Piccolo, a new face in the colony

In January a new face made an appearance in my colony.  A handsome, although somewhat dirty, orange and white kitty.  I'm guessing this kitty is a male.  I have named him Piccolo because he sings so often.  Many times he would sing before coming into view.

Today I feel like I made a wee breakthrough with this sweetie.  He is very weary and keeps his distance watching my every move with wide eyes focused on me.  Today he relaxed a bit.  He closed his eyes and he turned his head away.  He's still weary but I hope he can feel safe in my presence.

Piccolo is not neutered - yet, so he's a wanderer but in the past ten days or so he has been around a lot more.  I was very happy to see that Doodle and the other resident feral kitties seem to be accepting him too.

After eating some food he looked like he just needed a good long nap. I hope he crawled into the sleeping shelter when I left.  He has been in the sleeping shelter a few times over the past few months.

When Piccolo is not in my colony he is sometimes down the road at another colony where Robin from www.cherrystreetcats.blogspot.com feeds.  This kitty gets around but he is on the short list for a vet visit this spring.

Piccolo is a dear little kitty and I hope that he will feel safe in my presence in time, if he decides to stick around.

Daffy the Dog Finds a New Home

I've been on Twitter for a few years tweeting as my cat Boomer.  There are many of us on Twitter tweeting as our animals and a few as their human selves.  Over the years I have met some very interesting and very caring animal people.  Ingrid and Dana are just two of those people.

Ingrid passed away last week from cancer leaving her dog Daffy without a caregiver, however arrangements had been made at some time in the past that Dana would adopt Daffy.  Daffy and Ingrid lived in Kansas and Dana lives in Oregon with her husband and kitty, TSK.  

Originally Dana and her husband had planned to drive to Kansas to get Daffy.  When this came to light three other anipal Twitter friends spoke up and a plan was put in motion immediately.  A relay of sorts was put together where people would drive a leg of the journey and meet up with the next person, handing Daffy over until she met her new mom, Dana.  The trip started Monday and yesterday Daffy met her new family at a specific ronde-vous location and finally last night she arrived in her new home after a 1538 mile journey with very caring individuals.  

Daffy has a new forever home and from the pictures it looks like Daffy and TSK will become buddies in no time.

Dana hugs Daffy

Daffy on the final leg of her journey

Daffy and her new dad, Mr P.

TSK and Daffy meeting for the first time

Time for bed.

I love happy endings.  It is so wonderful that Daffy has a new home and even more amazing how people pulled together to get this dear little dog all the way from Kansas to Oregon.  This is another example of how social media has made good things happen.

Ollie

What a beautiful little cat Ollie is.  She's quite small and very dainty but her long fur makes her look bigger than she is. When she was spayed in 2004 she only weighed 5 lbs.  I don't think she has gained any weight since, she's just a very small kitty. 

Ollie, one of my ferals,  has always been one of the first kitties to come out to greet me when I arrive to feed.  She won't let me touch her but if I have Temptation cat treats she will get very close to my hand as I pour the treats out for her.

Tuesday morning I saw some blood in the snow along with some pee and alarm bells went off.  Then I discovered a few more spots.  Because of the location I suspected Ollie was the kitty with the problem and I am now convinced she is the one in need of medical attention.

Arrangements have been made for the vet to see her when I can trap her but Ollie has not been seen since Tuesday morning and I am very, very concerned.  It is unusual for Ollie not to come out of the shelter within seconds of my arrival for both the a.m. and p.m. feedings.

I will return tomorrow with the trap and fingers crossed that she comes out for a bite to eat.  She needs to see the vet.   The thought of this beautiful little cat suffering alone in this cold unfriendly weather is crushing my heart.  Please little Ollie, come to me so I can get you the medical attention you need.  I love you baby girl.