Tuesday, April 28, 2015

hanging out

Pierre misses his brother and playmate MK.

Oliver stares off into space
Tussle time



Outtake:
It's a bit too bright in the overexposed world!

Sunday, April 26, 2015

vet time adventures

It's that time of the year; time to load up the kitty-household and walk them next door to the vet for their annual service. We take them all in at once to get the bulk-rate, which is a considerable savings.


Five cats in one visit is a lot to keep track of!


Laura got to enjoy some time holding Rose. Sadly, this is one of the few opportunities to hold her as she is so terrified of humans. You can see that she is a long ways from being relaxed!

Precious Rose

Nahum's decided to wait out the experience in his carrier.

Nahum, Willow, and Theo are now considered seniors. I'm in complete disbelief about this. How can they be seven?! It seems we've only had them a few years. Our only non-senior is Rose. Gosh, Time, why you playing tricks on me?! This is crazy! 

The exams went well, everyone easily passed, with many affirming comments about how beautiful they are. The vet even said their teeth look good! Fluffy Nahum always gets the most praise, which is not a surprise considering how big, beautiful, and good natured he is. He purrs through everything.

Being seniors means they each got a benchmark senior blood panel done. The vet called later with the results. Everyone looks good except for Buddy, his kidney and thyroid values continue to slip. He's experiencing kidney failure and his thyroid is no longer working within factory specs. We will be up'ing his medication a little and hoping for the best. I know the cats are only on loan to us for a time, I just wish I could extend the term of the loans to indefinite. 

Last year, when Willow went to the vet, she had to have some teeth pulled. She came home from that experience much more lovey and cuddly. Well, this time around, no teeth were pulled, but she again came back a changed cat. A few hours after being home, she did her best Buddy impression...






Buddy does this dozens of times a day, Willow never does this!


Being a rare experience, I only took about forty thousand photos.



Pure love and sweetness - that's my little girl! 
I might just have to take her next door more often!

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

vacation

I took the week off of work, which means more time at home with the furry family! Two days of vacation are now in the bag - each has been productive yet somehow restful. My to-do list is quite large, yet I'm trying to take it slow and easy, but of course trying to meet the demands of the furry ones is always a full-time job!

Oliver inside time!

Tummy rubs!

Buddy asked for lunch, so Buddy gets lunch!

More tummy rubs!

Car load of junk loaded up for oneway trip to Goodwill

My helpers take a well deserved rest break

Mr. Fluffy-Butter needs adoring

Rose asks for lunch

Rose gets lunch!

Evening lap-time with Bert

Hopefully, I'll get to start my vacation soon!

Sunday, April 19, 2015

Basic TNR class

As a volunteer with the Community Cat Coalition, I co-teach the Basic TNR class, which is usually lots of fun. Occasionally we get invited to teach the class for a group of people in a far away location. This time around, it was Ellensburg, WA, which is about 100 miles east of Seattle, in the middle of the state.

The class was a double header, the Basic TNR class would be followed by a Barn Cat Relocation class. Nancy, an amazing local rescuer, organized this event and it was tons of fun! 18 amazing people came and spent the afternoon learning about TNR and Relo stuff. The snacks were pretty amazing too!



A sampling of the Oliver pictures I use to help tell his TNR story:


The cat featured on the bottom corner of each slide is Pierre.




There are two sections to the Basic TNR class, the first is the classroom portion, where I share my experience with Oliver and his family to tell the story of TNR, while also teaching all the basics on how to trap, neuter, and return community cats. I love telling Oliver's story and everyone seems to love to hear it! The second part of the class involves Vicki demonstrating how to work with the traps.
trap demonstration 
Nancy, teaching Barn Cat Relocation class

Barn Cat Relo acclimation cages demonstration

Drop trap demonstration
Nancy gave us a quick tour of her TNR workspace in her garage. I was super-impressed by her incredible setup. Everything's labeled and perfectly organized. I aspire to be that organized, wow!


Detailed sanitization protocols clearly posted



I love meeting so many people who are out there everyday in their communities, making a real difference in the lives of their community cats. Hearing their stories warms my heart and brings tears of joy - these people really care about the homeless cats, when so many people choose never to see them. These volunteers are quietly spending tons of their own money and time to improve the lives of the homeless cats. 

One example of their dedication: There are very limited low cost spay/neuter services in their local area. So, several times a month, they load up a van full of cats and drive 100 miles each way (which involves driving over a major mountain pass), to the Feral Cat Spay/Neuter Project clinic, where the cats can be altered. These amazingly dedicated, selfless, people are my heros.

Friday, April 17, 2015

taken hostage

Another Oliver ambush...


 as soon as I open the door he pops in and melts... 



into a lap full of purring kitty putty...


what's a cat guy to do?


Oliver gets his way again.

Thursday, April 16, 2015

never give up

With the nugget bins now being secured with bungee cords, Nahum has turned his attention to the treat bin!



Wednesday, April 15, 2015