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#1
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Gem the Gray Kitten (long)
We moved from San Diego to Jefferson County Missouri about three months ago, Lenny and I. We drove, renting a truck and towing the car behind. It was hard, because we were also towing along our four cats, Skitty, Velly, Abondigas, and Jeeves. Well, Abondigas and Jeeves were really the next door neighbor's cats. But they never took them to the vets, or let them inside, and we ended up taking them because they were really just being ignored. So, it was a fairly trying trip (*you* try driving 2000 miles with 4 cats) but we made it. It didn't take us long to find the house we are in now, on two acres of land, in a Mayberrish town called De Soto. We don't need to lock our front doors. I fell in love with the house immediately. The cats seems to accept it as well, once they settled down (we had been living in Motel 6's for a about a month). Within a week or so, we spotted the feral cats living on our land. They were gray tabbies... in fact, they looked just like Velly. They avoided us, but the soon tumbled on to the idea that we had a cat door. Soon, they were having run ins with our cats. Abondigas got into a fight with one in the front yard... his tail got bit and infected. We had to take him to the vet. He recovered, but seems to be deeply scarred emotionally. A couple of days later, we heard a horrific battle in the front yard. We still don't know what happened, but we do know that we haven't seen Velly since. We suspect that she was driven into the woods, where she got lost. We hope she got adopted by someone else.. but we are not sure. It was hard.. we love our cats. A couple of days after that, I saw Jeeves prancing excitedly in front of the sliding glass door that leads to our deck. He's normally a very mellow cat, so I investigated. On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... less than 3 weeks old I would guess. It ran when it saw me, but not before I saw a couple of other ones. Lenny and I saw the kittens a few times after that. We decided to catch the feral cats, so protect our own, have them fixed so they didn't keep making kittens, and then release them back into our yard. About a week later, we got the live trap from animal control. It took a couple of days, but we got a grey tabby. We waited for the morning to take it to the vet's. Lenny checked on it during the night, and saw a kitten cuddled against the cage next to the cat. But he couldn't catch it. We took the cat in, named her "Momma Cat", asked for her to be spayed, and took the trap back. Within a day, the vet's called to let us know that they had changed the cat's name to "Poppa Cat". For some reason, the kitten was trying to cuddle with a tom. We figured then that the mom was not taking care of them. The next day, we see a kitten dash into one of the sheds. Of one mind, Lenny went the the front of the shed, I went to the back. We shut both doors behind us.. and the kitten was still there! Trapped! With some effort, we cornered the spitting hissing thing, and threw a coat over it. Into the cat carrier it went! But... the kitten was in bad, bad shape. It was thin and bony, like it hadn't eaten in a week, it had a hole in it's lip ... and it was having a hard time breathing. Off the the vet's! The vet said it was about 4 to 6 six weeks old, and it only weighed 1 pound 1 ounce. That was way underweight. We could feel every bone in its spine, every rib in its chest. The mom cat had abandoned it quite a while ago, he believed. He told us she was a girl kitty. The hole in her snout was probably from an infection, and she had some sort of infection in her chest. He didn't know if she could pull though, or how long it would take us to socialize her if she did make it. But he gave us some food to feed through a syringe, and some antiboditics to take, and told us to come back in three days. She attacked the syringe when we fed her. She was starving. And after we gave her two meals worth, she started to purr. It took us less than two hours, from capture to feeding, to fully socialize her. She just seemed grateful that someone was willing to give her a full tummy for the first time in who knows how long. We put her on the bed, and she just lay where we put her. It seems like she was too weak to move. She pretty much stayed there for two days. She didn't do much but eat and purr and sleep. On the day before her next vet visit, another gray tabby invaded our house. It ran back and forth, and I finally I got tired of chasing it and just grabbed it as it was cornered, then stuffed it in the cat carrier. I was bit and scratched, and the blood flowed pretty freely. I just really wanted to catch while the other was at the vet's because I knew that it would be the only time I could be sure it wasn't the same cat. So, off it goes to vet with the kitten. The vet says it will be a good idea to hold it for ten for rabies quarantine, and I agree. The kitten is doing much better. She gained ten ounces, and her mouth is starting to heal. But she still has chest congestion. He tells us that there is a chance that that will never clear up... and the kitten isn't out of the woods yet. We take Poppa cat home and release him... he runs like he had the devil after him. The kitten goes back into the bedroom. And within a few days, she started to play. After a week, we can't feel the bones in her spine or ribs any more. We decide to name her Gem, because she is Gun Metal gray, and because she has such a sweet temperament, it's like at least something precious came from all this mess. We decide we are going to keep her, if she survives. Ten days pass.. and Momma cat doesn't have rabies (whew!), and she won't be making any more kittens. We release her also. We haven't seen any of the other kittens, despite searching. The vet says its a pretty good bet they starved to death just about the time we caught Gem. We regret this, but we know there really wasn't much else we could have done. At least one got a chance. And what a chance! She soon was at her normal weight for her suspected age. And playful as all kittens ought to be. But she was still sick. The first round of vaccinations caused a reaction.. she could barely breath. We rushed her to the vet. He gave her decongestants. Because she is so tiny, we have give her 1/10 of pill at a time. We end up crushing the pills, and making lines of them, the dividing the lines up and mixing the dose with food. A pain in the neck, but it die seem to work. Then next time we take her in, the vet gives her a different type of pill.. one that tastes real bad and makes her drool. We hate giving that as much as she hates taking it.... but we want to give her every chance to make it. The vet says he thinks that she will always have this problem, because she was hit so hard so young. Well, I am constantly congested due to allergies... not the same thing, but I can relate. She is growing normally now, and is clear eyed and playful, and seems to be very happy with her new life. She's poking the back of my legs right now with her little claws of terror, and batting a bottle cap from a 2 liter soda bottle around our hardwood floor. She's almost impossibly cute. So, with all the Bad Things that are going on in the world, at least one creature caught a break and beat the odds. And I feel a little bit cheered up every time I see her. -- Annie -- If you can't figure out my email address, you're not supposed to write me. |
#2
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Annie Benson-Lennaman wrote:
A couple of days after that, I saw Jeeves prancing excitedly in front of the sliding glass door that leads to our deck. He's normally a very mellow cat, so I investigated. On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... Wow, what a story! Gem is one lucky kitty. She's really lucky to have you. Joyce |
#3
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wrote in message ... Annie Benson-Lennaman wrote: A couple of days after that, I saw Jeeves prancing excitedly in front of the sliding glass door that leads to our deck. He's normally a very mellow cat, so I investigated. On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... Wow, what a story! Gem is one lucky kitty. She's really lucky to have you. Joyce I'm so sorry about the cat that disappeared but happy for the little kitty I hope your other cat finally finds its way back that sort of thing really upsets me. best of luck your good parents jp |
#4
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You and your husband are great people, Annie. We will pray Gem survives and
lives a long and happy life with you. She will give you years of happiness and love. Jazz & his mama -- Irulan from the stars we came, to the stars we return from now until the end of time "Annie Benson-Lennaman" wrote in message ... We moved from San Diego to Jefferson County Missouri about three months ago, Lenny and I. We drove, renting a truck and towing the car behind. It was hard, because we were also towing along our four cats, Skitty, Velly, Abondigas, and Jeeves. Well, Abondigas and Jeeves were really the next door neighbor's cats. But they never took them to the vets, or let them inside, and we ended up taking them because they were really just being ignored. So, it was a fairly trying trip (*you* try driving 2000 miles with 4 cats) but we made it. It didn't take us long to find the house we are in now, on two acres of land, in a Mayberrish town called De Soto. We don't need to lock our front doors. I fell in love with the house immediately. The cats seems to accept it as well, once they settled down (we had been living in Motel 6's for a about a month). Within a week or so, we spotted the feral cats living on our land. They were gray tabbies... in fact, they looked just like Velly. They avoided us, but the soon tumbled on to the idea that we had a cat door. Soon, they were having run ins with our cats. Abondigas got into a fight with one in the front yard... his tail got bit and infected. We had to take him to the vet. He recovered, but seems to be deeply scarred emotionally. A couple of days later, we heard a horrific battle in the front yard. We still don't know what happened, but we do know that we haven't seen Velly since. We suspect that she was driven into the woods, where she got lost. We hope she got adopted by someone else.. but we are not sure. It was hard.. we love our cats. A couple of days after that, I saw Jeeves prancing excitedly in front of the sliding glass door that leads to our deck. He's normally a very mellow cat, so I investigated. On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... less than 3 weeks old I would guess. It ran when it saw me, but not before I saw a couple of other ones. Lenny and I saw the kittens a few times after that. We decided to catch the feral cats, so protect our own, have them fixed so they didn't keep making kittens, and then release them back into our yard. About a week later, we got the live trap from animal control. It took a couple of days, but we got a grey tabby. We waited for the morning to take it to the vet's. Lenny checked on it during the night, and saw a kitten cuddled against the cage next to the cat. But he couldn't catch it. We took the cat in, named her "Momma Cat", asked for her to be spayed, and took the trap back. Within a day, the vet's called to let us know that they had changed the cat's name to "Poppa Cat". For some reason, the kitten was trying to cuddle with a tom. We figured then that the mom was not taking care of them. The next day, we see a kitten dash into one of the sheds. Of one mind, Lenny went the the front of the shed, I went to the back. We shut both doors behind us.. and the kitten was still there! Trapped! With some effort, we cornered the spitting hissing thing, and threw a coat over it. Into the cat carrier it went! But... the kitten was in bad, bad shape. It was thin and bony, like it hadn't eaten in a week, it had a hole in it's lip ... and it was having a hard time breathing. Off the the vet's! The vet said it was about 4 to 6 six weeks old, and it only weighed 1 pound 1 ounce. That was way underweight. We could feel every bone in its spine, every rib in its chest. The mom cat had abandoned it quite a while ago, he believed. He told us she was a girl kitty. The hole in her snout was probably from an infection, and she had some sort of infection in her chest. He didn't know if she could pull though, or how long it would take us to socialize her if she did make it. But he gave us some food to feed through a syringe, and some antiboditics to take, and told us to come back in three days. She attacked the syringe when we fed her. She was starving. And after we gave her two meals worth, she started to purr. It took us less than two hours, from capture to feeding, to fully socialize her. She just seemed grateful that someone was willing to give her a full tummy for the first time in who knows how long. We put her on the bed, and she just lay where we put her. It seems like she was too weak to move. She pretty much stayed there for two days. She didn't do much but eat and purr and sleep. On the day before her next vet visit, another gray tabby invaded our house. It ran back and forth, and I finally I got tired of chasing it and just grabbed it as it was cornered, then stuffed it in the cat carrier. I was bit and scratched, and the blood flowed pretty freely. I just really wanted to catch while the other was at the vet's because I knew that it would be the only time I could be sure it wasn't the same cat. So, off it goes to vet with the kitten. The vet says it will be a good idea to hold it for ten for rabies quarantine, and I agree. The kitten is doing much better. She gained ten ounces, and her mouth is starting to heal. But she still has chest congestion. He tells us that there is a chance that that will never clear up... and the kitten isn't out of the woods yet. We take Poppa cat home and release him... he runs like he had the devil after him. The kitten goes back into the bedroom. And within a few days, she started to play. After a week, we can't feel the bones in her spine or ribs any more. We decide to name her Gem, because she is Gun Metal gray, and because she has such a sweet temperament, it's like at least something precious came from all this mess. We decide we are going to keep her, if she survives. Ten days pass.. and Momma cat doesn't have rabies (whew!), and she won't be making any more kittens. We release her also. We haven't seen any of the other kittens, despite searching. The vet says its a pretty good bet they starved to death just about the time we caught Gem. We regret this, but we know there really wasn't much else we could have done. At least one got a chance. And what a chance! She soon was at her normal weight for her suspected age. And playful as all kittens ought to be. But she was still sick. The first round of vaccinations caused a reaction.. she could barely breath. We rushed her to the vet. He gave her decongestants. Because she is so tiny, we have give her 1/10 of pill at a time. We end up crushing the pills, and making lines of them, the dividing the lines up and mixing the dose with food. A pain in the neck, but it die seem to work. Then next time we take her in, the vet gives her a different type of pill.. one that tastes real bad and makes her drool. We hate giving that as much as she hates taking it.... but we want to give her every chance to make it. The vet says he thinks that she will always have this problem, because she was hit so hard so young. Well, I am constantly congested due to allergies... not the same thing, but I can relate. She is growing normally now, and is clear eyed and playful, and seems to be very happy with her new life. She's poking the back of my legs right now with her little claws of terror, and batting a bottle cap from a 2 liter soda bottle around our hardwood floor. She's almost impossibly cute. So, with all the Bad Things that are going on in the world, at least one creature caught a break and beat the odds. And I feel a little bit cheered up every time I see her. -- Annie -- If you can't figure out my email address, you're not supposed to write me. |
#5
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"Annie Benson-Lennaman" wrote in message ... On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... less than 3 weeks old I would guess. With some effort, we cornered the spitting hissing thing, and threw a coat over it. Into the cat carrier it went! But... the kitten was in bad, bad shape. It was thin and bony, like it hadn't eaten in a week, it had a hole in it's lip ... and it was having a hard time breathing. Off the the vet's! The vet said it was about 4 to 6 six weeks old, and it only weighed 1 pound 1 ounce. That was way underweight. We could feel every bone in its spine, every rib in its chest. The mom cat had abandoned it quite a while ago, he believed. She attacked the syringe when we fed her. She was starving. And after we gave her two meals worth, she started to purr. It took us less than two hours, from capture to feeding, to fully socialize her. And what a chance! She soon was at her normal weight for her suspected age. And playful as all kittens ought to be. But she was still sick. She is growing normally now, and is clear eyed and playful, and seems to be very happy with her new life. She's poking the back of my legs right now with her little claws of terror, and batting a bottle cap from a 2 liter soda bottle around our hardwood floor. She's almost impossibly cute. -- Annie What a wonderful story, and how lucky that little kitty is to have found you. Messages like this show that there really are loving people in this world who will go to exceptional lengths to help our furry friends. Thank you! MaryL |
#6
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"MaryL" wrote in message ... "Annie Benson-Lennaman" wrote in message ... On the other side of the glass, there was a fluffy gray kitten! It was tiny... less than 3 weeks old I would guess. -- Annie What a wonderful story, and how lucky that little kitty is to have found you. Messages like this show that there really are loving people in this world who will go to exceptional lengths to help our furry friends. Thank you! MaryL Annie, When I first read your message, I didn't notice that you had lost Velly. I'm so sorry about that. I'm so pleased for Gem, but I know it must be very difficult to lose Velly in that way. MaryL |
#8
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What a wonderful story, I wish all the stray/feral cats and kittens
could find people as special as you and Lenny. -- Shirley see my cats at http://communities.msn.co.uk/Friendsfamilyandfelines2 http://uk.msnusers.com/friendsfamilyandfelines3 |
#9
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Annie Benson-Lennaman wrote:
We moved from San Diego to Jefferson County Missouri about three months ago, Lenny and I. We drove, renting a truck and towing the car behind. It was hard, because we were also towing along our four cats, Skitty, Velly, Abondigas, and Jeeves. Well, Abondigas and Jeeves were really the next door neighbor's cats. But they never took them to the vets, or let them inside, and we ended up taking them because they were really just being ignored. (snip Gem story) Annie The sweetie kitten Gem aside, I'd say that was darned nice of you. Taking the cats that were ignored, I mean. I have neighbors like that. If Persia didn't hate other cats so much, I'd probably have a house full of them. Jill |
#10
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Congratulations on your escape from the Republic of California!
Since Mother and I are..... hmmmmmmm *involved* with feral cats, I can relate to much of your experience, right up to and including your close encounter of the losing kind with a cat. In my particular case, I lost a one round decision to Miss Kitty, a 2-1/2 pound feral, with about 23 pounds of very bad attitude. She's now a barn cat at a hog farm some 80 miles away, after doing 10 days in solitary. As for me, the infection in my finger is clearing up very nicely, thank you. When it comes to feral cats, about all I can offer is you do the best you can at keeping them alive but sometimes, despite your effort, it isn't going to work out. In our case, we have a neighbor from Hell who poisons animals (long story). In your case, might I remind you that the part of the country you now live in abounds with predators such as hawks (even eagles), foxes, coyotes, cougars, badgers, weasles, snakes, etc. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that snakes might have taken the missing kittens, a Red Tail Hawk (quite common) taken your missing pet (sorry about that), etc. Even in our part of Illinois, we've had people losing pets to a cougar for years. Welcome to the Midwest and best of luck to you. Jack |
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