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German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche said; “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.”After enduring the past four days I would add; “That which does not kill us, makes us eat a bag of Lays Wavy Potato Chips and a container of French Onion dip—and feel no guilt in doing so.”
Nicky was the camel and white colored canary in the coal mine. It started on Friday. Nicky wasn't “right.” He wouldn't eat and he vomited. As I was about to brush my teeth, I heard the sound of water running. I turned to see Nicky urinating on the floor a few feet away from me. A few hours later, he walked over to the base of a cat tree and began to urinate on it-not even stopping as I started to scream, unable to reach him through the jungle of furniture blocking my way. I was jumping up and down like a two year old having a tantrum. I had no effect on his eliminating. He just kept peeing. There was no way to get to him from where I was standing so all I could was watch him ruin something else.
Nicky has Chronic Renal Failure and has been known to get urinary tract infections (as I wrote about HERE). Clearly something was WRONG. Dr. Larry was out of town until Monday so I made an appointment to bring him in then. I HATE it when Dr. Larry goes away because we often seem to have an emergency when he's not available. As the day wore on, Nicky grew weaker. I took his temperature. It was 103.2°F. He had a fever. We couldn't wait until Monday.
Dr. C examined Nicky and took his temperature again. It was over 104°F. They took some blood and did an in-house test. The good news was that basically the values did not indicate something terrible was going on-like kidney failure or high white blood count, which would show he had an infection. The bad news was that we didn't know what was going on but with a fever on the rise we agreed he should be on an IV. The Vet closed in two hours so they could get him started, but we'd have to move him to the Emergency Vet to continue treatment overnight.
Sam and I cringed. Hearing “Emergency Vet” means huge expense. How were we going to pay for all of this? How could we not? We HAD to find a way. Both of us were panicking. We had to wait and see how Nicky would respond to treatment first before we'd even know if he needed to be moved.
Nicky's temperature when to 105.1°F. After two hours it went down to about 103°F so there was a chance a few more hours of treatment would benefit him.
It would have been somehow manageable if we only had to help Nicky, but after getting him settled at the Emergency Vet and putting another charge on my AmEx, we discovered he wasn't the only cat who was not feeling well.
With all the commotion going on with Nicky, I didn't get to pay as much attention to the others cats as I would have liked. Even with that, I did notice something out of the ordinary. When we got home around 7pm, I realized I hadn't seen Spencer ALL DAY. I knew he hadn't eaten his breakfast. He's not always a fan of turkey, but this cat always shows up for a meal.
Sam and I tore through the house, calling out to Spencer. The longer it took, the more I started to panic. Had he gotten outside? Was he stuck in a closet? Spencer has no real meow, so he couldn't cry to us for help. Where the heck was he? Why wasn't he showing up for dinner? Now that I thought about it, where were the rest of the cats? None of them were hungry and waiting by their food dishes. Something was wrong. Something bad.
Sam found Spencer in the basement, which is very tough area for the cats to get into. For Spencer to not be near me or near any of us was a bad sign. Spencer wouldn't eat his dinner. In fact most of the cats were off their food. I told myself there was no need to panic. No one would die without eating for a day.
The next morning we got the news that Nicky's fever broke and he'd eaten a small amount of food. He was ready to come home. The news should have been cause for celebration, but Spencer had vanished again and I knew he had to go to the Vet, too. It wasn't a big, obvious sign of sickness but it's so out of the ordinary I had to make sure he wasn't sick, too.
Again I started to panic. We'd just spent so much money on Nicky, would anything be left for Spencer? I was angry and resentful, all stemming from the fear that I wouldn't be able to do for Spencer what we just did for Nicky. If Spencer was ailing, I HAD to do something for him, but my own Vet refused to just give me antibiotics without seeing the cat firstI realized they were right, but I was truly hurting. There's dust in my bank account. I thought about home remedies and trying to avoid a Vet visit, but Spencer was due for blood work and a checkup anyway. If I could avoid hospitalizing him, I'd be able to have the exam and tests for done, but I couldn't do much more.
I took Spencer's temperature. It was 102.3°F which put him in the range to be percolating a fever. I was really missing Dr. Larry and wishing I didn't have to see Dr. C, but he'd seen Nicky so he could compare the cat's symptoms.
The exam went fairly well. The Vet retained use of his fingers. Spencer's not the easiest cat to mess with and he gets crabby if he's at the Vet. I warned the staff and fussed over Dr. C, worried he'd get bitten. Spencer was pretty good-for Spencer. They managed to get some blood and sent it out for testing. Since we didn't know what was going on the Vet suggested putting him on antibiotics “just in case,” but I won't do that without having a darn good reason. It could make whatever is going on even worse. I'd do the best I could for Spencer until we had the test results.
I started making charts and lists of each cat-if they ate, if so, what they ate. I was looking for a pattern. I began to have suspicions that Gracie, Petunia and Jackson were also getting sick based on my notes about them not eating and their behavior. I knew I'd just had Boogie in the house. He was separated from my cats and I washed my hands and showered after I was with him, even though I didn't touch the kitten until the last day he was here. Boogie was VERY sick, but he had an upper respiratory infection, not something potentially gastrointestinal. What was going on?
Feeding time was bizarre, maybe one or two cats showed up for their food. The others weren't even in the vicinity. I'm so accustomed to the energy of feeding time, the cats circling, meowing, the sound of them lapping at their food. It was too quiet. My babies weren't eating. My fear factor increased tenfold.
Did I bring something into the house to sicken them? How was I going to be able to provide more and more Vet care for ALL my cats at the SAME TIME? How was I going to keep each one alive? Some of them are very tough to handle. How could I help them survive whatever was going on?
Saturday night the mood in the house was downright miserable. Nicky stopped eating again. of course, the benefits of the IV wore off. Whatever he had, whatever Spencer and the others may have was not going to just go away. We had to buckle down and figure something out. The clock was ticking. The spector of Hepatic Lipidosis was hanging over our heads. If the cats didn't start eating soon, they could all sicken and die. This is why you can't put a cat on a diet. This is why if you don't get some food into the cat after four days, your cat could enter a whole new world of pain.
We were approaching day three. Time was running out and we had more questions than we had answers….
Stay tuned for part three next..and YES, there IS a silver lining coming…
In the past week Maria, our amazing foster mom in Georgia, has kept running into cats who need a helping hand. My rescue, Kitten Associates, has offered to help take on every cat she's found so far. All but one of these cats came from the SAME property. To date we've rescued 5 kittens and one adult. Though we have few resources, we're making room. Somehow it will all sort out. We can't and won't look away when a cat needs us.
When Maria contacted me about a cat who was up a tree and needed rescue, I couldn't believe it. It seems this year more than any I can remember, there are cats coming out of the woodwork-and now are they raining down from above? There are so many kittens that are turning up alone on a neighbor's front steps-even my own cousin found one in her yard, lost and sick-so covered with ticks he almost died. Thankfully she was able to get him the care he needed in time and he will be going to a rescue in eastern CT today.
We had to act quickly. Maria, with the aid of her neighbor, whose voice over on the video below is quite amusing, managed to get the kitty down without too much trouble. Sadly, it was very clear that this kitty was sick. Flea covered, dirty, with a runny nose and tearing eyes. The cat kept gulping, a reflex from having too much mucus in her sinuses.
We couldn't know if this was someone's cat. She was very friendly so she'd known humans, but where was her family? If she had one, why did they let her get so sick? Why was she so thin?
Maria looked at the cat's abdomen. Her nipples were a bit swollen. One expressed a tiny bit of milk. As Maria was relaying this information to me we both realized this could be another “Amberly”-a found friendly stray who had kittens in the area. Finding Amberly's kittens was truly a miracle, but could we do it again?
I had Maria take the cat to the Vet. We'd sort everything out later. The Vet did the exam. The cat, who we named Willow (thanks to a suggestion by our friend Judy), just rolled over and wanted to be loved. She didn't care about being sick, she just wanted to be petted. This kitty was so darling we all fell in love with her on the spot.
The Vet didn't feel she was pregnant and if she had kittens she was mostly dried up to the point that they are probably weaned by now. Sadly, we have no idea where Willow came from, but the following day Maria did put a harness on the little cat and walked her around the area, hoping Willow would lead her to her family. None were found.
Maria also asked around the neighborhood, but no one had seen the cat before. Willow was either lost or dumped. Whatever happened to her, we'll keep her safe and hopefully in time she will recover from her illness. She's been too stuffed up to smell her food so Maria has syringe fed her for a few days. This morning she's starting to improve enough to eat some on her own. She's still rolling over to get belly rubs. Whoever had her must have been kind to her at some point.
I hope Maria doesn't find any more cats who need help. We're really full up and funds are low-even with the awesome amount of donations we just got in. We have to be careful so we'll have enough for everyone as their need arises.
Then Maria contacted me again…the little kitten she saw at the neighbor's house where we just helped 5 cats, is about nine months old now and is pregnant. Can we help her too? All I could say is; “We'll find a way…”
Not even a day passed and I got the confirmation. Good Mews would take MissFP into their Program and find her a forever home! Could we bring Miss FP to them in two days?
On Saturday, Maria brought MissFP to Good Mews Animal Foundation in Marietta, Georgia. Little did I know how VERY lucky we all were that Good Mews offered us a placement. I had no idea that Good Mews has been in operation for over 24 years and is the oldest, cage-free, No-Kill cat shelter in Georgia. Since they opened their doors, Good Mews has placed over 6,500 cats into loving homes!
Not only that, but Good Mews has special programs that help Seniors, called Golden Companions and another helps cats with special needs called HALO (Home at Last), which I found extraordinary. Not only do HALO cats get the extra care they need while at Good Mews, but Good Mews pays for the Vet Care of these cats AFTER they get adopted! On their web site it states:
“HALO cats are typically overlooked for adoption because of age, ongoing medical conditions or behavioral issues - the most common reasons beyond euthanasia at traditional animal shelters. Funds designated to this program help pay for the ongoing medical care of these cats while they wait for AND once they find their perfect home. ”
One very special kitty at Good Mews is named Tricky. She's a plump gray and white shorthair whose life has been far from easy. Tricky lived in a home with other cats and a couple. The man was a very bad person.
When his girlfriend told him to leave he got angry and in a fit of rage, shot and killed almost all the cats in the home with the exception of Tricky. Tricky survived but was paralyzed, losing all control of her hind legs and her bodily functions.
Most shelters would “humanely euthanize” Tricky because her care would be too taxing on the volunteers and who would ever adopt a cat who needs to be helped to evacuate her bowels twice a day?
Good Mews is NOT that kind of shelter. They did right by Tricky and not only gave her a place to live for the rest of her life if need be, but they help her do her thing, then they give her a bath every day, twice a day. She gets around just fine without her back legs-at least that's what she would tell you.
Tricky is so beloved she has her very own page on Facebook. If you're lucky, she'll accept your friend request!
Is she looking for a forever home? I'm not sure about that. Is there someone who would be able to provide for her and give her the special care she'd need every single day? I think there are some very special people out there who could give her what she needs and if that person is reading this blog post and Tricky captures your heart, please DO contact Good Mews and talk to them about her or offer to make a donation towards her care.
Maria visited with many of the cats looking for forever homes at Good Mews until it was time to help MissFP get settled into her new digs. For the first two weeks MissFP would have to reside in a cage, but it's spacious and light filled and rumors are that since MissFP didn't come from a municipal shelter or from the outdoors that her quarantine period might be shortened. In no time at all MissFP would be able to roam freely around the large main area where she'll be able to look out big windows, climb many different cat trees or simply lounge on a cat bed.
I worried that MissFP would react badly to the new environment, but she was unfazed. Maria placed her into a cat bed and MissFP “made muffins”, then settled down. Maria even got her to eat, so it was a good sign that she was going to be okay. Before Maria left, she leaned down to kiss Miss FP good bye and Miss gave her a head butt as her way of saying “thank you for not giving up on me and for giving me a loving home. I'm ready to take the next part of my journey to find a forever home with these good people.”
I'm usually the person who offers to take a cat in and help them find a home. This time I needed the help and I'm VERY GRATEFUL to Michelle and the staff at Good Mews for offering this placement to us.
Help me THANK Good Mews by visiting them on Facebook and let them know we appreciate what they do or, if you can, please consider donating to one of their many life-saving programs. MAKE SURE YOU MENTION COVERED IN CAT HAIR WHEN YOU DONATE. THERE'S A SPACE CALLED "OTHER" IN THE DONATION FORM WHERE YOU CAN ADD THAT INFORMATION. Here's a list of ways you can donate.
OTHER WAYS TO HELP: Good Mews bought a building! It's just a shell right now, but their dream is to get it set up and ready to go by the end of 2013. Wish list items include gift cards for any amount for Lowes or Home Depot, gift cards so they can purchase bird feeders and seed, decorative benches for their new yard. The sooner they can open, the sooner Good Mews will be able to help 150 cats!
You don't need money to help! Do you live in the metro Atlanta, Georgia area? Do you know people there? Are you a landscaper? Do you KNOW one? Do you have gardening skills? Do you like to paint walls? Even if you can't offer a financial donation, they also need people to help do the work to get their facility completed. If your Church group could donate a weekend of time or if your softball team could spend a day helping, it could make all the difference.
Email Robbin if you'd like more information about volunteering. robbiny@fairgreen.com
If you like to go shopping, visit their Good Mews Cafe Press Store. All your purchases go to helping provide for their cats.
-----------------UPDATE------------------------
Michelle just contacted me and let me know that MissFP is doing well and is still giving headbutts to the volunteers and making muffins on her bed. We wish her good luck and that her forever family finds her very soon!
And…it looks like Clover had her first NEGATIVE test result for Feline Leukemia. It's not a “for sure“ yet, but crossing fingers, this kitty may have very good news soon!
Just before Valentine's Day we took in a friendly stray kitty who was living outdoors at a Palette Factory in McDonough, GA. Our volunteer, Bobby, who alerted us to this kitty's plight, asked me to name her so the Vet could get her spayed and create her medical records. I called her Miss Fluffy Pants, thinking I'd change the name later, but the name stuck.
You can read more MissFP's back story HERE, but the short version is, MissFP has FIV+ which basically turned this sweet kitty into a rescue-roadblock for us. My rescue, Kitten Associates, doesn't have a lot of resources and space in my one foster home in Georgia is at a minimum. If I couldn't find MissFP a home, she'd take the only space we had and prevent us from helping any more cats until we helped her. That meant saying no to the requests I got to help kittens who are being born in the thousands in the south.
I asked around and got a lot of “sorry, no's” then East Coast Maine Coon Rescue was willing to do a courtesy post about her, but we didn't get any applications. I asked other big shelters in Georgia and didn't even get a reply. FIV+ cats, though the virus is not easily spread from cat to cat (only through a deep, penetrating bite wound), makes them tough to adopt. Add to that MissFP is black-which especially in the south makes it even harder to find her a home.
The goal, as it is with ALL our foster cats, was to figure out a way to get her to my home and hopefully find her a placement in Connecticut, but I was getting requests to help local kittens and I had to say yes. MissFP would have to wait and so would our other adult cat, King. Because King so easy going Maria allowed him to share space in her home with her resident cats and it wasn't a problem for him to remain there for longer than usual. MissFP spent her days in a bathroom behind a closed door while Maria was at work. It wasn't a great life for MissFP and I felt terrible about it.
I kept looking for help or a home for MissFP. I did NOT want her to go to a sanctuary, never to have a forever home. MissFP loves people and is okay with other cats, but prefers humans. For a short time I thought we found a forever home right in Atlanta for MissFP, but the person backed out at the last minute-just hours before MissFP was going to be taken to her new home. We were all devastated. MissFP went back to her cat tree in the bathroom and I went back to scratching my head, feeling torn between resentment and anger at myself. I loved MissFP even if it was only from afar and I didn't care that she had FIV+, I just wanted her to have a loving home, but it just wasn't happening.
I was resigned to the fact that MissFP was ours for a long time to come and many little kittens were never going to see the light of day because our foster space was full. That's just how it was. It wasn't MissFP's fault. Even if she wasn't in our Program, we'd still only be able to help one litter of kittens at a time.
I got an email from Michelle, one of the Board of Directors at Good Mews. She wondered if I could help her find a rescue or sanctuary to help a cat named Clover who was testing positive for Feline Leukemia. I did what I could and gave her some suggestions. For the heck of it I asked her if there was any way she could help me with MissFP. Her answer shocked me. She had to check with some of the staff, but she was pretty sure they COULD HELP US! She'd write me back to confirm. All I had to do was WAIT and hold my breath. Was this the answer we'd been searching for for so long?
At the time I didn't know much about Good Mews, other than that they were one of the biggest cat rescues in Georgia and that they help rescues out of state, too. They have the manpower and sometimes they have the space to take on another cat to the 100 or so currently in residence.
After hearing rumors that another huge cat shelter in Georgia shut down intake due to having 150 kittens, I was flat out stunned that Good Mews would even consider taking on MissFP. Not only that, but they were just as careful about placing their cats as I was.
I felt like I let MissFP down. It's a failure for us to not be able to find Miss FP a forever home, but it's always been difficult for us to place adults. Take Mazie for example. She was here for 14 months before she got her forever home. I know I shouldn't beat myself up, but I still feed badly. I'll never get to meet MissFP nor have the joy of meeting her new family. I will, however, be glad knowing that we have space in Maria's home for the 3 kittens she rescued last month. They'll no longer have to live in a ferret cage, but will have decent space to run and play.
Now if Good Mews would just call and tell me their answer is YES!
It's been almost eight months to the day that my beloved cat Bob Dole passed away. His death came slowly, from lymphoma and the return of a hepatic cancer that I thought had been surgically removed right after Christmas of 2010.
Bob's last year was bittersweet. His once magnificent coat was reduced to tattered ruin since he could not fight off a fungal infection because he also had FIV+ and his immune system was compromised. He grew thinner and weaker. The once boss of the household grew quieter and let others rule the roost. He ate less and less and even after months of chemo and other treatments, I had to syringe feed him. I knew nothing could save him, but I never stopped trying to give him another day…another good day. [You can read about Bob's last days-though it's a TISSUE WARNING multipart post, HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE]
When Bob passed away I lost a dear companion and part of my heart, even though we'd only spent five years together. Bob used to be my Mother's cat. After she died in 2006, I took Bob in and his presence was so grand that even now it feels empty in the house without him.
Bob was the greeter, the peacekeeper, the big love muffin and had the best purr I've ever heard. He had just the right amount of sass that just made everyone love him all the more. Whenever I said his name aloud, people's eyes would light up and they'd laugh. They asked funny questions about if Bob Dole, the cat, referred to himself in the third person as Bob Dole the former Vice President of the United States did (the answer was of course, yes).
Even now it's very difficult for me to write about Bob, to look at photos of him, without crying. There will never be a new photo of Bob, his dazzling orange coat and lime green eyes sparkling with that “Puss in Boots” expression he gave me when he wanted a treat. Now his ashes lay inside a tin box I have in my living room. It sits next to some framed photos atop a glass shelf. When I can, I have a candle burning, too, in his honor, as if there was a chance I might forget him. He meant more to me than any cat I've known and will probably ever know again.
Shortly after Bob died, my friend and client, Warren Royal, contacted me. I've written about Warren and his wife Terri. These people have the biggest hearts and deepest love for cats. They've saved the lives of countless cats and taken a few of them into their home. They will stop at nothing to help a cat. You can read about them HERE and HERE.
Warren's company is called Royal Bobbles,™a premium bobblehead manufacturing company specializing in exquisite historic figures. I've designed a few of their outer cartons for Alfred Hitchcock, Mark Twain, Smokey Bear and the cast of American Pickers. They also create custom bobbleheads to celebrate weddings or birthdays or to use as fundraisers.
Can you see where this story is going? I sure didn't-at first.
Warren asked me if I'd like them to create a BOBblehead and of course I accepted right away. The process might take some time, he warned. They'd never done the likeness of a cat and said it would be tough to do, but they wanted to try. I was delighted to have a chance to memorialize my dear cat.
And so, over the past eight months, we've been working to get it right.
There was a sculptor in China who began working on a form. It was sad to realize that cats aren't pets in China and I don't want to write about what they do to them there. Memorializing a cat was certainly out of the norm so it took many trials and refinements, but eventually it got sorted out.
I began to realize how difficult it would be to capture the sad-eyed look of Bob regardless of how many photos I sent for reference. Even though I had to ask for changes, I was impressed with the dedication Warren and his team had in making every detail just right. I didn't want to think about how much all of these revisions were costing him to get done and though I tried to love everything they did, even Warren would often write and say he didn't love it either and wanted to push back for more edits.
A few weeks ago after Warren hired another artist to repaint our little BOBblehead, who did an outstanding job. We all agreed that Bob was finally done and a few days ago my BOBblehead arrived. When I opened the box I held my breath as I carefully unwrapped the base, then the bowl, then finally Bob. I held him in my hand and his little head jiggled back and forth. I looked at his face and though it would never be Bob, somehow his “Bobness” had been captured. I smiled as tears ran down my cheeks. If I couldn't have the real Bob, this would be a lovely way to memorialize him.
I rearranged my shrine to Bob to make space for the new addition. I wondered what Bob, the cat would have thought about all this fuss. He probably would have said not to bother and that we're just being silly humans. That may be the case, but it's comforting to have the little guy here.
I know it took a lot of work and patience to get this done and I'm extremely grateful to Warren and his crew for their efforts. I just love my BOBblehead!
The sun just rose on another day. My fingers are cold from typing with the windows open. It's another day without Bob, yet in a way, Bob has returned. I hope this Bob will be with me always as a reminder of one very special cat, gone too soon.
This may be a bit odd, but I know there are some of you who have followed Bob's life story for many years and who have come to love him as I do. Though it was NEVER my intention to profit from this experience, I'd like you to know that if you'd like your own BOBblehead, to contact me at info@coveredincathair.com. Depending on how many orders we get will drive the per unit cost of the piece. The more orders, the lower the price. I will put everyone on a list and let you know in a week or so how much they would be and if you want to order one we'll figure something out.
If you want your very own Bobblehead of your cat, dog, friends, family or one of yourself, please DO visit Royal Bobbles and fill out a contact form and let them know Robin sent you! They do GREAT work and their prices are very reasonable.
Let's face it, even I, the self-proclaimed High Priestess of Covered in Cat Hair, am not a fan of having to buy lint roller brush refills by the case, just so I can wear black. Loving cats means being covered in cat hair. It's a given.
But what can your cat do to get rid of all that excess fur if he can't use a lint roller on himself? Try as they might, the best they can manage is to lick it off and they NEVER get all of it-which is why we go around saying cute things like “In my house cat hair is a condiment.” Yecch. What's worse is they often throw up a jam-packed fur-sausage at some point, days or weeks later, usually in the middle of the night when you're trying to sleep! Double-yecch.
The sad truth is that what once was simply gross or somewhat entertaining (if your nasty mother-in-law or ex-boyfriend-to-be stepped on a newly minted, wet hairball barefoot), belies a potentially serious health issue. Could this be the first sign of Inflammatory Bowel Disease or worse…Lymphoma? Studies are showing a strong link between cats vomiting out hairballs and illness caused by an inappropriate diet!
In short, feed your cat an appropriate diet and watch the hairballs disappear. This means, at least a grain free canned food that's high in protein and low in carbs. Ideally you should feed your cat a raw diet. If you do, not only will you rarely ever see your cat struggling to blast out a hairball, their coat will shine, feel like silk and their poo won't smell any more-BONUS! Visit our friends over at Feline Nutrition Education Society for more information on species appropriate diet for your cat.
The fine folks at FURminator® (say that five times fast) suggest that you brush your cat to prevent hairballs. I think that's part of the solution, but I suggest you try feeding an appropriate diet and monitor the changes. Where I find brushing is the most important aspect of caring for your cat is it gives you an opportunity to develop a deeper bond with them. In general, myself included, I don't think we spend enough one on one time with our cats. Brushing them is a great way to not only get rid of the excess fur, but it's a way for you to show love for your cat without giving them fattening treats.
After a stress filled day, skip the Appletini and kick back with your cat. Give her some loving attention and you'll be rewarded with a purring, confident, happy cat.
The sweet thing about Furminator's deShedding solutions is that they have a Long Hair deShedding Edge and a Short Hair deShedding Edge. Originally, they had ONE tool and it did NOT work on long hairs at all. In fact it was terrible, but it worked GREAT on short haired cats. Now that they've modified their design, long haired cats can benefit, too. I was supplied with a Long Hair deShedding Edge to use on my super pouffy cats: Spencer, the DOOD and Blitzen and they all enjoyed it (though the DOOD got so excited I had to stop brushing him or he would have taken off my hand at the wrist) These tools are NOT for removing mats, but they ARE for getting the undercoat thinned out without stripping the top coat (though be careful not to overdo it and cause a bald patch!). My favorite is to use both my long haired and short haired tools in the spring or fall when the cats shed their winter coat or summer coat, respectively and it doesn't hurt that these tools are beautifully designed and come in awesome colors.
And then there was the creation of our Angelina Jolie made out of cat fur. As you know, FURminator invited us to have some fun creating a Fur-Lebrity out of cat fur and enter it into a contest that celebrated National Hairball Awareness Day. [See all the behind-the-scenes images of how we created Angelina Meowy on a previous post I wrote] HERE. My friend Irene and I worked very long hours for a week to create her and we were very honored to be chosen as one of the five finalists. Though we did not win first prize, we had a blast and I learned that you can do a lot with cat fur, which gives me more reason to keep brushing my cats.
In fact, I've been so inspired I may start making a life-sized Fur-Lebrity. I'm thinking I would enjoy re-creating Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Of course I'd have to MEET HIM and do some very careful studies, take measurements of his body, so I would get it right. Anyone know his agent?
My sister cat-bloggers have gone over this topic more eloquently than I have and in more detail. Click on, “See More Fur-lebrities Here.” to view a blogroll of other blogs who are participating in National Hairball Awareness Day and who have taken the time to put together some fabulous tips for you .
Happy? National Hairball Awareness Day!
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After careful consideration, from time to time I write a product reviews. If you see it here, it's because, at LEAST I think it's worth you knowing about even if I have an issue with it and, at BEST, I think it's amazing and we should all have one, two or more of whatever it is I'm reviewing. I get NO compensation for writing these reviews, though to write a review I am usually supplied with the item, as I was in this case. This review is MY OPINION, ONLY. The result you experience using this product may differ.
My little rescue group, Kitten Associates, is in a terrible jam. A few months ago, we rescued Miss Fluffy Pants from lousy living conditions outside at a Palette Factory where she lived on scraps. MFP was thin, her coat poor. She was dirty and miserable.
Since she's been in our foster home in Georgia, she's blossomed into a ten pound beauty. She's more than ready for her forever home, but due to one simple fact-that MPF has FIV+, we are having a very hard time finding her a placement and because we can't move her out of her foster home, we CANNOT HELP SOME KITTENS WHO ARE IN URGENT NEED OF HELP.
The problem is, that even though we did a Western Blot test to confirm the FIV+, in actuality she may NOT have it at all. When we rescued MFP, she was already spayed. Since we've seen some very odd things done to cats in the South-like a 4-paw declawed cat who was NOT spayed-it makes me wonder if MFP was vaccinated against FIV+, too. It would give us a positive test result, but we can't tell if she really has FIV+ or if it's from a vaccination.
As you may know, FIV+ is not a death sentence. With good diet and living indoors a cat can do just fine. The only way to spread the disease to another cat would be if MFP deeply bit into the cat and I mean the type of bite that would send a human to the hospital. My cat Bob Dole was FIV+ and NONE of my 7 other cats got it from him and he lived with us for six years.
One of the WORST things that can hit a small rescue like mine, is to have a hard-to-place cat to find a home for. It prevents us from helping other cats because we are NOT going to put MPF back outside or leave her to fend for herself.
We made a commitment to her and we will honor that, but there are six kittens living in squalor who we desperately want to help and we cannot help them unless MFP finds her forever home soon OR we find an awesome, Non-Profit, No Kill Shelter or Rescue who would be willing to take MFP and find her a forever home-a shelter that has the size and space we do not have.
Maria and I have been asking for help, but it has fallen on deaf ears. We're trying to do something for these kittens, but it's Kitten Season in the South and everyone is getting overloaded. Now we're faced with knowing about a problem and being unable to have the resources to do anything about it.
Please help us find a wonderful forever home for Miss Fluffy Pants or a responsible rescue who would take her. Little lives are at risk! Contact me at info@coveredincathair.com if you're interested in adopting or doing a shelter transfer with us. Transport IS available. MFP is completely vetted and ready to go.
WE NEED HELP TO PLACE MISS FLUFFY PANTS SO WE CAN OPEN UP THE SPACE TO HELP SIX KITTENS & their feral Mom. As I was writing this post, I found out that two of the six kittens have not been seen in two days. We've decided we can't wait any longer. We're going to risk it and take on the remaining kittens and their feral Mother even though we don't have the space for them and they will have to be caged. We need to do an Emergency Fundraiser so we can get these kittens vetted ASAP! Over the course of a few days the kitten's eyes have sealed shut from some sort of infection. If we wait a second longer they may go blind.
If you'd prefer to send a check, please make it out to: Kitten Associates and please note on the check the funds should go to "Bright Eyes Fund" mail it to:
Any funds not used for the care of this family will go into our General Fund.
If you can't make a donation, you can help us by getting the word out. Every dollar helps and every Re-tweet or FB Share does, too. THANK YOU for caring about these little babies!
A few days ago a woman committed suicide in Fairfield County, Connecticut. She left behind her two cats; Marmalade, a one year old orange and white Maine Coon mix and Shadow, a stunning, silver tabby long haired cat who is declawed, front paws and is about 10 years old. She lived alone and the only human family who remains is her brother who does not like cats and wants them euthanized.
Shadow.
They have lost their home and lost their mama. Marmalade is sweet as ever, but Shadow is acting out, angry, even lashing out at his friend, Marmalade.
The local rescue community, including myself, are trying to get the word out on these two cats to find them homes or rescues to take them.
I have very little information since this is breaking news. If you're in CONNECTICUT, MASSACHUSETTS, NEW JERSEY, NEW YORK, RHODE ISLAND with a Non-Profit cat rescue or are interested in adopting either of these cats, contact me directly at info@coveredincathair.com and I'll put you in touch with the right people. We need to act ASAP.
The blissful buzz from last week's adventure with Jackson Galaxy, getting the mind-bogglingly-huge donation of cat food from Halo and having the Press here wore off faster than I had hoped. You can't be “that” happy and think that you'll feel that way forever-ain't gonna happen. The only thing was I wasn't prepared for how low I would feel the days to follow.
Tuesday was my birthday. I didn't expect a gala celebration, but I did expect, at least a few cards and a cake. I got FIVE postcards from vendors wishing me a Happy Birthday and issuing me a discount to buy cat food, get my back “cracked” or save on a new outfit at the chubby chick store. Sam made an appointment to take his cat, Nicky to the Vet so I guessed we weren't going out for breakfast as we used to do. We passed each other in the hallway. He wished me a “Happy Birthday,” then left. I found a few cards scattered around the house for me. I opened one. I sighed. Was anything in store for me today? Any surprises? Nothing had happened the weekend before and I knew this coming weekend was Easter so I doubted he would set something up for that time…what gives?
I didn't have time to think about it. Katherine, my so called “friend” (I'm joking and only Katherine knows why. We really are friends, right?), told me about a stray cat living in Trumbull (where I used to live as a kid), who had given birth to what we thought was three kittens, but turned out to be six! I wasn't sure I should take them. I have King and Miss FP in Georgia and Bobette is in the big foster room. I only have one other space for cats so if I took this family, King and Miss FP would have to stay back in GA-which is so not fair to them or Maria.
In the end, I didn't feel like I could sleep knowing those cats were living outdoors. It gets into the 30's at night here and I feared not all the kittens would survive. They were born the night I met Jackson so I took it as a sign and agreed to take them on.
While Sam was at the Vet, I went to another Vet to meet Katherine and pick up the kitties. First, Mama had to be snap tested for FIV+ and Feline Leukemia. We test EVERY cat before the come into the house. Thankfully, Mama was negative/negative, which was very important. If she was sick, that meant her kittens would be, too. If she had Feline Leukemia, it would have been a very bad day for all of us.
Katherine had told me the kittens were black and white, which was fine. I'm slow to take on kittens that are solid black because my rescue is small and black kitties are the last to get adopted. I don't want to get stuck and not be able to help other kittens if I have kittens here for a long period of time who aren't easily adoptable. I wish that wasn't the case and I wish it didn't matter, but it does. Of course, we were not given very accurate information. All but one kitten is black, the other is black and white. A life is a life and these babies would be safe, but I did feel worried that if I couldn't find good homes as soon as they were old enough to be adopted that I'd have these cats forever.
I looked at the bright side. Two of the black kittens are also polydactyl on their front and back paws. Their daddy is a big, black, fluffy poly-kitty. It's the first time I've ever known the sire of any of my cats. From the looks of it, even at just eight days old, two of the kittens were going to be bruisers.
On the way home, I stopped a Luigi's and got myself a few pastries. Luigi's smells like what Heaven should smell like-sugar. I hadn't been there for years and it was a special day so I was going to treat myself. I wasn't even going to SHARE with Sam. So there!
I got the little family tucked into their room. I left them alone so the mama could check things out undisturbed. So began my worrying that one or more kittens would die. Until they are two weeks old they have a 30-40% mortality rate! I kept thinking about Bobette's little ones who died after we rescued them. I wasn't prepared for that to happen again, but the mama is small and with six kittens constantly vying for food, it was a lot of stress on her and on them.
I sent out emails to my rescue friends who've bottle fed kittens and asked for their advice since I've never done it before. I read about ideal weight of week-old kittens and I got my scale ready. I weighed most of the kittens until Mama sat across the front of the scale and growled at me. I didn't want to mess with her kittens too much and have her abandon them, so I left the room.
The first two days were shaky. I wasn't sure she was feeding her babies. Mama began to eat, drink and use the litter pan normally. Slowly, but surely, she let me see her eat, then see her feed her kittens. I was greatly relieved to see her feeding all her kittens, not just some. None of them were cast aside. So far, so good.
Mama came over to me and let me pet her. She was very sweet, but something bothered her so growled and jumped back into the bathtub to sit near her kittens. She's very protective of them and seems to stay close by most of the time. I find that if I bring her food and hold the plate by her mouth, she'll eat while the kittens are nursing. She's eating a lot of food and I just keep it coming. I know the more she gets, the more she can provide.
I'm going to weigh the kittens today since it's been three days since the family arrived. I have to balance bothering the mama with making sure each kitten is gaining weight. This morning, one of the kittens had it's eyes open! Pretty soon all of them will-I hope. At this point, I don't even know what sex the kittens are so I've put off naming them and I think I'd feel better if they were a bit older before I did that.
It's kind of nice to have little ones here. It's been years since I had kittens this young. Usually Maria has them at her house and frankly, I think she's much less of a worry-wort and better prepared to deal with them than I am.
Oh and as for my Birthday, the Birthday that never was…as the hours ticked by I got more ticked off. Clearly nothing was going to happen. No flowers. No surprises. No CAKE! Sam was acting like he was mad at me but I couldn't figure out if it had anything to do with me at all. The only surprise was that nothing was happening. At 7:30PM Sam asked me if I wanted to go out for dinner. I basically exploded at the point and we had a big fight-just what you want to do on your BIRTHDAY. It's not worth it to go into details or ask you to take my side, even if I'm (mostly) right! It was my Birthday and no one should be told mean things on their birthday. I'm sorry but that's just wrong.
Once again, Sam and I walked to the edge of the precipice, but neither of us was ready to jump, though I certainly did fantasize about pushing him over, that's for sure.
I focus on the mama-cat. I focus on work. My birthday was just another day, but it WAS great to be part of saving seven lives that day. Whatever else is going on, I'm numb to. It's a sad place to be, but I hope I find my bootstraps so I can pull myself back up.
Sometimes I feel as though there really is some sort of interrelationship between all things. It's difficult to describe exactly what I mean other than by simply stating “it was meant to be”-when random events stitch themselves together to create a larger meaning-is something real. Or is that that I “stitch” those things together to make meaning for myself? Just because you can't “scientifically” prove something doesn't mean it doesn't occur. Science is flawed in that way because if they can't create a test to measure or study something then it cannot be true.
After yesterday's post about what cats would say if they could speak, I found out that my friend's husband accidentally struck and killed a pregnant cat with his car. He is devastated beyond description to not only have lost the mama, but the unborn kittens inside her, as well. As he and his wife mourned the loss, they mutually agreed that they need to rescue another cat and give it a home, in honor of the one who was lost.
This morning, Sam and I drove Gracie to Dr. Larry's so she could finally get her dental cleaning and extraction and have the growth on her abdomen removed and tested to find out if she has cancer. Jessica, who works the front desk, was only one person in the Clinic when we arrived. Since the clinic wasn't full of other clients needing attention, I asked if it would be ok if we put Gracie into her cage and got her set up. I often go into the back of the Clinic so it wasn't unusual. Gracie is so scared of everything, it was the least I could do to see her off properly.
Gracie on the way to Dr. Larry's this morning.
As I set down her carrier, I noticed another cat carrier. It was old, odd, two-tone green plastic crate and far too small for the cat inside it. Crammed into the tiny space was what appeared to be a very big cat. I asked who the cat was and found out that his name is Jasper and he's 20 years old. He's in renal failure. His owner dropped him off to be euthanized. She didn't even have the decency to be with him, instead left him there to end his life at the hands of the good people who work with my Vet. My heart sank.
I asked if it was his time or did he need better supportive care? Was he getting sub Q fluids? Was he on a good diet? She told me that he was brought in last week because he had stopped eating, but they got him to eat and he perked up and ended up going back home, but now this owner said it's time. She won't give him sub Q fluids, perhaps his is too tough to handle. She's done what she can, but clearly has given up.
I couldn't even see the cat's face. All I could see was that he was white and brown tabby. He couldn't stand or even turn around he was in such a small space. I told Jessica that I thought I might have another option and that to please have Dr. Larry consider that I could re-home the cat and possibly give him the extra time he may have left.
She said she would pass along the information, but since none of us knew how seriously ill he was, there was no way to know if he was going to survive the day.
I called my friend and told her about the cat. She said, of course, they would take him, but couldn't take him until Thursday. I made some calls and worked everything out. If Dr. Larry felt the cat wasn't ready to go and the owner would surrender him, that my rescue group, Kitten Associates would take him and pay for his boarding and medical care until he could go to his new home.
It's almost 11am and I'm waiting for news. I'm worried that the longer it takes for me to hear anything, the worse the news will be. I can't change the flow of this cat's life any more than I already have, but it seems curious to me that Gracie was supposed to have her Vet visit two months ago and is having it today. That last night my friend's husband should suffer a tragic event that caused him to want to adopt a senior cat and that today perhaps those decisions and tragedies should come together to create something wonderful…but it's too soon to know that.
All I know is that another cat got treated like trash, but I had his back this time and maybe his life is not meant to be over today. If he is gone, I will honor him with my tears and try again. There are so many out there who need help. I'm just waiting for a sign to know which one is next.
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