Thursday, January 30, 2014

Solution!

Odd Cat Out is paying for Cougie and Rogue to be treated at their vet up north.

They'll first get antibiotic injections, then, in about two weeks, dentals.

And, very soon, I will officially be an Odd Cat Out affiliate, meaning I can fund raise for the cats care here as Odd Cat Out South.

The relief, to have a solution, is overwhelming.

Relief for me, to be able to continue care for the cats here, under another nonprofit, as I used to do with Poppa Inc., and relief for Cougie and Rogue, who are getting vet care, without me mortgaging my soul!

Woohoo!

Wednesday, January 29, 2014

A Few Pictures

Red in the Morning

Red at night, sailors' delight.  Red in the morning, sailors take warning. 
Obsessive possessive quirky sister Fantasia.


            

Cat in the Window Moods


Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Life Goes On. For Some.

My brother had a stroke Saturday.  His wife found him quickly and he went to a very good hospital.

They strung something up through a blood vessel and quickly broke up that clot.  However, he had another small stroke Sunday.  So they risked him bleeding and put him on high doses of heparin.  By yesterday he was talking like nothing happened.  However I am told his left side is weak and they didn't know yet if he could walk ok.  I still don't know on that, have not had an update today.

I am very relieved!  Two local people contacted me to say he survived because he lives in the city.  One person said her mother had a stroke and got no care really, except letting her die, at the local hospitals.  She thinks it may have been because she was upper middle aged and overweight.  I don't know if that is a factor on whether someone is given good care or not.  They thought she'd had a heart attack but she'd really had a stroke, the woman said.

Another person told me when her mother had a stroke, the local ER doctor said there was nothing they could do and walked out of the room.  Her mother survived but is severely disabled as a result of the stroke and requires constant care.   I don't know when these events happened or the circumstances or if local hospitals have since upgraded equipment and expert staff since then.

 But maybe it matters a whole lot where you live when you have your stroke.  That's scary.

But I'm really happy about my brother doing better.  Just so relieved!

And then there are the Albany business cats Rogue and Cougie.

They both have bad teeth.  I'm hoping they each just have a couple of bad teeth, but since they are related and from the same lousy place,  that darn business that dumped them on me, and relatively young, they may have genetic allergies to their own teeth, which would mean they all would need pulled.

They are feral, which complicates matters.

Today I called around, pricing dentals with extractions.  I asked for the bare bones, anesthesia and pulling any tooth that needed pulled.  Prices were unbelievable.   Basic prices from a couple of clinics were $200 to $250, basically just to knock them out for the procedure.  Everything else the cats then would need, once out, would cost more, from X-rays, to pain meds, to antibiotics to extractions and extractions run from $10 apiece for incisors, to $50 to $70 each for molars.

When I had to have my own molar pulled, after trying to find somewhere I could get it done for six months, in terrible pain, I think it cost somewhere around $300 and took all of five minutes.

Cat teeth often require a drill to pull, as torque to pull a multi rooted tooth can break a cats' frail jaw.  The teeth usually need split and taken out in pieces and to get the roots you need some special tools, and often a hand held X-ray to make sure all root pieces are removed.

But who can afford $500 to $700 per cat, the price range all the vets I called who gave me an estimate, quoted?  I mean, are you kidding me?

So, I've got a few more places to try calling.  Heartland may help.  They have been so kind to me.  They're the local animal entity/ that "helps me back" by helping where they can, for helping so many local cats myself.  But they have no dental instruments.

All they can do is knock them out and take a look and pull out really loose teeth.  But I took them up on this offer, gratefully, for their next surgery day, and if their mouths are too awful, if they are allergic to their own teeth and would need all of their teeth pulled, unfortunately, they won't wake up to come home.  They will be euthanized.  They can't live here in bad mouth pain that I can't afford to alleviate.  That's not a life.

I could barely stand one bad tooth for six months.  I would be at red light, stopped, with that tooth just throbbing like a red hot ember, and I'd reach for pliers I keep for emergency repairs in the door pocket on the car, hold the pliers on my lap, wanting to yank out that throbbing tooth right then and there, while sitting at that red light.  I couldn't though, it being on the upper rear of my mouth.  I'd need specially shaped pliers to reach that.  I suppose that was good.  I finally found someone to pull it.

Tooth pain is terrible!

That one year, Valentino and Gretal both had to have three dentals, all in one year.  That's because with Valentino, who was drooling pus, I took him to a cut rate dental vet clinic in Portland who only pulled, if they did that, four little front incisors, and I have doubts he had those left to begin with.  In other words, they charged the money and did nothing.  The vet who ordered records from them to give him his second dental, only a month later, was appalled.

In Gretal's case, the vet just broke the teeth off and left roots.  I had to go to different vets then to get the roots pulled.  The costs for those two cats that year laid me low and I could not have survived the finances without help from friends and strangers.  Thank you again friends and strangers.  Valentino got a home in the end and Gretal is fat, happy and healthy now here and nine years old.

Miss Daisy was once diagnosed with the same problem, allergic to the membrane lining her teeth, and yet, they didn't pull them all.  I can't tell you how many dentals she's had in her life and I want to scream at times, because I think her allergy problems now are related to that tooth issue she has.  She has only a few left and I want to find someone who will remove her remaining teeth.  But she is 14 now and much more frail than she used to be.

Rogue and Cougie, let's hope we can find some way to get your bad teeth pulled.   It's a shame vet care is so expensive but the reasons why are fairly clear.  Labor costs, health insurance, building maintenance and insurance, taxes, school loans, supplies....all these things have to be paid off by making money off seeing sick animals.  And there are only so many hours in a day.

These two short clips show a bit of Rogue's mouth issues, while the third shows Cougie's, which evidenced to view very recently.  They are feral, so sorry for the grainy videos, taken on zoom, from a distance.  It was just yesterday I saw she was drooling, and I began calling clinics to see if I could possibly afford to get her seen somewhere.  Today I will call more clinics and if I can't find something I can afford, she will be seen at Heartland, along with Rogue.  If they can't help her or I can't find a clinic I can afford, she will be euthanized.


I called Banfield in Salem this morning.  Before they could even have an appointment to pull bad teeth, they would require an exam appointment.  Exams are $40 apiece, and since feral, sedated for the exam, another $60 each for sedation.  So at least and probably more than $200 at Banfield, before they could even go in to have their bad teeth pulled.  I didn't even get to how much that might cost.

I'm really grateful that Heartland will at least knock them out for me, and if the teeth are loose, pull them out and put them out of their misery if they can't help.   The allergy to the lining of the teeth seems to run in genetic lines, and the fact the two cats are under five and related, makes me think it will be that issue.  It seems like such a common ailment in cats, makes me wonder.  But it seems more common in cats who have suffered parasites and terrible starvation and malnutrition in early life.

These cats suffered intensely where they lived, on the grounds of an Albany business.  They were given no food, except some people tossed them lunch scraps.  There was no mercy or kindness exhibited to these cats at that Albany business.  The business then called the city and wanted them gone, only I was told they could just be fixed and returned.  I got scammed and the business wouldn't even check traps, so I'd have to get up at 4:30 every morning to be there when they opened.  It was outrageous.  They did not donate a dime either.  It got all laid on me.   Still makes me angry.  I flip them off in my mind every time I drive by.

There's a big need for a cut rate mobile nonprofit bare bones clinic that could fill this need, for cats who will die otherwise, because of the high price of most vet clinic care.



Sunday, January 26, 2014

My Big Brother Had a Stroke

I hadn't had a phone call in almost a week.  In fact I didn't know if my phone was working anymore.  Then today, about noon, I get a call, from my younger brother.

He joked around about something being dumped in front of his business, a toilet.  Then he tells me my older brother, just a year and a half older, had a stroke last night.

My older brother has suffered from atrial fib for as long as I can remember.  He's had I think two heart event close calls, that wound him up in the hospital as a result, but never a stroke before.

But last night he had a stroke.  He's still alive, but I don't know much else.

His wife found him when she went to get into their bed and he was on her side and she couldn't get him to move to his side.  Then she saw his contorted face.  And called 911.  So it was fairly fast between the time he had the stroke and medical aid, it is believed.

That's always a good thing.

I am very heartsick for him and for his wife over this.

I have a terrible agony in my stomach and heart over the news.

He lost his job not quite a year ago.  The stress of that and the workload just before it all ended were unbearable for me to see, from afar.   He'd go days unable to sleep over the stress and extreme workload.  I thought he was going to die.

But after it was over, although I knew it was hard on him, not having a job, I breathed easier, thinking the stress at least would be lower.

My brother really only had two regular jobs his entire life.  The first one he got right out of college, down in Ashland.  Not that long after he took his first job, he was offered an entry level position with a Portland business and he and his wife moved up to Portland.  He was with that Portland company his entire life, working his way up to corporate, until the part of the company he worked for was sold, a couple years ago, at which time he knew his days there were numbered.  And they were.

My older brother and his wife eat very healthy and take care of themselves.  He doesn't exercise much because he was born with a malformed foot that pains him constantly.  Atrial fib puts a person at much greater risk for heart attacks and stroke.  He takes his prescribed meds and does all he can to stay healthy.

I love my older brother. I don't have any family of my own.  Not often, not enough, do I get to see one or other of my two brothers.  I love them both. They are not close and different as night and day.

 I want him to be ok.   I want him to live out the rest of his life.


All these memories of my brother come flooding back.  For some reason, I remember when he'd be driving, young, barely with a license, long mustache and sideburns, very handsome.  He'd honk as he drove, even at cows, give the horn a tap, and yell "Hi Cow" from the wide open car window.  Funny the things we remember.

My older brother has always loved music, all kinds, from rock to jazz to, well, almost every kind.  Except country.    We were not allowed to listen to music growing up, outside of some really weird bands, like Baja Marimba band and Claudine Longet, a French singer who may have killed her husband.  My father had a crush on her, for some really whacked out reasons.  But that was about it, as for music we were allowed, besides religious music.

So my brother would sneak records home to play when my folks were not home.  He'd come get me, all excited, to listen.   Way later in life, he took me to a couple Jimmy Buffet concerts.   My brother long ago produced concerts for smaller artists, like Buffet and the Beach Boys (when they were small time I think).  He took me out off a psyche ward once in Portland to take me to a Jimmy Buffet concert, which was beyond wonderful.  Oregon state run psyche wards are like the worst places in the world, scary terrible, no kidding, screaming houses of horror.  To be sprung by my brother to go to a Buffet concert, well, guess you might understand how much that has meant to me.

He and his wife invited me along to a concert last summer in Eugene in an outdoor park.  I LOVED it and danced the night away.  It was so fun, to be invited, to be at a concert again, with my beloved brother and his wife.  My brother is rock and roll all the way.

I hope to hear more news soon.

What if he lives but is terribly disabled?

I don't want to survive a crippling disabling stroke and end up in a care home.  I'd rather be euthanized.  Or shot.  But immediate post stroke care in some places is very incredible and people have strokes and are soon back to very normal life.

I think of the Discovery show Deadliest Catch and how Captain Phil had the stroke.  He seemed ok afterwards in the hospital, then died of another stroke.  Will that happen to my brother?  My brother never smoked, never drank excessively, ate terribly, or abused his body in so many ways, like the crabbers do on that show.   But at my age, after seeing many healthy people die young and many people who abuse every substance out there and live angry inflamed lives to boot, live into their 90's, I've come to the conclusion longevity is mostly genetics and luck.

It's very dark tonight and very cold, here in Oregon.

But the stars are shining bright.

Saturday, January 25, 2014

Trudging On

Slinko, since coming out as tame, has been a pain, thinking everything is about him and his new found love of me!  He haunts me like an obsessed ghost, tripping me by running in front of my feet, and driving off other cats in fits of "I'm the greatest and the most loved of all", tipping the balance.  Boy.

The weather in Oregon is abnormal (sorry east coast and midwesterners suffering from severe cold).  We've had no rain.  It's not been super warm, sometimes gets to 50 degrees, but no rain, which is not Oregon.  So.....some of us are beginning to worry.  We live for summers here in Oregon, the sun, the warmth, and when we wait all winter for summer and then it rains all summer, that's when we get nasty.  This dry cold winter better not mean a wet summer.  I cannot bear the thought!

I got the compost pile covered and moistened yesterday, to up the heat and decay action.  It was a really dry pile, which means little decomposition.

Still no more homes have come up for the 13 remaining Lebanon cats.  They can free roam the house now, but mainly stick to "their bedroom" except for the three muskateers---Mopsy McMuffin, Vino and Huckleberry.  They're so awesome and would love an indoor house cat home.  The other 9, a barn would do just fine, if I could find one willing, that is half safe from predators.  Oregon is over run in bobcats, cougars and coyotes.  These predators eat outdoor allowed cats in high numbers in our state.  Many people have no clue either.

The Portlandia clip spoofing Portlanders who put up lost cat fliers, seemingly clueless, while also hearing urban coyotes howl at night was spot on.

Huckleberry has become quite relaxed here.

She's a sweetie

Vino is unbelievably beautiful!
Tugs this morning.
Chirpy Slurpy this morning.
Sam this morning.

Mums, Tugs' sister, with Juno this morning.
Daisy Face for your day!

Tuesday, January 21, 2014

So Long Bronco Billy, Bobbi and Lizzy (formerly Whiner)

A Portland woman took in three Lebanon strays, fed by a friend of mine, whom I met when I got all the cats she fed fixed.  We've been friends ever since.  The area is over run in people who abandon their cats and don't fix them.  Their medical care will be sponsored through a Portland nonprofit, after which, they will move on to adoption.

Whiner, now named Lizzy, was left behind along with a male cat, when her owners up and left.
This is the male left behind by the same people who left behind Whiner (now Lizzy).  He's turned half wild, because people in the area are kind of mean to animals.
Lizzy--new name, new life in Portland!

Now, she, along with Bobbi, and a smoke male we named Bronco Billy, are at a Portland vet clinic, first stop on the way to new lives.
Sweet Bobbi got to go also!
I didn't even have to drive.  My friend drove us, in her big comfy car.  I just navigated.  It was the way to travel!!  Luxury living! A chauffeur!

They get checked out, tested, wormed, flea treated, vaccinated---the works!  We waited while Bobbi was tested because my friend wanted to take him back if he was positive for FIV or Feline Leukemia.  We searched for a coffee shop then ended up at a place across from the clinic called "The Living Room".  I had no idea what it was, but they had coffee, by donation, couches, tables, TV's, books.  Very cozy and friendly. We got some coffee and settled into some couches.  It was a hang out run by the Nazarene Church, primarily for people with disabilities.  We fit right in and everyone was very friendly as we waited for news on Bobbi's status.  Bobbi tested negative.

Bronco Billy, the smoke male, got to go because he had severe health issues.  Namely, a huge bulbous nose.  Yikes!!  Turned out to be a fungal infection and not, thankfully, cancer.  He'll be ok.
Check out that nose!
Bronco Billy's Bulbous nostrils.
There are two more tame strays aching for homes up there, both fixed, but both have some crusty eye URI stuff going on.
Waddles, a big buff and white boy, wonderfully tame, really wants to be your pillow.  He comfort eats and moves very little.  Depression probably.


Cissy, delightful girl with green eyes and longing for a real home too.

  My friend is so happy for the three strays who now are off to new lives and homes of their own.  There are other cats up there she has taken on responsibility for, abandoned by other people, who are tame also, who want real homes too.  Thank you Animal Rescue and Care Fund, for sponsoring these cats with vet visits.  We LOVE you!

Want to help out the group who just helped out the three Lebanon strays?  Then....
Click here to check out ARCF's Valentines Day fundraiser!

Sunday, January 19, 2014

Connected!

Catlandia is at last connected to the garage overhead cat runs.

I meant to get that done a long time ago, but I kept putting it off while dorking at bits and pieces of the project.

In the end, I created the run from an old useless trap.  This way I can fasten the trap door up, and yank out the fastener to close off the run.  Makes it easy.

I took the back off the trap on the end that attaches to the garage overhead runs, and built a platform to attach the trap atop that slants slightly down to the top of Catlandia, the garage cage/room I built to hold the Lebanon colony cats while they waited for a barn home that fell through.

I finished the project today by adding a shelf beneath the hole I cut in the ceiling, so the cats come down through the old trap to the hole, then jump down through the hole to the shelf inside Catlandia.

Took more work than it sounds like.  Always does.

Old Trap connects garage overhead runs to the top of Catlandia. 
The hole, and shelf beneath it, from inside Catlandia.  I tried to paint most of the wood, to protect it some, with the only color I have left, Pepto Pink, but waiting for paint to dry in the cold moist garage is like watching grass grow.  If you get my drift.

I redid the inside because I needed some of the wood that I'd used in there for shelves for other things and had already cannibalized some of it.  I've added bedding, a chair now, and a litter box.  The cats love it!
Slinko being his handsome self.  He wants a home.
Stately Mooki!! 
 He's an older boy now.  He once went to a home but cried his eyes out missing his family here and she brought him back, couldn't take his homesickness.
Mums!
Rosy, from the Lebanon colony.

Lebanon colony young black male Arrow, taken today.

Lebanon colony muted torti Huckleberry
Forest, looking at me through the window from the window box.

 

Saturday, January 18, 2014

Shoes, Cats and Birthdays!

I got shoes for Christmas.  They're for my birthday too.

It was a Canadian again.  Love Canadians!  They are good to me.

A cat woman Canadian, who sent me the money for shoes, demanded I buy them for myself, even demanded a picture, like I'd sneak off with the money and get a cat fixed or something instead.  Good call, Cyndi!  I might have been tempted!

But I have some great shoes, that feel good on my feet.  They're for Christmas and my birthday and thank you Cyndi my north country cat woman friend!



Speaking of Christmas, I did go up to my brothers the weekend after Christmas.  Was great to see him and his wife and daughter.  I also saw this, which was not surprising, on a side street, when driving to his place.  Oregon was once densely populated with brightly painted VW buses.


I went up to my friends' mother in laws' birthday, number 95.  That's not a typo.  She's 95 and was visited at the party today by a 95 year old friend, who just quit driving.

She's operated with one wooden leg since her 20's when she accidentally shot off one real leg.  She's one tough lady.  My friend takes care of her.  It's a full time job.

Pretty in Pink at 95!

There was Cake!  Yum!
I promised cats.  Well, here we go.

Whiner was abandoned when the people across the street moved out.  They left their male cat too.  They were druggees.  The house is in foreclosure.  At least the bank has come out and cleared the yard and the carport of truckloads of trash.  There is still some trash out back, but a lot has been cleared.  Whiner keeps thinking they'll come back for her and waits, on the porch or on the roof.  Whiner needs a home.

Whiner, the abandoned girl kitty.  She was always crying, so they called her Whiner.
Whiner's old home, now empty with bank foreclosure papers on the windows.  The yard used to be overgrown in berry vines and trash when her owners lived there, but the bank people cleaned it out.

She sleeps on the roof, but when she sees people, she comes running, because she loves people and wants a home again.
This is Bobbi, another stray my friend feeds.  Bobbi would like a home too.  He's a very sweet boy with a very short tail.
Speaking of unfixed cats at my friends place, she's had two new ones show up, one feral, one friendly.  This is the feral, making his getaway!  Tonight as the birthday party raged savagely on, Becky and I coaxed the tamer boy up.  She scruffed him, and I felt him up for balls.  "He's not neutered, Becky," I was near in tears.  Just then, three new party guests arrived, and gave us looks.  "You gotta problem?" Becky asked.  "She's just feeling him up."  "Damn right," I nodded.

Sweet Bobbi
And one of the cats here, Meesa, dozing.
...after some drama with torti Tugs!

Round Up

Today is cat round up for tomorrow's five spots.  Two more came up from the vet student in Harrisburg late this morning.  Over 60 fixed ...