A Sweetie update

Sometimes the world is amazing!  Thanks to a few generous donors, we were able to raise the money to cover Sweetie's vet bill!  Her dental went well, she had all but two teeth removed, she is eating and has gone to Michelle's for recovery and assessment.  Here's hoping she's friendly and doesn't have to go back outside!

Saving Sweetie

Cynthia is a fellow rescuer who feeds cats in her yard.  This year a new cat joined her gang, but Cynthia noticed the tabby she called Sweetie getting thin, and because she was a bit friendly, took her to THS for medical help and possible adoption.  But they told her that Sweetie should be euthanized due to severe periodontal disease.  Cynthia couldn't accept that and took her home.  She reached out for help and I offered to take her to my favourite vet.  Today we all looked in her mouth and yes it was a mess but no reason for her to die.  She's had a full dental and hopefully will recover well and be able to be socialized but now I have a dental bill to cover.  I could really use some help, donations would be greatly appreciated!

https://www.youcaring.com/robinsarafinchan-699064

Dumped?

Connie called me the other day to say she spotted a new cat at her colony.  Well her colony is around the corner from ours, and there are no houses even remotely close, so chances are this poor cat was a dump.  It happens at feral colonies, people see a feeding station and know cats are being fed.  This little guy thankfully stuck around and Connie was able to easily trap him.  He's stashed at Susan's for now.  He's a funny little guy, clearly not feral, but wary, no wonder though, he's skinny and covered with scabs, who knows what his story is.  We will get him vetted and go from there but he's safe.  

A six adoption week!

It was a banner week for adoptions at Michelle's.  She was away so I was doing meet and greets for the kittens.  Meet and greets are not my favourite thing, I'm fussy and am always looking for the perfect home, I try to stay out of the adoptions but the two adopters I dealt with I had no hesitation giving them our babies!

First it was a lovely man named Patrick who took Vincent and Toulouse home, then a fantastic couple, Kat and Ben came, who were interested in Spot and Freida.  The ever charming Jackson was there too, and I got an email the very next morning saying they wanted all three!  Really this was the best case scenario, two of the kittens going together, and the other three getting to spend their lives with each other.  Kat and Ben had their two nine year old cats die in a two month span so they deserve these three bundles of love.  There were some tears from Michelle and I yesterday, these kittens are the sweetest and have been with Michelle since August, and I've spent way more time with them than I usually do with fosters.

And to top it off one more piece of great news, Kahlua got adopted!  She is one of the cats from Haliburton that has been with Michelle since June, and the one who moved to a new fosters, escaped and was found.  Thankfully she has gone to an apartment!

I'm sure we will fill up the space at Michelle's soon enough!

MC goes home

Just about two weeks ago, while I was trying to catch Hank, I noticed that MC seemed to be having a bit of trouble eating, so I managed to easily scoop her up and get her to the vet.  She had a mouthful of rotten abcessed teeth so out they all came.  MC is estimated to be around 10 but otherwise seems healthy.  She's not the most feral, we've been able to pat her briefly, but not tame enough to be happy inside so I returned her to the colony yesterday.  She meowed the whole way back there in the car and rushed out of the carrier.

 I had to tell her the sad news about her friend Hank, though, poor MC liked him.  Many years ago she was best friends with a little calico who got hit by a truck, I just hope Pseudo, Floppy and Jet will be nice to her.  We have a little shrine in the trailer with ashes of some of the cats who we have lost.

Here is Mystery, one of my other customers at a nearby location.   She found a newspaper to sit on and bask in the sun.  Now that's a well fed cat!

This will cheer us up

I'm posting some cute pictures to cheer me up after the loss of Hank.  I fed yesterday and it was so strange without him and no MC either (she's still recovering at the vet).  Betsy sent me these pictures of her kittens, it must be so much fun watching them grow up, but if I did that I would keep them all LOL.  I'm so glad these kittens weren't born outside!

The end of the Hank saga

Well dear friends I'm afraid this saga doesn't have a happy ending.  Today we set up the feeding station/trap and amazingly Hank went right in.  We rushed him to the vet where our worst fears were confirmed, he had a tumour in his jaw, so Hank has crossed the Rainbow Bridge to be with his friends.  At least he won't be in pain anymore or have to endure another winter.

Hank in better days

I've been feeding Hank for seven years, he lived to a ripe old age for a feral cat, thanks to having shelter and regular food, but it breaks my heart every time we lose one, I love them all.  Now we are nine.  Poor MC will come back to find her buddy gone....

The Hank saga continues

Thankfully MC is recovering well and is eating, but Hank still looks horrible, and I continue to try to catch him to no avail.  We've been sneaking up with a carrier hoping to catch him in a shelter but no such luck.  A lovely man named Bill has loaned us this feeding station, the other side is plexiglass and you can rig the door to pull it shut with a string.  He managed to get a cat this way that he was unable to trap.  At this point I am willing to try anything, so that Hank doesn't continue to suffer, we were considering netting but Hank never sits in the open long enough for that, I swear he knows what is going on.

Of course though within 30 seconds of setting this up Pseudo went right inside.  Cats, sigh. 

Here's a picture of Puma, one of the kittens we rescued from off Yonge Street, who Joanne has kindly agreed to foster.  He's ready for adoption, but she is still working on his shy sisters.  Don't you love his stripey undercoat!

And when Lesley and I were trapping Friday morning, she had forgotten her coat, here she is modelling a trap cover as poncho!  Trappers are resourceful people!

Oh my sore teeth

It feels like all cats need dental work these days!  I've still been unable to catch Hank but I've noticed that MC is thin and seemed to be having trouble eating.  Sandi and I were doing a cleanup today and I was able to get close enough to MC to quickly pick her up and get her into a carrier, so off to the vet she went.  She of course has a mouthful of terrible teeth, seems every middle aged feral does. Hopefully all will go well and this will give her years of a pain free life.

One of my own cats, Oliver, only two years old, has stomatitis, he had major dental yesterday.  My baby boy isn't as tough as Betty, who had the same thing and had her teeth removed, and Oliver had to stay at the vet overnight but still refused to eat.  This evening I went to get him and he was sooo happy to see me, he was terrified at the vet.  We got him home and he ate!

Twig is recovering, but we discovered that it wasn't just a URI she has pancreatitis, I will need to monitor her, it seems I have a houseful of lemons.

My Saturday update

Let's start with the good news!  Kahlua, the lost foster cat, was spotted yesterday thanks to the flyers that had been distributed.  James and Lesley rushed over last night and managed to easily trap her! She is safe and now back at Michelle's!

I took advantage of a sale at Petsmart and stocked up on Friskies for my ferals, winter is coming, and they need to get good and fat.  It was cold and blustery today and already I'm worried about them.

 I'm also worried about my little Twig, she is ill, she was just sleeping for a couple of days (but still eating) so I took her to Dr Vlad and she had a fever and a bit of a URI, so now she is on antibiotics. Her pancreas levels are increased too which is a bit odd.  Hopefully she will bounce back quickly, I hate it when my babies are sick.