Of course, the cam went down the second the power went out. I had no idea the storm was going to be as bad as it was. The weather band radio was surprised too!! Actually, during the height of the storm, I ran out onto the new parking lot to check how the water drainage was going for the new parking lot. It was perfect. Gushing water was going from 1 drain to the other and pouring into the river. Kitty City was dry--absolutely not a drop of water came in! A successful project.
We had one tree and a few several hundred smaller branches come down. We were fortunate that we had no damage to the rescue center or our home. The power line guys all deserve a lot of credit. They had hundreds of poles to replace, hundreds of miles of lines to string, substations to replace..... and doing this in all the heat. They are heroes to me.
My heart is full of gratitude to so many people who have helped us get thru this very difficult time. Judy S and her husband immediately brought over their generator (dubbed Jenna Radar) on Saturday. We were able to plug in the 4 refrigerator/freezers and have a few lights and fans on for the rescue center. But, the heat and humidity was still tough to take. People would drive right up and drop off bags of ice several times every day. We used this to fill all water bowls, even for the chickens and ducks. We almost lost 6 of our baby chickens, but they have survived. The dogs had a little wading pool to help cool off. All the cats and kittens could be seen licking ice cubes. The Cat's Cove and Sunporch cats really were very warm--they received ice cubed water 3 times daily. Any extra ice was put on the floor of the Cat's Cove, which almost immediately melted, but helped a little to cool them.
People also brought us jugs of water which helped immensely. We could use our pump, but very sparingly. We kept up with the cleaning, thanks to the incoming water! On Thursday, the water pump broke down, so not even a trickle of water could be had. Memmer's came fairly quickly to fix it--extra thanks to them. They also have full repair schedules to help people, but they squeaked us in!
Because of the extreme heat, the rescue center was maintaining a temperature of 95 degrees. We had flat cats here--they were staying low, very little playing, trying to keep cool. Our Berry friends, brought us their spare generator on Thursday, in the very early morning. We immediately were able to hook up 2 window air conditioners which made it possible to get the temperature down to 85 in the rescue center. This generator is dubbed Berry Chill. Many thanks.
If it were not for these 2 generators, we would have had to move all the cats to a cooler location. As hot and humid as it's been in the rescue center, it would've been much worse. Their 102 degree bodies can certainly keep a place hot!
We never got behind in the laundry either. Every morning, volunteers came and whisked the entire amount of laundry away and brought it all back in the evening--all clean and folded.
We had so much support and prayers, all of which helped us thru. And the webcam viewers have offered tremendous support. I know it was difficult not seeing the cats and kittens for a whole week. I also know you were all concerned for our health and safety. I thank you for your patience and support.Thanks too to our volunteers and friends that kept you all updated with facebook entries, blog entries and pictures and videos of the cats here. These are the things that test our faith, patience and endurance. We have survived!
The cats and kittens are running around this morning like nothing happened! Mariska is wonderful--she hasn't a worry in her life. So athletic. It's amazing what she is doing--literally climbing everywhere and running like the wind. McLovin' is also doing great. He's had an extra hard time with the heat this week, but today is feeling much better and is playing. That little Bravo is a regular kitten. He has no idea that he is different than the others. There's barely anything he can't do. Those rear legs definitely get in his way and that is frustrating to him, but he's patient at figuring things out. He and McLovin' are still good friends. Graciela is also doing great--is growing and into everything!
The oldsters--Bondi, Megentta, Ada Jane and Putter are fine and faired well this week. All 4 liked to lick the ice cubes. I'll admit it's been a rough week, we've had some ups and downs and many problems to figure out as to how to get thru this week. But, we've done it! We know though that without all the outside help, it would have been very very difficult. I'm a grateful person!
We took in several new kittens during this past week. First, were the 3 that came in on the storm day. They were in a very full drainage pipe. Their names are Tiki (grey, male), Tabithaa (grey/white, female) and Tallulah (black/white, female). They are about 7 weeks old now. We also took in 2 brothers which were found in the woods. They are so sweet. Gib (beige/white) and Everett (black), about 9 weeks old. These names were all taken from the Name that Cat, from the Catathon.
We also took in Derecho (named after the weather storm that hit us). He is a grey tiger/white, about 7 weeks old. He was born in a woodpile. His mama and 2 siblings left him after he could no longer keep up with them. He has neurological problems, which very possibly could be cerebellar hypoplasia. This is when cats are born with a brain disease that leaves them wobbly and unsteady, but can usually lead a healthy indoor life with help. Common signs include tremors, unusual jerky movements and falling down. The most common source of this disorder is by mama having distemper (aka panleukopenia)during the time when babies were being formed. It causes an undeveloped cerebellum. The cerebellum is the portion of the brain responsible for fine motor control. He knows nothing is "different" about him and does his best to do what a normal kitty does. This is NOT a contagious thing that we need worry about.
Happy wonderful news is that Ernestine and Meggie were adopted together. We had opened June's Room door at the beginning of the week. Both Meggie and Alphie immediately came out and explored. The neat thing is that Ernestine was very tolerant of Meggie. I am thrilled they were able to be adopted. I heard from the family yesterday and they have been enjoying the bay window and sliding patio doors that overlook their bird feeding stations.
We have survived this week and have learned much in way of being grateful, having patience and knowing we have many friends that support us. We will have the cam up and running today, about mid-morning! The cats have lots to tell you!! The cats extra love our volunteers for seeing us thru this week. They are an awesome bunch of people.
Bella spent a lot of time in the outdoor enclosure, trying to stay cool this week.
Our 2 male peacocks have dropped hundreds of their beautiful tail feathers this week. We always collect them and give them out at adoption times. This is about 4 weeks ahead of schedule. This picture is of Shawn, the #1 boss peacock.
