Taz & Summer update!

As you know, Taz & Summer were not tame enough to adopt out, so a good friend of mine with plenty of land agreed to take them and feed them for life. She rarely saw them but enjoyed peeking at them through the window when they showed up to eat. After a few weeks of not seeing them I paid a visit to her neighbors, who happen to have horses and a barn. I asked them if they had any cats. They told me a grey & white kitty and a calico now live with them! They are fed twice a day and have a barn, straw, and several out-buildings to live in. I didn't see them myself but I heard them hiss at me and scamper away. Kelly said her husband jokes that they are the only ones in the family earning their keep. Apparently they are much better mousers than I would have guessed!

My friend is distressed that her pals have left her, but I had no choice but to tell her they were gone for good. Our little beasts have found a safe, warm, barn of their own and I expect they will live happily ever after. We'll help them with bags of food and so on, but they have a great place to live!!

Hobo Jo

I picked up Hobo Jo at a campground dumpster last week. Just one of many who are abandoned, dumped, and left to fend for themselves. She's a few years old and not happy to be in a cage. I can't stand seeing her so miserable so I won't keep her long. She will be well fed at the campground, though unloved. She'll be microchipped in case anyone makes the mistake of taking her to a kill-shelter. She is a sweet lap cat and I hope someone reads this in time to give her a home!!

My little herd

Silence turns to chatter and scampering as they realize "Mommy" has come home. They rush to great me and I can barely get through the door past them. If I want to accomplish anything I occupy them with some wet food until I'm settled and ready for them to be all over me. It's usually Kung Fu on my left and Little Prince and Thibby on my face. I clearly don't have enough hands for this.



Special Sid is the only one who isn't too pesky to sleep with. He lies next to me with one paw on my arm. One by one they will be adopted into homes that will give them all the attention they want. But today, they are mine :).

TNR in progress

For those of you generous enough to help the ones you'll never know, who will never thank you..........and who are named only by me, here are some photos of recently trapped cats!




More are soon to follow! There are a bunch I have recently found. A mother tortie and her black herd, a huge grey cat who is no doubt pregnant, and the others who I haven't even seen yet. Unfortunately there are already 2 that are friendly and I have no place to put them. So few people see the value in an adult cat that we can't take in more. We've had some awesome cats for over 16 months now! At this time all we can do is give them vet care, and provide food and shelter.

Then there's Anabelle. She's a black kitty no more than 6 months old. But she has already given birth. I don't know where the kittens are. She crosses two busy roads several times a day to get to the pizza joint where she is given turkey & pepperoni. She has almost been killed by cars on multiple occasions, from what others tell me. I've seen it myself. Do I take her now, and sacrifice the 2-week old kittens? Or do I leave her alone for the next few weeks and hope she doesn't get plastered on the road in which case her infants would die anyhow? Do I save the one and sacrifice the others, or do I risk losing them all?

Sponsor a shelter!

It never ceases to amaze me at how the cats instinctively gravitate to their shelters. Sometimes, as soon as they are finished and in place, I will see them venturing in. At other times, I have had them sit and watch while I measured and installed the shelters. Even when I find a little nook, barely big enough for one cat and manage to create a shelter, I find cat hair, leaves, etc. I have come to understand the value the cats place on their shelters. It has been a remarkable experience for me to observe their little faces, sleepy eyes and dry coats, as they come out and stretch and go to their food. On those cold and stormy nights, when I am cozy in my bed, I can feel good, knowing I have done my very best to provide them with a loving place to rest their little heads.


Sponsor a shelter for $40! Sponsor a homeless feral today!

Money

(photo by Lise McComiskey)
Yesterday I met a teenager who wanted to collect horse figurines. Her mother told her maybe she'd change her mind and give her money to animal rescue instead.

About a year ago I stopped by an estate sale. As I walked around a house overflowing with "stuff" I had an appalling thought: What if this was me someday?

I realized that we work to have money to buy things, which leads to us needing to care for them, dust them, move them, insure them, and worry about them. Then we end up selling them for far less than we paid, and downsizing to a condo.

What is the best use of YOUR money? Is is a Lladro collection? Is it more "stuff" for the china cabinet or mantle? Is it clothes that will be out of style before next season? Instead of any of that, how about sponsoring a feral shelter for a homeless cat? Give someone a meaningful gift, something that won't break, won't grow out of style, won't clutter up the house.

"I shall pass this way but once,any good,therefore,that i can do or any kindness that I can show, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." -Unknown