My Male Cat Is Pregnant

My male cat is pregnant. It is a trap that a lot of us who rescued stray and feral cats fall into every once in a while. When we see a cat who is eluding us purposely. It’s sometimes tough to sex them from afar. With tomcats, it’s relatively easy because sometimes as they’re running from us, we can see that they are very well endowed. Or we can see the furry fuzzy face and the big cheeky jowls, which set tomcats apart. Often if you look at the color of an orange cat, you can tell if it’s male or female. There are some crossbreeds that if you look at the face, you could tell by how it’s patterned. But sometimes we get it wrong. This time I got it wrong.

She is heavy with kittens. I sat down last night and really thought about it. I am about to break the very rule that I have lived with for so long. The one where I preach spay and neuter to the skies. I am going to allow this girl to have her kittens. In doing so - since Mamacita is also pregnant - there’s going to be a lot of kittens this year.

In the situation, I’m in right now with my health, with all the restrictions I have on what I can and can’t do, I think that it’s best for me to let these two girls have their families. Hopefully by then, I will be able to do what needs to be done to bring the kittens to health and to spay and neuter all the families. However, right now it’s just not possible.

Most of the traps I’ve had for years some of them donated are all beat up. Feral cats trapped inside of a trap for longer than 24 hours can get very active to try to get out. I did manage to buy some new traps recently. However, when I started putting them out to trap the cats to get them spay and neutered, it wasn’t working out very easily for me.

So I have to be realistic. I am still wrestling with the fact that I’m breaking everything I’ve always believed in. There are too many kittens out in the world. But again under the circumstances, I have to take care of myself because if something more happens to me, where am I going to end up and what happens to all my cats?

I am really praying that the other strays here that I couldn’t trap in time to get them fixed are also boys. That was my guess when they were all living back by the creek and I could only see them with binoculars. I heard the other day that they’ve come up with a spay and neuter powder for lions in a rescue facility. I’m thinking that if they can do it for lions, why can’t they do it for cats? It’s a feedthrough powder that you mix with their food works great. It sterilizes all the males and prevents the females from giving birth.

How nice that would be, and how less expensive it would be for everyone who tries to make a dent in the population of cats here in their own backyard.

Wishing all the moms and single moms out there a happy Mother’s Day. May we not only have peace in our hearts, but also in our world very soon.

Winston At Home

 Just a picture of Winston in his new home. He’s looking quite pleased with himself, isn’t he?

A Home for Winston

One of my good friends who, after my surgery, stayed with me for two weeks, apparently bonded quite well with Winston. She really wanted him and she did talk to me about him, but she has a few cats and her parents are not keen on her getting anymore. However, she talked to her mom and dad yesterday and they cleared the way for her to add him to her family. Haley has two boys. Both the boys are completely charmed by Winston and really want him as well.

Unfortunately, even though in the picture he’s getting along with Aspen, the same can’t be said about Addie. She simply wants to kill him every time she sees him. I think he must’ve done something to her when he first arrived because every time he shows up in the house, she just goes ballistic. I know they have issues but again I’ve never seen any real confrontation between them because I stepped in before it gets too heated.

The news that Haley is going to take Winston makes me happy. Not only because I know what a great pet owner she is, but because they already do have an established relationship and that will help him get along in his new home.

It also means that my girls get their catio back, and their room back - just in time for the warmer weather to come in. That will bring the balance back to the group.

For those who are wondering how I’m doing... I’m doing as best I can for the circumstances I’m in. I have started physical therapy. I’ve only been to the consultation portion of it. I think my therapist is a little bit optimistic because she’s telling me in three weeks, I’ll be able to drive! However, I still have the surgeon telling me it’s going to be another two years, so we’ll see who’s right. Let’s hope that Brooke - my new therapist - is more right than my surgeon. It’s very frustrating to have to depend on other people to help me when I know that all I have to do is jump in my truck and drive to town and do my own groceries and my own errands and go to my own appointments. Unfortunately, I still cannot grip the steering wheel. Much less shift into gear.

I fantasized about buying a brand new car, but that’s what it is: a fantasy. I would like to have a stick shift on the floor instead of by the steering wheel. However, at this stage in my life, I’m not on taking on any more debt. I’m doing my best to get out of debt so that I can live the rest of my life in relative comfort.

I spoke to the driver of a bus that picks me up for groceries and other errands. I asked her if it would be possible for her to bring me and Kota into town so that I could walk him. At the time I asked her, I was sure she was going to tell me that it wouldn’t be allowed. But I found out the opposite is true, so on Monday she’s going to pick me up at 10:30 and drop me in town, and pick me up again at 12:30. That will give me plenty of time to walk him and get exercise, and visit with shopkeepers I haven’t seen in a very long time who are good friends. And just get me out of the house. That’s the biggest plus: getting out of the house. I haven’t been able to walk Kota in two and a half years. That’s a long time for him not to go for a walk.

Also, on the news front, they have not found the person responsible for the death of my oldest step-granddaughter. They do know who did it, but there’s no conclusive proof. Apparently, by the time they thawed out her body, which was found frozen in the snow (it took 45 days) - all DNA and forensic evidence was gone. Looks like her killer may actually get away with murder, which makes me really sad. I can’t understand a world that has grown so ugly. I hope I never do understand it. 

They have me signed up for physical therapy twice a week. The appointments are an hour long. I’m used to the exercise exercises, plus I have my own exercise regime at home. There’s one exercise where I have to sit down in a chair and put a towel down on the table and slide the towel across the length of the table without moving my shoulder. Flash really likes that exercise because apparently she thinks that that tell makes a really good cat bed. It’s hard enough to move it when it’s not a occupied by a kitty. So it just gives me more resistance and hopefully will help me get more mobility in my arm and my shoulder as time goes on.

I was also told to buy a pulley. The kitties really like that pulley. They have pulled it off the door so many times. They stand underneath it and jump on top of it and hang onto the ropes until it just gives up and crashes to the floor. It’s hysterical to watch them. They are into everything.

It’s been frustrating for me because doing just a simple task - such as hanging up my clothes or doing the laundry, or even just getting dressed in the morning - comes now with so many obstacles attached to it. I try not to give into the frustration, but sometimes I just give up and cry. It’s hard to go through this alone.

That’s it - that’s my one-party pity-party! Happy Easter to all, and may we please have peace on Earth very soon.

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.

My Massage Therapist

Last night, lying in bed, trying to claim sleep, sleep eluded me. My body was spent; both my shoulders felt like they were on fire. I was exhausted and tired.

Nestled under all the warm blankets, I gave into the pain and started to cry.

Winston (formerly named Webster, to which he was not responding; he likes Winston better) was on top of his Blanket Mountain (what I like to call a stack of blankets placed on top of the chest that stands alongside the back of the bed.) I felt a gentle plop on the bed as he jumped down and approached. 

I found myself silently praying: “Dear Lord, please don’t let him walk all over me right now.”

With all my nerves misfiring inside my hand, arms and shoulder, I knew I wouldn’t be able to handle even the tiny bit of weight of this kitten.

Winston is quite the Purr Factory. I call him my “Endless Purrer.” He was purring as he drew nearer. The closer he got, the more the purrs changed in their timbre. They became deeper, richer, purer in tone.

Winston lie down beside my right arm. This is the same arm I had surgery on in May. His body was horizontal, and his head was pointed in my direction. He started kneading me. Scooting his body sideways, he worked himself up and down my right arm with just his head resting gently on my arm. To me, it almost felt like he was playing scales on a piano. Back and forth, up and down. I could feel his purrs resonate inside my arm, shoulder and hand. Listening to his kitty lullaby, lulled by the gentle massage of paws with no claws extended, I fell asleep.

In the morning when I woke up, Winston was asleep, snuggled next to my arm. At that moment, oh, how I wished that I had a usable right hand where I could reach out and pet him. (Not quite yet, still working on that challenge).

Why was I so tired the night before? I received an unexpected New Year’s blessing, one that allowed me to order cat food, cat litter, warming beds for the cats. By the time I was wrestling all the boxes into my house, my nerves were burning and crackling from all the lifting and wrestling boxes into their proper places.

There were so many boxes by my front door, I had a hard time walking over to the door to shut it. Although I was so sore, I could hardly move, I felt an incredible warmth build up inside of me towards the  amazing gift spread out before me.

The gift was quite timely. I am getting ready to have a second surgery on my left shoulder. I believe the surgeon is planning on doing it next month. I have to have a CAT scan first.

As I type this, I wonder if I’m crazy? Although it’s with a different surgeon, my prayer is that after this surgery,  I will have a usable left hand instead of a near useless one.

But now I am ready. For all the people, my villagers who are gathering around me once again, ready to go through another round of post surgery care. Not only for me, but for my cats and my dog. I have all the food I think to get through the 16 weeks of being on couch arrest. Just the thought of the person with such warm generosity: this removes some of the stress from off my shoulders.

I know tonight when I lay down to go to sleep, Winston will once again snuggle with me. If I happen to break down in the middle of the night, I am sure my massage therapist is standing by, ready to go to work and purr me back to sleep.

Farewell to the Lion

I learned today, that a very dear friend of mine just lost one of his cats. This cat looked just like an ordinary cat. He walked like a cat, he ate like a cat, he used the litter pan like a cat. However; the owner gave him a life beyond the one he was living.  

The owner sensed something within this gentle creature. So, he wrote about him online. He shared his stories (their) stories with the world.

The courage this cat and owner went through on this path is beyond indescribable. Both of them making their way through each one of them with extreme  compassion, bravery and love.

Those of us who follows his stories also walked along with him on his path. On their walk, they found tears of joy, tears of happiness,blessings to the heart, warmth, but most importantly Love.

 

So - “Goodbye” to the mighty Lion who is no longer walking among us. He is now walking above us.

Today is Kota's Special Day!

Today is my Kota’s eighth birthday! Happy birthday to you, my wonderful friend!