This is Kaboose, Shirleena and Mania.
Kaboose and Shirleena are brother and sister. Kaboose has scars from under his chin to the tip of his right paw from being attacked as a newborn kitten. He gets around ok, but he's crazy. Always running, jumping, chasing Shirleena and Mania through the house.
Shirleena is the timid one. She has a scar across her throat from probably the same critter that attacked her brother. Even though she is shy, she still gets into her fair share of kitty troubles. Shirleena likes to sleep in boxes, or curl up in my daughters bed.
Mania was a 'rescue'. She came to us covered in welts from being shot at with a BB gun. For about a week all she did was cry if you touched her. She had a swollen belly and horrible gas from eating scraps. Right now she is Kabooses constant companion and partner in crime.
Kaboose and Shirleena pretending to be sandwiches.
I save the lids from store bought sandwiches to use for drying painted items. The kittens thought it made a comfy bed.
We think this feral may be Kabooses daddy. We called him Gray&White, and he vanished late this summer.
This handsome fellow was my cat Highball, who was a rescue in 2004. He died in July 2008 from a flea treatment. I carry his tag with me on my keychain.
This is Meow Marie. Meow actually says 'Meow' and so named herself. Meow is a spayed female and she is a young 12 years old. Meow likes to come indoors on cold winter days to sleep on the hot water tank.
This is Sweeney Tard. She is a stray who hangs out here. This is her first batch of babies who died from the cat flu this past spring. We are currently trying to raise funds for her trip to CatNip Acres. Sweeney Tard got her name from Sweeney Todd, she packs a vicious swipe.
This is a feral called Chompie. Chompie hangs out around town, eating from the trash and occasionally shows up at my house to chase the other cats off at mealtime. Chompie is too wild to get close to, and since he has a wide ranging area he covers, its impossible to trap,neuter and return him.
This is my big buddy Mew. Mew was tossed over the fence in my backyard and ended up stuck in the walnut tree. Mew is a great hunter and has helped keep my yard & gardens mouse & mole free.
This is Viktor, he's a huge tom who we think is part Norwegian Forest Cat.He's all muscle and joins his buddy mew in hunting larger game, such as rabbits and squirrel.
This is Loris Diane (the gray cat) and Shiloh Marie (the black cat in the chair). Both are spayed females. Loris is 14 years old and Shiloh is 13 years old. Both enjoy their old lady days lounging in the sun and hanging out at the porch waiting for tidbits while I cook. When my neighbor died they came to live with me again.
This is Timmy the Cat. Timmy was found in the back room of a grocery store, trapped in a mouse glue trap. He was probably four weeks old & they think his mom might have been moving her kittens & left Tim when he got trapped. We took him in and he was very sick with a respiratory infection. Timmy just slept a lot, and ate a lot, but never grew very large. He died in February of 2008 from the respiratory infection he had all his short life. CatNip Acres came and trapped all the ferals that lived behind that store, and the sad story of Timmy the Cat has not been repeated since. TNR is the best and most effective way to deal with ferals.
So cute!
Merry Christmas!
We got early Christmas presents.For the past two weeks, every time I was in the shop I heard loud noises and thought some wild animal had gotten into the shop. Swear it sounded like an elephant jumping around in the attic crawl space. Yesterday I heard something running down the apartment stairs, so I got Mr Kattaztrophe and we headed upstairs and heard a 'mew'. Last night we found a litter of kittens covered in fiberglass insulation. They are healthy, except for a sore eye or two. 3 toms and one girl. The black & white kitten is called Rorsach, and the white kitties with gray marks are called Cheshire, Olive and Snowflake. This winter we have to close off the attic crawl space and find out how someone got up there!
February 14 2010
The kitties are all home from CatNip Acres and doing fine. I'll be taking pictures of them Monday and posting them.
So far, Viktor has really mellowed out and came out of his hiding place to eat in the kitchen with the other cats and even when the humans were out there.
Please donate to the Fluffy Jean Fund at CatNip Acres. Please don't litter, spay or neuter your cats =)
Miss Meow Marie died in June, she was 12 years old. She had caught cold this winter and never recovered her strength. She is buried beside Highball on the hill.
Our other kitties are doing fine. Watcher and Mania have proved themselves to be great mousers, and Viktor has been keeping the moles & voles from destroying the gardens.
Sweeney Todd has become very fat. She decided she loved me and never left the house. She sleeps at my feet at night & nobody is allowed to bother me after 'Big Momma' comes to bed,lol!
So Many Good Kittehs!!!
We've had a spell of 'thinking outside the box' and so several kittehs have moved outside for the time being. We had a front door pooper, a under the work table pisser, a freshly washed stack of laundry pisser, and finally 'Your bed is my toilet' bandit.
I'm also passing along some good info for my fellow cat caretakers. You can purchase a 40 pound bag of cat food at Pechins for $20.The cats love it, it saves money & time and if you're worried about nutritional content you can always add some scraps to it (I usually add venison or eggs to the cats meals).
9-18-10
Cat Nip Acres has a new page, you can find it here Cat Nip Acres
I can't stress it enough; PLEASE SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR CAT! I really wish I could take all the kitties home with me at times, but I can't.
All cats deserve a good life, be they pampered house cats or the scared feral. Part of a good life is not breeding all the time. Cats and kittens are always dumped when the owners feel they can no longer care for them. Instead of getting the cat spayed or neutered it is easier for them to toss it out some place. If you don't think you can afford a spay or neuter, think again. Cat Nip Acres is cheap, and they will do it for a donation even.
Don't let another cat suffer. Call Cat Nip Acres & save a life! Save 9 lives to be exact!
Shirleena is out of hiding!!!
Shirleena has come out of hiding folks. Poor kitty, she got so mad about her flea treatment (way back in June) that she hid in the bathroom and wouldn't come out. She even got neurotic about the flea treatment and pulled out her fur.
Last week she showed up in the kitchen, like nothing ever happened. Kaboose was so happy to see her that he jumped on her, she hissed and spit & jumped up on the table.
But she's fine now, fur is growing back in. hogging the kitchen chair, sitting in the kitchen window, and hissing at 'Dog Cat' (thats another story for another day).
My best advice for a cat that has a nervous breakdown is just leave it be. Shirleena ate & slept in the bathroom for months. She'd only come out if you were in the shower, and then it was just to sit on the side of the tub and play with the shower curtain. If your kitty gets pissed and hides on you, expect a long wait. If they hide longer than a day & won't come out to the regular feeding area, then make the feeding area where they are hiding. Same with the litter box. As long as you can deal with it, and its not someplace really stupid (like the top of your closet) make kitty as happy & comfortable as you can.
And don't worry. Kitty will come back out when they are no longer mad or feeling threatened.
Humane Society fails the animals.
I read in todays (10-23) Observer Reporter about Washington County Humane Society not being able to take in any more animals, and they are not investigating abuse cases because they are over crowded.
Have you ever tried to adopt a pet from there? Its ridiculous what they charge you to adopt. If over crowding is a problem, maybe they need to drop the adoption fee's so more animals can find homes.
Face it; the economy is shot, folks loosing jobs, homes, and more pets are ending up in the shelters. Give everyone a break & dump the big adoption fee so these pets can get out of the shelter and back into a home.
I don't want to hear about how they need the adoption fee's to run things, blah blah blah. If they had more animals being adopted then their cost of keeping all these animals would go down. Shame on the Humane Society.
OH NO! Its Kitten McNugget!
Its happened again, a cry in the night and another kitten is found in the back yard. He's probably 6-7 weeks old, red and fuzzy, a stump of a tail and cross eyed. He's so small we named him Kitten McNugget.
He seems to be doing fine, he's just very small and very cross eyed. I'll post pics when I get a chance to.
Goodbye, Loris Diane.
Loris Diane died last night (11-13-10), she was 15 years old (that's 105 cat years). She was getting senile, yes, animals can get senile. The last few weeks she had started hanging out near the bank building. Every hour on the hour she'd old lady walk down the street and sit there, then come home, almost like she was waiting for something or someone.
Then it struck us; She was waiting for Ron (who she lived with until Ron died in March 2008). Ron would go to the store and Loris would wait for him at the end of the street by the bank building. When she saw his car come through the tunnel she would follow him home.
Poor old cat. You know, I think all animals go to Heaven, I really do. And hopefully she's found Ron.
We found Loris 15 years ago when she was about 4-5 months old. I was walking one of the kids to school and we heard a cat crying, but couldn't see it. We looked up and in the tree branches above us was this cat just hanging on for dear life, crying and crying. I got her down and since there were no houses anywhere near there I took her home with me. Her ears were frostbitten and she weighed almost nothing.
When we moved to our current home our neighbor Ron started feeding her treats. Soon Loris decided to move in with Ron and just visit us,lol!When Ron died we took her back home, but you could tell she missed him. Ron spoiled her and she used to just lay around the shop, thinking outside the box (you know what I mean).
Now our oldest cat is Shiloh Marie, who is 12 years old.
Goodbye Loris Diane, you will be missed.
November 23
Kattaztrophe Cats wishes you all a Happy Thanksgiving!
When you are considering donating money to worthy causes this Christmas Season, please consider making a donation that helps all of us. Please donate to CatNip Acres and make life good for needy cats and the humans who take care of them.
11-28-2010
Another kitten has joined the Kattaztrophe Cats. We call him Longfellow and he is a sickly little thing. He has a cold and sore eyes, and is very thin. We're treating his eyes with warm tea bags, and he's getting extra tidbits to help him fatten up.
Warm, wet tea bag compresses are great for clearing up sore eyes in kittens. It not only loosens matted areas, but also dries up the snotty discharge. Its also very good for cleaning up matted snot from their noses as well. I think he'll be okay in a few days. Lots of good food, clean water and keeping him warm will go a long way.
This week I will be taking many pictures of our horde for Katapalooza 2010.Keep checking back for more details =)
12-16-10
Introducing Kitten McNugget and Longfellow!
After a rough start, the new members of the Kattaztrophe Cats are doing fine. Both have put on weight and their colds have gotten better. Except for Nuggets crossed eyes and Longfellows clearing eye infection they are doing well.
Shiloh Marie and Viktor came in for a visit last night to get their paws warm. Shiloh will be 15 years old New Years Day.
We got hit with some craptastic weather and I didn't get a chance to get pictures of all my kittehs. Spent a good day making shelters for them. This spring I'm going to build a more permanent shelter for them, very weather proof and easy to clean.
1-1-11
The kitty's have had a very Merry Christmas. I think they got everything they asked for, thanks to my children =)
Nobody climbed the tree or batted away Christmas bulbs.
KaBoose has been sick with a cold, as well as Shirleena and the two kittens. They seem to be perking up again. Nugget has another eye infection brought on by the cold though and looks so sad.
Mania has attracted a lot of attention recently. She has a new trick. Evey morning she follows me to the bus stop, begs me to hold her and then she perches parrot like on my shoulder. My neighbors think I take her for walks every morning =)
One of the 'hunters' brought home a duck around Christmas. A full grown duck. Guess they wanted me to have a special gift =0 They ate it, of course, they eat all their kills.
We also discovered a great book series; Warriors, by Erin Hunter. The stories center on feral cat 'clans' and are very well written and entertaining. It also brings to attention the plight of feral colonies when there is nobody to take care of them. I'm waiting to read the 2 books I couldn't find before the holidays.
1-20-11
Not sure why Tinypic deleted the picture of Viktor and Shiloh, so I reposted it.
We had a near tragedy recently with Mania Jones. What we thought was a broken leg was actually an infection (an abscess) in her leg muscle. Cause; Unknown. The vet checked her leg for bites, wounds, and the most he found was a place where a few tufts of fur had been pulled loose.
And happy to say, Dr.L (name with held by request) paid for Mania Jones to see the vet and get her medication because we are flat out broke. (which, hopefully in the next week or so will be remedied). Mr. Kattaztrophe has been unemployed since July, but he did get his CDL and we are just waiting for a few pre employment tests to get back and he will be on his way =)
We have been very fortunate. The money situation has been terrible, but we have very good friends who provided a very Merry Christmas for the kids so I could pay off some bills. The bank says our escrow has enough money to pay the mortgage until March, Dr. L paid for Mania Jones, and a certain sticky situation is being handled by someone else for no pay. We don't know how to repay you all for all your goodness except to say a huge THANK YOU!!!!
Mania Jones is much better now. She's running and playing with our other cats, and she loves old Rorsach to pieces,lol! But she was so sick and in so much pain and we had absolutely no money for her vet visit. But Dr. L is a wonderful animal person and I cried all the way home when she said she'd pay for Mania Jones to get to the vet.
In spite of it all, the kitties in our care are well fed, warm and just as happy as ever. And the cold, cold nights bring all the inside kitties to my bed where they jostle for the best sleeping place, beside my head on my pillow =)
4 - 27- 2011. Toothless old lady cats and kitten harnesses.
Poor old Shiloh Marie, she's a toothless old lady now. She doesn't seem to have any problems eating though, but just in case I did buy canned food for her. She is 16 years old and thankfully the only age related problem she has is being toothless. Guess its wait and see if she can still mouse.
Little Longfellow has caught on to walking with a harness. He wants to go outside so badly, but he is still young. We bought him a small dog harness and leash and he took right to it. Now he can go out and explore with the kids walking him. It keeps him safe and the kids get a kick out of it. Nugget wants nothing to do with going outside, and is happy to sit in the window watching the birds and other cats.
And soon it will be time to open the pool and watch Viktor and the Turkish Vans (Watcher and his sister Cheshire) go for a swim. They go right up the ladder and get in the water. Big Mew likes to lay on the ladder and sunbathe. What cool cats.
Doing a big planting of cat-nip this year.Last year the cats loved eating fresh nip, so I'm expanding from one pot of nip to a nice planter full.
Save the cats of Monessen!
I read this letter today in the Washington Observer Reporter.
Killing cats not a good solution
Since the time of the pre-Socratic Pythagoras, prominent figures in the Western intellectual tradition have noted the relationship between our treatment of animals and our moral development. That wisdom appears to be lost on the city of Monessen as the city council has decided to promote the indiscriminate killing of homeless and owned cats who have the misfortune to be lured by baited traps.
Why are they killing cats in Monessen? Because some people have complained that they are using their yards as litterboxes. The mayor boasts she has the support of PETA.
Two questions need to be answered. Why are there homeless cats in Monessen? The answer is because irresponsible owners fail to spay or neuter their pets and keep them on their property. The second question is: Why does PETA support killing while inaccurately calling it euthanasia? The answer is because they claim that homeless cats lead horrible lives and are better off dead. While that may be true, without human intervention, it flies in the face of the facts. Homeless cats that are spayed or neutered and vaccinated (TNR) and cared for in a managed colony do very well and have the same disease rates as their owned counterparts and about the same life expectancy. Just ask Homeless Cats Management Team in Pittsburgh. They have spayed or neutered over 12,200 homeless cats.
It seems to me that the city council of Monessen has two options. The first is to continue on its current course and become known as "the cat-killing capitol of Pennsylvania." The outcome of which as predicted based on the vaccum theory is that once the cats are removed, the vacuum left will refill in no time. The second option is to sit down with feral cat experts and divise a compassionate, humane solution and become known as "the city were justice and reason prevailed." The choice is theirs to make, but it will be interesting to see if this small mill town secluded along the river has the moral fortitude to stay the course of justice.
Monessen, not only the lives of the cats but your reputation is at stake.
Faith Bjalobok
McMurray
I am asking all of the people who love cats, who care for cats, and who are sickened by cat killing to please call the Mayor of Monessen and tell her just what you think about her cat murdering policy.
DOX on Mayor of Monessen
Mary Jo Smith, Mayor.
Phone:(724) 684-5011
Address:100 3rd St, #3, Monessen, PA 15062
Cat Killer.
I am also asking that all animal lovers boycott Monessen. Take your business elsewhere. Also let PETA know that you are sick of their warped and disgusting views.
Love,
The Kattaztrophe Cats
KaBoose, Shirleena, Viktor, Mew, Mania Jones, RugBug, Shiloh Marie, Sweeney Todd, Watcher, Cheshire, Rorsach, Puppy(2Face), Longfellow, Kitten McNugget.
May 5 2011
Kitten time is fast approaching.
Last month we spotted a red cat in the bad side of the garage. I am just hoping it is not a female. I'm not even sure if she is still around. So we are on the lookout for this cat, and I just hope that it was someones pet who got out and is now safely at home.
Many people think that a feral cat cannot be socialized. That once wild always wild is the rule. Socializing ferals takes a long time, but is always worth it in the end. Usually after spaying/neutering the more aggressive cats calm down since they are no longer fighting for females or defending kittens. Viktor and Sweeney have gone from clawing, hissing and spitting to being such loving cats. Viktor even lets me pick him up and hold him BRIEFLY, before he starts to feel scared and out come the claws. But he's always up for a head rub or a pat.Sweeney will approach you and initiate contact, but on her terms only. No picking up, no touching her tail. If you break her rules you will get a swat (no claws) to the leg.
When I hear of groups like PETA saying ferals live horrible, diseased lives and its kinder to kill them it makes me angry.My cats live happy, full lives outdoors. They are cared for, loved and have the same tendency to sickness and accidents as do their indoor kitty pet kin. Ferals are healthier in ways than their indoor kin. My ferals do not have flea or mite problems, and are not exposed to the toxic chemicals in flea and mite treatments. They rarely have colds since they are not cooped up in close contact with other cats like indoor cats. And I've found that worms and other intestinal parasites are rare since they do not share a litter pan. Of course PETA would not realize this since they only spend time killing animals.
Real animal lovers don't support PETA.
May 6 2011
Who really helps track down the terrorists?
May 8 2011 Happy Mothers Day!!!
My special kitty children jumped into bed at 7:30 to let me know they expect their breakfast to be served soon. And KaBoose made a beautiful vomit splat near my chair after gulping down his Meow Mix,lol!
I never make an attempt to sleep in. The cats know that I am supposed to be up at 6 a.m and anything after 6 a.m is cause for alarm. The cats set out in search party form, jump into my bed and pull at the blankets, crawl under the blankets to nip my leg, and perch beside my pillow and stare at me. Watcher reaches out with his paw and pats my face (I think he's checking for vital signs).
I think cats are more caring towards their humans than humans are to each other. When I'm in bed with a cluster migraine it is the cats who lay down with me and keep me warm. When I'm down and burdened with the weight of the world, the cats know and make their way to me and sit with me, purring and nudging me, distracting me from problems that are very often beyond my control.
So, to all humans who have the honor of having kitty children I wish you all a very Happy Mothers Day!
5-8-11 New Kitteh Pics =)
KaBoose playing outside.
Sweeney Todd 'Big Momma'
KaBoose and Cheshire 'Chubba's' playing near the garden wall.
Shirleena Maria, she's so pretty =)
May 11 2011
Nugget and Longfellow are at CatNip Acres as we speak awaiting their neutering. Although I worry about them undergoing surgery (just as I worry about my own children) I know they will be all right and that they will lead happier, healthier lives for it.
Can't wait to get them home again though. Puppy has been crying for them all day, and night.
May 12 2011
Nugget and Longfellow are home from CatNip Acres. I had asked them to look at their eyes and they have been diagnosed as having entropion(cat eye health) So they will be having eye surgery to correct this. Nugget seems to have been quite the show off while at CatNip Acres and demonstrated his water bowl attack. He loves to put his paws in the water bowl and splash water all over the place. I also picked up a large supply of Frontline flea treatment so we won't have to go through last years cat nervous breakdowns.
Puppy was happy to see Nugget and Longfellow come home. Puppy has deep attachments to a few of his cat friends and cries for them if they are not with him. Puppy is a good boy, and he also has a strange water bowl habit. Puppy likes to dig at the floor by the water bowl while drinking.
Why do we call Two Face 'Puppy' now? He has some puppy like habits. Puppy chews on shoes, carries around pencils, and loves to play with anything crinkly, like plastic bags, bubble wrap and those plastic air pillows that come with breakable items. Puppy will steal a plastic store bag, poke his front leg through the handles, and walk all over the house with it. The other cats chase after him. Puppy is way too much fun at times =)
May 16 2011
Was poking through some old files and found Mew's baby picture.
He was so tiny. Now he's like a big old polar bear.
Mew is a very predictable cat. He wants in for the night just before ten. He grabs a quick bite to eat, uses the pan, then camps out on the bed waiting for me to go to sleep. June will mark 3 years since we found him up in the walnut tree. Whoever tossed him over the fence doesn't know what a awesome cat he is.
About 2 summers ago some idiot in a big van came barreling off the bike trail and tried to run him down.There were little kids, neighbor kids, old people and others out along our street at the time. This woman came off the trail doing about 50 mph and didn't even slow down, clipped poor Mew on his head. She had the nerve to shrug her shoulders and barrel on, like nothing was amiss. I found Mew hiding in some tree's down by the lot. He wasn't hurt, just scared to death.
Now that people are aware of the cats living here they have slowed down. A few weeks ago I was doing lawn work and saw a car come off the trail and Mania and Shirleena were on the sidewalk. I jumped down and picked them up. The driver stopped and said 'I always slow down and look out for your cats.' That made me feel good and I thanked him.
The cats are a big attraction for people walking through as well. They stop and pet the cats, and it gives me a chance to talk to people about TNR and the importance of spaying and neutering their pets. One lady calls my place 'Kitty City'.
May 17 2011 Throw Away Society
We live in a world of selfish convenience.Anything that seems too hard, bothersome or consuming isn't worth our time. Instead of thinking ahead we live for the moment.We want it all, but can't accept responsibility for maintaining it. Big homes we can't afford so we let the banks take them back, big cars we can't pay for so let get repossessed.
We have at our disposal so many forms of birth control, yet its too inconvenient to use it, so its perfectly fine to abort an unwanted child, or worse yet, to give birth and throw it in the trash.
And people love to get a pet, and they may even care for it to a point, where it becomes inconvenient and it to needs to go. Abandoned, tossed out, left to fend on its own.
Responsibility is a hard skill to master in a throw away society. Things are easy to come by, and its just as easy to get rid of. When will people realize that lack of responsibility has made our world so horrible? That this throw away attitude has cheapened us, and made us cold, uncaring and ignorant?
Simply put, you need to take charge of yourself. If you can't afford something, don't buy it. If you don't want to get pregnant, use birth control, and if you can't be a responsible pet owner, don't get a pet.
It is kitten season, and I know we will probably end up with a few of societies throw away's by the end of June. I live in a convenient area for cat dumping;quiet dead end street, rural setting, well traveled biking trail through the back yard, all good places for someone to abandon kittens. I'm not really sure how many get dumped each year as I usually find the dead ones before the live ones. Kittens are easy prey for hawks, fox, and other larger predators, including crazy humans who think its fun to run them down, stomp on them or let their dogs tear them to shreds.
Throughout this website are links to low cost spay/neuter clinics and rescue sites. Before you dump this season please contact any one of these places. And then you can take those hard baby steps to responsibility.
May 21 2011
Today Nugget and Longfellow go in for their eye surgery. I want to get before and after pictures of them.They will look so different afterwards, and their eyes will be so much better.
Found a really great story on The Mail Online A cat is reunited with its owner one month after the tornado's in Alabama. Look at how happy they are!
We are quickly coming up on 3 years since we found Mew. And July will make 2 years since KaBoose and Shirleena were found.
May 25 2011, E-Collars on kittens and the joys of butter
Nugget and Longfellow are doing fine after their eye surgery. They both have golden eyes! They are on antibiotics and are wearing E-Collars until their stitches come out.
Mr Kattaztrophe was home for a few days and Nugget loves to hang out with him while he makes toast in the mornings. Its all about the butter =). Nugget got his chunk of butter and proceeded to bite up the entire chunk when it fell into his E-Collar. Nugget thought it was the greatest thing, he could stroll around the kitchen and lick butter from his E-Collar.
I'm amazed at how well they are doing. They spent hours just looking at things.Longfellow will always have a corneal problem because of his fur, but this surgery will greatly improve on his health.
I'm going to get pictures of them today. Even with stitches in their eyelids they are adorable.
Welcome Nelson, Vanessa and Bosco!
May 28 2011
Today some very special kittehs came to live with me. They were saved by Bette (who is such a nice lady) and Mary.
Nelson is a Turkish Van who is pretty beat up, but so full of love =)
Nelson sleeping in the window with Longfellow in his E-Collar checking him out.
Nelson knows he's awesome =)
Nugget thinks Nelson is awesome too.
Vanessa and Bosco are still a little scared, but we did get to hold Vanessa.
Vanessa says "My tail is poopy, eeww!"
We didn't get a good picture of Bosco yet. He's does love to be rubbed and scratched, but says 'Do not hold me yet,human.'
Kattaztrophe Cats would like to say a big Thank You to Bette, Mary and Animal Friends of Pittsburgh, for their tireless love of cats.
Bosco Rosco Jenkins and the crazy feral kitteh.
May 29 2011
Taming the feral kitten is going well. He lets you open up the door to feed him and give him(her?) water, but jumps when I remove the litter box. His(her)nose is healing, and I'm hoping to have it doing fine by June 11 (its spay/neuter date).
Look at how sweet this kitten is.
This is Bosco Rosco Jenkins, who is hiding still. He's so beautiful, and once he calms down he'll get a good wipe down and comb out. The tip of his tail is white, but he'd been on the street so he's pretty dirty.
Nelson made himself right at home last night, and slept with my youngest son.Woke up this morning to see him 'spritzing' my Korean War Army jacket, but it will wash out. He's still kind of smelly, but he's still awesome.
Summer weather is here and the cats are outdoors more now. Everyone got their Frontline treatment, so they won't have fleas or ticks. I'm also thinking of making them a kitty tent for summer, and have sketched out plans for the winter condo (going to be made from some old cupboards).
June 3 2011
The new kitties are doing fine. Vanessa, who wasn't eating, is now eating since I put her by herself at the shop. She looks like she has gained weight and her fur is starting to grow back in. And... surprise! The feral kitten has made friends with her, and he/she is calming down now. They are both hanging out together, and when I visited with them a few minutes ago they were both curled up together.
Nelson, a/k/a 'Mr Awesome' is a real sweet heart. His cuts and scratches are healing up, he eats from your hand, and all the other kitties love him, except McNugget. McNugget is trying to earn his merit badge or something, and hisses at 'Mr Awesome'.
McNugget and Longfellow have their stitches out and they now have eyes that aren't just slits.McNuggets eyes were the most deformed, and the vet said he's not in pain from his eyes anymore, neither is Longfellow. They look so cute, and as soon as they came home from CatNip Acres they fetched their potato and were playing with it under the chairs. Of all the things to play with, they steal potatoes from the kitchen and play with them.
Bosco is still hiding. Every once in a while I catch sight of him sneaking through the hallway. If you look at him he spits at you. I wish he would come out of hiding.
The other day I found one of the kids old pop up tent. I was going to pitch it, but instead set it up in the yard. Now the outside cats hang out in the tent and play in there.
June 12 2011. Thunderstorm warning and the joys of plastic bags.
Mr Longfellow is the best thunderstorm warning device ever. We've been having some late night storms and without fail, Longfellow jumps into my bed and meows loudly in my face. I wake up to see lightning and rush to shut off all the fans in the window before they suck rain into their motors and short out.
Puppy has taken his plastic bag fetish to new extremes. He has become a hoarder. Last night I went upstairs and found a pile of plastic store bags in the hallway. At first I thought it was the kids, but on closer inspection I saw they were all neatly chewed and gnawed.There was also the plastic sleeve from ice cream cones buried in the bags and I knew I had found Puppy's mother lode of plastic store bag goodness.
When we came home from the store yesterday Puppy rushed into the kitchen and tried to make off with the plastic bag full of cans. He poked his head through the carry handle and attempted to walk off with the bag. Poor Puppy! He was so mad. As I unpacked groceries I left the bags on the floor. In a few minutes I looked and Puppy had about four store bags on him and was making off with a fifth one in his mouth. Silly cat pokes his head through the handles and will look like a parachute cat running through the house.
I've been looking for a rouge cat, the big fuzzy orange one. This cat has opened a big ginger can of whup ass on my cats. 3 cats in a month have had abscessed bites on their legs requiring rounds of antibiotics. I don't know whose cat it is, and nobody else seems to know either.
And there is another cat coming round to the feeding station at night. Its a grey cat with white legs that comes from the bike trail. I'm looking into getting a webcam to set up out there just to see who all comes here to eat.
Catzilla is female. My friends came to take Catzilla to CatNip Acres yesterday and the first report is that 'it' is a 'she'. Catzilla is due home this evening.Though Catzilla is not as crazed as she was when she first came she is still pretty feral and I'm loosing hope that she will ever be tame. Her nose has healed fine, and she has gained a lot of weight. After she recovers I will have to make a decision on whether to keep trying to socialize it apart from the other cats, or integrate it with the others while still half feral, or to let it live outside here with the others who live outside.
July 8 2011
One word sums up the past month;BUSY!
Catzilla & Vanessa are now outside kitties, they have been coming up at night to eat at the feeding station. Bosco is currently eating here and has been spotted trailing Mania Jones to a home just down the street here.
Another beautiful rescue cat, a huge, fat, friendly tabby has joined the 'family'. I call her Beautiful, because she is beautiful.And this cat loves to be petted, and petted, and petted.Tonight she let me pick her up for the first time. She made a half meow, half growl, so I put her down and she crawled up in my lap and leaned up against me purring. A few of her front teeth are missing and it looks like she may have had an accident involving her mouth at some time. She has a scar across her upper lip.
And tonight a kitten rescue came in. He's a fuzzy gray and white fellow.I understand that there are 2 more kittens and a mother, plus a tom. My goal in the next few weeks is to trap the mother, tom, and the 2 remaining kittens and have them TNR, with ear tip.The mother is in heat again and the kittens are about 6-8 weeks old.
Nelson looks AWESOME! He has really cleaned up well, from ruffian to gentleman. His fur is spotless, his scars healed, and he has put on probably 4-5 pounds. He no longer sprays, and uses the pan.He is a real sweetheart, and it amazes me that he was marked for death, along with Bosco, Vanessa and Beautiful.Bosco and Vanessa are ferals, more used to life outside. TNR has made Bosco and Vanessa less of a problem for their human neighbors by making them unable to reproduce, and ending the behaviors that people complain about; spraying, fighting, and having kittens that spray, fight and make more kittens. For former pets, who were cruelly dumped to fend on their own, like Nelson and Beautiful, TNR has improved their lives. Nelson does not spray, Beautiful no longer goes into heat.They spend their days lounging around, eating and playing, yes, playing.
Folks, be responsible. Spay or neuter your cats.
July 17 2011 Battle of the 'Bedtime' kittehs
It was bound to happen. Watcher, who is my usual bedtime kitteh has competition. Beautiful has decided I'm her favorite human and now has taken to sleeping with me at night. And she is funny! She's so big that when she jumps in my bed she makes an 'oof' sound, then she cleans up, rolls onto her back, puts her head on my pillow, and falls asleep.Last night Watcher and Beautiful both kept patting me, trying to outdo the other in the way of chin scratches and ear rubs.
The new baby cat has stopped being scared and now hangs out with the other cats. All the older cats groom him, and afterwards his fur sticks out and he looks like Buckwheat.Longfellow likes to play with him. I mean, Longfellow thinks he is a toy.Nugget taught the new kitten about windows, and last night they sat in the hall window watching things outside.
Nelson thinks he is the toughest cat on the block. Yesterday KaBoose, Watcher,and Nelson were all hanging out on the kitchen porch when a young groundhog came off the bike trail and into my yard. I shooed it away, and Nelson chases it. I had to call Nelson back. Highball used to do things like that.
Yesterday was also 'Frontline' day. Some of the cats don't care when they get their flea treatment, others act like its the worst thing,EVAR!!!Rorshach and Puppy acted like they had something heavy on their backs and crouch walked through the house. KaBoose jumped through the living room. The rest of the cats were cool and made fun of the 'Dramatically Impaired' cats.
The mystery cats have been solved. They are from an older colony that lives under an abandoned house down the road. I went down there a day ago and absolutely nobody was around. I noticed no food, and people have been going through their area.I saw evidence of cats, but didn't notice any cat smells. I now have 3 or more ferals on top of my colony coming here to eat at night.And with people fooling around near the house I'm not sure if it will be safe to trap the cats out from there. I worry because if some of these teenage boys see a cat in a live trap they might think its funny to pitch the trap and cat into the river. I'll find a solution, I always do.
July 19 2011
Sad news tonight; a friend who had caught the brother of our new kitten just informed me the kitten has died.<
She had called me this morning and told me the kitten had a hole in its neck. We both thought it might have been a worm (worble is what its called). She asked me if CatNip might see the kitten and I told her to call and ask. She called a few hours later and said that if it was a worble it could be removed by peroxide, but she was going over to pick up an antibiotic for it.Between our last call and the time she was going to pick up the medicine the kittens health declined, so she brought it along. CatNip checked it over, started an IV for fluids and antibiotics.She called me on the way back and said CatNip didn't know if the kitten would make it. Later this evening she got a phone call from CatNip that the kitten had died because it had been shot in the neck by a BB gun.
What hero shot a 6-7 week old kitten? I'm so disgusted at this point that I could gladly go to my friends place and search house to house for the tough guy who shot this kitten. Bad thing is, its sibling is still on the loose outside and now its at risk of being shot as well.
I have one of the kittens, a beautiful long haired tom who we ended up calling 'Fluffeh Kitteh', and my friend has another kitten that they trapped out. The remaining kitten is black and white. I hope it is caught before it too ends up dead.
Anyone who thinks its sporting or fun to shoot kittens needs to be beaten to within an inch of their lives, then thrown in jail for a few years.And I hope I never find out who shot this kitten because I will beat them to within an inch of MY life, jail not necessary.
July 21 2011
Fluffeh Kitteh's brother is with us. He's a cute black and white kitty, but he is bigger than Fluffeh Kitteh. I will also be taking in 'Mom' cat. She is scheduled for a trip to CatNip in about 2 days. (Fluffeh Kitteh is what we named the baby cat.)
Longfellow likes water. I was swimming tonight and one of the boys brings Longfellow out to the pool. Longfellow let my boy dip him into the water without protesting. Its been so hot that it probably felt good to him. Watcher also tried to go swimming tonight, but me being in the pool freaked him out and all he did was sit on the ladder and cry at me.
July 22 2011 HEAT WAVE and your cats.
Almost all of us are in the middle of this heat wave. Remember your cats! They can succumb to heat rather quickly.
Make sure they have plenty of fresh water. I save the big gallon plastic buckets from ice cream for this. Make sure they have food. Though they may not want to eat until its cooler, just make sure its there. Don't feed canned food during a heat wave unless the cats are going to eat it right as its served. Canned food will go rancid pretty quick, and it will be covered in flies and hornets within minutes. Hold off on canned food for a while.
Outside cats who are not in the country side need shelter from the sun. A quick sun shelter can be as simple as a cardboard box turned on its side, a piece of plywood leaned against a wall. Anything to make shade.
If your cats are indoors and you don't have air conditioning; keep a room dark for them (hang blankets over a window if you have to) and turn on a fan and keep it on the floor. Give plenty of cold water and expect kitty to be not so inclined to pats and chin rubs. They are like us. Its just too hot to have anyone touch you.
And take care of yourselves BTW. Don't be stupid and do outside work. Who cares about the lawn? Screw it. Water your plants in the early morning or late evening. If your town council sends you a citation for high grass, tell them they are more than welcome to come mow your yard. You'll watch ;).
And remember; if it gets too hot head out to your nearest grocery store or shopping center. Spend an afternoon just looking at stuff.
In spite of the panic mongers on television, its not the end of the world. This is normal for summers. You'll look back this winter with fondness or gratitude when its 40 below and you can't keep warm. Its summer! Enjoy it while you can!
July 24 2011. Longfellow the swimming cat video =)
Finally! Here is the video of Longfellow swimming with us the other day. He loves water, and had such a good time.
Now to catch Nugget playing with beans (which he eats after he 'kills' them).
July 26 2011. Dirty Douglas and Hyper Harry
Fluffeh Kitteh and Fluffeh Anuddah have become Dirty Douglas and Hyper Harry. Dirty (A/K/A Dirteh) has the messiest fur. All the other cats have taken to grooming him and he looks like a cat version of a dirty hippy.Fur all sticking out, and KaBoose licked all the fur off of Dirty Douglas's tail in places. Even with bushing he still looks awful.
Hyper Harry can't be still. He runs through the house meowing, then attacks your feet. Or he follows you room to room attempting to make you fall over him.He's so hyper his ears twitch all the time and his eyes are wide open like he's crazed.
And they both are loaded with fleas. I gave each of them 0.2 mm of Frontline, so now its wait and see if it will work on them.
Beautiful has taken up permanent residence in the bathroom. When it got hot she claimed the cool bathtub as her home. So, up go the food and water to the bathroom. She also decided toilet water is tastier than her bowl of water. She's so big that she can stand on the floor and lean over the seat with her head and front legs dangling into the bowl.Its so funny watching her. By winter the bathroom becomes the coldest room and she'll probably take up residence in the kitchen.
The cats all survived the heat wave, and so did we. The ferals came out way later at night than normal, so it was kind of hard to make sure they got their food before the raccoon did.
And speaking of raccoons; the stupid raccoon was using my pool to wet his food!I found stuff he stole from the garbage can in my pool. Extra shock and chlorine treatments seem to make the pool water too 'spicy' for him,lol!
August 13 2011.
Nugget is a vegetarian. Nugget eats lettuce, steals peas and green beans after I pick them, but he hasn't touched my tomatoes yet.
And the other day I smelled something really bad in the living room. Nugget or Longfellow had stolen a potato and hid it under a swivel chair. It was quite rotten.
Theres been another episode of not making it to the boxes. I think its the baby kittens, but who knows. With everyone but Nugget, Longfellow, DD , HH, Nelson and Beautiful outside for the summer there shouldn't be any accidents.
Cats Of Monesson info here. 11-19-2011
When this account got hacked back in August I removed a lot of info so it could be painstakingly cleaned of all retard code. One of these was the Save The Cat's Of Monesson page. I moved it into a separate blogger account and it can be seen here.
Anyways... been so busy lately that I haven't updated anything about the cats lately.
Chubba's died in late August. She had been poisoned. Mew went missing on Labor Day and still hasn't been found. The other cats are doing well, and we are getting ready to make some cat shelters for the winter.
The cats favorite holiday is coming up. Every Thanksgiving I am swamped by the cats who hang waiting for tidbits to eat.They love necks and giblets.
November 30 2011. What a bunch of ninnies.
Its coming up on winter, fortunately the weather has been extremely mild and our outside cats have been tucking in in the attic at the shop. Up the air conditioning unit, through the porch opening, and right up whatever duct that opens into the attic over there.
Baby kitty has died. Baby was the last surviving kitten from a litter of 4 malnourished, dehydrated kittens that came to us this summer with their equally malnourished mother. The first 3 died despite all measures to keep them alive. Baby kitty had caught a respiratory ailment and had recovered after a course of antibiotics.Saturday night she started sneezing again, but was other wise healthy and playing, eating and having fun. Sunday morning she took with a bunch of seizures and died. Baby kitty was such a sweetie. She'd wait for me to go to bed, perching on the nightstand and hopping into bed once the blankets were fixed. She'd lift the corner of the blanket and sleep beside me all night with her little paws on my face.
To make matters worse, some nasty kids at my kids school are saying my little girl killed Baby Kitty.How I wish I were a kid for just 2 hours. There would be some busted mouths over that one!
I wish people would understand that when a kitten has a rough start in life its more susceptible to other illnesses down the road, like my poor Tim cat.Cats are just like us. Sometimes there just isn't anything anyone can do to save their lives.
And these same kids have taken to saying that the other kittens died because of us. Sorry. When you are presented with a mother cat that is nothing but skin and bones trying to nurse kittens (for who knows how long) you are already fighting a loosing battle.Could any of you have done any better?
The fuck I thought!
I am not God. I can't do beyond what I can do.But at least I do something. I'm not the person dragging cats and kittens to my house, begging myself to take them in because 'I can't take care of them/don't have money/can't be there with them/don't know where they came from/insert lame ass excuse here...'. No, I'm the person who takes in the unwanted, the abandoned, the sick, the dying and do what I can. Spend my money for them, give my time and care. What have you done other than leave them with me with promises of sending me money for food for them or saying you can help me find homes for them if I just can take them in for a time? I really hate thinking about these cats lives before they landed here. How could anyone who saw a starving mother cat not do something before it became a no win situation? Had I known about it, the mom cat would have vanished while still pregnant or after the birth and been hidden away with plenty of food and water to care for her babies.
Anyways, enough of this. I can't be held responsible for other peoples ignorance.
The other kitties are doing great! And since night time falls so quickly now we have actually seen Vanessa, Catzilla and Roscoe!All are healthy, fat and still wild. But at least they are not pregnant or fighting. And we think we may have found Mew! We have to go back up to the air shaft, but we did spot a cat that looked just like him there.We were trying to back the car back down the road so I could jump out and call and wouldn't you believe it?On this road that nobody ever travels there were cars right behind us!By the time we could turn around up the hill and come back down he was no where to be seen.
Later today we are designing cat shelters. I'm almost tempted to have a friend build Kitty City for me, and I very well might see what he can draw up for me.I want something durable, warm, but with a large door that can be opened to clean it out and keep it fresh.And I'm also going to make a cat tree for the inside crew.