My passion in life: helping kitties

[WereBear]

Yup, totally sane cat lady here.

Didn't even have cats until I was an adult, but my first husband was my cat mentor, and he was willing to let me run an amateur cat rescue from our house for 15 years.

When he died and I lost the house and business, I rebuilt my life, but now I was in an apartment and couldn't do things as I used to. My friends noticed how good I was with cat advice, and they said I should write a book. So I did.

But publishing has become all about what celebrity we have slept with, and I'm not a vet, so I could not get anything going with it. That is when I got ticked off, and took to the Internet to see if my cat advice was as "out there" as these agents and publishers were telling me.

Well, it might be "out there" but it works; I have many fans now after almost nine years of blogging. I am updating that book in light of all I have learned, and I'll publish it on Kindle myself.

We currently have four rescue cats who provide plenty of material!

 

[granolaturtle]

That's really cool!

 

[WereBear]

With the current state of the Internet, creative people can build up their own fan base and sell their work. I think it is a boon to we Aspies.

 

[Mia]

Lots of rescues have come and gone from my home. When I lived in the city I was part of a catch, neuter and release program, begun by local area residents. Some fed, some built winter shelters, some humanely trapped and neutered cats often finding homes for them. When I first moved into that particular apartment in the city, there were eight cats living in the alley behind the building. All were ill and suffering from various infections, diseases, and physical difficulties. The woman who lived in the apartment before me, fed them all. They would climb the fire escape at night, and sit on the roof waiting to be fed.

One by one I caught them in humane traps baited with tuna. Most were feral, all were neutered eventually, given shots, and some were found homes, while others were re-released. Every area of the city I lived in was the same, abandoned cats left to their own devices without food or vet care or homes. July first was moving date and more cats were seen nearby or hiding or sleeping under dumpsters. From the original group of eight I adopted two, one a pregnant female (the B&W pic below), another a feral himalayan. The himalayan lived under the kitchen sink for three months, eventually coming out and moving under a bed. Sometimes she came near, and at other times stayed hidden, she never really adapted to humans. She got along with my spaniel though, so at least she had some interaction with others. (Both have now passed away of old age).

When I moved to the semi-rural area I live in now, there were several feral cats. A brown and beige siamese, a black long-hair with a severe limp, a beige long haired cat without front claws. I fed them and built shelters for them, treated their wounds as well as I could, then trapped two and brought them to the Vet, the beige long-hair was adopted by a neighbor and the siamese was eventually adopted after time at a small nearby shelter. The black long-hair was too savvy to be trapped, and he disappeared. Recently another cat came into my life, last year a white cat with a green eye and a blue eye, a male who had been attacked by a coyote or a feral dog. He had bite marks all over his head, yet he still let me touch him. I rescued him immediately and brought him to the Vet, it took some time for him to recover, he must have been owned by someone who cared about him for awhile as he's quite cuddly, and I looked for his owner for some time mainly so I could could give them a talking to. He was covered in axle grease from living under a truck. Here he is now and he's a great cat to have in my life, were quite close.

 

[Catlover614]

I have 3 rescues in my home and each one has actually ended up rescuing me. I don't know what I would do without them! If I had the space, I would rescue more. I love them so much! It's totally awesome what you're doing WereBear .

 

[Mia]

Seems as if there are so many of us out there WereBear rescuing and helping cats and dogs. I've encountered many people over the years who do so, and others who abandon them. Always happy to meet someone else who does the same thing.

 

[WereBear]

There are many of us, and the people who take care of feral colonies, and run no kill shelters, or simply adopt a cat or dog (or two!) from shelters. We all do our part.

Ideally, I would like to see waiting lists at the shelters. More people wanting pets than there are pets.

 

[Turanga Veela]

When we met, my husband had two cats, and I had one. They've all passed now; the eldest just died a couple of years ago (at 19). I miss having them around, but my ENT, long ago, told me my face would be better off without them. Not that I'd have given them up for anything at the time! We're still thinking about rescuing one indoor/outdoor cat at some point, now that I have an inhaled antihistamine that works well for me.

To get my "fix," I help out with a large feral colony, feeding and watering one morning a week. The colony may have to move due to construction in their field, which should be an interesting endeavor -- there are about two dozen cats!

 

[Mia]

Do wish that there were more people who adopted black cats and older cats! I see so many black cats and older cats in the local shelters and at the SPCA. Encountered a facebook group when I was looking for a pet sitter, my pet sitter runs one along with an entire network of people who trap and neuter and eventually find homes for these cats. But they place so few, I know that there are still some out there, have been trying to catch a really skinny calico and her adult offspring for some time.

 

[Warmheart]

Thank you WereBear, Mia, and Turanga Veela for what you do.

Here's mellow, friendly Smokey Purrbuddy. He's my FIV+ rescue who was in a shelter cage for years when I found him. Smokey gets a little L-lysine, and some probiotics daily, plus ots of love. He has my dog Grimm to boss around and give purry head-bonks to, plus a cabinet full of toys, and a bird feeder outside the windows. He endures his due of slurps from Grimm.

He has an eerie intuitive sense regarding my needs, and is very active in trying to care for me when I am sick, have had surgery, or am down. Smokey is a high-empathy "care-taking cat."

Here he his happily tormenting my dog Grimm by intimidatingly laying in the middle of the dog toys.

 

[Mia]

Here's mellow, friendly Smokey Purrbuddy. He's my FIV+ rescue who was in a shelter cage for years when I found him. Smokey gets a little L-lysine, and some probiotics daily, plus ots of love.

So glad that you adopted Smokey, Warmheart, the beige cat in the picture above is George, he had feline leukemia and eventually congestive heart failure but he lived for eight years and passed away two years ago. He was a very sweet cat and I did what I could for him.

 

[Rayner]

It's nice to see Grimm and smokey purrbuddy get along. My dog Emily isn't very fond cats because Emily gets anxiety so cats tend to startle her.

View attachment 27197 Thank you WereBear, Mia, and Turanga Veela for what you do.

Here's mellow, friendly Smokey Purrbuddy. He's my FIV+ rescue who was in a shelter cage for years when I found him. Smokey gets a little L-lysine, and some probiotics daily, plus ots of love. He has my dog Grimm to boss around and give purry head-bonks to, plus a cabinet full of toys, and a bird feeder outside the windows. He endures his due of slurps from Grimm.

He has an eerie intuitive sense regarding my needs, and is very active in trying to care for me when I am sick, have had surgery, or am down. Smokey is a high-empathy "care-taking cat."

Here he his happily tormenting my dog Grimm by intimidatingly laying in the middle of the dog toys.

 

[WereBear]

Here is my Heart Cat: Sir Tristan.

We got him at three weeks, he'd been found in a field in the nick of time, bottle fed, became my Special Cat Guy.

 

[Warmheart]

WereBear I'm in love with your Tristan! What a swoonworthy hunk of a fe-lion! Those dreamy golden undertones to his coat, and such gorgeous glowing, vibrant green eyes...
Sometimes I wonder if some animals (rescued or not) just seem to feel a sense of rightness in caring for their person. It's so special when a cat wants you to feel well, and takes pains to be supportive in their own way. I truly feel happy that you have Tristan, and that Tristan has you!

 

[WereBear]

WereBear I'm in love with your Tristan! What a swoonworthy hunk of a fe-lion!

Thank you, he is a delight. I likewise find Smokey utterly captivating. Large & in charge!

Just like humans, cats can have chemistry with other beings. Mr WereBear has a similarly amazing relationship with our dilute tortie, Olwyn, who loves taking care of all of us, but especially him.

 

[garnetflower13]

This is my cat Avalon. I got her from a shelter, and it was love at first sight! She had Feline Herpes and used to get awful sneezing attacks where I had to turn on the shower and put her in the bathroom to breath moist air for relief. I have had her for about 11 years. She knows when I am depressed or not feeling well and always comes over for snuggles at those times. When I was a teenager, I had eight cats, all rescued from the streets.

 

[WereBear]

Avalon looks like a tortie! Does she have "attitude"?

 

[Warmheart]

Avalon is adorable! I know personality isn't usually supposed to be considered associated with color, but in volunteering with cats, I found calicos, torties, and torbies to make amazingly devoted friends for their people. It's often as if these sassy girls just know what's what, and set about watching out for their human friends.

 

[garnetflower13]

Avalon looks like a tortie! Does she have "attitude"?

Oh, yes she definitely does! We are utterly her slaves, here! And she is very vocal.

 

[garnetflower13]

Avalon is adorable! I know personality isn't usually supposed to be considered associated with color, but in volunteering with cats, I found calicos, torties, and torbies to make amazingly devoted friends for their people. It's often as if these sassy girls just know what's what, and set about watching out for their human friends.

Yes, she is very devoted and loyal. The cat that I had before Avalon was a calico, and she was so sweet! She once attacked another cat because she thought that this cat had injured my daughter's hand. I was so shocked, because she was normally very laid back and calm. She always spent half the night on my daughters bed, and the other half on mine as if she wanted to be fair to us both. I miss her.