WILD KITTENS (CONTINUED)

So the four not really wild just nervous of people kittens had been with Elizabeth and Michael for a week now. Apart from a touch of diarrhea necessitating a trip to the vets, there'd been no problems. As I'd just got in some Drontol worming tablets for my own cats and Elizabeth had to take fecal samples to the vets, it was easy to combine the two by calling in with the Drontol and taking Elizabeth to the vets. Of course what would be even easier was for me to simply take the samples to the vets on the way home but that didn't occur to me until I was approaching her house and being waylaid by her neighbour's friendly young dog. I may be slow but I do get there in the end.

The kittens, relaxed in their room with the cage open, they have started to play with each other. Two of them have begun to purr when picked up and cuddled. Also they are easier to get hold of, though they do usually make a run for it when you put them down. 

Here are the photographs taken during my visit.

THE FATE OF ED

At the end of the previous post, I mentioned Ed, the very loveable one year old fluffy black and white cat who needed an exploratory operation because of an enlarged liver.

When the vet operated this morning he found that poor Ed was in quite a mess. Apart from the liver, he had several enlarged glands, almost certainly feline leukemia, and probably several other things wrong with him. Carole was phoned while Ed was still on the operating table and it was agreed, as I had suggested to the vet yesterday, with the only other alternative being a slow and painful death, he was put to sleep while still under the anaesthetic.

That's two cats we've lost recently, one old, one young. It happens, I know, it happens. But it's still sad.

Hopefully normal service will be resumed by the time of the next post with stories of re-homed cats and lots of pictures of rescued cats and cute kittens.

MONDAY, MONDAY, SO GOOD TO ME

5.15 Woken up by Big Ted wanting to be out. Should have been the work of less than a minute, but instead the pungent odour of cat poo wafts from the corner litter tray on the little landing, so down to the kitchen to empty, clean and refill the tray and let more cats out. That done, hands washed, and back to bed to try to catch some last minutes of sleep.

5.45  I'm just entering a light doze when Susan shouts for me to clean the cat litter tray in the front bedroom where Lily the grey cat who is bullied by some of the others sleeps. Lily won't crap in the same box she pees in which sometimes results in crap on the floor, or rather on the paper Susan puts down. So, downstairs, empty, clean, wash hands, go back to-  Oh sod it, I'm wide awake now. Go back downstairs, put several dishes of cat food down and microwave some porridge, watching News 24 while I'm eating it.

6.10 I'm back upstairs and on the computer, checking for emails -someone might have ordered something from me overnight, which does happens and I do have an order to post. I periodically weed out my collection of books, graphic novels, CDs and DVDs and put them up for sale on Amazon Marketplace. Nothing, so I check out a couple of newspaper websites.

7.00  I'm supposed to be going swimming in half an hour but as I have to be back home by 8.15 to transport furniture from the charity's van which is parked outside the house to the shop and then get to Carole's and on to the vets by 9.00, I decide to skip the swim and have a bath instead, cleaning out another smelly litter tray first. 

7.30  I'm just about thinking of putting down the book I'm reading when there's a knock at the front door. Obviously I can't answer it and neither can Susan who's still half asleep. Two minutes later, there's an even louder knock, however, while being out of the bath, but wet and naked, I let Susan get it. Not unusually, there's someone with a large wagon who needs to make a delivery down the back lane but can't because our van is sticking out. So I hurridly get dressed, tell Susan I'll go to the post office at the same time. Susan then tells me to unload the furniture back into the garage as the shop is full of stuff. Muttering under my breath I do as I'm told and skip the post office.

8.45  I arrive at Carole's expecting to collect two cats for neutering, but there's a third, Ed, which needs checking out and she's coming with me. So, to the vets where a problem is found with Ed, a friendly one year old who been very sick several times, who has to be left as well. After dropping Carole off home, I head back to Grangetown to post the order and return home. I need to get food for Carole (well, the cats she looks after) as she's run out, which is okay with Susan who doesn't need the van until later. So off to Asda to buy about a hundred tins of Kit-e-Kat and empty the donated pet food bin we have there. I'm pleasantly surprised about how much cat food is in it and surprised again at Sainsbury's a few minutes later for the same reason. Ten minutes late and I'm unloading it all into the garage and tell Susan that the van's all hers except that she now doesn't need it until three o'clock.

10.45 Coffee and a light very early lunch. Potter about on the Internet for a while.

11.50  And I'm reloading the cat food back into the van and set off for my dentist's appointment. I've gone private recently because I was sick of new fillings dropping out after five minutes. Costs a lot more but the dentist is excellent and everyone else in the family uses him. The surgery is only a couple of minutes drive from Carole's, so I go there next and drop of the cat food. And then I take away lots of black sacks, all full of soiled cat bedding and used litter, to the council tip. This is not one of my favourite jobs. It's not all a life of glamour rescuing cats you know. On the way home I call in at Asda again because none of the cats will eat Asda's own brand of dried food, which is the only brand of dried food we get given, and only settle for Go-Cat. (If anyone from Go-Cat is reading this then I would be delighted to publicise your excellent product in this blog in exchange for donations of it.)

1.45  A couple of hours to myself (translation: nap time).

4.15  Off to Carole's who's taking another cat for neutering and leaving it there overnight. The two now-neutered females are fine, not happy, but fine. Sadly there is bad news about Ed. His blood tests have shown some kind of imbalance in his liver and an x-ray has shown it to be severely enlarged and the vet recommends an exploratory operation. After some discussion, I go along with it but stress that we don't have the funds for prolonged treatment. At the back of my mind is what happened to that other poor cat after an exploratory operation recently (see recent posts for details).

5.45  Home.

WILD KITTENS

Being involved in animal rescue isn't exactly a 9-5 job. I can get a call at any time, though mostly it is during the day but that's 7 days a week. There is, however, one morning a week when I try to exempt myself from being on call which is Wednesday morning when I meet my two ex-library retired friends Denise and Sylvia whom I've known for 40 years (and sometimes Phil) for coffee at (currently) Starbucks in The Bridges shopping centre in the middle of the city. Denise and Sylvia are both cat lovers (but not Phil) each having a cat each (except for Phil). I usually update them with cat rescue stories and show them photos on the camera screen before Phil arrives.

Denise also looks after a bunch of strays.

At the back of her house is a rather unkempt and overgrown garden with a shed which makes it a haven for the several local strays which she and a neighbour also feed. About 8 weeks ago, a female (who had been left behind when a family moved) had four kittens. Over coffee about 3 weeks ago, Denise told me she'd rang one local rescue several times without receiving an answer so I rang Carole immediately to see if she'd take them which she would. Then, as I was taking one cat through to Tracy's rescue at Burnhope, I thought she might have them. In the end she didn't and Carole was busy and so was I so when I finally asked her again she couldn't take them.

By this time I'd met Elizabeth and her son Michael (see previous post) who'd  volunteered to foster for us so I rang her asking her if she'd take two, thinking that four would be two (pun) many. Elizabeth would happily take all four.  I did warn her that, although not feral, the kittens were only used to being handled by Denise and were quite wild and definitely not house-trained and I'd bring my cage from the garage.

This was all done in a bit of rush and in the space of an hour I'd folded up the cage, packed it in the van, driven to Denise's house where she had the kittens in a box and we transferred them to a large cat carrier, driven two exits down the A19 and through Seaham to a nice part just outside where Elizabeth and Michael live.

The following photos were taken the next morning when I dropped of some flea-killer which I'd forgotten in the rush the day before.

Elizabeth with the kittens now named Arthur, Merlin, Gawain, & Galahad.

Arthur (far right) is the largest and the most scared.

 

In the few days since then, they have all started using the litter tray which is useful as they've been given free run of the small bedroom where they are kept. Elizabeth tells me that they don't really play together but if one starts washing all the other follow suit and if one goes to sleep so do the others. They are also slowly getting used to being held and cuddled but it's still early days. I'll keep you informed of their progress.

CAT IN THE CAGE: UPDATE

R.I.P.

She  seemed to perk up when she came back from the vets and ate half a sachet of food. Next day she didn't eat anything. Today a lady who is very experienced with cats and has seven of her own offered to take her for a few days, getting her out of my cold garage. Sadly she wasn't there more than four hours before, not to my surprise, she slipped away. She hadn't eaten anything in two days and was sleeping her way to death.

I just think I got to her too late. By the time I was contacted about her it was too late. She just didn't have any more strength left and I believe she would have died whether she had the operation or not.

My thanks to Elizabeth and her son for the kind help they gave. Perhaps another time, we'll be more successful.

CATS IN THE CAGE IN MY GARAGE

Sorry about the long delay between posts but I mislaid my camera at some point and only found it a short time ago today. For some reason, apart from being busy and just not in the damn mood, it put me off posting as I like to have new photos with a post. There've been a few things going on and I may mention some of them if they come to mind, but otherwise I'm concentrating on two cats.

The first one-

-was an 18 month old tabby who was dropped off at Roker Park vets for neutering and thence to be put in our tender care, except that the only space for him was in the cage in my garage. He turned out to be a nice little cat, friendly but a little shy. Luckily Tracy at Burnhope agreed to take him a couple of days later. My camera having just gone missing it meant I couldn't take any photos but I probably wouldn't have anyway. It was a grey overcast day and as I drove up the steep long bank to Burnhope, the mist grew thicker and thicker and thicker and thicker until by the time I got to Tracy's you could barely see the trees on the main road 50 yards away. All the animals -the ferals, the cockerels, the donkeys and horse were all indoors. 

And that's it for the tabby. Here are a few more photos of him.

There's a much longer story about the second cat. Here she is.

At lunchtime on Tuesday I received a call from the admin offices of student accommodation at Low Row down by the river. A very thin but friendly cat had been hanging around for a couple of days and they were worried about it. So I did what I usually do: jump.

This is a bit of a source of discord between Susan and myself. Susan believes that when I hear the words help and cat, I shouldn't just jump up and go into action, I should pause and consider what alternative actions are available to me. She's right, of course. Something else happened this week involving a cat where I agreed to a certain course of action and then told Susan about it. She came up with a different idea which, ultimately, had the same ending but meant it didn't cost us money and the situation was resolved in less time and effort than it otherwise would have taken. Can't argue with that.

In this case, however, the only alternative was to leave the cat where it was. So I went and got her and she was extremely thin. I took her home to the cage in the garage which I'd set up with cat litter tray, food, water, and bedding -the sort of tent you can see her sitting in which is thick and cosy and keeps her warm.

During the course of the afternoon, she twice soiled the bedding material I'd laid down on the floor of the cage. Usually I use scrap bits of carpet but I didn't have any. She ate the single sachet of food I'd put down. On Wednesday she didn't eat any of the food I'd put down and soiled the cat-tent. She was also curled up and none-responsive. Now I was really concerned so I managed to get her booked in a Roker Park vets to be checked over. Mr Murphy found a swelling in her stomach which he thought might be cancer and suggested an exploratory operation. Because this would cost over a hundred pounds, I rang Susan to check that it was okay, expecting to be given the go-ahead. Susan was at the shop and she mentioned it to another committee member who was there who suggested waiting a couple of days to see how things developed. I got very annoyed about this, said a couple of rude things and said I'd pay for the expletive deleted operation myself. As it turned, this time I was right.

The operation would go ahead the next morning with the understanding that if they found cancer, the cat would be euthanised while unconscious. I gave them my mobile number as I was going to be out and about for quite a while. Part of this out and about was taking a guy and his cat from Hetton on the far south west of the city boundary to the new PDSA hospital on the north side of the river and taking them (just him as it sadly turned out) back home. This was the alternative that Susan came up with which  I mentioned above.

To everyone's surprise, it wasn't cancer. What they found was a seriously large mass consisting of human hair, cat fur, and fragments of tin foil. This was almost certainly what was causing the problem -though Mr Murphy suggested the possibility that it might be FIV (feline AIDS). So, she's being kept in the cage in my garage for a while as she hopefully recovers. You can't tell from the photographs but almost all her underneath has been shaved. I had her back again today for a checkup and there'll be another visit next Wednesday afternoon.

She's not out of the woods yet, but I'm hopeful. I'll let you know how she gets on.

THE GREAT ANIMAL KRACKERS FASHION SHOW

The best person to have written this piece is Susan Hardy who ran/drove around like a lunatic co-ordinating everything and transporting people and fashion show stuff, but she wouldn't do it even if I asked, so the person who is writing it is one of the Animal Krackers staff who had just about the least to do with it -Susan's husband, otherwise known as me, your not so humble blogger of this parish.

First off, a big thank you to everyone who worked behind the scenes, wore the clothes, sold the stuff, and St.Aidan's Church (in particular Stephen) who allowed us to use their hall for a very modest fee. Secondly, apologies to you and everyone else for the poor quality of the photographs because the photographer (me) is clearly better at taking closeups of cats and kittens than anything else.

What follows is a my-eye view of the evening, nothing more, nothing less.

I got there just after six in the evening while things were still being set up and, after a bit running around, ended up taking money on the door with the help of Gary and Derek, our announcer Heather's husband. Susan hadn't really arranged this bit as we had no float and she hadn't anticipated the large number of people who turned up without tickets of which we'd already sold out. So many people turned up that, as I watched the hall getting more and more crowded, started getting worried about health and safety (for which I have a qualification as a union rep). It was decided to not allow anyone else in without a ticket which I managed very unsuccessfully as most people seemed to have a valid reason for being admitted and ending up turning away very few. Around 7.40, people seemed to have stopped arriving, so I went inside to catch the last fifteen minutes of the fashion parade.

As I said, the place was packed with standing room only. Around the walls were various stalls selling stuff, rows of seats and U-shaped space in the middle for the models to parade up and down. I took a few pictures from the back then squeezed through the throng to stand next to my retired library colleagues and friends Denise and Sylvia who were seated at the end of a row. I was reluctant to take photos of children due to the prevailing paedophilia fear. Now in an earlier 'humourous' self piss-taking post I allowed myself to persuaded to attend by the prospect of masses of cleavage on view. This indeed proved to be the case but, because I actually am anti-sexist I was reluctant to take any photographs of the several models who actually did reveal their decolletage, which is another reason the photos which follow are not only crap but boring.

Once the fashion show was over, the hatch opened for people to claim their free glass of wine and sample some cheese and biscuits. Attendees were also encouraged to spend spend spend at the various stalls which they did. I mooched around, chatting to various people, claimed my free glass of wine (and, later, a second) and some cheese and biscuits. Things began tail off after 9.00 but we didn't start clearing up until half an hour later and I was after 10.00 by the time I got away with Susan arriving home nearly half an hour after that.

That wasn't the end for us as Susan and I, with Big Ian, Anne, and Andrea   back at the church hall at 9.00am the next morning to transport the unsold clothes (quite a lot), clothes rails, and boxes back to the Animal Krackers shop and haul them upstairs. It took three (or was it four?) full van loads and at the end of it I was completely knackered.

So, was it worth it?

Most definitely. We made in excess of £1,000 which wasn't bad at all. The event went off well and seemed to be enjoyed by all who attended. It raised our profile as an organisation and there'll be a piece in the Sunderland Echo this week. Would we -or rather, Susan- do it again? That remains to be seen but it was well worth doing in the first place.

And now, what you've all been waiting for, my crummy photographs of the event.

And this being my cat rescue blog, here are some recent cat and kitten photos.

Lastly, look in the top left of this photograph and you'll see a tiny feral kitten which had escaped from its cage taken refuge here with the big friendly dog. 

TODAY: WHAT A DAY!

But first, the rest of the week.

Tuesday brought a new experience for me. I received a call from an operator using a text phone. The call was from a deaf woman who typed in the words at her home which were then spoken to me by the operator. I then replied and the operator typed in what I said to appear on the screen in the woman's home. She had a mother and two kittens for me. They'd been living in her garden and in her house for a few weeks but was concerned about them and would we take them. Luckily we could and it wasn't far away so I went straight round.

The woman was in her twenties with a husband and two young (about 3 and 5) hearing children. She could lip read and signed what I said to her husband. Seemed nice people. Here are the kittens and their mother, all available for re-homing.

 

Don't remember doing anything animal-related on Wednesday. Went for a coffee (a weekly event) with my retired library friends Denise and Sylvia and sold them tickets for next week's fashion show. Our regular independent coffee place in The Bridges (Sunderland's indoor shopping area) had closed down. We tried a corner coffee house outside but I wasn't too keen on it and suggested we try Starbucks in The Bridges. So this was our first visit but it won't be our last.

Thursday and I had a hospital appointment in the afternoon. A couple of months ago and following an X-ray, my dentist found a black mass inside the gum on my lower jaw and referred me to the hospital so I was there for further investigations which involved more X-rays from two different axes (or, axises if you prefer). Result: I would have to come in in about 4-6 weeks for a minor operation. This involves local anaesthetic, cutting open the gum to take tissue and bone samples, and stitching back up. And a fair bit of pain later on.

Friday teatime I got a call to say the surgeon had developed a space on his list next Wednesday. Great, no waiting. Susan thought this might mean it was serious. I thought I was just lucky. Now I'm beginning to wonder myself.

Thursday morning we had to take up the living room carpet and underlay as we were wood laminate flooring installed the next day. Lot of work moving furniture, never mind the carpet. When it actually happened, poor Lotus, our new old cat, who lives in the room, ran and hid. I finally found her and put her on the bed where Little Bob was sleeping.

Thursday evening was a rehearsal for next week's fashion show which, according to Susan (I didn't go), after a shaky start went well.

Friday morning and of to see the doctor for a checkup following a chest infection which needed antibiotics and still hasn't fully cleared up and a sharp pain in my chest when I swallowed which has. I also mentioned my increasing procrastination and feelings of tiredness about which she decided to double my intake of Citalopram to 20mgs a day. I've been on this drug for about twelve years now. My weight was pretty much the same and blood pressure reasonable despite a higher than normal reading yesterday at the hospital. If you're curious, I'm also on perindopril and statins.

One o'clock and a trip to the dentists for a major filling. I've gone private because the place I went to before just couldn't fit fillings that would stay in and the one I was having done today -a molar- had caused particular problems. Needless to say, it cost a lot more than the other place, but you get what you pay for and in this case it was a completely rebuilt filling that will stay in.

Saturday morning (today) and I picked up a 4-month old grey tabby tom kitten who was just too lively for the elderly couple who'd adopted him. In the house he was friendly but got a bit of a shock when he found himself bundled into a cat carrier and taken somewhere strange.

While at Carole's I got a call from Susan to say that an ex-helper of ours, Ian F, had been taken into hospital at four in the morning and I had to go and collect his house keys as he fostered, pretty much on a permanent basis, two medium size and enthusiastically friendly dogs. Later we learned that Ian had to have an operation from which he's now recovering. No details as yet but I doubt if he'll be back home for a while. Susan and I fed the dogs and gave one his medicine but after that Phil and Andrea will be looking after them.

We've been having a promotion at Pets At Home, a pet supply shop which very kindly offered to help Animal Krackers, with a tombola and stuff like that. Susan has been ferrying people and prizes there for the last two days. We'd finished seeing to Ian's dogs and had just arrived at Phil's to drop off the keys when the van decided to conk out. It's now at a garage awaiting (I think) a new starter motor and will be effectively off the road until Thursday at the least. Bummer.

So, not the best of weeks all things considered.

CATS IN A BASKET

This is a bit of a miscellaneous collection of photographs with some brief explanatory details for those which need them. First off- cats in a basket!

 

A feral cat in a crusher cage at the vets where he'll be neutered and later released back where he came from.

Kittens! You've seen them before but now they're a week or so older than the last time and just as cute.

Last night Carole was asked by the police to take in a cat which had been found with her owner who had been dead for a week. According to his landlord he'd been suffering from Hepatitis B and Carole had wanted her checked out by the vet. No idea how old she is -my guess was 8 but she could easily be older. Despite being trapped for a week she doesn't seem to have lost any weight -she's quite heavy- and seems in good condition, though her teeth and gums need work. Curiously in both appearance and manner, she's quite similar to Lotus, the gentle old girl Susan and I have taken in recently; her fur is much softer though.

And lastly a photo of our van with donations I'd just picked up.