Aayda

A Guardian Angel – Aayda’s story

   Animal cruelty abounds around the world. Unfortunately – Rochester is no exception. Lucky for this little girl someone down on their luck found her and rescued her. Not all evil deeds are successful at completing their course of misery and despair …

  

  Little Aayda was so happy – she had just settled down for a nice nap with her mother and her 4 tiny brothers and sisters behind the row of impossibly tall metal trashcans next to the ramshackle human's house on Hudson ave. It was a comfortably warm day in November – which was a blessing after the big snowstorm last week. Luckily her mom was a street smart cat and had chosen a nice warm pile of musty and fragrant leaves to burrow into to form her nursery. At the back of the leaf pile and up against the weather-beaten wooden clapboard siding was a saggy old box leftover from a microwave that her mother had been able to just squeeze into when she had felt the pangs of labor beginning. That had been almost three weeks ago, and the wind had since piled the leaves up against and over the box to form an effective layer of insulation for the new family inside. Mama’s kittens were now almost 3 weeks old, and some of them had just managed to open their eyes for the first time. Aayda was among these first trailblazers, and she cried out in her diminutive voice at the joy of her first blurry images of her mother’s dark brown tiger-striped fur. She used her newfound sense of sight to shuffle her way up the pile formed by her siblings at her mother’s nipples and find one for herself. Now after filling her belly with her mother’s warm and rich milk she was drifting off into contented sleep – the plaintive mews from her litter mates forming a gentle lullaby as she closed her eyes and nodded off.

Aayda woke with a cruel start sometime later to the crash and clatter of the human's trash cans getting kicked aside next to her family's warm and secure shelter. A small group of human children were outside playing in the late November sunshine and had just discovered the big pile of leaves that had drifted up alongside their friend’s house. Aaydas’ mother had snapped awake at the same time, and Aayda could feel her sides moving quickly with panicky breath as she got ready to fight or flee. Her mother knew what humans were normally like - especially the young ones – and if they were this close already to her families sanctuary it was likely already too late to fight. Still – she would do her best – fleeing only if it was the last resort to save herself. She would feel the loss of her new kittens – but she had learned the hard way any human encounter she could run away from was a lucky one for her. Today the humans were not even going to give her a choice. As she was opening her mouth to reveal her sharp teeth and drew in a breath to voice her most intimidating growl her family’s shelter was kicked high into the air as one of the humans hard booted feet launched it cruelly away from the side of the house. (The young man had no idea yet something was sheltering inside – he had seen the box and just felt it would be fun to give it a kick) She felt herself and her new kittens tumbling end over end as the box flew in a short arc and landed with a wet thump on the semi-frozen ground out into the human’s small back yard. Her kittens all began mewing at once with their sharp, panicked cries, while she scrambled out to face the humans.

Aayda’s mother emerged from the still tumbling box and hissed as loudly as she could while she rapidly analyzed her chances against the humans. She saw immediately that this was a battle she could not hope to win. There were three of them – human young that were all legs and hugely tall, eyes full of mischievous and cruel intent. One of them was pointing at her while another was running after her family's battered home, and she was forced to take the only option left to her. She spun on her muscular legs and sprinted for the big hole left in the broken and rotted wooden fence at the back end of the human’s yard. She heard the human children behind her screaming something in human-speak as she bolted through the gaping hole in the fence, but thankfully she was not able to hear the mewing of her surely doomed kittens from within the old box. As she ran parallel to the siding of another house located behind the one with the pile of leaves she vowed to return as soon as she could to see if any of her brood had survived - but she did not hold out much hope. She slowed down as she neared a corner and took a quick look back the way she had come. For now, she must find a place to hide and wait for the cruel humans to tire of their games and leave her former home alone.

To be continued …

Thanks Joel!  And now, to top off a Friday, here is an update on Aayda/BEAN!  :)

"Bean is doing excellent; 100% recovery and a perfect little kitten. She absolutely loves her dog sister Olive; they are constantly playing or snuggling. When olive goes outside bean meows until she comes back then jumps on her! She also loves laying in front of the warm vent in the bathroom, sleeping on my neck, destroying toilet paper rolls and eating treats. She's very loving and is always purring!"

Have a GREAT day!

"You cannot do a kindness too soon, 

for you never know how soon

it will be too late. ..."

Boom!

Meet Boomer from Bay Street!

This little boy - aged 7 mos. - has been hanging out on the side of Syd and Johnny's for a while now.  He is young, and friendly, and shouldn't be here.  This is a dangerous neighborhood and the main street - Bay Street - is just feet away.  I am still so grateful to Johnny, who owns this auto repair shop, for allowing me to provide a home for many a rescues in the past, and hopefully many in the future.  It may not be safe, but it's warm and cozy inside those shelters on a cold winter night.

Today, he will go in for neuter, shots, and combo testing.  He will be available for adoption right after that!  So please, share, and spread the word.

Tomorrow, I will hopefully have an update on Aayda, the little kitten found zip-tied in the dumpster in November.  I am also publishing the first half of Aayda's story as written by Joel, who has written many other wonderful stories about the cats and their survival on the streets, from their perspective.

So tune in tomorrow!

Have a great day!

"If you want others to be

happy, practice compassion.

If you want to be

happy, practice compassion."

Kitties!!!

Hey!  Good morning!  And it's going to be a great day!

How's that for positivity?  Ya know, there is nothing like a smile from someone you care about.  A smile that shows they are happy to see you.  Actually, a smile given to a stranger can actually make THEIR day.  So smile today, at everyone you meet.  You really could make the difference between a good or a bad day for them.

I don't know how I started off on that - this is supposed to be a cat blog.  I think I am in a very strange mood today.

It was quiet out - about 28 degrees, and I noticed there are a lot of cats missing. I haven't seen the mailbox kitty on the corner of Central and Second in a while.  He has been missing in big chunks of time, and then he will show up.  The fluffy red cat on Melville was missing, and now he is back, but leery of getting close, and looks really bad.  I am thinking of trapping him tomorrow to have him at least looked at.   God, I hate trapping. Because I know that I might trap another - even though that's a good thing, one more on the street that cannot reproduce. But I HATE putting them back out in this weather.  That is the problem. 

I heard about a situation yesterday on Weyl Street.  A woman that adopted Sunny from me has moved there, and said that she wants to take in a little black cat but needs to know it is OK to mix with Sunny, so I will have it spayed or neutered, and treated and tested for her, but when she told me this she also mentioned that when she put food out for this cat, dozens of other cats swarmed the food. This makes me incredibly sad to know there are starving cats out there.  I make her promise that she would put food out for them if I were to help her.  I am going to try to get over there this weekend and put straw in a shed she said she has in the back of her place.  I was also informed by another rescue group that this is a very dangerous street to be feeding cats on.  I hate this. 

So the kitties Lily and Rory that were adopted out last Sunday are scared straight and in a crawlspace when their human comes to see them.  I did not know about the crawlspace or I would have prevented this.  I would welcome suggestions.  They are coming out to eat and use the litter box.  This is not an ideal way to get to know the cat and the cat to get to know their new dad.  I am very discouraged and am not sure of what next steps should be taken.

Let's get this regal looking boy, Boots, a home.

Let's get this sweet little kitten, Pinky, a home.

Let's get this dapper looking boy, Jonny, a home.

Let's get this sexy beast, Joey, a home.

Have a GREAT day.

  "The moment 

that you start

to wonder if

you deserve

better, 

you do."

The Snain in Spain

Occasionally I get food delivered to my doorstep via delivery - i.e., Chewy, Walmart, etc. I want to thank those that have sent me cat food  But please know that there is usually no tag inside the box indicating who it is from, and therefore I cannot thank you.  And I WANT to acknowledge your generous gift!  So please, if you are sending me something, give me a heads up so that I can thank you.  Thank you!  :)

Phil and RORY

This weekend, Lily and Rory were FINALLY adopted.  Thanks to an old business acquaintance of mine that reached out to Foster Sue about wanting to adopt a kitten for a friend, that old friend managed to talk her friend into adopting a PAIR of kittens, and not being so young either.  As we all know, two kittens are better than one.  I delivered the kittens this weekend way out in Dansville, and their new home is something like 6,000 sq. ft. and one would be pretty lonely there without the other.  I could live there alone, but not a kitten!  The kittens will be kept in a basement room for a few days, and then will get to explore the house.  They are a bit skittish around strangers until they can trust you like they did with Foster Sue, so I hope their new Dad gives them plenty of love!

So who do we have left?  Boots, Jonny, Joey and Pinky, who by the way has a meet and greet today.

I had strep throat like symptoms from last Thursday on.  Ruined my vac day off on Friday.  Thank you, Kim, for your help on Saturday.  Saturday Sheryl had issues with her car so couldn't make it.  Thank you, Joel, for your help on Sunday.   Sure is good to have occasional help.  I wish I had more of it.  I need a break.  Seriously.  If there is someone out there that would like to make some money for two hours a day, however many days you want during the week, get in touch with me offline and let's talk. 

This morning was quiet, it was SNAINING out.  I would rather have it wet snow, than rain.  I will take SNAIN any other day than rain.

BOOTS

We also have some progress with Boots, who was allowed downstairs with his foster mom Gaye's brood over the weekend.  He sniffed around and then ran toward the hills.  Back upstairs like a scaredy-cat.  At least no aggression. 

The young red cat was at the Syd and Johnny's location on Bay Street.  I must rescue him.  I need a foster.  The red fluff cat on Melville was seen finally, after being missing for a while.  He doesn't look well.  I would really like to help him also.

Think about it.

Have a great day!

"Solitude is not the same as

loneliness.  Solitude is a solitary boat

floating in a sea of possible

companions."

Crazy

I've got Patsy Cline song on my mind this morning...  

Another quiet morning out there.  Sometimes so silent you can hear a pin drop.  Other times, you can hear sirens wailing, people calling out to other people, cars whizzing by... it's crazy I say, crazy!

COOKIE

I have three very old rescued cats that all look like death warmed over.  One of them, Cookie, is going to the vet today to have her mouth checked out.  Each of them are skin and bone, but still kickin’.  Cookie was trapped on Central Park between 5^th and 6^th Street many years ago, along with her kitten in the same trap, and was brought in for spay.  They discovered she had a bad case of Pyometra and would have died a very painful death if it had not been caught in time.  So it was a blessing for her, and she has lived a good life since captivity.  I can’t remember who adopted the kitten.  

BAYLEE Then

MARY JANE Then

The other two, Baylee and Mary Jane, are holding their own.  Mary Jane is the worst, and I watched her this morning as she huddled down on the kitchen floor.  Her eyes seem glazed, and I think she has a form of cat dementia…  she just seems ‘not there’ most times.  I did get her to move her head a bit after I got out the laser pointer.  I had it zipping around her feet and then to her tail.  She didn’t move her head very fast, but she moved it.  I rescued her from East Main Street many years ago, at least 14 or 15, when she was very young, along with Scooter, her brother, who I lost just a few months ago.  That was when I had just a few places that I went to feed cats around the city.  I could never get her adopted out either.  Baylee, he was a real mess when I rescued him. I was driving on Bay Street – of course very early in the morning, and caught a glimpse of a red cat under a bush.  I got out and placed food down, but the cat ran to the back of the driveway.  I continued to do this daily until the red cat would start getting closer and closer.  As it got closer, I noticed long spits of drool coming out of his mouth, and he sounded congested.  I started to add Clavamox to his wet food and this went on for many weeks.  The cat still sounded terrible.  I switched medicines, I can’t remember the other… Amoxicillian?  That went on for a few more weeks and nothing.  By now, cat was coming closer and closer and allowed me to pet his head.  He was starving so he probably just thought, ‘screw it, I’ll let her touch me cause I want that canned food so bad!’  So once heavy petting occurred, I scruffed him and the rest is history.  Actually, he cost me a pretty penny trying to get him healthy, and come to find out, he has a small hole in the back of his throat, and can’t breathe well through his nostrils, so he breathes heavy through his mouth.  He’s a good boy, but looks pretty bad - he was just treated with another shot of Convenia last week.  That’s OK.  I love them all regardless.

BAYLEE and MARY JANE Now

Have a great day.

"Little spark 

of kindness 

can put a colossal 

burst of sunshine 

into someone's day."

The Greys

Let's get this light grey beautiful kitten a home!

PINKY CHEW

Let's get this beautiful dark grey boy a home!

JONNY

It was a very quiet morning out there.  24 degrees.  Heatwave.  No signs of anyone.  Clear nights, sunny days, so no need for a board on Niagara only for the bastard to take.  I am still in need of boards.  Winter is not over yet, and the rain is an inevitable part of life.  Food must be covered for these cats so it doesn’t become soggy.  Not even feral cats will eat soggy food.  Mush.  Not sure what it is – would I like mush?  Let's see, I soak my Oreo cookie in milk, and I like that!  Maybe that has something to do with chocolate and sugar.  Do I like mushy cereal?  Sometimes!  Cream of Wheat!  Oatmeal!  I also love the crunchy kind.  Captain Crunch.  OK, I am getting off topic here.  The point is, this person, the one in the yellow Humvee, and he drives a dark-colored BMW, of which I have license plates of both, must be stopped.  On Monday morning, after we had the snowfall and nasty weather which lasted the entire weekend, I discovered when I pulled up here that he had taken the very heavy door I had picked up on the side of the road and had placed there on Sunday.   Evil.  So much evil in this world.

Today I share another heartwarming story from Jen and Todd, the couple that adopted Chance, now named Tobin.  Chance was near death that winter Saturday morning and he was going to be brought into the emergency clinic, with the intention of euthanasia he looked so bad.  Instead, Saturday Sheryl said ‘wait, I will take him and try to get him back to health’, and so she did.  And then this couple wanted to give this older cat a home.  

"It has been just over a year since little Tobin Chance came to live with us. It has been a long year. From his illness to his shyness and adjustment to his cat brother and living with 3 dogs, it has been a lot for him. That would be a lot for a well-adjusted cat that is used to dogs, let alone a guy left on the street. It has been a whole year, and I am convinced something fairly traumatic happened to him, other than the obvious and the related health issues since it has been so hard for him to trust. He’s still afraid of boxes, paper bags and getting “in” anything. I started to accept he would always be my little recluse, spending time by himself and would always be a bit of a hider. I visit him where he is comfortable, spending time with him in his safe places on his own terms. He’s warm, he’s safe, he’s fed, and purring. He’s happy and that’s all that matters.

Then on Tuesday night (367 days later), IT HAPPENED. He tossed away his shell and became part of the family. He came out into the kitchen, then into the living room and hopped up on the ottoman. I gave him snacks for encouragement, and he laid down. I petted him, talked to him and he purred and kneaded his blanket. Then he fell asleep. In the past, I would have to put him out there (and he would leave) or he would quickly walk by and disappear. Since that night, he comes out into the kitchen regularly. Wednesday and Thursday he came into the living room when we get settled for the evening and lays on the ottoman with me. Wednesday night I was so excited I stayed up an extra hour just to be next to him. The dogs pass by him and he is OK, only getting nervous when they get excited or crowd him. If I give him a snack, he ignores them. I feel like I am going to jinx it, but I am hoping he comes out again tonight!! In the last week or so I feel like something has really changed and I am hoping this is just the beginning of more things to come. When I talk to him, he comes out, like he finally wants to be around me (not just because I have the food dish). Honestly, I can’t believe he’s actually doing this. My little boy."

Thanks again, Jen and Todd!

I encourage anyone to share a story about your own pet, or a cat that you may have adopted from me.  OR anything else you want to talk about animal-related!  I am running out of things to say.  I do have my days. 

Have a great day!

"Nothing can bring you peace but yourself."

I need.............

It was a wild weather weekend here in Rochester.  Snow, temps in the teens with wind chills in the single digits, then rising up 30 degrees to the 40s the next day, and then dipping back down to the teens the same day.  It seems the snow has not let up and will never again.  It's so depressing.  I just know it's not easy on these cats.  Especially the sick ones, which I know are out there.  There is now a cat, a young red boy, very sweet, hanging out at Syd and Jonny’s on Bay Street.  Today was day two that I saw him.  He was inside the shelter this morning – 16 degrees out – can’t blame him.  He is very pretty.  I need to get him off the street.  He’s just a teenager.  Anybody want to foster? 

Pinky and Boots are doing great, and are in separate foster care.  I still have to get a good pic of Pinky – the only close up was when he was in the carrier after I rescued him on Friday.   Boots finally came out of his scared shell and has shown his true colors. He loves belly rubs, cabernet and long talks in front of the fire.  Ha ha.  He really does love belly rubs. I went to visit him on Saturday.  I just love him but must get his nails clipped. Anybody want to help?

I saw Chappy this morning also.  He is a block further than ‘his home’ which is under a porch next to a storefront on Grand Avenue and Chamberlain.  He is now on Garson, and disoriented, I am sure. I am feeding on the side of the porch of a family that is allowing me to, for at least the winter months.  They are the family that wanted me to leave Fluffy, the cat that was so pregnant she delivered inside the trap that we used to get her the very same morning.  She is now Foster Mom Estelle’s kitty, another foster failure.  She delivered six beautiful babies, that have all been adopted as well.  They obviously have some compassion for the four or so cats I see here and feed underneath a cardboard board that someone made for me.  (Either Kim or Gary and June).  I had one shelter there also but now placed another this morning.  It's very obvious from the road, but the board and shelter have remained – except for the windstorm we had last week.  I found the shelter across the neighboring yard.  I lost the cardboard board that had been there.

I am in dire need of boards, dry food (Purina Brand Please), paper bowls and Meow Mix cups.  I am good with shelters, straw, tarps, and towels.  By feeding 100+ cats each day, I go through 40+ pounds of dry food alone.   I also use up a case of the LARGE cans of Friskies wet food PER DAY, and I go through at least 10 of the 5 oz cans each day.  The Meow Mix cups are helpful when you pull over for one single cat.  The 5 oz. cans are for the dual kitties under trees.  The larger cans – they are for feeding at all the shelters.   Its unbelievable the amount of money spent on this.  Thanks for your continued support!  

Have a great day!

"Happiness is a place between too much 

and too little."

First Rescues of the New Year!

GOOGLE

TGIF. What a week.  I rescued two kitties this morning.  As I drove away from Short Street shelter, I turned down Seventh Street, and I saw a cat on a porch on the corner.  As I was looking at the cat, I glanced down and in the corner of this porch on the ground was a kitten!  I got out of the car, shook the food bag, set down the bowl, cracked a can of wet food, and kitten started to meow and walk toward me.  Sniff of the fingers, and she was mine!  Meet Google!  I am not sure about the name, but we had to give her something because I had a vet appointment scheduled for the cat that I had PLANNED to rescue this morning.  So, fast forward to 5:15, after finishing up the rounds – which by the way, the thermostat said 17 degrees, it was really in the single digits with the winds whipping – after dropping kitten off into a bathroom at home, we returned to Greeley and Parsells, and grabbed BOOTS.  Boots is a former TNR from there, and he has slowly begun to trust me and started to allow petting.  A foster of mine, Gaye, had no fosters to care for after Monty was adopted, so we made the plan to get him, get him into the vet for testing, and into a real home!   It will be a change for him – he has been living on the streets for a long while now, but when I got him home, as scared as he was to be IN the carrier, he was scared to come out.  After sweet soft talking to him, he finally emerged.  He loves to be talked to gently and loves to be stroked on his very soft black fur.  Very nice cat.  And the little one?  Sweeter than honey.  I am very thankful for these two to be in my path today.

BOOTS

Have a GREAT day!

"The struggle ends when the gratitude begins."

Feed a Cat For Christmas! Julie S!

Taken on my last trip to Colorado

JULIE!!!  Thank you, Julie!  I appreciate your donation to help feed cats for Christmas!  Julie has been a kind supporter for a few years now.  I think it was ...  two? ... years ago that she brought me pumpkin spice liquor....  sort of like Baileys.  DELISH!  I thought, oh this girl knows her way to my heart!   Julie, thank you to you and your husband Raul.  You have helped to feed and care for a great many kitties today.

RANDOM PICS - From the old days...  My shelters have become much more sophisticated!  Click on pics to see up close!

OLD BAY STREET SPOT

OLD CENTRAL PARK SPOT

OLD 4th and PENNSYLVANIA SPOT

OLD THIRD STREET FEEDING SPOT

It was another quiet morning… our temps have been pretty decent this January.  High 30s… I was thinking about people that live in Australia.  They are in their summer months, where the highs are in the 100s sometimes – a lot of the times – and 30 degrees is FREEZING to them.  Not to us Rochestarians…  We are a tough breed.  We are supposed to get snow by the end of the week, so I am not looking forward to that.  I seriously do love all seasons, but winter is particularly brutal to cats living on the streets, not to mention neglected dogs that live outside due to their $##$%! owners.

My goal is to rescue two cats soon.  One is the tux living on Greeley and Parsells behind the store, and the other is the little petite black with white tip tail on Fourth and Pennsylvania.  My third and fourth choice would be the red fluffy kitty on Melville, who is badly matted and the Monty look-a-like, and fifth would be the crier/meower on Central Park.  He is uneartipped, and is the one that ventured down the street and was on the third floor, then the second floor, of the abandoned house he was ‘stuck’ in for days, and now must sleep in the plastic totes I have on the porch there on Seventh and Central.   

So, other than that, we still have Jonny, Ellie, Rory, Lily, and Joey available for adoption.  Let's get going! 

Thanks so much again for my past fosters Laurie, sister Karen, Jennifer, Danielle and Chuck, Patti and Todd, Shannon and Kathleen, and current fosters Carol, Kim, Melissa, Max, Sue, Estelle, Gaye, and Kristin!   Without fosters, the 100+ cats I rescued in 2019 would either be dead or starving on the streets right now.  Think about it. 

Have a great day.

"Bravery is not the

absence of fear.

Bravery is feeling

the fear, the doubt,

the insecurity, and

deciding that

something else is

more important."

Feed a Cat For Christmas! Tammy D!

TAMMY!  Thank you for helping to feed a cat for Christmas!!!  I don't know Tammy personally, but she was instrumental in TRYING to make little Aayda's story public, which did not occur, but she tried her best.  Speaking of little Aayda, a/k/a Bean, she is thriving.  I must get an update on her!

Tammy, thank you so much for all you do for the animals!

It was quiet out there this morning.  I start now at the Central Park shelter, in the back of the lot, and under the tree for the two black cats that run to me.  One keeps his distance, the other sidles against my leg and cries until I place the food.  I then move on to Niagara, so the kitties can eat before the mean bastard comes along and dumps their food, and takes the board I leave if its raining or snowing.  I don't think he gets up at 3 am. to do this.  Then onto Second Street, two spots there, and then Fourth.  Two shelters on Fourth.  The second one on Fourth and Pennsylvania, there is a sweet little black kitty with a white-tipped tail, and she only has a short little tail!  Looks like a half!  Then the Pennsylvania Shelter, and then Third, before we start heading east toward Goodman, where we stop at Short Street, Seventh, and Central, Seventh and Bay Street, where all locations have very nice shelters, some large enough for five or so cats to sleep comfortably in.

Once that half is done, it's onto the 'Front Nine.'  I figure it takes me 1 hour to do the 'Back Nine,' and 45 mins. to do the 'Front Nine'.  The first hour is always eerily quiet because its 3:15 am.!  I bought pepper spray yesterday, and there were at least three instances where I could have easily sprayed myself.  For $13, what should you expect, I guess.  I was told by the shopkeeper they now sell Tazer guns.  Whoopee!  Wouldn't that be fun?

Update on Jonny, our only adult left before I can rescue another.

Here is what Foster Janessa has to say:

I've changed my mind about Jonny with dogs. I think he'd be ok with a calm one. He doesn't like Dunkin, but hes crazy hyper. As it is, they did meet face to face (accidentally ) and Jonny wanted Dunkin to back off by hissing and growling. Dunkin backed down immediately (maybe he does have a brain!) And Jonny let him go. That's such a good sign! Lol.
He hangs out in the dining room when Dunkin is crated or outside which is great! Dunkin's crate is in the DR and the door to the deck is in there which they can see each other through.
And he's SUCH a love bug!!! I really do love him. I know you want to get other cats off the street, but I'm ok with him staying with me as long as needed
And he's just so good with the other cats! It's cute. He fits right in.

Let's get him adopted before Janessa loses control! :)

Have a great day!

"Fear has two meanings:

'Forget everything and run' 

or 'face everything and rise.'  

The choice is yours.

Feed a Cat For Christmas! Steven S!!!

STEVEN S.!!!  Thank you, Steven!  You are such a kind man.  I finally met Steven, after being Facebook friends for a long while now, at West Elm, where I had a kitten event.  He actually works with another rescue but came out to meet me and the kittens anyway.  It was so good of him to come to introduce himself.  Thank you so much, Steven, for your generosity in helping to feed many cats for Christmas!  I hope to see you in the very near future!

MONTY!!

I had a very strange weekend.  I am ever so grateful to Saturday Sheryl and sidekick Kim (Kim recently adopted Monty!) for going out with me every Saturday.  Sheryl is so good about checking shelters, rearranging boards and tarps to make sure that they stay put during windstorms, or when it rains or snows. 

And speaking of wind, we had a doozy of a storm Saturday evening through Sunday.  This morning, more than one shelter had to be fixed up with the tarp being blown off.   Poor kitties.  My heart bleeds for them when I am out there, which is another reason why I don’t like to talk about or think about cats after my rounds in the morning.  Most of my friends know this about me.  It's just too sad.  It's like the commercials that come on and you have to race to get the remote and change the channel.  You just can’t stand to see it or think about it. 

Something happened Sunday morning that I can’t get into, but I want to warn everyone, please be sure to always have your doors locked when you are IN the car.  No matter where you are.  You never know what a lunatic out of nowhere will do.  Just that.

GREELEY KITTY

I would like to rescue this guy next.  He is a very sweet boy that has been on the streets too long.  There is another red fluffball on Melville that needs rescue – he has really come around from a scared cat to wanting pets now.  He is severely matted, and it must hurt him.   The black cat I’ve named Chappy on the corner of Chamberlain and Grand, that lives under the porch, should also be rescued soon.  He is a bit older I believe and loves to be scratched on the head.  He is just a lost soul.  You can tell he really needs a home. 

I started out by rescuing adult cats, and I would like to continue that in the future.  It’s only been the past few years now that many kittens have come my way.  I’ve had some major problems recently, in identifying the correct sex, and while making appointments for the spay/neuter surgeries, it turns out I was incorrect for many.  I’ve been identifying when the kittens are way too young, and sometimes it takes an expert eye to determine the sex.  Once surgery date occurs, and the doctor finds out it’s the wrong sex than what was reported, it throws off the surgeries.  So shame on me.  And, not to mention, I look pretty dumb to the adopters.  So, in the future, all kittens need to be correctly identified as to gender.  Luckily, we are now down to three kittens, and all have had their surgeries.  Let's get Rory, Lily and Joey adopted!

LILY

JOEY and RORY

Have a great day!

Feed a Cat For Christmas! Tracy S!

TRACY!!!  Thank you so much for your donation to help Feed A Cat For Christmas!  Boy, do I miss Tracy.  Tracy was my neighbor for many years....  then she kept having babies and outgrew her house!  Tracy is a cat lover herself.  She has two fur babies and three human babies… well, two now but one on the way!  Her dad is also instrumental in getting a colony of cats in the Sodus area spayed and neutered.  Thank you Tracy! 

This morning, as I pulled up to the large vacant house on the corner of (497) Central Park and Seventh Street, where there are two shelters on the porch and a dish for food and water, I heard crying.  I looked up and on the third floor of this once large house with several apartments in it, there was a cat in the open window, crying.  I went to investigate to see how the cat actually got in there.  I went to the right side of the house, and all windows were boarded up to the basement except for the last one.  There was a loose board leaning against the open window to the basement.  I looked down and I could see how a cat could jump down, but it would be impossible for him to jump up.  I called 911, and the girl, after telling me to hold on while she talked to her supervisor, came back and said ‘well if the cat got in it can get out. ‘  I told her, no, it can’t jump up that high.  They told me to call back at 9 am. to see if Animal Control would do anything.  So that I shall.

UPDATE:  I had Kings go over to see if the cat was still crying out the window. He said he couldn’t hear or see anything.  I asked him to check on the board that I had left on Niagara yesterday.  The board was there this morning at 4:30 am., but when he went back, it was gone.  The bastard did it again.  AND, he is throwing the food out.  I had left two large bowls of dry, as I do every day, and apparently, he is throwing it out.  And here I thought the cats were eating all that food.  I must catch him.  I must stop him.  He is a menace, a true menace.  I will probably follow Walt's advice, but could possibly get a cat hater cop showing up, and if so, will tell me I shouldn't even be on the property without owner's permission.  I will then have to explain that these cats have been there for a very long time, and they have nothing, so I am at least providing them with some protection and sustenance to live on.  God, what is this world coming to when you have to fight to feed a starving animal.

Here are some adorable pictures of  Eloise and Lex that I received yesterday from their adoptive parents.  They are SO cute!

Have a nice day.

Feed a Cat For Christmas! KRISTIN Mc!

KRISTIN!  Thanks, my friend!  Kristin made a donation toward Feed a Cat for Christmas campaign!  Kristin has been my friend for many years now and has fostered for me for many desperate situations, and I am so appreciative of her generosity with not only this but in so many other ways.  From going out in the dark with me to feed cats, to help do my rounds with her husband when I had to go out of town, to rescuing kittens from wooden shelters, to being a teacher at a painting party, to sticking her feet in my kiddie pool with me when it was thundering and lightning, she's done it all and then some.  Thank you, Kristin! 

Greely Street/Parsells
This boy runs to my car each morning

Greely Street/Parsells
This boy runs to my car each morning

Above is one of the kitties on my list to save next.  CLICK ON THE PICTURE TO SEE UP CLOSE!  He is a TNR I did earlier this summer when I saw a pregnant cat at this location.  I never did get the pregnant cat, but I got this little fellow.  I will continue to take pictures of those that are still out there and share them in hopes one of you falls in love!

Today was uneventful.  The forecast is predicted to bring us an inch or two of snow, and then this weekend - 50 degrees!  Yes, I will take it!  While it's great for the cats not to have to endure the cold, it also makes breeding easier.  I have not done a TNR in a few months now, but in the past, I never did in the winter months.  Usually, our winters are brutal.  Now I feel like I should be doing some trapping.  I hate trapping.  I hate releasing cats back onto the streets.  I usually start in the spring months and go all the way through to the end of fall. 

I would like to thank those that came to my aide when I needed straw.  Unfortunately, now I have too much.  Does anyone need straw?  I had only requested two bags full but got two bales.  I try to keep my garage nice and tidy, but right now its chocked full of stuff, including straw.  And to those of you dropping off towels, blankets, etc., I have plenty.  Please consider donating them to shelters for animals, or humans.   Thank you to those that drop off your open bags of dry food that your kitty didn't like.  I appreciate the thought.  It is used for the homeless kitties, whether they like it or not.  They usually will eat just about anything.  Anything but Nine Lives dry food.  And Meow Mix.  For some reason, these over 100 cats that I feed are finicky.  They only like Purina brands like KitNKaboodle or Cat Chow.  The largest wet food cans are also appreciated - it makes it that much easier when opening them to put the contents into a large yogurt container (6 of them) each day.  This is usually Friskies, but someone mentioned that Chewy was discontinuing this.   So must find a new brand?  I prefer to feed either fish, turkey or chicken - Pate or Shreds.  I am not keen on feeding beef. 

I also have too many plates and bowls at the moment, but I will for sure let you know when I need.  I had so many donate those also. 

I am very grateful to all of you who have done anything for me, no matter how small or how big.  I am trying to save the world, one cat a time!  And you are my helpers!  Thank you!

Have a great day!

"Kindness in words

creates confidence.

Kindness in thinking

creates profoundness.

Kindness in giving

creates love."