I just put up several kitten ads on Craigslist and I got four hits right away. I hope that I can meet with these potential adoptive families and find the best possible homes for my cats and kittens.

Due to recent developments, I really want to get back to my ten core kitties and just stop rescuing. That being said, every time I declare that I want to stop, my path crosses cats or kittens in desperate need of help and I find that I cannot say no. Wallie will be losing his eye soon so I have to find the funds for the surgery. If these adoptions go through, I will have some funds to play with. It seems to always boil down to money these days which makes me so sad. There is room in my heart for these wonderful felines, but not in my pocketbook.

Here’s hoping I can find good places filled with people with warm hearts who will love these cats and kittens as much as I do. 🙂

Almost a year ago today, Muddy arrived at our home. A tiny black and white kitten who had fleas as big as cruise ships crawling all over her tiny body. She was listless and near death and her revival came with the administration of a few drops of my favorite exotic coffee- a mudslide- thus her name.

The caffiene jump-started her heart and she has survived and thrived under our care.

She will crawl on my lap then inch up my chest. Grabbing my neck with both of her paws, she hoists herself up to my ear and nuzzles hello. Then she stands on my shoulder (ouch) as if to claim me, slides down and settles in my lap periodically putting her paws into my mouth (if I let her, which I don’t)

This is a nightly ritual for us and she will kiss me gently on the chin before she settles down to sleep.

Mike and I discussed this morning about putting up a tree this year. I can’t believe it is getting so close to making the decision- but WalMart already has Christmas decorations!

With the abundance of kittens, even if we do anchor the tree down like we do each year, we are certain that the kittens will not stay on the floor admiring our work, but will be climbing the tree on a regular basis.

Can’t blame them, cats are supposed to climb trees. There have been some years where we have put a tree in here, completely bare of decorations for one purpose only- to teach the kittens in the home how to climb up and down trees correctly, just in case they found themselves outside and needing to climb.

Without mom in the picture, kittens don’t know how to climb trees right. Oh sure, they can scamper up a tree with the best of them, it is getting down they find challenging.

Mom would show them how to back down slowly, and they would follow by her lead. But without a mom, the impulse in them is to head down head first which can result in two things- either they climb so high that looking down scares the paws right out of them, and they stay stuck in the tree. Or, they try to head down head-first and end up falling and hurting themselves (depending on the height of the tree.

So we could put a tall one in here and show each kitten the proper way to climb up and down, or we could just forget putting a tree in here at all. I do know that if we decide to put a tree in the living room, the only decorations on it will be the kittens!

The hazards of decorated trees are tinsel (poisonous to cats if they eat it) Glass ornaments that get knocked on the floor and shatter- pine needles after they are dry, falling off and being eaten can pierce internal organs- even the tree water poses a danger to cats if they drink it (and they always try) They can get tangled up in lights and strangle, they can nibble on the cords and get electrocuted- yep lots to think about if you have kittens in your home at Christmas time. Even presents can be dangerous. Ribbons are choking hazards and decorative adornments can be toxic.

As it is nearing the end of the year already…where did the time go? I am staring at the many emails in my file labeled blog questions.

Since I started this blog, and it was a tough go at first, I have had so many readers contact me regarding questions they have about either my life, or their own struggles with stray kittens or cats.

Generally at the end of the year, I dump all the emails and start over again, but this time, I decided to try something new and blog some of the questions and my answers- in a condensed form!

I do answer everyone’s comments either privately or publicly if the answers are legitimate ones. The ones I refuse to answer come from those ghoulish types who want to know details about the abuse suffered by some of the cats and kittens here. Those I refuse to answer. I also don’t answer if you want to link up to my blog. If you want to link it, go ahead, but I have no real clue how to return the favor. I am not on here to turn this into an advertising billboard, like other sites seem to go towards. I am here simply to share my life, for better or for worse. To help out others when and if I can. So without further ado, here are some questions asked of me this year- and there is no way I can put them all here- so I have selected just a few:

Q: I just saw pics of your cat enclosure on another website. It doesn’t look very plush for the kitties. Why is that?

A: I guess I could say that perhaps the plushness isn’t my clowders style. These are cats used to hiding in dark corners, under cars, inside barns, boxes, bushes, anywhere they can find refuge. It has been my experience that buying the best cat condos, cat perches, and cat furniture results in two things. 1) The furniture gets sprayed on. 2) It lasts about a nanosecond under the constant assault of kitty claws and kitty play.
Most of the furniture i do have was given to me in return for professional reviews found on another one of my websites www.catreviews.com

I need to make these cats feel at ease, so you will find rough planks, straw beds, and other outside type objects in my cat enclosure. I haven’t heard one of my cats object to what they are provided. The best object in the enclosure, the one that gets the biggest workout is a tree trunk and limb we dragged in early on in the construction. It makes the best scratching post around, dulling those sharp kitty claws that can do so much damage.

Q: I just spent two days reading your blog in its entirety. I cried so many times over your stories. How can you do this day in day out without killing people?

A) Trust me, when I first started out, it was all I could do to contain my rage over some of the cats and kittens who came under my care. But I learned, that sadly, most of it was from ignorance, although some of it was intentional, because we do have people with dark souls who walk this earth. I just pray daily over these creatures and ask God to help me keep my perspective and my temper in check!

Q: I’m curious how long it takes you to change litter pans in your house?

A: This is a tough question because it depends on how many cats are here at the time. Currently, I will tell you that it takes me 1 hour and 45 minutes to change out and clean all the litter trays in the cat enclosure. This doesn’t even touch the pans in the house- and i don’t use regular litter pans. Personally think they are worthless except for young kittens. Stray cats will instinctively want a large area to cover their waste. They poop in one container, then move off and find another location to pee. Domesticated cats have had that bred out of them over time, but not the strays. I use large kiddy pools as my litter containers in my enclosure, and they can get clumsy and heavy when you are trying to lift them and pour soiled litter out of them into a wastebag.

OK, one more question and then I need to go to bed, as I open the shop in the morning. This one needs a bit of explaining before I post it. The woman who asked this initially- well, we both had some heated emails between us and I do not believe in what she does. She calls herself a “feral kitten tamer” and her MO is that she has many strays that she feeds- she does not trap, neuter, release- BUT when the queens give birth and she finds the nest, she takes the kittens from the mom, no matter what age they are, and she “tames” them. GRRRR…don’t get me started on this cycle of life she is wreaking havoc with.

Q: How DARE YOU tell people that any aged feral cat can be tamed! What gives you the right to lie to people?

A) (And I had to really pray over this one before I answered her)

First off, I don’t claim to be an expert. I learn every day about the ways of these cats. I also don’t “tame” them. They cannot be tamed- they can however be socialized. In the thirty some years that I have been working with strays. I have met three true feral cats that could not be worked with on any level. One was sent to a feral cat compound, the other two were so aggressive and ruined that they were euthanized.
I read your email several times and cried more than once. The damage you are inflicting on this so called “kitty family” is insurmountable. Your clowder is more than likely inbreeding now and you are allowing this mating to go on unchecked. Honestly, if I knew where you lived, I would have a team of true rescuers at your door with traps and vouchers for the vets to spay and neuter every one of them. Your email leads me to believe that your feel strongly you are a “Kitty Savior” I have met several just like you in my life, and I will tell you that you seriously need help with your stray cat population. You are not a rescuer my dear, you are a hoarder. You never once talked to me in the series of emails about vetting your cats, taking the kittens in to be tested. Your homemade recipes to cure fleas, worms and ticks makes me shudder. Honestly, I would shut you down in minute if I could.

The two kittens, one boy and one girl (Sawyer and Thatcher) are settling in nicely. There is no feralness in them, so they have been handled from a young age. Every time I go into the room and look at them, I just wish they were still with their mom snuggled into her warm belly and taking of the milk bar whenever the pangs of hunger begin.

I am feeding them canned kitten food and kmr every three hours just to put some weight on them. I was concerned with Sawyer as he seemed to have problems pooping- hopping from litter pan to litter pan and crying and crouching. Then I remembered a trick an old vet shared with me long ago, so I took his temperature and a few minutes later…Houston we had poop!

They are sleeping on top of the dog cage with snugglekittie nearby. God Bless Snugglekittie, she has comforted so many kittens in her long career here. Thankfully, she is machine washable and holds together quite well. I have long lost her beating heart (I think the dog ate it!) and the heat packs that she comes with are gone as well. But she is here, sure and steady as a nursemaid and the latest arrivals are cudddled into her stuffed animal warmth.

Finally returned to work and I just get in the door and say hi to the girls, when the shop door opens and in walks a lady with a cat carrier. 🙁 She propped it on the counter and I said “Why are you here? We are not a vet clinic.”

She started weaving this outlandish tale about being at the grocery store when two kids approached her with the carrier. One was crying and she asked what was wrong? She was told that their dad had sent them out in the rain to get rid of two kittens and if they didn’t get rid of the kittens then he was going to shoot the kittens when he got home.

She “said” she told them she couldn’t help them, then turned around to load the groceries in her car. When she looked again they were running away and the carrier was sitting in her grocery cart!

I have to give her props, it is a very fanciful story, whether or not it is true,I will never know.

What I do know, is that the two kittens (tuxedo kitties about 4 weeks old) are now sharing the bedroom with Wallie…sigh..They have been dewormed, given Albon and ringworm medicine as well as kitten advantage. They are not shy, so they have been handled and when I got home and talked to Mike tonight, he told me she had named them and told him their names, but he forgot them. So I know her tale was not true, but the timing was right and so these two doll babies have a home till I can find them a forever place. Like I said, I am such a schmuck!

A dear old friend called me last night. I have known Jeri over half of my life now (I am over 50) We first met on a dusty factory floor of Millet Sights. They make gun sights. Jeri was on assembly and QC, I was shipping supervisor.

She collided into me at the chow wagon, spilling my newly purchased burrito all over my smock. I didn’t get mad, in fact it was friends at first sight for both of us.

We became fast, true friends sharing our lives and she was the glue that kept me together when divorcing Don and she was the one person responsible for me meeting Mike. I love her more than life itself.

The conversation between us seemed stilted at first. I sensed she was struggling to find happy words but being swallowed in a darkness new to her. She has always been an upbeat wonderful friend.

Finally talk revolved around health and she dropped the bomb. She is dying (She is 57 years old) She was recently diagnosed with COPD with complications. Complications being; she is asthmatic and she has smoked since she was a teenager.

The doctors don’t give her much hope. One doctor was so crass and uncaring that after some extensive tests, he told the nurse to just put a toe tag on her foot! Needless to say, she was pissed and immediately sought another opinion. The opinion was grave, but better delivered, She will make it till Christmas (probably) but not to her birthday which is New Years Day.

I want to jump on a plane and fly back east and gather her in my arms for a good old fashioned warm hug. I want to share her with one last cup of hot cocoa and one final bowl of salsa and chips.

Why does God feel he has to remove the good people from this world and leave so much of the bad? What sense does that make?

My cats are clustered around me. Their fur catches my tears and Piper chases teardrops down my cheek, which is difficult because she is young and hasn’t learned how to retract her claws. They know I am upset and they don’t like it. I don’t like it either, but I am powerless to stop this freight train that will soon derail off the tracks and into the heavens.

Cherish your friends and if you haven’t recently spoken with them, give them a shout and let them know how pivotal they are in your life. Quickly now, before they slip out of your reach..