Long Day in Portland with One Cat

 The Lacomb folks whose 7 cats I drove clear to Portland on Wednesday caught then only one of the last two, while I was gone Wednesday.  

I had no choice really, but to drive her to Portland on Friday, having no other local closer options to get it done.

7 of the 8 cats they caught were girls. Can you imagine what would have happened there in just a few months?

I was already worn out from too much last week.  The round up last Sunday, for the ten cats I took to the Salem clinic on Monday, returning them Tuesday morning, cheerleading also on Tuesday, the people with spots Wednesday up in Portland.   Driving to Portland Wednesday, overnighting then returning the 7 fixed Wednesday, on Thursday.  Cleaning the traps used and doing the cage cover laundry.  Trying to catch up here.  Only to have to drive all the way to Portland with just one cat on Friday again.

The day was not easy.   I went to the rest area but shortly after I arrived, three cars zoomed up, one very noisy and beat up.  One parked right beside me and that guy never got out, just began staring at his phone.  He was with the other two.   The white SUV backed in beside him and the beater car was parked in front of the garbage can, on the far side of the suv.   A rest area clean up man was trying to empty the garbage, which was a mess with a lot of dumped trash piled around it.   

Immediately the man exited the beater car, raised its hood and opened the back of the SUV beside him.  A dog jumped out and although they briefly put a rope leash on him, they almost instantly then dropped the end and let the dog run all over.  The first thing he did was go to the trash can, right by the worker, raise his leg and pee.   

The man had a nearly shaved head, was smoking as he walked and looked like he just got out of prison. That was the impression he gave off.  The woman driving the white SUV looked worse for the wear too.

I was scared of them.  And within minutes decided safety beat out taking a nap and took off.

Finally at about 3:30 I was able to get the cat and go home.  Rush hour traffic slogged me in bumper to bumper for miles.  I was so happy to get home.

I've got another Portland trip Wednesday, this time with Harrisburg cats.  The vet student got spots, but also is studying for her boards.  She's 4th year and soon will officially add Dr. to her name.   Meanwhile she found three kittens apparently dumped near her residence and her neighbor had three dumped in a box on her porch.   And there are a couple more males she wants to catch.   She picked up 8 live traps and the drop trap on Thursday.  I told her I'd drive them up.  Anything to help out a vet student, who is a spay neuter advocate!  Before I go, I will try to research out a safer place I can spend my day.

The reservoir/fish conflict rages on.   I got called naive by some fisherman in online comments after yet another article, for liking the lake for kayaking and saying if they want to save salmon they might should quit killing them for a decade.   Being naive might be spending billions of dollars on salmon recovery methods that have not increased salmon numbers at all.      Being naive might be to think dams are to blame when the salmon return on rivers without dams is very low as well.  Or to not realize the chinook runs declined way way back, way before dams were even built.   

When someone tells me on the Suislaw, fishermen could only kill two Chinook each all season, I think to myself how many fishermen caught two Chinook who then did not make it up river to lay out a ton of eggs in the spawn and on rivers where there were much higher limits how many actually make it through the maze of fishermen in boats to spawn?  Those are the ones who make it through the massive nets and lines of the commercial fishermen in the ocean and the sea lion and seal guantlet at the entrance to harbors.  Quit killing them!!!  Let's be real.

I admit to being in a big worry over about the only recreational joy I have these days and that's time on the lake.   What do I look forward to without that, I think.  I have nothing, no money to really go anywhere else.  I can only drive when I do cat transports and trap, since that is covered by the nonprofit.  Otherwise, I'm poor as a church mouse and so am very limited.  I feel a certian resentment knowing the fisher people who go for salmon are by and large wealthier people, who have lots of gear and boats and all that.  I also have resentment because just in my meanderings on the lake and the two river branches feeding it water, I encounter so much fishing trash---line mostly, but also hooks, bobbers, you name it.  

It's been absolutely pouring here.  Atmospheric river after river has come through, warm rains, thunder at night that woke me, and its to continue.

Shady is at her end of days.  She came to me last night in the kitchen and wanted held.  First time ever.   She was born feral and stayed wild all her long years.  So I held her against me so she could be warm, for hours until she finally wanted down.  I gave her sub cu fluids and this morning, did not expect her to be alive.  She is.  She ate five churu treat tubes and now is sleeping against two wool boot socks crammed with hand warmers.   My dear old Shady.