Wordy Wednesday

It's amazing how much more quiet the house is with 2 poodins missing overnight. With Sally and Smokey boarding overnight at the V-E-T, there were only 8 poodins to count when it came time to close the cat flap to the enclosure. Only 8 poodins worth of output to scoop from the litterboxes this morning. Of course they were missed. Without Sgt. Sally's howling, it was eerily quiet last evening. And without Smokey to wrassle Dorf and Reno, there wasn't much fur flying in the hallway.

During their health checks yesterday, it was determined that Smokey really didn't need his teeth cleaned. Yay! But, he does have a heart murmur, and we wanted his heavy breathing checked out. When he's lying down, we can hear him breathe from across the room. I don't know if it's because of his Herpes virus, or if he has asthma, or if it's his weight. He only weighs 15 lbs., which isn't overly large in this house. So, he stayed overnight with Sally and will have x-rays and blood tests done this morning.

Sally was throwing a hissy fit at the V-E-T. She was not happy at all. She used to get that way when I would take her to the PetsMart Adopt-a-Pet center. One hour in the cage and she was spitting and hissing and wanting to rip the arm off anyone who came near her. That's how we ended up keeping her. It was just too difficult to try and find her a home. I assume it's because she was kept in a cage for the first 10 months of her life at the Crazy Cat Lady's garage.

I will say this 100 times over on this blog. Anyone who believes they are fostering by keeping cats in cages are doing a disservice to that cat. Yes, shelters keep cats in cages because they have little choice. Most are publicly funded and way down on the community's priority list. But an individual who performs "rescue" should not need to confine the animals. They might be saving the life of that animal, but at what psychological cost to it?

Luf, Maw

Tuxie Tummy Tuesday & a Few Purrayers Please!!

Reno was rushed to the V-E-T yesterday because he has a severe bladder infection. He was vomiting and squatting anyplace in the house as if he were constipated, but he was actually straining very hard to urinate. So he is staying at the vet for a few days since we really can't catch him to medicate him. He was in the crazy cat lady's garage longer than his siblings and is really intractable. That's why he is always first to get his claws trimmed on claw trimming weekend because if he finds out what is going on, he will run from us for the next 3 weeks. So we grab him when he is sound asleep and then trim his claws before anyone elses.

Also, Dorf is going to the ophthamologist today for his eyes. His eyes stay dilated and are kind of cloudy at times. I thought this was because of his teeth pain, and the vet dentist confirmed it, but now all his teeth are gone and his eyes are still not right. The regular V-E-T said that he isn't blind because he can track light correctly, but I still think something is wrong.

So we could use some hugs and healing purrs and headbutts and nosekisses around here if y'all don't mind.

Luf, Maw

Floofy Friday

Since we discussed Obi's High Maintenance needs yesterday, we thought we would post a picture of his fine furs. And several of you commented that it is a good thing he does his squishy poos in the tub rather than on the rugs, etc. Yes, Maw & Paw totally agree. Now, if we could get all 40 Paws to yak in the tubs, that would be great too!

Obi is a very happy cat. He always has been despite his confinement in the crazy cat lady's garage in a cage for his first 10 months. The poor guy was so vertically challenged when he first arrived here because he had no leaping or climbing strength in his legs.

He loves to give headbutts. And he's always so happy in the mornings when Maw & Paw get up. He races from room to room and leaps up the cat trees all the way to the ceilings! He really enjoys life to the fullest in spite of his health issues.

Mancat Monday

Here is Reno hanging out in the crow's nest. You can sort of see the third eyelid partially covering his right eye. The scarring from the Feline Herpes1 virus caused this. The third eyelid attached itself to the outer eyelids on all 4 of the cats who came from the crazy cat lady's garage. They were born to a mother with Feline Herpes and it was passed to them during birth. Their eyes didn't open when they should have, and over time, without proper treatments and help, it scarred each of them to varying degrees in the right eye on each kitten.

Reno's eye is the worst. We don't believe he can see well from that eye and think that is where part of his skittishness comes from. But he was also kept in the cage in the garage 2 months longer than his siblings, so this may have also impacted his disposition. He should be seen by a veterinary ophthamologist, but since he is so difficult to handle, we haven't taken him in.

Wacky Wednesday

Here are all four of the "Fosters" as we still call them 4 years later. From left to right, Smokey, Obi, Reno, and Sally. They were sitting together on the smallest platform in the enclosure last night waiting on the storms to move in.

We started getting them one at a time in April of 2003 to try and get them cured of their chronic diarrhea and help them with their eye problems which turned out to be Feline Herpes 1 or what used to be called Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus. They are all siblings and spent the first 9-11 months of their lives in cages in the Crazy Cat Lady's garage. They will all be 5 years old on May 5. They were born to a truly feral, not just stray, momma cat who as far as I know still lives in a wooden shed on the crazy cat lady's property.

Some of you noticed Sally's expression in yesterday's photo. Part of that is probably that she was upset with Paw for disturbing her sleep with the flashy box, and part of it is the scarring of her third eyelid in her right eye. She still doesn't like to be held, and is only just beginning to sleep with us at night when she is cold. Since we had to give her meds for several months after she came here, and I still have to wipe her eye at least every other day to get the dried black protein off, she doesn't like to be messed with too much.

We've tried to adopt them out at various stages, but Obi has way too many health problems, Reno is fairly untractable, and Sally gets horribly grumpy in a cage at PetSmart. Smokey could probably be adopted out. He is wonderful and affectionate and loves to play, but I'm no longer with that foster group. So here he is.

Smokey and Siblings

So here is Smokey, the last of the Forty Paws, and the sibling of Reno, Obi, and Sally. There were actually 7 kittens born to the feral mom cat with Herpes 1, but 3 kittens died in the crazy cat lady's garage.

Looking at their pictures side by side, you can see why the V-E-T said their cat momma "got around" and had "some explaining to do".










All 4 siblings have right eye scarring and are susceptible to a Feline Herpes 1 outbreak. They all have L-lysine mixed in with their stinky goodness on a daily basis.

Smokey's right eye scarred so that he looks a bit cross-eyed. His brown protein doesn't glop up and get crusty, it just constantly leaks. It drips in the food bowls, it drips on the floor while he's eating or drinking. It splatters the wall when he shakes his head after a drink. When there get to be too many brown spots on the floor and walls, I know it's time to do a thorough floor/wall scrubbing. I usually add bleach to help prevent the spread of FHV 1. Although vaccinated, most of the other cats here have ended up catching a mild form of FHV 1 and have cat colds occasionally.

Bow is the most susceptible since he is on steroids for his IBS. His colds ended up eroding his nasal passages and he had an endoscopy done of his nose and has been on heavy duty antibiotics several times to clear up his sinuses.

When Smokey came here with the horrid diarrhea from the crazy cat lady's garage, his fur was so coarse and wiry, we had never felt fur like it. After months of getting him over his diarrhea and getting good food into him and lots of brushing and petting, his fur became softer. Now, 3 years later, it is very silky. It's funny when we brush him because he loses almost none of his guard hairs which are the black ones, but the brush fills up with the silver awn hairs so it looks like we are brushing a white cat instead of a black cat!

Smokey loves to rub his weepy eye against anyone and everything. He is constantly rubbing his eye against the other cats, circling round them, and rubs it against our arms, our legs, the furniture, etc.

He is a huge cat, twice the size of Reno or Sally. He doesn't like to be picked up, but will lay on a lap occasionally. He likes to pick on Jenny and make her scream, and he rolls all of his siblings daily.

Meet Sally

Hi,

I'm Sally, aka Tiny Tiger, aka Sergeant Sally. I'm a real life siddur to Obi, Reno, and Smokey.

My right eye is also scarred from being born to a feral mama with Feline Herpes 1, or Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus. And I was stuck in the cage at da crazy cat lady's garage fur nine months too. Maw has to nab me almost efery day and get the black gunk off my eye with a warm, moist cotton ball cuz my eye starts closing up when the black gunk crusts. I dunt like wen Maw nabs me, but den I kin see agin later.

Dey call me Tiny Tiger cuz I ist the liddlest wun here at the Forty Paws wayin in at only 8 lbs, wich is bout haf ov efurrybody else here. Dey also call me Sergeant Sally cuz I patrol da howse an da cage and make my reports by howlin BERY LOUDLY. Da beans dunt like my 5:00 am reports too much. But itz my yob. So I walk up and down da hall and into da rooms and howl. Yep. Dat's my yob.

Wen my brudders roll me, I like to scream at da top ov my lungs an make my escape. Wile my brudders is recoverin frum my ear shattering scream, I click the biggify on my tail and run!!! Den I laf cuz dey dunt know wat happened!!!

I ist also the hunter 'roun here. I bring in crickets and geckos frum the cage or da garage. Den I kerry dem 'round in my mouth. Trubl is dat wen u lif wid as many poodies az I do, dey tend to surround da one whoze got sumtin. Sumtimes I haf to click the biggify on my tail and run wid my prey. But den efurrybody follows!!! It is bery hard to terrorize my prey wid so many uders wantin it.

I like to polish my prey tactics by leaping strait up in da air 'bout 3 feet and landin on nufin. Maw lafs cuz she dunt understand wat gud prey tactics is. But we poodies know how important the leap can be.

Ok. I need to go patrol now.

Luf, Sergeant Sally

Reno

Hi,

I am Reno. I am the real life brudder of Obi.
I am a perfectly symmetrical Tuxedo. Wat is on da rite site ov me is on da left site of me. Efen my butt is equal.

Here I am in da new cat tree dat Santa Paws broughted us fur Chrismouse. It goes frum da floor to da ceilin!!! We lufs it.

We were born to a feral mama with Feline Herpes I, or Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus. Our eyes wouldn't open which is normal in kittens who contract herpes during birth. A crazy cat lady who thinks she is a foster mom kept us in her garage in cages for the first 9 months of our lives because she didn't know what to do about our eyes. Then my two brudders (Obi and Smokey (u hafn't met him yet) and my sidder Sally (u hafn't met her yet) got really bad diarrhea and da crazy cat lady sent da 3 of them away. So's I wuz left widout my brudders and sidder alone in my cage for anudder 2 months until Maw got me away frum dat crazy cat lady.

So my right eye is worsted dan my brudders' and sidder's eyes. My 3rd eyelid is scarred and attached to my regular eyelid. My tear duct is scarred over so my eye can't drain, so I get goopy black junk stuck around my eye and Maw has to wipe it off with warm, moist cotton balls. I DUNT LIKE IT.

I am bery skeered of mostest anyting. I run wen Maw or Paw try to touch me. If dey lean ofer to pet me, I run away. Dat's why wen it's toe trimmin day, Maw and Paw haf to ketch me while I am sleepin an do my toes first, or I hide out fer the next 3 weeks. I meow wid ebery click ov da toe trimmers. Dat ist 18 meows. More if Maw hast to do wun ofer.

I also like to put da bitey on fingers and toes. Really hard bitey. So's Maw gaved up on tryin to adopt me owt. I am kinda growin owt of da bitey ting now. It's only taken free years. An I haf to take the L-lysine daily too fur my Herpes.

Dat's my story. Oh yeah, I ist bery skeered of Dorf too. If he corners me, I wet myself jus like Obi duz.

Luf, Reno

Obi's Tale

I'm Obi. That stands for Orange Boy. Am I not just the most gorgeous hunk of burnin' love you ever saw?

My tale is very long, but will give you some background on my siblings Sally, Reno, and Smokey as well.

We were born to a feral mama with Feline Herpes I, or Feline Rhinotracheitis Virus. Our eyes wouldn't open which is normal in kittens who contract herpes during birth.

A crazy cat lady who thinks she is a foster mom kept us in her garage in cages for the first 9 months of our lives because she didn't know what to do about our eyes. Then we all got really bad diarrhea except for Reno and she had to get rid of the 3 of us because her husband made her. So we went to another foster home where the lady didn't medicate us regularly. Then our Maw got us to her home and starting giving us NASTY Metronidazole (flagyl) and prescription food and Metamucil everyday for 3 months until our diarrhea finally stopped. Our good tummy flora was totally out of whack because we had had diarrhea for 6 months. When we came to our Maw and Paw's, we didn't know how to run or jump or climb since we lived in a cage during our formative months.

Once we got all better we had our vaccinations and even had our teeth cleaned because Herpes can kinda ulcerate the gums and our teeth were a mess although we were only a year and a half old. Then Maw put us up for adoption through the group she volunteered with and put us on Petfinder. The crazy cat lady had already had us neutered and spayed.

Everybody wanted to adopt me because I'm beautiful, but they didn't want to give me my L-lysine supplements for my Herpes, and my Metamucil which I take daily so I don't have squishee poops. So I didn't get adopted because nobody wanted a "special needs" cat.

Then my pee pee blocked. I was in the v-e-t hospital for a whole week with a catheter coming out and fluids going into me. Then I went to the North Texas Veterinary Referral Center and they did a perineal urethrostomy. So I'm a eunich in a very real sense of the word. I still get bladder infections and Maw has to watch me very carefully because when I start getting an infection, I hit every litter box in the house and leave a tiny spot. Then I have to start taking Prednisolone and antibiotics to reduce my bladder inflammation.

Every time I get sick, Maw always says that I would be so dead if I had been adopted because most people wouldn't go through what she and Paw have been through with me, or spent the tons of money on my surgery and such. So I consider myself very lucky to be here even if I REALLY hate Dorf and he picks on me all the time. And then I pee myself.

Here is a picture of me after my surgery when Maw temporarily took off my e-collar so I could bathe everything except my pee pee. Can you believe they even shaved my gorgeous tail???? How embarrasing!!!

So that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Oh, and Maw says that Crazy Cat Lady will end up being on the evening news one day when she's old and grey, after the health department comes out and finds 150 cats in her house with 50 dead ones and a foot of feces and urine piled up in the house and the neighbors complain of the smell.