My Feral And Rescued Cats

[surya]

I think it is usually for the best when a kitty is returned. Somebody who would do that isn't a "real" cat person and she will get a better home. Sending good vibes for Kelly. Get well soon sweet girl.

 

[Norachan]

Love your new avatar.



That's great about the Cat Cafe helping with adoptions. The ones my lost foster kittens went to charge people for entry, but the drinks are free. They charge people for snacks to feed the cats with and they have merchandising too. They have posters up explaining how much it costs to pull a cat off Death Row, do all the necessary vet work and put them up for adoption. Things like "This t-shirt makes enough to save one cat" or "2 kittens can be vaccinated for the price of this flask."

They have a big Wall of Fame with pictures and details of all the cats they've re-homed since they opened in 2010.

I hope someone falls in love with man and gives him a forever home.

Poor Kelly, it looks like she's popped a stitch there. Hope she's going to be OK.



Poor little Mittow too! Is she coming back to you or back to the shelter? Even my very tame ones don't like being put in the carriers. It takes two of us and usually a blanket or, with the more feral ones, a laundry net to get them in safely.

Whistle's face is a picture! "You're sitting in my spot!"

 

[maggiedemi]

My cats love their carrier because they think it's exciting to go in there and be taken somewhere fun like the garage. I don't know why that is exciting to them, but if I say it in an excited voice, then they get excited. They're weird. I wonder where they get that from.

 

[ileen]

The only thing I use my excited voice for is when there's a bird on the windowsill. I say 'Kitty, come here!' in that excited voice, and he knows it will be good. I'd feel bad if I used it for something else and he expected a bird and there wasn't one.

 

[Jcatbird]

Great news for today! As I sat in the vet’s office with my kitties, I got a phone call. As you all know, Man left the shelter to go to that Cat Cafe but his brother stayed at the shelter. I felt bad that it looked like Man had a better chance of getting adopted and the two had been split up. Things have a way of working out though. His brother, Eisenhower is going to be on the local news tomorrow morning! Of all the cats at the shelter, he was chosen to be featured on their shelter pet adoption spot. Go Eisenhower! Maybe they will both find great homes very soon. They have been waiting their turn for long enough. My hopes for the boys are high.
M maggiedemi I found out that the cafe does have some good rules about limits. Thank goodness. I love it that you have kitties who love their carriers. I try to make these kitties see the carrier as a place of safety. That is one thing that puzzles me about Mittwo. I have only had three cats who resisted the carriers after I got them to see them as a safe place. Those three were never really convinced! Getting them into a carrier is quite a battle but I got a top loading carrier that makes it much easier. I love those carriers! Lol All cats are different.
Mittwo seems to be uninjured

surya I totally agree that it is better that Mittwo was returned. I wouldn’t want any cat to be with a person who would not be considerate and willing to learn how to handle their needs. I don’t expect new cat parents to know everything but I do expect them to learn and respect the life that they take responsibility for.

Norachan Mittwo was returned to the shelter for now. She is under observation to make sure she is okay. Right now she is scared. We don’t know what happened exactly but she insists on laying in her litter box instead of her bed. I have seen this reaction in very frightened cats before. If she does not calm down then I will be bringing her back to stay with me. I don’t know if she will ever be adoptable now but for the moment, I still have hope. Banjo and Whistle suffered trauma. I am still working with them to get them over the effects. They have made very good progress but I still think it will take more work to help them regain trust in other people. I don’t know if they will ever be as confident as they were when they first left me but, again, I still have hope.They are young and it would be better for them to live with a person who is not as old as I am but that may not happen. I worry about what would happen to them if something happened to me. Because of the rescues I have been doing I will be working on making estate arrangements for any of these younger cats that may need care later. A complicated issue I think. I will have to research the laws here.
Anyone with advice on this, please weigh in here.

ileen I am glad you don’t truck the kitties into thinking a bird is there when it isn’t. Trust is super important. I actually have a voice that I use for, “ it may be yucky, but it’s going to be okay”! They all know that means medicine or something they may not like but they understand I won’t mislead them. Do they avoid me when I use that voice? Maybe a little dodging but they do let me work with them. The trust is there. My excited voice is for yummy food or just Mommy wants to give you love. I use that voice after they let me do yucky stuff and I give them something nice to make up for them tolerating whatever it was they did not like. Most of these cats don’t mind vet visits. We do practice runs there where nothing bad happens and all the people at the office just make a fuss over them. We also practice car rides in the carriers. Having had to evacuate with all the cats that really paid off. They were very patient on the 12 to 16 hour trips. I think that was harder on me!

@rubysmama Loving the Avatar! I have had a lot of people comment that they like it. Great choice! Thank you.
The Gingerbread kittens all got through being fixed just fine. They will go up for adoption very soon. My Avatar will be a daily reminder to me of my sweet babies. Your picture of the day is at the end of the post! It’s funny.Silly cat.


Vet talk. Avoid if you don’t like this stuff.
I took Kelly to the vet this morning. She should be okay because I caught the issue. Apparently her surgery left a small air pocket in her and it had collected fluid. The fluid was drained and she is on antibiotics and an anti inflammatory for pain. She is eating and drinking. She was wonderful during the vet visit. She did jump away once but I caught her in mid air so she did not get off the table. Getting the fluid drained made her want to leave but she did not fight us on anything. Not even a hiss. For a newly caught kitty , she did very well! She is a really great cat. Everyone thought she was a beauty too. I agree.
I also got some worm medicine for her. She did not have any fleas but I give Capstar when I am bringing the cats inside to live.

I also had to take my old girl Smokey in to the vet. She has had a very loose bowel movement so she had a fecal. No apparent parasites so I was given something to control her diarrhea. Since she has no other symptoms presenting I am hopeful this will handle her problem.

As always, I hope to provide a smile from a kitty!

You’re late brining my supper so I’m going to ignore you and talk to my friend, the tree!

Wait a minute! What did you bring?

Rats! You got me. Chicken! Ummmmm.
I guess I can talk to the tree after supper!

 

[maggiedemi]

I don’t expect new cat parents to know everything but I do expect them to learn and respect the life that they take responsibility for.

Same here, when I took my 2 cats in, it was forever, for better or for worse. I would have kept the 7 chickens too, but winter was coming and I don't have a barn. I looked at shelters at Tractor Supply, but there just wasn't anything that would keep them warm enough and keep coyotes & coydogs out. But they went to a farmer with a heated barn. He has over 100 chickens, he sells the eggs, so lots of friends for them to play with.

 

[Jcatbird]

M maggiedemi I just had to respond to your chicken story. I once rescued a chicken too. A Siamese cat dropped it on my mother in the middle of the night as she slept! I got a frantic call at 2:00 A.M.. My mom had no idea what was in her dark bedroom and I had to go to investigate. It was a small black chicken. Lol Poor little thing was as scared as my Mom. I kept her as a pet. She lived with my cat and dog. I learned all about chickens then. She became house trained and learned all sorts of tricks. I never knew that chickens could be trained before she came into my life. I let everyone know she was strictly a pet and I named her Fried. That was as close as she would ever get to being cooked! My cat, named Rabbit, and my dog Cotton treated her as one of the family and they all grew up together! It was hilarious to see her sleeping on top of the little house that the dog and cat were sleeping in. It’s amazing what we can learn from and about animals if we just pay attention to them and do a little homework.
Maybe you will enjoy this picture of the three together. I am glad you saved the chickens. A life of eating, living and making eggs isn’t bad at all! I hope this made you smile.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Norachan Mia is a diva because she is so beautiful. That look she is giving the. Camera is priceless! I think some of us burn off all our calories doing a lot of running around!
Following cats in the woods makes me hungry every time!

Bj was missing this morning but apparently he was just hiding from neighbors who were making noise. He met me a little further into the woods this afternoon. He was nervous but okay.

View attachment 254439
( the second plate in this picture was not supper. Lol He didn’t eat breakfast and it was full of ants. I had to toss it out.)
ileen I do everything related to TCS on my phone. I had a home break-in early during the cat rescues and I lost my computer and a few other things. I still have a camera but without my computer it is pretty useless. I still prefer my “old school” Minolta. Lol The phone does a pretty good job but it is hard for me to do all the posting on such a small screen with my vision problems. At some point I will get around to replacing the computer but right now every minute is devoted to the kitties. It can take an entire day just cleaning carriers, cages, bedding etc.
I knew you were probably laughing at BJ’s plate. It was very full. How about a picture of Luciano? I love seeing everone’s kitties. 15 pounds is not exactly a tiny kitty. I have one cat that is long and lean. He has some Siamese in him although he is black. Two of his siblings were marked like Siamese one was kind of half Siamese marked and half black. Purry is almost all black with on tiny spot of white on his chest. He moves and sounds like a Siamese though. Very sleek cat.

M maggiedemi Thanks for that about BJ. Poor kitties getting scared. A mower must look like a monster to them. I am glad Maggie finds safety in your comfort during storms. Kitty trust!

The news for tonight is a little different. I have followed some posts from Norachan about cat cafe adoptions and thought that was a great idea. I even commented to someone recently that I wished we had something like that here. Today I got the news that one of my cats that was at the adoption shelter had been chosen to go for the “Grand Opening” of our new Cat Cafe. He will be staying there and, hopefully, will get adopted. Man is a sweetheart so I hope he finds love quickly. His brother, Eisenhower, was invited to go too but declined the invitation to go with the person who collected the kitties. Hmmmmm. Not sure why. Jazzy will be going to the shelter from foster care on Thursday. The cafe opens on Saturday. Maybe she can join Eisenhower for company. I hope the Cafe is successful. I had imagined it would be coffee and food but this is actually wine and pastries. I have two friends who will be going to check the place out for me. I should have been notified about the transfer but I just found out so I will have some questions about the protocol there. I am told they are following all the same rules as the shelter so it should be a great thing. Man may be very lucky to be there at the opening. Their website promotes no kill for shelters in the future and is donating some portion of certain sales to the shelter. A business that can survive and help the shelter animals could be fantastic! They have some really cute gift items offered. I hope all goes very well. They certainly chose some very pretty cats from the shelter.
For those of you who need a refresher on who Man is, here are a couple of pictures.View attachment 254436

View attachment 254437

Other news of the day is that the Gingerbread babies are well and all three go to be fixed tomorrow. Once they recover at foster care they will go for adoption. This was my final look from them. They were so scared it broke my heart. They are some of the most beautiful kittens I have ever seen. It has been a long journey with them and I am grateful that they have survived all to make it to this point. A large part of me goes with them. It was a very different adventure for them than it was for most of the babies I have saved. I hope that good fortune continues to protect them. Every time I look at the door of the Gingerbread house I will imagine their little faces looking back at me. Good luck my prescious Gingerbread babies!View attachment 254441

View attachment 254444

View attachment 254443
View attachment 254442
No more hunting the woods in the dark for lost babies. I hope they will be safe from now on.

@rubysmama thank you and done! Look top left!

Love the avatar!

 

[catsknowme]

Jcatbird : I love your chicken story! Growing up, we had very few neighbors so my playmates were my chickens & lots of outside cats and 2 watchdogs. So my cats & chickens became very socialized together & that continues to this day. Until earlier this spring, we had a hen named Cheryl who lost a wing to a gang attack by her flock about 5 years ago (it happened in our backyard where our hens were allowed to free range during daylight & cost me a $300+ vet bill). After that, the other hens made Cheryl her target but she would run to the cats when chased & the cats would chase off the marauders! I gave Cheryl one of the cats' recovery cages (a medium dog carrier) for her roosting box on the back porch and until she died, she was an honorary cat.

 

[dustydiamond1]

Great news for today! As I sat in the vet’s office with my kitties, I got a phone call. As you all know, Man left the shelter to go to that Cat Cafe but his brother stayed at the shelter. I felt bad that it looked like Man had a better chance of getting adopted and the two had been split up. Things have a way of working out though. His brother, Eisenhower is going to be on the local news tomorrow morning! Of all the cats at the shelter, he was chosen to be featured on their shelter pet adoption spot. Go Eisenhower! Maybe they will both find great homes very soon. They have been waiting their turn for long enough. My hopes for the boys are high.
M maggiedemi I found out that the cafe does have some good rules about limits. Thank goodness. I love it that you have kitties who love their carriers. I try to make these kitties see the carrier as a place of safety. That is one thing that puzzles me about Mittwo. I have only had three cats who resisted the carriers after I got them to see them as a safe place. Those three were never really convinced! Getting them into a carrier is quite a battle but I got a top loading carrier that makes it much easier. I love those carriers! Lol All cats are different.
Mittwo seems to be uninjured

surya I totally agree that it is better that Mittwo was returned. I wouldn’t want any cat to be with a person who would not be considerate and willing to learn how to handle their needs. I don’t expect new cat parents to know everything but I do expect them to learn and respect the life that they take responsibility for.

Norachan Mittwo was returned to the shelter for now. She is under observation to make sure she is okay. Right now she is scared. We don’t know what happened exactly but she insists on laying in her litter box instead of her bed. I have seen this reaction in very frightened cats before. If she does not calm down then I will be bringing her back to stay with me. I don’t know if she will ever be adoptable now but for the moment, I still have hope. Banjo and Whistle suffered trauma. I am still working with them to get them over the effects. They have made very good progress but I still think it will take more work to help them regain trust in other people. I don’t know if they will ever be as confident as they were when they first left me but, again, I still have hope.They are young and it would be better for them to live with a person who is not as old as I am but that may not happen. I worry about what would happen to them if something happened to me. Because of the rescues I have been doing I will be working on making estate arrangements for any of these younger cats that may need care later. A complicated issue I think. I will have to research the laws here.
Anyone with advice on this, please weigh in here.

ileen I am glad you don’t truck the kitties into thinking a bird is there when it isn’t. Trust is super important. I actually have a voice that I use for, “ it may be yucky, but it’s going to be okay”! They all know that means medicine or something they may not like but they understand I won’t mislead them. Do they avoid me when I use that voice? Maybe a little dodging but they do let me work with them. The trust is there. My excited voice is for yummy food or just Mommy wants to give you love. I use that voice after they let me do yucky stuff and I give them something nice to make up for them tolerating whatever it was they did not like. Most of these cats don’t mind vet visits. We do practice runs there where nothing bad happens and all the people at the office just make a fuss over them. We also practice car rides in the carriers. Having had to evacuate with all the cats that really paid off. They were very patient on the 12 to 16 hour trips. I think that was harder on me!

@rubysmama Loving the Avatar! I have had a lot of people comment that they like it. Great choice! Thank you.
The Gingerbread kittens all got through being fixed just fine. They will go up for adoption very soon. My Avatar will be a daily reminder to me of my sweet babies. Your picture of the day is at the end of the post! It’s funny.Silly cat.


Vet talk. Avoid if you don’t like this stuff.
I took Kelly to the vet this morning. She should be okay because I caught the issue. Apparently her surgery left a small air pocket in her and it had collected fluid. The fluid was drained and she is on antibiotics and an anti inflammatory for pain. She is eating and drinking. She was wonderful during the vet visit. She did jump away once but I caught her in mid air so she did not get off the table. Getting the fluid drained made her want to leave but she did not fight us on anything. Not even a hiss. For a newly caught kitty , she did very well! She is a really great cat. Everyone thought she was a beauty too. I agree.
I also got some worm medicine for her. She did not have any fleas but I give Capstar when I am bringing the cats inside to live.

I also had to take my old girl Smokey in to the vet. She has had a very loose bowel movement so she had a fecal. No apparent parasites so I was given something to control her diarrhea. Since she has no other symptoms presenting I am hopeful this will handle her problem.

As always, I hope to provide a smile from a kitty!

You’re late brining my supper so I’m going to ignore you and talk to my friend, the tree!View attachment 254692
Wait a minute! What did you bring?
View attachment 254694
Rats! You got me. Chicken! Ummmmm.
I guess I can talk to the tree after supper!
View attachment 254695

 

[ileen]

I'm curious - since it was the surgeon's error that caused Kelly to have to come back to the vet, does that mean you won't be charged for this visit/procedure?

 

[maggiedemi]

Jcatbird and catsknowme -- Thank you so much for the chicken stories!
It was one of the best experiences of my life, caring for them. They had such a joy for life and since we didn't have a shelter for them, they loved free ranging all around the house and back field. They were so loving and would run to meet us when we got home. I've already shown this pic before, but here are the magnificent 7:

 

[catsknowme]

.....Awesome chicken picture!! ... May I post one here as well?..
This is Nels our rooster and his remaining hen. They are almost 10 years old.
Their interactions with the feral kitties on the west side of the property and also with the semi-tame/tame kitties in the front yard would make for interesting study in interspecies communication. It was really amazing when our cattle-dog Scooby was alive & they all would hang out under the apple tree together. There is so very much about the animal world that humans don't understand.

 

[maggiedemi]

This is Nels our rooster and his remaining hen

Beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I don't think any of my 7 were roosters, but then again, I don't know how to tell. They all looked the same to me.

 

[Jcatbird]

ileen To answer your question about the surgeon, no luck there as I could not get through to them and since they are a good twenty miles away in the city, I could not just drive her there. I am legal to drive but I worry about vision issues in the high traffic areas. I have a vet I use that is only a few minutes from my home and I was able to get them on the phone. I emailed photos of her and they fit us in. It was expensive but I knew she required help quickly. I will just be eating more peanut butter! Lol The cats will still get their treats. No worries. We do what we have to for our babies don’t we?!?!?!

My good news for today is about more than one kitty.
Eisenhower was featured on the local news and their website as promised.They did a cute piece on WSAV about him being a “Presidential cat although he had not made it to the White House” also “his only two laws were to play with him and love him.”
I hope it will help.
The other good news ( choked me up) Gingerbread babies, Bright and Avatar went up for adoption today and were both adopted today. Best part...... they were adopted together!

dustydiamond1 I always love having your support here.
catsknowme and M maggiedemi love the chickens! Beautiful babies. Isn’t it great how cats can get along other creatures?
I have blended cats with all kinds of other creatures. Kitties are naturals at sharing love.

To all others who stop in to check on the kitties and provide cheer and support, I always take note of that and appreciate it. Thank you to all who comment, praise or stay quietly in the shadows. The kitties need you all.

Our smiles for tonight come from two kitties.

BJ is getting more comfortable with me. It helped that the neighbors were not out.

Maybe petting should come before eating! Wow!

Petting combined with eating makes a kitty happy.

An added treat. I could swear I almost see a kitty smile!

I know I see a kitty wink!

Last ,but not least, as I was posting all of this I got some support and a Snuggle from our little Whistle. Time to stop and love the kitties.

 

[catsknowme]

WooHoo! Congratulations to Bright, Avatar & new family
I love the theme for Eisenhower's article! I am sending prayers and vibes that Heaven sends him a wonderful family very soon
And thank you for the pictures! I love seeing the kitties

 

[Norachan]

My good news for today is about more than one kitty.
Eisenhower was featured on the local news and their website as promised.They did a cute piece on WSAV about him being a “Presidential cat although he had not made it to the White House” also “his only two laws were to play with him and love him.”
I hope it will help.
The other good news ( choked me up) Gingerbread babies, Bright and Avatar went up for adoption today and were both adopted today. Best part...... they were adopted together!

Jcatbird Your posts always bring a smile to my face and a tear to my eye. That's wonderful news about Eisenhower. I hope he finds someone to love him as much as you do. I'm sure he will make a wonderful pet.

Yay for those little gingerbread babies being adopted so fast and together! That news really made my day.

BJ looks like he's really starting to trust you now. Amazing progress!

 

[surya]

Yay for the gingy kitta's! I love BJ's black nose.

 

[CL56]

I have read this whole thread.
Just...Thank you !

 

[maggiedemi]

Love the pics of BJ. Tomcats have always been my favorite since I was a kid and had Mally, the best boy cat in the world. I hope I can find a pic of him to show you. Great news about Bright & Avatar! What happened to "my" kitten Violet?

I never let Demi & Maggie out with the chickens. We put up a fence type gate over the garage door and they would talk to each other. Maggie tried to smack one and got pecked. She never tried that again! They put her in her place.