The other night, as I was feeding the outside crew, I noticed that Twist was up above me on the roof. I was popping cans of food below her, when I saw something out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black object hurtling off the roof! In normal times (before the build) she would have landed on a small shed (that was no longer there). Instead, she landed on the concrete. I heard the snap and I winced and as I went toward her she turned and hobbled off into the bushes and was gone!

Long story short, after many attempts to catch her, I was finally successful. She is now in a cast. They had to set pins in her leg but she is so small, there is a concern that the pins won’t hold. She is as immobile now that I can make her within the Introduction cage. They will re-assess her in 18 days. So now, like it or not, she will be socialized slowly. I have to be careful and not stress her out when I step into her cage. She will try and move away from me. So it is really a dance at this point- between the two of us trying to figure this out. It could have been so much worse. Understanding the times are hard for all right now, the vet is working with me on small payments. Donations are down right now and understandably so. I’m just glad it was just one broken leg and not internal injuries. She jumped from about 8 feet up. 🙁

Please all of you, please just stay safe in these uncertain times. We went on stay at home orders a few days ago and I am still amazed at how much traffic is going up and down the highway. It is a soft order at this point. I wish Gov. Brown had been more hard-lined about it. I am only leaving home for groceries and to pick up cat food. At this point, I am scared. I am scared of the people who are NOT scared of this virus! Some on facebook in my town are insisting that this is the way that the government is trying to control the masses and make us into sheep. Can you imagine having that type of mindset with all that is going on in the world right now? Makes me just shake my head in disgust. Love you all- hope you all find smiles and laughter hiding around the corner in your day.

First off, I hope that all of you reading this are doing well both financially and with your health. These are the strangest of times right now that I have ever seen. We are fine here- both two-footed and four-footed creatures. I have seen all my under-the-house kitties in various places on our property. They are a little bit confused and so I took about two days to build them a place where they can feel safe and eat in peace and relative quiet. All feeding platforms are elevated now, as the skunk has moved from under the house, to under the shop. I had hoped she would move on down the road, but it could be she has babies and wants to stick close to home. I don’t know, but she is still here.

It’s nice to see them out and about and assess their health and well-being. Twist, is getting used to me. I almost petted her this morning but she did flee when she felt my fingers on her back.

The house is so much warmer now! I was thinking this morning, remembering actually how a few months ago, I was taking a hot shower in a bathroom that was minus most of its walls! LOL Now I have a nice heated room to get ready for the day in. Far cry from what it used to be.

About the corona virus- here in Oregon, there hasn’t yet been any official decree about staying home (although for the most part that is where I am). I do see that the highway in front of our house has less traffic on it these days. But our restaurants and bars are still open, and the grocery stores are somewhat picked through. Absolutely no toilet paper to be found anywhere locally! Which is just strange. No one I know is sick, nor do they know anyone who is fighting resp. illness.

I keep hearing over and over, to wash your hands several times a day with hot water and antibacterial soap, and I wonder when it became not the normal thing to do so? I am a fanatic about washing my hands. When I was growing up, we had to wash our hands before and after every meal. If we did not wash our hands before a meal to their satisfaction, we were not allowed to eat. So I have been programmed to respect proper hygiene habits.

Again, I hope all of you are doing well and hanging on to your sanity in these uncertain times. I feel like I went to sleep and woke up in a bad science fiction novel or a bad Hollywood movie! But knock on wood- all is good here on all fronts.

A friend of mine from the Coast (and a former adopter) when learning about these three cuties has decided to adopt them! They left the other day bound for a loving home with a wonderful human being! Thank you Carla! Carla used to own a successful gift store in Newport but now she has retired and is looking to place all her attention on the three babies.

This couldn’t come at a better time. The day I have both been anticipating and dreading has arrived. They started this morning, working under my house as well as upstairs in the attic and crawl spaces. I have only four under-the-house kitties left and I pray that they will be able to make the transition to the alternate living spaces I have provided for them. There’s also a skunk under there, and the workers have been warned.

They will be done by Friday end of day and sadly on Saturday, they are predicting snow. My cats who are so used to being under the house, do have alternative outbuildings to hide under, but I really want them to go to the main cat enclosure. I suppose time will tell. There are a lot of heated cat beds waiting for them in the main enclosure. I just hope they use them.

As soon as the sun went down and I turned out the lights, the kittens started screaming. I was halfway down the hall when it started, and fearing the worst I ran back into the room to find out what happened. I turned on the light, the screaming stopped! I didn’t see anything amiss, they were still just cuddled together inside of the open carrier, so, on a hunch, I turned the light off and shut the door- they screamed like they were being tortured.

Three night-lights later, they were all settled in and quiet. Because of being stuffed into that heavy gunny sack, they are afraid of the dark. The only other time we have encountered this is with Dunkin who was a near drowning victim.

After we got the call to rescue her, Dunkin would forever be afraid of the dark, and would also always want some sort of heat around her. We figured it was because the lake water was so cold when this happened to her. We kept her until she passed from cancer at age 12.

So these kittens are showing the same type of fear of the dark. Good thing the bedroom walls are now painted bright white!

Patt thank you for the goodies! The kittens will love the food and I am sure that Kota will make short work of your treats!

While walking a well-known trail at a local park early this morning, we passed a large boulder. As we passed it, Kota started to whine. (He doesn’t whine). I looked around to see if anything was in the vicinity, couldn’t see anything. I started going forward, but Kota stopped and pulled back on the leash. He was going back to the boulder. I know this dog and trust him, so when I went around this rock with him, I saw a burlap sack twisted tight. But, Kota went up to it and gently picked it up in his mouth and brought it to me!

With some misgivings, I untied the bag took a deep breath and looked inside to find three kittens! They were open-mouth breathing- so frail and it just broke my heart.

The only thing opened was the 24 Hr ER Vet clinic. The kittens were given warmth, fluids, food which they inhaled. One was tested (negative!) They were de-flead and I was given worming medicine to give them once they gained some weight. They are now on a pet heating pad resting comfortably they are about 5-6 weeks old.

I am calling the two black kitties, Coal and Gunny on the silver one is Silverton. Here they are and Kota is always nearby watching to be sure they are safe. God Bless this dog! It has been cold and rainy here and if he hadn’t changed his behavior on our walk. I would have never even seen them. They were encrusted with mud, so they did also get a bath and some antibiotics.