This morning I succeeded in capturing Piper who has been pretty sick of late. Normally, I can get close to this beautiful tortie girl for she loves head rubs and pets. But for the last few days she has been acting off and I finally got my hands on her.

I was alarmed to hear her trying to breathe so I rushed her to the 24 hour animal clinic several hours from here. This place offers the best care around but you also pay through the nose for their services.

Piper has an acute viral respiratory infection. Because I have a quarantine room with an oxygen tent if needed, she was given two shots and she is now home with me. She is really sick and being an outside cat she is not happy about being confined. I thought she had pneumonia or bronchitis as bad as she was breathing. I would have preferred to have waited until this morning when my clinic opened up but I didn’t think I had that kind of time.

Today is clean my house day and try to make room for the wheelchair, scooter and various other items coming home with Mike. Unless we hear otherwise, he will be home June 6th.

I am going to do something right now and offer up on an auction a signed, Limoges cat ashtray with gold lining. I need to come up with the ER money and I feel like such a slob asking people for monies all the time for these cats. This way at least, someone will get something for their monies.

I don’t know how to set up a large auction on this block, but I have a ton of products here I could auction off. I am starting with this plate- please see photo. It is signed and the starting bid is $5.00. If you are interested, just leave a comment here and a way to get ahold of you. The auction will run till June 7th. Hopefully the photo will generate some interest-

He tested negative for all the nasties and he was the sweetest boy. The vet couldn’t even believe he was a tomcat- but he won’t be by tomorrow night- they kept him overnight so they could neuter him for him. They also need to do some exploratory stuff on him as well so it was a bit spendier of a vet bill then most. But he is so darn sweet and he just laid in my lap in between them drawing blood, poking and prodding him and getting a bit personal with him. The vet said he is a year old by the look of his teeth- but a 10 pound one year old kitty???

anyway say good prayers and send vibes support, pennnies whatever his way so that tomorrow there will be good news and I can put this lovely boy up for adoption!

This cat is ravenous to a point I have never seen before in any cat or kitten. When I am dishing out his food, he tries to bite the side of the bowl and jams his head into the can of food getting it all over his face. I dare not over feed him as his body condition is quite poor under all that fur. I have managed to remove all the mats on him except for one that is under his front leg. He tries to bite me when I work on that one. My friend will be coming over later and she will help me by wrapping him up in a towel as the mat impedes his movement of his leg.

Alhough he has three litter pans- and he does pee in those, he poops in the same corner. It’s not normal poop either but thankfully I don’t see any blood or parasites in there as I just wormed him yesterday. His eyes are still a bit goopy but he is a beautiful kitty and I hope tomorrow if I can get him into the clinic, they will have good news about him. I will have him scanned for a chip but not hopeful someone cared that much about him to get him chipped. But you never know.

Heard from the new home where Tandem and Axle are now living. They are thrilled with their two new cats and both cats sleep with the kids at night. I love it when a plan comes together, now I just pray that Ashford will be found relatively healthy and his outcome will be a happy one.

First spot open with my vet is tomorrow at 3:40 please send support and prayers that Ash will be an okay kitty

This sweet boy has been through it in life. He is still quite matted. I can work on his fur with the seam ripper for about 5 minutes before his tail starts switching and I see him become aggravated. He has these beautiful burnished copper swirls in his fur and I am combing fleas (dead now thank God) out of his fur at an alarming rate. he has also been declawed-sigh- so I have to be careful how I work with him or I will get bit.

He was sick in the room last night and despite having three large litter pans, he pooped in the corner.

He is very friendly but his testicles look a bit strange. I can’t quite figure out why they don’t look like a normal tom’s sac but they are just over enlarged, possibly inflamed. I am not on good enough terms with Ashford right now to explore his private parts….yet.

He is hungry all the time, but is in such bad body shape that I can’t just keep feeding him like a normal cat. He is a beauty though and I hope to be able to get him to the vet next week-

Tandem and Axle just went to a lovely new home today. No sooner had they left when I got a phone call from a friend of mine.

This boy is a mess! He is friendly, but man is he matted and shows months of neglect. I need to take him into the vet on Tuesday and get him checked out- is anyone reading this willing to sponsor him for a few months? I have room for him, food and litter for him and love but not the money needed to get him checked out.

I am calling him Ashford and will let him settle in upstairs before attacking all the mats on his beautiful fur.

Sorry for the lost posts not exactly sure what transpired.
But believe the problem will go away.

Had to take some time off- hurt my shoulder trying to wrestle a 55 pound wheel chair into the truck. Not a fun time. I sprained my arm in the process and typing became quite challenging.

On the kitty front- Smuggles and Secret are coming out more and more during the night and I see their heads peeking out from under the bed now when I feed them. I put my hand under the bed the other day-near Smuggles, palm flat and she was fine with it, until I went to move it- then she smacked me hard without her claws- so that is a big step in the right direction.

Mike isn’t healing yet- he has a bolt coming loose so they are watching him closely and hoping for no more movement. He is getting pretty good with non weight bearing now and I am very proud of him that he has come such a long way.

I am turning down cats and kittens on a daily basis but I am full up and even when the stories break my heart, I am telling the people I can’t help. I am having a hard time meeting the demands of the cats here money-wise and taking more in makes no cents to me. If I can’t help them as they need it- then I harm them in the end.

This was sent to me yesterday by my sister. I have to say I love it-

I rode my bicycle..

I am learning new skills now- mostly hit and miss. I am learning that unless you tether a goat- it tends to wander into the neighbors’s yard and eat his apple tree instead of your wild blackberry bushes. I am learning that riding lawnmowers are extremely stubborn to raise up and change belts on. I am learning that selling my horses years ago now means my pasture grass can grow taller than me and I am 6’ tall. I am learning that paying bills for the first time is a struggle because I am not left-brained, I am right-brained and also bird brained! (Maybe that is why the cats love me so much).

I am learning that if I park my car under a certain tree in the afternoon means that a mama spider decides that laying her live brood on my car and in my car is a brilliant idea! I still get shudders thinking of the afternoon when I opened my car door and it became alive with hundreds to baby spiders scrambling to get out of the way! I grabbed a broom and helped them scramble.

But most of all, I am learning about real friends who help you no matter what. I am learning that praying to God means withdrawing away from all the noise around me and talking to him as I walk about the pasture. I am learning that God is there every day even if I happen to be to numb at the moment to feel him. And I am learning that when people on the street ask how are you doing- they don’t really care but He does.

And I am learning that my cats give me such great comfort both in the day and at night. I am learning that fear needs to be given to God, and Courage comes from Him. I am also learning that although it feels so strange to ask people for money for these cats- He seems to smile on the requests and fills the need. So thank you, all who contributed to the latest plea and forgive me for asking. I just ask on their behalf and not mine-

I found a beautiful version of Psalm 55- the author is unknown.

O God give ear to my plea,
And hide not Thyself from my cry;
O hearken and answer Thou me,
As restless and weary I sigh.

Thy burden now cast on the Lord,
And He shall thy weakness sustain;
The righteous who trust in His word
Unmoved shall forever remain.

Strays in trouble…

I just got a call from a lady who lives in an apartment complex. Someone moved out in the middle of the night and left behind three stray kittens. The tenants who still live there are feeding the kittens but they just got served with a notice that the butthead landlord has decided anyone caught feeding or giving water to these kittens will be evicted! He has gone and removed all the dishes of food outside the tenant’s door and is looking to do harm for the kittens if he finds them! You don’t know what I want to say about now.

The only way I can take them is to build a special cage made of plywood and chicken wire. It would go out in the enclosed patio. I can’t put any cats upstairs in the summer time- it is brutally hot up there. But I can put them in the enclosed and screened porch. I figure the dimensions are 4’x4’x4′ with a solid roof because the other cats are going to want to jump on the top- plus they will be right by the big bay windows so the direct sunlight would be a big issue. Ot would have to have 2×4’s at least to brace it down so it won’t move and have a door large enough that I can get at least part of myself into the cage to remove litter pans and socialize these kittens.

I’m tapped out right now, I figure I can do this for under $100.00- if anyone can spare anything, I am asking to send it my way. These kittens are being hidden right now by a pretty frightened tenant so time is an issue.

Thank you for your compassion-

MA

Woke up this morning to a pile of mail on the floor. The cats were playing in the night. When I was straightening up, I noticed a strange odor. One of my cats had peed on my political ballot that I was going to mail today! I don’t know who the culprit is that is peelitical in the group.