I have to take Quince in as he is not doing well. He is barely eating and his discharge from his eyes and nose has increased despite the covenia shot. I wonder if I should have just followed my first instinct and let him go, but he is so darn young and loving (unless he’s getting fluids or pills!) He doesn’t use the litter pan but I expected that- those paws are still swollen and a bit sore. Even the pine litter that I keep damp has to hurt him. He’s not due to get his staples out until the 18th but he has that “look” about him that I can’t just ignore.

I hope and pray that I am wrong. We don’t need another large charge on the bill- but I won’t let him suffer either. Seems to me, he has the monopoly on suffering at this time. 🙁

**Just got home from the vet. They are putting him on more pain medication and a stronger antibiotic so he hopefully won’t be blowing snot all over the room and soon feel like eating. He has gained some weight. The vet thinks that the paws (even though he is walking normally) has a large portion to do with why he won’t eat well. We also decided to shave him to get rid of the nics (lice eggs). Since the enclosure is heated- it should be okay to shave him so close to fall. I was distressed to see that even after the clipping, there were still nics in his fur. They hatch every nine days. I also learned that lice deposit more tapeworms inside cats then fleas do. I guess the saving grace here is he isn’t strong enough yet, nor does he feel well enough to groom himself. But we put profender on him. I am to keep an eye on him to be sure the chemical doesn’t mess with him.

He was so wore out, he slept all the way home. Poor boy. I did have to laugh- they left him a Mohawk down the center of his back! Quince has gone Punk! The vet did say that the paws were relatively clean and look so much better than before. Laying down that linoleum seems to have worked- plus it is easier to clean his piles up in the morning when he skips the litterpans.

Yesterday morning, lying in the grass was this baby possum! I thought at first it had met its demise from one of the cats, but it was playing possum. I picked it up with a towel and put in a heated snugglepad because it was as still as a ghost. Using a rolled up banana leaf, I made a funnel and trickled some water into its mouth hoping if it was in shock- it would revive it. I saw it swallow so knew there was hope. Still wouldn’t move, so I covered it up and placed it in an empty enclosure. When I went back a few hours later- again expecting it not to have survived, it had latched on to the bars of the carrier and wanted out. The minute I went to reunite baby with mama (she is living under our haybarn with 8 little ones- it went all silent again which was pretty funny considering it paused mid-leap to get out of Dodge. I had to back away and keep the cats away before it finally made its escape.

Between Queen Possum with 8 babies and Mama Skunk with five babies, our place can get a bit busy early in the mornings!

Poor kitty cannot catch a break. He has stones in his bladder and the trick is to get him to drink more. One way is to put him on a prescription diet of dry food (he only eats canned at the moment) or to present him with a pet fountain. I just put two pet fountains on our wish list if someone would be kind enough to order one for him- that would be awesome. Otherwise his urine is so concentrated that he is facing big issues in the future. I can’t give him fluids very easily. I don’t turn him into a sprinkler, but he turns me into one! LOL He’s had his fill of getting poked with needles and now does some deep poking of his own. I am adding water to his canned food- but he really needs to start drinking on his own.

I just made a huge vet payment. I should of held some back for this but I didn’t know at the time, and my vet debt is still giving me nightmares. Thank you for any assistance

Quince is walking! His paws are now normal size, they no longer smell bad and he can put equal pressure on all four feet! He looks funny with staples in his feet and I have been given permission to extend his pain meds for one more day- but he is walking like a normal kitty now~

She has been missing her brother, Bud like crazy after he got adopted a few weeks ago. Now it is her turn for her forever home and it is a wonderful place with four adults who will love her like another member of their family. They have a 10 year old orange tabby but are ready to expand their home and take on a kitten.

I took her over there this morning, lifted her out of the carrier, put her on the bathroom floor and she immediately went over and crawled on the mom’s Jill’s lap like she belonged there!  Jill is an older woman with two sons college-age, a hard-working husband and a beautiful home. Jill has COPD she has degenerative spinal disease and she wanted a kitten for comfort and companionship. I knew the minute Hobbit crawled in her lap that this was the right home for this little girl. Jill told me that for her animals are not animals, they are a member of the immediate family and will treated as such.

I had to laugh because I went out to the truck to get the kitty care package and coming back into the home, I couldn’t remember which door led to the master bedroom where Hobbit will be staying. The three bedrooms are right next to each other and all the doors were closed. I accidentally opened up the son’s door. He was in the kitchen and he called out “Look someone is opening up my bedroom door!” I was embarrassed and spun around to apologize and saw he was smiling. he said “Don’t worry about it, I was just getting excited thinking maybe the new kitten was going to sleep with me! ” LOL  Again another confirmation that Hobbit has found a home.

I asked Jill where she heard of me and she said last year she read a story at Christmas time about a cat named Cyclone who went missing for 9 years and returned back to us. She had clipped out the article and hung it on her bedroom wall. Said she knew that when they were ready to expand their heart and home, I would be the one to lead her to the right kitten!

Speaking of publicity, I contacted several radio stations with Quince’s story hoping to get some air time for him and some more donations to hit this vet debt. Please pray that the people reading the story and seeing the photos will be led to share it with their listeners and hearts will be moved.

Hobbit

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This morning, while with Quince, he was belly rolling and doing air biscuits all the time I was combing him out. Lice in cats is so rare around here- one vet told me to continue using Frontline Spray on him, but Dr. Vicki the feline specialist who donates her time here told me to wait. He isn’t in any kind of shape to deal with a mixture of chemicals. So he gets groomed three times a day to remove the nits.

He is such a love and I just shake my head in disbelief that this “neighborhood” ignored his suffering. It isn’t as if he could run away- when I got to him, he couldn’t even walk. One little girl on her bike the day after I rescued him told me that she had told her mom about the cat and the mom told her to stay away! When I told this little girl, I had him, she dropped her bike and ran over and gave me a hug!

How can you do that- you see a cat that can’t walk, can barely see and he has goop hanging out of his nose and eyes and you walk away? You shut your blinds and call for the kids and take them to soccer? I just don’t bloody get it.

He is eating, he is drinking, he is pooping and peeing- all systems are go! He has decided the window seat is his favorite spot. I have to go in a few minutes and shut off his view because it is going to be in the 90’s today. Leaving that view open means that double-insulated enclosure is going to be mighty hot for him.

I delivered his food to him, yesterday, I had to feed him off a spoon- today, he figured out if he hangs his bad rear foot over the edge so there isn’t pressure on it- and holds his front paw up- he can eat without as much pain. I know he is still in pain- he is still on the pain meds, but he is just such a sweet, sweet boy.

Poor boy, he has staples in his feet and pain in his eyes. They gave me three days of Robenacoxib to give him. He has a bad URI so they gave him a shot of Covenia and he is all snuggled down in the cat enclosure. No feral bone in this boy’s body. I believe he was lashing out because he was in such incredible pain and had no idea what was coming next. The vet said the reason he looks like he has mange (which is rare for cats here in Oregon) is because of the lice. They gave him revolution for both the fleas and the lice and told me to keep him on Revolution from here on in.  I am to brush him out daily as he tolerates, keep groceries in front of him and monitor his feet for unusual bleeding or swelling. he was doing roll overs earlier when I started petting him. he is only four years old even though he looks ancient. My friend Midge came by to take photos and they can be seen below. He looks so much better!  am blessed just by him being here. He loves belly rubs and head rubs. I haven’t heard him purr yet- give it time, I think there is a purr or two around the corner. I just have to be patient.

If this works, this is the growth coming from his front paw- his back paws, were also affected and he would become unbalanced when he sat or stood. I can’t wait to see him tomorrow and get him home and comfortable. I am using the pine litter for his pans- and adding water to it. Once it sits overnight, the litter will become the consistency of sawdust and be less hurtful for his poor feet. I also laid down some leftover linoleum in the cat enclosure. He will have a few dog beds (pillows) to sleep on, one that is heated which will also help soothe his owies. His lice is going to be an issue because I can’t bathe him so soon after surgery. I know the lice won’t transfer to me and as he will be alone without another cat nearby- we will just have to wait for the stitches to be removed before bathing him.

Surprisingly this beat up Tom has tested negative for the nasties. The vets believe he has been hit by a car- three of this pads have been split wide open and his back paw is devoid of claws whatsoever, they have ripped completely out of their socket! He is crawling with fleas and lice- thankfully the lice is species specific. They have sedated him and are trying to repair all the damage done to him.

Rocky, I read your comment and I agree. The police here, they have little to do with cats. They move quickly for dogs and livestock- but cats are another matter. The other day I determined that I am indeed done with rescue. I took down my logos off my truck, changed my message on my machine and prepared to walk away. Had anyone else called me about this cat, I wouldn’t have responded but I keep hoping the police especially will get a clue someday that these cats matter.

I want to just settle the vet debt and go off into the sunset. Work on my ongoing book and help folks that way once it is published. Now I will have several hundreds of dollars to add to the debt- but the only other option for this old boy was to leave him on the streets and let him die slowly. I can’t do it. I thought he just had a bad case of pillow paws but that isn’t the case. The impact of the trauma he suffered split his paws completely in two. How he managed to get along as long as he has is a testament to the stray’s ability to fight off pain and trauma. I won’t let him down and just pull the plug because it is “easier or cheaper.” He is a fighter, and I will stay in his corner for as long as I see him fighting for his life.

I took a drive back to the location where I found him- near a dam and a park. I was cruising the area looking for signs of a hoarder but I didn’t see anyone. I knocked on a few doors but no one claims him as theirs. I didn’t expect them to- as I told you- he is bone skinny- dehydrated and no one has loved him for a very long time. More than likely someone dumped this boy in this out of the way park and just drove off.

I can’t walk away from him or the responsibility to cover this added cost. It’s not in my DNA.

1:00 update- with the extent of his injuries- they are keeping him until Monday on continuous drip of fluids painkillers and anti inflammatories. They had to knock him out to treat him so they also neutered him today. Poor kitty is not going to know what hit him! But I know what hit him: Love- love hit him, square in the nose~

If anyone wants to make a direct payment to the clinic:
Faithful Friends Animal Clinic
185 N. Santiam Highway
Lebanon OR 97355
541-451-1319
Account is under my personal name Mary Anne Miller DBA Cats Inc.,

Ouince has simmered down a lot. I left him with plenty of food and water overnight and it is quiet out there as most of the cats hang out in the house. This morning, he allowed me to pet him and somewhat examine him. His wounds are grievious. He has an abscess on the bottom of his left front paw that has completely split his paw wide open and left it to infection. Although, I know how to debride such wounds, he will not allow me to touch it. Putting my hand just over the paw which he keeps high in the air- I can feel the fierce heat radiating from it. I started him on antibiotics. The only thing I can do for him is leave him alone except to take the meds and get him to the vet first thing in the morning. I fear he has more wounds than what I can easily see and this paw is as swollen as an apple. Under his chin it looks like another wound is festering and he is sneezing with discharge coming out of his nose and eyes- poor boy. He looks to be about 4 years old but OMG he is so rail skinny. I feel every bone on his spine, his ribs are pronounced. This kitty is unloved (until now) and a real mess. Of course, he is black too.

The problem is, although the vet debt is being slowly paid down- there is no extra money to treat him. I will have to take him in, get him evaluated and figure out how to pay for it later. I feel great guilt at doing this- adding to the already high vet debt, but the only other choice is to leave him in the streets to die. I can’t do that- and if tomorrow my vet gives me grief about the bill- I will just have to tell him I will do all I can to cover it. As far as automatic once a month donations go- we get in every month we get $155.00 a month and that is it. When you consider we take the cats no one else will touch- that money doesn’t go that far. So Quince (who is really quite sweet despite his display of fear last night in the bathroom) will have to wait until tomorrow to be helped by hands much more experienced than mine.