Fluffy

In December of 2009 I rescued nine cats, not all related, from a kill shelter. I named them after Santa's reindeer and as a group, they picked up the nickname, “Santa's Team.”

This was the fundraiser poster I created for this rescue. You can see the entire gang!

When I picked them up off the transport, it was clear they were all very sick. I have my reasons as to why this happened, but I can't say why without facing repercussions-other than to say, the transporter was not even looking at the cats for the 36 hours they were on the road or giving them fresh water and probably not any food, either.

Some of the cats had raging high fevers, one had ringworm, which basically gave it to all my cats and my foster home's cats, too. It was a nightmare, to say the least, but all the cats lived and went on to be adopted into good homes. You can read more about them by doing a search for “santa's team.” Here are a few links: The Curious Case of Cupid and The Foster Cat Journal

©2011 Dave Musen and ©2009 Betsy Merchant. Cupid in her home and Cupid in the kill shelter with her babies.

Part of the rescue included a mama, I named, Cupid and her four offspring, Dancer, Donner, Prancer and Blitzen. Cupid was emaciated from being nursed on for too long. She weighed just five pounds. In a week she gained about a pound, once I gave her better food and got the kittens off her. That was only the beginning of a startling transformation.

©2011 Dave Musen. Every day is filled with fun surprises!

It took a few months before Cupid got any applications offering to adopt her. At the time, I was with another rescue group. They had a different idea to what makes a good adopter than I did. For this group, I had "special" permission to get what I wanted: NO going outdoors and I was really going to grill the family to make sure these cats were going to the best home. My plan did not work for all the cats. I think I made one adoption of two of Cupid's offspring that I still regret, but the cats are doing fine, it's just not my ideal.

©2011 Dave Musen. Yes, that is a DOG next to Cupid. Hee hee!

The other thing I am very careful about is adopting to home where there are very young children. It's just not safe for the child or the cat, so if I see on an application there is a toddler, even though I still process the application, I usually don't move forward with it.

©2011 Dave Musen. Toying with her dad's foot.

We had an adoption event around Valentine's Day. I met a man with his 9 year old son, his wife and their baby. The man had a connection with Cupid, but because of the baby, I wrote them off. He said they were thinking about getting a cat, but not sure. It seemed to be just a radom thing, nothing would come of it.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. My boy Blitzen is Cupid's son. Notice any resemblance?

Over a month later, I got an application on Cupid from that same man. His name is Dave and he lives here in town. I went through the motions, but really didn't think it would be a good idea. They had two dogs and a baby. Would Cupid be happy?

I called the family and spoke to Dave and voiced my concerns. He told me that he is often home working and that they had a Nanny to look after their baby and the nanny loved cats, too. That the baby has constant supervision of three adults. Their Vet reference was really great, too. They did everything for their dogs and they were willing and interested to feed Cupid a raw diet (they do for their dogs, too).

©2011 Dave Musen. Merry Christmas, Cupid! I see you got some gifts, too!

I told him he could come meet Cupid with his son, but I couldn't promise the adoption would go through. They came to visit twice and both times the son was very sweet and loving and Cupid seemed to like both of them. The wife was a harder sell, but she came along. Dave was really the one smitten with Cupid and I could see it in his eyes.

I went through with the adoption. A few months later, I got an update that Cupid was doing great and that they were really impressed with how sweet she was with the children and their dogs. That was almost two years ago and I've since left the group I was with so updates would stop coming, too.

©2011 Dave Musen. Cupid loves her doggy buddy.

The other day I was at my local pet food shop and who should be there, but Dave, getting food for Cupid and the dogs. We had a great chat about everyone. Cupid is doing fantastic. She has probably gained four more pounds and is up to about ten. Her coat, as you can see, has filled out to the extreme. Although she always seems to have a sad look on her face, she is living large, that is for sure. From what I hear, she is very very happy.

©2011 Dave Musen. Looking simply divine, Miss Cupid.

She has the BEST life, loves the dogs, loves her people. She will never want for anything. After what she suffered, she deserves this amazing home, with a dedicated, loving family. It doesn't get any better than this.

I'm glad I was able to work through my own hesitation about this adoption because this truly was the perfect family for her. I am very grateful to them for providing for her and for making her life the best, ever. Thank you!

Now can I just find a home this nice for Mazie? For Phil? For Cara? Well...Cara may have found a home, but that's another story for another day.

This family has been waiting two long weeks to be rescued from Henry County Care & Control in McDonough, GA. While it doesn't sound like a long wait, when a cat is in a Kill Shelter, every hour that ticks by is one hour less to live. As they wait, more families are brought in the door, hoping for a rescue, too. Some get lucky and leave alive, some leave in a black plastic bag.

Upon first glance, this family is no different than any other. Their time is almost up. Look closer and you'll see what sets them apart from others. One of the kittens, a little tabby, was born with a deformed leg. That automatically means, the entire family has less of a chance to reach safety because of the added cost to any rescue who would take this family into their program.

While I believe that rescue should not be based on the costs involved, it's a constant factor.

After many emails, a bit of pleading and a bit of compromise, I have worked it out with Jennifer, from the Humane Society of Forsyth County, to take the ENTIRE family if we can raise funds for the tabby should he need surgery. I'm glad there's a sponsorship of $275 already on the table, but this little guy will need more than that.

The deal is-if we can raise $500.00, the family is SAFE. We need to do it FAST. What do you think? Can we do this? If we tell enough people about our fundraiser and we all donate a few dollars, I bet we can raise the money in no time. (at least that's my dream!)

The ChipIn widget, below, is set to send the donations to MY Non-Profit Rescue Group, Kitten Associates, Inc. I'm doing this because Forsyth does not have a PayPal account I can link to. Once we hit our goal, I will immediately send the funds to Forsyth as a grant for this family. Your donation is tax deductible.

It may be clichè, but it's true. It takes a village to make great things happen and together we can be part of giving this family a chance at having a future.

Thank you for your help and devotion to cats in need! You can use the share buttons at the bottom of the post to help spread the word!

Last week I posted a photo on our Facebook page of a lovely orange persian/mix kitty. Some folks thought it was Phillip, who I rescued not long ago, but they were wrong. Phil is NOT quite so orange and Phil is not a female!

This is Tiger. She was rescued by a very nice lady named Deb P. Deb must spend a zillion dollars a year funding the rescue of many cats and kittens in need. Deb helped with the initial funding for Cara and her family, the fosters I STILL have at my home. The other day, Deb contacted me to see if I could take this lovely lady and find her a forever home.

Deb already had Tiger vetted, shaved down because her fur was badly matted AND Deb paid for Tiger to get her teeth cleaned, too! Tiger is a few years old, declawed, spayed and very sweet. How she ended up in a kill shelter is beyond comprehension.

How could I say NO to her?

So I said, YES!

Tiger will be here in a few weeks. Being that “ginger” females are somewhat unusual-only 1 in 3 ginger cats are female; I think Tiger will find a good home easily.

Tiger will enjoy a diet change, which will help her slim down and allow her coat to grow back in beautifully, too. I think she'll be a knockout and whoever adopts her will be very lucky, indeed

We just gotta come up with a better name for her! What would you name her? Okay, and not Lucky, either, even if that's true!

The tree that crashed into our driveway has been chopped up, thanks to Connie's sweetheart, Howard. He came over with mighty chain saw in hand and attacked the fallen tree with surprising gusto. I helped clear the brush away while we both sweated under the hot, steamy sun. Howard was great. He cut the tree back much further than I hoped. So much so that I won't have to call in the arborist to finish the job.

If only everything was so easily managed.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The "M" on Bob's forehead returns.

Yesterday I wrote about taking Bob to get his eleventh chemo and that the Oncologist remarked at how proud he was of the care we were providing Bob. He said that most people would have given their cat Prednisone for a few weeks, then euthanized the animal. He seemed clearly impressed with our willingness to go the distance for our cat. I didn't really understand. It's Bob. We aren't just going to let him have a shortened life because it's inconvenient or expensive. It's HIS life. He deserves to have every good day he can.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

My joy at Bob's clinical improvement was short lived. The next day I got Bob's blood test back. His ALT (liver function) was over 1000. This is very bad. From the first day I took Bob into my home almost five years ago, Bob's ALT has never been normal. Before Bob had surgery to remove half of his liver (which was cancerous) last December, it was 1400.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Spencer looks out onto the deck while Bob enjoys his afternoon in the sunshine.

Last month Bob's ALT was about 400. For him, even being 300 higher than normal, that was good. 1000? Not good. Not good at all.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

I've been religiously giving Bob Denamarin, which I had hoped would help strengthen whatever was left of his liver. I thought it was working and, maybe it is. Maybe it would be worse without it? Dr. Joe called me to talk about the ALT. We discussed whether or not we did another ultrasound to see if Bob's liver showed signs of further cancer. We both agreed it was pointless. If we looked at his liver, we'd have to get a biopsy if they saw a mass. Then Bob would have to have more surgery to take away even more of his liver. His recovery from the first surgery was about two to three weeks. At his age, with FIV+ and lymphoma, it just didn't seem kind to put him through that all over again when they might find out the cancer was all over his remaining liver.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

Dr. Joe said that elevated ALT can also spike cyclically so maybe, just maybe, Bob's liver isn't in such bad shape. It was nice that he said it, but I took it as a reminder that although Bob's whiskers have grown back on the top of his head and although his fur is slowly returning here and there, that Bob has two types of cancer. The liver cancer, we thought was excised and considered to be gone, but maybe just enough was left so the cancer could continue to grow? We'll recheck his blood work next month when we do the twelfth chemo.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bob being Bob.

Dr. Joe and I discussed if there were any other things that I could do to help Bob. He suggested adding Proanthozone to Bob's diet. Maybe it would help. At this point, there isn't much to lose.

Bob's story isn't over yet. And truth be told, Sam and I are both surprised six months have passed and this shaggy sweetheart is still with us. I'm so grateful for each day and I'm still surprised that Bob continues onward. Bob's even become more social with us and likes to sit half on my lap and half off-something he had to do with my Mother because he was too heavy to sit across her legs. The other day he sat on me, burbling, the sound I call his nutty purr. It's a charming sound. It makes me forget to be sad for a little while.

Bob's good like that. Even in his darkest days, he finds a way to make me smile.

I love all cats, okay except for those nudie-ones. Yick. Cats need to have fur if at all possible. Sorry! Although I may struggle with loving cats equally, I admit being a sucker for a few things. 1) BIG CATS, 2) FLUFFY CATS, 3) CATS WITH BLUE EYES, 4) TUXEDO CATS.

Meet cat ID# 5/19-1791. He lives in a cage at Henry County Care & Control.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. Waltz, anyone?

Cat ID# 5/19-1791 goes beyond being just big-boned. He could be your dance partner he's so tall or he could keep your entire bed warm at night. He will chat to get attention, but has a tiny tiny “meow.”

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. Big hugs for a big lug.

ID likes other cats, but is not too keen on dogs. ID is chill. He likes to hang with his human friends, too. Apparently, ID enjoys a good meal every so often, maybe a few times too often.

ID# 5/19-1791 has lovely blue eyes and a nice, fluffy tail. At Henry County Care & Control they say he might be part ragdoll. I think he's 100% fluffy-esque.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. That is MY kinda cat!

After yesterday's loss of Big O, I felt a strong desire to do something life-affirming. I read the plea about cat ID# 5/19-1791 and I looked at those big blue eyes and I thought, why not? We can always make room for one more, right? I'll sort out the details later. For now, this cat has been at the shelter too long and we know what that means...every day is one day less he has to get out alive.

In honor of telling Death to go suck it (see yesterday's POST for more on that), I made arrangements for this gigantic love bug to get busted out of his steel cage and into temporary foster care.

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. No more cage for you!

He is FREE as we speak. He's getting vetted, then going to Aunt Bobbie's house to be fostered until his quarantine period is over. After that, we'll put him on a bus or something and get his big fluffy butt up here to Connecticut where we'll find him a super-awesome home.

In honor of one of our supporters, we're going to name cat ID# 5/19-1791, Phil. Yes, Phil.

Meet Phil, our latest rescue. Welcome to the family Phil. Chapter 1 of the story of your new life starts today!

©2011 Henry Co. Care & Control. You may begin to adore him in 3...2...1

UPDATE: Phil is neg/neg for FIV+ and Felv!! YAY!!!! And he only weighs 15 pounds?!!! Must have big bones!

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

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

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

Betsy wrote:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Please help if you can.

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

ID# 5/18-1770

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

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

Betsy Merchant~

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

Contact:

mystiblu@bellsouth.net

Henry County Animal Care and Control

527 Hampton Street

McDonough, Georgia 30253

(770) 288-7401

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

Our Hours:

Monday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm

Saturday: 9 am-1 pm

Sunday: Closed

County Observed Holidays: Closed

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

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

This is Bobbi (image below) a few weeks after we rescued her. She was badly flea infested and severely underweight from being kicked out by her owner and left to fend for herself. A few hours after I posted about her, I got in a third photo (see bottom image). I couldn't help but compare it to one I shot last year.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Bobbi shortly after she arrived in Connecticut after being rescued from a Kill Shelter in Georgia.

Her new family, the Murdoch's, definitely know how to turn that “MEH” into “MEOW!.” It's hard to believe that this is the SAME cat. The only thing that changed for her was now she gets a great diet, good Veterinary care and lots and lots of love.

©2011 The Murdoch Family. What a face!

Is it just me, or is there a glimmer of joy in her eyes that wasn't there before? I can't believe the transformation! Is Bobbi part Maine Coon? Maybe part Norwegian Forest Cat?

Bobbi, you're a dream come true. I'm SO HAPPY for you and your new family! Thank you Murdoch family for doing right by this sweet girl. I wish we had a thousand adopters just like you!

On my Covered in Cat Hair business card, under my name, one of my titles is “Cat Yenta.” Most people think it's a joke, but in truth, it's one of my favorite things to do.

Yenta, originally was a Yiddish word for “Gossip,” but over time has come to mean, “matchmaker!” Instead of matchmaking people together or two cats together (we don't want THAT happening unless they're spayed or neutered!), I love to help people find the perfect cat companion. Hopefully it won't take me twisting anyone's arm behind their back to do so, but a little whining, a trick I learned from my Jewish Mother, doesn't hurt, either.

Last week, Animals in Distress, my true friends in rescue, asked me to help them get the word out on a cat that needed a home. His name is Mittens. I didn't have time to do a write up, but I did post one photo of him on my CiCH Facebook Page.

Mittens was rescued by AID from a terrible situation. He was filthy, starving and trying to survive in the frigid winter without shelter. As you can see, Mittens no longer looks like he's suffering, but on the inside, his heart is broken. He's lonely and needs a true home to call his own.

Mittens is...NINE MONTHS OLD. He's not an adult. He's a BABY! He's a VERY VERY BIG BABY! He's a Maine Coon mix, with an extra toe on each front paw. Having this special feature is called “Polydactyl.” It's also how Mittens got his name.

©2011 Animals in Distress. The ever-lovin' Mittens.

Mittens LOVES to play and loves most other cats. He's affectionate and friendly, despite what he's suffered. He's been tested negative for Feline Leukemia and FIV+. He's been neutered and has his shots. Now he needs a home.

Before I could post this information, one of my readers, a very nice lady named, Ms. Kelley, who lives in New Hampshire, wrote me and asked about adopting him! I didn't know if AID would adopt to her since she lives out of state, so I mentioned something else I'd just found out about.

Cheese.

Remember Cheese? Last year his owner contacted me. She had lost her job and was in the process of losing her home. Instead of turning her beloved cat over to a shelter, where at the age of 9, he didn't stand a chance of leaving alive, she chose to try to find a suitable foster home for him until she could get back on her feet. You can read the entire post, HERE.

The next DAY, one of our kind readers, Ms. Amy, contacted me and offered to give Cheese a home until his Mom could get her life back in order! Hurrah!

But that wasn't the end of the story...

©2010 Ms Amy. Cheese recently.

Recently, Amy was contacted by Cheese's Mom. Sadly, things were still going terribly and in all fairness, she could not see being able to ever take Cheese back home. Could Amy find Cheese a true forever home? He would have been welcome to stay with Amy, but one of her other cats was scared of him-not because he was mean, but because she is a scaredy cat and it was causing some issues-you know the ones...

So I told Ms. Kelley about Cheese. He's 10, now. He weighs 18 pounds and needs to go on a diet. She could have said she really wanted to adopt Mittens, but she didn't. She knows how tough it is for cats to find a home when they get well into adulthood, so she decided Cheese was the one for her and she offered to give Cheese a home!

Cheese, in his yonger days.

I had Ms. Kelley fill out an adoption application, which she passed with flying colors! Ms. Amy agreed it was a MATCH! All that's left is to find a way to get Cheese from Williamsburg, VA to New Hampshire! If any of you are traveling that way or even part of the way, let me know! If any of you happen to be a pilot and can fly a few extra pounds to the northeast, that's great, too! We'd like Cheese to get to his new home soon, so he can enjoy life with two other kitties and two cute Papillons!

But what about Mittens?

So far, Mittens does not have a forever home, but I have a sneaking suspicion he may find one soon. If you're interested in adopting Mittens and live in Connecticut or a nearby state, you can visit AID's website and fill out a Pre Adoption Application. Make sure you mention that Robin sent you!

There's one more kitty who needs our help. Ms. Amy told me that in addition to Cheese needing a home, there was another big orange kitty who was languishing in foster care. His name is Zanzibar.

Zanzibar, waiting for a forever home.

Zanzibar was given up by his owners-their reason, allergies. Zanzibar is a senior cat, so not sure how they suddenly decided they were allergic to him!

Zanzibar has lived in a room, alone, for a year. He keeps hoping to find a forever home, but no one wants him. Zan loves people, but I'm told he's not too keen on other cats. When I hear this, I always have to ask if Zan was properly introduced to other cats OR was it not done according to cat to cat etiquette? He may be just fine with another cat, but the owner would have to take the introduction slowly. They think he might prefer dogs, but again, SLOW introduction might be the key.

The bottom line is this big, orange, senior needs a break. He can even do tricks, so this is no dull boy. Zan is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. If you'd like to know more about Zanzibar and see a VIDEO of him, please visit HERE

On the Eve of St. Valentine's Day, I hope my words are like Cupid's arrow and that somewhere, out there, the hearts of a few families are inspired to fall in love with these big fellas and to help make their dream come true—a real forever home, filled of love.

...and no chocolate, please. Cats and chocolate don't mix!

For the past three weeks, I've taken Polly, Chester and Cara to see Dr. Larry at least once, some times twice a week. The kittens are just NOT “getting over the hump.” They get mildly better for a day or two and seemingly overnight they get very sick. They also don't all have the same symptoms at the same time. I've learned not to freak out when I see Polly's eyes all watery again or Chester sneezing, but...what can be done for them?

Last week, Dr. Larry and I had a long talk. He was very concerned that the kittens have FIP. For those of you not familiar with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, let's just say that it's a death knell for any cat who gets it. It's highly contagious, as well, which means I could have put ALL MY CATS, even Bob Dole, at risk for getting this incurable disease.

I did NOT want to think this is a possibility. I pushed back, saying the kittens were chronically ill, BUT they were thriving, in some way, too. They did PLAY, they ate well, they WERE gaining weight. Yes, they were sick with some sort of horrible URI that wasn't responding to MONTHS of medications, but could it be FIP? Oh no..PLEASE NOT THAT. Please don't make me have to EUTHANIZE MY FOSTER KITTENS!!! I could NOT IMAGINE A WORSE CHOICE TO HAVE TO MAKE. NOT MY LITTLE ONES. NO surely, not them. Granted my life sucks right now, but having to face this would put me over the edge and into a dangerous place.

That's why I couldn't write about it. I was too sick.

So we ran tests, even though Polly fussed and screamed, being the sickest, we decided to do the tests on her. We ran a PCR, which might tell us if she has Calicivirus, Herpes, etc. We ran a full blood panel, a stool sample, bartonella screening, re-snap tested her for FIV+/Feline leukemia. The tests cost $600.00 and many took the better part of a week to get results on.

While I waited for test results to come back, I spent time with the kittens, and their mom, Mazie, too. The kittens slept on me for hours. I didn't mind spending that time not working. My head was killing me. Having a headache for two months is not really fun. I loaded up on painkillers and we all took a nap. The kittens have grown fond of me, in their way. Once in awhile, I get a purr, especially out of Polly. Her coat is now like silk, from the grain-free food. I love to pet her while she snoozes. She sounds like a stuffed up duck when she breathes.

Cara tugs at my heartstrings. At 16 weeks old, she is only barely 3 pounds. She has so much mucus in her, if she eats too fast, she regurgitates her food, then hysterically tries to eat it back up, only to pass it out again. I have to feed her very slowly and still she is anxious to gobble up whatever she can. She is so tiny, with such big owl-green-eyes, I can't help but want to do whatever I can to save her life.

The test results started to come in. Bartonella-negative, Bloodwork, ok, but showed she is anemic, just slightly. Stool sample showed positive for a type of coccidia I haven't heard of and I will have to report on exactly what this was later since it escapes me just now. The PCR was inconclusive-probably because Polly has had so many antibiotics. Dr. Larry feels they have a heck of a herpes virus infection...DUH! We knew that going in! Would he take FIP off the table now? He said, YES, maybe, but he also insisted we snap test Cara and Chester for FIV+/Feline Leukemia. So we did that. Negative/Negative. Thank GOD.

Dr. Larry called a vet he knows in Arizona who works with shelter cats. She said she's seen this before. She suggested we hit this and hit it hard and that would get rid of what ails these cats. The problem is, there goes another $400.00.

Here are the meds...I am deworming them with Panacur, it's gonna blow out whatever parasites they've got. They are getting shots of B12, Zithromax, Baytril, Terramycin for their eyes. Most of this will take two weeks of daily or twice daily application. If the kittens don't hate me now, they will soon. I'd rather they hate me than have FIP any day of the week.

The other problem, as usual, is funding. I've asked so much of everyone that I can't even bear to ask now, so I'll just post this ChipIn and if you can help the kittens, that would be very much appreciated. If you can't, no worries.

These kittens deserve a chance at a healthy, long life. If I can get them over this, then I can start the happier task of finally finding them good homes. For kittens who've been sick almost every day of their short lives, it really would be remarkable to see them healthy-at last.

And if this doesn't work...I'm just not sure where that path will take us next. I won't let them down. I just won't, no matter what.

Even if I find out their Mom has RINGWORM...yeah...surprise! She's got it.

Halp.