What’s up?

I’ve been a lazy blogger lately, but I’ve been rather under the weather for the last couple of weeks, and I was actually sick and in bed for the past 72 hours.  I thought I’d write a quick little catch-up post before I forget what it is I’ve been wanting to write about!

I’ve had to postpone Spiderman’s eye surgery until we can raise more money.  We absolutely cannot just toss $275+ out of pocket like we were once able to, especially when Spiderman shouldn’t even be my cat, so I’m holding the donations in reserve until I can either gain more through fundraising or through working.  The vet assured us that Spiderman was not getting any worse, nor was he in discomfort, so I don’t feel too guilty about putting things off for a month or two.  I’d mostly just like to have the surgery over for the sake of it being over, because I’m concerned that if someone does ever want to adopt him, it might be contingent upon him having the laser procedure.  On a related note, Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah has accepted Greg and Spiderman for admission (which is a bit of a miracle, as I think they get requests to take in thousands of cats every month), but they can’t take them until they have room.  That basically means waiting until two cats currently in residence die, which is sad, and I’m not doing to cross my fingers and wish for that to happen.  Best Friends is willing to keep the cats together and only adopt them out as a pair, as well as to provide them a permanent home if necessary, but it could be months until that happens.  I’m still trying to find a home for the cats as we wait, but adopters all seem intimidated by Spiderman.  Both cats are very good-natured and friendly, and Spiderman is just a huge cuddlebug… we bring him into bed with us for naps, and he purrs and flops on his back and turns into a massive teddy bear.  Greg wanders all over the house when given the opportunity, and is not remotely intimidated by any dogs, large or small.  He’ll just casually climb up on a bookcase, or wander into the kitchen, or sprawl across the bathroom counter like he owns the place.  I feel very guilty that they spend about 23 hours per day closed up in their own bedroom, but their presence is upsetting to some of our other cats, and Tie in particular will smack Spiderman at random, which is obviously not a fair fight.  If they end up going to Best Friends they won’t be able to come to bed for naps, but they’ll be well-cared for and promoted and perhaps adopted by some rich person who wants to spoil them.  I think it’s more than I can offer, even though I’d love to keep them here until they can find a new family.  I find Greg a bit pushy, but I really love Spiderman with his big head and his teeny, tiny meow.

Our newest houseguest is “Dobby”, a female calico kitten I found in our yard about a week ago.  She’s as close to feral as I’ve ever dealt with, and loves cats but is terrified of people.  She’ll let us pick her up reluctantly, and might purr a bit, but immediately wants down.  She runs and hides if we walk into a room or move too quickly.  She’s in our “cat bathroom” right now, as it seems best to keep her in a small environment where she can build up familiarity and comfort, but she escaped a few days ago and hid in the living room for about three days.  I’d love to give her run of the house, but I don’t know how she’ll ever become tame if we never see her.  The vet guesses that Dobby is about eight weeks old at most, and she’s still under-weight but in good health.  She’ll do fine in a home with another cat (and with a patient owner).  It wouldn’t surprise me if she has a sibling on the loose, as something is still eating from my feeding station.

Finally, we still have Bunny and Carlo.  They continue to be incredibly adorable, and Carlo is just starting to have some bowel control.  He’s not perfectly consistent, but I’d say that 50% of the time he’ll use the litterbox if he has to poop.  That’s a huge improvement over his previous rate of 0%.  Both kittens are gentle and lovable… they like to visit with Greg and Spiderman, and they take good care of Dobby, and they don’t seem to have a mean or nasty bone in their bodies.  I guess it might be their age, although our cat TJ is almost a year old and he’s a big ol’ schmoozer and greeter of all household visitors and residents.  Bunny and Carlo need to be neutered very soon, probably within the next four weeks, so I’m glad to have found the new, inexpensive vet clinic.

I don’t know when I’ll have any more bottle-babies again.  I love them, and when I’m caring for them I feel like I’ve found my “calling”, but they take a huge physical and emotional toll on me.  They’re a financial burden as well.  If someone would pay me a fair salary to bottle-feed kittens I’d be delighted, but instead it costs me a fortune and I lose sleep and then I end up sad when I have to say goodbye!  I still need some rest before I take in any more, and I need to clear out some of the cats currently in residence.  It’s getting awfully crowded in here.

The animal sheltering situation in Las Vegas is such a disaster right now.  You may have seen stories in the national news about the closing of a local sanctuary called “F.L.O.C.K.”, because the 400 cats and kittens in residence were supposedly being held in deplorable conditions.  Best Friends stepped in to help clean up the mess at the request of Las Vegas Animal Control, but now they need to place the 400 cats who were living at the facility.  In addition, when authorities went to the home of the woman who used to run FLOCK (and the woman who’s been since charged with animal cruelty in the case), they found another 125 cats which had to be removed.  That’s 525 extra cats on the adoption market here, in addition to the thousand or so always available at the city shelter, and a few hundred at other rescues.  To top it all off, there are anonymous allegations floating around town about the Nevada SPCA, where former volunteers claim that there are about 600 cats being held in horrible conditions, not receiving proper medical treatment, not being fed and cleaned properly, etc.  It’s like no one in the city can care for cats properly, or at least, like no one wants to.  It makes me wish I could open a huge facility where I could house five thousand cats in palatial surroundings, and where I could employ good volunteers at a living wage to clean and feed and groom and just love all the kitties.  Heck, let’s have room for ten thousand cats, and let’s have a permanent staff of ten or fifteen full-time veterinarians. 

A few years ago I barely liked cats, and I was definitely not “a cat person”.  That obviously changed, and I wish everyone could go through such a transformation.  I just wish everyone would care just a little, because it seems that where cats are concerned, there just aren’t a lot of people speaking up on their behalf.

Posted by Leigh-Ann on 08/16 at 04:20 AM

AddThis Social Bookmark Button

  1. I love Dobby’s name! (I assume you’re a fellow Harry Potter fan....)

    My husband was also not a cat person. Funny how that can change under the influence of the right cat. smile

    Hope you’re feeling better!

    Posted by Helena  on  08/16  at  06:27 PM

  2. This very sad situation of too many cats and not enough caring people is every where.  No easy answers that is for sure.. but bless you for doing what you can.  I suppose, like most things, education is part of the solution.  People must come to realize that they must spay and neuter their pets.

    Posted by Coll  on  08/22  at  06:40 AM

  3. Cats get such a bad rap.  I’m a bit hormonal right now, and had a hissy-fit earlier today on a friend’s blog.  The friend, (a social worker), mentioned a troubled family, and then updated to say that the family was working on their problems, and was starting by getting rid of their cat.  That kind of thing irks me so much, especially when it’s a home with children.  It’s such a terrible message to send to kids, and it’s especially bad if the child is attached to the cat. 

    I love all our cats so much.  When I think of all the ones that die in shelters every day, or die from abuse, I could just cry (and sometimes I do).  I try to make a dent in the problems, but sometimes I wish I had the luxury of not knowing about it, or of thinking that it’s “someone else’s problem”.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  09/03  at  04:04 AM

  4. Oh Helena, I never did answer your comment here (or in email), about Dobby’s name.  Yes, she was named from Harry Potter, and it was because of her big ears.  When we named her, Flippy still hadn’t finished reading the latest HP book, so I had to be careful that I didn’t reveal any spoilers.  Dobby was one of my favourite characters, although he was a little too hard on himself.

    Posted by Leigh-Ann  on  09/03  at  04:05 AM
    5. Page 1 of 1 pages

Name:

Email (required, but will not be made public):

Location:

URL:

Smileys

Remember my details for future comments?

Let me know about new replies to this topic?

What is the sum of 9 and 6?

Next entry: Could your sofa be making your cat sick? And is it making me sick, too?

Previous entry: Things from Canada I miss: "The Ex"

<< Back to main