Thankful Thursday

First and foremost, THANK YOU for being our friends and being so wonderful over the last weeks. It is never easy to lose a family member....your support and purrs and wishes have been wonderful and we truly appreciate it more than you will ever know.
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Also, you may notice a new header - we were pleasantly surprised to get an email from Miss Ann at Zoolatry with a new header just for us. THANK YOU for thinking of us....we love it.
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Saturday mom spent the day at an art retreat given by BZ TAT. Some of you will know her from Blog Paws conventions where she does artwork. She lives a couple of hours from us and when she put up the notice earlier this fall, mom signed up. Bearing in mind that mom has almost no artistic sense... MOL  Anyhow, with everything that has been going on, mom wasn't sure that she wanted to go, but decided she needed to get out of the house. She had sent in a picture of Maestro. Here is the series as she went along as well as the final picture. We were impressed.....

BZ TAT said that being artistic is all a state of mind....we all have the ability, we just need to tap into it. We think mom did a great job. The painting is now hanging on our "cat" wall in the entry to the condo. 

Coral

I'm sorry.

I'm sorry you got sick

I'm sorry we couldn't fix it.

I'm sorry you only had just over 6 months here.

I'm sorry that the only way to stop

your pain was to let you go.

But I will never be sorry for how much

I loved you and for making you

part of this family.

Fly free angel

4/10/14 to 10/18/14

**the crew here: there is no test, but every clinical sign pointed to Coral having FIP. And there is no cure....there was just buying time and it wasn't going to be quality time. So mom did the best she could and helped her over the Bridge. We are going to take a small break from blogging....mom's heart is broken and we have to find the pieces and glue them back together for her. Thanks for all your purrs and support during this....it means a lot to know that so many people care and loved Coral like we did.

Random Fridays

Fountain update:

It has been a week and we love it. Mom is making sure to wipe the edge of the water dish every few days in an effort to help Tim. And so far....no reaction. If you look at the picture above, he seems to drink more from the opposite edge, so we bet that is helping too.  Maxwell, Faraday and Allie's mom asked about the filter...we haven't noticed any clogs or anything. You can't see the refilter part in this picture, but there is a small opening near the bottom of the dish (about where Tim's nose is at) where the water circulates back through and that is where the filter goes. Now...there is a considerable amount of cat hair in this house. Mom has fished a little bit out of the opening, but nothing major. And seriously - this thing is QUIET!! Mom has even gotten used to the blue alien light flickering at night. MOL
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Coral went to the vet last night. No really good news. The concern of the vet is her eyes - they seem a little worse and mom is taking her this afternoon to have the pressures checked - there is such a think as sudden onset glaucoma...which can be painful. Coral walked around the vet office last night and really the only thing saving her from walking into a wall was her whiskers. Mom's major concern is getting Coral to eat...without getting some nutrition in her, there becomes a greater concern about everything else. She did eat ok this am, but nothing really seems to catch her attention. We will keep you posted and thanks for all your purrs.... they mean a lot.

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Mom is spending some time with our friend BZ Tat tomorrow at an art retreat. Can't wait to see the weird results from that. (mom is not so much in the artitistic flair). Mom had to send a picture of what she would like to paint and sent this one of our angel Maestro.

National Feral Cat Day

When mom starting volunteering for our local humane society, she had no idea about feral cats or TNR or anything like that.

Fast forward to today and she volunteers with a local group that started out doing TNR and remains firmly committed to that as their primary objective.  And in that time mom has helped TNR 9 cats on her own and with the help of a neighbor and picked up 12 kittens that have been fostered and adopted since then. (including our Junior boy)  We are also lucky that we have a local low cost spay/neuter clinic that is feral friendly - they will take cats in live traps and do surgery same day.

Alley Cat Allies started National Feral Cat Day in 2001 to help promote education. This is the most important thing we can do. No matter what you hear in the news and from some other groups, feral cats are not the bad guys of nature. Human beings attempted to domesticate cats and then failed them (in our opinion). And TNR works....since mom started in our neighborhood, we had a stable population and NO NEW KITTENS in 2 years. Taking a feral cat to a "shelter" is simply a death sentence....

Also, check out the No Kill Revolution information on the Best Friends website.

What can you do?

Find a local TNR group and offer to help....most need volunteers to feed colonies or pick up and drop off cats in traps for surgery. Or donate...they need money for food and for live traps. Want to donate a trap to them directly? Check your local farm store (we know Tractor Supply has them) or online (we found one at amazon).

Promote spay and neuter. And remind people that seeing a "stray cat" is not something to be ignored. Take a stand. And please don't think that doing nothing solves the problem. While these cats can care for themselves, human kindness in the manner of food and shelter goes a long way. And about shelters: Alley Cat Allies has a great guide you can use

It can be hard but rewarding. Mom says that if you do this long enough, there is little more satisfying than coming up to a trap you have set and finding a cat in it (not as satisfying to find a raccoon or opposum that you just have to convince to get back OUT of the trap - MOL). And check for the ear tip...that is a sign that your "stray cat" is actually part of a colony that has already been spayed or neutered.

Allie snoopervising the rebuilding of the neighbor's balcony 

Allie likes to hang around - waiting for mom

to get a move on in the mornings so Allie can get

in the garage for her breakfast.

 She would be killed in a shelter...and deserves better than that.

Which is why we provide her food and a place to live and our protection.

And remember too - Coral and her siblings were born to a
feral mom who has now been spayed and released.

Blog the Change

Four times per year, bloggers get together to talk about change and how we can affect it.

Today we want to take a minute and talk about volunteers. There isn't a non-profit organization out there that would be capable of keeping its doors open with volunteers. And you can do all sorts of things....think about your skills and how you can help. Are you tech savvy? What about accounting skills? Carpentry? Public speaking?

The group mom fosters for has a small adoption center and a resale shop next to it. We need all sorts of volunteers. In fact, there was a volunteer who had leukemia that would stuff envelopes for us (she passed away last year). She wanted to help and knew she couldn't come into do anything in the center, but what a huge help this way. Most people look at an animal rescue and think: cleaning cages and walking dogs. Sure.... most places absolutely need that.

But when our adoption site needed some work done, a crew came in and gave their time - to pull up old flooring, lay new flooring and build several sets of heavy duty shelves. And we always are looking for people willing to sit at adoption events and talk to the public.

Think outside the box....and don't hesitate to ask. We bet there is a local rescue that could and would happily put your skills to work.  Even if it is cleaning litter boxes. (you will be richly rewarded in kitty kisses - promise!!)

Opt to Adopt - Einey, Meeny and Miney

Mom took 3 kittens to an adoption event on Saturday to a local pet boutique. They are all about 16 weeks old and ready for their own homes.

Einey is a calico female. She got the store, freaked out and spent the entire time in the carrier. However, she was fine back at the adoption center - just a little shy (which is why mom doesn't have any pictures).

 Miney isn't quite as outgoing as his brother, but he was happy to see people and would walk up to the cage for attention.

Meeney was all over being out in public. Mom got him out a few times and he was purring and wanted to greet everyone. He did want to get down and explore, so mom put the harness and leash on him....and he fell over. So much for that. MOL

And before you say it....Moe was already adopted.

is it an emergency

If you have been reading along, you know that Coral hasn't been feeling well. Our vet did a titer test and it came back positive for toxoplasmosis. Which mom was reluctant to put out there since the it causes panic sometimes. However, in this case, she would have shed it for a few days but mom was careful so we are all safe.

Most cases respond to antibiotics. However, just to be difficult, our tiny brat did not. Some days were better than others, but we couldn't say with any certainty that she was definitely improved overall.

Then came Saturday night....she seemed disoriented - and even walked into a corner and couldn't seem to get back out. Mom had to pick her up to get her into bed. Although she hadn't been sleeping with us for a few days, so maybe this was a good sign.

Mom however got a good look at Coral's eyes and got concerned. The inside looked swollen and red. And Coral didn't seem like she was visually reacting to things.

What to do? Wait until Monday when her vet is in the office? We are lucky that there are two 24 hour places nearby...but one is expensive and the other mom isn't a fan of their "service". And then the other question - was this really a run to the vet at midnight emergency?

We are lucky in that mom has had cats for many years and has been in rescue for many too. So what constitutes an emergency for some people doesn't get a rise out of mom. In this case, mom decided wait until morning.

Sunday morning came around and ... no Coral. Let's back up though - mom got up about 5am to blow her nose (darned allergies) and Coral followed her into the kitchen and acted like she was hungry. Mom gave her about 1/3 a small can and stood guard as Coral ate everything. Mom went back to bed and Coral soon followed - getting up on the bed by herself. When mom got up around 9am, no Coral. Mom fed the fosters, fed us....still no Coral. Started laundry and then checked everywhere. Coral had gone downstairs and was walking near the garage doors crying softly. Mom picked her up and decided that was it....off to the 24 hour vet.

However, mom has done this before and knew a few things: take a blanket for Coral and make sure you have her medical history straight in your head - or take her records. Take a book and your cell phone charger - you could be there a while. And since mom hadn't had breakfast, she stopped for coffee and a bagel. She made a comment to the tech as they were going back to a room and the tech said that they can tell the people who have never been in before - no jackets in cold weather, no background. And then those that have been there come with drinks, snacks and a book. :)  Don't get us wrong....if there is an immediate emergency - get to the vet asap!! However, in this case it was more of a "probably shouldn't wait until Monday" thing.

Anyhow....after 2 1/2 hours, they sent Coral home with eye meds. They are fairly certain it is toxo that has now affected her eyes (which mom had read about). The resident who saw Coral thinks she has some vision and it may be more affected by swelling than anything else. He said she could walk around a room without hitting furniture but that he put a chair in front of her and moved it toward her and she didn't flinch either. The er vet is also a specialist hospital so the plan is for mom to check with Coral's vet today and see what the next step is...bring her in to them, see the eye doctor at the specialist hospital, or see the vet at the university that our vet was talking to about this.

Either way, Coral came home with mom and spent Sunday sleeping on mom's lap. We aren't sure what the next drug regamine might be but suspect we will have to try something else. Thankfully she is with us and mom is committed to getting her better....

Random Friday

This is how we are spending the weekend.....

Oh and on the fountain front - it is SUPER quiet. Mom did say that the blue light is a little weird at night. She can't see it from her bedroom, but as she walked down the hall toward the kitchen the light flickers cause it is behind the water falling and it looked like we had tiny blue aliens landing in the kitchen. MOL
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Our friend Miss Connie from Tails from the Foster Kittens is having a yard sale of some of her kitty stuff to raise money for treatment for her kitty Jack - he has had some major medical lately and so she gathered up some things and is having a sale (click here). Any support is appreciated. :)  We already got our order in!
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Coral is the TINY black head near Jade's elbow 

Mom thinks she kinda looks like a tiny mouse here

6 months ago today, 4 little kittens were rescued during a mass TNR in a mobile home park. Hard to believe it has been that long. Happy 6 month old to Coral, Amber, Ash and Pearl (Mica too...he was about 3 days older).

Coral is eating a little better and getting feisty about taking her meds which mom is considering a good sign. In fact, she is beginning to put up a fight about taking her meds...which is good cause she must be feeling better, but mom isn't so happy about the fight. Mom also broke out the comb last night and Coral had a good time rubbing all over it and then rolling over and giving it a good bunny kicking.

Look what we got

Mom is a big fan of water fountains for us. But some are seriously expensive. We got a Drinkwell from PetSafe but the darn thing broke - twice - and their customer service was terrible, so that went back. Then mom found one on sale at Petco and got that. And Tim broke out something terrible from the plastic dish. (we had no idea - mom switched to ceramic dishes many years ago - before Tim came here)

However, our friend Amy Shojai hooked up with a new online pet store, we thought we would give it a try.

It was super easy to set up and came with a mat for the floor. Basically - put water in the holder and plug it in. It comes with a container for water but mom went ahead and bought the bigger one they offer since there are more than a few of us here.

This fountain is plastic, but it has a UV light where the water comes out to kill bacteria....see that blue light??  Mom is hoping that this will keep Tim from breaking out. It just came last night, so she will give it some time to see what happens. But there is a 30 day guarantee, so we can get our money back if he does have a reaction.

Everyone was pretty excited. Mo and Tommy were checking it out before mom even got water in it.

Oh and someone has decided it makes a good toy too.....

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Tock-tober

The Coral Report

the mom here:
Thursday night Coral was doing great. Ate quite a bit, ran through the house, jumped up for some cuddles.

Friday morning ate again. The vet called on my way home from work. The titer test shows she does have an infection. The bloodwork showed mild anemia and a high protein level. Both of which shouldn't cause her to be little and both of which could be caused by her system fighting off the infection. Nothing showed up on the bloodwork to indicate why she really isn't growing. However, short term we decided to fight the infection and deal with the rest of it later. The vet was encourage by my report of Thursday.

Friday night she refused to eat again and was back to hiding (see picture above). I called the vet Saturday morning and took her back for more fluids and B12. She got to spend a couple of hours with me at an adoption event (that should teach her) and she did eat a little there. Back home with party favors - I got fluids and more B12 from the vet to give at home. And bought a different food at the store hoping she will eat that.

Most of the weekend she was still pretty blah. But...the vet did say that some take longer to react to the antibiotic...this is day 5, so hopefully soon. It is supposed to be a 14 day course.

At least as of Saturday morning she was up 1/2 ounce from the previous Tuesday. I would be WAY more worried if she was losing weight. Though I would be MUCH happier if she was gaining weight.

So that is where we are for right now - convincing her majesty to eat and hoping the drugs kick in soon. I'm trying not to worry too much....but we all know how that goes.

weekend report

Cassidy went with mom to an adoption event on Saturday. We hope her forever family finds her quick.

After speaking to her friend Miss Beckie, Cass stayed at the store, and mom brought home these:

There are actually 4 of them. 2 boys and 2 girls. They were left at our rescue vet's office almost 2 weeks ago in a carrier. Whoever dropped them off knew about the security camera as they walked down the side of the building to avoid it. However, regardless of whomever dropped them off, they are safe with us. Miss Beckie had taken them but she was asked by the rescue to take some tiny kittens that are having a rough time. So they are with us now until they get bigger.

The alcohol kittens are doing well and gaining weight. And as you can see....someone made a jail break. Sangria has gotten to where she can climb the gate outside the bathroom door. Fortunately she generally stays inside the bathroom with her siblings.

Belated Birthday Wishes

 Tim and Tom turned 11 years old yesterday. Mom can't seem to get it together. :)

Hard to believe what our house would be like if these boys weren't here......

Random Fridays

Thanks for all the well wishes for Coral. She has been eating much better and actually got up and slept on the bed the last couple of night, which she hasn't done in over a week. No results from the v-e-t yet... hoping for those today.
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Mom plans to take Cassidy with her to an adoption event on Saturday. The kittens aren't ready to go yet. Cass on the other hand is feeling pretty lively and in fact can jump the white baby jail gate (who knew). And she has made it known that she did her part but would like to now be done with those kittens. MOL
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Speaking of kittens, how about some weights:
  Stoli: 1 pound 8 ounces
  Sangria: 1 pound 9 ounces (mom was surprised)
  Daiquiri: 1 pound 1 ounce
  Kahlua: 1 pound
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Our Sunshine girl is doing well in her new home. She has made friends with a short hair black male named Blackie who is about her age. Her new mom says there is one cat in the house who isn't happy with Sunshine yet, but that she has settled in and seem comfortable.  :)
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We hope you have a great weekend. It is supposed to be MUCH cooler and rainy here.

Thankful Thursday

Our tiny chick is having some issues.

Mom had a check up appointment with her on Sept. 18th. She officially weight 2 pounds 14 ounces and charmed the vet and techs. No idea what her heart sounds like - she never stopped purring. Though mom said later they should have tried at the end of the visit....Coral got her pantaloons trimmed and was NONE too happy about it.

However, mom came home last Wednesday (Sept. 24) and Coral was staggering down the hall and fell over twice before mom could get to her. Mom called the vet in a panic and they said bring her right in.

When they got there, the vet suggested drawing blood to check her glucose level - IF it was not normal (mom can't remember if they were checking for high or low), it might be a shunt which would explain all sorts of things. It was normal. But her temp was 104. So they gave her fluids (she was NOT happy about that), antibiotics and a shot for the temp (no, mom can't remember what that was either). The plan was to take her home, keep an eye on her and make sure she kept eating. She weighed 2 pounds 11 ounces.

Over the weekend, Coral was sort of eating, lethargic and felt kind of warm. By Monday mom had enough of that and called the vet again. They agreed to have mom bring Coral to them on Tuesday morning and have her spend the day. Maybe IV fluids, more drugs, keep an eye on her. The big concern was that her head trembles slightly at different times.

Mom dropped her off Tuesday am and waited....and waited....and waited. Once the the vets just adopted a new baby and she knows they were busy. But by 2pm she couldn't stand it anymore and called for an update. They didn't do IV fluids, electing to give them under the skin. Coral was eating however she was running a temp again. The vet was in with a client.

When Dr B called, they went over the options. Here was the final decision: send her home, keep her eating. Run bloodwork to see if anything else is going on (and start maybe seeing if there is a reason she is still so tiny). In the meantime, the vet suspect toxoplasmosis (see what Cornell Vet has to say about that here) so we are trying a new antibiotic. There is a titer test that can be run and mom said do it - better to know than not know. If the drugs work and it is toxo (and Coral responds like she should), we should notice an improvement by Friday or Saturday. The good news was, despite mom saying Coral felt bony to her, she had only lost an ounce since last week (although at under 3 pounds, she doesn't have an ounce to lose).

If you could be sending her some purrs, we sure would appreciate it. Once the vet calls with some updates and results, we will keep you posted.

wordless Wednesday (mostly)

Kahlua, Sangria, Stoli and Daiquiri

the girls

Clementine and Tangerine

Sorry this is a little late going up - wanted to make sure they were both cleared to have surgery today before we started celebrating!!

Mom let the oranges out Friday evening and then again on Saturday for the weekend. Tangerine is a little more skittish than her brother, but they had a blast running around like nuts.

Clem may have runny eyes for a while. No matter what drugs he gets, they tend to run a bit. But his new mom and dad are aware of it and don't mind at all.

Tangerine is super sweet and we know she will come around once she is home and comfortable.

Good luck kittens!!! We are glad you and your mom were pulled from a kill shelter and were given a chance to grow up here and find your forever homes. They are being spayed and neutered today and mom will hand them off this evening.

And they should be easy to round up - they have already learned the sound of the canned food opening. :)

Mo's big adventure

Last week we had a big bug in the house. Mom couldn't manage to smack it and says we are pretty hopeless when it comes to bug catching.

She had read somewhere that if you open a door or window and turn off the inside lights and turn on an outside light, the bug will go out. Must have worked cause we haven't seen the bug since. After a while mom turned off the light and shut the door.

However, mom got up the next morning and there was no sign of Mozart. She fed everyone, shook the treat container.....nothing. But she had to go to work. No open windows or doors...he wasn't under the bed or anywhere she could check quickly.

Mom worried all day. What if he was sick? What if he was stuck somewhere? What if, what if?

Finally she got out of work (it was Friday so thankfully early). She came home, ran upstairs....and there was Mo - standing outside on the balcony.

In all fairness to mom, she did look out there before going to work. He must have been behind one of the plants when she looked outside. Fortunately, he was fine....though kind of clingy for a while.

Adopt A Less Adoptable

Every year Petfinder makes an effort to get the word out about those that SOME PEOPLE consider less adoptable. From seniors, to color of their fur (usually black but we think torties get a bad rap too), to physical differences, to FIV or FeLV.

Here is our grandparents' dog Izzo's story:

His previous family brought him into a shelter and just handed him off with no information or anything. He is a nice little dog...but tested heartworm positive. This is a time consuming and expensive thing to treat. Some shelters won't treat for it. Izzo got lucky and the shelter where he ended up put him in foster care and treated him for the heartworms. Once he was ready to go, he came back to the shelter.

As you can see from this picture, there were spots shaved on his back by hips due to the treatments. When our grandma and grandpa got to the shelter, they saw him and fell in love. However, when they went up to the adoption desk to ask about him, there was another couple asking about him. But the lady was asking about the missing patches of hair. As the adoption counselor explained, the lady said she didn't want any dog that had been sick and had missing hair. And thus Izzo came to live with our grandma and grandpa. See, for them, it wasn't about previous illness or hair that will grow back. It was about his sweet disposition and size. His furs have grown back and he is healthy...and will remain that way since they are being responsible and keeping him on preventative medication.

Lesson here: it shouldn't be about appearances....it should be about saving a life and adding joy to your family.

Remember Me Thursday

Sadly, we are not yet a no-kill nation. Animals die everyday in shelters....people don't spay and neuter, they buy rather than adopt, they have negative connotations regarding shelter animals....more reasons than we care to count. We know we are preaching to the choir here, but if we can impress on even one person that 3-4 million adoptable animals are killed every year just for lack of homes, then this makes a difference.

Remember Me Thursday is an event to put into the forefront of minds that this occurs every day around the world. Click on the link to light a candle on their website.

We talk about this all the time - adopt....foster....volunteer....spay/neuter....donate

Hopefully one day we won't need events like this, but until then we are joining in to remember those that don't have the chance to get a home of their own.

Help us spread the word.....  use the hashtag #LightForPets today on facebook and twitter to share

Wordless Wednesday

Ivy edition....

Opt to Adopt - Nala & Lexi

Mom got to drive twice this week for Ontario Bloodhound Rescue.  Two bloodhound girls - mother and daughter were rescued from Tennessee and moved to a kennel just west of us until they could be moved to foster care.

Nala is 3 years old and moved Thursday afternoon. She is super sweet. Great getting INTO the car, had to convince her to get OUT. :) Nala turned out to be heartworm positive so she got her first treatment before going to foster in Pennsylvania.

Lexi is 5 years old and moved Saturday to her foster home in Canada. She was also super sweet. She actually was heartworm negative which surprised everyone since Nala was positive. Lexi got right in the car and settled in for a nap.

And update: Lexi is already adopted. Her foster home was one of the head volunteers for OBR. In less than an hour, she posted that Lexi - now Clover - fit in great with their family and their big male bloodhound Humphrey and would be the newest member of their family. :)  Congrats!!