Golden

 It was late 2010 when I received a referral from the city about some cats on the property of a local mobile home manufacturing business.   

I went to trap them.  It was not easy there.  I couldn't access the gated property at night to trap and the cats were nowhere around during the day.  The employees did not feed them and it was just really really difficult.  There seemed to be great confusion there.  People who said they'd check the traps never did, all kinds of things like that made it so hard and time consuming.  Nobody seemed in charge.   One truck driver in fact, leaving with a mobile home, asked me to sign his papers, said he couldn't find anyone else.  I almost did it, just out of frustrations and my  mischievous elf side wanted to do it.

In the end, I had to lure most of them outside the property fences to trap.

Then, as fate would have it, they refused to agree to feed them, if returned.  Oh gosh darn, what a mess.

I ended up with all nine.

It wasn't long after they came here, I realized all had bad mouths.  Stomatitis.  Sometimes it is caused by exposure to bird poop, particularly pigeons, a vet told me.  Well all they had to exist on was pigeons.  There were lots of them on the property.  

All needed extensive dental care or euthanized.  I always try to find a way.  That's when I found out about the coast clinic, where it was far more affordable to get vet care.   I began slowly getting them in, making the three hour one way drive to the clinic, doing fundraisers to raise the money.  Rogue and Cougie had the worst mouths and had to be first.  Both had all their teeth removed.  Except Rogue kept two canines.

Several of the cats have had several dental visits.

Now, after all these years, only four of the Golden West cats are still alive.

Rogue, Haley, Misty and Alexi are still with me.

Sassy died of kidney failure following another dental.  Tilly died of a saddle clot.  Cougie got throat cancer.  Raindrop fell off a cat shelf and sustained internal bleeding.  And Stiletto experienced some illness that produced terrible diarrhea that proved fatal through dehydration.  

Although the four still with me are quite elderly now, they are still full of life.  Misty is my little mosquito kitty, flitting and skitting around.  She loves chicken. Haley loves her best buddies Shady, Panda and Echo  (the old gals club).  Rogue still loves catnip and chicken and play (with anybody or everybody) while Alexi is still the wildest and most elusive but has lots of cat friends.

This was Misty, 12 years ago, before I trapped her.  I don't know how old she was then, or now.

Here's Misty today.  She is my chicken lover supreme!  Along with Shady.

There's Haley, with Stiletto (back to camera) 12 years ago.

There's Haley up on the cat shelf this morning.  

Here's Rogue today, in his favorite cat bed, which is up near the ceiling on a shelf.   

Here's Rogue way back in 2014, a few days after almost all his teeth were pulled.  

Alexi, taken this morning.  Alexi has had several visits to the vet for teeth issues and now doesn't have any teeth left.  Haley doesn't either and Rogue hasn't had anything but a couple canines since 2014.

Here's to the Business Nine.  That's what I called them.  It's down to four now.   Yeah, they're wild and they're old but they're mine and have had fun lives here, with lots of friends.

Alexi, Stiletto, Sassy (on top).  Cougie, Raindrop Tilly Haley (barely visible under and behind Rogue) and Rogue (on bottom).  Not in the photo:  Misty.

Cougie, Stiletto, Alexi and Haley.  That bed is long gone, given to a family in need of a king size bed.  Furniture changes here but there are always cats.

Here's to family, friends and fun!