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Cupid's looking great, BUT...

Last night I noticed a bald patch on the back of her left rear leg. It doesn't look crusty and at the center there's a hematoma or a blue vein. Not sure which. It also looks like her upper lip is swollen. Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!!

Are we looking at “Typhoid Cupid?” Is she the harbinger of ringworm in MY HOUSE??? Ho boy. Fun-city.

It's good to be me. You're jealous. I can tell!

For those of you who would like an update on Mercedes, the 20-yr old tortie we adopted from GA, I uploaded a new video of her. :D

Mercedes - still going strong.MPG
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zj_hh7fnemA

:D
There are more vids up there too. http://www.youtube.com/isilwath
Enjoy. ;D

The kittens and Cupid have outgrown their foster room, so I let them run down the hallway, into our bedroom for a chance to stretch out. The only problem is now I can't KEEP them in their room. The second I open the door, they all make a mad dash for freedom!

I was able to corral most of the cats before they met our cat, Nicky, but Donner and Prancer had a head start and were very curious to meet the gigantic stranger! I didn't let them get too close, but Nicky was very neutral and so were the kittens.

Yay!

I just received a lot of four vintage postcards illustrated in Germany by Mainzer in the early 1900's. These cats getting into all sorts of mischief, but they're also really bizarre. There's a cat who looks angry that the other cats are in his yard and he's got a DOG with him for protection!

More postcards to come! Wait 'til you see the smoking themed one!

A few years ago I trapped Buddy (left) and Bronte (right). They're wild babies, but that's tough to tell from this photo.

We've had a feral cat house (see under the blanket??) for the cats for years, but they never seem to use it. We found a possum in there and some chipmunks, but that was about it.

Each winter I've rigged up a box with an outdoor rated, heated cat bed inside it so the cats can get warm. The raccoons found it so I had to toss it out. This year I got a cheap electric throw and set it up in a nice box. The cats wouldn't go into it, even after a week and with it being so very cold this time of year, Sam suggested taking it out of the box and putting it on the cat house.

It worked well enough that Bronte began to use it. She is less fearful of us and trusts that we won't disturb her. Buddy, however, is very suspicious and always runs out the door every time we feed him. This photo captures something we've never seen before-Buddy, relaxed and resting comfortably with Bronte by his side. These cats are not related, but show how cats in the wild can get along just as well as cats in any home-as long as there's a darn good reason.

An electric blanket cranked up to “10” might be one of them.

Yes, only the best for my cats whether they live in my house or outside of my house!

From Left: Dancer, Blitzen, Prancer (back), Donner (yes, it should be Donder, I know!).

Yes, it's the infamous, Dancer the “Ghost Kitten” flying over/through? Blitzen! Time to call Jason & Grant from Ghost Hunters to come over and investigate!

Cupid has no idea how lucky she is to be alive. Not only did she escape a High Kill Shelter when she had less than 24hrs before she was separated from her offspring and very likely to be put down, but she survived a thousand mile transport, and being nursed on to the point of almost killing her. Cupid got sick, too and has managed to recover enough to be spayed. She relapsed a bit, but nothing serious. She's gained a few POUNDS in just over a month. This lady has won the lottery a million times over.

The time has come to start finding Cupid the perfect home. I've already had to say, “No” to an adopter. It's just not a good fit. Cupid is not going to be an outdoor cat. She's been through too much and her coat is finally sleek and beautiful. To allow her to run around, risk getting parasites, fleas, injured, you know the drill...well I just can't do it. Sure, we do adopt out to folks who let their cats outdoors, but we also have special circumstances and this is one. Cupid will have the best life I can give her and the best home I can find. I would rather say no again and again, until it really feels “right” to me. I don't care how long it takes.

I have lots of time, now. I won't be fostering any more cats until “Kitten Season” kicks in in our town in May.

Cupid is the last mama-cat I can save from Georgia. We will no longer be doing any transports other than with our new partner New Hope, a group affiliated with Animal Care & Control in NYC. It was not my decision to end doing transports and I understand why we have to pull back, but I hope to find a way to help the cats of Georgia. They are in such dire need, we all need to band together and find a solution for the overpopulation problem and the over-euthanasia problems there.

I am forced to close my doors, but I will never close my heart.

Cupid and her kittens made it. All the others I was lucky enough to get here before her were lucky, too. They were also the prettiest, sweetest cats I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with-all 32 of them.

I feel badly turning my back on the ones in Georgia that need help the most, but I look at it as only temporary, until I can find another way to help. If any of you are interested in helping cats in Georgia, let me know. Maybe we can team up and do something amazing!

People ask me all the time; how can I foster? Doesn't it upset me when the kitties get adopted? Don't I cry? Don't I want to keep them all? Sure. Of course I do. I love all my foster cats, even if they're only here for a day. Thing is, usually I have foster cats for just a few weeks. Right at the point where I'm getting attached, it's time for them to move on. I feel sad, some times I'm glad and it doesn't break my heart at all. I know I'm doing a good thing and that can sustain me. I also know I can't save more cats, if I keep them all and realistically, adding to my cat-family would be tough on the others who are already here.

In over four years of fostering, I've never adopted one kitten. There was one I wish I adopted and I still miss her, but I can live with that.

Each day Cupid gets more and more relaxed and contented with her life in Connecticut. It sure beats living in a cramped cage in a Kill shelter!

This is the group that will test my willpower and ability to say No. I've had Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Dancer & Prancer here for almost six weeks. In that time, not only did I feed them and clean up after them, but I medicated them up to 50 times, in total, per day. I washed their snotty faces. Took them on endless Vet runs. I brushed out their rough coats. I held them until they slept, sharing the warmth of my body to help soothe their disease and give them comfort. My heart is connected to each one in ways I haven't with all the others.

Donner in her usual place, passed out on my shoulder.

I won't keep them all, but breaking them apart will be awful. Cupid is ready to go. Her URI is all but gone. She's spayed. She gained weight. She's tired of being cooped up, so I let her and the kittens run down the hallway and into my bedroom so they can stretch out a bit more. The love to run laps on the rug and chase each other from the master bathroom, then dive bomb under the bed. It's wonderful to watch them, but I know the days are coming to an end when they will all be together. I know it will break Cupid's heart too, but what can I do?

Donner, Cupid and Blitzen (below, right) enjoy having a new place to hang out.

I knew they would leave one day. I knew it before they ever arrived. As with all my fosters, I ready myself for that. Reminding myself of the goal at hand-save as many as I can. Let them all go to good homes. Send them on their journey without complaint. It's what I have to do. I don't have to like it and I don't like it. I don't know that I can say goodbye to Donner & Blitzen. I'm trying. Really I am. I'm trying to let them go now, but every time I look at them or Blitz gives me his belly to rub, I melt a little bit more and I am one step further down a path I should not tread.

Sadly thinking about the days ahead and the farewells I will have to make while Donner dreams of her forever home and wonders if she has already found it.

I got some new images of Will the other day. Yes, “that Will,” the one who lived in South Carolina, who was hit by a car, rescued, taken to a shelter where they could not care for him, was rescued by me and our CiCH friend, Jenna, then was taken to Dr. Anderson's for care and recovery, then who was adopted by Clare and her nutty British family in Connecticut. Whew! That was a mouthful.

Will is doing just GREAT. He fits in purrfectly with his new family and has taken over the place, if you ask me.

Will likes to play hide and seek. I bet you can't find him in this photo.

Will also likes to help around the house. Here you can see him “helping.”

Will also loves his fellow felines. Where they go, he goes. Again, he's just trying to shove, I mean, show his appreciation for being with such a great family by hogging, I mean snuggling with them whenever he can. At least Millie, the dog, can use her dog bed if Will is hogging, I mean resting on the chair.

Will, you never cease to amaze me. Keep up the good work.