This morning, I went to check my traps and found to my surprise three baby kittens in one trap! They are about 8 weeks old- pure black (of course) One is so cute though, she has white hairs running the length of her back so she looks like a baby skunk! Every time she sees me (they are in the bedroom with Delilah who is paying them no heed) this little one jumps up in the air and goes “fftt…fftt!” Hee hee. They are safe, they are warm, they are eating and we just put back our screen doors that connect the kitchen to the hallway so they can have the bedroom and the upstairs to run around in.

Their hunger must have drove them into the trap all three of them (I don’t see any more kittens running about) and the combined weight of all of them on the trigger must have sprung the trap.

I have managed to trap four males. They are in the barn waiting for Tuesday when the vet opens and I can get them in for a neuter (i hope) I am glad for the large cages as I have a feeling the vet’s schedule is a tad packed and these neuters aren’t going to happen right away. The smell is pretty overpowering right now, but at least these cats aren’t left inside the traps to wait for their moment.

There is one boy I really want to capture. He looks like a turkish van mix but he is trap savvy and is staying alive by mousing so the food doesn’t interest him in the least. He is pure white with a black tail and black points on his head and ears- really beautiful but man is he spraying the bushes with his pee mail- my cats are going nuts.

Shell’s auction is now underway. Lots of really nice items here and all of them have been listed!

Auction Link

Someone, and I suspect I know who it is but I have no proof- has dumped a large amount of strays into my property.

Out of desperation, I went down and bought another trap. They didn’t have any Hav-A-Hart traps so I bought a live animal trap. It snaps closed so quickly that while I was baiting it, it snapped on me and grabbed my fingers- OUCH- so I ended up using cable ties and took a large branch, snapped it into pieces and used it to brace the door so it wouldn’t trap a kitty paw or tail.

It works great! In the last two hours, I have trapped three cats. Now, there are six to go. To say that I am hissed off at this dump is putting it mildly. But these are toms and I at least need to get them neutered.

I have heard that the last auction for Shell will launch tonight. If it does, I will post the link and tell you there are some amazing items up for bids.

I also want to share this- I love this video

Owl and the pussycat

This morning when I woke up, I went over to my computer and laying on the seat was this HUGE mole! Squirrel, my barn cat was lying underneath the chair looking quite pleased with herself! Thankfully, Mr or Miss Mole had gone over the Bridge.

To give you an idea, I am 6′ 1″ tall and this mole was bigger than my hand! I’m so glad that it was gone because I don’t know how I would have handled it had it been alive. Maybe Squirrel brought it in as a goodbye present for Samson? I don’t know, but I tossed it up on the barn roof as a prezzie for the raptors, it was that large!

Delilah is missing her buddy today. She is out in the house and she is looking into every corner and under every stick of furniture wondering where Samson went to. I took her in my lap this morning and explained things to her, she seems to be having an easier time now. I know that some people believe cats don’t understand us, but I believe the opposite. Any time a littermate is taken from us, I sit down with the grieving kitty and just talk about the loss. It’s really quite strange though. When the cats have to stay over at the vet hospital, no one seems to miss them. But the instant they are gone- the cats know and react.

Samson can now see, he is out of pain and running the long grasses of Heaven with his buddy Shell.

I took him in this morning, as I said his eye was pouring pus and that is never a good sign. They took the stitches out and his eye was so angry and ugly. The mass had not only spread, but it was now a bulge with these tissue like connectors coming off the sides and attaching to his retina. It looked like a minature octopus in his eye. Really strange, this cancer.

To make matters worse, the other eye was now starting to spread out with an ugly-colored mass.

So it wasn’t just a matter of covering the rest of Shell’s cost, it was doing what is best for Sam and that was to let him go.

I don’t want to lose anymore cats from this colony. But I can’t stand the thought that in rescuing these kitties from another “rescuer” I have turned into a cyber beggar banging my cup in web space and asking wonderful people who are also struggling with their own issues to help out.

Sam would have been an eyeless, earless kitty. At ten years old (or he is perhaps older) to ask him to undergo such stress and pain is unfair to him. Yes, he deserved a life- and to some extent he had one. His last days were spent on our bed, with food, warmth, plenty of love and Delilah for company.

So goodbye sweet boy- you run free and happy now. You left on a river of my tears to meet the angels waiting in the wings. I will see you again- and God, I know you are listening. I don’t want to lose anymore cats. If you could arrange that, I would be grateful.

Thanks to those of you who offered prayers and vibes and good wishes and who sent money. The money raised covers the initial procedure on Samson and it gave us a chance to at least try and save him. In the end, it just wasn’t meant to be.

Tomorrow morning, I need to take Samson back to the vet. His eye is now leaking pus. Please send up prayers that God will give the vet knowledge and wisdom and skill in helping this wonderful boy and that whatever comes down, that God will give me the strength and the wisdom I need to do right for this cat.

He has been shaking his head a great deal this morning but my vet isn’t available until tomorrow.

I think Delilah is tired of the darkness in the bedroom. I have kept the lights off so that they don’t bother Sam’s eyes and am only burning night lights.

This morning, Delilah decided to join the crew and when I opened the door to let her out into the house, she joined the group, no muss, no fuss.

I have to admit being reluctant and even a bit scared to let her into general population. She doesn’t move well on her rear legs. The vet suspects she has no patellas at all in those legs- but since she has adapted to these limitations, I saw no need to run films on her. It’s not as if it can be corrected or that it needs to be at this stage in her life. I still believe based on talking to the owner in one of her lucid moments, that Delilah is Shell’s mom.

So now, she is out and about with the group and at this moment she is laying on the couch sleeping.

I will be putting her back in the bedroom before dark, because if there is going to be a confrontation it will happen after the sun goes down when cats become predatory. But for now, unlike Samson who will have to stay far away from the sun, Delilah as found her own sunspot on the couch and has claimed it as her own.

His eye still looks beat-to-heck but this morning he was running after the nekoflie toy I have trying to catch it.

He did pretty good considering he had to chase it with only one eye and his cloth e-collar in the way. Still a massive amount amount of discharge coming down his face, which the vet (who called me Saturday to check on him) said it is normal and a good sign.

I have Sam’s collar off right now so he can move a bit more freely and drink water as well. He can drink and eat with the collar on, but it is a mess when he does.

He’s probably the friskiest I have seen him since he arrived here so I am hoping for good things for this kitty in the coming days.

This is a blessing-

Reunion