Such a Sad Day ...

I would like to say that Monday started like any other day ... because that's how stories start ... but it didn't. It was election day and we got up early to go vote before work. I went back home to work on kits and Charlie went off to the store. He called mid afternoon to say he needed to make a trip to the city after work for bags. I was up for that !! We zipped into the city, got our bags and packaging, slipped over to Costco for a medley of fruit, and grabbed some supper and headed home . We listened to the election results on the radio ... that may be where the sadness started. It was a history making day ... not history I liked , but history nonetheless.
We turned onto our road. Just two houses before ours we saw eyes flash on the road. There was animal walking up the middle of the road. Slowly. Deliberately. I couldn't make out what it was. We kept going slowly, expecting it to run off. No. It continued walking towards us. Finally it sat right down on the white line, starring into our trucks headlights. It was a cat. It sat stone still in the road. I got out, thinking it would scare him off the road. No movement. I walked to the cat and touched him. Nothing. Another car was coming up behind us, giving me a bad vision of us both being hit, so I scooped him up and carried him off the road. I thought his hair felt really matted on his belly. I set him down and still he stayed. In order to keep him from darting into the car's path, I reached down to pat him. .................. oh my. I felt instantly sick to my stomach. It wasn't matts. I could feel every bone, every vertebrae, everything. That cat was starving.
By this time Charlie was out of the truck and the cat was walking towards a water trickle in the ditch. We picked him up and took him home. Still no resistance.
We set him up in the woodshed with food, water, a litter box, a bed , and a blanket. He purred a mucousy purr and rubbed constantly against us. He was a little unsteady but seemed content to be there. He was so thin and probably sick. But he was sweet and loving. He ate food and rubbed. We left him to have a peaceful night and to fill his belly.
In the morning we realized that he was probably blind. His eyes were large vacant orbs. Again he rubbed and rubbed. Charlie took him to work in a carrier and called Animal Control so he could go the vet and eventually to a shelter. He lay contentedly in the carrier, responding to pats and affection until the Officer came.. He called the Vets and told them if he was unadoptable because of blindness we would take him back and keep him - somehow. The Animal Control Officer returned with the cage ... and bad news. When he came out of the carrier , he could barely move his back legs. That poor cat was so ill that most of his organs had shut down. Those that hadn't were in the process of doing so. He hadn't eaten , they estimated, for 2 weeks. He had to be put down, there was no hope.
I was blown away. I knew he was sick but had no idea it was so bad. And then I was heartbroken. That poor soul had walked right down the road to the front of our truck. Had it been someone else not slowing for their driveway, he would have been killed then. And then to find out that he had been neglected so badly and for so long, he just would not survive ... and yet he still purred and offered us loving rubs. How on earth anyone could leave an animal to suffer like that ... I shed many tears yesterday for him and for the ugly world that lets that happen. It was such a sad day.

Rest in Peace Stevie.

A PRELUDE to the KiTTy CaT RoLLeR CoAsTeR ...

I have had so many fun comments, emails, and in person conversations as a result of the last 2 blog posts I thought I would share the stories of some of our other cats. So today is "The Story Of WALTER".

Several years ago in the fall we started to notice that something was getting into our recycling in the wood shed. This continued for several months - we assumed it was a raccoon. Then Charlie caught a glimpse of it one day . It looked like a cat. So he made it his mission to find him. Every time he went to the wood shed he would hear the scurrying of the cat as he ran & hid. So one day he sat there for ... well, forever ... until the cat came out. A few hours later & Charlie had touched him. The next step was picking him up. Well that was it ! The cat put his little cat arms, one on each side of Charlie's neck, in a little kitty cat hug. Hooked !!
So we took pictures of this cat we had started calling Walter & took them around to the neighbours. No one knew who he belonged to. By now it was winter but it was really mild. But still we worried about Walter. So we put a bed in the furnace room and started feeding him there. Our furnace room is attached to our kitchen and each morning we would hear him meowing at the kitchen door for breakfast.We really wanted to find out who he belonged to ... he was too friendly to be a wild cat.
As time went on we realized that no one was looking for Walter ... he must have been abandoned. So we started looking for a new owner for him. A few people were interested ... they would think about it. Not what we had hoped ... or was it ??
I was home from work one day and heard my cats kicking up a big stink in their little outside run. There was Walter trying to visit with them. I brought the cats in and went back to what I was doing. I heard a noise at the kitchen window ... Walter was looking in and meowing. Oh my. I felt terrible because he seemed so sad. Unable to look at him, I did the mature thing and put a towel over the window. That didn't stop Walter - he climbed up on the roof of the cats' run and looked in the kitchen door window. MEOW ... (that's "Please let me in" in case you don't speak cat ...) I put another towel up and went into the living room. Walter did too ... he came around the house to that window. I then got a sheet of styrofoam insulation and covered that window ( too big for a towel). By the time Charlie came home from work I had covered all the ground floor windows with styrofoam & towels. I was crazy with guilt about this poor cat outside ... I'm sure Charlie thought I had lost it !!
So we were then even more determined to find Walt a good home ... but he did it for us.

That night we had a snow storm. We went upstairs to bed but I was awakened a few hours later by a CRASH . I got up to find the upstairs window smashed ... Walt had CLIMBED THE ROOF in the snow ( about 6" on the roof !!) and had made his way to the upstairs dormer ... guess he knew that's where we were. Our big girl cat Emma had seen him peeking in the window and lunged ... and smashed the window. This was great for Walt - he strolled on in ! So we grabbed him & put him in the bathroom . We checked out Emma for glass and she was fine. We wanted to keep the cats separated because we didn't know if Walt had any illnesses. SO he slept in the bathroom with a litter box and food and the rest slept just outside the door ! Charlie patched the window with some heavy cardboard and we all tried to get some sleep.
The next morning we put Walt back in the furnace room . Again that night I heard a sound. I checked the window - it looked fine. I went down stairs to see what the trouble was ... it was Walt laying on the rug in front of the wood stove !! He had pushed the cardboard aside just enough to wiggle in. Again he had climbed the roof !!! He was staying and that was it ! So back to the bathroom he went for the night then off to the vets on the morning for a check up and then the other 4 cats all went for needles. From that day on Walter has been a big part of our family !!

The HOLE !!!

Here's a picture of the hole !! I guess that vapour barrier may be no good ... haha!! Anyway, it's all fixed and once again covered with a shelf and totes & boxes ...all is normal (?) again !!

And NOW for PART 2 !!!

Remember I said I wanted to get off the KITTY CAT ROLLER COASTER ? Well, little did I know that we were approaching the part where they warn you to keep your hands & feet inside the ride because it is about to get CRAZY !!!
First, let me say that we picked up Walter & he was doing really well. He goes back tomorrow for a recheck & hopefully his dental work. Fingers crossed.
ANYWAY .... yesterday I had a MINOR meltdown about doing dishes ... it seems like I spend half my time doing just that. So I announced that I was washing the dishes and then NOT making supper - I refused to dirty another dish that day. So Charlie went to get a pizza. Alone in the house , I went into my craft room to work on some card kits for the store. It was really quiet ... peaceful ... then I heard MEWING. I listened really carefully and I DID hear it ! So I went outside thinking there must have been a fifth kitten ... I could hear it outside too but it sounded like it came from under the house. I ran in for the carrier in case I could catch it. But no sign of it. Then the mewing stopped. I waited outside until Charlie got back, but no further noise.
After the 'dish-less supper' I went back to my craft room to work ... after a bit... more mewing. I called Charlie in but he said it was a bird. Now, I just said, "hmm. okay. " but never for a minute did I not believe it was a cat. I knew what I heard.
A little while later ...more mewing ... and it was definitely mewing. Charlie heard it and agreed. But where was this kitten ?? We searched the wood shed, the loft over the wood shed, the furnace room. We then took the gyproc off the wall in the furnace room and explored the wall cavity. Nothing. I kept returning to the craft room and could sometimes hear it, sometimes not.
Then Charlie went up in the attic. Nothing. The mewing got louder and then LOUDER. By now I am in tears because I know there is a kitten somewhere and it is probably needing help. It had been 5 days since the mothers were taken away.
Charlie decides to crawl under the house. We have no basement, just a crawl space that narrows to about 8" at the back . The noise was coming from the back but under a room that is separated form the crawl space by a rock wall. But maybe the sound was playing tricks on us.
I layed on the floor listening ... the mewing was getting more frantic and there seemed to be 2 little voices. I kept talking to them and telling them we would find them. They kept mewing back. It was heartbreaking. Then I hear Charlie's voice below the floor saying "I see you". THANK GOD !!
I ran to get the carrier and went to the trap door. After a lot of difficulty... crawling on his belly with a flashlight in hand ... Charlie hands up 2 black kittens !!! But there was another... and it was behind the rock wall & not moving much.
I ran back in and could hear a faint mewing so we knew the other little one was alive. The kittens had crawled through a little spot where a rock was missing. The other 2 were strong enough to come out on their own. But not this little guy. Our only option ... and we didn't care ... was cut a hole in the floor. We first had to move a 7 foot shelf LOADED with stuff ... a few bottles on top smashed after they hit the door jamb as we frantically pushed it out of the room. Then totes & totes of supplies. (Remember this was in my craft room ... no empty space or bare floor there !!)Then paper racks got pushed aside, carpet was cut, desks were moved, carpet flipped up. Then a 2'x2' hole was cut in the floor ... then through another plank floor, ... and then OMG a third plank floor. Finally, crowbar in hand, Charlie pried up the last boards. WE shone the flashlight down and there was the kitten, He hung down in and grabbed it ... then another. Oh my ... the last 2 were finally safe except they were very weak and couldn't really walk. They just shook and cried.
Once again we sprang into formula mode , mixing it up, filling the pipettes, making milky cat food, gathering blankets & heating pads ... oh, it was all too familiar !!
Anyway, after an hour or so we had everyone fed and warmer. They were all looking well but were even tinier than the first batch. We slept on the couch and chair, sometimes with the kittens snuggled up to our bellies to stay warm. Did I say slept ? Sorry. Not true. It was 4am before we got them full enough to sleep. Then it started again at 6:30 so we had a brief 2 hour CAT NAP. That was it. But thankfully they were okay . They wouldn't have lasted much longer - it had been 5 days with no mommy.
This morning they were picked up and will probably be at CAPS or a CAPS foster home by afternoon .
I have the greatest respect for the CAPS foster homes ... that is hard work , feeding those little babies every few hours. HATS OFF !!!
Well, hopefully that will be the last installment of the KiTTy cAt RoLLeR CoAsTEr ...

Baby Bat Face

Two Eyes

Baby Bear Cub

One Eye ... becoming 1.5 Eye

KiTTy CaT RoLLeR CoASTer

Stop the ride !!! I think I need to get off for a minute !!!
YIKES !! Yesterday we took our sweet little Walter to the Vet for some dental work. He had seemed thinner and had bad breath . An exam found that he had 2 bad teeth. So we set up the appointment but decided to do other tests as well just to be sure. Thank goodness because a kidney problem was found. Now, I won't lie ... I was gutted when I heard that. We had only one experience with kidney problems and it was bad. Anyway, he had to be re hydrated before he could have surgery and would have to stay and wait until today. So ... yesterday was not a great day. I was pretty sad. But the word seemed to be that he could have medication and it would be managed. But still.
So the day starts like that. Then I get my cakes out for the Cookies for CAPS and one is ... well ... not great. It seemed to have fallen and was more like fudge than cake. Charlie said it was okay but I thought it was gaggy sweet & yucky. I did still have a Rhubarb Cream Custard cake though. Anyway, I decided to bake something else that night.
But then, the time came to go home. I dragged my feet, found errands, all sorts of things ... I hate to go home when one of our animals is missing ... the house seems too empty.
Finally we went home, pulled in the driveway, and heard a screechy sound. I sat listening, trying to figure out what bird it was ... hmmm ... do we have a cardinal ? ... hmm... HEY, THAT'S AN ANIMAL !!!! And yes, it was a tiny little hungry screaming kitten marching right up to us. We picked it up ... then the next one ... and the next ... and the next. Four little hungry babies !!

EDIT : Allow me to introduce you to the newest CAPS family ... L-R... Pamela (she's the one who lead them all out to us ... she's also the loud one ...hmmm ), Emma, Sara, and Charles.


Well now we had a mission ! In the house we went, gathered milk and food, blankets and little boxes of litter. We fed them , cooed over them, and warmed them. Then off we went with them in a carrier looking for bottles & kitten formula. We ended up with a recipe but had little luck finding all the ingredients. Try finding Infant Vitamin Drops and PLAIN Tums at Needs !!! But we mixed up what we could , fed them, and got them to fall asleep.
(Then I had to start madly baking ... 2 dozen cookies and 2 pans of squares later I was ready to drop !!)
Meanwhile, our cats were VERY ANNOYED and trooped off to hide upstairs. We ended up sleeping on the couch and in the lazy boy with the kittens while our cats enjoyed the queen sized bed upstairs !
I swear that there is an Cat Underground Railway with a sign that says "Go to the ugly house in PG and they'll help you."
This morning, with the help of our CAPS friends, the kittens were picked up and taken to the Vets to be checked out, then off to CAPS to be fostered until they can be adopted.
Now I am back to worrying about Walter but hopefully that too will turn out well and tonight we will be taking him home to our happy little cat house !!