I haven’t seen WK since this inclement weather hit. The rest of the barn cats have been indoors. They all demanded to come inside before the first snowstorm hit. But WK is a true feral and she wanted to stay outside. I put a heating pad on the porch on her chair, and she had fresh food and water daily, but she never showed up to eat. Although it is true, that the cats can sense the storms before they hit, and they do hunker down in safe areas, she should have surfaced long before now.

I know she was never “mine.” She wouldn’t go into any trap aand she ran from us at every opportunity, she did know that the porch offered warmth and a haven from the other predators in the area. I hope I am wrong, but I suspect she got too cold, or she got trapped and is no longer roaming the earth.

Christmas is long past, but every morning I can expect gifts from the kitties. I have ping-pong balls in my rain boots, catnip toys in my slippers. When I change out the litter pans, I find toys buried in the sand.

In the evening, I have lap dances from Baker and Trump. Chin bumps from Charlie and an arm bath from Matuse. I can’t forget the chorus of purrs from Chappy, Sierra, Charlie and Oliver as I fall asleep at night.

It has taken a few days to recover from the recent events. I have started a new project that I am quite excited about, and also been hired to edit and rewrite some existing articles.

There is snow on the ground and snowmen are popping up all over the place. One gal is making a snow dinosaur that looks pretty realistic if you ask me. It is so odd to look out the window and see snow. The snow plow went blowing past yesterday and it took out our mailbox. The kitty that was custom carved for me from Woodendipity ended up flying halfway across the yard and landing in the bushes! I was so ticked- he had to venture into our yard, not the road to take out kitty. Thankfully, Mike was able to repair the kitty and she got a much needed bath before being placed back on her post. I called the DOT and left a very annoyed message about the incident. They called back, but they were not happy to learn the mailbox (if I could get another again) would be $200.00, They were relieved to learn Mike fixed the crack in her head and put her back.

It is supposed to snow again tonight- they are calling for thunder snow storms and hail! Oh my-

All the cats are doing well. I have some people interested in Baker. They live in Portland, so we shall see if they fill out the application form or not. My application form has a habit of scaring off people because I ask so many questions. But, my goal is to find the right home for these kittens and cats and the questions are neccessary.

They cypro has only worked on Brooke for a very short while (ten minutes or so.) Nothing substantial has happened to jump-start her appetite. Cats are predators first and foremost, for them NOT to be eating, there is something substantially wrong. Sometimes, the cats turn out to be smarter than the people trying to make them well.

Last night while force-feeding, she reared back and down and bit me hard in the inner thigh. She is held firmly between my legs when I feed her. So, with deep regret, I have stopped force-feeding her and medicating her. I made an appointment with the vet and at 3:00 today she goes in for a final visit. Until God throws a miracle through my window, she will more than likely go the Bridge tonight. Experience has shown that in cats where cypro doesn’t work, they end up having to be euthanized after all.

She is drop-dead gorgeous and I have no doubt she would be highly adoptable. But I will not adopt out a cat with an unknown health issue. She is growling almost constantly now when I go up in her room and she is hiding in corners. If I pick her up, I better have my rescue armour on, because she will get me. She is trying to tell me in her kitty way- “I don’t feel good, something is dreadfully wrong so leave me be!’ I will honor her request, no matter how much it hurts and no matter how much I don’t want to.

At 4:00 p.m. Brooke was tucked in with the angels. She went quickly and peacefully. The vet suspects dry FIP and asked permission to do a necropsy. I have completely scrubbed and disinfected the room where Brooke lived for over a week. I have thrown out litter pans, scoops, food bowls and water bowls. I will let the room sit for awhile before letting any of the other cats inside.

Goodbye sweet Brooke- I am sorry I couldn’t save you

16 degrees and dropping this morning! The irrigation pipes are frozen so I had to carry water out to the horses. I used the cat’s pet fountain bottle to do the job. It worked pretty well. I only had to make 6 trips from the house. Because the ground is so frozen, the horses have a hard time finding their footing. Racer was really sore last night, so I have confined them to their stalls for the duration of this winter freeze. I am hoping some clouds come in tonight and it warms up enough to snow.

I knew we were in for a cold night last night, when by 8:00 p.m. ALL the cats were inside including my most feral ones. For Dash and McKinley to be inside, I know it is cold. I felt sorry for wild kitty, but she still won’t go into a trap. I put the pet heating pad on the chair she sleeps on on the porch so she would at least stay warm. I found her asleep there this morning when I went out. The pet fountain even froze last night. I unplugged it so the motor wouldn’t burn out.

Unfortunately, my washing machine is also frozen. Told Mike, I felt like we were still in Alaska- this weather is very strange for this area.

Charlie is back to normal. Thank You God, and in all fairness to the clinic, they didn’t know about his fragile state. I told them, but they do a good service for a lot of people. If anyone is at fault, it is me for not taking him to my regular vet who knows him and his history. I was just trying not to go deeper into vet debt. The boys were mounting the girls, so I knew I had to do something quickly or I would have more kittens…although Trump and Panic would throw some gorgeous kitties! Don’t worry, won’t happen here. My regular vet didn’t have appointments until late Feb and I know the girls are getting ready to have their first heat, so I chose the spay and neuter clinic.

He wobbled till 3:30 a.m. then I wobbled and crashed. This morning 7:00 a.m. I woke to find he had made it out of his carrier and was asleep on my chest! Thank you God, the Blessed One- for giving him back to me.

I found out that even after giving the clinic the skinny about his health issues, they used ketamine and rompon on him! My feline vet told me she has seen kittens die while coming out of rompon. 🙁 and that she would never use ketamine on cats, plus she would never use rompon on kittens with respiratory distress. 🙁 Damn-

Thank God for the vet down the road and her understanding of the situation and the reversal shot. Thanks too for Hailey and the warming fluids, the help with stimulation and the shoulder to cry on. Had I lost Charlie, I would have self-destructed. Thank you for the many cat lovers who prayed for this piece of orange sunshine to stay in the world. I am going on record to say I will never use a low-cost spay and neuter clinic for my kittens again.

The four boys were taken in this morning to get neutered. When I picked them up, I was told there had been no problems and all went well. I did not use my regular vet for the procedure because they had a full schedule of spays this month, I used another clinic. A mistake I will not repeat.

I peeked in at the kittens, they were all awake, but a big groggy. So off I went for home (about an hour away). When we got home, I took them upstairs, opened up the carriers, they all stepped out wobbling a bit with the exception of Charlie. He took one step outside the carrier and fell flat on the carpet. I scooped him up he was breathing shallow, his mouth was open and he was as limp as a ragdoll in my arms! I’ve been working with kittens being neutered a long time and never had this type of reaction. Then, he suddenly woke up, stretched his mouth in a huge yawn- grabbed the inside of his mouth with his front paws and made a retching noise. Then he crashed again. His ears were ice cold, his paws were cold. Scared he might be bleeding out, I checked his mouth and the pads of his feet. I saw happy pink color (thank God) not stark white. I tucked him under my shirt, grabbed the phone and called the place that neutered him to find out what they used to anesthetize him.

When I told them what he was doing, they wanted me to bring him back, but I knew the trip was to long for an emergency visit, so I called a local clinic. Two hours later, Charlie had been given a reversal shot, warming fluids and a lot of stimulation. He was now home, still wobbly and I wrapped him in a warming blanket and just held him for the longest time.

He is upstairs now, it is close to midnight and sleep isn’t on the menu tonight for me. He isn’t Charlie yet, and I just pray the drugs didn’t do permanent damage to him. I will never cut corners on spay and neuters again and use a low-cost clinic no matter what. I went in on another rescuer’s ticket in order to get the boys done who were trying to get panic and shimmer pregnant. I tried to get them into my regular clinic, but they were full up. Dammit, I should have waited. Time will tell if Charlie will be right again. I pray he is-

This afternoon I had a conversation with Brooke. I asked her if she just wanted me to give up on her. I told her that I have been with cats who are ready to go and she gives me no indication that she wants to give up on life. But sometimes, cats know more than vets do. I asked her if she was perhaps missing her family, or had lost a close feline friend? I told her she was safe here and she could stay as long as she wants. She crawled into my lap and purred and we had a petting fest. Then I offered her several different kinds of cat food (the same type she had been offered before) and she ate 9Lives Tuna and Egg!

I also started her on Albon/Flagyll/ and am continuing the Panacur as she has some really bad diarrhea. Tomorrow, I am going to get some cyptro from the vet to see if that might jump-start her appetite.

Baker, Trump, Charlie and Livingston go in tomorrow morning to get neutered. I also have a few families interested in Baker, Trump and Madison. That would be nice to get them into a home where they can have more attention than they can get here.

Brooke ended up eating on her own last night after the house was quiet. But this morning and this afternoon she was still refusing food. She looks so healthy! I mean come on, I’ve worked with hepatic lipidosis before and these cats are bone skinny. She doesn’t have the disease yet- and if I have anything to say about it, she won’t get it. She growls the entire time I feed her. But growls are something I am accustomed to. I just told her tonight- you are not going to die on my watch if I can prevent it.

She used the litter pan last as well. But nothing today. I can her the pureed half of can of AD mixed with lactulose and a bit of water. Thankfully, I am able to get a good price on AD and bought a case today. I hope I don’t need it all for her- but her refusal of food is puzzling to say the least.

I make sure to feed her in the middle of the floor, even when she retreats to her bed. Her bed is her secure place, and I don’t want her to think she isn’t safe there. Her beautiful bib gets so messy with the food, and I do my best to clean her off. Afterward, we have a lovely groom fest so she knows that I am not always going to annoy her. She loves the wire brush. Most cats hate it- but not her.

She is not cat friendly at all. At least not yet as several of the kittens snuck into her room tonight when I did. She turned into a hissing ball of fury until I ushered them back out. She certainly doesn’t need anymore stress.

Come on Brooke, get with the program.

Spent an exhausting two hours at the vet’s today with Brooke. I still haven’t been able to get her interested in food. Afraid that something might be wrong with her, I took her in this afternoon and she had a full work-up including x-rays. Although there is stool in her colon, she isn’t packed with it as a cat who has megacolon would be, so megacolon was ruled out. So was FIP, exposure to toxic chemicals, her throat is clear of obstructions, her esophagus is normal looking on the x-ray. Two things concerned the vet besides her not eating for two days- one is her anal glands are on the outside, which can happen when a cat hasn’t been able to poop for quite awhile. Her small intestinal wall is thicker than it should be, but that could have been caused by a roundworm invasion. She might have lymphoma- but the vet felt that this was a long-shot because she doesn’t appear sick. Her lungs and heart sound normal, she was easy-going throughout the entire exam and everyone just flipped over her. She is a beautiful cat.

I started force-feeding her tonight. She is to get at least 1/2 can of AD pureed daily if not more. She is not happy with being force fed and she growled the entire time I spent with her giving her the nourishment. She had a pain shot even though they weren’t entirely sure she was in pain. Tomorrow, I will give her subcu fluids, but for now, I think she has been through enough. She isn’t dehydrated, the subcu would be to help move the stool along.

They are baffled why she won’t eat. They tried many different kinds of food to tempt her but she would have none of it. So two-hundred dollars later- I am no closer to an answer, and I still have a cat with no interest in eating.