Meet Dr. Steve, the best cat vet in the county. Even he was impressed with how “nice” Glory actually is to everyone. They took blood and she tested negative! YAY! She is of course loaded with parasites, but other than that- they found a spay scar! Yippee! And she has a mild yeast infection in her ears-
No other health issues and Bristol is now in a new loving home and Glory is in the bedroom, allowing Marlow and her family to have all the upstairs to themselves-
The phone rang late tonight and I heard a sobbing women on the other end of the line-
“Are you the lady who takes..aches cats?” she asked with a hitch in her voice.
“When I can.” I answered
Between sobs I got the story from her. There had been a cat in trouble at their apartment complex- she (the cat) was very pregnant and according to the woman “very feral.” So- she (the woman) opened up her front door and invited this cat into their home (she lives there with her invalid mother). Well the door shut and kitty went ballistic and shot over the top of the couch, clawing the mother on the head and arm- then scooted into the closet went into labor and produced 5 kittens! Now, even though a week had passed, the cat was still rushing whoever came into the room, growling, and attacking feet and ankles and both women were deathly afraid of her!
I sighed and told the woman I would be right over.
When I arrived, with all my gear including my net- I went into the bedroom where this teeny tiny little black kitty girl met me with gnashing teeth and hisses. She bluff charged me several times, and when I didn’t back off, she attacked my ankles, but I was ahead of her. I had my boots on and my jeans tucked down into my socks. All she got for her trouble was a mouthful of shoelace!
I had a dark sheet with me, and I dropped it over her and she scooted under the bed, dragging the sheet with her. I looked under the bed and saw the sheet winding it’s way through the bedsprings. The woman explained the lining was completely gone from the boxsprings. I grabbed the sheet and gently pulled- I heard her hiss, but I hung on and soon I reeled her in like a fish. She was all wrapped up in the sheet and she was not happy. I popped her into the carrier and then went to fetch her kittens from the closet.
There are five of them- two white ones (one with black ears and a black tail) a tuxedo, a mackeral tabby and a black kitty just like mom. They are about a week old. The woman explained she had tried to get close to them but every time she tried, she would get attacked so she finally had to give in and she had heard about me and called me.
I put the kitties into another carrier and thanked the Good Lord that this time I had a mom to do all the work- and I said goodnight.
They are now upstairs, mom is as calm as toast- and it looks like maybe one or two of them aren’t getting the all you can drink buffet- but I will know more about that tomorrow when she really settles in and begins to be a mom (if she is able) Right now they are in the closet upstairs and here is a photo of the new family-
If anyone could possibly help and contribute to this new family-well bless you-donations are always welcomed.
I think the women are going to adopt my Bristol kitty- they are going to sleep on it but the fact that she is declawed makes her quite attractive-
I felt so bad for the invalid mom- she had scratches all over her face and arm and she was terrified of this “feral” kitty-
Not very much time left for me to advance to third place but I am still hoping I will!
She ate three cans of cat food last night in one hour! 3 cans! Seems that she doesn’t like the dry food variety of food. Glory cried all night non-stop although she wasn’t shut into a room. She has two bedrooms, a hallway and the stair cupboards to get into- but she didn’t care- she wanted me up there with her now. She drools incessently once you start to pet her and head bumps you so hard that unless you are sitting down, she will knock you over!
Methinks she is pregnant- either that or she just bulges. It could be a worm infestation- tomorrow will be the telling point as she goes in first thing in the morning.
Tonight, so I can get some sleep, I will play her the harp of hope CD and also put more night lights in the room for her. Unlike Mike who takes his hearing aids out at night, I can’t remove my ears and cat cries keep me awake no matter who is crying. I finally went upstairs early this morning and laid on the floor with her just to de-stress her. She is so friendly- I can’t believe someone isn’t missing her. I am watching the local lost ads and will put an ad up for her tomorrow. I will say, I will get her spayed before I return her to anyone.
We have been having some wild weather recently. Hail last night- three times and this morning I get a call from a lady in town and she had a surprise on her porch when she woke up this morning. She has talked to her neighbors and no one has claimed her- but with the bad thunderstorms last night she could have raced a long way. I will put up flyers and do some ads to see if I can find her owner as it is clear she is “owned” by someone. But for now- she is upstairs. I take her to the vet on Thurs. will have them check for a microchip and then get her tested and see how it goes. She has a beautiful face and I have such a soft spot for Calicos anyway. This is why I wish EVERYONE would chip their cat! Someone may be missing her big time and without knowing to much, all I can do is hope the owner makes a good attempt at searching for her.
The overwhelming images fill the television screen and the people effected are making the motions and going through the day trying to cope with the realization of what happened. Our good friends returned last night- they ran the marathon and passed the finish line with the early winners and escaped the carnage- but now home, you can hear the incredulous tone in Michelle’s voice as she asks me why?
Who can say why? Who can understand brutality, the act of taking someone else to the point of terror and beyond. Our hearts go out to all who are hurting, suffering, grieving and our prayers rest on everyone involved including those trying to connect the dots and find out who did this to people who embrace life and love to run. There are no more words this morning- only prayers.
Bristol is still trying to sort out her life. She knows that food arrives five times a day in the same place, she knows she is now warm and comfortable and no longer has to find hidey holes to hide from predators both four and two legged.
She is a biter, which does not surprise me. Most cats once you remove their claws (reprehensible if you ask me) they have no recourse but to bite. Usually a display of claws is enough to frighten a predator but without those weapons she is defenseless, so she bites- HARD.
Especially at night when I am trying to sleep. If I dare to stroke her- she snaps quickly. Thankfully, she has only nailed me one time and my hope is in time, she will relax and understand that at night nothing bad will grab her- but that will come in time.
Last night as we lay on the bed together, and I struggled to try and get some sleep, I decided to just lay my hand down on top of the covers. Until now, I have kept them tucked in tight under the blankets to prevent surprise attacks. She crept up to me and laid down near my hand. I held my breath just praying “Please don’t bite me.” Soon, I felt her paws grabbing my hand and I flinched thinking she was getting ready to put her teeth into my fingers. Instead, she drew my hand close to her chest, laid her head on my hand and slept.
I woke up this morning, with her still cuddling my hand much like a mother cat would hold a kitten. It was awkward to sleep like that with her, but I was so grateful not to see teethmarks in my hand that my stiff back didn’t matter.
We are making small strides, we are figuring all of this out as we go along and she is giving me hope that even at her age, there is someone out there with the patience and love to help this misunderstood, declawed and neglected cat.
Reed crashed last night and before I could get him to the vet, he died. I was afraid this would happen as the food I tried to gently place in his mouth, time and again was just rejected. With his gums so pale yellow- the liver was to far gone and he couldn’t travel back to the place of wellness. That is the danger of feline hypatic lipidosis- once the body starts to feed on itself- once the cat has starved himself or been deprived of food long enough- the path back from that is never easy.
I tire of saying goodbye to these beautiful animals. For having them such a brief time and then in a blink of an eye they are gone.
Yes, he knew love, warmth,security and gentle pets before he left but had someone cared enough to research a flea product before using it on him- he would still be enjoying his life-
This senior kitty was exposed to an over-the-counter product that zapped him pretty good. It is so toxic (even though it is touted to be made for pets) that he has little strength left, his coat is a mess (all the natural oil is gone) and his gums are really nasty.
Someone dumped him on me because they can’t afford his care and I didn’t have the heart to refuse him. He will go to the vet in the morning. I have had run-in’s with this product before so I know what to do in the meantime and it will all boil down to the blood work that will need to be done in order to find out how many of his organs are effected.
All I am going to say about the product is that IF the product is for cats AND dogs leave it on the shelf! If you want to get rid of fleas there are easier ways to do which won’t result in slow poisoning of the kitty with the parasite invasion. I am calling him Reed because of how slim he is- and this slim has nothing to do with being athletic!
Yesterday, I received a nice surprise in the mail. A big shipment of cat food (both wet and dry) from someone who follows my blog. It was such a neat thing to see in the middle of a stressful day and much-needed as well. So thank you loyal follower for caring about the strays under my care.
If you shop online, you can always go to www.adoptashelter.com Where is says adopt a shelter search for Oregon- the type in Caring About The Strays and then pick a merchant to shop with. They have hundreds to choose from and more participating every day. My cats will get any proceeds from that sale (a percentage of each sale) It is a pretty cool site.
Also I believe I might have found a home for Bristol already! I will know tonight when the wife gets home from work- but that would be so cool to place her in a home with no other animals and let her settle in and be the cat she needs to be.
THANK YOU AGain “Cat Food Fairy” you made my day!