A Little of This, A Little of That

For those of you new to reading this blog, a little about me.  I have been feeding and sheltering cats forever, it seems.  I do this in the Beechwood section of the city, close to the Public Market.  Right now, I have about EIGHTEEN locations that I drive to in a 1.5 hour period on a nice day, starting at 4:15 a.m., SEVEN days a week.  It doesn’t matter if the snow is falling, the rain is pouring, thunder is booming, lightning is striking, or snow is blizzarding, these cats now rely on me to be there for their one and only meal of the day.  I have built little shelters, some good, some not so good, for them to use when its bad out.  Or cold out.  I wish I could build elaborate places for them, but I don’t’ have the means to.  I rely on donated shelters, which are usually made out to plastic totes, with straw inside, or when I get lucky, a wooden shelter built for them.  I do everything in the dark, knowing that in this crime-ridden section of Rochester – most of the bad guys are sleeping at that hour.    I feed behind boarded up houses, porches, vacant city lots, and behind some homeowners houses with kind hearts.  I feed – from what I can count each day – 70+ cats.  They know me, they know the sound of the car I drive, they can hear the Catmobile coming.   Most of them run to me, their little sets of eyes glowing in the dark when the headlights shine upon them.  I don’t know how many feral cats are out there that come after I leave.  There are raccoons and skunks galore that descend upon some of the sites soon after, so these cats have to gobble their food quickly to fill their bellies for a bit.

I rescue as many as I am able to.  Right now, I am over capacity with rescue because I have SIX people fostering for me, and I need to find all the cats they are fostering homes.  This is max for me.   Before, I would rescue a cat, find it a home, rescue another, find that a home.  But right now, these cats were mostly sick, but all adoptable, so I had to do something.  I am so grateful to people that offer to foster.  Its giving a cat a chance at life.  Eventually, they all find homes, some sooner than others.  So to my fosters, please be patient.  We will find homes for all – one at a time.  Thank you so much for doing what you are doing.

I also spend the spring/summer and fall TNR’g, which means Trap/Neuter  and Return (to the streets).  A lot of the times, I wont return the cat, they are too sweet.  I have found homes for a lot of them.  This past year, I think I’ve rescued 40 cats already and found them homes, and that includes kittens, I think.  My friend Kristin is trying to tally this up for me.  I’ve also, I think, TNR’d over 40 cats also.  It’s a lot for a one man band.  I have to rely on donations for spay/neuter, otherwise, I haven’t a penny in my pocket for them.  I feed over 30 pounds of food each day.  That doesn’t include the case+ I go through of wet food.  Again, I rely on donations for this too.  I have nothing left to spare after paying my bills.  I don’t know how long this will go on, but I take it day by day.  God willing, my health remains good, and my knees don’t bucket under me.  (Gotta get back on my diet!~)

PETUNIA

POLLY in her new home!

Here is the little girl I JUST HAD TO RESCUE yesterday.  She is Polly’s mom, and is from Parsells.  She is flea ridden, had a hematoma on her ear, and as sweet as can be. She didn’t deserve to sit there by the curb each morning waiting for me to come over and put down food under the tree.  I just had to get her.  Wouldn’t you agree?

DEBO

Regarding Debo, the 20+ old pit bull – I went over yesterday after picking up an anti-biotic prescription for him, and gave it to him with some yummy wet food, which he so enjoyed.  I am trying to get a friend’s husband, who is also Hispanic, to come over this week to speak to Angel, man to man – about euthanasia, and help to convince him on how it’s the best thing for Debo, who is suffering from most likely cancerous tumors and very very old age.  He also doesn’t walk well, and I am sure is in pain – wouldn’t anyone be who is over 100 years old.  I will be going over to see Debo again on my lunch today to give him some more yummy wet food (with a pill hidden inside!), another soft blanket, and a little furry toy (thanks to my co-worker and her daughter).  Say prayers for Debo, if you would.  And prayers that her owner will see whats best for his dog.

Have a nice day!

"I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand.  Its when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.  You rarely win, but sometimes you do."