Pania knows her name so well. When we talk to her, she will answer right back. She can carry on a conversation. I saw her the other day when she walked right off of a tower. Of course she was picked up and hugged. Later that day she was on the same tower and this way she went down the full way by feeling and then jumped off at the very bottom. We all enjoy watching her on the Beanstalk Tree. She goes up easily. Coming down, she feels and touches her way down. You can just see that proud look on her face when she accomplishes these things.
Cats are truly amazing. They can be so very smart. Solee knows very well if she stares at us it will result in us giving her some babycat kibble. Derecho and Lorenzo both know after breakfast they get their spoonful of babyfood. August knows when Connie goes into June's Room that he can too--that's where he gets his special treat!
Joey is not as afraid! He's frequently now out in the front THumper's Room and will ocassionally venture into the Welcome Room office. It's pure pleasure to see him letting us into his world! And he can purr too!
We have a surgery date. It's April 12, a Saturday. Right now we have Rocky Top, Merle, Tinker, Liberti and Fondant. We also have a major load of physicals to do. Have to get the spring physicals caught up! Very important.
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Tabitha now has about 1 1/2 rolls of paper towels piled up in her nesting cabinet--I always get a kick out of this. She is so happy to be in there. Lately she's been sharing with Preakness. Purrzer has been at the window alot lately. He loves watching the birds. Emily is turning into an extra sweetie pie. Such a nice cat.
Remember to mark your calendar! The Catathon is June 22. We are starting to collect items for the Baskets and the Big Ticket Items. We're sure looking forward to this event.
We had BOXES last night! Many, many thank yous to you!
Rebecca and Willow--BD card and 6 packs of BOndi Licks (3 chicken/3 salmon)
Tammy P from MO--BD and a beautiful pewter hanging angel
Catsrule--colorful mousie toys
Ron R and Ceily from CT--BD card and a 2nd BD card from FFRC Nation people and kittens
Ellen/kikimycat--An easel BD card and a Grumpy Cat Tshirt!
Jane L from WI--a rainbow bridge afghan and a great Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook (can be for Catathon)
Becky W from CA--Easy candy, jingly mice toys from Becky's mom, snake toys, magic eraser, sponges, 2 soft soaps, assorted wonderful kitty toys--all handmade with love
Anonymous Friend--a book and Easter basket for Josie, material for Angie to use for FFRC, purple pillowcases
Christopher and Stephanie C from AL--card, Martha Stewart Sherpa blankie, collapsible bed (already slept in last night!), 2 catnip mousies, cat snackers and a donation
Yankeechick--a beautiful spring bouquet
Patricia M from IL--donation for FFRC & BD card
Sandra T from Toledo--donation for FFRC & BD card
Frenchsilk and Kiki--donation for FFRC & BD card
Kelly/timbrwolfpup--BD card
Barbara W in IA--BD card
Cathy & John S from FL--BD card and donation for us to go to movies!
Northpolemn--BD card
Gusti from Germany--BD card
Whoebee!--BD card
Jan in HI--BD card
Sally H/eaglespirit--a letter and a drawing done of a kitty in flowers (so pretty!) and a group picture of all my inside cats--I LOVE it. Thank you!
Conii & 3 kittens--12 cans of KMR, 2 bags of Royal Canin kitten and a case of Royal Canin kitten can
Kristo-Mikko D from Finland--donation to FFRC thru PayPal
Kelly Locklear--donation thru PayPal to FFRC
Sharon and Mary--box of Fancy Feast, big box of Fresh Step litter and a box of fruit snacks for the volunteers
We also had a special box from Larissa B from the Netherlands. Larissa is very multi-talented and I'm very grateful for what she does for FFRC. This box was filled with things she had made. 3 Bessie and kitties posters, many beautiful hand painted wooden boxes, a birdfeeder, 2 handpainted tote bags, mini painted "love, peace, cats" signs, painted Trinket Pebbles in a treasure box, Harlequin the Cat painting, painted lap tray,--so many items. Each is absolutely stunning. We will have to talk about this of how we will use these for FFRC--maybe a Larissa Raffle! They are indeed beautiful.
We have been invited to be a part of lifewithcts.tv They would like a story about one of our cats. I'll probably feature Derecho and what he has done for FFRC and for the CH world--how he has opened people's minds about how wonderful CH cats are. Very exciting! I'll give you more details as I know them.
Here's something that we will be passing out to visitors coming in to see the cats. I realized several times lately that people walking in as new visitors have no idea what is going on with all the cats that walk differently. So, I felt it was important to enlighten them before coming in--so they can appreciate these cats too. They are nothing to fear or to feel sorry for. Here is the poster:
You may see wobbly cats. You may see 3 legged cats. You may see cats dragging their back end. Some have 1 eye, some have half tails and some may be blind. And yes, we love them all!
This Rescue Center specializes in special-needs cats. The wobbly cats are CH cats. They have something called "Cerebellar Hypoplasia". That simply means that their mama was probably sick with distemper when they were being formed. This causes the cerebellum to not fully develop. Since the cerebellum is the balance system for the body, they are wobbly.
There are different levels of CH--mild, moderate and severe. Some can walk with just a sway walk, some spread their legs wide to help keep their balance. Some topple over at times. Many have an uncoordinated walk. Regardless, they are loving cats. Their disorder does not progress yet it also has no cure.
Even though some may appear to have dis-abilities, we call it cat-abilities. You see, cats are awesome and they deal with these things in a most remarkable way. They do not feel sorry for themselves. And because of this, they just carry on with life! Life is great just the way they are.
Feel free to pet all the cats. Please, only adults hold those that are CH. Many of them cannot climb very well. When done holding, put them on the floor and be sure all 4 feet have contact with the floor before releasing. Cats with collars are permanent residents. We assume parents will watch their children. Children can pet, but please don't pick up.
Have an awesome day!
