Rescue Mission!

On Monday, I heard from my friend Lesley that the Casper Cat Rescue had sent 22 cats to the Boulder Humane Society to be adopted. But, Boulder said the cats had ringworm and they refused to take them. They would be euthanized if they weren't picked up.

Well, I thought, I could drive to Boulder and bring them as far as Cheyenne. I've wanted to do something to help other felines after losing Spott & Truman and this seemed like a perfect time to jump in. So, I offered to help.

Now I didn't really think this through. While my car is large enough to hold 2 small boys, I suddenly realized that fitting 22 cats in would be a bit tougher. So, I coerced my good (way too good I might add) friend Missie into helping.

So, Tuesday morning, directions in hand, we headed to Boulder. We found it quite easily and a friendly person even let us in. We waited for the cats to be delivered but it apparently was more of an ordeal than we thought. Before we knew it, we were in the back helping load the Ringworm Cats into carriers. Well, Missie loaded and I mostly watched. We ended up taking 18 cats and kittens back with us and they all fit neatly into her van.

It wasn't as loud as we expected, but Missie said she hadn't really counted on the smell. (I think more than one might have had a wee bit of an accident.)

Almost all of the cats were in boxes but 3 were put in actual carriers and one little cat was sitting facing us. She was a homely little thing with a very gravelly meow and a forceful personality. We were both drawn to her right away.

On the drive back, I looked back and she was sitting there, paws curled under just like she was Miss Daisy and we were the drivers.

We transferred the furry passengers to the Casper Cat Rescue person Angela. We were happy to help and I felt happy knowing that 18 little lives were spared. It does seem wrong that a supposedly "no kill" shelter would put a cat down for having ringworm. Fortunately, none of these met that fate and are all now awaiting homes in Casper. Visit Caspercatrescue.com to get more info!

Brenda's Tree Donations

I've been trying to come up with a good way to honor the lives of Truman and Spott. Right now, helping other animals in need seems like the best and most appropriate thing.

So, I want to help Lesley raise money for Brenda's Tree. I couldn't figure out how to attach the flyer, but here's the text:

Brenda Collins Newman was a beautiful, vibrant young 37-year-old woman who dedicated her life to her family, friends, and pets. Brenda loved animals of all sizes including cats, dogs, turtles, and fish. Brenda lost her life and that of her unborn child, Cian, to a drunk driver on October 30, 2008 on Highway 59 north of Douglas, WY. Brenda’s Tree is dedicated to her spirit for life and her love of animals – specifically rescue animals.

With Brenda’s devotion to animals in mind, her sister and Paws2Help have created Brenda’s Tree. Ribbons to decorate Brenda’s Tree will be sold in the name of

lost loved ones, with all proceeds benefiting Paws2Help and their rescue animals. For your $5 donation, you may select a large ribbon and a “In Loving Memory” tag in your lost loved one’s name and help fill Brenda’s Tree with love. You may also select the anonymous smaller ribbons for a $1 donation.

Gold ribbons represent lost loved ones. Purple ribbons represent those lost to DUI. Paw print ribbons represent our lost pets.

Brenda's Tree will be on display and ribbons will be available for purchase at Blue Heron Books and Espresso through the holidays. A second tree will also be on display at Popish Veterinary Clinic where ribbons may also be purchased.

So if you'd like to donate a ribbon to the tree, you can send me your donation and I'll coordinate the Cheyenne effort.

Somehow, I'd like to organize a cat rescue here, but don't quite know how to even get started. Give me time, I'll figure something out.

10 Cat-iquette bed rules

I woke up at 3 in the morning a couple nights ago because a large furry cat was on my face, purring in my ear. My nose was tickling so much, I knew it was Hamilton - the big furry feather duster!

I realized then that he was making the transition from sleeping in the closet to sleeping on the bed. He has a few rules to learn:

1. Don't sleep on my face.

2. Don't drool in my ear. Or anywhere on exposed skin.

3. Turn the purring down. Or please fall asleep, so it doesn't sound like a motor boat's closing in.

4. Don't knead your claws anywhere on me or the mattress. (Hamilton's declawed, so he can skip this one.)

5. Don't growl if I should choose to move you because my arm has fallen asleep under your dead weight.

6. Don't pee on my head. (OK, no one's tried this since O'Malley)

7. Don't bring toys or dead mice into the bed.

8. Bed time is for sleeping and not for loud slurpy, grooming.

9. Don't sit and stare at me while I'm sleeping. It's as creepy as if a person was doing it.

10. I am allowed to sleep later on weekends, so there's no need to start pacing across my body if I'm not up by 6.

I'm sure the cats have their own rules, or maybe only one:

1. The bed is mine. Period.