Over and Done

 I went off to Portland yesterday with 13 Lebanon cats.

I thought I had 14 Lebanon cats in the car.  Ha!  I accidentally forgot to load one of the black adults in my rush, in the dark, so early.

I was shocked when FCCO told me I only had 13.   I quickly checked to see who I'd forgotten.

Ah well. Thankful that Radpets in Corvallis agreed to get Forgetmenot, the black one, done Monday.

I didn't sleep well night before, and after leaving the cats at the clinic, I headed straight to the rest area.  I ate some crackers and fruit I'd brought along, then crawled into the back and slept several hours.  I had only brought one thin blanket and my pillow but slept despite the lack of padding on the board in back.

I woke up about 2:00 in the afternoon and picked up the cats at the clinic at 4:00.  I was worried by then that the other black one I'd taken in to the clinic already had an ear tip.    I was sure I'd be last to get the cats back, so they could give me a lecture on wasting their time, by forgetting one cat and bringing one that was already fixed.  Instead they were quite kind and Leah the tech said, if that had happened, (bringing an already ear tipped cat) it would just be human.   

I only thought one was eartipped after reviewing photos of the cats in traps I  had taken before bringing them, while I was at the rest area, and thought I saw one with an eartip.  I was told however none of them were already fixed.  Whew! 

I headed to Lebanon, not home, and delivered back the 7 he could recover in his place.  Once home, I gave Forgetmenot, whom I'd forgotten to take, food and water and put him in a clean trap.  Today he or she will transfer into a large cage to hold til Monday.

 I put the three kittens in my bathroom for the night, as it was easier and I was tired.  They're going home today.  They're too young for a barn home and too old to tame.

This morning, I took all six back, as he didn't want to rehome the adults.   He said he thinks everyone is fixed now and if not, he has a trap and will get it done.  I was so happy to hear this.   I can rest easy today.

Here are the six fixed yesterday that I am recuperating here.

A girl

Another girl

A big male

A female kitten

Another female kitten

And a boy

The 7th outside one I trapped, Forgetmenot, is all black and skinny.  Not a great photo.

The inside ones, from his place, were mostly some very large boys....

Besides the huge boys, there was this female and a couple of smaller tabbies

Two tabbies about this age.

Anyhow, all 7 of those went back to him last night.  One daughter was there to help take them inside, where he would recuperate them.   I don't know who is left needing fixed outside but he doesn't have more appointments, so I am happy to be taking a break from it there.

The tally there at his place is now at 59 cats helped.

Back to the Lebanon Big One

I saw mostly fixed cats when trying to trap yesterday morning.    I was pleased to see how well the fixed ones are doing.

Fixed black tux showing off that right ear tip.

 I caught 7 more outside unfixed cats, kittens at the big Lebanon colony yesterday and today.  I've barely had time to get the chores done here.  

2 gray kittens, 2 gray young adults, 1 Siamese kitten, 2 black adults.

The black adults I caught in a marathon car sit this morning.  I set up the drop trap and waited out two very long chow hound cats, allegedly both fixed boys, binge eating events.  I can't believe how much the two boys involved can eat.  It's unbelievable really.   

The two chow hounds, on video, eating themselves sick, while fixed gray boy Moonshine tries to wait them out so he can eat too.

I had to wait out those boys for over an hour.  Then various already fixed cats showed up and finally along came an unfixed black one and I yanked the cord from inside my car, dropping the trap over the cat and with some difficulty, got her transferred out of it into a live trap.   Another hour and half went by before a second unfixed black, skinny and furtive, showed up and I caught that one and finally went home.

Trapping cats requires extreme patience and persistence.  

In this next video, there is a fixed tabby eating under the drop trap, while the skinny unfixed black is outside it.  I'd finally already caught one unfixed black adult but even with binoculars I had trouble determining if this skinny black one had an ear tip or not.  I finally got a good look and determined the right ear was jagged from an injury, not tipped and yanked the cord dropping the drop over him or her.  

He has 15 spots and told me there were nine more unfixed ones contained inside, but that turned out to be just seven.  I'm only one short since I caught a 7th outside.  7 he'd contained inside.  7 from outside.

Anyhow, his daughters got the 7 contained from inside of the house this evening.   Thank goodness for their help.   He refused to get one girl into a trap, claiming she's too aggressive, not wanting his daughters hurt trying to catch her, and said that he will get her fixed.  Then there's an unfixed boy with a heart murmur.   So those two remain unfixed in his place.  The rest, at last, will be fixed.

14 in all will go with me to Portland to be fixed tomorrow.

I don't know how many more outside are unfixed.    By tomorrow evening, I will have taken 48 of his cats to be fixed and gotten 11 unfixed kittens into various rescue situations.  That is 59 cats helped.  At one location.

16 of the outside cats, 11 kittens and 5 fixed adults, now placed too, which makes a big difference.

I'm proud of my effort.

Game Cam Fun

 I put the game cam up at the trailer park deck night before last since no one there had seen the mom and final teen needing caught.  I had no luck setting traps or coordinating to stop feeding with the person feeding.

In the end I had to call a halt to trapping since I need all my traps to return to the big Lebanon colony.  That man has 15 more FCCO spots Friday.   He has the spots and the cats but its me who does all the work and bears the expense.

Boohoo, ha.  Complain complain.  Fortunately donations help from others, to pay the gas, all the bait, and it was a lot of wet cat food I used tonight, etc expenses.  

Anyhow, I looked at the game cam card this morning, after returning the black long hair girl I caught there--Stranger, who was spayed yesterday.  

It was busy on the deck last night.  Four different cats--the mom, the unfixed teen, and the fixed boy teen were all on cam along with a huge black tux male, who really really enjoyed the catnip I spread night before.

Mister Big

Rolling in the nip

Covered in nip and too high to function

Mommy Dearest makes many appearances on camera all night long.

Here comes the unfixed torti teen

Fixed bro teen Scatter is enamored with the camera.

So I'll get back to that one at some point.  Just so little time, and I seem to be the youngest one in the trailer park, so can't really request help, even with carrying a trap.   Just kidding, only the youngest on that street end full of octagenarians.

Right now I'm back in Lebanon helping a man who thinks he's 80 but is actually my age exactly.

Already 45 cats helped there and he has the 15 spots tomorrow.  Caught five today outside. With the 9 semi ferals still unfixed inside the trailer should not be hard to get the 15 in all.  His daughters are coming to help round up the trailer bound ones tomorrow.  Thank goodness.   I have no clue how many more unfixed ones there are outside.   If I get the 15 for Friday, that will up the number helped at one place in Lebanon to 60 cats.   I'm sure he'd like me to find more placements for more of his cats, but hey I found placements already for 16, time for him to do some work at it, is my opinion.   Gawd almighty.   

I caught a possum there too and also ran off a really fat large skunk.   The usual stuff.

These are the two I caught up there this morning, both kittens.  The other three are all gray.

Off to bed.  

Wet and Dark Weekend

 The weekend weather was downright yucky.   

Rain and ick, gray and dark skies.   Time to stay inside and make soup.

Only I didn't make soup.

I slept a lot Saturday then went trapping at the trailer park where the two teens came from who were fixed last Monday.  This was basically out of sheer boredom and a need to get out of the house, even if to sit in a car.

I had by now figured out there's a big colony on the street behind the trailer park, fed in various spots and that the mom and kittens are spillover from that.

So I was not surprised when this morning I caught a long hair black, who is not one of the cats I'm after.  I contacted the lady on the street behind and sent her a photo.  This one is not ear tipped but she said looks just like the rest she has already trapped to be fixed---i.e. black, short or long hair.  I think she's caught ten or twelve or so.  HCC paid for one at least a year ago.

So I got him or her an appointment to be fixed Tuesday at Radpets.   Nice of them to work the cat in.

I was back over there this evening and tried again to catch the two I want to catch but only recaught the little now fixed black tux teen boy again.  Ok.  Let him out.  Came home.

Anyhow, that's about it besides a bunch of cleaning and laundry.  Catch up stuff.   

I may as well hibernate the winter through.  I could stuff myself with blueberries and blackberries before hand and just emerge now and then to look around, blurry eyed, and then go back into my cozy little den. Come out maybe mid June, I don't know.   I like that idea.  Could save a lot of money that way.  

Here's the cat, getting offered up gourmet tuna and Temptation cat treats while he awaits his fate, which is a neuter job and vaccines, along with flea treatment.

Very pretty cat, likely a boy with that nose, you think?   I don't know.  I'm not looking.  Not polite.  I'll be able to tell by smell tomorrow.  

Blueberry

 Blueberry died today.  She'd had diarrhea for a few weeks off and on, but it had become much worse.  I finally caught her last night, and got her into a large cage I'd set up for when I could get her.

It wasn't good.   She pooped on the blanket I had for her to sleep on in there, despite there also being a large litter box.

I got a vet appointment for her and took her in this morning.  Thankfully.

Vet said she had a thickened colon and likely had cancer since her temp was normal.   The other possibilities were untreatable, like diabetes and hyperthyroidism and ibs, her being a wild thing and hard to catch.

They did do a giardia snap test but I knew it would be negative.  It was.

So off she went to never never land, after a sedative that put her to sleep beforehand.

She was almost but not quite 16.   

She came from Lebanon, Milton street, among several teens I caught in a woodpile.   I got 11 in all fixed there and tried to find the four teens homes, once semi tame.  Heartland took on Blueberry and she was there months before she got a home.  Two months later however they returned her to Heartland and they contacted me to come get her or she would be euthanized.  I frantically raced over and found her trembling from fright in a carrier in their bathroom.    She was so relieved to be back here.

That was way back in 2012 I took her back.

She had a good life here.  I could only handle her if confined and tried to keep her mats shaved off.  She was toothless by now.  I'd taken her for two different dentals and she'd needed multiple extractions.  Kittens who grow up in impovrished nutrition wise environments often face early onset tooth issues, as she did.

I'm happy she is no longer suffering.  Chronic diarrhea is absolutely miserable.  At some point, intestinal tumors explode in growth causing terrible pain.

She loved this hanging basket until it finally fell apart.

She loved the tree hideout too, in the cat yard, before that tree had to be taken out, when it split.

She loved to watch birds from the window

Rain

 Rain will pour down at least for four days.   Our temps are now in the 50's.   (so I'm told).  

It is depressing, this return of the long dripping gray and rain.

The news is too depressing to watch.   The blatant lying going on is unbelievable.   Too much.  Would rather watch cartoons than the news lately.   

I think our governor spoke correctly.  She said the White House is not interested in the truth.

The bullshit meter has broken, due to excessive bullshit exposure, beyond what it could measure.

I especially enjoyed the praying that was combined with straight up lies.   Made for some belly laughs at least and a few wtf's inbetween. 

It all feels like madness.   

If the skies were blue, it would be easier to escape the collective insanity.  

To survive, I will need a horde of books, and an offing of all news and most social media.  

Send books!!!  

And cat food.  

The essentials for survival--cats and books.

Someone said to me, we'll probably have a rough time as you really can't put all that's happened back in the bottle.  Who was that, said that to me.  I can't remember now.

So here comes the rain, pouring rain.   Great.

Apples, Too Many

 My apple tree produced a massive crop of apples this year.  It does so every other year.

I should have reduced the crop more early on.  I can't remember how many five gallon buckets of fallen apples I've picked up since late August and put in the yard debris.

I've made applesauce but have a tiny freezer, so not much and one person can eat only so much applesauce.   

The apple tree was never sprayed.   Most have worms in them.  So to use them, I have cut out the worm spots.  The worms are a larval stage of some bug, I forget its name.

Many have no worms.  I eat them cut into quarters then.    Sometimes with peanut butter.

I decided to make hard cider.   I have no equipment.   This rarely stops me.

I have a glass jug.  I got an airlock off amazon. Before, when I made dandelion wine, I used balloons with pinprick holes as airlocks, during the  fermentation stage.

I don't have an apple chopper.  I do not have a cider press.

I was going to make a press from my car jack but never did.  

So I steamed the apple chunks soft.  First I cut them up by hand while watching endless episodes of Survivor and Amazing Race and other shows on Pluto (free TV).  I used a potato masher and then put the mash into a dish cloth and wrung the juice out.   Slow way to make a jug of hard cider!

With a press, I could have mass produced!  But I don't have many glass bottles saved up.

I brought the filtered cider up to pasteurization temp, which is 170 F or so, then cooled it down and funneled it into the glass bottle with some softened yeast.  It's really fermenting right now.   Might end up quite hard cider.   When the bubbling stops, I'll strain it again and cap it off to sit a month or two.

Maybe next time I'll just add some yeast to store bought juice instead.   

I'm also thinking of other ways to use more apples.  I could dry apple slices in the oven on its lowest heat.  Ok, will do some this evening.  I like to spice them up in different ways.  I like to dice up raw apples in salad too.  Been doing that.

My tree still has apples, lots of apples.   Like what the hell.  How many apples can one small tree create?   It won't produce next year.  It's only an every other year event.  I hope to remember to prune the tree down severely in February.