A Ferry Ride with Cats

I took Freezie, the little Frozen Foods trapped girl kitten, to whs to be fixed yesterday after procuring a spay neuter reservation.

Our heat wave continues here.  It was 95 yesterday.  Will be hotter today.   I don't mind the heat so much but the garage is too hot to hold cats, that's for sure.  So I recuperated Rosalita, the black female from Lebanon, after her spay Monday, in my bathtub in the trap, then moved her into a small cage.

She was in there with Freezie, the night before her spay, and with Gervais boy kitten Sunrise.   Rosalita should have been in a Yamhill county climate controlled garage, but the mix up had happened with my barn cat placement friend and she'd taken black male kitten Sundown instead of Rosalita.  So we had to switch black cats yesterday afternoon.  Sundown would go home with his brother Sunrise.  She also agreed to take Freezie.  Freezie, who is alone in this world, needed family and the Lebanon family of Rosalita, Don Juan and Tango, would be perfect.

She lives on the far side of the river, however, up near McMinnville.  There are not that many bridges over the Willamette and none in that area.  So I said "let's meet at the ferry".  The Wheatland ferry takes cars across the river north of Salem and costs $2 one way.

After I picked up Breezie at the Salem clinic, I headed up there.  Rosalita and Sunrise were in the car with me.  I had to leave the car running with the AC on even for the short time it took to run into the clinic to pick up Freezie.  I get a little nervous travelling in very very hot weather with cats.  What if the car breaks down?  They could die quickly in such heat.

The Ferry isn't far off the freeway north of Salem and it would then be very quick to return, once I had Sundown, cross the freeway and drive on up to Gervais to return the boys.  Just a few more miles.  So meeting my friend on her side of the river via the ferry was a good option.

The far side of the river by the ferry dock includes an expansive parking lot and beach area.  But it's all rocks and dirt and on a 95 degree day, seemed dirty and dusty.  Lots of people had their dogs with them, who were swimming in the river.  The smell of dog poop, in such heat, was strong.

We transferred the cats from her containers to mine and they headed home one way, while I got in line to get onto the ferry to return to my side of the river.

On across the freeway via Brooklake Road to Brooks, just a few miles, then north to Gervias on 99E and the boys went home.  They were happy about that!

I stopped in at the Bird Lady's night out gathering in Albany.  She'd invited me some time ago.  These are encouraged one night a year by the police department, so neighbors get to know one another.  The police stop by to say hello at all registered neighbor gatherings.  Our neighborhood, as usual, had nothing, since everyone is quite paranoid and stodgy around this area.  Ha.

I was tired though, greeted Evelyn and plopped in a chair and soon was dozing off until some noise or movement would startle me awake.  A friend of the bird ladies from Corvallis was there belting out her Christian and country songs.  She has a good voice but exhaustion made the sounds grate on my brain.  The two officers who were there when I arrived seemed awkward in full uniform, which must have been hot, and stood, did not sit.  But the fireman who came by was very friendly, seemed like a fun guy and immediately fit in and wanted to sing with the determined singer lady.  Kids were crawling around in the police vehicle and having fun.  I excused myself to the Bird Lady, said I had to go home, go to bed, and she knew by looking at me, and said to sleep well.

Sulu has fit in just fine with her.  She told me she loves him so.  She had been stressed by keeping cats apart, the orange girl Kate, and black tux male Kent, in her bedroom, Kay the gorgeous long hair torti, from the dumpster behind grocery outlet, in the bathroom, let out when the others were not out, and her calico in and out, but never out in the main house when the others were.  Kent, Kate, her calico and Sulu are all throw aways from the house from hell, two houses from her, where tenants left all the cats.  The calico was from them a few years ago, was theirs, but she got hurt and they wouldn't help her so Evelyn did.  Anyways, I told her to let them all together, and not worry about it, that there would be some hissing spitting and yowling perhaps at first but they'd work it out and so she did and things are easier now that way.

It was good to hear Sulu is doing so well and so loved.  I had been going to stop to get my cage back but she had him in it for the gathering in case someone needed to go in to use the bathroom and I said fine, I'll get it some other day.  And maybe I won't, maybe I'll just let her have it, because she needs it sometimes.  Sure that leaves me only one small cage, but sometimes you have to let things go, to somebody who needs it and it might be the time for that particular cage.  I got it free myself, when Heartland had a garage sale of things they didn't need and let rescues come first and take what they could use.