Robin Olson's blog

We didn't rescue Noelle and Amelia at the same time or ever think they would bond like mother and daughter, but what did we know? We just wanted to save their lives.

As you may recall, Noelle was running wild in the middle of winter in Georgia. She was freezing and starving. She made the mistake of seeking shelter under the hood of a car, it's engine still warm. Noelle didn't get burned, but when an unsuspecting person started the engine, Noelle screamed, her tail caught up in the fan belt.

Fortunately, Noelle was not critically injured, but part of her tail was badly mangled. Her scream, saved her. Though the person who found her could not provide care for her. Out of pain and fear, Noelle bit her rescuer and what could have been “the end” for Noelle, was the beginning of her luck changing. Noelle was brought to Henry County Care & Control, where they could do little for her, but keep her on a ten day bite hold. While her tail began to get necrotic, the one thing they could do was let us know she needed help. We acted quickly. As soon as the holding period was over, I arranged to get her vetted right away. Thanks to many of you, we raised enough money to provide for her care.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Noelle waiting to be adopted.

While in foster care, it became apparent that Noelle was very shy. We worried that her biting her rescuer was a sign she might be feral. Her foster mom worked with her and thankfully, no more biting.A few weeks later, Noelle met Amelia, who we had rescued after she was dumped at the shelter. Noelle didn't want to be away from Amelia and Amelia welcomed her company. She'd even let Noelle eat off her plate. She'd stand protectively next to her until she got her fill, then she would would eat.

It was as if the stars aligned for these two cats. One got the love she needed to blossom into a fearless feline and the other, possibly missing her own offspring, felt needed and loved again.

We transported the girls to Connecticut and our friends at Animals in Distress offered to take them into their shelter. They agreed that they would only adopt out the girls TOGETHER. They were too bonded to be separated without causing them both a lot of stress.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Amelia. What a sweet lady!

Weeks passed. Kitten season was in full force. The numbers on Petfinder told us that 100's of people saw their ads, but none wanted BOTH cats. AID stuck to their guns about keeping the girls together and I'm glad they did.

Just a month after arriving, the girls got adopted! They're going to live with a great family who are family members of volunteers at AID, so hopefully that'll mean we'll get updates on the girls from time to time.

Somehow it all worked out even though I had no idea where these cats would be fostered once they got to Connecticut and even though I didn't have funds for Noelle's care, we raised it. I can't say things will always work out for the best, but this time it did. All the best to these sweet ladies. I hope they will be forever happy and loved in their new home!

It's the cusp of June and five months have passed since Bob was diagnosed with small t-cell mesenteric lymphoma. To say I'm surprised he's still with us is an understatement. I'm stunned, a bit in awe...and delighted!

His difficult journey began right before Christmas last year when Bob had 1/2 of his liver removed. It was another form of cancer that's considered gone since the tissue was removed. He recovered from that and we recovered from having to crate him (we built him a pen to go with his crate-see HERE) and fuss over him while he regained his strength and interest in eating.

Of course, being FIV+, Bob picked up the damn ringworm fungus that we know is in the house. Our feline dermatologist told me I'd have to wait until ALL the cats DIE, repot or get rid of ALL the plants, throw out anything the cats touched or disinfect it, get the ductwork sanitized, change the filter on the furnace, scrub down every item and ever surface in the house, wash every drape, wipe down the blinds, then WAIT TWO YEARS...then it will be gone. Uh-huh.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. In March, on a cold morning, Bob on his electric blanket. Me, with a heavy heart, as I take the photo. Bob looks terrible.

With Bob's health issues, I could not give him an anti-fungal. It would wreak havoc on what's left of his liver. I didn't want to do too many topicals for fear of him ingesting it. So, in April we started bathing him a few times a week and that helps keep him comfortable and less itchy. After looking at a photo of him from March, I can see he IS getting better and his fur is starting to come back. It's been such a slow change, I could barely tell that he's improved. Now that I see the photos I realize he's looking all right for a sick ol' man.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. An early bath featuring a very scared Bob.

The baths are down to a science. To keep Bob from slipping, I put a bath mat on the inside of the tub. It prevents him from hurting his hind legs even if it DOES give him traction should he want to get OUT. He's not that strong any more, but also, I think he's found a way to sit through it. We quickly wet him down, only getting him wet, then shutting the water off. I don't want the sound of the running water to frighten him. Sam and I furiously lather him up. Then..the hard part. We have to let it SIT for 10 LONG MINUTES. Then we can rinse him off, then he gets towel dried, rubbed down with a second lotion, then, to keep him from grooming himself while the lotion dries, we give him some food and we gently brush him.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. We get the hang of it. Now baths take 15 minutes, tops.

Until recently we kept him in our bedroom with a space heater and wrapped him in an electric blanket. He would shiver since much of his coat is gone. Thankfully, with the warmer days, he's more comfortable and we don't have to worry that he will catch a cold on top of everything else.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bob seems to like his bath, okay, like maybe not “like” per se.

Bob made it as far as I had hoped. I just wanted him to be able to go outside on our deck, which is 16.6 feet off the ground. I know this measurement because I scared Bob once and he FELL off the deck. It was a terrible day. (Read about it HERE), but since then he doesn't walk on the railing any more. He just loves to sleep on his fluffy bed and soak up the sun.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. I wouldn't believe it if I hadn't seen it myself. Bob on May 29, 2011.

I know, too, that this will help KILL the ringworm, so the more he wants to get outside, the better. I also feed Bob on the deck, a few extra meals. Bob has to eat every few hours. The cancer absorbs a lot of the nutrition he gets. It's a constant battle to keep loading Bob up with food without the other cats pushing him out of the way to get at it. I find myself having to guard Bob while he eats. I really want to get back to work, but I know if I move, Bob won't get a full belly. Feeding him a few meals outside worked great, until the other day when I heard a huge crow cawing. I looked outside and saw him in a tree, near the deck, eyeing Bob's leftovers. Then my stomach did a flip and I got Bob to come back inside. The last thing I need is for the crow to confuse Bob with a meal!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bob is a back seat driver, but Sam is being cool about it.

Bob's still getting Chemo. We had to opt to do it once every FOUR weeks because we just can't cover the $600 payment every three weeks. I'm not even sure how we will keep this going, but we have to find a way. The oncologist said he was looking for problems with Bob, but couldn't find any. Even though Bob lost a few ounces, he wasn't particularly distressed about it. He felt that Bob was responding well to chemo and that all things considered, Bob was doing great.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bob, down to 12 pounds, 11 oz. from 16 over a year ago.

Bob is an amazing creature. He has beat SO MANY ODDS-it blows my mind. He's overcome being homeless, having diabetes, losing many of his teeth due to a very poor diet, treated for Bartonella, had pancreatitis, upper respiratory infections, then everything else with FIV+ and losing part of his liver and now, cancer and yet, he is right here, purring away, eating well. I even saw him play a little bit. Does this mean Bob is invincible? NO. It does not. It does mean that Bob...well all I can do is shrug my shoulders. I have no answers for how he's still with us, I'm just REALLY GLAD he's made it this far (:::knock wood:::). I know it things can change for the worse in a moment.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Chillaxin' in his favorite place. Outside on the deck on a fluffy bed.

It would be greedy for me to want more time with Bob, but I'm game, if he is. If I have to hover over him while he eats for another few years, great. Bring it! Bob climbed into my lap and took a nap the other day. It was the first time he ever did that since I brought him home in 2006 after my Mother (his former Mama) died.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Watching the world go by at 65 mph.

It's pretty obvious that Bob is my co-pilot. I would be lost without him.

Thank you to everyone who donated to help cover Mazie's enormous Vet bill. Without days of supportive care, Mazie's infection would surely have prematurely ended her life. It means so much to me that so many people cared and wanted to be part of this success story.

While Mazie recovered, we had to make the difficult choice to move Mazie's kittens; Chester, Polly and Cara, to another home to protect them from catching whatever Mazie had contracted. They got to live in a very nice room, full of toys and sunny windows to look out of and their foster mom slept, well tried to sleep, with them every night.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie stretches. She's feelin' fine now.

I heard that Polly suffered from some “gas” her first night at the new foster's home. Apparently Polly was sleeping on her foster Mom's face. Nasal proximity is a beeeyatch! Hee hee! Other than that, the kitties did well and little Cara, who who's still recovering from having strictures only threw up once, so that was good news.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara is stil tiny, maybe a bit slow, but always interested in feather toys.

A week passed in foster care. Last night, I brought them home. Though Mazie had been lonely and was crying for a better part of her time away from her babies, when she saw the kittens, she barely bothered to give them a sniff. The kittens went right back to their old habits of climbing everything in sight. They ate well, but were strangely quiet.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Should I state the obvious? My goodness, Chester is HUGE! He's bigger than his mama!

Mazie is healthy enough to be adopted. Sadly, since she's been on Petfinder for MONTHS, I have not gotten a SINGLE application wishing to adopt her. No one wants adults, it seems and to make the effort to come to my home, when there are so many adult cats at shelters, seems like asking a lot. I think Mazie is worth it. She's a very sweet, chatty, cat, but this time of year there's a lot of competition. I'm trying not to feel hopeless that she will never get a good home. I know there's one out there. I just hope they find her soon!

Meanwhile, Polly is FINALLY getting SPAYED today! The horny little Princess is healthy enough to have the surgery done. We're one step closer to her being ready to find her home. At this rate it will be six more months before she gets adopted. I've never had foster cats for so LONG! I love them dearly, but really...time to move on, folks! Gotta make room for more.

Last week I reported that a little kitten at Henry County needed rescue. She had a hernia that needed surgical repair. I'm glad to announce that she DID find a rescue with a Michelle at For Paws Rescue in Newman, GA

©2011 Henry County Care & Control.

Thank you, Michelle for stepping up and helping this little baby get the medical care and support she needed!

I can't take it any more. Every day I see photos of mama cats and babies, senior cats who are dumped by their owners, all ages of cats, needing rescue from kill shelters. I can't save even ONE of them because my house is full, I have no fosters and I need to build our fundraising base so we have something to draw upon so we CAN help cats. Sitting on my hands is not my idea of how you do rescue!

I NEED to DO SOMETHING ABOUT THIS!!!!!

I got another pile of rescue-pleas from Betsy, my contact at Henry County Care & Control. Most of the pleas were about mama cats and kittens. I know I can't help them right now, but there were two pleas regarding single cats. One is for an injured kitten and the other, for an adult cat with a nasty bite wound to the face. There was some quality about that cat that called to me. I decided that if I helped one cat that maybe for once, I'd luck out and it wouldn't cost me a zillion dollars to help her recover. She wouldn't get sick on me or turn out to have FIV+ or worse. I can't know if there will be problems until I reach out to help and by then it's too late. You're in. You made the commitment. Whatever comes next is on your shoulders. You have to have faith that you can handle whatever comes next. I have to say, it's a lot easier to have faith with such good friends who support my endeavors-even if it only means they send me emails cheering me on.

Betsy wrote:

“Super awesomely cool sweet amazing girl....her body is very Persian looking but I had a hard time getting a body shot as she was wiggly and wanted to just rub all over me.

Her face has 2 punctures, and her ear is involved, it is swollen, the canal is almost shut. I squeezed a lot of pus out of her holes....we started her on antibiotics but she needs to be vetted.

She purrs non stop and is just a lovely lovely girl. PLEASE help save her life!”

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control. Why HELLO, you cute thing! And a GIRL?! ooo!

I started to make calls and write emails. Rescuing a cat from a kill shelter is not a piece of cake. So many details need to be in place to make it happen and when you're about 1000 miles away from that shelter, it's even harder. Each piece of the puzzle comes with an agonizing wait. Can you get a foster home? Do they mind medicating a cat for a few weeks? Can you get someone to GET the cat from the shelter, go to the Vet, be there with the cat until the exam and tests are over and be willing to provide comfort for that cat should something terrible happen and the cat has to be put down for some reason. This is not a simple request to make of ANYONE and it is not made lightly.

I have to bet that by the time the cat can safely travel to Connecticut, that she will be a sweet, social girl, healthy and ready to be adopted. I have to also bet that when she gets here, I'll have room in my house for her or that impossible to find foster home will have been readied. It's a big risk and it gives me a stomach ache, along with some vivid palpitations.

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control. Oh dear!

Over the course of the past day, I was able to get a lot of wonderful people to come forward and say “YES!” when I asked for help. Then came the hardest part of all...contacting the shelter to ask if the cat was “still available” (code for “Still Alive”).

I HATE calling. I hate it. I called the Director and left her a voicemail. I was so wired and tired, I could NOT say my OWN PHONE NUMBER after trying three times! How embarrassing!

Now I had to wait...and wait..and wonder if she would call me back since now I'm a lunatic...so I called again to make it worse for myself, knowing that it's Friday and I just found out that 25 cats came into the shelter from a hoarder last night! The Officer who answered the phone, put me through to the voicemail before I could sputter out the words that I wanted to know if the cat was available! All I could think about was that now ALL the cats are at very high risk of being put down because of the new burden on the shelter. I was VERY worried that I was too late, too slow to decide, too much of a sissy to call the shelter a third time!

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control. We'll never know why this poor cat got taken to the shelter. We just know she needs to get back out, and soon!

I admit that I'm shy about making phone calls-which is not a good trait to have when you do rescue. So I opted to email Betsy in case she was near the computer-which she often is not during the day. In a few minutes, I lucked out. I had my answer:

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control. Hello, pretty lady!

YES. SHE WAS AVAILABLE AND YES, WE COULD PICK HER UP TOMORROW MORNING AND BUST HER OUT OF HENRY COUNTY!

Her name came to me immediately. Blythe, meaning joyous. Now my dear Bobby has to pick her up and get her vetted and I can go through all the worrying about if she has contracted something terrible from that bite or that she's very sick. I don't know how old she is. I just know she's sweet and friendly and FLUFFY. That will have to be good enough for me, for now. Tomorrow we'll learn more. Today we can smile for a moment and be glad that, at least, one kitty had a good day today and with any luck more people are taking a chance and rescuing other kitties from shelters today, too.

This is not easy work. It's very draining, but the feeling you get when you WIN ONE...MY GOD THAT'S A GREAT FEELING...okay..knocking wood..we're not out of the woods yet. We have to see how Blythe will do at the Vet. I hope it will all go well and she has a negative Snap test for FIV+ and FELV! Stay tuned!

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control. Welcome Blythe. We hope you like your new name!

Speaking of which, this is another kitty who MAY still need a rescue---

This precious little angel needs her hernia fixed, it can probably be done with her spay, we are concerned about leaving her sit here....and you know we do not have a vet on staff. She purrs non stop and is so loving we hate to put her down.

Please help if you can.

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control.

ID# 5/18-1770

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Henry Co. Care & Control.

**Please Note; When forwarding, crossposting, or re-posting I ask that you leave this message intact exactly as it was written by me. I do not give permission to post my message, part of my message, or my photographs on Craig's List or FACEBOOK. Thank you for your help and support, and for respecting my wishes.**

Betsy Merchant~

We are very rescue friendly and are more than happy to work with any rescue group as long as the group has a valid Georgia Department of Agriculture license! Any rescue group, whether in or out of state, that takes pets from Georgia shelters, is required, by Georgia law, to have a rescue license issued by the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Animal Protection Division. Having tax exempt status is not the same as a license. For more information on obtaining a license, please call (404) 656-4914.

Contact:

mystiblu@bellsouth.net

Henry County Animal Care and Control

527 Hampton Street

McDonough, Georgia 30253

(770) 288-7401

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA67.html

Our Hours:

Monday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm

Saturday: 9 am-1 pm

Sunday: Closed

County Observed Holidays: Closed

The shelter is located at 527 Hampton Street in McDonough. We are located south of Atlanta off I-75. Take exit 218 and head east on 20/81 toward McDonough. Our address is 527 Hwy 20/81 East.

For all other information regarding ordinances, county codes, and other functions of Henry County Animal Care and Control please visit www.hcacc.org

©2010 Maria Sandoval and ©2011 Robin AF Olson.

Polly has come a long way since we rescued her last October. She was sickly and we were very fearful that she was going to die. Fortunately, Polly is plucky and had two great foster moms looking after her. Although Polly STILL has sneezing and watery eyes, overall she's doing well and has grown a lot. She loves to play and get into trouble with her brother, Chester and if you dare to lay down near her, she's the first one on your lap, chest or head. Her purr is very loud, so don't try to sleep next to her.

Seeing her all these months later, reminds me that this is the day I was hoping would come-when I could look at Polly and know she's going to be okay. The worst of what ails her is over for now. With any luck, only better days are ahead of her.

Mazie went from having a strangely, rather shockingly elevated white blood count (53,000-when high normal is 19,000) and a high fever (105+°F) last week, to a NASTY upper respiratory infection. Her WBC went down to almost normal after hospitalizing her and giving her IV antibiotics. Her temperature went back down as of a few days ago, but she came home with the sniffle and each day Mazie seems more seriously afflicted.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie, mid-sneeze.

Mazie IS eating, though much quieter than usual. She's found a place on the corner of the bed where the angle of the wall creates a comfy, almost hiding place. I put some towels and a pillow there for her. She's been taking it easy for a day.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Runny eyes and a spot of ringworm that's healing. Sweet...NOT!

I called the Vet and was given a message to get the kittens OUT of the room. That incubation is 7-10 days and that they should be in another room for that period of time. The problem is: I HAVE NO ROOM to put them into and we still don't have any foster homes.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie has to constantly lick her face because her nose runs.

I begged a favor from a good friend. She's going to take Cara and Chester and maybe Polly, tonight. I hate to separate the cats, but it must be done. I think Polly could stay behind because she sneezes all the time and has watery eyes, but is really not in bad shape at all. I wonder if what Mazie has is something else, entirely and if so, then Polly should go, too. Mazie will have a quiet week, but I'll make sure to spend time with her. My biggest fear is transmitting what Mazie has to my other cats, especially BOB DOLE.

Bob could die from a cold. I've been furiously washing hands, not touching Mazie, changing clothes. I don't know if it will be enough. I just heard Nora, one of our other cats, sneezing. I am very worried.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. My how Cara has grown, yet she is still tiny compared to her siblings.

Little Miss Cara is STILL tiny. One of the cats vomited, but I don't know if it was her. Having her live away for a week will help me find out if she's still getting sick. I see her do her "I feel queasy" mouthing where she licks at her mouth and twists her head a bit. Her appetite is good and she's bright and fairly playful. I think she's very close to being considered ready to be adopted-after she gets spayed, of course.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly. Our little girl has grown up.

Polly needs to see the Eye Specialist. I'll have to do a fundraiser for that. Her left eye is still cloudy. She may have some blindness from being sick, so young. She's grown into a beautiful young lady. Even with all that she's suffered, she's very sweet and LOVES to escape from the foster room, run down the stairs with her tail held high and visit the other cats. If she wasn't rapid-fire sneezing so often, I wouldn't mind her being out, but she can't go near my cats until she is all better-IF she ever gets better!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. That's “Mr. Handsom” to you!

Then there's the most Handsome Young Cat in the world-Chester Cheesetoes. He still has a runny eye, but it's very subtle. All the cats are getting a big dose of Lysine to help boost their immune system. Other than his eye, Chester is awesome. He loves to get onto a high perch and watch things going on, below OR run after the laser pointer like a crazy-cat. He is so soft and sweet and stunning. He's grown into a very big boy.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly and Chester boldy go where I don't like them to go!

The cats have been here too long. Kitten Season is in full swing and I haven't saved one Mama or kitten. It's driving me crazy. I must get these cats well and adopted. I'm also so attached to each one of them, that it will be very hard to say goodbye-much harder than usual. The only comfort I can take in all of this is to remind myself that I've felt this way before and over time the pain softens. Over more time, I get to a place where I need a minute to remember their name. That's when I know it's okay to let them go. I have to make room for more. So many need help. Whether or not I cry about the ones I have makes no difference. I need to do this. I need to rescue more cats.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Who loves Cara? Who doesn't?

But more than anything else...I NEED THESE CATS TO GET BETTER!

The Vet bill for Mazie came in a just over $700.00. It's a heartbreaking amount of money for us to come up with and thankfully, many of you have used our ChipIn to help out. We still need about $200.00 to get to our total, so if you can offer a dollar or two, we appreciate it VERY much! Thank you for helping Mazie!

(You can use the ChipIn for Maze on the right sidebar if you wish to donate. Your donation IS tax deductible.)

I reported a few days ago that 5 mamas at Henry County in McDonough, GA, were in dire need of rescue. The shelter was getting overwhelmed with mama cats giving birth. I hoped that one or two mamas might find a rescue through my efforts, but feared none would make it out alive. Truthfully, it doesn't even matter if my post had anything to do with how the cats got rescued as long as they GOT OUT!

I'm very glad to say that while not all made it---some are FREE! WOOOHOO!!!

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control.

I do not know which group/s rescued these cats. If someone wants to let me know, I'll be glad to post a link to their web site so folks can donate to help with their care while in their foster home.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control.

I'd love to THANK whichever groups were able to step up. Whoever you are, you ROCK! All I know is I have the news confirmed that THREE mamas found rescue.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control.

There's a feisty gray mama and three kittens hoping for a rescue, as well as a “Cow” mama with golden eyes and her four offspring---who are all tiny Moo-babies, so our work is not done. We need to get these two families OUT. Can anyone help? See my POST for more info on how you can help.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. This mama is hoping for a miracle.

Help spread the word to all Cow-Cat lovers! We gotta get this mama (above) and the gray mama out!

I spoke to Vet. Mazie's temp was 103.7°F, now 102.2°F. Her heart rate was off the chart-due to stress? Liver and Kidney function is NORMAL. She is on IV antibiotics-getting Baytril. They do not think it's FIP but that is not completely off the table. Snap test: NEGATIVE! (for FIV+ and Feline Leukemia)

I can leave her at the Clinic overnight or pick her up. I'm going to bring her home since they don't have staff at night. She has to go back in the morning..and we have to take Bob to New York for his chemotherapy by 10am, so busy-busy. They want her back for another day of IV antibiotics even if she is feeling better/eating. Suggested repeating CBC and I could not argue that point. We do need to see white blood cell count going down. Urinalysis is due in tomorrow.

Cause or culprit? At this point...we just don't know. I can say that due to serious concern of Mazie (and Cara) getting sick from aflatoxins, I have pulled the corn-based cat litter out of the room and done a scrub down of everything I can get my hands on. I am NOT saying the cat litter had anything to do with the cats getting massive infections, but I don't want to risk being wrong. I can do a test with another litter to see if anything dramatic changes over time.

Poor Mazie. She's definitely had a lousy day. I'll keep close watch on her tonight and with any luck she'll feel well enough to start eating again.

I'd also like to take a moment to wish my friend Jennifer J. a big hug and lots of love. She got sad news about her cat, Gett and this is just a few months after losing her beloved cat, Tucker and Mr. Darcy, too. I think there should be a rule that you can't lose more than one cat in any five year period..or ten...yes...ten...that would be better.

WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURES OF CAT VOMIT IN THIS POST. YECCH!

Mama-Mazie, our foster cat, is a sweet girl. Just barely older than her own kittens, Chester, Cara and Polly, she's been waiting for her forever family to find her for months. No one has asked after her. No one wants to adopt her. I couldn't understand why because she's a VERY sweet cat and loves to “talk” to me. Her eyes are sparkling green and full of life-that is until yesterday afternoon.

I'm still struggling with constant headaches after a car accident I was in last year. Yesterday I had to have Trigger Point Injections followed by Physical Therapy. Basically TPI means, stick LOTS of needles into your muscle to “tenderize” the meat (muscle). It's not so bad until they find a knot in the muscle. That feels like a hornet sting. The Doctor did A shots into my upper back and into my NECK. Unhappy camper, was I.

I raced home to attend an online web presentation about Public Relations for shelters. I sat down for about 5 minutes, then realized I needed to feed the foster cats. I got their food ready and ran upstairs. The second I walked in the door something was wrong. Mazie was resting on top of a pillow. She looked uncomfortable. I went over to her and petted her. Tried to lift her down to the floor to see if she could walk. She CRIED when I touched her.

The kittens were clamoring to be fed, so I got them fed, but Mazie didn't want to eat. Bad sign. She is ALWAYS ready to eat. She was also unusually quiet. It's not the end of the world if a cat misses a meal. I ran down stairs to take part in the presentation. Meanwhile I started to fret about Mazie...I had a flashback that she had very loose stool on Sunday. Was she brewing a virus?

I couldn't concentrate on the talk so I ran back upstairs. That's when I saw it.

The wall, the bed, the cat tree, the floor was covered in vomit. It looked like a crime scene. My first fear was that it was CARA, but I had no way to know who did it. Mazie had moved to the floor and was laying on a cat bed, looking miserable. She started to lick her mouth, got up and went to a corner of the room and vomited. It wasn't much. Looked like the stomach contents after everything else had already come out.

I started to get really upset. I called Connie. Thankfully, she was on her way home from work and said she could stop by. I went back to Mazie. I petted her again, this time trying to feel for injury, but she didn't want to be touched. She hissed and cried. She was in a lot of pain.

I thought about the morning. Mazie and the gang were playing in my bedroom. She did see Nora and hissed at her, but that wouldn't make her get so sick. She ran around the room chasing the laser pointer light. Maybe she twisted a leg, pulled a muscle? No...she could walk, but it was very slowly. She kept trying to get away from me, searching the room for a place to hide.

I called the Vet. They were about to close. Now I faced taking Mazie to the ER Vet when we just don't have the funds to cover that sort of visit. Connie got to my house in record time. I was so glad to see her. We spoke about whether or not to take her to the ER. We knew they would charge a lot more for the same tests that Dr Larry would run, but if Mazie could get through the night it would be better on all of us.

I really felt like I was getting kicked when I'm down. I've always found a way to come up with whatever I need for the cats, but now I found myself just shaking my head. I had to chose to keep Mazie home. We'd have to make it to the morning. Maybe she'd even feel better by then?

I checked on Mazie every hour until midnight. She refused to eat or drink. She did pee and poop (though that was not completely normal). She did not seem to be in pain in the litter pan, so that was good. So what WAS wrong with her?

I tried to leave Mazie alone other than the quick check on her. I put my pajamas on and hoped I wouldn't have to do a middle-of-the-night drive to the ER. I couldn't clean up the linens from her vomit without moving her off the bed. It was only on the end of the bed, so I carefully set a place for myself to half lay down next to Mazie and not be in puke. Was that fun? No.

With my bad neck and back it was not good. Polly came over and laid on my shoulder, then moved to next to my face. She purred and looked at me, seemingly delighted that I finally was going to sleep with them one night. Mazie was still. Her breathing was shallow, but not too rapid. She was not open mouth breathing. Just laying there.

At 2 AM Mazie used the pan again. After that I was so tired, I dragged myself to bed. Set the alarm for 7am and fell into a nightmareish sleep.

This morning Mazie refused to eat. She was no better and no worse. I packed her up and took her to the Vet. She cried at the Vet's office. I told her it would be ok and that I would be back for her. They're going to give her fluids and do some bloodwork, probably a few x-rays, too. Hopefully I'll have some idea of what happened, fairly soon.

UPDATE: As I was writing this, Dr Larry called me. Mazie's white blood count is 53,000! High normal is 19,000. Her x-rays were clear. They can't get a cath into her-she is in too much pain and is resisting. They gave her sub-q fluids and injectable antibiotics. If she doesn't perk up, she will have to be transferred to an ER Hospital. They are repeating her FIV/FELV test-just in case. We do not know the cause for Mazie's infection.

Mazie was so bright and sunny barely 24 hours ago. Now the light has gone out of her eyes and she's in terrible pain.

If you'd like to help Mazie get the Vet Care she needs, please use the ChipIn widget below. Your donation IS tax deductible. Thank you for helping her. I am going to set the goal total high enough to cover a day at the ER Vet if it comes to that. I'll lower it if she stablizes later today. Remember, every dollar helps!!

Please be okay, Mazie. We're rooting for you.