"All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle." (Saint Francis of Assisi)

I brought the black kitten home.  We were happy, and hopeful that the tiny black kitten was the last of Mama Jackson’s kittens.  He was afraid, but he allowed us to pet him.  We always keep any new cat away from others until they have been checked by the vet.  This kitten was small and afraid, but not feral.  He could be held and petted.  It was a boy and we called him “Cisco”.  His right ear was clipped, so we assumed he had been trapped, neutered and released by someone.  We guessed his age to be the same as Mikey, 2-1/2 months old.  He and Mikey (Leo) were the last litter that Mama Jackson had.

On Thursday, September 26, Charlie took Brandy to the vet to have his sutures removed.  His incision had healed well.  He had taken all of his antibiotics and his temperature was normal.  He was eating normally and playing with the other cats.  We were happy to see that he seemed to be well again.

For the weekend, we had planned to take the RV over to the local KOA campground.  We haven’t done that in awhile, but when we do, we take care of the cats as usual in the morning, go over to the RV for the day, come home in the afternoon to feed the cats and then go back to spend the night.  It just gives us some time during the day that we don’t have to constantly feel like we need to be doing something around the house.  But, with the recent kittens joining the clan, we decided to cancel the weekend RV stay.  It was a good thing we did.

On Saturday, September 28, I fed the cats on the catio as I normally did.  Brandy seemed fine.  He ate his breakfast.  Later, I was on the catio cleaning and I noticed that someone had vomited.  I didn’t know who did it. 

Later, I was out shopping when I received a message from my friend.  She had someone who was interested in giving Brandy a home!  Although it was good news, I knew it would be hard to say goodbye to Brandy.  But, it was the best thing for him. 

I was happy when I got home.  But, when I went to the catio to check on the kittens, I noticed that someone had vomited in a couple of places.  It looked just like the spot that morning.  While I was cleaning, I saw Brandy vomit.  He did not look well.

It was after 4:00 p.m., so our regular vet was closed.  We called a vet who we used to use.  They were open until 6:00 p.m.  They told us to bring Brandy in immediately.

Brandy was examined.  When his tummy was pressed, he seemed to have pain.  Then he threw up again.  The same greenish liquid.  The vet said it was bile.  There was no food in it.  An X-ray was taken to see if there was an obstruction.  Nothing showed, but the intestines had many gas pockets.  We had not noticed any diarrhea though.  Blood was drawn for a full panel test.  The results wouldn’t be back until the next day or Monday.  Brandy was a little dehydrated, but didn’t have a temperature.  He was rehydrated and given an anti-nausea injection.  He was released to us.  The vet said we should keep an eye on him and if he got worse, take him to emergency.

We brought him home, hoping he would feel better.  I fed the cats, but of course Brandy was not hungry.  I checked on him several times and he just seemed to feel worse.  He was also vomiting still.  We decided to take him to the emergency hospital.  He was such a sweet little kitten and he was so sick.  What happened to him?  There were no plants on the patio.  As soon as we got home from the vet earlier, we removed all toys from the patio, just in case.  We didn’t find anything that was chewed.  We were puzzled.

Brandy was checked into the emergency hospital at 8:30 p.m  The X-rays had been downloaded on a CD, which we brought with us.  The technician took Brandy back for the initial exam and we waited in an examination room.  Brandy was brought back to us.  We were waiting for the doctor to come in.  I was holding Brandy and he just seemed to be getting worse every minute.  He seemed cold to me.  I had him wrapped in a blanket.  He stirred a little and I had a feeling that he was just going to die while I held him.  Where was the doctor?  I told Charlie I was afraid that Brandy was dying.  He got up to find the doctor.  Brandy seemed to settle down again. 

The doctor came in and started the examination.  She had looked at the X-rays and agreed there seemed to be no blockage.  The vet who took the X-rays earlier in the afternoon thought he noticed an enlarged liver, but the emergency vet did not.  She said there was a severe gastrointestinal problem.  I guess they use that term for a tummy ache.  They wanted to put Brandy on fluids and anti-nausea meds.  This little fellow was really sick.  Even after the anti-nausea meds earlier, he had vomited a couple of times again.

Three hours later, the vet wanted to keep Brandy overnight.  He was not any better.  We asked to see him before we left.  They took us back to where he was.  We petted him.  He really did not seem to be aware of us.  He was worse than when we had last seen him.  We really hoped something could be done, but without blood work, we really didn’t have any idea what was happening to him.

At 1:30 a.m. the vet called.  Brandy’s temperature was dropping.  They wanted to do more X-rays.  We approved.  At 2:46 a.m. the vet called again.  Brandy’s blood pressure was dropping.  We approved meds to help.  We questioned whether anything done so far was helping.  The vet could not say for sure if it would.  At 3:09 a.m. the vet called.  They needed approval to keep Brandy in ICU.  We approved it.  We were really agonizing over how much more we could do.  We had signed the paper saying that if resuscitation was needed, call us first for approval. 

At 4:22 a.m. the vet called.  Brandy had stopped breathing and was in cardiac arrest.  We told them not to resuscitate at this point.  He had been through enough.  

On Monday morning we went up to the hospital and got Brandy.  We took him to the pet memorial park for cremation.  It was a trip we had made three years before with Taz.  It is always a very sad time.  Even though we had only had Brandy for a little over two weeks, we were devastated. 

Brandy Lopez Bell  3/1/13 - 9/29/13

I’ll always remember that sweet, beautiful little kitten.  He was so soft and gentle.  When he was picked up, he just curled up.  He would have been someone’s special little cat.  I just know it.  It seemed unreal that he was gone.

More later.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

A cat has absolute emotional honesty: human beings, for one reason or another, may hide their feelings, but a cat does not. --Ernest Hemingway

Early this morning I was sitting at my computer.  I had the TV on, but every now and then, I became aware of a cat meowing.  I muted the TV and listened, but didn’t hear the cat.  Then when the TV was on again, I heard the meowing.  I went downstairs to check on our cats.  No one was stirring so maybe the sound was coming from outside.  We do have a stray cat, Mr. Smith, who has been coming into our yard for several months now.  We plan on catching, neutering and releasing him when we can.  He doesn’t run away as quickly as he did when he first started coming around, but he is still skittish.  Ironic that we are helping other people trap and rescue cats from their yards, but we still haven’t caught our own stray!

Mr. Smith at his favorite spot...the birdbath

Anyway, I still could hear the meowing.  I started checking around the room.  I opened the door to the closet and Kaci ran out.  She had been in there all night and was telling me about it.  I apologized profusely to her, but she ignored me and ran downstairs. 

Kaci

A little while later, Charlie came in and told me that Kaci had thrown up again...on the bed.  Apparently she had gobbled down some dry food which immediately came back up when she got on the bed with Charlie.  I told him about the closet caper and he was relieved.  We have had to take Kaci to the vet recently because she has been vomiting frequently.  The vet couldn’t find any obvious reason, other than maybe a hairball that wouldn’t come up.  She gave us anti-nausea meds for her and I was also giving her some Petramalt for hairballs.  The vomiting became less frequent. 

Now back to the kitten rescue:

On Friday night, September 20, I received a text from my friend.  She had caught the “remaining” kitten!  Earlier that day we had taken the crate down and put it away.  We only used it with each kitten when they were first caught so we could separate them from the others before they were checked out at the vet’s.  Of course, as soon as the crate was put away, another kitten would be trapped. 

Big crate holds litter box, bed and food/water

I went over to get this latest one.  We were sure he must be the dad and we had been hoping to get dad at some point to be neutered and released.  This one was also solid black.  It seemed to be as afraid as Mama Jackson was when she was trapped, so we assumed it was feral too.  But, when I got it home and was able to see it in the light, it wasn’t that big.  In fact, it was about the same size as Indy and Annie.

It looked ferocious with its ears laid back.  It growled and hissed and unlike the others, it slapped at me.  We planned to release it after it was spayed/neutered.  We called it “Bandit”and it was set to go to the vet on September 23.

Bandit was neutered and since we planned on releasing him, he had a rabies shot only.  He still wouldn’t let me pet him and the vet said he was only about four months old.  That meant he was part of the same litter as Jackson, Indy and Annie.

When we got him back home, we wanted to make sure he was feral before releasing him.  He actually was friendlier than we thought.  He seemed to like Charlie more than me and allowed himself to be petted.  There was hope that he could be someone’s pet some day.  We decided to keep him a few days to see if he made progress.

Since Simba and Brandy were older, we came to the conclusion that Mama Jackson actually had three different litters.  Brandy and Simba in the first; Jackson, Cali, Annie, Indy and Bandit in the second; and Mikey, the youngest, in the third.  She would not be having any more litters though.

The litters were about two months apart, which meant that mama Jackson had barely given birth to a litter before she was pregnant again!  Gestation is only about 62 days.

When we caught Mama Jackson the first time on August 6 and had her spayed, Mikey, the youngest, was only about four weeks old.  The second time she was caught with Mikey.  Even though she was spayed, she was nursing him.  I’m not sure she still had milk though.  But, it’s good that when we had her spayed we released right away, the next day.  She was able to go back and care for Mikey.  He probably had not yet been fully weaned and needed her then.

Would we ever get all of Mama Jackson’s kittens before they went feral?  And how many were there?  My friend said there was still a tiny black kitten that she had seen before with Mama Jackson.  They were very elusive because she had not seen Mikey, an orange tabby, until he was trapped.

On Wednesday, September 25 I received a call.  The tiny black kitten was caught!  I went over to get it.  It was at night, but we could see that it was indeed tiny, about the same size as Mikey.  As we put the trapped kitten in my car, in the light of the streetlight, I saw a cat across the street, sitting and watching.  It was Mama Jackson.  She knew we were taking her last kitten.  One by one, she had brought her kittens up to my friend’s house, it seemed, for help.  Maybe that’s putting too much of a human emotion spin to it, but it sure seemed that way. 

Mama Jackson, like other feral, unspayed cats, had three litters of kittens in secession.  She had to nurse, wean, provide food, and protect them.  It is quite a job!  Now that Mama Jackson was spayed, her job was over.  As she said goodbye to her last baby, she only had herself to care for.  My friend would still feed her when she showed up.  If we ever caught the daddy cat, we would have him neutered and released back.  It would be better for him too because he would not wander far afield, looking for female cats in heat. 

The lifespan of outside cats is not as long as indoor only cats, obviously because they don’t get good food and are not protected against diseases or injuries.  But, even those cats are more healthy if they are neutered and spayed.  The males don’t have the competition of other male cats.  Females aren’t having litter after litter of kittens that sometimes become mothers themselves at only four to six months old.  And so many just don’t survive anyway. 

Brandy was still taking his antibiotics and I think he was feeling better.  He was playing with the other kittens and Buffy on the patio.

Charlie and I didn’t consciously decide that we would be so involved in rescuing cats.  We started out with one cat, then two, then three cats of our own.  It was that way until 2000.  Then  our three cats expanded to seven cats when Jezibel came to us and had her nine kittens.  We kept her and three of the kittens.  The rest is history.

More later.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

There are Tabbies and Tortoiseshell, Black Cats and White, All happy and purring from morning till night, And though they do mischief sometimes, which is wrong, They're so pretty, you cannot be cross with them long.--Nursery Rhyme

On Wednesday, September 11, my friend called and said she had trapped the “last” kitten.  He looked like Simba.  At first I thought he was bigger and may not have been from that same litter.  But, when I got him into a crate, he was the same size as Simba.  Like the others we had caught, he hissed and growled, but we were able to pet and hold him.  Amazing.  We called him “Brandy”. 

Brandy, you're a fine boy!

Brandy was a very sweet cat.  He was very much like his brother, Simba.  When you picked him up, he just curled up and went limp.  He purred and loved to be petted.  He was very special. But,  he was not the “last” kitten, after all.

On September 14 my friend trapped a mama cat and her orange tabby kitten.  The mama was a tortie like “Mama Jackson”.  But, Mama Jackson had been spayed and her right ear tip was clipped.  We thought this cat might possibly be Mama Jackson’s sister.  My friend had seen this small, orange tabby kitten, and also a small black kitten with this cat before.  The kitten was possibly 2-1/2 months old.  The mama cat’s ear didn’t seem to be clipped, but it was at night when she was trapped so we couldn't see that well.  The kitten was definitely her kitten though.  She was very protective of him and he was comfort-nursing.  We kept them together in the crate for the night.

Mama Jackson with her baby, Mikey (Leo)

The next morning I checked on the mama and kitten.  In the daylight I thought I saw a clipped ear on mama.  Yes, her right ear tip was clipped.  This was “Mama Jackson”, not a new cat!  I was somewhat relieved.

We separated Mama Jackson from her baby.  He was very afraid, but did not bite or scratch.  We called him “Mikey”.  We put “Mama Jackson” in a kennel.  She watched as we took Mikey from the crate and settled him in a bed in a 4x4 kennel.   She did not seem to be distressed that we had her kitten.  We took her to my friend's house to release outside again.  Like the first time we released her, she ran from the kennel and was gone.

My friend told me that she knew there was another black kitten to be caught: Mikey’s brother.  He had to be that real “last” kitten!  But, just how many more "last" kittens could there be?  Mama Jackson was spayed and she could not have more.  Mikey and the elusive black kitten just had to be her last litter out of three that we knew of.

On September 16 Brandy had an appointment to be neutered.  It was complicated because only one of his testicles had dropped.  The vet had to do an incision to complete the surgery.  Brandy seemed fine the first day, but then the next day we noticed that something didn’t look right about the incision and Brandy didn’t seem to feel well.  We took him for a recheck with the vet.  One of his sutures was out and he had a fever of 104 degrees.  The remaining sutures were holding, so he was sent home to take antibiotics.  He was not a happy camper, having to wear a cone to keep him from doing any more damage. 

We’d only had Mikey four days when my friend found a home for him.  He went to his new home on September 18.   His name is now “Leo” and the updates are good.  His new family just loves him and he is going to be a good pet for them.

Buffy and Brandy

In the meantime, Brandy was taking his antibiotics and would go back to the vet in a week to get his sutures out and have his temperature checked.  Hopefully he would feel better and we’d be able to find him a good home.  Someone would be very lucky to have such a sweet cat.  Buffy, the patio ambassador, comforted Brandy in his discomfort.  We’re sure Buffy was sent to us to keep things calm on the catio.

To be continued.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

"A black cat crossing your path signifies that the animal is going somewhere." ~ Groucho Marx

Me and Mr. Creme

 

Lexi

We’re in the process of getting our cats up to date with their vaccinations.  Charlie took Mr. Creme and Lexi to the clinic this week.  He was told that after these shots, because of their age, 13 years, and because they had had regular vaccinations through the years, they had built up an immune system and wouldn’t require any more shots for three years.  That was good news because we were undecided about continuing vaccinations because of their age.

Jezibel

Jason and Kaci

The others will go to the clinic too and eventually all will be up to date.  We take two at a time so it will take a few visits.  Plus we have three, Jezibel, Kaci and Jason (6 years), who have had severe reactions to the series of shots.  They have to have one shot at a time and that will require three visits, but we will get it done.

Mr. Creme still continues to be stable on his insulin and Lexi, who is on blood pressure meds as well as thyroid meds, is also doing fine.  I still have to give her Veriflox which helps her with her chronic congestion.  Their mom, Jezibel, 14 years, is in good shape.  She does have to have Terbutaline as needed for her congestion.

Now back to the big kitten rescue:

On August 17, about a week later, I received a call from my friend.  There were two(!) black kittens in the trap!  So much for that last kitten.  I went over to get them.  One was fairly calm and okay to pet.  The other one was very afraid.  The ears were flat back.  It hissed, growled and if looks could kill, I’d have been dead.  I got them home and we separated them because we have discovered that when one is more afraid, eventually the other one will also be afraid.

Annie and Indy

Indy, not as bad as he seemed

The smaller of the two was a female.  She was very sweet and wanted to be petted.  We called her Annie.  I finally got up the nerve to see if I could pet the other one.  It still hissed, growled and laid its ears back.  How ferocious it looked!  I decided to challenge it and reach in to see if I got clawed or bitten.  The kitten just froze and amazingly, I was able to pet and pick it up.  It was a boy.  We called him “Indy”.  So happy that both Annie and Indy were not feral, only afraid.

My friend immediately started looking for a home for them.  We made an appointment with the vet to do the spaying and neutering.  It all went well with no complications. 

Jackson.  His family has come to visit and are still here!  lol

All of the kittens trapped so far, Cali, Simba, Annie and Indy, are Jackson’s littermates.  Now they were re-united.  They remembered each other, but since Jackson was caught when he was only four weeks old, he hissed at them and didn’t really want to be with them on the patio.  They were now about three months old.  Jackson finally decided they were okay to play with though. 

Simba, what a sweet boy before going to his new home

A week later, August 24, Simba went to his new home in Los Angeles with my friend’s son and girlfriend.  He is now a little prince who is very spoiled.  I’ve seen some pictures and he looks very happy.

A day or so later, I received a call from my friend.  They had seen another kitten who looked like Simba.  I jokingly told her that she was seeing things!  At least I hoped she was seeing things.

In the meantime, we still had the black kittens, Annie and Indy, and although there were a couple of possible homes, nothing materialized.  The kittens were now about four months old.  We were beginning to hope that all the kittens were finally caught.....,

but the saga continues.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

The cat and the love you give away always come back to you---Proverb quotes

It was almost two months later when my friend asked me to bring my trap over so she could hopefully catch “Mama Jackson”.  I took it over to her.

Two weeks later (8/6/13) she called.  She had not caught Mama Jackson, but had caught one of Jackson’s siblings.  It was a tiny girl, who looked just like Mama Jackson, a tortie.  I went over to pick her up and brought her home to get her settled.  She was a tiny, sweet little kitten. 

In just a couple of hours she called and said she had found a home for the kitten and her name would be “Cali”.

Cali

Mama Jackson

Later that day she called and said she had trapped “Mama Jackson” (8/6/13).  I went over to get her.  She didn't hiss or growl, but there was something about her that told us that she was feral.  We set up an appointment to have her spayed and vaccinated.

"Cali's" new mom was picking her up the next day.  My friend was hoping to trap the last kitten soon.

“Mama Jackson” was spayed and vaccinated (8/7/13).  Since we were releasing her, we asked that the right ear tip be clipped.  That way if she was trapped again or if someone saw her, they would know she had been spayed.  The vet asked us to keep her overnight before releasing.  If she hadn’t been so wild, we might have tried to find a home for her.

“Cali’s” owner came by and picked her up (8/8/13).  We took “Mama Jackson” over to where we had trapped her and released her.  Although she was feral, I felt a little sad letting her go.  When we opened the kennel, she jumped out and ran.  As we drove away, she was in the ivy in the yard next door.  We saw her ears sticking up in the ivy.  She was in familiar territory though.

The next day (8/9/13) my friend caught another kitten, the last one.....!  We hoped anyway.  It was a pretty little buff-colored tabby.  My friend's young daughter was calling it “Peaches”.  It was a boy.  He was very sweet.  Afraid and hissing, but not scratching or biting.  Although he looked bigger, we thought he was Jackson's sibling since he was seen with Mama Jackson.  He would be about two months old. 

Simba

My friend's son wanted “Peaches”.  He planned on picking him up in a couple of weeks.  He renamed “Peaches” to "Simba”, which was a good name for him.  He looked like a little “Lion King”.  We made an appointment to get Simba neutered and vaccinated (8/13/13).

Simba, sweet boy

My friend said there was another kitten yet to catch–a black one.....

and the saga continues.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

Me and Jackson

.

“The problem with cats is that they get the same exact look whether they see a moth or an ax-murderer.” ― Paula Poundstone

Jackson C Bell (June 6, 2013)

I haven’t officially announced the arrival of our newest addition to the family, Jackson.  Yes, I wrote about him, Jonesie and Ellie, when they went with us to Idyllwild, but I didn’t explain how and when we got him.

Like most of our cats, Jackson was totally unexpected.  It’s been awhile since we made a conscious decision to actually go out and find a pet.  We don’t have to.  They find their way here.

One afternoon in early June I received a call from a friend.  Another friend had found a kitten in her yard.  “Can you take him until she can find a home for him?” 

I told her to bring him over.  When I saw the kitten she was holding I immediately took him and it was love at first sight.  But, I knew I was only fostering.  I brought him in and we got him settled in a kennel.  He was only about four weeks old, just barely weaned.  She had brought some milk replacement.  I fed the kitten with a syringe.  He didn’t know yet how to eat food from a bowl.  By the next afternoon, he was eating fine though.  I called him “Jackson”. 

Jackson had gotten tangled in a bush.  My friend heard him crying late one night.  Early the next morning she went out to find him.  There were other kittens too, but she didn’t know where they were.  The mother cat, a tortie, had been seen in her yard several times.  She wanted to trap her and get her spayed at some point.

I was pleasantly surprised that my friend wanted to help the stray cats in her neighborhood.  There are lots of people who catch, spay/neuter, and release feral cats.  The shelters are so overcrowded and I think if a cat is living in an area and people don’t mind having it around, at least it should be fixed.  It’s better for everybody.    

We had Jackson just a couple of days when we were told that there might be a home for him. I told her I really liked Jackson and wanted to keep him.  She was happy and I thought that would be the end of it.

Charlie took Jackson to the vet for an exam and first kitten shot.  I kept him in my computer room for a few days before releasing him into the house to meet the other cats.  He sat on my lap when I was at my computer. 

When we took Jackson out to the cat patio, he zoomed in on Buffy and they wrestled and played together.  Buffy was so patient with him.  It was amazing.  Jackson was so aggressive, but Buffy didn’t get mad, growl or try to hurt him.

He’s so cute.  He is a brown tabby.  His face and legs are striped, but his body is mottled and looks like a squirrel. His body and legs are long.  The back legs are bowed and he’s pigeon-toed.  When he walks, it looks like he swaggers.   He’s about five months old now and I thought he would have green eyes, but I think they are going to stay gray or hazel.

The only cats who do not like Jackson are the Calicos, Jezibel and Lexi.  But, they don’t like any of the other cats either!  Jackson still tries to be friends with them.  When they hiss at him, he lays down, but doesn’t run away.  He just doesn’t give up. 

Jonesie tolerates Jackson.  He’s three years old now and really has never liked kittens. He was only nine months old when we got the six week old Rhody, so he helped to raise him.  Jonesie is a sweetie though. 

Jackson

So, that’s how Jackson came to become a part of our family. 

But, the saga continues....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

"Your paw prints will be forever on my heart."

Ellie, 5 years old

We were happy to see that the trip to Idyllwild didn’t seem to affect Ellie.  She was out of her normal routine, but since she ate well and took her insulin well, we thought she would adjust to insulin and we would get her regulated, as we did her brother, Mr. Creme.  Except for her breathing problems, i.e., asthma and chronic congestion, there would be no reason why she might not eat and gain some weight.

One of my favorite pictures of Ellie taken in RV on our move back to CA in June 2004.  It's out of focus, but it captures her face very well

Ellie was always a feisty little cat.  She was the smallest kitten of the litter.  Jezibel had 9 babies that day, which I brought home from the hospital.  Jezibel had to stay at the hospital overnight.  I bottle fed the kittens that night and early the next morning before going to work.  Ellie had a determination and will to live.  She had a strong appetite.

Because Jezibel had so many kittens, seven, to nurse, we had to supplement formula as well.  We have pictures of Ellie nursing from the bottle and her ears wiggled.  That kitten was very strong and we knew she would make it.

When it came time to find homes for the kittens at 8 weeks old, we kept Ellie, along with her sister, Lexi and brother, Grady.  I reasoned that we had to keep Ellie because she was attached to Charlie, but I knew it was because I liked her spunkiness, strong will and courage.  She was so tiny, but she was fearless.

Checking out her birthday cake

Oh cool! Balloons!

I see 7 names on this cake!

Happy 5th Birthday, Miss Ellie and all the babies

Even as she got older and had the muscle atrophy in her back legs, she would go wherever she wanted to go.  Sometimes she looked like a jack-knifed truck going down the hallway, but away she went.  If her “space” was violated by another cat who she didn’t think should be there, she had no qualms chasing that cat and cornering it.  We rescued cats from Ellie’s wrath many times. 

When we were in Idyllwild, we decided to let Ellie outside on the deck with us, thinking she would just stay up there.  But, before we knew it she had gotten down and was underneath the deck.  She ran all the way over to the other side.  Charlie was able to reach under and get her.  If she had decided to go underneath the cabin, I don’t want to think of what horrors Charlie would have seen.  But, he said he would have gone under to get her if needed.  So even though she had the leg problem, she could move when she wanted to.

A couple of weeks after the Idyllwild trip, we planned to go up to Nevada for a weekend to see some of our family.  Our nephew lives there.  His Dad & Mom, my sister, were coming to visit him for a week.  He invited us and my brother and sister-in-law from Utah, to come up for a mini family reunion.

We were going up on Friday and coming home on Sunday.  We talked about bringing Ellie with us since she had only started the insulin 3 weeks before.  We were staying at a motel which allowed pets.  She had done fine at Idyllwild.  But, this was an 8 hour drive.  We were afraid it might be too much for her to be in the kennel that long. 

We decided to leave her at home and give our pet sitter explicit directions on the meds she needed.

Ellie was always very wary and shy when people came over.  At other times when we left her home with a sitter, the sitter would say that she never saw Ellie because she hid.  That was okay because she was not on meds then.  But, now, it was different.  Ellie had to be available to get her meds.  Our sitter was sure she could take care of Ellie and we felt good about it.

We went to Nevada and enjoyed the weekend with family.  When we got home Sunday afternoon, everyone seemed fine.  But, when it was time for dinner, Ellie didn’t eat much.  In fact, not enough to get her insulin.  We thought she would be back to normal later.

The next morning she would still not eat well.  I gave her the asthma meds and the other meds which helped her chest congestion.  She was definitely not the same little cat we had left on Friday morning.  She seemed more congested and was not walking as well as before.

The vet called and said that Ellie’s test from a few days ago showed her blood glucose was still high and she wanted to go from 2 units of insulin to 3 units/day.  I told the doctor that Ellie wasn’t eating and I couldn’t give insulin.  She suggested Cyproheptadine to stimulate appetite.  We picked the pills up and started Ellie on it.

Ellie seemed hungry, but we couldn’t get the congestion cleared up.  She couldn’t smell food.

I decided to try syringe feeding so at least she would get some food in her stomach.  Once it was in her mouth, she swallowed and seemed to want it.  I finally was able to give her a dose, 2 units, of insulin.  By now, we were really becoming concerned.  She had done so well just 3 weeks ago and now it didn’t look good at all.  Of course, I regretted not taking her to Nevada with us, even though there were reasons why we didn’t.  I’m always second guessing decisions made.

I syringe fed breakfast and dinner and if she ate enough, she got insulin.  But, it was not easy.

All week long we tried to get her to eat.  On Friday, we could see that she was getting weaker and weaker.  It was so hard to see her like that.  Her weight was down to 6 pounds.  She didn’t want to struggle anymore.  We knew it and we knew we had to make a decision to let her go.

We had an appointment to take her to the vet on Saturday.  When I went in to see her that morning she was lying on her blanket, weak, and her breathing was labored.  I didn’t try to feed her or give her any more meds for congestion or asthma.  I just wanted her to be comfortable.

We said goodbye to Miss Ellie a little while later.  She peacefully went to sleep at the vet clinic.  We cried and the doctor cried.  The doctor told us that if she was a cat and it was time for her to go, she’d want to belong to us.  She thanked us for loving Ellie enough to let her go. 

We did let her go, but it was very hard.  We feel at peace knowing that Ellie is now running with strong legs again and is breathing easily.  It’s been a long time since she could do that.  And she is with her brothers, Grady and Toby.  Rowdy, Calvin, Taz, Mo, and Chelsi are on the playground nearby.

We have so many pictures of her and memories of her.  She was that tiny black and white kitten who at 4 weeks old, was the first one of the 7 kittens to have the nerve to climb up a 4 foot fence to escape, jump down on the other side and run over to Charlie.  She had kept her eyes on him the whole time.  She was unafraid to run between the long legs of our dog Chelsi while Chelsi stood eating her food or drinking water.

We love you, we miss you,  and we’ll never forget you, Miss Ellie.  Like the others, you will always be in our hearts.

Lexi and Jezibel (left) Taz and Ellie on right

Ellie May Bell 3/22/00  - 08/03/13  (picture taken 8/3/13)

More later.....

My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_

If I tried to tell you how much I love my cats, you wouldn't believe me - unless your heart is also meow-shaped and covered in stray fur. -- Lexie Saige

I was getting a pedicure the other day.  A lady walked by outside.  The dress she was wearing reminded me of a nightgown my granny made for me when I was 2 or 3 years old.  I don’t remember it, but my mom said it was striped.  Granny had some left over material, but only enough for something my size.  The stripes didn’t go up and down, they went around.  Mom said I looked like a little worm.  I could picture it and it made me laugh.

The stripes on the lady’s dress went around. So much for my fashion news.

Last month we decided to take a couple of days and go up to Idyllwild.  It’s in the mountains a couple of hours away.  Actually the idea occurred to us when my sister asked us to help her get something shipped to her.  The item she bought was in Hemet, which is only about 45 minutes from Idyllwild.

Our plan was to go to Hemet, pick up the item, take it to UPS, with the packaging box she sent to me, ship it and then go up to Idyllwild.

When the time we planned to go was near, Ellie was diagnosed with diabetes.  She started her insulin on Friday, July 5.  We were going to Idyllwild on Tuesday and Wednesday the following week. 

Instead of taking Ellie to the vet to stay or have our petsitter take care of her, we decided it was best to take Ellie with us.  She was just starting on insulin and we felt better giving it to her ouselves.  We also took Jonesie and Jackson.  Sheila was boarded since she is not a real good traveler.  Pets are allowed at the cabin.  We have been going there for 10 years. 

The last time we were there was not long after Taz died, October 2010.  We took Jason, Kaci and Sheila with us.

We packed up the cats that morning and headed out.  It was hot, 106 degrees, in Hemet, a desert town.  The cats were patient in their kennels, Ellie in one and Jackson and Jonesie in the other.

We picked up the item and took it to UPS to be shipped.  There was a little delay in the process when UPS said the box exceeded size limits that they could ship.

While I was in UPS talking to them, Charlie stayed in the car with the A/C running.  I went out to tell him about the shipping problem.  He went in to talk to them.  Then I stayed in the car with the cats.

After awhile he came back.  It was all taken care of.  I had called my sister and told her about the shipping problem and she said, “If it fits, ship it!”  Her and her husband were enroute home from a trip themselves.

So now we could get the cats up to Idyllwild.  We got to the cabin, set up food, water and litter boxes for the cats and after hiding under the bed for awhile, they were all settled in.

Cottage in the Woods

The cabin is set back away from the other rentals.  It’s very cute.  There are birds, squirrels and rabbits all around.  We’ve seen raccoons there at night.  There are windows all along one side.

Jonesie and Jackson

Jonesie and Jackson had a ball sitting in the windows watching the birds.  We were so relaxed just being there.  Ellie did very well too.  She had a good appetite and took her meds well.  We brought her pre-filled syringes, which worked very well.

Cool cat, Miss Ellie

It was warm and Ellie, being the smart one, found a cool place to lay on the tiles in the shower.
 

Ellie was very tolerant of the youngsters, Jonesie and Jackson, for a change, so I know she enjoyed our mini vacation as much as we did.  It was good for all of us to get away from the routine for a couple of days.


Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D _^..^_ 

You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats.-- Colonial American Proverb

Calico and Siamese don't mix, and when you add a worried Dad and an anxious Mom, things can and did get out of hand.

Jezibel, looks are deceiving

Jezibel is the matriarch of the family. She is our oldest cat at 14 years. She's a calico with brilliant orange, black, and white markings. The top of her head is divided like a straight razor between black and orange. She brought nine kittens into the world when she was barely six months old.  Two of them were too weak and we lost them within the first week.  That left seven.  We kept five of them, two girls and three boys.  The other two boys were given to close friends.  That was over 13 years ago. 

Three of Jezibel’s “kittens” have passed on, two of our boys, Grady and Toby, and our friend’s boy, Pinto.  The three we still have with us deal with various age related maladies: asthma, diabetes, thyroid conditions, high blood pressure, neuropathy, and endemic congestion. Jezibel is slightly asthmatic, but other than that remains in good health.

Jezibel became attached to Charlie during her pregnancy. She is domineering, irascible, and fairly and equally hates the rest of the cats in the house.  They know it and give her a wide berth. Underneath that bullying exterior, though, she is a sweet cat who likes attention, but doesn't want you to know it. Of course, Charlie sees her that way.  He may have a biased opinion about that.  She and I have this relationship that I call “a mother/daughter thing”. 

Since Taz was my cat and Jezibel was Charlie’s, there was forever a jealous rivalry going on between the two of them.  They both were alpha and both ran the house.

Buffy, outside before we brought him in

About five months ago, a stray cat scaled the seven foot fence that surrounds our back yard and took up residence on the concrete of our unfinished, soon to be enclosed patio. We could not get within thirty feet of him before he would swiftly depart, but he kept coming back. Since some of our cats have back yard privileges and do not leave the yard, we were worried about contact with that stray.

Our fears proved founded when 13 year old, Mr. Creme, one of Jezibel’s “kitten” was seen chasing the stray across our yard. Mr Creme is pretty spry when he wants to be, but the stray managed to get away.  It looked like he was saying, “You young whipper-snapper, get out of my yard!”

We couldn't let that continue, though, and decided we would have to catch him, fix him, get his shots, and then release him where he could no longer worry us.

Of course, we had to keep him for a few days after his surgery to make sure everything was all right.  He was 100% feral.  I would swear that no human had ever touched him.  When we first put him in a large crate right after we caught him, he practically destroyed it trying to get out.  I don’t think he had ever been confined before.  Despite our long history of working with cats, we were a little intimidated at what he might do in his effort to get free.

We soon discovered, however, that the little guy was mostly just bravado. He was actually timid and frightened. That didn't mean he was any less feral. The vet said he was about two years old. We named him Buffy. He had a lot of Siamese in him and I could tell (having once raised my own Siamese cat) that his Siamese markings would get more distinct over time and with good food. We thought someone might want him if we could get him to that point of domesticity.

We contacted a friend who knew a friend who worked with feral cats. We thought we could give Buffy a better chance for adoption if someone could tame him down. The short of it, though, was that the friend of a friend said she wanted to help, but was going on vacation and would let us know when she returned in a couple of weeks.   While we waited, we worked with him ourselves. Good thing we did because the friend of a friend finally said she couldn't take him. 

Over months of effort, Buffy, who clearly wanted to have a home, worked as hard as we did to learn how to be a domesticated cat. Since Charlie worked with him the most, and since Siamese tend to connect strongly with just one person, Buffy became attached to him.

I fed him and tried to pet him, but for some reason, he didn’t trust me like he did Charlie.  He would slap me and if his claws were out, he really nailed me good.  I bruise easily anyway and he left some nasty bruises on my hand or wrist.  That’s when we decided that if we were going to keep Buffy, we should have him declawed like our other cats.  We have found that when declawed, temprament changes.  Charlie was hesitant, but he realized that it would make a difference in the taming process and Buffy would be calmer. 

Other than slapping me, with other cats, Buffy is one of the least aggressive cats we have ever owned. He creates few problems and avoids confrontation. Unfortunately, when confrontation comes to him, all he knows to do is run. We have a theory about how and why Buffy ended up with us. We think he belonged to a local feral colony, but because of his nature, he was eventually driven off by more aggressive cats, and went in search of a new colony and since our cats are in the yard during the day, he found us.

Everything was going along fine, until the first time Jezibel saw Buffy. Not only was Buffy a new cat in the house, he was horning in on Jezibel's territory -- Charlie. Jezibel had no intention of sharing. Jezibel attacked, and Buffy ran.

The first time it happened Charlie separated Jezibel from Buffy and things went ok for awhile. A couple of days later, she attacked him again, and this time it got serious. Jezibel would not back down, continuing a furious chase and attack. Buffy just wanted to get away, but if truly cornered, he could strike back at Jezibel. Neither have front claws, but Buffy is young and very strong. He could hurt her out of fear.

Charlie separated them again.  Jezibel, trying to get at Buffy, bit Charlie’s hand.  

Charlie’s hand was swollen the next day after Jezibel bit him.  He went to the doctor.  They gave him a tetanus shot and penicillin to fight the infection. His hand was so swollen, he couldn’t make a fist. Maybe a good thing for Jezibel!  Lol Two of his fingers were so sore he couldn’t use his hand for a few days. 

We now monitor the two of them and make sure there is always separation between them so Jezibel can't get at Buffy.  Buffy stays on the “catio” and it's off limits to Jezibel.

I'm hoping that over time, with Charlie spending a lot of time with each of them so they don't feel slighted, they might one day be able to pass each other without a fight.

But, if they manage to get at each other again, I know we’ll wade right in. We couldn't bear to see either get hurt.

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

At nighttime, they roam around the house, searching for a new hiding place. At dawn, they yawn and stretch, pretending they slept all night. At noon, they bask in the sunshine that streams through windows. In the evening, they settle down in their favorite chairs. It's just another day in the life of a cat.

So much has happened that I don’t know where to begin.  But, I will try to catch up on things.

I’m still working at the acupuncture clinic and I don’t know how much longer it will be.  I have so many things to do at home now that I really don’t feel like I can spare that one day a week away. 

Mr. Creme is doing fine.  His weight is good and for now he is stabilized on his insulin intake.
He’s so used to getting his injections that he waits for it after he eats.  The Zobalin B12 pills are working well to keep his legs strong too.  For a 13 year old cat, he looks good.

Ellie still has that congestion.  The Veraflox we tried didn’t work.  Then we started her on Doxycyline.  In a few days, the congestion improved.  We gave her the Doxy twice a day for 10 days.  Then just a few days later, the congestion was back.  Mucous in her nose, etc.  The doctor said we could put her back on Doxy.  This time for 20 days, twice a day.  She improved, but not like the first time.

She was losing weight so we took her to the vet to have a blood panel done.  The vet called and gave us the news, she has diabetes, like her brother, Mr. Creme.  That was last Friday, July 5.  We started her on 2 units of insulin.  She also gets the Zobalin for her legs.  If they were to get worse than they are now, she’d not be walking at all.

So far, in just a week, she seems to be improving.  Her appetite is very good.  She’s still on the Doxycyline too. 

The doctor also said that Ellie’s heartbeat seems arrhythmic, like three heartbeats.  She thought the Terbutaline may have caused it since it can cause a fast heartbeat.  We were to keep her off of the Terbutaline for a few days and bring her back to the vet.  But, Ellie was so congested one night that she wouldn’t eat.  We couldn’t give her insulin unless she ate.  So we decided to give the Terbutaline since that’s the only thing that opens her passages so she can smell her food.  Hopefully the Doxycyline will keep the congestion at bay and we won’t have to use the Terbutaline.  We’re also hoping that it is not a heart condition.  We won’t know until we take Ellie back to the vet.

One morning I was on the cat patio cleaning and checking things.  I noticed some drops of blood on the floor.  Charlie went around to each cat to see if he could find out which cat had blood on them.  We thought maybe someone had cut a paw.  He found Lexi and she had a bloody nose.  He brought her in and her nose was still dripping.  We called the vet and had to wait for them to call us back.  While we waited, we cleaned her nose and tried to get the bleeding stopped.  It stopped.  We took her to the vet the next day.  They did some tests.  The doctor called back and said that Lexi had high blood pressure.  It was 230.  A cat’s BP is similar in numbers to a person’s.  They only use the bottom number though. 

The doctor wanted to get Lexi on blood pressure meds as soon as we could.  It was Amlodipine.  She called the prescription in to the drug store and I picked it up on my way home from work.  The pills are tiny and she gets 1/4 in the evening.

After a few days, we took Lexi back to have BP checked.  It was down to 140, an improvement obviously.  Tests showed that Lexi’s thyroid was still fine on the medication she’s on.  That medication is supposed to help keep her blood pressure down too, but it doesn’t so we will keep Lexi on meds for now.  We’ll also ask the doctor if the Veraflox that Lexi was on, could cause the high blood pressure.  She’s not on it now.

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what it is that makes cats and our relationships to cats so special. Yes, they are extraordinary in their wisdom and their independence and their beauty. Yes, they provide comfort and company and, of course, fun. But it’s more than that. I think cats provide permanence. Cats don’t change. –Peter Gethers

Ellie has been on Veraflox for about 3 days.  So far we see no really big improvement in her condition.  She is still very congested.  Last night I gave her a dose of Terbutaline, hoping it would help her breathing.  I held her for awhile, holding the Vick’s© inhaler near her nose.  That did seem to help her breathe better.  She managed to take deep breaths, which made me breathe better too!

I feel so bad for this little cat, who struggles to breathe and walk.  But, she does keep moving and she gets impatient if we hold her for too long.  She’s very strong-willed and knows where she wants to be and it’s not usually on a lap.  Sometimes she will come over to Charlie and “ask” to sit on his lap.  He has to pick her up because she can’t jump up.  She stays for a few minutes, enjoying the petting, and sometimes she even sleeps for a while.  Then when it’s time to get down, she wastes no time expressing her displeasure.  But, I think Ellie knows that we are trying to help her and make her comfortable.  In her mind, she has no disability at all.

If, after a week of Veraflox for her cold, she doesn’t show improvement, we will take her back to the vet.  This is so frustrating, having two cats, Lexi and Ellie, with respiratory problems.  We think Lexi’s problem is allergy related, but Ellie has gotten much worse with her asthma and she is very susceptible to colds now.

Lexi is also going through another two weeks with Veraflox.  The first time we did that, it really helped her congestion.  I was hoping that it was gone.  But, after a few days, the congestion was back.  The vet said we couldn’t keep her on it because it is an antibiotic and won’t work if it is used too much.

Buffy continues to improve and get used to his new surroundings.  We are hoping to be able to let him roam freely on the big “cat-io” in a few months.  With our last feral cat, Kiki, we left the kennel door open for her to come and go.  If Kiki got startled, she had the safety of her kennel to go to, which she did.  After snooping around for awhile, she usually went to her cat tree in the kennel and went to sleep.  That’s what we want Buffy to feel like he can do one day.  

Stay tuned.......
My middle name is Devil,
Tazzy D =^..^= 

It is indeed remarkable how much these animals can be taught if taken in kittenhood and treated gently. Even as soon as their eyes open, they can be made to understand many things. –Godey’s Lady’s Book, May 1895

Ellie

Ellie’s asthma has gotten worse.  She has more congestion and it never completely goes away.  The Turbutaline that we give her now doesn’t seem to help her as much.  We used to give her a 1/4 pill and within an hour she felt better and could eat.  Now we’re giving her 2 (1/4) pills a day and although she usually will eat and drink water, her breathing is still labored.

Charlie took her to the vet last week for a steroid shot.  She has had shots before, but the vet said this steroid should help her for a couple of months.

We noticed the next day that she seemed to feel better, but is still congested. 

It was really warm yesterday and she didn’t have an appetite.  I gave her a pill earlier.  When I went to check on her before bedtime, I was shocked to see that both nostrils were blocked with mucous. 

I brought her downstairs and gave her to Charlie to hold while I got a warm, wet washcloth to clean her nose.  After I cleaned her nose, Ellie was still breathing through her mouth.  We decided to take her to the emergency hospital because we were afraid she was not getting enough oxygen.

At the hospital, they took her in right away.  Then after a while, the doctor came out.  We hadn’t had the chance to give Ellie’s medical background about her neuropathy in her legs or her constant trembling. 

When the doctor heard that these were chronic conditions with her, she was a little relieved I think.  There were just too many variables to deal with in an emergency.

They gave Ellie “pass by” oxygen, meaning they let the oxygen flow past her nose and not directly into her nose. 

When we were taken to a room and they brought Ellie in, she looked better, though she was still congested. 

The doctor said that Ellie had sneezed in the exam room and quite a bit of mucous came out.  We have never seen that before. 

The vet mentioned antibiotics, but really preferred that we take Ellie in to her regular vet for more follow-up.  We agreed.  We brought Ellie home and by 2:00 a.m., we were all in bed.

The next morning we made an appointment with our vet for Ellie.  Her exam showed that she has a cold! 

The medication that she has to take for a week is Veraflox, the same med that Lexi takes for her allergy. 

We had actually called the vet when Ellie continued to be congested, and asked if Veraflox would help her since it had helped Lexi.  The vet said no, in fact it might harm her.  But, since Ellie has a cold and it’s not congestion from her asthma, but from her cold, she can take Veraflox.  Go figure.

We are really careful about giving our cats meds not prescribed for them, but in this case, we would have been right.

Ellie checked out fine otherwise.  She weights 8 lbs. which surprised me.  I would have guessed 6 lbs. 

Last night when we saw Miss Ellie breathing with an open mouth, it scared us.  We thought of two years ago when her brother, Toby, was doing the same thing.  We took him to the emergency hospital and he didn’t make it. So, we thought Ellie also might be close to the last of her 9 lives, but she pulled out of it and we’re very happy about that!  Long live Miss Ellie.

A few weeks ago we noticed a little cat who was coming into our yard.  He was lying on the new patio (before it was enclosed).  A couple of our cats were watching him from inside the house. 

We didn’t know if this little cat belonged to anyone.  I had seen him in the neighborhood a few weeks before.  Once I saw him down on the corner of our street.  Another time I saw him across the cul-de-sac, walking along the sidewalk.  Then one morning I saw him in our front yard.  When I went to the window, he ran away.

Since our cats go outside, we didn’t want this cat in our backyard, but he seemed to want to be there, maybe because of the cats, who he didn’t seem to be afraid of.

But, one afternoon, I looked out and Mr. Creme was chasing him, (as well as he could) through the yard.  The little cat jumped up on the fence and struggled to get over and made it.  I was afraid he would get his leg caught on the lattice, but he seemed to be okay.

We decided we would catch the little cat and take him to the vet, get him fixed, vaccinated and release him.  He didn't have a collar, so we figured he was a stray.

Charlie called to make an appointment with our vet for the next day.  We set the trap out that afternoon and within minutes, we trapped the cat.

We moved him to a crate on the open patio.  We didn’t want him in the house because we didn’t know if he had anything contagious and didn’t want him near our cats.  He was feral.  Very afraid of us.  We don’t think he had ever been close to a human or touched.

At the vet, he was checked out for feline leukemia and was negative, which was good.  He received his rabies, FVRCP-PN, FeLV shots and was neutered.  The vet said he was about 2 years old.

He was at the vet for one day.  We brought him home and set him up in my computer room in our biggest dog crate and planned to keep him a few days until he healed from the surgery.

After a few days of good food, we noticed his coloring started to change.  He was cream colored, with orange ears, nose, tail, paws, and beautiful light blue eyes.

I went to Petsmart to meet with one of the animal rescue representatives from where we had adopted Jonesie a couple of years ago.  While I was waiting, I looked at the cats that were up for adoption.  There was a cat there who looked like the cat we had just taken in.  He was called a Flame Point, a mix of Siamese. 

I gave her the information on him, who we now were calling “Buffy”.  I was looking for someone who worked with feral cats, and might want to foster him and try to tame him, but was told, frankly, that they had more luck with people fostering feral kittens.  Buffy was already grown and probably no one would be interested in working with him.

Charlie and I watched him and saw how frightened he was, but at the same time, it was hard not to feel compassion for this little cat who had come into our yard for some reason.  I mean, when we went out and he saw us, he had run and struggled to climb that 7' fence, but then later he kept coming back.  We had not been leaving food outside, I have to admit, after  he started coming into the yard, I started putting some dry food on the other side of the house.

I was going out to the back patio one evening, just about dark.  As I opened the patio door, Buffy was getting ready to go under the glider there and get into the cat bed and settle for the night.  He saw me and ran away.  I felt bad, but at that point I didn’t know what to do.

We talked to a friend, who had a friend, who said she might be interested in fostering, but she had to check with her husband.  They had a trip planned and were going to be out of town for a couple of weeks.  We decided to start working with Buffy in the meantime until we found out if she would be able to help.

Charlie did some research on working with feral cats.  He started playing with Buffy and offering him treats.  Pretty soon, he was able to pet Buffy while he ate his food.

There were times when Buffy just couldn’t bring himself to trust and would shrink back into his corner, but for the most part, we could see that Buffy just had such a fear of us and he just couldn’t bring himself to trust us.

I have to say that he seemed to trust Charlie more than he trusted me.  I got nailed by his hard hitting paws a couple of times and he gave me some nasty bruises.  I bruise easy, but his hits really hurt.  I got a little disenchanted with trying to make friends with Buffy.  It wasn’t that I didn’t like Buffy, I just don’t think he cared for me and maybe I was trying too hard.

But, Charlie was progressing pretty well with Buffy.  He gave Buffy his breakfast and would come in to say, “I petted Buffy while he was eating!”  Good news.

When we finally had the enclosed patio completed, we decided to move Buffy to a 4x4x6' kennel.  We were surprised that the transition to this larger enclosure seemed more traumatic to him than when we had first put him in the smaller crate.

But, after a couple of days, he settled down.  When the cats walked by, he “talked” to them.  They hissed back at him, but it didn’t seem to discourage him.  He still talked.

We didn’t expect Buffy to touch our hearts the way he has, but I have to say, we never planned or expected that we would spend our time rescuing cats like we have.  It just happened. 

Buffy is a work in progress, but it looks like he’s our next project.  Charlie is emotionally connected to him.  He reminds Charlie of a little cat who he rescued many years ago in a barn in Cleveland, Ohio.  A feral little orange and white kitten who Charlie named “ET”, because of the way he stretched his little head up to look around. 

Like “ET”, Buffy has the innocent and fearful look of a cat who has never been handled by humans.  His trust has to be earned.  He has that look on his face like, “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?” 

No, no one is going to hurt you, Buffy.  You're safe as can be at the “Bell Haven”.

Buffy