5-24-09 - Last Thursday night as I was hanging with the family, windows open Beacon on the back of the sofa sniffing out the window, I kept hearing what sounded like maybe a night bird, or some animal calling out. The other cats heard it too, and kept coming up to the window looking out. By the time we were all ready to go to bed. TV off and a bit of quiet the sound became very clear. It was cats crying. I immediately went outside and to my amazement ans surprise found, in the window well (basement) four baby kittens. They were the offspring of a female that we have been feeding for about a year or so. She usually came (comes) to eat at night, so we had not noticed that she was carrying a litter of kittens. It was obvious that she had moved them there from another location,otherwise we would have heard them before. Particularly since they are about three to four weeks old. I left them alone and went back in the house and we all went to bed. Sometime in the middle of the night I could hear one of them crying, but it didn't last long. when I went to check on them in the morning there were only three. I assumed that the mother was moving them again since she was no where to be found, and would be coming back for the rest. The whole day passed and no momma cat. It was getting a bit chilly and after checking on the babies again I noticed that they were all shaking and cold. It was clear that they had not been attended to or fed for several hours. Leaving them there another night, possibly alone with no mommy and no food did not seem like a good thing to do, so I put them in one of our large carriers with blankets and brought them inside. They were a mess. The next morning (yesterday) I cleaned them all up and tried to get them to eat some cat food. Luckily they all ate the food., First from me, and then on their own. They are so tiny and wild. Yesterday as I was getting some tools from my garden shed, I found the momma cat. She is living in the garden shed. I went and got the babies and brought them to her but she would not let them come to her. She ran out and did not come back. So once again I scooped up the babies and brought them back into the house where they still are today. I don't know how it was that we got tagged as the animal rescue folks, but for as long as I can remember, even when I was a child myself, I have been rescuing animals. Nursing them to health and trying to provide a home for them, or find a good place for them to live. I don't know what we will do with these kittens. For now I just want to get them healthy and humanize them so that they can perhaps be adopted out later.
In the meantime, Beacon is finally recovering from what the vet calls a pressure wound. Not the bed sore type, but an open sore on the back hock of his lame leg. The one he drags around. It is a situation where a callous builds on the area and can get hard and crusty. He obviously bumped it on something and the callous popped off like a scab exposing the joint cartilage. Everyday for the past two weeks I have been bandaging it up. It has finally begun to heal, due in part to the use of granulex, and the bandage providing a cushion so that he doesn't lick it or bang it around as he zips through the house.
It's always something around here, but I know that I am doing the right thing. One day at a time. That's what I keep telling myself. ZZ
3-29-09 - Beacon Free is a cat, kitten who was born without the use of his back legs, a malformed tail and spine. And more life and gusto than any human or animal I have ever known. I call him my spirit guide, my teacher. He is now seven months old and we are fast friends. He is one of five kittens in a litter of two boys and three girls, all of which along with their mother Peggy Sue, share our lives, our home and the company of our other animal companions. It was from recent writings in my journal that I decided to start this blog. I have no idea where it will go, I just know that I need to do it.ZZ
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