Moondance

Its a marvelous night for one.  Van Morrison.  Great tune.  The moon has been beautiful the past three or four nights.  The light of the moon is a help and a great comfort.  Its an extra flashlight for me without having to hold one in my hand, or in my mouth when I am multi-tasking as I am bending down pouring food and water and trying to hold up boards, or keep the cats at bay while I am doing all of that.  I recently had a donation from my vet's tech yesterday when I had to bring in my Boris for a very expensive check up due to the fact that he is 'urinating' in certain areas of my house lately, several times a day.  Well, $220 later, he has had a urine sample taken, and hopefully after testing it will show signs of infection, which hopefully can be treated.  Anyways, Kelly gave me several old carriers from her house, and I distributed them around this morning.  These will hopefully be of some comfort to these stressed out, homeless stray cats  I care for.  I need more of them though, including large flat boards to lay against structures to keep the wind and snow out.  As I looked around at all the cats I feed at each spot, I always feel a sense of satisfaction knowing I've fed their hungry bellies.  Some people though, would disagree.  They feel I am only adding to the proliferating population.  I feel guilty about that sometimes, but what I do know is that I don't have the means to get them all fixed.  Number one, its hard to get appointments for neutering at low-cost, and number two, I just don't have the time to do it.  I have a full-time and a half job, and nearly full-time job when I get home.  So whats the alternative.  Nothing for now, I need to keep feeding and caring and rescuing and doing whatever I can for these homeless strays.  Won't you consider one?

Almost Winter

That was the way it felt this morning.  We have had a really nice past two weeks here in Rochester, NY.  60's, no rain.  Plenty of sunshine.  Great moonlit nights.  But this morning, I realized thats all coming to an end.  The rain will be coming, as will the snow, and it will be harder and harder for me to get out and feed these animals.  Not only harder for me to actually get my foot out the door each morning, but also harder for the cats - their shelters are so poor right now.  I really wish I had some help by a creative person to help me build up these shelters.  And that is hard to do also because I have to hide them also.  I just wish I had help doing what I do every day, period.

I was speaking to a woman last night who is fostering Oreo for me.  Remember Oreo, one of Miss B's old house-near-the-corner cats.  Her picture is featured a few posts ago also.  She is ready for adoption, so think about it!  Pass it around!  Anyways, I was chatting with this wonderful woman, finding out how Oreo is doing in her new digs, and she mentioned something rather comical to me and I wanted to share it with you - she looked up Cat Lady in Wikipedia.com, and here is what it said:

In at least the Anglosphere, single women who own cats have long been associated with the concept of spinsterhood.[1] In more recent decades, the concept of a cat lady has been associated with "romance-challenged (often career-oriented) women who can't find a man".[1]


The term is also used to denote an animal hoarder who keeps large numbers of cats without having the ability to properly house or care for them.[2] They are generally blissfully ignorant about their situation.

I just thought this was hilarious.  It couldn't be further from the truth. There are plenty of pretty, sane and successful women in all walks of life doing what I do.  Rubbish.  Wikipedia.  Rubbish!  :)  And I keep a pretty good house too!  I will not be like the Crazy Cat Lady on the Simpsons!  I will not, I will not, I will not!  :)  I invite you to a great article - I think if you love cats, and are female, you will love this article:  http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/14/crazy-cat-lady-pets-stereotype-forbes-woman-time-felines.html

I have a vacation day tomorrow, hooray!  Have a GREAT weekend!  Please contact me if you want to foster, adopt, or have any shelters you may want to donate to me.  Thank you friends!!

Never look down on anybody unless you're helping him up. ~Jesse Jackson

I LOVE that saying!  In reference to my post yesterday, I forgot to count ONE more stop I make each morning.  Its in between the corner tree, near Miss B's old house, and my last stop, on my way home on the same street, at the next corner.  Its right in the middle.  A place rented by an older black male that is half blind in one eye.  Could be cataract, could be blindness, either way, its a cloudy eye.  One time I had to pick Miss B up at her old neighbor's house, Wally.  I introduced myself to Wally, shook his hand, and invited him to dinner with us.  I wanted to do something nice for her - get her out of the women's shelter, and away from these bleak neighborhoods for a few hours, so I took her for a fish fry.  Anyways, Wally turned me down, but I told him 'maybe next time', which he appreciated I think.  He smiled.  For a few days after that, I thought I would approach him to ask him if he would allow me to place a board shelter against the side of his house for the kitties, I've been trying to find a sheltered location instead of the tree at the corner, because of the winter weather that is coming.  He agreed, and I have a small rickety set up right now.  Since then, I have been bringing him fresh baked banana bread, and two kinds of soups.  He seems so appreciative when I do.  A lot of these folks around him hate cats, and a lot also hate white people, but its nice to have a friend !  It makes it a little easier to feed the kitties when you have a 'friend' around.  I need to continue to build up the shelter there, little by little, and coax the remaining cats that are at the corner to come to Wallys!

PS, the little cat carrier was still at my first spot.  No one took it.  Hurray.

Another Great Day!

Its warm out.  Its not pouring out.  That makes it a great day.  I was thinking this morning, I go to how many spots???  Lets see, there's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven (and the seventh stop is on Seventh Street!  how coincidental), eight, nine, ten, eleven, and twelve!  Thats 12 stops I make each morning between 5:15 am. and 6:15 am. when I pull up at my house.  Thats insane.  But...  what am I to do?  This morning I brought a new little shelter - a rusty old medium sized cat carrier with a blanket stuffed inside.  I placed that at the spot that someone took the other one from yesterday.  Now, there must be a mentally unstable person that is cohabitating with the cats on this porch, this very open, public porch to this vacant house on a busy corner.  This morning, back was the blanket on the floor of the porch that someone had placed there over a week ago.  Of course my missing carrier was not back but the blanket was.  Its just spread out like a rug.  And there is a pet dish, a plastic one that holds both water and food, but both sides were empty, and flipped over.  I can't figure out who would be doing this besides a person who is mentally unstable.  I never see anyone there, and I view it from a distance like a hawk while I am slowly driving up to this location in the dark.  All I ever see are cats, who are frightened of humans, and they are sitting there until I get out of my car, so I know there is no other human there when I get there.  I felt good later though, as I passed by that first stop of mine, because I glanced up on the porch and saw the red kitten coming out of the little carrier I set there.  I sure do hope no one takes this again.  Its the kittens home.   Where else do they have to go?   Please open your heart and home for one of these kitties I rescue!  I have Oreo, Rufus, Midnight and the still unnamed kitty that need homes!

Suddenly Monday

I did post yesterday, so check it out!

Where do the weekends go?  They fly by so quickly.  The older you get, the faster time goes.  Sad, but very true.  I have moments, and I call them moments because they are so brief, on the weekends where I can just sit and think, but then again my mind races to all the things I should have done last week, and put them on my to do for the following week, and things I should be doing while I am sitting there thinking, that I get up and don't take that very much needed time for just ME.  I sit and look around and think I should be doing this and I should be doing that.  Its ALWAYS something. 

Saturday morning I rescued a little boy cat, we will call him a TWEEN - I am very bad at guessing ages - he is another from Miss B's old house's corner, and I have yet to name him!  I am attaching a few pictures of him.  Very very cute.  Very very playful and affectionate.  You will be hearing more of him once I name him!

This morning I was very disappointed.  At my first stop, I had placed an old cat carrier with a blanket inside on the porch of this vacant house.  Each morning I've pulled up there are three little kittens inside it sleeping.  They hear my car, I can see them come out, stretch, and go off to watch me from a distance.  I feel inside the little hut and its warm where they've been sleeping.  This morning, I pulled up, and everything was gone, except the paper plates and water bowl.  Sad.  Really.  Why would someone want to do that?  I need shelters very much.  If anyone knows of any old cat carriers that may be in bad shape, they are in good enough shape for me.  I will take them.  If anyone has any old plastic storage bins, I will take those.  As you can see, sometimes they are taken, I am always in need of little shelters for the cats.  .

The Dark

Look at these two.  These are my friend's kitties, and she has four of the most photogenic cats in the world.  Or, at least in Bristol where they live.  Two very cute cuties!
My title is appropos with it being Daylight Savings time here in the east.  Fall Back, Spring Forward.  We set our clocks back an hour last night, but that just meant I was up an hour earlier than normal because my body is used to only so many hours of sleep.  Yuck.  And I woke with a slight headache due to a fun evening with friends having dinner, and mixing my wine.  I realized this time change will not really affect me, because the light still doesn't appear on the horizon before 7:30 am. anyway.  So I am still in the dark at 5 am. when I leave the house (now really 6 am.).  But I decided thats ok, because the darkness is my friend!  I really don't want to be seen doing what I do so lurking around in the dark is much better for me.  A little more scary, but better for me in the long run.  Plus, I bought a great small LED flashlight, so that helps me too.  It was quiet out this morning.  Something is going on with Red, as he was coming to the spot that I've been feeding him at, where Emma was, and Rufus was rescued, but he is now hiding on me again.  I believe he's very sick.  Big Red is still sick, but still waiting for me, sidling up to me, and looking at me with his big gold eyes.  I wish I had the means to help him.  I think he would be a very grateful only cat for someone, after he was cured of his ailments.  I dread thinking about the weather coming.  Not for me, but for these animals.  Its cold enough now int he morning with the frost on the cars and grass, but the temps will be near zero - which is 40 degrees lower than it is now - in a month or so (January and February are our coldest months), and its going to be very cold for these critters.  I do my best, but nothing is going to be good enough.  Actually, the little huts my friend, her husband, and her students have built me are not bad shelters, with some straw added.  But these cats don't always have the know how to use them!  I should put a sign over the entrance saying "Stay here for the night!  Come huddle and cuddle with some of your furry friends!"
I might just do that!

Mother and Child

As you all know, I have rescued two kittens recently.  One is Rufus.  Rufus is the brother of two girl kittens that I rescued after I had their mother Emma neutered, and returned to the street to be with her remaining child.  I took Rufus just a few mornings ago, because I had not seen Emma, his Mom, around in a few days.  I knew I had to get him, especially when he was starting to get very sick.  URI.  He has been good about taking his medicine each morning, and he is getting better.  I was actually able to get a picture of him this morning, just before he flipped out after hearing a noise from the shower curtain.  I brought him into the tiny bathroom thinking the best place to get a picture without background clutter.  Anyways, Emma was there this morning, and she was looking very very lonely.  I feel bad for her now, I've taken away all her children.  I wonder if cats can feel that.  Does anyone know?  I wish more people were able to take cats, I would have Emma adopted in a heartbeat.  She is a good kitty.  Even let me pick her up this morning.  I hate leaving her on this dangerous street, to go through a harsh winter.  I have not seen Red around either.  He slipped through my fingers about a year ago.  I had him in my carrier, with someone willing to adopt him, but he got out and never showed up again until months later, and very leery of me.  He now lets me pet him, but he has gotten sick over time and is not looking good.  Red is not to be confused with Big Red, who still waits for me, who still intertwines his body in between my legs, but is still very sick too.

But the good news is............  There are people out there that do care, and are rescuing animals - both dogs and cats and other critters each day, whether from the shelters, or from the streets.  Even people!  I know you all remember Miss B.  Well, my uncle happens to rent houses in the city, and he just may have a place for Miss B.  She can finally get out of the women's shelter she has been staying at for close to two months.  I love being able to help in all situations of life, whether it be animal or human.  Many times I find that when I offer an act of kindness, it brings a warm feeling of happiness to me.  Happiness is about making happy choices. So I make a choice not to lose my happiness because of someone, something or anything. I get up every morning with an expectation of finding joy and happiness at every interval of my day.  I dont make an excuse for not being happy.  So with that, I wish you all a GREAT Friday!  PS, picture of Rufus coming soon!





"For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if ye will hear his voice." Psalms 95:7