Sacrifices, and Whining

Today, Purrcy will go to the clinic to be given updated shots, deworming, and hopefully a guess as to his age, and confirmation that he is a boy!  I want him ready for when he is brought to his new person, Alex, the 88 year old cat lover who is missing having a cat after his passed a month or so ago.  I pray I am doing the right thing.  This pretty lover boy/girl? is still nervous, but is now on my lap every chance it has, and loving the scratching and petting.  I pray pray pray that this all works out for this cat and this man, and that they live long happy lives together.  PS, Alex told me, in no uncertain terms, he did not like the name Purrcy, so I told him to pick one out.  :) Here we go again.  Another lame name!

For those of you that don't know what I do, I go into the city every morning, 365 days a year, at 5 am., and feed over 60 cats.  All are either friendly, semi-feral, or feral, but all are starving.  Most are discarded due to whatever reasons, some are lost, and some are born outdoors, and eventually learn to trust me.  I've been spaying and neutering those that I can, and try to do so on a weekly basis in the summer.  I probably, on average, spay and neuter between 50 and 100 cats each year.  All depending if I have help or not.  I also make shelters for these animals with either handmade wooden huts or with plastic storage totes with doors cut out and straw stuffed in.  The good ones will have styofoam added to the sides for better insulation.  I was also donated several styrofoam large containers already cut out and stuffed those with straw.   I also rescue a gazillion cats a year.  I think its close to 60 this year since January, Kristin?  (she added it up for me a few months back and it was over 40?)  I do all this out of my own pocket.  I get occasional donations to the clinic to help with the spay and neuters - which are $50 per cat - and sometimes a bag or two of cat food is dropped off at my house - I feed between 18-20 pounds of dry food, and a case of wet.  These animals are hungry, and their bowls are always empty the next morning.  They run to the sound of my car.  They know they will eat there and then, sometimes their only meal of the day.  I've been running out of food lately - This past Saturday I went to Walmart for the cat food - 16 lb. bags for $9.97 each, plus large cans of wet - got out of there with five bags (one was 22 lb.) and maybe two dozen cans, and the total came to $92.  I had to replenish this morning as I have nothing left and its what...  Wednesday?  I left Walmart again this morning with four more bags and two dozen large cans of wet food to last me until Saturday - this cost me another nearly $70.  This is killing me.  I need help paying for all this food.  I pray I can continue to do this.

I live on a single income, live in the first and only house I've ever owned, always wishing my life were different.  That I could move, or do this or that.  Others my age are living the good life, they are able to go on trips, put a little money away, but I struggle still.  Why is that?  I already know the answer, I'm just venting here.

I don't know what my point of today's post is, but I was just wondering if anyone can relate, if anyone is reading this - I rarely get comments.  Or, if you would like, tell me to quit whining!  :)

Have a great day!

"If you want to love what you do, abandon the

passion mindset ("what can the world offer me?")

and instead adopt the craftsman mindset

("what can I offer the world?")."