Junior was at one of my colonies, and friendly, though a bit jumpy. Not neutered. I thought he might have a human family, but as the weeks went on, it seemed not. He was always there, always hungry, not neutered. Sooo...I brought him home. He was in the safety of the big cage, off the floor, for a few days, not he's gotten the lay of the land, and is out and about. Got him neutered. Got him an appt. with my holistic vet on June 2. He has some kind of inflammation in his mouth. Not enough to keep him from eating, or make him drool. He's a wiry little man, still a bit jumpy, but loves to have his tummy rubbed as often as possible! Welcome JUNIOR!!
Meet Junior! Named after Junior Mance, the jazz/blues piano player...
Junior was at one of my colonies, and friendly, though a bit jumpy. Not neutered. I thought he might have a human family, but as the weeks went on, it seemed not. He was always there, always hungry, not neutered. Sooo...I brought him home. He was in the safety of the big cage, off the floor, for a few days, not he's gotten the lay of the land, and is out and about. Got him neutered. Got him an appt. with my holistic vet on June 2. He has some kind of inflammation in his mouth. Not enough to keep him from eating, or make him drool. He's a wiry little man, still a bit jumpy, but loves to have his tummy rubbed as often as possible! Welcome JUNIOR!!
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This small family has blossomed! So many changes! Daddy Jules is watchful, Mama Julia takes cues from him, but is often the one to make the first move into new territory. Now that they are out and about we see that they are VERY athletic, graceful, curious, and...SWEET! They are great jumpers, too...effortlessly jumping six or eight feet...into everything...sleeping with me on the bed...purring and rolling over and over in delight...Yes, I'm in love. Baby Jennie is still wary of us, though she lets me pet her, and purrs, when I come up on her lying down...they have long since lost any trace of respiratory infection...It is such a joy to see them starting to feel that life is worth living. They are making the most of it, to be sure! Better photos to come. This one does show off the shine of Jules' glossy soft coat...
The best news is that I'm comfortable, and they're comfortable, going outdoors now! (not the baby yet) Jules went first to see if it was a good idea...he very slowly and carefully sniffed and looked along the walls of the house, then ventured onto the patio a bit, and gradually went further and further, always making sure he could get back in. (door left open) He loves it! I don't know if any of them ever even saw the light of day, let alone grass and bugs under their feet, or flowers. Julia followed, and hasn't gone as far yet. I think I'll let baby Jennie out today...mom and dad can keep an eye on her..and she will stick with them. Mom and dad are really still kittens...I think mother Julia has even grown a bit since she arrived. They grow till they're around two... There is nothing more gratifying than to see traumatized, shut-down people (yes, personhood for all beings) open up and start to experience love, joy, and new smells, safety and freedom, all the good things life has to offer. And it's spring! Her story hasn't ended, but so far is a happy one! Chelsea is seen here at the All-Star Rents lot in San Pablo, where I feed a colony. She showed up there with this harness, and, if I'd been more observant, I would have noticed the collar, cutting into her armpit. You can just see part of the collar here, and the gap in her fur where the collar goes under her front leg. This can be a deadly condition: the collar cuts deeper and deeper into the armpit, gets infected, and the cat slowly goes downhill and dies. She obviously had been with a family, but was now too frightened to let us catch her. The folks at All-Star Rents are kind and considerate. When I didn't see her for a couple of days, they told me she was still in the yard. The rest of the colony takes shelter inside the walls of the yard, and these folks leave food and water for them. KUDOS. Within a few days she showed up outside the yard and, long story short, I was able to trap her. She was calm when I got her home, and let me look at her. I put the new ones in a big cage in the living room, so that they can get their bearings. Covered if they are frightened. She was pretty relaxed. She ate well! After she ate, I examined her. That's when I discovered the collar...embedded in her armpit. I cut the halter off, and the parts of the collar not stuck to her. I didn't dare pull at the stuck parts, for fear of making the wound worse. There was blood on the halter... In the morning I found that Chelsea had pulled the rest of the collar off! Shown below. She let me lift her arm. The wound was not nearly as deep and wide as another cat's, (Archie) had been yay, but there was a deep hole; "pocket" in medical terms. Fur was missing on her back ( scab from the halter, too) and around the path the collar had taken. After our experience with Archie, we knew that this was a very slow-healing wound. I geared up for the long haul, and called the doctor. When Chelsea was seen the next day, I was amazed at how much the wound had closed up! There was no hole, or pocket left, certainly no infection, and the dime-sized area was "granulated" and light, not dark, pink! WOW!! What a happy surprise! How well these young ones heal!! Even after days, or longer, of privation, she was able to heal this wound quickly. Astonishing...
It was probably only a few days after she was lost that we saw her...yes, I posted posters, put her on nextrdoor.com, etc. No response. Her halter looked new. In any case, it is extremely fortunate that she was caught as soon as she was! More to come! A couple of posts ago, I introduced this small family, which arrived on March 31st. Here they are, still in the (safe) introductory cage, up high in the living room, getting the lay of the land. After a few days, they were moved to a big back room with plenty of windows, cat trees, etc., where they stayed until a few days ago, when I began leaving the door open to the rest of the house. (cat door locked in the 'out' direction for now) They made a few quick and timid forays out, but yesterday...!! All of a sudden they were all over the house! Mind you, up to then they had mainly huddled inside a tiny condo in the back room. Mother Julia had seen fit to lie on top of the big cat tree, but daddy Jules stayed hidden 99% of the time. What joy to see the switch flipped...and so quickly! They explored the whole house, said howdy to the other cats, rolled around on the floor...Go Figure! Always a surprise, with cats! And what a happy one! I had worried that they would take forever to learn to trust us, to be comfortable in this new environment, but no! Our dear Bruna, who came last April, has only last month started going into the inner bedroom...took her a year to leave her first room...glad it had a window seat with a view... We still can't touch her, but she lounges on the bed, grooms and is groomed by the others...and has two new views. At night she does roam the house, while we're safe out of her way, asleep.
The new family: I had feared that they'd been badly neglected, or abused. They were totally passive... did not express any frustration, anger, or resistance to being in a new place, being picked up, etc. Most unusual, They did not seem frightened, just paralyzed, made uncertain, by our presence. They're all "home"now, sleeping. When they get up and about again, I'll take some more photos of them in action! At my age (76) I've been through a lot of iterations, but this one as a cat rescue lady beats all for mysteries and miracles. Behold EMMA...our latest of example of each.
Emma was found as a four-month old kitten at one of our colonies. She was adopted with her adult friend, Fritzie, and stayed with the new family till they became homeless. Back to us after five years. She was a mellow, quiet lady, with just a little something amiss...as if she'd had a slight head injury, or...kind of a blankness in her eyes, but no biggie. Just two days ago, she started walking around, slowly and deliberately, and sniffing everything. It was as if she were trying to figure out where she was. Her movements were awkward. She had one episode of foaming at the mouth, but no seizure before or after it. Within a few hours, she was turning in circles, slowly, to the right, and staying in her bed. After she settled, her head still turned to the right. Odd systemic conditions are perfect for homeopathy. I called my go-to homeopath, and had a chat. She suspected that Emma was experiencing the mysterious vestibular disorder: a condition in which the vestibular area of the inner ear is affected. It is unknown what causes these disorders, and there is no known treatment save time and...the homeopathic remedy Lycopodium. This morning I got some Lycopodium, but by the time I got back from the store, she had improved! The doctor had said that it could take days, weeks, or much longer to resolve, or that the condition could be permanent. So I'm still in a happy daze here! We gave her one dose of the remedy, and the doctor said to wait and see how she does. Three doses eight hours apart had been prescribed. She is still sniffing a bit, curiously, but is up out of bed (she was immobile for almost all of yesterday). She can walk in a straight line, and there's no more circling. THANK YOU CAT GODS! And thank you, dear doctor! Looked down from my deck a few days back, and...!! A big green carrier. As I went downstairs, I began to suspect...and when I saw a bulge in the back (it was a thin fabric crate!) I knew...but didn't suspect that it was a whole family...!! I got my husband/partner to help, and picked the crate up, gingerly, and brought it upstairs. The adults howled in distress. We got them into a big raised cage in the living room,with food, water, litter, and covered the cage entirely. They stopped howling...bless them. This photo is of the male, who may well be the father, and one of the two girls. All five have kinked tails, perhaps from inbreeding. One little girl has a twisted stub of a tail, and her hind legs have atrophied. No feeling at all, in her entire back end. Otherwise, she's fine and dandy! Here she is below, looking at the camera, with her sibs. So: So what now? The babies are not 'socialized'; are terrified when I pick them up, save for the one boy, who is game. Still scared, but game. The parents are responsive and like to be touched. Whew. Means that the little ones were ignored by whoever they were living with. My guess is that brother and sister were adopted (to the Wrong Family) as kittens, not neutered, and when the little female had babies, were more than these folks wanted. Glad they came here! I kept them all in a big, raised cage in the living room for a few days. When they come in, they hunker down and don't move around much anyway :-). They can see where they'd landed, get to know the other cats here a bit, at a safe distance, and, we hope, start to feel that they will be loved and cared for. Their next venue, the back bathroom, large, with a bay window with cat beds, two cat trees, y mucho mas, was occupied by the boys in the previous blog post. Those boys got lucky! Their caretaker put off her trip (no surprise) till the fall, and they went back to their outdoor home. Will revisit that situation down the road. The family is in the back bathroom now. The two adults, lets call them mother and dad, are guarded, very quiet, but not spooked by anything...calm and affectionate! The dad is big, and serene. He is watchful and protective. The smaller mother is also calm and relaxed. Go figure...the adults were used to people, but the babies- not at all. We named the calico girl Juliet, mother Julia, dad Jules, and the boys Julian and Max. I don't go for cute or random names, but they are family, and those names seem to suit. Max, well, he's more out front and confident. He just jumped from my lap onto a distant cat tree! Now exploring the living room. The others are in the cage, their happy time (or not) out of the back room. They'd run & hide still if I put them on the floor. Juliette: her challenge. No biggie for now, but as she gets older and heavier, sores may form on the parts dragging on the floor. She has seen a western-only vet who found no feeling in her back legs, which have atrophied. Our neurologist is now seeing only the most critical patients. He consulted with the first vet, and thought her chances for improvement were slim (we'll see about that; does not bode too well, but!) There's a remote chance that she could have toxoplasmosis, which can be treated. I'll give her the medicine and see how she responds. She needs to have her bladder expressed, and help with stool. otherwise, she's in great shape! She gets around fine, though she can't (yet) climb. Last time I had a cat with bad mobility issues, our chiropractor had the best insight as to what we could expect. She's also not seeing patients till further notice. But our Juliette is full of life! She's the most eager and best eater of the five! They certainly keep me occupied during these troubled times! Stay tuned!
The quarantine has allowed us more time to be with our cats (no events, way fewer vet visits) and to call friends and family. Which is nice! 4-8 more weeks are projected by our Gov. Newsome...Hey! Rump says we'll be over it by Easter: what gives haha. Need to cut off his access to the media..it's costing lives...er, more lives...now. Valerie Plame (Outed CIA agent) has been raising funds in order to buy Twitter and cut off his account. Brilliant!! https://www.gofundme.com/f/buytwitter...I digress. Have not inserted 'political' stuff till now, but dire times...I hope our cats don't lose any supporters! In any case... My husband and I are loving the extra time we have to be with our cats here! We currently have twenty-five, including two Siamese boarders who will need an outdoor situation when healed. We can help with relocation...it's tricky; they're 'feral'. Beauties both, Siamese with a tad o' tiger. Here's one...ears down= wariness. The photo below it is the best I could do for his brother...long-haired and gorgeous... If you know of a farm or of anyone with a big yard who would like two outdoor cats, please contact us! 510-237-1190. It's ten days since I started this post..time to wrap it up! Read New Yorker article by a woman who has been confined in China..how different, how much better the response! How much longer the quarantine...our trials are just beginning, I'm certain...husband came back today not finding disinfectant or gloves anywhere...
Cats can't get to the vet...phone consultations and pick-ups of meds workin', AND! Thank goodness for my homeopath! She has fixed up two of mine: Heather had a skin sensitivity of some sort...raw spots all under her neck, and scabs on her in other places. Usual suspect is flea allergy...she also had what looked like a cold...she's the one with the bone anomalies..we love her! And, Little Maggie has something unprecedented here...runny poo along with vomiting bile and blood. THAT"S fixed too...thank you VERY much, Dr. Barrett!! In the photo below, Heather is on the left, Maggie on the right! Love to all, and stay safe! It's the run-up to kitten season: shouldn't be taking in so many, but...I'm not ordering the universe. Two Siamese mix boys came in from (as always) a bad situation. One, bless him, had infected feet, pads, "pillow pad", which is torture: Can't walk without pain, pads actually burst...can't compete for food then. NOT fun; not fair! Fortunately, not too common either, although I've had my share. The brother had a very large abcess on his neck, not as hard to fix. And not on his FEET! They were comfortable with their feeder, who must move, but not so much here with me. The pillow pad takes months to completely heal. These photos are the best I could get of them. the handsome guy in the bed is the one with the pillow pad. Ears back still, but he stays in his bed when I enter the room. At first he'd flee to the safety of the tunnel, in the next photo, where his brother is. Rodney, below, came in yesterday, from a (much) worse situation. Abuse. Nuff said. No, Terrible Abuse. I can't get him to my holistic vet this weekend, begged for an appt. asap. He's skeletal, with missing fur, and weak. He drags his back legs. He does eat!! small amounts. No stool passed for a week, eek. gave an enema. TMI? Gave a bath; he's incontinent. He has a lot of healing to do. Send prayers! On the good side, he is The Sweetest cat ever. And a loving caretaker who for good reasons relating to the abuse, can't keep him where he was. giving fluids, hand feeding, keeping him close and loved.
Yes he's a mess...but not for long! He still won't let me pick him up, but when he's eating I can work on his mats a bit...he's calmer than when he arrived, traumatized, two days ago. He had an unwelcome vet appointment, got neutered, given antibiotics (his mouth needs attention badly) and got micro-chipped. His saving grace is that he's eating well! And he's responding positively to my touch now! Raises his back end. He's thin and dehydrated (got fluids at the vet; wish I could give him more: maybe in a day or two) he's an older guy, and lord only knows what all he's been through. Jerome!! You're save and loved now! His rescuer has come to visit him... a friend and husband of one of our board members. Day two: looking a little better! Getting the lay of the land here. Isn't he gorgeous??
This is the text from Gloria's first fundraiser...she had come far, and this is how she began:
I'm Cynthia at Bee Holistic Cat Rescue and Care in Richmond, CA. I'm raising funds for the on-going treatment of Gloria, to help her walk again after a head injury. She has seen several doctors, and they agree that she had suffered a head injury. Gloria was brought to me by a concerned man, who had found her in his warehouse. She was three months old, and not afraid of humans, which means that she had been in a home. It's sad to think, but someone must have abandoned her, as she could not have gotten there on her own. She would just fall over whenever she tried to move. She has a sunny disposition, and lets us know what she needs at all times! She's quite the gal! AND!! She has improved under the care of Drs. Anne Reed for general care and acupuncture, and of Dr. Margaret Holiday, the chiropractor Gloria can now manage to stand for minutes at a time, and to get around a bit. She is keeping her balance better, and recovering more quickly from her falls. Her treatments are expensive, and will be on-going for some time, but a full recovery is expected! This little one someone threw away is deserving of a great life. We are thrilled at her progress, and will be grateful for any help you can give to get her well again! Gloria has been with us almost four years now...and, hard as it is to see her fall, and fall, and fall again, sometimes backwards, sometimes hard, she has been a joy and an inspiration to us. She is other wise sturdy and robust. We have never had her spayed, as the sedation would be too risky, they say. We go through the heat cycles with her, which have interestingly become less frequent. At the moment, I will be talking with her main doctor to see about getting her teeth cleaned without sedation... |
About CynthiaThe founder of Bee Holistic, Cynthia Burke, has been caring for cats most of her life, volunteering with such groups as the wonderful Animal Balance, and Fix Our Ferals, now Animal Fix Clinic. In 2009 her own non-profit was formed..
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