Robin Olson's blog

No urgent plea for rescue today. We need a break from that. Instead, I wanted to share with you an experience I just had that was quite wonderful, though admittedly, bittersweet, too. I'll do my best to write while my eyes burn and my throat constricts from inhaling fumes. No. I'm not writing while my house is burning down. I made the poor choice to set my oven to "self clean," which quickly caused the house to fill with pretty blue, toxic smoke. I had to shut off the heat and open the windows. It's 48°F outside and now, inside. Why can't I just live with a filthy house? I like to vacuum at night so I don't have to work as hard to make it look clean. Why do I need my oven to shine? Sheesh!

Since I'm freezing to death, typing helps keeps the circulation going in my fingers, though I think I need to get a hat. I stopped feeling my ears awhile ago.

Oh yeah, cats...so my foster room is empty and needs re-filling, I've been somewhat (you know me, hard to be subtle) quietly looking around for the next foster kittens. I looked locally, first. I really LOOKED all over the state and into NYC. Most cats were too old for me to help, so I went southward.

At Barb's (from WCR) suggestion, I reviewed a list from Jasper County in Georgia. I'm told their ACO, Karen, is super awesome and runs a very spic and span shelter. She also happened to have a LONG list of kittens available for adoption.

I went over the list once, twice, three times. I printed out each kitten's ad. I tried to do math (not easy for me!). I knew that I could take four kittens and Jennifer, with some coaxing jumped at the chance to take four kittens, too. Yes! That's a nice number, but I had twelve kittens picked out.

UGH.

After more reviewing, listing, adding, subtracting and some very powerful headaches, I cut the list down to ten. I got ahold of Karen, the ACO and we talked about those kittens. Thankfully, my job was made easier. Two of the kittens were spoken for and two that had been on the list were going to be adopted, as well. I had my eight.

But...there are a few kittens left I could not pull and I feel bad about them. I feel very bad about it. I hate to break up litters, even if they were already separated, but perhaps now that most of the kittens are gone, the ones that are left will have a better chance at finding a home? Jasper is not a High Kill Shelter, so my hopes are that all will work out.

There's LOTS of paperwork, emails, details and FUNDRAISING (wink, wink, nudge, nudge) to work out, but with any luck, in a week or so, I'll have my room filled back up with bouncing babies!

I just stuck my neck way out and you know, it's not that scary any more. Sure, I have the same old fear that I won't find these guys homes, that they will be too darn big to adopt out by the time they get here, but I gotta try.

I feel like I just got to do the best kind of online shopping! "I'll take that kitten and that kitten and oooo look! That's a cute one! Yes!"

So without any further delay...here are our newest rescues if I survive smoke inhalation, that is!

Jennifer's Crew:

My Muffins:

Our friend, Sylvester, the 36-month old, 17lb baby was pulled out of Jasper Co. Shelter yesterday, thanks to some poking and prodding by our CiCH friend, Barb at Winging Cat Rescue, to be cared for by a rescue group in Georgia who has a soft spot for big boys.

We're told that although Sylvester loves people, he might not love other cats as much. It's tough to say for sure. He's been in a tight squeeze for too long and that would make anyone hateful of pretty much everything!

A nice lady in Arizona would offer Sly a home, but we can't get him transported over there on our own. Anyone know a pilot?

Regardless, Sly has a foster home and we'll see how he does over the next few months. Hopefully, he WILL find that FOREVER home and lots more love, soon.

Best wishes and good luck to you, big fella!

Please help spread the word, so Will can find his Rescue Placement or Forever Home, soon! Remember, Will is currently located in Greenville, South Carolina.

Visit Will's Petfinder Listing HERE

Transport CAN be arranged. If you're interested in Adopting or are with a Rescue Group and can foster Will, please contact Jenna Gutierrez (864) 801-3177 or email her: tomjeng@charter.net

UPDATE: Thank you to our dear friend, Terry and his awesome kitty clutter for helping get the word out on Will. See his big article on his fabulous kitty-lovin' web site!

Sam and I have a running joke. Often, we'll be watching mind-numbing tv shows about "real" life murder mysteries. Nine times out of ten, the narrator says; "We'll never really know for sure..." This is after we spent an HOUR of our time watching and wondering how the story will end. To hear it's "we'll never really know" not only defeats the entire purpose of watching the show in the first place, it also pisses me off good!

If I'm going to waste my time in front of the TV, I need RESOLUTION (pardon the pun).

So my dear Spencer and I went to visit Dr. Larry. I was fully prepared for him to give me shit about ripping out my own cat's fur, that I'm a stupid pet owner and it's nothing to worry about-other than being stupid makes me worry. I just wasn't careful enough removing Spencer's mats and "baldness happens."

Dr Larry didn't let me down. After a few minutes pretending he was calling the "authorities" to report me for abusing my cat, he sat down to take a good look.

The two, nearly symmetrical bald patches don't have any crusting or oozing. They're both about 2 x 3 inches. The skin is pink. Spencer doesn't seem to be itchy. Dr. Larry turned off the lights. We weren't alone so there was no hope for a makeout session. Dang! Oh, he was just using the Wood's Lamp to check for...oh shit...RINGWORM!

The smile on my face weakened into a razor straight line. I kept thinking; Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit! NOT RINGWORM!!!!!!

I looked while Dr. Larry was talking. He saw some slightly reflective scaly areas that were tiny. One of the bald spots had a slight pale white edge to it.

Well? Was it RINGWORM?

"We can't really be sure right now."

SHIT! It's like watching 48 Hrs! Change the channel! Change the channel!

With no better programming available, I was stuck in an answerless void. Dr. Larry removed a few of Spencer's hairs and placed them into a vial with some goop in it (that is a technical term; goop). The test for ringworm takes 2-3 WEEKS. Meanwhile, there is nothing else to be done. We decided to run a full blood panel to rule out hypothyroid (even if it's rare in most cats, I've already had one cat who had it and Dr. Larry knows my cats get weird stuff-it's almost a rule). Plus, Spencer is due for a dental in January AND we can also check his BUN because now that we know he's a purebred Weegie (well, sort of), we're going to watchout for polycystic kidney disease, too. See? I'm smart! I know stuff! I spent $220 on the Vet visit. Wait? Is that smart? Not so sure.

Spencer did not care to have his blood drawn, as usual, but this time Super Deb showed me she still had all her fingers attached to her hand, after the blood draw was finished. The only injury was to the towel they restrained Spencer with. It had to be put down due to it being ripped to shreds.

So am I a stupid pet owner?

We'll never really know for sure...

Just about everyone wants to adopt a kitten, that's clear. It's easier, too, to find a home for a cat like Will, who was injured or a cat like Melody, who is geriatric. But what about the cats that fall in the middle? The cats, like Sylvester (below), a somewhat plain jane kitty, whose owners dumped him like used goods at a shelter that WILL euthanize him when they run out of space.

This poor guy needs OUT of this CAGE! He barely fits in it!

I saw "Big Boy's" Petfinder ad last night and my heart truly sank. To see this chubby monkey in a cage barely big enough to contain him made me want to bust him out so badly. At 36 months, he is a bit advanced age for a kitten, but he packs on tons of love in his big bones.

Sly is a POLYDACTYL (extra toes) kitty and has really began to seek out love and affection from the Shelter staff. This kitty would just love to hang out with you and watch TV or snuggle on the bed in the sunshine. If you live in the Northeast, you won't need a comforter with this bed warmer!

Sly has little hope of ever leaving this cage. Not only is he too old, but he's too black and black coated cats in the South do not get easily adopted due to superstitions and such.

I see white toes!!

If a licensed, NO-KILL, rescue group would be able to accept Sylvester into their program for fostering until he can find his forever home, I would guarantee a $200.00 donation* to cover his care. We can also do a fundraiser to arrange for his transport to anywhere in the country. We have a GA licensed Rescue Group standing by to complete the paperwork to remove this cat from the Jasper Co. Shelter. All you have to do is say, YES! and we will do the rest.

If you want to ADOPT Sylvester, I will personally cover his transport costs to your door. We will do a fundraiser to cover his boarding until he can be transported.

So what are you waiting for? Help this big lug out! He's only 36 months old!

Slyvester is UTD on shots, is FIV/FeLuk negative and neutered. Visit Sly on Petfinder!

*I was urged to change the original amount offered from $500 to a lower number to avoid luring a less than reputable group from stepping up just to get the donation and not giving Sly the care and good home he truly deserves. My apologies!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO DONATED MONEY TO HELP WILL GET THE VET CARE HE NEEDS! I'M SO THRILLED AND PROUD OF YOU GUYS FOR STEPPING UP! WE RAISED THE MONEY WE NEEDED IN LESS THAN FOUR HOURS!!!

Will has many Guardian Angels looking out for him. That's for sure!

More updates on Will coming tomorrow!

Will should be ready for his forever home in about two weeks. His eye is not doing so well today, but hopefully he will be back on track to healing up very soon. The cut in his mouth is doing all right. Jenna, one of his rescuers, told me it's tough to get a photo of him because he wants to be picked up and loved and all she thought she could get is a photo of his nose!

This love bug deserves a wonderful, loving home. If you'd like to adopt or foster, Will, please contact Cat Clinic of Greenville, 1525 Wade Hampton Blvd., Greenville, SC 864-232-7050.

If you'd like to help with Will's Vet costs, please donate below. Your money will go to Kat5, a Non-Profit organization who will make sure Will's fees are paid. That way your donation is tax deductible, as the law allows, and you can feel safe that your money is going to the right place. We love the Ladies at Kat5 and trust them implicitly.

You can also use this link to go to Will's ChipIn widget on the Kat5 web site!

Last March, a feral kitty and her three kittens came here to be fostered. They were just days old, at the time. It was such a gift to watch the kittens slowly find their way in the world. It seemed they changed in appearance almost daily. By the time they were ready to leave, I certainly was sad, but happy for them, too.

The smallest one of the litter was Elmo. If you check this link you'll see some of the many journal entries I wrote about him and his siblings.

Elmo was eventually adopted by a great family. I met up with them at our Adoption Event on Saturday and they were happy to report that Elmo, now Jack Black, was a wonderful companion to everyone in the family, that he was now a BIG kitty (that was a shock!) and still as affectionate as ever (thank goodness!). Diana promised to send some photos of him, which she kindly gave me permission to share with you, too.

Here's our BIG BOY, Jack Black today!

Jack Black, Photo by Diana and used with permission.

And here's Jack with his best buddy! Notice how BIG Jack is compared to Kelly!

Jack Black & Kelly, Photo by Diana and used with permission.

If someone had showed these photos to me, I would not have believed it was the same, fragile kitten I once held in the palm of my hand. Way to go Jack and thank you so much to Diana and her family for giving this sweet boy so much love and such a wonderful home!

Will, the poor little cat who was hit by a car on Friday, is doing well. His Vet and caretaker, Dr. Anderson said that the swelling around his eye is improving and he shouldn't need corrective surgery. He has a cut on the inside of his mouth and no other injuries. Though the Dr. is fairly sure this was from the impact of a car, she can't rule out that Will wasn't hit by a person. It's a sad fact that animal abuse happens and Will might be a victim of that. We'll never really know.

What we do know is Will is going to be neutered this week! He already has his shots on board, had his "combo test" for Feline Leukemia and FIV. He failed each test beautifully! With de-worming and a dose of Revolution, Will will be ready to be adopted as soon as late this week!

We're having a tiny technical problem getting Will's ChipIn widget up and running. He won't need much in donations, so this will be an easy save for us! I hope you guys can help out once we're ready.

What Will needs more than anything, is to FIND A FOREVER HOME or to be taken in by a rescue group. Though they prefer he stays locally, Will can easily be transported anywhere in the Northeast and outside of that, transport can be arranged, as well.

I'm told that they don't get any sweeter or more friendly than Will, so if you step up, you're getting a marvelous new friend! Later today I should have updated photos of Will to make it easier to get the word out and for his new family to fall in love with him!

After all my excitement over Spencer possibly being more Norwegian Forest Cat than mixed breed, tonight I was petting him and was suddenly alarmed by what I found.

Spencer had a LARGE bald spot behind his right shoulder blade! A few days ago I thought his fur looked a bit odd. I could see his pink skin appear as stripes through his dense coat. I didn't think anything of it until I saw the big bald spot. I thought that perhaps I caused it yesterday when I combed out a good sized mat. The matted fur was in the same area, but the mat was not THAT BIG. This is a BIG area.

I checked Spencer's left side and I saw the same thing-a big bald patch. I almost threw up. My gorgeous baby's fur is gone. The skin is pink, smooth, no signs of broken hairs, blood, scabs, nothing. Perfectly clear of fur.

I Googled: "causes of hair loss in felines" and saw far too many possibilities from symmetrical alopecia to hyperthyroidism to mange, flea bites, ringworm, dermatitis. Oh God. Here we go again. Another cat with skin problems. It could also be caused by anxiety.

Spencer has been fine. Just fine. He had a a few fleas a few months ago. He was given Advantage once a month for the past three months. He never had it before then. Was it the Advantage? Wouldn't he be bald where the Advantage was applied?

I have no answers. It's not an emergency, so I'll attempt to get to sleep. Dr. Larry isn't in until TUESDAY. I'll call tomorrow to give them a heads up. If they think Spencer needs to come in sooner than Tuesday, I'll be ready.

There are things I can bear-being fat, I can bear being estranged from some of my family members, but not this...I get so much joy out of seeing Spencer. His little wiggle-walk and super pouffy butt fluff (aka, fluffocks). He just makes me smile every day. Even if he lost all his fur, I would love him just as much, but my heart would break. He's so magnificent. Yes, I'm deeply attached to him. He's my boy and I love him, dearly. I'm not over reacting...it's just that I feel this tightening in my heart.

What does this mean for Spencer? What will come of this discovery? Is this going to get worse? What will happen to my boy and how can I make it better as soon as possible?

Oh no! Oh no!