the time to feed the outdoor cats and check on the damage done by the wildlife the night before. The racoons love to throw the food trays off in the distance once they are emptied. I no longer leave any dry food out overnight, but have found that at 4:00 even the coons are not around.

By the time I am finished, I am wide awake. so I start my coffee and go out on the deck to watch the morning develop. If I sit there long enough, one of the cats will venture over and either lie next to Kota on his blanket, or jump on my lap. I also have a blanket for protection against claws and sometimes even teeth.

This morning, Bentley decided to join me. I know from experience that if I pet him even just a bit, he will become extremely aggressive. I keep my hands completely off of him. He has landed me in Urgent Care in the past “showing” me how much he loves me.

Here he is, enjoying a moment on my lap.

Please don’t let this peaceful moment fool you. If you notice, his claws are dug deeply into my leg. I had my fleece sweatshirt on as it was quite cold at 6:00 a.m. You can see that my arms aren’t even around him and not because i am holding the camera. I know better. His looks are very deceiving, that does not however defray me from loving him any less. We have traveled a very long road together. He gets plenty of attention when I am outside and he comes to me. If I remain standing up and pet him for a bit, he will tolerate that. He might decided to attack my ankles, I always wear shoes and socks. I know from past experiences that open-toed sandals do not protect sensitive toes.

However, it was nice to share this morning moment with him. A good start to the day.

A friend of mine stopped by later to see the progress on the house. Haley has helped me a lot around here to accomplish projects. We always joke that we may not do it the correct way, but it does get done. Her smile when she drove up to see the new paint on the house was a joy to behold. I gave her an outside tour and then told her that this one wall (which is actually the back wall of the carport- was crying out to me to paint a mural on it. I decided to do cats on a fence and call them “My Gatekeepers” since the wall is between two gates. I’ve never done an outside mural- only murals inside so I have to figure out if I use my own paints then put on a finish to seal it  or exterior house paint? I will have to look into that aspect. The mural will take shape next year as we are getting into rainy season now. To me, it is not a painted wall, it is a blank canvas.

We are just a few days away from the first day of Fall. This morning, there is a steady downpour so the painting will cease until the weather clears. But there is still much to do. It has been decided that the old fence will be placed around the base of the main enclosure. This will allow the cats to be protected both in the summer by providing a bit of shade, as well as the winter to stop some of the bite of the wind. The contractor has been building small cat platforms that will be elevated on the sides of the house and also inside my new observation porch. This way, when I am working inside or just watching the storms, my kitties can hang around up above me. He is so in-tune with cats, he has actually been able to make friends with PITA. She will come to the wire now while he is working, and rub up and down the wire. I have warned him to beware, her looks are deceiving. She bites and she bites hard. So far, he has kept all his fingers outside the wire. But I can see, he really wants to pet her. She bit me just yesterday after I flea-treated her. I have had her for years and I know her MO.

My house has gone from looking gloomy blue to a vibrant green with yellow gables and white trim. One of my friends texted yesterday as she drove by and said my house looks like a lime slurpee! I replied, I love lime slurpees! Maybe you can be the judge? All I know is my house used to look like it was in mourning, now it makes me smile. As you can see by the photos, even Nature approves of the color change. I am so glad for this government program. Without it, nothing would be changed here.

Once this is all finished and I plant lavender in my yard, my front yard is going to pop!

I get paid tomorrow. After the bills are met, I will have just under $200.00 to run me a month. This is first used for cat food/litter. I have a preliminary order with Chewy for $72.00 hopefully that will last the kitties until my next check. It’s always a juggling match.That puts my cushion for a month to $90.00 for my food and gas. Thankfully, the gas prices are creeping down slowly. It does not allow me to hit the vet debt or put any aside for emergencies.

That’s how we are doing it now. We are able to keep our doors open for rescue based on the help from you to meet our renewal fee for next year. We thank you for that! So this new color helps to cheer me up when I feel overwhelmed at times. I can go out and sit on my mini-deck and be joined by my rescues. I look at the trees and my pastures and feel at peace with the world. I don’t know how we keep it going, but we find a way.

I sent a picture of my new face-lifted house to my older sister. She lives in Florida. I was almost certain Gwen was going to harass me about the color choice. To my surprise, she loved it! She said it looked “Very Key-Westy!” I’ve never been to Key West but if they have vibrant colored neighborhoods, perhaps I will add it to my bucket list? Not that I ever go anywhere, to many cats need me. But it is nice to dream. At least she didn’t tell me it looked “Vey Key-Limey Pie!” LOL  I believe Mike would approve- he might groan a bit, he was pulled in by darker tones, but I think, in the end, I would win him over.

Well, the crew is pulling up, so I need to go move my truck. As much as I like the colors of my new house, I don’t want my truck to be the same!  Take care all of you who still swing by from time to time. Be safe, be loved, be cherished. That is the best place to be right now.

A few days ago, my cell phone kept pinging. We were getting alerted to high fire damage, gusty winds up to 65 miles an hour. There is a active fire and 58 miles from where I live. This morning the sky was pink and swirly and gray and smelly. The sun was blood red. We lost power for two days. It was turned on finally this afternoon at 4 o’clock. I was getting called, emailed and texted with all of these dire fire warnings and Highwinds. Knock on wood so far the winds haven’t gusted as high as predicted. It is quite warm outside.  I just got back from filling the kitties water bowls with fresh clean water and putting out their food. They seem a bit depressed, the smoke was pretty thick and some ash was falling out of the sky.

Both Ashley and Magoo have been glued to the windows since the warnings started  it does make me wonder if perhaps the smell of the smoke reminds them of their mom? Perhaps that is what’s drawing them out? I don’t know but just like on the Fourth of July it seems like smoke and fire and ash is highly attractive to them.

The wasp nest is still active. I am not feeding out by the creek yet. I have another pest control expert coming on Monday  let’s hope he’s a bit more honest than the last. I really need to start feeding out by the creek because Bristol has been coming in and starting fights with the other cats. He is really beating the pound out of Goblin  so far it hasn’t gotten to the stage where abscesses are showing up, but cat bites are hard to find until it’s almost too late. Although goblin did let me pet him the other day, his trust isn’t such that I can pick him up and explore him for heat sources on his body. I’m just praying that by Monday the problem will be taken care of and I can again start feeding by the creek to avoid these confrontations.

It’s still insufferably  hot here, but at least with the power restored the house is cooler. I wish we had more canned food but we ran out this morning. We still have dry food but during this intense heat wet food is better for all. At least we didn’t have any fires starting close to town. That’s why they shut down the power grid. As long as I’ve lived here I have never seen McDonald’s close until this weekend. When I went to Safeway to do some shopping you would’ve thought it was a zombie apocalypse! There were so many people in the parking lot, the water, the ice, most of it was gone. So I stopped at the dollar store and bought ice cube trays and made my own ice to keep my freezer and my refrigerator cold once the power was going to be shut off. At least I was ahead of the game. With the work crew being here there was an outhouse in my front yard. So that came in handy. LOL! Good timing

My contractor just made two beautiful perches for the ferals  He attached them to the side of the house near the patio enclosure and they absolutely love it. The way they are designed, they will help the cats get into the enclosure and keep the raccoons away. It’s pretty cool to have a contractor who loves cats working on my house right now.

Last Saturday, due to the high fire warnings, I decided it was high time to attack the long grasses in my orchard line. I leave these long grasses for several reasons. It invites in the local wildlife, deer and the like to bed down in the shade of the trees. It also provides protection for the free-roaming strays and ferals from the hot sun in the summer and the rain in the wintertime.

Although this year, the grasses were quite higher than ever before, due to a malfunctioning lawnmower. So I pulled out my trimmer mower and went to work. The DR Trimmer mower is a godsend. Especially in regards to getting rid of thick grass and blackberry bushes. I always wear protective gear because it is known to fling up small rocks and sticks as it eats its way through the weeds etc.

I was making good time with it, when suddenly I felt this burning sensation on my neck. Initially, I thought it was small rocks that had flung up from the ground. Boy was I wrong. I looked around and that’s when I saw these small white flying insects swirling out of the ground. I had inadvertently run over a massive nest! I could feel several sensations in my neck that were not pleasant. I am grateful now, that I had put Kota on a down stay in the backyard. Had he been there, I am sure he would have jumped immediately into the nest to protect me. Cupping my hand to my throat, I fled to the house.

This is the first time in my life that I have been attacked by wasps. Turns out Sunday after having to go to Urgent Care due to the pain and swelling, I was not stung. The doctor said I was bitten. He explained that wasps have teeth with venom inside their mouth as potent as what is carried in their stinger. I was bitten five times.

They gave me a pain shot, a shot of steroids, some anit-nausea pills and sent me home with  additional steroids to take the next day. The pain was incredible. I have a high threshold for pain, but this was so different. Right after the attack, I started getting this nasty taste in my mouth. I could feel it as it dripped down my esophagus and it burned. That turned out to be the toxin the bites delivered.

Yesterday, the pain was still so intense I called my PC and went in. She told me I am suffering from extended reactions to the bites and gave me some lidocaine cream.This morning, thankfully, I was able to keep down water and crackers. The swelling is gone, the redness is gone and as the pain was traveling from my neck down to my chest, the chest pains are gone as well.

Now, I have a massive underground nest of stinging biting white wasps?  I dumped two large cans of RAID (something I would never ordinarily use on insects outside.0 But these buggers are fast, they come in hard and leave a lot of damage behind. God knows what they would do to Twist or Goblin my two high-prey cats. Much less to Kota because i have seen this goofy dog snapping and eating yellow jackets when he is getting pestered by them. I had called several pest control companies after the incident, but it was on the holiday so only yesterday did one arrive.

Turns out, these were yellow jackets and why they were white (according to this man) is because the nest was being attacked and they were diving down into the nursery to carry the larvae to another location. The nursery is protected by this white powder, and they tuck their stinger underneath the babies to protect them. This is why they bit me and did not sting me. The price he gave me to not remove the nest, but to dust it with what turns out to be something I already have on hand- diatomaceous earth (I use it to control fleas in the backyard) was way overpriced( in my mind anyway.) I have another guy coming on Friday. I want to see what he says. I don’t know about you guys, but $500.00 to kill these insects seems a bit steep? That could buy a lot of cat food, cat litter and hit the vet debt. We will see what this second man has to say.

So for now, I have to stop feeding Bristol by the creek. I am not even going into my back pasture with the entrance to this nest being so exposed. The RAID did not even faze these buggers! I just want them gone. I don’t want my cats stung or bit either. I am going to ask the pest expert if he can find anymore nests in the long grasses that remain. I don’t know if that is even possible? But it never hurts to ask. I do know, it will hurt if I find another nest when I try to continue attacking the grasses before they decide to fight back!

This morning when I went to feed, God blessed me with my first contact with Goblin! I was able to actually run my hand quickly down his back as he was eating! He will have been here one year ago on this approaching Halloween. This is a good sign that he is finally trusting in my presence.

My thanks to those of you who contributed recently to keep my non-profit going. So appreciated that you gave of your hearts. Stay safe everyone. Love the ones you’re with and let them know or show them   how important they are to you.

To my surprise late in the morning as I walked with Kota to the creek, to leave Bristol his food for the day. I saw a mama possum, she was following the line of blackberry bushes to our creek. She looked a little bit odd, and then I realize that she had babies hanging off of her. I counted five. I grabbed Kota by the collar because although he is trained, he is still a dog and curious enough to want to investigate. Since she had babies, she would not be playing possum. She would fight to defend them. so I stopped. When she reached the end of the line of blackberries, she turned towards me and saw me for the first time. She puffed up like a poison toad and I knew that we could not get any closer than we were. I put Kota on a sit and we waited until she made her way down to the creek and the tray of food that she knew was there as well.

Normally I only see these critters late at night or early in the morning. But I overslept this morning, so I was a bit late. But it was a great sight to see. Slowly and surely the wildlife is coming back. We currently have 29 wildfires burning here in Oregon. We are getting a lot of smoke but hopefully that’s all we’re going to be getting. If the smoke gets any denser than it is now, or a fire starts in the hills nearby, the wildlife will once again vanish

I do have a request. If 10 people can send me five dollars I can meet my deadline to renew my nonprofit for another year. I am a bit short because now I am having to buy cat litter as well as cat food.. I need to meet their deadline at the end of September. Right now, I am unable to do that. Such is the life of a nonprofit these days because of situations beyond our control.

Nothing quite wakes you up in the mornings, when at 4:00 a.m. you are walking across your pasture towards the feral feeders and a bat flashes your face. I had my flashlight at a downward angle. It has such a strong beam that the one neighbor complains it wakes her up in the morning. She is living on her brother’s property in a small trailer next to my fence line.

Suddenly, over the songs of the frogs who appeared yesterday after a quick rain, I heard this soft whooshing noise. It came low and at an angle. As it veered down and in front of me, I felt the tips of its wings brush my cheek. Then it was gone.

Unlike most people, bats do not freak me out, at least not here in Oregon. If I lived in Transylvania, I might have a different opinion. They started appearing by the dozens after the takedown of my carport which started Monday. The roof is completely flat and it was so saturated with water and rot. There were so many mosquitos that took flight during that demo.

I was happy to see the return of the bats here. They haven’t been around much since the Holiday Farm Fire. When Mike and I first bought this place, because there is a creek on it, Mike built bat boxes and climbed the tallest trees to set them in place. The boxes have remained, but in the last two years, they haven’t been occupied. I would bet, after this morning’s encounter, if I walked back to the creek, the boxes would read No Vacancy.

The morning crew was there to meet me. Goblin has been making herself known more and more. She no longer runs when I am outside feeding and her and Twist (my outside Alpha) have finally stopped challenging one another. There is a new kitty who has arrived recently. He is very young 5-6 months, I am guessing? He is very cheeky and there have been altercations in the last few weeks taking place well after midnight. But, by the time I get out there, the aggressor has vanished.

I saw him two days ago. He has the start of the full cheeks of a Tom. He is a tuxedo kitty with striking markings. He is pure black except the tip of his tail is white, his feet are white and he has some sort of a checkerboard pattern on his chest. Really beautiful. But he is scared of his own shadow, so he is either a neglected pet, or he is from a feral litter. I have put my traps out, and caught a possum (who hissed at me). A skunk who almost sprayed me. But I am well-versed by now when a skunk is in my trap as to what to do to release them without much trauma or actually getting sprayed.

So my traps have been set aside for now. I am feeding Bristle by the creek and will try to gain his trust and go from there. If he gets close to the house, he and Twist tangle. It sounds quite uglly but there has been no wounds or injuries spotted on either cat.

When the tore the edge of the carport down, it was discovered that the wood underneath was very rotten. Not surprising to me anyway, during the bad storms I couldn’t even walk out of the carport gate because of the waterfall factor. Today, their plan is to powerwash the eaves on the side where the carport was attached to the house. I am nervous because that leads to my outer living room wall. I asked the contractor what happens if it leaks through? He said he would fix it. I am to stand by in the living room with my cell phone and if I see anything happening, I am to call him immediately.

Ashley and Magoo are not happy with all the pounding, jack hammering and the workers around. They don’t even know where it is safe for them in the house because everything is taking place around the rooms they normally feel safe in. This build is being government funded so there were a lot of hoops to jump through (and some to come.) But it is looking so much, this contractor is a far cry from the last one who turned out not be all that when it came to quality of work. The crew is friendly, efficient, and fast even in triple digit heat!

At night the inside kitties calm down and Magoo has taken to lying in his favorite spot, right next to my leg in my armchair. Ash will let me pet her, but we are still are on her terms and I do get my hand boxed if I over-reach on petting her. It is still quite the challenge to find bags of dry food that are 30 pounds that I can afford. I do online orders, but most of the time the larger bags of Purina aren’t available either. Smaller bags no issue, but we go through 3 – 30 pound bags a month here still with all the remaining rescues.

Here are more recent picture of the fire kitties:

Both Magoo and Ashley have recently turned two years old. Born in a blaze of gory, their welcome to their world was hot,nasty and it is still unimaginable to me that they survived. Having to spend 48 days at the vets as their bodies sought to cleanse themselves (with help) of all the toxins they consumed at their first meal, just increases the unbelievability of their survival.

When they were finally returned to our care, I wondered if they would make it to their first birthday. Now, here we are at their second year of Life. They have changed their behavior this year. The shift occurred following this Fourth of July. The only time, I would see them way before dusk. Perhaps being in the Holiday Farm Fire is what attracts them to this holiday?  I have no clue, but they show no fear, only fascination with the show that appears out my back bay windows.

I expected them to vanish the next morning and play their never-ending game in the daylight of hide-n-seek. Instead, when I finally got out of bed, both of them were curled up asleep on the dining room cat post. They have remained out since, except if visitors or workers arrive. Magoo is spending longer times on my lap. I have to endure his claws and frantic turning on my lap until he finally simmers down. His favorite spot is between my hips and the arm rest of my recliner. He does not stay long, but I’ve noticed that the more he seeks out his chosen spot, the longer he will stay. When I say longer, I am talking only minutes. He has yet to reach the point where he will sleep on me more than 20 minutes at a time. That’s when I noticed his erratic breathing.

Normal cats at rest will breathe 30 breaths per minute. After several unsuccessful tries, I finally clocked him at 42 breaths. Thinking I must have made an error, I clocked him again. This time, he was at 57! Instead of the breaths coming from the chest, Magoo was breathing from his belly. This is usually a warning sign of fluid in the lungs heart issues or a mass.

I got him into the vet that morning and he was given a full exam. They paced him at 65 breaths, but noted no distress, no open mouth breathing issues, panting or drooling. No signs of asthma or URI. They took films,  his lungs appeared clear, no masses or anything out of the ordinary jumped out. I was quizzed; yes, he is eating, he is drinking, he is using the litter boxes. He was not showing any signs of distress and even tolerated being flipped upside down in the vet’s arms for a tummy palpitation. All good, he passed with flying colors.

Speaking of colors, he has grown into a gorgeous boy. His flames next to his white coat are very striking. I find it ironic that he is a flame-point considering how he came into this world. I mentioned my fear that both kittens could have toxins in their lungs from breathing all that crap falling out of the sky. The vet seemed to think that if this were true, they would have discovered it during their extended stay, or that they would both be showing signs of toxicity by now.

His erratic breathing has been diagnosed as an after-effect of PTSD. Unless he becomes an anxious breather in the future, struggling to get his breath, this is just going to be his normal way of breathing.So, he is back home, still destroying my office on a daily basis. Those piles of printer paper are in his eyes anyway, a mighty beast that needs to be destroyed. They take on a menacing nature especially when they fly through the printer! He must destroy the invaders! He is an Olympic Champion Paper Smacker! He shreds paper quicker than my paper shredder that lives under my desk and is another beast on his destruction list. He actively still keeps up with his sister as they race up and down my stairs. For all intents and purposes, he is a typical cat now with the exception of his erratic breathing.