The World is on Fire .. But Life Goes On

SO many things happening out there, SO many things I would love to write about, lament, grieve, rage about.  But today I will refrain. Because it's true, while the rest of the world is crazy, most of us are still going about our everyday lives, including me.

My most recent foster is a beautiful tortie named Twix.  I call her Weezy as if she were one of the dwarfs but really it's because she's got a chronic condition that causes her to sniff and snuffle and generally have trouble breathing through her nose. Cats do not breathe through their mouths unless they absolutely have to so she's forever wheezing and struggling to pull air in through her snotty nose.

Tried using a nebulizer but it didn't help much so she is going back to the vet for an evaluation to see if there is any kind of treatment or maintenance for a cat with a chronic breathing condition.  She's going to be a tough one to get adopted out but there are people out there who want to adopt 'handi-cats' so it will happen.  It will help that she's SO beautiful!

Yes, I started my new job on April 1st, and it's going well.  The people I work with are great and the company is awesome.

But enough.  The most important thing that has happened lately - happened at the end of July.  A brand new sweet, perfect, little life came into the world in the form of my first grandchild.  I'm a GRANDMA!!

My daughter and her husband (Dani & Dan) allowed me (and Dan's Mom) to be there and it was incredibly special.  She came into the world kicking and screaming exactly the way she was supposed to, mostly looked confused and a bit mad about being in a whole new world.  I'm going to post a few pictures but won't be posting her name or details, respecting her parents wishes to not have too much information out there on social media about her.

She's a tiny little thing and after a few weeks still doesn't weigh what either of my kids did when they were born!  Nothing wrong, she's just petite.  D & D bought a house right before the baby was born, and it's less than 2 miles from my house.  You KNOW what that means, right?  Yep!  Babysitting!  When my hours work, that is.  D & D do not have set hours every week so we will see how often I am needed but I am looking forward to every minute!  I know when the time comes, Dani especially is going to have a hard time handing her to someone else to take care of.  Being a nurse she generally works 3 days a week so that's not too bad.  But she works 12 hour shifts so is always very tired after.

Dan is a great partner and jumped right in from the beginning with diapering, bathing, dressing, and comforting a fussy baby. Breast feeding is going well and baby is growing and filling in her tiny little limbs. Dani is a wonderful mom!

So all in all things are WONDERFUL!  If you are not a grandparent I highly recommend it.  I know not everyone chooses to have kids, some do not have the opportunity. But if it happens in your life - you will see what I mean.  It's the best thing I can wish on anybody!

So with all the CRAP going on out in the world, I hope you have your own little slice of heaven to retreat to.  These days - you really need it.

Does Your Cat Do This??

No, I don't sleep with my glasses on.  But I do
need them to take a picture!

Emmett loves me.  I know this.  He has turned out to be a scaredy cat, spends a lot of time under my bed or out in the living room if I am home, but not if anyone is visiting.

At night he believes he is Casanova.  Or something.  He climbs on my head and sucks on my hair.  He licks my face and tries to lick inside my nose. No, not allowed, Emmett. He flops his whole body across my neck or worse - my face, sometimes waking me up by not allowing me to breathe!

Yes, he loves me.  I know he's trying to love on me.  Or something.  But it's really hard to get any sleep with him around.  People suggest locking him out of my room at night.  For a while I wore little caps to bed to keep him away from my hair.

But the problem is, while I'm pushing him away .. while I'm whining at him to stop .. while I'm moving him so I can breathe .. I am smiling.

Because yes, Emmett loves me.  And this is the way he shows me.

.. and cats.

My life.
I work.
I have cats.
Okay, so there are a few other things in my life like a man friend, a son who lives with me a a daughter who is PREGNANT!!!  I'm going to be a grandma!
But beyond those things.
Cats.

My last foster Meatloaf, did indeed find a special home.  A young couple with one cat adopted him and it looks like Meatloaf has especially bonded with his new dad.  I am SO happy for him.

Grace

Since then I have had 2 other fosters, little Grace who is not more than a year and had already given birth to 5 kittens!  And the purported father of said kittens - Tex.  Both wonderful kitties, were only here for a couple weeks.  Most shelter cats tend to come sick, and Grace & Tex were no different.  Once they were well it was time to deliver them to the Petsmart where they were to be put up for adoption.

Turns out - Tex is a nervous traveler.  When I originally picked him up he pooped in his carrier but I didn't think anything of it.  But when I was returning him to the store and he pooped again - I was like - so Tex, you're not fond of the car, huh?

My daughter Dani was with me and had her dog Rue in the front seat of the car with her.  Grace and Tex were both in the back seat when that unmistakable odor wafted into the front seat.  My pregnant daughter was gagging and we quickly opened the windows while I searched for a place to pull over.

Tex

Oh my!  I generally don't travel with wet wipes or anything one would need to clean up kitty poop. Going around to the back seat I opened the door and opened Tex's carrier.  Pulling the blanket out - pieces of poop fell onto the asphalt of the parking lot we were in - but um .. more was still in the carrier.  Trying to get Tex out of the carrier while blocking the door - apparently I smooshed the rest of the poop all along side the inside of the carrier.  OH DIDN'T WE HAVE FUN!

Dani handed me the garbage bag I carry in the front seat that happened to contain a bunch of balled up paper towels which I used to mop up what I could.  Liquid was nowhere to be found but after searching my purse I found one - count 'em - one eye glass lens wipe.  It was enough to wipe up about an inch of smooshed poop.  There I was, determined to not deliver Tex to the store while sitting in his own poop - spitting on paper towels and scrubbing the inside of his carrier - while still making sure Tex did not escape from the car.  Argh!

Mr. McStinky-pants was delivered to the store with some dried poop still on the inside of the carrier, but not on him, and much less than had been there originally.  That night I set out to put together a kit for my car with extra kitty blankets, wet wipes, puppy pee pads, garbage bags, as well as some hand sanitizer and collapsible food bowls.

No doubt I've missed something, but God knows no one will be able say I didn't TRY to be prepared if it happens again!

Let me tell you about Meatloaf (also known as Moose, Tank, and Mr. McFloofy-Pants)

No, not the food - Meatloaf is a cat.  He is my foster cat and he is lovely.

Even when I used to write regularly, I never had a big readership here.  But now since I write once or twice a YEAR, I can expect 2 or 3 people to MAYBE read what I post.  For Meatloafs sake, I wish I had one of those fabulously popular blogs where all I had to do was post something and a cause would go viral.

Alas, that isn't my blog.  But I'm going to talk about Meatloaf anyway.  Because I love him!

Meatloaf was living in a rabbit hutch on a chicken farm in Kentucky when a young girl saw him.  She had just seen an animal advocate who had come to her school to teach the kids about how to take care of and value animals.  When she saw Meatloafs situation she knew it was wrong.  She called the rescue group the woman who came to her school was associated with, and they sent someone out. The woman had to call the police twice to get them to come out and allow her to remove Meatloaf from the property.

Meatloaf had open sores all over his body.  He had bad eye infections, an upper respiratory infection, and was infested with fleas and mites.  The people who "owned" him, had no reason for why he was in the rabbit hutch and exposed to the elements.  They came up with various stories about how he got in the shape he was in.  He was hit by a car.  He was attacked by a dog.  But most likely - he was simply neglected and abused.  His sores were from his own scratching and infections were from neglect.

By the time Meatloaf was transported to the Chicago area where he came into my home, most of his fleas were gone, but he still had open sores and a horrible case of ear mites.  His upper respiratory infection was not completely gone and I was still putting meds into his eyes.  He needed a lot of TLC. I was scared when I first saw him, I'm not a nurse and had never taken care of a cat with bloody sores and being so ill.  What if he didn't want me to touch his wounds?  What if he was too much for me?

There were drops for his ears, ointment for his eyes, sterile cotton and neosporin for his sores.  The vet gave him an antibiotic shot and an anti-inflammatory.  And there were still fleas and mites that the

vet treated him for as well.  That first day when I brought him home from the vet and had him quarantined in my office, he came up to my chair, stood up and put his front paws on my legs and looked up into my eyes and into my heart.

It's taken months for Meatloaf to heal.  His eyes are better, his cough is gone, there are no more fleas or mites or open sores.  I am still cleaning his ears every 2 to 3 days, but everything else is fine. And it's time for him to find his forever home.  If I were going to have a foster failure it would be this boy.  He's sweet and laid back, he loves nothing more than to lay down on my lap and have me pet him to sleep after dinner.  But if I keep him - I will not be able to foster other cats and I really want to do that.  Fostering means being a place for animals that need someone to care for them until a forever home can be found for them.  I want to be able to do that for other cats too.

There was a woman who wanted to meet him and I was hopeful.  She sat with him, petted him, had him on her lap for the better part of an hour.  But she was worried about his cataract - did that mean he might get one in the other eye?  How were his teeth?  She pried his mouth open to look. Obviously she was not looking for a cat (estimated to be about 8 years old) who had come from a rescue situation.

Too bad, it is her loss.  But Meatloaf is still looking for a home.  He isn't going to go to just anyone. A special boy like him - deserves a special home.