She went to her new home yesterday-

Here is the blind- flamepoint who was recently adopted. He is such a love and once he moves beyond his scaredy cat nature, he will be a dream kitty!

This morning, when I got up and went out to the patio to feed the cats- there was a flurry of “Oh My Gosh everyone! Run someone’s coming!” I recently added some motion detector lights out there and to my amusement and surprise, I saw all my “escapees” running for the only exit! They had all come in to get out of the cold last night- ALL of them. Dash, Chappy, Gidget, Twist, the whole clowder. Ever since George insulated that large enclosure and I put the heater out there, they have been taking full advantage of the heat. I also could buy a large kennel pad that is heated which has been a godsend thanks to a large grant I received a few weeks ago, that was QUITE the wonderful surprise!

As I scooped out the food, I was reflecting on all the cats that have come here this year and fallen under our care. Some, like Sierra and Smuckers and Squirrely McGee have had fairy tale endings to their life that was once so rough and uncertain. Others, like Sterling, Riley, Turtle, Gracie and sweet Bella (the kitty found on the side of Upper Berlin Road) they are now in another life free from pain. But while they were here by golly, they knew someone loved them. We are not a no-kill sanctuary here. I wish we could be, but we take the outcasts, the unloved, the neglected, the tormented. Sometimes, it simply isn’t fair to keep them alive just because they are so beautiful and you “want” them to live.

I thought about yesterday and Squirrely McGee- what I didn’t share with you is when I got him home initially and opened his crate to put him into his cage, he got away from me. Now it makes sense, knowing now he was blind, but he was running around the patio crashing into things, climbing things that made no sense (like the side of the big dryer) I was terrified because I had no idea if he was feral- I just got him home. But I calmed myself down and just made it the goal to capture him. When I had my hands on him- he calmed right down and I was so thankful that he wasn’t feral. He could have torn my face off. I put him back in the cage with water and food and just left him to decompress. I didn’t want to stress him out any more than necessary and came back a few hours to discover him NOT in the cage! Where the devil was he? It took me climbing up (the cage is up on a 7 foot table) and into the cage and standing up (I am 6 feet tall) to find him wedged down in the fiberglass between the walls just looking miserable. I had to dismantle the wall to free this poor kitty. My thoughts continued. If he was born blind-did they notice? When he went blind was someone there who cared? Apparently not and now this kitty has a chance at a glorious life with a woman I completely respect and admire. He has hope.

I found out from Kim that he would always appear with another kitty she called Friend Kitty. I swear with Kim, next time I get a cat, I am calling her for names! She is the one who was feeding Hamilton- the Siamese who escaped from me and walked 9 miles right back to her arms! She called him Mr. Persnickity! LOL he is still with her, now an inside kitty after she discovered he is highly allergic to grass *not the marijuana kind either*

So, as I am scooping and feeding, the tears start to fall, as my thoughts race and I think of all of them that have passed through here and all of them yet to come. I got a call last night from a woman in Washington and even after over an hour conversation on the phone with her- I still don’t know what she wanted from me? She is living near an alley with a group of cats that have migrated over from another house where someone is feeding strays and ferals and NOT spaying and neutering. Near as I could figure out- she is moving and she wants to take 8 cats with her, or she wants me to take the 8 cats because she is moving to Sweet Home? Again it was just too much for me on an otherwise overwhelming day. I told her I couldn’t take 8 cats- we have 25 currently and one more arriving today. I told her about my blog and said if she needed help- just use the email and I would guide her as best I could.

There are stories like hers all over the United States. For some who care but don’t know how best to help out, they can make a situation worse instead of better. I have said this so many times in my life and I repeat it here now. If you can’t afford to spay and neuter PLEASE do not start feeding outside kitties. You are not helping the situation- you are creating a larger one.

As I close this, my final thoughts. Iit has been a tough year for me and for so many others out there. I know this. But I wish to thank you , all of you, because it seems when I am at the end of my rope, or I have had to make the difficult decision to let a cat go to the Bridge, or I have five cents left in the kitty fund. One of you reaches out and sends money, a personal email, a letter in the actual mail, or just cash in the mail. Supplies like trash bags and litter scoops or heated cat beds arrive at my door. A case of cat food, coupons or paw points arrive (Tidy Cats promotional) appears. This year on top of everything else, I find CATS Inc., has been gifted with over 300 pieces of jewelry custom-made and most of them vintage!

ALL of these gifts from the hearts of the givers, whether it be five dollars or one hundred it all validates what we do here. Despite the pain and the heartache suffered, the personal stuff boiling over, I just keep going- I keep trying to make that difference in a cat’s life without the hoopla, the major fund- raising dinners, the radio spot. In my spot in this world, I just keep going. I couldn’t do this. I wouldn’t do this alone. I do it with the help of all of you by the Will of God and I am so very grateful. You have no idea. So thank you- all of you for caring, for loving, for following- for being. May next year we find a way, all of us, to make a difference in our corner of the world,  be it big or small.

God Bless You All-Merry Christmas to All- Guard your trees well! LOL

M.A.

A few days ago, a friend of mine called. Kim has the misfortune of owning a home that is snug up against the worst trailer park in Sweet Home. We have met many times because she feeds those that land at her door. She told me about 6 months ago, the evicted some tenants who were meth heads and the people moved out in the middle of the night and left one of their two cats behind. She had been feeding “Squirrely McGee” ever since but her husband told her she needed to find other arrangements for this kitty and could I take him?  I told her I could and I went and picked him up and in the first 20 minutes after he was released from  his carrier- I knew there was something really wrong with this beautiful flamepoint. He was either blind or neurologically damaged. I called her back and asked her if she had known he was blind- and she had no idea. She said he used to always pal around with the second cat all the time, so there you go- Squirrely had a guide cat.

I took him in this morning to get him neutered and thankfully he is not feral- just scared, terrified as any cat would be that was blind and in new surroundings. One of the head techs fell completely in love with this beauty he is about 9 years old- and not only is she going to adopt him, but she is going to pay his bill in full! YAY!

Being that he is blind- I was going to have to do some more building on an existing cage to give him more room to roam around but now, I don’t have to. I was so happy for him and when I told Nettie when she asked me about his history that he had been owned by drug addicts- she was really quiet and then she said- well, we will just have to make up for all of that now won’t we? I could have kissed her, but we were on the phone.

I got off the phone and was sharing with Mike that no, we did not have to add another cat to the count- when my phone rings yet again. This time it is an elderly woman and she is angry beyond words. She has a 2 year old black Siamese/Manx mix and she “has had it!” She is tired of this cat (never even gave me the name) tearing up the tissue paper and paper towels, running in and outdoors. She just “wishes the damn cat would stay outside!” On and on her list of complaints went- I don’t take owner surrenders, I really don’t but I was so afraid for this cat if someone didn’t step up and take her- so I will pick her up in the morning and see what happens from there.

So I guess we are adding another cat- just not the one I thought might be staying with us for awhile.

Two days ago, I went into the stall enclosure to feed the kittens- and they weren’t there! I looked everywhere for them- grabbed a strong flashlight- looked under over and through everything in the stalls- no cats.  What the heck- where are they? Then I decided to turn off the lights and let the flashlight do the hunting. That’s when I found them- those eyes reflect light at night quite well! There was sitting by the cat door (that led to the catio) a special I don’t know how to explain it. It is a cat toy. It’s wooden there are two big holes in each end, and little holes on each side. I comes with different shaped toys that the cats are “supposed” to drop through the holes- but I just use it as a cat cave basically. It was sitting in front of the wall with only one side of the box opened. I saw the eye shine flash- and I stepped back and squatted down and saw the little buggers had gone into the box- and they had to lay down to do this- but they dug a cave out of the gravel. They were both snuggled down between the walls out of reach watching me.

I was pretty amused at their ingenuity when it dawned on me, that directly next to them was the catio which has a raised deck. I go scrambling outside and laid down in the wet to look under the catio. I see both of them just looking at me- All they had to do was walk out and go into the pasture and they would have vanished. But they were still here! I ran and got boards and plastic and wire and hemmed them in just in case they wanted to leave. They could still have tunneled out underneath all the boards- but they are still here. Thank You God!

There mom is here now as well. She came on Saturday. George built a new cage inside the enclosure for her- so eventually I can reunite the family. But if I just put them together right now- it would be a major cat fight. She is so tiny! I don’t know how many litters this 4 year old girl has had- but that is all behind her now. She is now spayed, vaccinated, chipped, de-flead and de-wormed. She looks just like her babies except they are at one year old- three times larger than she is! I am calling her Pebbles.

George did an amazing job on her new cage- it took him only two hours to put it up.

George took me back this afternoon and now I wished he hadn’t. The kitten did not make it and I know the person was home, but he/she wouldn’t come to the door. The front window as open (no screen) on the window big enough for a cat to come and go, so I found my way around the trash piled there and peeked into the house hoping to see someone. All I saw were cats and there were so many of them! They all looked sick- across from the window as a refrigerator and it was just black with grime and really nasty. Whoever lives there is in harm’s way as are the cats and dogs. But we couldn’t find an address anywhere so I can’t report the place without a solid address. George looked for even a mailbox but there was nothing there to indicate a street address. I am going to call the state troopers and find out if anything can be done to check on the welfare of the person inside. I got the heebee jeebees just knocking on the door and was so glad George was there as he had my back.

I was on highway 20 headed home (slowly because of black ice) when I noticed an orange kitten running across the highway! I pulled over and watched just praying, but it got hit- bounced off a tire and vanished into the ditch. I put my emergencies on- grabbed my flashlight and was out the door. It went up to this house that smelled like high heaven. Our local landfill smells better than this house, when I called to it- it looked at me, it was bleeding from the mouth and nose and appeared to be blind because it started off to go back across the highway until I stepped in front of it and stopped it. Then it bolted and went into the ditch again. I followed it and this time it went under this broken down shed/ I got down and looked underneath and could see the tail just shaking but it was lying in a puddle of water! It was 18 degress outside and the kitten was just out of my reach. I ran back to the truck, grabbed a can of food, went down and opened the food it didn’t even move, so I tried to reach in to grab it- and then it took off again across another ditch and under another shed…sigh..It looked really out of it- running almost sideways and the whole body in shock and trembling. The only thing I could do was leave a note on the door- I saw between all the trash and crud on the porch multiple cat carriers all closed but inside were open bags of meow mix- so pretty sure this kitten belonged to these people.

I can’t get the image of the kitten lying in the water and shaking and I want to go back to the home and see if my note is even there- or if they even care. The kitten almost looked a lot like kittens who survive distemper look- they have mobility problems and neurological damage so not sure if that bump with the tire did all of that- the kitten didn’t get flung or rolled- it just ran off the road. But the house is not one you should visit in the nighttime. Let’s just say the welcome mat isn’t exactly laid out for visitors. I will have to wait for in the morning to go back and see if I can talk to someone and get this kitten some much-needed vet help. It was just so sad. When I was calling him, there was another kitten about the same age- black and white crawling out through the trash. Super pathetic. I thought about grabbing the kitten and taking it away from there- but I can’t do that by law. They would have to give me permission to take the kittens from their property no matter how bad a pet owner they might be.

Sleep will not come easily for me tonight- it is supposed to be another brutally cold night and this kitten is now wet and bleeding as well.

Left about an hour ago to keep the adoption appointment, but as we were looking for the address (the house is fairly hidden behind another home) I noticed cats all over the place near the house we were searching for. I lost count at 19. On the doorstep, I could see countless cans of opened cat food sitting around. I double checked the address- yep- same one and looked over at Shimmer who was trembling in her carrier and we just drove right on by. I don’t think this woman needs another cat- just could be fluke though I doubt it. None of the cats looked in good shape and all of them were outside, I guess she didn’t lie to me all the way- she said she had no indoor kitties!

No way am I going to put Shimmer into another nightmare. She is back with her brother now, grateful to be out of the dreaded carrier.

Here is the sweet girl with her battle wound. They gave her a long-lasting antibiotic shot so I didn’t have to stress her out with giving her meds every 12 hours. They also did a long-term pain shot so she could just be left alone to decompress.

This is the last weekend for adoptions and I am hoping that Shimmer has found a new home. I will take her over there tomorrow to meet Janna a 71 year old who just moved here from my old stomping ground- Orange County California. She said she is lonely and she wants a lap kitty- an inside only kitty and I told her all about Shimmer’s shyness and it didn’t seem to deter her. Shimmer will growl and hiss at you, but once you actually start petting her- she is all over the moon happy to be touched and loved on. Human touch is just such an alien feeling for her it takes a lot of patience to wait her out and let her learn to trust someone. But to find her just the right home- that would be the best Christmas gift I could ask for! I have her online as a special needs kitty and it sounds like Janna needs her as much as she needs Janna.

I had to take Hanna back in this morning. Her wound was simply not healing and it kept oozing this nasty black sludge. This time, we did test her and she can back faint positive for FIV (feline aids). It was so faint the vet and I decided to retest her and she came back negative. TYG!

I left her there and the vet just called- turns out when he removed the growth from her it was not a spider bite- it was skin cancer which is odd because usually only light colored kitties are susceptible to melanoma. The good news is he got all of it- but she has 22 stitches in layers now. They will dissolve in about two weeks and she should be right as rain.

She is such a sweet girl. I am glad we re-tested her- I really don’t wish to add to the Bridge Babies count this late.

I also took Mike’s 19 year old kitty Taylor in. I thought she might be in renal failure but thankfully it turns out that she has a UTI and the x-ray revealed that she has enough internal hair in her colon to build another cat! I have to pour laxatone down her throat 4 times a week and if that doesn’t help her feel better- then they will do surgery on her to remove all the hair. I groom her twice a month but she mats if you look at her- she is part Persian and Maine Coon. She loves Mr. Mike to death- she barely tolerates me but I am the mat remover, the medicine giver, the groomer and claw clipper. He gets to love her- I just get to do everything else for her so it make me Public Enemy #1 in her eyes. She was so scared being a the vet that she peed all over the table so the vet grabbed a urine stick and found out about the UTI. Nice timing there Taylor-

Here she is looking a bit under-the-weather with her favorite human

Some of you are asking about how Mike is- I am afraid it is not good news. He has been told by his doctors that now it is not “IF” he loses his other leg- it is “when.” If you would pray for him, I would appreciate it so much. The veinous stastis and neuropathy are wrecking havoc with his good leg. He has developed yet another ulcer on his good leg and the surgeons tell me that fighting this is fighting a losing battle.