Photos from this weekend

Christy took some great photos of the kittens and cats this weekend. These are my two favorites.

They kept their eyes open for Christy. :)

Kittens on the Catio

There are not enough ways to say "thanks."

Today Christy came by bearing cherry tomatoes, peaches, peach jam, flowers, and a check, and three people have sent vet bill money via Paypal after my rant over the six (cute, cute, cute!) kittens that were dumped here. I'm getting some sweet cat toys out to you all (made by my mother and sister!)--except maybe to Singapore. I'll have to ask the postmaster here whether I can ship dried catnip overseas.

Thank you all! I also need to point out that money is not the only thing that lifts my spirits. Just checking my stats on the blog and seeing the people who check in over and over again--even when I'm so poor at blogging regularly--that is a huge lift as well.

I took yesterday and today off from work. Yesterday, I went to the Glimmerglass Opera (now actually the Glimmerglass Festival), complements of my sister Linda and the opera (i.e. a comp ticket). She has played with them for over 20 years, and yes even so, I have never been to an opera, which really is a heinous sin. I'll blog more about it on my personal blog later today. Let's just say I was lucky enough to experience an incredible singer and actor--so incredible that I keep going over and over the opera in my mind.

I got to see Sylvester, who lived here for a few years before Linda adopted him (Note to friends of Wildrun--Sylvie is Storm's brother). I got a short glimpse of Harley, who is also a Wildrun kitten, but he disappeared as soon as Molly-the-dog started bouncing around the house.

I had planned on camping before I discovered I was in desperate need of a new sleeping bag. You just can't leave a cloth bag in a closet for four years unused. Too bad...the omnipresent clouds gave way around 1:00 pm yesterday just before the opera began, and central NY is now as glorious as only central NYS can be on a sunny cool summer day. This morning the sun rose in a cloudless sky and I can now take PICTURES OF KITTENS without a flash.

I'm also using the day to get paperwork in order, taking thank-yous to the post office, and paying bills, bills, bills. Kittens are romping in both the house and the cat facility. The lazy sunny day offsets their boundless energy. What normally would freak me out (too many kittens!) at the moment is amusing and happily distracting.

Musicians have been very kind to Wildrun. Our most recent adopter pulled up and noted the Syracuse Symphony magnet on my car (a great way to be immediately approved for adoption around here). She is of a musical background as well. There seems to be a great bond between musicians and cats, and the fact that several musicians have adopted us, is probably the one thing gives my life a periodic boost of the ethereal. I'm not sure how to explain it; again, I'll try a bit more on my personal blog, later. But just as an example, to go out on my porch and see the flowers, the sweet peaches, and then--on a more mercenarial note--discover I won't have to put more bills on the credit card when the mortgage comes due on Friday because I have some help with the vet costs of these kittens--is unexplainably wonderful. It is a great gift. At some point in my life, I want to raise flower, just so I can drive around and give them to everyone I love.

And on a perfect, perfect sunny day, such a gift even makes work enjoyable.

Kitten photos soon!

Eleven kittens in-house. Two are spoken for!

What a devil of a time I had taking photos tonight. Every time the flash went off, little kittens squinched their eyes tightly closed. I'll need to go out at lunch tomorrow and try to get some more!

The new litter (6) and Mariah (the abandoned Manx) all tested negative for FeLV/FIV/Heartworm. A sister of one of the vet techs is looking for a kitten, so they were snapping photos and sending them off to Maine. Little Frack (brown tiger w/white female) has been chosen! Hopefully I can get her fattened up, fixed (and hernia repaired) and recovered before the end of August when she would make the trip north.

Then today we had a visitor, and the little black fuzz ball with extra toes was chosen! They are all still skinny, wormy, and the little black one decided to hack up some foam right then, but he ate and drank tonight, and seems fine. They have had two doses of worm medicine, and are now on FortiFlora to help their little guts recover. So I have three cats "adopted" and yet they are all still here. At least they are chosen!

I finally managed to get a good photo of Mariah, the fast-as-lightning Manx. It's good for her to have other kittens to play with, because she was getting bitey, as single kittens often do. Once everyone seems healthy, I probably will cage her up with the new kittens, but until then, I'm letting her romp with them, but put her back in her own cage alone.

They are pretty kittens.



The kittens in the house are extremely amusing, and were very sweet to their visitor today. If it weren't for the fact that the new black kitten is sporting extra toes, Noodles might have been adopted instead, because he did the old "let me gaze soulfully up directly into your eyes" routine.

Good boy! Keep it up!

Six, yes SIX kittens abandoned

A neighbor came lugging a crate (no door!) up the path the day before yesterday. It contained SIX kittens that she had found at the intersection just before my house. Just out of sight of my door--where they could have brought them had they had guts to do so.

Thank you, someone, for taking another $1100 from me. $1100 that no one has, right now.

FeLV/FIV tests @ $30 each = $180
FVRCP @ $4 each = $24
Capstar @ $2 each = $12
Rabies (when old enough) @ $5 each =$30
3 pediatric neuters = $300
3 pediatric spays = $400
Hernia repair on 2 = $150

Total = $1096

That doesn't include food, litter, worming, and further flea treatment.

Just think. If you'd gotten your own cat fixed at your vet ($250) or local spay/neuter clinic ($50, or sometimes free) you wouldn't be stealing from me, and from the veterinarians who give a discount.

And, worse yet, your cat is going to have another litter. And another. And another.

Bless you, Carmen, for stopping when you saw something that didn't look right!