Read the Introduction, to get the general picture of my interaction with the alley cats, and the Summary, to put the stories on a timeline.
I told you the last time I have visited Oki and Hope at Org T was last Saturday. Hope started to come out but Oki was still very stressed. My husband visited them on Tuesday and he was really upset of the luck of progress. I was telling you that they are set on the floor, in a big cage in a room with few other cats that roam free. That would be just until they acclimate to the room. But it's already 2 weeks and we haven't seen much progress. That is, I think, because they are set on the floor, you would have to sit on your knees to get to them when they are hiding. And Oki is hiding. I suspect nobody really gets to work with him.
Oki has just one eye, we found him as a kitten with one eye popped out. He is very friendly but he was shy even when in our house, cautious or maybe even afraid of the other cats. I do want them to be happy, they are not happy now, locked in the cage. I have to help them relax and show themselves to people so they will get adopted. All the other cats I took there got adopted in a week, Lily and Coco in 10 days. Coco was very shy too, but I visited them 3 times a week and I know the shelter staff helped them too. Oki will get there, but he needs more help then he got.
So Wednesday, as I was 20 minutes away of Org T, I decided to go to cheer them up. That would have bean 20 minutes to get there, 20 minutes there and 20 minutes back to where I was, total an hour. But my husband told me that he has business that way anyway, so he went, and I decided to go wash my car in this time I suddenly had. To bad it snowed few hours later and the outside of the car is dirty again. It's really a struggle these days to prioritize the time I spend between my needs and the cats needs. I know I have to take care of me first, so I can be strong and able to help the cats. But many times the cat situation seams to be a life or death situation, so how can I not choose their lives first... That would be the life of the kittens that are still out. Kittens are all friendly, or get friendly in days to weeks. Org T. takes all the kittens that reached 2 ponds. We just have to catch them, but I saw while feeding them, that there is no real chance to catch them, unless they stumble by sheer luck in your hands.... So I want to try to trap them... We haven't tried trapping yet, but we'll have to start doing it for the TNR of the ferals anyway. That was the other reason I wanted to go to Org T, to borrow a trap. They lend them for colonies caretakers free, for 2 weeks. My husband picked one up, but he says he would like me to go with him, for moral support, or hardware support... Now, when going to feed them, we'll have to find the extra time to wait around, to actually use it. And I've already committed my time all day Sunday to help by volunteering for something else, so we cannot even count on that time.
I went Thursday to visit Oki and Hope, as I didn't go the previous day. I think Oki is slightly better, Hope is really warming up, purring and coming out on her own. I also visited the kittens that I raised from 4 weeks old and I had a strong bond with them, Misty and Sharky and they were just put on the floor. They were doing very well, definitely happy to see me but also quite busy playing and running around. They'll forget me soon enough... I, on the other hand, will never forget them and I'll miss them. I'm sad but happy too, I just want them to be happy. I didn't get to see Rocky, the kitten that we found starving and with a broken leg, because he had just left with his new family. He was on the floor just that day, yes, he was that cute! His leg was not broken after all, just dislocated, so he was good as new.
I've told you that we've tried and we are still trying to find other people and organization that would help us help the cats. And one of the contacts that we've made in the summer , the founder of Org C, came trough with help for two cats. It all happened Friday. Firstly she sent us with Hagrid (former Phoenix to their veterinarian). Secondly, she found a foster mom for a cat that we were monitoring and feeding, and knew that was friendly and also very pregnant calico, let's call her Happy, and we just didn't have a place to take her in, besides the closet. We ultimately would have taken her in the closet, but now, she got a better place. My husband literally just grabbed the cat, put her in the carrier, and took her to the foster lady where she relaxed and got very comfortable immediately, showing all her tricks, including her belly... up... Org C. will take care of her and her babies when they'll be born, and find homes for them. I'll update you about her when I'll have updates.
Now Hagrid... ooops. The vet sent me home with a bag full of medication. I was suspecting he'll need medication but I was hoping the vet will actually give him most of it. Firstly, the bloody ear and forehead, was a bite, not a scratched ear infection. It is slightly infected so I have to give him liquid medication (antibiotics) with a syringe in his mouth twice a day and also clean the wound with a solution. It's not easy, he is a strong guy that doesn't understand what I'm doing, but he is not aggressive at all, so, I'm doing it, but takes me a little time... Then, he has ear mites, I have to put something in his ears... I haven't tried yet, I thought to give him few days for ear the wound to heal, so I can hold him while pouring the solution in the ears... Then, I've got dewormer both a pill and liquid. I'll wait with that, probably until I finish with the antibiotics for the ear. Then, they gave me a solution to put on the fur, called Revolution that kills flees. I've used it before, and I know that it actually kills ear mites and round worms too. Probably it's not treating those 100%, that's why the vet gave me more medicine, but at last for the next days surely they'll make him feel better. They also did the test for FIV and Feline Leukemia (the vet took blood while he was awake and a good boy), and unfortunately he came back positive for FIV. Still it is great he doesn't have the Leukemia... Between the two bads, FIV is better. Org T. does take FIV positive cats, but there is a waiting list, and I suspect they'll want him more relaxed than he is right now. So, I'm gonna foster him for a while.
Saturday, I went to the Org T as every Saturday, I do something close by each week. The shelter staff said that both Hope and Oki came out on their own, they said that we definitely helped a lot by visiting every day... I was so exited, and I saw myself the Hope is doing really well, but Oki is still stressed, better, but not good yet. I just hope that Hope will not be adopted and Oki left behind on his own. I so hope they'll get adopted together, as all the other cats that we took there, were. That includes the kittens Misty and Sharky, that I just saw on Thursday. They've got adopted on Friday, they've stayed on the adoption floor one day only...
And the week is not even done, but I'm running out of space here... I'll tell you more next time....
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