Foster Cat Journal

Okay, now what do I do? Huggy is home and happy and her boys are locked up in the dog crate, climbing up the sides of the cage, trying to get out. They cry, look at me with those little sad faces that beg to know why I'm being so mean to them!

So I left the room. I couldn't be in it. I wanted to hang out with Huggy and let her rest on my lap. I decided to just let her rest on her own. I came back hours later with her next round of meds. I got her to take everything by hiding them in tiny portion of "kitty crack" (e.g., Solid Gold canned tuna). I scooped the rest out onto two plates; one for her and one for the kittens to share. I lifted her carefully and unlocked the crate, letting the kittens free and locking her safely inside with her dinner. She looked up at me with those big, knowing, green eyes and went back to her food. She'd eat because the food was so tasty, but was resigned to being locked up yet again.

Dash and Snuggles raced around the room, finally free after a day in captivity. They attacked their food dish with great enthusiasm now that they can no longer get snacks from Huggy's sore mammary glands. They'll be free until the morning. Then I switch them back into the crate.

There's no winning here. Someone has to be locked up. It's either that or I have to put some of them into the bathroom and leave the other/s behind in the guest room. Then they'll each get even less time with me because I'll have to bounce between rooms and the bathroom isn't exactly full of soft, comfortable places to sit, if you get my drift.

It's only for a week...well, a week until Huggy's re-check at the Vet. Then she'll let me know if it's all right for Huggy to be reunited with her kittens and I can go back to feeling guilty about something else.

Poor Huggy. Poor Dash & Snuggles. Poor me. Boo-hoo. I know. Get over it. It's a week. Sheesh.

You tell them, that.

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

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

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

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

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

Huggy Mama and her boys arrived barely two weeks ago. Over that time there have been quite a few medical issues that came up. Of course, you all know that the Huggy Bunch never was treated for fleas or ear mites before traveling to Connecticut (that was a mistake, I assure you). Sadly, Huggy had to endure a nasty ear mite infection and she and Snuggles had flea dirt on them.

Huggy's incision from her spay surgery wasn't looking great. Perhaps she picked at the sutures or she was too active, too soon after the operation. She was put on a course of Baytril and I kept an eye on it.

Huggy was really good about being pilled and very clever about spitting them out when I wasn't paying attention. I caught on to her tricks quickly and made sure she got a treat after every pill. That way I knew she swallowed her medicine.

The kittens kept nursing, which I strongly discouraged. They're well weaned and Huggy needed some rest. I don't often have a Mama and kittens for this long. By the time the kittens are weaned, the Mama is usually gone-adopted or released if she's feral. I have little experience with Mamas, especially post-spay.

The past few days, Huggy's really blossomed. The once quiet and reserved Mama, decided she wanted to play along with the kittens. She'd burble and squawk, the merrrow at the toys. She jumped and ran, plopped into my lap, made muffins and purred. She seemed very happy.

Yesterday, since the boys were off getting neutered (or so we thought since they didn't have the surgery when the Vet realized their little nuggets hadn't descended yet), I decided to give Huggy a treat. I carried her into my bedroom where she could get more space to run and we could snuggle in bed together for a few hours. Huggy wasn't scared at all. She didn't hide even though she smelled the scent of all the other cats in the house, I'm sure. She was curious, that's it.

She REALLY got goofy. Running and jumping around. She hopped up on the bed and sat on my lap, purring loudly. She stretched out, laid her head on my face and relaxed. What a love!

While I was petting her, I noticed one of her mammary glands was swollen. I thought it was full of milk since the kittens were not home to feed. It felt hot, but I thought that might be just because her belly is shaved and she's a mom. What do I know? Last night she ate and seemed fine. I gave her her almost last dose of Baytril and went to bed.

I've been in charge of putting together an Adoption Event that happened today. Last night I was really tired. Of course, I got my period that morning, had awful cramps from Hell and wanted to just stay in bed. Instead I dealt with my intern and getting things ready for the adoption event. My head was spinning from all the last minute details. I asked Sam to feed Huggy and Angel and our cats so I could go pick the kittens up from the Vet.

When I got up this morning, I felt bad for not spending much time with Angel, so I fed her and sat with her awhile, figuring Sam would care for Huggy. I left awhile later and made a mad dash to the Vet to get the kittens, then go home, pick up the Mamas and turn around and head off to the Adoption Event with all six cats.

I brought Dash and Snuggles in to see their Mama. I opened the door and I knew something was wrong. Huggy was laying in bed and would not get up. Huggy ALWAYS meets me at the door with a cute little meow-hello. She would not even look at me when I entered the room. I went over to her and she looked up at me. I touched her belly and recoiled.

Her mammary glands were HUGE, HOT, and HARD. It seemed as though someone inserted a hard edged tray under her skin. It was WRONG. VERY WRONG. Huggy did not want to get up. I called out to Sam and asked him if she ate that morning and he said, NO. That she hadn't even gotten up.

SHIT!

I made a few calls, fast. I talked to Super Deb and she said to get Huggy to the Vet ASAP. They didn't have any open appointments, so I was on my own. No problem. Huggy was going to the Vet no matter what it took.

Fortunately we were able to get her in to see Mill Plain Vets, Bless You! I had 15 minutes before I had to leave. Sam volunteered to take Huggy to the Vet so I could get to the Adoption Event. It was the LAST PLACE I wanted to go, but I have a strong sense of duty-and the cats needed to be there. I sent Sam off, gingerly putting Huggy into the carrier and giving her a kiss before she left. I felt like a real jerk for not catching this sooner and for not going with her to the Vet. I was sick with worry.

Huggy, moments before I gingerly lifted her into the cat carrier. She was running a fever of 104°.

Within the next hour I heard from Sam. Huggy was suffering from a fairly serious case of Mastitis. Two Vets took a look at her and have put her on an IV, given her more Baytril and Amoxicillin.

She's going to be staying at the Vet over the weekend. On Monday I expect an update. It's possible she may need surgery to remove the worse of the infected tissue. Although I didn't see any oozing, scabs or injuries, she's got a raging infection going on. She's a young cat, only 1 1/2 years old. I hope she's got a lot of fight in her and that she pulls through without any serious damage.

She's been through so much in her short life, but she's lucky she has so many people watching out for her and giving her the best care possible. She deserves all we can do and more—not only because she was rescued off Death Row at Henry County, but because she's so very special and loving. I need to see her pull through, feel great and be 100% healthy. No more fleas, ear mites, feline acne, infections...just a healthy, happy girl, ready to move on to her forever home.

It's quiet in the house. Angel and her kittens are back with Jennifer. Dash and Snuggles have been resting after their big day. I think about Huggy, probably hooked up to an IV, back in a cage. I really hate doing this to her, but there's no choice. I miss her a lot. I wish I could see her. I cross my fingers and hope that her life will be saved, yet again. It's a good thing she has a few left.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

It's been a draining few days. Seems like the dam burst on health problems for the cats...and not just mine, but foster cats and kittens and our Director's own cats. I find it tough to remind myself that it can always be so much worse. To just go with the flow, do the best I can to deal with situations and understand that in the realm of problems we could have, knock wood, this is nothing.

Or does it count that once again Dr. Larry prescribed a med that's only for dogs but that is fine to use on cats, too? Does it count that within 12 hours of Gracie getting this crap, Temaril-P she was VOMITING and there clearly was BLOOD in it? That it didn't stop for 48 hrs. Of course this has to happen over a friggen' holiday weekend, so I'm limited to waiting it out or getting her to an ER Vet for a shot of Reglan.

One bit of kibble and no pasta sauce, that's bloody vomit. Pretty, right?

Gracie's been vomiting little fur balls, bloody mucus, food. Then she'll go about 12-16 hours and be fine. She's stable right now so I'm still hoping to wait until tomorrow to get her to the Vet. She's been in good spirits, eating and bugging me-all normal.

So it's fine, except that what the you-know-what is in this stuff that made her vomit BLOOD? This poor cat has been through Hell and back. The last thing I need is to add a complication to her treatment and here we are hurting her-and who will pay for her shot, her IV that I'm guessing she may need? Who can't get a refund on meds that my cat's allergic/badly reacting to? This sucks.

Add to this, the fun with fleas, the ear mites, the chin acne that poor Huggy Bear has from being fed out of plastic bowls when she was on death row, her sutures almost blowing out...that Nicky has to be pilled daily because his colon is blocking up and it could kill him and it starts to feel crazy

Then I find out that Andie's adopter, who had good references, or so I was told, decided it wasn't working out and that Andie had to go! This is after FIVE DAYS. FIVE. This woman is a flake. She insisted on coming over to my home to beat everyone else out on adopting Andie. I made accommodations for her to make it happen. While she was here, her kids were going back and forth. They clearly liked Shamus, but the cat was for HER, not her kids. That already was weird to me. She didn't even spend much time with Andie and based her choice on looks. I should have stopped her.

Four days later I get an email saying it's not working out. That their resident cat who was semi feral didn't like Andie and was VERY upset. I asked her if she introduced the cats PROPERLY as we discussed, well, no. I never got an answer. I sent her more info on doing introductions and told her it can take a few weeks, to go slow and it would be fine. I've seen it happen so many times! The cats need a few weeks to get things worked out. So she says, I was just tired and didn't sleep much so, okay I'll give it more time. The next MORNING she sent her husband out with Andie to bring her back, not to me, but to our main adoption home. Why? Because Andie peed on a bed and pooped outside her litter pan. Because she wasn't properly restricted from the gillion animals this woman already has and the poor thing was left to fend for herself.

Andie is shaken. THIN. CRYING. Does NOT even KNOW her OWN brother, Shamus and sisters, Arabella and Sunshine. She growls and hisses at them. She won't EAT. She is pooping outside the litter pan now. What the _____ did this _____ do to this cat? I'm so FURIOUS. I SO WANT TO LET HER HAVE IT, but I can't. I'm not even sure I can say this much, but it's said. I'm really mad. Andie was perky, proud, friendly and loved her siblings. Now she's a shell of what she once was.

Sam and I saw her yesterday. For three hours we sat with her. She only wanted Sam. He made her feel safe. I got her to eat a lot of food. I saw her use the litter box correctly three times. She had a long nap on Sam's lap. So long that his legs kept falling asleep, too.

I worry about Andie's long term prognosis. We plan on visiting her again tomorrow. I wish we could just keep her here with us, but I have no place to put her where she can be around people and not end up being around lots of cats, too. It would just flip her out more.

Thankfully, four more kittens were adopted yesterday. Andie only has to share their huge room with five other cats, instead of nine. She may be able to calm down more and begin to recover. If she doesn't, we'll find a way to get her back here to help her. She's such a lovely creature and has a good heart. We will always do right by our foster cats and this is no exception. The problem now is finding the right home for her with someone who can work with her. A home that's quiet, sane, full of love and with a family who maybe only has just ONE other cat or dog. That's it.

Oh yeah, and there's MORE!

I've heard from some of the adopter's of CallaLily and some of her kittens. All are loved by their new families. Some are struggling a bit with fitting in.

Calli has been vocalizing and appears to be sad. She's in a home with another cat and that doesn't please her too much. Although they're separated, there's plenty of hissing when the door to her room is opened a tiny bit. The owner knows Calli will need a lot of extra time, both to recover from the change in her hormones and to grieve the loss of her family. I absolutely hate separating moms and babies, but I've seen my own Kitty-Mama, Gracie smack her own daughter, even hiss at her from time to time-so it's not an entirely evil thing to separate everyone. It just sucks that you can't explain it to them.

Andie and Sassafrass are also having a few hurdles dealing with the resident cats in their new home. Sass is having a great time with his new family and Andie's family is simply crazy about her. Tonight, hopefully Sunny will be adopted, leaving only Shamus and Arabella. I'm sad they haven't been adopted yet. Shamus is stunning now. His eyes will be pale blue and with his buff coat, well...gorgeous!

I miss everyone. They are quite the pretty litter of kitties (say that five times, fast!). Here are a few reasons why I love fostering and why I'm a bit sad without them here.

Cue the violin music!

Goodbye dear friends. Long and happy life to you all.

Huggy finally gets to enjoy some sunshine.

As with any new foster, it takes some time to understand the quirks or behavior problems that might need behavior modification. Yesterday, after spending HOURS cleaning up the foster room and after a quick farewell to Sunshine, Arabella and Shamus (they are being fostered by our Director now), I was finally able to release Huggy Bear and her babies into their new home. It was evident that they were relieved to be OUT of the small bathroom and well OUT of their previous confinement in a steel cage.

Huggy sniffed around the room, as did the kittens. Within a few moments she jumped onto the bed and spread out flat. She started to purr. It must have been bliss to just stretch out on something warm and soft for the first time in months.

The kittens ran across the room with great gusto. No longer confined, they were able to jump and spin out on the hardwood floors. I put out more toys, which they were eager to attack.

They all enjoyed a nice dinner and even though Snuggles is tiny-one half pound smaller than his brother, Dash, they all ate well. It was marvelous to just take some time with them to see them enjoy themselves.

Dash with his new mousey toy.

Things seemed fairly ordinary. The litter pan was being used. The cats relaxed or played. I even saw Huggy Bear, "hug" her kids, grooming them as they tried to nurse from her without much success. Then the scary thing happened. Little Snuggles was minding his own business when Huggy grabbed him and began to furiously bite at his head, she used her rear feet to "bunny kick" him! I stopped her, thinking Snuggles was going to be injured and Huggy just looked at me at went back to napping. Snuggles hadn't tried to nurse or do anything and he is so frail compared to his brother, that I worry about his safety.

Even Dash beats up Snuggles, though he will jump on Dash, too, but really! Dash is quite large!

I spoke with Dr. Larry about this and he agreed something is up. I am slow to separate them, but I need to see if she does it again. I didn't see her do it today, in fact, she went from being super mellow, to wanting to play. I think her hormones might be changing and she's not so much a mother now, as maybe her old self, a playful young adult?

Snuggles is very sweet. I wish I could get him out of that room and just carry him around with me all day, but he hasn't had his booster shot and he might faint if he saw all my huge cats looking at him like a snack. Hopefully, everything will be all right. Every time I foster, I learn something new. Please don't let me learn something that ends up being heartbreaking...I know. I worry too much.

Better go check on them!

Snuggles (left) and Dash (right). Yes, I can tell them apart. Easy? No!

It's official. Huggy Bear would rather sit on my lap and purr than do anything else. Tonight I sat on the floor with a towel on my lap. Huggy saw me, walked over, climbed in my lap and started to "Make Muffins" on my leg. She got settled down and made some more muffins, then out came a nice, sweet purr. She seemed blissfully unaware of her children who were scratching the crap out of my ankles, I mean, playing.

Looks like I need to find a home for Huggy with someone who LOVES having a lap cat because it didn't matter if I moved or even lifted her up to put a cat bed on my lap, Huggy wanted nothing else but to rest and reach out her paw to touch my hand.

Do I question whether or not I should have saved her from Death Row?

Are you f-ing kidding me? You're kidding, right? Huggy Bear is the Queen of the Lap Cats and whoever adopts her is going to be a VERY lucky person!!

I managed to get Huggy and her kittens into a carrier and up to their room. For now, they're living in my blue bathroom. Tomorrow, after my three remaining kittens from CallaLily go to our Director's home for fostering, Huggy and her bunch will be moved over to the main foster room where they can really spread out.

Huggy Bear, Dash and Snuggles bounced out of their cat carrier and immediately dove into bowls of food. They had no hesitation or fear. They were just HUNGRY! Huggy PURRED while she ate! She must have been relieved to finally not be in a moving vehicle and not be confined to a metal cage.

I was startled by the markings on the kittens. Normally I see mackerel patterns on the kitties we get here, but these guys are classic tabbies all the way, one has the telltale bullseye marking on his side and both of them have tail patterns that look like chunky dash marks-hence the name, Dash for one of them!

The boys are tough to tell apart. Dash has stronger markings and is bold with toys, but not so much with people. Snuggles is vocal and friendly. One of them does the funniest thing with his tail. When he runs, his tail goes over his back and is rigid! Looks bizarre!

I have no idea which kitty is Dash and which one is Snuggles!

There were a few glitches with the transport, in that none of the kitties got treated for fleas or de-wormed. Oops! Thankfully, my guys are clean and I hear from Jennifer, one of our CiCH members (TuckersMom) that her litter looks good, too. Right now I have my fosters in quarantine until tomorrow-just in case and until CallaLily's kittens are removed from the house. That way we can't cross contaminate any of them. So far, so good. I gave them Advantage and will de-worm them. Snuggles is way too thin, but Huggy and Dash are pretty solid.

Huggy holds her leg up mid "making-muffins."

Huggy Bear's coat is yellowed and dry and she's very mellow, but also friendly. I can tell she's been through some challenging times and she's tired. She also goes right over to anything soft in the room and starts to "make muffins" on it. She even does it to me! Oops! She'll stand on her hind legs and mooshie walk on me. Ouch! I've picked her up. She just sort of sits there. No big reaction either way. I'm sure in a few days she'll come out of her shell. For now, I'm really glad she made it to safety and she's ALIVE.

I guess we can all take a collective sigh of relief. Everyone seems to be in good condition and eating well. The kittens got to play with some toys and run around to their heart's content. It might have been their first time with a toy. Once they realized what they could do, they were both bouncing around the room joyfully.

I hear the Last Chance (Kitty) and her babies, Spyder and Pumpkin are all very friendly, eating like pigs and happy to be in their new, spacious digs. Once I have photos of them, I'll be sure to share them with all of you.

Thank you for your support and thank you again to Judith and Barb and Bobby and everyone else for all their hard work. Look what we were all abel to do together! Save 6 lives! Yay!

So, my foster kitten Ollie has a condition I call "Leaky Butt." His vet visits showed that his testicles haven't yet dropped (for a moment I wondered if he was a hermaphrodite and made a mental note to look up local sociology professors, preferably ones with an academic interest in gender, but I digress). Because his little boy bits are still in his body, they're messing up the landscape for the organs that are supposed to be there. The result: anal gland issues and an irritated bum that doesn't always clue him in when he has to poop. The leaks aren't every day, and I help keep him clean and treat him with Animax, but there is the occasional surprise poo appearance.

Last night was one such occasion. Ollie got on my bed and smelled like he'd just used the litterbox. I was only half conscious and didn't think any more of it. And then my alarm went off. I opened by eyes and saw an Ollie-sized skid mark on the pillow next to mine. Ew. I sat up to find another skid mark on the blanket. Gag. I went into the bathroom to find a skid mark on my shoulder and a Rudolph-esque poo dot on my nose. Getitoffgetitoffgetitoff!!!!! Apparently Ollie had to try out a couple of areas on my slumbering body before he decided to settle down.

After taking the kind of shower the government gives to people who are exposed to nuclear matter and doing a big ol' load of laundry, I can't help but laugh. The poor kid can't help it, and once he's neutered in 2 weeks, he shouldn't ever have the issue again.

I just can't get mad about it. Could you?