daily dose of dogs (aka cats with your coffee)

October – Black Cat Month

October is officially designated as Black Cat Awareness month. The hope is to promote adoption of black cats who, sadly, have lower adoption rates than other colors of cats.

I think I’ve mentioned here on the blog that my younger daughter ONLY has black cats.  She has adopted several over the years, even some who were quite old when she took them in.  She currently has four cats – all black.

We have our share of black cats here as well.  Peep is our one solid black cat.  He happens to be absolutely HUGE – the biggest cat we have (the biggest cat we’ve EVER had).  He got his name when he was a tiny little black kitten running around in our house “peeping” instead of meowing.  Now he’s a giant but he still “peeps.” 

 

 

 

 

Winnie’s Wish has black cats, too – four of them. 

 

one, two, three . . .

 

. . . four

 

 

Besides hoping to increase the adoption rates of black cats, there is another reason to pay attention to these felines during the month of October.  It is very important that you protect black cats during this holiday month.  Unfortunately, sometimes black cats are kidnapped for Halloween “rituals” that I won’t go into here.  Shelters usually ban the adoption of black cats during this month for good reason.

 

 

Before I close, I want to let you know that I deeply enjoyed your comments on my last post.  Many of you said that maybe I should just do a short post or some pictures – that there didn’t have to be a real “story” behind every post.  I appreciate that.  And I do intend to continue to post now and again, probably at least once a month.  Thanks again and love you all!

See you soon.

 

So Many Years

I’ve known this day was coming.  After spending a year writing blog posts about the many cats here at Winnie’s Wish, I wondered what I would write about next.   As you all know, Winnie’s Wish is a sanctuary now – no cats going out, no cats coming in (I hope, but can’t be sure of course).  Without new stories to tell (of rescues and of adoptions), we have come to a place where there are no new stories.   I am unable to come up with new subject matter.   How exciting it was to share with all of you when a cat was discovered somewhere barely surviving - writing about the rescue and recuperation of that cat.   Equally exciting were the stories of wonderful people adopting Wishers into their homes and giving them a chance at The Good Life.

Those days are behind me now.  The Wishers who live here are not adoptable.  That’s completely OK with me as I am in love with each and every one of them.  There’s no room for more here so the rescues had to end.  (I’m also 60 years old – still capable but really need to slow down a little from how I spent so many years of my life.)

I started blogging ten and a half years ago.  During these years I have written about all of the dogs and cats who crossed my path throughout my adult life.  So many wonderful animals; so many great memories.   Then a year or so ago, I re-introduced you to the cats who live here at Winnie’s Wish and who will spend their lives here.  I have two buildings that I’ve designed (and re-designed) into the best cat environments  possible.   It’s a lot of work taking care of so many animals every single day.  But I love these animals and find caring for them to be deeply satisfying.  I certainly enjoyed writing about them over all of these years.

I will no longer blog on a weekly basis.  I hope to write about once a month.  Taking care of 32 cats day in and day out requires lots of supplies (which takes lots of money!)  So I do hope that those of you who have supported my work here will continue to do so even without the weekly blog posts.  You who have helped me over the years will never truly know what a blessing you are and how deeply I appreciate you.   I want to write periodically to acknowledge the gifts that Winnie’s Wish receives.   Also – Winnie’s Wish’s fundraiser chairwoman and loudest cheerleader (Andrea!) will for sure be doing a fundraiser for Winnie’s Wish again in the future.  I’ll definitely be blogging about that!   And who knows?   There might be the occasional story crop up here which I would love to share with you.

Thank you for reading here.  I have enjoyed your comments so very much.  Even those of you who didn’t leave comments let me know that you were out there reading anyway.  I’ll be back once in a while and maybe you’ll see my post and remember warmly the animals who have been here over the years and the cats who continue to call Winnie’s Wish home. 

Much love and gratitude to you all.  See you soon.

 

 

In Memory Of

Sometimes Winnie’s Wish receives a gift in honor of a Wisher who is now living The Good Life with some wonderful family out there.  Occasionally, a gift arrives “in memory of” a beloved pet.  Mell is a longtime Friend of Winnie’s Wish.  She supported my mission financially.  And then not terribly long ago, she supported WW by adopting a Wisher.  That Wisher was a Russian blue she named Kismet. 

Kismet was not the first, and certainly not the only, cat in Mell’s life.  Recently, Mell lost one of her sweethearts.  His name was Mickey Blue Eyes.

 

 

Mell sent this gift in memory of Mickey.  It came in two shipments.

 

 

Mell – THANK YOU.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Winding Down

Even though Fall brings a second squirrel baby season, this is the time of year when things begin to wind down for wildlife rehabbers.   That doesn’t mean there isn’t work to do.  There are all of the outdoor enclosures with juvenile critters in them.  Those enclosures have to be cleaned every day and the animals are fed and watered and given opportunities to learn how to care for themselves.  At Wild Angels, there are still a couple of baby raccoons too small to be released.  But the majority of the raccoons from this spring and summer are now free to live wild as was always intended.  Occasionally, a free raccoon or two come back for a little visit.

 

 

 

The two baby squirrels are doing great.  They have moved out of the incubator.  They are still receiving formula but are also currently being introduced to hard foods.  It is SO funny and SO cute watching baby squirrels learn how to balance on their haunches while holding and eating a piece of food.

 

 

 

 

I won’t be posting next week.   See you after that.

 

 

Rest and Relaxation

There happens to be a lot going on in our lives right now.  Rest and relaxation are a longed-for commodity.  Also, I simply do not have time to write much at this time.  But I like to post something on Tuesdays even if it’s mostly pictures.  Since I dragged all of you along when I didn’t know if my foster kittens would live or die, I love being able to continue to report that they are still doing really well.  The pictures today are of them relaxing.   I post these pictures because I do believe that pictures of kittens are good for our brains.  I post these particular pictures because I envy my kittens their restful bliss.

 

on a well-used cushion in the catio

 

 

first night in bed with us

 

 

 

See you tomorrow.

 

Wildlife Wednesday – Autumn Baby Squirrel Season

I have blogged about Older Daughter’s baby squirrel.  I explained that there are two baby squirrel seasons – Spring and Fall.  So even though it seems like the wrong time of year for babies, with squirrels this is normal.   The little guy that came in to Wild Angels had a rough start with what appeared to be pneumonia.  But he is doing really well now.

 

 

A second baby squirrel arrived just a few days ago.  She had dried blood around her nose and bruising on her belly.  It was not a given that she would survive.  But so far she is doing well.  Fingers crossed.

 

 

And now they each have a friend.

 

 

See you next week.

 

Orange Update

I haven’t had time to put together a blog post, but I did want to quickly update you on the orange foster kittens.  They are still doing very well.  I feel hopeful.

 

Mango and Butterscotch

 

 

Many of you know Timmy Tomcat.  This gift arrived “for Butterscotch and Mango” from Timmy and Dad Pete.

 

Pete and Timmy Tomcat – THANK YOU.

 

See you tomorrow.

 

Home with the Orange Ones

It all started two months ago.  A tiny orange kitten (Butterscotch) came into the shelter where my daughters work.  She had a brain injury (among other injuries) and no one expected her to live.  I said I would foster her if she did survive.  She did.  Another little orange kitten (Mango) came into the shelter.  This one was starving, dangerously thin, and suffering from liquid diarrhea.  He slowly started to improve.  I had each of these kittens here at my house over the past two months – sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes they were both here at the same time.  Each of them showed some initial improvement and each of them went steeply downhill during these past 8 weeks.  I fell in love with both of them.  Older Daughter and I talked about how they’d both had really awful starts in life.  My daughters told me to please brace myself for loss.  They have seen so so many cases of kittens who don’t make it because of their horrible beginnings.  I’ve stayed pretty bummed the last month or so.  But at the end of last week, Older told me that Butterscotch seemed to be rallying.  She came here.  Then on the weekend, Mango showed enough improvement to try it here as well.  We have a few days behind us now.  Both are putting on a bit of weight.  Both have more energy.  They’ve even played with each other a few times.   

I’m going to dedicate the rest of this post to pictures of these two sweet orange ones.  I appreciate your positive thoughts and prayers for these two little beings.  Oh, how I wish they would survive and thrive.  For sure if they do – they will be adopted into our home.  I'll repeat what John Bellen said in his comment:  I hope Butterscotch and Mango survive and thrive. They need to live for the others who didn’t.    FINGERS CROSSED!

Now here they are in all of their recovering glory.

 

Butterscotch and Rolly

 

Butterscotch between Rolly and Roo

 

Butterscotch playing with Rolly's tail

 

 

Butterscotch in a pile of dog toys

 

Butterscotch asleep beside dog toy

 

 

Mango with Roo

 

Mango with a dog toy

 

 

Mango with Enoch

 

Mango with Rolly

 

 

 

 

Before I close – in mid-August, Friend of Winnie’s Wish Maria sent a gift in memory of Tiny.  I posted a picture of her gift then, but another item arrived after I posted.

 

Maria – THANK YOU.

 

And now let me show you a gift that Winnie’s Wish received in honor of a previous Wisher – Kippie.  We brought Kippie back from Florida one year and Friend of Winnie’s Wish Shirley adopted her.  Shirley said in the note that came with this gift – In honor of Kippie’s upcoming adoption day.  We haven’t forgotten you and the kitties at Winnie’s Wish. We think about y’all often.  The gift came in two groups.

 

 

 

Shirley (and Kippie) – THANK YOU. 

 

And Ginny - THANK YOU.

 

See you next week.

 

Wildlife Wednesday - Summer

The good news is that the baby squirrel is doing OK at this time.  He appeared to have pneumonia early on, but Older and her vet have treated him and he is improving.  Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

The dove is still alive and seems to be doing well (so far).

 

 

 

The bad news is that Wild Angels lost another fawn.  So now there are four.  I would say that these four seem fine and all should go well.  But there was no warning with the two fawns who’ve died.  I feel very sorry for Older Daughter. 

 

The fawns have moved to a very large enclosure that has a small barn for shelter.

  

It’s been a long and busy Spring and Summer at Wild Angels.  I’ve said to Older Daughter many times that she’s had a world of success this year.  Unfortunately for her, it doesn’t feel like success when she loses any baby.   The raccoons are all doing great.  The dove and squirrel are good at this time.  The four fawns are all good right now.  Fingers crossed all around.  See you next week.

 

The Orange Ones

There are 32 cats here at Winnie’s Wish.  There are also years of our own personal cats.  For some reason, there just haven’t been that many orange ones.  We haven’t had an orange cat of our own at all.  And there are only three orange Wishers – Goldie, Peeta, and Prim (orange and white).  There are three more orange Wishers, long ago adopted – Sunshine, Orange Juice, and Percy (orange and white).  Even including the orange-and-white ones, there have only been six ever Wishers who have that gorgeous orange fur.  Maybe it’s not unusual that orange cats haven’t lived here in large numbers.  But I do believe orange is a common color for a cat.  I looked up cat coats to see what are the rarest colors.  Orange doesn’t make the top ten.  So if we assume that orange cats are common, it seems that there would have been more orange in the mix here.   For some reason, that color has been scarce in my world.   It so happens that orange cats always grab my attention.  It’s possible this happens automatically because they are rather rare here.  Regardless, I always find myself drawn to the beauty of orange felines.  [Just to clarify, however, I find ALL cats to be beautiful.  There’s not a color or hair length or size or shape that I’m not in love with.  It’s just that, for some reason, the orange ones really capture me.]

All of this sounds like the beginning of a story about the loveliness of orange cats.  But it’s actually a story about sadness.   My past and present consists of four orange foster kittens.  Two of those died before reaching adulthood.  The remaining two are hanging in the balance right now.    

Back in 2014 I had a foster kitten named Pilgrim.  He was dumped, in terrible condition, at the shelter where my daughters work. 

 

 

 

He fattened up nicely and seemed to be a healthy kitten.  But he was FeLV positive.  I worried a lot when he went back to the shelter to be (hopefully) adopted.  Instead of being chosen for a home of his own, he lived only to the age of six months – his short life lived in a shelter.  I never got over that.  I wished countless times that I would have kept him in my home.  At least those six months would have been with a family.

 

In the summer of 2016 I had several foster kittens.  They slowly all ended up in homes except for one.  Tad was a little orange kitten who was never chosen for adoption.  The day I took him back to the shelter was a yard sale day.  I went in and out of the kitten room several times and each time he was hiding.  He was SO young when he came to me as a foster kitten; he didn’t know anything but my home.  I was already struggling with taking him back to the shelter.  You don’t know how many times I thought of Pilgrim.  Tad reminded me very much of him.  I had taken Pilgrim back to the shelter and he had died at age six months.  He died in a shelter.  I knew there was no way Tad would die at age six months, but I just kept thinking about how much I didn’t want him to go from living in my home to living in a shelter.  At the end of that yard sale day, I loaded Tad up and took him back home with me.

 

 

 

At seven months of age Tad died of FIP (which is always fatal).  As I struggled with the grief, I wondered how it was that my experience with Pilgrim had so deeply influenced me that I ended up keeping Tad . . .  only for him to die, too.  It nearly killed me at the time, but I had one consolation – he died in a home surrounded by family.  He didn’t die in a shelter. 

 

This summer I’ve been on a roller coaster with my two little foster kittens.  You might remember the recent story about Butterscotch.  She was thrown onto pavement (from a moving vehicle we assume) and was severely injured.  She had a shoulder injury and scrapes on her head and face.   Also, she had a head injury and it seemed unlikely that she would survive.  But she did.  And she became a foster kitten here in my household.    There was another little orange kitten who was brought in to the shelter nearly dead from starvation.  He was dangerously thin and we feared that he might already be experiencing some organ damage.  He had no appetite and was suffering with liquid diarrhea.  My daughters had him in quarantine at the shelter and were doing everything they could for him.  But he just didn’t seem to improve no matter what they did.   

About the time that our precious Tiny dog died, the little orange kitten (Mango) at the shelter seemed to be improving a little.  You might remember that Tiny the dog and Butterscotch the kitten had become best friends and playmates.  It was sad to see Butterscotch look for Tiny when she wanted to romp and play.  So Older Daughter suggested I take Mango from the shelter as a playmate for Butterscotch.    I did. 

 

And now both Butterscotch and Mango are back at the shelter as a result of illness. 

 In the last few days, Mango is showing some promising signs.  Butterscotch is not yet failing, but she is not improving.   If only THESE two orange kittens could get well and come back here.  If only THESE two orange kittens could make it to six months old, a year old, and then years and years into the future – right here in our home.  I realize that these two kittens had terrible starts in life, but I choose to remain hopeful.   Dear Friends – please send your positive thoughts and prayers that these two kittens can survive, improve, and thrive. 

See you tomorrow.