Since coming back from the vet, Aspen and Laurel have been spending their time alone inside large dog cages. Although they are side-by-side, my fear, since they’re both females is that they’re going to get to the point where they’re not going to get along anymore.

A few days ago when I was cleaning out their cages in the morning. I cleaned out one cage of everything in it. I put them both inside that cage and stepped back,  as I feared, they went to battle. Quickly I stepped in and separated them and put them back in their perspective cages.

So now the plan changes.instead of extending the introduction cage. We are going to have to make the extension bigger and turn it into a separate cage where one of the kittens can stay comfortably for as long as it takes for them to acclimate to the other kitties. It is far too soon for me to just release them within the population. Not only do they not have the body weight to stand up to any type of bullying, but it’s not wise to automatically assume that cats can get along immediately just because they’re cats.

If one of these kitties was a male, we wouldn’t be faced with this situation right now. For some reason, females in the cat world do not get along with each other. Sometimes, as almost was the case with these two, it can  even turn into bloodshed. If I had left the building with them inside. I would definitely have had to call the vet and take them in.

Unfortunately, this means that they have to spend a little bit more time in these cages. Nathan is quite busy with his construction job. He is doing all of this work for us out of the goodness of his heart and his love for cats.

Right now my cats account is completely tapped. So they’ll have to spend an additional 10 days until next payday before I can go back and get additional lumber. I suppose I could finish the job with Nathan before the weekend but it wouldn’t be fair to the cat that would have to live inside this extension. It’s simply not big enough. So I did some planning last night and I figured if we hit it from the side and extend it and bring it around. It might look a little unorthodox, but it would certainly give the cat a lot more room than she has now .

This is the way of the stray. You can plan, you can plot, you can hope and you can pray. Sometimes it just doesn’t go as planned. Their presence within the enclosure right now is being felt within the population. There is a lot of negative energy, especially with PITA. I discovered her yesterday, she had Magoo pinned and she was biting his neck. This is not good. I will be getting a pheromone collar for her as well as for Aspen in a few days. No Feliway diffuser is going to take down the negative energy level because the outdoor enclosure is wire. The calming fumes are going to just flow outside and do no good. I am playing the CD.Harp of Hope continuously to ease some of the tension. But the best thing I can do is just go get the lumber and make the cage into two cages attached to each other. There will be a door that will allow both cats to eventually come through, and perhaps share the two cages together. That’s my plan, let’s see if they’ll go along with it. Time will tell.

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Both Aspen and Laurel have been spayed now. Currently, we have them in a large cage. Each girl has their own cage. They are very subdued kitties than what we are used to, but quite reserved and timid. We put them in the cages while we begin work, enlarging the introduction cage to accommodate their extended stay. Plus the fact that with the surgeries they can’t jump without it causing pain or discomfort.

Both girls are adapting well to this new situation. I haven’t noticed any type of aggression from them towards the resident kitties. Nor have I noticed any of my five resident kitties challenging them in an all out battle. It’s quite odd to have two kittens who are not feral. They love to be scratched under the chin, it’s amusing actually when I stick my hand into the cage to say hello, they stay inside their little carriers. However, the minute that I withdraw my hand and shut the door, they come out. That’s when we can get to know each other better. I believe that if we kept our hand in there and tried to coax them out or pull them out of where they are, this would not bode well with them. The fact that we withdraw our attempts to pet them, causes them to reconsider that perhaps these humans aren’t really messing with them. They are just trying to be friends.

Yesterday, Nathan and I did a quick rendition of the new changes to the introduction cage. We are going to expand it out and this new addition will also be insulated, so in the winter time they can stay warmer. We will have screened areas in the back, so that resident kitties can investigate the newcomers without anyone going to battle. It also will allow more air circulation within the cage. There will be shutters that can be closed in the winter time to provide additional warmth. I am quite excited about seeing this come about. Nathan will be here early this morning and we will start work as soon as he gets here.

The only one who seems to resent these newcomers is, of course, PITA . She has to maintain her Alpha state with the group. Her trick is she jumps up on top of the cages and growls at them. So we cut a piece of plywood to fit both cages and now she can sit on the roof and growl, but she can’t reach in and claw them should she desire that. We have not seen that part of her aggression show towards these two new ones. But it certainly is showing towards the outside girls that come to the door to say hello. Her and Twist  seem to get into it quite a bit. We are glad that there is wire between them.

This transition between the two groups inside the enclosure may go easier than we anticipate. We just have to take it a day at a time, we take our cues from the cats. Nothing is rushed, there is no time schedule on our end. We want to be perfectly sure that, everyone will be getting along  the first time we “accidentally” leave the door open and step back to see what happens. That may be in a week, perhaps a month or even longer. It’s all up to the kitties.each day is a journey of discovery between all of us.

The upgrade to the introduction cage has begun unless something comes up. It should be completely finished by tomorrow night.

I would like you to meet Laurel and Aspen. They came to my attention a few days ago. They were in a very hard predicament. No other Rescue would touch them. So they are here now.

They will remain here for the rest of their lives. Both of them are females. They are not spayed, vaccinated, they are not feral however, they are also not adoptable. Both of them spray like a fire hose. This can be caused by a few things: they either were mated early in their life. Which means that they will be lifetime sprayers. Or, they lived in a home that was filled with chaos, violence, and other factors. I am doubtful that they have urinary tract infections. They are way too young. One looks to be about maybe a year old? The other one perhaps six or seven months?

They are posed in my introduction cage in my main enclosure. I have made an appointment to bring both of them in next week to be tested and spayed. They both flinch when you try to touch them, another indication that they may have been touched by violence before they got here. But I’m really guessing because I don’t know their story. All I know is they are now safe, although I wasn’t looking to bring any more in at this time. This was a high-risk situation, and somebody had to care. That person was me I care.

We are still struggling to feed those that we have here. But we get it done every month regardless. It doesn’t help that the prices of dry and canned food have exploded exponentially. So now, instead of having nine cats, we have 11.

Laurel, the marble tabby was in desperate need of a bath. She tolerated it pretty well until the very end when she got tired of being handled. However, no one was injured during the process. She is now clean and dry and as you can see they are snuggling together. they will stay in the introduction cage until I get them tested and spayed and also once the other cats have adjusted to their presence. Then and only then will I let them out to get to know the others without having wire and screen to block their way. Aspen, who looks a lot like Ashley, is quite shy. She, too, is a flincher, when you go to try to touch her head, especially she draws back in a very jerky manner.

So anyway, these are the two new kits on the block. We will do our best for them, because that is what we do here.

Due to the recent policy change at the clinic, we just got hit with a $531 vet bill  The girls are getting spayed as I type. They both tested negative They have been dewormed and de-flead  they will come home tomorrow. If you would like to send us your lunch money, or your coffee money, it will be put to good use to help us whittle down this new bill.

Early this morning when I went in to feed. I experienced the most amazing moment with my cats. I had just gotten in the door and shut it, and I turned around and they were running to me. I bent down to say good morning to each one of them, but as usual, Ashley was missing. So I was talking to Bentley, and stroking Magoo, and trying to pay attention to PITA and not ignore Pigeon. I was wishing I had more hands and arms so that I could pet each one of them at the same time. When all of a sudden I am petting Ashley!

She had snuck in without me noticing. She was rubbing my ankles when I looked down and saw her. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I very softly called her name, I started petting her, and she allowed it! There was no hostility, she didn’t draw her claws, she didn’t growl or hiss at me. She just kept rubbing my ankles and walking in the circle so that I could pet her. It was a magical moment. I may be repeating myself, but it was magical.

Every part of me wanted to scoop her up and take her into the house, groom her and get rid of all the massive mats that she has all over her body, but I didn’t. I am hoping in the next two weeks to be able to accomplish that without having to deal with a poop fest during the process. Anyway, that’s the plan.

When it comes to working with Ashley, I have found through trial and error that ignoring her is really starting to pay off. This morning, I actually was able to walk up to her while she was on one of the ramps and flea-treat her. This in itself is quite extraordinary, she allowed me to do it. I simply had to gently scruff her to keep her in place, while I put the topical on her. She did not poop, she did not pee, she did not freak out. After it was over, she stayed where she was for a few minutes and then she decided to leave.

I still have the challenge of figuring out how to take all those mats out of her. But I look at it as one challenge at a time. I have also been able to pet her from time to time without issues. However, the minute that I think about even removing one of the mats, she just takes off for the hills. Slow and steady may win this race.

Thank God in heaven, I was able to capture her. She has lived a long life here, and I am sad that it is over. But I am so grateful that she didn’t fight or bite or claw. She was simply a limp rag in my arms as I put her in the carrier. When I think of how feisty she’s been in her life, how many times I’ve tried to get close to her, and been unable to. I am just grateful to God that I got her away from Crazy Eyes as well as this extreme weather that we are still experiencing.

I also wanted to add a later note: when I dropped off MK at the vet (because I couldn’t get an appointment) I was told that Kotas liver study came back perfectly normal. He has no liver damage! The problems stem from his allergies,  allergies can cause seizure-like behaviors. That was money-well-spent to learn that. I am sad to say goodbye to feisty Old Girl, however, I am so relieved to learn that Kota does not have liver damage

Recent developments in the last few weeks regarding Old Girl has clearly shown me that she is about ready to call it quits. For the last week she has allowed without interruption in the morning when I’m feeding, to let me pet her, without becoming aggressive. Although this thrills me that I am able to do this. I know deep in my heart. The only reason I’m able to, is because she’s ready to give up. That coupled with the fact that. Crazy-Eyes aka Grim Reaper is now buddy-buddy to her,  becoming almost inseparable. Is another clue that she is reaching the end of her life.

His method in the past, is to buddy up to a senior kitty, or a kitty in distress. At first, it looks like he’s offering comfort and companionship. However, this is just an allusion. His intent is to weaken the cat in question. He does this in several ways. He steals the food. I have seen him in the past knock over water bowls, he will also even though he’s neutered, and all my cats are spayed and neutered. He will also mate with the females, and he will fight the nails, the same way that they fight when it is kitten season, and the Toms are fighting for dominance over the females. This morning,  he stole her food. I chased him away and gave her some more wet food, standing over her so that she could eat it without him interfering.

I moved a top-end cat carrier into the back room of the shop where she sleeps and eats. Inside are all the tools necessary for me to capture her and get her safely into the carrier and into the vet. I wish I could say that I would be able to do that today, but I know better. She has to get used to seeing the carrier there with the top open, before I could make another move on her. I am hoping by Monday I will be able to do this peacefully. Just pick her up and put her in the carrier and take her in.

That’s the plan, but when you work with feral cats, plans can go awry. So we will just have to see. It’s almost an advantage to not even plan ahead of time, it’s likely to be accomplished quicker if I don’t think about it and I just do it. Because if I go out there and I’m poised to actually capture her, she will be in tune with that no matter how bad she feels, and she will bolt.

Yesterday, Kota spent the day at the clinic. He had his tests, the bloodwork will not be back until Monday. He did not have one seizure type activity the entire day. This led my vet to tell me that he believes what is wrong with Kota is allergies. I know that I have a dog that seems to be allergic to the world, I also know that allergies in dogs can cause seizures. So I hope he’s right. Come Monday when the results are in we will see what they reveal.

He was given a Cidapoint injection. This is given to highly allergic dogs, and it lasts for a month. My vet kept telling me that every time he looks at Kota’s face, all he saw was “long suffering.” I have to agree in the last few months. Kota has looked miserable. His coat is growing in all different directions as if it doesn’t remember how to grow properly. Since coming home, Kota has  just slept. No seizure type activity has shown up.(Knocking furiously on wood as I type that). He is not flat, he is just exhausted.

Monday will be the target date when we find out what the bloodwork reveals or what it does not. I will hope and pray that there is no true liver damage, no liver shunt, or any other cellular damage to his liver. I also want to add that this morning Kota’s coat looks a lot better than it did yesterday. Right now he’s curled up on his couch and he’s asleep but he is responsive.Fingers crossed, prayers, flying that this is indeed, just allergies. Allergies can be managed, liver damage not so much. I just want to thank the person that sent cat food recently here. It was a great blessing to receive it. Please know we are grateful.

Kota’s seizures are getting worse. I had hoped the gabapentin would make a dent in it, and for a few days it did, but last night basically all hell broke loose. Initially, I contacted the clinic to find out how much the cost of the Bile Acid Assay test ran? I was told that it was $128, which since it would follow the day after payday, was doable. I scheduled a test for this Friday.

I just got a phone call with an apology that the new clerk did not factor in the bloodwork. So the entire cost of the test would be $258 meaning an additional $130 ins needed in order to get this done. This test will confirm whether or not Kota has a liver shunt or some other type of cellular damage to the liver.

I do not want to increase the current vet debt that we owe. My goal was to pay for the whole test upfront. If anybody is so inclined to help me raise these funds, please follow your heart. I know he’s not a cat, but he is my soul. He has been my constant since Michael died, He saved my life twice.

What the vet really wanted to do was a full ultrasound which they don’t do in the clinic, they have a van come in and do the test. That test is $700 and that is way out of reach.

Last night was really rough on both of us. The vet is so puzzled because nothing that he has seen on the video or anything that I’ve explained to him fits anything that he’s ever encountered. so they’re going to keep Kota instead of just a few hours like the normal test would do. They’re going to keep him for the day and I will pick him up in the evening before they close.

I’m so sorry to ask this. I just want some sort of an answer as to what’s been going on with him for over a year now. I also want to make him better.

Thank you for listening,

With everything going on regarding Kota my brain is more than scrambled. I made an error and was wondering if somebody would be kind enough to send me $40 so that I don’t have to pay an additional NSF fee for my mistake. I was able to come up with most of the money needed to cover my mistake but I’m $40 short. The cat food is on its way here and I can’t stop the delivery. Thank you. I’m a bit overwhelmed at the moment.

Last week, I caved and gave Ashley her freedom. She is now joined in with the other kitties inside the cat enclosure. She decided after I had captured her up to remove the multiple mats on her, to stage a hunger strike. It was a 4 1/2 hour session. I was working on her terms, giving her rests between working on some pretty stubborn mats that she had.

I thought this approach would stop the constant pooping that she does, when she’s terrified. However, true to her form, she pooped the whole time. She pooped on me, on herself, on the floor, you name it. She pooped on it. I also dewormed her with Profender. There was one positive change though, she did not growl, hiss or strike out at me during the grooming session. I also managed to remove all the mats, and there were a lot. When I go in there now to visit, feed, or clean. She does not flee and hide, but she keeps a wary eye on where I’m at at all times.For now, I am just ignoring her.

Kota’s seizures are changing. I took him in two days ago for a repeat bloodwork and films.They ran an x-ray of his entire spine as well as his head at my request. I was looking for some interruption in his spinal column, or perhaps a head injury that might explain these seizures. All it showed is he has the beginning of spondylosis, which could either mean he has the beginnings of arthritis or he has an inflammation somewhere.

His blood work was more concerning, his eosinophils were elevated. My vet told me that this could mean that he has allergies or parasites or he has an inflammation working somewhere. I know he doesn’t have parasites. I am pretty vigilant with my animals, making sure that fleas and worms stay away.

His liver enzymes were also elevated. His ALT, SLT are quite high. This could indicate several problems. He could have a liver shunt, he could have liver, cancer, or he could have a brain tumor. My vet told me that these levels indicate he has something toxic in his liver that is not being filtered out. We discussed his voracious eating of grass in the mornings, my vet wants me to purchase a basket muzzle and put it on him every time he goes outside, so that he does not eat grass. There is also a test to rule out a liver shunt. However, Kota would have to spend some time at the clinic. I can’t imagine what that would do to him because he absolutely goes off the rails if they take him away from me just to take blood and do films. God only knows what he would do if he had to stay there over 24 hours. Plus he tends to have seizures at night. The clinic doesn’t have someone who stays overnight with the animals. They just have someone coming in to check on them and then they go away. So I declined that test. We are going to start him on 300 mg of gabapentin in the hopes that it will slow down the seizures that are occurring and help him relax. He will have another repeat bloodwork in three weeks. If his liver enzymes are still elevated as high as they are or higher then I will consider the bio acid test.

Last night was pretty scary for both of us. Normally, he has a sense of when he’s going to have a seizure. When that happens, he refuses to come up on the bed with me to sleep. Instead, he opts for his couch in the living room. Last night after the vet visit, he came in and jumped on the bed and settled down. I was grateful, thinking that we were going to have a calm night and I would be able to get a full nights sleep. I was wrong. I was so exhausted I fell asleep right away. I slept through his seizure.

I was jolted awake when he went flat after the seizure was done. He went flat and fell right on me. 95 pounds fell solidly on my shoulders, my neck and my chest. He was deadweight, unresponsive, I could hardly breathe let alone talk I knew I had to get him off me. It had to be a big burst of adrenaline because I was panicked. I was gasping for air. I grabbed the bed post with one hand and just lurched my body up. When I did that he rolled off me. I turned on the light, and I just sat up with him all night until he came back to me, which was around 2 AM .

Right after that episode was when his seizures changed. They were coming fast and furious, one after another, but they were not lasting minutes only seconds. They were coming so rapidly, I couldn’t even keep track of when they started, and when they stopped. When his flat period finally hit, it hit him hard. He zonked out. He’s been sleeping most of the day. Sometimes when he wakes up he’s here with me in the here and now. Other times he wakes up in a trance-like state, staring at something on the wall that’s not there. I know that he’s not in pain when he has a seizure. But I know he’s scared and confused.

When he is awake, he comes to me and seeks attention. He tries to climb on my lap which I couldn’t allow today because I am still trying to recover from last night. I am so sore I can barely move. My arms will not lift past my waist without my body screaming. I do know tomorrow morning I am going to be a Technicolor nightmare!

All I can do is just hug his beautiful head and tell him that we are trying to figure this out and hopefully soon he will have relief. So the wheels on the bus continue going round and round in this crazy journey we are on.