I am so far behind, once again. I have been reading, and commenting here and there. Ever since I took on helping coordinate the cat problem the hours fly by in my days.
Pet sitting was very busy in April, which added to the fun. I had a most unusual assignment - a guinea pig who needed to be syringe fed four times a day. Amazing how going to a client's home at 7 am, 11 am, 3 pm, and 7 pm cuts up your day. (And of course I will still force feeding Abigail, my foster, three times a day as well.) Between the two, for 11 days, it felt like I did little besides treat client pets, foster pets, and take care of our own pets, including dog walks. I was glad for the income, and glad when the 11 days were over.
The one nice thing about feeding Hermione (who happens to be male) is that you have little to do besides sit in a chair with the pig on your lap, and over 20-30 minutes give little squirts of food from the syringe. It was actually a bit meditative, so that was nice.
On the foster front, it has been a wild ride. Abigail has been quite the adventure. I've been force feeding her for seven weeks now, and though she's very cooperative, I am so ready to not have to do that 2-3 times a day. Her wounds on her back healed up beautifully, and she is completely mobile now (from hardly being able to walk when she arrived.) She climbs cat trees and goes all over her room now, and she is a lovebug extraordinaire. It is hard to believe she was a colony cat, though I've been assured that she was, but her caretakers did a wonderful job of befriending many of the colony cats. Getting rid of her upper respiratory problem, which clogged her nose, which made her unable to smell, which prevented her from eating (cats won't eat what they can't smell) has been truly frustrating. Various antibiotics for seven weeks. Finally last week she got spayed and they cleaned out her sinus cavity, and took out what the vet described as a ton of puss and mucus. That night, after surgery, with a clear nose, she ate her dinner by herself. By the next morning she was clogged again, and not eating. Sigh.
Abigail in her post-surgery suit.
I took her back to my favorite diagnostician at the vet's office Monday, and she felt that there wasn't any more infection, but that the nasal cavity was irritated and swollen from months of battling the upper respiratory stuff, so we took her off the antibiotics, and put her on a small dose of a steroid to reduce the swelling. Two days into the steroid, she ate breakfast all on her own. Looks like we are on the right track now, and we are all relieved.
In the midst of all this I took her to a wonderful master groomer for cats and got all her mats removed. The groomer made it look super easy, and was done in 10 minutes - don't ask me how. It was masterful to watch, and the result - one gorgeous kitty.
If she continues to eat, everything else has been done for her, and she'll be ready for adoption. I expect we'll get a LOT of applications for her.
Another of my fosters, Ember, has also been battling an upper respiratory infection, but luckily it did nothing to harm her appetite! Ember has also found herself a wonderful home, and will be going home on a foster-to-adopt kind of arrangement tomorrow. She still needs a dental which is scheduled in early May, so she stays a foster until that's completed. She's had to stay in a huge 6 foot crate for the few weeks she's been here and she'll be glad to be free of that starting tomorrow. She's the cat some mean people left outside when they moved, and I hope that this time her new home will be a forever one. The bond between her and her adopter looks very good.
My other two fosters, in quarantine, are the two ringworm kitties, Lisa and Wendy. They get lime dips (think Sulphur and stinky smells) twice a week, as well as oral meds, and they should be ready to re-test in a couple weeks. They're both very sweet cats who've been amazingly tolerant of everything, and I think they will get homes quickly.
Waiting in the wings...two litters if I can free up my two foster rooms. Every rescue, including ours, is packed at this point. Welcome to kitten season.
In the midst of all this craziness I decided to cut off most of my hair, or rather, have the hairdresser do it. I went from shoulder-length hair to what you see below, which is soooo much easier to care for. No more blow drying or anything. Wash and wear.
Marley and I head out on vacation next week, and Gracie gets to come with us again. She's a good traveler. Marley's adult son will stay at our place with our critters and the two ringworm cats, while Abigail stays with another experienced foster. We are looking forward to some time away in the mountains of Virginia, and plan to hit up a few wineries while we're there as well. Hard to believe it isn't even really summer yet with how busy it's been. It is tiring but also satisfying, which is better than just tiring,
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