Show Me Your Scars Video

The Cat List

I have a long long list of cats needing fixed.

Millersburg Country Colony: 2 feral kittens and one adult male left to catch. This colony was referred to me by my vet.

BS Colony: Six tame kittens five of them male. (Five of these are headed to Wednesday's Corvallis Neuterscooter clinic, thanks to sponsorship by a generous donar). Three more kittens, just three weeks old, of feral adult black female, who also needs fixed, at BS colony. 1 orange tabby on white feral teen, back barn. I stumbled into this colony by running into the caregiver at my vets and also because a grass seed farmer, for whom I trapped over 200 cats, was talking to a 7-11 clerk who is the daughter of the caretaker of BS Overflow (see below). She told him about the unfixed cats next door and dear Roger told her "Oh I know someone who will take care of that real quick." Good old catman Roger.

BS Overflow: two buff and white older kittens (Shady and Scottie's siblings) and one medium hair white with some orange younger kitten (Aces' sibling). One, possibly two, buff and white adults. One gray tabby with white adult.

Oak Street, Albany: One tabby teen, sex unknown. Mother cat fixed as are two of the three kittens who were fixed at the August Neuterscooter clinic. This woman got my number by contacting the Sunday paper pet columnist. She cares for some of the strays while the mother cat and three kittens are cared for by a big time SafeHaven donar (according to his caregiver). I had high hopes that he and his caregiver were going to make a donation to help cover the fixes,(I asked and gave them my address) but that never happened.

Boondoggies Revisited: One black adult female and three 8 week old feral kittens. I met these folks when helping get all the cats out of Camp Boondoggle before the city bulldozed that homeless camp. Now this formerly homeless couple have jobs and are living in an apartment complex, but the complex has been over run in stray and abandoned cats. Because of their contact with me at Boondoggle, they now find me when more unfixed cats show at that complex, so they can be fixed.

Shed Garage Cats: four feral kittens of the mother, tame, who was dumped off on 99E, then promptly had kittens. I got the mother fixed already. This colony was referred to me by a grass seed farmer I have known for a long long time. I know him because I helped get about 20 cats living in his barn fixed years ago.

Talbot Troops: A calico mom and her three older kittens. All feral. This colony was referred to me by my vet.

Hate Thy Neighbor colony: At least 15 more adults and teens, perhaps more. Three older kittens are now contained, awaiting spay/neuter, in a large containment cage I provided. This colony was referred to me by a neighbor of the caretaker who is a friend of the BS Colony caretaker.

Pleasure Acres Colony, Corvallis: 8 kittens of spay/neuter age. (These kittens are scheduled to be fixed at the Neuterscooter clinic in Corvallis Wednesday thanks to subsidy provided by Poppa Inc. Plus, 3 or more six week old kittens running around inside the garage. Two adult males. Three very young kittens being fostered inside by colony caretaker. This colony was referred to me by KATA in Sweet Home.

Bike Fence Colony (almost forgot): I trapped three or four pregnant females there, and the adult male, plus two of the kittens already. But my vet said he didn't want to do the other three kittens until they were a little older. So, I still have three of the five black kittens to catch and get fixed. This is a Corvallis colony referred to me by Heartland Humane.

And more, including five here, who were scheduled to be fixed, but who broke in ringworm. Four of the five are over it (I hope) and ready to be fixed. I had hoped to get at least four of them done this Wednesday, including the highly sought after orange tabby kitten "Micah" formerly of the BS. I paid for two of them to be spayed this Wednesday myself, out of my pocket, at the Neuterscooter clinic.

Kittens can usually wait awhile, if they have to. I target adult females first, when access to fixing is limited. However, since it is difficult to find anyone in this area willing to do low cost early age spay/neuter, when the Neuterscooter comes to town, I utilize! That vet and her family are simply awesome and totally devoted to stopping feline overpopulation. And she does kittens.

So, I try to get in kittens, feral and tame, when the Neuterscooter is in town.

Changing a Neighborhood

Take a look at this photo. There are six cats in this photo, taken the first day I encountered the Hate Thy Neighbor Colony--last Tuesday. On the porch, there are four cats. In the back of the four cat pack, is a black and white male eating. He was fixed Wednesday. In the foreground on the porch, on the left, is a previously fixed orange medium hair male. Then there is a white and orange male. He was fixed yesterday. And there is a short hair orange tabby tux eating at the right. This cat is contained in a cage I provided the caretaker and will be fixed next week. Off to the left, below the porch on the sidewalk, are two cats, a black long hair kitten, now contained in the garage cage, to be fixed next week, and a black and white female, who was fixed yesterday. These porch cats, all unfixed on Tuesday, except the one orange male, are now fixed or contained and about to be fixed. A dire situation, while hard sometimes emotionally to tackle, can be quickly reversed, as will be the case here, as already is the case here.

Granted there are many more cats out back and living in the berry vines to catch, but I am taking a big bite out of the reproductive capacity of this colony very quickly and improving the health of the colony immediately. All the cats when fixed get wormed and treated for fleas, too. They almost immediately improve, and, once the entire colony is fixed, everyone's overall health will improve by leaps and bounds.

Ooops, actually there are seven cats in the photo. The medium hair old brown tabby female, at the bottom right, will also be fixed next week. The caretaker can pick her up.

Little Kitten Wasn't Going to Make It

The latest little Hate Thy Neighbor colony kitten I found last night, cold, starving and lost looking, isn't going to make it. She was dribbling diarrhea, yellow diarrhea. This is likely cocchidia, but could be giardia and is a prime kitten killer in such over run colonies. Diarrhea robs the kitten of fluids, strength and nutrition. They become ghost kittens. Dead kittens walking.

An adult cat might overcome giardia or coccidia. Some of the adults I've trapped there have had yucky diarrhea. I have been worming them, defleaing them, the whole bit. This has immediately improved their lot in life, but for a kitten, often help comes too late. The other three kittens had been getting much more food and care, because they were up at the porch of the caretakers trailer and because I intervened quickly when I saw them. Their stools were normal. They were flea and worm infested but improved immediately with treatment and more food suitable to kittens. This one and the one I found barely alive two days ago--too late for them.

D, the Corvallis woman who helped pay for Hope's care, took the little kitten up to Countryside this morning where her struggles will finally end. She had stopped by to pick up the money the cat blogospherees raised to help defray costs for Hope's vet care. So she stepped in again, to help, and took this kitten up to Countryside. She brought me food, too. Thank god for angels, for this woman, for the cat blogosphere folks, the Portland couple, and my CA friend, because otherwise, I don't know if I could take all this, day in and day out. Most of these folks, who provide encouragement also, I've never even met.

This is one sad colony. Three deaths already, in one week. I know the two kittens I couldn't catch, siblings of the tux who I found nearly dead in the berry vines, are dead now also.

I'm taking the living back in a few minutes. The living six, fixed now, who now won't go on to produce more ghost kittens. You people out there, you don't know the truth of what's going on for cats, the sad horrible truth of feline overpopulation. You have no idea. And if you are one of those people breeding your cat, for your own indulgence----STOP!

Hate Thy Neighbor Kittens, Now in Oakridge

Below are photos of the three Hate Thy Neighbor kittens, two boys and one girl, who today went to a fosterer who lives in Oakridge. The first photo is of the sixth cat fixed today. Photos of the other five fixed today, courtesy of Poppa Inc., are in previous post. Eleven cats now have been fixed from Hate Thy Neighbor, one trapped and euthanized and four kittens removed.Photo of the sixth cat fixed today.

Six Hate Thy Neighbor Colony Cats Fixed Today

Six more cats from the Street of Nightmares colony, a.k.a. Hate Thy Neighbor colony, were fixed today. Four of the six were females. The caretaker trapped the cats. This is a good thing.

After taking the cats to the vet this morning, I took the three kittens from Hate Thy Neighbor, down to Eugene, to the workplace of the Oakridge friend who agreed to foster them. Yahoo!

I came home and made two feral housing units for Hate Thy Neighbor Colony, after seeing the shivering kittens and wet cats there the night before. I delivered them to the colony after picking up the cats from the vet. At this time, I also found another little lost white and black kitten, roaming around, freezing and starving. I stuffed the kitten into my jacket and brought him/her home. He's in the cage on the heating pad, after eating supper, alone, and very sleepy. Wish I'd found that kitten before taking his siblings down to Eugene. I'd have takent this one, too.

So, six cats fixed from Hate Thy Neighbor, three kittens taken to permanent foster, and another found wandering in the grass out there. By permanent foster I mean that person will take responsibility for caring for the kittens, getting them fixed and adopting them out, too. Exactly the type of foster person who makes my heart sing!

Below are photos of five of the six fixed today:



Big adult torti!

Skin and Bones Kitten Dies

The little tux kitten, I found in the berry vines at Hate Thy Neighbor this a.m., has died. She was too far gone, too skinny, too cold. She too has left Earth.

Hate Thy Neighbor caretaker says he's buried probably 30 or more kittens who have died out there. He says the females have litters and no sooner do they have them but they are pregnant again. They're totally run down from this nonstop breeding and the kittens die, not only because the females abandon them when they become pregnant again, but because the mothers have nothing left to give them, of nutritional value, in their milk because they are so run down from constant breeding. The female fixed yesterday had four litters one summer alone. She is worn out.

The females don't have a choice. They are often raped, too, or surrounded by ten big males. If they didn't want to be pregnant again, they have no choice in the matter.

I start to think about Muslim men for some reason when thinking about the sad plight of female cats. Muslim men are doing morality patrols during Ramadan on the Gaza strip. What a bunch of bullshit. Their morality involves controlling women's behavior and bodies. That's the totality of their morality. What a pile of crap.

So anyhow, I had left traps for Hate Thy Neighbor caretaker and set some. Caught two more females and one orange and white that may be a female. He's also caught two black medium hair kittens. I told him they were too young for the vet I'm using but I'd get them fixed at the Neuterscooter Wednesday in Corvallis. We put them in the big cage of mine, now in his garage. They like it in there. I brought the three kittens home who are going to my friends for foster tomorrow.

I left the trapping of two or three more to him and came home very tired. Three kittens will leave for Oakridge tomorrow. One kitten left the planet today. Three to six more cats will be fixed from there tomorrow. Five, including three females, one of whom was pregnant, were fixed yesterday and one big sick male left the planet yesterday, too.

I've received no response from KAT about helping with this colony. I figure they'll not respond at all. That's just the way it is. I've become used to it. I'm also blocking their e-mail. It's just better that I have no contact with them, I think, because it's always me who ends up being asked to do something by them, and I get kind of used by others frequently. Not sure why. I guess I'm usable or something maybe. Better to get out of the way of it in benign fashion, is my feeling right now.

The little kitten I found in the berry vines died. I tried to save her. He tried to, also, tried to warm her up and feed her but it was too late. Her little body was skin and bones.

I'm giving all the girls out there a break and getting them fixed. And the males will get lives. They won't be slaves to their waving penises, won't be making life hard for the females, who do all the work, while the males chase their balls. I'm doing these males a favor. They'll get outside interests and maybe decide the world isn't about them afterall.

Fell Asleep on Couch Last Night

I ended up falling asleep on my couch last night. I'd eaten some vegetables, in a soup I tried to make. The vegetables were given me yesterday by a neighbor on the Hate Thy Neighbor street. The neighborhood isn't so bad there afterall.

I got sick, tried to vomit, didn't, but did fall asleep on my couch and didn't wake up until 6:30 a.m. I'd fallen asleep somewhere around 8:30 last night. I don't feel right this morning. Stomach hurts. Dizzy.

I'm doing way too much. I bathed all the ringworm kittens again yesterday and built a stray house, for the downtown Albany cats, and planted new grass in my yard. The old grass was destroyed by the fence builder. Contractors are messy people. Really messy. The yard also is still strewn in cast off cigarette butts from the contractor man.

I'm caring for the ringworm kittens, all the other rescues, plus had the three little kittens from Hate Thy Neighbor colony here to care for, plus took up seven cats to be fixed, had to deal then with the sick male, who the vet said was way too sick to be fixed, come home, try to take care of all the stuff here, clean traps, do laundry, have not even had time to shop for real food. I was really trying to make salsa out of the vegetables given to me, but in the end, was hungry and tried to eat that as soup, and I got sick. I don't know if it was related to that, or just exhaustion or what.

I get worried. I have not had an adoption in ages.

I need to get going, get the six cats fixed yesterday, back to their colonies. I'm taking the three little kittens back to the Hate Thy Neighbor colony caretaker hoping he'll take good care of them. That's all I can. I'm just totally exhausted. It's more than one person can do.

I need to shop for real food. I also need to get some clothes. Most of mine are rags now or don't fit anymore.

UPDATE: My Oakridge friend is going to foster the three kittens from Hate Thy Neighbor! Yahoo! I'm relieved. I just went out again, to return the five cats fixed yesterday and take the three kittens back, and found a lifeless kitten way back in the berry vines. The caretaker of the colony had said he saw some kittens back there last night, two sizes of kittens, apparently from two or more mothers. One kitten was shivering horribly. He gave them milk, which I have now told him he shouldn't be doing, and that cold kitten fell into the milk, getting wet, which added to its misery.

I saw the kitten back in the brush and thought it was dead. I leaned against the wire and barbed wire fence until I could just barely grab it, and it moved. It's severely hypothermic and starved nearly to death. It's little spine bones protrude up everywhere. I got it as warm as I could in my car, with the heater blowing on it, then gave it back to the caretaker and asked that he feed it warm broth using his kitten feeding tube. But when I left, the kitten was sitting in a box and he'd done nothing.

There were two others in a little better shape but not much better back in the berry vines, too. One is a little orange tabby. He was crying. I tried to get him, and got severely scratched up by the berry vines. I'm just too tired to be doing this. I felt bad. I still want to save them all. I so wish Linn County residents would just fix their pets.

I'd taken the colony caretaker out to the BS colony, him with his pickup, and he got the big cage of mine, that's been out there, to put in his garage. I'd asked if he could put all these kittens, including the three I returned, who had eyes gunked blind, into that cage, so they could be treated, better fed, and kept out of the weather.

Later on, he said they do just fine outside. And they were running around by the porch, cute as buttons and now with clear ungunked eyes, because they've been with me two days. That will change if allowed outside like that, and not treated. There was no sense argueing with him, although I did try to say "they're not doing just fine at all."

Obviously. When their eyes are swollen shut and full of pus. Duh--that's not doing just fine. Anyhow, they'll be gone tonight. Tomorrow my angel friend will take them on and I am very very grateful. The old man is very nice. I don't mean to be putting him down. He seems to be the only one on that street that gives a shit. Many of these cats are unfixed castaways from neighbors and neighbors kids.

When I get tired I want to lash out, blame someone for something, but I can't in good faith be lashing at a kind old man, the one who cares on the street of nightmares.

The Male Who Didn't Make It

The big orange male from the Hate Thy Neighbor colony was too sick to fix. In fact, he could barely breath and has been sick several months. Many of the other cats are also sick, but none as bad as he is. I took him back to the caretaker and asked what he wanted to do. He decided to take him in and have him euthanized. I spent half last night trying to get him better. I didn't bring any of these cats inside my house, but did hook up a vaporizer to an extension cord and steamed them, as I have before, in my car, to help loosen up the congestion. I gave them anti biotics in food and wormed and treated all for fleas. He let me clean his gunked over eyes and nose, too. But he still would breath with mouth hanging open and I knew there wasn't much hope for him.

The others from there being fixed today are two black and white big males, a black and white pregnant female, a calico, and a torbi tux female. Also being fixed, the orange tabby teen female from the BS colony. Six in all. And the seventh, this big orange guy, is leaving our midst today.

Curses to those who fail to provide the most basic of care to their pets, then abandon them like trash. Blessings to folks like this old man, feeding strays, as best he can.

Hate Thy Neighbor Colony--40 more unfixed Linn County Cats

Well, I'd put off checking out this huge colony, for two months because I have been involved in several colonies, one of them the BS situation, of over 70 cats, which I am still working.

I had heard from one neighbor of the older man who feeds the strays, who warned me on this street, everyone seems to hate everyone else. Seems that is fairly accurate.

The old man feeding strays is nice, but he too doesn't like some of his neighbors. They each wanted to tell me stories on the other. When I go back, I'm taking earplugs. I want to live in my bubble world, my very own creation world. I like my bubble world. In my world, people are nice to one another, bring each other cupcakes and pat each other's kids on the head.

After existing in that neigborhood for two hours, I dubbed the colony, the Hate Thy Neighbor colony.

These cats come from all over that he feeds. Many are very sick, herpes, which they'd likely get over with worming and flea treatment, which I'm providing, at my own expense of course. For all I know, this is a leukemia colony. I don't know that, but I have my suspicions.

He wanted to show me all the cats and talk about them. And I wanted to catch a few and get going. He showed me a kitten with its eyes completely gunked over, like it was nothing, and told me how the kitten could "feel" its way to the food, since it couldn't see.

I said "Can you get me a paper towel and some lukewarm water?" He went and got these things. I began to stroke the kittens eyes with the moist paper towel. Suddenly, a ton of pus shot out and dribbled down. The guy goes "Oh my." I said "Can you clean these kittens eyes three times a day and apply medicine I"m going to bring you?" He said he would.

In the end, I brought the three with me, because I trapped their mom. They're going back tomorrow, but I"m going to try to get him to take them inside the trailer, so they'll be warm and fed and treated for what ails them. They'll get better quicker, because I wormed them and treated them for fleas and gave them warm KMR and have them in a carrier cuddled next to a hot rice bag. I treated their eyes also and started them on anti biotics.

I don't know how you get to the point where you just watch kittens die of nothing, like that. I suppose he's overwhelmed, with so many cats and has no experience is why. But it is very difficult to see this kind of suffering going on.

These cats also come from several neighbors whose kids, grown, sort of, have brought cats back and kind of dumped them, unfixed. I could rename that street The Street of Nightmares and that too would be an accurate name, at least from the animals perspective. Seems nobody in those parts fixes their pets. It's sad and pathetic.

But this old man is kind. He was the man, which is a normal thing, and tried to grab a feral cat and bring it out to me by the scruff, when I was sitting in my car. Yes, it went ballistic and got away, as I was telling him not to be bringing that cat like that to my car because he was going to get torn up. All the men do this, and some women. I don't know why. It's getting scratched up for nothing. I think people want to help and also to kind of show off or something. I don't know. Anyhow, he was a good sport about it.

There are cats everywhere out there, many with pus dripping eyes and sneezes from chronic colds they pass around and around and back again and can't fight off because they're full of parasites.

I sat with the kittens in my car, waiting on the traps, even though it was mid afternoon and not good trapping time of day. I talked to them, lectured them, flea combed them and fed them more wet food. Two little girls and a sad eyed tux boy, about two or three weeks of age, but older than the hills already, by the hardness of their little lives.

I can't keep them here. I have too many here. I e-mailed KAT and asked if they would take them but got no response so far.

So the kittens will have to go back. I was hoping a couple of groups could all work together on that colony and get it done, so one person, me, doesn't have to do these huge ugly situations all alone, because they're so damn stressful. And often extremely sad.

I'm still working the BS colony. I got another one today, the orange female teen. That leaves the black adult female, and her three kittens, the three kittens of the now fixed white female, in the barn, an orange tabby on white teen in the back barn, two young tame orange tabby on white males up front, an 8 week old calico, an 8 week old black male and a 12 week old black male. Yup, that's it. Not counting the one getting fixed tomorrow, I have 13 cats left to get fixed out there, most being kittens. It'll come out to be close to 80 cats fixed there. There are still about five to catch at BS Overflow, next door. It's been a long summer there.

And now, hello to Hate Thy Neighbor colony. I can't even guess how many are out there. 30. 40. 150. I don't know. I do know I caught six adults today. Three females and three males. One of the females I targeted because she's extremely pregnant. I don't want to be trapping five more later on out there. So I'm hoping she can be done.

I'm sorry, but kitty abortion is way ok for me! I'm up for it. I love it. Preventing births saves lives and money. The kittens would not survive anyhow this late in the year and given the shape all these cats are in, so why not end it now for them?

Hey, I'm pro life and being pro life in the cat fixing world, means being pro kitty abortion. If you've been on the streets and seen the massive suffering caused by overpopulation, you would feel exactly the same way. If you're not just really stupid, that is.

Anyhow, I have three dominant males and three females, including the cat nursing the three kittens, so they had to come with me for the night.

Thor, of NW Corvallis

Thor is one of three kittens I took in from a NW Corvallis situation. They were born to a feral mother, whom neighbors trapped and took for spay. However, the woman feeding the cats, did not want the kittens to remain and was going to take them to the pound, where, as ferals, they would have been killed. Anyhow, they are now in foster in Corvallis. They had giardia, from drinking the bad water up there, contaminated with feces from raccon, deer and other animals, also fed by the woman. Thor and his brother, Berry, have tamed quickly, whereas Breezy, the girl, is still a little shy. All three are seeking homes. Thor is the only manx of the bunch.

Blogospherees Come Through

The cat blogospherees have come through. AGAIN. This time they raised money to offset costs associated with caring for the downtown colony injured eye mother and her ringworm kittens. I just got their package! Unbelievable that a troop of strangers, cat lovers all, would take the time to help Oregon strays. I don't believe any of the blogospherees are from Oregon. The organizer of the bunch, who creates online auctions to raise funds for cats in need, is from Texas! Texas!

They also helped with costs for another injured Albany cat and for an Albany cat with an autoimmune disease. That cat, Thrasher, although he also goes by other names, including Trooper, is doing great. I go see him periodically.

As for the mom cat with the injured eye, she had her eye removed in Corvallis. A Corvallis woman paid the bill and I actually have been unable to get ahold of her, or, at least, get a response about the blogospheree help on Hope's bill, arriving. So, yesterday, I went and bought a bunch of wet cat food, and dry adult and kitten food, with some of the donation money they sent. I bought five cans of anti-fungal spray also, and more anti fungal cream. This anti fungal stuff isn't cheap. I also bought two more bottles of the miconizole shampoo. With eight kittens to bathe every other day, I go through quite a lot of it.

This has been a tremendous help to me, living on no real money, and rarely getting any assistance, via cat food, supplies, etc. It's a constant struggle to survive.

I really love helping out cats. Tonight, just before I left to head up to pick up the cats being fixed, I got a call. They had just called my vets office and been referred to me. They have been feeding an old stray in Jefferson who is very very sick, they said, and needed put down, but they couldn't catch him, and he's turned agressive now, they said.

I went on up. I have trapped a lot of cats in downtown Jefferson. These folks, turns out, live only a couple blocks from where I trapped. I knew the cat all right. He was one I couldn't get a year and a half ago, when trapping strays fed by shop owner behind a vacant falling apart house. I rehomed some of the others. Nigel, a brown tabby, later died in his new home, apparently of pneumonia or collapsed lung. His mother is still alive and well in a Corvallis home.

I netted the gray male. They were going to take him either to the Salem Humane Society or to the vet in Jefferson. Then I saw a black and white cat run into their house and said "Who is that?" I thought I recognized him, too. "Oh, he adopted us about 8 months ago and we are going to be taking him up for shots and to be neutered this month." I said, "He won't need neutered. Did you notice an eartip, his right ear, cut straight across?"

They looked at each other. "We thought he'd been in a fight and lost part of his ear. Why, what does it mean?" And so, I told them the significance of a right eartip and I told them exactly when he was neutered and where and what I'd done for him then in addition, like worming and flea treatment and also that I was happy, very happy, to see him looking so good, and now with a home, too, a year after the fact.

Some days end like rainbows glowing, like beautiful sunsets, like meaning for your life.

Thank you blogospherees. All of you. Wherever you are. You are helping me. You are helping Oregon strays. I hope you know, we love you here.

Zabasearching the Numbers of People who call me Wanting Cate Hahn

So the lady who called today, acted like Cate should have immediately answered, like Cate does somehow get messages from this number forwarded to her. All the people calling for her lately, although giving different names, live on Santiam Bluffs Rd. How weird is that?

Now I'm thinking she used to live out there.

I called the number back, of the woman who called just moments ago wanting Kate Hahn, and got a man, who was nice, said she used to be a friend of a neighbor. I wanted to ask if the person who called here for Kate Hahn knew her, and if so, if she could ask her to give out her current phone number to people, so I wouldn't be getting all these calls everyday for Cate Hahn. He then said I should talk to the woman who just called this number--the neighbor, who was there. I could hear lots of people talking in the background and like the tinkling of plates.

He put the woman on. She was vicious. She said they'd just had funeral and I shouldn't be calling at this time (she's the one who called me wanting Kate Hahn) and I told her I was sorry, but I'm not psychic and how would I know that. She was meaner than mean and hung up on me.

Now I'm thinking, because of that woman calling, who lives out that way, and because of one other call I got, from the City of Millersburg water department, about an overdue water bill, that she used to live out that way.

I called Qwest again, because the calls just don't stop for Kate Hahn here, asking again what I might be able to do. They said I'd need to change my number. That is not a pleasant prospect, with all the work that entails.

But, I wonder about who got my old Corvallis number. So many people would call me, even though my number was unlisted, demanding help with cats. I pity the soul who ended up with my old number over there.

I'm just going to put another message on my answering machine stating "There are a lot of things I am, but one of them I am not, is Kate Hahn."

Five Cats Being Fixed Today

Five cats are up being fixed today, but the owner of two females took them in herself. I just ran into this woman last night who was looking for a place to get her cats fixed and told her about the Jefferson clinic. So took hers up this morning. The three I took in: two more adult females from the Corvallis colony. I started a little too late there last night, after the two males. Only one showed up, howevere, and late. I was startled to see yet another all black adult female, without an eartip--the third, so I trapped her. Then I trapped the medium hair black female too and called it a night. I've trapped 11 cats there now. Of the 11, 9 have been females. I think I'm down to just the two males, in the adult population now. But there are a host of kittens still to get rounded up and fixed.

The third cat is the second of three fed by neighbors up in N. Albany. They're half tame and apparently were either abandoned by someone who moved or dumped. The caretakers pay full cost of the fixing and shots for these cats.
N. Albany kitty.
Another female from the Corvallis colony.
The third black female I've trapped at the Corvallis colony.

Maryann and Scottie

Photos of Maryann and Scottie, neither with obvious signs of any ringworm, the kittens Heartland had taken in from me over a month ago, who would have been killed. They're doing great. Today they'll get their second anti fungal bath. I am as well spraying them down with anti fungals, just in case. They're so happy.

I went and caught two more adult females at the colony in Corvallis last night. There are two big males who come through, but only one showed up last night, and near the time I was leaving. There are also 8 more kittens needing fixed, besides the ones now in the caretakers bathroom who were being stolen back and forth between two warring females.

Meeko's Adoption Video

Tail Wagging Kitty

Nestling into the cats for a Nap

It's hard to get a place to take a nap on my own bed sometimes. You know where my quilt comes from, the blue one? It comes from way back when I lived at the Julian Hotel in Corvallis, a highrise low income slum, basically. I found that sleeping bag with flannel lining in the dumpster out back. I fished it out, washed it twice and I've had it ever since.

Maryann and Scottie, About to Be Killed At Heartland

I received no call from Heartland warning me they were about to kill Maryann and Scottie. Maryann and Scottie, both from the BS colony, were taken in by Heartland over a month ago. They were under a no kill order, as are all cats taken in from other rescues. The no kill order means, that if Heartland decides they need to kill them for any reason, space concerns or otherwise, they will call me first, so I can come pick them up so the kittens won't be killed.

I had paid for their fixes myself, at the Neuterscooter clinic in early August held down in Springfield. Heartland took them in two days after that.

Seems Heartland had a ringworm outbreak of their own, starting a couple of weeks ago or maybe even longer. They have killed cats and kittens showing any signs of ringworm, as a result. Well, today it was Maryann and Scottie's turn to be killed. Maryann has only one slight spot and Scottie has none, but he was on the chop block because he was in with Maryann.

Ringworm spores can be airborne. In shelters, ringworm can spread, especially through the kitten population, by potential adoptors, holding and petting a contaminated kitten, then going on to pet and hold others. It can actually be brought in by potential adoptors, too. The spores can be carried on clothing of staff or just be circulating in the air. It is difficult to rid a cattery or shelter of the spores, but persistence and isolating affected cats, along with diligent cleaning, with a %10 clorox in water, can accomplish this.

It is much easier for large shelter with stainless steel cages and an isolation area than it is for someone like me. And yet, the kittens I have with ringworm, brought in by the kittens from the injured mother cat, are quickly recovering. And I'm one person.

I don't have volunteers helping me bathe the kittens or do all the laundry, which is another thing one must do, to clean the environment, persistent washing of the kittens bedding, to eliminate any active spores. But it also takes the will to do it, instead of taking the easy way out--killing the cats and kittens. It takes a respect for life, and a determination to honor that respect.

I ran into someone who has gone through volunteer training at Heartland in the last couple of weeks and she mentioned the volunteer trainer had said that a room, formerly full of kittens and a couple of adults, was empty due to ringworm. She had asked me "What do you think happened to all those kittens that were in that room?" I said "Heartland likely killed them. Ringworm takes a month to get over. That right there makes anybody who gets it a financial liability."

Ringworm is unsightly but benign, easy to treat, and extremely common in Oregon. It's a fungus, a mold, for gosh sakes. Half of Oregon is moldy. That's why our forests and lawns are full of mushrooms, too.

Anyhow, after she mentioned that I couldn't sleep at night, fearing for Maryann and Scottie. Today, I went to Heartland just to check on them. They were in a covered carrier together outside of the euthanasia room. Oh sure, Heartland staff scrambled when I came in the door, to say someone should have called me or was supposed to have called me. But no one called me.

It was chance (fate?) that I walked into Heartland in time to save their lives from the kill needle because one of them has a teensy bit of ringworm, while the other has none. Good enough for a death sentence at Heartland. Two beautiful kittens.

Resentment built up inside me. And anger. They've become so callous to casual killing for any little reason, they would have thought nothing of killing sweet Maryann and Scottie. Except they would have had to face my wrath. They're lucky they didn't kill them. Apparently, many other kittens and cats were not as lucky, and had nobody watching out over them.

I won't take in more kittens to Heartland. I have no adoption venue which is extremely problematic. Cats and kittens who are seen, are adopted in higher numbers than if I just run ads or have my petfinder site.

But I'm not going to risk the lives of kittens I rescue by taking them to Heartland. I can't sleep nights wondering if they're honoring the no kill order on file with kittens I turn over, so they can be seen by potential adoptors.

Now I know they don't honor those no kill orders, because I got no call about Maryann and Scottie's impending deaths. No call.

Now I wonder how many other cats and kittens, whom I've taken there to have a better chance at adoption, under no kill order, have actually been killed instead. Makes me sick to my stomach to think about it.

Fortunately, I haven't turned over many to Heartland.

So I don't know whether to put Maryann and Scottie in the ringworm kitten room. Most of the kittens in the garage room are now almost over it. Even Aces, who caught it last and worst, is already starting to grow back hair on the spots where he had "rings".

I am bathing them three times a week and applying anti fungal cream. They're looking fine. I think I will bathe Maryann and Scottie first, then put them out with the others, in the garage room. They're going to love seeing their buddies again.

After bathing Maryann and Scottie, in miconozole anti fungal shampoo, I can't actually find any ringworm on them anywhere. I was told by Heartland that Maryann had a tiny rough spot on the side of one ear that was ringworm. I can't find that either. Maybe they are killing all the kittens feeling that will contain the ringworm outbreak. These kittens have no obvious ringworm anywhere. Unbelievable.

Knee Pain Back

Last night, when I finally got home, I was going to take it easy, watch something on TV, go to bed early. I no sooner sat down on the couch, finally, after doing all the evening cleaning, than my right knee began to hurt badly, right on the top of it. Then I fell asleep on the couch.

When I woke up, it was midnight. I moved to my bed, but my knee hurt very badly again, not just on the top, but behind my knee if I moved it. I propped it on a pillow with ice bags and finally fell asleep. This morning, it hurts more behind my knee than in the front.

I had panicked thoughts last night, of being unable to walk, and thinking of all the work that needs done around here, to care for all these rescued cats, every single day. I've been panicky lately anyhow. I can't seem to adopt any of them out. I run ads on craigslist and post fliers everywhere. They're on petfinder. Yet I rarely get a serious adoptor phone call.

So I am panicked all right. I can't add all these kittens and teens to my permanent cats here. It's too much for me, too expensive, too much work, and too cat crowded. I don't think the cat yard here will ever be completed. It's very doubtful, so the cats are confined to this small house, and it's hard.

I can't compete well with the shelters and rescues who have adoption venues where the cats can be seen. I have to figure out how to do that.

I don't have help. I don't have people I can call if I can't walk due to a bad knee to do the work here to care for and clean up after the rescued cats. The thing I have to do is find the kittens and teens homes.

Today's Catch

Six cats are up being fixed today. Five will be fixed courtesy of Poppa Inc. funding. These are five more cats from the Corvallis colony. They are cared for by a low income family with four kids of their own and only one breadwinner amongst them. In other words, money is tight and so Poppa Inc. steps in to help. Yay for Poppa Inc.!

The sixth cat is a male stray, one of three fed by neighbors in N. Albany, which is wonderful, as long as they are fixed, so he and his cohorts will be fixed. He's up first!
Drop trapping at the Corvallis colony last night. I was trying to target "keepers"--cats four months or older, preferably adults. The vet I am using today only fixes cats four months or older. So, anyone under four pounds, I'd have to "throw back" as underweight catches.
Teen gray male, up being neutered today.
This adult black kitty is half tame and gorgeous and being fixed today.
Brown tabby teen, up being fixed today. Unknown sex.
An older teen black tux, unknown sex, up being fixed today.
Another adult gray, unknown sex, up being fixed today.
And this is the oddball of the bunch. Not an oddball really, he's just not from the Corvallis colony, but rather a N. Albany boy. There are two more cohorts of his who will be caught and fixed from that place.

Drop Trapping Feral Cats for TNR (trap/neuter/return) Video

I didn't do a great job with my digital still camera on the video setting tonight. In my defense (over poor video quality)---it's a bit of a challenge to try to take a video with a digital still camera while also transferring wild cats out of a drop trap to live traps. I trapped five more tonight, at the colony in Corvallis, nine altogether so far, in two days. There are three adults to go, two of whom are males and one a female with newborn kittens. There are asundry teens and kittens also to catch.

Four Cats Being Fixed Today--From New Colony in Corvallis

Yesterday, I returned the four cats fixed on Monday, which included the last cat left unfixed, the calico mother, from the downtown Albany colony, and three from Eugene, including the black mother and two of her three feral kittens, owned by the brother in law of the folks who adopted Purrly.

I got 13 cats in total fixed, through Poppa funds, from the downtown Albany colony. Three were big males, one of whom has turned delightfully tame and healthy and hangs out now, on the good neighbor's porch. He's a medium hair black and white boy. The two other males show up for food, although the orange one now rarely shows. The Siamese is a constant there for food. He was abandoned by a woman when she moved, along with other cats, who lived in the same little house as the tenant, who came after her, a man, who abandoned Hope when he moved out, the mom cat who ended up so badly injured.

So there were the three big boys, all now healthy looking and much happier. Then there were the girls---Hope with her three kittens, an adult torti, with two kittens, and the calico, with four very flea ridden kittens. All three adult females were fixed. Hope is no longer there of course. Also, not one of the kittens had to remain living in that yard. The good neighbor found a home for the torti's two kittens. I took on Hope's three plus the last little Siamese kitten from the calico mother is still here. Keni, Poppa's president, is fostering the calico's other three kittens, including the gorgeous Flamepoint Romeo. Hope is still in foster in Corvallis. So, as a result, 15 cats are fixed (the couple who adopted the torti's two kittens got them fixed) and 10 never returned.

For today's fixes, I went to a new colony in Corvallis. There are 25 or 30 unfixed cats there. I used my drop trap because I wanted to fix first only adult females. The caretaker pointed them out. I put a large amount of wet food mixed into dry food on a newspaper in the middle back of the drop trap, which is a large net on a frame propped up with a stick. A string is attached to the stick. A zillion little gray and black kittens and teens swarmed the food immediately. But also, a couple of the adults I wanted were under the net box eating. I yanked the string and trap dropped.

One must then go forward, cover the frame of the net box with a sheet, to calm the cats, and hold it down while the cats in the framed net bounce around.

There is a wood panel door on one end of the front of the trap that one can lift up. I put the back of a transfer trap up to that door, and open the live traps' transfer door by lifting it up simultaneously with the wood panel door on the drop trap. This allows one or two cats out of the drop trap into the tomahawk live trap, then I lower both doors, keeping some cats in the drop trap while one or two are now in the live trap. I can pick and choose who I want to keep.

Most of the cats in the first drop were not "keepers", and I would just let them out of the live trap, then repeat the procedure for each cat held beneath the square of the framed net drop trap, until I had let one out into the live trap I wanted to keep for fixing.

Then I would just switch to another trap against the drop traps door. I caught four adults this way, very quickly, in two string yanks, while being able to quickly release kittens and teens, who could wait to be fixed.

Below are the four "keepers" from last night's drop trapping, up being fixed today. The caretaker says they're all females, but I"m not so sure the all black isn't a male. Will find out soon enough, when I pick them up. UPDATE: The black short hair is a male. The other three are females. The medium hair gray with white chest and curled tail, was pregnant.

Almost Human!

I'm back online. The last two days, I became obsessed with fixing my computers insanity. My brother got me high speed internet. As a birthday present, he offered cable or internet. I at first chose cable then requested he change it to high speed internet. I can watch cable shows online with high speed, if I want to watch them, I figured.

Anyhow, with the internet was supposed to come a free security package. I have tried and tried over a couple of months, to enroll, but I never get the confirmation e-mail.

Well, out of the blue, yesterday, it arrives. I thought the heavens had opened and God himself had zapped that e-mail into my inbox. Woohoo!

So I try to download the coveted package.

I'm no geek. I try to feign geeklike knowledge, but actually have none.

So, yesterday, when attempting the download, the site makes me go through all sorts of hoops, like upgrading Windows updates, and removing my free firewall program, which I thought I did. But after that, no web connection. I could maybe get two minutes, before no more web movement would be allowed.

Since then, I have spent countless hours on the phone with my service provider. Countless frustrating hours. Once, I was put on hold by a service provider support tech for a lengthy period. I was listening to the hold music and then suddenly the music died. And I got disconnected. I wanted to smash the phone or some, any high tech device at that point.

OK. I wanted to kill my computer. I wanted its death to be terribly violent. Just tossing the tower into the garbage wasn't good enough. I wanted to drag it behind a pickup or attach that tower to the end of a big chain. Then I would swing that chain with the computer on the end, around and around, gaining momentum, and then let it fly, flinging it into one of my internet providers' service trucks. I could visialize this act. But visualizing this just made me start giggling in delight. My anger faded. I went off and trapped some cats over on highway 20 outside Corvallis.

I came home and gave the whole thing another shot.

This time, I got yet a different support tech at the service provider. He wasn't really very fluffy, but he told me he couldn't get through to my modem, that something was blocking. I said "Well it's not a firewall because I had to remove that. Your free download program demanded I do so," I added with huff and puff.

"Well, I don't think it's off your computer," he said, "because I can't get through." I quickly went to add/remove programs. Sure enough, unbelievably, there it was.

I sputtered "Why is this on here? I removed it yesterday. The popup box on the uninstall wizard said "Uninstall successful. Your computer will need to restart to reflect these changes."

Service provider techie said "Sometimes they don't unstall properly because they don't want removed." I uninstalled from a different angle, from my program files. Then I said "How could this make a difference? I've had this free firewall on here forever and never had any problems with it. Yesterday was when everything changed and that's when I removed it."

He said firewall's can prevent web browsing if the security levels are set too high. So, I'm thinking this is scarey stuff. First of all, when I tried to remove it, the program said it was removed. Yet it wasn't. And, because that program felt someone was trying to kick it out or kill it, that program reacted like a human---defensively, and upped security levels on its own, setting them so high it could have killed its own host and purpose for living. How stupid and scccaaaarreeeeeyyyy! That firewall was alive!

Not anymore! Hahahahaha. Gone. History. (probably lurking on my hard drive looking for a way to resurrect!)

So then I called the download company and got Victor in the Philippines. At first, I was kind of the bad customer, but he was really nice. Yes, I tried to get the free package again, after getting connected again, and again they stated I would be sent the confirmation e-mail, and again, I didn't get it. I told Victor all this and said I suspected the CEO's of my service provider and of the free package security company are in cahoots. That's right--cahoots. The service provider gets more customers with the free security offer and they never actually provide it, while the security software company CEO gets kickbacks from the service provider for every customer signing on because of the free security package. What a deal.

Then I told Victor, "I know you can't say a thing because our phone conversation is being recorded for training purposes." Victor giggled. I like guys who giggle. We were instant friends. Well, not really. I did tell him if I could hug him for fixing everything, which he did, very professionally, over about 15 minutes, I would.

He said the confirmation e-mails were not getting to the service providers customers due to a machine error. Yeah right. I said "I know. You have to say that. I'm supposed to believe it." He giggled again. Then he said "I'm going to manuelly activate your account then walk you through the download to make sure you get it and don't have to wait for the (giggles) confirmation e-mail. I LOVE VICTOR FROM THE PHILIPPINES! I love him. I do.

I'm web connected again and fully protected. My computer is wearing a condom thanks to Victor from the Philippines.

Now I"m going to bed. I am once again at peace with this beeping blinking world. At least for now. Tomorrow, I don't know what gadget I might destroy.

Bathing Fungi Kittens Video and I Don't Want a New Doctor

I've been bathing the Fungi Kittens this morning. They have to be bathed three times a week. It's a pain in the butt, just a lot more work, but there's not much else I can do at this point.

The woman called who is helping people who had the doctor I had, over in Corvallis, find new doctors. My former doctor is leaving for a new job in another state. There are six doctors in Corvallis taking new patients, all at one clinic, and one doctor taking new patients in Albany. I don't know anything about any of these people, is the thing. The ones in Corvallis are all at one clinic.

I have had bad luck at that clinic, but not as a patient, except for long ago, when I briefly went to a doctor who practiced there who I considered crazy later on, for the crap he pulled. He also ended up in the paper for allegedly doing something to a patient, but was never charged. A friend of mine brought me the paper article when I was in a mental hospital, knowing I might enjoy reading it, (and I did) because of what I went through with him. I don't know if he is still there or not. The bad experiences have been in taking other people there--the incredibly long waits in the waiting room, way past appointment time and I'm talking way way past appointment time. Maybe that's changed by now.

Or, she said, I could just wait it out, and hope they find a replacement for my doctor at the clinic where I have been going. I don't know what I should do. It's stressful, finding a new doctor. At least I have an option to see a doctor, if I find one. I hate it that my doctor is leaving.

I hurt my leg yesterday. It doesn't hurt if there's no weight on it, but if I kneel, like on my car seat, across my right leg below the knee, the pain takes one's breath away. Or, if I'm sitting, with weight on my right leg and bend my foot up, gawd it hurts, sharp and needley pain. I hope I didn't crack my leg or something or pull something off.

I decided to start exercising and jogged in place for awhile yesterday inside here. Nothing hurt then, but today I can hear a snapping sound in the middle of my lower right leg, just a little sound, but it really hurts. It's hard to know if it's something serious or if I should just ignore it and it will go away. I don't want to make something worse. Last thing I need is a hairline fractured leg that turns into a major fracture, or some ligament or tendon pop off. Like what would I do then, trying to take care of all these cats on one leg, you know? Be even harder. I know that for sure.

My computer is trying to crash. When it starts this up, it's usually one or two days before THE END. Computers are nice but they take way too much maintenance. I'm no geek.

Dog Defends Newly Adopted Kitten as Hers Video

Fungi Kitties. Want to Adopt a Ringwormed Kitten?

Won't you adopt a fungi kitty please, oh please? I have plenty to spare. You could adopt one or more Fungi Kittens and when your child becomes a Fungi Kid from handling Fungi Kitten, you could take him and the kitten, to your child's school to use as teaching aids. First, you could show the children mushrooms and explain they are really fungi. "See," you could say, popping a mushroom into your mouth, "there's nothing to fear from fungi. They're greeeaat!"

Then, you could pull out a kitten! At first the kids would be delighted. Then they'd pull back in horror, seeing the hair loss, the crusty sores, and general misery of the fungi kitten. You could then say, "But wait, it's harmless and common, although perhaps unsightly. See, my son has it too!"

Then you pull out your son, part his hair and show the circular patches so charactistic of the beloved ringworm fungi, of various species. The kids will go "ooooohhh, YUK!" and cringe in horror. Then you can laugh, maybe, at least.

I'm trying to laugh. I have a lot of Fungi Kittens.

Do you want to adopt a Fungi Kitten? They're rare you know, so I'd have to charge you lots of money to adopt one. And maybe I'd provide you with a tube of Lamasol and maybe I wouldn't.

But please, come see the Fungi Kittens! Bring your camera and your wallet and the carrier you will need to take your new Fungi Kitty home.

Fungi Kitten Aces.
Fungi Kitten Jiggles fungi ridden feet.
The last calico standing! This is a very angry calico, the last cat needing caught at the ringworm and flea ridden downtown colony where the devoted mother lost her eye to blunt force trauma. When I picked her up tonight, after the caretaker called to say they'd trapped her, they told me two of them had caught ringworm, most likely from petting their own cats, who hang out in the same tenant house yard as the strays. It's a moldy rotten yucky flea ridden little slum, I tell you. Nobody should live there, not people, not kids, not pets, not strays, and it's not even fit for rats. The slumlord is the only creature on Earth fit to live in such a place. So let him live there. Lock him inside and throw out the key, I say!

Anyhow, in the messages left by the good neighbor in regards to catching the calico, they said she was extremely upset in the trap and banging against the sides horribly. I see she has a bloody tongue or lip. I cant' tell which and I'm hoping it is just from banging against the trap and that she doesn't have stomatitis. That would complicate this compicated situation even further.
I caught the calico's fourth and last kitten about ten days ago. She was flea ridden--infested with thousands of fleas. I'm not kidding there. Thousands. The calico is, also, but the first thing I did, when I picked her up was to apply Revolution. This will make her feel much better, ridding her of those awful blood suckers, the fleas, and earmites and roundworms.

Linn County Citizens Air Thoughts on Homeless People

Scroll down to the newpaper letter response comment in bold, to see what I believe is a call to harm "bums" by one poster.


A letter to the editor by an Albany woman:

The day I saw three bums

The day after Labor Day I was driving down Waverly on my way to Costco. There on the nicely manicured lawn of the First Assembly were three homeless bums. They were eating and had a half-gallon jug of something in a milk bottle. When I returned from Costco I noticed the men were gone but had left all their trash and milk bottle. I really don’t think it is First Assembly’s job to clean up after these slobs. They should be escorted to a shelter and if they don’t stay there maybe they will be one of the first clients to the new mental facility to be built.

The citizens of Albany are proud of their town, but we have to get rid of the spoilers. If you want to see a homeless man run, offer him a job.

Their excuses are quite unique. They all get checks from the government, but they would sooner spend their money on booze and lottery tickets than a place to live.

Margaret Hanson, Albany


Charles wrote on Sep 11, 2007 5:28 PM:

" Bravo Margaret Hanson, great letter. I couldn't agree more. Albany rolls out the red carpet for homeless people and that's the very reason that we have a so-called homeless problem. I have lived a lot of places in my life and I've never seen a city with so many homeless people in their 20's and 30's who are perfectly able to work. Lazy, lazy, lazy. Sometimes in today's climate of political-correctness you can't call something what it really is. You're right Margaret, they're bums, plain and simple. "



Kristi B. wrote on Sep 11, 2007 5:55 PM:

" Margaret Hanson, While I agree people should find a place for their trash I think your thoughts about homeless people are too sweeping and narrow. Sure there are homeless people who don't want to work. There are also many who are struggling with mental illness and substance abuse issues. Where to dispose of garbage is the least of their concerns. "


Barefoot wrote on Sep 11, 2007 8:25 PM:

" What makes you think they were homeless bums? that they got checks from the government? Many homeless have nothing to do with shelters, and many homeless aren't bums. "


Bums wrote on Sep 12, 2007 4:39 AM:

" Bums are certainly not the only ones who litter. I see people tossing trash from their cars, and dumping their own trash at the recycling center. People in really fancy cars drive up and unload their trash at the recycle center. It's unbelievable. I took photos one day of the pickups and minivans and SUVS rolling in to unload their trash at the recycling center, which is illegal. The paper should do that. Most homeless people do not get any government checks. The ones who do, are on disability, and some on disability are on disability from military service. "


DDJ wrote on Sep 12, 2007 12:36 PM:

" Hey Margaret: Your letter is idiotic! When you were at Costco, did you partake of the free samples? Did you properly dispose of you refuse or did you just leave it in the cart, like the other lazy people? You said you thought the guy was drinking milk, but bash him for only buying liquor and lottery tickets. You know nothing about this guys spending habits or where he gets his money. Maybe he picks up popcans??? every think of that? "


Genuine Democrat wrote on Sep 12, 2007 2:04 PM:

" Don't pick on the housing challenged! They're people too, you Bushlerites! "

Patience wrote on Sep 12, 2007 2:53 PM:

" Margaret Hanson, you sound like you might be one of those who "proclaim to be a Christian." If you are, then why the bad rap for those who appear to be unfortunate?? Is this how Jesus treated these people?? I think not!!!!! Sure is funny how many proclaimers we have, but when it comes down to it, they forgot the word of God and the teachings of Jesus. Sounds like the Republican Party today!! "Be ye not just hearers of the word, be ye also doers of the word." Doesn't sound like you know what a "doer," is.. "

just a thought wrote on Sep 12, 2007 5:14 PM:

" Perhaps the "bums" are people who have some sort of mental health issue. This population has been underserved, overlooked, ignored and misunderstood for far too long. (There, but for the grace of God go I!) "


Dangerous Dave wrote on Sep 13, 2007 7:51 AM:

" Patience, your whole argument rests on whether or not she is a Christian. In the end, you don't have much of an argument other than the fact that you seem to be ready to pounce on anyone for being a hypocrite, you're just waiting to find out if they indeed own a Bible. Did it occur to you that the fellows she was writing about were likely perfectly able bodied men? Should we be stealing from the pockets of working single mothers and retirees on fixed incomes to help out those who will not help themselves? What does the Bible say about leaching off of others? There's more than one time in the Bible where Jesus scolded people that were expecting him to serve their needs where they could have served themselves. Granted, I have no problem with charity, being a giver myself, I just wouldn't tell anyone else that they need to live up to a standard that I see fit. "

Why profile wrote on Sep 13, 2007 6:19 PM:

" I am trying to figue out how Margarete knew the men leaving their trash were bums, were they wearing a sign that said so? Just because someone is dressed in work clothes does not make them a bum or homeless, or a mental case. If you examine the facts, the crime these men committed was littering. Marge must of never been down on her luck or put in a hard days work on a labor intense job, or her judgement might of been different. Compassion is lacking here. Some folks live in glass houses "


And then the next day, after another letter appeared in the paper, that said some percentage of "bums" were Viet Nam vets, these comments appeared beneath, in the paper's blog section:


Astonished wrote on Sep 13, 2007 1:04 PM:

" Ms. Kizer- Where in the heck did you get that statistic? How about this, 42% of all statistics are made up on the spot...Thanks for the laugh. MAKE TRADE FAIR AND POVERY HISTORY. "

Charles wrote on Sep 13, 2007 3:43 PM:

" Ms. Kizer, care to cite a source for that stat? Because I think you made it up. Have you seen how many homeless people around Albany are in their 20's and 30's? How could any of them be Vietnam vets? And even if a large percent of homeless people are veterans, so what? What difference does that make? Does military service make it okay to litter (the original letter writer's complaint)? Of course not. It's just another excuse for people to be lazy and live off the public goodwill. IF YOU CAN WALK AROUND ALBANY ALL DAY WITH A HEAVY BACKPACK THEN YOU CAN WORK. PERIOD. "



just a thought wrote on Sep 13, 2007 4:46 PM:

" Where does one apply for the job where all you have to be able to do is walk around with a heavy back pack all day? My son is disabled and could do that. If it doesn't involve reading, math, thinking on his feet, listening to, understanding or remembering directions, communicating a thought or need or interpreting facial expressions, gestures and other body language, basically just walking a set path the same each and every day, day in and day out and pay a living wage, my son is the man for you. You should make up flyers and post them (use pecs though!) because I bet there are many people out there who are physically healthy enough to walk around carrying heavy back packs and have "hidden" disabilities who would love that job. I do understand they could not be confined to a small area (say a corner) and wave a sign --THAT would be a nusiance right? .....anyway, homeless people aren't the only ones who litter. If that were true there would not be all the debris around the Lebanon Wal-Mart parking lot and across the highway from the parking lot. That is an eyesore and should not be tolerated. Wal-Mart should quit having "greeters" who stand there and gripe about their jobs to each other and should put them on litter patrol. "



Factual or Opinion (bums) wrote on Sep 13, 2007 6:31 PM:

" Did anyone ask the men littering if they were bums, received state aid or if they were just on a lunch break. Drinking milk probally means they are bums yeah wrong. Litters yes: bums not enough facts, only an opinion "



No more bums wrote on Sep 13, 2007 6:41 PM:

" Personally I have reached the top of my tolerance level for bums and it's time to start doing something about it. They seem to be everywhere these days. They are moving beyond a nuisance to a threat, and no one in public safety or government is going to do anything about it. Ask and they will tell you. Please do your part to help remove the problem in whatever way you feel OK about. "



Charles wrote on Sep 13, 2007 7:45 PM:

" To just a thought: wow, that's quite a listing of afflictions. Do you really think that all the homeless people in Albany are physically or mentally disabled? I had no idea that the guys standing around outside the Helping-Hands shelter chatting with each other and smoking cigarettes were disabled. I was completely unaware that the guys I see walking around downtown in the morning, and then see again later using the Internet in the library were handicapped. If I guy can walk around, check his Email, and communicate with other people, what do you think is wrong with him? I'm sorry your son is disabled, really, but I don't see how that makes all homeless people disabled. Or maybe you just took the last sentence of my rant a little too literally. If I recognize that some homeless people have problems (self inflicted and otherwise) that prevent them from holding a job, will you recognize that some are simply lazy and CHOOSE not to work? "



ust a thought.....don''t waste your breath wrote on Sep 13, 2007 10:49 PM:

" These people do not care. Some of them are alcoholics. Some of these posters who are the meanest about the bums are exceedingly heavy drinkers, too. They will not listen to anything. I meant a homeless man, who first broke his leg on the job. He worked construction. He then was laid off while his leg healed. His girlfriend became tired of caring for him, and kicked him out, with his tools. He hid them, but someone dug them up, because they'd been watching him, and stole them. he told me he'd also been down on homeless folks. And suddenly, he found himself homeless. His second night sleeping out, he was assaulted by local teens. He couldn't believe what had become of him, he told me. Here he was, limping along bloody, without a possession to his name, "one of them". He owes now back child support and taxes. If he works, it will be taken from his check. He's pretty much given up, due to his age, and the fact his leg never healed right. He cant' figure a way out. These things can happen to pretty much anyone. "



A. Sprague wrote on Sep 14, 2007 1:35 AM:

" The war ended 34 years ago using it as an excuse for poor behavior and disrespect to others is unreasonable. It is worse than unreasonable, it is a lie. As long as we continue to give them free food and money they have no reason to improve themselves. As a veteran of viet nam I am aware of the fraud commited by people claiming to be veterans, demand their DD214 before believing them. "

Momogone wrote on Sep 14, 2007 8:12 AM:

" Sorry just a thought but that situation you described can not happen to just anyone. If you hurt your leg on the job and can't work due to your injury, you get workers' comp. If you get laid off from your job, you get unemployment insurance. If you haven't been able to keep a job for more than a couple of weeks and rely on a girlfriend that you just met two weeks ago to support you, you are going to get booted out on your posterior if you are a slacker for too long. Yes, there are bums and there are disabled people and they aren't in the same subgroup. "

just a thought wrote on Sep 14, 2007 12:09 PM:

" Many people who are working and barely making a living wage could get workers come or unemployment and be in that situation. Sorry to burst your bubble, but neither of these programs pay your FULL salary. If someone was having trouble making ends meet and found their income slashed by 1/3 they could indeed find themselves in big trouble. "