The Cats

 I still have lots of cats.  Long time readers will recognize them.  New readers won't.  They've been here, mostly, a very long time.

I haven't taken many photos lately of them.  

This evening I was out in the cat yard playing with them and took a few photos.

I'll start with the old girl pile, however.  When I get up in the morning I find them there, on the home made cat shelf, nestled together, surrounding Panda, a very elderly girl who has a lot of appeal to the other cats.  I think its her wisdom and kind hearted nature, that draws them all in.  

Haley, whose sister and beloved friend Raindrop, died fairly recently, has taken up now with Panda too.

Girlfriends
Gracie up on top.  She recently went to the coast clinic for dental care and shots and worming, etc.
On the bottom, Panda is far left.  Next to her, Haley. Back to camera--Shady.  And finally Echo.

Panda is so loved here I worry what will happen when she passes.  She's had a heart murmur too her entire life.  Good old girl, love her.  Panda and her brother Soloman are somewhere near 15 years old now, but could be a little older than that.  Because all these kitties still here had such horrendous beginnings, I never thought they'd live to be so old.  Their hard starts either toughened them up or the fact they live here with many friends, play a lot, exercise a lot with all the cat runs and access to the cat yard--reveals the secret to a long life.  Siblings and relatives adopted  out who were not returned from some of these situations did not fare as well.   I used to do quality control, when I did adoptions, check up on adopted out cats, kittens, up to a year and sometimes two years, after they left, which is how I know.  If a cat free roams, and many of their adopted out siblings were allowed to do so, despite promises to the contrary, life is cut short.

Cookie, Blondie and Dagwood came here from behind an apartment in Albany where the landlord said the tenant, who already had far more cats than he allowed, said he'd evict her if she continued to feed them.   The three had terrible giardia and it was apparent she'd had them inside the house for awhile at least.  Dagwood tamed instantly.  The girls took a lot longer to get over giardia and didn't tame them.  They're lovely cats.  Dagwood was so instantly tame he went to a Portland rescue who got him over his digestive issues and into a home very quickly.

Cookie, who looks a lot like Dagwood, her brother, who got a home.

The sisters, Blondie and Cookie, together

Trouble has been here several years.  She remains always in the cat yard, even though she could come in.  She is a gorgeous cat, and one of the younger ones at 8 years old now.

Huckleberry, a close relative of Gracie and Bluebell, from a massive group of cats walked away from by the woman who fed them, loves that stump.  I have a photo of her on that same stump from two years ago.

How about dear Juno, who loved Miss Daisy so much, from the seed farm.  She also adores Sam.  She's old and now mostly likes to find a spot in the sun and nap.

Lastly, here is Rogue.  Rogue has not had any teeth for a long time.  I had them removed when he and his colony mates from an Albany business first came here and I realized they all suffered from stomatitis.   He's one of the last survivors of the business cats and still looking good.  Several of his colony mates have died this year including Stiletto (kidney failure), Raindrop (anemia of unknown cause) and Cougie (cancer).  Sassy (kidney failure) and Tilly (saddle clot) died a few years back.  Remaining of the business nine:  Haley, Rogue, Alexi and Misty.  They're all quite old now.

Those of you who have read this blog for a long time may have donated originally, to help him and his colony mates, get those dentals.  I didn't use gofundme, I don't think it was around then.  It was some other fundraising platform that is now long gone.  If you did donate, Rogue says thank you all over again.  You saved his life.  He would have died without full mouth extractions.  In all the years since, he's had no other health troubles.   You blessed souls out there---thank you.