Foster Cat Journal

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly and her new BFF, MacGruber.

Two more hours and the adopters will be here. I always try to spend the last bit of time with the cats before they go. I don't know why it matters because, in a way, they're already gone. I can't take enough photos, pet them enough, give them kisses and say goodbye enough times. Here comes that flippy feeling in my gut, like I'm going to fall and no one will catch me. Kinda like yesterday afternoon when I was vacuuming the stairs and I slipped on the hose, then fell down the steps and got a whopper of a “goose egg” on my arm.

From petfinder.com, the photo that made me fall in love and get "that feeling" this kitty needed me to rescue him.

It's bloody hot, even though I have the A/C running. The cats are flat pancakes, napping after gorging themselves on what may be their last meal with me. I worry they won't get what they like so I packed them a big bag of different kinds of grain free canned food. I'm pretending they're going on a trip and will be back in a few days. I guess I should get a clue and realize the trip will be longer than I can stand waiting.

©2010 Bobbie Coker. MacGruber's foster mom, Bobbie was smitten with this kitten!

Today is really about MacGruber. He was the “the one” this family wanted. Since they have no other animals, I insisted they either adopt a second cat from me or find a companion for Mac. He is far too affectionate with my cats to be an only cat. I think it would really hurt him. The family admitted that they were also smitten with Polly and after I spoke to them about the reasons why having two cats is better than one, they agreed and felt they could handle the additional cost of taking on a second cat.

Fortunately, Mac and Polly get along rather well. In the past few days, even moreso. Perhaps it's a sign?

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. MacGruber, all grown up and ready to move on.

Mac was the easiest rescue I've ever done. I saw him on Petfinder, knew he was in danger and had him pulled before his time was up. He went to live with Aunt Bobbie and she told me he was a doll. From the first moment, this cat was mellow, easy-going, and ready for anything. Weeks later, when he arrived at my home, he was the same way. He was completely unfazed by the long trip-1000 miles-or the fact that he was in a house full of other cats.

I intended on “properly introducing him” to my cats but it was clear he didn't need to wait. After two days he was playing with Blitzen and chillaxin' with us. His constantly burbled. He meow is very odd. He liked to talk to us about his day and when could he please have more food?

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mac and our Big Boy Nicky.

I looked at his surrender form and it only listed an address, no reason for why he was given up. I can't think of why anyone would let this cat go. His silly face always makes me smile. Okay, he chases after one of my cats who does not appreciate it so she freaks out, but we don't like her! I know that's so mean, but there's a long story there and it's not time to talk about her (but she knows who she is, PETUNIA!).

Mac has been here for as long as Polly. Sam and I often talked about adopting him ourselves. We feel the same about Polly. We know we're treading in dangerous water. We just can't do this. We need to let them go. This will be a great home for him and I already said no to a lot of applications on Mac that just weren't right. It's time.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Chillaxin' with Nicky. YES. Nicky IS huge!

What is today's lesson about letting go of a foster cat you adore? I don't have one. It sucks. How is that for a lesson? Just the truth. There's no sugar-coating it. Saying goodbye SUCKS. Seeing their little faces in the cat carrier as they leave my home, SUCKS. Missing their silly antics tonight when I want to sleep, may not suck that much, but I will miss them.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bye bye, sweet goofball!

MackeyGee, as I call him, got way under my skin. I want to put hot pepper flakes on his tongue and make him act insane when the adopters get here. I want to put hot pepper flakes on MY tongue and act insane, too. But I can't. I just can't.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Maybe this was meant to be all along? Polly and Mac, two friends for life.

The lesson is, SUCK IT UP and just pretend it's a big band-aid on your heart, then rip it off and after they leave. I'll make Sam buy pizza for dinner to soften the pain.

My only hope is they leave before The Bachelorette starts. As much as I love my cats, this is THE SHOW I can't wait to see. I don't know why because it's a terrible show, but I DO enjoy tallying up how many times they say; “amazing” (surprisingly not many this season) and “the next level” (too early in the season for that) and Sam and I have a bet on who the winner will be, as long as it isn't Bentley. Yuck.

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Due to some technical difficulties, I couldn't post this last night when I had hoped. Today's update is: The adopters showed up, the cats showed well. Although it looked like ONLY Mac was going to be adopted, they saw how lovely and sweet Polly is and realized they loved her, too. Polly and Mac's adoption will take place on Friday, so the new family can have a long weekend together. Their new dad, Ed, works from home quite often, so they kitties will always have company, as well as each other and I get a few more days to enjoy with them. In fact, Polly is sleeping right next to me as I write this. Damn, I will miss them! Oh, and the adopters left just before The Bachelorette started! Thank you for that!

Being a foster mom to kittens is one of the most joyful things I've ever done. Yes, there's much work involved and some times it's very difficult and even heartbreaking. Yet, there are moments of bliss, sweetness and great love.

As someone who suffers from depression, I can say it helps keeps the blues away and reminds me that whatever bothers me or makes me feel badly is insignificant. It helps me forget about “me” and reminds me what is truly important-saving this fragile life in my hands. Seeing this creature through a journey, not only of survival, but one of thriving, of learning to love interacting with humans, know the joy of playing, instead of being fearful, so one day this animal will be ready for the next part of his or her path.

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Hello, Polly.

It's time to reflect on a very special girl-Polly Picklepuss. Polly was born in a cage in a shelter and at just three weeks of age, my group, Kitten Associates, rescued her and her family. Some of you already know Polly's story, but for the ones that don't-Polly got very sick after she left the shelter. What happened next will scar her for the rest of her life.

©2010 Betsy Merhcant. Polly, with Cara and Chester (background).

Polly and her family were hit with a terrible Herpes virus infection, which we might usually call an Upper Respiratory Infection. Most cats carry Herpes, but don't get sick from it. Kittens with a fragile immune system can't fight it off and being a virus, it's very difficult to treat. Many vets will treat with antibiotics to kill off any secondary infection, but it doesn't treat the virus. Sadly, no matter what we did, Polly kept getting sick. We even consulted and treated her homeopathically, but by then she'd had too many medications in her system. Looking back I would have handled it differently, but in the heat of the moment, between many trips to the vet and with Polly being so very sick, we threw everything we could at this illness-which at the time we did not even know what it was, and hoped she would survive.

©2010 Maria S. Polly just days before everything went to Hell.

At the worst of it, when we thought we were going to lose Polly, I made her a promise-that I would adopt her if she promised not to die. I would have done anything for her and her family and over the months I was tested over and over again.

It took months before Polly began to recover and sadly, as she got better, her sister, Cara began to show signs of being seriously ill. Cara's journey is still not over. She required much more care than any of us imagined. She is stable now, but her future is uncertain.

©2010 Maria S. And so it begins...

Polly has blossomed in the past seven months, from a tiny infant to a lovely young lady. Her medical issues are resolved, but due to her early illness she will always have runny eyes and bouts of sneezing. She eats well, her coat is like silk and she is one of the most affectionate cats I've ever worked with. Polly has been ready to leave me for over a month. I have been torn about the promise I made to her versus knowing it would not be wise for me to add another cat to my family of eight cats.

Polly gets along great with everyone. She's rarely in her room anymore and is well enough so that she can mingle with all the cats and have the run of the house. It's tough to sleep some nights because she likes to get nutty around 1am and by 2am she likes to sleep on Sam's chest or curled up by my head, on my pillow. She follows us around like a shadow and will stop suddenly and throw herself on the floor, innocently wanting a belly rub, but not realizing she's going to cause one of us to trip and break our head open. She can't help loving people as she does and I wouldn't have it any other way.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Her eyes will water and she'll breathe loudly for the rest of her life, but Polly did not lose her vision as a result of a terrible herpes infection.

The problem is, I've spent too much time with Polly. I've never had foster cats here for almost eight months. Polly is part of the family, but now a new family is interested in adopting her. They're a very nice couple who have no other pets. Their cat died not long ago and they miss having a cat to love. I checked out their Vet reference and went to their home. I tried to find a reason that this wasn't a good match and I could not.

That's when it hits me hard-it's time. This day has been coming since the day I called to make arrangements to have Polly and her family rescued. I knew it when I made the call and I knew I would have to find a way to let her go when the time came. The day is almost here, but I don't want to let her go.

This is going to hurt-even thinking about it makes me cry, but Polly deserves to be spoiled and to have a lot more attention than she would ever get here. She should have a home she won't have to share with many other cats. She'll have a buddy with her and I would have to insist on that. Polly is too social to be an only cat.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. This is what I was meant to be-a human cat bed. (Me, Polly and Cara).

I've worked very hard for Polly and her family and letting go of them is not easy. I'd like to say I can tell all of you how to foster cats and not be sad when they leave, not have second thoughts, not hope the adoption doesn't go through, but I can't do that. Fostering cats is filled with so much joy that it's tough to let that go. You have to have faith that you're doing the right thing for that cat. That they can be happy and thrive in another home. That your home isn't the only place in the world where they will be all right. That another family can give them just as much love, if not more.

I think you have to allow yourself to feel dreadful and not be afraid of FEELING that sting in your heart. If you don't suffer this, then those cats die. It's as simple as that. If you don't foster cats because you don't want to feel hurt, they don't make it out of the shelter alive. For me, tears and heartache over them leaving me is an easy price to pay compared to my tears over them never having a chance to even HAVE a life to live.

I guess my lesson is this: Be brave. Take a deep breath. Let it out slowly. Remember why you're doing this. Remember that although you will be sad and cry, it will pass. Keep saving more lives. Keep crying. One day you'll look back and realize you've saved hundreds of lives and had just as many tears, but you did it. You did it and you CAN DO IT AGAIN.

Tomorrow is the big day. If the adoption goes through, Polly will be on her way. The pain of saying goodbye will be multiplied because it's likely she will not be the only one to leave here tomorrow. One of the other fosters will be joining her.

Deep breath.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. How much is that kitty in the widow?

Last night I allowed the fosters to run free without being confined to their room. I imagined hearing fights break out and precious belongings crash to the floor. It wasn't that bad. Mac woke me up at 7 AM by standing on my face. I found a plastic bag that contained crackers on the floor of the kitchen. That was it. Not bad.

I had hoped that Chester would have slept with us, but he was in his room with Mazie. It was better this way. I didn't want to get even more attached to this cat.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The family, missing Cara, who is still being fostered with Aunt Connie.

I got everyone fed and fussed over Bob, hoping he would finally eat-he didn't. I gave him his meds. One of them might make him hungry, so I hoped it would kick in soon. Bob is looking frail and is quiet. It's tough to think about Chester leaving because Bob really needs our attention and Bob needed a bath.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cheser and his Mama-Mazie.

People often ask me how I can let a foster cat go. How I can bare the pain of them leaving. I can't bear it. It's painful! But I'd rather cry because Chester is gone, then because he was euthanized at a shelter that ran out of space for him. Also, though I love Chester very much, it's time for him to go. It's been time for months. He's not attached to his sisters or Mama. They are comfortable together in the same room, but I never see them sleeping together. Mazie gives them a friendly lick once in awhile, but they've grown up and are all independent.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

The Leveson's showed up right on time. They're very nice folks. I was really impressed that they drove for over three hours EACH WAY, just to meet Chester. Not only did they drive a long way, but they did so many other things for him that I would be an idiot to deny their application. Read more about then in yesterday's post.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly is still waiting for her forever home.

They had a good visit and Chester was as friendly as ever. They were also smitten with Polly, Mazie and MacGruber. They wished they could adopt them all. We all knew it couldn't happen, but it told me that the cats showed well and that was definitely a bonus for me. I asked them to spread the word and let their friends know about the cats. They took some photos of them. It reminded me of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer when he visits the Island of Misfit Toys and promises to come back for them and find them good homes. Ah, if only I could get everyone a good home-as good as the one Chester might go to!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Freakishly tiny Polly? Heck no! It's just the camera angle.

As Chester visited with the Levenson's, I kept letting them know they weren't under any obligation, but clearly they didn't need an out. After an hour, they made their decision. They wanted to adopt Chester. Who wouldn't?

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie STILL has NO applications on her. She's a doll. I wish we could find a family for her, too.

The whole process was very simple and straightforward. We signed the papers and went over the details. They put a soft pillow, toys and some catnip into their cat carrier and Chester was first in line, trying to get inside it. Mazie and Polly came over to the carrier to say goodbye. I gave Chester a quick pet and wished him good luck. I pushed back anything I was feeling. I didn't want anyone to get upset (well, other than me).

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

I congratulated them on their new family member as I walked them to the door. My heart was heavy and my eyes bright with tears. It's time for Chester to move on, I kept reminding myself, and have his new adventures with his new family.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Chester with his new family, who were a bit camera shy.

I hope he'll learn to get along with the two Italian Greyhounds and two kitties in his home. I hope he won't be sad and miss his Mother and sisters too much. In time he'll forget us and what was new will be familiar and one day, it will really feel like home.

He made it. He survived that terrible upper respiratory infection. He got a home. At last. Hurrah!

Goodbye Chester! Have a WONDERFUL LIFE!

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

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

©2010 Maria Sandoval.

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

©2010 Maria Sandoval.

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

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

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

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Thank you to everyone who donated to help cover Mazie's enormous Vet bill. Without days of supportive care, Mazie's infection would surely have prematurely ended her life. It means so much to me that so many people cared and wanted to be part of this success story.

While Mazie recovered, we had to make the difficult choice to move Mazie's kittens; Chester, Polly and Cara, to another home to protect them from catching whatever Mazie had contracted. They got to live in a very nice room, full of toys and sunny windows to look out of and their foster mom slept, well tried to sleep, with them every night.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie stretches. She's feelin' fine now.

I heard that Polly suffered from some “gas” her first night at the new foster's home. Apparently Polly was sleeping on her foster Mom's face. Nasal proximity is a beeeyatch! Hee hee! Other than that, the kitties did well and little Cara, who who's still recovering from having strictures only threw up once, so that was good news.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara is stil tiny, maybe a bit slow, but always interested in feather toys.

A week passed in foster care. Last night, I brought them home. Though Mazie had been lonely and was crying for a better part of her time away from her babies, when she saw the kittens, she barely bothered to give them a sniff. The kittens went right back to their old habits of climbing everything in sight. They ate well, but were strangely quiet.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Should I state the obvious? My goodness, Chester is HUGE! He's bigger than his mama!

Mazie is healthy enough to be adopted. Sadly, since she's been on Petfinder for MONTHS, I have not gotten a SINGLE application wishing to adopt her. No one wants adults, it seems and to make the effort to come to my home, when there are so many adult cats at shelters, seems like asking a lot. I think Mazie is worth it. She's a very sweet, chatty, cat, but this time of year there's a lot of competition. I'm trying not to feel hopeless that she will never get a good home. I know there's one out there. I just hope they find her soon!

Meanwhile, Polly is FINALLY getting SPAYED today! The horny little Princess is healthy enough to have the surgery done. We're one step closer to her being ready to find her home. At this rate it will be six more months before she gets adopted. I've never had foster cats for so LONG! I love them dearly, but really...time to move on, folks! Gotta make room for more.

©2010 Maria Sandoval and ©2011 Robin AF Olson.

Polly has come a long way since we rescued her last October. She was sickly and we were very fearful that she was going to die. Fortunately, Polly is plucky and had two great foster moms looking after her. Although Polly STILL has sneezing and watery eyes, overall she's doing well and has grown a lot. She loves to play and get into trouble with her brother, Chester and if you dare to lay down near her, she's the first one on your lap, chest or head. Her purr is very loud, so don't try to sleep next to her.

Seeing her all these months later, reminds me that this is the day I was hoping would come-when I could look at Polly and know she's going to be okay. The worst of what ails her is over for now. With any luck, only better days are ahead of her.

Mazie went from having a strangely, rather shockingly elevated white blood count (53,000-when high normal is 19,000) and a high fever (105+°F) last week, to a NASTY upper respiratory infection. Her WBC went down to almost normal after hospitalizing her and giving her IV antibiotics. Her temperature went back down as of a few days ago, but she came home with the sniffle and each day Mazie seems more seriously afflicted.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie, mid-sneeze.

Mazie IS eating, though much quieter than usual. She's found a place on the corner of the bed where the angle of the wall creates a comfy, almost hiding place. I put some towels and a pillow there for her. She's been taking it easy for a day.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Runny eyes and a spot of ringworm that's healing. Sweet...NOT!

I called the Vet and was given a message to get the kittens OUT of the room. That incubation is 7-10 days and that they should be in another room for that period of time. The problem is: I HAVE NO ROOM to put them into and we still don't have any foster homes.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie has to constantly lick her face because her nose runs.

I begged a favor from a good friend. She's going to take Cara and Chester and maybe Polly, tonight. I hate to separate the cats, but it must be done. I think Polly could stay behind because she sneezes all the time and has watery eyes, but is really not in bad shape at all. I wonder if what Mazie has is something else, entirely and if so, then Polly should go, too. Mazie will have a quiet week, but I'll make sure to spend time with her. My biggest fear is transmitting what Mazie has to my other cats, especially BOB DOLE.

Bob could die from a cold. I've been furiously washing hands, not touching Mazie, changing clothes. I don't know if it will be enough. I just heard Nora, one of our other cats, sneezing. I am very worried.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. My how Cara has grown, yet she is still tiny compared to her siblings.

Little Miss Cara is STILL tiny. One of the cats vomited, but I don't know if it was her. Having her live away for a week will help me find out if she's still getting sick. I see her do her "I feel queasy" mouthing where she licks at her mouth and twists her head a bit. Her appetite is good and she's bright and fairly playful. I think she's very close to being considered ready to be adopted-after she gets spayed, of course.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly. Our little girl has grown up.

Polly needs to see the Eye Specialist. I'll have to do a fundraiser for that. Her left eye is still cloudy. She may have some blindness from being sick, so young. She's grown into a beautiful young lady. Even with all that she's suffered, she's very sweet and LOVES to escape from the foster room, run down the stairs with her tail held high and visit the other cats. If she wasn't rapid-fire sneezing so often, I wouldn't mind her being out, but she can't go near my cats until she is all better-IF she ever gets better!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. That's “Mr. Handsom” to you!

Then there's the most Handsome Young Cat in the world-Chester Cheesetoes. He still has a runny eye, but it's very subtle. All the cats are getting a big dose of Lysine to help boost their immune system. Other than his eye, Chester is awesome. He loves to get onto a high perch and watch things going on, below OR run after the laser pointer like a crazy-cat. He is so soft and sweet and stunning. He's grown into a very big boy.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly and Chester boldy go where I don't like them to go!

The cats have been here too long. Kitten Season is in full swing and I haven't saved one Mama or kitten. It's driving me crazy. I must get these cats well and adopted. I'm also so attached to each one of them, that it will be very hard to say goodbye-much harder than usual. The only comfort I can take in all of this is to remind myself that I've felt this way before and over time the pain softens. Over more time, I get to a place where I need a minute to remember their name. That's when I know it's okay to let them go. I have to make room for more. So many need help. Whether or not I cry about the ones I have makes no difference. I need to do this. I need to rescue more cats.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Who loves Cara? Who doesn't?

But more than anything else...I NEED THESE CATS TO GET BETTER!

The Vet bill for Mazie came in a just over $700.00. It's a heartbreaking amount of money for us to come up with and thankfully, many of you have used our ChipIn to help out. We still need about $200.00 to get to our total, so if you can offer a dollar or two, we appreciate it VERY much! Thank you for helping Mazie!

(You can use the ChipIn for Maze on the right sidebar if you wish to donate. Your donation IS tax deductible.)

WARNING: GRAPHIC PICTURES OF CAT VOMIT IN THIS POST. YECCH!

Mama-Mazie, our foster cat, is a sweet girl. Just barely older than her own kittens, Chester, Cara and Polly, she's been waiting for her forever family to find her for months. No one has asked after her. No one wants to adopt her. I couldn't understand why because she's a VERY sweet cat and loves to “talk” to me. Her eyes are sparkling green and full of life-that is until yesterday afternoon.

I'm still struggling with constant headaches after a car accident I was in last year. Yesterday I had to have Trigger Point Injections followed by Physical Therapy. Basically TPI means, stick LOTS of needles into your muscle to “tenderize” the meat (muscle). It's not so bad until they find a knot in the muscle. That feels like a hornet sting. The Doctor did A shots into my upper back and into my NECK. Unhappy camper, was I.

I raced home to attend an online web presentation about Public Relations for shelters. I sat down for about 5 minutes, then realized I needed to feed the foster cats. I got their food ready and ran upstairs. The second I walked in the door something was wrong. Mazie was resting on top of a pillow. She looked uncomfortable. I went over to her and petted her. Tried to lift her down to the floor to see if she could walk. She CRIED when I touched her.

The kittens were clamoring to be fed, so I got them fed, but Mazie didn't want to eat. Bad sign. She is ALWAYS ready to eat. She was also unusually quiet. It's not the end of the world if a cat misses a meal. I ran down stairs to take part in the presentation. Meanwhile I started to fret about Mazie...I had a flashback that she had very loose stool on Sunday. Was she brewing a virus?

I couldn't concentrate on the talk so I ran back upstairs. That's when I saw it.

The wall, the bed, the cat tree, the floor was covered in vomit. It looked like a crime scene. My first fear was that it was CARA, but I had no way to know who did it. Mazie had moved to the floor and was laying on a cat bed, looking miserable. She started to lick her mouth, got up and went to a corner of the room and vomited. It wasn't much. Looked like the stomach contents after everything else had already come out.

I started to get really upset. I called Connie. Thankfully, she was on her way home from work and said she could stop by. I went back to Mazie. I petted her again, this time trying to feel for injury, but she didn't want to be touched. She hissed and cried. She was in a lot of pain.

I thought about the morning. Mazie and the gang were playing in my bedroom. She did see Nora and hissed at her, but that wouldn't make her get so sick. She ran around the room chasing the laser pointer light. Maybe she twisted a leg, pulled a muscle? No...she could walk, but it was very slowly. She kept trying to get away from me, searching the room for a place to hide.

I called the Vet. They were about to close. Now I faced taking Mazie to the ER Vet when we just don't have the funds to cover that sort of visit. Connie got to my house in record time. I was so glad to see her. We spoke about whether or not to take her to the ER. We knew they would charge a lot more for the same tests that Dr Larry would run, but if Mazie could get through the night it would be better on all of us.

I really felt like I was getting kicked when I'm down. I've always found a way to come up with whatever I need for the cats, but now I found myself just shaking my head. I had to chose to keep Mazie home. We'd have to make it to the morning. Maybe she'd even feel better by then?

I checked on Mazie every hour until midnight. She refused to eat or drink. She did pee and poop (though that was not completely normal). She did not seem to be in pain in the litter pan, so that was good. So what WAS wrong with her?

I tried to leave Mazie alone other than the quick check on her. I put my pajamas on and hoped I wouldn't have to do a middle-of-the-night drive to the ER. I couldn't clean up the linens from her vomit without moving her off the bed. It was only on the end of the bed, so I carefully set a place for myself to half lay down next to Mazie and not be in puke. Was that fun? No.

With my bad neck and back it was not good. Polly came over and laid on my shoulder, then moved to next to my face. She purred and looked at me, seemingly delighted that I finally was going to sleep with them one night. Mazie was still. Her breathing was shallow, but not too rapid. She was not open mouth breathing. Just laying there.

At 2 AM Mazie used the pan again. After that I was so tired, I dragged myself to bed. Set the alarm for 7am and fell into a nightmareish sleep.

This morning Mazie refused to eat. She was no better and no worse. I packed her up and took her to the Vet. She cried at the Vet's office. I told her it would be ok and that I would be back for her. They're going to give her fluids and do some bloodwork, probably a few x-rays, too. Hopefully I'll have some idea of what happened, fairly soon.

UPDATE: As I was writing this, Dr Larry called me. Mazie's white blood count is 53,000! High normal is 19,000. Her x-rays were clear. They can't get a cath into her-she is in too much pain and is resisting. They gave her sub-q fluids and injectable antibiotics. If she doesn't perk up, she will have to be transferred to an ER Hospital. They are repeating her FIV/FELV test-just in case. We do not know the cause for Mazie's infection.

Mazie was so bright and sunny barely 24 hours ago. Now the light has gone out of her eyes and she's in terrible pain.

If you'd like to help Mazie get the Vet Care she needs, please use the ChipIn widget below. Your donation IS tax deductible. Thank you for helping her. I am going to set the goal total high enough to cover a day at the ER Vet if it comes to that. I'll lower it if she stablizes later today. Remember, every dollar helps!!

Please be okay, Mazie. We're rooting for you.

It's been a long week of Vet trips. I think Cara's getting used to being in the car, as long as I don't go faster than 70 mph. The faster I drive, the more distressed she gets, so I try to go easy, though if any of you have driven I-95 through southern Fairfield County you'll know the motto is: “I survived 95.”

I find that the longer I have cats and the more often I go to the Vet, I find myself questioning their choices and pushing back on the test or medications they prescribe. I know these cats medical history better than the Vet. They have many other patients to tend to. I can't expect them to remember everything. I find, too, that it's a good idea to make the most informed decision you can. Sure, I'm not perfect, but I can tell you if I had gone along with some recommendations to feed Cara dry food, that she'd be dead by now or at least in very serious shape.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara, chillin.'

I found myself doing that, again, regarding giving Cara antibiotics even though I knew she had an infection of some sort. I wanted more answers before giving her ANYTHING. Two Vets said, Convenia. Well, I've heard too many bad things about it and even if all if it was false, the fact that it's injectable and lasts for two weeks, means you can't STOP giving it if she has a bad reaction to it. Also, she's been on almost EVERY antibiotic there IS and I do NOT want to give her more unless her life is at stake.

So I compromised. Two days in a row of a single shot that lasted one day. It may have been enough to get Cara over the edge. We repeated her blood work and the white blood cell count was back to normal, but her Eosinophils were quite high-indicating either infection or allergic reaction to something.

Again, you must remember that blood work is a snapshot, not the full picture. Often times you have to repeat blood work to make certain there's a problem. I know we'll have to repeat Cara's again at some point.

Cara vomited a few more times. Once at the Vet (good timing so they could witness what was going on) and once a day after that for two more days. I knew Cara was facing something major-another endoscopy or exploratory surgery. Surely this darn cat was going to bankrupt all of us!

I was slated to meet Dr. K in Norwalk, abut an hour drive from here, Friday morning. I knew I was going to have a rough time with the drive because I HAD to get up at 4AM to watch The Royal Wedding. I'm not a nut about weddings, per se, but I did it because it's part of history and I like to be part of things, even if I'm in my PJ's eating scones and watching it on TV. I also did it because my Mother and I watched Charles and Diana get married and it was a nice memory to have, now that my Mother has long since passed away.

I saw the monumental “Kiss,” then ran out the door before the shocking second kiss occurred. No sooner than I got in the car, I realized I was really tired. The last thing you want to do is drive I-95 when you're sleepy, but that's what I did. I decided I'd take it slow, just stay in the right lane-be mellow.

Once I got on the highway, it was clear, you can't be on 95 and be mellow. That doesn't work. You're either stuck behind a diesel belching dump truck doing 45 mph or you get tailgated going 80 mph. Even the middle lane was full of nutty drivers, so I sucked it up and got in the left lane. Better to get it over with.

At one point I decided I HAD to wake up so I slapped myself! HARD! I've never done that before and I must say it did help my face sting. but I felt like I was going to shut my eyes and go to sleep, anyway. I opened the window and let the fresh air slap me, but Cara didn't like the extra noise, so I shut the window.

I got to VCA VREC right on time-alive, so that was good. I didn't have to wait long for the appointment. Out came Dr. K. She's awesome, but very speedy. She just cuts to the chase and goes over what she feels needs to be done, talking 100 words a second. Fortunately, I was able to keep up with her or in my sleepy-mind I fooled myself into believing that was the case. She decided she wanted to take a quick look at Cara using their ultrasound machine-even though we just had it done by another Vet at a different hospital. Before I could start my mental adding machine, she said she was just going to take a peek-don't worry about any charge.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara was VERY popular with the ladies at the front desk.

This is when I was sure I was sleeping, because I must have been dreaming. Dr. K whisked Cara away and I went back to the waiting room and got a “free” cup of tea, hoping it would revive me. Everyone in the waiting room had a dog-purebred. I was definitely in the wrong place. I ended up impressing a woman by identifying her dog—a schipperke. The lady next to her challenged me to guess her dog's breed. Without missing a beat, I said; Clumber Spaniel. She was surprised I knew it and said most people got it wrong. I told her I watch Westminster Kennel Club dog show every year, which I do, but I didn't tell her I knew it was a Clumber because I really don't like that breed at all.

Another lady brought in a Scottie. He was carried in the door, wrapped in a towel. They rushed the dog into the back where the Vets do their secret things. The woman had been crying. The other dog owners were telling her they knew what she was going through and they were so sorry. I didn't want to know what was going on. I'd rushed my own cat, Stanley, there many years ago and he came home with me, in a cardboard box. It was too late for them to help him, too.

Dr. K came out of the exam room and motioned for me to join her. She said that (BIG SIGH HERE), there was no need to do endoscopy on Cara, nor did she feel there was a need to do exploratory surgery-just yet. She repeated the x-rays we just did two days ago and DID see evidence of a small amount of corn-based cat litter in her intestines. She didn't see anything else that was alarming, but did feel Cara could still have some sort of parasitic infection or allergic reaction to her food.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. They let her answer the phones, but she wasn't good about writing down messages.

Oh no...her food. Here we go again. She better not tell me to feed Cara dry food. Thankfully, she only asked me to feed a unique protein in a canned food and she had to write a prescription for me to get IVD Duck & Peas formula. I asked if it had grain. She assured me it did not. I grumbled about the food, but told her I would get some. She told me to de-worm Cara for three more days using Panacur and she also gave Cara an emedic to keep her from vomiting for a day or so. Other than that, we'd just wait and see.

Of course, if Cara DOES continue to vomit, we're looking at endoscopy AND possibly surgery. I wasn't going to start worrying about that. I wanted to focus on getting Cara better.

It's been two days since we saw Dr. K and Cara has been keeping her food down. Last night her energy level was jaw-dropping. She could almost fly on her own she can jump so high. This morning there was a mishap, a step back. I discovered one of the cats had broken the light bulb in the lamp in their room. Broken bits of glass were all over the floor. The cats were right in the area with the broken glass. I acted quickly to get them out of the room, but the next thing I envisioned was yet another trip to the Vet. What fun would it be...four cats with glass in their paws?

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara doesn't like “Love Triangle,” but I can't help watching it.

That Vet bill is not math I care to do. The cats seem fine, but Cara got so badly frightened by the vacuum cleaner, even though it was quite far away from her and she couldn't even see it. She started to viciously hiss at me, then ran and hid. She's never ever been even the slightest bit nasty with me or her siblings. She's doing better now, but I think we all need a nice quiet evening with NO MORE VET TRIPS and perhaps a restful nap.

Yes, a nap. I could go for that, just not a dirt-nap.