Winter

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What a week!  We had about a foot and half of snow overnight Monday.  Talk about a nightmare.  Not only for me, with the knee issue, but also for my helper that morning Esther.  Good thing she is younger than me.  She was a power shoveler at most of the locations, minus three.  I felt terrible.  I knew those cats would go a day or two without food.  I can only ask so much of people.  I HATE asking for help.  It was bad enough, the 3.5 hours it took us to dig out, pour food, and drive to the next spot. I could not get into the three spots due to the amount of snow the snowplows had piled up at the entrances.  As it was, I got stuck at Parsells trying to turn around, and Esther had to get out and shovel under my wheels.  After 10 minutes of rocking back and forth, I finally broke free!  Thank God for my 4-wheel drive truck.  Love it.  It really was a bad morning.  Not to mention my own house, and the plows piling up these huge mounds of snow I had to climb over at 5 am.  Ya love em, but ya hate em.

On top of all that, at my middle location on Fernwood Crescent, Esther texted me while I waited in the truck from the shelter in the back of the lot where she was shoveling and placing food, and said there was a baby kitten one of the little huts inside, sick.  I asked her if she could bring it and we would put in carrier.  She then walks up with this baby in her coat, and I took from her and gently placed it in the carrier.  I panicked, but had to finish up my route.  I didn't know if the kitten would live or die before I got home.  But I couldn't stop with the route.  I had to get to the cats that were stranded in the snow in their shelters.

Again, panicked, I reached out for help on FaceBook.  (I am always thinking I will miraculously have someone come meet me at the moment of need and swoop up the sick kitten and take care of it).  Not the case, but Karla from Keller's Kats offered to help.  I knew this kitten was feral, but obviously was so sick it was just about limp in our arms.  When I panic like that, I forget that I do have a few options, but again, I thought 'feral' and thought kitten would be a LOT of work for one of my fosters.  Miraculously, I was in touch with the clinic about some other adopted kittens surgeries (it was now 8 am. and the clinic was open), and I was told to bring kitten there after I mentioned I found a very sick kitten.  Thank God for them.  I dropped off kitten, she - Fern - had a severe viral upper respiratory infection - eyes shut, nose plugged, totally underweight (2.6 lbs) and about 12 weeks old.  I picked her up after they cared for her, and finally, Karla sent a foster to get her that night.  I held her in my arms and syringe fed her in the bathroom.  She was so scared and very docile.  She is gorgeous, long haired black kitten.  I will update with  better pics but here is all I have for now.

One last note about the past five days, there was a woman that was bashing me on Facebook, saying I was a fraud and that I didn't really feed the cats even though I was getting donations and she was going to report me.  Crazy woman.  Accusing me even though she didn't have the facts.  She would walk her dog on Melville, and not see a dish by the side of the road with cat food or water for days on end.  Little did she know, I sometimes put food by the road because there are some cats that won't use the SHELTERS IN THE BACK OF THE LOT WHERE ALL THE FOOD IS.  The other times there is not food by the road is when it is either raining, snowing, or there isn't a cat around.  She even had the nerve to video tape the side of the road at the two locations on that street and said I wasn't really feeding the cats.  Meanwhile, I've since set her straight, and haven't heard a word back.  Although this morning, I was surprised to find 3 of my shelters shoveled from the sidewalk all the way back to the shelters.  Wondering who that might have been???????????????????????????????????????????????????????  IF it was her, it was a kind gesture, but she sure does owe a public apology in my opinion.  After all, I've given up enough of my life for these cats and doing what I do.  I don't take accusations like that lightly.

Phew!  I HATE winter!  Only 50 something days 'til spring!  

Have a great day!

Spring is in the Air!

Giblet and Eva above enjoying their cozy bed in their new home. 

Winter is upon us, but spring is just ahead.  I am a forever optimist.   We are in the midst of freezing, below freezing rather, and snow, but it doesn’t last long, and the cats out there, mostly, are resilient.   Not so much for the poor baby I found at my Niagara location.  As I walked toward the shelters in the back, I noticed a dead cat laying on the ground.  Frozen.  There are usually three to four cats I’ve fed there on Niagara for years.  This one was the little black and white baby that many mornings I would open the little door that blocks the elements from getting inside the shelter, to find her still in the shelter, all cozy and warm. The other cats run out when I arrive, and wait for the food to be ready for them, and go back into the shelter after I walk away.  I have no idea what happened to this sweetheart.  She could have had an underlying condition and just succumbed, or she could have been poisoned.  I will never know. I wrapped her in a towel and placed her next to the shelter.  I placed a board on top of her to keep the elements away.  I know that sounds silly, she is dead.  But still…  I used to bring dead cats wrapped up to a vet office and place them on a doorstep.  There were times I would wrap them and place them under a bush near where I found them.  I also used to bury them myself.  I certainly won’t throw a cat carcass into the dumpster, or garbage bin.  Just can’t do that.  If it thaws soon, I will move her to under a bush nearby and let her rest and disintegrate there.  Poor baby.

 

Other than that, I am finally sneaking a shelter or two on the first Parsells stop where the very cruel person removed my shelters in the fall from the VACANT CITY OWNED lot next to his rental apartment in the house next door.  Those cats have not seen their first storm, but have experienced the single digits this past week, and I have no idea where they go to stay warm, let alone, alive.  Their picture is above.  I counted five there this morning.  Their long time shelters were destroyed last spring.  So slowly but surely, I am sneaking dark colored shelters under some bushes next door hoping they are not noticed.

Sorry for the Debbie Downer post, but this is my reality lately.  I had a hospital stay last week and am not getting around very well, but many thanks to Kings and Sheryl for now for helping out - I drive, and they do all the work.  Also many thanks to Esther for doing four of my shelter for me every other day.  If only more people could step up and just take even ONE shelter over for me, it would be so much help to me.  Just ask for details.  Its easy!  The bad news is that June sprained her ankle, and the woman I advertised to hire to help came down with Covid and hasn’t been able to help at all.  And I just can’t walk!  Fun fun fun its been!

I have two kittens under my care and many thanks to Sheryl for fostering. They have been a challenge as they were very feral when we got them from a construction site over a month ago.  But they are slowly coming around for her.  Poppy and Lilly.  We are still a bit unsure of the sex, and I haven’t been able to get over there in weeks to really take a look. 

Other than that, its only 65 more days until spring!

Have a great day!

 

Kindness

Its been a while since I last posted.  Its been a very busy past month, and the holidays no exception.  I've also had some knee problems which have literally laid me up.  Its not been a good past two weeks.  But I still continued to get out every other morning thanks to the help of June, Sheryl and Kings the past few weeks.  I can't walk but I can drive.  Hopefully after Thursday that will change.  I will have a procedure that hopefully will make my knee feel better!  

I was out this morning and as I was sitting there waiting for Kings to come down from the porch on Central and 7th, a woman saw my window open and asked if I had a dollar.  It was kind of sad.  I said my usual, that I only carry cat food, and that if I did have money, I would give her some.  Which I would.  She then said thank you and continued walking.  She was wearing a very thin coat and no gloves or hat, and it was in the 20s.  I thought for a second and remembered that I have care bags from a few years back.  There were a handful of people that put together various items such as gloves, scarves, hats, toothbrushes, toothpaste, snack items, water bottle, tissues, comb, brush, lotions, etc.  I then pulled up next to her, and told her I had some things she might want.  I didn't see that the bag had gloves, so I have her mine.  Then I saw the gloves and told her I would take mine back and to put the new ones on.  I then wrapped the scarf around her neck.  I asked her if she was warmer.  She said yes.  She thanked me and continued on her journey.  How sad.  But glad I was able to provide these creature comforts to her.

I tried to rescue one last cat for the year on Friday, the yellow tabby on Parsells #2.  He had a home waiting for him after the vet appointment that morning. He's been on the street since birth, but began to trust his caretakers Chuck and Danielle (DeGeorge Ceilings), and myself.  I placed him in the carrier after petting him, and he went crazy.  There was one other time this happened, and it was the sweet little red cat on Grand and Baldwin that hung around with Peanut Butter and Jelly. I got him in a carrier, and when I got him home and opened the door to carrier in my tiny bathroom, he was nearly on the ceiling.  He went crazy. I had to return him.  He disappeared for a while and wound up on Garson, where eventually I had to have him euthanized because he was very sick.  Anyway, this yellow tabby on Parsells -- he went crazy.  I had to let him back out or he would have hurt himself, and I don't know what he would have done at the vet.  He's never been off the street.  Most cats I rescue have had some form of human contact when they were young, and it comes flooding back to them that they are going to be safe.  Not this baby.  Now, he won't come near me when I feed there, but he will.  Poor thing.  If they only knew...

All kittens have been delivered.  Boy do I miss Georgie and Giblet, the two baby kittens I rescued from Garson a month and half ago.  I wound up fostering them before Christmas (thank you Tamera!) and was sad to see them go.  But Georgie joined some adult kitties at his new home, and Eva and Giblet went together to their new home.  I will keep you posted on pics of them, but here is Georgie yesterday on his new dad's lap.

And Giblet and Eva in their new home:

And an update on the kitty from Parsells with the huge open wound, here he is after treatment for the ear mites that he tried to scratch to death -- I think he was my last rescue for 2021:

Sweet baby.  I think my total rescues for 2021 was 83.  Not too shabby for a really rotten year.

Have a great day!