At 10:30 this morning, Gadget had her Rainbow Pass  validated. After bloodwork and three sets of x-rays taken on different days, it was determined that she had a stricture of her ileum (last part o the small intestine) which, according to a friend of mine who is a Feline Specialist, in cats, this is a common place to find intestinal cancer there’s. Sure enough, under that stricture was lymphoma.

I pulled her file a few days ago to refresh my very fading memory. I’ve had three Gadgets here, and this Gadget was one that arrived with Shell. There were three kittens,  that were taken from this hoarder. One died an hour after she arrived here, it was found that she was riddled with cancer. Shell, although she fought valiantly, she also succumbed to cancer. The fact that Gadget was able to survive as long as she did is a miracle. I really want to bury her on my property, but I can’t. It’s not that I don’t have the room, but it’s been raining so hard I won’t be able to dig a decent hole. It would just fill with water. I can’t afford to get her ashes back so she will be sprinkled in a farmers field somewhere. I guess that’s fitting end for a cat who lived outside for her entire life.

I know that having outside cats is not ideal, but sometimes it’s the only way these cats can or will live. I saw her every day. I never saw her go off property. She had three areas here that she loved to stay in. She never went anywhere, and although I could never get near her, I saw her every day and I knew her normal. When I saw her walking across my property or trying to, that’s when I knew her normal days were gone

Now she is with God sitting on Michael’s lap. I’m sure they were happy to see each other. One of the places that she used to hang out in was his shop. I am devastated. At least I know she’s no longer in pain.

I told my vet that I felt like I let her down. He told me: on the contrary, you saved her from a great deal of pain. You caught this early and you knew something was wrong and you fought for her. You were her voice. Had you not brought her in, she would have been losing weight soon, not eating and if she vanished again and didn’t reappear, she would have lingered on until the stricture just choked her.

Here we are spending the last moments together before the vet arrives with the final solution:

God granted me a 15 minute lull in the storm. Gadget has been laid to rest by the barn she loved to hang out in.

I just spoke with my vet, and there are no clear answers as to what is going on with Gadget. She is very depleted energy wise. She is very docile, and he even had her on his lap for about 20 minutes, and she was accepting of his pets as he was quietly examining her! He is concerned at the consistency of her stool, so they are keeping her for a few days on fluids, and giving her his cocktail to stop the pudding like consistency of her stool. They are also going to put her on A/D

I almost have a feeling now, that she came close to losing one of her Nine lives, and in the process she met God and He told her: ” Go ahead and give Mary Anne a chance because Mary Anne is really a nice person.”

For her to be so altered in behavior is the most baffling thing I have ever encountered  he thinks it just might be something neurological. As if she got struck on the head and it has rattled her. I asked him about her inability or unwillingness to walk and he said that he wouldn’t really call it walking right now she sort of scuttles out of the way when she’s left in a room.

I am sitting at my desk, completely overwhelmed at what just occurred. It is 3:13 a.m. right now. I was woken up by a kitty crying pitifully right under my bedroom window. I did not recognize the crier. Hastily, I got dressed, grabbed my flashlight and headed out the door.

I found her lying underneath a tree. It was Gadget! She started to get up to run away (this kitty is full-feral) but she couldn’t. When she vanished on Weds after the storm, I pulled out several cat carriers and placed them around the property. I do that when a feral cat vanishes, just in case when or if they return injured (which has been the case too many times in the past) I can get them to safety quickly.

She is walking wonky. She is walking on eggshells, that would be the only way I could describe it. She walks slowly, she is slung low to the ground, and she is high stepping her front legs in front of her (somewhat like a parade horse does) her rear legs seem to wobble, but she can move her legs. Nothing appears broken.

I started talking to her quietly, telling her that I had been extremely worried about her leaving. She has never once gone missing from here. I could see that she wanted to flee, but she didn’t have it in her. Taking a chance, I bent down lower to the ground (to remove the threat of a bigger predator). I gently touched her head and she let me pet her! Although this thrilled me, on the other hand it deeply concerned me. She would never under normal circumstances allow this to happen. She would have shredded my hand- when I say she is full-feral, I mean full-feral. I have never even been able to flea-treat her with topical- so I feed all the ferals diathermanous earth crystals food grade in their meals..

I gently stroked her back. She did resist, growl, hiss, swat or attack. My concern growing, I finally just gently scruffed her, lifting her up, supporting her rear gently. I walked with her around the corner into a waiting carrier. Instead of going ballistic after I shut the top of the carrier, she went flat.I quickly brought her into the house and put her near the heater. I knew that watching her before I captured her, she couldn’t sit on her rear in a normal way. She would not be comfortable inside of my cat carrier until Monday when I could drop her off at the vet’s office.

I put together a small cage for her. She is now in my mudroom, the heater is on, she is laying on a bed of blankets and she has food, water and litterpan. I have been in there a few times checking on her, put flea treatment on her and tried to find any  type of injury. She is eating- I had to force feed her first. I think she is worn out from running away from the storm and has somehow sustained an internal injury.The wind was howling on Weds and debris was flying. I do not think she was hit by a car, all her claws are intact and she has no road rash.

I am still stunned that she has allowed me several opportunities to pick her up and gently explore her body. She is making no resistance at all..She has stopped crying and is quietly laying in the cage on her side.I have covered the cage with a dark blanket, and other than checking in on her from time-to-time, I will leave her be. I hope come Monday, she will allow me to put her once again into my top-loading carrier so I can get her to a vet.

For her to do this complete reversal of her behavior for me, means one thing. Whatever has happened to her in her absence, it had to be quite substantial. However, she is eating and drinking and using the litterpan, so these are all good signs. So, we will see what happens come Monday.

We had hours of pounding rain last night. After five years of drought conditions, we finally got enough rain to give us. Hope that more will be on the way and we can get out of the danger zone. But it was crazy. Heavy rain, High-winds, thunder,lightning the whole 9 yards. I was afraid to go outside this morning because I was sure that I was going to have multiple limbs down in the yard but because the arborist trimmed a bunch of my trees, most of the limbs are still where they need to be.

All kitties were accounted for except for Gadget. Gadget is a dilute calico and she is in her senior years, so I’m a little worried that she might’ve taken off during all the chaos. I’ll go out later this afternoon and see if I can find her. I did a search this morning but it was still raining so it’s supposed to stop about 3 o’clock and start up again at six. Hopefully she’s just underneath one of the outbuildings.

When I went into the cat enclosure and did my kitty call all FIVE cats came running! Ashley jumped on the food platform first, and then her brother followed. They all ate together on the table and I watched Magoo jump down and use the community litter pan area. There are 12 litter pans in this area. He did not go back to his cage and use his litter pans.

We now have full integration between all the cats. Humans  could take many life lessons on how cats interact with each other. So, although the heavens opened, and we went through one, heck of a storm. God delivered not a rainbow this morning, but a huge blessing to my heart about my decision to bring these kitties outside into the main enclosure.

I almost hesitate to post, because it is going so well outside in the enclosure for the kitties. I ended up leaving their door open during the day, and they are slowly integrating into the group. Last night I left the cage door open, so if they wanted to get on a heated cat bed instead of a self-warming bed, they would have that opportunity. I slept in this morning, and when I went out there, I was apprehensive, but I shouldn’t have been. My cats are used to newcomers and they have fully welcomed both Magoo and Ashley. They were all curled up on the huge pet heating pad!

Pigeon is still pacing but his pacing is for a different reason. We gone from 84° to 46° within minutes. I have tarps the entire enclosure and put the lights on a timer.
With the addition of the two new black strays, we are out of cat food. If anyone can send one bag of dry cat food, Purina natural, please do it would be so appreciated.

I am not referring to the approaching cold-weather, or the choking smoke that lays over the valley. I am talking about a decision. I made last week, after much consideration, procrastination, and reaching out to others who rescue within their homes. After listing the pros and cons of such a monumental decision, I decided to go ahead and move Ashley and Magoo into the introduction cage.

This decision was not an easy one for me to make. Moving them could mean a major upheaval, and setback from where we are right now. It would also mean for the first time in my life, I would not have cats in the house. The only cats from here on in that will be in the house will be bottle babies or small kittens. Once they have been weaned and spay and neutered, I will do everything in my power to find them loving homes.

I had cats in my crib growing up, I played with them instead of dolls. They were my best friends. Now my house is empty of cats and it feels very strange.there are no cat condos, litter, pans, cat toys nothing it feels like another planet.

When the carpet and the pad were pulled up and I saw the damage underneath, I knew that even though I “thought” I was smart and ahead of the urine game, clearly I was mistaken. If you have more than two cats in your home, and you bring in others, either periodically or consistently, one of the ways to communicate with each other is through pee-mail (as I have mentioned before). You cannot stop this interaction, it is instinctive. Of course they communicate in other ways, but one way that is not spoken about until litter box mistakes start to happen is how they talk through their pee.

The cats have been out there now for a week. Yesterday I realized that the move has helped both Ash and Magoo. I have had more contact with them in the last seven days then in the year they lived in the house. They are not in a small cage. It has three levels, and I have created warm caves inside to give them extra security. I decided while I was cleaning yesterday to leave the door open and see what happens.

After I emptied their litter pan and cleaned the cage, I left the door open. I settled back on the couch out-of-the-way to watch what would happen and be ready to stop any rumbles. Magoo was the first one to depart. He met pigeon first they sniffed, there was no posturing, growling, hissing, after they met, Magoo continued in, exploring his new world while pidgin watched intently from overhead. I observed him carefully. There was no twitching of his tail, his ears weren’t back he was almost indifferent. Magoo next met Bentley and PITA, no issues presented themselves. I was finally able to breathe again.

Ashley, soon followed she was more apprehensive than her brother. But no issues presented themselves when she met the other cats. However, she was the first one to jump back into the safety of the cage. Magoo wanted to stay out, but I put them back this was a first time experiment and it will be continued another day. I will do this gradually for the next few weeks, and then, depending on what happens during these experiments will determine whether I will leave the cage door open permanently, keep it open during the day and close it at night or not open it at all. I suspect that my next phase of this experiment will be keeping it open during the day, but closing it up with the kitties safe inside at night. Cats behaviors change at night their predatory instincts kick in . Both of these cats can spray to their hearts content out there and it won’t matter. It’s a dirt floor that gets treated every year with lyme and fresh dirt  I hope within the next two weeks they find their way safely into the group.

I am not sure if it is connected or not, but since the quake hit, I have noticed a remarkable change in the Burn Kitties. They no longer wish to hide (except when strangers are around) but the workers will be done with the build this Weds. Ever since the ground rolled under my house, the kitties are sticking quite close to me. Ashley now will get up in my lap and not claw or bite me. Magoo is content to come up, be brushed (he loves his brushings) and then he will settle down in my lap or by my side.

I was really apprehensive yesterday; I know the electrician is coming on Monday to fix all the electrical problems (and there are many). There is no place in the house where I can be absolutely sure the cats would be safe or non-traumatized. My only option was to put them inside the Introduction Cage in the main enclosure. I knew (or thought I did) that this drastic change in their environment would put them into a tailspin. But, I had no choice. Yesterday, I spent several hours preparing the cage for their four day stay. I put their tunnel inside, two of their litterboxes and blocked some of the wire so that the other cats when they came to investigate the new tenants, would only have a few social holes to do so. My challenge also was to prepare for this crazy strange weather we are getting right now. We should be entering the rainy season, but currently we have two weeks if not more of 80 plus degrees during the day. At night it does dip down into the 40’s so I ended up putting straw at the bottom of the cage, covering that with a sheet and putting their tunnel on top. They have plenty of food and water to last till Tuesday, in case they want to try to escape, I was just going to visit with them through the wire.

I was so pleased this morning, when I went to feed to find both of them out and about exploring their new home. Although it is a three-level cage and I can stand up inside of it, the cage isn’t that comfortable to step into. It was designed by Mike to my specifications to try to prevent escape artists from being successful. I was able to pick them up, hug them and say hello before leaving. That surprised me to no end. I would love it, if they could eventually get along with the four cats inside and visit out there among them.

I say that because when the workers removed the living room carpet, I was mortified by the condition of the floor beneath. Thirty years of rescuing feral cats showed clearly underneath that carpet. No one passed judgement, they just did what they knew to do to fix it. They were finally able to lay down the new flooring yesterday. I love it so much. I did discover with all the moving of furniture that happened; I have an active sprayer. I believe it’s Ashley based on where I found the new stains. It looks like when she is stressed, she will perch on top of a shelf or a bookcase and hang her bum over and let loose. If the sprayer was Magoo I would see the markings on the walls not only the floor. It would be nice if they could get along with the enclosure kitties to the extent that they could spend some time with the others and work off this nervous energy before being brought back inside. At least the new flooring is waterproof which will help.

I am grateful for this program that helped me to get where I am right now. It is not funded by taxpayer money, the program over the years has become self-sufficient. The monies put into the re-build will only be due if I sell my home or I pass away. There is a low-end interest on the loan, but it only exists for 7 years and then it goes away.

The workers have been so wonderful. They have managed to take a room that I spent my last hours with my husband in and turn if from sad to dark, to happiness and joy. Just removing his giant workstation that has set untouched in the corner since he passed, has helped me immensely. It was so big and cumbersome. Now the room is lighter, right now sparsely furnished but so much more open and welcoming.

They all loved Kota, I know he will miss them. He will miss tug and play, pets and love, and I know he will take up vigil every morning at 8:00 for quite a while waiting for that gate to open and his new friends to walk through. Even my feral cats were getting used to the guys, Salem walked by them yesterday and even let Russ pet her. One of the workers told me yesterday that Kota was spoiled. I told him, Kota is not spoiled, he is loved. All my animals are. My kitties will probably only be getting small amounts of wet food through the winter. At this point and time, it is the best thing I can do under the circumstances. They are loved as well-

I will share with you photos of my “new” old home. I hope you enjoy the photo journey. See if you can spot the cat on the roof? LOL!

Yesterday morning I slept in. Instead of getting up  at 4:00 a.m. I slept in an hour and a half. Fog had settled on the Willamette Valley and it was really cold. I didn’t want to face the cold without at least one cup of coffee.  I started my coffee and then sat down in my chair.

Since Mike’s departure, I started a silly game with Kota. I baby talk to him, telling him over and over: “I wuv you. ” as he hears this repeated he will start to crawl on my lap. He’s gotten way too big to get all the way in my lap anymore, so we have settled for halfway. Then he gets his morning hugs and I allow him to wash my face.

Yesterday morning, I started the routine with him, and he began to crawl on my lap. It was 5:30 in the morning. All of a sudden, Kota, stiffened, he cocked his head and pressed against me so hard that I could barely breathe. I was trying to get him off of me, but he wouldn’t budge. He simply pressed harder  and that’s when I heard it. A sound. I will never forget being that. I have lived through two big earthquakes. I heard the earthquake coming and then I felt the ground roll twice beneath me.

Kota started whimpering and pushing on me harder against the chair. I gave up and just wrapped my arms around him and held on. In the background, I could hear crashes as items fell off of walls and shelves to the floor. All of a sudden, Ashley and Magoo bolted into the room and slid under my chair. Then it was over.

Kota released me and laid down on the floor at my feet  I could see that he was quivering, so I slid down out of my chair and sat on the floor. He put his big beautiful head in my lap and we just hugged each other. I turned on TV to find out that the earthquake hit 14 miles from my home in Lacombe. They said that reports were coming in and people were feeling it from the Willamette Valley clear to the coast, and even as far as into Washington state.
it certainly got my attention.

When I finally went outside, I found that we lost several large limbs off our trees. The concrete poured the day before had cracked. When the guys got here, they had to figure out how to fix it because it had shifted. A picture of Michael fell off my wall onto the floor several other items fell off my wall. And off my shelf one of my Garfield collectibles shattered. A basket of flashlights I keep for emergency sake on top of the refrigerator also slid to the floor  there have only been minor reports of damages. No one was injured or killed with this quake  it was only a 4.4 magnitude but it was the first time since moving here that I actually felt an earthquake  It’s not that Oregon doesn’t have earthquakes. It’s just that they’re so small you hardly feel them.

I really do “wuv ” this dog,  thankfully, I believe the feeling is mutual.

I have been enjoying time out on the small deck in the mornings, watching the world wake up. Being that I cannot get Magoo-goo to reset his alarm clock (he goes off without fail every morning at 4:00 a.m.) I go out at the time to feed the outdoor cats and check on the damage done by the wildlife the night before. The racoons love to throw the food trays off in the distance once they are emptied. I no longer leave any dry food out overnight, but have found that at 4:00 even the coons are not around.

By the time I am finished, I am wide awake. so I start my coffee and go out on the deck to watch the morning develop. If I sit there long enough, one of the cats will venture over and either lie next to Kota on his blanket, or jump on my lap. I also have a blanket for protection against claws and sometimes even teeth.

This morning, Bentley decided to join me. I know from experience that if I pet him even just a bit, he will become extremely aggressive. I keep my hands completely off of him. He has landed me in Urgent Care in the past “showing” me how much he loves me.

Here he is, enjoying a moment on my lap.

Please don’t let this peaceful moment fool you. If you notice, his claws are dug deeply into my leg. I had my fleece sweatshirt on as it was quite cold at 6:00 a.m. You can see that my arms aren’t even around him and not because i am holding the camera. I know better. His looks are very deceiving, that does not however defray me from loving him any less. We have traveled a very long road together. He gets plenty of attention when I am outside and he comes to me. If I remain standing up and pet him for a bit, he will tolerate that. He might decided to attack my ankles, I always wear shoes and socks. I know from past experiences that open-toed sandals do not protect sensitive toes.

However, it was nice to share this morning moment with him. A good start to the day.

A friend of mine stopped by later to see the progress on the house. Haley has helped me a lot around here to accomplish projects. We always joke that we may not do it the correct way, but it does get done. Her smile when she drove up to see the new paint on the house was a joy to behold. I gave her an outside tour and then told her that this one wall (which is actually the back wall of the carport- was crying out to me to paint a mural on it. I decided to do cats on a fence and call them “My Gatekeepers” since the wall is between two gates. I’ve never done an outside mural- only murals inside so I have to figure out if I use my own paints then put on a finish to seal it  or exterior house paint? I will have to look into that aspect. The mural will take shape next year as we are getting into rainy season now. To me, it is not a painted wall, it is a blank canvas.

We are just a few days away from the first day of Fall. This morning, there is a steady downpour so the painting will cease until the weather clears. But there is still much to do. It has been decided that the old fence will be placed around the base of the main enclosure. This will allow the cats to be protected both in the summer by providing a bit of shade, as well as the winter to stop some of the bite of the wind. The contractor has been building small cat platforms that will be elevated on the sides of the house and also inside my new observation porch. This way, when I am working inside or just watching the storms, my kitties can hang around up above me. He is so in-tune with cats, he has actually been able to make friends with PITA. She will come to the wire now while he is working, and rub up and down the wire. I have warned him to beware, her looks are deceiving. She bites and she bites hard. So far, he has kept all his fingers outside the wire. But I can see, he really wants to pet her. She bit me just yesterday after I flea-treated her. I have had her for years and I know her MO.

My house has gone from looking gloomy blue to a vibrant green with yellow gables and white trim. One of my friends texted yesterday as she drove by and said my house looks like a lime slurpee! I replied, I love lime slurpees! Maybe you can be the judge? All I know is my house used to look like it was in mourning, now it makes me smile. As you can see by the photos, even Nature approves of the color change. I am so glad for this government program. Without it, nothing would be changed here.

Once this is all finished and I plant lavender in my yard, my front yard is going to pop!

I get paid tomorrow. After the bills are met, I will have just under $200.00 to run me a month. This is first used for cat food/litter. I have a preliminary order with Chewy for $72.00 hopefully that will last the kitties until my next check. It’s always a juggling match.That puts my cushion for a month to $90.00 for my food and gas. Thankfully, the gas prices are creeping down slowly. It does not allow me to hit the vet debt or put any aside for emergencies.

That’s how we are doing it now. We are able to keep our doors open for rescue based on the help from you to meet our renewal fee for next year. We thank you for that! So this new color helps to cheer me up when I feel overwhelmed at times. I can go out and sit on my mini-deck and be joined by my rescues. I look at the trees and my pastures and feel at peace with the world. I don’t know how we keep it going, but we find a way.

I sent a picture of my new face-lifted house to my older sister. She lives in Florida. I was almost certain Gwen was going to harass me about the color choice. To my surprise, she loved it! She said it looked “Very Key-Westy!” I’ve never been to Key West but if they have vibrant colored neighborhoods, perhaps I will add it to my bucket list? Not that I ever go anywhere, to many cats need me. But it is nice to dream. At least she didn’t tell me it looked “Vey Key-Limey Pie!” LOL  I believe Mike would approve- he might groan a bit, he was pulled in by darker tones, but I think, in the end, I would win him over.

Well, the crew is pulling up, so I need to go move my truck. As much as I like the colors of my new house, I don’t want my truck to be the same!  Take care all of you who still swing by from time to time. Be safe, be loved, be cherished. That is the best place to be right now.