Ginny and Whiffen are off to their new home...

...and their new names are now Zsu Zsu (which fits her TOTALLY) and Jasper. You should seen the room full of toys they have. And I got a great email from Stephanie today letting me know they are doing fine. Zsu Zsu is still on eye meds, which I sent along with her, so hopefully that will continue to improve as it has been this last week and a half.

I will be out of town the latter part of this week, so am hoping to put the buff twins in a foster home so that will be one less cage to clean. I've got an email into my usual "in a pinch" foster home to see if they might be able to take them. I have people interested in the buff kittens but I'm not going to have a chance to get them fixed this week, and they are just barely at "fixable" weight and I like them to be a little bit over.

Thank you to Mark and Donna for taking care of the clan while I'm gone! If any other volunteers visit after Wednesday afternoon, please feel free to scoop litter boxes (or just totally dump the small boxes if they need it) and add water/food. The young kittens all get food from the kitten-food bin on the counter in the vestibule, and the adult cats are pretty much all on light food from the bin on the floor in the vestibule.

Remember that new feral kittens will BITE if scared or restrained. Any nips or scratches from those kittens MUST be reported on the white board, and then call me on my cell phone (number on the white board) to let me know. Some of those kittens are very aggressive about liking baby food, so while I am gone, please use a plastic spoon rather than a finger to give them baby food if you are going to work on taming. We've had a bite-free year, and I'd like to keep it that way.

And please cuddle Dude. He loves it.

If you have gentle sensibilities...

Don't watch this. But I admit, I laughed out loud.

And yes, there is a cat angle.

This is why my faxes go straight to the PC...

Typical feline.. Via Dave Barry's blog.

Who says I'm cross eyed?

This is one of our new wild children. He's been one of the fastest to tame up. Maybe because everything is a blur?

And today we got presents:





Very NICE presents...three of them! More on that tomorrow!

What a beautiful, sunny day!

Although it must be plenty cold out, because the frost is still heavy on the ground.

I've posted a photo of the buff kittens who are now just about large enough for adoption. I don't believe these kittens even have names. I'll have to check with Gretchen and Donna to see if they've been calling them anything. Valarie probably should have first dibs, since she found them. Any ideas? There are two, one male and one female, both buff, with BIG eyes that are still bluish.

Adopter photos - Here's Quercus

Formerly the bearer of names "Goose" and "Bro" Hasn't he grown up into a handsome fellow? It's hard to believe it's been over a year and a half. Thank you, Sarah, for sending this! Schuyler County HS people, this is one of your rescuees!

Now go check out some "so homely they're cute photos where the Blogpound is rescuing kittens whose owners will doubtless send her handsome shots like Quercus in a year or so.

Blackbird spends the week at Cornerstone

Cornerstone Veterinary Hospital generously offered adoption space for kittens, so today I trucked over a table, cage, and kitten, to see if we can find Blackbird a home with one of Cornerstone's clients. She was a bit astonished by the first dog that came in (fittingly, a rescue dog for Cayuga Dog Rescue)but otherwise seemed OK. I'll have to give a call tomorrow to see how she is doing.

They also said it would be OK to put out a donation box so perhaps we can one day purchase one of these for a permanent adoption cage at the clinic. I want the s505 with stand

Tonight I noticed Wings twitching one of his ears and discovered he had ear mites. Usually I treat everyone with Revolution on a monthly basis (which kills mites as well as fleas and requires a prescription) but due to difficulty obtaining the amount I need, I've been using Advantage instead for fleas (which doesn't kill earmites, but can be purchased now without a prescription). So normally I don't have to worry about earmites. Well, now I do, and everyone is getting treated, and that's a LOT of ears.

That meant I was in the cat facility for hours (hey, if you are going to do ears, you may as well worm all the cats as well) and the cats loved it, especially the big cats. I spent a lot of time just sitting on the floor, cross-legged with a cat in my lap.

Mark is blogging...

...at the National Recycling Coalition Conference blog

And here's his bio. I can't believe he submitted this:

Mark Darling is the recycling/resource management coordinator for Ithaca College, where he oversees a comprehensive recycling program and food scrap composting facility. He also serves on NRC’s College & University Council Steering Committee. This is Mark’s first go at blogging, but his wife has a blog about the cat rescue they run.

"THEY run." It's official. Mark is a crazy cat person, too.

Big O has a caretaker!

This is Big O. I don't think I've blogged on him before. Nancy rescued him from her yard in the town of Ulysses, because he was beating up her cats. She (and I) assumed he was just another unneutered male who needed a little surgery to lighten him up, but once he got to the vet, they could handle him on the table (he wasn't aggressive) and he was neutered and ear notched. (Oh, yes, I did blog on him, didn't I?)

Well, Nancy put up posters and spread the word. One of the people she spread the word to spoke to another person, and the report of Big O's blue eyes got to his caretaker in Trumansburg. It seems while she was away, her landlord took it upon himself to trap and "relocate" outdoor cats on his property. The person taking care of her cats accidentally let Big O out, and he was trapped and taken to a property near Nancy. Trying to find his way home, he ended up at Nancy's house.

Lucky for him, she didn't just drive him off or ignore him like many people might have. Big O, whose real name is Stuart Little, is going home. Apparently he's one of the semi-ferals who snuggles in bed with his caretaker when she's helpless under covers, but plays keep-away when you try to touch him during the day. My little Norma cat is like that.

Oddly enough, I actually know his caretaker. She has been here for one of our "crazy cat lady" potlucks that I used to hold. And (more stupidly of me!) she even has a poster up at my vet. Stuart's picture wasn't on it, but the other cats she is looking for were. I would have felt silly as heck if he were pictured on it, because I've looked at that poster any number of times.

(Post note. Stewy's picture WAS on the poster, but his photo erroneously had "found" written across it so I didn't look at it. Argh!)

So Stuart is going home! Nancy and I are thrilled, because we really had no idea what to do with him. It seemed clear he was a "pet" cat by the condition of his fur and the fact that he was skinny along his spine and ribs. He also is very affectionate with me, although very skittish and scared of strangers. Putting him in a barn seemed wrong somehow, but I've got no room for a new cat in my cat room...especially one who might be aggressive with other cats. Nancy was going to take him back to foster, to see how he did in a smaller room, but I was pretty certain if he went to her house, she'd be stuck with another pet cat, since adopting him out would be difficult, but he's far too charming to resist.

So Stuart's tale ends safely. He's a lucky cat.

A cat Sunday

This morning Miles was adopted, so I got my butt out of bed to clean the house and the cat facility early (for a Sunday). Once Miles was safely on his way, I came into the house and told myself it would be a good day to return the hay barn cats. So out I went again, got the two recovered ferals from their feral dens back into traps, and loaded them up on the truck. I'm sure they are glad to be home. The little gray, below, was a cryptorchid. He's now another healthy neutered barn cat. The female has only one tooth left! She's got a few years on her. No more kittens for her! This barn also feeds wet food, but she seems to have no problem eating dry.







I then went downtown to pick up a new ferret hammock for the off-site adoption cage that we'll be setting up at my vet's, and some kitten chow. My current slings look a bit too shabby for a vet's office.

Then I treated myself to a newspaper, a cheese omlette, and coffee at Manos. $5.75.

I went to feed the fast food ferals, and got a rare glimpse of Vannie. Can you see her on the bridge? She's the same color as the leaves. She's such a pretty girl.



Click on the photo for a larger view.

When I went up to feed the South Hill cats, their feeding station was MIA. I hope Mark moved it. I left food at the same spot.

Luther (Jack) grows up.

Here's a shot of handsome Luther (renamed by Mark; he used to be Jack--I do believe this is his third name). We have him in the house with us and he's a joy. He plays and talks, and likes to lay next to you. He is has an Oriental body and beautiful glossy black fur, with gold eyes.

And not a single white hair on him.

Hey, Annette, your baby's grown up! Luther is the last of the kittens from Espie's litter.

Feeding the humans, too...

Tonight was the Empty Bowls Benefit Dinner for Loaves and Fishes in Ithaca. My friends Martha and Hilary usually host the wine table (Martha is a Finger Lakes winemaker) but they were going to be out of town. Martha requested the generous wine donations from Finger Lakes wineries (i.e. did all the real work), and Lisa and I agreed to host the table in their stead. Mark was going to be there, but realized this week he had to be out of town for a conference. It was a wonderful time with wonderful volunteers.

Local artist potters create bowls, and attendees chose their bowl and enjoy a dinner of soup, salad, and bread, donated by local restaurants (and the soups were incredible).

The couple who adopted Bro and Blackberry were there (musicians! I didn't know!) and they are doing great.

Jennifer and Gail of Kitchen Chair played the first set, but it was too busy at the wine table to get a photo of them. I don't get to see the two of them as often as I'd like.





I haven't been involved with Loaves and Fishes in the past. I was astounded with how fast and efficiently they worked, and how well they all got along. The guests were delightful. It was a great evening, and if I don't get to help with hosting next year, I'll definitely be there as a supporter/guest.



Thanks, Martha, for asking us! It was a great time.

Yawn...sorry....

Hey, sorry for the lapse in posting. Just like my kitten friends here, I've been tuckered out. I have email yet to answer, and cats to rotate after Miles goes to his new home and frees up a whole RUN (I believe some of the kittens will move in there). Many, many things to do.



Oh look, it's warmer if you lay ON your brother...

Miles has been adopted!

16-year-old Miles has been adopted! He's off to the vet for his pre-adoption checkup and then he's out of this 4x8 run to a real home.

I'll have to put a sign up on the front door of the cat facility so all the "walkers" on the road who say "hi" to him daily when they pass by have a few days to say goodbye.

Not really what we needed right now...

Six new kittens (and one raccoon today--big fellow!) But at least we appear to have gotten all the kittens so none are left out there alone. Three adults were fixed today (and eartipped and rabies vaccinated), and one already-neutered cat was vaccinated and returned. I had an appointment for two females, but the vet said they could fit in an extra male. Then one of the females "turned into a male" which was nice for the vet (less time to spend) and nice for me (less money to spend and the cat could be returned the barn quickly). So I still have one unneutered cat here with an appointment for next week. And there are maybe 10-15 cats left at the barn to catch. There are at least two who are not eartipped/neutered.

Tomorrow is trash day and it's going to be a huge load. Between cat litter, trapping trash, trap covers that were destroyed, towels that should be retired, and the junk that was kicking around my old quarentine room that I cleaned out, my truck will be full. I'm also going to put some stuff out with our "free" sign next to it, by the road. This stuff has gotta go.

Tristan is now Tyco...

Which is cuter? The cat or the toes? I'm having a hard time deciding, especially since the toes took the picture and sent it on to us!

Sign of the times.

I have a Yahoo account. I really like Yahoo.

For years, when I have logged into Yahoo each day, front and center was News.

NEWS!

Now front and center are neat videos. Just now I logged in and was treated to a link to a video of Lego-type people riding someone's neat homemade rollercoaster.

As a civilization, we are in real trouble. We've gone from News to fast-moving Lego people as Your Top Story Today.

The next time someone tells me I am a fool for helping an elderly person with 14 feral cats and kittens, I'll think of the dummification of Yahoo, and pat myself on the back for helping someone free themselves of the slavery of months and months of finding homes for unwanted kittens every single year.

Yahoo used to keep me updated on what was up in the world. Now I have to go click for news, but I can view "fun" videos without effort. In this new age, anyone who tells me I'm wasting my time "just" helping people with cat problem should go play with their TV remote for 1/2 hour, and then come back and tell me (really!) again that I'm wasting my time.

(Post-note, a.m. - What a little rant! :) I still love Yahoo, but I hope it doesn't slide so far into the entertainment league that it stops being my source for what's happening each day).

Meet the Big O

This is Big Orange. I suppose he'll need a new name soon, but he showed up at Nancy's house pummeling the tar out her pet cat and her recently neutered feral friend. We assumed he just needed a testicular excision. However upon his arrival at the vet, it was discovered that not only was he neutered, he was ear notched (I'm an eartip fan and we wouldn't even have thought to look for notch). So obviously testosterone was not the cause of his fighting itch.

So what to do?

Well, he has an upper respiratory, so that buys some time while we look for his owner. SOMEONE arranged to get him fixed. The vet figures he is seven years old, and to my knowledge, no one in this area has used a notch for about three years...although perhaps there is a vet who is still notching.

He can't go anywhere until he is over the snuffles. Until then, he is rapidly becoming a real smush. He can be picked up, petted, cuddled but...yes, BUT...he has that look in his eye that says "I'm only letting you cuddle me because I plan to murder you in your sleep and make my escape."

But he is SUCH a handsome boy. With Big Blue Eyes.

Pictures tell the story...

Thank you, Nancy, for your help, and for not laughing too much at me (I was a bit scattered today). (note: viewers should click on the photos to get the "vastness" impact).

And this barn has the biggest darned spiders. Shudders!

OK, OK, I'm up.

And there's a bear in the front yard. Really. That's NOT an excuse to sleep another hour. So I think I'll have a cup of coffee and wait just a little bit before packing up the truck, thank you!

I didn't think Nick (our indoor/outdoor cat) could get quite that fluffy. Impressive.

Trying not to be a morning wimp

I took off four half-days this week (working 11-3) so I can trap cats in the afternoon/evening and take them into the vet for vaccination in the early a.m. I made a vet appointment for T-F, 8:00 am, failing to take into account that I would be working a full day on Monday and would not have time to trap in evening for the Tuesday appointment.

Brain fart.

I nearly wimped out and said "Oh well, I'll call the vet and say I won't be in Tuesday a.m." Although I knew that if I got up early...REALLY early (like 4:00 am) I probably could set traps at one site and catch a cat or two before the vet appointment. And that would be a start.

There once was a time when I trapped "nuisance" wildlife every weekend and got out of bed at 4:30 with just a minor groan. I quite often set traps all night and slept in my truck (those were the days!) to vaccinate raccoons.

I'm getting old. Now I find it irrational to get up that early.

Anyway, when I was tucking in the kittens tonight I gave myself a good mental kick in the butt, dragged out all my traps, got my trap covers, paper plates, a plastic spoon, and came inside the house to crank open cat food cans and tuna (to pre-mix into Gladware so I'm not popping cans in the field) and I'm just getting ready to set my alarm for 4:00 am.

I'll set the traps in the morning and grab a few newspapers to camp my butt at Manos for a few hours. I can also go to the 24-hour Wegmans to stock up on bait cat food for the next few days. Maybe I can even find my ragged old Wildrun sweatshirt from my wildlife trapping days.

In case you didn't know, diner waitresses are really nice to early morning contractors. It's a whole different world. Even the nicest waitress is twice as nice at 5:00 am to the scattered crowd of working class men getting a cup of coffee. And I say men because, without exception, I have been in the only woman in the diner in the morning dark hours as the sun rises. And the waitresses treat me like gold. I want to hug them before leaving and say "You didn't just make my day, you made my LIFE."

Also...

I feel badly because today, for the first time all summer, I had to say NO. I got an email from a person who had caught some older feral kittens that had been running around their place since June. I started to think how I could fit them in...then realized there was just no way. No way at all. So I emailed back and offered to try and get them fixed at my vet's discount rate. That's all I can do right now.

I usually try to take all kittens from my immediate area, but these guys are big and wild so need an expert handler and lots of work. I can't just pawn them off on a small-kitten foster home. And there is no room here, especially since some of these re-vax ferals are going to be new ferals that need holding and fixing and the vet may not be able to fit them in until next week.

There comes a time when the line is drawn. Today the line was drawn. I've said yes to vaccinating 20-30 ferals this week. I have to say no to more kittens.

See you in the morning!

Coffee and Kitten Today, Sunday

If you have time for a gorgeous drive, please feel free to stop by today, 2-4. Please don't come early as I will not be here until 2:00. We have two new kittens (one has not yet been FeLV/FIV tested but can be pre-adopted) and eight others still available!

If you aren't up for adoption, feel free to just come play with kittens! Someone has to drink all this coffee (bait: there is also chocolate....)

Email info@americancat.net and I'll have someone watch my email to send directions if needed.

Post-note: 2:43, and we have two visitors. Looks like Ginny has a fan!

Post-note: 4:00. Ginny and Whiffen are adopted!

Kittens-2-Go

This morning was kitten delivery time. Tristan, and Ernie and Bertie went off to their new homes.

The first stroke of luck came when I drove by a yard sale right before Tristan's new home, did a doubletake, took a U-turn, and purchased a cat crate that had never been used, for $10. It's large and lovely, and now one of these dumpy crates I've been using can go away.

Then Tristan lucked out with THE cat-perfect apartment. Here he is checking it out:



And here are the cool ledges, and his new friend, "Kitty."



I would say Tristan has found an apartment and owners who suit his "I'm the most important aspect of this room" attitude. I'm not sure if Kitty agrees, but I'm betting they'll be best of buddies in short order.

I didn't remember to bring the camera in when I delivered Ernie and Bertie. Ernie decided to prove the theory of "if there is a hole, kittens will find it" by somehow managing to disappear in the kitchen. There was one little hole up under the cabinets, and that's where he went. But we plopped Bertie in front of a can of tuna just outside the hole, and Ernie crawled back out again to share the treat. Duct tape took care of that hole. They then proceeded to zoom around the downstairs at high speed, oh-so-happy to be out of a cage.

So three are more are safely into homes, and the vet fund checks that each adopter donated will help vaccinate the ferals I plan to catch next week when I take half days Tuesday-Friday to trap.

Thank you for adopting a formerly feral kitten!

Here's a shot of Kitty, in case his owners want to snag it:

For the fun of it...

Here is my old logo for The American Cat Project. Our slogan was "Touch the Dream...No More Feral Kittens." Sadly, about two years ago people began making assumptions about my politics based on the logo (what--Democrats can't fly the flag?) and I seldom use it now. The American flag flies on our house daily ---right next to the Earth Flag! Maybe I should incorporate the Earth Flag into this logo somehow?

PLEASE tell me there is a Cafe.press site...

...that sells T-shirts with this on it! Thank you to brina for posting it to comments!

Oh cool, it is a New York program and they have a team for a Lollypop Farm fundraiser near Rochester.

If it sits still, I can blog it.

Such is the price of a borrowed camera. As much as I would like to photograph kittens, they are in the next county by the time this camera seizes its image.

But Ditz found the Lands End box, and she ain't goin' nowhere.

I made an appointment for my cat Nell at Veterinary Care of Ithaca for a lump on her chin, which has since disappeared. Ditz needs a rabies shot, and seems to have issues jumping. So instead of Nell going to the vet Saturday, looks like it will be Ditz.

Don't tell her.

Volunteers needed in Syracuse for cat seizure.

If you live in the Syracuse area, they need adult volunteers to help care for cats seized in a situation related to the Cortland seizure. Donations are also needed.

The Cortland County SPCA continues to need help.

Cat Lady clothes

It's very dangerous to fall into the cat lady clothing syndrome.

If you spend all your money on cats, you don't have money to spend on clothes. And the clothes you do buy need to be durable, or they will shortly fall apart. But they are going to get covered with mud, cat litter dust, cat fur, and kitten glop. If you buy cheap-cheap big-box clothing, it doesn't last ten washings before you look...like a cat lady.

Last week the Land's End overstock catalog came out and if you get to the computer IMMEDIATELY you can sometimes actually purchase some of the things they have listed there. Wait more than a day or two, however, and all that is left is extra-small, if that.

And sometimes what comes in the mail just isn't what you thought you were buying, because the photos on the webpage and catalog aren't as large as the standard catalog.

This time I lucked out. The shoes ($16.99, a splurge, but still cheaper than K-mart sneakers) are actually quite trim and very comfortable. I expected them to be clunky. I may go back to see if they have another a pair in brown, now that I've seen these.

The grey top was an initial disappointment. I pulled it out and realized it was "just a gray sweatshirt." But it is very soft, and the waistband is false...it doesn't sit tight around the hips, which is why I hate sweatshirts.

The blue top is actually a pajama top, but only those of you who read this blog will ever know. I plan on wearing it as a shirt. Land's End said it was "violet." Ummmmmm.....No? It's actually too heavy to wear in bed, IMO. The tops were both something like 7.99 and are quite good quality.

The socks? How could I resist? All my polartec socks (which are normally $29.00/two pair--I ask for them for Christmas and birthdays and they last a couple of years) have holes. I like them because they dry out fast and are warm when you are shoe-less. The only ones left on-line ($9.00 for two pair on sale) were leopard print.

I just had to do it.

I just HAD to.

And that's when you know you are a cat lady.

More Coffee! More Kittens!

Last Sunday was such a success, I'm going to be open again this coming Sunday, but just from 2:00-5:00 pm.

Email for directions. Info @ americancat.net

And yes, I will blog again. It's just not as much fun without photos! Maybe I'll go wrestle with Mark's camera again.

Hugs...

Here

A good day.

Tristan and Dude were adopted today. Plus two little kittens that I just picked up this morning. And two people who couldn't make it will hopefully stop by another time soon. It was a very nice turnout, with people straight through from noon to six. And I am quite tuckered now, and think I will go tuck the kitties in and head to bed.