A Letter to Kenny & Spenny

Dear Little Boys,

Thank you for being such wonderful houseguests. You brought such joy to our family in the short time that you were here.

Your new Mommy seems very nice! The whole adoption went very fast - so fast that I can hardly believe that you're really gone. I'm so grateful that you'll have a forever home together!

Who is going to bite my toes in the morning? How will I ever manage to use the washroom by myself now that you're gone? I was really looking forward to your first Christmas at our house, but fortunately your new Mommy already has her Christmas tree up, so you can make a mess out of HER tree! :)

I've been so emotional over the past few days, that I find it strange that I'm "OK" with you boys being adopted. Maybe it's because I really liked the lady that adopted you. *shrug*

The only thing I didn't like about this woman is that she didn't want to let you on the kitchen counters. I think I shocked her when I told her, "Look. You don't have human children - spoil the shit out of these guys and ENJOY them!"

I was glad to see her be silly with you and kiss you both when she arrived tonight to pick you up.

Little ones - I love you. I hope your new Mommy writes me and sends me pictures like she promised. You made us laugh and gave me something to talk about with my teenage son.

I pray that you'll have the very best life....

Love,

Your foster Mom - Beth

Ordinary People

I've been so emotional lately. It's starting to piss me off. David sent me some baby shower pictures from a couple that was infertile for 10 years - their baby is due in 8 weeks. I started to cry and I didn't even know these people!

Imagine how I felt yesterday: I arranged to meet a couple at the shelter. Carol and Norm wanted to rescue a cat that was going to be euthanized. When they arrived, they walked up and down the cages and agonized over each one. Carol looked at me with big tears in her eyes. There were so many and she could only take one. My biggest concern when this happens is that people will feel so overwhelmed and walk out with ZERO cats. It's happened. Folks feel like they can't make a difference by adopting just one.

There was NO way they were going to leave without a cat - at least not in my book. They came across a very ordinary little grey tabby named "Natalia". Norm took Natalia out of her cage and this little 6 month old cat began to knead in the air. She was so grateful for any affection. Norm kissed the end of her nose and called for his wife. Boooya!! Carol started to cry again when she held Natalia. Natalia rubbed her little grey tabby face all over Carol's, as Carol commented on how beautiful she was.

To me, Natalia was a very ordinary cat and Carol and Norm seemed like such an ordinary couple. But yesterday, they did an extraordinary thing. They gave a home to a cat that had no hope.

In one day, Natalia went from this discarded piece of garbage that somebody didn't want....


To a beloved member of a family....a real family...HER family.


Of course, I started to cry when these pictures came into my e-mail last night. Natalia's new name is "Peaches" because she has "beautiful peach stripes". These people and this cat aren't "ordinary" any longer. They offered their love, their home and their hearts to a little cat that had nothing and nobody.

They're all extraordinary in my book. (need tissues...STAT!)

The Love of a Mother...

It's always hard when my daughter goes back home. I feel like part of me leaves when she gets on the plane. But I need to pat myself on the back. She's a beautiful, independent, educated young woman. What more could I want?

I was fortunate enough to have a friend from the former rescue help me with a rescue of a really cute Snowshoe Mom and her kittens. The Snowshoe Mom was a real doll and the family that adopted her was thrilled.
Her kittens however....are another story. Bless their little hearts - they apparently had a black and white Dad who was obviously a travelin' man. Poor babies ended up with some unfortunate markings and are REALLY homely: (May lightening strike me for saying such a thing!)


My friend is keeping the two "ooogly" ("oogly" = ugly) kittens in her washroom for a week until they can go into a Petsmart store. Lord help 'em...it's probably the only way they'll get adopted. They certainly aren't photogenic, nor are they that affectionate. *sigh* Oh well, at least they're safe and somebody will take them home and love them forever.

I couldn't help but think about the Snowshoe Mom tonight and wondering if she's missing her kids like I'm missing mine tonight. Maybe she's happy to have her own space after her and her kittens shared a tiny cage. Maybe she's thinking, "Thank heavens they're off to find their own lives!" or maybe she's wondering what happened to her babies.

Tonight? I'm wondering what happened to my "babies":

A Daughter, A Boyfriend and Meatball

My baby is arriving from Southern California today. She's not really a "baby". She's 24, a Registered Nurse and a lovely, independent young woman. Like the rest of my crew, I think she's coming in for a "kitty fix". She sounds more excited to see "The Redheads" than she is me! hahaa!

I always thought Katy would become a veterinarian. She's certainly bright and compassionate enough. But when the time came to decide she couldn't see herself "hurting" an animal. Even if it was for the animal's benefit. Yah. I get that. So no veterinarian in the family - yet.

Katy's new boyfriend is allergic to cats. Despite my lectures throughout her teenage years, "Never date anyone that you wouldn't want to eventually marry", she's latched on to a very nice guy that unfortunately is HIGHLY allergic to cats. Damn. I can only wait this relationship out and pray that he either gets on the Benadryl-bandwagon or they break up. I can't imagine Katy without a cat in her life.

The boyfriend loves animals and has the cutest little dog named "Meatball". God, I love that name. I'm going to name the next foster cat "Meatball". Katy sent me a picture of herself with Meatball. I'm in love.

I realize it's totally lame to post a picture of somebody else's dog in my cat rescue blog. But you have to admit, that is one cute dog, right?

Katy called me on the way to the airport this morning and asked which of the kitties would be sleeping with her tonight.

Like mother - like daughter. :)

What's in a Kiss?

I love kissing my cats. Cats don't care if you have bad breath or smudged mascara. I might be fooling myself, but I really think my cats like to be kissed. It's part of who I am with my cats. I kiss 'em when I pick them up. I kiss 'em before I put them back down.

I find it amusing when a new foster cat gets kissed the first time. They always look really confused but they come back for more. Even my 17 year old son gets into smoochin' the foster cats: (I hope he isn't ticked at me for posting these pictures of him kissing the kittens. If guys only knew what a turn-on it is for girls to see a guy so vulnerable as kissing a kitten! Swoon!)

We want our foster cats to know that they're part of the family for however long they're with us. They get kissed just like the rest of the gang, so they might as well grin and bear it:

Let the torture begin! (Don't you wonder what they REALLY think?)

I've been "caught in the act" by people who aren't animal-people. They look at me with such disgust. Seriously. If they knew how much joy a pet can give you....*sigh*...

But I'm preaching to the choir, right?

It's a Paaarty!

Soooooooooooo....the boys are out and "aboot" with the rest of the gang. The transition went smoothly with very little hissing! That's always such a pleasant surprise. :)

Within the first 5 minutes, one of the little boogers climbed the screen on one of the windows, and the other managed to lodge himself in an open dishwasher. Children!!! Regardless, we're all having a ball and I thought I'd capture the excitement in pictures and post them here:

Lordie, these guys are CUTE, CUTE, CUTE! I can hardly keep my hands off of them!

Willy always hisses at the newcomers - but he was pretty well behaved this time!

Meeting Maggie for the first time was quite the ordeal. Maggie is such a trooper, bless her 10 year old heart.
Thomas was a little worried at first, but was out playing with the kittens within minutes! Good boy, Thomas!

It doesn't take long for them to learn that breakfast is served on the window seat in the kitchen!

Needless to say, I feel comfortable in leaving them alone with my troops while I go out and do some Christmas shopping today. David is procrastinating with the Christmas lights and I'm DYING for a Tim Horton's coffee.

Somebody barfed on my comforter this morning, so I'd better add that to the "To Do List". How pathetic am I? :)

Quickie Update

Tomorrow is the big day! "The boys" are coming out of quarantine and with the rest of the gang. Poor guys have been mewing at the door and desperately want to hang out with the family. It's been 6 days since their rescue and 10 days since their vaccinations. I know I'm pushing it...

It's always stressful when I introduce my cats to the new guys. Everybody hisses and I'm always embarrassed for my cat's poor behaviour. I'm going to be home most of the day tomorrow to monitor the introduction. (David is putting up the Christmas lights, and I'm providing lots of "ooooh's and aaaah's", along with hot cocoa.)

I'm looking forward to having my guest room back. My daughter arrives next week on Wednesday from California and I've got to get the place cleaned up. She's going to fall in love with these redheads. My son arrived from Guelph with friends to have a "kitten fix" too.

Everybody thinks we should name them "Kenny and Spenny". I have a tendency to agree - they have such different little personalities and one is definitely more ornery and outspoken than the other. (I'm not telling which one!)

Wish me luck with the intro's tomorrow! (Please forgive the quick post - I taped a 2 hour Grey's Anatomy last night and I'm DYING to watch it.)

The Redheads

My Mother tells me that every time I get a new foster cat I always say, "OMG, Mom...these are THE CUTEST ONES EVER!" But seriously, I think these guys are the cutest ones ever! Look at their little red faces and tell me you don't think they are absolutely perfect in every way. (*wink*) They're going to be in quarantine until the end of the week, so it's like a constant "purr-love-fest" every time I walk in the room. If you have a moment when you're not feeling good about yourself - just open the door and walk in. Who needs drugs and alcohol? Just surround yourself in pure adoration.

Like all new Moms I've taken a million pictures of my new foster kids. Picking out the perfect assortment of cuteness for the rescue website takes a certain knack. I wish I could tell other foster homes the importance of a good picture. Bazzle was adopted in a week....could be luck... or it could be a really outstanding picture. But I digress...

It's going to be interesting to see if these guys are really bonded or not. Right now, I would love to see them adopted together. But once they're out with my gang, they'll either remain together or they'll spread out and play with everybody.

Take some insulin. Here are a few more pictures:

I'm in love. I pray these little guys stay well. If they don't, I'm grateful that I have the time and heart to get them through whatever they need.

Rescues & Limits

What is it about these rowdy redheads that I can't resist? As promised I went to the shelter today and came home with brothers. They're about 16 weeks old and are they CUTE with a Capital "C"!!!

Of course, they purr'd the moment I picked them up. David is already calling them "Dink 1" and "Dink 2". I'll have to think of some better names than that. Somebody stop me from calling them "Nate Dog" and "Taylor Hanson"!!!!

I just went into the bathroom to check on them and in typical redhead fashion, the bag of cat food was ripped open and the toiletpaper was unrolled. *sigh* Never a dull moment!!

David went with me to the shelter today and of course I cried and begged to take "just one more". I wanted him to see me holding this little tabby girl that was purring. I was sure that seeing my eyes brimming with tears would have him crumbing. I'm glad he was strong. Two foster cats have always been the best fit in my house. Any more than that, and things get pretty chaotic. If anybody who is reading this blog can see it in their heart to take her, please let me know. She's just a baby - only 16 weeks or so:

Right now, I miss having my own rescue. I would've taken her anyway and figured it all out later. Maybe I should stop going into the shelter. It hurts to have such a limit.

Needless to say, I'm thrilled with my two new guys. I love them already. My heart hurts for the ones that were left behind. The shelter was "at capacity". It's going to be a horrible euthanasia day on Tuesday. At least there's two orange kittens that won't be there when the vet arrives.

I've Never Been Lucy Ricardo

I've never been the type of girl that permitted any man to tell me what to do. But I'm sitting here squirming in my chair as it's 3:20 on Wednesday afternoon, and I'd really like to have gone to the shelter today to rescue a cat or two. However, David and I are leaving for Montreal tomorrow morning for a few days on another little romantic trip.

Don't get me wrong - I'm VERY happy to be going away to a gorgeous hotel in Montreal for a few days of shopping, pampering and romance, but my heart is really pulling towards some poor cat that won't be there on Saturday when I return. David told me, "Don't go to the shelter until we get back....you can't ask Will (my son) to take care of a new cat, what if the cat gets sick?"

Why can't I ask him? Shit. Why can't I TELL him to take care of the newbie? I've been giving him community service hours for his help with the rescue. Why on earth am I sitting here listening to my husband telling me to "wait". Probably because he's right and I hate that.

I feel insanely guilty for not going to the shelter today, and snarly because I let a man tell me what to do.

This is NOT a good combination for which to start a romantic few days. Relax Beth, relax....

A Letter to Bazzle

To My Sweet Big Boy,

I'm going to miss you, Bazzle. Your new family was better than I could have wished for and so excited to give you a forever home. They asked me about what you liked and disliked. They were very happy to continue the "9 p.m. Snacktime" with the Temptation Treats too!

How could they NOT fall in love with you? You were an absolute gentleman and they were in awe at how handsome, quiet and affectionate you were.

Margaret promised me that you would be sleeping with her tonight. She said she had a big comfy bed and was very happy to share it with you. She promised me she'd never have a boyfriend that was allergic or didn't like cats. She would love you forever and ever.

I know you were worried when I put you in the crate. I hate that part too. It's the part where I try to explain to you that everything is ok and you're not being abandoned again. It's the part where I beg you to understand that this is a new beginning for you and not an end.

Margaret promised me that she'd call me tomorrow and tell me how your first night was.

I'm going back to the shelter to rescue another sweet cat that needs a home where he too can be loved and nurtured until a forever home can be found. I know there will be another hopeful face - like yours - peering through the cage bars. Or maybe somebody that has lost all hope.

Thank you for being such a wonderful houseguest, Bazzle. I wish everybody knew how rewarding it is to take in a homeless cat and turn their life into something wonderful.

You made me feel like I am *somebody* today.

Love,

Beth

Moving Quickly!

Holy crap! I got an adoption call on my Bazzlicious tonight! She sounds very nice - no other cats, but would like to have a dog in the future. Typical of me, I didn't want her to wait to meet Bazzle. (Strike while the iron is hot) She's coming tomorrow night at 7:30. At first she said, "My best friend has my cat crate, so maybe I should wait until next weekend to meet him when I have my crate."

I choked on my Diet Coke - "Nooooooooo....you can borrow MY crate!" Good Lord - you can't let people wait too long to meet or take home a cat. The inevitable friend comes along and offers them a "free kitten", and you're shit out of luck.

This new rescue I'm with was a good choice for me. They're professional and they move quickly. Two attributes that I'm rather fond of. :)

Life Among the Savages

Today was the day. I opened the door to the guestroom and let Bazzle out with the rest of the crew. He had been crying at the door and my other cats knew he was in there. I expected the usual hisses and swipes. But much to my surprise there was nothing! (Not even Willy who ALWAYS hisses and takes a swipe.) Bazzle walked right up to everybody and gave them each an individual little "love rub" against their head. God, I love that cat.

He's spent the past 2 hours meowing in wonderment over his newly expanded living conditions. David and I sat in the family room reading the morning paper and desperately tried to ignore the rhythm of the Tom Cat plaintive meow. Holy Moly - he's brutal. I periodically called out to him and he would come in and chirp happily..."THERE you are!"

Ozzy seemed to be the happiest about Bazzle's new appearance into the home. Ozzy escorted him around the house: "Heeeey new guy...you can pee *here* and pee *there* and nobody cares! They keep loving you and petting you anyway!" *sigh* I'm afraid Ozzy would be right. Fortunately, Bazzle made the decision to pee in the community litterbox. Gooooooood boy, Bazzle!

My two orange cats Jackson and Wilbur are in another room and don't know that Bazzle is out among the savages. It'll be interesting to see how that goes. Jackson is such a crap about new cats. But he always relents and makes himself known as "Top Cat."
Thomas Turner seemed VERY happy to have a new friend and they instantly laid down together in the foyer. I'll have to take some new pictures later.

David and I are heading out to Costco on a rainy Saturday. God, I hate Costco on the weekends. It's a good thing Costco doesn't sell a bunch of cat toys and cat trees or I'd be in trouble. David is on holidays next week, so I'm anticipating another getaway of a few nights someplace fun. I'd love to get a good start on my Christmas shopping.

Cheers to a rather boring update. Unfortunately, that's what my life's become. A little drab. But for now - I'm OK with that. :)

Bazzle-licious

I'm always astounded at the immediate change in cats when they arrive from the shelter into a loving home. Their entire appearance "morphs". After hours of brushing, kissing and belly rubs, I think Bazzle believes he was probably euthanized at the shelter and arrived in heaven. His coat is getting shinier, and he looks at me with such adoration!

I've taken pictures of Bazzle in every possible cute pose. I suppose this comes with having T-I-M-E to actually take pictures and thoroughly enjoy my foster cat. I haven't had that luxury in a long time. Time to lay on the floor with an incoming foster cat and let them rub and purr until I have cat hair stuck to my lipstick. Gotta love that. David and I have been sitting on the floor and giving him 100% "love time". Once again - that's something we haven't done together in a long time with a foster cat.

We haven't let "Mr. Stinky" out of my large guest washroom yet. It's a HUGE washroom with big windows in it - certainly an upgrade from a 3X3 shelter cage. His pee still stinks and I'm worried that he'll spray in the adjoining guestroom. So he'll just have to hold tight until he's no longer a "pee-pee boy". If the damn bathroom is so luxurious, why do I feel so guilty that he's in there? He's got a cat bed, cat house, toys, blankets, and big sunny windows. I show up every few hours to pet him and kiss him. He's probably thinking, "Oh god...she's baaaaaack."

I'm really grateful Christmas is coming up so I can be busier during the day. I'm already tired of hearing David ask, "What did you do today?" I feel like yelling, "NOTHING! NADA! I played with the cats!!!" Instead, I draw out a long explanation of "Laaaaundry......after I ran out of faaabric softener....blah, blah blah..." God, I'm boring myself.

David suggested joining a gym and I wondered if any jury would convict me for killing him.

As promised, here's some more cute Bazzle moments:

Hello. My name is Beth, and I'm a "Rescue Junkie".

I couldn't stand not being part of a rescue group any longer. Cats were dying *somewhere*, and I had the space in my home. I contacted another local rescue group and told them I wanted to foster. They seemed SO happy to hear from me and I felt an instant celebrity status. It was wonderful to feel needed, wanted and appreciated. Something that was sorely lacking with my last group.

I got an immediate approval to go to the shelter and rescue anybody I wanted. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve - I didn't sleep the night before in anticipation of rescuing somebody that needed me. Would I be able to come out with only one?

There was no doubt when I met "Bazzle" that he was the one that I needed to take home. Kim from the shelter kept Bazzle in the garage in a tiny, tiny cage for TWO MONTHS with hope he'd be rescued. He's one of those big-headed Tom cats that purred and kneaded the moment I picked him up. God, he's sweet and Lordie is he STINKY. Bazzle has the "eau de Tomcat" thing going on. (aka: STS: Stinky Tomcat Smell)

I took Baz immediately to the vets to be neutered. There was NO WAY I would bring Mr. Stinky into my house. Ozzy already has had an a.m. "Pee fest" in my house, so to bring in another sprayin' guy wasn't an option. When I picked up Bazzle that night, there was no doubt that when I opened the door to the vets, that Bazzle was there. The STS was brutal. I think the vet and staff were very happy to see him go.

Alcoholics have AA meetings and Druggies have NA meetings. I guess the only fix for me is to rescue a cat. I'm thrilled that Bazzle is safe and in my home. He looks so appreciative and flops over on his back for belly rubs.

I'm in love with him already.

The Aftermath

It's been a weird few days without being part of the rescue. I've spent $500.00 on crap I didn't need, cleaned out some cupboards, put some free stuff on Craigslist, and watched t.v. for 4 hours yesterday - DURING THE DAY! (God, I love Judge Judy - she has just the right amount of bitchiness.) Seriously, no wonder people who retire have such a hard time at first. I went from 60 to 0 in 1.2 seconds.

Until I recently, I didn't know there was good t.v. on from 6:30 pm until 10 pm. . I've always been on the phone or behind the computer. David and I have been walking the dog more and I feel my blood pressure going down. (is that possible?)

It's been sad watching my little rescue from afar. I tried to log onto the foster list so that I could call a friend for coffee only to find that they changed my password. Gosh...they changed my password on everything. Even the rescue phone line that I'm still paying for and that rings into my own house! Shame on them. I trusted them enough to have carte blanche use of my personal credit card for 4 years. But they cut me out of the rescue's life within 12 hours of my resignation. What did they think I was going to do? This isn't eff'ing IBM, for heaven's sake. Petty behaviour. I have no time for it in my life. Maybe it was too much to ask for folks to be civil. (End "Jaded bitter rant")

My cats seem VERY happy to have me home more. Ozzy is still peeing on things, but at least I'm cleaning it up faster. hahaha. I think David is enjoying better dinners and a less tired wife. In fact, we're going downtown Saturday night to see A Chorus Line. We're leaving at noon on Saturday to a swanky spa and having a couples massage, dinner out, then the theatre and then we're staying the night at a lovely hotel downtown. Tres Romantique! (Why do I try to spell french stuff?)

I'm going to reserve judgment as to whether or not my life's improved. For now, I'm having a ball, and I deserve every moment of fun. I think I'll continue to write in my blog for a while. You never know where life will take me and with 8 "Discarded Cats" in my home, there's always something to write about.

Au Revoir (did I spell that correctly? I can spell "Adios"...I should've said "Adios")

I have retired from the rescue.

There.

I said it.

I should've written in my blog sooner, but posting the news here was the last piece to make it *so*. I contacted the board, the foster homes, the supporters and my family. Now it's just a matter of writing it here.

I've given everything to this rescue. My heart and my life, but some people didn't think that was enough and sent petty e-mails that I should be doing more. I was copied on an e-mail that I shouldn't have received. (Foiled by technology!) It was awful and it hurt me to the core. How could I give any more?? I worked at this rescue from 8 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day - seven days per week. I spent thousands of dollars of my own money each year. While our volunteers were home with their families, I was in my basement returning phone calls and emails.

It was time to resign before things got worse. I've heard about this sort of petty behaviour happening in rescues or female dominanted charitable groups. I've always been very smug that this would never happen in OUR rescue. Silly Moi.

Since I announced my retirement, the e-mails have been coming in daily from the foster families and other people that heard of my retirement - even former adopters. Some of them made me laugh, and some of them made me cry with joy. I had no idea that I made such a positive impact on this rescue or people's lives. It was wonderful. Really. I can hardly type it without crying now. I've saved every e-mail and will read them when I'm feeling low in the days to come.

I'm going to concentrate on all the GOOD things that I've done within this rescue and not go out with a chip on my shoulder. I hate being around bitter jaded people. You know who they are. They're perpetually angry. That won't be me. Like I've done with the bad days in this rescue, I'm going to move forward and make the most of it.

All my hard work is in 5 big file boxes that I'm going to pass on to the board members tomorrow. Oddly enough, my last foster cat, Mr. Jingles was adopted yesterday. Anybody who has been a reader of my blog will know that I don't believe in coincidences.

God bless the people that enriched my life and made each day beautiful. I wish only the best for the new board members and their future with the rescue.

In the meantime...I'm going to get to know my handsome husband again. (I'm still married, right?)

Frying Pans & Fire

I can always tell when I'm having a bad week when I go 10+ days without writing in my blog. I've sat down at the computer quite a few times but feel like I have nothing but sewage to write about.

Yes, it's been a rough week and a half. Our adoptions have really slowed down, and we seem to be working even harder than usual. We're still not rescuing from the shelter, but have been taking cats from the public. Great for "the public" - bad for the poor babies at the shelter. We did rescue two cats from the shelter as a "Tester", but both died shortly after rescue from Distemper.

D-- told me today that she just wants to put her head in the sand. Move over, D-- ... I'm right behind you.

My foster cat Larry was adopted two days ago...and I have a new guy named "Booker". He came right in and made himself at home. I had to laugh when my housekeepers who are from Guatelmala started calling him "Booger". I am so starved for laughter, I think I might just keep that name for him. "Booger". So if you see a cat on our website named "Booger"... you'll know I had another moment of insanity.

We've been through bad times before and the rollercoaster ride of rescue continues. Why is it when we go through these horrible periods in the rescue that it always feels like "THE WORST- EVER" ?

J-- and one of our new board members "S--" went to Peterborough earlier this week and rescued 14+ older kittens from this guy that needed help. He lives in a very rural area, and people kept dumping the cats on his doorstep. Poor guy couldn't afford to get any of them spayed or neutered, so he had multiple litters going on. According to J and S, he must've had 50+ cats in the house. Holy shit. 50+ cats in a 2 bedroom house? S-- said that the stench was so bad in his home, she started gagging and had to leave. You know that it MUST BE BAD if a cat person is gagging over the smell of cat pee. I thought we were all immune to such odours? All the cats were loaded with fleas. J-- brought the guy a TON of cat food and litter. I was blown away when the guy rejected the FREE litter and said that he doesn't like clumping litter because it's "not healthy". LOLOL!

Oh hell...if I didn't laugh, I'd cry. I've been doing enough crying lately because of the rescue and am happy to be getting out of town for the weekend. My parents are flying from Seattle to Ohio and I'm driving to Ohio to meet them for a little family reunion thingy. Family. Lordie...I'm spending the weekend with family.

Why do I feel like I'm going from the frying pan into the fire?

Not to Jinx It....But...

It feels really strange typing what I'm about to type. After several weeks of nothing but bad news....

We had TWENTY-SIX adoptions over the weekend! Not only do we have space to rescue more cats, but we are actually desperate to get some more cats into our Petsmart adoption centre locations.

I'm sitting here trying to soak in this most enviable position. Seriously...if I could put this news in a bathtub, I'd be soaking in it right now - with bubbles, and Patrick Dempsey washing my back. After the incredibly shitty terrible week the rescue had last week I actually have the nerve to feel suspicious of this windfall good news.

Really...I was absolutely high as a kite all day today. I was being silly! Whimsical! My husband and children didn't recognize me. I felt a slight pain in the corners of my mouth and realized that it was my face cracking from a sudden smile. We took the dog for a walk tonight and I was skipping!

With all this good news, comes the realization that I can't rescue from our usual shelter. Distemper is still there and they're having to euthanize even the healthy cats and kittens. It's Sunday night and instead of making my usual "Sunday Night Rescue List", I'm avoiding looking at the shelter's website to see all the little faces that will be put down tomorrow.

If I could just figure out a way to get the cats BEFORE they go into the shelter. I feel like sitting in the lobby of the damn place and take them before they enter. I'll be the one in the sunglasses, empty cat crates, and car running.....(Insert Mission Impossible Theme Song here)

A Blast From The Past

The only reason I signed up for Facebook was to spy on my University-aged son and daughter. I never thought I'd end up being Facebook friends with so many of our foster homes and most recently friends from high school. At first it was fun catching up with old friends from high school....

I went to high school in a little upper middleclass college town in Claremont, California. I was voted "Most Likely to Become Goldie Hawn and Marry a Senator". With that type of Bimbo-esque label, I knew that I wanted to be someone important and influential someday. Certainly running a cat rescue organization wasn't on that list.

It was really hard for me to connect with these people from high school. They all seemed to have established careers and wonderful lives. Of course, I'm not that naive - I know things aren't always what they seem. But telling them that I run a cat rescue organization left me feeling a little less than worthy.

They all remembered I was a little bit "animal freaky". I make no apologies for that! Certainly loving animals is a label I'm comfortable with. How do I describe to these people that we started with 5 volunteers and now have 100+ volunteers? Some of the managerial duties we have put IBM executives to shame. How can I NOT come across as a complete freak that I work 14+ hours per day running the rescue for FREE?

I want them to look at our website and see that we're saving lives and we're enriching HUMAN LIVES by allowing people to adopt these amazing little furry creatures. Personally, I can't imagine my life without cats in it. I wonder how many people I've influenced over the years to get their cat spayed or neutered? Or keep a problem cat and work it out? I'll never know and it doesn't really matter.

My life is full. It's full of family, friends and the love of animals. If friends from almost 30 years ago think it's all just too weird....

Tough shit. :)

Goober Feathers

I pulled out of my driveway this afternoon in hope of scoring some wooden hangers at the local Home Sense. (Joan Crawford and I have that in common). A block from my house I saw this cute Morning Dove in the middle of the road. I thought it was odd that he didn't move as I drove slowly by. I did a U-Turn in the middle of the street and stopped to the side of him. I hung out the window to look at him, and he looked up at me and coo'd. He was a baby...he still had the light "Goober feathers" on his chest. Such a cute little fella and in a dangerous spot. Lots of cars whizzing past him. Fortunately, he was in the middle of the street.
I pulled into a side street and put on my flashers. I figured I'd go get him to a safe spot.

Twenty (20) seconds later, I walked to the middle of the street and found the little guy smashed. He had been hit by a car. The only thing left of him was a pile of his downy "goober feathers". Seriously...it was only 20 seconds after I saw him.

It was bound to happen. I knew that I would eventually crack in one way or another. After all the dead and dying cats due to Distemper, it had to happen that I would fall apart. I just stood in the middle of the road and sobbed.

I cried for the little dove, I cried for the kittens that we lost, and I cried for every damn cruel thing that ever happened to any animal anywhere. I stood there and cursed the people that didn't give a shit about a sweet little baby dove in the road. The grief came pouring out of me as I got back into my car and cried.

It felt good to let go and release what I had been feeling for the past 4 days or so. With the tears, something in me grew stronger. I can't quite describe it.

I got out of my car with an old hand towel I keep in my trunk. The least I could do is get the little guy off the road. When I approached the area where he had been hit, the body was gone. In fact, there was nothing in that spot. No feathers. No blood. It was like it hadn't happened. I know what I had seen - a mangled little Dove - blood and feathers.

I don't know what happened. I scratched my head and got back in my car and drove away. I felt oddly at peace. I felt more at peace than I had felt in a long time.

Peace and a Dove......I don't believe in coincidences. :)

Treading Water

We're still in a "State of Emergency"as I write this. More kittens have died and we've lost a few foster homes over it. Certainly fostering is not for the faint at heart. But damn....I've always had an unwritten policy that your first fostering experience should be a great one. Not, "Welcome to The Rescue....sorry about the dead kitten!"

We lost one foster home that just couldn't take the pain of losing her first foster kitten. I understand. Lordie...Lordie...I do...I do. Fortunately, we've had two that said they were still on board despite the personal anguish. Bless 'em.

I was surprised to hear that one of the other local rescues have decided to forever stop rescuing from this particular shelter due to the disease. There's no doubt that the high vet bills and our enormous debt is due to the sad state some of these cats are in when they arrive into our care.

I'm getting fed up with hitting "Delete" on the bio of the dead kitten. Can't there be a better word for it? Something to soften the blow for us? "Delete" sounds so final, ugly and uncaring.

D-- spoke with a homeopath that is shipping a special "Brew" for her to help build the immune systems on these kittens. The lady told her that there is no reason for these kittens to die of Distemper. We're all so desperate. I pray that it works. I can't imagine how our veterinarian must feel. I had a foster home drop off a Mom and 4 kittens last night at 10 pm at his office.

I'm looking forward to the end of this. We should know more by the weekend. In the meantime, we're all looking for joy in the little things. A foster Mom sent me the following picture of "Biff" today. She bought him this tent at Ikea and she says he hardly ever leaves it! He goes on periodic "recon missions to see what the other cats are doing" and runs back. The picture made me smile (although my face cracked)

Hope it makes you smile too:

A State of Emergency

I knew this morning that this would be the title of my blog when I wrote tonight.

The fact of the matter is, we have a dozen or so dead and dying kittens in a matter of 24 hours. Distemper was in the shelter when we rescued kittens last week. We didn't know it. I thought we had passed the "Hot Weather Distemper" time. Usually, we see it hit the shelter in the summer. Silly moi....I thought we were free and clear.

I had been so excited about our 8 new foster homes from last weekend. It's always a renewal of my excitement in rescue when we get new volunteers. Much to my absolute horror, the phone started ringing this weekend with our wonderful foster homes whose hearts were breaking over the death of their kittens. Some of them woke up to dead or dying kittens, others took them to the vets and let them die peacefully there.

Distemper is such a nasty disease and it takes no prisoners with these babies. One minute kittens are playing happily...the next they literally drop over and are dying with in an hour or so. There's really nothing that can be done for them medically. It's a helpless feeling.
I've spent the weekend jumping every time the phone rings and dreading looking at my e-mails.

I'm very discouraged tonight and I know it's not over. We had one foster home lose a kitten this weekend and she knows that 3 more have been exposed in her home. She referred to her Sunday evening as "Death Watch".

I know how she feels. My ability to be encouraging and hopeful is on a "Death Watch" too.

An Update on "The Waiting Game"

After a great deal of anguish and ridiculous negotiation, "Princess" had her surgery and is resting comfortably at home with her owner tonight. I ended up "donating" $100.00 out of my own pocket towards her VERY discounted $550.00 surgery. The vet kindly reduced his fee to make it work.

I saw "Princess" while I was at the vet the other day. It was right before her surgery. I remembered her immediately. She looked scared and sweet.

I can't help everybody like this, but I couldn't let this little girl die because a senior citizen and her son didn't plan appropriately for the cat's medical expenses. We ALL had too much vested in her - financially and emotionally to let her die without a fight. Maybe I felt responsible that I didn't ask enough questions of the lady. We always worry that a senior will pass away before the cat, so I always ask about a Plan B. But I didn't ask about her ability to pay for the cat's future medical expenses.

The senior lady's neighbours had contacted me too...I was really under a lot of pressure to help. E-mails with all capital letters, "EMERGENCY..." Once again, people were rallying around "Princess". The rescue couldn't afford to help financially, so what else was I supposed to do? I educated the son, the neighbours and anybody else that would listen that "Princess" needs special fibre food for the rest of her life. NO MORE WHISKAS. They all agreed to pay the extra few $$'s to insure Princess would be eating the proper kibble.

I admit, I was really happy to receive a very kind "thank you" voicemail from the son tonight. At least he appreciated my effort and I know a little senior lady that is VERY happy to have her Princess back tonight.

I'm glad too. :)

The Waiting Game

I needed to vent this morning. I received a call a few moments ago from a man whose mother adopted a cat from us. While it's still fresh, I wanted to post it here with hope it'll help me figure out what to do:

Adopter: My Mother adopted a cat from you guys in February this year and now it's constipated and not eating. The vet said it's going to cost $1000.00 to fix her up.

Me: (knowing where this is going) I'm sorry to hear that. Why are you calling me?

Adopter: She doesn't have the money.

Me: She needs to get the money. The cat is obviously very ill and needs help.

Adopter: Will you take her back?

Me: Huh? We don't have the money either. Why on earth would your mother adopt a cat if she had no intention of taking care of his medical needs? We're in the business of RESCUING - not taking cats back because an adopter doesn't want to pay for medical care.

Adopter: My mother thought she was adopting a healthy cat.

Me: You've had her six months. She was very healthy. She's probably STILL healthy but ingested something and is in pain. Why don't you take her to a less expensive vet and get another opinion on cost?

Adopter: I don't have time to take her around to another vet.

I don't want to say how this conversation ended. The saddest part is that this is a cat we spent over $3000.00 on when she arrived in our care. We were so happy when she was adopted by a lovely senior lady. I did give him a name of two veterinarian's that are known for not being super expensive.

What makes people call me over things like this? It ruins my day and I agonize over it. I agonize over the decision to adopt her to these people. I feel totally responsible and I shouldn't. It's THEIR responsibility and they're blowing it. I could take this little cat back. She HATES other cats and I have no place for her.

I'm hoping and praying these people rise to the occasion. In the past, I used to react very quickly: "You're an idiot, but I'll take the cat back!" That's one of the ways we ended up 5 figures in debt.

Now I wait. My stomach hurts and I still don't know if I'm doing the right thing.

The Magic Number is 80

I can always tell when I've been on the phone too much. I have two HUGE "phone zits" on my chin that are positioned exactly where my phone touches my chin. I hope the other volunteers can join me in saying, "It's worth it all."

I just added up August's adoptions for the month. (Although I think there are a couple of adoption agreements outstanding...) We've had 80 adoptions for the month of August! EIGHTY!! Think about 80 cats in one room...or 80 cats in cages at the shelter...That's a lot of little lives saved.

Our volunteers are just too awesome; Between hundred's of dollars spent in gasoline driving cats around, setting up a raffle, hours spent at adoption events, countless hours spent on the phone, answering e-mails....it's really paid off. We had a wonderful month! Our average is about 50 cats adopted per month, so 80 cats feels huge! You should see the pile of adoption agreements on my desk. I should throw them on my bed and roll around on them. (but that seems a little weird, even for me)

With the successes come the heartbreak...we've lost several kittens this month to God-knows-what. One of our kittens was in emergency today, in fact. ($$$$) We've seemed to dodge the "Distemper bullet" this season. (*knock on wood*) Doesn't matter what it was...it still hurts.

To show you how dedicated our volunteers are, one of our favourite foster Moms delivered a beautiful baby girl a few days ago and had an adopter come today and take her foster cat home! What a trooper! Seriously...after my first baby, the last thing on my mind would've been a foster cat. God bless her.

Tomorrow is Labour Day and a new month. I'm looking forward to sleeping in, waking up tomorrow and gloating.

80. EIGHT. ZERO. The Big Eighty. 10+10+10+10+10+10+10+10

That's what I'm talkin' about :)

The August Award for....

...."Stupid Reason to Dump Your Cat" goes to this charming Craigslist poster. Here's her post, dated August 21, 2008:

" I love this kitten but I can't keep him anymore. He is the most adorable and affectionate animal you will ever come across. Always wants to be on your lap. Sleeps curled up beside you. Quiet. But he has a very sensitive stomach and throws up on occation. I have my condo on the market and can't have people coming in and there being puke somewhere. I honestly didn't mind cleaning it up once in a while but can't right now. He's fixed. He's awesome. And I don't want to bring him to the humane society..."

(By the way - this cat is NOT a kitten. In the title the "kitten" is 1 year old.) The cat throws up, she doesn't want to find out WHY the cat throws up. She just wants to get rid of the problem because she's selling her condo. Boo Frickity Hoo. She's so stupid - no wonder the cat is throwing up. She's making me sick too.

I'm speechless. Really.

The Samantha Chronicles

About a week ago I wrote about a little girl that I lovingly referred to as "Cha-Ching" because I figured she'd cost us a ton of money. The poor little girl had so many fleas, flea bites and flea poop all over her that she had lost all of her hair.
I've decided to periodically post pictures that her foster Mom sends me to update her progress. Her foster Mom is "Jenn" - Jenn is very pregnant and took on this sad looking little cat. I can't picture Jenn trying to bathe this scabby bald cat with her big belly over the bathtub. (Sorry Jenn - you're not THAT big!)
This is Samantha's shelter picture. A cat can't look much more pathetic than this little girl.

Rescue Date: August 11th, 2008

Comment from foster home: "Just wanted to let you know that ChaChing, who is now Samantha, is doing pretty well. Her skin actually looks amazingly good, just a few scabs which should clear up in no time. I'm pretty impressed how good of shape it's in, once I got the flea dirt scabs and sebborhea washed off. She's eating like a pig too :) Now I just have to tame her, she is pretty scared, poor little girl!"
New Pictures of Samantha arrived today, August 18th, 2008. Wow! Look what love, good food and a bath can do!

More thoughts from Samantha's foster Mom: "Just wanted to show everyone how much better Samantha looks in just a week!! Now we just need the hair to grow back! And boy, she still stinks - and farts - out loud!
She is also the craziest lap cat who is teaching me how to work with one hand as she insists on climbing all over me and jamming her head into my belly and face to get some attention, I can't believe the complete turnaround :) Problem now is I can't get her to leave me alone!!"
I think this little girl gives the term "Labour of Love" a whole new meaning. :) Jenn: You rock!

En Passant

It's been really fun this week to answer the rescue phone line and hear more adoption inquiries than surrender calls. My voice has definitely taken the brunt of it and I'm in the middle of nasty laryngitis. I can still talk -barely - it's just a huge effort and my throat is sore. It's kind of surreal that I quit smoking and end up with throat problems. Life ain't fair sometimes.

We also have some new foster homes, which has been rather exciting! I love talking with new foster homes. To hear the anticipation in their voice about getting their new cat. They want to make a difference in the world, God-love-'em. Hearing them gets me excited all over again. It's contagious!

One of my foster cats "Dylan" was adopted a few days ago by a a very sweet yuppie newlywed couple. He LOVES cats and she had never had a cat before. She was worried because he was "biting" (aka: "playing"). She looked tense and asked questions about shedding. (Those kind of questions are red flags in my book) I told her to relax and E-N-J-O-Y him! I took them into my kitchen and showed them 3 of my cats sprawled out on the kitchen counter napping. I gestured dramatically, "I think people worry too much about cats on the kitchen counters and forget to have fun with them. " I told her that Dylan's the only cat they're going to have, so they might as well spoil him rotten. She blushed when I told her that Dylan would probably still be around when their future children are in high school. That seemed to seal the deal - they took Dylan home for a 7 day Trial Adoption. I put a Cat Hair Roller for their clothes in a little bag and gave it to them as a send off. The e-mails are coming in with cute pictures of Dylan sleeping on their pillow (none on the kitchen counters yet) and I'm guessing that Dylan's in his forever home.

My sons are getting WAY too attached to Andy & Buster (my other foster cats). I guess I am too. Lordie, they're a cute little pair - Rowdy as hell, but a cute little pair. :) The screens on my windows are starting to shred, and Buster likes to take flying leaps onto my back. He's quite a character!

We moved my older son into his house near the University on Saturday and I asked him to foster a cat for me. He admitted that it would be fun, but he has FOUR roommates and couldn't guarantee that doors wouldn't be left open, etc....he's right, of course. But I had hope of him taking a real problem child foster cat. This cat would be PERFECT in a rowdy house full of guys. Hell, the cat could probably poop all over the place and nobody would see it until they moved out in April. (Mental Note: NEVER rent to 2nd year University Students)

I can feel a good week coming on. Even if it's not a good week, I'm ready to take it on anyway.

Cha-Ching!

I should've checked my horoscope to see if money was coming my way. It's been crazy financially the past few days with the rescue. I came home from my vacation to find that the rescue was a DISASTER financially! (Ok..it's always a disaster, but I was REALLY scared this time) The vet had billed my credit card (mutually agreed upon way of paying the rescue's vet bills) over $5000.00 in one week! Good gravy Moses...my blood ran cold.

Whenever things like this happen I roll up my sleeves and get organized. I started going through the enormous pile of crap on my desk and filed...and filed...and filed. Son-of-a-gun - I found a wad of cash totally $350.00! Where had THIS been all this time?? Even though I was alone, I was pretty embarrassed.

D--and J--have never let me forget that they found a cheque in my garage nestled in an old file folder while we were setting up for a garage sale.

The next little financial miracle was the adoption event on Saturday. We had TWENTY-ONE cats adopted yesterday! (one was a trial adoption, and she's being returned because their resident cat started pee'ing on the bed. A sure sign of a deal breaker and that it's not going to work out) PLUS I was given a cheque for $900.00+ for a garage sale last weekend that I forgot we had!

I looked at our bank account a few moments ago and discovered the last deposit I made had a keying error and it was in my favour for $360.00! Holy crap! IN MY FAVOUR?? Nothing is EVER in my favour. If there's a keying error, it's usually $360.00 zapped out of my account and out of my life forever.

So we're not out of debt - not by a long shot. We're still broke, but the emergency I was having was squelched by some little financial miracles. Turns out I don't have to ask David for money. I don't have to stop rescuing this week. We're still in business by the skin of my teeth. ("Skin of my teeth"? Is that really a saying?)

Maybe the tide is turning...maybe it was just a momentary reprieve. Regardless, I'm grateful for the little financial miracles. Because this is the next cat we're being asked to rescue...

I think we should name her "Cha-Ching" :) This one might pay off Dr. S's student loans before we're through. But how can we resist?

Look at that sad little face...."We're comin'...little....'Cha-Ching'!
UPDATE: "Strawberry" has been rescued! She's safe and sound at our vets! (you didn't REALLY think I was going to call her 'Cha-Ching', did you?)

Everybody Has an "Ozzy" in the House

Anybody who has multiple cats in the house, has an "Ozzy". Ozzy is my own problem child. Like any problem child, I find myself really endeared to this bad boy. Ozzy doesn't know his name is "Ozzy"....he thinks it's "NO-NO!" Seriously. He thinks his name is "No-No".

Ozzy is a polydactyal - he's really a freaky looking guy with all those extra toes. One of his toes grows repeatedly into the pad in his feet, so he needs to have his nails trimmed regularly.

Last night, it took 4 adults to hold 18 lb Ozzy down to trim his nails. This cat is ALL muscle and was like a fish flopping out of the water while we had the nail trimmer out.

We all ended up with battle scars. Scratches, bites, white hair all over the place - it was a war zone.

We managed to trim ONE nail.

Ozzy is great about riding in the car, so I took him to the vets today to have his freaky nails trimmed. Dr. S was such an expert and snipped away. It took him about 15 seconds.

Ozzy is also my "Pee-Pee" boy. I'm happy to say he's on medication for it. But for months, he pee'd in every sink, pee'd on every baseboard, and every plastic bag laying around. The medication is successful, thank God. But giving him a tiny little pill every morning is another matter. The little booger won't even take the pill in a cat treat! How does he know it's there??

I'm convinced that Ozzy greets the new foster cats by saying, "HEEEY, new guy! You can pee anywhere you want and nobody gets mad at you!"

For all of Ozzy's faults, he's my "Family Ambassador". He's the cat that I let meet new foster cats first. He doesn't care of anybody hisses at him, or takes a swipe. He just wants to eat their food and poop in their litterbox. Ozzy is the cat that is my bar for checking out whether a new foster cat likes other cats.

If Ozzy had been living at somebody else's house, I'm sure they would've gotten rid of him by now. I can't imagine Ozzy not being in my life. He was a shelter cat that was going to be euthanized. He was a foster cat that I couldn't part with. He's my little "No-NO".

I write this to give encouragement to anyone that has an "Ozzy". It's cats like Ozzy that make you smile when times are tough and you're feeling low. He's the cat that my sons hug and kiss when they're feeling bad too.

So what if he licks the butter on the Easter dinner table?

I love this guy.

Life Goes On...For Some

I don't know where the time goes. It's already well into August and this is my first blog post of the month. Granted, I've been on holidays for 10 days - maybe I'll cut myself some slack. :)

As usual, everything moved along beautifully while I was gone. I know it's so hard on the volunteers who work full time during the day to return phone calls and e-mails. It's a hard job when you DON'T work full time during the day.

I went to the shelter today and rescued a couple of cats. It was grim in there, I tell ya. It's been a while since I've been out to the shelter. It's been even longer since I left in tears. But today must've been "the day". It was just overwhelming. There were so many of every colour, age and all were looking at me and pleading for help. Their little paws came out from the cages.

For many of them, today was their last day alive. The vet comes tomorrow.

I left in tears today. Halfway to the highway I got pissed. Is there anything that can be done to reach people about spaying and neutering? Or to let people know that these beautiful creatures have feelings? I drove too fast down the road. I kept hoping that the faster I'd drive, the more anguish I could let out. I kept changing the music on the radio with hope to find something that didn't make me feel sad or angry. It didn't work.

As I type this, I wonder when I'm going to stop writing about this. It seems like I write about the same old shit every time I go to the shelter. But look at this sweet little girl....she's going to die tomorrow morning - there was an "X" on her cage. She's wearing a collar with a bell.

Somebody loved her....

Only In The Summer

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person in the world that could be stressed in the middle of a beautiful summer. It's really been a wonderful week - lots of adoptions, no complaints to speak of...so how could I be stressed?

D-- had gone into the shelter a few days ago and shared with me the number of adorable Mom cats that were there with their nursing babies - all marked for euthanasia the next morning. She mentioned one in particular that I couldn't get off my mind. She was wearing a red collar and had 5 beautiful kittens. There's something very upsetting to see an unwanted cat at the shelter wearing a collar. She was somebody's pet. They didn't care for her properly, she got pregnant, now they didn't want her.

Only in the summer does the visual of the shelter really plague my mind. I laid in bed a few nights ago thinking of the little Mom cats tucked into their cages for the night with their new babies suckling and warm. They didn't know there was an X on the front of their cage choosing them for death the next morning. I kept picturing the little Mom cat with the red collar. The shelter was going to kill her and her little family tomorrow and I couldn't stop it from happening.

I couldn't sleep. Midnight...1 a.m....2 a.m...I was still awake and getting angrier and angrier. I think it's wrong we get so angry at the shelter for killing these beautiful creatures. It isn't their fault. We KNOW that. But I want to blame something tangible.

By the time I woke up at 9 a.m., I knew it was all over. They euthanize the animals before the shelter is open to the public. We wouldn't want to upset the public.

Only in the Summer does it get this bad for me. I'm leaving on vacation tomorrow and thinking about that little Mom cat with the red collar. I wonder if they left it on her body. Sorry for the morbid thoughts. But I needed a rant. It's not what I really wanted to say...

...What I really wanted to say was full of profanity to the people that cast out these beautiful felines with the garbage.

Cat Earrings

I had a dream last night that I was at a car dealership and going to buy an expensive car. But they wouldn't sell me the car because I was wearing cat earrings. I think this is a whole new dream low. I opened my jewellery drawer this morning and saw the offending cat earrings and grimaced as I remembered the dream.

So what if I wear cat earrings? So what if I have a cat charm bracelet? So what if I have a bunch of cat statues in the house? Sure, I sound defensive. My adorable husband who NEVER complains about anything (other than garage sales) finally told me, "NO MORE CAT STATUARY!" Hahahaha! Surely he doesn't mean it, because I just went to Home Sense yesterday and bought THE CUTEST yellow cat statue for the guest bedroom. I haven't unwrapped it yet, and it's sitting in the guest room that he never goes into. Tough cookies, buddy - the cat statue is staying.

I really want a personalized licence plate that says "CAT RESQ". I admit that it's a little creepy - me driving down the highway with my cat earrings, cat charm bracelet, and a Home Sense bag full of cat statuary for the garden in a car with a cat related personalized licence plate.

Nobody will have to guess what I'm about.

But I'm also about other things too. I love God, my husband, my children, my friends, Tim Hortons, and shoes...the list goes on ad infinitum.

Yes, I'm a bit defensive about my life. I've had too many people recently call me "TCCL" (The Crazy Cat Lady). I'm not crazy. Sure I get frustrated, angry, sad and lonely.

But when it comes to "The Cause" - I'm in it all the way...cat earrings and all.

To Our Former Adopters...

This is an open "Thank you" to all of our former adopters. Not our future adopters....but to the folks that have adopted from us. (Although we hope our future adopters can learn from the former adopters!) With all the whining I do in this blog, I figured it was time to make a special note to lovely people who give our cats forever homes...

Thank you....

....for showing up on time when you met our cats and calling us when you were going to be late.

....for staying in touch with our foster families after you bring home the cat. We loved "Fluffy" when he was frightened and flea bitten. You can't imagine how an e-mail or phone call telling us that he's happy makes us feel.

....for sending us a photo album of "Fluffy" in every cute possible pose when we only asked for 1 picture. It makes our hearts soar!

....for making us a friend on Facebook.

....for understanding when we cried when you put Fluffy in the carrier. It's hard letting go sometimes.

....for taking Fluffy to the vets when Fluffy got sick the first week he's home with you and not complaining to us. We didn't know he was sick when he was adopted - really and truly.

....for making BIG exclamations on how "completely adorable...perfect...wonderful...so sweet..." Fluffy was when you first saw him. (We thought so too!)

....for telling us about all the toys, cat beds, and windows that are in your house.

....for telling us something really cute that Fluffy did when he first arrived in your home.

....for letting us know if Fluffy has passed away. We want to grieve with you too.

A special note to Shiya's adopter: I know there's not much chance you'll see this...but we can't find your phone number and Shiya's foster Mom desperately wants to know how she is. She still cares....

...and always will. It's what we do.

Another Glamorous Day in Rescue

Ahhhh....the Glamour of Rescue! Today was an administrative day. I spent a glorious 8 hours filing, sending out tax receipts for donations, bookkeeping and updating my e-mail address book. If that wasn't boring enough, the highlight was a trip to Staples to buy some office supplies for the rescue.

I could probably make administrative days much easier on myself, but I really believe in the personal handwritten letter to anyone that sends us money. These days money is too hard to part with, so I really believe it's the right thing to get off my ass and send people a thank you note. Yep..."My Mama done brought me up riiiight."

On a happy note, my foster cat McKinley was adopted last night! He was dropped off by an adopter (I think I wrote about him in my last post) on Canada Day. I was SO HAPPY that he didn't have to stay for very long. He was such a nice boy and he was adopted by the same couple that had adopted my foster cat Magoo!

I'm dealing with URI in the house right now. My foster baby "Carson" had a fever last night and "Eddie" the siamese is sick with it too. My little "Thomas Turner" is now sneezing. I've never had URI run through the whole house, but I'm guessing that's exactly what will happen. I had Carson quarantined for 2 weeks, darnnit. I suppose my next blog post will be something regarding snot. Something to look forward to.

I feel like a mole down in the basement on this beautiful day. But I really have to be mentally prepared for a day of administration and I thought about it all last night. It's the side of rescue that nobody really talks about and nobody wants to know that I do. I wish I were rescuing some cats that needed me instead of doing this.

But alas...with the "House of Snot" going on, maybe being in the basement isn't such a bad place to be.

Kelly and McKinley

Happy Canada Day! My holiday started with the return of one of our cats. McKinley is a very cute older kitten that was adopted 6 weeks ago by a young woman and her boyfriend. I've always been a little prejudiced against young people that live together out of fear that they're just "playing house" by adopting a cat. I always worry about their commitment level.

I received the call from Kelly last week. Her and the boyfriend broke up and the boyfriend doesn't want McKinley and she still has 1 year left at school and has to move home. I avoided calling her back right away because I had hoped she would work things out by reconciling with the boyfriend or her parents would allow McKinely to stay there. It wasn't meant to be. Her calls became more and more frantic.

There were SO MANY things I wanted to say to Kelly. I had rehearsed them last night night. I wanted to tell her "Next time, adopt a fish", or "What were you thinking?" or "Obviously, you weren't ready for this kind of commitment."

I couldn't do it. She showed up at the door and was a lovely young woman. She had his toys and McKinley had received his booster shots and her own vet. She loved him and took care of him. Her eyes brimmed with tears as I took him out of his crate. She couldn't speak. I took McKinley around to some of my cats and said in a cheery voice, "McKinley, this is Wilbur your new friend!" I suddenly wanted to make her feel better. I told her that she could come visit him and she could have him back if she pulled her life together and he was still available. I even said something stupid like she could meet the potential adopters. *sigh*

We all make mistakes. Certainly I was naive at 22 years old. But at 22 years old I was married, had a baby and 4 cats. It was my choice and I wouldn't do anything else. But I couldn't help but console this young woman. She had a year left of University. Her life was in front of her. There would be other cats and other boyfriends.

For now....I need to console McKinley. He's a confused little guy and doesn't understand what happened to him. He's so sweet and gentle. He'll be ok.

Kelly will be OK too. I hope she remembers us after she graduates from University. Maybe she'll become a veterinarian and offer her services for free! One can only hope!

Buddies...

Imagine you and your sister/brother/best friend have been together your whole lives only to have a stranger come along and tear you apart - never to see each other again. I don't think we say enough about "Bonded Pairs".

Potential adopters call me all the time and want a new companion for their cat who has just lost their partner cat to cancer, old age, hit by a car...etc. We know animals grieve. I had two sisters - Newman and Whoopie. Whoopie died and Newman was left in total anguish. I remember three days after Whoopie died Newman sat in the foyer and howled. It was like nothing else I had ever heard. It could only be described as "total and utter grief."

Kim at the shelter is very conscious of bonded pairs. I remember when I first heard her philosophy of "they must be rescued together, or they die together." I thought she was crazy! Isn't it better to save ONE than lose two? I don't feel that way anymore. I agree with her 100%. The bonded pairs at the shelter huddle together - they've lost their home and they only have each other. It's really a pitiful sight.

I decided to write about bonded pairs today, because we have TWO PAIRS adopted in the past 2 days. What a victory this is to see pairs that love each other so much go home together forever. Adult bonded pairs are really hard to adopt. We always tell foster homes that they'll have them for a while.

Sometimes pairs that we THINK are bonded really aren't bonded at all! We had a pair named Tiggy and Tazzy. Tiggy was very outgoing and darling. Tazzy was very shy and hid a lot under the bed. The foster Mom was certain that they weren't bonded at all - even though they had lived their whole lives together. With a heavy heart, we permitted Tiggy to be adopted first. After his sister was adopted, Tazzy was a different cat. He no longer hid, and he was Mr. Social! Who would've ever guessed?

What would we do without our foster homes to tell us this kind of stuff? Another wonderful reason that a foster-based rescue is the best way to adopt a cat...or two...or three...

The Kitten Chaos

People ask me all the time why I don't foster kittens. The truth is...I *used* to foster kittens exclusively when I lived in California. I loved when they would come running to me when I walked into the room. It was an instant ego boost - I was loved!! I could turn off the t.v. and just watch them play - all the posturing and experimental Lion-like behaviour. Who can resist?

I contacted one of our foster Moms last night who is fostering a rambunctious orange kitten. An adopter wanted her as an "only cat". The foster Mom's response was this: "I strongly recommend that B--- go to a home with a playful cat friend, or with someone who will play with her a lot *LOL*. She has a hearty appetite and will try to eat your food as well as hers (Greek salad was a big hit), door-dashes, climbs in the stove, frig, dishwasher, races around behind the washing machine, and climbs under the covers with you. She loves her cuddles."

Yah. The Kitten Chaos. Thank you for the reminder! It's like having a 2 year old child on steroids in the house when you have a kitten. Nothing is safe and everything becomes a toy. Gotta love 'em.

Yesterday afternoon I had a litter of 3 kittens at my house for a few hours before I transported them to their foster home. My 20 year old son came downstairs to get me saying, "Oh. My. God. Mom. You should SEE what the kittens did in the bathroom!"
I sighed. I walked into the bathroom to find the shower curtain on the ground. What I didn't see right away - I could smell. (((Insert Psycho Theme music here))) Somebody had used the litterbox, walked through the poop and tracked it all over the bathroom. Tiny kitten poop footprints were on the floor, the wall, the front of the cabinets. How did they manage to get poop on the wall???

When I walked in, the little poopers were sound asleep in their cat bed...it was hard to believe they had made such a mess in a matter of a few hours. Now they were blissfully dreaming. Their little bodies entwined together made them look like one kitten.

The moment reminded me of when my kids were little. There were some days I couldn't put them to bed fast enough. I was burned out...fed up...and ready for a "Calgon Moment." But before I'd go to bed, I'd check on them and they'd look so precious. It was easy to forget that they had thrown temper tantrums, wet the bed, spilled cheerios all over the floor.

The foster family that took the little darlings yesterday was thrilled with them. They're fluffy lookin' little angels...angels with horns.

Gotta love 'em :)

Family First

I'm back....again. I feel like this has been a month of me apologizing for being gone, or being out of the loop on things. Life gets in the way sometimes.

I've always said, "Family comes first". No doubt about it. But I can't help but feel badly for the volunteers that I left in the lurch last week while I was away. We had a HUGE weekend with a waterfront festival and adoption event. I was supposed to help at both of them. Fortunately, they were able to scramble and things went on without me. But I know that we were really pressed for volunteers.

Looks like we had NINE adoptions while I was gone! Ahhhh.....the volunteers *ROCK*. Two cats went out on a trial adoption and I can only pray that they work out.

While at an adopt-a-thon, one of our prior adopters dumped her two cats there and said that I said it was "OK" to leave them. I didn't. I had been working with this woman who had family issues. She felt like she couldn't deal with two cats that she adopted six weeks ago AND her family issues. In the spirit of "Family First", I didn't mind helping her rehome the cats but she lied like a rug when she said I approved it. The poor cats are so depressed. They're sitting in a Petsmart cage right now not knowing what the hell happened to them. I sent her a rather nasty e-mail for which I make no apologies. I'm a little embarrassed about what I said, but at least I didn't use profanity. *shrug*

I'm going to the shelter tomorrow to rescue a few cats. We don't have room for them, but five of them are older kittens and I can't let them die. They're marked for euthanasia in the morning, and I'm a complete freak for thinking we can squeeze in five more cats in the program.


This is Pretzel. He's only 12 weeks old and he's supposed to die tomorrow. Hard to believe somebody gets PAID to kill him. It's even harder to believe somebody didn't pay the money to have their cat spayed so he wasn't born and unwanted in the first place.
(*stepping off the soapbox*) I figure anyone that reads this blog probably knows this stuff anyway, so I'm preaching to the choir.

Speaking of "Reading the Blog"....I was so surprised to receive such wonderful e-mails in support regarding my daughter. I didn't know that so many people actually read this thing! My daughter is getting better and we had a lovely mother/daughter time together. There's nothing like shopping, manicures and a fancy hotel room to make the most depressed person feel better. Worked for me!

Now if I can only figure out what to do with these cats I'm rescuing tomorrow. Maybe I'll think about it over a pedicure....(ha.ha.)

It Never Rains in California....Unless Your Daughter Lives There...

I'm heading back to California this morning on an emergency with my daughter. There's no time to do my usual "shaking of the finger" - and threaten everybody to feed cats, clean litterboxes and give medications.

Thank God for cell phones! (My son looks a little too happy that I'm leaving....)

I'm Still Alive...

What a crazy week it's been! I kept sitting down to write in my blog about some event or another then would get sidetracked. Can't believe it's been more than a week since my last post. I really missed writing. Where did the time go?

I'm pleased to say that I've finally finished and mailed the Charitable Tax Returns for the rescue. If there was a definition for "Ostrich Syndrome" in the dictionary, there would be a picture of me with my head in the sand and the Revenue Canada forms flung around me. I feel so much better now that it's done. It was late - but it's d-o-n-e.

We had two kittens pass away last week. They were from different litters, but seemed to both be genetic problems. As horrible as it sounds, I wish the kittens would die at birth rather than at 6-8 weeks old. The foster Moms are so attached and they're so damn cute. Poor D-- had to go to work after holding her kitten and watching him die. What a way to start the day.

We had a foster home leave in a snit. I don't know what her problem was, but she dumped her two foster cats at the vets after saying she would adopt them. We're all pretty relieved about it. She was a very difficult foster home and had to move more cats out of her home than she actually adopted out. I wish people knew how much time and effort it took to move one cat.

Over the weekend, we had EIGHT adoptions! I love it when we have weekends like this. My own foster cat, Magoo was adopted. The couple that adopted him were thrilled and I have no doubt he'll be loved forever. One of our new foster Moms had both of her foster cats adopted this weekend too. I hope she feels really good about it. One of the cats was a black kitten....it's such a victory when a black cat is adopted.

My internet connection was down for the past 4 days. It was surreal to watch my sons emerge from their rooms to watch T.V. with us. My younger son said that he had NO idea what was going on at school because he couldn't log onto MSN. You should've seen his face when I suggested that he CALL his friends on the phone. Obviously, I'm not connected to the high school communication scene anymore. I'm really no better - I didn't realize how addicted I was to my e-mail until I didn't have any! Rogers finally came out and did some rewiring. Poof! I have e-mail again!

It was probably a good thing for me to have some down time. I've been SO sick for the past 10 days with God-knows-what. Antibiotics haven't seemed to work, so it must be some nasty virus going around. If this is what our cats go through when they have URI....

It sure feels good to write again. :)

The Tide is Turning

Maybe it's been so long since good news has come through this rescue that when it finally started rolling in I didn't recognize it right away.

Within a 30 minute time period, we had 3 adoption calls: two of them were for black cats - Scooter and Annie. The other for a little butterball, older calico named Razberry.

If that wasn't enough good news, one of our foster homes tells me that $2500.00 is on our way from their employer who donates to charitable organizations based on their volunteer time of their employees!! Whoo hooo! I can pay the vet bill this week! This is a huge load off my mind. There were tears streaming down my face when she told me. I hadn't realized how worried I had been about it.

I'd like to put this bit of good news in a bathtub and bathe in it for a while. Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

So this morning, I'm sitting here sipping my coffee and listening to the pitter-patter of galloping paws upstairs. My house is clean and my laundry is done. It's a rainy day and I'm hopeful that three hard-to-adopt cats will find forever homes this week, and I get to make a $2500.00 deposit.

Even if the adoptions don't go through, it felt so good to know that adopters inquired about them. Foster homes need good news too.

I'm lifting my coffee mug this morning in a toast to "Good News - I love ya, man - welcome to our rescue. Sit down and stay awhile"