Big Day in Portland

I was up early, after going to bed early, yesterday morning.  5:00 a.m. no less.   I had plans!  A big day in Portland!   And a road trip up with 9 local cats.

First I removed food dishes and litter boxes from the two cages in the garage that held the five Cascadians--the cats from the homeless camp in Cascadia.

Next I closed the carrier door on the two long hair torti kittens in one cage, since they were sleeping in the carrier, and hoisted the carrier out and took it into my bathroom, where I would transfer them to traps.  Safely. They're little escape artists.

I set a small trap inside that cage then.  Only the adult gray tabby boy remained in that cage.

I set a trap in the other cage containing the adult female and another male then and removed the sheets covering most of both cages.  This usually makes them want to hide somewhere if I like walk up to the cage to say hello and makes it a stress free endeavor to get them contained again.  They hid by going into the covered set trap.

So it was easy to get all five into live traps and loaded into the car.   Then I got ready to go and began loading up the other four, in carriers.   Squirt was already in a carrier in the bathroom, so I just closed the door on him.  I loaded the other three, Calici, Bobbie and Vicki the Torti easy enough and hit the road for Portland by 6:30 a.m.

Easy going until suddenly it wasn't.   The congestion began south of the rest area which is south of Wilsonville and was constant clear into Portland.  It took far longer to go the distance from the rest area to the clinic than it did to get to the rest area from Albany.  And its not many miles from that rest area to the clinic.

This again made me extremely grateful to live south of Portland and not have to go there often.

I checked in the five cats from Cascadia.  Karen had arrived and she took Squirt and Vicki.  After I checked in the cats, Carma came and I crawled into the back of my car and took Khaleesi out of my carrier and put her into Carma's, then I did the same with Bobbie. Carma then loaded me up with some wet cat food!!!!  That was incredibly helpful.  I go through so much of it trapping, caring for other cats while here, and with my own, most of whom are seniors some without teeth now.

Khaleesi from Sweet Home in my car as we wait for Carma of Animal Rescue and Care Fund

After I left off the five cats, I went to a Tigard parking lot, to drink coffee.  But I forgot I had the car lights on.  When I went to start the car, less than half hour later, the battery was dead.   Shoot.  I was on a slope but parked facing a curb, slightly downhill.  I couldn't as one person push the car around, so I could roll down the slope of the parking lot, with the clutch in and start it poppiing the clutch after it picked up some rolling speed.  Oh well, I carry jumper cables.  Now to find a willing participant.

Two Tigard public works employees were farther up the parking lot.  I walked up there and asked them if they'd jump my car.  They asked if I had cables and I said I did.   So they came down and jumped it from their trucks battery.  Nice!  Yes, I need a new battery.

Later, I went into the movie theater there, and asked which movie would get out by 3:30, since I had to be back to the clinic by 4:00 to pick up cats.  "Knives Out," the attendant told me.  I'll take a ticket to that one then, I said, and bought it.  My age allowed me in for about $8.  It's fairly cheap now that I've crossed the age line, to kill time in this way, when waiting on cats.  I love to go to the movies!  It feels glamorous and exotic or something. 

The movie was ok, not as funny or clever as I thought it would be but it was entertaining.  There were four other people in the theater.  Three women who had gotten off a retirement center transport bus sat a few rows behind me while a guy from same bus sat two rows in front of me.

I picked up the cats and the FCCO loaded me up with three bags of donated dry cat food.  I'd reminded them that the Egg Place cat caretaker had called them a couple weeks ago, asking for cat food help.  She's in dire financial straits right now.  She didn't realize the clinic was in Portland.  She lives just outside Sweet Home.  Most of the Egg Place cats were fixed at the FCCO, is why she tried calling them for help.  This will be a huge help for her.  Thank you FCCO.

I got home about 7:00 I guess it was and fixed up the cats for the night and was in bed by 9:00.  I hope to get two of them off to that barn home if it works out within the next couple of days.  Then I'll just have three to find a placement for.

I've compressed my elbow tightly for over a week now.  Iced it, alternated with heat, nights when I watch TV, tried to not use that arm by using a sling when home, taken Aleve, slobbed it with aspercreme and cortizone ointment alternately and I can report the fluid lump is now less than half its size.    I'm hoping for even more improvement in the next week.  I don't use the store bought elbow brace anymore.  It's useless.  I use a sock that was too small for my feet.  I cut the toe off and pull it up over my arm and elbow.  It's nice and tight over my elbow.   I will keep with the regime.