Tales from the Hood

Well another week has come and gone, I managed to find a home for two of the four kittens that I/we (Kristin) rescued two Friday's ago, this blog site is still not working properly, my hair is still a wreck, and despite my finding homes for at least 100 cats over the past few years, there are so many cats that are still homeless out there. And I mean these are GOOD cats, sweet cats, lap cats. I've been keeping my eye on a feral kitten on Pennsylvania and Fourth. The little itty bitty thing races to a garage of an abandonded boarded up ready for demolishing house and crawls under the slanted boarded up door. Then there are the other kitties that will allow me to get just so close to them, their eyes constantly watching me, wary, waiting for me to leave so that they can eat.

And then there are those that sidle right up to me, allowing me to hold them in my arms for a small moment of time, scratching them just there, and purring loudly as if to say 'thank you for being so kind to me.' The kind black man on Second Street, Paul, who has allowed me to feed behind his house all these years, came out yesterday to say the raccoons were back and now in his attic. I feel terrible about this, and the man never blames me, nor does he tell me i can't feed behind his house (when we both know full well that the food I put down attracts all sorts of critters, including his raccoons). I told him I would put a feeler out there to see if anyone can help him out, see if there is a handyman that would be willing to donate his time and talent to help him out - it would be a sort of donation to me to help him - but unfortunately, I don't know too many handymen that are reading this blog, and I rarely get a response from my 'friends' on Facebook when I need help, so I doubt that once again I can help Paul out. I did leave him a small gift card for Wegmans with a note thanking him. I try to do that for him and two others that allow me to feed cats on their property, twice a year - its the least I can do. If anyone ever gets gift cards for anything and would like to donate to me so that I donate to them as a thank you for their compassionate hearts, I will take them!

A friend sent me the link to this article:

"San Diego bans commercial sale of pets in effort to stop puppy mills"
 In a move aimed at keeping puppy mill animals off the retail market and encouraging more adoption of shelter animals, the San Diego City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to ban the commercial sale of all dogs, cats and rabbits. The new ordinance, which will go into effect in 30 days, says that pet retailers may only offer adoptions of animals they've obtained from city or county shelters, humane societies and nonprofit rescue groups. Retailers were upset, saying the blanket measure unfairly penalizes "well-run" shops. Animal advocates disagree: "Every time we do a pet store investigation [after a complaint], we find that puppy mills are the suppliers," said a spokesperson for the Humane Society of the United States. San Diego is the 32nd U.S. city to pass such a ban."

This is great news, now we need to spread this law to every city across the country! Have a great weekend!

TGIT!

Hmmm, wonder if this is fixed.  I hope you are able to see this timeline image above of how many kittens can be born from just two unspayed/neutered cats - although I still don't think this blog is functioning correctly.  Again, please bear with me.

This morning I was approached by this tall, thin, crazy eyed-looking, clean cut black guy who - pointing to a truck on the side of the street - asked me for some cash - he said 'can ya help a brother, I just need $1 or $2, I will give it back to you, I just need to get gas for my truck'.  I held the bag of cat food and jug of water up and said, "look, I don't carry money with me, if I had it, I just carry cat food and water."  I felt bad, but then I thought, who is walking around in that neighborhood, no gas, no phone, not a dime to his name.  Unless he is feeding cats, he is trouble.  So he muttered something and went on his way.  So did I.  Cats were out in full force this morning, all hungry, all waiting.  I saw a total of four raccoons.  I was also able to finally pet a kitty on Baldwin that I have thought was pregnant.  I felt under her belly, and for the quick time I had with her, she either recently gave birth, or she is pregnant.  I've reached out to Habitat for Cats for a clinic appointment with them for her for next Wednesday, have yet to hear back, but hopefully this little girl will get fixed one way or another.  So sweet and pretty she is.  My heart breaks each morning at something I see.  They are all so hungry out there!

“Hope” is the thing with feathers - (314)

By Emily Dickinson 1830–1886 Emily Dickinson

“Hope” is the thing with feathers -

That perches in the soul -

And sings the tune without the words -

And never stops - at all -

And sweetest - in the Gale - is heard -

And sore must be the storm -

That could abash the little Bird

That kept so many warm -

I’ve heard it in the chillest land -

And on the strangest Sea -

Yet - never - in Extremity,

It asked a crumb - of me.

Sgt. Pepper & Penny Lane!

I received some very good news today. The red kittens I rescued two weeks ago have a home! Here is what their new 'mom' wrote me this morning: "Hi Janine! It is with great excitement that I tell you that our family would love to welcome both the kitties into our home! We will return from Keuka Lake on Sunday, but not until late. I would love to get them Monday evening, but I have to work a full day on Tuesday for professional development and I want to be home on their first day. We are able to get them on Tuesday late afternoon/evening though, anytime that is convenient for you. We can come to your house or you are welcome to drop them off if you would rather do that. I have a couple of questions about food, but that is about it. I hope their shots go well tomorrow! Please let us know if there are any costs we can help with or cover and I do plan on a donation to you for sure. Although I did love the names Colby and Brie, we have decided on Beatles related names... we are all four of us fans. Colby will be Sgt. Pepper (but called Pepper) and Brie will be Penny Lane (but called Penny). So I have to get used to calling them Pepper and Penny now instead of Colby and Brie! Let me know about Tuesday and thanks again for your patience and support!!!!" Adopting out kittens or cats that I've rescued is the best feeling in the world. It makes all the hassle you go through to build their trust (adult cats) and eventually pick them up from the worst conditions imaginable, and find them homes just makes it all worthwhile. I am absolutely thrilled about this news. Thank you Susan! Now must find homes for the other two! I have to work on this blog site, as I am not able to post pictures nor separate paragraphs, so bear with me! GREAT NEWS!!!!!!

The Scoop

There is something wrong with the blog, again, so forgive the run-on paragraphs. And I can't insert pictures! I don't like this website, there is always something wrong. But I have a gazillion posts on this since I started writing this in 2008, so I just pray its a temporary glitch, and I won't lose all these years of writing about my views and opinions, and what I witness each day that I am out there feeding Rochester's homeless cats. The kittens I rescued two weeks ago are still up for grabs. The family that met "the Twins" Brie and Colby are still thinking about it, and the other two have been temporarily named and I received this report from the kind girls that are fostering them: "Our favorite names are Izzy for the black girl and Blake for the tiger boy. They are both a bit small at 1.7lbs and 8wks. They have been treated for fleas, worms , and have their first shots! The girl loves attention and wants to lay in your lap all day. The little boy also likes attention, but wants to play with anything that moves (the dogs tail!) They are so lucky that you were there to get them off the streets. We will continue to search for homes for them. Let us know if you have any leads." I finally saw the kitten mama on Seventh Street this morning. She had been TNR'd last Wednesday, and I had not seen her since she was released back there the following Thursday morning. I did NOT see her remaining kitten, the one we could not catch, sibling to Blake and Izzy. I pray she is still alive, and that her mama just moved her for a few days. I still have not been able to trap the mother cat on Sixth, who maybe two months ago had her babies - there were at least six cats hanging here this morning, half have been neutered and spayed, half not. I am also not able to trap the mother cat on Hayward, she is usually around, along with the pretty calico that was TNR'd in her place just before she had her babies about nine weeks ago. This untrappable mom is mother to Brie and Colby. Apparently mother had at least six kittens. I have not seen any others here since. There is a very tiny kitty on Baldwin who waits for me each morning, she is a beautiful fluffy light grey, with a little white, and I suspect she is pregnant. She will let me just touch her nose, and then backs away quickly. All three cats here are very hungry by the time I arrive here each day, their bowls empty from the previous morning. Finally, I have not see Neck Wound Kitty in quite a while. I am very saddened by this because the poor animal has suffered from this wound for years. There are some I just can't help - on my own. Thats the news for the day. I wish you a good one!

Hazy Lazy Crazy Days...

So much going on this weekend. On top of the high humidity we’ve experienced since the springtime, and REALLY bad hair days, I am seeing extra sadness all around the neighborhoods. I see kittens, I see pregnant cats, I see injured cats, I see cats that are just too sweet to be homeless. My friend Kristin and her husband came by yesterday to try to trap the sole kitten on Seventh that we were not able to rescue when we caught her two siblings a week ago Friday. No sign of kitten, and no sign of the mama kitten there either, since she was TNR’d last week. I am heartsick over this, as this is a sole kitten of only 8-9 weeks old, and probably crawling with fleas, as her two siblings were. I have yet to hear an update from the two girls that offered to foster them. I am hoping to get one, with their names, and updated photos to send around so that they will be adopted soon. The other two kittens I rescued same day, Brie and Colby, the two orange twins, are doing well. I brought them in on Saturday to Petco where Another Chance Pet Rescue was holding their weekly adoption event, and one of the workers there gave them their deworming pills. They were then brought over to a very nice family out in Webster to do a meet and greet. I have to admit, I am not the best at trying to sell kittens, as they are a rarity to me. I have rescued hundreds of 5 months to adult age cats, and adopted them out no problem, but I was at a loss answering some questions about these tiny kittens. The only thing I was sure about was that they need a home quickly, they need permanency and love so that they can begin to build some trust with these big creatures handling them and carting them all over the place. I am hoping and praying they will be adopted together. Fingers crossed! Over the weekend I had some time to think about what I do. Day in and day out, I get up at 4 am. and head out the door at 5 am. for an hour long journey into the hood to feed over 50 cats (and raccoons, opossums, and probably a few rats!), costing me $100 per week ($400 per month) just to feed them (thats a really nice car payment, which I could use). This doesn’t include the usual fee of $35 per cat to get them fixed, and have their shots, and sometimes more than that when I need to rush a cat to my vet, which is well over $100. People have questioned me lately, like how long can you continue to do this? My usual answer is ‘until I am able.’ When you pull up to each spot and see three to four cats sitting there, knowing the sound of your car, and some running up to greet you with a hungry ‘meow’ that says FEED ME, and you get to their empty food and water bowls, and dump the liquid and food down, and they hungrily gobble it up, how can you NOT go and feed them each morning? I just don’t know how, or when the day will come when I give up. But in the meantime, I trudge forward.

Mud On My Face

Well, I was out there this morning at 5:15 with tuna in one hand, and a trap in the other.  I set the trap on Hayward in hopes of getting the mama kitty, mother of Brie and Colby, and several others, and went on to my feedings.  I swung back several times, no cats in sight.  I crossed over Goodman and started on the second half of my route.  Meanwhile, on Seventh Street, Laura was out with her drop trap trying to get mama kitten and her one baby left there.  Thank God for Laura, she managed to get mama kitten.  After doing most of my spots, I went back to Hayward and grabbed the empty set trap, and took it to Sixth Street where there is also a new mama kitty (I have not seen her babies at all) of at least two months, and a family of tabbies, half of which have been TNR'd.  I set it and went on to talk to Laura on 7th, and then went back to find NOTHING.  They weren't buying it for some reason, even though they WERE hungry.  So Laura advised she would set up shop there - she had been hoping to get the kitten meanwhile.  So I went and got my trap, and left to get ready for work.  I felt bad on the way home, knowing I was promised two spots at the HFC clinic, and its not good when you don't bring in your allotment because you are taking a spot from another trapper who CAN get a cat.  I know I do all the right things when trapping, but its so unpredictable, they just weren't falling for my smelly tuna!



Regular Trap

 I found out that Laura was successful in getting a male on Sixth with her drop trap, so I don't feel as bad.  Yay!  Now I must continue to try for the mama on Hayward, the mama on Sixth, and the baby kitten left on Seventh!


Drop Trap

 I am off starting tomorrow - I will try to post here and there when I can.  Please have a safe and happy holiday week/weekend!

"Your kindness will be remembered much longer than your brilliance".

Bath Time!

I had a great 3-day weekend pretty much until Sunday night when I received some tragic news in my family and  I am slowly coming back around to normalcy, hence no new post yesterday.  I received an update from Julie D. and her daughter Liz who are fostering the first two kittens that Kristin and I rescued Friday morning:  "Hi Janine!  The kittens are doing good and eating lots! We are still working on names because my daughter had her baby this weekend.  They also love our basset hound Clark and cant stand to be away from each other. Good luck with the twins!"


BRIE




COLBY


As for the 'twins', they are doing great, for 8 week old kittens, they are playing, eating, using a litterbox, and are the cutest little purring furballs around.  They just need a home.  I actually gave them a bath this morning.  When I got them, I didn't notice any fleas but I looked closer at them yesterday and noticed a little flea dirt, so I bathed them in Dawn dish detergent this morning.  They looked like wet little rats!  I tried to get a good picture, but as usual, I don't have very good cameras, I experience a lot of problems with them. 

When I went back to Hayward to pick them up late Friday morning from the neighbor that left me the note at my spot stating that she had caught three, she - Jenny - was leaving for Kentucky and was just staying there at her 'son's apartment' - this is the apartment next to the other apartment where a few months back I saw a woman either being thrown out of, or jumped through, a plate glass door.  Freaky.  Anyways, Jenny was very nice, and said she was able to catch the kittens when they were in a plastic tote that I have there as shelter.  A child from down the street came to the door and was telling me that she believed the mother cat had SIX kittens.  She stated that her mother had found homes for a few also.  I had enough on my mind that I knew I had to just get out of there, and pray the others would be OK.   I left the child my card to give to her mother with my phone number in case she saw any more kittens.  I came back the next day and sure enough, saw a baby kitten sprinting away.  Regardless, the mother will be hopefully trapped tomorrow morning as I have two spots at the clinic, and Laura has offered to help me.  Say prayers that we get this momma, and the momma on Seventh Street.  There is one kitten left on Seventh, but I haven't seen it in two days now.  It could be hiding right under me when I go feed there in the morning.  I am still on a mission to catch this lonely baby. 

Anyways, thats the 'scoop' for now.  This life of rescue I've chosen keeps me very busy, and very unfocused.  There is so much to do and very little brain cells left to keep myself straight and organized!


LEO - Needs Adoption!!!