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©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Beautiful Blitzen at 1 1/2 years old.

While I am over-the-moon-thrilled that Covered in Cat Hair is a FINALIST in the Petties 2011 as the Best Social Integration Blog and BEST CAT Blog, I had to stop celebrating for a moment and pay homage to my own rescue (aka, foster fail) boy, Blitzen.

Isn't he handsome?

swooooon!

It's been a VERY LONG JOURNEY for Cara Melle-one I wonder will ever come to a happy conclusion. Cara's been sick for SEVEN MONTHS. When we cure one issue, another problem pops up. We've squeezed everyone's pockets to shake loose every last penny. This little kitten has cost my rescue group thousands of dollars in Vet care. This is not about the money, but it is an illustration of how far we've travelled to find a way to get Cara HEALTHY.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara knows she's at the Vet. Been there, done that, one too many times now.

There've been a few times when we thought we had Cara's problems licked. At first, it was a terrible URI that permanently effected her brother and sister. They both have scar tissue in their tear ducts which slows draining of their tears and causes them to have one or both eyes weep. They won't suffer much as a result of this, but it's a reminder to us of what they went through, too.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Those big eyes just cut right through my heart.

Cara, however, was hit the hardest. She had two esophageal strictures from being burned by Doxycycline when she was just a little kitten. It was avoidable had we known the antibiotic was so acidic. It could have been caused by her genetics, too. We'll never really know for sure. Either way, it caused her tremendous suffering, for a very long time. Her growth was stunted and she remains underweight.

We treated her strictures twice and medicated her every six hours for weeks. We gave her “novel protein” diet to make sure she didn't also have a food allergy (turns out she did not). We gave her the best food, the most love and tender care, but it was not enough.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara's resemblance to her mother, Mazie is very clear. Mazie still waits for her forever home, but was very glad to see Cara again.

Cara continued to vomit-PROJECTILE vomit. If you've never seen that before, imagine a hose being turned on inside little Cara. The spigot flies open and a torrent of fluid comes out. It's shocking. Disturbing. Horrifying. It leaves Cara limp. She rarely ever plays. She sits hunched over, uncomfortable, licking at her mouth, her tummy grumbling.

On Friday Cara returned to see Dr. K. Our last three weeks of feeding her a special diet showed us she had no food allergies, but she was still vomiting. A repeat of her blood work revealed her White Blood Count was still shockingly high at 29,500. Dr. K needed to do a third endoscopy to find out what was going on. The results surprised all of us.

While Cara's strictures were healed, her stomach lining, which was once fine and normal, was now “grossly” full of Helicobacter. To understand how common this is, here's a portion of an article by Bob Sherding in 2001

“Various surveys have found a high prevalence of Helicobacter approaching 100% in most shelter and colony cats and 30 to 100% in pet cats. The spiral organisms identified most often in these surveys are the large Helicobacter-like organisms, e.g., H. felis and H. heilmannii. Because of the high prevalence of infection in animals without clinical signs, the clinical significance of gastric Helicobacter-like organisms (GHLO) in cats is uncertain. Helicobacter organisms may be an incidental finding in clinically normal animals, but when they are associated with clinical signs (chronic intermittent vomiting) and gastric mucosal inflammation (lymphocytic gastritis), it is possible that they should be considered potential pathogens and treated.”

The treatment remains the same-even today: Amoxicillin and Biaxin™

But that's not all Cara is dealing with. She also has Leukocytosis-which is a high White Blood Cell Count. Because her Neutrophils are also high, it means she probably has a nasty bacterial infection. Last month, Cara had a high Eosinophil count, which could have meant she was having an allergic reaction to her food or medication. That indicator is back to normal, so it leads us to believe that Cara has a “Mother” of an infection.

What causes this? Another mystery. Helicobacter is common. It making us or our cats sick, is not so common. What caused Cara to have such an overwhelming infection leaves us all scratching our heads. All we can do is treat her and hope it resolves. She may get better or she may get this on and off for years to come.

The saddest thing to consider is that this infection can be a precursor to Adenocarcinoma or Lymphoma. Adenocarcinoma is always malignant. My cat, Bob, has lymphoma. It can be treated, but there is no cure. To think that Cara, at such a fragile age, could face this one day is unbelievable and completely cruel. I hope it is not so. Today it's too soon to tell.

Cara's endoscopy. Tough to see here, but her stomach lining is a mess.

And then there was Cara's pancreas to consider. Either it was inflamed and getting worse, or it had been and was resolving. They ran a PLI test to determine how badly her pancreas has been effected. This is in a EIGHT month old KITTEN. To have such problems is disturbing, gut-wrenching and heartbreaking.

Cara's pancreas shows white highlights. This means it's inflamed and irritated. Is it getting worse or is it getting better?

Who will adopt a kitten with such health history? Who would I even TRUST to give this kitten a home? We have a long way to go before we can even worry about that. Right now there's much to be done, but the fear sits in the back of my head. I don't know that Cara will ever be on Petfinder looking for a forever home.

Sam was able to drive with me down to Norwalk to pick Cara up after her procedure so I could hold her on my lap the entire drive home. She was very weak and withdrawn. Although she had a nice reunion with her Mother, Mazie and sister, Polly, Cara wanted to be alone, to rest. She ate well for me the first night, then the next day, back at her foster home with Aunt Connie, she stopped eating. Her coat was rough. Her left eye was now weeping from the URI. She hid under the sofa where no one could get at her.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. After endoscopy, Cara is wiped out and sick with a URI.

We had to give her antibiotics, so after some coaching, were able to get her to come out so we could treat her. It took two long days, but Cara started to turn the corner just a bit. She began to eat some food and came out from under the sofa. Her eye stopped running, but she was still very worn out.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara looks out the window into the darkness. She didn't want to visit with us. She just wanted to be alone to rest and try to recover from the procedure.

This morning Cara projectile vomited again, so I called Dr. K. to let her know. She said the infection was so bad that she wasn't surprised there was more vomiting. She said to stay the course, keep giving her the meds and give it a week. By Saturday, maybe she'll show signs of feeling better. We can only hope.

I have no idea what is to become of Cara. Once her meds are done in two weeks, we'll re-evaluate the situation. If Cara is responding well, then what? I don't know. Will Cara get something else? We she relapse? Will she even live to be an adult?

Cara looks right into my soul with those big owly eyes. She's so much like her Mother that way. I only wish she was just as healthy and ready to be adopted. For now, all we can do is keep our commitment to her, in sickness and in health, for better or worse.

--------------------------------------------

If you'd like to read more about Helicobacter, how common it is, how it may be transmitted and its' effect on humans, you can read this article on DVM360, as well as on Wikipedia

What a nightmare. I had Cara's blood work repeated on Tuesday after three weeks of diet change and a short course of antibiotics. I'd hoped to see her White Blood Count come down to normal levels. It was not. It was 29,500-high normal is 19,000. Cara also showed elevated Nuetrophils (26,500 and high normal is 12,500) and 295 bands (300 is high normal). From the Cat Spay of Sante Fe this article describes in better detail what these values mean: “Band neutrophils are the youngest form of the neutrophil, and indicate that the bone marrow is trying to produce and release cells as quickly as possible. A few bands can be present in a normal patient, but an overload of bands always means that there is an active infection. ” This all adds up to something is wrong and Cara has a festering, lingering, S.O.B. infection of some sort.

Dr Larry and Dr Diane (Cara's Specialist) agreed that this is indicative of an abscess-probably in her esophagus. The only way to be certain is to look. The only way to look is to knock Cara out and use a scope on her. The cost is going to kick us in the shins, but I'm not going to do another fundrasier. I've already bugged you guys too many times and many of you have helped out. Cara doesn't look sick or pitiful, but she's harboring quite a serious problem. She gained 8 ounces over the past month, which is remarkable, but puts her at 2-3 pounds under what she should weigh for her age. She's grown a bit, but I have to wonder how she will be stunted from months of being debilitated. She continues to projectile vomit once a week. I may have to make a deal with the devil to get her the treatment she needs, but I'm not complaining.

We need ANSERS and we need them NOW and we need to “FIX” this girl for once and for all! Cara needs a warm and loving home, not to have to spend her life being run back and forth to Vets.

P.S. and will someone please tell me why cats always have to have expensive Vet care done on Holiday weekends?

This family was rescued because 1 person posted that this family needed help to rescue groups, 1 person began bugging rescue groups to help and offered to raise $500.00 via her blog (hmmm..who might that be?), 2 people at 1 shelter said YES, 21 people donated money immediately, and 1 person offered to drive the family a very long way to their new home. It took 26 people, most who have never met in person, to step up and offer to help this family in some way. Was the journey effortless? No way. But was the journey worth the effort? I think you know the answer to that.

©2011 Bobby Stanford. Mama is smiling. She knows she and her family are safe at last.

This family has no idea that after 1 person dumped them, so many would gather round them and offer them sanctuary, safety and love. Most of us will never even meet this family, but it's not about us. We don't care for our own needs. We care that this family will not die today and hopefully not any day soon.

©2011 Bobby Stanford. “I wonder where we're going? I hope it's nice there.”

They are a symbol of so many families that are just as deserving, who also need to make it out of a kill shelter today. Many of them need a donation or a driver or a foster home for a few weeks. These are things many of us can provide in one form or another. Let this rescue remind us how wonderful it feels to WIN one! Let us take a stand and remember to keep doing more-as much as we can-of course, without straining resources unfairly.

©2011 Bobby Stanford. Mama sings a song to entertain Bobby as he drives them to their new home.

We can fight this good fight together, but we have a lot more work to do.

©2011 Bobby Stanford. We don't know what the prognosis is for this little tabby's legs yet. Stay tuned for an update.

Thanks to Bobby, our super-awesome-do-anything-for-cats-friend, the family is with the Humane Society of Forsyth County (Georgia). The little tabby may have TWO deformed legs, not one. We hope the lesser of the two deformities will resolve on its own or with very little intervention. When I have more information, I will let you all know. At least, for now, everyone is well, with full bellies and a safe harbor.

Thank you again to HSFC for their willingness to go the distance for this family when their own shelter is beyond full. If you know anyone interested in adopting a sweet dog or cat, please visit HSFC's Adoption Page! The emptier this shelter gets, the more that can be rescued off death row..I'm just sayin'...Adopt today! It's almost the end of Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat Month!

Here are some faves:

Hufflepuff, Pure White Kitten

Leona, a Beautiful FIV+ baby Maine Coon mix

Felix-the GORGEOUS declawed Tuxedo (long hair!)

Helena Bonham Carter: a sweet mixed breed puppy.

THIS FAMILY IS SAFE AND ON THEIR WAY TO THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF FORSYTH COUNTY. THANKS TO THE MANY GENEROUS DONORS WHO MADE THIS RESCUE POSSIBLE!

Details and hopefully photos from their trip will be coming along later...for now we can breathe a sigh of relief!

I'm so honored and PROUD of EVERYONE who JUMPED IN to help this kitten with the deformed leg, as well as his two littermates and his Mama get passage OUT of the Kill Shelter!

This ChipIn was funded in SIX HOURS! I am crying my head off right now. All I can think about is the WONDERFUL, HUGE HEART EACH ONE OF YOU HAVE FOR OPENING YOUR WALLET AND SHARING WHAT YOU HAVE WITH THIS KITTY FAMILY IN DIRE NEED. I wish I could give you back something for all that you have given them. Big HUGS to you all!

Just know I am grateful and I'm sure the Humane Society of Forsyth County also appreciates your help to make it possible for them to provide the loving care for these kitties until they find their own homes.

WE DID IT!!!!!!

There's no question that Maria has a big heart. Her mission to locate and rescue kittens that had been hidden by a lactating mama-cat she found was a great success (that story is HERE).

The first night has passed. This morning Maria was greeted by hungry kittens and mama, alike. Everyone made it. They're all feeding well and they're all painfully adorable!

Their story could end here. Maria would ride off into the sunset and the kittens would magically grow healthy and hearty, find perfect homes in a short time and there'd never be any problems-but Maria cannot be completely responsible with providing for this family. She didn't plan on taking on such an expense and she doesn't have access to things like Petfinder, which will make finding this family a good home very difficult. She needs help.

I, too, didn't plan on taking in a family right now. I wanted to focus on getting little Cara healthy and my remaining foster cats needed to find homes. But doing rescue means you can never plan or even be prepared. You just have to do what is needed and do the best you can.

So without proper funding established or even knowing I'll have a foster home in Connecticut for them when they are big enough, I let Maria know I had her back. My rescue group, Kitten Associates, Inc. will be providing care for this family, then finding them forever homes later this summer. We can't turn our back on these fragile lives, nor can we turn our back on Maria, who has been a vital resource for us in Georgia.

This rescue is also going to kick off more BIG NEWS. A few days ago, Kitten Associates, Inc. had their Board Meeting. That day we got our 501(c)3 “Letter of Determination” from the IRS stating we ARE a Non-Profit Corporation! And before any of you fret, any donation from as far back as last September is deductible, so no worries! We had YOU covered, too.

With any luck, this is the kickoff of something big, something wonderful-and what better way to celebrate our news with the rescue of such a sweet family.

We REALLY need your help. Everything this family needs is multiplied by six. Between their future spay/neuter, shots, wellness exam, de-worming, flea treatment, food, litter and transport to Connecticut, we estimate we'll need at least $1200.00. If any of the kittens get sick, we'll have to do a second fundraiser for that. The last family I brought to CT cost many thousands of dollars due to their repeated illness. The GOOD NEWS is that this family was NEVER in a Kill Shelter and haven't been exposed to a number of diseases. Maybe we'll finally get lucky and this family will stay healthy.

We'll never really know what caused Amberly to suddenly trust Maria and show her where she'd hidden her kittens after more than 24 hours apart from them. It may have been that Amberly finally had a full belly and some rest at Maria's house and through those hours together, a bond began to ripen. Though Amberly is barely a kitten, herself, now that she has good food, she's more than willing to provide care for her kittens. The love she has for them is obvious and the joy we have knowing they are safe is priceless.

Please use the ChipIn widget, below, to make your donation. The other way to help us is by sharing this blog post with your friends and family and perhaps a few of them can help this family out.

Your donation will go to Kitten Associates, Inc General Fund so we can provide for this family. Your donation is Tax Deductible, too. Every dollar adds up and we are grateful for whatever you can spare.

Thank you for helping rescue this family and for making their lives safe and happy!

Don't forget to Facebook-share, Tweet or let your friends know about this family!

Our intrepid foster mama, Maria got up early to hit the local tag sales. It was a hot Saturday just southeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Maria was taking a break from a long work week. Tag sales were an enjoyable adventure since she could save some money and find something fun to bring home while she was at it.

This weekend Maria got far more than she could have expected when she saw a cat LAYING in the middle of the street. Maria stopped her car and got out; worried the cat would be hit by a car. The cat came over to her and rubbed on her leg. She cried to Maria and within a moment, it was obvious that this cat was very thin. Maria, of course, had cat food in her car and offered some to the cat. She gobbled it up right away.

©2011 Maria. S. A stray cat makes a new friend with Maria.

Maria took a closer look at the cat and saw that the cat's nipples were enlarged, a sure sign the cat was either nursing or pregnant. She sent me a text. It was not even 8AM. She wanted to talk to me, so I got out of bed and went into the foster room so I could talk to her without waking Sam up.

She didn't know what to do and I can't say I blamed her. She didn't know if this was someone's cat, but if it was they weren't taking care of her at all. If the cat had kittens, WHERE WERE THEY?

I encouraged Maria to ask anyone in the neighborhood if they knew the cat. She found one person to tell her he'd seen it before but didn't know where it belonged. I told Maria to get the cat to the Vet. If she did have owners, they didn't deserve this cat, who seemed to have no fear and who kept "talking" at Maria. Too bad she didn't speak cat.

Her tag sale plans disrupted, Maria went to her Vet. They weren't busy and offered to do an ultrasound of the cat FOR FREE. They didn't see anything unusual inside her so either she had already given birth or she was not far along enough for them to see anything. Maria spent her tag sale money to have a "snap test" done to determine if the cat had FIV or Feline Leukemia. She did not. She had some flea dirt on her, as well as two ticks. Her belly fur was bare, possibly from being itchy, they weren't sure. The cat only weighed FIVE POUNDS. They couldn't tell her if the cat had given birth.

Now what?

A few hours had passed since Maria took the cat to the vet. She noticed the cat's mammary glands were more enlarged. I told her to go back to where she got the cat and let her go. See if she would take Maria to where the kittens were located-if there were any. Surely she would need to feed her babies soon.

A severe thunderstorm hit just as Maria arrived at the drop off point. There wasn't much she could do, but wait. She was able to let the mama cat out of the car, but all she did was cry, then run into the street. Maria wasn't going to let this cat get hurt and it was clear the cat wasn't going to feed any kittens-if they even were alive. It was late. Reluctantly, Maria headed for home, the cat crying next to her in the car.

I quickly designed a flyer, hoping against all odds someone would step forward and help us find the kittens and I told Maria to just get the mama to her house and we'd sort it out the next day.

I don't know much about finding where a mama cat might hide her kittens. I asked all my rescue friends and most of them said that since the mother was only 8-10 months old herself, that odds were she had abandoned the litter and was not going to care for them-IF they were alive. It's hard not to give up hope, but we knew that between the 95°F temperatures, rain, predation and starvation, these kittens might have 24-48 hours left to live.

Maria skipped Father's Day with her stepdad and her day off and got back into her car with the cat she named, Amberly. Amberly had a good night's rest, drank a bowl of water and had some food. She was in much better shape than she was the day before.

Maria let Amberly out of the car and she strutted off into someone's yard. Maria followed and saw the cat go into a storm sewer. Her heart sank. If the kittens were inside it would be very tough to get them out. A moment later, Amerbly returned and decided to look around at another drain. A neighber saw Maria and she told him what was going on. He offered to help her look. Then, Amberly dashed out of sight.

©2011 Maria. S.

The neighbor called out to Maria. “I see something!”

©2011 Maria. S.

Maria ran to his side. In the base of a tree, they could barely see Amberly's eyes. Being black let her disappear easily. They walked up to the cat. She didn't move, but something else near her, did.

©2011 Maria. S. If you look closely, to the left are two kittens.

Maria could see a tiny kitten nursing on her mother, Amberly. It was a miracle. The kitten had been found. Maria let Amberly nurse as the neighbor, who admitted he didn't even like cats, went to get her some gloves so she could dig into the base of the tree to find every kitten that was there. I can't imagine how scared and excited I'd be if I was Maria. I'd be scared to find dead kittens, but excited that some might make it.

©2011 Maria. S.

Slowly and carefully, she lifted a tiny calico kitten into the sun. The kitten squinted her eyes and let out a small cry. She was alive, not near death, but alive.

©2011 Maria. S.

Maria looked again and found a second kitten. This one a little gray guy wiht white paws. He wriggled around in her hands, but seems all right, too.

©2011 Maria. S.

Maria continued to remove kittens from their nest. Another gray and white kitten, then a tortie.

All said and done, there were FIVE kittens rescued. Each one was alive, but after barely being fed for 24 hours they needed a lot more nourishment.

©2011 Maria. S.

First things, first-they needed to get to Maria's house, away from all the dangers they faced and into a safe, loving environment. From looking at them, we estimate they're barely 2 weeks old.

©2011 Maria. S.

There's much to sort out. Names to be given-perhaps something from the Hobbit since they were found under a tree? We'll need to do an emergency fundraiser to provide for their care and get them over to the Vet for a checkup to make sure they're all right. We didn't plan on rescuing any families since funds are tight and foster homes are tough to find, but we'll make it work somehow.

We'll see how the babies do over the next 24 hours. Will Amberly feed them and give them the care they need or were the kittens left alone for too long and Amberly will reject them?

Yesterday we hoped we'd find these precious little ones and thankfully they were found. Maybe, just maybe, the worst of their troubles are over and now the fun can really begin for them all.

And to Maria, who missed going to the tag sales, I'm sorry about that and I know you got more than you bargained for this weekend. I can't express fully how completely over-the-moon-happy I am that you gave up your time and money and kicked ass and rescued those babies. My hat's off to you, Maria. Way to go, baby. Way to go!

©2010 Henry Co. Care & Control. Chester is born.

Chester Cheesetoes was born October 15, 2010 in a stainless steel cage at Henry County Care & Control in McDonough, Georiga. He was the first of three offspring-the second, his sister Polly and third, little sister, Cara. Chester's Mother, Mazie gave them plenty of love and nourishment. It wasn't a perfect home, but for now, it was a safe place to raise her family.

©2010 Maria Sandoval.

In a few weeks time, Chester began to see the world through kitten-blue eyes. He had no idea his life, barely begun, could end at any moment. He was, in fact, in a “Kill” shelter, where he and his family could meet a swift end with the hint of a sniffle or if they needed to make room for another. His, was a life of confinement, though he was happy being close to his mother. It only troubled her when she wanted to stretch her legs. Chester slept, tucked close to his family on bed of newspaper or a towel. The smell of the litter pan, which was only inches away, mixed with the warm sweet smell of his mother's belly.

©2010 Maria Sandoval.

Chester and his family were very lucky. Just as one of the kittens began to sneeze, Kitten Associates, Inc., stepped in to rescue them. It was a good thing, too. For Chester and his family fell ill while in foster care-very ill. Chester, being the biggest, didn't get nearly as sick as his sisters. It was touch and go for many weeks. There were lots of trips to the Vet and lots of medications to be taken. Finally, they were all well enough to travel to Connecticut and live with their new foster Mom- “Aunt Robin” and her clutter.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Fun with the iPad. Chester (front), Mazie (back), Polly (left), Cara (right).

Chester slowly got better. After three months of being sick, he was well enough to be neutered and put up for adoption. He was still a little guy and applications by the fist full arrived. Almost as soon as Chester was placed on Petfinder, he contracted the dreaded ringworm. It was just a small spot on his head, but he could not be adopted until he was treated and cleared of the fungus-another 4 weeks would go pass while he grew even bigger, and a little bit less adoptable.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

As Chester grew it became clear he was something special. His classic tabby swirled pattern was defined and beautifully symmetrical. Chester was much bigger than his sisters, but he was a gentle giant. Chester would rather give kisses and snuggle, than do just about anything else. When he was naughty and got scolded, instead of running away, he would run over to give more kisses as a way of saying “sorry!”.

Chester also loved other cats, in addition to his own family. If there was such a thing as a model of perfect cat-ness, this cat was it.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Chester and Blitzen meet for the first time. No cats were harmed after this photo was taken.

By May, though Chester was healthy, many of the adopters couldn't wait for him and adopted other cats. There was no rush to get Chester adopted. He was so easy to love, but he was larger than his mother, now, and anyone who wanted a kitten, would not want him any longer.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mother and Son.

One day, a lady wrote, inquiring about Chester. She had a big orange cat who died last year and she and her husband felt they were ready to adopt another cat, not to replace the one they lost, but because the cat who died was so special, they had developed a fondness orange boys.

They lived far away in another state, but after many conversations and a few calls to their Vet, it was clear that this family would go above and beyond for Chester. Not only would they change the diet they were currently feeding their two cats and two Italian Greyhounds (who believe they are cats and are afraid of other dogs) to a more species appropriate diet; they went on a shopping spree and bought Chester a tall cat tree and lots of new toys.

They also admitted that they had fallen for Chester before they even met him. It just doesn't get any better than this.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. You will be missed, big guy.

Very soon, the adopters will arrive and make their final decision on whether or not Chester is going to be their new family member. Though there is the temptation to wish they would change their mind and leave Chester behind, we know that it's for the best-that Chester will get lots of love and a wonderful home at last.

This is the moment we dreamt about in the beginning-when Chester was first rescued. That day he would leave and begin a new journey-one he has been ready for for a long time.

In just a few more hours we'll know if Chester is adopted. For now, we'll focus on enjoying our last hours with him, with a very heavy heart, but the comfort of knowing that his adoption will bring us one step closer to being able to rescue even more cats.

After a long chat with Cara's Internist, instead of going straight to a third endoscopy, we're giving Cara yet another round of Clavamox to treat her high White Blood Cell Count for about 10 days. Cara's also on a special diet, which I pushed back on, (you know how fussy I am about diet)! But after looking at the ingredients and realizing it was only for three weeks, I decided it was all right. Well, feeding her the special diet was ok. That it cost $52 for one case, well, I was not too happy with that!

Cara's been back home with me and her Mama, Mazie and siblings Polly and Chester after staying with her foster mom for two weeks. Everyone got along well. Mazie licked Cara's face as a way to welcome her back. Cara is still half the size of her family, but I can see that Cara has grown some, too.

Cara still has that big, sad-eyed look and she still shakes her head and licks at her mouth. After being here for a day or so, she vomited again and was a bit lethargic. The next day she was brighter and ate well. She's still not vibrant, in the way her siblings are, but she's starting to explore more of her surroundings now that she can leave her foster room and meet my cats.

Cara doesn't go too far. She'll stay upstairs and nap or sniff around my bedroom. I think the stairs are tough for her because she's still so small. She can't race down the steps the way Polly is accustomed to doing and I think seeing my HUGE cats makes her a bit shy.

I've noticed she's starting to purr more frequently. I think the clavamox might be helping her. In some respects, she is stable, but she is clearly still struggling with something. The constant head shaking and mouth licking must mean she's feeling queasy or her tummy is acting up.

When it's all said and done, I know in two more weeks, when Cara has completed eating the special diet, we'll have to re-visit getting her spayed and doing endoscopy and biopsy at the same time OR they may say we can't spay her for the time being and just focus on doing further examinations of her digestive tract.

In a few days it will mark SIX MONTHS since this family first arrived. Six months and they are ALL still here. I try not to beat myself up about how many cats I could have helped if I could have gotten this family out of her faster. I'm devoted to the cats that are in my care. They are all getting to a point where they can be adopted. It would be great to see them get out of here. The price I've had to pay is that my own cats are angry and frustrated having newcomers running around and every day we find a new, horrifying place where one of them has decided to pee.

We may have more SSSCATS than anyone else in the world. There are Feliway diffusers everywhere. Some of my cats are making friends with the fosters, but even those cats we've caught marking. I know the best solution is to get the fosters OUT and give my own cats a break-especially with Bob having cancer. I think more quiet time would be good for him, too.

While I wonder when we'll finally get Cara's health issues sorted out and find her a home, something lovely happened. One of the fosters MAY be getting adopted in a few days. I don't want to jinx it, but it's looking very good. I wish I had more adopters like this family. If they go through with the adoption, I'll let you know just how wonderful they are in more detail.

For now, I'll just enjoy the company of the fosters and their crazy antics with a roll of paper towels and odor neutralizer in hand.

We're still trying to raise enough funds to cover Cara's endoscopy in a few weeks. She looks bright and well, but she, like most cats, is very good at masking illness. She weighs just over 4 1/2 pounds. The normal weight for a cat her age is 6 to 8 pounds.