In our front yard, there is a long strip (runway) of brick running vertically out to the front of the property. Years ago, roses and other blooms were planted there. Recently, yard work has been on the back burner and long grasses have taken over the majority of the bed. Last night, after it cooled off considerably (103 here yesterday!) I took the weed wacker out and decided to trim up the grasses. As I was running multiple extension cords from the carport, I happened to look at the bed because I heard rustling in the grasses.

Squirrel raised her gray head and looked at me with some disdain. How dare I disturb her rest! As I walked over to pet her, I noticed that the long grasses contained other surprises. Bentley, Baker, Sullivan and McGee were all hidden in the long fronds, using the shade they offered as respite from the heat.

I walked back over to the weed wacker and started disconnecting extension cords to put the machine away. I will take the beauty of cats resting over a trimmed up flower bed any day!

I am so glad that some friends of ours have fallen in love with this wonderful girl. They started out saying they would foster her until I could find her a “proper” home but they have quickly found out what a sweet girl she is and she is now being adopted. She will be a shop cat in Lebanon and I know she will thrive under all the attention the customers and her new owners will give her. There are already two cats in the shop but they are all getting along well so it is a match made in heaven. She was so unhappy here and I couldn’t spend near enough time with her that she needed. In the morning when I was pouring out the food, she would jump up on the large platform and headbump my forehead over and over. I kept promising her I would find her a forever home and God heard the promise, smiled and delivered.

He is alive! They did not take him to the vet. They “nursed” him back to health with damp rags, ice beds and siphoning fluids into his mouth. I am going to go ahead and put his neuter back on the books for CATS Inc., on the 18th. We feel if we don’t foot this bill, this opens this cat up to such inherent risks in his lifetime and he is such a nice fella. They claim he was “broken hearted” I don’t know. I just know that getting him a vet was his best chance of surviving that horrible fever. Whether he is brain-damaged now is yet to be determined, but at least he is still alive.

rushing him to Portland now! 🙁

Just woke up, here is the update:

He has a bad infection in his leg (again) but it is superficial (just underneath the skin) and because he is going to have his legs surgically scraped on Thursday, that procedure will take care of the issue. They once again did films and ultra sounds and they were “inconclusive” about a osteomilitis (bone infection) We got home at 4:00 a.m. this morning and I have to turn around today and take him back up to his pre-op appointment at noon. Brandy went with us and she was such a champ. The er room was so crowded and it was a hot night. She had to keep crawling under the chairs to get out of everyone’s way, not a small feat for a 123 pound dog. She just laid there all those hours (10) and took the abuse. Such a good dog.

I call her GiGi and this morning when I went in to visit her, she crawled right up on my lap. I know she misses Teo (still no word on the whereabouts or the fate of this beautiful boy). She has been tearing her hair out around her tail which is usually a sign of worms, so I dewormed her. She also has a major reaction to fleas-she has scabbies all over her body. I put flea treatment on her the second day she was here because she was covered with fleas. Now, I will be putting some ointment on her bites to help her find some relief.

She has the worst case of earmites I have ever seen, so those were tackled today. Through it all, she just hugged my lap- pretty impressive considering what all was done to her in such a short time. She was shaking her head and blowing chunks of gunk all over the place. I don’t think her ears have ever been messed with?

I just called the ER clinic and they have not brought this cat in for treatment. Hopefully, they just chose another vet that was closer, but I have a feeling after listening to them debate about what to do, they have done nothing. If he stays at his 104 temp, he will be cooked by morning.

I hope it didn’t seem like I was being heartless not taking him for help. But technically, I couldn’t because if the vets’ chose to euthanize him, I could have gotten into some pretty hot water taking that leap. I won’t call them and ask them what they decided to do. It wouldn’t do any good anyway. I see their thinking going in the direction of “well he survived this once, he can do it again.” 🙁

I just called the owners and got a bit tough with them. Hopefully, it works and they have come and picked up Teo and are supposedly going to take him to the ER clinic where he was seen before and surrender him to their care. I sort of have a feeling that isn’t what is going to happen though because the woman seems to feel the clinic will just euthanize him without chasing what is wrong with him. All this has happened before to him (they say) snapping at the air, the high fevers (up to 106!) the tremors etc… I did talk to the clinic earlier and they did keep him for 24 hours for fevers of unknown origin and wrote it off as an infection. I told them about the circumstances this time and like me, they are plenty worried about the symptoms and want him surrendered. I told the kids that in surrendering him, they will lose all control over what happens to him and they won’t get him back unless they can pay the bill in full. I told them please don’t argue, discuss, procrastinate, stall just get him the hell over to the clinic and turn him into them for care. I told the kid that they don’t euthanize because it is a teaching clinic and the students learn a lot about emergency vet care there. I hope they do the right thing- and now I have to go and scrub the heck out of my isolation room and let it air out because I have no clue what the devil this cat has- the clinic said if they do turn him in- they will call me and let me know the findings.

Note to self: Gosh mary anne NO MORE “owned” cats! Stick to the strays- the ones you can help!

Teo has suddenly spiked a high fever. 104.4 and despite subcu’s and antibiotics prescribed for him, his temp is going up not down. He is chewing on air- I thought at first he was grinding his teeth (which is a sign of pain) but that ain’t it. I have separated him from his feline friend, put him on an ice bed and given him the prescribed Zithromax but he isn’t responding to anything. He has heavy drool coming out of his mouth and his teeth and gums look okay. His owner said he did the same thing about two months ago and was down for three days until he recovered. It was an expensive visit for them (they took him to the 24 hour er vet) and they don’t have the money to help him now. They said I am doing more than anyone else would and they understand he might not be here in the morning. I’m just so perplexed? He was fine earlier, eating and drinking and even moving around the enclosure exploring. I’m a bit frantic here and just left him 104.8 now! I don’t know what to do- they said the vets never determined what exactly was wrong with him and he is up to date on all vaccines? Please if you are awake, please pray that Teo makes it till morning when I can get him to my vet. But he is having severe tremors and I have my doubts that he will be here in the morning.

Putting on the coffee, no sleep tonight for me.

6:50 a.m. Saturday morning- Teo is remaining at a constant 104.4. I don’t know about anyone else, but if this was my cat- I would have been on the phone at 6:00 a.m. calling to see how he came through the night? They know I was up with him all night. He acts like he has been poisoned (to me) but I am not a vet and until they make a proactive choice in his favor, I am pretty powerless to do much else but supply sub cu’s. I know our town is poor and these young people are struggling, but I also wonder if perhaps I have been hoodwinked.This wouldn’t be the first time that people play on my sympathies and passion for cats knowing the cat(s) are sick and they are unable to care for their needs. I am going to email someone who is an expert in feline vet care and get her opinion on this. I can’t just sit on my hands and watch this gorgeous boy struggle.

8:30 a.m. Called and left message on machine that their cat needs to see a vet pronto! He is staying at 104 and if this keeps up his brain cells will be toast soon. I’m at a loss here. My clinic is closed today so that option isn’t even open for me to take him there, He’s not my cat legally so I can’t really treat him- this poor kitty-

They are not relaxing, not yet- but on a positive note, they are eating and moving about the enclosure.

GiGi

Teo

Turns out the woman whose mother-in-law has a chemical dependency issue has two cats not one. Both of them arrived tonight. The two year old gray and white male looks pretty hammered. He’s a tomcat and I am going to get him neutered (any $ help in that department would be welcomed). The female is a mackerel tabby, spayed (thank God) and she is cross-eyed. There is fear that she has been kicked or hit because she was found cowering on top of the refrigerator when Katherine went over tonight to get her. As Katherine lifted her down, Teo peed all over the front of her shirt. 🙁 So now, they are safe with us here and are still in the cat carriers they arrived in. Katherine said her mother in law wouldn’t even let her visit the cats and they were both covered in fleas! Not any more. Katherine’s husband went over tonight with her and distracted his mom while Katherine grabbed her babies.

I will leave them alone for 24 hours then go and check on them. They have everything they need for now- especially peace and quiet. I will put the boy on the neuter schedule next week as this week is already full- the two kittens in the bedroom will go in on the 18th for their neuter- hopefully, I can put him on the same schedule.