DEC 18, 19 and 20!!! Julie and Rhuel!!! Feed a Cat for Christmas!!!

JULIE and RHUEL!  I had the honor to finally meet Julie the other day, where she dropped off cat food, and a few gifts including BOOZE for me!  J  It was actually Pumpkin Spice creamy booze – sort of like Bailey’s but with a pumpkin flavor.  Nice for sipping.  Julie heard about me…  not 100% sure how, maybe the newspaper?  News story?  Blog?  But she did, and I am sure glad she reached out to me.  Thank you Julie, for all you do for me and the cats I care for out there in our fair city.  They do appreciate it even though they can’t thank you personally.  Thank you for helping me to Feed a Cat for Christmas!

I had a couple of offers to take the calico kitty I saw by the side of the road yesterday morning.  I set off this morning with every intention of grabbing this very thin, desperate girl I saw on Central Park and which I fed.  She was skin and bones and I had not seen her in over a month.  She was not there.  I stopped there, as if she was there, placed food and water on the steps of a church, and called for her.  Listened.  Nothing.  I went and did a few other stops, and kept coming back to see if she was there, calling, calling for her.   Nothing.  I left heartbroken.  The church where I placed the food and water dish, on the SIDE of the steps there, had removed the paper bowls.  I thought, a church…………………..  hmmmm……………………….  So I left a note under the bowl this morning.  It read:  "All creatures great and small…  please have some compassion for these homeless stray cats.  They are suffering.  Please leave this food for them."  I have a feeling the bowls will be removed.  The churches around there don’t seem to care, this isn’t the first one I’ve dealt with in this neighborhood.  I will continue to look for kitty.

I promised details on the ‘back nine’ of my daily route, and here it is:  We can THEN do a count as to how many stops I actually make!  J

1. So as I cross over Goodman, heading west, I travel down Pennsylvania.  Here, I stop midway before the Market, to the vacant lot, and there are two red kitties, and three Calicos waiting for me.  They rush up to meet me as I pull up.  There are some nice shelters here, but I don’t think they all use them.   This is where I feed some of them on the side of the road.  I think one of the reds is territorial in the back, and won’t let the other red back there.  I place a towel down on the ground to help their feet stay somewhat dry, for a minute.
2. Next stop Niagara Street – I have some wonderful shelter for these five or six cats that are hidden, before the @#$@#% owner of the VACANT building comes by to trash them once again.  I place food and water at two spots here.  Just in case. 
3. Next is the little street just beyond that, I don’t know the name of it, but its between Niagara and Hebard.  I have two beautiful huts that were put to the side of the road when the new @#$%!$% owner bought the place at the previous stop.  I know there are two cats using them.  They bolt when I walk up.  Ferals.  I place food and water here.
4.  Next is Central and Second – the Mailbox kitties.  There are at least seven cats here, and I’ve rescued several from here also.  Not all are fixed, but mostly males.  Beautiful shelters here, thanks to the owner of the property allowing me to place them. 
5. Next is Central and Third – where the bully grey stripey kitty hangs, and three others.  A tabby, a white with black, a black, and bully.  Beautiful wooden huts at this location.  Thanks to the City for ‘allowing’ them. 
6. Next is Central near Fifth.  I go to the back of this lot – the winds have been covering my tracks daily, and adding to the torment my legs go through after walking to the back.  I have to dig new paths to get back there, and paths are always helpful to the kitties when they trod back to the food.  There are ……………..  a friendly tabby, another tabby, a black kitty, and a stray white with brown tabby spots, friendly.  There are two fluffy kitties that are close to feral that run from there, but call this home.  Thank God these cats use these beautiful wooden huts that were built for them.  Lifesavers.
7.  Next is Syd and Johnny’s.  There are usually two black cats, one is mom to the kittens I rescued last year, in 2015 when I discovered them.  I’ve rescued many kitties from this location also.  Most recently, Copper.
8. Next is 7^th Street.  There are two cats here for sure, one an older female, spayed, I rescued her babies after they were born, is still here, but hasn’t been looking well these days.    There are some great shelters here also.  Thank you Mayor. 
9. Next is Short Street.  I have seen Sam only once this week.  I think something is going on with him.  I have not seen Big Red in well over a week.  Mr. Whiskers is here, Millie, and a stray with a plastic collar, and a feral tabby.  All waiting.  Every day.  Mr. Whiskers tries running to me as I pull up, but the snow total, and the cold are taking their  toll on him.

As it is for all of them.  I can’t tell you the sadness that fills me if I THINK about it.   The only thing that keeps me going is that I am DOING this, every day, and filling a need for them that no one else is filling.  Food.  Shelter.  That’s all they are surviving on right now.  Those without will perish.  It’s been a brutal beginning to our winter, not just this city, but across the country. 

Total Spots?  Any one add this up?  (Remember the 'front nine' I wrote about the other day.  I still haven't totaled them!  I just know it's a LOT of stops to go to every day!)

And I am sorry for the bad stuff – we have to take the bad with the good – and there is good!  The good is that I woke up today feeling great, I am not sick like my co-workers, and others (Sunday Sheryl missed last Saturday with me – she is sick sick sick), I did my thing, I am off to work, and it’s a new day.  That’s the good.

Smokey Bear

"FANG"

The bad is that I have to take my Smokey bear to the vet today.  Within the past two days, I noticed his eyes are sunken, he has lost a ton of weight, and he isn’t eating.  My precious Smokey.  Perhaps an appetite stimulant will be prescribed, but I have a feeling, when its their time, they show it.  I think he is older than I thought him to be.  I rescued him from Hebard Street maybe 10 years ago?  At that time he was an adult.  So who knows how old he is.  He has lived a good life, for sure.  Well loved, for sure.  We will see what they say about my baby boy, today at 4:30.  Prayers!

On a happy note, look who I got an update on!  Willow, Ziggy and Rusty!  Willow and Ziggy went together, and here are the latest pictures!

Rusty went to my foster Melissa, and here is his latest picture!

Have a great day!