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Imagine what your life would be like if your cat not only had his own phone, but was able to send you text messages from it. What do you think he might say? Would you enjoy the conversation or realize you've created a monster?
This was the impetus for cat-writer & humorist Angie Bailey's sophomore book, “Texts from Mittens.”
TFM is a full-color, beautifully bound hardcover with page after page of screen shots of text message conversations between Mittens, a slightly neurotic, cat-liver-treat-obsessed, dog-hating, cat and his human-Mom, named, well, Mom.
There's an additional cast of characters ranging from under-sexed and over-boozed-up neighbor, Drunk Patty; to Phil, the annoying-dog, to Stumpy, Mitty's BFF (Best Feline Friend) and lastly, Grandma who always serves up the best goodies while Mom is away.
I wasn't sure what to expect when I began reading TFM, but it was quickly apparent that I was in for a treat. Texts From Mittens is engaging, with a light-hearted tone that made me laugh out loud. Mittens has a big personality and his relationship with Mom feels all too familiar-that is IF I could talk to my own cats.
TFM is a quick read, but I discovered I was wishing for more as I came to the last page. Bailey takes us on a journey that is thoroughly enjoying and entertaining and I would heartily recommend this book to readers of any age.
I had a chance to sit down with Angie Bailey and Mittens to ask them about their book. Here's what they had to say:
CICH: What inspired you to write your first Texts From Mittens post?
AB: I've always loved thinking about cats doing human things. In my first book, whiskerslist: the kitty classifieds, cats used a craigslist-type site to find dates, sell their stuff and join clubs. My imagination is more than a little vivid, and the idea of kitties sitting at a laptop, wheeling and dealing completely cracked me up. That led into Texts from Mittens. I tested it on Catster.com, and it became a bi-weekly column.
CICH: If someone developed an app so cats could text their guardians would you buy it for your cats?
AB: Yes, but it'd be silenced a lot of the time. I feel like Cosmo would be relentless with the texts.
CICH: How many cats do you currently share your life with? What are their names and tell us a little bit about each one.
AB: I share my life with three cats.
Saffy is nearly 14 years old and is a totally laid-back Daddy lover. She gives him the ol' goo-goo eyes -- it's adorable. Also, she has about three good teeth and floofy gray fur.
Cosmo is my 13-year-old tuxie man. He follows me everywhere and would love nothing more than my carrying him around in a Snugli baby carrier.
Phoebe is nearly 10 years old and is the queen of the castle. She's barely seven pounds, but has more attitude and sass than the other two cats put together.
CICH: Mittens has been a wildly successful character. What’s next for Mitty?
AB: Right now he's focusing on the book launch and making sure I give him enough publicity -- he's so demanding. He's still posting texts every day and hanging out with his girlfriend Fiona and best friend Stumpy. He's like me to produce little stuffed Mittens toys. We probably will, but not right now. He also has a lot of Judge Judy to catch up with on the DVR.
CICH: Are Mom and Drunk Patty ever going on a double date?
AB: Maybe. Drunk Patty dates Rusty, a competitive eater, and Mom just can't seem to find the right guy. Mittens hijacks her dating site and tries to help, but he only pushes prospective dates further away. One day she'll find the perfect guy, and hopefully Mittens will approve.
CICH: How’s Phil doing?
AB: Phil is doing great! He's 13 years old and is enjoying a life of retirement. Mittens wishes he'd retire to Florida.
CICH: Who’s one of your favorite Cat Bloggers? :-D
AB: Um ... there's this weird one named Robin. I think her blog's called Covered in Bat Hair or something. I hear she's kind of a nut, but I'd probably like her.
———
And our Exclusive Interview with Mittens
CICH: What’s your take on being an indoor-only cat? Do you feel your principals are being violated?
MITTY: Have you seen the evil squirrels and chipmunks that lurk outdoors? My only violation is getting breathed on by Drunk Patty.
CICH: You seem to have a lot of emergencies. Have you considered getting one of those pendants that allow you to get help with the push of a button?
MITTY: Is there such a thing?? Are you offering to send me one? #yesplease
CICH: Do you hope your Mom finds you a new Dad some day?
MITTY: Only if it doesn't take away from Mittens time. I would look past some of his imperfections if he were heir to a liver treat company.
CICH: Where’s the most exotic place you’ve ever barfed?
MITTY: On Mom's World Market receipt. Then she wasn't able to return that Moroccan pillow sham. Too bad because it was ugly.
CICH: How do you feel about Judge Judy’s contract being renewed until 2020?
MITTY: It's just wrong. It should have been extended until 2021. She was ripped off.
———
Texts From Mittens hits bookstores starting March 31, 2015 (but you can order it NOW) for $10.14 (hardcover) and $6.64 (Kindle) via this LINK on Amazon.com
If you can't get enough Mitty, you can follow his exploits below.
If you'd like to win your very own copy of Texts From Mittens simply leave a comment below(ONLY ONE COMMENT PER PERSON). Your comment should be a message you think your cat would text you. Funniest entry (as chosen by me) wins! There will be only ONE book given away so make it your most clever and crazy message ever. Winner must be a resident of the United States of America due to insane costs of shipping oversees. DEADLINE: APRIL 3, 2015 (my birthday) 2:22 PM EST.
I’m not even sure when it started. In some ways it seems as though it’s been going on forever, a never-ending cycle of bad to worse. I don’t even know what triggered it in the first place. Was it a visit to the Vet? Was it stress-related?
All I know is that close to every one of my cats and my foster cats are sick with a viral upper respiratory tract infection and there isn’t much I can do about it.
It began over a month ago, before Laney, Winnie and their 7 kittens arrived from Georgia. A few of my cats had a mild case of the sneezes. DOOD, Blitzen, Nicky were a bit quieter than usual with DOOD leading the charge with violent head-whipping sneezes. There's no way I can separate the cats from each other so I had to hope that as it spread from one cat to the other, it wouldn't be too bad.
But Fluff Daddy, with his shortened nose was hit the worst. Because it was likely a virus, the treatment is not to treat; to give supportive care, rest, and monitor him to make certain it wasn’t turning into a secondary infection or pneumonia. Fluff had already battled pneumonia last year and we couldn’t risk that happening again. This meant vet visits for Fluff-lots of them. Because he never had a fever, Dr. Mary felt we should let it ride and that eventually, being self-limiting, the virus would die off and Fluff would feel better.
Throughout the day I would bring Fluff or DOOD into the bathroom and run the shower. The warm moist air would help their breathing. Fluff particularly enjoyed these sessions and would sit on a thick towel on top of the bathroom counter without fussing around as DOOD often would. I’d sit on the closed toilet and play solitaire on my old iPad. It wasn’t much, but it was something I could do to help them recover.
I’ve cared for sick cats many times and there’s a tipping point where their care can become overwhelming. There are too many medications to juggle, too many vet visits and worse; too many late nights worrying that your sick cats will need urgent care. I hover, I fret, I try to be calm. I make mental notes about each one; are they eating? normal litter pan habits? will they play a little bit at least?
It wasn’t too much to support the cats, but then things took a turn that anyone who does rescue fears.
Laney, Winnie and their 7 kittens arrived. They’d been vetted prior to being transported to Connecticut from their home in Georgia. They were on a transport with other cats who supposedly were also vetted. I will never know for sure the actual cause, but within ONE HOUR of them arriving to my home, a few of the adults began sneezing. At first I thought perhaps the stress of the trip had pushed them over the edge and that maybe in a few days they’d be feeling better. They'd never been sick all the months they'd lived in Georgia.
The long winter kept me from opening the windows, which would be one of the first things I’d want to do when the cats get sick. Nice, fresh air keeps sickness at bay, but with a closed in room and nine large cats in a small space, of course they would all get sick in time. What I feared was that my foster cats got sick from another rescue’s cats on the transport. They could have been shelter cats and those guys can pick up a whole host of horrible diseases. My guys had never been in a shelter and now what would become of them? What had they been exposed to?
I had to bring all NINE cats to the Vet to get their CT Health Certificates issued on Monday. The Vet supposedly looked at each cat, but I wasn’t privy to seeing the exams as her techs brought the cats into the back of the clinic a few at a time to see the vet. I didn’t know if she was checking them well or barely looking at them. I’d given her information that said some of the cats had URIs and she was to check the cats for signs of it.
After waiting for about 90 minutes the vet finally came into the exam room. She talked about Piglet’s ear having an infection inside it. She mentioned Jelly Belly has a stage two heart murmur. She did not mention one thing about the URI only what to do to treat Piglet’s ear.
The cats were supposed to get their claws trimmed, for which we were charged a lot of money, when some of our vets don’t charge for this. I got scratched. I started to look at the cat’s paws. The few I looked at hadn’t have their back claws trimmed completely. Nice.
So I was left feeling like the cats got a lousy exam and I didn’t know what to do about the URI. If their lungs sounded clear that was one thing, but if not I'd need to consider antibiotics.
Within a few days Piglet especially, Jelly Belly, Louie, Larry, Lex were really sick. Instead of going back to this vet I went to Dr Mary and Dr Larry. I took the two sickest kittens to start: Piglet and Jelly.
Dr. Larry examined Jelly. He had a temperature of over 103°F. He listened to Jelly’s heart and agreed he had a heart murmur, but that many cats did fine with a murmur like his and that right now we didn’t have to do anything about it. The real shocker was when Dr. Larry looked at Jelly’s gums. They were RED and irritated. It was a sign to us that Jelly might have bartonella and if you’ve read any of my posts you’ll know that bartonella is the bane of my existence. It's often mis-diagnosed as something else because it has a wide range of symptoms ranging from IBD-like digestion issues to upper respiratory to no symptoms.
Jelly was meowing and sneezing while poor Piglet hid under a chair. When Dr. Larry examined her, he saw the very nasty ear infection and again discovered that she, too, has the irritated gums. Her temperature was over 104°F which was getting dangerous. They gave her and Jelly sub-q fluids and we decided to test both cats for bartonella and because all 9 cats were sick, to spend the extra on doing a DNA test called a PCR, on Piglet’s secretions. It would help us treat her better to know exactly what virus she has. Because she only weighs 4 lbs 14 oz, roughly half what Jelly weighs, we’re starting her on azithromycin, which would be a treatment for bartonella. Even though we don’t know she has it, it may help her feel better. The test takes 10 DAYS to get back results and considering how frail she is we can’t risk waiting to treat her.
With the possibility that we’ll have to test ALL the cats for bartonella or just if we treat them, we can’t treat unless Dr. Larry examines them first so that means 7 times exam fees + 8 times more azithromycin costs. This medication is compounded and EXPENSIVE. It’s $46/cat for just 10 days of treatment and the full course is 21 days.
This could be bad, but what I fear more is what will become of Piglet. She is depressed and not eating that well. Her fever came down last night but I have to check her again today and she gets very agitated if we try to get her temperature. She's so tiny I just don't want to upset her while she's so sick.
Then add this to the fact that I have my 12-year old cat Petunia in a big dog crate recovering from serious surgery on her bladder and she’s not eating well, either. I can’t get antibiotics in her any longer and frankly she deserves more one on one time while she’s recovering. Sam has to take over that duty, besides I shouldn't be handling her. She can't get sick on top of everything else.
And that's the thing. No amount of hand-washing, clothes changes, step baths of bleach are going to stop this mess. I've been as careful as I can be but when Fluff and Freya like to hang out near the door to the foster cat room and the air from the room goes under the door, into the hallway, what am I to expect? It hasn't stopped me from being as careful as I can but in the end there's nothing I could have done to stop this.
With my cats slowly starting to improve I thought I could handle helping whoever needs it, but this morning I woke up to discover Freya, sneezing her little head off. Of course she’s sick now, too, even though she’s on week 5 of a very strong antibiotic called Baytril to help kill her ear infection.
You may think I run a bad rescue and that I’m sloppy about keeping foster cats quarantined, but I assure you I’m neither of those things. This is a horrible confluence of events that I didn’t cause and I’m struggling to do what’s best for each cat even though it’s meant I was at the vet 5 out of 6 days this week. Even if it’s meant I’m going to drive through the latest snowstorm to get medication for Piglet.
With a virus you often have to let it ride until it runs its course, but the difficulty lies in knowing when to stop and hit it with antibiotics that often cause digestive issues and open the cat up to more problems. The challenge for me is to find a way to survive the stress this is causing. Seeing cats so sick and not being able to fix it is heartbreaking. Worrying about the most fragile cats and worrying that I’ll miss something because there are just too many cats to oversee is terrifying.
In all the years I’ve done rescue this is the worst it’s ever been and hopefully, like a virus, these tough days will run their course and we’ll have happy healthy cats once again.
We’re in dire need of funds to help Piglet and her family so we’re starting up a fundraiser.
We get more of your donation if you donate directly using our PayPal address:info@kittenassociates.org or if you go through our DONATE page on our web site.
You can mail a check to Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354.
Just SHARE this with your friends who have kind hearts and love cats. That helps Piglet and her family, too.
Your donation is Tax Deductible.K.A. is a non-profit rescue and our IRS EIN is 27-3 597692.
We will stop our fundraiser as soon as we’ve raised $1750.00, which we hope will cover some of our costs and allow some funds to be banked for the medications we’re going to have to purchase. Any funds we don’t use for Piglet's family, Fluff Daddy or Freya we will set aside for other kitties who need help.
I wondered if I was seeing Petunia for the last time when I dropped her off early yesterday morning at Dr. Larry’s office. It had been barely a week since I’d found out she had a bladder full of stones, causing her incredible pain that resulted in a flood of inappropriate urination all over my house.
Petunia was quiet in the car as I drove along the river, choosing to take the slow route to the Vet. The brilliant sunshine of early morning began to warm us through the windows, keeping the harsh late winter cold at bay. The winds of March were raging outside the car, but inside it was peaceful.
I thought about Celeste and about how she died; very possibly because she was so stressed from being at the vet her body shut down on her. I knew that I had to do everything I could to keep Petunia from following the same path. Petunia could be just as fearful as Celeste so I drove slowly and carefully, talking in soft tones to Petunia. I told her it would be all right. I tried to make myself believe that, too.
Once we arrived and before I let one of the techs take her, I told her to NOT do the surgery if Petunia was too upset and to give her another day to calm down if needed. Petunia is 12 years old. We have to respect her if she is just not ready.
In the end, Dr. Larry performed the surgery while I waited for news.
--------------------------
Meanwhile, I’d gotten word that a very special, cat-mama had fallen ill. Her name is Jodi Ziskin and she’s a pet nutritionist. She contacted me, asking if she could help formulate a diet for our foster kitten Freya. She'd been following Freya’s story and was charmed by her and also concerned that without proper nutrition, Freya would have a difficult time passing stool since Freya had just had surgery to create her rectum.
Jodi and I emailed often and spoke a few times on the phone. We discovered we both went to the same high school in Connecticut, but somehow missed meeting each other back then. She told me about her cats and her husband, Zach. She was training for a marathon she was going to run in LA to help raise funds for a cat rescue. She just amazed me by all she could do and by how well she cared for herself as well as her family.
I got news that at some point after she ran the marathon, Jodi collapsed. She missed her flight home and that’s when people started looking for her. She had been unconscious for a day once she was located. She was not in good shape and was taken to the California Hospital in Los Angeles while her husband dropped everything to leave their home in Florida to be with her.
I should have been thinking about Petunia, but all I could do was worry about Jodi. She wasn’t able to remember much about her life. She knew her husband, but not the names of her beloved cats. We started to fear that Jodi would have a very long road to recovery—if she would ever recover at all.
They began doing tests. Apparently from the extreme exertion of the marathon, Jodi may not have hydrated properly afterwards. Her muscle tissue was shredding, going into her kidneys. It made her collapse. In some people it can kill them.
After a few days Jodi began to recover. She was remembering things 25 years ago. Her kidney values were normal. She messed up her teeth very badly from falling. She hadn’t lost all the memories of her 17 year marriage. She remembered Obi and her other cats, but there are still some scary memory issues going on that are mysterious in origin. More tests are being done to find the root cause. It's a very scary time for Jodi's family and friends.
This is a BIG reminder to all of us NOT to take ANYTHING or ANYONE for granted. Jodi, stay strong. We love you!
--------------------------
It was 4 PM. Where was my call telling me to pick up Petunia at 5 PM? I started to wonder if that meant she was dead. Dr. Larry always takes a very long time to tell me bad news. I can’t say I blame him. Maybe he was busy and she was fine? I decided to call and find out.
Petunia did well. She was ready to go home, but I didn’t get any more information than that.
I raced over to Dr. Larry’s and waited to speak with him. It was the end of the day and the clinic was quiet. I wondered what he was going to tell me. Was it really bad? Did he find something else? Would Petunia be all right?
He looked tired when he entered the exam room. I readied myself for bad news. He told me that the surgery was a long one. Petunia’s bladder was loaded with approximately 40 stones. Most of them had little spikes on them so it had to have been very painful. He told me her bladder was in good condition even with all the stones. The tissue was soft, as it should be, instead of leathery as it would become if her situation was more dire. He spent a long time flushing the bladder out to make sure any tiny grains of stone were cleaned away.
We looked at a new set of x-rays. He was clearly pleased with what he was showing me. Her bladder had a plump look to it, indicating it was already filling with urine. I could see a carefully placed line of surgical staples along the underside of her belly, glowing on the screen. Her incision was rather serious in size, which meant there would be at least a week or two of recovery time.
I’d asked Dr. Larry to take photos of the stones before he sent them out to be tested. When I saw them my jaw dropped and I got shivers down my spine. It’s clear she needed that surgery and I’m glad I made the financial sacrifice to provide this for her instead of hoping to dissolve them with a diet change.
It was time to bring Petunia home and get her settled into her big dog crate so she’d have a quieter place to recover. I didn’t know what would come of this and if Petunia 2.0 would be better or worse off now that she was feeling well. Would the other cats begin peeing around the house if she stood up for herself? Would there be worse fighting? Would Petunia expand her living space now that she was no longer in pain? Would she still need to be on anti-anxiety medication to keep her from erupting in more bladder stones?
Only time will tell as I focus on doing what I do best—being her mom and caring for her, instead of vilifying her unfairly. Pee-tunia is dead, long live Petunia.
The Cat’s Trapeze offers kittens and active cats the perfect place to play and rest. The unique suspended design is attractive to active cats, challenging them to climb and play while drawing their attention away from curtains and furniture. The large soft cushions also provide a cozy place for a catnap.
The Cat’s Trapeze is made of sturdy cotton fabric and comes without the inner pillows. The trapeze can be stuffed with throw pillows, or for a more eco-friendly approach, use old towels, recycled clothes or crumpled newspapers placed inside a pillowcase. Inner pillows made especially for filling the trapeze can be purchased separately at catstrapeze.us.
Used with Permission
The Cat’s Trapeze includes a bonus cotton hammock that attaches under the bottom pillow, creating an extra napping spot. The trapeze also comes with a small piece of sisal rope that is used to bind the trapeze straps together and attach to mounting hardware. (Mounting hardware not included.) More info about how to hang the Cat’s Trapeze is HERE.
The Cat's Trapeze is available in two styles: the 2-pillow trapeze and the 3-pillow trapeze. The 2-pillow trapeze measures approximately 3.5 feet, not including the hammock. The larger bottom cushion measures approximately 24 inches in diameter and the upper cushion measures approximately 20 inches. The 3-pillow trapeze measures approximately 4.5 feet, not including the hammock, with the two bottom cushions each measuring approximately 24 inches in diameter and the upper cushion measuring approximately 20 inches.
Used with Permission
The Cat's Trapeze and hammock can be machine washed at 104° F (40° C) after removing the inner pillows or stuffing. We recommend air drying and warm iron as needed. The trapeze cover will shrink slightly after washing. Do not machine dry, this will cause the trapeze cover to shrink considerably. (CICH: Because it's made of COTTON not some petro-chemical man-made fabric)
If you'd like to add a well-crafted, unique vertical solution to your certification project you can Place Your Pre-Sale Order HERE and make sure to use the DISCOUNT CODE: COVERED10 to Save $10! (Offer Expires at 11:59pm MST on March 15, 2015.)
The Cat's Trapeze, sold under the label 'Cat's Naturals', is designed by Esther Van der Wurff and manufactured by Van der Wurff Produkties, The Netherlands.
There are so many stories to tell, but the will to tell them has diminished over the past few months. I’ve been writing this blog for nine years. Doing so has changed my life in ways I never could have imagined. I never expected that writing, in the hopes a publisher would magically find me, would turn into a labor of love that spawned the creation of a non-profit cat rescue called Kitten Associates . Though the publisher never found me, my rescue has helped over 350 cats since KA opened in 2010 and through this blog I’ve given life-saving advice to many of you across the globe.
But there was a cost.
These stories take hours, into days, to write, photograph, edit. I don’t get paid for these tales, though the community I’ve built is priceless. Because you have been there for us, we can keep the rescue-kitties of Kitten Associates fed and cared for, but it doesn’t allow me to pay my bills. In the end, something has to give, which is why I haven’t posted anything for nearly 6 weeks, so I can focus on my graphic design work.
These 12 cats could have died in 2013 if I didn't have the ability to get the word out on their plight.
The other reason I’ve lost my passion to write is Facebook. Facebook giveth and tooketh (yeah, great grammar here) away. Being on Facebook watered my seedling blog, Covered in Cat Hair, so it could blossom. It helped us find homes and rescues for so many cats, too. But the ever-starving beast of greed propels FB to make more and more changes to the mystical-algorithm that continues to whittle away any chance that what I write will ever be seen by people who want to see it. It's that little code that determines what content is seen and what is not.
I read somewhere a wonderful summation of why being on Facebook is a mistake: “You don’t build your home on someone else’s land.” Well that’s what I did and so many other mom and pop shops did, too. Now it’s biting us in the ass because if we don’t “pay to play,” there’s only about a 2-5% chance any of our fans will read what we’re posting.
So is it worth it for me to keep writing when you won’t see it, it takes too much of my time and I’m broke because of it?
No.
But.
I love you guys, even if you aren’t seeing this right now. I love our community and I NEED to write. I have so many stories to tell you, but I have to find a better solution. One of them is that I’m working on a major overhaul of this web site to provide a chat feature and some other fun ways for us to get to know each other and retain our community. It will mean you’ll have to come visit us here, but I hope that if I can create a nice enough destination it will be worth the effort to stop by. It will take some time to get this accomplished but that is my goal. I will build my new house on MY land so no one can take it away or decide who can or won’t be allowed to view my efforts.
I also fear that what Facebook has done will seriously hurt other rescue groups, as it is my own. There’s a petition going around asking FB to reconsider and change the algorithm so that non-profits will still be able to reach their fans without the penalty of having to pay for it. They can’t afford to “play” at the level of the heavy-hitters so FB will continue to turn into one big promotion/advertising machine. Is this what we want?
I want a place to go to hang out with my friends and make new friends. FB did an amazing job with that, but now they’ve taken it away if you run a small blog or non-profit. Those folks provided a great deal of fresh, fabulous content that is going to waste and eventually they are going to leave, too.
How much money does Facebook need? Where is the space to give back, to be fair, to be reasonable? I’m not saying don’t make a living, but I am saying greed is an ugly thing and it’s hurting a lot of innocent people and animals who NEED a venue like this to get the word out about what it is that’s important to them and their friends/fans.
Facebook could be a beautiful golden palace instead of yet another place for the 1% to decide what the rest of us get to see. Why not just charge a subscription fee? Even if they charge a $1 per person they have what...a billion dollars a year? They can drop the advertising and open up the news feed so we can REALLY see what our friends and interests have to share.
I know. Fat chance.
Note: I see the irony that I'm going to have to pay to "boost" this post on FB in the hopes you'll read it.
It’s hard to hold your head up high as a cat rescuer when you feel like you completely failed and in that error, an animal died because of it. It’s one thing to make a mistake on your taxes—sure it sucks, you might pay a fine or owe more than you should, but it’s not life or death.
Some stories benefit from stretching the facts a bit here and there, but in telling Freya’s story I’m so stunned by the latest events that I can barely put the words down. Would anyone believe me if I told the truth? I barely believe me and I’m living this story.
Since I last wrote Freya gave me a bad scare one night. She wasn’t eating much and seemed a bit limp. I wrapped her up and brought her downstairs. Feeling too worked up with fear to hold her I gave her to Sam. He’s a very gentle, compassionate person and I thought maybe Freya would perk up getting some TLC from him.
It took some time but it worked. Freya began to purr, then alerted by the sound of one of the many cats in the room she looked around. Her eyes got wide as she took in our monster-sized cats. Sam comforted her and she settled back down. He got her to play with a toy as he continued to cradle her in his arms. Our cats took little interest in her because hey, they see so many foster cats another cat won’t even get a second look.
I eventually brought her upstairs to her room where she finally ate. I got her cleaned up and tucked into her little strawberry hut cat bed. I hated to leave her even for a few hours, but I needed some sleep. It was another fitful night, though, as I worried I missed something and that she’d crash while I was passed out.
But Freya perked up. Her black tarry stool smears were turning a more healthy brown. She didn’t seem quite as drippy as before, but also seemed to be moving more “material” out of her. I began to formulate a routine, one of picking up all the soiled towels on the cat beds and the base of the cat tree, putting out fresh ones, scrubbing off soiled spots on the floor, putting down food and water, getting the dirty towels into the washer then set for “sanitize,” but I couldn’t quite sort out what Freya’s routine was quite as easily.
Freya eats well, then doesn’t, but it could be that she’s just not hungry or that she feels uncomfortable from being dirty. Now I wash her before she eats and that works. I also mimic what Freya’s mother would do to her as she eats and after she eats-I rub her gently but vigorously to get her blood flowing. It seems to help her appetite and gets her purr-motor going.
Freya is slowly gaining weight, but I can feel her bones around her spine and shoulders. I don’t know how much nutrition she’s getting and I fear the gain is just stool. That said I swear her belly does not feel has hard to me or as big as it did before, but I could be wrong. She’s at 1 lb 7 oz. If I had my way I’d get her to 2 lbs, which is the smallest size we ever get kittens spayed. I have to be happy with what she achieves and hope it will be enough. It’s Friday September 19th and we have 4 ½ days to get her weight up a bit more before her scheduled surgery.
This is where Freya's story begins to take a very crazy turn.
Laurie, one of our adopters, offered to check out Angell Memorial, one of the big Veterinary Specialty hospitals in the Northeast for a surgeon to get a second opinion for us and I agreed. Laurie talked to her Vet to get some suggestions and through her found “The Guy,” Dr. Michael Pavletic.This Surgeon specializes in soft tissue reconstruction of small animals. He takes on unusual cases and comes up with creative solutions to repair the toughest ones. She reached out to his assistant to ask about whether Freya’s case would be one he’d be able to work on or at least be able to consult with our surgeons.
His assistant’s reply was rather terse, but I understood that we’d only sent x-rays and some medical notes and he really needed to SEE Freya.
Meanwhile Laurie was pushing me to bring Freya to Boston, to Angell. The more she pushed, the more I got upset. It was one thing to get an opinion and another to move Freya to Boston where I’d have to stay in a hotel and hope she survived the trip and the surgery. Once there, then what? How long would her recovery be? What would happen if she needed follow-up care? I can’t drive nearly 3 hours each way when I don’t even have bandwidth to get to the grocery store.
My head started spinning. What would he charge? Newtown Veterinary Specialists was being SO GOOD to us that I felt like I was cheating on them. What if we went to Boston and Freya lived, but then crashed here? Do I drive her to Boston or 15 minutes down the road to NVS? The logistics just wouldn’t work, but I saw the reasoning that if this surgeon was the top in his field and we could get his help, we had to try. I couldn’t stomach doing it by stepping on NVS’s toes or by being dismissive or rude to them. I had to find a way.
I talked to Sam about it. I thought we were OK going to NVS. The surgeons are Board Certified. NVS is a Level II Certified Emergency & Medical Care Center and the only one to get this certification in New England! This is not some backwater Specialty Vet, but now my confidence was shaken. I didn’t know what to do. In truth, Connie and Katherine, who run Animals in Distress had to choose because Freya was THEIR cat. I was just fostering her.
Laurie kept urging me to do something. She contacted Dr. P.’s assistant a few times, asking for more information. Exhausted to the point of not being able to think clearly, upset, maybe a bit angry for feeling like I wasn’t doing enough for Freya but didn't have the bandwidth to do more, I emailed Connie and Katherine and told them about this Vet. I said it was their choice what to do. I thought they’d say just to stay the course, but Connie wrote and said we should have Dr. P. do a consult.
Connie got on the phone and began making arrangements, but somewhere in between all the calls to Dr. P., to NVS and some of the Vets there, she got a bit confused about what the game plan was. I reached out to Bernadette, an affable woman who has been working behind the scenes to help Freya. She’s the Office Manager at NVS. She’d been in touch with Connie and had been working on a game plan after speaking with our awesome, deliciously green-eyed surgeon Dr. Andrews and his boss, the super-talented Dr. Weisman. Bernadette wanted the best for Freya and it turns out she was not alone.
When Bernadette told Dr. Weisman about Dr. P, everything changed. Freya’s case, as I’ve said before is rare, but I had no idea HOW rare it was. It’s so rare that Dr. Weisman decided to invite Dr. P. to come to Newtown to do the surgery HERE. That Freya’s is a teaching case and that MANY Vets would be in attendance to observe and learn from Dr. P.
If Dr. P. couldn't make the trip, then there was some discussion of sending two Vets with Freya to Boston to do the surgery THERE.
I’m not kidding. This is the real deal.
I spoke with Bernadette and tried not to cry as I heard the news. I was so stunned I repeated what she said to me because she called me from her car and I wasn’t sure I could believe what I was hearing.
She told me that the staff only cared that Freya would get the BEST care possible. They weren’t concerned about who would do the surgery, they wanted the best outcome. No one had an ego about taking this on. All they wanted was for her to have what she needed and if that meant asking a revered surgeon to travel to our town, then so be it. It also helped that one of the surgeons at NVS studied with Dr. P. when he was at Tufts and when she heard his name spoken, she bowed with respect.
In all my years having cats-including doing rescue, I have NEVER EVER witnessed such support for the positive outcome for a tiny kitten. It gave me something inasmuch as it gave Freya. I had hope. I was so sure I was sending Freya to her death last week that I couldn’t see any chance of the surgery working.
With Dr. P., at least being able to do a consult, I also knew that we didn’t have to worry we were making the wrong choice. The surgeons would work out their plan and I knew that it would be more than we could have dreamed of no matter what they decided (as long as they decide that she CAN have surgery). I could rest in knowing that however this turns out, Freya got the BEST care-period. There is no “grass is greener” or better Vet. We’ve got him. Freya’s got him. Now it’s just a matter of time.
I have to focus on doing my job keeping her stable and helping her grow. Everything else has fallen to the wayside (other than the care of the cats of course). I’ll pick up the pieces when I can.
For now Freya is all that matters and I’m so glad to be part of an ever-growing team who feels that way.
Until this afternoon when something happened none of us saw coming…Yes, this 2-part story has a bonus third part.
[Hey, it's not my fault! I'm just the writer. Blame the surgeons for throwing a curveball that left me speechless.]
With zippidy-doo-dah for adoptions this summer I still have Mia and her 5 kittens AND Wallace in my big foster room. They're all getting quite big and I'm very worried they'll be here for eternity.
Wallace has come around a lot since he entered “Kitten Bootcamp,” where he began to learn his manners basically by being beaten up by Mia’s kittens. Wallace had rage and frustration from being an orphan, but once with Mia’s kittens he had an outlet for his desire to wrestle and let off steam. There were some fears early on that one of the kittens might hurt him, but in the end it went well and Wallace learned a lot.
Wallace is still nippy when he's bored, but nowhere near as bad as he once was. He has become very affectionate and he loves to lay on me purring away as he rubs his wet nose against my cheek. He’s grown into a young adult and no longer has that goofy looking face with googly eyes, big ears and awkwardly long legs. I thought we had an adopter for him but sadly my messages to them about him went unanswered and I later found out they took in a badly injured cat and decided to adopt her instead.
But what about Fernando? Didn't something happen to him?
I’m still recovering from the shock of what happened to Mia’s son Fernando on Friday. I was working at my computer when I heard loud banging over my head. The foster room is above my office so I ran upstairs to find the metal divider from a dog crate out of it’s storage place behind a table in the middle of the room. All the kittens were cowering, terrified from the commotion. One by one I looked at each kitten, fearful one had been injured.
I found Wallace and he was ok. I found Woody and Snickers. They were scared but fine. Then I saw Fernando and I screamed.
Where Fernando’s left eye was all I saw was BLOOD.
I didn’t even try to look at it. I called Newtown Veterinary Specialists, where I’d just taken Twinkle just over a week before and let them know I was bringing him in. I thought that Fernando had somehow gouged his eye out at the end of the damn metal divider. I didn’t have time to think, I had to act.
Mia is not friendly. Fernando was crouched next to her inside a cat condo. I had to reach in to scruff Fernando to get him out but Mia gave me a warning-hiss. I couldn’t even worry about her biting me. I grabbed ‘Nanny and put him into a cat carrier. He was screaming and I didn’t blame him.
I made it to the vet in about 15 minutes. In some ways we were lucky because not only were they not busy, the ophthalmologist Vet didn’t have any appointments so she could see him right away. We didn’t even have to wait. A tech came out and took him into the back to be examined while I tried not to burst into tears.
A video grab of the moment poor Fernando had his accident. You can see he's belly up (see the white paws top center of the photo).
Shaking, I knew I had to check our Dropcam to see if the incident had been captured. As I watched the footage, two of the ladies who work the front desk joined me.
We watched Fernando wrestling with Wallace. He turned towards where the divider was stored. We couldn’t see how he did it but his eyelid got hooked on the metal “fingers” that run along side the edges of the divider that I thought I'd stored out of the way of the kittens. Frightened, he pulled back, setting the metal hook into his lid. Terrified, he pull hard, the divider popped out of storage into the room. It stayed attached to his eyelid as he writhed fitfully to free himself. After a few nightmarish seconds he was free, but what damage had he done?
I started to cry and the ladies were really nice to me as I rambled on and on about how they must think I run a bad rescue if I let things like this happen. As the footage continued I saw myself enter the room, then tilt the web cam down so all you can do is hear my words and my screams. It's far too upsetting for me to share this with all of you. Writing about it is difficult enough. Knowing you can see Fernando possibly blind himself and not be able to do a thing to stop him was unbearable.
The ladies said they wished they could bring me a Tequila and frankly I would have taken a shot if they had some. I was a wreck. What had I done? All these years those grates were in the room and nothing ever happened. Now Fernando was badly injured. Those things HAD to go.(and as of this post they are in the pile to be taken to the recycling place in town).
It wasn’t long before a tech returned with news. Nanny hadn’t ruptured his eye! He HAD torn his eyelid and he needed stitches. They’d have to sedate him to do it and he’d need “a lot of follow up care.” They didn’t feel his eyesight was compromised. His cornea was not scratched. I was so grateful at that moment that I didn’t even care that the estimate for his care was nearly $1000.00.
We'd been lucky. Fernando should be all right and we had enough in the bank to cover his care, which after our discount was reduced to just over $700.00.
The poor kitten has to wear the “cone of shame” for the next week. It’s been a trial to keep it on him and his eyelid is swollen as a result. I’m determined to get this week to pass and have him be looking great again without that cone. After all that has been going on with Twinkle's broken leg and before that Greta needed emergency care after eating part of a cat toy and Wallace needing emergency care for hurting his legs it just felt like too much.
But after all was said and done, we made it. We’re all still here and everyone should be okay.
Junebug and Maggie Mae
Junie and Maggie have been living with foster-mom Jame and her family since MARCH! No one has wanted to adopt the kitties and fairly soon they'll be celebrating their first birthday. I was feeling like giving up when I got an email from Kendra who adopted 2 kittens from us 3 years ago. She’d had a crush on Maggie all this time, but I’d written “No dogs” on her petfinder page because she and Junie had been terrorized by feral dogs when they were living outside on their own in Georgia. Kendra asked me if it was even remotely possible to adopt Maggie. I didn’t know if it would work but I agreed we could give it a try.
I knew Kendra would go slowly. Maggie hadn’t been very friendly with any of us and we were worried this change would set her back and make her even more fearful. Kendra, however had it in her mind that this was a great idea and her love for Maggie was all that was needed.
Maggie has been in her new home for about two weeks and every day I get photos or videos of a cat I do not recognize. There is Maggie, the pretty calico, but she is happy. She’s purring. She’s not cowering in a corner. She’s sleeping on one of the dog’s beds. She’s with the other cats. She’s relaxed and I swear she’s smiling. Kendra is over-the-moon happy and writes to me of how much she loves Maggie. I’m left to shake my head and be reminded I don’t always know what is best for our foster cats.
It was a great lesson to learn and I’m ever so grateful our dry-spell of no adoptions has come to an end.
Here’s a quick recap of what the HECK has been going on with our kitties since there have been so many calamities lately that I haven't had adequate time to write it all down.
Laney and Winnie
Laney had her six, fat, healthy, HUGE kittens just four weeks ago. They’re all about to hit the 1 pound mark in weight (a few are over already), proving just how fat and sassy they are. Most kittens their age are about 25% smaller. Initially Moe, our foster mom, sexed the kittens and we went about the task of naming them. Then just a few days ago I got a “whoopsie” text from Moe saying that no, we did not have the number of girls we thought we did. In fact, most of the kittens are boys.
We had to do a quick name adjustment and in one case we were very surprised because the one boy we were certain of turned out to be a GIRL. That GIRL is Piglet, Winnie’s sole surviving kitten. Piglet, who has also surprised us by not being a white kitten, but rather a flame point Siamese in the making!
We worried a lot about Piglet, who had a tough start in life. Being grossly underweight we didn’t think she’d make it, but with having her devoted mother AND her grandmother, Laney at her side, Piglet began to thrive and is slowly catching up with her Aunt and Uncle-kittens even though she’s a week older than they are. [update: Piglet weighs a pound!]
We had a terrible scare with Laney, too. The night after she gave birth Moe noticed her abdomen was quite huge. She was rushed to the ER Vet where they took a number of x-rays and had a radiologist weigh in on the findings. They felt she had a great deal of fluid build-up inside her but were not sure what the root cause was. They threw around horrible terms like FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis) and doing a fluid study, because she was so full her intestines were pushed way out of place.
After staying up almost all night at the ER Vet, Moe let me know that they were going to watch and wait. I agreed. We needed to find out if Laney just needed to literally pee this problem away or if she indeed was really sick. We’d ruled out she was carrying a 7th kitten so the rest was up to her.
It’s easy to look back and realize we should have just given her some time, but she had newborn kittens to tend to and if she was sick we needed to know right away-or worse if she’d retained a kitten she’d need help getting it out or she could die, too.
Within a few days we got our answer. Laney passed a ginormous stool and peed a great deal. After that her belly began to reduce in size and she did not require further vet care. Now we could focus on the good stuff, watching the kittens grow, get love from their moms and get their names locked down.
Jasper, Julep, Josh, Junipurr, Jules, and Jasmine, some of Laney’s older kittens from a previous litter and some who were from even older kitten’s of Laney’s (can you do that math?) are doing well. Jasper and Julep were chronically sick to the point of us fearing they might not survive their severe flea infestation and upper respiratory tract infection.
Now that everyone has been bathed, vetted and fed really good food for over a month, I’m glad to say they are thriving. Moe reports that they are some of the friendliest kittens we’ve ever had and were so rambunctious that Moe ended up opening up her guest room to give the kittens more space to play. They LOVE being out of the confines of a small bathroom and we’re really happy to see their amazing transformations.
Celeste’s & Family
Many of you know that Twinkle-Twinkle, Celeste’s daughter, had an accident two weeks ago [update now 3 weeks ago and the cast just came off!] and broke the “heel” bone of her back right leg. Twinks is confined to a big dog crate for another few weeks as her leg heals. She’s in a cast, but doesn’t let that stop her. Though her first few days were tough, she’s back to her old cheerful self.
Her cage is in my living room so she can be in an area where we all gather and where our cats hang out so she won’t be so lonely. Fluff Daddy is fascinated by her and often reaches into her cage to play pattycake with her.
We’re getting used to the new routine of caring for her and she’s finally settling down. She can get into an outrageously long crying jag if she’s bored, lonely or hungry so we do our best to keep her entertained and happy. That’s not to say I won’t miss it when that cast is off. I can’t wait!
Meanwhile, her mom Celeste should have been spayed months ago, but for one reason or another had to have the surgery date changed. Our foster family in a nearby town offered to take Celeste so she can “dry out” her mammary glands and have a safe spay surgery. This also meant I had to take her from her kittens which I did not want to do. I hate when it’s time for our mama-cats to be taken from their offspring, but I know it has to be done.
In nature the family would go their separate ways to keep their genes stronger and in rescue it’s just how it goes. Rarely do people want to adopt a mother and offspring and in truth some times it’s not such a great Hallmark-card ending anyway. Celeste has gone through being in heat already and she’s been short-tempered with the kittens. She lashes out and growls at them from being so frustrated. She’s also gotten to a point where instead of guarding them she plays with them. They’ll run past her and she’ll grab them, give them a few licks here and there and basically send them on their way. I love to see this but I also know it has to come to an end. I know she'll be all right and they will be, too, but I feel reluctant to do it.
It’s not fair to the other three kittens, Little Star, Hubble and Astro, to remain in the blue bathroom. It’s just too small and now that they are 14 weeks old, they need more room to spread their wings, but I can’t move them out until Celeste is gone.
So I’ve “done the deed” and the kittens are adjusting to their life with Mia’s kittens and Wallace. There’s some growling here and there but mostly they're all settling in together. Their room is CROWDED, more than I’d like but I added an extra cat tree so they’d have more escape routes. It seems to be helping and so far there haven’t been any fights. I’ve even seen Celeste’s kittens interacting with some of Mia’s. It’s never ideal to put so many kittens together but so far so good.
Next up----whatever happened to Wallace? The kitten rescued out of a wall? What about Junebug, Maggie Mae, our almost 1-year old fosters? Will they ever find a home? And now there's even more news!...stay tuned for part two next.
It’s late at night. I heard one of my foster kittens scream. Within seconds I was in the room with her and her family, my heart about to explode out of my chest I was so terrified. One by one I checked the kittens to see which one had been injured. Sure enough Twinkle-Twinkle looked up at me, took a step and literally fell over. Her back leg was broken. It was 11 PM. What should I do?
In the past month my cat rescue, Kitten Associates has had to deal with four emergencies. Some times these things happen even in the best home with the most loving care. I know what to do when trouble strikes, but do YOU KNOW what you’d do if your kitty suddenly became ill or was injured?
Here are some simple things you can do RIGHT NOW so you’re prepared for how to handle an emergency with your cat.
1. Get a Vet! If you don’t have a Vet, you SHOULD get out there and find one. They will maintain your cat’s health records. You’ll need this information sent to your ER Vet if your cat requires treatment where you have time to access those records. If you can, keep a copy of all your cat’s medial records in a place that’s easy to find so you can grab them and go. Remember, if you bring your cat in for a wellness exam annually you can avoid many problems that require a trip to the ER Vet in the first place.
2. KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between the ER Vet and your General Practitioner Vet. Usually the ER Vets are staffed with specialists in many areas of health, while your GP handles a wide range of issues, but usually does not have the suite of expensive equipment that an ER Vet would have or the experience to handle more difficult cases. Some times your GP vet can do the basic diagnostics then will refer you to an ER Vets.
ER Vets are open 24/7/365. Your GP won’t usually have those hours. If you think you’re cat will require overnight care, head to the ER. If you’re not sure where to go and you have time, call your GP Vet and ask them. For complicated cases they will often direct you to the ER Vet.
3. Locate the 3 closest Emergency Vets and put their contact information in your address book, on your phone, everywhere you keep such information. If you can, choose to “Favorite” or add to speed-dial those vets, all the better. Don’t forget to enter the address of these vets into the GPS in your car. When you’re in a panic, the last thing you need to do is worry about how to get somewhere.
4. Have a cat carrier in an easy-to-access location. I use a big cat carrier with a heated pad inside it as a cat bed to reduce my cat’s fear of being in a cat carrier. It’s out all the time. Make sure your cat carrier is big enough to handle your cat since some people adopt a kitten, then never get a bigger carrier as the cat ages. Also, make sure your cat carrier isn’t falling apart. Some have plastic tab closures, or nuts that come loose. You want to be able to grab and go!
5. When an emergency occurs, first thing you do is CALL THE VET. Let them know you’re coming and what is happening with your cat so they can prepare and get staff ready for your arrival. Be prepared to as CLEARLY AS POSSIBLE describe the age, sex, breed of cat. Is your cat spayed/neutered? Is your cat up to date on vaccinations? Does she have any behavioral issues that might make treating her difficult? Be ready to describe why you think you’re cat is in crisis. The more information you can give them, the better they can prepare for your arrival.
This is also WHY you need more than one ER Vet’s contact information. The ER Vet you first call may tell you they are very busy or the specialist you might need is not on call that night so you can quickly call another ER Vet and make sure they can handle your cat’s care.
6. Other things to bring with you. Many times you’ll have to wait a long time before you can see a Vet if the ER is busy. Bring your phone charger. If you have a device where you can get online-like a tablet computer or laptop, bring it. You may be able to look up the diagnosis you get from the Vet so you can make better decisions.
7. MONEY! ER Vets want money UP FRONT once they determine what it will take to help your cat. Some vets charge more AFTER midnight. All are expensive-far more costly than your regular vet. If money might be an issue, apply to get CareCredit. It takes about 15 minutes to get approved, then you have the card if you need help. If you can pay off the charge in less than 6 to 24 months, it’s fee free. Your bill also has to be over $200.00 minimum.
Get health insurance for your cat NOW before she is 10 years old. That can help offset costs of care.
Lastly if you can get the ER Vet to give you time, you can opt to do an online fundraiser or reach out to family and friends. There are organizations that help cover costs of emergency medical expenses for people who get Public Assistance. Feline Veterinary Emergency Assistance is just one and they may be able to direct you to others. You can also find them on Facebook.
8. Try to BREATHE and stay calm. Being panicked means you're not thinking clearly. You're going to feel stressed and possibly upset. That's understandable, but focus on your cat. SHE NEEDS YOU to be as calm and focused as possible. Once you’re at the Vet they will take over so your cat will be safe. They may tell you things you don’t understand. Speak up! Ask questions. Ask if they can keep your cat stable until your regular Vet is opens if costs are an issue. There are certain situations where a GP Vet can take care of your cat, but if they don’t have late hours or staff caring for the animals at night it may not be an option.
9. Go over the line-item estimate carefully. Make sure you understand WHY you’re getting charged for each service if you don’t understand it. There may be other ways to handle the situation. As long as the staff understands that money is an issue they will usually adjust the estimate to the basics if that’s what you can manage. There are items like e-collars or other items you can provide to save on costs so ASK where you can help out. Some times you can provide some of the care at home and bring your cat in for an additional exam instead of paying a boarding fee.
I’m glad to report that today Twinkle got her cast off after having surgery to put 2 tiny pins into her heel bone. She’s comfortable and happy and I finally got my pulse to slow down. When you’re in the worst of it, remember, this will pass. You will get through it and hopefully because you’re done your homework, your cat will have the best chance possible to survive this challenging time.
This post is sponsored by BlogPaws. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about #PetBloggerMonth, but Covered in Cat Hair only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers. BlogPaws is not responsible for the content of this article.
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