Saturday, June 29, 2013

Jag my feral and Howie my foster

Thursday I was able to catch Jag and get her to the vet.  I strongly suspected she had a dental issue and I was right.

Friday Jag had all her teeth removed, except for her canines.   Her gums and teeth were in really bad condition.  After her surgery the vet called me to let me know what he had done and we discussed what to do next.  He said he felt Jag was not "that feral" and he is correct, she isn't, with me.  I can pet her and I groom her but when it comes to other people I'm not sure how she will respond.

Jag

Initially the plan was that I would pick Jag up, keep her overnight and return her to the colony tomorrow morning.  After some thought I realized I can keep Jag in my (borrowed) dog kennel in our garage. So today I got everything set up with the litter box, a bed along with food and water bowls.



Tonight I went to pick Jag up from the clinic.  She is now in the dog kennel, has eaten a little wet food and used the litter box.  She allowed me to scratch the top of her beautiful black head and I groomed her a little too.  Much to my delight, she began to purr and even rolled over on her side.  Guess I am going to be spending a lot of time in the garage with sweet Jag and hopefully she will recover quickly so she can return to the colony and be with Ollie, Doodle and Spirit.

This morning Howie went off to an adoptathon and I was sure he was not going to come back to me.  I felt he would be adopted - but he wasn't.  At 5:00 I left home to go back to pick him. 

When I dropped Howie off this morning the poor sweet baby was put in a cage with a cushy bed, litter box, food and water and he began to shake.  OMG. It was heartbreaking.  I had to leave and Howie needed to find a forever home.

I returned to pick Howie up with mixed feelings.  I was sad no one thought he was the cutest lil fella and wanted to take him home but I was happy to be bringing him back to his foster home.  He was one very tired wee kitten.  He ate then climbed into his bed for a sleep.  An hour later he was up and racing around but he is now down for the count again.  He is curled up sleeping next to me as I sit in bed writing this blog.



Sleepy Howie
Tomorrow is another day.  I hope for a simple day, one without my heart getting twisted and tugged at, but that would mean not having all these wonder kitties in my life. I love all my kitties so much. Hug hug hug sweeties.







Friday, June 28, 2013

A busy week

Monday I was going to start stripping wallpaper in my guest room and prep for painting.  That plan changed when I got a tweet from a Toronto twitter friend.  She had a friend, Jen,  with a feral named Moe in desperate need of vet care.  Phone calls and emails back and forth and plans were put into place.

Moe
Then another email, or was it a phone call from Robin??  Anyway, could I pick up a cat carrier at her house and go to another location.  There was a mom kitty with 5 newborns.  The babies needed to be transferred to the carrier in hopes of getting mom in with the babies closing the door and then taken to a foster home.  I just needed to do the transfer of the babies from one carrier with a broken door to another better carrier.  As I picked up each wee tiny treasure I kissed each little head many times before putting into the second carrier with a clean dry towel.  A few days later Mom and babies were safely delivered to a foster home
.
Mom with babies in old carrier

5 wee tiny treasures in a clean dry carrier



Later that afternoon I got a call from Jen to say she had contacted animal services.  They told her they would catch Moe and take care of him.  I called her twice to tell her that I wasn't sure she wanted to go that route.  Animal services puts ferals to sleep with little hesitation.  I left it with her and hoped things would work out in the end.  A few hours later she called.  Animal services showed up, caught Moe and told Jen Moe would be put to sleep.  About 7:30 that evening I had Moe in my garage for the night until I could deliver him to the vet for exam the next morning.  Moe was very congested so I was pretty sure he had a URI (upper respiratory infection which is like a human cold), plus the poor guy was incredibly stressed from all he had been through in the previous couple of hours.

About 8:30 p.m. I began stripping wallpaper from my guest room walls.

Tuesday morning I was up early to deliver Moe to the vet.  I called Jen to let her know he was at the vet and they would be contacting her once they had examined Moe.  That evening I got an update from Jen. Moe indeed had a bad URI, he had 5 teeth removed, he was neutered and a snap test showed that he is FIV positive.  I haven't heard from Jen since but believe that Moe is going to spend 4 or 5 days at the vet recovering.  I will call her next week to check on his progress.

Tuesday evening I went to Robin's to get a lesson in using a drop trap.  One of the kitties in the East Side Gang, Jag, has not been eating much.  I felt she had a dental issue because her chin and chest were wet from her drooling.

Wednesday morning my dear little foster, Howie, went to the vet to be neutered.  Howie is only 9 weeks old but once a kitten reaches 2 lbs he or she can be safely neutered or spayed.  Acer was the first little guy I've taken to be neutered at such a young age and when I saw him after the operation I was amazed at how bouncy he was.  It was as if nothing happened.  Howie was the same.
Howie



Thursday was my first opportunity to try out the drop trap to get Miss Jag.  It was a bit of a production to cart all the pieces way back into the area where the cats live.  It took a few trips with equipment, plus the bags of food and water.

Once set up it was a matter of waiting and waiting and waiting.  Spirit went into the trap about 3 or 4 times and I had to chase him out each time.  Jag was not showing any signs or interest in the food being offered.  So after a long period of waiting and playing backgammon on my iPad, I decided to call it a day.  Then Jag wandered over and bam!  I pulled the string that releases the trap and she was caught. It took another ten minutes to get her into the transfer cage but once that was done, I packed up and headed to the vet.

Drop trap and transfer cage ready to go

Spirit enjoying food under the drop trap

Jag showing no signs or interest in food


Jag is in the transfer carrier with cloth
covering her to help keep her calm

Yesterday's initial examination, which was done under sedation, revealed that Jag had very bad teeth and gums.  I was happy to learn that a snap test proved her to be FIV and FeLV negative (happy dance).  Today Jag had all her teeth, except canines, removed.  I will pick her up from the vet tomorrow evening.
Today, I am spending my last day with baby Howie for tomorrow he is going to an adoptathon run by Toronto Cat Rescue.  I'm pretty sure I will not be returning to pick him up at the end of the afternoon.  Someone is going to see that sweet little face and go all melty in the heart.  He will be greatly missed  but he needs a home of his own.

Acer Update
I've heard from Acer's new family twice.  He is doing very well and getting along with his new older sister, Chloe.  The family has decided to keep his name too.  I love it when I get to hear how my fosters are doing in their forever homes.  It makes letting go so much easier.

Hugs to all my furry babies.  I love you all.





Saturday, June 8, 2013

Acer goes bye bye

This morning, about an hour ago, my sweet Acer (formerly Mr Wiggles) left for an adoptathon at Pet Value.  I so want him to find a new and loving home.  No one will ever love this sweet boy as much as I do but if they love him half as much then he will be a very loved happy little cat.  I sent along his medical records and a note with pictures. I also included my email address hoping that his new family will let me know how he is doing.  If for some reason he does not get adopted today, he will be back in time for dinner.

I love you Acer.  I hope you get adopted today and that your new family will send me some pictures.


Friday, June 7, 2013

Howie meets Winston

Wednesday Howie went to the vet for his second deworming treatment.  It would have been a fast in and out visit except the staff had to play with him.  Not only did the staff want to play with Howie but three of the techs had their dogs with them. All three dogs were very gentle but Winston wanted Howie to be his new buddy.  Winston could not take his eyes off Howie while Howie remained calm and total unaffected by this huge dog


Ashley and her dog Winston


Winston giving Howie big kisses
 
I have never met a sweeter boxer than Winston. 

Monday, June 3, 2013

Acer Makes His Television Debut

Checking items on table


Acer was a guest on Canada AM this morning.  Diane, owner of Tails, a pet shop in The Beaches area of Toronto, invited Acer to come along while she was talking with TV host Jeff Hutchison about some new and interesting toys and accessories for cats.  Considering he is only 11 weeks old, he was a very well behaved little cat.  I was standing just off camera ready to grab him in the event he decided to make a run for it.

Jeff Hutchison and Diane




Acer is cradled in Jeff's arms for the last few minutes
of the segment.

Here's hoping the family who will eventually adopt Acer was watching today and will make inquiries.

When we returned home after the show, Acer fell asleep for about 6 hours.  He was exhausted from the events of the day, as well as having to get up before the crack of dawn.