This is Stryker2. He reminds me a lot of a beautiful cat we had years ago except the original Stryker was a manx. This boy is so darn sweet but he isn’t eating yet. I am praying he will eat by tonight- if not 3 days have passed before he ate anything- he is the one who lost his human to a heart attack recently and I know he is mourning the loss-

We just got back from the vet. He has 7 bite wounds on his tail and the rear of his back. They gave him an appetite stimulant, an antibiotic shot, a pain shot and an anti-inflammatory. He also has asthma. he will be the second asthmatic cat we have rescued in under two weeks. He stayed sweet, but scared. I also got him a pheromone collar to help ease his stress. As  of now, he is hiding behind his cage and has still not eaten.

Thank you to the anonymous caller who paid off our vet bill! That made my day-

Just please pray that he eats soon- otherwise, I will be forced to use other measures I would prefer not to use.  He doesn’t need anymore stress in his life,  nor do I. 🙂

First of all, thank you to all of you who contacted me privately and publicly to express your sympathies and the loss of my Mother. It’s been a whirlwind of the few days for me after her passing. We had a fractious relationship from the get-go.

She almost died when I was born and I almost followed her as well into the Great Beyond (or so I have been told) For months she “worshipped me” dressing me only in white, rarely leaving my side and calling me “her little angel.”  I was born with white hair. I lost that in 2nd grade. The stories I have been told is one day, she just snapped and stopped paying attention to me and I suddenly became her worst nightmare. . She would make me a part of her rage and I was beaten, punished you name it. I have no idea what happened. Most of my childhood is a big blank even after countless counseling sessions.

In this day and age, I guess you might have diagnosed her with a mental disease, but back then, it didn’t happen. Everyone loved her (including me) but I was scared to death of her. I suppose one of us would have ended up in jail during one of those sessions- but back then domestic abuse wasn’t even a thought. Whatever happened behind closed doors at the “Love” house, stayed behind closed doors. I told my older sister last night that I found it highly ironic we carried that last name. There was little Love to be found there, at least for me. My Dad would beat me as well- One of Mother’s best friends told me once that when she was visiting she witnessed a beating by my dad. She asked him later why he beat me so hard, and his reply was “Because Mother told him to.”

Gwen (my oldest) told me last night that she remembers coming home from high school to find Mother beating me with a flyswatter. She said Mother was out of control and Gwen rushed in shrieking for Mother to stop. Beyond that, Gwen can’t remember what happened. Gwen got lucky, she got out early, She left for college on an athletic scholarship, afterwards she joined the Peace Corps, taught in Europe on a sailboat and left home never to return again. She lives a wonderful life now, has a beautiful, amazing daughter and she did not turn out to be the mother she grew up under.

We’ve emailed for the last few days and she has filled in the missing pieces for me as best she could. She said she always felt sorry for me because I got the brunt of everything. Said she felt helpless and powerless to stop it. My other sister was adored and never got touched. It was always me.

Perhaps that is why I gravitate to the abused and tormented cats around this area. Time and time again, people will tell me. “I don’t know how you do it, I couldn’t”. I do it, because it has to be done and I know that living as I did when I was a kid, I have that strength to take that broken soul and try to put it together again.

What I didn’t share earlier about my last conversation with my Mother is that I told her that I forgave her for all of it. For the beatings, for the harshness of my childhood, for the tears and the pain. I told her “I forgive you, I know Dad  is waiting for that final skate and I know it will be joyous.” My one thought at the time was please don’t go without telling me why you hated me so much. But that opportunity was gone. She had lost the ability to talk the day before. All I heard was her harsh irregular breathing and my heart wept that she was so in pain..

She had been hanging on for so long, existing on drops of water only. I started to wonder what she was waiting for – we had all done our final visits by ourselves not together- even my niece who is teaching in Korea came in. Why was she still here?

Then I got to remembering that when I had that last disastrous visit with her, in her lucid moments she would say things about how “good of a mother” she was to all of us. I would swallow the response I wanted to make and just agree- “Yes Mother, you did your best.” So I called her- (it has taken me years to find forgiveness) I  could only do it through God. If I lived selfishly or foolishly, I would have taken that anger to my grave.

I wrote her a letter the other day, and when this storm clears, I will take a bunch of helium balloons (it’s a long letter!) LOL and I will release it to the skies. Then, I know, I will truly be free. My tormenter she is gone never to cause pain to me again and I can finally find my center and get on with my life.

I just got notified,  my Mother passed away 15 minutes ago. Last night, I called her and one of the nurses held the phone to her ear. I told her that I loved her and have loved her my entire life. I told her I forgive her and that Dad was waiting in the distance for that final skate. (Mother would be 94 next month). I wished her well in her new journey and said goodbye. The nurse called me back and said that based on what she saw in mother’s eyes, Mother recognized it was me. This morning, she let go and found her peace. My sister arrived 5 minutes before her passing so she did not die alone. No one should have to do that-

Here we are earlier this year before she really started going downhill and had to go to a memory center and assisted care. 🙁

Last night, quite late, I receive a distress call from a concerned neighbor. Her neighbor of 50 years and her best friend had recently had a heart attack and died. (And I do mean recent.) Her relatives had converged on the house (in a pricey neighborhood of Springfield) and were grabbing everything of “value.” The woman was crying and I was confused? Why was she calling me?

Turns out her neighbor has had this cat since he was 2 weeks old. His name is Clayton. She was at the house getting her coat where she left it and she heard them discussing how they had called “everyone| ” shelters, etc and no one wanted the cat. The son had said he would go up into the mountains and drop this cat off! The woman who called has adopted from us in the past and she was seeing if I could help.

We have no room right now for another paw, let alone a full cat! But I told her I would help. (“God I know you taught me the word NO!”)

I left immediately and when I got there- I saw dozens of rigs as antiques and valuables were being carted off. The cat? He was sitting in a carrier on the porch guarded by Elsa (the woman who called me) I swear she had a shot-gun face! “You mess with this cat, I messa your face!” LOL. I walked over and took the carrier and Elsa hugged me. I looked at the scene of greed with all these relatives carting off valuables. Then I looked at this mack tabby and thought- “You are more valuable then they are.” I told Elsa, I don’t know the law but I think they might be breaking a few. There was apparently no will.

As I made my way back to my rig, I almost got mowed down by six burly men wrangling a baby grand through the driveway! no regards for this kitty who has been this woman’s constant for years. Now, Clayton is in an outside enclosure until I can figure out how to bring him inside. George built a warming room in there- so he will be warm and he will be safe. With his age, I don’t think I can place him, but I will certainly try. He is crying almost non-stop very quietly, I know his heart is broken and he doesn’t understand why all of a sudden his world isn’t his any longer.

Here is our courageous boy, fully adjusted to living without his left leg- just as Mike has to. I find it quite ironic that both the males in my life that I love have lost the same leg in almost the exact same spot!

I also wanted to add that I entered a writing contest yesterday sponsored by PetCo. The contest benefits the rescue that I got Cooper from they are entered into the chance of winning $100,000 grant for every story entered about one of their adoptions. IF I win grand prize it is a $1,000.00 gift card from PetCo it is called the Holiday Wishes Contest. My entry is entitled The Three Legged Heart. I will let you know what happens.

I am thrilled to report that last night, Mr. Meowgi went back to his owner Scott. This cat has been missing for quite awhile and on the strength of witnessing the emotional reunion between the two of them, I am glad to say Scott never gave up on his cat! He had taught Meowgi aka Ebon to high five and this was performed after the initial re-introduction. But it wasn’t necessary. Once Meowgi heard his beloved owner’s voice, he leaped into his arms and stopped crying and started purring. It was humans that were crying by then.Thank God for Facebook!

Holy Smokes! 14 kittens (2 queens) all bobtails! My first response was “Cute!” My second “Please spay and neuter!”

It has been a morning that I won’t forget for a long while. I was on my way to the vet with Mr. Meowgi- a 7 year old male (neutered) black boy who had the misfortune of wandering into a yard of 6 pit cat hating pit bulls BUT was instantly scooped up and put in the garage to keep him safe. I saw the post on FB and because of the passing of Bella, we have room and I told the girl I would take him. I was taking him in to be tested and scanned for a chip when my phone rang. One of my volunteers, her son had been watching a cat wandering down by the river (for two weeks) The cat was extremely skinny, scavenging food out of the trash barrels and had been hanging around the bridge for about three days, so Chris brought her home and Dee called me. Could I take her? It just so happened I was about to pass their home, so I swung in and picked her up as well and took both to the vet.

Mr Meowgi, no chip, healthy, beautiful sleek just keeps calling out for his human.

The second kitty is not so lucky. She is paper thin, she has muffled breathing sounds. I wanted them to treat her but their was a problem. She was microchipped, so for now, I was out of the equation. I waited at the office while one of the girls tried to contact the owner and it didn’t go well. One family member didn’t want the cat back, the other did. They had to “discuss it” and would call back. I waited from 8:30 till noon for that call which never came- so I told the vet that if they decided to put the cat to sleep or didn’t want it all. That we would take her if the vet thought that there was a chance the cat was treatable and able to be saved. I left and prayed all the way home.

I got the call at 3:00. Final verdict, they did not want their cat back. Apparently this cat would “vanish” from time to time so they were over it. So I gave them permission to do what needed to be done to help the cat become comfortable. She was given injectable steroids, antibiotic and anti-inflammatories. I am to take her back in 2 weeks to be re-x-rayed.

I put  her by herself in the deck enclosure and moved Mr. Meowgi to the Introduction Cage. I have to keep her secluded because they don’t know if this is asthma, pneumonia, cat flu, a viral or a bacterial infection. Her name had been Cracker and after thinking about it for a few- I decided that if there was a glimmer of hope that she could be saved- by golly we would go the distance and so I named her Sparkle.

Would like to ask now for donations for her. Whatever is going on with her is pretty substantial. I still have 40 calendars left would someone like to order one? They are $10.00 all the money donated goes to vet care and gives these cats a fighting chance at new life NO MATTER how old they are. Today’s  bill alone was $381.00.

I did take her to my friend Midge to get photos of her. She is a Russian Blue mix. She has already eaten in the three hours she has been here 1.5 cans of AD and 2 cups of dry. She drank water like a camel. You run your hand along her back, you feel every bone of her spine. When you pick her up to move her- you feel her ribs. I don’t know how long she has been “lost” I wonder if she was dumped but we will never know. She is here now, she is safe, she is loved and I will keep you informed of her progress.

Because she shares the same symptoms as Bella had, I was so afraid she was also going to be a cat that was hit by a car but all the x-ray showed was her lungs looking like gravel and empty stomach and colon. Thank You God-

Here she is and I think she is beautiful (or she soon will be). I can’t wrap my head around someone owning a cat most of their life and then not wanting them anymore. But it happens all the time.

So if anyone can tuck a few dollars into the CATS Inc., fund- it is very much needed-

She was not thriving after being here. I would go out and find her asleep with her head in her food bowl (even wet food!) Her breathing was labored- her stool the color of jaundice and stinky as all get out. She was eating AD. I was supposed to wait one more week to take her in for a re-check as the vet thought she might have asthma or heartworm but she was so anemic and depleted he wanted her stronger. I didn’t wait. I went in this afternoon with her because her breathing was just odd.

He heard muffled breath sounds and took an x-ray. Not a good thing to see on the films. She had apparently been hit by a car several months?Even a year ago and developed a diaphragmatic hernia. For those of you who might not know what that is- it is a tear in the stomach and after a certain period of time the intestines come coiling out. She had air in her lungs and her colon and no clear tract from her stomach to her colon. She was passing out while she was eating because she couldn’t breathe and eating fatigued her! The surgery is thousands of dollars- and only 60% make it through and those are the cats who have been recently hit by a car. So we kissed her forehead and laid her down and stamped her Bridge Pass. She did not go easy- Steve said it was because she couldn’t breathe- but now she can. She running heaven’s grasses free and breathing and one day I will scoop her up and give her a hug and let her know she was very much loved…if only for just a few days-

I met a couple that were “between homes” in the Bi-Mart parking lot. Living out of a chevy pick up truck they had 2 toddlers, 2 dogs, an 11 year old calico kitty and two kittens! They asked me to please take the two kittens for “two weeks” until their home is “ready.” Been there done that too many times already, so told them the only way I would take these 6 week old (cute!)babies would be if they signed the owner surrender forms on them. I would “foster” them for 2 weeks but if I didn’t hear hide nor hair out of either owner, in four months the kittens will go to a new home. They agreed- signed the paperwork and drove away.

Cute babies living in a large open cage in the back of the truck!  Two tuxedo boys. I ran them to the vet to be tested, de-wormed de-flead and I am sitting in the lobby waiting for the tests which take ten minutes and one of the vet techs comes out and she has a really strange look on her face and she is bearing down on me. I’m thinking oh no, they so friendly probably tested positive for FELV. I ask Diddi what’s up and she said “Well the tests were negative…”

” Ok I say, why the face?”
She tells me Jacob (my vets son) is having a hard time letting them go! LOL He wanted to know if he could adopt them. I told the situation and Jacob has agreed to foster these babies until the owners get back in touch and if not- he has two lovely new companions that are set for life with love and vet care! It couldn’t have worked out better.