Tuesdays with Tigris - A Helpful Lady

Reader,

I think the Lady may be a bit crazy

Lady saw on social media that a local cat rescue TRN Lapeche needed a driver to take a carload of cats 1.5 hours away to a spay and neuter clinic. So she took the day off and drove 14 cats about 150km/90 miles (one way, return that is twice the distance).

The clinic is an all spay and neuter clinic (they vaccine and microchip too and do a few other things). The rescue works to send a few car loads a month there. They first send cats from their rescue (a combination of feral from colonies who they support and rescued who have a chance of becoming house cats) and then open it up to the public, as the cost is about half of what Lady paid to get garbage cat fixed. 

Then a volunteer picks up the cats in 2 locations and drives to the clinic. The clinic is all drive through. You drive up, you give them your dog/cat and everyone comes back at the same time that day. For Lady, she dropped all the cats off at 9 and picked them up at 2:15.

When loading the cats back into the car, the guy in line behind her yelled "who's the crazy cat lady" and Lady laughed and said "cat rescue" and he said "I figured" but they both laughed.

Then Lady drove the 14 cats back tot he 2 drop off locations and home.

She was rewarded with a $50 gas card for her time.

She said it was easy. She had to make sure the crates were labeled and zip tied. She had to Tetris them all into the car. They were very good. Only 2 complained a little on the way there. The feral ones (who had been taken from the colony the night before) stunk a bit. She had to do the same thing on the way home, where no one said anything.

She is doing it again in July. She can imagine doing it a few times in the good weather. She will not be doing this in the winter as winter driving is not her scene.

I guess it is good she is helping other cats out of our house. I made sure she knew I was still in charge and could kill her in her sleep. 

Tigris, Queen of the house

Mischief Monday - Is My Heart Too Big - by Styx

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends,

Last Tuesday was a horrible, horrible, horrible day for your friend Styxy. First my people gave me medication that made me feel very funny. I felt sooooo funny. I could eat and everything, but man, the world was different. 

Then they shoved me in a crate and drove for 87 years (about 1.5 hours) and took me to a very scary, scary, scary place. Then I go to be in a room but they wouldn't let me climb. Then they took me from my people and shaved my fur. 

I have a hole on each side!

Then after the test, I got to wait in the room with my people, and I hid behind my Lady. Hid, hid, hid. Dr. Whipp may be a very nice person, but I am not a fan.

Look at all the fur I put on her

So the short story is I have a grade 3 heart murmur. I had something called an echo to look at my heart.  Dr. Whipp said the findings were a bit inclusive. My heart is not pumping blood the right way, but it could be something called HCM or it could be I have a very, very special valve. In the end, it doesn't matter for treatment, because in both cases I have to take something called a Beta Blocker for the rest of my life. I also have to see Dr. Whipp again in 3 months and then about once a year. Maybe with time, we will understand more about my "prognosis" whatever that means. In the end, the concern is my heart will get too big. I already thought I had a very big heart., the biggest heart. I can't imagine it could get bigger and if it could, would that really be a problem?

On the way home, in my feeling funny state, Lady took me to the pet store. We needed more food and I needed something called a pill pocket. The ladies at the pet store loved me, and I got lots of good attention. The first pill pockets Lady bought, none of us will eat. They are yucky, yucky, yucky. Lady has since gotten better ones, so I can easily take my pill. 

For now I feel good and we will see.

Thank you all for your POTP. It meant a lot.

your friend Styxy, who may have a too big heart

From the Lady: When people ask me how Styx is my answer is he is both ok (because he is not showing symptoms) and not ok (because he does have a heart problem). We are prepared for wherever this journey takes us.  A friend said, I have bad luck with pets (immune disorder, brain injury, neurological issues etc.) and I said I look at it as the animals who find their way to use have very good luck because we can support them with their journeys. 

Nature Friday - Sunny Days

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends,

I am taking my Friday back from Tigris. Maybe I will let her join me again, but I had a bad week, so my turn, my turn, my turn.

Almost 2 weeks ago, we have a very bad wind storm. It knocked our power out for a almost 21 hours. It knocked trees down. Here is one Lady saw on a walk.

The wind sure bent this tree!

Lady likes to walk the about 1 km/.66 miles to the pond. It is very pretty on a sunny day.

She also likes lilacs.

And it would not be a good blog post without me!

Your friend the nature watcher, Styx

Lanie's Log - A Day in The Life

 It has been 233 since my capture. Aunt C who I have never met, says I can't be called feral anymore, I can just be called cat.

This is what a day in the life with the Wardens looks like.

I eat and then, I play

I look out the window

then I play some more

then I go back to the window. I like to look with Styx. We may tussle sometimes too. 

Then I explore something new. I tried the upstairs tree for the first time. 

Then I have a little nap,

before I do it all over again. 

Lanie, prisoner #3

PS: A little update on Styx - it is a bit complicated and he is both ok and not ok and he will tell you all about his horrible day where lots of people loved him next week! 

Wordless Wednesday - Styx and Lanie

 

Tuesdays with Tigris - Toys

 Reader,

Last week, as part of our "mental and physical" stimulation plan, Lady bought us new toys. If she were to be honest, she was thinking of garbage cat the most, because she is the one who can never stop playing. Styx and I enjoy a little play, but we are not crazy like garbage cat.

Just to show Lady that I also like toys, I played for a very, very long time with the new toy on a stick. Mind you, I refused to get out of the chair to do so.

I have been spotted playing some more as has Styx. Lady is right, garbage cat plays the most. She doesn't have an off button. 

Styx checking out the other new toys

Garbage cat having her turn

Playing is fun and all, but napping is the best.

Tigris

Mischief Monday - Styx Alarm

 Hi friends, hi friends, hi friends!

Lady has gotten really too good at ignoring us climbing on her to wake her up. She says she likes the snuggles. She will pet up but she won't get up. On the weekend, this makes my breakfast late, late, late!

With a full belly I am able to have my morning nap

So I am finding new things to do to wake her up. I call it the Styxy alarm.

Last week, I got under the covers and bit her right in the middle of her back. Bite, bite, bite.

This week, I tried biting her feet through the blankets (as she has moved to the thinner summer blanket. When that did not work, she kept sleeping and sleeping and sleeping, I crawled under the covers and bit her feet. She did not like that she said "don't bite".  Cause, while I want breakfast but don't want an angry Lady, then I climbed on her and snuggled for a few minutes before she got up and fed us.

Lady says she does not need a 6:30 Styxy alarm on the weekend. I disagree.

The alarm cat, Styxy

PS If you have some spare POTP I see my cardiologist tomorrow. Lady will try and update you all later this week.