Thunderous Thursday

I received a Harold update that I will be sharing for tomorrow's post.  This particular adoption is unlike any I've ever had.  You could say it is the most ideal adoption I've ever had.   It is ideal because the adopter has faithfully shared occasional updates like this, and even if this were her last update to me, I would know 100% that this was meant to be, and I would never have any worries or wonder again.  I wish I had this with all the cats I've adopted out in the past - excluding my mother, sister and friends that have taken in kitties from me - I can see these cats when I go for visits - but there aren't too many folks like Kim and her family to take in a cat that was just rescued from the street the night before, and were willing to give it their all to make this cat feel wanted and special.  Even if he hid from them for days after arriving at their home.  My heart swells.

I have yet to hear from Cheddar's new family, I will try to contact them today.  Little Paddy/Pepper goes to the vet for a recheck of his teeth after his mom Lillian has been faithfully giving him meds for the past two weeks.  Fingers crossed his sore mouth is better, but his gums looked painfully red when I went to visit him on Monday.  He was diagnosed with Stomatitis, and was told that all his teeth would have to be extracted.  If that turns out to be the case, Paddy may have to come back to me, or find a new home, because it may be hard for Lillian to care for him, not knowing what to expect.  So we take it one step at a time.

All the kitties were out and about his morning and I got a few pictures.  There is one cat on Fourth and Pennsylvania that I believe is one of Vanessa's babies - one that I missed when I rescued her and her other two babies, Pumpkin and Magic last summer.  Here is his picture that he allowed me to take this morning - You tell me what you think! - First, a picture of Pumpkin -
 

PUMPKIN/CHARLEY



PUMPKIN/CHARLEY

 and now the kitty that is still on the streets:

Other sightings:



Sick Kitty on Seventh



Seventh Street Kitty



Seventh Street Kitty



All Quiet on the Homefront

These puppies are looking for a good home.  If any interest, please contact the following:

SusieQ Dog ResQ / Another Chance Ranch

www.petfinder.com/shelters/NY705.html

I have some pretty good news to share – Cheddar, the pretty fluffy red haired kitty I rescued one week ago today from Central and Third, who was then neutered the next day, and spent the next few days getting to know what it was like to live in a safe and cozy environment, was adopted on Sunday! Thanks to Another Chance Pet Rescue for allowing me to use a cage at their Adoption Days at Petco on Saturday, within the first ten minutes a lady came in and said she had been looking for a kitty just like him! I am still crossing my fingers that all goes well – they have a little doggie that they adore and she comes first in their house – so I pray that Cheddar is on his best behavior with their princess. So far so good, no news is good news!

On Sunday morning, my friend Kristin came over very early in the morning to help me look for the newborns that the kitten on Seventh Street had last week. We scoured as much as we could of that area, and couldn’t see or hear anything. I am almost suspecting that they either didn’t live, or mama wasn’t able to care for them the way a more grown cat could – maybe not enough milk, or not enough instinct to protect them. I didn’t see her yesterday morning, but Ithere she was this morning. She is getting closer each time, but still keeping her distance. And she almost looks pregnant again...  could that be possible?  It must be hunger that brings her closer to me as there is never a drop of food or water when I arrive in the morning. The injured black cat let me touch him this morning, as he hungrily gobbled up the food I was placing. I am so torn about this situation, as I know he is suffering, and I should help to ease that suffering. In an ideal situation, I would take him, have him seen by a doctor, nurture him back to health and keep him or adopt him out. But none of that is possible. I have nowhere to care for him nor do I have the finances.. So his fate would be to be put to sleep. Or to suffer and die a painful death on the street. I will try putting antibiotics in his food tomorrow if he is there, but he is not consistent either. I don’t like to see these animals suffer, and I will make the right decision when I feel its right.

Have a good day.

Coffee Talk



Spayed Female on Hayward

 I had a couple of good conversations this weekend with some of the people in the hood where I go to feed cats 365 days a year.  .  .  Yesterday, the gentleman who waves and calls out goodmorning to me a few houses down from where I feed on Pennsylvania and Second, called out to me yesterday morning and I meandered down to where he was watering his lawn and introduced myself.  His name was Jackson, from NYC, has lived here for couple of years now after he met his wife and moved into her house there.  He introduced me to his pit bull that was in the back, named Blue.  We chatted away, I told him what I did, and I left him my card and told him if he ever saw any pregnant females, etc, he could call me. 



Hayward Cat

 This morning, Paul came out of his Second street home to say hello.  He is the one with the dilapidated garage and I posted a while back that if I had the money, he would be one of the very first I would help out because of his kind heart in allowing me to use his back yard to feed the cats on Second Street over all these years. He was telling me how much the contractors wanted to charge – I heard numbers from $2500 to $4000 and that’s just to secure it. He told me they said if they placed a roof on it, it would collapse. He came out because he was concerned that I would be upset that it might be torn down and the cats wouldn’t have a place to go in. I told him that I was not concerned, that his garage was just a bonus, and that the shelters he allowed me to place behind the house were sufficient enough for them. What a sweet man. Always asking how I am, and always wishing me a safe journey as I leave. Love this man. And he is handsome to boot!




Webster Ave. Cat




Seventh Street Kitten Mama

 There is a house on Central and Seventh that has always had litter and filth strewn about and I’ve always wondered how people could live like that, day in, day out. I had never seen anyone outside of it – of course I am only there at the very early hours in the morning – but nevertheless, it’s a house that is occupied, so someone must see the trash all over the place. On Saturday morning I drove past it on my way to my last spot and saw a man sitting on the porch of this house. I thought about stopping my car and asking him how he could live like that, but thought better of it and continued. I thought to myself, we all occupy this earth. We are all responsible for the little plot of grass under our feet. Genesis 1 God said, "let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth" To have dominion means to be in charge of. That means that God has put us in charge of caring for his creation: earth, people, animals, plants - all of it. God is the ultimate environmentalist. He made it and he charged us with the stewardship of taking care of the earth.  I hate litterbugs.

Baby kitten is doing very well at my mother's house.  She has such a good Mommy too.  Pictures below.



Penny



Penny's Lone Surviving Kitten



Penny's Lone Surviving Kitten



“Each morning we are born again.

What we do today is what matters most”

HFF!!! :)

I got through my rounds quicky this morning.  I was able to hold Red on Webster while another young black kitty looked on from behind the fence.  Hungry I'll bet.  The city workers came and mowed the grass, and the shelter has not been touched.  Yay.  This is the shelter that my creative teacher friends Darrin and Kris made the shelter out of a coffee table.  Very heavy, and probably the best shelter you can find.  Weather proof, and a spot to eat in front of it, inside.  The devil man next door has not bothered me in close to a year now.  My shelter on Hayward was also untouched, and I spotted a cat that could very well be the kitty that I first saw hugely pregnant weeks ago.    When I pull up to that spot its still not bright enough for me to see perfectly.  I wish I knew where she had her babies, and where they are now.  At Seventh, I did not see Mama Kitten anywhere.  Nor do I know where her babies are. 

It will be a busy weekend.  One mention, little Paddy is very loved now by his new Mom Lillian - she brought him to the vet a week and half ago, and he was diagnosed with Stomatitis.  I am heartbroken, and so is Lillian.  This means he may have to have all his teeth pulled at some point.  And the cost is staggering.  The vet quoted $1400.  She doesn't have that kind of money.  I feel like I gave her a
'defective' cat, but she assures me that she 'picked' him, so its not my fault!   Most of the research I've done on this all winds up with teeth being extracted.  If anyone has any other alternatives, or know how we can help Lillian financially with this, it would be appreciated!

Mom's cat Penny's kitten is doing well, still holding her own.  Eyes almost open, hopefully by this weekend!

Finally, I leave you with a wonderful video on YouTube that shows humanity at its best.  And how rescue is so important and vital to our furry friends in need.  I hope you can view it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Mgbgch6v42E

Been dazed and confused for so long its not true....

I am a total nut job when it comes to Led Zepplin.  I am a rocker from way back.  When I was growing up I always hung with the older crowd, and was very into the 70's music.  I still am today.  I can't get enough of classic rock, but then again, I love jazz, bluegrass, country, Marvin Gaye, southern rock,....  the list is really endless.  There are times I could listen to sweet ballads, even some classical.   But if Led Zepplin - Robert Plant are involved, I go into a zone...  I played this song this morning on my way to work, and had it full blast.  I swear, most of the people I passed were either too old or too young to know or appreciate the loud sounds coming from my car...  :)  Thats how I begin my workday, with the greatest music of all.... 

OK, back to cats.  I arrived home from work yesterday to the kitty that I trapped - turned out to be a female, which is GREAT, one less kitty delivering babies.   I got her nice and secure for an overnight stay at my place, I put food and water in the trap, and she did eat and drink over night, so that is good.  She is pretty feral, so there wasn't a peep from her while she was all covered up snug in the cage.  It was hard to let her back out this morning, but it had to be done.  Cheddar was also vetted yesterday, the works, all tests negative, and he also had his nails clipped.  They apparently were so long they were growing into his paw.  These poor street cats, they have such a hard life.

The female pregnant kitten that were were not successful in getting on time - I saw her this morning for the first time in three days, and she was definitely not pregnant anymore.  In fact, she came so close to me I was able to get this picture.

Momma Kitten on Seventh

I told you, she is just a kitten herself.  I am heartsick thinking of the babies she had.  This is the closest she has ever come to me, I was on my knees putting food and water in the shelter there, the bowls completely empty.  She must have been very hungry to get this close.  Poor thing.  Here are a few other pictures I was able to get this morning of some of the kitties I feed - if you click on each picture you can see them up close:


ROLO on Central

 

Kitty on Seventh



Cedric on Central

  


Sweet Red on Webster (he needs a home!)

 The Hayward Street shelter was still in tact this morning, I'll bet no one came by to work on the house.  But I am prepared each morning for the worst, thinking of another boarded house two doors down.  The calico still comes for her breakfast, but have not seen the pregnant tabby that was there for so long up until a week and half or so ago.

Mom's - or I should say Penny's baby is still doing well, and Mom reports this morning that she may be opening her eyes!  Can't wait to get pictures this weekend for you!

Whirlwind Wednesday

Well, it was a busy morning. The goal was for Laura to trap the pregnant kitten on Seventh St. and for me to bring Cheddar to her, she would bring Cheddar to one location, I would bring the pregnant kitten to another. Before I finished the first half of my route, I texted Laura to see if she wanted me to set a trap somewhere as a back up plan. Good thing I did.  Laura then phoned me and said she believed the momma cat already had her kittens. I hadn’t seen her for two mornings in a row, so she may have had them within the past two days. Laura said she heard faint crying and thought she had seen the mom and she wasn’t fat, so we concluded the babies were already born. That’s two moms I wasn’t able to get. So sad. But I did manage to trap a kitty on Pennsylvania, one of at least three I feed there, and I did turn Cheddar over to her as she already had a couple of kitties she was bringing to this clinic, and I will pick up Cheddar later. I had him overnight and I can confidently say this is a very very very good boy. A true cuddler. You can tell he is SO thankful to be off the street now. I had thought about putting him back after he was neutered, but I don’t think I can do it. Although its going to be very hard for me at home, as Earl has a hard enough time with the others in my house, here I have a new one and he is not happy about it. He is acting up terribly and I have to watch him every second, with his spraying, and attacking the others. I need to find a home for these guys – Daisy, Earl, Leo and Cheddar. Please help me find homes for them?

My mother’s surviving kitten, and we have to think of a name for this little girl, is holding her own. She is a miracle to us each day she lives. My mother is feeding her every two hours, and momma Penny is keeping her warm. We hope she is getting enough of both.

I was so disappointed this morning when I pulled up to one of my longest standing shelters on Hayward. I had spoken to the owner of this rented house years ago and basically had his permission to feed on the side of the house. This is the same location where the woman came out of the glass door head first a month or so ago from the house next door. When I pulled up, everything was put to the curb. I got out, and moved EVERYTHING back, and then got a paper plate and wrote a note to the man, asking for leniency, telling him this was the only home these cats had and that I was doing good there by having them all neutered. Along with my cell number. I pray his compassion kicks in when he arrives there today. He rents the house out with two separate apartments there, and I’ve never had a problem before.

I don’t know where I will feed if I go back tomorrow and everything is gone. This is the problem I have at the moment, each of my spots is in jeopardy, so I can’t place new shelters down until I can figure this out.

Have a great day!

Cheddar

Boy am I in over my head.  I had a vacation day last Friday, but you would never know it.  I never stopped running around the entire weekend.  I've gotten myself into a real pickle with saving cats.  I visited two homes that adopted cats from me - Pumpkin and Magic (Charley), and Paddy (Pepper), and took in two cats to Petco for showing.  That doesn't include a lot of running around in between, and this was just on Saturday.  I have a cat at home who is spraying everywhere now, and I have to keep him confined.  And guess who is confined in my bathroom this morning, after I had to kick Leo out of it - I am still bringing him in at night and letting him out during the day because there is just no room - Cheddar!  I rescued Cheddar this morning from Central and Third and he will be neutered tomorrow, along with his shots, etc. and he will be ready to go to a new home, but I have to find that first.  He is a very friendly, sweet and gentle boy and I am hoping he will be adopted soon, along with Earl, Daisy and Leo.  I need to get these four homes and fast.  Anyone that would be willing to foster one or two I would be extremely grateful!

I wish I could photoshop his face with a prettier background than my ugly bathroom background, but oh, if there were just a few more hours in the day...

Update on the surviving kitten at Mom's house - still hanging in there.  Although momma cat is moving baby around a lot, and we are now bottle feeding baby every two hours - thank you Maree for bringing us the formula, saved us a lot of time and running around!  Mother has decided to put Penny (momma cat) into the closet for now with lots of blankies, where its dark and quiet, and hopefully she will settle down in that for now before we resort to getting a large wire crate to put her and baby in.  Either way, she needs to stay with her baby in these critical first few weeks, so fingers crossed.

I was very disheartened this morning as I pulled up the Seventh Street location, where Laura has volunteered to try to trap the pregnant kitten there tomorrow morning, because I did not see the pregnant kitten.  This means either she is just hunting somewhere for the moment, or has had her babies somewhere.  And I always think the worst because of what I see every day.  I pray she hasn't and we can get her in time. 

Below is a picture of one of my locations I feed at - a house across the street - funny how things change in an instant.  This arson sign was not attached to the boarded door yesterday. 

Here is a kitty that hisses at me each morning, a very fluffy grey kitty on Second.  He has come to depend on me each morning for his breakfast, so I don't know what his problem is!  :)

Have a great day!