We are going to call her Andie and she is gorgeous, semi-feral and scared out of her wits. She has to be the largest kitty I have seen in a good while and if I had to guess, I would say she has Persian and Maine Coon in her. She has been here less than 24 hours and right now, she is on our bed growling at us.

I got the call yesterday from an elderly gentleman who was hiking one of the many trails out at McDowell Creek Park. This park is a beautiful, remote area full of waterfalls, trees, tourists and locals but not much else. Located high in the mountains, there are no homes nearby where this cat could have wandered out to investigate her world.

She is an older cat, when she was yowling at me, I did manage to take a good look at those teeth of hers. They show heavy tarter build-up and her one canine is broken. She is 24 pounds of fur and fury at the moment. She has so many parasites that she had eggs caked from her rump down to her back legs!  Her rapid breathing could just mean she is terrified about being indoors, or it could mean heart damage. If someone owned her- they didn’t care a whit about her- she was matted completely. It took me three hours of TLC and a heavy duty seam ripper to get her mats out and then she had a bath and I kept all my fingers during that ordeal. But she needed one badly. She had three rinses before the water ran clear.

We need to get her to the vet. I am looking for that special good Samaritan who can help us cover the cost of that visit. I know they will test her ($45.00) then there is the general exam ($30.00) and whatever else she needs- one which is Profender for her load of parasites. We are not asking for anyone to cover what is already owed to this vet, we just don’t want the bill going over $1,000.00 which if I take her in today as I have determined we must- the bill will be higher. We have been making small payments to get it paid down- but donations are slow coming into the various boxes around town.

Since it is Saturday, I will need to take her into my vet’s clinic. Although her rapid breathing alarms me and makes me think that she might have lung or heart issues that would allow someone to take her to this remote setting and let her go – until Dr. Steve actually examines her- it’s anyone guess what is going on with her. I know she is crawling with parasites and fleas but I just flea-treated everyone last week and don’t even have Advantage here to put on her.

She is a beautiful girl and I wish you could actually see her.The photos are so dark. I don’t want to turn on the overhead lights and get her anymore upset. We get so many in here who are rail skinny and starving. She is the opposite end of the spectrum. I will post photos when she calms down a bit. It makes me angry that someone would just dump her up there. There is no campground at this park- it is just a place to go and enjoy the three waterfalls. The man found her hiding in the bushes. He heard her crying and stopped to call me. Turns out he knew about us from before because his daughter adopted a cat from us recently! I am glad he found her, that she stayed put until I got there and God Bless cell phones-

When I was gently trying to get her mats out of her, she peed and pooped all over the bed. Her stool is crawling with parasites. 🙁 She has been neglected for quite awhile.

Please help us help Andie –

At 3:00 a.m. feeding, Chippers passed away. This little girl had so much against her from the beginning, I wasn’t surprised just sad that she had to endure so much early neglect before coming here. She died knowing a bit of love and comfort but I was so praying for a different outcome here.

Late last night, I went on a rescue call (this one for a dog) someone dumped at our local damn. I didn’t find the dog and there were several of us looking for her. What I did find was the leash left behind, coiled on the ground!  I was so angry- Green Peter Dam is so remote, not many people go there and we called and shook biscuit boxes and looked everywhere. I hope that someone picked him up. The FB page said he kept trying to get into peoples cars and he was starving and thirsty. At least with dogs, more people are willing to pick them up then they are cats.

I got home to find out the woman who brought me Mojo had called and she had found another kitten. This one with the sac still on it. I called her back and she brought over a beautiful little girl kitty who was also stone cold and lethargic. On the phone she said they were going to give her non-dairy creamer. I asked her please not to give that crap to a kitten and instead bring it over asap.

She, like Mojo is gray and white, shorthair and in rough shape. The woman said she found it inside the wood chipper! The mom must have put her there but with the kitten still in the sac it is clear this mom has no intention of mothering her. I am calling her Chippers-

I was up with her all night- warming fluids helped her a great deal and I am feeding her every two hours warmed goats milk with a bit of Karo syrup in it and some colostrum. I was using the feeding tube as of 2:00 a.m. this morning, but now she is suckling so I am using a small syringe. She doesn’t have the strength yet to suckle on a nipple. I have also put out a FB alert that I am looking for an actively nursing queen for her. That is the only way this little girl is going to even have a chance at survival. I am told there are more kittens but they can’t find them 🙁

It is now 10:00 a.m. and I have introduced Chipper to four separate queens with bad results. The reaction the moms have to this kitten is showing me the kitten is sick or damaged. The queens want nothing to do with them. It is at this time more prudent to keep Chippers with human rescuers versus feline ones.

Right now, prayers are my only weapons and coffee is again, my best friend

This little boy was born last night and the “story” I got although it didn’t really add up is that five kittens were born and he was the last. He spent half the night hanging out of mom while the kids chased her around the barn trying to catch her…sigh…

I got him a half hour ago, he has been to see the feline specialist. I have a feeding tube for him, I have given him warming fluids and he is as cold as an ice cube. I have him on a pet heating pad and covered with warming blankets and he is still cold. If he lasts through the night- then God will have pulled off another miracle.

If you can pause within your busy day and send your support in prayers, good wishes, whatever you feel led to do-we would appreciate it. I am calling him Mojo. he is going to need all the good charms he can muster to live in the next 48 hours. I know this photo makes him look like he has already passed, but he is weak and hanging on. If he has a chance to live- I will know in the next few days- but right now his weakness is alarming

I am sorry to say that at 7:00 p.m, Mojo passed away.

March of last year, we got involved with a cat hoarder who was keeping a pile of kitties outside in poor conditions. We took all her senior kitties (10 total) converting our old run in stalls into a usable and roomy cat enclosure. As time evolved, all the cats with the exception of four who had to be pts due to health issues have been adopted. Left behind was this 17 year old black and white cat we renamed Blake.

Some may remember that in old posts I posted a photo of Blake’s ear that because of an early earmite invasion that was left untreated- the inside of his ear looked like a mushroom patch! The vet said that really nothing could be done and eventually the cat would become deaf.

Figuring, he would just have a home with us for life, we opted to keep him and just work with his progressive deafness, his constant drooling and his runny eyes.

This morning, I am so thrilled to post that he has a new home! He is now living with an elderly woman (Iris) who is deaf. She wanted a kitten initially when she called, but after listening to her needs, I suggested Sweet Blake as an alternative and she agreed to meet him.

They fell instantly in love with other! When I left them, he was sitting on her lap drooling and she had a lap towel on her legs to catch his drool. She lives in a small cottage at the edge of town and she doesn’t want an outside kitty, she has no other pets and I am smiling right now at this match found so late in Blake’s life. I will do a home check in a few days to be sure all is well- but I see no issues looming at this point, just a loving heart of a woman and the black and white kitty ready to take all the love she has and give it back tenfold..

Here he is in her storage room roaming around

Post Adoption Check reveals that Blake slept last night with his new human and when she woke up this morning, he was lightly patting her cheek welcoming her to the morning!

On the Cinders front- I am happy to say that they have indeed changed Cinders name. Her name is now “Princess Cindy” and according to her new Mom, she earned that name by captivating the household with her antics.

I learned this weekend that Slater-Gator, the feral kitty who hid in our kitchen cabinets for weeks and  then eventually learned to trust and was adopted out has died. 🙁 His adopted mom found him asleep near the bedroom door which she thought was strange because he always slept on the bed. He had passed in the night. She asked her vet to do a quick necropsy and it was revealed that Slater had two abnormally large chambers to his heart. He died of a heart attack at only 8 months old. When they are ready, they will be adopting another kitten from us- but not just yet. He quickly won their way into their hearts and they are devastated. I am sad as well but happy that at least for a little while, he found love within a normal family life.

I end this on a much happier note. Cinders, the Rock Pit Kitty has found her new forever home with Sandra and her husband Tom. This is a middle-aged couple whose kids no longer live in the home, there are NO cats or dogs and no plans to get either in the future.

How did the home check go? Splendid! The ride up there (3 hours) not so great. I had to keep reminding myself that the last times that Cinders traveled in a carrier, she was dumped in the mountains and then she was spayed. Not happy memories. She yowled the entire trip. I finally got off the freeway and took the back roads so I could keep my eye on her better. She has a very LOUD Yowl! LOL  Even harp of hope failed me on this one.

But when we got there and I let her out, I expected her to immediately go into hiding but she surprised me. She looked at me at first like: “OK, where did you stash all those cats I so detest?” Then she walked all around her new home, searching for her nemesis and when she realized “Hey NO Kitties!” She went and curled up on the bed and fell fast asleep!  YEAH!!!

The couple were charming and they loved her right away. I will call for a progress report in a bit, but I suspect she slept on their bed the whole night and ate all her breakfast.

It was a good ending to a sad weekend. We can’t save them all from the damages done to outside breeding, but the ones we do save. They do get a chance at a better life down the road. And that is what all this heartache/joy/tears,prayers and worries boils down to- a better life.

Here she is in her new “digs.”

Glowing first morning report! Cinders slept with them all night (in between chasing their toes under the blankets) She ate her whole breakfast and used the litter pan. She also watched television on hubby’s lap!