Time goes marching on....

Paris, London, and Orlando relaxing on the bed.

This seems to be almost like a trap, this promise I keep making to myself to make time to blog, because I WANT to often, but I become so incredibly busy with the things I have to accomplish and the time just slips away.  There's been a lot that's happened since my last post, and I'll do my best to share it all without rambling - lol!

Ramses is progressing well.  Since my last post, he doesn't hiss or trigger as much, and not once has he spun around to nip... not even a love nip!  This is huge progress, although when he does get startled or triggered, he still panics a bit.  Bis is with him, and he's actually shocked us by starting to allow us to touch him briefly.  He adores Ramses, and when Ramses seeks attention, it makes him curious, and he will allow some contact.  Maybe there is hope for him after all, although I don't think he'll ever be a cuddly cat or one who wants to climb in your lap.

Orlando - the gremlin?

The boys have been joined by a girl.....  Her name is Heather.  We were contacted by another rescue because apparently Heather has acted up and was striking out and attempting to bite her foster and other volunteers.    Most rescues are just not set up to deal with major behavior problems (not many people want to subject themselves to the possibility of a cat attack - OUCH!), and we were happy to take her on.  

Heather

I put her in with the boys because I thought they might all help each other.  I have been evaluating her behavior, and she does seem to get highly stimulated when she's really excited, but so far she's only whipped around to nip once, and she didn't actually make contact.  I think that despite her being twitchy, probably from a past trauma, she is recoverable.  So we will work with her, and in the meantime I will enjoy her pretty face, and the boys really seem to have taken to her.  It's a win-win. 

Orlando Ham-Fists posting for a pic!

Tia's kittens have gotten big!  They are 5 weeks old, and all little rock stars in their own right.  Orlando is most especially a little poser, and starts striking poses as soon as he sees the phone.  Not only does he have hamfists, but he flat out is a ham.  It should be interesting, I think there may be a battle when he's ready to be adopted.  There's a LOT of interest.   Paris and London are also adorable, and amuse us endlessly with their antics.  Mind you, it's less amusing at 3 am, and I will assure you, polys have more claws as well as toes!  Time to trim their claws.. again!

We acquired two other kittens a few weeks ago.  We got a call from one of the stores where we have cats... apparently someone left two kittens in a box outside, taped up with a few holes poked in it, and a note asking someone to take care of them, and listing their names, Olaf and Elsa.  They are absolutely wonderful kittens, and although it makes me angry that someone dumped them, I'm just glad they ended up in a good place.  They are now fully vetted, and available for adoption.  It's been a nice treat having kittens come in we didn't have to "fix", no behavior issues at all.   There's been lots of interest in both of them, and I'm confident they will find forever homes very soon!

Elsa - box kitty!

We have a few other kittens around, Jem, Seri, Houdini, and Duster.  Duster is very much like Bis, still very wild and needing work.  Poor Houdini (who Hubby calls boomerang because he's been back many times) was sick again, but is now on several types of meds and is improving steadily.  Here's to hoping that he gets better and out to a forever home soon.  He's a doll!    Seri is an HAC kitten who had been sick, but is now better and ready to be adopted.  She went to an event yesterday (as did the others who were ready), and no bites on anyone except Jem.  SHE may have found her forever home, and is going on a trial this week.  I hope it sticks, she really took to the girl who is taking her, and I have a feeling that once she's there, she'll be staying.   I love those kinds of endings.

Olaf - the other box kitty!

Another kitten, Bermuda, has faded a bit, and we took her in to the vet the other day.  She was fine one day, and not the next.  We aren't sure what's up with her yet, but we are taking the best care of her, and should have her blood work results soon. I'm confident she will get amazing care from our vets when they have a good idea of what's going on with her.  Poor little monkey.  Kittens are so volatile, health wise.  It's very hard when they are fine one day and not fine the next.  You beat yourself up and ask yourself if you missed something, if you could have done more.  Poor Lori is feeling down too because she lost a kitten this morning, and despite the fact that he was incredibly ill and it was something of a miracle that he lasted as long as he did, it doesn't soften the blow any.  This is the hard part about rescue, and I have infinite respect for her and everyone who carries on despite the fact that sometimes, it really freaking hurts!  You wish you could just have a magic wand to wave to make them all better.  Lacking that, you are pretty helpless and just do all that you can.  That's really all anyone can ask, and for many of these cats, even a few hours of loving care is more than they had, and infinitely better than drawing their last breath in the high kill shelter, surrounded by sterile cages, frightened and sick cats, and terrifying sights and sounds.  In the end, sometimes a peaceful end is all we can give them.  It's hard to think about it when you're hurting, but it does have meaning and makes those little lives not be lost in vain.

London the troublemaker!

On a funnier note, one of our resident cats has taken issue with Hubby, for some reason, and keeps leaving him gooey presents in his shoes.  While it's unpleasant and requires cleanup (thank goodness for Virkon!), I have to say it is worth a giggle now and again (although I usually have to clean it up lol).  We think it might be Duck, as he takes after his grandmatron, Lou aka Gardenia, and thinks he rules the roost. Several times Hubby has had to remind him that while he's high on the food chain in the cat realm, we two-leggeds are the boss, and we think he's taken exception to that.  It's either him or Trouble, who is like a jealous girlfriend when it comes to Hubby, and is rather put out that she can't sleep with him for a little longer, while Tia and her kittens are in our room.  It's a mystery that we shall solve, but for now, it keeps us on our (hopefully not gooey) toes.

If you are interested in adopting any of the cats and kittens I talk about in my blog, please check out Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln's Website, and contact Lori.  She's awesome and always willing to help match you up with your ultimate fur-baby!

It's all about the cats

Robin at the cage at the store.  Not too thrilled, but she settled in!

Well, I know it's been a while since my last post.  Work sent me to Seattle for training for a week, but our youngest was AMAZING while I was gone, and took care of all the cats (measuring their meals, giving their meds, you name it, she did it), and we are so proud of her!   In that time though, of course, lots happened.....

Nightingale's kittens as well as Meesha all left the nest to go into stores for adoption.   Kestrel, Chickadee and Robin have all been adopted!  Sparrow and Raven will be adopted soon, I'm sure, they are absolutely adorable!  Now that they are gone, we can start moving on working on miss Nightingale.   She's such a lovely girl, and so playful and loving now.  Hard to believe when she came all she did was hiss and growl in terror..

Heart is doing very well!  She's almost ready.  Our youngest has been working with her and has done an incredible job breaking her of her habit to nip from overstimulation, and has completely moved her past her fear of people.  I couldn't have done it better myself!  Heart is almost ready for adoption, we just have a few more things to do around getting her easy to handle for carriers and whatnot.   Generally exposure therapy and repetition, with a good dose of positive reinforcement does the trick.  She's a smart girl, I'm very confident she'll figure it out quickly!

"Hamfisted" Tia!  Isn't she cute??

The orange tabby male, now named Rameses, poor angel, we really are working literally from the ground floor with him.  He does allow some love and touch, but gets overwhelmed extremely quickly and goes into complete terror mode.  I've decided to change directions with him, and treat him like I would a fully feral cat, instead of only a traumatized former pet, because when he's in the full grip of his fear, he IS a feral cat in many ways, and reacts with many of the same behaviors.   However, he DOES want to be around people, I just don't think he knows how to past his trust issues right now.    I've started just going into the room, not speaking or approaching him, but reading a book or doing something still and quiet for longer and longer times in his presence.   At first, he WAILS, like a baby crying, but unlike any sound I've ever really heard at all.....   But he calms down more quickly each time we go through the exercise.  I believe he's going to be with us for a long while, because working from the ground up is a time-consuming process, and you can't rush the animals through it.  They have to work through it at their own pace.   I'm ok with that, and I think everyone else is too.  EVERYONE is pulling for this guy, and after all he's been through, he deserves nothing less than our absolute best effort to help him live a wonderful, fulfilling life.  No life lived trapped in the cage of fear is fulfilling.   Hang in there, little buddy, we're here for you. 

One of the kittens pulled this week!

Our Polydactyl mama (hubby requested the pull) is indeed pregnant, and is growing daily.  She has three extra toes on both her front paws, and OMG she's adorable!  Super sweet, she was definitely a pet.  No idea why anyone wouldn't want her!  Those ham-fists are SOOOOOOO cute!  And she can grip things with them just like an opposable thumb (makes her NOT so graceful for jumping, though LOL).   Hubby is teaching her how to give high fives, and she's starting to make friends with Nightingale.  It would be sweet if they could be buddies.  Both are SOOO loving!  I'll definitely post progress on her as she's closer to her due date.  As it is she probably has at least a few weeks left.

Lori, being the wonderful lady she is, pulled a BUNCH of kittens from HAS this week in hopes of helping to avert another vet day.  Guess where some of those kittens ended up?   They have been having fun tearing around in the office and generally trashing the joint, but they are adorable and we don't mind at all.  A couple of them are quite terrified, and might need a few weeks work, but the rest are sweet, ,cute and ready to go.  I love it when a plan comes together, they are all going to an adoption event this weekend, and with luck, next week will find them ALL in wonderful forever homes!

I finally had to make the call on Bis, and he will be going to a barn home.  He's very comfortable with people, but like Dusk and Dawn, wants NO interaction with them at all.  That's ok.  I'm fairly sure he wasn't from a litter with the other kittens, he was feral born and raised through and through.  At least we know that he will be safe where we send him, and he can live life enjoying being cared for, yet still having his freedom.  NEVER a bad thing. 

Another pulled kitten, he has such cute markings!

As always, if you are looking to adopt any of the wonderful cats and kittens I talk about, check out Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln.  If you can't adopt, donate, or volunteer!  Every little bit makes a difference for a rescue!  Thank you for reading.  I know this was rather uneventful, but I'm still catching up! LOL!

Things just keep rolling along.....

Lots happening, but isn't there always?     Kittens grow, kids grow, the world turns, and cats get dumped.  Seems to be the way things are lately.   The high kill shelter in our area is stuffed with cats and kittens, and a good majority of them are dumped, or are the products of dumped cats.  Some days, it feels like a hopeless cause, getting cats out just to see more show up, but it's a labor of love.  We try to save as many as we can, but at least we get some out.  Lori is pretty amazing when it comes to taking the cats that others leave behind, and it feels good to know that someone cares!  There are other rescues that take tough-case cats, but I think Lori is sort of famous (Infamous?) for it.   I couldn't be happier about that... I love a challenge, and she never has a lack of providing me with challenges!

New hissy.  Hard to get good pics when they move a lot!

The hissy kittens from a few weeks ago were basically ready, with the exception of one particularly terrified little Tortie.  Poor thing was just not ready to go.   So I'm keeping her to continue working with her, and the other three (Jetson, Smoke, and Houdini) are off to the store to find their forever homes.  They still aren't huge fans of being picked up, but Lori will help them with that at the store.  Sometimes having them exposed to that environment really helps progress their development faster, and kittens are SO adaptable!   Miss Tortie (we are calling her Meesha), will be coming around in no time.  There are some things kittens can't resist, and play is one of them.  She's already come out of her shell a bit more since the others left last night.... with the scared ones, sometimes divide and conquer is the way to get things done.

A VERY unhappy tabby hissy.   Can't wait to win him over!

Lori and I discussed last night, but we have come to the conclusion that Dusk and Dawn would indeed do best in a barn cat program.  They are not afraid of people anymore, and yell at me for food, for play, etc, but NOTHING, and I mean NOTHING, will interest them in allowing to be pet.  Precious (their den-mother) has done a lot to move them past the last bit of fear they had of people.  When he comes for love, they come and scream at me because I'm not letting him give THEM attention, and they are just not interested in attention from people.  They aren't scared, they aren't aggressive, they just aren't INTERESTED.   That's ok.  They are allowed to be like that, now it's a matter of finding them a safe place to be (they are fixed, microchipped, and vaccinated), and Lori is working on that.  I felt a bit defeated at first, but the reality is, not every cat who comes to us will want to be a companion.  I'm ok with that.  They will go somewhere safe, and live happy lives chasing mice and lounging in patches of sun....

Little black hissy trying to melt away from view....

Nightingale's kittens are growing so fast it's scary.  They go for their vaccinations next week, then they will be going off to an adoption event to find their own forever homes. It will be bittersweet, but it always is with babies you raise, and they are wonderful little kitties who deserve wonderful homes.  They will have great lives.   Them being gone will also mean we can really concentrate on Nightingale and getting her into a more comfortable state.  She's a love, and she deserves to be comfortable.  We adore her.  Hard to believe when she came she was so protective and terrified, she wouldn't even make eye contact, and would growl even if you just moved around her.  Now, she's a lover, a tv addict, and loves junk food (we found she LOVES potato chips... long story, but we have to keep potato chips away from her LOL). 

Lori managed to save some other kitties the other day, and she scooped them BEFORE they made it into HAC.  Someone has trapped them, apparently they had a bunch of feral kittens running around their back yard.  They caught some, and were bringing them to HAC, but Lori miraculously saw them before they walked in the doors, she peered into the carrier, and that was that.  She agreed to take them and now they are with me.   They are all hissy, obviously feral born, but literally are already coming around (just overnight!).  I think more than anything they are scared and hyper-vigilant, and they've already realized I am the bringer of foods.....  So they watch me closely and have even meowed a few times when I enter their room.  It won't take long at all.  

This weekend, I am picking up Heart, the cat from the local humane society.  They reached out to me for help with her as a last resort.  They just aren't set up for dealing with scared or feral cats.  She is a little growly if you move quickly, and their volunteers are a little scared of her when she's like that.   Otherwise, it seems like they have done a really great job and gotten her quite a long way down the road to rehab.... She just needs a change of scenery and a specialized touch to get her the rest of the way.  MAD props to the ladies at Burlington Humane for working so hard with her so far, and for not giving up on her.  I promise I will do my best, and so will my entire family, to get the lovely Heart adoptable and help her to blossom into the kitty they know she can be.   She's a lovely girl, and when we went to see her, I could see that she's just at the cusp of crossing over.  Some kitty friends to guide her along the way (Duck and Trouble will be huge with this girl), and the right kind of approach, and I'm very confident she will be adoptable and happy as someone's companion.   I look forward to the transformation! 

The lovely and elegant Miss Heart!

If you are interested in adopting, fostering, or even donating, every little bit helps.  I know I always say this, but the need has never been greater.  We will be putting together some fundraiser events for NCWL in the next little bit, and would love to have any support we can get.   The rescues run 100% on donations, and even $5 is $5 more than they had.  That $5 can be the difference for a cat.  I'll post some information when we have some good events planned.  Please feel free to follow NCWL on Facebook as well for up-to-the-minute information about events and kitties finding forever homes!

Thank you so much for reading.   I can't thank everyone enough for supporting this blog and our efforts to help the cats.   It makes it that much more rewarding to know that people care.   :)

Sometimes tired is all there is.....

Yep, I'm tired.  It's been a whirlwind of a month so far and it doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon.   Between the day job, the kids, the cats, and just normal household upkeep, some days I'm amazed I make it to bedtime.   I am not complaining, I would rather be busy than bored, but it's definitely a challenge some days to balance it all out.

I wish I could just work with the cats all the time, but of course, I have to pay the bills, and volunteer work doesn't pay so well.   Someday, my dream is to make this my career somehow.  But for now, I just have to keep working out the balance of life/work/passion. 

I'll get to the meat and potatoes and share what's been going on with the kitties at hand.

Nightingale watching over her playful kittens

Dusk and Dawn are still with me for a while longer.   They proved to be tougher nuts to crack than we thought.  Even after being fixed, they were both still pretty sketchy, and took to peeing on me in my sleep.   Funny, until you have to get up at 3 am to strip bedding and wash it.  LOL!  Either way, I moved them into their own room for a while, and am working with them every day.   They weren't QUITE ready to be handled and be stressed out when I had to take them in for their fixing, and it did set them back a little.  But with the help of our houseguest, Precious, they are slowly coming around.  They are not cuddlers, and probably never will be, but now they greet me happily when I come into the room, take food from my hands, and play with me.  I can touch them briefly, but that's about all they will tolerate. It's still in the air as to whether they will be gentled enough to become companions cats, or if they will go into a barn cat program.  I think we'd all much prefer them to be companion cats, but in some cases, the feral runs too deep and the best you can get is that they don't hate or fear humans, they just don't really want to be around them.  It would be a shame, but at the same time, you have to do what's best for the cat.  I'm not ready to give up completely yet, but I have to admit it's a little saddening at times.  It is what it is, and all anyone can do is their best.   Most importantly, they weren't euthanized just for being ferals, and that's the goal.  No cat deserves to die just because they are a feral.  Every life is important.   This is one major thing I'm glad that Lori believes too.   She keeps rescuing the ferals and difficult cats, and I will keep helping her with them.  The pretty cats, the friendly cats, they are easy, and the other rescues can have them if they like.  Every life is precious and worth saving.   Thank goodness for Lori.

Chickadee and Raven posing in a kitty pile

Nightingale is doing extremely well.  She has turned into a regular lovebug.  She loves people and loves being around them, and she especially loves TV.  She will watch for hours from her spot on the floor.  No way in the world this cat was ever feral.  Terrified, in pain, sure.  Feral, never.  We will be taking her for her xrays soon, but as she is ok and manages, we decided to wait until her kittens were gone before we started to stress her out with xrays, poking, prodding, and potential treatment for her disability.   It's an old injury for sure, pelvis or legs or both.  I can't imagine how she survived, pregnant, crippled, in pain.  Makes sense as to why she was thin as a rail when she came.   I have no idea how she hunted and fed herself while pregnant with her mobility so compromised.  She is a miracle and so are her kittens.    They are absolutely little darlings, too, so I'm glad she made it and so did they.  They are growing like weeds!  7 weeks old now, in a few more weeks they will be ready to head to their forever homes.   A definite victory for all involved, and especially for them and whoever gives them forever homes.  They are all little angels and will make anyone wonderful life companions!

Robin snuggled up

I have had a special project this last week as well.  7 fully feral kittens, about 10 weeks old, who needed socialization before they could go into the stores.  All hissy fussy little pisspots, but I love them.  Kittens trying to be tough is one of the funniest things ever!  In reality, they are just scared, without their mom, and aren't really sure what to make of all the fuss.  Three of them only took a few days and have already headed off to the store.  The last four are the more frightened of the bunch, and will probably take a few more days before they are ready to go.  There's one in particular, an orphan who was all by himself, trapped, brought in, malnourished, and was thrown in with a bunch of other kittens so he wouldn't be alone.  I call him "Houdini", because he can get out of anything and can get in anywhere....  But it's fairly obvious he's been through deeper trauma than just being separated from his mom and trapped.  Trap-trauma is bad enough.  This little guy is scared of humans for more reasons than just that, I think.  I plan to get to the bottom of it, but I have a feeling he's going to be here for a while.  Poor little guy.  The others are just more scared and are already making leaps and bounds.  A few more days, they will be good to go.  It's nice when you can get the scared/feral ones when they are really young, because they are like children; move past fear more quickly, are more motivated by play and food, they are just closer to the blank slate than an older cat who's experienced major trauma.  Helping them before bad habits and paralyzing fears become crystalized and ingrained is the best way to help them.  I'm confident they will find forever homes quickly!

Raven: "Whyfore you blind me wif dat bright ting!?"

This week I was also contacted by a local Humane Society to help them with one of their cats.   She's good with other cats, but is TERRIFIED of humans.  Unfortunately the Humane Societies are not set up to deal with scared or feral cats.  They are a place that is set up to adopt friendly, settled cats into forever homes.  They don't have many options when it comes to helping the scared ones, although I firmly believe they do the very best they can.  I agreed to do what I could to help them help the cat, and have built a basic plan.  I'm heading out there today to meet her, assess her, and hopefully give the staff some advice for things that they can do that will help her move past her fear.  I have to get some kitties off my plate before I could take her to work with her, and honestly, I think that with the right techniques, the staff there could be taught how to handle cats like this and get them normal and adoptable, or at the very least make assessments between "feral" and "scared".  It would be awesome if that could happen.  Either way, I don't want a sad end for this little girl, and neither do they, so I will do what I can to help her out.  If I have to take her for a while, I will :) From how she's been described, though, once the fear is gone, she will be an amazing cat.  She's good with other cats and likes them, that is always helpful in showing them the way.  Another little soul who deserves life.   She's going to get the best chance possible.  I'm mostly just relieved that they reached out for help instead of giving up, which would be the easy route.  Nothing about cat rescue and rehabilitation is easy, but the payoff in the end is so immensely huge, it's all worth it.

There is always something you can do to help.  If you are a photographer, helping your local rescue get really great pictures of cats and kittens gets them adopted more quickly.  If you can drive cats to appointments or help out that way, you are STILL MAKING A DIFFERENCE.  A donation of $5 might not seem like much, but it might be that last $5 needed to get a cat a surgery or medical procedure that could save their life.  If you are willing to open your home to foster, please consider it.  And if you are looking for a cat to adopt, please adopt a rescue!  Rescues have so much love to give!!  You will never find a more grateful pet than a rescue.   If you are interested in adopting any of Nightingale's kittens when they are old enough, or the former ferals, or any kind of cat at all, please contact Lori at Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln and she will help you find what you are looking for!  You can also find links to some of the other rescues we love in the links section of the blog.  All are awesome, and you will be sure to find the kind of cat that's suitable for you and your home.  Please adopt don't shop!

Gotta have a plan....

So, I'm sure some people are wondering what happened with Lomasi... the HAC Cat who was deemed a feral and saved last-minute from euthanization.  The poor girl was in full PTSD trauma, and that is certainly no way to adopt a cat.   A LOT of work had to be done in order to really gain her trust and open her up to loving people, instead of just fearing them.   I knew we had to have a good plan.

As I mentioned in the previous post, I did notice that Lomasi seemed to be somewhat more comfortable with the clinic cat present during her examination.  I hadn't had her long, and hadn't really exposed her to my resident cats, because I wasn't sure how she would react, and the last thing I wanted to do was put her further into trauma.  As it was, she spent her entire day cowering in a corner under furniture, her eyes as big as saucers, and hissing and growling at anything that moved or that she thought might move.  Humans made her especially terrified, even if all she did was hear their voices.   This poor darling was so hyper-vigilant, I don't know that she really slept for the first week at our house.   There had to be a combination of methods used in order to show this poor cat that nobody was going to hurt her, and that humans can be GOOD, not just terrible and terrifying.  Getting a cat in full shut-down to do ANY paying attention to anything other than their fear is fun in and of itself, but unless the connection is made, nothing will move forward.  I wracked my brains to come up with a full routine, and in the meantime, I spent hours every day in the room with her, not doing anything, not even looking at her, just sitting there, letting her smell me and see that I was not going to move or hurt her.   She did have her medication for her cheek at this time, and although she would growl and hiss when I approached her to give the meds, she was quiet and sat still, allowing me to apply the topical and give her her oral meds, and never ONCE did she lash out.  SUPER good sign.   If a cat is going to strike out, it's DEFINITELY going to do so when you are administering unpleasant medications.  All these observations help to formulate a plan of "attack", so after a week of medicating, observing her reactions, and seeing what motivated her...  I had a plan.

1)  Feeding time - Lomasi liked her food, but was not especially food-motivated.  The fear was stronger than the food.  But certain types of wet food seemed to get a stronger reaction than others, so I planned to feed her those foods, but lay right beside the food dish with my hand IN it, mingling my scent with the food and making a positive association in her brain.... People = Favorite food.  Cats are so scent-motivated, it is a no-brainer when you can make positive scent associations.

2) Other Cats - I have certain of my resident cats that I refer to as "Ambassador Cats".  These are cats that I can rely on to be solid, relaxed, and will respond with relative predictability to other cats, no matter what THAT cat's reaction is.   Mouse, Quark, Duck, and Trouble are all good candidates with different types of cats.  What seems to affect these meetings the most is if a cat is more dominant, more submissive, or more neutral.  I pay VERY close attention to where my cats are on their own hierarchy, and although there are subtle changes occasionally, but for the most part their own structure is pretty well established.  Lomasi is definitely more on the "neutral" side of things, but could be victimized because of her fear and weakness by a more dominant cat than her.  I had to think about who it was I was going to introduce, but I had a short list.  Duck is a big cat, his size can intimidate, although he's actually about as scary as a butterfly.   Mouse is extremely tiny, she's good with small cats, because she's not intimidating on size, but can be vulnerable to attack from larger cats.   Quark is lovely, but she can randomly be a "princess" and decide she's TOO GOOD for her current company.   Trouble seemed to be the best.  She's a "submissive" on hierarchy, but really, she's more like Luna Lovegood in the Harry Potter books... in a class all to herself.  A stable cat, not an aggressive bone in her body, SUPER human-lovey, and very playful.  Seems like a win.

3) Being VERY careful with eye contact - Eye contact is a huge thing for cats.  They can carry on entire conversations with their eyes, and if you are observant, you can glean as much information from their eyes as you can from their tails and ears (sometimes, more).  There is a "proper" way for cats to greet each other, to approach new cats, etc, and much of it is communicated in the form of eye contact.  ANY direct eye contact can make a cat EXTREMELY intimidated and shut them down.  My plan for this was to always physically stay low (keeping on the same level with her and not above - above can be a threat), not to initiate direct eye contact, looking down to the side with soft eyes, and to make sure that I didn't engage in anything with her until I got her "permission" (slow blinks that show a level of trust and security).  Downcast soft eyes, any direct eye contact after permission, and soft eyes while dealing with her.  Hopefully it would all bring her threat level down to as close to zero as we could get it.

4) Contact with KIDS - Calm, understanding children seem to have a way of connecting with animals even when adults can't.  Getting the kids involved in a calm manner might help to create a level of connectedness with Lomasi that she may not evolve with an adult.  You never know until you try, and nevertheless, kids seem to be less intimidating.  Anything to remove that factor is a bonus.

5) Exposure therapy - Instead of keeping Lomasi in a quiet, sterile environment, which does NOTHING to move past her trauma but instead keeps her cushioned in it, I knew that we had to start exposing her to the sounds and movements that would normally shut her down, but do it in a controlled, safe way that can allow her to get used to the noise and movement of a busy household, but not put her back into her trauma shell and force us to start over.   Any quick movement would make her run or cringe, and loud noises sent her scrambling for cover.  Definitely NOT a good thing when trying to get a cat adopted.  If they hide all the time and are always scared, well, people don't want them as a pet.

6) Play and Confidence building -   If I could get her engaged enough not to be afraid of our presence, we could really build up her confidence getting her engaged in structured play.  It has the added bonus of also siphoning off some of that anxious energy, and oftentimes a tired, played-out cat is more responsive to all kinds of attention and/or training. 

The plan was set.  But would it work?  Any one of these elements could help, some may do nothing at all, but at least we had a full plan to crack the nut as best as we could.  The only thing left was to enact it....

Such a pretty girl.  Out exploring the wider world of the house...  

At first, feeding times were a bit of a challenge.  I generally feed all the cats (residents and fosters) at the same time... This prevents fights, and issues with fairness.  And if you don't think cats understand the concept of "he got more than I did", time to check yourself.  They ABSOLUTELY do and it can cause infighting in an established group.   Lomasi was still in her own space, but she could hear the other cats clamoring for attention, and they all knew when I went in to see her.  My method was to take in the food, and sit for her ENTIRE TIME EATING with my hand on the plate, almost in the food, laying on the floor.  A few times I got a cramp, or would get itchy, but any quick movement would send Lomasi scampering, and that doesn't help.  After a while she got used to me, and even started to look out and meow when she saw me coming.  This was HUGE progress.. .but she still wouldn't let me really touch her willingly.

Lomasi was in my daughter's room.  My youngest daughter is a lovely girl who adores cats and loves helping them.. but she can also be very loud and vibrant.  Bad idea to have Lomasi with her?  NOT AT ALL.  Lomasi VERY quickly realized that all the noise and movement from my daughter was not a threat in the least, and this exposure to the noise really started moving her along quickly, dulling her hyper-alert startle reflexes, and started to peak her curiosity.  She would watch what was happening from a safe place, and although she didn't come out, even getting her attention was a good sign of engagement.  I also spent a lot of time with my face jammed under my daughter's bed talking to Lomasi sweetly, getting her used to the sound of my voice associated with my smell (I spent a lot of time with my glasses off and her sniffing the stems, good way to keep arm's length and still have them SMELL you).  It seemed to pay off, and she started to come out, at least pop her head out, more and more.  These are the times I really expressed the "come hither" kind of eye contact.  The let's be friends we're ok slow blinks and the respectful, slow approaches, to the point she trusted us if we approached her that way, and stopped hissing and cowering, and was more curious..  Breakthrough!  It was time to really ramp things up.    Enter - Trouble.

Lomasi hanging out with foster-daddy on the couch!

As I mentioned earlier, Trouble was PERFECT for Lomasi to watch.  She's a HIGHLY people-oriented cat.  As soon as she sees a person it's a meow, tail up in the air, and an approach demanding love and pets.  Cats learn a LOT from watching the behavior of other cats, and we would leave Trouble in the room with Lomasi (who accepted her immediately - much to our pleasure), and when we would come in the room Trouble would greet us with jubilation.  Lomasi watched this very closely, almost like she couldn't figure out why at first... But when Trouble gets her pets and flops down rolling around and purring, Lomasi observed this trust of us, and saw that no harm came to Trouble, either.  I think this, more than anything, encouraged her on to the next step.  Her curiosity got the best of her, she had no reason to be scared that she could see, and eventually, SHE started to greet us when we came in.  Not coming out all the way, but poking her head out, meowing, and actually WANTING to be pet.

I have to say, once the floodgates were opened for this little girl, she turned into a love MACHINE!  You could not pet her fast enough or long enough and she would thrust her head into your hand demanding more pets, while running in circles to make sure you pet all of her!  She started more and more to come out from her hiding place to seek love, and really started to actively engage in play (instead of just the odd swat at an object).   She had made leaps and bounds in only a short time, but it all started with her ENGAGING with us, instead of just fearing us.

The lovely Lomasi, confident and comfortable in her environment.  A long time coming!

The next step... to introduce her to the wider world of the house and resident cats.  This made me especially nervous, because we also have two large dogs.  Now, to qualify that, although both dogs are 65 pounds, they are both EXTREMELY good with cats.  They have been trained from puppyhood that cats are higher than they are in the pack, they never chase cats, bark or nip at them, and in fact, our resident cats often mother and groom the dogs, or cuddle up with them.  I wasn't sure, given Lomasi's sketchy background and time in the big world, what her experiences with dogs had been, so that was definitely a factor.  But the only way to really know is to try, so we just opened up the door to her room, and let her have free roam in and out.   At first, she hid under the bed, but from a vantage where she could look out the door and see everything happening.  Before long, though, she was wandering the house, exploring, and although she would startle and run when loud noises or unexpected movements would occur, instead of just diving, she would run a few feet, then turn around and investigate.   She was past ONLY her instinct self-preservation reactions, and although she still has them, they are less and less literally every day.  Her first encounter with the dogs involved some hissing and poufy fur, and even now she's not particularly "friendly" with them, but she tolerates or ignores them and is no longer afraid.  She can meet new people with confidence, and is quickly inserting herself into the family routine.  She's even starting to help me with a few other trauma cats we have taken in (more about these guys coming), and has made incredible progress!  The other day, she jumped up on the couch WITH us for the first time every... planted herself down, and cuddled up!   We were blown away but so grateful..... This is where she needs to be.  NOW she can find a home and live a normal, happy, fulfilled kitty life!  Really all that's left is to get her ready to be in a cage in a pet store.  Her experiences with cages in the past were not good, but with some exposure therapy (feeding her in an empty cage with the door open, etc), before long I am very confident that won't be an issue either.  The months of work and effort paid off.... we couldn't be more happy!!

This is a beautiful little girl, and out there, somewhere, is the perfect forever home for her.  Whoever her future family are, they are VERY lucky.  This little girl is going to be the best cat anyone could ever ask for.  And I'm not just saying that... She's just AWESOME.

If you are interested in potentially adopting Lomasi, you can find all the contact information for Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln on their webpage, http://ncwl.weebly.com/, or their Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/NcwlCatRescue

To read the first part of Lomasi's story, it is here:  http://traumacatdiaries.blogspot.ca/2014/04/about-as-feral-as-my-kitchen-table.html

OMG! Adoratabbies! *swoon*

There are people out there who, despite not being able to help directly, try really hard to do the right thing.  There is a wonderful family in Hamilton who, finding an abandoned, very pregnant cat in their townhouse complex, took her in.  Instead of dumping her at animal control (which is not where we want them to end up), they decided to put the word out in the best way they knew how to find her a safe place to be.  Kijiji.

On the rescue groups on social media, these ads are often shared.  We do our best to scoop the cats and kittens and get them into programs before they are sent to potentially questionable circumstances, or, in some cases, dark and horrible fates (some as snake food, some for breeding, some for even worse things - people can be messed up).  I saw the photos and the ad, but I noticed something very important.  This family made it VERY clear in their ad that they would NOT allow this cat to go just anywhere.  They had a list of questions they wanted answers, and were trying to do as much as they could to guarantee Mama cat went to a SAFE, GOOD place.  That I really liked.  So, I contacted them, explained that I worked in rescue and that we wanted to help Mama cat through her delivery, and help her and the kittens find loving, responsible forever homes after that.  They were THRILLED, this was just what they were looking for, and so they arranged for me to come pick up Mama later that week and get her into the program.

"Sage" - Mama rescued by wonderful family, and her three little babies minutes after birth.

A few days later, I received a text message from the wife of this lovely family.  She said that there were other stray, semi-feral, and dumped cats in the area (their area is particularly bad for people moving and dumping cats before they move), and would I maybe be able to find a place for them too?  I wasn't really prepared and wasn't sure if the rescue I work with could take them all, so I told her I would do my best and let her know.  I wasn't going to assume Lori had capacity (goodness knows the woman is already a saint and does what she can, but is extremely reasonable too), so I figured I'd check with her then ask around and see if any other rescues would take them.  They cats were in this family's home (temporarily) and interacting with them, it was pretty safe to assume they would be social and easy to adopt.  There were two tabby brothers, and an older orange tabby male.  Ok, I would see what I could do.

I talked to Lori, and she was happy to take Mama, but suggested that another rescue could take the other three.  Since they seemed like quick "flips", so to speak, it made sense to spread them out.  Ok, great.  The other rescue made arrangements with me to drop the boys off to a vet once I picked them up, so I agreed, let the family know I was taking everyone, and went along my merry way.

I arrived to pick up the cats, four carriers it was rather an ordeal, but the lovely family was happy I was there and taking everyone, and they promised to let me know if any more cats needed help.  These people are amazing, and I wish there were more like them in the world.  Everyone was loaded up and heading home.  The Mama to stay in my house and give birth, and the boys to move on to the other rescue.  They were to spend overnight at my place, to be dropped off the next day.

The boys were a touch skittish, but that was to be expected, considering the circumstances.  Despite a little nervousness, they all seemed friendly, so in the morning I dropped them off and went home to prepare to play midwife....

The rescue who took the tabbies (who are all absolutely ADORABLE) got them into their foster home after having them fixed and vaccinated.  All seemed well.. except...

A few weeks later I get a message from the head of the rescue.  She's unsure what to do.  The orange tabby was fine and got adopted, but the brother tabbies (I dubbed them "Adoratabbies" in my head - named Coby and Darby), weren't doing well, wouldn't let themselves be picked up, would not allow themselves to be pet or approached.  They needed work and they weren't going to be able to stay with her.  I didn't know what to say, I felt terrible, but I was sure they were fine.  I didn't want to inconvenience this lady any more than I had to, so I offered to take the boys back.  She handed them back lock, stock and barrel, and suddenly I have two lovely little cats who aren't even wanted by a rescue.  What the hell is going on?  And I already have my hands full!  Ahh well, in rescue sometimes you have to go with the flow and see where it takes you...

The "Adoratabbies", Coby and Darby

I let the boys out into "General population" with my resident cats.  They were healthy, vaccinated, and whatnot, and really, there was no reason not to.  They came here and seemed fine... not really nervous at all.  They would run a few feet if you approached quickly and high up, but that's fairly normal, especially for semi-feral or cats who've been outside surviving on their own.  Outside, not being cautious means being dead.  We all just slowed things down, let them come to us, but really, there was no hesitation.  The Adoratabbies were ABSOLUTE lovebugs!  Baffled, not sure how they could be the polar opposite of the story I was told, I shook my head and carried on.

I decided we would keep the Adoratabbies for a little while, get them used to dogs, kids, chaos, and caphcony, make sure they would be really solid no matter where they went.  Get to know them really well so we could know what kind of home they'd thrive in.  Basically give them the best chance for adoption we possibly could.  They quickly became household favorites, and we argued amongst ourselves a few times out of keeping them.  It would have been easy, they are LOVELY, but we just couldn't do it.  These guys deserved to shine in their own home.   Ok, so then what to do?  They aren't "sponsored" by a rescue.  They are basically ours.  Already fixed and vaccinated, thanks so much to the original rescue, so that was a bonus, but still...

Darby, the brains of the Operation.  Lovebug extraordinaire.

Lori to the rescue!  I let her know about the boys and their situation.  She agreed to take them on and help me to get them adopted.  Bless her, she's just an angel amongst women!  We were all so excited she was going to help us, so we set about the business of getting them used to things like a caged environment (in the store to meet potential adopters), and to meeting new people, reacting well to noise, etc.  We got them nice and solid, and sent them off to the store to meet their new people!

Coby, the "Beefcake".  That circle on his muzzle is adorable!

We took them to an adoption event, which was very overwhelming for them.  Of course, before they went, they were microchipped at the vet (which is a rather unpleasant experience, though  not horrible, it doesn't make for happy go lucky kitties).  They did ok, but once they were moved to a store they settled down some more.  I admit to being nervous about how they would react to being in the cage in the big scary store... but I'm proud of how they did.  I just saw the news that Darby was adopted into a forever home, joining another cat from NCWL (YAY!!!), but Coby is still awaiting his forever home.  In this adorable duo, Darby was the brains, while Coby was the braun.  I called him "beefcake" because that's just how he struck me.  This little sweetiepie really deserves a home, though, so I'm hoping _that_ person shows up this weekend to adopt him.  In the meantime, I'm going to shout it from the rooftops and make sure he finds a home.  He is awesome and deserves it.   This is why we rescue.  Hope is what it's all about!

About as feral as my kitchen table......

There are a lot of groups on Facebook devoted to cat rescue.  Many rescue groups work hand in hand - understanding that it doesn't matter WHO helps a cat, as long as a cat is helped.  There's several animal control services in the area, most of them are fairly good, but there is one in particular, Hamilton Animal Control, that is a terrible place to be if you're an animal.  They are kill-happy, and tend to not really investigate ANYTHING about the cats that come in... They just assume and carry on.  Basically, if a cat swats, hisses, growls, or does anything other than just sit there like a lump, they can be deemed "feral".  Nobody takes into account the simple trauma of being in that environment.. small cramped metal cages, unfamiliar noises, the smell of suffering, foreign things, and fear.  That kind of environment could put ANY cat over the razor's edge and cause them to act defensively.  Unfortunately, being marked "feral" at HAC means being marked for death.  Once that happens, the clock is ticking for any rescues who want to help.  Once "vet day" comes, the deed is done, and there is no help for the dead.

One particular little black and white (Aka Cow Cat) was getting a lot of chatter in the rescue groups.  She had a big nasty injury on her cheek... something she had received from being trapped.  The door of the trap came down on her face, and removed about 3/4 of her cheek.  The injury had not been tended because she was hissing and growling...   She was marked as "feral".  The timer was ticking, and Vet Day was only a few days away.  The race was on to see if she could be saved.

Lomasi in her HAC picture.  The mark under her left eye is the injury she sustained from being trapped.  No wonder she was traumatized!  The fear in her eyes is obvious.

Part of the issue with rescuing cats from places like HAC is that most of the wonderful people who want to help can't necessarily get there to collect a cat.  And only approved rescues can "pull" from there.  A rescue had to agree to pull a cat (essentially sponsor their vetting, adoption, etc) in order for it to be saved, but then comes the matter of GETTING it to safety.  There were a lot of busy people and it was tough to find a ride for this girl once a rescue stepped forward... and there was also the matter of where would they go?  Most of the rescues do not have the capacity to deal with cats this damaged, and it was easy to tell just from the look in her eyes that this cat was horribly traumatized by her experiences.  Moved, and determined to help this poor girl, I volunteered to take her if a rescue could pull her and we could arrange a ride.  The race was on!

Neveah's Charity of West Lincoln, run by an amazing firebrand of a woman named Lori Dudley, stepped up to the plate and agreed to help out this girl.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, Lori is a HUGE fan of "cow cats" (a favorite of ours as well, considering we have three), and really wanted to help this girl.  I hadn't met her or worked with her before, but all of my network said that she was a fantastic lady, and that NCWL was a reputable, honorable, and excellent rescue.  Perfect!  I would be working with them to get this girl out... now to get a ride.

Things were starting to get frantic, as the clock was ticking, and as the search continued for a ride, Vet Day arrived.   Generally things start to happen around 11 am, so the window of opportunity to save this "feral" cat was in full swing.  Finally, an amazing lady in rescue who does many of these "delivery" operations stepped up to volunteer, and we finally had everything we needed to get the black and white girl out!   The "pull" was arranged, the volunteer arrived, and not a moment too soon.  When she arrived, there was just under an hour until "D-moment".  Talk about a near miss!  One hour longer, and all hope for this girl would have been snuffed out.  Now, she really had a chance....

Everyone celebrated.  Relieved that one more innocent life was spared a sad, lonely, terrifying end for no other reason than being unwanted.  .  I was nervous, not sure what to expect, but knowing full well this cat would likely be severely traumatized, and would have a long hard road ahead of her.  I was definitely right.

The angelic rescue driver arrived, carrier in tow, and we chatted for a few minutes while she set the carrier down and let the kitty have a moment.  I could see she was huddled in sheer terror at the back of her carrier.    She was in full meltdown mode, generally a good sign of PTSD.  Not even the presence of other cats could bring out any curiosity (another sign of complete mental shutdown).  This girl REALLY needed our help!  The angel-driver left, and I moved Miss "Feral" up to a quiet room to decompress.  Even with her carrier door open, she refused to come out.  She was ok with me sitting close to it, but any quick movements would have her cowering and cringing, trying to practically crawl into the ground.  The poor thing was fully in trauma.

I put my hand close, and although she would hiss and growl, never once did she lash out.  This was a hopeful thing for me, because if she isn't lashing out, she's not aggressive, she's just defensively posturing.  Can't say as I'd blame her in her current state.  I was pretty concerned about the injury on her cheek though, and let Lori know I wanted to take her into the vet to get it looked at.  It was an awful injury, literally a millimeter or two higher and she would have lost the eye.  She was lucky, but an infection could still come to a nasty end, so I wanted to be sure.

It was easy enough to get her into the carrier (since she'd never left), so I closed the door and carted her off.  She was very afraid at the vet... but something very good happened there (aside from her getting needed meds and a clean bill of health overall).  The vet clinic has a resident cat... a lovely little boy who himself was a rescue.  I noticed that when he was in the room or close by, this little girl would calm down.  I asked them if he could stay in the room during her exam, and they were fine with it, but I realized that perhaps having other cats help me to reach this girl would not be a bad idea.  Armed with meds and a plan, we came home and settled her back in.

At the vet they had logged the cat as her HAC number, because she didn't have a name yet.   I asked Lori if she had a preference, but she left the name in my hands.  A beautiful cat deserves a beautiful name, and after poking around the internet, I found one I felt was suitable.  "Lomasi" - it means Pretty Flower in native american (Cherokee, I think).  She's a beautiful cat, and it seemed to fit.  Lomasi was our choice.  Our pretty flower had a long way to go, but flowers are things of hope, and we had a lot.  One thing I definitely knew.... this cat was about as feral as my kitchen table.  I thank all the powers of the universe that she's still around so she can prove it.   We just had to get her there.....

(To Be Continued..)