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We lost a sister on Feb. 3, 2009; someone who made a big difference in the life of cats, especially those who suffer with Asthma.

Kathryn with Fritz the Brave, her inspiration for helping all cats with Feline Asthma
Photo: James Perkins

Although I never met Kathryn in person, I did have the good fortune to correspond with her during a time when I really needed a friend. My kitty, Spencer, had breathing problems—a constant wheeze that, at times, sounded like he wasn't getting enough oxygen. I had taken Spencer to Vets and Specialists. I also did a lot of research, trying to figure out what was wrong with my boy. There were suggestions that it could be ear polyps, then perhaps, a tumor, skull malformation from an old injury, then-asthma?

That's when I found Fritz the Brave—the best and most informative web site for cats suffering with Asthma. I shyly wrote to Kathryn, hoping to get some sort of reply. I was so scared for my cat. I didn't want him to die and now I was faced with having to possibly give him asthma medication for the rest of his life! Kathryn was amazing! She wrote me right back and talked to me at length about what to do, how to do it. She shared with me information on Dr. Padrid that I could give to my own Vet, a well as arranging for me to get an AeroKat™ inhaler for FREE (and I was going through a bad divorce at the time and money was very tight. Boy did this help me a lot!).

With Kathryn's knowledge and compassion I was able to help my own Vet learn more about this new (at the time) treatment for Feline Asthma. I felt empowered to do whatever I need to do for Spencer, instead of feeling alone. Kathryn had an amazing personality. It was truly brilliant. Her heart was radiant. It was easy to like her and admire her. I would be deeply humbled if I could make as great an impact on the lives of cats as she did in her short time here.

It took two years to get to a diagnosis for Spencer. He had hyposensitization therapy, was treated for asthma, was treated for allergies via a nebulizer and after ALL that...nothing. All they could come up with was that Spencer had an Upper Respiratory Infection before I adopted him. It went on for so long that it built up scar tissue in his right sinus and that's why he wheezes. To this day, Spencer has that funny wheeze, but his health is overall quite fantastic.

I never forgot Kathryn and her kindness. As fate would have it, on FLICKr, who of all people should I "bump" into, but Kathryn's husband, James Perkins! Through James, I came to find out about Kathryn's sudden passing last month and I also learned more about her legacy. For all that troubled her and all of her life's difficulties, she did so many amazing things. It's a tragedy that Kathryn is gone.

To see photos of Kathryn and learn more about her you can visit James Flickr Page and on her web site's About Page on Fritz the Brave Here

When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space

---Pema Chodron

Okay. I coined a phrase, then, inspired by my brilliance, Sam came up with one, too.(Or he was competing with me again, to see who is more clever, not sure which.)

POOPSICLE:

Those clumpy bits of feces that get stuck to a cat's rear end. I also call these: CHOCOLATE CHIPS

"Honey, get me a paper towel, Nora has a few Poopsicles I need to remove. Eww!"

STOOLAGTITES:

Ever visit a cave? See those rock crystal formations that hang off the roof of the cave? What if they hung off your cat's rear end? Same thing as POOPSICLE, but classier since it refers to Geology AND Scatology!

Uh oh, I think I coined another phrase. IS there such a thing as SCATOLOGY?

OMG...THERE IS!!!!!!!!!
OMG!

...a new brand of GRAIN-FREE canned cat food just came out!

I'm all excited to talk about it, but first, I want to do some in-house testing to see if my furry buggers will eat it.

First can was a BIG success. Spencer, who usually nibbles, scarfed his down and left a CLEAN PLATE! All but Gracie (par for the course) really seemed to like it. It stank up good-just the way they like it AND I didn't have to warm it up first to get it nice and smelly-which I seem to end up doing to my Wellness/Weruva combo.

The other positive thing about this food is that it's LESS expensive than what I feed now, so this will certainly help in the budget area and maybe will help other folks switch over to grain-free feeding?

Ok. Can't get too excited yet. Must do some research, contact the company and get some photos for you guys, first.

Stay tuned!

It's almost spring. I just heard that our group took in the first pregnant Mama cat of the 2009 Kitten Season! I know it's both bad and good-bad that we have to help more homeless cats and GOOD that we CAN help more homeless cats. We have the resources and staff to handle this ONE Mama and we are ready to take on MANY more as the season unfolds.

This will be my third full season being a Foster Mom. I must LOVE it because I am JONESING for some KITTENS in a BAD WAY. I MISS having the honor of witnessing the daily miracle of them opening their eyes for the first time, their first purr, the first time they make true eye contact, then run up to me with their tail held high. I love it when they pass out COLD after eating or playing. I love it more when they pass out on ME-even if it means I am frozen in position for an hour!

Yes, sure, as Anne has said, as I have said before-it IS painful to see them go. I always cry, BUT I'm always happy because I would have been MUCH sadder if those cats died without anyone to help them. I would much rather have some pain, knowing they got to have a good start and the chance at a good life.

This is Daisy and Poppy. My most beautiful kittens! I miss them SO MUCH. They got adopted together-YAY, by a really nice lady and her family. I wish I could see them now! These two and their Mama, Rose, were a sheer delight. I hope I'm lucky enough to have more good kitties this year.

I have to admit that I do have some fear. I don't want to bring ANY disease into my house. Last year I had to deal with giving meds to ALL my cats for 10 days because they picked up Upper Resp from Rose. I try to be careful. All fosters are separated from my guys, but it wasn't enough..even hand sanitizer and washing hands. I hope I don't bring trouble into my home.

I also fear that I still haven't had any kittens pass away on me yet. I know that will happen one day and I try to prepare myself for "Failure to Thrive" happening or a stillborn kitten. I can only take it day by day and for now, look forward to getting my hands on some cuties soon!

I think that my blog entries thus far have been some form of protest about the state of animal welfare. I can be positive, and I am thankful for many things.

I am thankful for my pets. They love me, I love them. We take care of each other.

I am thankful that Robin started this site. It's good to know that others are out there working hard for our companions.

I think it might be getting better for domestic animals. There are so many of us educating others and animal welfare is often a headline. It may be the rotten folks getting the headlines, but I believe that can be educational.

It may make me sad to say goodbye, but I'm thankful that I have the opportunity to foster. A chance is better than the street.

Tattoo your cat?

You are an IDIOT.

Risk your cat's life by allowing it to be anesthetized for THREE HOURS, endure the PAIN of a ridiculous and UGLY tattoo just to say you did it first. You're a SICK SICK jerk and I feel sorry for your cat. I hope someone removes it from your home.

JERK!

Pic: Balkanpix.com

I have a great idea. I'm going to dye my white cat, blue so I can be, cool, too!

Not!

Yes, and this person is allowed to own a cat. Great.

(thanks to Super-Deb for the link)

Chip made it to R.O.A.R.'s web site and his adoption ad went live this morning. He looks like he finally got that bath he desperately needed, but he does look sad. I hope his Petfinder photo gets updated soon, so folks can see how sweet this boy really is!

Chip photo by R.O.A.R. staff member

Chip had a VERY busy week, being trapped, neutered, tested, FED, loved and moved on to a Shelter to find his new, loving family. I hope Chip finds his home SOON.

See Chip's adoption information HERE

I've been crying today. I took my 7 foster cats - Mom and her 6 babies, who were born on my watch - to the shelter to have their spay and neuter surgeries today. Val and Mack will go to their new home tonight and the other 5 are back home with me to recuperate.

I haven't been crying because Val and Mack don't live with me any longer. I really couldn't be happier about their new family; they are wonderful, loving people who took exceptional care of the cat they had before.

I haven't ben crying over the general idea of fostering cats to eventually go into other homes. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Poor Chip. Not only did he have a bad case of worms, but he did have some boo-boo's, no doubt from altercations with other cats. We don't know how long he was on his own, but due to his poor coat condition and low weight, it's probably been awhile. Perhaps he's been on his own for the entire winter?

It's been a tough one this year, for certain. Lots of snow, frigid temperatures and even a few ice storms. I honestly don't know how ANY of these cats survive. It's one of the things I HATE about winter. I wish I could protect all the free-roaming cats from having to struggle to survive in harsh conditions. They need to be in a nice, warm home with a full belly and lots of love.

photo by Trapper Jeanne

The good news for Chip is that Jeanne was able to find a placement for him at ROAR and he didn't even have to get onto a waiting list (usually NOT the case!). I don't know much about this Shelter, but everything I do hear is VERY VERY positive. If I had to choose a place for Chip, other than my own home, I'd aim for ROAR, first.

photo by Trapper Jeanne

A few days ago, Chip was placed at ROAR. I haven't seen his adoption listing come up yet, but as soon as it's live, I'll post it here. If anyone in the area of Northern Fairfield County, Connecticut is looking for a sweet, golden-eyed friend, please contact ROAR (and let us know if you've adopted him, of course!).

We send our best wishes to Chip and hope he will find his forever family very soon. This lucky boy, who was found starving behind a hardware store, is now safe, warm and on the road to purr-fect health. May all his worst days be behind him now.

Way to Go, Trapper Jeanne!

Clockwise from Top Right: Nicky, Nora, Spencer, Bob Dole (rear end view)

This is why I love having lots of cats. The only time it stops being so great is when they all decide they need to sleep on my Queen sized bed and then it gets a bit dicey. It also explains why I have chromic back pain!