Rain

 We have had soo much rain the last few days.

Came down in buckets.   

I spent the weekend sleeping off last week.   Strange dreams too.

In one, I was walking my dog, Denali, who is long long long gone. Decades gone.

And when I stopped to help a lady whose dogs got loose, I realized Denali wasn't at the end of the very long leash anymore.

I searched and searched to no avail.   Finally I went to a shelter, where apparently I worked.  And one head honcho said "Did we get those dogs in yet from Springfield?  When they come in, take them out back and shoot them."   I stared at her in disbelief.  At that moment a large crate with four beautiful dogs inside was brought in.  One was a bright eyed beautiful young German shepherd.  I yelled at her to look in their eyes, you murderer.  You're a shelter for gosh sakes!   They planned to sell their bodies to research companies.  I threw down my work gear and stormed out.

I went to a different shelter who said they had found my dog, but I couldn't remember exactly what she looked like or if this was my dog they were showing me. I wondered why I couldn't remember.  They said this dog would be killed if I didn't take her.   Then I was suddenly with a family outside their house and begging them to tell me the way back to where I lost my dog, because I didn't know how to get there but they ignored me and were laughing and talking about other things like they couldn't hear me.   I woke up then.

I had another dream where I was in a dormitory for some reason.  The front part had no walls, and was open. The side of the room had huge holes where the floor met the wall.   The dean of the dorm came to say hello and I said I can't stay here, my cats will get out.  I had three cats with me, Slinko was one of them and he at that moment jumped through the open front out into the hallway.  The dean leaned down to pet him and said "what a nice cat" then to me "I can see why you can't stay here."

After sleeping almost all day yesterday, I finally am awake at 4:00 this morning.  I do work hard, then I recuperate for a few days of mostly sleeping.  It's always been that way.  Some of the work is physical, carrying heavy traps all over, loading and unloading them repeatedly, but its also a lot of stress and my method of removing the stress is to sleep it off.  Seems to work for me.

 I don't know if its still raining out this morning.  We've been close to freezing a few nights here but so far have not had a real freeze.  I suppose that will change.  We're supposed to get our usual wet winter with snow in the mountains, with a slight La Nina pattern.  

Saturday I made grape juice from the concord grapes gleaned Thursday.  I put them on the stove in a large pot with some water, brought to a boil, mashed them with potato masher, let simmer a few minutes, cooled, then strained through cheese cloth.   I got three pitchers from the two sacks of grapes I picked.  It's very good grape juice.

We have a gleaners potluck next week, at the monthly meeting.  I haven't decided yet what to make to take.  

I am taking a break from cat fixing since I have no appointments until the very end of next month.   My nonprofit has very little money currently, so if I get any cats fixed at the private clinic it will be one or two in unfinished colonies.   Maybe I can get up to Sweet Home to get the ones left at the 7-11 colony, for instance.  It cost the nonprofit about $1600 to get the 15 cats fixed from the Waterloo colony.  They were almost all girls and I paid extra to get them three-way vaccines.  At home, I wormed them with my own supplies and flea treated them too.   Nothing is easy or affordable anymore in regards to fixing cats.   It's become a nightmare of costs, driving and deciding who will get helped and who won't.  

Tabitha from 7-11 has fit in well here.

I took Buggyboo, the kitten from the Belinger road colony, up to Portland Friday evening.   It was a very long drive due to congestion on the way up and on the way back.   But it was worth it to leave him in the hands of a very capable adoption group.

I was so tired by Friday evening, I stopped at the rest area when I finally got there, after leaving off Buggyboo, and slept a bit before driving the rest of the way home.  I had another doctors appointment Friday afternoon, like the Friday before, for my ringing ear, the third attempt to get in there in as many weeks, but once again they cancelled it last minute.  Three times now.   I won't make another that they will just cancel last minute.  Its pointless.   Three times?   I think I have water in my ear.  When I bend over and turn my head there is a whoosh sound like water moving.  It will work out eventually I hope.

All Done Colony

 I took the other 9 cats from the colony to the clinic to be fixed yesterday morning.

It was very foggy and beautiful out.

I spent a couple hours cleaning then returned five of the cats who had been recuperating from surgery the day before.  But one of the five wasn't quite ready to go back, so I brought her back home and set up a cage for her for at least a night.   She's Joplin, the sweet little torti point Siamese girl.

I had a grape glean with gleaners but when I picked up the nine cats from the clinic, there was no time to come home before the glean, so they went with me.  I got a large bag of concord grapes and have to process them into grape juice.  That will be tomorrow.

I couldn't set up the cats for the night in the garage.   I got a call about 4:30 that the duct people are coming this morning.  Oh no, I thought, but did not say out loud on the phone.  I'm so exhausted from the last few days. Have ten cats to return this morning, nine fixed yesterday and the torti point who is now completely recovered.  I spent the next hours feeding the cats and trying to get ready for the duct people, moving things in the garage, cleaning, etc.  I couldn't get to sleep, worried about it all.   And from too much coffee yesterday.

I have a doctors appointment this afternoon, then am supposed to take Buggyboo up to a Portland rescue also.   Oh my.   Well, I'm happy they're coming though, supposed to rain this weekend heavily and that means water under the house.  So best it be done today.  One duct broke off from the rusted out register and is laying on the ground under the house, is the reason they're coming.   My brother graciously decided to replace all the aging ducts.  It's not a big house, so its not a big job and shouldn't take too long.    I can handle being a bit tired to get that done!   I'm really happy about it.   My brother is good to me.

Bigfoot

Chinook

Coho

Exotica

Santiam

Scio

Shimo (this is the kitten the lady hand grabbed two days ago)

Sleepy

Wisty

Of the 15 fixed, 10 were girls.   I'm so happy to get them all done in two days.   Also I caught the two dumped park kittens and found a rescue for two other kittens.  So...big week with also Buggyboo leaving today.

Cats and Drama

 I determined to get a Waterloo colony fixed fast, for the people involved--two ladies.  

Yesterday, I trapped six there, beneath the drop trap, quickly.  They were so hungry.  At the same time, a Portland rescue agreed to take Buggyboo.  He will leave Friday.   I'm so happy for him.

Hummer

Joplin

ZZ

Madam

Footsie

Foodie

He went back to the vet on Monday, got antibiotics, fluids and a fecal sent off, that turned out to be negative for all parasites.  He's doing better.    

I dropped the six cats off in Corvallis to be fixed this morning, then returned to Waterloo to trap the remaining 8. There are 9 left unfixed, but the folks feeding them had grabbed one by hand and had it in their place, so I just picked him up later.

This colony will be fixed completely by tomorrow night.

But....I also had to trap the two dumped kittens at Waterloo park.  It took only two minutes to catch them  because they came running out of the brush to my car and I set one trap by my car tire and caught both in like 30 seconds.

The two park dumped kittens, very small with URI

The feeder lady had said she'd take them and had a room set up for them in her house.  So I left them there after catching them.

I checked my messages after I trapped the kittens and was sitting there parked still.  Uh oh.  A series of messages from two or three different Waterloo folks.  Some lady was making claims like I stole her cat.  Um no.  I don't steal people's cats.   I have plenty. 

She claimed the cat had kittens and needed to come home now, was angry, accusatory.   Turns out one of the six was not hers, but her moms.  Her mom was actually helping the lady with the strays until her husband had a bad health issue and was in the hospital so she's been gone a week, the other colony caretaker says.  In the meantime a daughter was to care for the cat.    I guess the cat got out though and she said had been missing several days.   The woman who contacted me was a different daughter. Well, I said, she's only been with me one day, if its her.

Later she texted back to apologize for being so mean and said thank you and gave an address many blocks from where she was trapped. I knew the address.  I'd gotten cats fixed from there before.  I guess she had just moved in there.  I didn't know yet when she was first making such accusations that her sister and mom live behind the colony. Her accusations, most online in public of course, hurt, in part because I'm really really tired.  Anyhow, all worked out and I returned the cat to her because she had the cats kittens there, she said.   I don't know what happened in the first place, if the cat was there at the place I returned her to, so many blocks from where she was caught, so very hungry, in the first place, then got outside and booked it back home, to behind the colony, or what, but its all good in the end.

After I trapped the park kittens, I then went and trapped 8 more at the colony.  They had one kitten hand caught in the house by then, so I picked that one up later.  All will be done by tomorrow evening.

Fall Colors?

 I've laxed in taking fall color photos this year.   I don't know why.  

Last night, coming home, I thought I better get something and clicked to on, my phone, sitting up in the dash cam holder.   

It was too dark and the phone tried to compensate so not that terrific.

We're more an evergreen state, with tree type, than a decidious one, by and large.  Cities that plant trees along streets are often best bet for fall color photos.

Yesterday morning, I lounged in bed.  Four of my cats wanted to lounge with me.  Three of the four are very elderly.  Teddy only recently decided to be tame.  He's from a Corvallis homeless camp years upon years ago.  His sister, Starr, died last summer of age related kidney fail.   Fantasia too is very old and her sister, Echo, also died last summer.   Teddy is experiencing signs of IBS, as sometimes happens in old age with cats.   This is not a fun syndrome to deal with, as a pet carer, cleaning up and also watching the rapid decline.  Slinko is aging out too, my little shadow, now old, not so uppity to the other cats, and has softened to include cat friends in his life, laxing on his self appointed guard me at all times duties to cuddle with new best buddies Teddy and Fantasia, as they also decline.  By contrast, Otto, on far left, is only middle aged.

Otto, Fantasia, Slinko and Teddy, on a lazy Sunday morning

I was sent photos yesterday of two more kittens dumped at the park.   Sure, I'd like to get them out of there and fixed, but there is nobody going to take them on right now.  The system is overtaxed with unwanted kittens and cats, dogs and puppies, and those trying to fix them wait in lines, virtual or otherwise, fretting and counting dollars frantically.    Crises mode has settled over the animal welfare world.  The big rich shelters do almost nothing to help.  The little people scramble and scrabble to do the work instead.  The animals suffer.

Here are the two latest littles in the park.

Buggyboo is sick, the kitten from the drug property colony fixed last week.  Diarrhea.  I've got to get him in to see a vet.

I think this week I'll trap a 13 cat colony up in Waterloo, to turn off the faucet there fast.   It's important there, in that tiny cute little town.  I like Waterloo, been there trapping so much over the years, right by the Santiam, would like to live there to be honest.  Before the disease of gentrification ruins it too.  It's already begun.

The kid there is five, a talker, funny.  He followed me to see where the cats were hiding and when I sat down on a log to rest my knee he climbed up beside me.   He told me "I like to destroy things" and quickly jumped down to prove it.  He picked up a hammer and smashed an apple half rotted near my foot.  I moved my foot.  I envisioned my toe like that apple is why.   His mother shooed him back towards his father and the house.  I watched him go, thinking here at least a boy can smash apples.

Sometimes I like feeling dirty and badly dressed in this world where such things are so looked down upon.  I want to be a wild animal, lashing back.  I want to defacate on a glowing green weedless lawn.  Ah, the dreams of an old woman.

Buggyboo, in the video, this morning, before I packed him up and took him over to the vet.  Drop off appointment.  They'll figure out his diarrhea issue, I have no doubt.

Aftermath

 I got the 15 cats plus Rosy to Portland last Wednesday.  

Wasn't easy on me.  Loading and unloading cats in traps, switching cats to clean traps....but I was on my way just after 6:00 a.m.   I didn't arrive at the clinic til nearly 8:30.  One word:  Congestion.

The traffic was awful, stop and go from miles south of Portland.  Took forever to get there.

If traffic was normal, which it never is anymore, it takes just a bit over an hour to get to the clinic.   Oh the good old days.  Now....man, I wish I never had to go again to Portland.   Fortunately I don't have to make the trip very often.

I met the woman taking Rosy, the cat who had the plastic stuck on her neck, at the clinic and said my goodbyes to that sweet girl.  Hope she is happy at her new home.

After picking up a salad, sandwich and a bag of chips at a grocery store, I drove back to the rest area.  I had a book and read awhile, then became too sleepy to read and crawled into the back to nap.  I had not put in my blankets and a pillow before leaving home.  I had meant to, and forgot them in the garage.  Didn't matter much.  I was tired enough to sleep on the bare board in the back of my car for a couple of hours.

I remained at the  rest area until just before time to pick up the cats, then returned to the clinic parking lot to find it almost full of people waiting for the magic hour, 4:00 p.m., to get their cats.  I may have been the last to get them back.  I didn't mind at all.  I'd seen the crammed jammed bumper to bumper freeway south and there was no reason to be eager to join that.

Consequently I didn't get home until about 7:30.   Long day.

Thursday morning I returned all the cats.  Well, all but one.   The one little kitten from Rosy's colony I couldn't return in good conscience.   Two pounds.  Easy to tame.   It wasn't right to return him to a place where no one lives currently and the cats are not fed daily.  I thought I could pair him in the bathroom with tabitha, who is awaiting barn cat placement with Silverton Cat Rescue.   First though, I had to get him tested, to be loose in there with her.  For this I took him to Alpine Animal Hospital and he tested negative for FIV/Felk.  So far, Tabitha and Buggy haven't really bonded at all, but its only been a day.

Other than returning the cats Thursday, I've done nothing but clean and sleep since.  Trips like the one Wednesday take it out of me.  If congestion wasn't so bad, it wouldn't be such a pain, but congestion is a way of life here in Oregon now, even in town here, where nonstop building of apartments and houses has brought in thousands of new residents, without the infrastructure to support so many more people and their cars.  It's a nightmare.

The governor wants even more houses and apartments built "to address housing shortages".  Well all this does is bring in more people from out of state.   We don't have the infrastructure for more people.   In Oregon, people live mostly along I5.  Eastern Oregon is desert, with little water available for anything.  What water is over there, is getting given away to tech cloud facilities, massive structures that require tons of water, for cooling, and also eat electricity like candy at Halloween.  I'll just throw in my two cents worth here---our tech oriented society isn't green.  

Anyhow, Oregon's population is almost entirely down the valley between the coast range and the Cascades.   More people mean more cars our roads can't handle.  Albany is overloaded in cars now too with big tie ups and waits especially mornings and afternoons when work gets out.  Lebanon too is getting crammed in cars and has really overdone the intensive developments.   They're everywhere and the city is whining it is broke and must either start adding fees to water bills, like Albany is doing, or drastically cut services.  Well, dumb shits, stop with the developing every fucking square foot of land.   Cause then you need more cops, more fire fighters, more street repair, more doctors and nurses, more water treatment, more water, lots more, etc etc etc.  Doesn't seem complicated that more people come with a lot more costs to governments and the need for lots more services and things like schools and hospitals.

Anyhow....I should stick to cats.   The government entities can deal with the mess they've created of our towns and our state.

Here's Buggyboo, the boy kitten from Rosy's colony.  I know, same photo of him when I trapped him.  Maybe today I'll get some new photos.

I was to have a ENT appointment last Tuesday.   (ear, nose, throat, allergy doctor).   I thought the appointment was for 8:00 a.m. but got a reminder email that it was for 8:50 a.m.  I was there by 8:15 and checked in at the desk.   Receptionist said nothing other than I was checked in. But by 9:00 a.m. I began to wonder what was going on.   I went back up to the desk and asked.  It seems I had two appointments, one for a hearing test at 8:00 a.m. and another at 8:50 to then see a doctor.  I had never been told this, and went solely by the reminder email that only reminded me of an appointment at 8:50.  

They said I'd need to reschedule.   So I did, for yesterday.   I got several reminder texts and emails and about the same time I received the latest set of reminders I was called by the office that the appointment given me was not a valid time, that no doctor would be there.  Ok, whatever.  Now another appointment day is scheduled, and now more email and text reminders until I've about had enough of it.  this was for tinitus in one ear.  It's gone on a couple years and probably started when I took that fall in that ditch, when trapping, that also ruptured the fluid sac in that right eye.  But who knows.  A disorganized office leads me to no confidence I'll get anything but bullshit there.

Ballistic tempered folks should not have guns.  This story proves it.

A father shoots another over school drop off parking.

15 Cats

 I'm taking 15 cats up to be fixed at the FCCO in the morning.

9 are from the 12th street Lebanon colony while the other six are from the Bellinger colony.  One of the six from there is a kitten, and might be too little, not sure.  I missed out on Gleaners distribution today, to go up there to trap.   The cats mostly vanished.  Two of the females have tiny kittens, too so I couldn't take those females.  The property is typical for being a drug people haven.  Tons of old falling apart trailers and campers, boats, trash.  Hard to see.  Once was probably beautiful there.

Here are the six:

From the Lebanon colony, 9 are going but I'm guessing the black tux might already be fixed.

This is the guy who nailed my ankle

This is the tux who gave me a hard time under the drop trap and is actually super sweet (only to me) and likely, I'm guessing, already fixed, but I could be wrong.  I had nowhere I could take him out and check that out.  So the clinic will do so.

Time to hit the hay.  It's been raining here, misting really, nothing that significant.  Dreary though.

A Few Days of Hard Work

 I've got work to do.

A lady has 16 FCCO appointments tomorrow.  I trapped 9 of the cats last night.

I did so because I have two appointments during the day today and also because they were leaving this morning on a planned trip.   The appointments they got were transferred from someone else and I agreed to trap and transport.   Anyhow....

I couldn't resist five appointments offered Monday in Salem.  Cancellation appointments.   I got four from a Sweet Home lady who had trapped the three kittens and mom after a neighbor abandoned mom and kittens when they moved.  The kittens are wildish, the  mom kind of skittish.  Seemed like anyhow.  All three kittens turned out to be girls too.

For the fifth cat I took an orange tabby boy from Lebanon.   I already took his mom and her two most recent kittens to be fixed.

Boots, the mom

Baby Boots

Friday

Goblin

Hades

After I returned all five cats to their caretakers I headed straight to the 12th st. colony in Lebanon.  

I haven't taken photos yet of the cats trapped but I can say it wasn't pretty.  The drop trap had been set up on the large rock area off the driveway, to prefeed.  These are difficult to place traps on, they're so large.  They're difficult to drop trap on too.   

I caught four under the drop trap, then one more in a live trap.  Then the big male they say chases off and fights with other cats went under and I dropped it over him.  I couldn't get him out from under it.  He just plopped down and began whining.   He meowed and I prodded him from behind, but he refused to move into the transfer trap.  20 minutes passed.  I could tell he was tame and began petting him through the drop trap.  I reached into the drop trap, from space above the transfer trap and tried to pull him into the trap by the scruff.  He was just too big and fat.   

Really, I thought, is this guy fixed already?  He seemed so lazy and so fat, to be an unfixed cat.  The caretaker assured me he has large balls.  I never got a look and finally had to put a towel over his hind end area and scoop him into the trap.  After that I caught four more under the drop trap.   I had to release the Siamese mom, who had kittens only a couple days ago.   A large aggressive male snagged me on the ankle with his claws through the trap.

I left with nine cats.   Their family was gathering and visiting pre trip so I left.   I know of one more teen there, and two small kittens big enough to eat hard food.   Another family member will feed them while they are gone.   Maybe I'll be able to get them tonight, I don't know.   I had to catch them last night since I have appointments today and also because they'll be gone now for a few days.  I don't like holding them an extra day in traps but they will survive.  This is the colony, in the video below, taken when I took over the drop trap.