Meet the two newest kittens here at the sanctuary: Autumn and Glory. Glory is a major stuffed up black persian kitty and she was so matted- poor girl. I tried to not shave her down, but the mats were so thick, I had little choice. It’s hard to figure out if she is fighting a URI or is just the victim of extreme structure. Her snuffed in nose, you can barely see and she has major problems breathing.

Until I get her to the vet- I have the vaporizer going full steam ahead- They are both pretty scared right now and missing mom.
Here they are:

It is 10:30 p.m. and I never thought I would utter these words. “I just got attacked by a Persian kitten and it was an unprovoked attack.” Persian kittens don’t attack people- but Autumn does (apparently) she tore quite a chunk out of my hand when I put the baby food down for them to eat. 🙁 How sad for her to be so scared when she is in a safe place.

Ms. Hiss illustrates perfectly how cats need and crave routine. Any changes in her room or her day throws her into complete chaos. It doesn’t matter if I leave a door open that was normally closed, or if I change out the throw on the futon- whatever I do, I am learning she takes it so hard. She is still in hiding from me cleaning the room yesterday. I had to change out the throw cover and I put in some new litter pans and she won’t even come near me. When I took her the vet, it took her days to trust me again, which is understandable because she was spayed- but to react to doors being opened or closed, or anything new brought into her room is a bit excessive.

Hopefully in a few days, she will calm down and come out and visit with me again.

The problem is this- he fights. Whatever happened to him in his absence, it had to be pretty substantial because he has what I refer to as a hair trigger. Most strays, if they are going to fight-there are early warnings. Tail tucked, body low to the ground, ears back, eyes narrowed, growls, hisses- something. With him- there is nothing. He comes in fast and quick and strikes. He means what he says and if you don’t listen and back away he will hurt you.If you are a cat, I suspect he would really hurt you.

Mike and I put our heads together and came up with a plan- but we need help with a few dollars if you feel the tug to do so.

His enclosure has a two entrances, one goes to the house, the other is outside. We are going to build a mini-deck/enclosure for him off the screen door. We have a 4 foot overhang from the roof that provide the roof for this man cave- LOL We will run 2×4’s as support for the structure and put the deck on stilts as our septic pipes run right underneath that door back under the house. We will screen it with pet proof screening so the bugs, the other cats and predators won’t be able to get to him, nor he to them if he wants to hang out all night.

I worry that if I just let him outside to be himself, two things will happen- my vet bill will climb higher than it needs to be 🙂 Or he will get killed. If he gave a warning, the other cats and myself would be prepared- but he doesn’t he just attacks. With me he will now attack me when my back is turned to him and all this is such NEW behavior for him. I don’t know what happened to him and suspect if I did, I would probably be in jail right now. Hopefully this solution will allow him to relax, catch some sun and air and still feel he is king of the world without turning into a dictator.

Cyclone has recovered but his personality has changed. He is pacing the enclosure restlessly, similar to how tigers who are cage stressed will do at zoo’s. It isn’t that he is squished into a cage or kennel, his enclosure is large, with a high roof. It has large beams, catwalks and other things to keep him off the ground if he desires. After his last attack on me a few days ago, I started opening the screen door of his enclosure and letting him out. He would go out in the morning and be in by 4:00 like clockwork. I know I take great risk in letting him out- but his anxeity lessened. The day I didn’t open the door for him to go out, he again attacked me that evening. He’s telling me to let him go. His attacks have intention- it is not play. He shredded my ankle and not with his claws!

I let him out yesterday in the morning and this time he didn’t return until this morning. I could hear him challenging the other cats all night. They were underneath the house and their growls and hisses and warnings were unsettling. He will challenge any male cat neutered or otherwise which is why (unlike before) he can’t come into the main group.

So he is back now- but he is pacing and when I brought him food he swiped at me. I have a decision to make and it isn’t going to be easy to do. I have to decide if I want him inside and miserable or if I allow him to go outside, am I prepared for him to once again vanish? I know most people would say they would keep him inside without question, but I am not most people. I have a lot of praying to do- he is an old boy who should have been neutered at 5 months not 3-4 years. His ways are set and I don’t think they are subject to change.

Three Persians will be arriving on Monday. One is chocolate brown, the other two are gray and white. They are two years old and not spayed. One is the mother of the other two and they are were taken from someone who says she is a breeder- but they are timid, frightened and do a lot of hiding- which if you know the breed, they do not do.

I will have to put them upstairs in the room across the hall from Miss Hiss and her kittens and hope Miss Hiss doesn’t go ballistic as she is still super-protective of her family. I have four hopeful adoptions after the holidays are over so it will be crunched roomwise until then. But the alternative for these three are not good- they would be put outside and if you know the breed, you know that they don’t belong outside unless it is safe, fully cat fenced and they have access to being inside whenever they want to.

I first rescued a “feral” cat who turned out to be a Persian and what a cat he turned out to be. You can read about him by clicking the link below: But I warn you, you need a cup of coffee, a few donuts, your sleeping bag and some no-doz! It’s a loooong posting. But photos speak louder than words- the first post shows him as I found him- the last post shows him loved and cared for in his new home!

Starlight

Miss Hiss threw 3 girls and 1 boy. I had to do some quick kitty wrangling upstairs to try and figure out what is coming down the road spay and neuter-wise. This year I have had more spays and neuters than I ever remember. It’s frustrating because the previous owner of Miss Hiss whoever they are- didn’t do the right thing by her. If she did, I wouldn’t have these totally unsocialized, darling Siamese mixes to find homes for! The boy almost has a curly coat similar to a Devon Rex- it’s quite striking.

Now I really start concentrating on gaining their trust so I can get them neutered and into good, loving homes- But at least now I know who is a boy and who are the girls.

This morning as I leaned over to put on my shoes, Jordan, my once shy hide under the bed Siamese kitty reached over and gave me a forehead rub! It was heaven! I put my shoes on and she jumped on the bed, so I leaned over and closed my eyes and dangled my head just above her body. To my delight, she rose up on her haunches and marked me again- we did a bit of weird eskimo kisses (just not on the noses) This means that she can go up for adoption now although I may hold off because I am also making strides with Drama her brother, and I don’t want to set him back. I can advertise they go together and see what happens. But I am smiling today big time. I have been so sick these last few days not much got done. I have a full day of straightening the house, cleaning the cat enclosure- we had a bad wind come through and knock the heck out of the furniture there. 56mph winds for over three hours last night! If this rain continues, it is likely the enclosure may flood which would be a first for that to happen.

I’ve changed Clarity’s name to Ms. Hiss because that is how she greets me daily. She then knocks me over with headbumps and surrounds me with purrs in her attempt to love on me. Silly girl-

I was gifted a gift card this year and instead of using it, inspired by the 26 random acts of kindness campaign, I stuck it in an envelope with a message for the finder to use it if the need is great, but if not to pass it on in memory of a fallen angel Charlotte Bacon of Sandy Hook. I dropped it in the shopping cart of an elderly couple yesterday at the store.

We should all be kind, even if we don’t feel good and I think that was why I did it. I was so sick, I was horrible to Mike for a few days. I am surprised he is still living in the same house with me! But he is- and we soon celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary so I guess you might say he is long-suffering!

Well be kind in your day and hug your kitties- I’m off to do some much-needed clean-up

Salem has started to poop and pee on the bed of the new owner and instead of trying to figure out why; could it be the pomeranian that explodes every time the doorbell rings, or the addition of the new kids she is now babysitting? Probably both, instead, she just gave him back. I can tell he is stressed. I have him for the moment outside in the intro cage that is inside my enclosure. It is large, roomy plenty of litterpans and a heated cat bed so he should be okay for a few days before releasing him into the general population.

The gal who has Promise, her mother just passed unexpectedly and so now she has two new dogs and two new cats- so Promise will be home the day after Christmas. I do the best I can for these guys, so next time, I will do better and find a home in salem’s case with someone who wants to work through any issues instead of simply not willing to try.

I am now able to get close to all of Clarity’s kittens and pet three of the four. Clarity is so funny- she is such a formidable hisser and when she hisses at me, I think I take her by surprise by not paying attention to the bluff. She loves to be petted so much and has calmed down a lot. I think I would miss her “Hello Hiss” if it went away though.

That’s what I asked the woman behind the counter of the jewelry store yesterday. The look on her face was priceless (to say the least) She looked at me with a “Huh?” expression and asked me to repeat myself. Which I did, and she replied that she didn’t quite understand the question. That’s when I told her about Rayne, my little mackeral tabby (emphasis on little) with a little-kitty syndrome and a passion for watches. She is famous (or infamous) around our home for stealing watches and taking them upstairs and putting them into the litter pan! Let’s just say that the last time she did this was late at night and in the morning when I found the watch, I didn’t want it back!

I did give the woman something to tell her co-workers and friends though and we had quite a laugh. I left with a watch for under $6.00 but it runs, it looks fine and hey, it is going to end up in a poop pile at some time anyway! lol

I am feeling so mean this morning. It is spay day- Clarity, Napoleon and Braveheart are getting neutered. The only way to stop them from getting food since 8:00 last night is to take up all the food for all the kitties. So everyone is looking at me this morning, wondering IF there is any food for them! I’ve learned over the years that confining the cats before their vet visit generally just amps up their stress factor. Removing the dry food is a much better option.

Speaking of such, I better get going. I wish all of your smiles this day and joy. If you happen to find those, then I encourage you to pass them on- as they are contagious.

Merry Christmas!

HA! Fooled you! He’s still on my back porch but the local paper ran a story about me and Cyclone and this morning when I went to the grocery store, people were looking at me so strange, I thought I might have something between my teeth or toilet paper stuck to my shoe! Turns out, there I am dead-center in the local paper holding Sir Cyclone and there is a story with bits and pieces of the article I wrote about Cyclone on the front page! There is also a follow-up story about CATS Inc., and my cats.

The story is decent although he got a lot of the facts wrong- and he did something I pleaded with him NOT to do- he told people where I am located. I suspect more “strays” will be showing up soon- sigh and I literally have no room in my house or wallet to take in another cat. I turn them down daily- but when they are dumped in my yard- that is another matter entirely.

But, what I hope this article will do is get the awareness about cats into the public eye. That they will “see” stray and feral cats differently than before and for awhile at least-the topic of cats on a good note will float around some of the water coolers in town. That those who have lost cats and are still waiting, can gain hope and others might be inspired to adopt an older cat if not from me from other sources.