Toby

 A few things…  first, thank you so much for your comments on my last post.  So glad to know people are reading 💙💚💛💜  

Yesterday was a sad day, and today will be a sad day, for a few people.  It has to do with a cat named Toby that was rescued by a woman named Angela who lives in the area I go to feed in.  Toby was emaciated and walked up to Angela, who immediately took him in.  She made an appointment at a vet and was told yesterday that he has Feline Leukemia.  He was also microchipped and came from a person living on Peck Street in the city.  They tried to get in touch, and they had 24 hours to hear back.  As of this moment, nothing.  Angela had been in touch with me since she picked up Toby telling me she had no room at her house and asking if I could try to find a foster for him.  She didn’t want him to be in a cage all day and night. 

Angela really didn’t know about this highly contagious and deadly disease, and I explained to her (and hopefully the doctor did too) about it, and advised her it would be best to have him euthanized – I know of no homes that care for Leuk + cats – and he will eventually, and more than likely soon, pass on his own.  There is suffering involved, as with any cancer, and I can’t watch a cat suffer.  I did this with one cat named HOMIE when I first started rescue – a woman had a room she kept in her house just for Leuk+ cats, and Homie just disintegrated fast.  Such a sweet boy he was.  It's just the saddest thing to watch.   So, Angela has an appointment this afternoon to have him euthanized – something she has never done.  I told her that being with him when he takes his last breath is crucial to the cat - they need to know they were loved by their person right to the end.

Here are some pictures of sweet little Toby: 💓

 

I hear and see so many sad things, I get so many calls for help...  I wish I never started this…  I dread the day I stop.  There are so many that will suffer if they are still left on the streets.  Please consider fostering and adopting.

On another matter, at my Ferndale shelter, there is an all-black cat colony where we've tried to get the baby-making momma trapped and fixed, but she eluded my expert trapper friend Lori each time.  There are usually 7 to 8 cats that we can count there on any given day.  Yesterday, I was forced to go out and feed at my 24 shelters all by myself because the girl that I've paid since she started with me a few months ago texted me at 4 in the morning saying she didn't feel good.  Let me tell you, it's the first time I've gone out by myself in many years.  I panicked for a second, but then realized, you just have to go and do it, one shelter at a time.  I can barely walk let alone carry the water and food.  It was not fun, but back to the Ferndale shelter story, lately, we haven't seen ONE cat around, and as I placed the food down yesterday there, I heard barking and thought the dog was in the yard behind the fence, but as I looked the dog was behind ME and there was a huge hole in the fence.  He hadn't attacked me, yet, so I continued to calmly do what I was doing and walked slowly away back to the truck.  I turned around and noticed him sniffing inside the shelter. He must have been eating the food, and God knows what happened to the cats.  I plan on leaving a note on the porch of the person's house at 42 Ripley Street and I will pretend I live on the street behind - and ask them to place a board to cover the hole - as I have children playing out there.  We will see when and if that gets done.  

That's it for now.  Next up:  Niagara Street.

Have a great day!

Kittens & Deer Oh My!

 Deer for Easter!  Taken at my mother's house:

Its been a very busy two weeks.  I am not posting as much as I used to because I don’t think many people are reading it, and its meant to be informative, and a chance for me to spread the word about fostering, and adopting, some of the cats I care for.  I also have been searching for help with my shelters, as its becoming way to much for me to do.  But if I stop, they starve.  And that is something I will have to live with.

But for now, the latest:

I received an inquiry for help on Birr Street in the city – a woman said she had three newborns in a shelter she had on her porch for one of the many homeless cats on street.  The mom was around, and caring for them inside the shelter.  The only thing we could do is rescue the semi-feral mom and her babies together.

Thank God not only for the woman that called – that’s all we need is four more homeless cats reproducing after they have grown – but for Kristin who went over there to help me concoct a plan and for Tamera offering to foster them.  It was an arduous task getting the mom.  She had moved the kittens the day we went to get them to the other side of a fence of the neighbors where a pit bull resided and has killed a cat before, and she placed them behind a shed under a wood pile.  So thank God for the neighbor discovering them there too!  We moved the kittens to the safe side of the fence, placed them back into the shelter, placed the trap in front of it with tuna, and waiting.  Finally, momma figured out how to get in the hut, and there she came strutting to the front of the house with a kitten in her mouth, up to the porch where the hut originally was.  Smart cat.  We moved the trap back to the porch, with the hut, after grabbing the kitten after mom laid it down on the porch floor.

She still wasn’t going to go into the trap.  We wound up googling the sound of kittens crying, and placed it in the hut with the kittens.  She was frantic, but was not going into the trap.  So then Kristin decided to lift the door to the one end of the trap, and allow momma to get inside the hut to the ‘crying’ babies, and then she got her into the trap and blam!  Down the door went, and we got her.  She was not happy, but soon after we put a blanket over the trap and she calmed right down.  We got her and the babies to the new foster Mom’s house, and into a playpen for now.  Momma is going to be a real treat to socialize, but we will do our best.  We may have to return her after she is spayed in a few months, if she doesn’t’ come around.  Pictures coming soon.

Oh!  So when we went there to inspect, Kristin decided to check out the shed in the back of the caller’s house, and got up on a rickety ladder and saw one lone kitten there.  About two weeks old.  Alone.  So obviously, we couldn’t leave kitten there, and she is now in my ‘custody’.  I still can’t tell what sex it is, but I’ve named her/him LICORICE.  And I am bottle feeding, and getting peed on every chance it gets. Oh joy. 

That’s all I have to report for today – but stay tuned for my next dilemma I am having on Niagara Street in tomorrow’s edition.  If anyone is reading this…

Have  great day!

 

Judgy

 Lots of stuff happening lately.  First, we got two kitties adopted in the past two weeks.  Second, I continue to feed over 100 cats daily.  Third, so many shelters are eyesores, particularly on Second Street.  I would love to spruce up the shelters to look decent so that the city barely notices them. Here are my needs:

• New dark brown or dark green spray-painted shelters, with a hole cut on the long side, and fresh new straw inside.
• camo green or brown, brown or dark green tarps of varying sizes
• Food!  Always in need of food.  I don't get much donated, so it is critical that I get donations to continue to feed the cats in the public market area of Rochester.  It takes 5 16-lb bags each day I go out.  I have had to whittle it down from daily, to every other day.  I also use 30 cans of wet food each time too, and that is leaving just a 'plop; down for each.
• Fosters!  It takes just one person to save a cat from the streets.  Fostering is the easiest and most rewarding thing you can do.  You are literally saving a life, and I have a very successful adoption rate for older cats and kittens.  It's the older cats that need us the most.

Speaking of adoptions, here is an update on Bello, the black cat I've fed for years on Central Park, and was rescued by a helper, Esther, who decided it was his time and asked for my help.  He had some issues going on with his back end, so after many expensive vet visits, he was fostered - many thanks to Chloe - and finally adopted!  Here is his picture from his new mom.  He is living in the lap of luxury.  did I say lap?  From this pic, looks like the 'end' of luxury.  :)

I want to speak on the subject of adopting cats.  It is my policy to speak to the adoptor before I deliver the cat to their new home.  I hint around that I am delivering personally to make sure the house is SAFE for the cat.  I point out that I am bringing an innocent creature, much like a human baby, to an unknown location, and to someone I don't know much about, and I tell them to have everything ready (i.e., litter box (WITH LITTER IN IT ALREADY), food bowl (WITH THE FOOD ALREADY IN IT) and water dish (WITH WATER IN IT).  I stress this because 5 times out of 10 this is not done, even though I request it.  

I am not a clean freak, but my personal preference/taste is an uncluttered house, clean (but not by Mr. Clean's standards), and tidy.  I am fanatical about a few things, my litter boxes, my kitchen floor/counters, stovetop sparkly, pillows punched in the middle.  Ha.  Kidding about the last one.  I am decluttering my life because I just don't need to have the s#$T I have in closets, basement, garage.  If I haven't used it in years, donate it or trash it.  But yes, I am fanatical about my house looking decent.  I try not to judge those that have a little less regiment than I do.  But there are those that have problems.  These people seem very sweet, are probably very kind, have functioning jobs, lots of friends, and love love love their animals, but there is something wrong if you have a house so cluttered and dirty that it makes a person like me cry even thinking about leaving a cat there.

I have decided to screen people right off the bat with adoptions.  I was talking to someone that helps me out occasionally in the mornings, and I asked him -- on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being OCD about house cleanliness, and 1 being hoarding, where would you fall?  He responded with an 8.  I would respond with an 8 also.  I then asked, where would you fall when asked if you had too much clutter, and you keep your home close to clutter-free, that being a 1, and too much being a 10.   I responded with a 4, for right now.  I will be using this scale when screening candidates for adoption.  

Here is the definition of a hoarding disorder:

A hoarding disorder is where someone acquires an excessive number of items and stores them in a chaotic manner, usually resulting in unmanageable amounts of clutter. The items can be of little or no monetary value.

Hoarding is considered a significant problem if:

• the amount of clutter interferes with everyday living – for example, the person is unable to use their kitchen or bathroom and cannot access rooms
• the clutter is causing significant distress or negatively affecting the quality of life of the person or their family – for example, they become upset if someone tries to clear the clutter and their relationship suffers

Hoarding disorders are challenging to treat because many people who hoard frequently do not see it as a problem, or have little awareness of how it's affecting their life or the lives of others.

Many do realize they have a problem but are reluctant to seek help because they feel extremely ashamed, humiliated, or guilty about it.

It's really important to encourage a person who is hoarding to seek help, as their difficulties discarding objects can not only cause loneliness and mental health problems but also pose a health and safety risk.

If not tackled, it's a problem that will probably never go away.

I've had a recent situation that has disturbed me a great deal, and I am having a hard time with my decision.  Without me going into details, I would like to know if any of you have thoughts on this.  I hope you will write me and let me know.  Or write on this blog.  It can be anonymous.

Thanks and have a great day.

  

 "Do not judge by appearances, 

but judge with right judgment.”

- John 7:24