daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee)

Mandy

Mandy was 14 years old.  She had struggled with a hip problem for months.  Of course, I had her on all of the meds appropriate for the condition.  About three weeks ago, I noticed that she started having trouble with the front leg on the same side with the bad hip.  That was rough.  It started to become difficult for Mandy to pull herself up and walk.  But once she got going, she did ok.  I worried, though, that this might be the beginning of the end.  She had “old dog body,” if you know what I mean.  She still had a good appetite, but she had very slowly lost weight over the last year of her life.  I knew, at her age, that we didn’t have lots and lots of time left.  As I’ve said on this blog before, I tend to wait too long before assisting an animal to The Rainbow Bridge.  I always hope I will know when that time comes, but I have definitely waited longer than I should have on more than one occasion.

Mandy was a swollen-bellied, mange-covered, skinny puppy with two sister littermates in December of 2004.  My daughters were exploring in a wooded area close to our home when they came upon three tiny puppies hidden in the root system of a great big tree. (That story here.)  They got the puppies on a Sunday, and on Wednesday it started snowing.  It snowed throughout Wednesday and Thursday.  The storm set a new 24-hour record.  We got 20 inches, and North winds produced drifts up to five feet deep.  Interstates were closed. People were stranded all throughout the region.  The blizzard brought record cold, too.  Temperatures were as low as 10 below zero on Christmas morning that year.

The three pups – Mandy, Mindy, and Muffin – stayed cozy and warm with us.  I got their mange under control and wormed them, of course.  They put on weight and learned not to fear humans.  Muffin lived her entire life with us.  Mindy was adopted.  Mandy was adopted, too, but her adopter died from cancer, and Mandy came back here.  Muffin and Mandy lived out the rest of their lives together.  Then in July of 2017, I lost Muffin to lymphoma.  Mandy marched on.

Last Friday, I had to coax Mandy to eat.  This was a new development.  No matter what else was going on, Mandy always loved to eat.  On Saturday and Sunday I had to lift her to get her on her feet.  Out in the yard, she struggled to hold herself up while she took care of her business.  On Sunday evening, I had to hold her in place (which she did not care for) because she couldn’t hold herself up any longer.  That night I told Husband that it was probably time to help Mandy leave that old, broken-down body.  But I said I just couldn’t do it yet.  She doesn’t stand at her raised food dish to eat anymore – I said - but if I hold the food in front of her while she stays lying down, she still seems to want it.  I hope I don’t let this go on too long.  I hate this part.

The next morning she was the same.  Walking had become impossible without help.  And she could no longer stand to eat.  I worried all day that I shouldn’t be keeping her alive.  It was clear that her pain meds (now increased) were not keeping her pain levels down.  I knew that this would be the week, but I didn’t make that call.  Not on Monday.

Then on Tuesday Mandy wouldn’t eat.  It was the sign I needed.  After sitting with her, trying to get her to take even one bite, I put the bowl down and just sat beside her.  I petted her and petted her and talked to her for a while.  I told her I knew she was in pain and that I would help her get out of that body.  I told her she would see Muffin again, and that I hoped they would romp and play together.  Then I went and called my clinic.

Husband drove and I sat in the back seat with Mandy.  When we arrived at the clinic, Husband went in and said we’d just stay in our vehicle.  Dr. O came out and gave Mandy the injection to make her drowsy.  I repeated what I’ve said to Dr. O so many times before.  This never gets any easier.  He gave us a few minutes and then came back out and we assisted Mandy to The Bridge.  She went peacefully.  I know she and Muffin reunited right away.  (This is Muffin on the left and Mandy on the right.)

 

Mandy – Farewell.

 

Blues

Two days from now I need four cats from the property to fill the surgery slots I reserved.  So far I have ONE.  This is making me quite nervous.  But at least I do have one.  On Thanksgiving morning, I heard from the man at the property.  He said he saw another gray one (there are several of these Russian blues) and he was pretty sure it did not have a clipped ear.  I went out there and sure enough, here was another unaltered cat.  I got her and she is safely tucked away in a cage in my kennel.  As I’ve been saying, it’s becoming more and more difficult to catch, or even find, an unaltered cat.  The man said that he did see a very large tom a few days ago – one he hadn’t seen in weeks.  So I certainly hope to get that one.  My concern, of course, is that we will miss one or two and the breeding will resume.  I have explained to the man that he can get in touch with me at any time, even way into the future, if he sees a cat who doesn’t have a clipped ear.  My goal is to make this a zero-growth population.  My dear Friends – keep your fingers crossed.

 

The only one I have for this week’s surgery spots.

 

 At this point in time, there have been 18 spays and neuters.  In addition to that, three kittens have been taken from the property – a little Russian blue on the first day I was there (more in a minute) and the brother and sister black kittens that are living in my kennel kitten room.  Then there is the blue that will have surgery this Thursday.  That’s 22 cats who will not reproduce.  I’m VERY happy about this.  Of course, I won’t rest until I know we’ve gotten them all.

Now just a word about the two luckiest cats from the property.  I told you that I took a little Russian blue kitten on the first day I went to the property.  I took this little guy even before I knew for sure that the people I had in mind would actually adopt him.  They did, and I wrote about it at the time.  (This couple had already adopted a Wisher – Annie, now Luna.)   They took little Finn into their home and started the introduction process.  Here are Finn and Luna now.

 

Finn & Luna

 

Then just last week I told you about an adult Russian blue who was adopted by Mell (who came from Florida to get her guy).  He and her other cat Mickey are adjusting to each other.  She says Kismet (the male from the property) is being quite good, but that Mickey is having a little more trouble with the adjustment.  However, she reports that there is less hissing on Mickey’s part now and that they stayed on the couch together for nearly ten minutes a few days ago.  Here is the other lucky property cat in his comfortable new home.

 

Kismet

 

 It’s probably unlikely that I will get three more cats by tomorrow.  But keep your fingers crossed anyway, Friends.  And hope with me that I will eventually get every single cat on this property.

See you next week.  

 

Kismet

Definition of kismet -  destiny; fate.

It’s possible you remember the story of my Wisher Kizzie.  I’ve always called him Kizzie, but the name I gave him was Kismet.  The way he ended up here was definitely fate.  Well, today I’m going to introduce you to another Kismet.  I guess “introduce” is not actually correct as you’ve already been introduced to him.  Last week’s blog post carried the title Long Shot.  I guess my story today is why you never give up hope.  There always exists the possibility that things are going to line up . . .   perfectly.

Mell is a name you’ve read on this blog many times.  She has supported Winnie’s Wish over the years with dollars and Wish List gifts.  Mell and I have conversed on occasion about how she would like to adopt a Wisher.  One of Mell’s cats, however, was an older guy named Evinrude who would not have tolerated a newcomer.  Mell shared that Evinrude was lovingly given the nickname “The Rude One.”  Mell wanted him to be able to live the remainder of his life in peace.  Now let me go back in time for just a second.  Mell lost one of her kitty family members back in December 2016.  TC was a Russian blue.  When he died, Mell sent a big Wish List gift to Winnie’s Wish in memory of TC.  Well, last Wednesday Mell lost her Evinrude. After days of trying everything the vet knew to try, they decided to help Evinrude leave his suffering behind.  Mell sent a gigantic gift to Winnie’s Wish.  So much came that it wouldn’t all fit on my stairs in the same frame.  So the following TWO pictures are of what Winnie’s Wish received, with the note that said In memory of Evinrude, aka The Rude One.

 

Evinrude

 

Mell – THANK YOU.

 

Now here’s where the story turns a corner.  Mell lost Evinrude on Wednesday.  It was the day before that I had posted about two of the TNR cats that I hated to take back to the property.  A little gray-and-white fluffy female and a male Russian blue with bad ears.  The little fluffy female was feral but seemed to me that she could come around in the right home.   I knew I wouldn’t get any takers, but I put it out there anyway.  (She went back to the property yesterday.)  The gray tom was completely tame.  I was super surprised by this because as far as I knew, we had gotten the only six tame cats on the property when I collected  my first group for surgeries.  For some reason, this guy ended up with me weeks down the road, in the third group of surgeries.  I put him on my blog and knew that he would not be chosen either.  As the title of that post insured – it was a Long Shot.

When Mell read the post, she said she nearly dropped when she saw that first picture of the gray tom.  He was coming out of the crate he was staying in, and the picture I got was of him turning away.

 

 

Mell said her heart stopped because the first time she ever saw a picture of her cat TC (the Russian blue she lost two years ago) was an almost identical picture – TC was coming out of an enclosure and had turned away from the camera.   The details all started falling into place.  Evinrude had just moved on.  Mell had hoped to someday adopt a Wisher.  I happened to get this gray tom WAY after all of the tame cats from the property had already been collected.  I decided to post him (and the female) with really no hope at all that they might be Chosen.  Everything fell perfectly into place.

Mell emailed me.  We decided that this guy was already HER cat.  She decided to name him Kismet because it certainly seemed meant to be.  We started texting about how to get Kismet from me here in southern Illinois to Mell in Florida.  She would work from her end, and I would look into transport options.  Then while I was at the yard sale on Saturday, I received a text from Mell – Would you be terribly upset if I showed up on your doorstep Monday morning?  What?!  We texted all that evening and made our plans.  I would make a four-hour round-trip from here in southern Illinois to the Kentucky/Tennessee line.  Mell would drive up to the line FROM FLORIDA.  And that is exactly what happened.  Mell left on Sunday and drove up into Tennessee.  She got a hotel.  I got up early Monday morning and took off with Mell’s Kismet.  We met, and I sent a cat who would have lived his entire life on the property where I’m doing the TNR to a home where he will be loved and cherished.  Of course, it does not get any better than this for me.  THIS is the BEST!!

 

Taking off early Monday morning.

 

On his way to Florida.

 

In his new Forever Home.

 

Mell had Kismet to her vet yesterday morning.  There are a few ear mites left.  Once those are gone, he should stop scratching his ears.  Other than that he received a clean bill of health.

Mell – THANK YOU.

Happy Thanksgiving, Friends.  (Can you imagine what I’m thankful for?)

See you next week.

 

Happy Thanksgiving

I’m going to do my “Thanksgiving post” today.  But at the end of this post I’ll be inviting you back to my blog for tomorrow’s story.

For today, let me wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving.  Thursday is the holiday.  The next day is Black Friday.  Then we have Small Business Saturday.  Then Cyber Monday.  Then a week from today is Giving Tuesday. 

I wish you a joyful, peaceful, family-filled Thanksgiving.  I know many of you will be spending your Thanksgiving away from home, but some of you will be home with your furry family members.  Have a wonderful day.   Then for some, you will venture out into the throngs of people early on Black Friday.  This is not a day I participate in, but I know loads of people say they love it and wouldn’t miss it for anything.  Happy shopping to those of you who dare.  Saturday is for shopping at your community businesses and patronizing small online shops.  This year, I’ve made some purchases at ebay and Etsy shops – small businesses making a go of it.  I will always remember when I first opened my boarding kennel 20 years ago.  I’ve been a “small business owner” all these years and I can attest to how wonderful it is to have customers.  Then Monday is when people will be at their computers shopping online.  Might I sneak in a quick advertisement here?  I do have two books that would make great gifts . . . 

My books are daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee) and Nice Is Better, a children's book for teaching kindness (and discouraging bullying) in a world that has slipped off the tracks as far as common decency is concerned.  If you already have the books, would you be willing to advertise for me, please?  I’d love to get this children’s book into loads and loads of parents’ and teachers’ hands.  My books are near the top of my sidebar.  You can find them on Amazon.

 

Finally, next Tuesday is Giving Tuesday.  This is my favorite one in the series.  I hope you will all pick a wonderful organization to give your time, money, or gifts to.

Now take a look at this gift that Winnie’s Wish received for Thanksgiving.

 

The note that came with the gift says – Happy Thanksgiving Chrystal! I am thankful for YOU and your family!!  Maria – THANK YOU.

 And June - THANK YOU for your paypal gift which came with this note - Please use this gift for whatever purpose you need. Bless you for the unbelievable TNR work and the countless hours you spend helping animals.

I am thankful for all of you who read here and support me with your money, with Wish List gifts, and with your comments of encouragement.  As I’ve said to you many many times before – This work is hard.  Having you along for the ride is deeply comforting.

Now.

Make SURE you get back by here tomorrow.  This is a feel-good story you do NOT want to miss.

With love and gratitude . . .   Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Long Shot

Four of the six cats who had their surgeries last week have been released back onto the property.  I kept the very young gray-and-white, longer-haired female and one of the Russian blue toms.  I know chances are so slim as to be ridiculous, but I’m gonna ask . . .

The little gray-and-white female is young and she is beautiful.  She is feral, but not like so many of the others.  As I said last week, she growled nonstop for the first 24 hours she was here.  Now she lets me pet her.  She will be here for another week and then I have to return her to the property.  This one will be a challenge.  She will growl for the first day or so, and then it will be a process of her becoming your friend.  I do believe this one will tame, but felines with feral starts take LOTS of patience.  I just hate to take her back.  But she will be fed there, and she will not have a life of having litter after litter of kittens. If there is someone reading this who is SURE they would like to give her a home, please contact me.

 

 

 

The Russian blue tom had an open wound behind his ear when I got him.  This is from scratching.  There are scabs in this area from previous scratching.  The best guess for what is wrong is ear mites.  So I started treating him and the last treatment will be on November 19.  This guy is a real sweetheart.  I won’t be able to house him past the 19^th so if there is someone reading this right now who is SURE they could give him a home, please get in touch with me.  He is wonderful and I wish he didn’t have to go back to the property.

 

 

And just an update on the two youngest felines from the property.  I got the male black kitten first.  He was very sick. He is doing really well now.  Then I got the littermate – a little female.  I’m so glad they are back together.  I’ll just be keeping these two until they grow old enough for their surgeries.

 

 

I said last week that I wasn’t going to reserve any more surgery spots for the TNR cats because it adds so much pressure to get a certain number by a deadline.  But I asked in passing about spots here and there, and the clinic stays booked three to four weeks in advance.  So I reserved four spots for the next time they had openings.  That date is November 29.  Surely I can have another four trapped by then.  And if I should get so lucky as to get more than that, I’ll just hang on to them until I can get them scheduled.  Keep your fingers crossed.

And Friends, please keep this in mind.  Because of you, EIGHTEEN cats so far have been spayed or neutered.  Wonderful.

See you next week.

 

Quota Met

Let me start by saying thank you for the advice and confidence that came from some of the readers of last week's post.  Honestly it helps to know that you guys are out there hoping and believing as I continue to chip away at the feral cat colony where I’m doing TNR.

Last week was rough.  What I didn’t say when I posted last Tuesday was that I had come down with the flu on Monday.  I think of myself as a reasonably healthy person so I figured I had a couple of days of feeling lousy and then I’d have that nasty flu behind me.  NOT.  Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday . . .  fever, sore throat, headache, body aches, chills, runny nose, sinus pressure, and all-night coughing.  It was a lot of fun.  And what made it even more fun was that I couldn’t just stop trapping at the cat property because I had surgery spots to fill.  So I would go out to the property between bouts of fever.  Miserable.

Anyway, the effort was worth it.  I had seven surgery spots held.  And I got six cats! (Actually got seven, but one can’t go for surgery. Will explain in a minute.)  Woo Hoo!!  I’m over the moon happy about this.  I don’t have to put my clinic out by telling them I could only fill a spot or two.  And the most important thing – this is SIX MORE CATS who will never reproduce. 

On one of my trips to the property, the older man who lives there told me he’d caught one of the tiny black kittens.  (There are two.  They are littermates and look exactly alike.)   He’d caught this baby in a net and then managed to get it into one of the carriers I’d left on the property.  I hadn’t planned to take those two little black ones (yet) because they are still way too young to be spayed or neutered.  But when I looked into the carrier and saw the condition of that baby, there was no way I wasn’t bringing him home.  This little guy was sick.  And I didn’t know just how sick until I got him home.

 

  One eye was swollen and inflamed.  He could hardly breathe at all due to a severe upper respiratory infection.  He was also super skinny.  He would not eat a bite of food.  I knew this was at least partially because he couldn’t smell anything.  He did literally nothing but sleep for the first 24 hours he was with me.   Older Daughter talked to her vet and we were able to get an antibiotic injection into him the second day.  I discovered that I could pet him.  He was very much afraid of me, but I spoke softly and kept touching him.  I was eventually able to start holding him.  Just when I was sure that Older Daughter was going to have to take him and start force-feeding, I got him to taste some kitten canned food.  One bite and he started inhaling the food.  He consumed the small amount that I had prepared with Viralys mixed in.  An hour later, I fed him again.  And after that he even started crunching dry food.  He is now doing so much better.  I’ve been trying to get his littermate.  I’ve seen it several times.  It runs and hides, but I’ve seen its face enough to know that it isn’t crusty and infected like the one I have.  I’d like to go ahead and get it so that these two babies can curl up together.  Keep your fingers crossed.

Now here are the six that will be going for their surgeries this week.  Notice the last of the pictures.  ALL Russian blues.  There must have been an entire litter of these at some point and against the odds, several survived.  Also – please note.  The longer-haired gray-and-white one is now letting me touch her.  She is very young.  If you know of anyone who would adopt her, let me know.

 

This one is very tame. I set him out of his cage for this picture. The couple at the property might have a home for this one.

 

This is the little female who MIGHT be adoptable. She growled continuously for the first 24 hours I had her. She is no longer growling and I’ve started touching her. The one beside her is the one I showed last week here on the blog – the only one I had at the time.

 

Russian Blue number One (untouchable)

 

Russian Blue number Two (untouchable)

 

Russian Blue number Three (touchable and with terrible ears. Treating them now.)

 

 

[ADDENDUM:  Guess what has just happened?  The little black kitten littermate to the one I already had has been trapped.  It is safely here with me.  I don’t yet know if it is male or female.  It is NOT sick like its sibling was when I got him.  YIPPEE!!!]

 

I have not reserved any more surgery spots at this time.  The six adults I have now will go at the end of this week.  After that, I need to trap first and then try to schedule from here on out.  Hopefully my clinic will have a spot here and there as I continue this project.

 

Cynthia – THANK YOU.

Ginny - THANK YOU.

 

 

See you all next week.

 

Twelve Plus . . . One

Well, it’s not good news this morning.  It’s almost November and I have surgery spots held for the TNR cats at the property a few miles from my home.  I started trapping again on Sunday afternoon and evening.  Trapped yesterday as well.  And I have ONE cat at this point.

 

I will be trapping again this evening so keep your fingers crossed.   We are expecting loads of rain tomorrow and Thursday.  Then on Saturday I will be doing the yard sale for the shelter where my daughters work (that is an all-day event).  I was really hoping to trap another six from Sunday through Tuesday this week. 

Twelve cats have been spayed or neutered.  I said before that it will be harder now.  The cats going into the trap are the cats who have already had their surgeries.  It would have been amazing if I could have kept all of those cats here at my place while attempting to trap the ones I still need.  But of course I don’t have the setup to make that happen.  I have three cages and those are needed for the cats I’m housing before and after their surgeries.  Also – these cats are not tame (except for those first six).  They don’t house well in cages.  So . . .

I have to just keep at it.  And I have to hope that my veterinary clinic will work with me when I can’t fill spots.  I hate doing it this way – holding spots without knowing for sure that I can fill them.  This is my first ever TNR event.  I’ve watched them on television and I now have a new appreciation for what TNR volunteers do.  The only thing I can say about this is that I am DETERMINED to get every cat on this property altered.  That is the only way I can know for sure that this colony will never grow again.

I hope by next week I am reporting some real success.  Keep your fingers crossed, Friends.

 

The Holidays Approach

We’re about to charge headlong into The Holidays.  I usually try to do some posts in the spirit of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  But starting next week, I’ll be back to trapping at the property where I’m doing TNR.  I have surgery spots scheduled for the first part of November.  As I continue to trap on this property, it is going to become more and more difficult to get the cats who have not yet been spayed and neutered.  The problem will be trapping the ones who’ve already been done.  Trap.  Release.  Reset the trap.  Release.  Reset the trap.  Finally get one that hasn’t been spayed/neutered.  Therefore . . .    I’m trying to hone my patience skills and stay relaxed about this.  I know finishing this colony off will likely take until the end of the year.  So my “holiday” stories will probably be swallowed up by stories of TNR.  But what better way to celebrate The Holidays than to end the breeding of a colony of cats!  I’ll take it!

Virginia (of The Poupounette Gang) is a supporter of Winnie’s Wish.  She hails from across the ocean, but she still has Wish List gifts delivered here from time to time.  There is one product that Virginia advised me about years ago.  And it is not available here in the States.  So it was a real treat to have Virginia send me this product (along with a few treats!) when she was visiting our country. 

 

 Virginia - THANK YOU.

 

Also - my brother-in-law just donated to Winnie's Wish and his niece's Wild Angels.  He said - "you people are doing wonderful things."  Brother-in-Law - THANK YOU.

 

Keep your fingers crossed that this time next week I’ll be showing you the pictures of the next group of TNR cats.  See you then.

 

Harder Than I Thought

I’m excited to continue to report to you about the cat property where I’m doing TNR.  At the end of my Wildlife Wednesday post last week, I noted that I DID get the additional four cats I needed for the six surgery slots I had held for Thursday.  Those six cats were a lot more difficult to gather than were the first six.  The first six were the tamest of the cats there.  The second group of six proved to be quite a challenge.  They had to be trapped, and I was on a schedule.  I knew I had to have six cats to deliver to my clinic on Thursday.  I initially only had two.  But we got the additional four just in time.  I also had eight spots held for Monday (yesterday), but I had to cancel those.  I guess after those first six (the tame ones), I had in my mind that I would just go to the property every time I needed cats and pluck the needed number.  I now know that I will need to plan a little differently.  After canceling Monday’s slots, I wasn’t able to reserve any more until the first week of November.  So I have a little more time to collect the next group.   Patience has never been a big characteristic of mine.  And – I know that with every passing day, we run the risk that there is a pregnancy in the unaltered group.  But I must take a deep breath and realize that this process is going to take longer than I had originally figured.  The goal is to get every cat on the property spayed or neutered, and to keep an eye on the kittens and grab them when they are old enough.

The other thing that hasn’t gone exactly as I’d thought is my emotional state.  You know how excited I was when we hit our fundraising goal.  At that time, I could see only how wonderful it was that this group of cats would be permanently relieved of the constant breeding.  And I am still over the moon about that aspect.  What I hadn’t figured was how I would feel releasing these cats back onto the property.  You see, in all of my years of rescue work, I’ve only had to release a couple of cats – females that I trapped (with their kittens) only to have them slam around inside their cages to the point of injury.  Once spayed and with only a couple of days of recovery time, I had to release them for their own safety.  It bothered me a great deal.  But now I’ve released six cats back to this property and will be releasing another five tonight (one has already been released).  That’s twelve cats that I’ve gotten to know.  The first six all let me pet them.  It was rough releasing them.  The second six are afraid and don’t want me to touch them.  But I still know them.  And I hate releasing them.

One of the six in this second group was the type I described above.  I had to keep a sheet over her cage until surgery day.  She nearly tore us to pieces trying to get her loaded that morning.  (Younger Daughter came to help me; couldn’t have done it without her.)  The day after surgery she started slamming into the sides of her cage.  She was definitely injuring herself.  She also would only sit (belly down) IN the litter box.  I was worried about her incision (in the litter) and I knew she was really going to hurt herself in that cage.  So I released her the day after her surgery.  That nearly made me sick.  I have kept all of the others for several days after surgery just to make sure they are good and strong and on their way to healing before being returned to their outdoor world.  I’m finding it so hard to return these cats to the property and just “hope” they will live reasonably comfortable lives.  There is shelter on the property.  And the senior couple who live in the house at the front of the property will be feeding them.  Certainly this is better than for SO many cats in feral colonies all across this country.  But when you look into the face of an animal, you see an individual.  And I wish better for these sweethearts than what they have.  Still – it’s better than for most, and to know not ONE MORE KITTEN will be born on that property to die or be killed while still a baby, or to grow up and spend life fighting, breeding, nursing . . .       I must look at everything that is positive and steel myself against the pain of not knowing what will happen to these cats over time.  

As hard as it is to release these spayed and neutered cats, I know the endless breeding stops here for this group.  I do wish that was the case for every feral colony on this planet.

I realize this picture is fuzzy.  I snapped it as this guy was running away on one of my first trips to the property.  I’ve looked for him each time I’ve been back but haven’t seen him again.  He has an open wound on his left side.  I hope he is in the next group we trap so that I can start some treatment on that wound.

 

See you next week.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – An Update

There has only been one new addition at Wild Angels Wildlife Rescue.  A young raccoon was brought in because she was limping.  She is doing well now.

 

 

The fawns are still doing great.  Their spots are just beginning to fade.

 

 

You might remember two tiny squirrels coming in.

 

 

At first, they were being syringe-fed.

 

 

Then they started learning to feed themselves.

 

 

The day is fast approaching when they will be ready for an outdoor enclosure.  And speaking of that . . .  

There have been lots of successful raccoon and opossum releases recently.  One night, when Older Daughter and her husband went out to feed some wildlife in one of her enclosures, they heard a noise in the squirrel enclosure.  Older had no squirrels in that area at the time.  Take a look at who decided a squirrel house would be just fine for the night.

 

 

 

The stories from Wild Angels will be fewer and farther between now.  Older’s wildlife season is slowing down.

 

[Yesterday I said I would let you know if I was successful in getting the FOUR MORE cats from the property for their spay/neuter surgeries scheduled for tomorrow.   Yes. I was able to successfully trap the four more cats I need for tomorrow.  This is a great relief.]

 

 

See you next week.