As you know in April I took in a stray, Sammy and he has been doing so well with our other cats. He has gotten to be one lazy fat cat! I guess that’s what happens when you take in the homeless and give them everything they could ever dreamed of. A photo of before and now at the end of the post.
Max has been loving his new loft that was built in May and is up there every morning. He didn’t lose his winter weight. Oh, the fur is gone but for some reason he held onto those 5 pounds. Now he is at 43 pounds! Whoa Max! You can see our most recent video Max Middle-aged.
I was a volunteer with a local cat rescue group but after 4 months it was clear to me that the founder of the group was only interested in her opinion or her boyfriend’s. She lacks people skills but is darn good at trapping and caring for feral cats. However, there were several abuse cases that she refused to address which in my book is not acceptable for any reason. Her choices and decisions in certain matters were not based on common sense but on her ego and her desire to establish a legacy. She had no policies or procedures and believed she didn’t need any although she applied and received a non-profit status. Non-profit organizations have many rules to follow but not her. Board members were in name only and had no say to anything. She belittled another member which was embarrassing and that person has more experience than her. I resigned as board secretary in late June because of this and no one dismisses or talks to me in the tone like she did. I knew it was only a matter of time when she would ask me to leave (July 3). I asked too many questions, stuck up for my friend and had too many opinions. She was and is still looking for “lemmings” which are people that will follow her and ask no questions until they fall off the cliff. Already a foster has 11 cats because they don’t know how to say no or to stand up to her. They are good people being unjustly used by this person. I shake my head. Max and I donated a lot of money and goods but I look at it as a learning experience and I met some really good people. We are now supporting a shelter in Florida and local gal in a neighboring town that takes care of feral cats. There are many worthy organizations out there.
June 6, our 14 year old cat, Spud lost his mind and became distressed and confused and we had to make the difficult decision to put him to sleep. This didn’t happen overnight. We saw changes in his behavior over a year’s span.
Also in June, my neighbor called telling me there were three kittens in her barn. The rescue group had taken care (trapped & vetted) her two black barn cats and then all of a sudden, here are kittens. I spent my time trapping these little guys and were thrilled when their eyes were not blue which meant they were probably weaned and 8 weeks old. The group loaned me the traps for this I’m grateful. However, all costs have come out of my own pocket. I’m really happy I didn’t turn them over to them to be fostered as their quality of care could never have lived up to my expectations. I will tell you that I was prepared to put these kittens to sleep had they not been able to socialize. My neighbor was happy feeding two ferals but didn’t want five and who could blame them. There is no one willing to take on caring for ferals in the area. On June 17, I trapped a runt I called Theo. Sunnie was next on the 18th and I didn’t get the third kitten, Skipper until the 22nd. He would not go into the trap for anything. So, I outsmarted this little baby by using his brother and sister as bait. I placed them in a cage at the end of the trap and covered both. He saw them. He heard them and he entered the trap and all were saved. These guys were love bugs from day two and were purring before day five. That’s the story of the 3 Amigos. Here’s a video Max Canada Lynx & the 3 Amigos. With vet clinics shut down due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s been difficult getting appointments, so I had to opt for my own vet which is more expensive. They got to see him on 6/29 and were treated for worms. Who knows what they had been eating! Then they got their first distemper shot on July 17. I had a friend who wanted the little girl, Sunnie and she really needed to become acquainted with her before Sunnie started bonding with me. So she went off with her forever mom on July 18. It was hard but the boys were bonded and needed to stay together.
July 18 was also the day that our 18 year old cat, Miss Gremlin, had a stroke or severe case of vertigo. She was already going down hill with losing weight, going deaf and then forgetting that she had eaten (dementia). We chose to let her go. Losing our old girl and then the kitten was a heartbreaking day for us.
Check out Max’s video Max’s Summer Slimsuit. It has been really hot this summer. Max is not liking it and I give him extra water and a spritzing on occasion. I’m looking into a corner water fountain. How cool would that be?
So, after losing two cats, we decided to keep the little boys. I call them Tiny Terrors. I’ve taken lots of photos because they are growing up so fast! Max has seen them and was really curious. The kittens have seen Max and went puff! Here’s a video of all three The 3 Amigos Adventures outdoors. Our crew is now Smokey 14, Tramp 10, Tigger 4, Sammy 2 and Skipper & Theo 15 weeks.
The Museum I work for opened back up on July 14th. We haven’t had that many visitors but it’s because most of our summer visitors are tourists from other states and right now you have to quarantine for 2 weeks if you come into NY state. Many people are not travelling. We really hope this pandemic goes away soon.
All of our educational programs were cancelled this summer. It figures. Hopefully, we can pick them back up next summer.
In the meantime, stay safe and be well.
Wildlife Education by Bernie 