Cute Photo

The transport was delayed and got in at 1am! Needless to say, we were all a bit bleary from the long day. Chrissy pulled her transport van into the lot, we jumped out of the car with carriers in hand. Chrissy thought she only needed one carrier. Good, I thought. They are still small. I was worried about them being HUGE, after all this rescue started well over a month ago. Sure enough, there were two crates left, all the others were empty. The kittens were meowing hysterically, ready to end their confinement and get some FOOD on board. Chrissy grabbed one out of the carrier while the door to the transport was open. I imagined the other one jumping down and running off into the night, but Chrissy must have an iron grip. She got that kitten into the carrier and went to reach for the next. Then, I realized...SHIT these kittens are HUGE!

They didn't exactly all fit into one carrier, but we only had a five minute drive back to our house, so while they squirmed and cried, Sam put the pedal to the metal.

I had warmed food ready, so I opened the cat carrier, as the kittens exploded out of the carrier. Each was running madly, trying to figure out what to do. I put the food down and within seconds they were inhaling it. I mean, these guys were HUNGRY! One of them started to growl. I tried not to be concerned since they were in a high stress situation and the food was really good, so maybe one would get a bit pissy about having enough.

Dinner. Growling and the fastest chewing I've ever seen.

They ate two 5.5 oz cans of food between the four of them. Clearly, they wanted more, so I got them another two cans to eat. Finally, they started to calm down, finish eating and make use of having access to a clean litter pan. Right away they were ready to play! As though nothing happened. They were relaxed, happy, a few let me pet them. One even purred, then sneezed...again, and again. Two have runny eyes. They were transported with albon. Hmmm...guess that means their treatment for coccidia needs to be continued? Too late to figure all this out.

Dinner, part two

I went to bed after 2AM. I hoped they wouldn't have a poop and pee festival all over the guest bed during the night. I slept hard and didn't get up until 10AM. Before I did anything else, I got the kittens fed and checked in on them. They didn't even mess up the litter pan and the room was in great shape. Whew!

I looked at the kittens. They have crazy markings. Two look like Maine Coon mixes, the other are bizarre tabbies. They must be around 11-12 weeks old, which is about 3 weeks older than I would have liked. My goal is to get them on Petfinder ASAP, so we can start finding them homes.

Here's the gang. We have...

Delilah, or "Dee"

Dylan, yes, tough to tell apart from Delilah!

Millicent McMuffin "Milli"

Monte McMuffin

NO, I don't know what the deal is with the "McMuffin" last name. It just felt right. Maybe it's their white paws?

So I've got new fosters and a new story to tell. Will I be able to find homes for such BIG kittens? I'd better! There are about 12 more we need to help soon! At least this part of the journey is over. These kittens were saved from being euthanized by a dog-rescue pro, Jenna, Dr. Anderson and a generous foster mom, Trish. They made sacrifices of time and money to get these kittens here. Now I'll do my part until they're ready to go on to their forever homes!

But man, they are HUGE!

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Angel (aka,"Last Chance") and Pumpkin are here again. They've been shuttled back and forth between my house and Jennifer's since they arrived two months ago. In that time they've been to two adoption events, which didn't result in any Pre-Adoption forms being filled out on them. Their photos have been in the paper and on Petfinder, but so far only Pumpkin's brother, Spyder has been adopted.

A few opportunities came up for Pumpkin, but none of them were right. Not one person has called about Angel, even though she's a spunky, sweet and a pretty young adult. Of course my dream, hope, wish-that they be adopted togethter. They're more like sisters than Mother and Daughter, but that's asking a lot and Huggy Bear and her two boys got adopted together, so my good luck in that area might be used up for now.

In a few hours, a potential adopter is coming to visit Pumpkin. She wants to surprise her husband for his birthday. While I'm not sure that's usually a great idea, I know they don't have any pets right now and their Vet check was glowing. I think it would be a great home for one, but PLEASE let it be a great home for TWO!

It's a delicate balance. I can't push. I can only present options and show her how much fun it is to keep the girls together. It will be up to her to decide what to do after that.

Then there's the next adopter interested in Pumpkin. Yes, there's two now...they have two cats, two dogs, two kids and want to adopt Pumpkin AND Angel together! If their application had come in sooner, they would have had "first dibs" on the cats, but now I have to wait and see...what will happen in a few hours? Will she take BOTH as I dream or leave one behind? Will Angel go to a home that already has lots of animals? Will that be a good fit for her? I'm just not sure.

I'll know in a few hours what the girl's fate will be. I hope they get their happy ending together, but it's not up to me. Guess we'll just wait and see...

In August we took in five flea covered kittens and their sweet mama, Calli. They were quite the delight once they weren't full of fleas, of course!

Calli was a GREAT mama and a sweet, affectionate cat. I worried we would never find her a good home, but oddly enough she was adopted before her kittens! Emily, one of our CiCH members, decided it would be better to adopt an adult, since she understood that they are the toughest to place. She knew that although the kittens are cute, they don't stay "kitten-like" for very long. I wanted to give her a big hug for being so wise, but I just sat there and smiled as she decided, for sure, that Calli was her girl!

Putting up with "the kids," as I remember her from a few months ago.

Renamed, Merly, and having gained a few pounds, our dear foster is doing well and enjoying her new home, after a few days of getting adjusted.

Without a care in the world...

I LOVE to get updates on my fosters and this is no exception. Merly looks great and content. I couldn't have asked for more!

Merly looks so happy and her coat looks GREAT!

As fate would have it, Emily has become a magnet for cats who need a helping hand. Not long after Merly arrived, this little boy showed up at her door. Unwilling to let him fend for himself, Emily jumped in and began feeding and caring for this friendly kitty. She named him Smudge, a fitting name for this curiously marked boy. He's going to be neutered very soon and get all his shots. Right now he lives outside, but soon and with any luck, he'll be introduced to Merly and the other kitties, in hopes that he will find a happy home. If not, we will step in and help Emily find a placement.

Smudge, relaxed and with a full belly, thanks to Emily!

I think this illustrates how even though we think we find cats to give homes to, they seem to find us, just as often. Although it may have not been planned, I'm grateful that Emily was willing to open her home to "just one more," especially during these tough economic times.

Kudos to you, Emily! Keep up the good work!

I got Gracie and Bob to see Dr. Larry today. Bob was due for his blood test re-check. This will tell me if his ALT is on the way DOWN and his liver function is improving. Also, it will tell me if his kidneys are still OK after the "metacam incident."

My poor Gracie. She's biting the fur off her hind end and on her back. Every other day, she vomits up the small clumps of fur. Either she is SO stressed that she's self injuring or she is SO uncomfortable she is biting off her fur in frustration from being itchy. I can't tell. What I can tell you is that Gracie will now be on Amitriptyline, an anti-depressant. The hope here is to help her to relax. If the stress goes away, maybe she will not pick at herself and her skin will clear up. Dr. Larry gave her a shot of Vetalog to keep her comfortable. She hasn't had a steroid in 10 months so I thought it would be safe. It's the only thing that clears up the dermatitis. That way she will stop itching and biting herself!

The worst news is not really news. Dr. Larry said that Gracie, in a home with no other animals, would probably resolve her issues and be fine. I know she's a nervous nelly and I do my best to give her attention, but with 6 other cats, that's tough to do. In my heart, I agree. Gracie (and Petunia) would be happier in a home together with no other pets. Finding a home for a 6 and 9 yr old cat, not so easy to do-certainly not one that would have to be a FANTASTIC owner. I'd HAVE to do a home visit and deeper background check before I'd let them go, but the idea of seeing them leave that really kills me. I also feel like a failure.

It's not over yet. I'm going to keep trying to help Gracie feel better here. We'll try the meds for two months and see how she does. Maybe she just needs help coping for awhile and once she has some success she can go off the meds and stay here!

So with all that swirling around in my head, I'm trying to coordinate another transport of four kittens to CT from down south. It's been nutty and I seem to write an email, just as another arrives. Questions are many. Answers are hard to come by. I will be happy when this is wrapped up.

Then I get home from the Vet. No sooner than I get here, my Intern calls me into the kitchen. There's an injured hawk in a tree outside the house! Oh geez...we have a high wind advisory today, no wonder the hawk is hurt! So, for another few hours I was on the phone with our ACO, Carolee, someone from Wildlife in Crisis, a wildlife "guy" who comes to get the nutty animals out of your attic and such, and a raptor rehabilitator named Darlene, who was super nice and helpful.

This little Broad Winged Hawk had some sort of eye injury. According to Darlene it looks to be an OLD injury (because it's dry). She said he would learn to adapt and shouldn't just perish from the injury, though I swear I think my intern wanted to climb a tree to get the hawk so we could get it to the Vet! I put some "oops it expired" pork on the deck and some ground beef, hoping he'd come eat, but no luck. After a few hours of hanging around, he left.

I'm trying not to write that I'll "keep an eye peeled" looking for him, but I will keep an "eye out" for him...okay, I'll look out the window to see if he's in the yard. If I find him on the ground, I know how to capture him and get him some help. Meanwhile, where DID MY DAY GO? I have gotten nothing done. Wait, I'm finishing this...okay I got one thing done. Crap. I need more time, but I need a nap, first.

It was a crazy day! I'm emotionally drained and I didn't even tell you about the 3-day long fight Sam and I had, so I have a good excuse to rest now, and eat a cookie. I need a cookie.

It's already been a week since Huggy "Mama" Bear left for her new home. Where did the time go! Just last week it was August, I swear!

Huggy has been renamed. I'm a bit sad about this change. Normally it doesn't bother me that cats have new names in their new home, but Huggy was such a special kitty, it would have been nice to leave things as they were. Her new name is, Holly. Nice name and gee, I guess only a few letters away from her old one.

Oh yeah, we're cool now that we're adopted and all! I am not sure who took this photo. Either I did or Ryan, my nephew. Hmmm.

As you may recall, Huggy, er, Holly and the boys all went to the same home. I drove Dash (renamed, Dash!) and Snuggles (renamed, Turk) to their new home last Thursday night. I HAD to clear the house to make room for two more fosters, so I offered to do a late night drop off. The one thing I didn't figure on was, yeah, it was DARK outside at 8:30pm! No one has house numbers and all the mailboxes are on ONE side of the street, not both, so even with GPS there was no way to figure out which house was #8! Of course, stupid me, I forget to bring the phone number of the new owner! I had to spend $150,000.00 (maybe I'm exaggerating a tiny bit) to call Directory (Rip off) Assistance only to find out that NO ONE WAS HOME!

So we sat there in the car and waited awhile. Sure enough, I recognized the car and like a good stalker, followed them into their driveway once I had them in my sights.

I felt badly bringing the kittens over so late at night, but the Dad, Chris was really nice about it. He unlocked the door and we entered his home. His son was wearing his Boy Scouts uniform. Looked really cute. His pants needed to be hemmed. I have no idea why I would notice that, but I did. I guess it made him cuter. Anyway, Chris called out to Huggy saying she had been sleeping with him and his wife and was doing well.

Huggy was NO WHERE to be seen! Chris called and called to no avail. Huggy had vaporized into thin air.

I felt a bit uncomfortable about all the fussing to find Huggy. I didn't want to stress her out and I didn't want Chris to feel bad that I wasn't going to see her. Then, as I stood at the bottom of the stairs, I saw Huggy RACE down the stairs from the second floor where Chris had been looking for her. She FLEW right past me. She was hunkered down LOW, scared out of her wits. The house was big and wasn't packed with stuff so sounds really carried. I could see why Huggy/Holly would be frightened.

Resigned to not getting to say hello, I asked if there was a small room to put the boys into and Chris just said to let them out and to first show them the litter pan. He walked us into another room and there it sat, the one thing I did NOT want to see!!!!!...one of those monstrous "automatic" poop scooper litter pans. As Chris blithely lowered Snuggles/Turk into the pan I told him that those pans have the highest rate of causing inappropriate elimination of any box. Kittens can also get hurt in them. Well, Chris was havin' none of that. Saying Huggy was using it (what choice did she have?) and it was fine. (ok, call me when the cats start peeing all over the house). Also, there was only ONE pan for all THREE cats. Hmmm...

I realized that this was the FIRST home visit I've ever been on. I had to wonder how many other adopters I'd be rudely telling to ditch their litter pan setup or more? I shudder to wonder.

Litter pan blunders aside, they are super nice people and I just heard that after a day Holly (see, I can remember things!) began to recognize the boys and all three are back to their lovey-dovey selves.

Hopefully, I'll get more updates on the kitties in the coming months. It's funny how anticlimactic the entire farewell was. The boys found the litter pan, then Dash ran off (dashed off?) to explore. I waved to the boys, knowing I'd already loaded them with kisses before I left my house and called out to Huggy (she was STILL Huggy then so there!) hoping one day I would get to see her again.

So we're done. Three lives that surely would have ended in a Kill shelter in Georgia, to three lives that get to be lived fully, with two happy children and two parents who will give them all the love and good things every cat deserves.

Yes, these cats definitely won the Lottery. That's for sure.

Six weeks ago, I was moved by a plea to help save a Mama cat who was notorious for "hugging" her kittens. She was called, Huggy and she and her two offspring were slated to be euthanized in a few days if no one stepped forward to help her.

At first, I thought we had an interested family in Indiana, so I started to put together a plan to help transport the cats to them, but it fell through. The person in Indiana never stepped up or even let us know she had changed her mind. Already involved, I felt it would be wrong to throw my hands up, say I did my bit and walk away. I just couldn't.

Many of you know what happened next: with what seemed like endless emails, questions, fears and hope, between myself, Winging Cat Rescue, Kat5 and a handful of helpers, we were able to rescue this mama and her babies, along with quite a few others.

I never did this before. I never pulled a cat from a kill shelter close by, let alone from 1000 miles away. I know many people frown on doing this, especially if the cat isn't even purebred and there are so many that need help right here in Connecticut. She's just an average domestic short haired cat, but a life is a life and I was in too far to turn back. Huggy's life was no less precious or less worth saving than any other cat.

I was told Huggy was friendly, but really, how could I know? I had no idea how old this cat was and without a shelter, how was I ever going to find her a home once she got here? Who adopts adult cats? I feared I would have her until, at least, the end of the year or longer. Something inside me said, yes, I need to do this, no matter what it takes. I need to make it right for these animals.

When Huggy arrived, there were plenty of problems. First, she had evidence of having had fleas. She had bad ear mites. Her chin was full of feline acne from eating out of a plastic bowl. She was thin. Her coat was rough and yellowed. Her kittens were odd looking and not that friendly. She was in much worse condition than I expected.

Huggy, day one.

Huggy also became seriously ill with mastitis, then had to be separated from her boys for two weeks, given meds twice a day and lots of rest. It was very difficult, but she never complained. She was easy to pill, she ate her food right up. She loved to lay on my lap, then attack my leg, letting me know she was still young and wanted play time, too. Only 1 1/2 years old, Huggy has a lot of energy and more and more as each day passed and she got stronger and gained her weight back.

Feeling Huggy's boobs.

Huggy showing Snuggles the ropes (pardon the pun)

Two weeks ago, Huggy was adopted, but it wasn't until today, that I finally got the OK from the Vet to let her go to her family. It's about as close to a magical experience as I think I'll ever get; seeing so many changes in this once tired, mama cat. Her coat is soft and clean, her chin is almost completely healed, her ear mites and fleas are long gone and her mastitis has resolved. She gained 1.50 POUNDS since she got here. She's at ten pounds now.

This photo ran in The Newtown Bee, which was how Huggy's new family first found her.

Since she arrived, there hasn't been a day when being around Huggy wasn't a joy. She truly is a sweet, mellow, feisty, cute, loving, chatty lady. Her new family couldn't wait to come get her once I told them she was ready to go. She'll be living with a Mom and Dad, their son and daughter. She'll have a wonderful home and all the good food and love she'll ever need. Although part of me wants to cry at seeing her go, I am SO VERY HAPPY that we made it this far, so quickly, seemingly as though it was all meant to be, that I can only smile. I am so grateful for everyone's support, so lucky a great family came forward- understanding that adult cats have a hard time finding a home and so willing to give her AND her two boys a chance.

This is the most rewarding work I have ever done. Each and every home I find for each and every cat fills my heart to bursting. When people ask me how I do this? I can only answer, how can I not? It's worth all the effort by tenfold.

Sleep deprived, just back from the Feline Forum, no makeup, but a GREAT a kitty in my arms; here's me giving out the hugs. (Photo by Ryan Feminella)

Huggy. You beat so many odds that I don't think there ARE odds for how lucky you are. From death's door to the lap of luxury. It doesn't get any better than this.

It's time to say Good Bye, friend. (Photo by Ryan Feminella)

Hugging Dash good bye. She'll be seeing him and Snuggles again in a few days. (Photo by Ryan Feminella)

Huggy, with some members of her new family (used with permission).

ANDIE GOT ADOPTED!!!!

Seems Andie's luck had not run out. On Saturday, at our Adoption Event, Andie met a lady and her nice family. Apparently they had also been in line, hoping to adopt Andie a month ago, but were beaten out by another family.

As fate would have it, the adoption did not work out, as you may recall. I'm not sure if we contacted the second family or if they were watching out Petfinder list and saw her name come back up. Regardless of how it happened, I do believe, though, Andie is where she was meant to be all along.

I wish you could have seen this woman, cradling Andie in her arms. Andie meowed loudly, then got lots of pets. She relaxed, smiled, purred. She didn't want to be anywhere else in the world. She finally found a place where she was going to be happy. Her new owners already have a Tortie and know about their personality quirks. They don't expect Andie to fall in love with her new buddy, who was waiting for her at her home. They were fine with however things worked out. The Mom, Dad and Daughter all were smitten.

It's been a few days since the adoption and I haven't had an update yet, but I have high hopes that this adoption is gonna stick. Way to go, Andie!

Okay so maybe they're not cute little kittens just learning the ropes and they weren't rescued from a tragic situation and they haven't, thankfully, had to face anything worse than being kicked (accidently, of course) off the bed at night (for HOGGING THE BED), but heck, aren't they CUUUUUTE? Don't you just LOVE THEM? Look at Nora's rear leg, draped oh so elegantly over her brother's big ass. It's endearing, is it not?

Nick and Nora believe in sharing. Either that or they're both stubborn and won't let the other have the entire chair to themselves.

Isn't it amazing to see how they can cram 46.25 pounds of cat into a small, vintage chair from the 1940's-made during the days when people's butts did not suffer from too-much-time-on-the-computer-spread. This also means that I can't fit my ass into it, which is why it's become a giant cat bed.

So there.

We got the call. Huggy Mama did well over the weekend and is stable enough to come home! We ran straight over to pick her up. One of the cute Vet techs from Mill Plain brought her out to see us! Huggy looked alert and raring to go-a far cry from the limp, weak darling we left their on Saturday morning.

Huggy has to be on lots more Baytril and Amoxy-and Dr. Larry will love this, METACAM! After all my ranting about it, I have to give it to Huggy. Just a DROP for the next few days to manage pain. I had it out with the Vet at Mill Plain, but she also assured me that she's not seen any problems with it at a low dose for a short period of time and she reminded me that if either of us was in pain, we'd want something, too.

The worst of it, no surprise, Huggy MUST be separated from her babies. No contact. We can't risk them giving her another infection and she's gotta stop producing milk! Enough already! The kittens are well past being weaned. I have the big dog crate set up and the kittens are in it now. I can hear them banging around, trying to get out. I'll give them cage time, then swap them out, then lock up Huggy. I hate it, but it's got to be done. At least they can see each other.

Huggy's only been here for a few minutes, but already she started to "burble" the second she saw the kittens. They surrounded her cat carrier, wanting to get at her. I got them locked up and let Huggy out. I put out a big dish of food and she attacked it hungrily. I'll give them all some time to settle down. It's a perfect day, light breeze, warm temps, but not too hot. Will be a great day for Mama to rest in the sunshine and continue healing. In a week she goes back for a re-check. After that, if Huggy gets a good report card, she'll be back up for adoption. Then the crossing-fingers stage begins!

Thank you to everyone who sent such encouraging "Tweets" and emails. I know they must have helped Huggy. She is so much better today. It's like I got a new cat back from the Vet!

Last month I added my voice to those who were pleading with folks to come together and find a way to rescue some kitties from Henry County Care & Control in Georgia. With the help of Kat5 and Winging Cat Rescue and the generosity of many people, we were able to raise the funds needed to bust some of these precious kitties out of Death Row.

I offered to take Huggy Bear and her two kittens, but had no placement for the dilute calico we named, "Last Chance." We'd gone as far as I thought we could go. Without another foster family or rescue group stepping up to the plate, Last Chance and her offspring were going to be KILLED.

Thankfully, our friend Jennifer, stepped up and offered to help. She'd never fostered kittens before and never fostered for our organization before. She doesn't even live near any of us, but she didn't care. She just wanted to help. If it wasn't for her last minute offer, we would have lost these sweet animals. They were saved just hours before their time was up

For the past two weeks, Jennifer and her hubby have been caring for Last Chance, now called, Angel and her babies, Spyder and Pumpkin.

Tomorrow the kittens are due to be spayed and Angel will be seeing them again on Saturday when we have an adoption event at a local pet food shop. Since it's a long drive to our Vet for Jennifer, she dropped everyone off at my house tonight so I could get them to their Vet appointment by 8:30am.

It's great to finally meet these guys-especially Angel. You can tell she hasn't had the best life. Though friendly and very affectionate, if you reach out to pet her, she tucks her tail and ducks her head back. She'll still come to you for pets and is easy to purr. She's got a beautiful patchwork pattern and cute gray spot on her chin. She reminds me very much of Huggy, both in her look and overall condition. She's a mama, who's young enough that she still wants to play, but had a tough go of things and it has quieted her disposition. I can see this kitty really flowering once she has a safe and loving home to call her own.

The kittens are chubby and rambunctious. Both are completely adorable. We're already getting adoption inquiries on both of them. I hope to find them awesome homes very soon!

It's all good. We came together and found a way to save these kitties and I'm really proud of all of us, but...if I sit quietly and stop thinking about the million things I should be doing, I get a pain in my gut. I feel like I'm going to burst into tears. I look at their faces and imagine them being put to sleep-that someone would have done that to them and they'd already have been dead for two weeks.

Who would have been witness to their lives? Who would have seen the love Angel has for her offspring or their joy in playing with a new toy? Who would have heard their purrs or taken comfort in watching them eat a good meal?

Who would have cared for them in their last moments? Indeed, would anyone?

In my joy is such sadness, more than anything else, for the ones we could not save that day. For the ones we could not save the next day or the next. Or the ones at Spaulding. There are so many it's sickening. You don't want to know about it. You don't want to look and see their faces. You want to fix it, but you don't know how!

So we pick our battles. We try to find joy in this moment. These cats will have a good life. They will know love and a warm bed. They will not know a cage ever again. When it's their time to pass on, they will be missed. They will be cared for in their last moments. It will be life lived that wasn't cruelly ended before it had a chance to begin.