Tetanus Shot Needed

Insult to injury, I suppose. I took the black mother of the kittens and one of the brown tabby kittens up to be tested at Countryside, this morning. Both were negative, which means the three little boys, whom I have named Smokes, Rocket and Pokey, are negative. I wanted to get at least one of the four brown tabbies tested, to avert any disaster if they are positive. The male tested was negative. This was a relief.

Then I headed straight down to Poohcow to return the black male and tame black female, who refused to nurse her kittens anyhow.

The man was there, and said again that his girlfriend was going to donate, which raised my hopes at least, although I'll believe it when I see it. He said the last unfixed black cat was right in the carport area, where he stores a great deal of old equipment. I set a trap there.

He said she ran back to the blackberries then. I showed him how the traps work but went ahead and took the second trap back there to set it. Just as I set it, I moved my foot and felt stinging extreme pain. I'd stepped on a rusty screw head, protruding up through a junker board all hidden in grass, other junk and vines.

I limped back to my car, foot screaming, blood running. I ripped off my shoe and cleaned the puncture wound and was glad it was bleeding, which decreases chance of infection. I told the man I'd just stepped on a rusty screw and would have to get a tetanus shot. He just grunted and walked off.

My tetanus vaccine is not up to date sadly.

I turned the two fixed cats in my car loose then and left.

I stopped by the Shedd cafe, seeing my buddy Roger's rig there. I told him what had happened. He bought me lunch then he and his farmer friends, there BS'ing, told me I needed to get a tetanus shot right away. I know I do.

Roger is a really nice guy and doesn't like unfair treatment. He slipped a donation into my hand after walking me to my car and said "fill your tank and get that shot". Made me feel good.

When Roger was a seed farmer, I got over 200 cats fixed for him at his seed farm and another two dozen fixed at his house. He had a neighbor who fancied himself a Siamese breeder. Myraids of caste off offspring would end up at Rogers. We'd then get them fixed there. Finally he went over to his neighbor and said "Look, we need to put an end to this. I'm getting your female fixed, but I wanted to tell you." The guy agreed, but donated nothing. The guy is a teacher and didn't even know point color names of the backyard Siamese he was breeding.

So anyhow, I think really highly of Mr. Roger. I practically lived at his seed farm for a year, getting all those cats fixed there. Miss Daisy is one dumped off along the road his farm was on, in the heat of one August. He found her out by the road, or she would have died for sure. She had burns on her paw pads from walking the scorching hot asphalt after being dumped. She was deaf, too, and that might have occurred from gunshot sound violence. People take cats out to shoot, then miss and the cat, often injured or damaged, is left to struggle. Miss Daisy had a happy ending to her horror story, thanks to Roger.

I thought about waiting until Monday on the shot, because they might give them at the health department and that might be the easiest cheapest option. Right now, I'm waiting on a return call from the Good Sam on-call person. I called them to see if I can wait til Monday, if that's ok, or if it's not ok. I don't know if you have to get it right away or not.

I wasn't going to set traps out at that colony today, but then he had seen one of the two left unfixed there, so I buckled to his urging to trap it. I suppose he just wants it done and over. I know I do.