From Karen –
I volunteer with a small rescue group near Raleigh, NC named Alley Cats and Angels. We were recently contacted by another group looking for help with a very bad neglect situation. We took in three kittens and three adults, all in very poor shape. They’ve all been to the vet now, and though at first one vet thought at least one of the adults might be too far gone (she feared the foot wound infection had gone into the bones), we are now hopeful that all will be able to make it with proper care. But we could really use some help with the medical expenses for these cats, so have started a chipin campaign.
Our blog will be updated with ongoing status for these guys as they progress. The initial post about them is here.
Once again, the ChipIn for these poor kittens and cats is here. If you can help out, please do. Always remember that every little bit helps!
I am very sad to report to you that this morning, I am taking Buster to Petsmart. I am hoping and praying that the right people come along and fall in love with and adopt him, the sooner the better. He is a super awesome cat, but this is not the home for him.
From the beginning, when we let him out into general population, he’s been very aggressive toward the other cats, especially Spanky. (Except Jake. Everyone just LOVES Jake, pretty much without exception.) If it were just a slap fight, I wouldn’t be so concerned – but Buster’s been going after Spanky for real, and Spanky is an old guy who really can’t kick butt the way he used to. Buster tried going after Alice, but Alice turned around and said “Really? You want to mess with ME?” and she showed him she’s not scared to stand up for herself. After that, Buster left her alone.
I know that some of you are thinking of any number of things we could try, but honestly we’ve tried everything. I feel terrible taking him to Petsmart, but this is truly not the home for my sweet Buster. He’s a people lover, and I think that if there were only a couple of cats in this house – cats who could stand up for themselves – he’d be okay. But the number of cats in this house stresses him out, and nothing we’ve tried changes that. He needs to be in a home where he isn’t constantly being stressed out and where he can’t ride roughshod over the other cats.
Like I said, Spanky’s an old guy. I think he deserves to live out his last years in peace. I’ve been truly concerned that Buster was going to hurt him, and I can’t let that happen. I’ve been sequestering Buster in the bathroom when I’m not here to be sure he isn’t going after Spanky, and that’s been stressing Buster out, too. It’s time to let him find his true forever home.
I understand if you’re disappointed in us (hey, wasn’t I super-judgy about the woman who gave Buster up? This is what I get! I wonder if this, and not her doctor telling her she shouldn’t be cleaning out litter boxes is the true reason she brought him back to the shelter.), but it’s a final decision on our part. I love Buster an awful lot, but I think that sometimes loving them means knowing when they’re not in a situation where they can be happy. I hope you understand.
“Am I not beautiful?” You are, Buster. You definitely, definitely are.
(And then he turned around and went after Corbie. Sigh.)
Watching the birds out the porthole window.
Hanging out on the dryer.
See the light spot in the middle of all the dark? I call that his angel’s kiss.
(It’s just the angle. His face isn’t quite that big!)
Bye, sweet Buster. I’m going to miss your goofy face, your drama queen complaints, how excited you get at snack time, your insatiable curiosity (“Hey, what’s up HERE?”) and your loud, loud purr.
The pond guys showed up bright and early yesterday, and except for a half hour lunch, they worked hard all day long!
The first thing they did with the dirt they dug up was to dump some of it in the pig yard. The pigs have rooted up that yard but good, and when Fred mows out there, the mower gets stuck in the ruts. Once the pigs go off to freezer camp (at the end of the month, by the way), Fred will spread the dirt out and even out the yard.
The pigs reacted to those piles of dirt like they were piles of the MOST AWESOME STUFF EVER. They rooted around in the dirt, they ran up on the hills of dirt, and then they rolled around on their backs like dogs.
George and Gracie snoopervised all day long and thought it was the MOST awesome thing EVER.
I took this picture around noon:
Fred took this one around 4:30 (I was off taking Tommy to the vet) :
Fred stood in the trench that is the beginning of the long side (I think. Unless it’s the short side? Hell if I know.)
At the end of day 1, the pond guy guesstimated that the pond is less than 1/3 dug, and that we are going to end up with far, far more dirt than we need. Luckily, he knows a guy who’s building a house and may be interested in taking the extra dirt off our hands.
Update on Tommy’s eye: Last night I took Tommy to see our other vet for a second opinion (the one I really like the most, but I hate to put the cats through the half hour drive up there). She took a long look at Tommy’s eye, and then said that she thinks it’s iris melanosis – in other words, a “freckle” on his iris. The patch of discoloration is flat rather than being like a growth and isn’t affecting his vision. Also, I brought the pictures of his eye from 2009 and 2010 to show her, and as the spot hasn’t grown much in two years, she doesn’t think that we have to worry about it being melanoma.
Of course we’ll keep an eye on it, and if there are any changes in the spot, she’ll refer us to a specialist. So – for now, at least – Tommy will keep both his pretty eyes.
(But there’s not any reason he couldn’t still go as a pirate for Halloween!)
Molly totally looks like she’s in a Logitech ad, no? “When MY sister annoys me by sniffing at my back end, I take a deep breath and remember I have a Logitech mouse, and it’s all good.”
::pbllllt::
Molly and the Ears of Annoyance.
“WHAT. What you want, lady?”
Molly loves loves LOVES to be held on her back like a baby. She was purring up a storm when Fred snapped this picture.
Patty Peppers, keeping an eye on the goings-on.
“What’s going on over THERE?”
She’s the quiet observer, our Patty.
“WHAT.”
“Wait. We’re ALLOWED to do that?!”
Um, no. No you’re not, Miz Poo. And neither is he. Not that it stops him any!
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Previously
2010: I came home to a needy Miz Poo and the faint smell of cat pee at my desk.
2009: No entry.
2008: No entry.
2007: “Whyyyyyyyyyyy does life have to be so haaaaaaaaaaard?!”
2006: “Um. Whatcha do with that squirrel, Momma?” I asked.
2005: If he was a dog, he’d be a bulldog.