About 15 Cats Showed at NS Albany Clinic

Very few cats showed up this morning at the Albany NS clinic. With donations garnered and the fact I paid for the three Saturday who were already fixed, I have enough credit to get 8 or so cats done for nothing tomorrow, if I can find that many. I left a message with a Brownsville woman who has four she rescued needing fixed, but I don't think she's in town.

I spent the night at the rest area again, after sleeping all day yesterday so I could do this, after the tabby on white, who may not still be alive or there. I have not seen the cat for a month, not since before the flood, but have been leaving food, which is eaten. By something. Could be by birds. I neither saw the cat nor any activity at the traps. I did see a whole of weirdness again. I suppose a night in the rest area is better than watching most action movies.

The weirdest thing I saw could have had rational explanations I'm sure. But in the night, with a very active imagination on board, seemed strange to me. Here's what I saw. I saw a really fancy car drive up. Two guys got out of the front and stood around at the back passenger door, on the far side of where I was, several cars away.

One even looked at one point like he was praying as he leaned against the car, hands together on the top of the car. They were working with their arms too, on that side, almost they were breaking into the passenger side of their own car, I thought at first. But then, they pull out a guy, with a white blanket around him and flank him headed towards the restroom, one on each side, had their hands on him too, either for support or to control him. One had his hand on the guy's back but underneath the blanket, which I thought to be bizarre. In my wild imagination, I thought "Does he have a gun at that guy's back?" I never saw the man in the white blankets arms either. Were they tied or handcuffed behind his back? I didn't know what to think then. I thought it was really strange and yanked out my binocs as they disappeared, I thought into the restroom, to get a look at their car. But just as quickly, without so much as enough time passing to enter the restroom, they were back in sight and returning to the car. I thought maybe they'd seen me looking at the car, and prepared to get the hell out of there.

They put the guy back into the back and spent a lot of time, the both of them, adjusting him into the back. I wondered what was up with that, too. Then one appeared to be reading something, maybe a map in the front while the other opened the trunk, got out a paper, maybe another map, looked at it, got in, and they left.

I didn't know what to think. I thought they'd gotten onto the freeway heading south but I didn't see them for sure get on the freeway. Another car pulled up and I was distracted and just as that car left, I saw a white car coming out from the road that leads back from the north bound side. I thought "oh my gawd, they didn't really leave." The car then pulled onto the road that becomes the on ramp to the south bound freeway, but turned suddenly and pulled back into the parking lot where they had been. I wasn't sure it was the same car, because they parked behind me, headed the other direction. I totally freaked out however, mind racing. I wondered, "are there still three guys in that car, or just two now." I wasn't waiting to find out. I did get the hell out of there. The car pulled out and got onto the south bound freeway without anyone getting out of it to use the restroom. I watched from a distance.

Well, I don't know what that was all about. Later on, I figured a whole bunch of things it could have been that were really nothing. Maybe that guy in the white blanket had cancer or something and they were taking him to a hospital, or even maybe he was just really sick. Maybe he was the son or relative of one of them and they were kind of forcibly taking him to rehab. Could have been a whole lot of things. They could have been cops, too, with a prisoner. You never know. I don't know what that was all about.

My mind was going wild with the possibilities partly because it was a dark stormy rest area night and I was alone and also because I have a creative mind. I did go down and check the river bank and boat ramp area, hoping there was no body there. Maybe I've watched too many crime shows. It was likely all easily explained.

Anyhow, I drove up the Lebanon cat this morning. It is a stray, very tame, cared for by the woman across the street from a family for whom I took in three teen females a couple weeks ago. The three teens' mom already had another litter of five just born kittens. They said the woman across the street had a cat needing fixed and later, gave her my number. She at first said it was a male, then she said she didn't know the sex, but that it must be a male because a neighbor complained her stray male was impregnating their female. She said she's had to take care of a lot of strays, that get abandoned at the nearby apartment complex.

Well, the cat is a female. I don't know yet if she is already fixed or not. She's up at the vet's.

So I'm scrounging for cats for tomorrow's NS clinic. There are about 30 registered for tomorrow, but over half those are coming from KATA. TWenty females to be exact. I have the one male kitten who will go. I know three colonies that need done, but I don't have owner permission on any of them. I actually haven't contacted the 30 cat Lyons colony. I don't have their number yet and that is a long way out there. They're supposed to be nice cats and well cared for, just need fixed.

There are four needing fixed on Mt. Hope, but that woman is drop dead busy at work, since her workplace laid off almost all workers but her and one guy. She's getting killed working extreme hours and she's no spring chicken. She could barely talk she was so tired last time I called her about getting them in and said she was just too worn out to consider it currently. She's a real nice lady.

I have traps set for a couple of ferals at one colony, with only two left to catch and somebody watching those traps, but the chances of catching the two aren't real high.

As for the Felony Flats district colony, where I already trapped 8, with three to go, those folks are having big problems with two beagles next door, who are constantly breaking through the wire fencing, chasing the cats, even under their house and tearing up insulation under there. They think the beagles may have killed some of the cats. They have talked to the neighbor repeatedly about it, and he keeps saying he'll fix the fence but he hasn't done so yet. They are really sad about the fate the cats may have suffered as a result of this neighbors dogs. They still hope the neighbor will fix his fence and keep them contained.

So anyhow, I just woke up from sleeping all morning after the big night at the rest area. Now I'm the prowl for some cats for tomorrow.