DEC 29th!!! MARY ELLEN F.!!! Feed a Cat for Christmas!

MARY ELLEN F.!!!  Mary Ellen has done so many nice things for me.  Thank you Mary Ellen, for always thinking of me, and helping to feed all these kitties!  Without people like you, I couldn't do this!

Every picture tells a story...  don't it?  (Rod Stewart!)

Be sure to click on the pics to see up close.

I've been feeding this more mostly grey/muted tortie FOR EVER.  This is on Pennsylvania Avenue, and she just won't go back to the shelters in the very back of this lot.  I do need to do something about this location.  There are large rat holes under the shelters.  I heard about dry ice, and would love to try this.  And would love the help.  Anybody want to research this for me?

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2016/09/16/urban-war-rats-cities-turn-to-dry-ice/90409978/

I would need help in obtaining it, and planting it in the holes underneath, and placing a large board on top, and then replacing the shelters on top of that.  Unfortunately, I never placed the board down before placing the shelters, which is always a good idea.  Thank God there are four other cats that ARE using these shelters, despite the rats.

This is the shelter on Niagara/Central.  This is the WORST set up I've ever had to deal with.  I curse the bastard that removed my stuff last summer.  CURSE.  But this is home to at least five cats that I know of.  When its stormy, snow gets inside this, despite a very large tarp, and at least FIVE GREAT shelters underneath.  The opening is facing south, and because of the building, it creates sort of a vacuum effect, where the snow is going everywhere.  I must do something about this or I will SCREAM.  I can't fix it now with the mounds of snow and ice on top of it.

These are the kittens - now a year old - that live here at Central and Second.  I have not yet gotten them fixed.  One out of the two, I call Swirly, is extremely sweet with me, because he LOVES LOVES LOVES wet food.  He is beautiful too.  His brother is a bit feisty.  I call him Swatty.   He's gotten me with his claws before.  Blood everywhere.  just kidding.  Swirly not only has a swirly pattern, but also swirls around my feet.  I could kick him and he still wouldn't move from my feet.  I nearly trip trying to get back to the food dishes, while he greets me from the sidewalk.

If you look close enough, you can see two sets of eyes illuminating from flashlight, in the dark.  This is on Central near Fifth.  These two are feral cats.  I can see their dark, furry little bodies scurrying from the shelters set up here when I arrive, after walking to it 100 feet from the road.  I just rescued Charlie from here last week, and Chewy just a block away the same week.

This is inside the shelter at Central and Fifth.  Here you can see four little ones chowing down on the food.  This is rat city also, but not as bad as the other.   There are no houses close by to complain.

This is a pile of tires at Syd and Johnny's on Bay Street.  There are some great little nesting spots inside this mound and just before I took this picture there was a cat hiding here until I left.  He slipped away during this shot. 

This is inside the Short Street shelter.  You are looking at Sam.  I have not seen Big Red #2 or Mr. Whiskers in a very long time.  Since the cold snap hit.  And then of course, the snow storm.  Quite upsetting.

These are ice disks.  I have to empty out at least 20 bowls of ice each day and replace with hot water.  Water is their lifeblood.  Some of the kitties go straight to the water to drink before they eat.  They are thirsty.  JUST AS birds are.  I hope everyone is able to go out, buy a birdbath, and then go get a birdbath heater.  They really need this in the wintertime. 

I found a plate of this at three locations this morning.  Baldwin and Grand, Parsells #3, and Parsells #2.  Its a plate of something, along with something that looks like hot dogs, or sausage.  You can tell its meant with good intentions, but what cat is going to eat this slop.  And its disturbing that who ever is doing it knows these locations.  And I have a pretty good idea of who it is.  Crazy Lisa.  It certainly is not Crazy Mary Leigh.  She would not do this.  But Lisa would.  But I wish she would stop.

That's about it.  It was 20 degrees out there this morning.  Spring is in the air.

"In the end, we only regret the chances

we didn't take."