Worst Morning Ever

My worst nightmare came true.  The Jeepster aka Cat Mobile is down and out, and I am afraid cannot be fixed this time.  The frame is rusted and part of it fell right to the ground.  It shifted so much it was pushing into the tire.  This happened, thank GOD, right after I finished up my rounds and was on my way home.    And here I just spent $500 on it for two separate visits to the mechanics.  I am sort of numb.  I don't know what my next move it, but something must be done.  I was thinking, OK, I have my own car, my little leased car, but that will not hold what I need it to hold.

Not only will it not hold shelters, but traps also.  I am scheduled to TNR four cats on March 19th.  I cannot fit four traps, plus all the gear I take every morning:

1. towels
2. plates
3. three huge jugs of water
4. seven two-gallon sized bags of dry food
5. six large containers of wet food
6. bag of a dozen wet food cans
7. straw
8. carrier
9. extra shelter in case I need it
10. tarps
11. wooden boards
12. pallet
13. bricks

Yes, I bring all this with me in the morning on my rounds to feed over 100 cats spread out at 19 different locations. 

To make matters worse, crazy Lisa, who lives two houses down from where I feed and shelter cats on my first Parsells stop, has been tearing apart my shelters there.  She went on a rampage yesterday (after I leave, I have no idea when she went over there) and all the shelters were thrown about on the little porch, all the straw was removed from them, the plastic totes had the added insulation of Styrofoam removed from them, and the boards and tarp were all askew.  I think she got angry because I put her blanket she put there by the side of the road the morning before.  In her sick mind, she thinks these blankets will be of benefit to me, and I've gently placed them by the side of the road before, to somehow let her know I don't appreciate her messing around on this vacant house's porch.  So the cats that used those shelters spent a cold night under the bushes, waiting for me to arrive in the morning.

This morning, nothing was touched, but I did leave the note stating I would send the police, and call her landlord, if she continued.  Hopefully that will make her think.  

I visited Parsley and Hermie yesterday, who are both still frightened and hiding under the foster's bed in the spare bedroom she has them in.   I brought over a string to play and some cat nip, but they wanted nothing to do with it.  I will keep trying.  I wish she lived closer, I would swing by there every day to get them to trust me.  But that would be intrusive on their lives so I will hold off on that idea.  :)

Muffin is to be returned to me today.  I wish it had worked out.  In the meantime, I do have someone interested, who also has a dog, but this time, Muffin must be introduced to a dog very carefully, and very slowly.  Its not that the adopter didn't do well, but I think it just wasn't done well enough.   But still good people.  But poor Muffin.  Its the cats that suffer when returned.

Chewy is still shy - is gaining weight slowly, and still at her foster mom's in Caledonia.  Simon - aka Marti, whom her foster mom adopted after her first time at being a foster, still has not been seen.  I am sick to my stomach over him since he got out of the house 3-4 weeks ago.  Sick.

I have not seen Big Red #2 in a few days.  I know he is OK, he is a tough survivor, but I worry about him still.

I need heavy dinner plates.  I know I have received some in the past, but I seem to need more and more.  Remember, I have probably three plates at each location I go to.  If anyone is getting rid of their old plates, I can use them.  Please do not buy them for me.  

Lets get these guys adopted so that I can rescue more!