Everybody’s still hanging on? Here we go again!

I honestly thought that I would never be in this situation again. I had the surgery last Thursday. The surgeon said that not only did I surprise him by rupturing all of my rotator cuff, but I also apparently threw him a great big loop because of the fall I had in October of last year: the ‘snap’ sound that I heard that were four tendons rupturing.

So here we go again, the months and months of putting up with all the different type of nerve pain that’s getting ready to hit me. The cats are hopefully settled into the new routine of staying away from mom for a while because if you don’t, there’s gonna be trouble.

Sweet Winston was taken recently out of the barn and put back in the bedroom. I know they said that spring is on the way, but I haven’t seen any signs of it and I was getting really worried about him being in such cold weather. So he’s back in the bedroom. I am looking for a home for him for those in Sweet Home, Lebanon or Albany that might be interested. He is definitely a very sweet boy. He is also very accepting of cats, though I don’t think they’re very accepting of him. None of the girls like him. I have a line on one person who wants him pretty badly, but she’s got cats already, as well as other situations to deal with, so we’ll see what happens there.

Concentrated into all this other stuff - being so cold all the time and not having a heater right now - has been another obstacle that I’ve had to overcome. Apparently my heater was throwing out too many carbon monoxide bombs and so they have put it on the expire list; they are trying to put together a new one for me as soon as possible (I hope). Even though spring is just around the corner, the weather tonight is mimicking arctic weather. Nothing spring about it.

So I’m getting ready for the long haul bit by bit. I hope this time I can find more sleep than I could before. What I couldn’t do after the last surgery which, thankfully, I can do after this one is just to make a complete fist. That’s one problem I won’t have. Just take everything that comes with a grain of salt and just take it a day at a time - that’s all I can do.

It’s Raining Cats!

Another orange tom was trapped last night - and then I was able to trap a black and white tom! Both of them are showing signs of wounds on their faces and necks - the natural results of an unneutered male in the wild. They are going to the vet first thing today. They will be picked up at 7:45 a.m.; that works because I have to go to the hospital tomorrow for more tests. That appointment is at 10:45 a.m.

It's Mamacita!

I can hardly believe it. This morning I captured Mamacita! She has had two litters on my property since she’s arrived. I am grateful that with the help of this program I’m able to get these cats picked up and hand-delivered to the vets, as well as brought back to me. There’s no way I’d be able to pick these traps up, especially when the cats inside them are feral; they move around a lot as you can see by Mamacita’s nose - she was crashing into the side of the trap. They can’t get her spayed until tomorrow so I have released her into my large cage in the bedroom. Her nose is pretty bloody from crashing into the trap. 

Speaking of crashes - or actually feral cat wounds - it was determined yesterday during Sundances and Angel’s neuters that Angel had several bite wounds on his neck and tail section. They had all apparently abscessed, but they have healed to the point that the vet just decided to give him an injection of antibiotics that will last two weeks.

Sundance, on the other hand, is completely bitten from the tip of his tail to the middle of his back! He also got a shot of antibiotics. But I’ve decided to keep him in the cat room until he is completely healed. He is currently hiding under the sofa bed. But I am pleased to report that he is eating. He is drinking and he has used the litter pan. I am hoping to work with him before surgery enough so that when I release him, he will stick around on my property, and not go back out to the front yard so close to the highway. We’ll see what happens. I have a little over two weeks to go.

Mamacita will be picked up tomorrow morning to get spayed. Yay! No more kittens for her!

The One Who Got Away

This is the kitty that got away the other night. I honestly did not expect the cat to return back to the trap but hunger can drive a cat to do things it wouldn’t normally do. It’s 1:00 a.m. Monday morning. We are not in the 20° range right now but we are in the 30° range. I’m still hoping against hope that Luna is still out there. So I left the trap in my front yard baited not only with food but with prayer. Marion, Luna’s owner, believes that her baby is gone. She says she feels it in her heart that she’s no longer here. Regardless, I went ahead and left the trap there, and this is the result.

There is no ear tipping, I have no idea what sex this cat is. I am calling the kitty Sundance. I’m hoping that this morning when Jennifer comes to retrieve the kitten, she can also take this slightly older cat to the vet as well. If not, I will keep the kitty here until there’s an opening at the vet. I’m just so relieved that I’ve gotten another one off the street. There’s just too many out there, too many people are feeding and not trapping-neutering-releasing.

One Less to Worry About

This little boy, who is under a year old, was inside the trap meant for Luna this morning. He’s very quiet. I think he’s very grateful because he’s not freezing. We have another cold front coming in tonight hoping I can continue to trap the majority of these strays before February 19th.

Unfortunately, this morning, when I was feeding, I saw another kitten about the same size as this one. She is a long-haired grey kitty with white paws. Totally gorgeous; going to try for her tonight in the shop. Discovered late last night that the traps that were returned to me after the woman had them for months need to be repaired. I’m going to go out in a few minutes and grab some tools and see if I can fix them, because right now, it only leaves me with two traps that work instead of six traps.

Not a Cat This Time

With baited breath I approached the trap I set up before dusk last night. The grass crunches under my feet. Bitter wind blows at my back. An ice storm with temperatures as low as 18°F had set in overnight. I am praying that the trap will be occupied so I can get the poor critter some help.

This time I’m not trapping a cat. I was alerted to an emergency issue concerning a Papillon. She is 10 years old, she is fragile, unfortunately, she is thin and worse than that four days ago when she bolted out their back gate, they had just trimmed her because she was matted.

I met the lady looking for her in lieu of the owner who is elderly yesterday. She had knocked on my door and handed me a flyer of this beautiful dog asking if I had seen her. I was told that she was seeing three doors down from my house. Her owner lives directly behind my house. When they were trying to retrieve her to get her back home, she headed straight from my place. Unfortunately, between my place and her home stands a lot of blackberry thickets. Her name is Luna. Marion has had Luna for 10 years. Luna has never left the property. They believe that she is altered somehow. (My guess after listening to her symptoms is she has had a stroke.)

I finally reached the trap, which I had set in the corner of my front yard out of the wind as much as possible. There is nothing inside and my heart sinks.

When it gets this cold, the predators come down from the hills, looking for food and water that’s not frozen. Such a tiny dog who is afraid of her own shadow, doesn’t like dogs, doesn’t like cats, and runs from people, is probably pretty easy prey for predators who are hungry and cold.

She has been seen on the highway quite near my home. Several of my neighbors have tried to catch her, but she is not catchable. That’s why I set up the trap. I wanted to go outside last night so many times to see if she was there, but it was so icy. I was afraid I was going to fall. I can’t fall again. I can’t risk it.

I just heard that the owner wants to give up. She is very distraught. She is also not very healthy and she can’t go looking at her own for her dog. Her dog is very accustomed to her voice and no one else’s. I told her when I heard the news that I would not give up I will keep the trap going. Who knows maybe I’ll even catch one of the five strays. If that happens, I can get the stray cat in and get him or her fixed. I almost wish that in the mornings when I look up and down the highway that I see her on the road because at least then the owner has closure. The dog isn’t stuck somewhere unable to get out of the thicket where they suspect she’s hiding. Or maybe just to old and tired to care about moving at all.

Who knows, tomorrow when the sun comes out, she might just show up and go inside the cage to eat the food that’s offered to her there. That would be a wonderful miracle.

Weight, Mom!

Finally, I was able to get in to see another orthopedic surgeon who specializes in knees, hips, and legs. Thankfully, I was told that for my age, my knees are in pretty good shape. So no surgery on that part of my body. Thank you, God. Based on the results of the CAT scan, the surgeon believes that I tore my meniscus and I chipped the muscle underneath the meniscus. They are holding me from going to physical therapy right now because my surgery is coming up next month for my shoulder. 

Once I start PT for my shoulder, they will just include exercises for my leg and knee to strengthen my quad. They gave me home exercises to do. One of them includes putting two weights, one on each ankle and doing leg lifts from a chair.

Yesterday I was sitting in my armchair, and I strapped the weight to my ankle, I started lifting my weak leg. I had my eyes closed and I was doing it very slow. Suddenly, the leg felt a little bit heavier as I lifted it up.

I opened my eyes, and there was Winston. He was hanging onto the weight on my leg with both claws and getting a free ride! Such a goofy kitty. I went to reach for my cell phone, but by the time I got it, he was on my lap. Funniest thing I’ve ever seen. 

I don’t know if he will repeat this exercise. Maybe, instead of being my massage therapist he would rather be my physical therapist? I think it will probably depend on the pay scale! Time will tell.