Rescue Mission Part Deux

I've had a big smile on my face all week. The last several months have been dismal in my little cat world and try as I might, I hadn't been able to get over the loss of Truman and Spott.

Then 18 cats stepped in and reminded me that I do have a role in the world - a person who saves the world one cat at a time (like my Mutts shirt says.) Or like the story of the kid who would throw beached starfish back into the ocean. No, he couldn't save them all, but he said, "I made a difference for this one."

That's what I did for Spott & Truman and I'd forgotten that for awhile.

So, I was sitting in the van in Boulder hanging with 18 cats while Missie was dealing with an iPod issue. I called my trusty vet and asked what I needed to do to make sure I didn't catch ringworm and spread it to my family. She said, to wash my hands, strip, burn your clothes, the van, .... well not really, but almost. Apparently it IS very contagious and the spores can travel in clothes or fibers. And, it's notoriously hard to get rid of.

I told her that one little cat had caught my eye. She said, "DO NOT TAKE A RINGWORM CAT." In fact, she might have said it 15 times, but I was looking at Little Cat the whole time, replying, but she's sooooo cute. Dr. Randall said there are cats around every corner looking to get rescued, don't take a ringworm cat.

"Well, I heard there's a 3-legged cat," I said. She told me emphatically to take 3-legged cat, but not Ringworm Cat.

Hmmm, I'll have to ponder...

I pondered as far as Loveland where we passed the cats along to Angela. Missie and I debated taking Little Cat at that moment, but I had no way to keep her separated from the others while waiting to see if she actually had ringworm or not. So, a clearer head prevailed and I didn't take her.

That night, I had another cat dream. I knew when the right cat needed me, she would find me, just like all my cats have. Little Cat found me.

So, I emailed Angela and told her I'd take Little Cat once the threat of Ringworm was gone.

I'm sooooo happy.

You can clearly see her in the 2-toned carrier on the left! :)

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.

Bridgette's progress

Well, the good news is that Bridgette continues to improve! She's still on her steroids and antibiotics and they seem to be doing the trick.

I talked to Dr. Prauss about her progress and what to expect from rhino...yaddayadda-nose thing. She said that this condition can't be cured, but can be controlled with meds. Somehow, the interior of her nose got irritated and inflamed. Unlike a normal cat (or human nose) once the irritant was gone, the nose didn't relax, it just went into overdrive, producing loads of goo and causing so much inflammation, the passageway was blocked.

So, we'll gradually reduce the dosage and see how it goes. Her weight (which I describe as chunky) is something we'll deal with later.

But she's out and about, grooming again and generally getting feisty. She's actually been fighting with the other cats which in this case, I see as a good thing. The fact she still has litter box issues is another little issue I'll worry about another day. One thing at a time!

Struggle for Supremacy

The battle for the job of Top Cat continues.

With the loss of Truman, a huge vacuum in leadership emerged.

I knew Truman was in charge, but didn't realize to what extent. He determined where everyone slept, their proper place on the bed (or if they were allowed on the bed); who ate in what order (he ate first and sampled everyone's to determine which bowl he'd start with); who got to sit on my lap (virtually no one) and I believe, even which litter box they were allowed to use.

Now I have a bit of chaos on my hands. What's clear is that nothing is clear. No favorites have emerged, but here's how I think they stand:

Dickens - no chance. He's 18 and as long as he can sleep in the corner of the bed, he's happy.

Molly - actually, I don't think Molly's even noticed a change. She's outside and takes little interest in the politics of the inner-household.

Hamilton - the new guy on the block. He's been battling, but is at a disadvantage not having front claws. This has been hurting him in the "tough guy" department. Also he drools a lot which I think would be embarrassing in cat world.

Barclee - although few people have seen her and has been nicknamed "Figment" by friends and family, she's the early favorite. She's getting pretty bossy at opportune times like dinner and bed time. Also, I'm pretty sure it was her claw I found in Hamilton's head. She has a soft spot for Molly though, and that weakness could be her undoing.

Bridgette - she's the dark horse. Now that she's feeling better, I think she'll step it up a little more. I think she was Truman's 2nd in command before the nose situation got the better of her. Plus, she doesn't really care if the other cats like her - and is not really being friendly with any of them. A true leader in other words. And I have seen her club the other cats in the head if they were encroaching on her Cindy time. IN other words, she's not afraid to mix it up.

Stay tuned. Cat hierarchy is much more complicated than dog world, and it'll be interesting to see how it plays out over the next several months. Place your bets...

Bummer

Somedays are still tough.

I came home from a rough day at work and as I walk in the door I always say Hello Babies!

Today, no one greeted me and I inadvertently called out, "Truman?"

Then I remembered.

Truman ALWAYS greeted me at the door and then jumped up on the washer to head butt me. A long time ago, when he saw would see the car, he'd run out the cat door, jump over the fence and get to the car by the time the garage door opened. Then he'd ride on the car into the garage. After the cat fence was installed, he simply greeted me at the door. By the time I'd get to the dining room, Spott would have come out as well.

I miss my greeters.