Pull up a chair, grab a drink and snack and put your feet up---this is a bit of a long blog!
A 100,000 thank yous to you! We went over the 100,000 mark yesterday with our voting for the Rare Eagle Life contest. Wow---just absolutely awesome and your votes are much appreciated. We can continue to vote until Jan. 4th. Just think about that number---makes me smile!
This cooler weather is bringing out the silliness of the cats and kittens. They are practicing all their moves---running, jumping, leaps, rolls, bouncing and just generally having a very good time! Love watching them play! If you hear a constant trilling, that would be Todd. Everything he does is delivered with a trill, not a meow, but his way of voicing his pleasure! Like an elongated chirp! He's available for adoption and is a super sweet boy!
We have much to be grateful for---had BOXES on Weds. evening!
Carla M--lots of crochet items--10 shell scarves, 30 crate blankets, 17 kickaroos with bells!
David, Christine, Yuki, Miyu & Anya--6 plush kitty pads (one for Joey to take to Canada) & 6 cases of Fancy Feast
Pam/zoolove--kitty & stars t-shirt, I love it
Gusti--3 pretty aqua towels for FFRC, doggie snackers, stuffed dog toy, grooming mit, blankie for Joyful with her name on it. 30 Christmas bags with kitties & doggies on them
Plee--5 cases Fancy Feast
Wendy & Joe, visitors from PA--case of Fancy Feast, dog treats, Vanilla wafer cookies, pop tabs for Kellen, Halloween candy/chips for volunteers
Cheryl from WA--Halloween card
Trudy S from OH--Halloween card & donation
Melissa L from NY--donation
Painteddaisy--butterfly card, donation for Joyful and her friends
Ollie the Hooligan--note with coupons
Jenny, Brent & Ben from Canada--Mountain scratcher for Joey and his friends
Connie/warped sent many of her special handmade items--Halloween Table toppers, star table toppers, 3 octagon table toppers, crocheted snowflakes, special string angels.
I just want to give a huge thumbs up and thanks---we have so so many talented people "out there" in our FFRCNation that are so willing to donate items to FFRC. These items usually show up in our Paw-Mart store, flash sales & raffles. They make a huge difference to FFRC
Tomorrow starts our next Fun-Raiser! We are so excited about it. Instead of the usual 8 items, we have 10 items---such a difference of "style" in the items! Check out your facebook for updates and the cam for a video. And here's a bonus---anyone who wants 10 tickets ($50) or more will have their funds doubled by the generous heart of an Anonymous Friend!
And we have more thanks! Our FFRCNation is wonderful!
Eartheyes---donation for our General Fund
Lynda S--donation for FFRC
Olga & Mamo from Netherlands--donation to FFRC
Lana H--donation for FFRC
Belltime/Pam--donation in honor of Beth/eaglewatcher's birthday for Feliz Navidad Fund
Stephanie S--donation for her sales of keepsake teddies
Billie K from TX--donation to help our General Fund
Alice Mary has her sutures out and she's eating! She's such a messy eater, but that's ok---she's enjoying being able to eat and breathe! What a doll she is.
Good news from the 2 visits to the vets on Weds. Livingston had his surgery/neuter and it went smoothly. He does have a couple incisions but the "job" is done and we're all happy. He's come a very long way with many treatments and worries. A long road for him but he succeeded!
And Phoebe had her lab work done! Remember a month ago her platelets were dangerously low. She's been on medication this whole time. This time, her lab work showed GOOD! All is normal and we are thrilled. She loves to play, is eating good and loves to be loved on. We will still hold on Phoebe and Alice Mary's spays for one more month.
We have updates on the 2 kittens that we have been waiting on. I'll also post their stories here as I've been asked to put this in the blog.
Eddie White: He will be arriving on 10/22, Saturday. His foster mama will be flying in to Ohio and then driving here with Eddie. We are very excited to care for him. He will have the back Thumper's Room to call his own for a while till he gets use to us. Here is the story that his foster mom wrote about him:
Eddie's Oddessy, began on a dreary cold winter day almost 11 months ago in the middle of nowhere, 2 miles from any homes, off a dirt road in Pender County NC. Nearly frozen to the ground, frightened and unable to move, Eddie was rescued by a cell tower worker who just couldnt leave him there. He spent a few weeks decompressing, destressing and gaining back his strength at the home of another Operation Topcat volunteer. Though a short term stay, it was the start of a new life for Eddie. As we would soon learn, Eddie was deaf. Not uncommon to white cats, but one more sad strike against him finding forever. So he came to our place. His stay here had no expiration, and it had no conditions. Only that he learn to love himself again. And that he has. He started out in a room with 4 little recently rescued scared kittens. He wasnt happy about those kittens, and spent most days hissing at them from inside his crate. Even for the daylight hours when the cage door was open, he refused to explore, or get to know his surroundings, or make friends with the others in that room.
It was out of necessity he was in that room. We literally had no other room at the Inn. Soon he grew to accept the kittens, and after 6 weeks in the crate, he ventured out one day all on his own. I was initially startled but then joyfull when i realized that was HIM laying in the window, facing the sea, and in my delight i approached him to pick him up. Welllll Eddie wasn't having that, and for the next 5 months, we had a nightly routine in which i would approach, he would circle and then he would enter his crate, ready to bed down with some noms, and a good nights rest. As Joy, and Hamilton and Marla and LIncoln grew, one by one, except for my Lincoln, the kittens grew and found homes of their own. Eddie and Linocoln formed a bond like no other. We knew by now that there was something terribly wrong with LInc, and were going through his medical condition,like the wind. But always by his side to comfort him in fevers, or on blah days was Eddie, they had an understanding of what Love meant, that was phenomenal. I had networked with some great rescue friends, early on, and found Eddie a conditional home with another deaf cat in Texas. A wonderful friend Thumper Zarate was going to bring Eddie when the time was right. But i couldn't bear to let him go and leave Lincoln alone and now with Lincoln gone, Eddie was alone.
It soon became clear that Eddie needed a sanctuary, where for the rest of his life, he would be accepted for who he was, not the reject that someone had dumped down that long road. So I started looking at new angles. I happened upon Friends of Feline Rescue in Defiance Ohio and joined their page. I lurked, and I stalked the cats there, read the blog, looked at the pictures, and finally one night Eddie and I discussed it was the perfect place for him. Really his perfect place is with me, but household dynamics dont make it fair for him, so we took the next best option. After many emails and a few more , Friends of Felines has accepted Eddie to live there as he is, how he wants to be, for the rest of his life. So on October 22, Eddie and I will continue the last step in his Oddessy, as we fly to Ohio and find his forever.
There are many folks to say 'thanks' to along the way, and i hope I've said that loud and clear.
Needless to say I'll miss him, I love him, and he was one nano second from a foster fail, many times over. You cant rescue and not love, and you cant love and not rescue. Its that simple, for me.
Breanna: And here is the second kitten that we've been waiting to take. Her name is Breanna and she and her foster mama will arrive October 28. Here's something really neat--her foster mama is the same person who brought Hensley to us! And so she shall visit our sweet Hensley! The following is a letter from the vet that took care of Breanna:
"Breanna came to us after being found by a dumpser. On presentation, she had multiple wounds and scrapes on her face. She also had significant facial swelling. She was mobile but moved very slowly and painfully. I suspected head trauma and began pain meds to monitor. She ate well and very slowly recovered from the facial swelling and pain responses. Her mobility slowly improved but after 4 weeks, she stopped improving. She has been ataxic (lack of muscle coordination) since the beginning.
She has had multiple episodes of stiffening her body and crying. The episodes would last for 5 seconds then she was totally normal again. The caretaker initially thought she was having seizure like episodes but we currently think the episodes were her pain responses to her path.
She had full x-rays and evaluation by a mobile vet. The x-rays were unremarkable except decreased opacity to her shoulders and pain. She still shows pain when palpated or forced extension to her front legs/shoulder.
We believe she had severe head trauma that resulted in swelling and damage to her brain similar to shaken baby syndrome. The damage is most likely permanent."
And here is more from Breanna's foster mama--
She is a very quiet and sweet kitty. She loves to cuddle and be held! She walks on her back hocks instead of just her feet. She can get around quite well on her own, just slower than a normal cat and of course she cannot jump. She does have a head wobble that comes and goes. She loves to play with toys although her depth perception is slightly off (not that she minds- she has fun!) We have two adult cats of our own so we have seen that she is great around other cats. She does startle easily at loud noises. I look forward to our visit!!
And how about an update on Marcus---our newest Covie! He is doing wonderful. Each day he is more relaxed. Today he ate snackers with his fellow-covies right beside him. And then he strolled into the Cove for his breakfast. I'm so happy that he is fitting in!
Tomorrow, Saturday is our FFRC surgery day. Our spays will be: Grishko, Janna, Kwatille, Vienna and Endure. Our neuters will be: Cairys, Ramsey, Sintel and Towner. We have physicals too: Joey, Camvi, Jones, Joyful, LucyAnn, Merri, Paddy Purr, Polly and Walter. A busy day ahead.
Monday is our HumaneOhio spay/neuter day. This one will be extra loaded as they gave us permission to increase our numbers. More on the exact number after check ins! We are thrilled, as always, to be able to get these spays/neuters done.
We've also heard from Blossom's new family. Things are going good and she is adjusting very nicely!
You all have a wonderful day!
