We rescued Hanna late last night after a phone call from an elderly man saying he had a cat trapped in his garage and the shoulder looked “odd.”

When I arrived, I found an older and very friendly female mackerel tabby that at first glance looked like she had a chunk bit from her shoulder- but when I got her home and started to work with it- the wound looked really bizarre and kind of gross. I did the best I could and started her on antibiotics but this morning, it still looked strange so off the vet we went.

Turns out, it isn’t a cat bite (which I knew already) but they narrowed it down to one of two things- a hobo spider bite, or a cyst or tumor that has ruptured. We are going to treat it for one week and if no changes occur- they want me to call and make an appointment to get the tumor removed surgically.

This kitty is as calm as toast and doesn’t act painful in any fashion which would support the cyst/tumor theory. Only time will tell and if the neucrotic tissue starts to recede than it is a hobo spider bite- if not, she has a surgery in her future. Another odd thing is although she is 10 years old or better- there is no spay scar and her nipples look like they have never been productive in her life! Maybe I should change her name to Enigma.

here she is-

WARNING- WOUND PHOTO

Almost immediately upon arriving home and putting these two into isolation, they became calm as toast. This morning, they are eating, drinking moving around the room. I don’t have them in cages, they just have all the space since they are sharing the same disease. The heater is on, they are warm and comfortable and have stopped shaking. They have not lost their trust in me, I was able to get both my hands on them this morning to treat their eyes. I’ll put a humidifier in there today once this darn rain stops slamming down on us. But I am so happy they are home- this disease can last up to 4 weeks- but at least I know they are safe and no longer terrified.

The two kittens have been in foster care for quite awhile. Last night, I received a frantic call from the daughter telling me I needed to come immediately the kittens were “sick.”

Turns out the kittens have been sick for quite awhile and no one called me which angers me more than you know. I have used this family for years but right now, they are embroiled in a drama suitable for a reality series about cheating spouses.  Although I can appreciate the crumbling of a long-term marriage, I wish someone had called me sooner. These two kittens are quite the mess. I dropped them at the vet this morning, I don’t suspect they will let them come home, that’s how bad it is. bad nasty URI complete with swollen pink eye and deep hacking coughs which can be either feline herpes to the nth degree or pneumonia. To add to the frustration, these two left here almost socialized and came back almost true ferals again. It took me three hours to capture them inside the bedroom they were stuffed into. What a mess and how sad that two adults with a lovely home life could digress in such a fashion that this happened at all. The daughter told me that her mom has been following the husband all over town and stapling nasty emails on the doors of the motels where the trysts are happening. She almost got arrested for pete’s sake!

Waiting for the vet to call. I just hope it is good news and the kittens can recover-

Hey Guys,

I just received an email from a girl in India. She has found herself in a pretty hopeless situation when the mom cat shunned her new litter and tried to kill the kittens. The girl has the two survivors out of the four and I am doing my best to guide her through this confusing process. There are no vets, no local rescues, nothing but herself and her will to help despite being told not to bother.

Please keep her and the babies in your prayers. I wish I was there to help her out- Years ago, I had a similar email from India and it was the same story- the neighborhood telling the girl to stop with the heroics because they are kittens and “kittens die all the time!” But this girl has courage and is stepping up, bringing these babies indoors and doing her utmost to see them through this. Not an easy task. She has my heart-

Anisha did her best, but the two kittens passed away late last night- edited 11/22/16  Thanks for the prayers-

7-11 passed this morning. She went out on a warm bed, with plenty of food in her tummy and lots of pets and strokes the night before. She was a fighter, but there are some things in life you just can’t overcome. Bye Sweet Girl you were a pure delight and a total mystery.

Here she is. I am happy to say that after being here just a few days, she now weighs 5 lbs 9.5 ounces! I will say this for her, she is a fighter and I think she wants to live.

It is close to Thanksgiving Day soon and we are going pretty low-key this year. Roasted turkey breast (no whole bird) sorry kitties! My stuffing casserole and a green salad. No desert, Mike has lost 53 pounds in two months and I don’t want to wreck that miracle.

For the last few months, one of my blog followers who will at this time remain nameless- has been sending me a lot of vintage jewelry (circa 1960) she has collected over her lifetime. I do cats, no jewelry, but these pieces, they blow me away. First I am stunned that someone is granting me her collection so I can raise money for the cats. It is an extensive collection. I would say I have over 800 pieces right now.

I went to a holiday show today but I need to get these out of town. I had people coming up to me and asking me “I see you have $30.00 on this necklace, I’ll give you $3.00!”  I made a whopping $12.00 in 7 hours. I can’t blame the people in town- most of them can’t even pay their bills but I had these pieces low cost and it didn’t seem to matter. I need to be in a bigger show where the pockets are deeper. Everyone was oohing an ahhing about the exquisite pieces- but no one was buying. So I will keep trying.

I thank you nameless one for your generous heart and your giving spirit. I know the kitties would thank you as well!

Late last night as I was letting Cooper out for his final potty call, I discovered on our porch a cat carrier with 6 kittens inside! I didn’t hear anyone drive up or see lights so I am not sure when they arrived. It was going to be 38 degrees last night! I quickly pulled them in, got them into a warm room and got them fed. They are not feral, they are somewhat socialized- here is the first glimpse of these babies. All are tuxedos except for a black one. I guess this is my Black Friday.

You can tell they are all littermates. I will have to do some shuffling around to make room for them and they will have to wait for vet visits for awhile. The Kitty is broke at this time. Thankfully they did not have to suffer long- they were still warm when I got them inside, but I am sure they did a lot of cuddling to maintain body heat! No note, no donation no clue where they have been. Just more to make room for and care about.

The vet just called and the urine test is back on “7-11” she also has a bad UTI. She is home now, and eats probably a tablespoon of dry food right now. Hoping after she decompresses from all she has been through and has been on the medications her appetite will perk up. She will live here with us till the end of her days.

Yesterday, I met Ann Fore and Maizy from Meow Village in Aurora. They had a special problem and sent out an email alert looking for a safe place to put four feral cats. I mentioned this in an earlier post.

So yesterday, they drove through a terrible storm to deliver two older kittens to me who are quite frightened and scared at the moment. They could not tell me for sure if they were giving us two boys, two girls or a boy and a girl. They “thought” they were both girls. The two are mack tabbies.

We  took them into the stall enclosure and I just let them out of the carrier. I will worry about catching them in a few days when they were calmer. But from the looks of it- it has to be the same sex kittens because neither one is pregnant or so I could see as they were doing fly-bys in the enclosure. I just let them be, they had food, water, litter pans, they were warm, they were safe and no evil land developer was lurking trying to figure out how to “get rid of this big problem.”

This morning, when I went into feed. I couldn’t find them anywhere. I saw that the dry and wet food had vanished, the pans used, so I knew they were in there. But there are dozens of hiding places in there for scared kitties, so I just started cleaning the pans and talking to them. George has built that room solid- there is no escaping and we laid out in the beginning- thick pieces of plastic they use in shower manufacturing on the ground clear to the walls. On top of that is gravel, on top of that is straw or sawdust, whatever I can find. They can’t dig out.

I noticed movement in the tarps on the back wall and figured by the motion that they had climbed up the screen and were hiding from predators behind the tarp. I carefully drew the tarp back and wham they both jumped down and vanished under a table. They looked okay, I was worried they might have hurt themselves while in captivity, but I shouldn’t have bothered. They are fine. I left them for now- will go in three times a day at the same times every day so they know the schedule and can relax quicker. They are beautiful babies and I am just praying they are the same sex. We don’t need inbred kittens here.

Ann and Maizy were delightful folks and we had a pleasant visit. They presented us with a donation of wet food and dry as well as a check which I didn’t expect. It will go towards the neutering of the two.

There are apparently two more cats coming soon- the calico girl and the mom of the mack tabbies. I think they told me mom is black and very wild.

Would I call these kitties feral? No, unsocialized, not used to human contact, scared out of their wits and in survival mode- but not one attacked me. No one has growled at me or charged me and ferals will always attack- no matter what.

On the subject of Alexa, she is still at the vets. My vet said he has never seen such a laid-back cat in his life. They had her hanging around the back treatment room so he could just observe her. They were parading dogs and cats into the room for various treatments and she hardly reacted at all. The blood work isn’t back yet, but he thinks we just have a little lady who has spent more than enough time trying to survive outside and needs to find a lap to sit on and 3 squares a day, until the end. I am hoping I can find that place for her.

I found a place for Smuckers but they can’t take her until the 25th. I have to keep her alive until then- LOL  Benson is a total snot to her and she stands up to him, but boy that 5 month old Siamese mix is a punk sometimes! I tried the calming collar on both kittens but it was a no-go. Some cats can’t tolerate collars at all even the calming kind- so it is just making sure that someone is always in the room to de-escalate the growls and warnings. No attacks yet- but I know one is coming soon. We just have to be prepared for it.

I had to take Alexa into the vet this morning. She isn’t responding to much that is her day- and is also unresponsive when given fluids. Not eating much just showing me she doesn’t feel well- missing the litterpan and screaming at me when she sees me- and I do mean screaming.

Smuckers, I have found is quite insecure and when she feels crowded  or overwhelmed she starts to groom herself and this turns into a suckle fest- poor kitty.  Here she is a bit more relaxed although not by much-

They are going to keep Alexa overnight for blood work and to capture urine. The vet is unsure what is going on- so we are also going for extensive bloodwork instead of just a CBC panel.