Such bad timing, but CATS needs to come up with $150.00 quite quickly. I have some of the money needed to get these last cats spayed, but not quite enough. If anyone can help us fill in some of the financial cracks, that would be appreciated. These last remaining strays are so pregnant and so young.:(

Quigley, who we are now calling Quincy (seems to fit him better) went swimming in the river today totally unplanned. I had taken him for a walk and he broke away and flew into the water where apparently, he was in his element.  I held my breath because out in the middle of the river, the current is quite strong but he stayed near shore. Next time, I will take my lunge line and I think that Brandy’s life jacket will also fit him. The cats in the house have become accustomed to him. The only time I am a bit anxious is when some of the cats are under the hospital bed and he sticks his head underneath and whines at them. He doesn’t go for them, just wants them to come back out and say hello.

I am glad I have worked with him about chasing cats inside- the outside cats are still his challenge and we are working through it. He can be a bit headstrong. I took him to see Mike again and “Nurse Bella” came into the room at that time. Nurse Bella is a 7 year old tuxedo girl who used to belong to a former patient. The woman got better and took her cat home with her when she was released after several months there. Once home, Bella vanished and showed up later at the nursing home crying to get inside! Apparently, this happened more than once so her owner relinquished her to the nurses and Bella has it down. She has several places she visits, she gets scraps from the kitchen. She does not pee or poop inside the home, she cries to go outside! She met Mike a few weeks ago, and he fashioned a cat toy for her, so she comes into his room and sleeps on his bed for awhile, then goes on to her rounds. With Quincy in the room-she ducked under the bed and hissed until we left. I don’t think large dogs are in her rounds and NO she is NOT declawed.

Starting Monday, there will be a second and last push to get the rest of that  outdoor colony trapped-neutered and released. Twelve of the twenty cats have been done, now it is the tricky part- catching the rest of the fourteen cats without re-catching the ones done last week. It had to be done this way though- as the slots for the spays and neuters fill up fast.

It means another several trips driving the cats up to Sa and then picking  them up the following day. I find it interesting that several of the kittens done last week are now following the caretakers around like pet cats. I think maybe they are trying to say thank you as some of them (not even 6 months old were very pregnant.

Donations would be wonderful to have right now as the spay and neuters are done on a donation-basis. Most of the cats were lured inside the traps thanks to some canned food arriving a few weeks ago via Amazon.com. “Thank you M- for that much-needed arrival.

I received an email yesterday about an abandoned baby found at one week of age and suddenly after just a few days, refusing to eat at all. I responded with everything I know about helping the wee ones, and this wonderful man took this kitten to the vet. She was given fluids and they were instructed on how to properly stimulate the kitty so things can keep moving. But the little one- it just wasn’t meant to be and she passed away peacefully last night. I am including her story and her image on this blog because so many abandoned ones just never get the chance to touch love. This little girl, she hit the lottery of love, even though her Bridge Pass was stamped way to early.

This boy has four legs but isn’t a cat. I picked him up yesterday out on the coast. It was a pretty drive. He is a year old and it looks like God just put the head of a Rottweiler on the body of a German Shepherd dog! Thankfully, this fella has inherited the Shepherds brain as his stubborn streak is pretty low.  When I picked him up, he had no manners at all. He couldn’t walk on a leash without pulling my arm out of the socket and he is at one year old-90 pounds. He wouldn’t sit, stay, lie down. I spent 2 hours training him over the course of 24 hours with a friend of mine who missed her calling and should have been a dog trainer. It’s been wonderful. He now heels, he lies down- sit, well we are still working on this.

He was injured on Monday with his previous owners. They would let him outside and their property isn’t fenced and he wasn’t neutered so of course he roamed. He went missing for 24 hours and when he came back he was bleeding profusely. They took him to the vet where he had surgery on his front leg and he got neutered. They decided they should find another home for him because according to woman “the vet bill was a wake-up call and what happens next time if it’s worse?”

That’s when I saw the ad and answered it and after a few days of trying to arrange a meeting, it finally happened and I fell in love with this boy. From his head to his neck he is spot on Rottie. From his neck to his tail he is German Shepherd. He chased a cat one time and I let him know without raising my voice or swatting him with a newspaper- that this is not going to fly with me. He’s not chased them since and he slept in the living room last night open on the floor with five cats clustered near him. I was sleeping on the hospital bed right next to him with one eye open at first, but then sleep claimed me and in the morning nothing had happened to the cats or to Quigley (that’s what we are calling him)

He met Mike today and of course Mike flipped for him as well. So it’s a done deal- Quigley is now part of the family here.

The outdoor colony update= 10 cats have been trapped and will go be neutered tomorrow. Most of the cats captured were the female kittens and most of the kittens unfortunately were pregnant already. Thankfully, no one has produced a litter yet- the trapping of the rest of the colony will have to wait until there are more spots opened in the spay clinic.

Well Quig is whining at the door and I KNOW what that means  LOL  Gotta run

She was returned yesterday and she is missing Jessica big time. This wonderful, loving kitty that I remember her to be is not here at the moment. She is grieving, she is angry and she escaped out of the bedroom and went into the enclosure She wants to be left alone. Jessica called this morning to see how she was doing and we talked. I decided to just keep Chauncey here for a year and wait for Jessica to return from her teaching job. It will last one year and it will strengthen her quest for her masters. I’m just going to leave Chaunce alone, let her take her time to acclimate into the group again. Jess did not want to do this but this teaching job came up and she needed to make some tough decisions. She gave me some boarding money and I wished her luck. After hearing she will be teaching in Saudi Arabia, I am glad she decided to leave Chauncey with us. Chauncey will settle down in about a week and go back to the loving girl I know her to be. Right now, she needs space and time to deal with the separation of the first human she grew to love.

Mike’ oldest son and our grandson came for three days. Last time I saw Ben (my step-grandson) he was 8! He in now 19 and has grown up to be a fine young man. They kept Mike busy this weekend giving me a much-needed break. I was able to go and look at a puppy I saw on the internet and when I saw this boy, it tugged at my heartstrings. He had been seized in a puppy mill raid. He was HUGE at 7 months, loving, lop eared- just a doll. He had the ears and face of a shepherd, the paws of an Australian shepherd and the body of a great dane. He was so skinny! You could see his backbones, his ribs- man he was in rough shape. But despite all he has been through, he was there with sloppy puppy kisses.

I made the big mistake of taking him over to meet Mike before taking him  home and cat-testing him. Never again! This boy was on the cats- he had the look- I could just see him as I held him off thinking: “Oh look! There’s a cat over there by the tree. There’s one by a bush and another at the log pile.” Oh boy gotta herd em!”  Even in his skinny state he was strong and almost broke away from me. It’s not his fault. He wasn’t going to eat them- he was just responding to his high prey drive.

He is now in a home with two delightful women who used to work with Pitbull rescue and they have NO cats. Broke my heart- he was everything Mike needed- not to mention myself. But the cats have to be safe and that is the bottom line. I guess the best thing is he is no longer waiting in a shelter for a loving home.

The kids are in from Alaska giving me a much-needed weekend break of being with Mike. Mike is back at Timberview and he looks so much better than he did. They found an electric recliner and he is sleeping in it and getting better rest. He is on oxygen at night. If I am repeating myself, I apologize.

I got a call from a former adopter and Chauncey is being brought back to us this weekend. 🙁 She is not being returned for behavior issues, but the woman who is a professor at OSU has been offered a job teaching abroad and accepted. She has been trying to find a home for Chauncey but has been unsuccessful. She said taking Chauncey abroad is just not possible- long confinement in quarantine and a lot of stress on both of them. I am sad, because Chauncey finally did bond with someone and was doing so well. Now, she will be back in our bedroom in shock and grieving the loss of her person. Oh well, at least the woman called me and didn’t just leave Chauncey out in the cold.

Slater is in his new home. Right now, it has been reported, he is hiding under their piano. At least he isn’t hiding in the piano! The whole family has quickly fallen in love with him and I suspect in a few days he will be the center of attention in his new home. He is a gorgeous boy-

I have George coming to renovate the two doorways in our home so when Mike does get home, he will be able to get the wheelchair through the hallway and into the bathroom.entry. Unfortunately, our bathroom is really a water closet. I don’t know how we have managed this long to deal with the fact that when you walk into the door of the bathroom you can touch, toilet, sink and shower without moving a step! Home was built in 1935-