She makes no sound within the confines of the carrier on the way to the vet. Most cats, yowl their protest to the world, indignant they are confined, the vibration of the car engine disrupting their day, traffic passing by adding to their fear. Or they pee in the corner or dislodge their latest meal- an “offering” to their owner. Something for the human to look forward to. But not Shell, she lies quietly in the carrier, covered with a soft blanket accepting her fate without knowing what that fate will turn out to be. I am sure she is wondering; “What in the world is going to happen to me next?”

She was on her best behavior and even when they found it difficult to find a vein in her thin body, she accepted it all without complaint. So now we wait, the results will be in no later than Weds night. He will call me immediately as soon as he knows. Once again, the situation rests with God. His test one of Patience, taught to me by a bone-thin cat with a sweet spirit and a don’t-give-up-on-me-yet tortitude! (If you click on this whole posting, you should see her waiting at the vets.) chalk that up to me being tired.

Everything must just be catching up to me now because tonight, I am so tired, I can barely move. All of it, the worry over Mike, then Shell, the rampant ringworm. I wish I could just sit on the couch and fall asleep but I can’t.

We heard yesterday that Mike has a suspicious looking mass in both his kidneys along with some cysts all caught on the ultra sound so we have that to deal with now.

Shell is sneezing badly and she has moved out of the cage and is now hiding on top of the cage covered in part by the clothes hanging above her in the closet. I can’t wait to get her to the vet in the morning and find out what is going on with her. She’s stronger, she smells better, and she’s eating better but there is something else working on her right now and I just want to know what we are facing with her. She is such a pretty girl and so trusting that I will do the right thing. I hope I do not let them down.

Why, she is priceless! This morning, Ms. Shell was up on the window seat taking an active interest in the world outside. From her vantage point she can see the creek, the barn cats and any wildlife crossing our pastures, although this morning, we have heavy ice fog so even with her excellent vision, I doubt she saw much at all. But, she is out of her cage and roaming the room, which gives me hope that perhaps this peeing a river in the pans is due to diabetes and not kidney failure. I’ve been with cats whose systems are going and they can barely move must less jump up onto a window seat 7 feet off the floor!

Come Monday, Shell is going back to the vet. She is filling up the litter pans now with urine which could mean several things- she could be diabetic, she could have Cushings Disease (rare in cats, but it does occur) or her kidneys are failing. If Dr. Steve thinks she is strong enough, I would like to get some blood on his little girl and get some idea of what is going on.

She is still active and loving, eating and drinking, and oh my goodness, she loves her head rubs. Her wounds are almost healed on her sides and tail and the back of her legs.

I had to laugh last night, Mike hasn’t been here since she arrived and now he is sleeping in the bedroom- or he is trying to. She LOVES Mr. Michael, he got into bed last night, laid on his back and in two shakes of a lamb’s tail, he had “chest company.” They were quietly laying there for awhile, then he turned on his side, and she climbed up on his hip. When he turned over on his other side, she just walked him like someone would walk a rolling log and settled on his hip when he was done.

He finally decided to go in the living room on his recliner so he could sleep! LOL I told him she was relentless and starved for attention.

Dear Shell,

You are sweetness, personified. When you greet me in the morning and I look into your delightful face, I wonder what you are thinking? Are you thinking: “Ok Mom you are here,now bring on food?” Or maybe, “Could you scratch a little more to the left of my chin please?”

I hope you know sweet kitty that each day with you brings me pleasure beyond measue. To see you eat without being assisted, drink eagerly from your bowl and now scamper up the pet stairs to sit on the bed, just makes me marvel at your progress.

Do you have any idea how many people you have impacted? I get emails now from others who also have at-risk cats and kittens. They thank YOU Shell, for giving them the courage to go on and fight in their corner for their cat, despite the odds.

Dr. Steve gave you two weeks to turn this around. I can’t wait to see his face next time he sees you. You actually are starting to have a shape now instead of being a walking skeleton. Your backbone is still pronounced and you hate your tail and rear being touched- but you love those head-rubs as much as I love giving them to you.

I can’t get enough of you and wish I could just spend all day with you petting you, loving you, making up for lost time, for all you missed early in your life. You get cuter every day. Just keep on going, you still have rough roads ahead, but for right now, it is smooth sailing.

This morning has been rushed for me. Mike came home from the hospital! (YAY) and event though I called the hospital first and asked if he was ready to go- they said yes- it still took four hours from the time I arrived there for him to be discharged!

All the problems he was having came as a result of the reaction of the prescription drugs he was taking. You would think the doctor or the pharmacist would have caught this interaction. But, he is home, he is weak but he is alive. He will be in a wheelchair because of the neuropathy, but they took him off the majority of the drugs he was taking before.

Shell must be stressed- at least I hope that is what is going on, because when I went in to see her, she had missed the pans and gone all over the floor. It’s diarrhea which has me concerned because she can’t afford to lose any more fluids. I gave her sub-cu’s but oh my heaven’s I can’t even give her 30cc because of her thin skin and the bubble that normally appears when you put fluids under the skin- they don’t on her. The fluids just vanish.

She is sneezing more today so I stopped at the vets and got her some antibiotics. I really don’t want to take her in again, the visits stress her out and the less stress on his lovely girl, the better. I am putting her on forte flora as well to stop the loose stool. Poor kitty- but she came right out and said Hello to Mike! That was awesome! No pun intended, but she is coming out of her shell.

Is it disrespectful, I wonder to call her a bag of bones? That is what she is right now and every time she comes out to meet me, I marvel at the fact that she is still alive. I was talking with a friend of mine, Dusty Rainbolt who is a cat author and a really nice person knowledgeable in so many areas especially cat health. We were talking about our Miracle Babies- “Mr Whiskers” for her ( a cat suffering from hepatic lipidosis) and then Shell. Dust said that she asked her vet about why Shell isn’t in the throes of FHL like Mr. Whiskers. This is what he told her:

When you have a cat, such as shell with NO fat cells whatsoever, just think about that for a minute ladies and gentleman- NO fat cells in the body whatsover, then FHLfalls off the table. Unless there are fat cells, there is no way for that disease to be unleashed and roam the body. Boy, I look at my love handles and wish I had NO fat cells in my body! So if you think about this in the long term- cats get FHL for going without food for 3-5 days. So Shell has gone without food for so much longer than that and because of her malnourished state, she didn’t get liver disease. It boggles my mind.

There were other cats in that trailer with her. And they are plump, not as healthy as they should be, but certainly better off than she was. There is a to-die for tom who looks as if he is a cross between a Ragdoll, Siamese and Main Coon. He is fat and happy and oh my word he is gorgeous and friendly. She used to take him in the house. So why did she shun Shell? I don’t have a clue. I am just talking here trying to figure things out.

I proclaim today to be Shell Day. A celebration of the Independence of a courageous cat who escaped from a situation that really defies description. To be kept inside a cracked, mud-filled trailer precariously perched on the side of a rain-drenched hill, denied the basic needs of any cat; food, proper shelter, love and good vet care, while struggling to survive against all odds. How bewildering your life appeared to you.

How cold you must have been at times, how alone did you feel when the wind was howling through the cracks, or the rain was finding its way into your only home? How long did you have to search for food each day? Who or what stopped you from eating your fill in the colony?

How did you do it? A cat who had a “home” yet was virtually homeless. A cat who had a person that took care of her, a person who had more cracks in her veneer then the trailer you lived in.

You are coming out of your shell little by little each day you sweet little girl. Are you amazed that food arrives right on schedule several times every day and you no longer have the worry that it won’t?

You found your voice last night. Your meow silenced by the growth of all those rodent ulcers has re-emerged and to me it sounds as sweet as honey tastes.

No longer hiding in your carrier, or in the darker recesses of your cage, you perch instead on top of the carrier now you look with interest at the new world waiting for you outside. You have beaten the odds thus far, the vet gave you two weeks. I hope you continue to beat them and get ahead of them as our journey continues, it isn’t over by a long-shot, but with all the prayers and efforts going to sustain you, you are showing the world, that you can’t keep a fighter down long.

I have had the privilege of rescuing and knowing so many kitties in my life. There is something about this cat that touches my heart so deeply. She won’t give up, she won’t give in, she’s like the Energizer Bunny who just keeps going and keeps giving to me her love in ways I have never before experienced.

In a few days she will go back to the vet, and I can’t wait to see his face when he sees the changes of this brave kitty. I know her battle is not over, but there has been a victory won. She has found that this world can indeed offer her love and affection and fill her food plate, keep her water clean- and the roof over her head no longer leaks in the rain, the wind has been silenced and her room is as warm as her heart.

Today, Mike will be undergoing tests for the major part of the day. I talked to him last night and told him that I am staying home. As much as I know he needs me to be there with him. He has capable hands and warm hearts caring for him. Right now, Shell needs me more. I am going to set up her room so little Ms. Explorer can safely roam our bedroom. Put away all breakables and items that could fall off dressers, tables and chairs and scare or hurt her.

I saw her last night looking at the tall dresser in the corner. Evaluating in her brain the possibility of leaping up there and conquering yet another strange new place. This little kitty who when she arrived here, did so on weak, chopstick legs that carried a big heart and the will to survive despite all the odds.

So Shell I salute you! And should you continue to shine in your presence here, survive all your body is fighting against, I will in the end, name a star in your honor, for in the constellations above you, You sitting below, outshine them all~