My trip to Kansas. Day Four

This day started like every other.. with Amy's cats waiting for me to come up from the basement. I don't know why this amused me, but it totally did.

We took NAC Yaz out for a run in the back yard.

and Amy took me out to the area of her yard that she has set aside as a memorial for Sebastian
.

Our plans for this day was a tour around the Hallmark headquarters that Lisa works at and then a meeting up with some women who volunteer at the local shelters to watch "The Paw Project". We drove down to Crown Plaza, a shopping mall which is part of the Hallmark complex and then went to the Hallmark Visitors Center. It was really nice to have someone who knows so much of the history of Hallmark being the guide.

In the Mall.
Did you really think I'd get through a trip to Kansas with out a Dorothy reference?

Lisa's office and two of her many many awards

We then went out for lunch.. it was yummy.  We did a little shopping where I picked up a few souvenirs and gifts

We then headed over to Lisa's house to watch the show.. and I fell in love with her kitties all over again

and then we went back to Amy's where I fell in love all over again with Harvey and Lowenstein.. (yup, I'm so fickle)

The next day was a pure travel day.. Despite a big storm brewing over home, there were no delays and I got home at a decent hour. Of course as soon as I got off the plane we went right over to the e-clinic to pick Jack up and bring him home. In the short time we were there the truck got completely covered with snow, and the drive home was a little tricky.

I am totally scared to leave home again, as I can not help but wonder if the stress of my leaving caused problems with Jack causing him such trouble. If I weren't so afraid, I would totally visit Amy and Lisa again in a heart beat - not that I have been invited.  They were so warm and gracious and it was an absolute blessing to be there. I have bought a ticket to Barkworld this October and look forward to meeting up with both of them there - that is if I can get over my fear of leaving Jack..

My trip to Kansas. Day Three

Day two started out with a trip to Wayside Waifs. You saw the first portion of that trip with my Shooting at the Shelter post..

We walked through their amazing veterinarian suites, the intake areas, the dog area, the small animal area and the cat areas. They then took me outside and showed me Teddie's Memorial Garden.

There are rocks that were painted by one of the volunteers with the names of cats that went through the shelter that passed. Most of them passed while still with in the shelter, some after they were adopted but were still very special to the staff. It was a little odd to see it in the middle of December since it is designed to be full of flowers and very pretty.. when I saw it all the flowers were in hibernation.

After seeing this we walked across the campus to the Pet Memorial Services building. Separate from shelter they have services for the general population when their companion animal passes. They have a therapy kitty there to comfort those who need her..

Can you tell I was a little enamored with this beautiful kitty??
They offer cremation as well as burial at their cemetery.

We continued a tour of the campus and then went back through the building where we walked past their laundry staging area..

Just so you know, every shelter everywhere
needs volunteers to do laundry

and we stopped and chatted with a few volunteers and called it good. I was really quite parched at this point so we decided to stop at Panera for something to drink and a snack to plan on what we were going to do next.

We had a few hours to kill before we had plans to eat dinner at the Plaza. It was to be our fancy night out then we were going to drive through looking at the lights. Unfortunately this is where my trip spiraled right out of control with the news that Jack was at the emergency clinic. Instead of going shopping we ended back at Lisa's house while I completely and utterly lost it. I can not tell you how wonderful it was to be with two 'cat people' who totally 'got it' Since I had nearly no information for quite some time, and sitting around just thinking about the 'what ifs' was going to drive me insane, so Amy and Lisa distracted me. I will be forever grateful for that.

By the time I got all of the information to know that Jack was alive, that he was in good hands, and he was no longer blocked, dinner at the plaza wasn't going to work out, so we went to a local Mexican place with was absolutely delicious!

I stole some treats from Amy's treat cabinet trying to bribe Harvey Monster or Lowenstein into spending some time with me. They totally caught on to my little trick and they hung out and ate my treats and left.. I was so exhausted I fell asleep pretty quickly even with out the purr therapy I was hoping for.

My trip to Kansas. Day Two: Part three #choosechestnut

So after going to see Santa, and visiting with friends, and then heading back to Amy's house and taking photos of the kitties, we then went into Amy's office and met her foster kitty Chestnut.

Chestnut was a stray, was adopted out and had hard time with that home and was returned to the shelter. She was traumatized by the whole thing. She also has a hard time communicating her emotional state, which very well could be because she is missing her tail. She is also missing her claws. As you can imagine this is a pretty bad place for a kitty to be in and she ended up biting. Amy was so kind to be willing to open up her home to a cat that has a history of biting. I have done it a few times, and it is taxing on you in trying to understand where a kitty is coming from and what their signals mean, because often they really do lack communication skills either from improper socialization as a kitten or because they simply no longer care after being taught that humans don't listen to them.

So Amy and I would sit in her room at night and just talk. We talked about her and cats in general and general life things. Simply being around her and asking nothing of her is a great start to helping her understand that not all humans are like those who she had dealt with in the past.

Chestnut is also a tortie / torbie mix.. she has a beautiful coat..

I was completely enamored with her.. However Chestnut seems to strongly prefer a male presents in her life. She would let me pat her, but after spending some time at Amy's house, she has fallen in love with Amy's husband and will snuggle right up to him.

As of the writing of this post, Chestnut is still up for adoption, she will need a home with someone who understands she has definite views on how life should be, aka she is full of tortitude,  and if there could be a man for her to fall in love with, she would really appreciate it.

My trip to Kansas, Day Two: Part Two

So, as we left things, I was at Lisa's house fangirling over her kitties.. because... kitties!!

No I mean seriously.. although when Lisa brought out the cat toy I not only found myself wishing I had a better flash, but that I had a better camera.. You know those super professional ones that they use on the side lines of football..

Now you are just being silly

Isn't that the point?

All too soon play time was over and we were headed back to Amy's house.. where Dottie got her photo taken..

NAC* Dottie.. 

and I attempted to get some good photos of  Evelyn

What are you talking about woman.. I ALWAYS look good.. 

and Harvey Monster explored the new cat tree..

I so want to inverse this photo and make Harvey "Ceiling Cat"
but who has a carpeted ceiling??

And about this time Lee (Amy's Husband) stated "You sure do take a lot of photos".. well yeah.. I do..

I think this is my favorite of the trip... mostly because it is VERY Amy with out Amy being in the photo..

I think this is enough for now.. I can't believe there is going to be a part three!!
*NAC = not a cat