I am hoping the Millersburg man is successful tomorrow morning. He's taken up the food! Yay! And he's going to trap in the morning. He is very good to those cats. The Millersburg calico, still here, seems to be enjoying her vacation and is eating everything in sight. I have wormed her. She gobbled the latest wet food so fast she didn't notice the hidden bits of droncit pill. Ha.Ha.
I got a call from Dallas. Yes, Dallas. The woman wanted me to take in two 8 week old kittens right away. She was apparently calling all shelters on petfinder. I told her "no". She said she got them from a friend, and now one of her dogs wants to kill them. I tried to divert, tried to get her to pledge to get involved in Dallas with solving the cat problem, since she said they are huge animal lovers.
All she wanted was for me to immediately take the two kittens. Like I'm going to drop everything and go clear to Dallas to take in more cats from some stranger who got kittens and now doesn't want them. Does she really have a dog trying to kill them? I don't know. People tell all kinds of lies when trying to get someone to take their cats. I never believe anybody anymore. If she does have a dog trying to kill them, she could certainly keep them safe by putting them in a room and closing the door to the killer dog.
On my website, on my phone message, I clearly state I do not take in cats from the public. That, however, is not enough to stop people. People want their needs met and they just don't care who they harrass or put out in the process.
This behavior is so prevalent I really have a hard time believing anymore that there are decent nonparasitic people out there.
If you go on any website that allows comments you also see a disturbing trend--beratement and belittlement of others is all the rage. Cyber bullying is a hobby for many people. Because I was often the target of bullies on the local newspaper websites, I cancelled my account with them and now rarely even read them. They allow cyber bullying to go on, seem to even encourage it. That's sick. Go to youtube. Look at anyone's site. The comments are disgusting, often threatening or violent or vulgar. It's all the rage---tearing into people and tearing them up on public comment sites.
It wears into you, to see that everywhere, might make some people think it's ok behavior, since it is acceptable on local and state newspaper sites, and even on all the TV news station sites. But it is not ok behavior.
So my world has become a little bit smaller lately in my avoidance of all this public acceptable bullying behavior. But I bet there are a lot of people out there disgusted by what is now considered normal also avoiding exposure to the same. One day maybe there will be so much disgust and avoidance of this behavior and the sites that allow it, that the world will become a better place.
Until then, I am hoping the Millersburg man catches his cats in the morning! Miss vacationing calico will be rejoining her herd in the morning regardless. Her room needs cleaned and other feline vacationers have her space here reserved for the weekend.
Thursday, May 07, 2009
The Mansion Boys Being Fixed Today
I returned the three Mansion females this morning and picked up the two males. KATA was going to get them fixed today, in Corvallis, but I just couldn't see driving all the way out there, then back and to Corvallis, then back from Corvallis. Two hours of driving and so far, no donation from the Mansion people.
Since they were both males, I just took them up to Countryside, even though I had no appointments. They agreed to do the Mansion Boys today. At least the five Mansion cats will all be fixed and I am hoping the Mansion people do make a donation. The kids are nice and hopefully their folks have a sense of right and wrong and fair play. If they don't, at least the cats won't suffer because of it.
I am having a tad bit of trouble with the Millersburg cats. These are four barely shy cats who should be extremely easy to catch. Thing is, I got a man issue there. He's a really nice man but he thinks he knows how to do things and doesn't really take direction at all. Therefore three of the four, nice and easy trap jobs if I was alone in it, are becoming a nightmare to get in for fixing. And one of them is pregnant. Fortunately, I caught one of the two girls, before he could say a thing, the first day. He had started in, "those cats won't go into traps" just as the first trap I'd set quickly closed on her.
But after that, things went downhill. He won't quit feeding. He tried, despite my urgings to just let the traps do the job, to carry one of them inside a building to put into a carrier, and got scratched and bitten. This morning, he'd already fed them and told me I didn't tell him I was coming this morning, when I did. He has a trap there he could have set. It's been a big issue, actually, when the three left to be trapped would be five minute trap jobs, if I was doing it. But, oh well, you know, that's the way it is. I might have to go over in the night and do it. Wish I'd done that in the first place. He's a very nice man, but I wish he'd listen.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Lots of Requests
I have been getting a lot of requests from people who want me to take in their cats. The latest is from the family of a Yachats resident, who has moved in with her family in Corvallis, terminally ill. She left behind 13 feral cats she fed, all fixed. Her son e-mailed to say his mother's sister is feeding them for now, but is going to stop. I told him they could advertise for barn homes for the cats, but there wasn't much else I could tell him.
An Albany woman for whom I got cats fixed for over a year ago, is moving, and has been hounding me to take her cats. I have hounded her back to advertise them, put up fliers, call shelters. She's not done any of that, except maybe try SafeHaven once.
I had a woman wanting two barn cats. Instead of taking two from an apartment complex, I put the barn cat woman and the Albany woman in touch. What happens? The Albany woman e-mails me that the barn cat woman hasn't responded. Except I know that's a lie, because the barn cat woman copied her response to the Albany woman, offering to take the cats, this weekend, to me.
I copied the e-mail back to the Albany woman, who now says "well, she responded once, but not again." So I'm thinking this Albany woman is I don't know what, and I told her, finally, I couldn't do anything more for her.
If she blows the barn home for her cats, I'll tell the former Yachats people about this possibility for two of their mom's cats, at least. Homes are hard to come by. That Albany woman should be jumping all over getting a home op for her two. But she is not. If she doesn't, that home op will go elsewhere. And very quickly too.
The BS people's sons' new wife's kid has a brain tumor. Two of them. She's been sick off and on all winter then got hit in the head by a ball that caused her a severe headache. Her parents took her to the doctor, and they did an MRI then more tests, because they saw the tumors. They are in a very bad location and may be inoperable and the BS woman says all her sons' wife can do is cry. It's sad when a kid gets something so terrible.
An Albany woman for whom I got cats fixed for over a year ago, is moving, and has been hounding me to take her cats. I have hounded her back to advertise them, put up fliers, call shelters. She's not done any of that, except maybe try SafeHaven once.
I had a woman wanting two barn cats. Instead of taking two from an apartment complex, I put the barn cat woman and the Albany woman in touch. What happens? The Albany woman e-mails me that the barn cat woman hasn't responded. Except I know that's a lie, because the barn cat woman copied her response to the Albany woman, offering to take the cats, this weekend, to me.
I copied the e-mail back to the Albany woman, who now says "well, she responded once, but not again." So I'm thinking this Albany woman is I don't know what, and I told her, finally, I couldn't do anything more for her.
If she blows the barn home for her cats, I'll tell the former Yachats people about this possibility for two of their mom's cats, at least. Homes are hard to come by. That Albany woman should be jumping all over getting a home op for her two. But she is not. If she doesn't, that home op will go elsewhere. And very quickly too.
The BS people's sons' new wife's kid has a brain tumor. Two of them. She's been sick off and on all winter then got hit in the head by a ball that caused her a severe headache. Her parents took her to the doctor, and they did an MRI then more tests, because they saw the tumors. They are in a very bad location and may be inoperable and the BS woman says all her sons' wife can do is cry. It's sad when a kid gets something so terrible.
Five Cats, All Female, Being Fixed Today
Black female, dumped off Grand Prairie, being fixed today.
Millersburg feral calico, being fixed today.
Rural mansion torti, being spayed today.
Two more rural mansion females, also being fixed today.Among the five being fixed today: one feral calico fed by a Millersburg business. Real nice folks there. Three more to catch, one of them pregnant.
A stray dumped off Grand Priarie. The couple feeding her thought she was a big male. But, when I found her crying in the carrier they had her in, last night, ready to be taken to be fixed, I told them ferals don't meow in carriers or traps. Being as how "he" was tame, I took "him" out to be sure "he" wasn't already neutered. Low and behold, it's a girl.
The other three girls are a courtesy fix and pick up for KATA. They had contacted people trying to give away five unfixed cats on craigslist, and offered to at least get them fixed before they give them away. They had been unable to work in the three girls to their fixing schedule, so I offered. These folks live way out in the boonies.
I was expecting a trashy trailer type property. Guess I"m used to trashy Linn County properties over run in cats. I expected the same in this instance. To my shock, the place is a mansion. Three car garage, probably a multi million dollar place. I was stunned, actually.
I asked them for a donation for tonight, when I take the girls back. I know with this economic downturn that people living in mansions right now may have less disposable income than those living in a trashy trailer. But I was totally shocked to see where these folks live, to be quite honest. Drop dead shocked. When I see that, I feel such people might really really be taking advantage of me.
Sometimes mansion people need help too, I think. I bet there are a lot of over extended mansion people out there. I wonder sometimes if mansion people resent the fact trashy trailer people get all the help.
I've met a lot of mansion people in the last year who are struggling very hard to survive. I remember one who lived in N. Albany, divorced woman, working three jobs trying to keep the house, mainly for her son. I couldn't take being around her, she was so exhausted and stressed trying to make it. I felt bad for her, wanted to help her, and I did. They had a lot of unfixed cats. Until she made one comment.
She said "Things like this aren't supposed to happen to good people like me." She continued that she goes to church and loves God and that bad things are supposed to happen to bad people. Then I wasn't so sympathetic.
I'd told her, in brief, when she asked, the story of my very hard life. When she said what she said afterwards, her implication was that I must be a bad person and deserve the bad things that have happened to me. So my sympathy levels plummeted right then and there. Here was Miss Bad Person helping out God's Own
Chosen person over and over, and I even gave God's Own Chosen a bag of cat food.
Oh well. It was interesting and even funny to think about later on. She didn't really mean anything mean by her words.
So, five girls up getting spayed at least.
UPDATE: The black female is already spayed, the vet just called to tell me. I suspected this. Also, here's the wierd part. When they shaved her belly, they found stainless steel sutures still in her in a neat line. Who in the world uses stainless sutures still? Obviously somebody didn't take her back to have them ever taken out. It's not like stainless steel sutures EVER dissolve on their own. The vet doesn't know anyone who still uses those.
Tuesday, May 05, 2009
I'm Good at Selling
Last Saturday, at Pet Day, I went out to sell cupcakes. In pouring rain and howling wind, no less. Keni had bought about 80. While we got some people coming by our booth, we didn't get a lot of traffic. We were way out at one edge of the event venue, was one reason. The other reason we got very little traffic---weather!
So, fearful we would lose a lot of money and not even break even, over the cupcake buying, Keni sent me out with a flat basket platter of cupcakes, to sell to anyone willing. I took out anywhere from 8 to ten at a time.
I sold four platters of those cupcakes!
And, I enjoyed doing it.
I can sell things when I believe in what I'm selling or what I'm raising money for.
I wrote an original Christmas story a few years ago. I waited a little too long to write it to find any selling venue. I wanted to raise money for spay neuter, you see.
I also used to pick up cans at football home games, to raise gas money so I could transport cats to and from the vet. The drinking is excessive with any football crowd and so is the waste. There are cans and bottles galore out there after any home football game, free for the taking. I used to take them, if I could find a parking space close enough so that I could take the full bags of cans or bottles to my car before going out again.
So, I finally figured out how to print off my original Christmas story in chapbook form on my computer, although that in itself took days. Christmas was fast approaching. It was Christmas Eve before I had them ready, in fact. Now what to do. Too late, I languished.
But, in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I headed downtown with about 50 of the chapbooks I'd printed off and carefully stapled together. I had a small table, a chair and a battery powered tapedeck. I had only Christmas tape--Jimmy Buffet. I sat down behind that table and pushed the Play button. "Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Gin"....rang out over the mostly empty streets. It was the only Christmas music I had. Unfortunately, as the batteries wore down, Jimmy's voice got slower and deeper. No matter.
I hawked those books on that street corner like a pro. The lonely drunks at Squirrels began yelling at people that they better buy one. I appreciated the help from the lonely drunk crowd. It was only the lonely for the most part out on Christmas Eve.
I had no family and no reason to be anywhere else on Christmas Eve but on that street corner.
I met some interesting people. An old crusty guy came along. He had a heavy German accent. I gave him my speel about my orignal Christmas story and what the money would go for and he leaned close and whispered, "I don't want to buy your book. I want to buy you. How much for the night?"
I said, "Sir, I think you are mistaking me for a whore. I am pimping an original Christmas story, not my body and I do have pepper spray. Wanna see it?"
He shelled out money for a book. The drunks across the street cheered!
I love selling for a cause! I made $200 in two hours.
I went home to my shack and my cats feeling warm and fuzzy.
Keni told me we actually made $61 on Pet Day. That is damn good in my opinion. Low attendance. Bad booth position. Really bad weather. We still made money!
So, fearful we would lose a lot of money and not even break even, over the cupcake buying, Keni sent me out with a flat basket platter of cupcakes, to sell to anyone willing. I took out anywhere from 8 to ten at a time.
I sold four platters of those cupcakes!
And, I enjoyed doing it.
I can sell things when I believe in what I'm selling or what I'm raising money for.
I wrote an original Christmas story a few years ago. I waited a little too long to write it to find any selling venue. I wanted to raise money for spay neuter, you see.
I also used to pick up cans at football home games, to raise gas money so I could transport cats to and from the vet. The drinking is excessive with any football crowd and so is the waste. There are cans and bottles galore out there after any home football game, free for the taking. I used to take them, if I could find a parking space close enough so that I could take the full bags of cans or bottles to my car before going out again.
So, I finally figured out how to print off my original Christmas story in chapbook form on my computer, although that in itself took days. Christmas was fast approaching. It was Christmas Eve before I had them ready, in fact. Now what to do. Too late, I languished.
But, in the afternoon of Christmas Eve, I headed downtown with about 50 of the chapbooks I'd printed off and carefully stapled together. I had a small table, a chair and a battery powered tapedeck. I had only Christmas tape--Jimmy Buffet. I sat down behind that table and pushed the Play button. "Ho Ho Ho and a bottle of Gin"....rang out over the mostly empty streets. It was the only Christmas music I had. Unfortunately, as the batteries wore down, Jimmy's voice got slower and deeper. No matter.
I hawked those books on that street corner like a pro. The lonely drunks at Squirrels began yelling at people that they better buy one. I appreciated the help from the lonely drunk crowd. It was only the lonely for the most part out on Christmas Eve.
I had no family and no reason to be anywhere else on Christmas Eve but on that street corner.
I met some interesting people. An old crusty guy came along. He had a heavy German accent. I gave him my speel about my orignal Christmas story and what the money would go for and he leaned close and whispered, "I don't want to buy your book. I want to buy you. How much for the night?"
I said, "Sir, I think you are mistaking me for a whore. I am pimping an original Christmas story, not my body and I do have pepper spray. Wanna see it?"
He shelled out money for a book. The drunks across the street cheered!
I love selling for a cause! I made $200 in two hours.
I went home to my shack and my cats feeling warm and fuzzy.
Keni told me we actually made $61 on Pet Day. That is damn good in my opinion. Low attendance. Bad booth position. Really bad weather. We still made money!
Written, Obviously, by a Long Time Rescuer
READ THIS then call Hello: You have reached 123-4567, Tender Hearts Rescue. Due to the high volume of calls we have been receiving, please listen closely to the following options and choose the one that best describes you or your situation:
Press 1 if you think we are veterinarians and want free medical advice.
Press 2 if you know we are a rescue organization but want to save money and have us give you free, untrained medical advice anyway.
Press 3 if you make $200,000 a year but still want us to pay to spay the "stray" in your yard (house).
Press 4 if you have a 10-year-old dog or cat and your 15-year-old son has suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home right away.
Press 5 if you have dogs or cats, had a baby and want to get rid of your dogs or cats because you are the only person in the world to have a baby and dogs or cat at the same time.
Press 6 if your dog or cat is sick and needs a vet but you need the money for your vacation.
Press 7 if you just got a brand new puppy or kitten and your old dog or cat is having problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.
Press 8 if your little puppy or kitten has grown up and is no longer small and cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.
Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy or kitten who is not active and is going to outlive you.
Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for their elderly dog or cat because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.
Press 11 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your 150-pound, 8-year-old dog or 10-year-old declawed, never-seen-a- vet cat with dental problems.
Press 12 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home today and pick up the dog or cat you no longer want.
Press 13 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your dog or cat.
Press 14 if you are calling at 6 a.m. to make sure you wake me up before I have to go to work so you can drop a dog or cat off on your way to work.
Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know you have left a dog/cat in our yard in the middle of January, which is in fact, better than just leaving the dog/cat with no message.
Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to take your dog or cat that you have had for fifteen years, because it is not our responsibility.
Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog or cat to be euthanized because we won't take it.
Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the staff had the audacity to go on vacation and leave the rescue in care of a trusted volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.
Press 19 if you want one of our perfectly trained, housebroken, kid- and cat-friendly purebred tiny dogs that we have an abundance of.
Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your neighbor's cats.
Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this time with a different answer.
Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to board your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge, of course.
Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to deliver an eight week old puppy or kitten to your house by 6:30 am before your kids wake up.
Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.
Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog or cat who has already had ten litters, but you can't spay her because she is pregnant again and it is against your religion.
Press 26 if you're trying to make one of our younger volunteers feel bad and take your personal pet off your hands.
Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because it is declawed, but are not willing to accept the responsibility that the cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.
Press 28 if your two-year-old male dog is marking all over your house but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.
Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor-only dog or cat and are calling because she is suddenly pregnant.
Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it is cruel.
Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are also working and you are angry because no one called you back.
Press 32 if you need a puppy or kitten immediately and cannot wait because today is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.
Press 33 if your dog's or cat's coat doesn't match your new furniture and you need a different color or breed.
Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog or cat and you are too stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next month anyway).
Press 35 if you went through all these 'presses' and didn't hear enough.
This will connect you to the sounds of tears being shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded dog or cat while the vet mercifully frees him from of the grief of missing his family.
Press 1 if you think we are veterinarians and want free medical advice.
Press 2 if you know we are a rescue organization but want to save money and have us give you free, untrained medical advice anyway.
Press 3 if you make $200,000 a year but still want us to pay to spay the "stray" in your yard (house).
Press 4 if you have a 10-year-old dog or cat and your 15-year-old son has suddenly become allergic and you need to find the dog a new home right away.
Press 5 if you have dogs or cats, had a baby and want to get rid of your dogs or cats because you are the only person in the world to have a baby and dogs or cat at the same time.
Press 6 if your dog or cat is sick and needs a vet but you need the money for your vacation.
Press 7 if you just got a brand new puppy or kitten and your old dog or cat is having problems adjusting so you want to get rid of the old one right away.
Press 8 if your little puppy or kitten has grown up and is no longer small and cute and you want to trade it in for a new model.
Press 9 if you are elderly and want to adopt a cute puppy or kitten who is not active and is going to outlive you.
Press 10 if your relative has died and you don't want to care for their elderly dog or cat because it doesn't fit your lifestyle.
Press 11 if you are moving today and need to immediately place your 150-pound, 8-year-old dog or 10-year-old declawed, never-seen-a- vet cat with dental problems.
Press 12 if you want an unpaid volunteer to come to your home today and pick up the dog or cat you no longer want.
Press 13 if you have been feeding and caring for a "stray" for the last three years, are moving and suddenly determine it's not your dog or cat.
Press 14 if you are calling at 6 a.m. to make sure you wake me up before I have to go to work so you can drop a dog or cat off on your way to work.
Press 15 to leave us an anonymous garbled message, letting us know you have left a dog/cat in our yard in the middle of January, which is in fact, better than just leaving the dog/cat with no message.
Press 16 if you are going to get angry because we are not going to take your dog or cat that you have had for fifteen years, because it is not our responsibility.
Press 17 if you are going to threaten to take your ten year old dog or cat to be euthanized because we won't take it.
Press 18 if you're going to get angry because the staff had the audacity to go on vacation and leave the rescue in care of a trusted volunteer who is not authorized to take your personal pet.
Press 19 if you want one of our perfectly trained, housebroken, kid- and cat-friendly purebred tiny dogs that we have an abundance of.
Press 20 if you want us to take your dog that has a slight aggression problem, i.e. has only bitten a few people and killed your neighbor's cats.
Press 21 if you have already called once and been told we don't take personal surrenders but thought you would get a different person this time with a different answer.
Press 22 if you want us to use space that would go to a stray to board your personal dog while you are on vacation, free of charge, of course.
Press 23 if it is Christmas Eve or Easter morning and you want me to deliver an eight week old puppy or kitten to your house by 6:30 am before your kids wake up.
Press 24 if you have bought your children a duckling, chick or baby bunny for Easter and it is now Christmas and no longer cute.
Press 25 if you want us to take your female dog or cat who has already had ten litters, but you can't spay her because she is pregnant again and it is against your religion.
Press 26 if you're trying to make one of our younger volunteers feel bad and take your personal pet off your hands.
Press 27 if your cat is biting and not using the litter box because it is declawed, but are not willing to accept the responsibility that the cat's behavior is altered because of your nice furniture.
Press 28 if your two-year-old male dog is marking all over your house but you just haven't gotten around to having him neutered.
Press 29 if you previously had an outdoor-only dog or cat and are calling because she is suddenly pregnant.
Press 30 if you have done "everything" to housebreak your dog and have had no success but you don't want to crate the dog because it is cruel.
Press 31 if you didn't listen to the message asking for an evening phone number and you left your work number when all volunteers are also working and you are angry because no one called you back.
Press 32 if you need a puppy or kitten immediately and cannot wait because today is your daughter's birthday and you forgot when she was born.
Press 33 if your dog's or cat's coat doesn't match your new furniture and you need a different color or breed.
Press 34 if your new love doesn't like your dog or cat and you are too stupid to get rid of the new friend (who will dump you in the next month anyway).
Press 35 if you went through all these 'presses' and didn't hear enough.
This will connect you to the sounds of tears being shed by one of our volunteers who is holding a discarded dog or cat while the vet mercifully frees him from of the grief of missing his family.
Wish I Had a Magic Wand
I am wishing for that magic wand again. I want a magic wand that cures ringworm this time. I'd wave it over four kittens and their mom I know of and "POOF!" No more ringworm!
This ringworm vanquishing wand would also make me popular. I'd be in demand! Wanted!
I suppose the downside would be people would be soooooo jealous of me and my ringworm ending wand. They'd want to steal it, too, so I'd have to hire protective services to keep it safe. Buy guns and a big heavy safe. I might get paranoid. Even more so.
Guess I better watch what I wish for.
This ringworm vanquishing wand would also make me popular. I'd be in demand! Wanted!
I suppose the downside would be people would be soooooo jealous of me and my ringworm ending wand. They'd want to steal it, too, so I'd have to hire protective services to keep it safe. Buy guns and a big heavy safe. I might get paranoid. Even more so.
Guess I better watch what I wish for.
Monday, May 04, 2009
The Paperwork Nightmare That is our Medical System
I can't figure out the tons of paperwork I get just from the Oregon Health Plan, which is my secondary insurance. They were supposed to go to a simpler system I guess in January. A single small card.
But prior to that date, and continuing, I am getting tons of what appears to be the same paperwork over and over. Each one says exactly the same thing and I have no clue why they keep sending out the same papers. Today I received my fourth batch. I can't figure it out. They say I have a copay, but if I go to the doctor, they don't have any clue what it might be. Neither do I. The amount is not stated anywhere I can find.
The single card supposedly sent to carry, that is supposed to be simpler than the old card, which actually was quite easy to figure out, was sent on a 8 1/2 by 11 sheet, looked like a child's work, with 12 or more tiny little data squares, some different than the others, some the same, and I have no clue which little thin piece of paper, that might last a day in my wallet if not immediately laminated, I am to cut out and carry. The black ink lining the numerous data squares, on the paper, was faded like some printer was running out of ink. Calls to the number listed only produced a message line that played music then suddenly cut me off.
And this is for my secondary insurance. If I were to make an appointment to see my doctor for anything, I would not have any idea what that visit would cost, me, or my insurer, whom my doctor works for. No prices are listed, no standard easy listed prices so you know, so everybody knows.
And nobody knows what my copay is.
My doctor has no idea what my insurance covers. They take so many insurance plans they can't keep up either. I do not have an encyclopedic memory to remember. In the past, if my doctor prescribed a med, not even the pharmacy would know if it was covered or not, until they tried to run it through, which could be quick or take hours or even days. If the drug was not covered, then they or I would have to try to get through to my doctor, to find an alternative that might be covered. Talk about a bureaucratic nightmare.
Do we need change? Yes! We need a simple system. Doctor offices are drowning in confusing repetitive paperwork and so are people.
I did finally make an appointment for a mammogram in June. By then, I hope to figure out how much to take for my copay. I think I will also take cookies for the mammogram people. I like the mammogram office people and techs very much there. I also once had a colonoscopy and I liked those techs too.
When you're baring your breasts and your butt for inspection, it is good to have nice people doing the butt and breast inspections. I think it is wise to be good to the butt and breast people, too, because they have such power over sensitive body parts. I'm not saying I bribe the butt and breast people. I'm just saying I sure don't want them mad at me.
But prior to that date, and continuing, I am getting tons of what appears to be the same paperwork over and over. Each one says exactly the same thing and I have no clue why they keep sending out the same papers. Today I received my fourth batch. I can't figure it out. They say I have a copay, but if I go to the doctor, they don't have any clue what it might be. Neither do I. The amount is not stated anywhere I can find.
The single card supposedly sent to carry, that is supposed to be simpler than the old card, which actually was quite easy to figure out, was sent on a 8 1/2 by 11 sheet, looked like a child's work, with 12 or more tiny little data squares, some different than the others, some the same, and I have no clue which little thin piece of paper, that might last a day in my wallet if not immediately laminated, I am to cut out and carry. The black ink lining the numerous data squares, on the paper, was faded like some printer was running out of ink. Calls to the number listed only produced a message line that played music then suddenly cut me off.
And this is for my secondary insurance. If I were to make an appointment to see my doctor for anything, I would not have any idea what that visit would cost, me, or my insurer, whom my doctor works for. No prices are listed, no standard easy listed prices so you know, so everybody knows.
And nobody knows what my copay is.
My doctor has no idea what my insurance covers. They take so many insurance plans they can't keep up either. I do not have an encyclopedic memory to remember. In the past, if my doctor prescribed a med, not even the pharmacy would know if it was covered or not, until they tried to run it through, which could be quick or take hours or even days. If the drug was not covered, then they or I would have to try to get through to my doctor, to find an alternative that might be covered. Talk about a bureaucratic nightmare.
Do we need change? Yes! We need a simple system. Doctor offices are drowning in confusing repetitive paperwork and so are people.
I did finally make an appointment for a mammogram in June. By then, I hope to figure out how much to take for my copay. I think I will also take cookies for the mammogram people. I like the mammogram office people and techs very much there. I also once had a colonoscopy and I liked those techs too.
When you're baring your breasts and your butt for inspection, it is good to have nice people doing the butt and breast inspections. I think it is wise to be good to the butt and breast people, too, because they have such power over sensitive body parts. I'm not saying I bribe the butt and breast people. I'm just saying I sure don't want them mad at me.
Cat Stats for April 09. 41 Cats Taken in
41 Cats total 17M 24F
4 Ferals, the rest tame or sort of tame
11 of the 24 Females were pregnant
2 were in heat 4 were lactating
Of the four lactators: one, a feral from Queen,
had kittens taken in by a worker
One females' owner, on Clay St., had adopted out two of the kittens,
KATA took other three, all females, who will be fixed prior to adoption.
One female fixed from Butte Crk, kittens presumed dead
The Fourth lactator was female abandoned with kittens on Harvest, neighbors have the kittens, who all have ringworm.
Where did they come from? 8 were Marian County cats and the rest Linn County cats.
Albany--13 cats
Jefferson--2
Lebanon--18
Marian--7
Rural Linn--1
5 of the Lebanon cats fixed, 4 males and one female, were kittens, of a stray mom, fixed in January. Woman who took in the stray female adopted out three, after they were fixed. KATA took in the remaining two boys, one of whom was immediately adopted. The fifth, unsuitable for display in kiosk, was adopted out by a KATA volunteer from her home.
The Marion cats, although fairly tame, were all abandoned cats being fed by a woman in the neighborhood.
The two Jefferson cats fixed are among 14 fixed living outside the house of a Jefferson alcoholic.
11 more Lebanon cats, all rather tame, were abandoned and offspring of the abandoned cat.
2 more of the Lebanon cats are owned by a very low income Lebanon family.
2 Albany cats were tame and loosely owned by the downtown homeless shelter. The female had already had at least 8 litters.
2 more Albany cats are ferals roaming an Albany business. Workers found the females kittens inside a wall.
Another Albany female was owned by a recovering addict living in HUD housing.
Two more cats, came from Heatherdale Trailer park, both very loosely owned by a recovering addict and two more come from a friend of hers, also a recovering addict.
Another comes from a house on Geary, the last unfixed cat there, of six fixed, also owned by a recovering addict.
Another Albany cat fixed was a stray male in my neighborhood.
2 more came from a low income woman living off Queen, whose cat had kittens also in Lebanon, before they moved to Albany, where she had another litter. She got my phone number from a friend. KATA took in three kittens of the cats latest litter.
4 Ferals, the rest tame or sort of tame
11 of the 24 Females were pregnant
2 were in heat 4 were lactating
Of the four lactators: one, a feral from Queen,
had kittens taken in by a worker
One females' owner, on Clay St., had adopted out two of the kittens,
KATA took other three, all females, who will be fixed prior to adoption.
One female fixed from Butte Crk, kittens presumed dead
The Fourth lactator was female abandoned with kittens on Harvest, neighbors have the kittens, who all have ringworm.
Where did they come from? 8 were Marian County cats and the rest Linn County cats.
Albany--13 cats
Jefferson--2
Lebanon--18
Marian--7
Rural Linn--1
5 of the Lebanon cats fixed, 4 males and one female, were kittens, of a stray mom, fixed in January. Woman who took in the stray female adopted out three, after they were fixed. KATA took in the remaining two boys, one of whom was immediately adopted. The fifth, unsuitable for display in kiosk, was adopted out by a KATA volunteer from her home.
The Marion cats, although fairly tame, were all abandoned cats being fed by a woman in the neighborhood.
The two Jefferson cats fixed are among 14 fixed living outside the house of a Jefferson alcoholic.
11 more Lebanon cats, all rather tame, were abandoned and offspring of the abandoned cat.
2 more of the Lebanon cats are owned by a very low income Lebanon family.
2 Albany cats were tame and loosely owned by the downtown homeless shelter. The female had already had at least 8 litters.
2 more Albany cats are ferals roaming an Albany business. Workers found the females kittens inside a wall.
Another Albany female was owned by a recovering addict living in HUD housing.
Two more cats, came from Heatherdale Trailer park, both very loosely owned by a recovering addict and two more come from a friend of hers, also a recovering addict.
Another comes from a house on Geary, the last unfixed cat there, of six fixed, also owned by a recovering addict.
Another Albany cat fixed was a stray male in my neighborhood.
2 more came from a low income woman living off Queen, whose cat had kittens also in Lebanon, before they moved to Albany, where she had another litter. She got my phone number from a friend. KATA took in three kittens of the cats latest litter.
No Sleep. Pain.
I've been unable to sleep tonight. Pain is the reason. Knee and leg again. Same old.
It's my right side. The pain is like deep aching tiredness, not a pain I am overly familiar with. I am far more familiar with the sheer white lightning zing of nerve pain.
There is a swollen nob on one side of my knee and a bruise on the other side. I might have hit it with something, in the flurry of activity to get ready for Pet Day and the booth.
Tonight, on my bed, unable to sleep, I raised both legs straight up to massage my sore knee. I noticed something right off. My left leg is shorter than the other leg. Not just by a little. Looks like about an inch or more than an inch shorter. I knew from birth my left leg was shorter than my right one. But I think it's more extreme now.
I got to thinking 'I bet that's causing a lot of my knee and leg problem.' I'm going to get some lifts for my left shoe to raise it up some. I just read online that a leg length discrepancy can be either anatomical or functional and there's a way to tell which you have, called "the Deerfield test". I guess leg length discrepancies can cause all sorts of problems in your lower or upper body or both.
It's my right side. The pain is like deep aching tiredness, not a pain I am overly familiar with. I am far more familiar with the sheer white lightning zing of nerve pain.
There is a swollen nob on one side of my knee and a bruise on the other side. I might have hit it with something, in the flurry of activity to get ready for Pet Day and the booth.
Tonight, on my bed, unable to sleep, I raised both legs straight up to massage my sore knee. I noticed something right off. My left leg is shorter than the other leg. Not just by a little. Looks like about an inch or more than an inch shorter. I knew from birth my left leg was shorter than my right one. But I think it's more extreme now.
I got to thinking 'I bet that's causing a lot of my knee and leg problem.' I'm going to get some lifts for my left shoe to raise it up some. I just read online that a leg length discrepancy can be either anatomical or functional and there's a way to tell which you have, called "the Deerfield test". I guess leg length discrepancies can cause all sorts of problems in your lower or upper body or both.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Angel
Angel, one of the cemetery girls, two kittens and a mom abandoned last October in a rural cemetery, has a bit of a hair problem---too much hair! Today was the day! I have five long hair cats here. All will get summer clip jobs. Angel was number one!
Angel is going to be a huge cat. She's less than a year old and has huge tufted feet. She goes limp when you pick her up, like a ragdoll, but has the tufted ears and feet and the size of a Maine Coon. Angel is one interesting kitty! She's also very sweet.
Angel is going to be a huge cat. She's less than a year old and has huge tufted feet. She goes limp when you pick her up, like a ragdoll, but has the tufted ears and feet and the size of a Maine Coon. Angel is one interesting kitty! She's also very sweet.
Frustrations of a Rural Dump Ground
The people who took in the newborn kittens and their mother, found in a carboard box on a gravel road, in the rain, are frustrated. They took in nine last year alone, dumped at the grange and now these five, all with ringworm.
They do suspect a nearby neighbor. I have tried for years to get that neighbor to allow me to fix her cats. She used to tell me she would have a guy come over, that she knew to "take care of the kittens" born. In other words, she'd have him kill them. Since he worked where she worked and that is where I ran into her, and that warehouse was sold, she now may not have access to that form of "cat control" and may be the one dumping them instead.
I told the neighbors since she will not respond to them, nor to me, to just call a deputy and make a report on both dumpings, which should have been done immediately anyhow. And to ask him to go talk to her.
I have trapped or gotten cats fixed all around her. The neighbors call her a "collector" and have for years, yet none have done anything about this. Some would tell me they don't want involved, outside of wanting me to catch the overflow cats who end up on their property and for Poppa Inc. to pay for them to be fixed. Some are timid of not being "nice" to a neighbor. Yet the costs to neighbors and nonprofits like Poppa Inc. have been adding up. Time to get tougher and maybe not be so nice. She is not being nice or considerate to them.
Time to get the law to do their job, I'd say. Otherwise, the problems will go on and on. Because she is a bit on the "different" side, a visit from the law, might be the worse possible thing that could happen. She might just dump them all, in the night, elsewhere. I just don't know. Some neighbors may contact her landlord, one said, instead of the law, see if he will compel the fixing of all the cats on the property. That's always better, if it works, to not involve the law.
They do suspect a nearby neighbor. I have tried for years to get that neighbor to allow me to fix her cats. She used to tell me she would have a guy come over, that she knew to "take care of the kittens" born. In other words, she'd have him kill them. Since he worked where she worked and that is where I ran into her, and that warehouse was sold, she now may not have access to that form of "cat control" and may be the one dumping them instead.
I told the neighbors since she will not respond to them, nor to me, to just call a deputy and make a report on both dumpings, which should have been done immediately anyhow. And to ask him to go talk to her.
I have trapped or gotten cats fixed all around her. The neighbors call her a "collector" and have for years, yet none have done anything about this. Some would tell me they don't want involved, outside of wanting me to catch the overflow cats who end up on their property and for Poppa Inc. to pay for them to be fixed. Some are timid of not being "nice" to a neighbor. Yet the costs to neighbors and nonprofits like Poppa Inc. have been adding up. Time to get tougher and maybe not be so nice. She is not being nice or considerate to them.
Time to get the law to do their job, I'd say. Otherwise, the problems will go on and on. Because she is a bit on the "different" side, a visit from the law, might be the worse possible thing that could happen. She might just dump them all, in the night, elsewhere. I just don't know. Some neighbors may contact her landlord, one said, instead of the law, see if he will compel the fixing of all the cats on the property. That's always better, if it works, to not involve the law.
Swine Flu Bunk
I saw this little paragraph in the news today:
"Mexico reported three new deaths from the swine flu epidemic late Saturday from a virus that has killed 19 in people in Mexico, one in the U.S. and is spreading across Asia and Europe."
Ten days ago, it was widely reported on many stations and in newspapers 150 people had died in Mexico of the swine flu. So far there are supposedly 141 cases in the US. But that depends on what report you read. One report said hundreds of children were sick with swine flu in New York.
What do I think after reading or watching the conflicting outrageous media reports? I think the media is way messed up in its fact reporting ability.
I watched Charlie Gibson on the ABC news, one night last week, use the word "terrified" to describe the American people's reaction to swine flu. I wanted to write him a letter. I wanted to say, "Number one, Charlie, nobody is terrified. Number two, Charlie, you are reporting news. Don't use emotional words that skew your report, not unless you can quantify and prove the American people are terrified."
The manner news is reported sucks these days. Facts are no longer important to a report.
"Mexico reported three new deaths from the swine flu epidemic late Saturday from a virus that has killed 19 in people in Mexico, one in the U.S. and is spreading across Asia and Europe."
Ten days ago, it was widely reported on many stations and in newspapers 150 people had died in Mexico of the swine flu. So far there are supposedly 141 cases in the US. But that depends on what report you read. One report said hundreds of children were sick with swine flu in New York.
What do I think after reading or watching the conflicting outrageous media reports? I think the media is way messed up in its fact reporting ability.
I watched Charlie Gibson on the ABC news, one night last week, use the word "terrified" to describe the American people's reaction to swine flu. I wanted to write him a letter. I wanted to say, "Number one, Charlie, nobody is terrified. Number two, Charlie, you are reporting news. Don't use emotional words that skew your report, not unless you can quantify and prove the American people are terrified."
The manner news is reported sucks these days. Facts are no longer important to a report.
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Pet Day----FUN!
I had a great time at Pet Day. We had a cat walk. I brought four 2x6x8 boards and took four cinder blocks. At the event, I screwed the four boards together at the corners with right angle hardware. They were supported at each corner on a cinder block. Keni put cat photos on them, in various spots, in squares that were numbered. I took my Irish Drinking Songs for cat lovers CD and she brought a CD player. The kids, or adults, would walk the boards as the music played. When the music stopped, the participants had to get on a cat photo square with number. Keni then rolled the dice and if the player was on the square with a number corresponding to the dice roll, they won a cupcake, or any other prize.
We also had a bean bag toss for spay neuter. Midori made some really cute bean bags out of kid socks. Three chances for a buck. Keni painted a board with some nice cat photos and her husband made three holes in the board. If you got two through a hole, you won a cupcake. Keni bought a lot of cupcakes. In the end, I took platters of them around, in the pouring rain, which alternated with high winds, and sold them. I enjoyed this.
The high winds grabbed at the canopies set up over booths and flung many of them far and wide, twisting them up and creating a hazard. We had ours secured, anchored, but many booths by this time were vacant. The pouring rain drove away vendors early. Their canopies, rented from the vet school and set up prior, were left behind to go flying. Keni, Midori and I chased many down, so that they would not end up hitting cars in the road. We at least took the canopy off the frame, so the wind would not catch them and send them flying again.
As a result of the weather, there was not much of a crowd and I guess we lost money most likely. But it was fun. My knees and back ache very much right now. I am taking some aleve and laying down. It was a lot of fun for sure.
In other news, turns out the man concerned about stray cats near his duplex doesn't seem to know all those cats are fixed. A Lebanon trapper got them fixed along with another nearby resident. They are also fed by the Lebanon woman and another neighbor. These cats not only are already fixed, but get plenty to eat. I sent him this information.
We also had a bean bag toss for spay neuter. Midori made some really cute bean bags out of kid socks. Three chances for a buck. Keni painted a board with some nice cat photos and her husband made three holes in the board. If you got two through a hole, you won a cupcake. Keni bought a lot of cupcakes. In the end, I took platters of them around, in the pouring rain, which alternated with high winds, and sold them. I enjoyed this.
The high winds grabbed at the canopies set up over booths and flung many of them far and wide, twisting them up and creating a hazard. We had ours secured, anchored, but many booths by this time were vacant. The pouring rain drove away vendors early. Their canopies, rented from the vet school and set up prior, were left behind to go flying. Keni, Midori and I chased many down, so that they would not end up hitting cars in the road. We at least took the canopy off the frame, so the wind would not catch them and send them flying again.
As a result of the weather, there was not much of a crowd and I guess we lost money most likely. But it was fun. My knees and back ache very much right now. I am taking some aleve and laying down. It was a lot of fun for sure.
In other news, turns out the man concerned about stray cats near his duplex doesn't seem to know all those cats are fixed. A Lebanon trapper got them fixed along with another nearby resident. They are also fed by the Lebanon woman and another neighbor. These cats not only are already fixed, but get plenty to eat. I sent him this information.
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