Friday, September 25, 2015

16 Community Cats Fixed. I May Be Getting Old.

For three days, things have been nuts.  I got an opportunity I didn't want to waste.  Free fixes!  But I am severely out of practice at cat wrangling.

Today things were ugly.   Worn out, I loaded up 15 cats to take up to be fixed in Portland. Free fixes.   A salute you, FCCO, for the offer.  I could not pass it up, even though I overdid it severely.

Driving to Portland used to take about an hour and 20 minutes.  Now it can take up to or over two hours, because of congestion, often bumper to bumper for miles.  On the way home, the drive took 3 hours.  Yup.  THREE HOURS.  Two hours of which I sat in bumper to bumper traffic trying to leave Portland.   It's a nightmare!

It was not easy to endure.  I was worn out from trapping the last two days, and then caring for all the extra cats, juggling them around in my small garage.   I did not get enough sleep last night.  Or the night before last.  I don't do well without my sleep.

After dropping off the cats, I went to the rest area and I did sleep some, crunched up in my car, which is not very comfortable that way.  The rain poured down.  We need the rain here.  Then it was back through traffic again, to pick up the cats and the long long drive home.  And then more work, getting them set up for the night, food, water, all that.  It's done now!  Bed is calling.

Yesterday, Cole, the big gray and white male who has been fighting and causing problems in an Albany neighborhood, went to be neutered at Heartland.  The Albany complex woman, where he fights, tracked down his owner, who lives on the street behind the complex.  Most recently, this same woman harbored Dandy, the big male with the horrible swollen face from fighting.  I took Dandy up to CATS in Sherwood, where he got his infection drained, neutered, and tested positive for FIV.  He's still there, hoping for a home.

Well, since KATA was transporting Cole to his Heartland neuter, I had an anesthesia release from them signed by Cole's owner and when KATA volunteer K saw it, she exclaimed, "I know that cat".  KATA helped his owner about a year ago.  Cole was dying of flea anemia then.  He got better after a trip to the vet and treatment.  Cole's owner had vowed to pay KATA back.  She didn't.  Nor did she get him neutered as promised.  And he beat up neighborhood cats, like Dandy.  Probably was him who infected him also.  The bill for Dandy, primarily to treat his swollen shut face from an infected bite wound, was $500.  Cole was the one who did that to him.  What if Cole had been neutered?    That cost would not have been.  Darn people anyhow.

Cole is finally neutered, thanks to the Happy Cat Club and KATA transport.

The cats who went today included another kitten from the same complex.  Her brother has vanished and her owner is now evicted.  She's going back but I hope she won't just get left behind.

Nine cats were fixed from the farm today.  Five were girls and all but one of the five girls were lactating.  KATA had just taken in bottle babes from one of those girls, who walked away from them.  Done with being a mother, I guess.  Third litter this year.

They also took in two other kittens of two different litters.   There are more out there, but I ran out of energy and traps.
I didn't catch this kitten out there at the farm.

I caught the two black and whites however.
One of the four boys from the farm fixed today, a  DMH hair white and black with that cheek spot.

And this darling black long hair male kitten got fixed.

As did this massive long hair black and white male.

And this medium hair brown tabby tux male kitten along with the DSH black tux girl kitten.
The lactators---this abbytabby girl is allegedly the one who walked away from her newborns.

Black tux, young and lactating. They'll go back early tomorrow morning.  Likely their kittens are older, however.

Another lactating black tux adult.

And a brown tabby medium hair female, also lactating.  All four were fixed, but they will continue to lactate as long as anything is sucking.
Fixing 9 from out there, and KATA's taking in of four or five kittens from same place will put a damper on colony growth.  Hope to get the rest fixed.  I had just found out about the colony and went out yesterday evening.  I had no idea who was who or how many there might be.   Still don't.

Five more cats were fixed from a barn way way out in rural Linn County, a 40 minute drive in fact from here.  I had no idea it was out so far when I agreed to help.  Oh well.  Five got fixed.

I'll get photos of the Barn Brats up tomorrow.  Four boys, one girl.  Plus the complex kitten.

Something odd occurred as I loaded the cats outside the FCCO into my car.  A man pulled in behind me, got out, came up and asked, without any introduction "Do you work for this business?" pointing at the FCCO.  "No, I don't."  I said, without emotion.   WTF? I was thinking.  Then he says "Do you take care of cats for this business?"  "No, I don't," I said, very truthfully.  I figure it was a parking vigilante.  He had no uniform or insignia but a safety vest or something and something in his window, that looked handwritten, like a fake parking permit that said "Construction Parking".  WTF I was thinking.  If he works around the block he'd know what the FCCO does, but he didn't.  I was not going to volunteer any information to someone like that not knowing anything of his intent and being really super tired out.  He got back in his car and started writing something down.  I drove off thinking WTF.  Damn parking vigilante is what I figure.

It's hard to find parking near enough for picking up cats.  I often have to circle the block several times, then maybe park far away and wait for a spot to open close enough so I'm not carrying cats over a block.  Sometimes people double park to run in also.  But that's nothing compared to the violations committed by the auto business nearby who park broken down cars in usable parking spaces.  Or at least they used to, making parking an even worse nightmare.  Portland is one big parking nightmare anyway, if you ask me.   I'm happy to be home and out of that congested scene.

Nighty night.

I thought I'd be in bed.  Too much caffeine late.  Ok, so going to that barn, that has livestock, my car ended up full of flies.  Today while I drove the flies would be coming out.  I hate them!  I was circling at the FCCO, looking for parking when a fly landed on my steering wheel.  I went for it!  Slapping at it, but the horn blared when I tried to kill the fly.  How embarrassing.  So I just pretended to be honking at something else.  Later I made a fly swatter and sat in my car swatting flies.  How white trash is that?


9 comments:

  1. As always you have done an amazing job.
    Now rest up. You more than deserve it.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will do, and thanks. I did overdo it.

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  2. I'm tired just reading this. Good work, Strayer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous4:00 PM

    A great effort, now take some time for rest and reflection.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hey! A fly swatter in your car is smart, not white trash. ~nods~ And at least you didn't destroy a gasoline pump by using a lighter to chase a spider on your car! You can actually read about it if you are so inclined and have time in your busy schedule: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/09/26/michigan-motorist-sets-car-gas-pump-on-fire-trying-to-kill-spider-with/?intcmp=ob_article_footer_text&intcmp=obinsite

    Best wishes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha, that's funny, read the story. And he came back the next day to fill up again. I was driving north once and a huge house spider crawled across my lap. Totally freaked me out. I whacked at it but someone maintained control and made myself calm down until I could take an exit, pull over and rid the car of the spider.

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    2. So glad you enjoyed the article and that you didn't crash! I almost overturned a canoe when a giant fishing spider big as my palm fell out of a tree. ~snort~ I do appreciate a decently maintained modern home.

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    3. I've never heard of a fishing spider. That big? Yikes. I would have ditched the canoe and swam for it.

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Round Up

Today is cat round up for tomorrow's five spots.  Two more came up from the vet student in Harrisburg late this morning.  Over 60 fixed ...