Pepper and Timea come to The Owl House from another rescuer

We have two more Owl House residents. It probably will take a bit of time to find them a home, as they are a "shy-cat pair." However we have found homes for pairs of this sort before!

There is a difference this time. Usually we end up with shy-cat pairs because we have rescued older kittens that don't tame up to be bomb-proof. Pepper and Timea come from a rescuer four hours to the east. She has tried for a year to find them a home. She did find a place for them, with the help of another cat rescue in her area, however the home was too active and too loud for the shy cats. Pepper found his way into a hole under the stairs in the basement, and it took weeks to re-capture him. The rescuer took them back, understandably. I would have, too.

We were originally contacted a few months ago by a friend, Jill. Jill was a great help to me back when I was doing wildlife control and also advocating for feral cats. I did not take full advantage of the writing opportunities she and a Cooperative Extension biologist offered me at the time. However both of them stuck their heads out in a big way for feral cats. It's not particularly career-advancing to be in a biology-related job and state "feral cats can be successfully managed if they are managed in a scientifically rigorous manner." Jill and Paul did.

Jill has a friend whose mother is Pepper and Timea's rescuer, and he was trying to help his mom find them a good place.

In addition to friend-connections, there was karma-seeking involved. Some day, when I'm 15 years older than I am (or sooner, God forbid) I may be having to find a place for some of my shy cats. I hope there is someone there to help me as well.

While the last thing I need are more cats, we did place eight shy ones this past year. So Pepper and Timea came to stay yesterday, after their four-hour drive. Apparently they were great in their crates. Here are photos that Jo, their rescuer sent beforehand, because currently they are under the bed staring at me with owl-wide eyes.

Pepper:

And Timea:

They came with quite a dowry. Tuna (their special treat), tons of dry food for both the adoptable and street cats, tons of canned food, pillowcases, and a donation check. We won't need to pay out-of-pocket to feed these two for quite awhile. We also sent microchips to Jo ahead of time, and she took them to the veterinarian and got them well-pet checked, vaccinated and chipped.

Which goes to show my gut feeling was correct; the rescuer really loves these cats and does not want them to just go anywhere. I'm honored she trusts us to find them a good home, like Bo and Davis did.

Things that are always more amazing in person

The other day I went outside to the cat facility before the sun was completely up and was met by a morning rainbow. Sadly, the iPhone didn't do it justice, but I'm going to blog it to remind myself to remember what it really looked like.

Some day I need to invest in PhotoShop

If you have a laptop you may need to tilt your screen back.

Happy Halloween!

The new "cat tree" gains acceptance

I had mentioned earlier that I had converted an entertainment center into a cat tree and had some concerns because no one was really using it. Slowly a few of the cats are giving it their seal of approval.

Thank goodness. If that had turned out to be a flop after all that work it would have been quite the disappointment! So, $25 and a few hours work well-spent!

Cats meeting babies for the first time

This is very sweet. Please share with any pregnant friends who have had to listen to all the unwise people who say "you have to get rid of your cat if you are having a baby." It ain't so!

Here's Goggles!

There's a new kitty in the picture...the third drop-off this month. She's a cutie though.

I named her Goggles because she has very dark black "mascara" around her eyes. She's extremely friendly and is going to be a beautiful cat!

However she nearly caused me to melt down when she arrived. It was cold, and I had just returned the latest neutered feral to his colony, our of the unheated downstairs of the our cat facility, and I had moved Pierre (formerly Scruffy) upstairs now that he is confirmed clear from mange. I was sooo happy that no cats were in the downstairs unheated section now that the chill had set in.

I had just run to the store to pick up some cheap eats and essentials because as always, the end of the week finances were tight, and also I was headed out for travel in a few days and wasn't going to be doing any messy cooking:

In the short time I was gone on my shopping trip to Dollar General, someone had left a kitten on my porch, using a crate I had had sitting there:

I could hear meowing as I walked up to the house and could only think "Gosh, did I leave Bear outside while I was gone?" And then I saw the crate and started swearing. All I could think of was the cold downstairs where she would have to stay, and the vet bill that would be required to get her FeLV/FIV tested immediately so she could go upstairs with the other cats and be warm and safe.

I thought: What sort of JERK would wait until I was gone and then leave a kitten on the porch in MY crate and not leave a note?

Well, errrr, as it turns out, a very kind neighbor would!

They were walking their dog and heard meowing in the woods. They saw the kitten, got a hold of her, and while the woman walked the dog behind, the man walked ahead to my house, hoping I would be home. When I wasn't, since they were on foot, they put the kitten in the crate on my porch, and walked back home to get the car. I learned this when they drove up a short time later, with the note they planned to leave, debating whether they should actually leave the note and the kitten, or take the kitten home with them (with no place to put her, as they have six rescue cats of their own). But luckily, I was home.

This calmed my ire considerably. Even though some jerk had still dumped the kitten, kind people had rescued her. That sort of levels out my blood pressure.

She was a champ at the veterinarian. She had an upper respiratory, so they sent her home with some lysine. She's still sneezing a bit a week later, but she's not worse, which is how viruses usually roll, but she's upstairs where it's warm. The other cats have all been vaccinated multiple times, and I have them on lysine as well as a preventative.

I had to take her to a veterinarian that was open that day and would take CareCredit, so no rescue discount, but at least she's FeLV/FIV negative. Part of that bill is Feliway for the diffuser in the house. It really does make a difference in how my adult cats tolerate the young transients. Goggles will still need to be spayed, but perhaps I can get her adopted and bring her back for that, since we have a ton of female kittens right now.

At least she's not another black one! We have plenty of those!

Does your cat show his tummy? Oliver does!

Behavior explained! (Note: video seems to take a long time to load).



Some cats certainly do like having their bellies rubbed, but I know with Oliver, he "learned" to like it because I was always rubbing his tummy when he showed it. However the first time I did it, he was all "meh" about it because it wasn't what he was asking for.

Gremlin just can't figure it out

Gremlin is a shy cat who is up for adoption. He is in the house with me because he is the designate "chew toy" for my young cat Oliver, to keep Oliver from harassing the older cats with his constant young-cat need to play. Gremlin is very personable, but he only likes to be petted when he's eating or is sleeping with me. The rest of the time he shies away. I can practically step on him and he won't move. He talks back when I converse with him. But reach out a hand and...whooooosh! He's off.

Which has made it a bit difficult to teach him to use the cat door to the catio, which I have put up now that it is too cold to have the window open all the time.

If he is waiting by it, and I go to push it open a little way for him, he dodges away. On the few occasions I've managed to hold it open for him (by looking the other way and ignoring him for far too many precious minutes of my day) he has managed to push back inside once he has gone out. But he doesn't comprehend he can push to go outside.

Rose, Bear, and Oliver have the door down. Fluffy gets it when he wants to. Pickles and Nellie don't even try, which is a pity because Pickles loves the catio.

So he just wistfully looks out the window.

Mystery gifts...we love them

I arrived home from a work trip to Michigan to find a box on the doorstep with my college roommate's address on it. Towels and Fancy Feast! And a card I laughed my head off at, given how this is how I feel most of the time:

Towels don't go unclaimed very long in this household, unless I immediately put them away. Fluffy decided to give them their maiden "furring."

Thank you, Leslie! We need to get together sometime soon. It has been too long!

"Box" kittens are back from foster!

Mary Beth and her family fostered the box-abandoned kittens these past few weeks while I've been traveling, so they wouldn't be stuck in a cage. She also got one adopted!

I arranged to pick them up on my way home from the airport. Could you believe I forgot to bring a crate? I stopped at Big Lots and picked up an affordable soft-sided one that I can also leave open in the house to get my own cats and any house-fostered used to sleeping in a crate and perhaps vet trips will be less stressful.

Mary Beth also sent me home with a 48-count box of wet food. Whoo hoo! Gremlin was happy to pose with the

Fostering is such a huge help. I'm so busy with work all day long that new kittens often don't get the socialization they need to turn them into "bomb-proof" kittens. If you would like to play with some kittens, or have your kids play with kittens, for a week or two, please let me know. I'll be glad to send the next batch your way!

Go for a walk -- Autumn doesn't last forever!

Rambler and Blue get a home!

"Hey Lady, be sure you initial all the boxes on that contract!"

They have a new housemate--a dachshund who just loooooved them!

Kittens made a rapid move to a foster home

Two out the door! The two kittens Branden and Nikki rescued when they found them boxed up outside the barn are in a foster home. Mary Beth adopted Whitten from us (formerly Ferdinand), and has a guest room (and a ten year-old son who loves cats), so she picked them up this morning.

They look like they had a great day (photo nipped from Facebook):

When I went to break down the box they were left in, I found a note on the side:

I think it is supposed to say "Please take care of them."

Kittens dumped while I was traveling

My cat caretakers were greeted by this box last week while I was traveling for work, sitting next to the door to the cat facility, which is a mere four feet from the roadway:

The box contained these two little girls:

They are healthy and friendly, but of course unplanned, so now we are having to figure them into the budget. At least they are not shy kittens, and did not get loose from the box! I have put food in the lower barn, in case any escaped unnoticed, or if a mom cat was dumped as well.

On the "planned" side, handsome Half Moon was neutered last week and will be going back to his colony in Waverly:

Two kittens were just adopted and will be delivered to their new home in Vestal tomorrow, Rambler and Blue! I'll posted photos of them later today. Now I'm out the door for a cat litter/cat food run.

Other donations!

While Amazon Wish Lists are wonderful, other friends have given in other ways. Here's a shout out to Nancy for kitten food from Ithaca Feed and Pet (almost gone already!) and Jan, who gave a generous donation via PayPal! I'm clearly going to be busy writing thankyou notes this weekend!

This is an example of the fuzzy photos my phone now takes after the water disaster, drat it all! I did store it in rice to dry it out, and the phone works OK. But not the camera. This is not going to help with taking photos of cats.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I can't thank people enough for all the canned food and other needed items that have arrived over this past month! Seriously, I was eating ramen and the cats and kittens were eating canned food...this is such a huge help! (On an unrelated note, how is it that Ramen is cheaper than it was when I was in college? How scary is that when you think of what it's made of, and who has to make it and how little they get paid to do so)?

From Sara. Sara also sent feather toys and more paper plates which arrived the next day, but my phone got wet and now the camera takes blurry photos :(

From Carolyn:

From Christy and Gordon:

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From Gretchen:

From Elizabeth:

I also got a seventy five dollar Amazon card from work for the extra effort of our team, so that all went for canned food, too!

There is a link in the right column to our Amazon Wish List. You can also find it here. And remember, even if you are scraping by on ramen yourself, just reading this blog is a great help...a donation in itself. Every uptick in stats helps ward off compassion fatigue! Thanks, everyone!

Tiger Tom and Siggy check in

Snagged from Facebook...Tiger Tom and Ziggy (previously Siggy) of the three legs hang out on the high kitty shelves of their home. Clearly having only three legs doesn't slow Ziggy down from climbing!

Roadside and Craigslist provide great cat furniture

If there's one thing Craigslist has an abundance of, it's entertainment centers. You know, those huge overgrown bookshelves built to hold heavy electronics that are now obsolete in the new era of flatscreen TVs and MPG players. Early this spring I came across one in an interesting shape that was already taken apart, for twenty bucks, so I drove down past Owego to pick it up. It sat here leaning again a wall all summer until I finally decided I would hate myself if I tripped over it all winter. I got out the jigsaw to cut some holes, and put it together. I still had some new carpet tiles (also Craigslist from about a year ago) and found cat beds online for five bucks each. My hope is that with more places to sleep, the cats in the house will not all feel like they have to sleep with me this winter, or at least will have many sleeping options when I push them out of bed.

So far, other than the lower level, they are not particularly interested. I've started scattering treats around, and I'll make some other adjustments. So don't go out and buy one of your own! For all I know, this experiment will be a flop.

Then while driving into town to feed the Fast Food Ferals, I saw someone packing up a roadside sale with lots of old furniture. The last thing I really need is more furniture, but my car turned around on its own (I swear!). I saw an antique couch and asked how much, certain that it would be more than I would be willing to pay. But the guy said just 30 dollars, so we loaded it in my car and he even lent a bungie cord. A quick session with the Bissel Spot Bot and I had not only guest seating, but a place for cat beds when there are no guests here:

And the cats love it. So that was a success at least, and I won't feel so badly when I have to tip Fluffy or Pickles off the bed, since they insist on sleeping right by my head, which is no fun at all.

Spot and the ear mites!

Poor Spot was a tom cat who was hanging out near a house at the edge of Van Etten, with a big red wound behind his right ear from scratching desperately at ear mites, poor boy.

Luckily Karen, the landowner fed him and was worried about him. I finally managed to get over with a trap, and as we talked, he warily checked it out and finally went inside. Once here, I put some Revolution on him to start killing off those ear mites and set him up in a cage. Karen called the SPCA of Tompkins County and they were able to fit him in the next week. By today (the day of his appointment) he had stopped scratching and his ear had scabbed. The veterinarian's today cleaned out his ears, soaked off the scab, treated the ears with Ivermectin, and gave him a dose of Advantage II. That's quite a big dose of mite killer (since I had given him Revolution eight days earlier) but he seems to be OK. He got his rabies and FVRCP, and is sporting an eartip. I think someone ran a comb through him as well, because he is looking quite dapper!

He likes to be petted and scritched under the chin, but he has swatted me once or twice. I'll take him back home with a cage so he can learn to let Karen pet him as well, and hopefully he can be an indoor/outdoor cat. If he refuses to stay inside, at least he'll have a shelter and there are lots of places to hide there.

Goodbye to Beemer

The goal of trap/neuter/return is to "get to zero." Sadly, this means that the spay/neutered cats in the colony have to pass on to achieve that. Poor Beemer never really seemed suited to outdoor life. He clearly had been someone's pet at some point, but when pushed, he would lash out with claws blazing, so he wasn't suitable for adoption. He had a long coat, which meant he was more likely to mat up. And he was male, which also meant he was more likely to fight. Beemer lived on the colony up on hill, with friends and neighbors who have to deal regularly with drop-off cats. He was here last year to get mats combed out and his ears cleaned. Luckily he didn't mind going into traps to be captured for care when needed and he had caretakers who watched out for him when he needed some assistance.

At the end of August, he was missing for a number of days, then showed up very, very thin. Was he ill? Had he been shut up in someone's garage for a week? His caretakers trapped him and brought him on down to me. I figured we'd see if he was eating, drinking, peeing and pooping, to rule out an obstruction or urinary blockage (since, being a free-roaming cat, there would be no previous history to provide the veterinarian), and then send him off to a vet. He enjoyed petting (to his usual point), was hydrated, was enthused by wet and dry food, and seemed to be doing OK. However on Saturday night he did not eat, and on Sunday he simply laid down quietly and began breathing from the gut. And then he was gone.

We have never tested any of the outdoor cats up on the hill for FeLV/FIV (except for those who were being brought in for adoption) so he easily could have been dealing with on of those diseases. At least he didn't hide and die off in the weeds and rain.

There is an earlier post about Beemer's colony here. He will be laid to rest in the Memory Garden here.

Now Grey Kitty is the last cat up on the hill.