Forgetmenot, the black kitty I forgot to take to the FCCO with the 13 others from her colony, is a little girl, and was fixed yesterday.
During the day, while she was over in Corvallis at the clinic, I took down and cleaned the big cage she'd resided in, and the table it sat on, and put them away.
Space is restored in the garage. I still haven't cleaned all the traps and just this morning finally got all those dirty trap covers washed.
I got cranky yesterday evening. I wasn't happy to get a text, not a call, from the Lebanon woman wanting me to feed all the cats she feeds, in like six places, for a week while she has hip replacement. Not bothering to even call, just a text, did not set well with me.
Hip replacement is a lot different now. People are up and walking same day and supposed to be walking around in two days using a cane or walker. She just isn't allowed to drive for a week.
The other thing, she hasn't gotten any of these cats fixed. She's cancelled free appointments twice in the last months because it takes effort (mainly patience) to catch cats and she is not into that. Now she wants me to dedicate two hours of every day to driving over and beyond Lebanon. She has lots of family around who could do this.
I got so tired yesterday and finally forgave myself for it since it had only been a couple days since that grueling trip to Portland with the 13 cats, then the aftermath, returning them, cleaning, all that. Seems like long ago already.
Doing the trapping, the holding of the cats then also the transport to far away clinics has never been something I enjoy. It's too much. At one time, when younger, I would drive cats all the way down to Coos Bay, to be fixed at the Snipped clinic, but only now and then. I'd have to leave no later than 4:00 a.m. Then trap down there during the day, on assignment from that clinic. Such efforts required a week of recovery. At least I was younger then, which helped.
It's too bad there's nothing local affordable, high volume. I can get some done at the private clinic in Corvallis but not many, due to the cost and some of these folk feed dozens of unfixed cats.
Our one local nonprofit shelter is fancy and big but useless too, as far as spay neuter assistance and charge a small fortune to take in even one stray litter.
Anyhow, preparing for a lot of rain starting Friday. Another atmospheric river thing. We get a lot of those lately. I do have spots Monday for tame cats from a Cascadia homeless camp. Heavy rains probably won't be an issue in getting them, since they are tame. They were scheduled last month but I could not get ahold of the man with the cats and had to cancel, not knowing if he'd be there or what. It's a long drive up there. Turns out his phone had died. So this coming Sunday is pick up. I hope its easy enough, just taking carriers for them, not live traps. Just four and they are fully sponsored by a Salem lady!
Winter is my loneliest time of year. Hard to find things to do, other than cat catching, and even harder to find people to interact with. I have a tough enough time with that summers. I'm trying to come up with an affordable indoor hobby of some sort.
I found an interesting article about lightning storms and safety in backpacker magazine. The only two places, it says, you are safe from lightning, are in a real building with electric and plumbing (to act as a Faraday cage) and, for same reason, in a metal topped car, as long as you don't touch metal and roll up the windows. Don't sit under the tallest tree either, and think you are protected because lightning may strike that tall tree, travel down it to the ground and if you are touching the ground, you get toasted. Most lightning strikes are not direct hits on people, but from the electricity grounding and you being too close to the strike and touching the ground.
No comments:
Post a Comment