Wednesday, September 03, 2008

Car in Shop

Well, the car is over at the shop. I did find a ride back, had to, got almost no sleep last night. Deaf Miss Daisy was on a loud streak, racing around, having too much very loud fun. So I got worn out, totally, and caring for all these extra cats, too, six more from the Marion Trailer colony.

I took the seventh I'd trapped there, the day before, back this morning, a big now neutered gray male. The two traps I'd left them, were set but empty, the unfixed gray and white female, sitting on a chair on the porch, right beside one of the traps. She is the mother of the tiny tots here, but she'd quit nursing them, due to her state of starvation. The couple had put out bowls of the dry food I gave them. It will be such a relief for those cats to be fed now. I can't imagine what they've gone through.

The mom, in some discomfort today, from yesterday's pregnant spay, is very happy. She wants nothing to do with her nieces, however, the tiny tots. The gray and white little tiny tot, so much wants to nestle with her. It's hurt them, to have their mother abandon them out there, and their aunt, too. It's all over food--lack of it.

I hate to send the mom of the three teens, now in the garage room in a rabbit hutch, to a barn home, but she will be well cared for there, as an outside cat. I named her Marian. Yes, I wish I had an indoor home for her, but I don't, and this is immensely superior to her current situation.

I hate to send the three teens back, because I'll have to supply those folks forever with cat food, or the cats will starve. I named them Spokes, Hobs, and Buffy. Maybe something will come up for them. I'd like to get the other female out of there, too. Maybe the barn home folks will take one more, this adult mother's sister.

That would leave the trailer people with two adult males, one now fixed, and that they could manage. Maybe the barn cat home people will take four instead of three tomorrow. Although I haven't trapped that second female yet. Maybe they'll take her too, once I catch her. That would be wonderful.

The one left out there is the adult daughter of the female I have here. The two gray males are also her adult sons, brothers of the female left.

It all started when these folks either took in this mother here, or she was dumped off there unfixed. There were three survivors last year of two litters she had, the female and two males, now adults. And this year, three of her first litter survived, the three teens. She was pregnant with her second litter, terminated. Good thing, too. They may not have lived, due to the fact during the term they were inside her, she got no food to support them growing normally inside her.

Her adult daughter had the four little ones, two of whom were killed by a dog. The cats out there have not successfully reproduced much because of the starvation factor. If they get pregnant and give birth, the kittens die, of starvation.

Anyhow, I caught seven of the nine cats that first night. And I want to find someplace for all but two, so the two left will get enough to eat and the others can be healthy and fed someplace else, somewhere they're wanted, fed, sheltered.

The car went in, and they're doing the check on it. I was supposed to call in at noon and I just did, but the mechanic is on lunch break. I don't know if they found anything other than breaks needing done or not. That new battery seems to give it a great start in the mornings. If I didn't drive the car even for one day, then it wouldn't start. So, I was playing with fire, with that bad battery.

I'm supposed to be taking care of somebody's cats. They live nearby. They wanted me to get most of them in at night, but they're former ferals and scared of me. She said she didn't figure they'd come in. I told her next time, she needs to have them in before she leaves. Wouldn't hurt any of them to stay in for three days. Anyhow, I hope the cats survive her vacation, outside all the time, because I can't get them inside. Not unless I trap them and I could do that. I've been known to do that. Gets it done, so I don't have to worry about them being outside. Maybe I'll do that tonight, once I get my car back, sit over there and trap em all, get em inside and they can stay inside until she gets home. That's a good idea. She'll be back home, however, in less than two days, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it.

She's got a really cute little house, perfect size for one person, and backyard, full of fruit trees. I picked a couple of pears last night and brought them home. They're really good. What I love are plums this time of year. I hope to find someone with an overflowing plum tree who might let me have a few.

UPDATE: I guess the rear shocks are shot, which I figured. I was getting this rocking side to side motion the last three months. And I guess the brakes in the rear are about 50%, which is really not that bad, considering the mileage on the car. They're drum brakes and those are a pain to change. But at least in the rear, the car has shocks not struts. Shocks are a lot cheaper. The car doesn't have a lot of clearance in the between tire and fender anyhow.

They said there are no tears or holes in the axle boots. This checkup did not include any engine checks at all, unfortunately. I suppose the one thing I think about is injectors getting clogged or something, whatever happens to them, compression, that sort of thing. The mechanic said I should have the coolant system flushed and changed and change the tranny fluid and filter. I suppose I'll end up doing those two things myself.

I guess the belts are ok, or they would have said something. I guess the exhaust system isn't falling apart either or they would have said something.

UPDATE UPDATE: I guess it needs both belts replaced too. Both are worn. So anyhow, won't get the car back til tomorrow evening. That means Robin won't be going to his home tonight. I should have sprung those traps at the Marion trailer, too.

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