Thursday, August 23

As I'm sitting here, Ginseng is beside me, half dozing. I swear this sweet boy has a huge smile on his face. He's probably dreaming of what orneriness he can get into today. His big feet are something else--betting he'll be a big boy when all grown. Little Miau is also here in office, playing with one of the new toys--she's skittering all over the floor with it. Not a care in the world!

Today the door is open to June's Room. All 4 of the kittens, Zorka, Liberty, Drake and Roadinia are already out and about. Seems relaxed, ate breakfast with the other cats and are already playing. I love that when they don't need too much adjustment time. Donna is busy this morning cleaning Thumper's Room and those 5 kittens in this room sure make the "job" more fun. They have now graduated to running up and down the steps to their pen--no more walking. Won't be long until we move them to a room here in the main area.

There's a possible upcoming adoption for Filbert. I got the second call on him last night! Hope this works out as I feel he will be much happier in a quieter atmosphere. We'll keep you posted. Weber, Faleena and Avens are having a tussel fight--not sure who's going to win, but they're all having fun!

We had BOXES last night! Many, many thanks. The volunteers are also appreciative of the goodies that are sent for them.
Anonymous--a case of baby food
Nancy/Kerswill--a wonderful letter from her kitty Domino, pictures of her cats and a donation in memory of Nutmeg and Bravo, 2 books of stamps, assorted blank thank you notes and postie notes. For the covies, porchies and barnies: a bed for each area, temptation treats, Friskies can food and Fancy Feast Appetizers. For Octavia: a catnip toy and a card for her birthday.
Paul_M--cat booties, no skid kind, for Derecho. We will try them out today!
Joyce D in CA--a card and donation in memory of Bravo
Anonymous--assorted candy and gum for the volunteers (thanks--we love to be spoiled!!)
Richard & Cynthia S and Sasha--a letter and picture of their kitty, Sasha and a donation in memory of Bravo
Holly W--doritos for Diane to share with the cats(!). For Steve who loves Detroit: Lions cooking aprons, redwings apron, Lions hot pads and table pads and 2 matching aprons, a Lions & Pistons fleece throw. Doggie treats, kitty treats a Rock and Roll toy for the cats to play on and treats for the volunteers
Kelly R from CA & food from her co-workers--step stool, assorted cat toys, 2 Pounce treats, baby food, 2 cases of Fancy Feast, assorted gum and candy for the volunteers, a case of batteries, sardines and salmon, Appetizers, flashlight, brown envelopes, calculator, scissors, pens, baby wipes, 2 vita gravy

FYI: there will be an upcoming exciting message coming out on Monday! No hints given yet!

At this very moment, there are 19 cats in the office with me and every single one of them is sleeping! They were playing hard, but nap time came over them! So peaceful.
We have been "rolling" Derecho on his new green plastic ball. Once he relaxes, he seems to enjoy the movement. We'll try anything to help him be happy!

Sweet Cyrilla. Once she gets to know a person, she relaxes and is ever so sweet!

Weds., August 22

The 5 little kittens (Oban, Galway, Callaway, Harlow and Harper)that are in Thumper's Room are doing great. They are so small, but very lively. We are treating them for a skin condition, so they'll stay in Thumper's Room for a bit yet. Such energy and purrs they have. We put one of the little stairways in front of their pen, so they can go up to their pen or down and play on the floor by themselves.

Our other 4 kittens that are in June's Room are just about ready to be sprung! They are rocking and rolling in this room. They are Zorka, Liberty, Drake and Roadinia. I do have some sad news to tell you about Tansi. She has not been feeling well these past few days: appetite diminished, no energy, big belly. A test was done and was determined to have the wet form of FIP. A happy & healthy quality of life was no longer there for her. FIP is untreatable, unpreventable and unpredictable. The one bit of assurance though is that it is spread by a mutation of a corona virus and cannot be spread to other kittnes/cats. We will miss her, but I'm thankful she was here instead of the probability of her dying a sad hard death where no one was with her. Thanks for caring about her.

Asha, Penn, Teller and Hannah are all on a window shelf, watching the bird feeders--what a beautiful combination of colors sitting there together. Derecho is doing awesome. He's growing a lot. He is able to maneuver around the Rescue Center pretty good by himself. He takes his spills, but is getting better about figuring out how to do what he wants to do. He's definitely a determined kitten! Treesa, Gib and Denniston are here on the desk, playing with a ball. They have no idea of what they are doing to my paper piles!

Yes, in case you heard, we have taken on a horse and a donkey! I've had both horses and donkeys here for many years until the last few years. I've terribly missed that "horsey life". Both came from the same horse rescue and arrived yesterday morning. Donkey is Millie (4 years old) and Georgia is the horse (8 years old). Some of my family came yesterday and we all had a lot of fun riding. Such a wonderful thing! 2 of the greatest things: kittens and horses!

All the Covies and Porchies are doing great. They've been getting a great deal of brushing as they are still shedding heavily. Bondi is doing awesome--she's just incredible. Her weight is good--it doesn't "hurt" anymore to pet her since she's filled out. She sure loves those Appetizers!

Just as an information tidbit: we have new people filling different positions here in the Rescue Center. Linda T/Clemm and Sarah will be doing the Early Morning work. The Main Area work will be done by Lynnette, Bonnie and Martha L. We have a real good crew here and I'm very grateful for this. Lisa has left now as she was offered a full time job doing security work. She'll be great at this. We will very much miss Lisa, but also happy for her to have this opportunity! We'll still see her here though as she will still help keep Kitty Kastle clean!

I continue to hear back from many of the cats and kittens recently adopted. All are doing great. Our 2 newbie adults, Grace Ann and Felton are doing good. They are more comfortable with their new surrounds and are cruising about. I saw Miau way way up high this morning, in one of the cat lofts. I was just getting ready to "rescue" her with the ladder, and down she ran to me, using the big yellow pole! She's pretty sweet!

We will have BOXES tonight!


Weber showing us how to be truly relaxed.

Tuesday, August 21

The wonderful Earth Angel fundraiser is officially over BUT we will always gladly accept donations to be added to the Feliz Navidad fund for our medical needs. We've had 2 awesome weeks of fundraising with you folks! I can now pay off our 2 major medical bills and do it with a great big smile!  We've shared lots of stories about past and present medically needed cats and kittens thru storytime, the blog and facebook. As you know, there will always be more coming in the door and we will continue to do what we can to help them. A "thank you" sounds too simple and not grateful enough, but please know from the bottom of my heart how utterly grateful I am for this fundraiser, made possible by YOU! You viewers, volunteers and visitors never ever cease to amaze me with your kindness and compassion. You are indeed Angels to this Rescue Center!

Here's our total that we had at Boxes last night:  $24,500!!!!!  We had (with help from the cat's iPad) whistles, applause, ka-ching and a drumroll! Then we had lots of confetti (which we then had to clean up right away!). What a fun way of ending our fundraiser!

We BOXES last night. So many people to thank.
Janet B from IL--a lovely card, sardines, magnets of FFRC cats & kittens on them! (some to go home when they are adopted), feather toys for Derecho, FFRC tile plaque, postie notes, clorox wipes, kitty snackers and stickers for our friend Hannah
Mayumi from Japan--sardine flakes, white peach & grape jelly to share, stamps for Jacci's mom, Hello Kitty Stamps and stickers for Hannah
Cynthia H/mnsnowy from MN--hand puppet, lots of samples (shampoo, lotion, etc) for Kitty Kastle, 2 awesome kitty posters!
Penny V--birthday card for Sylvan, cookies for folunteers, 2 round rugs for the Covies, magnetic clips, dry erase markers, 3 dozen Friskie cans, Hoops and YoYo doodle pad/pen
Acatnamedmeow--a Tiger Striped Kitten--oh wait, that was one of our FFRC kits that crawled inside the box!! Small paper plates, case of Fancy Feast, case of Temptaitons and 2 boxes of Q-tips
Elizabeth H from NJ--card, note and pictures from Abby and Becky--the Doodles, sensory toy, catnip & toys,  a large amount and varied kinds of toys (fun, fuzzy, feathery) for all the cats
From Fiver and a nice note from Fiver in Heaven--LOTS of paper plates, can cheese, windup toys, 3 boxes of chocolates for the volunteers, power bars for the volunteers, LOTS of tuna, salmon & sardines (our cabinet for these special foods are full for the time being!!!)
Henry R Peep & Ohmyguiness--birthday card for Sylvan and kittie treats for Sylvan, Covies, Porchies and Barnies
Auntie Julie--a "thinking of you" card and gift Wal-Mart card for Magenta, 3 books of stamps. Magentta sends her love to Auntie Julie
Lizmo, Karen B, Pat L, Carol O, Annette L --coupons
Patricia S/whiteeagle from PA--picture of her cats Aries and Lewes and a Feliz Navidad card
Family of Zander--card and a picture of Zander!
Hilda & Eric G from TX--picture of their kitties Smoke and Abby
Dewitty--card for our girl Hannah
Tami L from AZ--a very nice letter of support
Carol R from DE--donation made thru PayPal, in memory of Sasha, Satin, Rustie, Tippy and Rex
Gusti from Germany--donation made thru PayPal for water & juice for volunteers & guests

I was made aware yesterday, that our kitty cam has now received 4,004,312 views! That is astronomical. I very well remember the first 25 and 100, then 1000 views! Just amazing. We are so thankful for our webcam friends.

Because we've had so many newbie kitties come in lately, we'll give you a rundown of them!
Oban, black/white, male  (pronounced oh-bun)
Galway, gold tiger, male  (pronounced gaul-way)
Callaway, marble gold tiger, male
Harlow, torti, female (beige up right eye & rt. front foot toe is beige)
Harper, torti, female (rt. side of chin is beige)
Tansi, brown tiger, female
Zorka, black/white, female (white on chest & tummy)
Liberty, calico/torti/tiger blend, female
Drake, black/white, male (black dot under chin, like Octavias)
Roadinia, black, medium hair, female

Monday, August 20

My first thought is--I sure love this Rescue Center! I'm thrilled to be doing something I have a passion for. I'm also so very thankful for my family, friends, volunteers and our kittycam viewers whether you are a chatter or a lurker. The cats love you too! I would like our viewers to realize that I sincerely KNOW you care about these kitties and cats. Even though you can't reach out and physically hug and pet these cats, you are still emotionally tied to these cats. Our hurt is your hurt. Our joys are your joys. We KNOW you care.

We have visitors this weekend. Vaunita and Toni are here for a 2 day stay. They are from Erie, Pennsylvania. We certainly welcome them. It's been wonderful to have so many visitors to FFRC. All are so friendly and fun to have here. Vaunita brought some goodies for the Rescue Center: KMR, Appetizers, Temptation Treats, baby food, a kennel water bowl, wash cloths, Royal Canin baby can food, 5 cases of various types of cat canfood. To top it off, she also brought 3 boxes of chocolates--yum! We thank you! And the cats thank you!

I've heard back from so many of the newly adopted cats and kittens--all are doing great. Isn't it wonderful to know they are in good homes, being loved on! September 8th is our next spay/neuter date here at the Rescue Center. We'll have a list of them to do again!

Our Catstock event is also getting closer. Mark your calendars! The evening of 9/21 is a mini-concert for the webcammers by Mike! The big event starts 9/22. Carnival is 2:30 to 5:30 and the concert is 5:30 to 6:30. The carnival will be filled with lots of fun activities: air bouncy houses, sack races, friendly clown doing balloon designs, face painting, pony rides, and LOTS of carnival games. We will also have BBQ chicken with a full meal. Mike will do 2 songs in the middle of the afternoon to entice people to stay for the concert!

We will also be selling Mike's CD's. I've listened to it and it's wonderful! If you are interested in having this CD, we will now start selling them. If purchased here at FFRC, they are $15. If you would like them mailed, it is $16 for inside USA and $18 for outside of USA. You can send a check by mail or pay by PayPal. Be sure to mark it for Mike's CD!

Mike lives in California. His local paper will be doing an article on him soon. The topic? Him driving all the way to Defiance, Ohio for a concert! When it's published, we'll give you the site. If you'd like to check out Mike's website, it is: singingtvguy.com

Haven't seen Putter or Emaline much lately? They have become glued into the house--I put them out for a little walk-about, but what they do is walk to the door and wait for it to open again to go back inside. I try to coax them out more so you all can see them. It's obvious they were both house-cats before. They know all the comforts of house-living. If I happen to fall asleep on the couch at night (which happens a lot!), when I wake up, not only are my cats on me, but so is Putter and Emaline! I couldn't find Putter yesterday. Finally located him--he had climbed the flight of steps and was stretched out a mile long on the bed, in the sunshine!

Tonight at 6:30 we will have BOXES! At the end of boxes, we will have a grand wrap up of the Earth Angel Fundraiser. So excited! The support has been tremendous. I haven't looked yet myself at the Grand Total, so will be anxiously awaiting box time too! Thanks to you all for making this possible. First thing we'll do is get our 2 major medical bills paid for--what a relief!

We have 2 cats on hold--Everett and Purrgeron will have their very own homes soon!

Everett and his gorgeous eyes!

Purrgeron--speaks volumes with his eyes!

Friday, August 17

It has been nearly 24 hours that we lost Bravo. My heart has been so heavy today--so very sad. I have the joy of knowing we have made life happier for our cats here at the rescue center and I have the great sadness that comes when we lose one of these precious lives.

I have read parts of face book and have gotten thru some of my e-mail. Some things have brought on the tears again, some have made me smile at the songs and prayers and kind words. But, I am called to know in my heart, the gratefulness of the outpouring of care and love that has been shown. We will all indeed miss our Bravo. It makes me realize how much of a family community that we have. This is no longer "my" rescue center, but "our" rescue center. You are all a very important part of FFRC and what we do here. You are important to us, even in our every day functions.

We had Boxes night before last. I am grateful for every item received.
Tony/onebad1 & Nefertiti--handmade beautiful raxor handles for Steve and myself. These are a beautiful work of art.
TippyNtraylor & Ashley too--6 bags of bubble gum, 4 containers of Clorox wipes, kitty treats, Dwn liquid soap and cookies for the volunteers
Cathi B--5 cases of Appetizers
Kelly R--3 blankets for FFRC with the Catstock design
Stinkypeep--handmade cat nip toys, some with catnip, some without
Cantoncat--3 cases of ProPlan food (for Bondi and friends) & 2 cases of Friskies
Donna/Mkmouse--3 boxes of brown envelopes
Beth A--exercise ball for Derecho
Chris/dewitty--Appetizers, gravy Sensatins, Fancy Feast for ALL the cats (cause the deserve it!) and a large wonderful scratcher toy for the Covies
Patty V/Middiesmom--6 cases of Appetizers, 4 case of Purrfectly fish packets
Anonymous Friend--4 bags of Royal Canin baby kitten dry food.

We had TWO adoptions! Our sweet Tiki went to her new home today. Her new mama has the entire weekend to settle in with Tiki. I'm so happy for both of them. Yesterday afternoon, McLovin' went home with Amy, one of our volunteers. Amy now has 3 cats, 2 of which are from FFRC. Two awesome homes.

We are in our second week of our Be an Earth Angel. What an extraordinary fundraiser this has been. As of Thursday night, 8/16, our total was $16,586. I think this is wonderful and I'm so grateful. Tomorrow night will be the finale of this event. One of our volunteers has invited Steve & I over for a picnic, which starts at 6:00 pm. So...we would like to go to this, and delay BOXES till 7:00 or close to that time. Come join us tomorrow night, Saturday, for the last day of Be an Earth Angel. We will show the Grand Total amount collected. How exiciting!

Yes, Bravo is gone....but this Rescue Center will carry on. With loving something with your whole heart, comes the price of sadness when something tragic happens. I know our hearts always have room to love more and more. Our hearts are such, that the more we give, the more we have to share. It's a renewable resource! So, even though my heart feels like a giant ache, there's still love to give.

Remember how Bravo so loved life? He had so much fun enjoying every day to the fullest. Let's honor that, let's cherish that, and let's get on with tomorrow. We have a lot of cats and kittens here that need us and the love that we can give and there's more in our future to tend to.


Efrafa--one of the Fiver kitties

Friday, 8/17 12:45 in the morning

I am in total shock. Our little Bravo has passed away. I've been on the phone tonight with Dr. Darcy 3 times, all after boxes. I showed Bravo to everyone on the cam at the very end of boxes, as I was then going in to get some sleep. When I showed Bravo, I also put him on the floor to let people see how wonderful he could already walk, partially with his torso up. I then went into the house with him and started getting him ready for bed. After about 20 minutes, I noticed he started breathing heavily and mewed strangely. I called Dr. Darcy because his color quickly became pasty looking. What followed in approximately the next 25 minutes was a pure nightmare. Dr. Darcy had me do several things to try and help him. He urinated, had trouble breathing, his body temp quickly declined, his color became worse, he vomited, then became unresponsive and within that short amount of time, he passed away, while I was still trying to do the things suggested.

I am totally heart broken over this. These are the things that make me ask myself how much can I take of these poor sweeties that pass away here. Sometimes I think I cannot experience any more sadness.

Dr. Darcy talked to Dr. P who quickly suggested that there were more things wrong with Bravo than we knew about. We found out during his surgery that physically things with his legs were not normal. On the one leg, there was no sciatic nerve, there were muscles missing, some of the tissue was like jelly—all abnormalities. The 2 leg deformities were abnormal in themselves. Dr. Darcy and I talked (and cried) at great length. She felt that we could not have put off his surgery any longer, so we can’t suggest that we should’ve waited longer. She again went over the drugs used—all very safe and still would be her protocol of anesthetic drugs. It was brought up that something within himself failed—an organ that possibly was also deformed.

In the afternoon, he had been eating by himself. He also “walked” around in the house by himself several times, still lifting that torso up. Dr. Darcy and I was elated. He also took a comfortable nap with Graciela. These are all things that assured me that all was fine with Bravo. But somewhere, sometime very quickly after boxes, something went wrong. Very wrong. I will not have an autopsy done. Dr. Darcy and Dr. P both felt that his death was out of our control, beyond anything that could’ve been done to save him, given how quickly this all took place.

Please don’t ask me the WHY question. The vets don’t know and I don’t know. Why did this happen? I don’t know that either. All I do know is that I would still take that little boy in again and again and yet again, if he was presented to me, even knowing the heartbreak it would cause. Sometimes we are not meant to know the WHY. But, Dr. Darcy and I both feel, that with every death, something good will come of it. I have always felt that way. I HAVE to always figure something out each and every time so that there’s some sense of it. All I do know right now is that Bravo was extremely loved, he made us all laugh and smile, he brightened our lives and made our hearts grow. Words cannot describe how his death hurts and saddens me. I also know that his passing will cause many tears all around the world. As terrible as this feels, I am thankful that God had given me the chance to have Bravo and the ability to continue to go on. Sometimes I think that I cannot possibly do this again. And then….another kitty or cat comes to the door. I wish I could take this terrible sadness away from all of you, but I cannot. Please know that although my heart is terribly sad and aching, I can still feel a deep appreciation and gratitude for all of the love you give to our FFRC cats. I am grateful to you for giving that love thru the cam to this rescue center.

As I was starting to prepare Bravo for bedtime, I was chatting away to him. The last thing I told him, minutes before this awful event started, was that there was no way I could ever let him leave—he was to be an FFRC cat forever. He belonged to all of us.

Please know if I could take this heartache away, I would. It's because we care so much, that the heartache is so great. We will continue our rescue and open our hearts again and again to these wonderful cats.

Thursday, August 16

What a day to be thankful for! Bravo is done with surgery and now starts his road to recovery. I would like to say thank you to everyone for your prayers, kind wishes, lit candles, etc. for Bravo's surgery.
Here is the time frame from yesterday:
10:02 am Just leaving Kate's house. She is driving so I can hold Bravo. He is purring.
10:34 am We have arrived.
10:53 am Physical done, sedative gien. Getting sleeping, still purring
11:21 am Just took Bravo to get him prepped. Getting his IV placed and legs shaved. We will go in soon to watch.
12 noon Surgery not started yet. His blood pressure is good
12:12 Surgery started at 12:05
12:25 Working on right leg first. Blood pressure good, temp was a bit cool but now warming up
12:42 Warming up a tiny bit. 1/3 done with first leg. Pulse, heart rate good
12:52 Right leg removed, now major stitch up job. Trying to do it in such a way to minimize contact with foor. Blood pressure good.
1:16 Okay, first leg is done. Will take 20 minutes to prep second leg. Color good/pulse, oxygen level, heart, blood pressure good.
1:48 Starting second leg
2:10 Little trouble with this leg due to rotation of the entire leg. It also has rotated the muslces, vessels, ligaments. Blood pressure is good. Temp is down a little
2:20 Left leg definitely proving to be difficult. Much rotation of leg
2:32 Left leg removed. Definitely have a major job of stitching ahead. Many deformities of this leg. Very little bleeding. Temp is good
3:02 Surgery done 3 hours of anesthetic Now to recovery
3:26 On way home. Very out of it boy

I wish to say extra thanks to Dr. Darcy, Dr. P and the tech, entire staff. They are awesome. Bravo is having a bit of trouble with the pain. Last night was difficult. Dr. Darcy called 4 times to check on him. Today is better, still hard to hold without soreness, which is to be expected. We have Bravo either in a big crate in my house or in June's Room with a very padded floor. We will take his IV port out today.

I was so joyous last night though. After syringe feeding him, I placed him down and he took 4 steps WITH HIS TORSO UP! We are not sure what he will end up doing--whether he will be a bottom scooter (like Bella) or a torso up walker or a combination of both. Any way he does it, is fine by me! Bravo spent the night in the house with me so I could keep up with his various meds and continue to syringe feed him.

He has 3 sutures that will be removed on Friday. The other sutures we will remove in 10 days. We want him to be low-keyed for the next week to 10 days. This will be hard for Bravo, as you know, he prefers to be active. But, this was major surgery--so rest is important.

Again, thank you all for your support of Bravo.

Our week for Be an Earth Angel continues. Saturday night is the end. What an awesome 2 weeks this has been. The support you all do is phenomenal . I am greatly appreciative of each and every donation. We will have an update on the total amount of donations tonight after boxes!

We will have BOXES tonight. There's a possibility that boxes will be at 6:00 tonight. This would allow me to get done a tad earlier (very short of sleep). Bravo and I need an earlier night tonight! I'll shoot for 6:00, but as you know, sometimes it gets crazy here and things happen!

All else is wonderful here. The cats are awesome and the kittens are wonderful! Lots of playing going on. Their energy levels are astounding.

Mariska says Thanks for helping with the Feliz Navidad Fund for the Be an Earth Angel week! She is doing great.

The cats love their plastic jug--the best place for a nap!