February Feral Food Drive

During the month of February, The Critter Cottage, in partnership with Invisible Fence will hold a food drive to benefit the stray and feral cats of Kent County.

By calling The Critter Cottage at: 616 676-1200, you can purchase a 40 pound bag of cat food. For each bag purchased for $22.25 (tax included), another bag will be purchased by Invisible Fence and garner the cats 80 pounds of food!

Yes, your purchase of $22.25 will give our ferals 80 lbs of food! That can sustain a medium sized colony for a whole month! Extra discounts offered on three or more bags!!!

Call today to charge by phone or visit The Critter Cottage at 7205 Thornapple River Drive in Ada.

Or email 2feet4paws@gmail.com if you have questions.

How many bags will YOU buy?

Road Trip

I'm going away for the weekend! Aside from my trip to Florida in November, I haven't gone away for a whole year! Tomorrow I'm going to join two of my best friends from college and two other girlfriends for the annual Girl's Crafters Weekend up North at one of the parent's cottages. I haven't gone to one of these shin digs for a few years.

Since I don't do crafts, I'm hauling my 501c3 paperwork and files and will work on getting my non-profit status while the others knit and do scrap booking! Hopefully it will be the jump start I need to get the ball rolling on allowing all you fine people to get a tax deduction for the money you send me!

Speaking of which, I need to thank the following folks for contributing to my feral funding!

Sandra Brace is a woman I met several years ago when I ventured to her home in Holland to buy some vintage clothing to resell in my other life as a Vintage Doll/Toy/Clothing/Housewares dealer. Because I never delete an email and tend to keep everyone in my loop whether they like it or not, Sandra was dragged into my new incarnation as Cat Rescue Girl. And she has supported me ever since. Thank you Sandra for the generous donation!

RC Kula continues to support my rescue with his monthly record sales. RC is a man after my own heart....he deals in collectibles too! But unlike me, he sells his and makes money! And he's kind enough to share the proceeds with Gina and I. Thanks for a nice donation this month RC! And thanks Jan (RC's very tolerant wife) who lets him give away what should be their retirement fund!

Thank you also to my dear Marcia Bloomers who sends me a paypal donation every month! You all know my Marcia. She's the one who was willing to give Cheyenne a home, saving her from having to go back to the less than desirable situation from where she came. I remember being so upset that I'd have to return her. I had her in my care for over two months while she weaned her kittens and because she was shy, nobody would adopt her. Then a response to my flier for barn cats netted me Marcia who actually wanted to give a "hard to home" a chance! And the rest is blissful history!

So tonight, I'm doing laundry, packing and showing Arlene the ropes. Arlene will tend to the cats at my house. Mary Eteo wil take care of the cats at Brooknelle. And I'll spend the next three days submersed in a pile of paperwork and legal mumbo-jumbo!

Have a groovy weekend!
C

PS Dorine Stephens has been moved up to the 7th floor of the hospital which means that she's one step closer to going back home to her feral colony. Her son calls me daily with updates. Bless his heart.

PSS GET THIS!!! I got a call today from a woman who lives on the NW side who wants to do some TNR. She has done trapping in the past, but unknowingly marched the cats to their death at one of the kill shelters. She was thrilled to learn about me and is going to bring me some pregnant cats beginning Sunday when I get back from my weekend away. Guess where she found out about me? From the cardboard pop tray that I left at Meijer. She saw my request for the cardboard trays to be used as litter boxes at Brooknelle. She found my card attached and called me. Is that cool or what?????

In loving memory of Liam

Today I had Bruce put dear, sweet Liam to sleep.

You may remember a post just after Christmas talking about a Feline Leukemia positive boy named Tigger. He was brought to me on Christmas Eve. I fixed him the day after Christmas and found him to be FELV positive. Tom and Rebecca R. found him outside and were going to give him a home until they learned of his status then fearing he might spread the disease to their other cats, declined.

I didn't have the heart to euthanize him so I tried my luck at Big Sids. We all know how that went. So I just listed him on Petfinder and hoped for the best. I renamed him Liam.

Two weeks ago, Liam started to suffer from a bad URI which wasn't helped by antibiotics. Despite switching him over to one of the heavy hitting drugs, he only got worse. He stopped eating and was becoming dehydrated.

I tried to force feed him yesterday to see if a little jump start would get him back to eating, but it didn't work.

Today when he was examined, he was starting to lose muscle mass and had a bad ulcer on his tongue, which is probably one of the reasons he refused to eat as it hurt him.

I looked at Bruce and I could tell from the look in his eye that I had to let him go. So I did.

In the month he was with me at Brooknelle he made a great impression on Mary Eteo and Vic Cabot. Mary simply adored him and Vic wanted to bring him to live with her. If he were indeed going to be passing, she wanted to assure he would have plenty of love around him beforehand. But there simply wasn't time for that.

Liam did however have love around him when he crossed over. I held him and whispered loving words into his ear. And I cried.

He was lucky to have found Tom and Rebecca who took him in out of the cold with hopes of giving him a loving home. When that didn't happen, he at least had the good fortune to come into my care where he was loved by many.

Sleep peacefully sweet prince.
YOU WERE LOVED!

Thoughts of a feral

I sit beneath the bushes as she fills my dish each day,
I only venture out to eat when she has gone away,
I know it will upset her when I turn away and hide,
As every day she tries her best to get me by her side.
I wish that I could let her know that I don't want to run,
And hope that she will understand it's nothing that She's done.
I'd like to have her stroke me and pat my weary head,
But fear will overcome and I'll run and hide instead.
For all the kindly people who feed the strays each day,
I pray the Lord will care for them as they have cared for me.

Thank you Dr. Langlois for bringing me to tears before noon!

Dorine Stephens Update

Thank you Feral Friends!

Your prayers for Dorine pulled her through her triple bypass yesterday. She's still in the hospital but doing fine. Dorine is a very spry old gal and she's not going to let anything get her down.....surely not three blocked arteries that allow blood to course through her veins!

She and I both believe in the power of prayer and what good thoughts and energy being sent our direction can accomplish, so please do continue to send the goodness her way!

Thank you on behalf of her 20+ ferals and me cuz I couldn't bear to lose such a dear friend.
: ) C

Keep Dorine Stephens in your prayers/good thoughts!

Hello Feral Friends-

If you pray, please say one for my dear friend Dorine Stephens. Dorine is a wonderfully kind woman who lives on the SW side of Grand Rapids. I began doing TNR for her in the fall of 2006. To date, we've trapped over 20 cats in her backyard. Gina and I have taken a dozen kittens from her (mostly Gina....me only two). Dorine loves these cats and is an exceptional feral caregiver.

Today Dorine is having open heart surgery. Her son just called me to give me an update. So far, so good. But she's not out of the woods so please send her positive energy for quick healing. His call wasn't only to tell me how she's doing but that she is worried that she will run out of food for them....so could I please bring over a bag or two of cat food. That's my Dorine...thinking about the cats when she's being wheeled in for open heart surgery!

Currently, her cat Dennis is in my program as he has flea allergies and can't be released outside. He's a super shy boy that needs quiet home with a patient caregiver. He's fine with other cats!

I don't have a photo of Dorine, but here is Dennis
in all his "I'm scared shitless glory".

Viola!.....Free, Environmentally Friendly Litter Boxes!

Running all over town and combing the web to find inexpensive disposable litter boxes has finally come to an end for THIS girl!

My Gabby suggested hitting up Meijer for their packaging boxes. He suggested the shallow cardboard that many grocery items are shipped in. I found some perfect ones in the soda isle. I snagged a few and tried them out yesterday at Brooknelle. They worked well. The boxes that two twelve packs come in are even a little longer than the litter boxes I've used in the cages in the past, which helps out for those bigger cats with the overhanging backsides. They need to be switched out every 24 hours cuz they do absorb urine, but they are free and plentiful so I'm fine with that. The place will never have any urine sitting around so Brooknelle should be smelling less feral now to boot!

I took one of the cardboard boxes into the manager of my nearby Meijer with a request for 30-40 per week written on it. I affixed my business card and a brochure explaining my Rescue work. While trolling the isles and talking to stock boys, two of them asked me if I was the one using the boxes for cats. I'm like "Yeah! You already know to save me boxes?" They replied: Yes, your box is already posted!

Isn't that wonderful? I knew I'd find the solution. It just took me a bit. And you gotta love that they're not going to cost me a penny! And they are biodegradable.....so NO GUILT. This makes me very happy!

: ) C

PS Thank you all who worked to help me find solutions to this problem. Several of you sent links and offered some really good suggestions!

Thanks to bunches of folks - Operation Deep Clean Brooknelle

As you all know, I've taken two weeks off of running cats to I could get Brooknelle in tip top shape to come closer to guaranteeing my not spreading any disease from cat to cat. This is difficult simply due to the nature of my business and the number of cats I deal with on a weekly basis....sometimes as many as 40. But I will not allow this to deter me from doing everything possible to ensure a cats health once they come into my hands.

The process of Operation Deep Clean Brooknelle consisted first of getting the remaining cats out of the sink room. Cyndi, Michelle and Fran turned the drab room into The Pussy Palace so that the last 6 would live in WAY nicer circumstances. But I needed that room so that I could empty out my garage space and clean the hell out of it.

Cyndi was kind enough to welcome the six into the beautifully finished lower level of her lovely home. They are enjoying time with her and her girls and are affectionately now called "The Six Pack".

With the sink room being empty, I was able to move the 5 cats that needed to stay with me due to medicating into that room. My friend Stu Mackenzie helped me with this project. He was also with me for phase one....lugging all the uninhabited cages to the coin op car wash and power washing them. It was the first time I used a self service car wash and it was fun, but would have been more enjoyable had it not been 13 degrees outside!

We lugged the cages back and stored them on tarps in the sink room. I made a second trip to the car wash later that day with all my traps! Got every bit of gook and any poop lurking in the wires washed down the drain! Yeah!

After that, I think I took a day off cuz I had a nice sinus infection brewing! The next day I didn't feel like death warmed over, Vic Cabot visited the car wash one more to clean every single carrier, cage tray and divider board. This was a huge, wet job! Vic never complained once.....I complained several times!

The following day, Mary Eteo offered to help me scrub down the walls and floors. With me on the shop vac and her with scrub brush in hand, we disinfected the whole place. I doubt any germs are in there at this point. Afterward, we replaced the clean cages. Without Mary, this would have been impossible. Putting the cages back together was like reconstructing a puzzle. But we managed. Thanks loads Mary!

Stu came back and worked on installing water shut off valves to the sink room so that he could replace the filters on the water purification system that my Gabby installed last summer. He purchased all the materials and refused to let me pay for the pricey filters. That's Stu! Generous and super helpful!

I dropped $180 on plastic sheeting to fit inside the back and side walls of each cage. Why you ask? Well, my main concern is spreading distemper. Distemper is spread fecally. With just a pin head sized piece of fecal matter, distemper can be transfered from cat to cat. It's impossible to power wash each cage after each cat when running 20-40 cats through Brooknelle each week, so by lining the cages, I can easily see poop that may have sprayed onto the walls now that they are white solid scrubbable plastic and not black painted metal wire. Stu showed up in the morning with binder clips to affix the plastic sheets to the cage walls and I spent a good 5 hours cutting plastic to fit the insides of the cages. Tedious work for sure, but I had some good music diet coke, and a cat food dish full of Gina's honey roasted peanuts (donated to her rescue) to get me through.

On Wednesday I did some fine tuning and put a few new systems into operation. On Thursday Vic Cabot offered to run around with me and we did just that. We ran from Ada, to Lowell, to Cascade, to East Town, To Kentwood, to HS and then back to Brooknelle. The day would have truly sucked without her. Vic makes everything so fun. And we had a nice lunch at Marie Catribs and delicious chi tea lattes at Global Infusion. I learned a little more about supporting local business and fed my body, mind and soul.

Talking to Vic and other enlightened folks, I am getting a better sense of exactly how shopping locally makes a difference to not only the local economy but to the environment as a whole too. And here is an excellent time to remind you all of Critter Cottage and remind you to support them which in turn supports local business and Vicky's Pet Connection. They will be having an open house/grand opening in February. I'll let you know the details soon!

Since I've decided to revamp my practices at Brooknelle the issue of litter boxes comes into consideration. Is distemper being spread through the litter boxes? I disinfect with bleach and wash them after each cat of course. But when the plastic gets scratched, does it make a little breeding ground for distemper or other fecally spread parasites? Decision....dump the reusable litter boxes and get something disposable.

I've been toying with this for a while. Scrubbing kitty litter boxes is the LEAST fun thing about working at Brooknelle. So if I can eliminate this task and in turn help reduce the spread of nastiness, then SUPER! But what to use. I can buy stainless steel steam table pans for about $20 each which isn't so bad since they will last forever, but then again....back to scrubbing crap off litter boxes. I'm feeling not so good about buying pressed aluminum foil pans since they will have to go into the land fills, though they are only 37 cents per when bought in a case at GFS. ****addition 1/26/08: Since typing this blog, I have gotten three comments reminding me that aluminum is indeed recyclable. And I know this. I just left out that bit. The pans would need to be scrubbed clean of all matter, so if I want to recycle the pans, I have to wash them. I've already checked with the local recycling center about this. I don't mind rinsing out the pans that are not poop caked, but it's the really dirty ones, I would have to just toss since the crinkled corners make for lots of areas for it to get into....know what I mean. Thanks all of you environmentally conscious friends who wrote to me since I posted this entry yesterday. : )

Found some nifty collapsable cardboard boxes that were donated at HS but the company seems to be out of business and not even googleable. Drats! They would have been perfect.

I settled on the aluminum disposable pans with the whole land fill deal being excused by a couple of my more environmentally friendly friends reminding me that it's OK to pick my battles. Right now, I'm mostly concerned with saving the lives of cats. I can find something better another day and implement that then. But for now, the environment will have to take a back seat to the well being of the cats I serve.

OK....all was fine. Then I put a pan in the cage and decided it was too short. Any big cat will just miss the box all-together. It already happens with my slightly longer plastic pans. I can't go too wide cuz they won't fit alongside the carrier that serves as the kitty's hiding place/bed. Good grief! Back to square one.

Today I'm working on a very environmentally friendly solution. I'm taking 10 sheets of newspaper and creating a litter box. Just folding each edge in 3" and stapling a corner makes a nice, long (all-be-it skinny) litter box. I've just filled one with litter and dumped what I believe to be a days cat pee equivalent of water into it to check for soaking/leaking. We'll know more tonight.

If this works, I have a free, easy, and ecologically sound way to keep my cats poop in check. The only downfall of this will be for the cats who like to shred. I can just see the tattered litter boxes strewn hither and yon. Guess we will have to try it out and go to the shorter aluminum pans if that fails. It's all a process! Though if you know me...I like all my ducks in a row before I even begin. I resume cat running on Sunday! Ducks...not so lined up. This may be a life lesson for me.

Today Stu is at Brooknelle hanging brackets to hold up my drop trap, ladder and brooms/mops. He's also hanging a florescent fixture to give some much needed better light.

This project could not have been accomplished with the help of Mary, Vic and Stu. Thank you so much for extending your hands to me during this very important time of change.

During the past couple weeks, I've received financial donations from the following people who love and support what I do. Marcia Bloemers (Cheyenne's Mama) sent me a donation via paypal. Sue Carl who I also adore sent me a nice check. And Mary Eteo continues to help me each weekend at Brooknelle but still lays a monthly donation on me as well. Thank you ladies for all your financial support. It means a great deal to me and the kitties.

While at HS yesterday, some wonderful Max Cat food was donated to them and they in turn shared it with the area rescues. I have already given thee bags to some of my feral caregivers! It's nice to be able to help folks who spend their money to feed cats that aren't even theirs. Well they are kinda...but you know what I mean. Feeding ferals costs a lot of money and you don't get a lap cat out of the deal. When caring for ferals/strays (in the eloquent words of C-SNIP's Pam Olson) "virtue is it's own reward". Thanks HS for sharing with us!

OK, that's all from me for now.

: ) Carol

Ranting about Breeders

Hello Feral Friends,

Today I want to rant a little about breeders. My first cat, Pyewackette was from a breeder. She was a sealpointe Siamese and she lived to be 20 years old. She was the first cat I ever had. I was 4 years old when my parents bought her for me. I imagine there wasn't much of a Rescue scene in 1969. My parents (God rest their souls) bought cats from breeders twice after Pyewackette. One cat was a Cornish Rex named BamBam who was horrible. I love most all cats, but this cat hated me and in turn, I wasn't too fond of her. Then they got Gizmo a purebreed Siamese from another breeder. When I think back at the fact that I let them go to breeders, it makes me sick. But then again, I four paw declawed a kitten back in 1999, so with knowledge comes better decisions.

Times are a-changin' and hopefully there will be a day when animals aren't bread for bread anymore. I know that's hopeful and a long way away, but we have come a long way since 1969, so hopefully one day (hopefully in my lifetime) we will see a change in this kind of thinking. That's a lot of HOPE for one sentence!

A few years ago I volunteered at the C-SNIP booth which was smack dab in the middle of the Mid-Michigan Cat Fanciers Association Cat Show. It was a good venue for them to do some fund raising, but when I think about it...God, what a strange place to set up and talk about the merits of spay/neuter.

My blog is for my opinions/venting/catharsis. And you know I don't have opinions on much outside of the animal welfare arena. So here I go. I don't like the idea of breeding animals. I think it sinks! And I'm not just opposed to puppy mills. I don't even like the idea of "responsible" breeding.

At the Cat Fanciers Show a few years back I asked a breeder of Siamese kittens what people get for their purchase price. She told me all the vaccines, testing, deworming, the usual. And then she told me the cat would be fixed. I was thinking to myself "Wow, this person is responsible, they don't want to see cats multiply". I left feeling good about the breeder.

Then it dawned on me. The breeder doesn't allow an unfixed cat outside of her cattery because then someone else can get into the business of breeding that bloodline. DUH!

Some people say "I breed for the LOVE OF THE BREED". Well, here is what I think. If you LOVE THE BREED SO MUCH, why not start up a breed specific rescue. You can help a whole lot of Pit Bulls if you do that. But there is no money in Rescue Work. In fact, there is a lot of negative money flow in Rescue!

If the breeders really wanted to be sure that the blood lines didn't die off and the breed become extinct, then why not offer the animals at a reasonable rate like those of rescued animal adoption fees? Well, breeding a litter of pure breed Siamese kittens is a lot more fun if you can get a few hundred bucks a piece vs a measly $75 for them.

I am not a fan of breeders. I wish they would stop for two years and let us rescue people catch up! But demand drives the supply and right now there are plenty of people like my parents who want a pure breed puppy or kitten. And they have no idea that there are some on Petfinder as I type.

For every cat or dog purchased from a breeder, one in a shelter will die! Why? Cuz there aren't enough homes for all the cats and dogs in this country. For every cat in America to have a home, each household would have to home 49 cats. Even I don't want 49 cats in my house! So all we can do is educate.

I was just sent this little PETA video. I think PETA sometimes goes way overboard, but this is a good message. It's not graphic, but it's content isn't all sunshine and roses either. I love it!

http://www.peta.org/feat/abc/video1.asp

Here's another, if you like that one!

http://www.peta.org/feat/abc/video2.asp



It's not 1969 anymore! The clothes were groovy, but for animals, it pretty much sucked.

WATCH THIS VIDEO

Dr. Langlois sent it to me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CMzW3LIkNLA

C-SNIP Saturday Clinc Day - Feb 9th

Hello Feral Friends-

This just in from Sue Carl regarding C-SNIP. If you know someone who needs a Saturday to take animals in for fixing or if you are interested in volunteering, here is some information for you.


Our new volunteer coordinator is Lori Lockyear who volunteers in the office on Monday AM.
Her e-mail address is:
lori@americanml.com


Also, want to let you know that our next Saturday clinic will be on Feb. 9.
Please pass this info on to anyone that you know that might find bringing
their pet to us during the week is inconvenient to their work schedule.
They can call 455-8220 to make an appointment.

Sue Carl
C-SNIP

Who votes for the animals???

Hello Feral Friends-

I'm probably one of the least political people out there. I don't have extensive views on much of anything. The only issues I'll ever go toe to toe with someone are those affecting animals. Pretty much, I am not a fan of breeders and I believe that every animal should be spayed and neutered. Beyond that, I don't concern myself with much.

That being said, tomorrow is the Michigan Primary Elections. I only know about this because Arlene, who is my kitten caregiver works at the poles. She informed me that tomorrow is voting day. So I will be voting. Thanks Arlene! An atomic bomb could go off and I wouldn't know about it unless it were in my backyard.

My good friend Vicki Nixon LaVerdinere sent me a link to a site that tells where all the democrat and republican candidates stand on animal issues. Since Hillary is the only candidate on the Michigan Democrat ballot who is still running, I'm going to take a Republican ballot and vote for.....well, read the stances of the Republicans and I'm sure it will be crystal clear who I'm casting my vote for tomorrow.

Here's the link for the Republicans:
http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/01/elephants.html

Here's the link for the Democrats:
http://hslf.typepad.com/political_animal/2008/01/donkeys.html

This information is only provided for those of you who are undecided and just want SOMETHING to go on.

PS Check the photos added to the blog entry below. See the Six Pack in their new foster home!

Cyndi Caponi To The Rescue!

Yesterday morning I received a call and email from Cindy Caponi with the solution to the biggest part of Operation Revamp Brooknelle. Her son just left for college and the lower level of her home was available to house the Spectacular Six! I'm still amazed that she has a college aged kid, but that's besides the point.

She was so excited to get the cats to her house that she met me at Brooknelle the moment I was free from the rest of my day's work. We loaded all the food, litter, cat trees, beds etc into her vehicle and I had the honor of transporting the Spectacular SINGING Six to her beautiful home.

Once the carriers were dropped in the family room, they wandered out to explore their new digs. Only Honey hung back in the carrier, either a little apprehensive or just a little mellow from her kitty Prozac that she's been on for an inappropriate peeing problem (which is working wonderfully).

Cyndi is one of Gina's volunteers who along with Michelle and her mother Fern, did the Extreme Room Makeover at Brooknelle turning it from a drab sink room into the Pussy Palace! She's an amazing gal.

By the way, check recently added photos to the blog entry "The Great 8 Are Now The Spectacular Six". It's pretty cool how much these cats are loved. They sure came a long way from hoarder's house to home sweet home!

Now, with the extra room at Brooknelle clear, I can start my deep clean/system revamp. This will begin on Monday. If anyone wants to come by and help, send me an email or call and I'll schedule you with me to help. I'm going to disinfect every single piece of equipment and probably line cages with some plexi glass so that the insides are easily scrubbed and less likely to hold any fecal material. I'm also looking into getting disposable litter boxes. This should go a long way in combating the spread of distemper and other poop type diseases.

With some elbow grease and new systems, I can rest easy that I'm only helping cats that come through my doors, not hurting them.

But today........I'm taking the day off!
: ) C

Honey likes her new digs!
She's also on Prozac right now, so little bothers her.

Half sleeping Flicka thinks this place is the tits!

A room with a view.
Socks and Honey love the bright, open space!
And the birds in the backyard are great
...if only they would come inside!

Pearl is actually an MSU fan,
but she doesn't mind the maize and blue blanket.

Tilly. Need I say more?

Socks: And there are these amazing

thick window ledges too boot!


Cyndi calls the cats THE SIX PACK.
Every night she hangs out with them and tosses back a few!
I'm going there this weekend!!!!

Need to take two weeks off!

Hi Feral Friends-

I was thinking about taking a couple of weeks off during this relatively slow (non kitten season) time to get a little rest and work on my 501c3.

BUT, I'm going to stop doing TNR for two weeks for a different reason. I need to revamp things at Brooknelle so that I'm sure that I'm not passing distemper to any cats that come through my doors. As you know, distemper spreads like wildfire and two kittens that I fixed in late December died. I'll never know how it came in, and perhaps they brought it, but until I can bleach the place from floor to ceiling along with every piece of equipment inside, I have to stop taking cats.

My cleanliness practices are superb. I take all the precautions. But distemper can be spread by a piece of fecal matter the size of a pin head. Knowing that, it's petty scary. I didn't get into this line of work to spread diseases. And while I'm not sure that I have, I do know that it's a possibility that I can if I don't take extra precautions and revamp my systems.

Right now, cats have all the creature comforts while rehabbing after surgery. This might have to change. I may have to go to rehabbing in traps as suggested by Alley Cat Allies. Not sure at this point yet.

But what I do need desperately is to have a place to take the Spectacular 6 so that I can have the other room at Brooknelle to use the sink and store my clean equipment and house a couple of caged cats that I have no other place to take.

I need someone with a spare bedroom that can allow the 6 remaining cats a place to stay for 2-3 weeks while I clean the place up. Food, litter and everything necessary for their care will be supplied. Honey needs a pill daily. Beyond that, they are very easy to care for, super low maintenance.

Can anyone help?

The health and wellbeing of cats depends on my getting the place cleaned. I need to be able to get back to TNR soon so we can prevent some unwanted litters that will be coming in early March.

Contact me at 616-560-0555 or by email at dollmouse@aol.com

Thank you
C

Spent

A few months ago, Gina turned a perspective client over to me because she didn't think she would have the patience to deal with her. I guess I'm the more patient one of the two of us. If you know how impatient I AM, then G has to be in the negative numbers cuz I'm usually hovering somewhere around zero myself.

IN ANY CASE....I called C.R. and told her all about TNR and how I can help her etc. I could tell she was a different kind of person from speaking with her, but I had no idea what I was in for.

She and her elderly parents arrived to my house in mid November with two tweenaged kittens. C.R. ran me around and around with her worries about them getting lost, or something bad happening to them, or what if they get lonely for their family back home, or can they be together so they are not lonely....yada, yada, yada. I explained how things work, how careful I am and how I have never had a cat escape.

The cats were fixed and they picked them up the next day. I sent her home with a trap and instructions on how to catch the wild ones.

I've called on several occasions asking how the trapping was going just to be put off. Finally yesterday I told her that she needed to either produce a cat or bring me back my equipment. Later in the day, I got the call. She hand caught a male cat but wasn't able to bring him to me. So I started my trek to Rockford at 8pm.

En route we spoke about how I'd come tomorrow (which was today) and trap up the rest of the cats. It was obvious to me that she didn't have the ware-with-all to trap them herself. I knew I needed to do it. I instructed her to pick up the food and not give them anything for breakfast so that they would be hungry when I got there at noon. She refused. I explained that the cats wouldn't walk into a trap if they weren't hungry but she wasn't having any of it. She wouldn't do it. She had me so worked up with all her discontent about the cat being unhappy in the carrier, and the others all a twitter about his being gone and how she wanted to let him go. I turned my car around, telling her to just forget it! But at last, I turned around, called Gina, cursed her for putting this lunatic on my to do list and went in to buy a pack of cigarettes wishing that there were something "stronger".

I met her outside of her house nearby the barn where she feeds the cats. She gave me Bupkey and ran me through the mill with a list of promises all the while doubting every thing I said and having to mull everything over ad nauseaum.

Now, I know what you are thinking. This woman has serious mental problems and I should have pity on her and not let her get me so frustrated. But I challenge anyone out there to try to give direction to someone like this in hopes of doing nothing but helping her with what she asked of me in the first place. Gina and I have dealt with difficult people in the past. Last summer it was the crazy John Lewis who allowed 4 cats to turn into 16, then finally after begging and pleading with him, brought me 14 refusing to bring the last boy and girl who by now have no doubt brought the numbers up to 30. This guy had me so twisted up that I had to take a Xanex just to talk to him on the phone. My last conversation with him was sans-Xanex and it didn't end very well.

IN ANY CASE.....I do feel for people with mental illness. I know it must be a very tough row to hoe, but God help the person who wants to help them. This was me today.

I would have just as well banged my head up against a brick wall for 5 1/2 hours than spent my entire day from noon - 5:30pm with this crazy woman. When I arrived at the house, she was actually thinking of not escorting me to the barn where the cats fed. I told her that she had better let me help her or there would be kittens in 6-8 weeks and then she would be in real trouble. Attempting to hammer this point home over and over again, I was continually met with everything from "I don't want to trap them where they eat because they won't trust the place anymore" to "These cats are my life and I don't want them to not come back."

FINALLY I got her to direct me to the abandoned house under which they live and the barn where she fed them and she herself slept in every night even in the dead of winter to protect them from the raccoons and opossum. I explained to her that if she picked up the food before dark, the raccoons and opossum wouldn't even venture into the barn. Once again, I was met with "But they need to have food or they will freeze to death and die". I went round and round on that one, but to no avail.

She refused to pick up the food. I had to do it. She argued about my setting a trap in the feeding area. She gave me grief over setting traps outside of the opening to the underside of the house. She called her parents to come and try to get me off the property.

Her parents are about as fed up with her as any folks of a whack-o like her can be and actually have what I thought was some reasonable sense and after talking to her, along with me convinced her to go home with them and leave me to trap the cats. She would return at 4:30 in time to give them dinner.

Great, I was alone. But the cats weren't coming to any of the traps. I waited outside with the string to the drop trap in hand for two hours. NOTHING. These cats weren't hungry and they weren't going to venture out even for the god-awful mackeral I had as bait.

At 3pm I had to pee like a racehorse, so I took everything down to the barn, set 4 traps and went off in search of toilet and food. Found both and returned within 40 minutes to find C.R. in the barn with all the traps shut. I wanted to kill her at that moment and would have had I had a blunt object handy.

We went round and round again about her not wanting to trick them. I explained that sometimes we logical thinking humans have to trick less intelligent animals so that we can HELP THEM! Met with more ridiculousness, I asked her to either help me or leave. She stood outside like a statue basically warning the cats not to come close. They tried. All three showed themselves but retreated back under the house.

It was at that time I asked about a cat I saw earlier that came from the direction of her own house. She said, that's Willow. I'm like who is Willow? She answered "Willow is a cat that doesn't hang out with these cats. She stays near our house." So I say "Hey, maybe I should put a trap near your house to get Willow, she's a girl right? Maybe that would be a good idea HUH?" She said she had to call her mom for permission. I got on the phone with her mother and she told me that she had JUST FED WILLOW! It was at that moment that I said the F word for the 13th time since arriving at noon.

I went and set a trap for Willow who apparently ate half a pie plate full of a soft/hard food mixture. Yeah, this cat was going to get into my trap! God help me!

I returned to the barn pretty fed up at that point. It's like these people were in cahoots with Ashton Kutcher and he was going to step out from behind the barn and tell me I was PUNKED! But Ashton never came and I realized that this WAS REALLY HAPPENING TO ME!

I asked her to please call the cats as though she were calling them down to dinner. She refused, explaining that it would be WRONG because they wouldn't trust her. And she wasn't sure that we should trap where they eat because they wouldn't come back. I took another deep breath, surveyed the place for the blunt object that I needed but was still coming up empty on that front.

I got fed up several more times, started winding up my drop trap string and then stopped to give it a little more time, having my 8th cigarette of the day. By 5pm the evening darkness of winter threatened and I decided to take the drop trap back up to the house and try to entice them out of hiding hoping they would be hungry enough to come out for the mackeral.

I sat on an empty trap near the road with drop trap string in hand and C.R. stood like a statue to warn them to BEWARE. I finally told her to get out because she was really screwing things up (but I think I used another word). She left. A sheriff's car pulled up to me to see what I was "hunting". I explained what I was doing and the female officer smiled, gave me the thumbs up and said, thank you for caring. I wanted to tell her that if she came by in another hour she would be first on the scene of a homicide, but I bit my tongue.

Finally at 5:30 I gave up. I packed up the equipment by the house and went down to the barn where C.R. stood in what felt to be some sort of "I told you they were timid" kind of victory. I wanted to slap her.

I explained to her that this went badly because she refused to work with me and that I'd no longer be able to help her. I told her that she will have kittens in 6-8 weeks so if she expected to tame them and get them into carriers herself, she better work pretty quickly.

And I drove off feeling about as rung out as a dishrag with 4 new zits and one pack closer to lung cancer.

Trixie's tumor...or whatever it is

My 16 year old girl Trixie has had a little fatty type tumor on her front right leg for nearly two years. Its never caused her any trouble so I've not done anything about it. It has changed shape and consistency over the past year and has seemed to adhere to the inside of her skin vs just bouncing around underneath.

Well, today I was playing with it as usual and it felt a little different. Upon close inspection it seems that the flattened milk dud is coming through the skin. The skin is stretched thin around it and it's definitely coming through. The fur is spread away and everything.

Not sure how visible it is in the photo, but look closely and you can see that the darker brown milk dud is about 1/3 the way through.

Wild huh? So the next question is what to do with it when I find it on the floor somewhere. Hmmm.... Feel free to post your suggestions!

By the way....if this were bloody, oozy or doing anything strange or looked like she was uncomfortable with it, I'd be whisking her off to the vet, but I'm going to let nature take its course and see what happens!

I'll keep you all posted!
C



OK, this just in from my vet: Carol, that is a sebaceous cyst, and it will come out, and should not require any treatment at all.

Whew, glad I didn't go crazy and have it removed two years ago!

Thanks for the donations!

Since the calendar turned 2008, I have received generous donations from the following people.

Vicki Nixon LaVerdinere who does her own Bichon Rescue work, finds time and funds to support my work too! Thank you so much Vicki. You were one of the first people to ever make a donation to me. You sponsored Bettina, the one and only callico from Hell House back in the spring of 2006. Your work for animals is tireless. Bless you!

Lea Palmer and Jenny Pullen pooled resources supporting both Focus on Ferals and Carol's Ferals so far this year! Lea and Jenny also volunteer at Crash's Landing. I am grateful that these girls see TNR as a solution and support what Gina and I do. Thank you for all your hard work for the cats both domestic that can be sheltered and those who are wild and just need to be snipped!

My dear, darling Heidi Andree brought me some kitties for fixing this past week and once again laid a nice donation on me for helping her help the cats of her backyard feral paradise. Heidi also took Cookie back to the outdoors. I had Cookie for a few months but she never got totally social enough and I didn't have a perspective adopter interested, so she joined her feral bretheren last night. It's warm right now and Cookie will adjust easily. And her buddies will be happy to have her back! Thank you Heidi and Jerry for all the loving kindness you lavish on your outdoor kitties!

Thank you all who support my work financially or with your physical efforts. Mary Eteo and RC Kula and Betty Wood come weekly (and daily in the case of RC) and care for either my ferals or the Spectacular 6. Without you guys, my life would be soooo much tougher. You really make a difference. For those of you who can't donate financially or offer your time, I thank you for your good thoughts and prayers for me and my kitties. Emotional support goes a long way too!

: ) C

Ignorance WAS bliss!

Last night I received an email from a girl for whom I fixed 7 cats and kittens. In late October, I passed her house on a country road and looking from the very nicely made "kittens for sale" sign, I knew that they were churning out litter after litter.

These very nice people didn't want to merely give kittens away, being aware that it's not a good practice. But it never crossed their mind to fix the 4 adult females.

I asked if I could have all the cats fixed for them for free. They said yes! I picked them up the next day.

The 7 were spayed and neutered on Halloween. I kept them overnight at Brooknelle and returned them to their humans on November 1st. Then I left for Florida.

As you will remember, I lost a litter of kittens to distemper while I was on vacation. Well, that's not all that was lost. Unbeknownst to me till just last night, 6 of 7 of the cats died the week after they were fixed. Apparently the distemper got them as well.

Learning this sickened me to no end. The week prior to leaving for Florida, 40 cats came through Brooknelle. And the week that I left, I had 25 surgeries. I have no idea where the distemper came from or who has been effected by it. It's absolutely the most heartbreaking news I've gotten in a long time.

I cried a lot and drowned my sorrows in cheese blintzes at IHOP at 11:30 last night.

This morning I didn't want to get out of bed. I called my mentor Nancy (from VPC) to ask for advice on how to go on. I swear people.....stuff like this is enough to make me quit rescue all together. But she talked me off the ledge and reminded me that crying was good. When we no longer cry over this stuff, we need to get out of rescue. I have lots of tears left, so I guess I'll be in it for awhile. She told me every experience is that of learning. And so long as we learn from situations, we are doing well.

Distemper is a horrible thing. My sanitary practices at Brooknelle are about as good as they can get considering that I can't have stainless steel cages...they don't make them deep enough. But I will be looking to revamp whatever I can so that this doesn't happen again.

In the grand scheme of things, my efforts have been for overall good. But sometimes, things happen beyond my control and cats don't make it. It's hard to swallow. Every so often, a cat doesn't come out of anesthesia. Every so often a cat dies in my care. Running the numbers doesn't make that any easier to deal with. And cheese blintzes only go so far.

I can use some positive energy sent my way today. And if you are into prayer, send some my way for strength....please.

C

NEUTERS $5 at Humane Society of Kent County

Get on this quickly people. Spaces will fill up fast!

As part of Spay Day USA, our Humane Society will neuter 100 male cats for $5 each.

Contact Alicia to get on the list: 616 453-8900 extension 224.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008.

By the way, this warm weather we are having lately will result in cats going into early heats, so we can expect litters of kittens by early March. Winter is only good for one thing as far as I'm concerned and that is keeping cats from breeding. So I'm not so happy about this warm snap! Drats! More cats!!!

Awesome News...The Great 8 are now The Spectacular 6!

Laying in bed till noon on a Saturday is just how I like it! But what I like even more is waking up to voice mails like the one I had waiting for me today! BTW, I was actually up at 11:00 but I was on the phone to various people who don't mind talking to me when I'm horizontal.

So, I get a message from Michelle who is credited with revamping the formerly dreary FIP Room and turning it into the Pussy Palace for The Great Eight! It's wonderful news! Her mother Fran who worked tirelessly on the room along with Cyndi C, decided to adopt Chloe and Madison!

Fran and Michelle's dad were catless after losing three cats in succession fairly recently. That all changed today when they went to pick up the two 5 year old girls. Both testing positive for exposure to the Corona Virus, they have been difficult to find homes for. People are still unrealistically afraid of the virus that might lead to FIP in less than 10% of exposed cats. Whatever!

But Fran and Dad (sorry, I don't know dad's name) fell in love with the cats and picked them up today!

Michelle called me a few hours ago to tell me that Madison was snuggling on the couch with Mom already! And Chloe had actively explored the whole house and was tearing from one end of the fully finished lower level to the other and was currently resting under the bed!

When Gina and I took the Great Eight into our combined rescues, we had no idea how long we would have these cats. I tended to be dismal and worried and Gina tended to be her normal "Oh Honey, Everything will work out, it always does" self. With the help of Michelle, two of eight are now happy in a home! The other 6 (now dubbed The Spectacular Six) are Michelle's challenge for 2008. It is her mission to find them all homes this year!

Thank you Michelle, Fran and Dad for caring for these special kitties and giving them a chance at a normal life in a forever home!

I'm smiling all day cuz of this!
C

PS I will post photos of the girls in their new digs once Michelle gets them to me. But I didn't want to hold off sharing this most fabulous news of 2008 thus far!

We especially like the comfy carpeting

and how dad lies on the floor with us!

This is pretty good!
Yes please.....more of this.

Dad will even give up the couch completely for Madison.

Sue Carl

I just have to blog a bit here about my good friend Sue Carl. Recently Sue Carl resigned her position as Board Member and Volunteer Coordinator at C-SNIP. She was a major force in getting the ball rolling at C-SNIP and I would have to credit much of it's success to this amazing woman! (Though it's really not my place to credit...but I'm going to anyway!)

Sue Carl means a lot to me. She was with me on my second foray into Cedar Springs. She helped me hornswaggle Chamberlain, Willetta and a slew of others that wound up at Crash's Landing. **Side note: Thank you to Jen Petrovich for taking these cats from me in the early days of my rescue work!

Sue and I are co-hole watchers during the C-SNIP Golf Outings! We have never witnessed a hole in one, but we sure have fun ducking from stray balls and catching up with each other's goings on!

My good friend Sue passes my words around via email and garners support for my blog. When I have a cat in need, she shouts it from the rooftop! I love Sue Carl...can you tell?

This morning I was making my bed and thought about one very wonderful thing that Sue Carl did a couple of years ago. When I was going to Baton Rouge to work at the Animal Shelter after Katrina, Sue sent along a huge bag of handmade catnip toys. Once I was established at the shelter and had permission, I distributed those cat toys to each and every cat in the place. The bored felines had something to occupy their time. I thought of this today because while tossing pillows around, my cat Toby was begging me to play with him. I threw one of his toys and he went bonkers after it. Like Spicolli (AKA: Buggy Ding Dong's Daddy), the kitties LOVE the cat nip! Sue, you made a lot of weary kitties very happy!

Sue, you are an amazing person. What you have started at C-SNIP will live long because of your dedication. You lined up armies of volunteers to further the mission. Because of your influence and that of the other founding members and dedicated volunteers, C-SNIP has fixed over 36,000 cats and dogs. This is something to be very proud of. And I for one, am very proud of you!

: ) C

PS Also, thank you for all the donations you have made to Carol's Ferals since I began this crazy rescue biz!

Thank you all!

I have to thank a few very generous people who sent me money and goodies in the past few days!

As usual, I happen onto a lovely card sitting beside my "treat cup", given to me by RC Kula which he keeps filled with the fruit snacks that usually take me from starving to functional when I'm running cats without having eaten. These sweet cards hold a lot of heart and sentiment and usually a nice financial donation. RC sells records and shares his monthly record selling profits with Gina and I. December was good for him, and thusly, good for us! Thank you RC!

My darling Darla Alexander who is one of the most beautiful and refined people I've ever met sent me a holiday card with a check and a gift card to Petco! I haven't gotten money in cards since I was a kid. Makes opening Christmas cards so much more fun! Thank you Darla for supporting my efforts. My association with you has brought so much good to my animals. You have turned others onto my blog and since doing that I've been able to raise funds for Hell House Cats and others in need. Bless you!

Lori Baker is a kind woman for whom I fixed her outdoor cats. She lives in the Saugatuck area and my pal Steve Williford, willing to do the transport (God love him), brought me several of her outdoor cats. She has this amazing set up in her garage for them. Lucky kits for sure! This sweet girl called me last week asking for my address to send me monthly donations! I LOVE MONTHLY DONATIONS! It's nice to have some funds to count on to cover the rent at Brooknelle! She said that the work I'm doing is nothing short of ministry and she wants to support that type of work. I was touched by her statement and guess she has a point. It is kinda ministry with the spoken word not being "believe in this or pray for that" but rather "get your cats fixed in the name of all that is holy". My "ministry" is reaching outward and that's a good thing! Thank you so much for believing in what I do and for helping to support me monetarily.

Another very generous donation came to me via Christmas card from Sandy Carlton. I met Sandy when I was trapping at Agnes' farmhouse last January. She lived in the area and set traps for me saving me hours of camping out in a dark, freezing cold farmhouse with no utilities. It was torture there because with no toilet, lights or heat, I was slightly scared (in the dismal dark) and had to pee like a racehorse after the long drive as it was. If not for her, I'd have really been up a creek. Sandy made that project go along much more smoothly for me. I was happy to receive her card. Even happier when I found a check inside! Thank you Sandy!

I'm thrilled to report that my cousin Maria in California is doing her own backyard TNR. Hearing this from her sister and mother when I was making my annual "Merry Christmas" calls really made my day. She didn't know I was doing TNR, we were just both kinda doing our own thing simultaneously. How cool is that. Thank you Maria for reaching out to the cats in your neighborhood!

I continue to draw strength from all of you who read this blog and support me in manner both financially and emotionally. I have amazing people around me who boost me up when I need it and for that I'm truly grateful.

All the best to you all in 2008.
C

PS I just received cat number 6 for 2008. Only 794 to go! RC thinks my goal should be 1,000. RC has a lot of faith in me. Once I hit the 800 mark, I'll forge ahead to the 1K, but for now, it's 800 in 2008 for me!

700 Leaves His Mark

Not only did the strapping black boy make the mark by making my goal of 700 kitties fixed in 2007, he also left me with ringworm! I noticed some patchy hair loss before he was picked up on New Years Eve. I used to be scared to death of ringworm, which is ridiculous, but you know....fear of the unknown, people putting their fears onto you, all that sorta junk. But I've had it before and Doc Langlois just laughs at me when I get all worked up about it, so I'm relaxed now.

Well, in handling Mr. 700, I let my guard down and now I have a nice little reminder of my making my goal on my neck. It looks like a hickey, but I can assure you that even though I imbibed a bit too much on New Years Eve, I didn't have anyone sucking on my neck.

So, If I wake up one morning feeling unsure about my accomplishments of the last year, all I need do is look in the mirror!

I'm currently taking a homeopathic remedy for it, so I suspect it will be gone soon!

By the way....ringworm is NOT A WORM.
It's a fungus! Yeah, not all that attractive,
but either is scooping cat poop, but it's part of the job!

My ringworm from August.
I think that came from a group of kittens from Cedar Springs.
It cleared up pretty quickly and I didn't transmit it to anyone.

If you see a vampire with patchy hair loss or
red rings on his skin, he got a hold of me!
Best of all, I'll be living forever!
Imagine the cats I can help if I live for all eternity!