Logos! :)

My friend Kristin has been working for a LONG time on a logo for me.  :)  Here it is.  I love it!  Nice job Kris!

My other friend Melissa designed one for me a long time ago when I needed one to use for my receipts and such.  Here it is...  I love this too!

Here is the long awaited next chapter in the saga of the street cats!  Joel surely is a masterful writer.  

… what would the cats Janine cares for think of her ? What would it be look to eavesdrop on them on a cold winters night ?

A Guardian Angel - Chapter Two

… We are following one of Rochester feral cats - a female gray and black tiger striped tabby named Mittens as she makes her way over to Melville street to find her friend Cici ….

Mittens was hurrying along Melville street, trying to minimize the contact her paw-pads had with the icy cold asphalt. They were raw and split from a life of running and hiding in the dingy back alleyways of Rochester's Parsell's street neighborhood, and she was trying to keep them from getting any worse. Despite this fact, she padded rapidly toward her destination. She was bound and determined to make Cici show her where the food the human was leaving around the area was located. In her younger years she would have been able to find it by smell alone, the rich and heady aroma tickling her nose and pulling her along to the source. But age and the cold and biting February wind had robbed the air of any scents this morning, so she would have to rely on her friend - a part of the intricate web of animals in the surprisingly large local cat colony.

Ducking behind the shadow of a hulking dumpster behind the corner grocery store, its sides slimy with age and refuse, she spies her goal - a piebald patchy orange and black calico lurking under the porch of a shabby grey house near the end of the street. Her friend Cici is not looking her way yet - in fact she appears to be rapt with attention on something deeper into the depths of shadows masking the underside of the houses sagging porch landing. Mittens would have called out to her friend, but she had learned the hard way to maintain silence until she got closer.

Announcing yourself out loud was often a good way to earn the wrath of a human, with a halfhearted foot to your rear or even a swat with a broom for good measure. She darted her head from side to side, checking up and down the street to make sure it was safe to proceed. Nothing moved save a skirl of dirty white snow, pushed along by the fitful wind. She padded quickly across the street, heading directly for the inviting dark cave like space under the porch where her friend Cici was crouched. Her eyes where still fairly sharp, and the reflective coating on the back of her retinas (something all cats shared to allow heightened low light vision) allowed her gaze to penetrate the darkness under the porch.

She could see that Cici was currently staring at a paper plate piled high with something that looked like … food ?

"Psssst … Cici ! " She hissed sharply, crouching down on her belly and slowly creeping closer.

"Dammit girl !" Cici hissed, snapping her head around to stare at Mittens.

"I told you not to sneak up on me like that. You're lucky I don’t claw your eyes out !"

"Sorry ! I saw you stalking something and I wanted to see what it was."

It was quite calm under the porch, and now she could clearly smell what was on the paper plate at the back of the porch space. A large hole in the skirting back there allowed a quick getaway, and someone had placed something there that looked and smelled like … heaven ….

"What is that Cici ? it smells delicious."

"I told you ! It’s the food the human has been leaving behind around here. I'm getting some before the rats find it."

"Oh ! Can I have some too ?" Mittens could barely contain the greed that wanted to creep into her voice.

Cici narrowed her eyes and looked at Mittens for a long time. She began to think Cici would say no - and she was so hungry she might have to fight her longtime friend over the food. She didn’t want too, but she would if she had too. After a long and tense moment, Cici's face softened, and Mittens felt a wave of relief wash over her.

"Yeah I suppose so. Just leave some for me. And don’t tell those other scabs we hang out with about this place. They start coming over here and there wont be nuthin left for us."

At this point would have agreed to anything Cici asked - she just wanted to push her face into that pile of juicy looking food.

"Yeah, yeah sure hon - whatever you say."

"Well don’t just sit there then sugar pie, lets get us some chow !"

… To be continued ….

"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."   

~Francis of Assisi

Ignorance

ig·no·rant

ˈiɡnərənt/

adjective

adjective: ignorant

1. lacking knowledge or awareness in general; uneducated or unsophisticated.

   
   

   "he was told constantly that he was ignorant and stupid"

   
   

   synonyms:

   uneducated, unknowledgeable, untaught, unschooled, untutored, untrained, illiterate, unlettered, unlearned, unread, uninformed, unenlightened, benighted; More inexperienced, unworldly, unsophisticated "the plight of these ignorant children should be an international concern"

   antonyms:

   educated

   • lacking knowledge, information, or awareness about something in particular.

     
     

     "they were ignorant of astronomy"

     
     

     synonyms:

     without knowledge of, unaware of, unconscious of, oblivious to, incognizant of, unfamiliar with, unacquainted with, uninformed about, ill-informed about, unenlightened about, unconversant with, inexperienced in/with, naive about, green about;

More on that later.  In the meantime, the highlights of the weekend!  REMEMBER TO CLICK ON PICS TO SEE UP CLOSE!

POPTART!

Saturday morning, I found this little babe on Parsells Avenue.  I walked up to feed at this shelter I have on the front porch of a vacant home, and this little one looked up at me from the plate that had only a few morsels left from what I left there the day before, and walked toward me.  I scooped her up faster than you can say Poptart!  I named her Poptart.  AND she is being adopted!  I would guess her age about 7-8 weeks old.  Her new mommy Doreen lives in Connecticut and will be meeting my friend Kristin, who has offered to drive Poptart to meet Doreen half way next weekend.  I couldn't be happier.  Doreen will give Poptart the love and care she deserves.  Little one was dirty, and has ear mites.  But playful and loving!   Doreen actually drove here last summer and adopted Leo, if you all will recall.  Great lady.  Poptart will join a feline and canine family, who will love her to bits once they meet.  This morning I let her out, she was so lonely in a room by herself.  I've never seen a kitten run as fast as she did.  Zip here, zip there!  She loves to play!  What a happy little tyke!  :)

SIMON (Stash)

Simon was adopted on Saturday.  A great girl named Toni fell in love instantly.  Her favorite...  Tabby Tigers and Black Kitties!  She adopted two kitties from me in the past, and is a great mom to three little humans also!  :)

A view inside my PENNSYLVANIA shelter
(has withstood the test of time here - weather, mean people trashing it, etc.)
This shelter has been here for over 8-10 years at this location.  Big Red and four others are its residents.

PENNSYLVANIA Kitty (couldn't wait for me to leave)

CENTRAL (MAILBOX) KITTIES
(I purchased a new 10x12 ft. camo tarp to place here -
so maybe it won't be so obvious come spring)

SULLI waiting for breakfast (Central)

About this picture above.  Someone, a while back, must have thrown this little black mouse play toy inside this shelter off Central Avenue.  Each morning its there, and this morning, I found it on the plate of food.  I have a cat that will find my hair ties no matter how hidden they are, and place it in the food.  Whats with that?  Even the homeless street cats do this obviously.  SO SWEET.

Two kitties above.  I was offered two spots for TNR (Trap Neuter Return) by a wonderful rescue group Friends of Ferals.  The clinic was at the Rochester Community Animal Clinic and it was run by a group of veterinary students.  I am sure there was a certified vet there, but I was able to trap one of the males on Melville (who was chasing Melody while she was in heat!), and another male on Central.  That was Sunday morning, and they were released Sunday evening.  Always hard for me to let them go.

Another view of PENNSYLVANIA shelter

I posted something on Facebook when someone mentioned little Poptart being found with a flea collar on.   Someone mentioned that it had a flea collar on, and maybe it was just lost, and maybe I should take it to a shelter in case someone was looking for it.  Here is what I wrote:

The kitten is dirty. It had a plastic flea collar on. It was 4:15 am. It was a very poor, crime ridden street and the kitten was at my normal shelter eating. Just as I wouldn't leave a child under those circumstances, I couldn't leave that kitten. Its not lost... It was cared for by someone that shouldn't have animals because they can't care for them properly. That's why I've been doing this for ever... Because of uneducated ignorant people. This baby is not lost. Its found!

This person did not like the fact that I used the words ignorant and uneducated when speaking of the fact of someone placing the collar on a kitten, and letting it get loose.

Here is the post in response to my post so you can see where I am coming from here.

I have to say I'm so disappointed in the judgmental attitude of this. "Because of uneducated, ignorant people". Maybe they don't know how to take care of a cat but based on the collar, I'd guess they were trying. Do you honestly think that passing judgement and condemning the people is more helpful to getting cats off the street than educating them on the how to care for it? 

What do you think will happen when they can't find their cat? I'm thinking there's a good chance they get another one and still might not know how to care for it.

"No one who cares lets a 5 week old kitten out." Again, not true. Unless you witnessed them intentionally let it out the door then you have no idea that it wasn't an accident.

I really though more highly of you Janine. I 'm truly horrified to have seen this side of you.


You don't put a flea collar on a tiny kitten, number one, and number two, you don't let a kitten get loose.   This particular location is also two houses down from Crazy Lisa, who has been charged with animal cruelty a number of times.  I won't mention what she has done to animals, but its horrific.   I have been feeding and trapping, and rescuing on this street for over 10 years now.   I must have rescued at least 30 cats on this street alone.  Look back on my blog and you can count for yourself, all the sweet cats that went to loving homes.  My shelters have been removed, and destroyed countless times.  I have asked people if they will allow me to place shelters there, but am turned down each time.  This is the street, if you will recall, where I placed cardboard signs on several trees for passers-by stating "doesn't anybody care?" - I have seen so much sadness in this area, but I continue to try to get them all neutered and spayed and rescued.  I have had altercations with residents where the police had to get involved.  Its NOT a nice street, there are MANY ignorant and uneducated people, and even if they were educated, most of them still HATE cats because that is the way they were brought up!

Now at other locations, where there is more ignorance and little education about cats, there are very decent people who admire what I am doing and have no problem with what I am doing.  And some even allow me to feed on their property!

A collar does not mean someone cared.  Ignorance is placing a flea collar on a seven week old kitten (this one was wrapped so tight, her neck so tiny the collar was wrapped around it twice), and allowing little ones like this 'run out' of the house.  And it was 5 am.  Most of these people don't value human life let alone an animal.

I will say it again, don't judge me until you have walked the gazillion miles I've walked over 20 years doing this.  I welcome anyone to walk with me some morning.  See what I see.

OK, that's it. Rant over.  Off to work.

OH!  Here are some pics of our little Melody, and Poptart!  Lets get them adopted!

HAVE A GREAT DAY!

"Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."

Lookin' for Love in All the Wrong Places...

That's Johnny Lee - for y'all Texas country folks out there...  

Today was TNR Thursday.  There are so many unneutered animals out there.  I can't imagine how many pregnant cats, in-heat cats, males sniffing around there are... I must get them all!  But for today, and $120 later, we have Stripey and Sulli.  Sulli was an easy catch after setting the trap down on the corner of Central and Second, the Mailbox kitties I call them.  He is one of many.  He went right in after that tasty tuna.

SULLI

STRIPEY

I set the second trap on the corner of Third and Central, where several new cats have been congregating, and none of them was going near this new contraption placed in front of their normal feeding spot inside the front porch.  I moved it across the street, as I have built a shelter on the lot across because this house is set for demolition this year, and drove off to do the rest of my spots on the Back Nine.  I went back, and Stripey was inside the trap eating, but the door didn't shut, he didn't step on the trip plate.  The trip plate is way up front, but I wasn't going to wait.  I walked toward him and shut the door behind him!  Poor guy.  He is so confused.  So is Sulli.  I hate this, but it must be done.  NO MORE BABIES!  Thank you Tracy and Paula for sponsoring their spays at Rochester Community Animal Clinic on Bay Street (585.288.0600)!  (and thanks for telling me!  The clinic gets so busy, they forget to tell me if someone has donated!) 

❤❤❤❤❤

As you all know, I welcome others to write a guest post on my blog.  I sometimes don't feel like writing, but I know some of you (one or two) people read this daily, and I don't like to disappoint!  :)  And I KNOW there are many of you that can write a paragraph or two, so c'mon!  send me something!  :)  I received the following from Joel, who offered to write a guest post, and here it is...

… what would the cats Janine cares for think of her ? What would it be like to eavesdrop on them on a cold winters night ?

A Guardian Angel

    It's 4 am on a cold, blustery February morning in the small city of Rochester New York. In an empty lot next to a dilapidated, long abandoned house (it was foreclosed on years ago, and is now the abode of the occasional drug user and a drift of sour, long faded memories) a few members of the local population of feral cats have gathered to catch up on the news and swap feline war stories. A rail thin, male with a black and white patchy pattern overcoat and tattered ears from many street fights twitches his tail and looks around at the group gathered behind a pile of old bald tires.

"I tell ya - something is going on around here." He growls in a rough, raspy voice. He's had a bad sinus infection for the last week, and it makes him sound like a human after a lifelong addiction to cheap cigarettes.

"You always say that Tony." Minnie, a female with dirty orange fur and a scabbed over nose replies. She might have been a looker once, but a few years prowling around the back alleyways and living off garbage and the occasional dead bird have robbed her of most of that. Still - if she had shown any signs of being in heat any of the locals would probably have jumped her anyways. But she never had. Maybe it had something to do with the missing tip of her left ear.

"Do I ?" the male asked in his raspy croak. "Maybe so, but none of you can tell me what happened to Bacardi, or Popcorn or Melody. And now I cant find Snatch ! We was supposed to go trash can raidin tonight and I cant find him anywhere !"

"Maybe Tony has something there." Another female with a dark, tiger striped sable fur said, strolling up to the little group and sitting gently on the frozen dirt next to the first with the disheveled orange coat.

"I been seein this human coming around for the last couple years. Never paid it no mind - 'cept Cici on the next street over told me that free food has been showing up on the porch next to her hideout lately. She said at first she stayed well clear of it, but a couple of her friends tried it and it was delicious. So Cici waited for the human to leave and then tried it herself. She swears it was the best meal she's had in years!"

"Hey I know that place !" A handsome tiger striped tabby chimes in. "I was there just yesterday. I seen a paper plate with a bunch of juicy lookin meat chunks on it, but the rats was crawlin all over it. I was too late to get any, but I could smell it from where I was under a car all the way across the street."

"See ? Told ya." Tony affirms.

"So what." Minnie argues back, "We can use all the help we can get. In case you haven't noticed, there aint no other humans feedin us or even payin us any attention at all. Far as they concerned, we're just another rat to kick if we get too close."

"I agree with Minnie." The tiger striped female says with a growl. "I'm planning on waiting under that porch until the human shows up again and get me a free meal. I'm sick of fightin the rats for scraps."

Tony shakes his head and gets up to slink away. He's had about enough of this nonsense.

"Don't say I din't warn ya. Messin with humans is nuthin but trouble."

The rest of the group watches him walk away, tail held high with narrowed eyes. The bone numbing winter wind pushes little ripples into his dirty cow patch fur, reminding them again how desperate winter time for animals can be.

"Come on Minnie, lets head over and find Cici. I wanna see for myself what this human is offering. I'm starving ! Literally starving."

… to be continued ….

This guy is hysterical.  :)  Can't wait for more Joel! 

Vacation day tomorrow, woo hooooooooooooooo!

Have a great day!

“The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream.”  

- Kahil Gibran

The Dashster!

I beg and beg for people to share a story or two on my blog, to give me a break once in a while.  After all, I don't want anyone to click on and miss me for a day.  :)  ha.  Sure.................  but I never get anyone to post for me!  :(  (OK, maybe a few a very long time ago)  Every once in a while I get a personal note from an adopter of mine (and immediately become fearful before reading it, I am thinking they want to return the cat!), and I thought...  hmmm... this is interesting, and I would love to share!  You may or may not have suggestions for Carrie, but nevertheless, its a great update on our little man Dasher aka Bogart aka Bogie.  :)

YOGA POSE?

w/GARBO - Be nice!

(CAPTION???)

There could be some great captions on these pictures!  :)

"Hi there! How is everything? Things are going well here. Last night was a big milestone because Garbo and I were on the couch and Bogie was in the chair, and he climbed over onto the couch with us and curled up next to Garbo so their little butts were touching. They stayed that way for a while, switching positions on occasion. Once their faces were only inches apart and he would look at her and start to raise his paw, but I would gently tell him No and push his paw back down. So I was super happy about it all, until later that night we were getting ready for bed and our routine is to send Garbo upstairs ahead of him and then she goes right in our bed and he plays upstairs while I wash up. Well, she went running through the house to get upstairs and he chased her, with me running behind yelling NO and he came up behind her on the stairs and attacked her. I think he only swatted her but it scared her so she cried out. I was able to grab him and pull him away from her but it was a tense situation.

I think I've concluded that the only time he shows any aggression toward her is when there is food involved. We still have his room set up with everything in it because he goes in there at night, and a couple times in the past Garbo wandered into his room and he hissed at her and tried to swat her. We really watch them closely so she doesn't go in there much anymore, but last night he hadn't eaten all his wet food so his dish was still on the floor in his room and I wonder if he felt she was going to go after it so he was trying to stop her. Most other times they can interact pretty calmly together with us supervising, and once in a while he might walk up to her and raise his paw at her but I correct him and he stops. The aggression only comes out when there is food nearby.

I can completely understand his food guarding since he was fending for himself out there on the streets. I imagine this is something others have had to deal with that have adopted from you. Do you have any tips for me to help him get over this aggression? I feel like he's figured out Garbo is not a threat in any other way, except for the food. I plan to put a gate across his door so that during the day Garbo has no access, but in the future I don't plan to keep everything in that room so I want both of them to be able to freely walk around the house without feeling like the other is going to go after food. I am definitely not going to let it sit out all day if he doesn't finish it within a reasonable amount of time.

Aside from this little issue, he is so much fun. He LOVES his little foam balls and will chase after one and then bring it back to me and drop it at my feet so I can throw it again, just like a dog! And he likes to play hide and seek with me. If I walk toward him he will flee in the other direction, and I will ignore him and then he slowly comes back and all I have to do is take a step toward him and he dashes off again. And he loves hiding between the shower curtain and the tub. He actually climbed the shower curtain last week while I was in the shower and was staring at me from over the curtain rod. Of course I scolded him to get down because I don't need my curtain rod to come crashing down or my nice shower curtain shredded! He can definitely be a little troublemaker at times. He keeps us on our toes, but we do love him!"

Thanks Carrie!  I sure do appreciate you allowing me to share this with my friends!  Speaking of Carrie, she is living my dream, and also began her own blog recently.  She's a great writer, and I hope she continues with her stories of life on the farm.  :)  She's a real country girl!  Here is her link! http://www.parkwinhillhomestead.com/

For today, It was a quiet morning out there - except for a very odd sound I heard at my last location... from a distance, I could hear an animal, and all I could picture was a raccoon, or something, killing a kitten.  I have a very vivid imagination.  Although I did not see the very sick boy on Central, I did see George on Garson as he came limping to me from across the field.  He is really a good boy.

Lets continue to market our little boys Popcorn and Simon, and our little girl Melody.   Melody goes in for her spay tomorrow.  And tomorrow, I will be (hopefully!) Trap, Neuter and Return two kitties!..  Wish me luck.  No more homeless babies!!!

“If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.”

MEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWW

MELODY

That's all I am hearing from Melody.  She is singing her own melody.  She makes these deep guttural sounds, but when I peer in to her from the doorway, her meow's are sweet and gentle.  She is in the window sill constantly looking out and making these sounds...  I have to wonder if these sounds are coming from her?  Is this another sign of her being in heat?  Love the comment about a cat's slutty ways when they are in heat.  Thanks Joel, that made me laugh out loud!  :)

As everyone knows, if they've read my blog through the years, I see a lot of sad things every morning when I go out.  Some worse than others.  At one of my 16 locations, on Central, there is a black and white Sylvester cat that I've been feeding on and off for a couple of years now.  He keeps his distance, but close enough recently for me to see him and hear his breathing.  Two mornings ago, he was close enough for me to see a very long drool coming from his mouth.  Thick and long.  My heart broke.  Later that day, I requested some spots from the local clinic for TNR, in hopes I would get one for today (they do it on Tuesdays and Thursdays), and I would trap him and get him seen at least.  I got two spots for Thursday, that's it.  But I still wanted to help this boy out, so I did bring the trap, thinking if I have to, I will keep him on my porch until Thursday.  But he wasn't there.  I pray he is OK.  That's all I can do!  At my next few stops, I knew where I was going to set some traps... there are a few new kitties hanging around Central and Third, and of course there are so many just a block up where I call them the Mailbox kitties.

I have another two opportunities to TNR this Sunday, so wish me luck there.  Please remember, its $60 per cat to get them fixed, so if anyone can help out, just call the clinic and put anything you can in my name - its so appreciated.  585-288-0600.  Thank you from the millions of cats you are saving from being born and homeless.

GEORGE on Garson - pic taken yesterday

George on Garson is still limping.  But I am placing the food for him right where he is so that he doesn't have to go all the way back to the back of the lot where I hope he sleeps at night. He is normally always there by the road to greet me each morning.  He is adoptable, and will be rescued someday.

In the meantime, I am waiting for an appointment for Melody, and then she is good to go.  She is a SWEETHEART!.  Really friendly and lovable.  Just have to get her fixed up!  :)

Bacardi aka SULLY is doing well in his new home.  His mom sent me this picture! 

SULLY aka Bacardi

Stash aka SIMON is being fostered, and would love a good home!

SIMON aka Stash

MELODY

And Popcorn is also available for adoption.

POPCORN

Any takers?  I also need fosters if anyone can open their hearts and homes to one of these sweethearts on the streets. 

Last but not least, I missed my faithful every Saturday Sheryl - who rides with me and is huge help with my shelters -  this past Saturday due to a severe cold.  Get better my friend!

Have a great day!

Every day, 

every moment, 

holds the promise 

of splendor.

Run Rocky Run!!!

I had my first sighting this morning of a raccoon.  Man, those things can run fast.  Maybe because they are still thin from hibernating?  Those suckers can get huge.  From eating MY food. 

It was a nice weekend...  weather wise it was nearly perfect.  Not too cold, not too warm, just right.  Someone messed with my shelter on 7th Street though.  They took my plates, and threw a bowl into the lot next to the shelter, and they took a plastic tote that was turned into a shelter.  Must have been kids.  Although I have enough friends around there that I would hope would say something if they had seen anyone back there.  But they might not have known, or seen anything.  People tend to keep to themselves around there.  Mind their own business.  Can't blame them.  There are still some bad people around, even though this neighborhood has really cleaned itself up over the years.  It used to be so crime and drug infested.  Actually right here on this lot there used to be an abandoned house where I set up shop for the kitties on the back porch until it was bulldozed down.  I used to find baggies of pot, needles, lots of good stuff right where I was feeding cats.  And if you will recall, my very first post in 2008, I helped to save a litter of newborn kittens after hearing them cry from inside.  After I called police, who in turn called Rochester Animal Services, Officer Lalka to be exact, the kittens were scooped up from a mattress inside, and turned  over to the now defunct Another Chance Pet Rescue group and were saved.  On that very day that house was going to be demolished.  Phew.  Good save!

STASH (now may be named SIMON!)

Stash was brought to his foster home on Saturday.  What a great cat he is.  Super duper sweet.  I am  hoping his foster sends me some great pictures of him so we can get him adopted!

MELODY

I rescued a calico kitten Melville on Saturday morning - she was being chased by several male cats.  She came right up to me when I placed the food down for her to scoop her up.  She was starving.  She has turned out to be sweet sweet sweet too!  She is a doll.  I would have to say she is under a year old, for sure.  She will be vetted hopefully this week!  If anyone would like to sponsor her spay, please let me know.  The number to reach the clinic is 585-288-0600.  I would surely appreciate it.  I am naming her Melody.  :)  Bets are on:  she is either in heat, or pregnant.  I've never had a cat in heat.  She seems to meow and twitch when I rub her back end, and her tail is always up.  She cries a bit too when looking out the window.  Does this sound familiar to anyone who has experienced a cat in heat?

In the meantime, I am placing food and water down in the spot where I rescued her from in hopes I can start to trap some of the unneutered males there.  They must be stopped!

Update on Peppercorn:  Does he look happy being in a home, and off the streets?  What do you say?

Have a great day!

"One day or 

day one, 

you decide."

TGIF!!!!

Vacation day for me today folk.  WOO HOOO!!! I will make the best of it too! 

Not a good picture!  He smiles now!

Stash is going to foster care with a wonderful girl named Kim.  She last had Dash and did wonders with his temperament.  Stash doesn't need any temperament fixing, but he is still a bit shy, unless you go in and sit and pat your lap for him to jump up into it.  He is a LOVE BUG!  Lets get him adopted!

PS, he is now neutered, and passed his tests with flying colors!  :)

Have a great day everyone!

TGIT!

Yes, its snowing again.  And the wind is whipping its whip.  There is ice on the ground, and with my knees, I have to be very careful.  I cannot afford to miss one single day of going out to feed these cats (unless someone volunteered to do my entire route for me!  -- ok.  Wishful thinking... ).  It sounds silly, but there is a strategy to walking on icy walkways. Walk slowly, bend your knees a little more, take smaller steps, put your center of gravity over your front foot. This technique is called the “Penguin walk".  Sort of a waddle.  So far, this winter, I have not fallen on my face, yet. 

The black cat I rescued yesterday, whom I've named Stash, has turned out to be the SWEETEST boy.  There is just something about black short haired cats.  They LOVE their humans!  Its his second morning in captivity, and he now jumps up on my lap when I sit on the side of the tub and pat my lap.  He stretches his legs up to my shoulder, he hunches down on my lap and purrs purrs purrs...  He is SUCH a nice boy.  The indentation on his neck is still there, and I try scratching and rubbing it and it feels so good to him.  Eventually his hair will fluff out again, but in the meantime, he is dirty from head to toe.  His coat will gleam again soon.  Today he goes to the doctor for snip snip, and he will be good to go.

Yesterday, Popcorn was brought to a wonderful girl who is with the rescue group GRASP.  They also recently took in Goober from me, and prior to that last year, Seven.  Occasionally, they ask if they can help me with a cat or two, and I am SO forever grateful to them.  They have the capacity to show these cats better than I could.  They are a much larger organization and have a huge network.  So I pray things go well for Popcorn, as has for the other two.

Here are some pics I took this morning:  The grey cat came out of nowhere - beautiful boy.  Hungry.  Be sure to click on them to see them up close.

2nd and Central

These kitties, in the four pictures above, have a nice protected spot.
You wouldn't know there is snow and wind outside this little tent.

These guys are fairly protected here also.  Just very cold inside.

It is not easy to keep the energy and optimism up like in the bright and warm summer days.   But I just keep in mind that those days are just around the corner.

I did not get selected for jury duty, of which at first I was appalled - 'why wouldn't they pick me??? what's wrong with me???  what did I say that they didn't like when I was questioned???'  But once I got home and settled, and poured myself a glass of wine, and realized that I didn't have to judge another person, and send them to prison because of my vote, I was thankful.  And I probably would have been the only person in the deliberation room that would have tears in my eyes, not wanting to send someone to prison for attempted murder.  The other jurors would think I was a flake.  So I am thankful. 👿

Have a great day.

“When you arise in the morning,

think of what a precious privilege

it is to be alive – to breathe,

to think, to enjoy, to love.”

The Boy With The Red Tattered Collar

Sound like a movie?  Well its not!  Look who I got this morning!  The scared black kitty from Short Street. I've named him Stash for now.  He's a sweetie.  You can tell he's been on the streets for a very long time.  He has not had love in a very long time, but must have at one point.  When I opened the carrier door in the bathroom, I petted him first before I let him come out.  I knew he would run and hide instantly.  And that he did, but after gently talking to him, and stroking his head and neck, he became less scared.   He went for the food, and as he was hungrily gobbling down the food, and then taking a break, I slowly removed the tattered red collar.  It was a snap off, but it was very tight on his neck.  It left an indentation in his fur, but did not cut into the neck.  Was it placed there when he was a kitten?  And also, Stash is unneutered.   And he IS a boy.  I will call to see if I can get him in somewhere.  Someone offered to foster him if I could get him, I hope that comes true.

You can see the indentation from the collar

I want to thank Carole Reed for suggesting to put the carrier there at the location and place food in it.  While Sam, the other cat there was not there at that moment that I arrived, Stash went right into the carrier when I placed the food there.  Sam just didn't like the newcomer Stash.  So he would chase him and swat at him.  But Sam is sweet too.  He follows me back to my car nearly each day pleading for me to rescue him too.  Carole has some great advice on cats.  She is very experienced with cats and I value her advice.  Thanks Carole, now I just need to find a place to stash Stash!

I have JURY DUTY today!  Joy! 

Have a great day!