Surgeries are over! All have recovered beautifully and were already eating and running around last night. Here's the official list:
Males were: Mathias, Caleb, Vernon, Jambrew, Triumph, Mogo, T.A.B. and Bear Bear
Females were: Gusti, Esmee, Niffie, Murphy, Anne Shirley, Bunny
We also did 3 other castrations of tom cats to help with the population problem.
You may notice some names that are not familiar. The white/tiger litter has been named!
Jambrew--male, mostly white, tiger tail, left ear 1/2 white 1/2 tiger
Triumph--male, white, black tiger tail 1/2 tiger 1/2 white
Mogo--male, br tiger/white, black nose, 1 tiger spot on back of neck
T.A.B.--known simply as Tab, male, grey tiger with 4 white feet
Anne Shirley--female, mostly white, has 2 tiger dots on back, ears both 1/2 white 1/2 tiger
Bunny is the name of the white/black female cat that was left in the parking lot earlier in the week. When you see her, check out her face---just beautiful. She did end up already being spayed, but it was tricky to discover this!
Now, to catch you up on a few things.
Mudjie: This will be hard. Yesterday, a very sad thing happened. Little Mudjie had to be put to sleep. Most people don't know the whole story. Remember the gold mama and the 4 golden kittens that we all found, literally scattered all over the neighborhood? They were all the same---gold, most of fur missing, so so covered in fleas, skin and bones and just so sad. My heart broke on this. Well, Mudjie was found first, on a car in the parking lot. Took her in, did her test, negative and started working on her. My heart was taken by her. Then in the next 3 days, we found the mama and kittens. They must've been dropped in the parking lot and just ran everywhere. All were within 2 houses of FFRC. As these kittens and mama came in, we tested them. All positive for leukemia. I KNEW in my heart that Mudjie was one of the siblings---they were completely the same in every way--the horrible condition, the age, their demeanor, etc. I KNOW she was a sibling. But, she tested negative......at first. Yesterday, I explained the whole situation to Dr. Darcy. I told her even though it wasn't 4 weeks yet to retest, I felt we should retest before her surgery. And of course, by then, the antibodies had built up enough to show up on the test. She was positive as well. Broke my heart--I had become attached deeply. She had actually gained weight and had no fleas and slowly was accepting love. But, her family history caught up with her. She was so loved for the time she was here.
Ada Jane: she usually has a physical each time now that Dr. Darcy comes. About the same, although we know she's lost weight. She drinks a lot and continues to have some kidney failure. We know all this already. We will continue to love her, give her anything she wants and turn that faucet on for her anytime. She's a good oldster who is much loved.
Trucker: He was rechecked again. The surgery game plan is still the same. We will do a mid-femur amputation on one leg, then do the second one later. His legs continue to "grow". Not really any more than any other cat, but because they are completely stiff, they appear very long. He is having some issues because of that---it's difficult to get in the litterbox because his legs get caught on everything. Oh my goodness, this is a happy boy! He loves us all (and the cammers too---he told me so!). We even rank above his chicken! He now weighs 3.06. We'd like him to be 4 pounds and to be over his eye virus problem. We're working on both things.
Caleb: what a sweet boy. As you know, he was retrieved with a bit of difficulty from the motor of a car. Somehow he injured his front paw. Dr. Darcy confirmed yesterday that it's a fracture. Because he was a wee baby when he came, surgery was not an option. Now that it's been a few weeks, the bone is already healing. I am glad that it's in fairly good alignment. He will be fine!
Dashielle: This little baby also arrived with a very bad fractured rear leg. What a wonderful kitten he is. He was found on a road, so we assume it was a HBC. His leg, while it's trying to heal, is not in good alignment at all and is causing problems. He's dragging the foot which is causing a fairly big friction site. Also where the bone went thru the skin is a worry. He is on antibiotics. As soon as he is bigger, that leg will have to be amputated. There is no working with these severe fractures in his leg.
We also had a return yesterday. Vaun, the manx kitten, is back. She looks good, was well loved and the family is sad about the return. She will be back in the Main Area soon.
Derecho, the Director of Cats, was most upset last night. For real. He came to me with a problem. He had been watching two of the cats---you know he is the overseerer of the Rescue Center. He observed that they were picking at each other. Things were not happy and there was discord. The other cats felt it too. And so they too were a bit grumpy and picky. I actually noticed it too--a few swipes here, a snarl there, where usually there isn't any of that. Normally they are a big happy family. But, these two particular cats let it get the best of them and there was a big bickering argument. Not a pretty sight. Well, Derecho stepped in, and stopped that right then and there. We are a place of peace--that's what he told them. And why do that in the first place? Well, their answer was such a minor simple little thing. One didn't share a piece of chicken with the other. And instead of meowing about it (the equivalent of a discussion), they let it build until it was a mountain of tension. All over something so little. Derecho reminded them:
This Rescue Center is a place of JOY!
Please....only bring peace, friendship and a good heart without our walls.
And so it is. Peace was restored, chicken was shared and a sense of family came over the group again. Derecho wanted you all to know his story and that he takes his "job" seriously.
Sometimes I get a bit discouraged. We try our hardest and bestest with the care that our cats receive. My goal is to adopt out a perfectly healthy cat or kitten. Well, I know in my head that that is impossible. There is always something that can happen. Take parasites--external parasites are easy to fight. For cats--the main ones are fleas, ticks, lice, maggots and even ear mites. We can take care of these problems. But, those pesky internal parasites are another story. There are many, many parasites that a cat can harbor. We declare war on these things, but we don't always win. There's roundworms, hookworms, whipworms, tapeworms, heartworms, giardia, coccidia, tritrichomonas, cryptosporidium--such a lovely group of worms that can invade cats. Many of these have to have a specific medicine to take care of business, sometimes for days of treatments. Some of these are easy to detect, some are difficult. Some are simple tests, some are expensive tests that have to be sent away. Some require special compounding of meds that need to be used. I feel we do a good job on parasite control. But, it's almost impossible to catch it all. But, our intentions are good in trying our best. Thanks for listening---I feel better!
Well, Derecho is calling. He wants to talk again. I think this time it's about treats! I also have to have a word with Merri. She did a great thing today--she was able to get up on the princess bed by herself. And there, she is staying! No other cats allowed. She's claimed it and it's her. I think we need to have a talk on sharing! What a girl! So proud of her though for this accomplishment!
