My boy is home although they wanted to keep him. I can just hear Donovan’s thought process as I pass his cage where he is confined right now. (It’s a big cage though)….

“Thanks Mom, there I was lying on my sheepskin rug behind the heater, when you lifted me up and stuck me inside that darn cat carrier. I knew something was up, but I was trapped so what could I do? Then you took me on a really long drive- why did you drive so slowly Mom? Were you prolonging the agony?

We get to the scary place and there is a pit bull in the lobby looking at me like I was lunch! Thank God you understood my fear and you not only turned my carrier around so the dog couldn’t contemplate how many ways to eat a cat, but you also took off your jacket and covered me up. I appreciated that!

I saw the vet, and yeah you were right, he has kind hands- but then he stuck me three times! And really, did they have to do that to my rump? I mean how rude!

Then you put me on the floor and tried to get me to walk. I tried to walk, really I did, but my legs just don’t move right now. So then I get stuck again with a big needle and put back into that darn cat carrier and another really loooong slow drive home- and now I am stuck in the bedroom in a cage! And you say you love me! HUMP!”

The vet suspects Donovan has a bone infection although there is no visible bite wound and my cats don’t fight- so I have no idea if that is right. By the time I got to the vet, he was so worked up his 103.6 temp went up to 105! But he is eating and drinking- there is no third eyelid and his paws were cool, so the vet is puzzled.

He was given a pain shot, and an antibiotic shot and he is to start antibiotics tomorrow. If his fever isn’t down by noon tomorrow, I am to bring him back immediately for a “sleep-over.”

I am grateful that they got him in today and didn’t even raise an eyebrow when I gave them yet another post-dated check to add to the pile. I know that Donovan feels betrayed because he is in the cage, but I need to keep him away from the heater where he has been sleeping for the last two weeks.

Poor kitty- those eyes that follow me when I am in the room, they make me feel like a criminal- I had to put him behind bars! I drove slow because it was snowing. The flakes are so big and it was hard to see. But try telling Donovan that!

Well, regardless of the struggle it migh incur, I have made an appointment with my vet for 2:30 today for Donovan. I am not sure what is going on with him- if it might be the calicivirus or an injury. But he has been so inactive today laying on the same spot behind the heater without even opening his eyes. To say I am surpremely worried is an understatement. I go in at 2:30 and will update if they find what is wrong with him. Asking for prayers please-

Around these parts, people refer to me as “The Crazy Cat Lady of Linn County.” I suppose should you wish to step into my shoes for 24 hours (watch out for the hairballs though) you might agree. After all, what would possess anyone to open up their heart and home to upwards of thirty stray cats at a time?

Before you pick up the phone and call 1-800-EnoughWithTheCatsAlready let me assure you that you will never see me on an episode of Extreme Hoarders. My visitors’ biggest challenges when they stop by isn’t circumnavigating huge piles of rubbish in the house, but rather being careful not to step on a paw or tail of the welcoming committee at the door.

The majority of my indoor clowder is deemed “unadoptable” by the masses. Unadoptable referring to their color (they are all black kitties). I don’t buy into the myth that black cats are bad luck. I consider it my good fortune to have them share my life.

People ask me how I do it. How do I manage to live with so many felines? How do I manage my time, and the most popular question- “How many litter pans do I have anyway?”

It might surprise you to know that as far as regular litter pans go- I have none. I find them unacceptable for anything larger than a kitten, and because kittens don’t stay kitten-sized all their lives, I rarely buy an average litter pan.
Instead, I haunt the local thrift stores and bring back big plastic containers, thrashed coolers, even baby bathtubs. You can get them all at a decent price and if you make friends with the people who run the thrift shop, you might even get a few for just a donation!

A few years ago my readers on my website www.felinexpress.com challenged me to test out cat litters. I put each brand through my test kitties paces. Few litters measured up, being just average. But again, I don’t buy the cat litter available in the grocery stores or pet supply warehouses. They are to expensive and Phew! Scented! My kitties turn up their nose at most scented brands.

I use Stall Dry- It neutralizes the ammonia smell fairly quickly. I can get a 40 lb. bag for under $13.00. I use 5 bags a month. It has diatomaceous earth mixed in with it which also helps to cut down on the fleas in the cat enclosure.It is non-toxic and non-caustic and other than being heavy to lug up the stairs- I have encountered no problems with it.

It is certified organic so it won’t harm land fills.
So in answer to the question about how many litter pans do I have? That would be zero, but I do have 35 other litter containers ranging from kiddy pools, to Rubbermaid containers and old beat up coolers.

Over the last week, I have become increasingly worried about Donovan. At first, he couldn’t walk on his front leg, then on his rear leg. Then he was fine- a few days later, he was limping on his rear leg again and spending the day laying behind the heater (which I am at the point of calling sick bay) because it seems like when the cats don’t feel well, they end up back there on the sheepskin rug.

I took him in to the vet, but as usual, he was so pumped up on adrenelaine that all he wanted to do was run around the room on all four legs! The vet saw no need to run films and sent me home.

I need to take him back and get some xrays on his back legs to see what is going on. This morning, he is again lying behind the heater and when I move him and try to get him to walk- he just doesn’t want to move much. I need to win the lottery seriously and build a special room here for cats who aren’t doing well. My vet calls it NDW (Not Doing Well) but a place that is quiet, warm and away from the foot traffic where they can just relax. Right now my rooms are full of cats- I have McKenzie in the one room upstairs, the ragdolls in the room across the hall- and 3 new kittens in the third room upstairs. Downstairs in the bedroom I have two new arrivals and there is no way I would put Donovan into the Intro cage in the Enclosure- it is way to cold outside and this kitty needs warmth.

So I am in a holding pattern for now and hoping this anti-inflammatory the vet gave me will kick in soon and Donovan will feel better. If only they could talk!

This morning when I woke up, I had fourteen kitties sleeping on me, around me, next to me. I was profiled in Kitties is how Mike put it. It reminded me of a time in summer camp long ago when I was a counselor for a YMCA camp in the San Bernadino Mountains. We taught our campers a song called There Were Ten in the Bed- Made me wish, I could just say as the song lyrics go “There were 10 in the bed and the little one said Roll over, roll over. So they all rolled over and one fell off and the little one said Roll over, roll over..” Well I couldn’t ask them to roll over so they all would fall off the bed. I had to instead extracate myself carefully from under the kitty fur and try not to squish anyone. I had no wiggle room! But I did it finally.

McKenzie is grumpy today- she hissed at me and tried to bite me. I wish I could get her in and get her spayed but she isn’t of good weight yet. I just let her be grumpy and fed her. I will let her be until tonight and see how it goes.

She is not friendly and I don’t expect her to be. Whatever horrors she has endured to be in the shape she is has molded her into the cat she now displays to me.

She is still hiding in her house, only her head is visible when I go upstairs. Seems to only want to eat canned food wants nothing to do with dry. Fancy Feast seems to be her preference. When I give her the meds, she does try to bite me, but her mouth due to malnutrition looks quite inflamed. Probably why she doesn’t want to eat the dry food. Unfortunately, in this neck of the woods, black cats quickly come to harm. She can’t tell me what she has endured, but her body is telling me it wasn’t good.

Her ears are peeling back she had the worst case of earmites I have ever seen- you couldn’t even see the interior of her ears they were that caked in blood.

She watches the three cats across the hall like a hawk and when Gretel who is now walking about freely in the room and hallway comes to her door, she shows no interest other than just to look.

I wish I had found homes for the three ragdolls but no one wanted to take three cats with PTSD and take up the challenge- I can’t blame them. Seems like in a society now where everything is instant gratification, people with patience to work with traumatized cats are disappearing in great numbers. My hope is to get all the cats downstairs and into general population before summer hits. The upstairs gets stifling hot and we can’t yet swing putting in air conditioning up there. To many other pressing issues.

It is nice to see Gretel coming out more and more- the three cats yeast infection in their ear is also finally under control.

As for McKenzie, she will soon realize she is a safe house and meals will continue to come on time and plenty of food for her. I put her on Transfer Factor and am also giving her cod liver oil to help her coat along. Right now, she looks like someone dipped her in a vat of salad oil. I will be curious what the bloodwork shows- it should be back by Monday.

Oh Happy Days! Scotty was on the bed this morning and he allowed me to touch him for the very first time without backwards skipping away from me and falling off the bed in his haste to get away! It has been just over five months since this little mackeral tabby boy arrived after someone tried to end his life by stuffing him into a letterbox in a near-abandoned steel yard.

He never tried to bite me, though he would swat at my hand if I tried to touch him. My hand has so many holes in them they look like pincushions.

But, since I didn’t pursue him and let him come to his own conclusion that this home is safe for him, he is now starting to trust me and petting is now on the schedule.

Look at this beautiful boy!

Today is going to be a difficult day. I have another person who wants Fog so I will be taking this beautiful boy to what might be his forever home later this afternoon. I will miss him so much- we have rituals in the morning where I get down on my knees and he jumps on my back, walks to my neck and then around to my front and hangs on me. I roll over carefully on my back and we snuggle together for a few minutes, then he jumps off my chest and rolls on his belly and he gets the longest belly rub. He is the neatest kitty. I am not sure I am going to leave him. It all depends on what I find when I get to the home.
I want to be sure that he will be loved and cared for the rest of his days-

Pudding, an older, orange kitty bouced from one shelter to another since 2003 gets his well-deserved fifteen minutes of fame in the Green Bay Press Gazette– good thing his new owner, Amy didn’t follow the norm and adopt just a cute kitten!

Story here:

Out at Safeway this morning and I noticed a black cat prowling the parking lot and crying. I called to her because there were so many cars and people and no one was paying any attention to her. She came limping over and scarfed up the cat food I offered. I had a cat carrier in my trunk, so I got it out and put her inside. She is pencil thin and was so flea-ridden. She is also pregnant, but the vet said the operation would be dangerous because of her condition. I am hoping I can get her to good weight before she pops the babies out so I can get her safely spayed but the vet says she is close to having the babies-sigh…

Doesn’t matter where I go, cats seem to find me.

Here she is, she has taken up refuge in the cat house by felinefurniture.com I brought one of the houses inside and the cats love to go in there.

Heard from Hook’s new owner all is now going well. There was some concern over Hook not using the litter pan right away (he was eating and drinking fine) but cats are desert critters and can hold their urine and feces a lot longer than most.

Hook is now sleeping with his new friend Jared and they are getting along just fine-

This morning when I was dishing out food for the Ragdolls upstairs, Gretel came out of hiding to eat with her buds! I was so surprised to see her out in the open that I just wanted to shout for joy! That would have scared her so I contained myself and just grinned and thanked God.

I’ve had a couple of people interested in adopting them- but no one wants all three of them together. I am not sure right now if splitting them up would be helpful so I will continue to work with them.

Blossom and Bailey are now coming down the stairs and sitting on the landing. But they show such aggression to the cats waiting outside the screened in door that I don’t dare open it and let them into general population. Slow and steady wins the race, rushing things usually ends up badly. But YAY for Gretel seeing the light of day!