2 New Faces

Two cute feline faces joined us over the weekend. Xanadu and Hank came from the Grayson County Humane Society in Kentucky. Their sweet personalities endeared them to the staff, who tried desperately to find them forever homes. It just wasn't meant to happen.

Xan (as his friends call him) had a spinal cord injury at some point in his pre-shelter life, causing him to have bowel troubles and the inability to carry his tail normally. His veterinarians in Kentucky amputated his tail so it was no longer a source of pain or a place for hygiene troubles. He's had to be "cleaned out" more than once under anesthesia, and even had a colectomy (a partial colon removal) to keep everything moving through. He needs daily monitoring to make sure everything works like it's supposed to!

Hank is a Manx by breed, so his troubles are similar to Scooters, with both fecal and urinary incontinence. He doesn't always know when he needs to urinate, so his bladder has to be checked and expressed when needed. His nerve function to his colon is also lacking, so he needs someone to keep an eye on his rear end too!

These 2 have prompted us to consider building a new kitty room in the future, where all those who are incontinent can live worry-free, named of course "Poo Corner".

Ringing In The New Year!

This is how most of the critters are spending New Year's Day ~ napping because it's so windy outside there's not much else to do! This is also how Holly has been spending most of her time since she's been here. If she's not napping on the floor in the living room, then she's sleeping behind the chairs in the living room or on my side of the bed. She's trying to play a little, but isn't sure how to work into the wrestling matches yet.

We wish you the best in 2008!

Caring For Each Other

The friendships that form amongst animals are amazing and we witness unlikely pairs bond frequently. Several of the animals that live here with us have personalities that make it difficult for them to blend into a normal household, age and disabilities aside. MeiLi is one of those critters ~ always preferring to be the "only cat" in most any situation. She hasn't been feeling well the last few days, suffering from a sinus infection.

Today I found Scooter spending a good part of the morning with her, giving her a bath. He stopped every time he saw the camera, so that's why he's just sitting beside her, trying to look like he doesn't care. As soon as the camera disappeared, he went back to work, making sure her whole body received attention. They spent quiet time napping together afterward too. She looked a little better tonight, wanting to get up and eat with the other cats, so that's a good sign (if you can't smell with a stuffed up nose, why eat?)

I'm hoping that the rainstorms coming in a couple of days will help her out. 50mph+ winds are blowing dirt and pollen around today, so the HEPA filters are running to help us all breathe better. But nothing matches the care that Scooter has given MeiLi today. Who would have thought it?

A Balancing Act

As I'm cleaning the kitty room in the house, I often pile up the laundry and move stuff around in order to mop every nook and cranny, because Scooter tends to leak urine everywhere! I couldn't resist stopping to snap this picture of Tara who somehow managed to climb into one of the cubes for a nap while it's perched precariously on top of several other cat beds. I'm not sure how she did it - this pile easily fell over on me when I went to grab it to wash. She's more agile and lightweight than I thought!

A New Bed

MeiLi got a new bed for Christmas. We purchased a heated kitty bed for her as she's often found sitting so close to the space heater it looks like she wants to climb in it! We've tried shirts and sweaters, but clearly I don't share her sense of fashion! The chair with the bed is MeiLi's domain now, but Uno and Poppy are allowed to sneak in it and Scooter's allowed to sit beside her too!

Home For the Holidays!

We have been very blessed with wonderful donations during this holiday season! As a result, we are able to help a couple of more seniors find a warm bed and love. This sweet girl is here with us as a result of your kindness.

Meet Holly (her new name!) who joined us today. She came from the Riverside county's Coachella shelter, where she was turned in at their front counter as a "stray". She'd been at the shelter for almost a month, and her time was almost up (I didn't know that until I read her paperwork once she was home). The shelter staff was free-feeding her to help her gain weight, but she seemed so depressed when I first met her I'm sure she wasn't eating very well. As I first came across her in the kennels, she was curled up in a little ball, trying her best to stay out of the puddle of water inside her run.

Once she was on a leash, in my hands, she transformed into a little old lady with spring in her step and she ran out of the shelter door, never looking back! This afternoon, she received the "Four B's" - bath, brush, blow dry, and biscuits - and loved them all. She's an incredibly sweet love sponge, who craves constant touch by humans. All of the other dogs have welcomed her, and enjoy the extra biscuits that have come as a result of her moving in.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to provide Holly with the warm bed and love she deserves!

Quincy's Favorite Present...

From the early Christmas we had yesterday is the fuzzy snowman. He loves to carry a fuzzy toy around and sleeps with it too until someone tries to steal it away!Spending the day with his fuzzy wears him out though, as you can see, he needs a nap after a hard day of fuzzy play!

Christmas Came Early...

When our Girl Scout friends visited today. They asked to bring a few presents for the animals, which I gratefully said "yes" to. I had no idea what they had in mind ~ large bags of dog and cat food, cat toys, dog toys, hay for Roger rabbit and so much more! It was so wonderful and so overwhelming ~ we can feed the dogs for over a month and the cats for a couple of months!

Favorites for the dogs include the kong toys with treats inside, the rawhide candy canes, and the biscuits! The cats really enjoyed new flavors of canned food and the catnip mice too. Roger dined on timothy hay and he and the goats and horses enjoyed celery sticks. Roger also has new chew toys. Sparky was the official dog-in-charge of treat distribution!

Thank you girls, you have made Christmas extra special!

Poppy's Tummy Troubles...

Continue. He responded somewhat to the new medication trial, but the "miracle cure" we were hoping for just didn't happen. His medication has been changed to continue the new steroid Budesonide, but also adds in Leukeran, a chemotherapeutic-type drug to suppress his immune system, and Metronidazole, an antibiotic used quite a bit for intestinal infections. We'll also be consulting with our holistic veterinarian Dr. Laflin for her input as well. With any luck, maybe we can avoid the heavy-duty medications with the help of homeopathy or herbs!

Don't Bug Me...

I'm napping! Pepper was the first one to the tallest cat tree after breakfast, the one with the best view and best bed! She's getting along well with the other kitties, and as long as they agree she gets this particular spot for napping, all remains well!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing you and your family a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

Stacy & Steve & the Animals

The Website...

Has been updated with a fresh look, including better colors and fonts. There is also more information on visiting and volunteering with the animals, plus an updated wish list!

Animal Updates...

Poppy's biopsy results came in ~ he has a moderate/severe case of IBD. Since he no longer responds to Prednisolone, our Internist Dr. Slusser has prescribed a newer steroid called Budesonide. The good side - fewer side effects. The down side - it's pretty expensive, since it has to be formulated by a veterinary compounding pharmacy. We should see some improvement in his symptoms a few days in to treatment, which will last a minimum of 2 weeks.

Scooter is also on a new medication called Cisapride, which helps the GI tract "move along" like it's supposed to, hopefully keeping him from future bowel troubles. This is as a result of his passing stool that was almost as large as he is! He has the potential for developing a condition called megacolon in which the colon becomes static and no longer moves stool through normally. Cisapride also must be formulated by the compounding pharmacy, since it's no longer available (it was originally a human medication).

Mel & Ernie died this week. They bravely fought coyotes that came into the yard, something we haven't had for well over 2 years now; the fires must have disrupted our local ecosystem. They gave their lives to do their job, protect the goats. The goats are doing okay, keeping close to the horses for extra protection. They will be buried in our memorial garden, as is every animal who comes through our door.

Poor Leonard!

Leonard must have had a way to up-close meeting with a spider or bee today, hence the swollen eye! He wasn't very happy about my photographing it, or even medicating him for it for that matter. A quick call to our internist got the correct medication dosages for him ~ with his heart condition, we have to be careful! His cocktail of medication - a small dose of steroids, Benedryl, and Lasix to counteract any side effects of the steroid. By tonight, the swelling had gone down a little bit. He still may get an abscess, but we'll also start antibiotics just to be on the safe side.

Poppy Has An Endoscopy...

And feels incredibly sorry for himself afterward! He's been losing weight and having trouble with diarrhea and gas pains. The steroid injections and diet changes worked for a few months, but seemed to lose their effectiveness. He had an abdominal ultrasound a couple of weeks ago, which was pretty boring (that's good!) and had a fecal culture done too. With all tests negative and normal, endoscopy became the next step.

An endoscopy for cats (and dogs) is done the same as it is for people, under general anesthesia. A flexible endoscope is passed first down the esophagus, looking at the first part of the digestive tract; then, kitty is turned around and the scope goes the other direction! Biopsies are taken along the way in both directions. They've been sent out for a pathologist to read and we should have results by Wednesday.

Poppy hated not having breakfast, and he didn't find an enema much fun either. The pictures were taken after the procedure, when he was awake but probably seeing double, and definitely when he felt sorry for himself! He was a good patient, and spent much of the day hiding under the towels in his cage. I think he was worried we'd come up with other ideas for torture!

All Is Well...

This morning. We have almost no wind this morning, and very little ash overnight, compared to previous nights. That makes it much easier to keep the water clear for horses, goats and geese ~ who wants to drink ash-flavored water?

The animals are returning to more of their regular routines; the air is still smokey but not as bad as it has been, so more kitties are spending some time outside again. The dogs are anxious to spend time outside too, since wonderful new smells have blown in!

Our local feed store is open today, as is our market, so if our evacuation orders are not lifted, at least we can pick-up the fly spray, grain and can cat food we need. As you can see above, Scooter's back to napping outside again!

It's Quiet This Evening...

And we're very grateful! All is still calm on our end of town, and our fingers remain crossed that nothing decides to flare overnight. Here are some photos of our view. You'll notice the shade for the geese is blown down and trash and trash cans are well-scattered. Hopefully it will stay calm as the Santa Ana winds die down and we can start cleaning up a little!

Things are improving, but we're still under evacuation orders, so we can travel the roads, even leave to go into Escondido, but we can't get back home again. So here we sit, patiently, just a little longer, hoping we can restock cat food and horse grain soon!

It's A New Day!

The new morning brings a new opportunity for firefighters to get a handle on all of the fires in San Diego. The fires closest to us are starting to merge, creating a huge fire line. Fortunately, it is still on the outskirts of town. Unfortunately, the quiet winds we had yesterday evening and overnight are now picking up speed again. Sounds like one of those "I've got good news & bad news" situations!

The animals are doing well. The cats have all been let back out into their play yards after I washed and watered them down. The goats and geese and horses are all doing well also. Our biggest chore is keeping clean water available because of the blowing dirt and ash. Inside, the dogs are napping after spending the night watching the latest "visitor" to the household - our neighbor's bunny, who's not quite sure what to make of the situation!

4pm Fire Update

We are doing great this afternoon! The fire to our north is not in town at this point, and the winds have calmed, even stopping for the first time in 2 days. While we have a heavy blanket of smoke to deal with (less than 100 ft. visability), we still have our water & electricity & phone service, so who can complain??

The animals are doing pretty well through this situation. They of course picked up on our stress, but seem to understand the need to just play it cool for a while. The dogs are napping, disappointed they can't go investigate the new smells in the backyard. The cats are wondering why they're locked into their rooms, but aren't complaining too much! The goats & horses are enjoying munching on the leaves that blew into their yards, and the geese are surprisingly quiet! Those with asthma & heart conditions are taking it all in stride.

All is quiet and smokey for now. Roads are closed in to Valley Center, so if we leave, we can't get back in at this point, which won't be a problem until Thursday, when our can cat food supply will be running low. Thank you for all of your support!!

Rapidly Changing Circumstances

We now have a fire on the Indian Reservations slightly to our north and east of us which has caused part of our town to evacuate as in the fires of 2003. Fingers crossed!

We will be here as long as is safely possible. We're fortunate because the power is still on at this point.

Since we still have phone & internet, we can keep updated on changing conditions. Also, we have found our Ham radio network to be invaluable. If you're not a "ham" it's not hard to do and a great way to communicate!