Doing a hard reset of the kitten room

Abby leaving was hard on me and I was avoiding cleaning up the kitten room. I knew I would and I saved that activity for this past weekend, planning on getting the room ready for kittens and then putting myself on the list at the shelter as available.

I needed to fix the cabinets we got last year as the back had come off and a kitten had gotten back there and we had a devil of a time trying to get it out.  I went to the store and got some white duck tape to make it all pretty - well at least so you couldn't easily see the tape... since I really hate tape.

We had to take almost everything out of the unit (we left some towels in there) and tip it down to ground so we could tape up the back, then we flipped it back up and I removed all of the shelves and taped up the inside to try to make sure no kitten pushes through. I came to the conclusion I have way too many towels so I pared down some and put them in a tote in case I was wrong. If I don't touch them this season I'll donate them to the shelter.

Momma.. are you done YET?!?!?!?

I finally donated that cat tree that was in the room.  I was sad to see it go because the kittens loved it so much and it made for some really good photos, but it needed more than I was willing to invest in it and the shelter said they have a volunteer who is happy to refurbish those sorts of things so they will have it. We brought it in yesterday and the staff all loved it.

I also decided to turn the cage to try to get a little more floor space. I am not sure if I am going to keep it in that position as it might make it harder to get into the cage to deal with any kittens I think might need cage fostering but it was a nice compromise between taking it out and leaving it there.. at least for now. It also left a small bit of dead space in the room that was perfect for Raffe, so that is where I put him.

and it seems I got it all done just in time..

She is nameless, and heavily pregnant. The woman who brought her into the shelter said she had people telling her to just throw the stray in the dumpster (like she wouldn't just jump out), but she borrowed a carrier and brought her into us. Thank goodness.  She is very cautious and currently people walking upstairs will send her under the couch... but she is super hungry and she is willing to overcome her fear for food. She also likes to be patted and will purr for me, but she was not a fan of being picked up and shown the litter box.. so we will keep the picking up to a minimum. And thus starts Kitten Watch 2015.  Now the competition begins.. who will have kittens first.. us or the Mama over at Love and Hisses?

Don't forget, you can watch her on my dropcam either with the direct link or by clicking on "dropcam" at the top of this page.

Fly Free Sweet Buffy

Buffy

I recently did a Former Foster Friday about Buffy and her brothers and I told you that there were some digestive issues going on. Well apparently it was more than that. Buffy has been dealing with some pretty severe IBD and has gone to several specialists and had biopsies and tried many different things, but after so many years things have progressed to the point where the vet has told her there is no going back and Buffy is simply suffering.  The decision has been made and the appointment has been set for today.

Buffy has always been near and dear to my heart. She and her two brothers came to me in 2010 and I was then asked to take another set of kittens. I am not a fan of mixing litters because you do not know what anyone has been exposed to prior to showing up at the shelter, but sometimes I take the chance because the shelter is scrambling to find a place to put them. I put the kittens all together and it was absolute mayhem but it was so much fun. I thought I saw the original three hanging out together despite having four more kittens to play with but it was hard to tell.

Shortly after the two families combined, Buffy became very ill. She was very distressed, and almost flat out. I snuggled her close and ran to call the shelter to find out what we could do for her. It was suggested that we euthanize her but I thought she would have a chance if we could just get her some oxygen. I'm not quite sure why I felt this way, but I did. I got the okay and I ran her up to the emergency clinic half an hour away. They gave her an exam and decided to put her into an oxygen chamber and start her on antibiotics. They sent me home with instructions to call in the AM.  I did and was given the run around. I couldn't even get information if she was alive. I hung up and waited for the vet to call and talk to me. After a short time I couldn't handle not knowing so I called back. I still couldn't get any information how she was doing but I was told that the doctor hasn't decided if she can go home, so at least I knew she was alive. I was told the vet would need to talk to me and he would call me. I waited what seemed like an eternity and then came to the conclusion that the shelter wouldn't be okay with her staying at the emergency clinic all day when regular vets were open so I just hopped in the car and went up and to get her. When I saw her she was so dramatically improved from the night before that I nearly cried right then and there. The vet sent her home with antibiotics and she slowly recovered.

the morning after we almost lost her

I kept her separated in my office for a couple of days to give her time to regain her strength. I could tell she was lonely, so I brought her down for visitation rights long before I thought she was ready to rejoin the group. Her brothers ran over to her and sniffed her all over and were very very careful with her and so very sweet, that it kind of hurt to take her away that first time; because of their love of her I left her in the room after the second visit. It was funny because none of the other kittens in the room seemed to care.

It was then I decided we had to try to get them adopted together.. it is so rare to get siblings adopted in pairs, that getting triplets seemed unsurmountable. Interestingly though I've actually had three sets of three siblings go home together.. but their home was waiting for them to go up for adoption and everything fell in place. I hated to let them go - as I hate letting go of any kitten that I have 'saved', but I knew I could not keep them all and I could not separate them.

and now her time here on Earth has come to an end. We have chosen to love creatures who have a short lifespan and who are so fragile.  We have chosen tears.

Twelve years a blogger..

I have had this blog since late 2002. Before that I had a personal blog talking about myself and what not. Back then a blog was like Facebook is today only you only got to see one person talk at a time. I would share things on my blog that I see others share on FB now. I know because I've been attempting to clean up the old posts, making sure links work, photos aren't broken, etc, and I'm a little amazed at what I see.

I figured it was time for a little self reflection

A few years ago I went to my first BlogPaws convention.  I am not quite sure why I went. I guess it had something to do with seeing more and more people make money from their blogs and become independent; I had an inkling that I would so very much love that. I had also met a few other cat bloggers when I went to Hills to tour their plant and I had really enjoyed talking to other people who love their cats enough to blog about them. I had come to the wonderful conclusion that cat bloggers are freakin awesome and I wanted to spend as much time with them as I could.

Truth be told, I was disheartened by my first trip to the blogging conference in regards to the conference itself. It felt like it was more for the 'professional blogger' and were talking about things I hadn't done and probably never would. I'm not sure what they could have done in 1 hour classes that could have improved my little hobby blog, so I guess I really am kinda bloggin in the wind if you will.

At the conference I also saw an over abundance of the dogcenteric focus that is so prevalent in the pet industry - despite the infamous cat ladies (and fellas) tried their best to remind everyone that this was a PET conference.. Sadly all too often pet has come to equal dog.. and I just hate that. (don't even get me started on BarkWorld which seemed far more cat friendly the year before) Not that I hate dogs. I have just come to the belief that they do not need the advocates that cats do. Cats are still considered disposable animals in our society. They are the pet of the crazy person. Cats are destructive and disgusting and aloof and mean..

oh goodness I can't even type that out without shouting in my head THEY ARE NOT!!

So anyway.. I walked away from that conference wondering what my goals were and I wanted to do with this blog, and the only answers I came up with in the two years since have been: 

• I wanted to share the joy and beauty and love that is the cat.
• I wanted to make money with my blog.
• I did not want to sell out.

I joined the BlogPaws blog share programs where you help other bloggers by visiting and commenting or liking and basically showing up. I have met some wonderful bloggers through that and read some incredibly interesting posts. I have also come to the conclusion that #3 on that list is pretty important to me. I have stumbled upon far too many blogs that appear to be simply infomercials with one pitch after another. I have no trust or faith in what they are sharing with me because they pitch constantly. To me a blog is not an ongoing commercial nor should it be.

Do you know how sponsored posts started? The reason sponsored posts came into being is because back in the day someone with a blog with a lot of readers one day said "OEMGEE I found this product and I LOVE this product, it does just what it says it does and it is awesome!"  We have all had those moments right? Well back then there was trust in the blogger when they said something like this and people rushed out and bought the product if they had such a need..  When brands figured out what was going on, they started offering free product to popular bloggers hoping they would fall in love with them and would blog about it. Then marketers started asking for a blog post about the product in exchange for a product.. then it was we'll pay you to blog about it and then... infomercials.. here say this and we'll pay you.

Well the FTC (Federal Trade Commission - who is in the business of protecting the consumer) realized that a lot of people were being subjected to these 'commercials' but had no idea they were commercials.. that is when they started cracking down on sponsored posts and requiring that people label their posts sponsored or advertisements. This started with the "mommy bloggers" and the "fashion bloggers" because there is a boat load of money to be made with those types of products.

Cats and dogs, not so much.

There are a few big powerhouses of Big Pet Products that are sinking a lot of money into pet bloggers, and sadly most of those are business I simply do not want to do business with. So it pretty much comes down to my third item on that list is really number one.

I have decided that I am an old school blogger.. and I choose the definition of that based on the definition of the term:

Blog: a Web site that contains online personal reflections, comments, and often hyperlinks provided by the writer; also : the contents of such a site

So I am the person who authors a website that contains personal reflections, comments and hyperlinks ;) and a few million photos.. in a series of reverse chronological order posts. I can't tell you how much I wish someone would pay me to do this on a regular basis.. but I have chosen to advocate for a throw away species. There is no glamour in cat rescue. Sometimes it is cute - heck sometimes it is freakingly adorable but convincing people that doing so is worth more than a toaster.. *shrug* You just don't ever see that every day.

I am happy to take money in exchange for blogging about a product, but I will tell you and it will be a completely honest review.. the good and the bad; personally I learn so much more about a product by how it went wrong for someone else that I always read the bad reviews first.  I'm still at the stage where I am happy to take product in exchange for a review too.. the former will be 'ads' the later will be 'sponsored'.  I want to build that trust with my reader so that when I talk about a product they trust that it is my voice and not an infomercial.. which I think is far more powerful an advertising tool than all the copyright and flashy graphics an ad-person can come up with..

So I have come to accept that TFK will probably never make me rich, and I'll have to win the lottery in order to quit my full time job.. I just hope you'll enjoy the journey with me and help break a few stereotypes along the way.

Letting go, moving on, and trusting the greater good

A few weeks ago I was contacted by someone who volunteers at another area cats only shelter about Abby. HART is an all volunteer run shelter and they currently have 10 diabetic cats in their care. Their volunteers are very dedicated and each diabetic cat is tested before they are given insulin.

I did not want Abby to go back to a shelter, I wanted her to be adopted. I wanted her to have a home of her own with someone who was so willing to just sit down and pat her and not ask too much of her.  As time went on I had to accept that this was not in the cards for her. I am still hoping that she will find an advocate at HART who will find her just the right human and she will have that, but right now being at HART is really her best option. She will have room to move around, as they have a room dedicated to their diabetics, and she will have friends - both feline and human.

I got the necessary paperwork in order and made an appointment between noon and three to bring her up and drop her off last Saturday.  I had such big plans to bring my camera and take lots of photos for you to see where she is going, but I decided I didn't want to bring my big gommy camera and decided to do with my cell phone which takes pretty good photos.

I spent the morning with her. She seemed to really enjoy the attention which was nice. I patted her for so long that my hand become quite fur covered.  I belong to a reiki board on facebook and I asked for good energy for Abby for her transition as I knew that this would be difficult for her.

I went back down at noon time to collect her. My husband sat next to her and patted her while I moved the carrier into a position to put her in it. I then turned and went to pick her up and she actually hissed at me. She NEVER did that before. Part of me was proud she was feeling confident enough to tell me off, but it also really hurt. I tried coddling her, cooing at her, but she wasn't relaxing and I was just starting to feel worse and worse.  I decided to just scoop her up and put her in the carrier. I've done this a number of times before and while she doesn't like it, she never has had a serious issue; this time she started peeing. Fortunately the way I was caring her she simply peed on the floor and not on me or even on herself. I double checked that she was clean and tried again and was able to get her in there right quick.

She mewed quite pathetically and it broke my heart.  I decided to cover the carrier with a towel which seemed to calm her down. The drive in was pretty uneventful which was nice. It was snowing a little but it wasn't causing a problem. The transfer was pretty simple. I did a little paperwork and my husband brought her into the intake room and help set her up in a cage with the blanket she has been sleeping with for a while to help her with the transition.

At this point I was really getting over emotional and all plans of taking lots of photos was out the window. It took every ounce of strength to get myself out of there in one piece, and no surprise to anyone but me I started sobbing like a fool. (You'll just have to make due with my last photo shoot I did up that way that I shared here and this photo of the lobby kitty)

I know this is the best thing for her, but that doesn't mean it didn't hurt.

I came home to news that one of my former foster kittens, adopted by someone I knew prior to her adopting, is not doing well. She is doing so poorly in fact that her mom has decided that it would be kinder to let her go. Even the idea of it is shattering and I so very much want to jump in and make suggestions and offer treatment ideas and hopes and recommendations. I KNOW that doing this would be a bad idea as her mom has been through the ringer with her, but it doesn't stop me from wanting to...aching to...

So the lesson of the week has been hitting me square in the face over and over.. I really must remember to let go, move on and trust the greater good..

but letting go has never been one of my strong suits..

So I've been doing some self care.. sleeping in since I have no kittens to feed nor a diabetic to test.. which was good because I also had a pretty horrid week health wise and I needed some time to stop the stress... so I ate the worst possible thing I had in my house.. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Mac and Cheese..

and got a good chuckle when the turtle I won over at The Swiss Cats came in. It is absolutely adorable. Claire did a wonderful job on it and the cats are so not getting it. She also sent me a keychain that looks a lot like another obsession of mine - superballs!

I will be taking some time before I start actively campaigning for kittens. I would adore some right now to get my mind off things, but there is no being sure they wouldn't get sick or some weird thing go wonky, so I think this is for the best.  I do have a couple of posts I want to get off my proverbial chest so I won't be going cold silent..

I also can not wait to share with you my "Kitten Watch 2015" image.. it is freakingly adorable!

Maine needs to pass L.D. 335 #CatsAgainstPuppyMills #adoptdontshop

Post by Say NO to Puppy Mills.

The State of Maine is poised to become the first in the union to ban the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores with the introduction of L.D. 335. I seriously hope they do.

I first heard of this bill through someone sharing on Facebook a news article done by the Portland Press Herald called How much is that doggie in the window made to suffer. It is an opinion piece supporting LD 335. What got me, however, were the comments..

Oh the comments on things on the internet.. one should always stay so very far away from those..

I was curious what the sentiment was of the people reading the article. I had a feeling of what I was in for because of the original post I saw on Fb, but I was still quite ticked off. Most of the comments by people from Maine (Mainers or Maniacs, you get to decide) were supportive of the article and the proposed law. There were a LOT of people from 'away' (as we like to call them) who wanted to get their two cents in. I am guessing most of them run or have some financial incentive to support USDA Commercial Breeding Facilities for dogs... aka Puppy Mills.

These people used very inflammatory words and arguments to try to encourage people against this government intrusion. They used words like 'retail rescue' to influence people into believing that rescues are just in it for the money. They cited high adoption fees as one way rescues were just in it for the money. They cited the fact that rescues are importing dogs from down south to 'sell' at their 'facilities' and 'events' (failing to call them shelters or adoption events) as examples of "Big Bad Animal Welfare Monopoly" trying to line their own pockets and pushing the little ol pet store owner around and making it impossible for them to run a legitimate business. One person even went as far as to wonder why Maine doesn't just ban pet stores all together - like there is no reason to go into a pet store other than to buy a dog.

I fear that some people will buy into the arguments. I fear some people STILL do not understand where that puppy in the window comes from. I recently had a co-worker who wanted a specific breed dog, and all of us here at the office encouraged her to find a breeder. She did, but the breeder was a responsible one and wouldn't have puppies ready for about nine months. This woman wanted one now. The breed is not very popular so there aren't many in rescues waiting to be adopted and the ones that were were old... We all counselled her on the dangers of mill dogs.. but she found a pet store that ASSURED her that they do not buy from mills, that they only buy from "reputable" "USDA inspected" facilities and the puppies were all in wonderful health.. so she bought the dog.. And that dog had a TON of health issues right off the bat, and I fear she is in for a long road of health issues that will pop up over the dog's lifetime. One opponent of banning puppy store puppies commented that with a pet store dog you get a health guarantee and you know what you are getting. Sadly that is not what happens in reality. Yes, the pet store will often take the pet back, but who wants to simply return a pup you have taken into your home? Cats and dogs are not toasters, you do not simply return the defective ones.

So this got me thinking, what do people really think when it comes to Pet Store Puppies?

I shared the photo above as probably what we think of when we think of "Puppy Mills" but what about those "reputable" and "USDA inspected" facilities? Do people really think these dogs ever see the figurative light of day? Remember these people are in this for the money so their first priority is to get as many puppies to market as they can. Dogs are kept in cages barely large enough for them. If they are lucky they might have access to run, but that would mean having to catch them if the owners needed to, which is time and work. They are usually on wire cages to facilitate easy clean up of waste. They do not have time to sit around and cuddle each one, give it kisses, play fetch with it. If you own a pet store puppy chances are it's mother sat with out love and comfort either pregnant or nursing until the day she died because she could not produce any more. If she was lucky, she might have been rescued by a local shelter, but that happens so rarely that chances are it didn't happen.

My co-worker got her dog from a pet store I stood outside of weeks before in protest. That store is now closed due to the poor health of the dogs being sold from it. There are four remaining stores in Maine that still sell puppies. One of which also assures it's clients that it's puppies come from 'reputable' commercial breeders - well I'm sure they all do, no one wants to use the dreaded term Puppy Mill - but just look at the photos and reports from these inspectors regarding the facilities. Now imagine the things that are wrong aren't there. Do you still think this is appropriate? Do you want your dog living this way? Do YOU want to live this way?

• Koster, Charlene & Darlene Minneapolis, KS USDA Licence # 48B0271
• Good, Alvin, Good, Mary USDA Licence # 43A5713
• Rottinghaus, Audrey (Wendy Pets) Seneca, KS USDA Licence # 48B0313

I could go on all day.

If you NEED to have a specific breed of dog, find a reputable breeder. They will want you to know about the type of dog you are getting and can discuss with you if that breed is something that will fit in your life style. I have several extended family members who said to me "If I had known then what I know know I wouldn't have bought this dog". They want you to know what you are getting, they want you to love the dog and love the breed. They want you to see the parents, learn about the linage and SEE where your dog was raised. Now in this day and age of Walmartization of everything (we want it NOW and we want it CHEAP) too many people want the type of dog they want and they do not want to wait. In that case know there are rescues for every single solitary breed out there because there are always people who thought they wanted that type of dog and then realized it was not for them. There are ways around supporting the cruelty that is the commercial breeding facilities. Remember that dogs sold online also are more often than not mill dogs. Best case scenario they came from someone who didn't get their dog fixed in time or wasn't diligent when she was in heat.

But Connie, I can hear you thinking, I would NEVER buy a cat or a dog from a pet store, so we're good. Let me ask you, have you ever bought a toy, or some food at a store that sells puppies? If so, you have supported the very system you stand against. How about having a conversation (or a blog post) about what USDA Commercial Breeding Facilities REALLY are.. so when people are assured the pets in the store aren't from mills they will know better.

and if you are in Maine, support L.D. 335

and if you aren't, you could always contact your senator and see if they might be willing to sponsor a similar bill in your state.