Over the years, this ol blog has become my friend. A pipeline to a stream of sanity that sometimes my day feels that it lacks. This blog doesn’t exist to entertain the masses, (though I am sure many find it humorous that at times I can have over a dozen cats scampering under my feet.) It isn’t meant to be educational either, although a small part of me hopes that in sharing my life, I also manage to show people ways to get along with a “feral” cat. It isn’t put here to win awards or recognition- it simply is a journal of my life, just my life, day-to-day all the challenges faced, obstacles overcome and joys celebrated.

I’ve kept a journal since I was 12 years old. There are boxes of noteboooks, both hard and soft- backed in the attic along with diaries where the keys are long lost. Even scraps of paper scribbled on, such as the napkin I found the other day, scribbled hastily on a flight to North Carolina when I was 13 years ago. It says “Oh My Stars! Glen Campbell is on this plane!” I will admit that I asked him to sign every piece of stationary I was carrying with me so when I wrote my friends from my grandparent’s home they would have a lovely surprise. He very kindly did just that and never complained once!

This blog doesn’t exist to drum up sympathy points or even to raise monies for cats who need it. It exists to keep me at my center, so I can work things out- see them as they really are and not hide from the facts.

I debated on this next step- to make my reality real here. To show the world, the fight over Mike’s leg. But, if posting this photo here saves even one life, it will be worth it. It is not an easy photo to view- it shows the complete breakdown of a leg denied circulation for a very long time- a leg that hasn’t seen the light of day for 8 months due to being wrapped up hip to toe three times a week. It shows you what Diabetes can do to someone you love, or even to yourself if you are fighting this dreadful disease.

Mike was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes over 7 years ago and once he started insulin shots, the problems just started happening.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words- this one is worth a thousand tears- look at it try to identify it as a leg (because it looks alien to me.) But if you know someone battling Diabetes, do all you can to be supportive but firm and try to get them to really pay attention to caring about themselves. With the abscess- even with the neuropathy, he does feel pain. He says on a scale of 1-10 he is sitting at a 9.5

It is why I can’t write articles, keep up with the new litter of kittens upstairs and why I can’t sleep easily at night. We are preparing for the worst on April 6th when we see the orthopedic surgeon again and hoping for the best when told of the results from the MRI scheduled on the 22nd of March.

Click only if you have to:

mikes leg

This morning, I called the previous owner of Dexter to tell her how he spent the night. (He slept on the bed with me and two other cats.) When I told her this she said she was quite surprised. Said he had never slept with her, just slept inside of a carrier every night. Then she added- ” I have never really ever petted him nor has he ever been on my lap!”

She taught him at a early age due to her allergies and asthma to lay on a throw rug in a stay. Then she would pick up the edges of the rug and take him where he needed to go, potty, to the vet, wherever. If he traveled in her car, he did so inside of travel carrier. This dog is not used to human touch which is why this morning when Mike stopped petting him- he bit him. Not hard, no blood, not even red skin- just a statement “Pay Attention to Me!”

I was so stunned. To have this wonderful critter in your home and not be able to touch him- what agony the two of them must have endured!

We are making up for lost time- right now, Dex is sharing Mike’s lap with Taylor.

The other cats are getting used to him slowly. Fog and Tandem are the two I am having the most issues with, but they will figure it out in time.

We have a new rescue critter. His name is Dexter and his owner very sadly had to find another home for him. I got him to be a comfort for Mike and this has seemed to work. They have bonded strongly. His name used to be Charlie, but we have changed it, isn’t he cute?!? He is a yorkie/terrier mix a year old,

He loves the kitties they aren’t to sure about him though!

Here is one of the newest arrivals. They were calling her JuJu but I changed her name – she is a sweet kitty full of mischief at times and she is with all the others. The only one she has issues with is Fog. I think he has a crush on her, she can’t be bothered. She has found the bed to be her liking and at night sleeps on my shoulder. In the day time, she is often found sleeping with Mike on his lap. She was acting out due to a HUGE load of worms in her belly- once they were gone, she calmed down a lot.

What a surprise! She’s a black kitty! LOL

Just returned from Eugene where I placed my four year old dilute calico ShyAnne in a wonderful, loving home!

I keep telling people who contact me that the older cats are so much easier to adapt to new homes and ShyAnne proved me right. She walked out of the carrier, walked over to Francie her new caretaker and laid down, rolled over, exposed her beautiful belly for a good belly rub! I was so thrilled! Since I do the adoptions on a donation basis now because the economy is still so bad around here, they gave me enough to pay for the gas to get her there and back. Wonderful home! She will be an only kitty and I know she will be pampered and spoiled and loved. Best of all, no more kitty chaos for her. She is an armchair kitty has to be on my arm and on the armrest of the couch all the time- and unfortunately she doesn’t like to share the space and gets grumpy growly when others try and come up and say hello to me.

She is such a unique girl! When she is in the car she meows and she talks. I told her new caretaker to put her on YOuTube, because she says “No Way” when she meows- she also says “Help Me” and something that sounds like I love you- Seriously! I am not kidding~

I will miss her- but we said our goodbyes and I know I did a good thing here! God has blessed me so- 19 wonderful adoptions in 23 days!

We just returned from the surgeon’s office and the news is not good. The foot is pretty much deformed- there is little healthy bone left according to the films, but an MRI is to be scheduled ASAP to see how much infection there truly is. The surgeon said that at this point there are several options but that we shouldn’t fool ourselves, this is a serious issue here.

choices are once the MRI results are in:

Surgery to go in and remove the infected part of the bone of the foot. He will then be placed in a cast for up to 8 months and walk with a brace for his entire life. That’s the best option-

Surgery to go in and remove the infected part of the foot and what the surgeon suspects is more infection further up. If the infection has spread to the ankle, they will have to remove the foot completely. If the infection is still just contained in the foot, they will remove all the infection and take off more bone so that Mike won’t be so susceptible to more wounds and abscesses. He will then be placed in a cast for over a year and walk with a brace for the rest of his life.

There was talk about vascular surgery- all the major veins to Mike’s foot are shut down- clogged up heavy and if they believe he is a good risk for this surgery, he may be referred to a vascular surgeon so the surgeon can clean out the veins and get good blood flow to the foot and start the healing process. This is the riskiest surgery because of the time he would be under anesthesia. He has no pulse in his left foot. The now refer to his leg as Elephant Man Syndrome.

The surgeon said that this isn’t a matter of rebuilding Mike’s foot- it is a matter of salvaging what is there now. The Charcot’s Disease that the other doctor suspected he had, this surgeon says he doesn’t think that is the case but what Mike has right now is a lot of trouble and it can be life-threatening. Not what I wanted to hear, but what I sort of suspected we would hear.

If he gets stubborn (the surgeon’s words not mine) and says no to the surgeries then he will be put on antibiotics for the rest of his life which is also not a good option. He will be fitted for a brace and monitored carefully. Even on antibiotics he will still be susceptible to the wounds he’s been getting. The only difference is the wound’s won’t become so infected. The surgeon said this option is like putting a small band-aid on a very big wound.

So we are waiting to hear about the MRI and when it is scheduled. I did ask about the upcoming radiation treatments and the surgeon said that Mike’s foot takes priority. We go to see the radiation specialist tomorrow- a new one- the last one upset Mike to such a degree that I lodged a complaint and they have put a new one on his case. The complaint was valid and severe and I was told the doctor will be held accountable for what occurred-

The kittens are now just one day over a week old. There eyes are open but all they do which is normal is eat and sleep. I admit to feeling so much pleasure to see these little lives- I also am relieved that she is a good mom and I don’t have to get up every two hours feed and stimulate the babies. She will bite me if I handle them though- she hasn’t drawn blood but she is telling me to leave them alone or else!

I also just got a call about a second cat suspected of being pregnant. The woman is being threatened with eviction if she keeps the cat and she has to get rid of her-sigh….Of course it’s a black cat! LOL

I will pick her up later today and put her in the bedroom. The new kitty (renamed Whisper) is now in with the other cats and other than a few hisses and some threatening paw swipes everyone is getting along. Guess the good Lord knew that I would need the bedroom for the new arrival.

Here is one of her kittens- a friend visited this morning and took this off her cell phone. She moved her kittens back to the canning cupboards off the stairs the other day- guess I better listen to her! LOL

Just drove over 200 miles to deliver a black kitten to a loving, forever home. This kitty is going to be so loved though he will have to get used to a cockatoo and a parrot. But the husband and wife have a lot of love to give, and when I left, kitty was getting lots of love and hugs from the new members of his family. This is Tover’s brother that left here.

The new kitty in the bedroom (whisper) is psycho kitty I swear! Goes from loving and wanting pet rubs one minute to hissing, swatting and biting the next. She isn’t feral but she is sure grumpy growly. I ended up with putting the screen door between the hallway and the kitchen back up so the other cats can’t come and visit at her door. That seems to have settled her down for now. Evn withthe protective shield on the bottom of the screen door of the bedroom, the other cats set Whisper off like nothing I have ever encountered before. Silly kitty!

In a few days, Mike will turn 72 years old. Because he is tied up with doctors all week, we celebrated in a quiet way and went to see John Carter. This is my first 3D movie and we both loved it. Typical story plot that we have seen time and again, but the animation is incredible and Disney managed to stay pretty true to the book.

Afterwards, we drove to Eugene to pick up a new kitty who surprisingly isn’t staying all the long! Her owners got jammed up by being caught by Housing Authority and busted for having a cat. They had ten days to find a home for her or they would get evicted. They also have two young children and were in a bad way.

The kitty is sweet, they had her spayed and chipped yesterday, so hopefully their committment to get her back when they find a place to live that allows cats will come to pass. She is black (of course!) LOL She is a medium hair, I put her just under a year old, and she has one sweet personality. She also has one white, striking whisker amid all her dark ones, so thankfully I will be able to spot her in a crowd of black! I am calling her Whisper (she really didn’t have a name) and she is a mere slip of a kitty reminding me strongly of Prowler. I love her white whisker. I put her in the cage last night, she ate this morning and all is well. I took her out of the cage and now she is under the bed, but she comes out to explore. The other cats are very indignant that I had the nerve to shut the interior screen door to the bedroom and give it over to just ONE cat! There was a lot of activity at that door last night and when I got up this morning and pushed the door open, several cat door blockers slid along the tile floor.

I suspect in a few days Whisper will be with the others, Based on what I have seen so far- she is what I call an Ambassador Kitty and there won’t be a problem merging her with the others. I am thankful she is not a pariah kitty.

Just spoke to Karen the new caretaker of the three Ragdolls. The girls are all coming out to greet her- they are sleeping with her even Gretel! And she has my camera- which she will send me tomorrow-

I am so happy to hear the girls are adjusting so well and equally glad they are with someone with the time needed to spend with them.