I previously told everyone the story of my friend, Cynthia, who found two abandoned kittens by the side of the road just a short walk from her house. She named them Simon and Peter and began taking care of them. A few weeks after she had them, a stray tortoiseshell female cat showed up and pushed her way into Cynthia’s house. Strangely enough, this thin, starving, pushy female was the mother to the two kittens. Somehow, she had hunted those babies down and forced her way into Cynthia’s good graces to be reunited with them.

Maggie, the mom, was very happy to be back with her lost kittens. You can read that earlier story HERE.

Since that story, little Peter, the orange kitten became very ill and did not make it. So it was just Maggie and Simon. Poor Simon was very lonely without his brother to play and wrestle with. Although he had his mom, she just wasn’t as rambunctious as his playmate sibling.

Maggie and Simon have been to the vet, in the meantime, and are now spayed, neutered, vaccinated, and looking for a new home (although, Cynthia assures me they can stay with her as long as needed). I thought this was where the bizarre story ended, but Cynthia wrote me on Friday with another strange tale.

Cynthia emailed me and said that she had begun to question her sanity with Maggie and this litter of kittens of hers.

Here is the odd situation Cynthia recounted to me.

Cynthia had laid down to take a nap, little Simon curled up beside her on the bed. After she woke up, her neighbor came over and said she was returning Simon, who she had been “kitty-sitting” all afternoon while Cynthia was asleep. Cynthia wondered what in the world the neighbor was talking about since Simon had been napping with her. And then the neighbor produced a little black and white kitten that was an exact duplicate of Simon!

Where did this little guy come from? Cynthia keeps a close eye on all the cats in her area and this was the first time she had ever seen this kitten. He was friendly and socialized and seemed perfectly happy to be around people. How had he survived? Who had been feeding him and keeping him safe? How could he just appear and look so much like Simon? He has to be Simon’s brother. They are perfect mirror images. Except…mom Maggie wants nothing to do with him and hisses non-stop at the little guy.

Simon, though, is pleased as punch with this new friend. The two have already become best buddies, playing and curling up to sleep side by side. After losing his brother, Peter, Simon now has a playmate and companion. Which led me to wonder if little Peter had not come back in another form to be with his brother again. Spooky! But, also, a sweet thought. The photo Cynthia sent (at the end of this posting) of the two asleep, bodies connected, makes me think there is some strange connection with these kittens.

In any case, this little twin will be taken care of, too, and will give Simon the wrestling pal he was missing.

It has been a couple weeks since we took in three very special cats, so I wanted to give updates on how each of them are doing.

First up is Exodus. Exodus, as I reported at the beginning of May, came to us with his jaw broken on both the top and bottom and with a hole in the roof of his mouth from a tooth being shoved up through the bone. He had been hit very hard on the underside of his jaw and his mouth was filled with infection. Dr. Tom Klein of East Hilliard Veterinary Services fixed our sweet boy. Exodus went back for a check up visit at the end of May and Dr. Tom put him under again to drain an abscess on his chin. He got another antibiotic shot and came back home with me to recuperate until the end of June when Dr. Tom wants to see him again.

Exodus actually looks like a cat now. His fur has grown back in–he was missing a lot of it on his front legs. Dr. Tom thought the hair was missing because he had been rubbing his hurt mouth with his paws trying to stop the pain. Thankfully, Exodus is out of pain now and has grown in a gorgeous coat of hair.

While his jaw is fixed, his mouth will never align perfectly now, so his lower left side still hangs down a little bit. He has learned to eat just fine, although, he does still sometimes get food all over himself and the floor. He loves his soft food and meals are very happy times. We are working now to put some weight on him, get him completely over the infection so he can be vaccinated, and find him a home where he will be inside and safe. Exodus is about the nicest cat you will ever meet. He loves other cats and people and just constantly wants to be with you. He so deserves a wonderful home.

Next up is Chaplin, who you will remember, came to us after being dumped at Capital by his owner. Chaplin was very angry and aggressive when I first brought him home. I am so happy to say that this is not at all his nature now. He is a happy, playful boy who greets me at the door with a loud meow and then proceeds to lick my toes and feet–yes, this from the boy who shredded my foot the first day I went in the bathroom to check on him.

Chaplin now rubs noses and gives kisses and loves to play. He is also very interested in my cats and has been sniffing them through the bathroom door. We are proceeding very slowly, because he has been through too much to just mess up our progress by scaring him again. I’ve also been playing with Chaplin and my “greeter” cats through the door and he loves that. I think that sometimes Chaplin plays a little too hard, because he was an only cat and he did not know that humans aren’t as tough as cats when they wrestle. I think that once he has a cat buddy to roll around with, he will work out a lot of his extra energy and that will calm him down even more. He has turned into a real lover who is so happy to see me. I am so glad this baby was given another chance.

Finally, I have to tell you about Charley. Charley is currently in foster care with Dr. Kim West, because I thought, after hearing the stories from his owner, that Charley had a ton of medical problems that would need fixed. His owner returned him to us at the middle of May, because she said he was not using the litter pan. Turns out, she had had Charley declawed, in violation of our adoption contract, and he was so upset and his paws hurt so bad, she said (emphasis on “she said”) he would not urinate in the litter pan.

Well, guess what? From day one, Charley has used the litter pan and regular litter for Dr. West. No problems. No accidents. Dr. West didn’t have to use special litter or litter pans. He just hopped in the box and did his business.

Charley also seems to be doing just fine with Dr. West’s cats who come to play with him under the door. We were afraid his former owner’s other cat had been bullying him and he might have a fear of cats because of that. But, no. He is fine with all the things we were worried about. Which just goes to show what a peaceful, loving environment can do.

Charley will be going to the PetSmart on Sawmill next as soon as the cage is free, which we are hoping will happen this week.

Thank you to everyone who sent love and good thoughts for these three special boys. Next on our agenda is to find them homes where they will stay forever and will not need us any longer.

This past week, I wrote the story of Charley, now renamed Chaplin, who was dumped off at Capital to be euthanized and had obviously been abused by one of our adopters. I mentioned at the end of that story that last week had been pretty terrible as we had another Charley returned to us the following Saturday (one week after Chaplin) by another adopter with the initials J.K.

Before I go into this new story of my disappointment in an adopter, I just want to thank everyone who responded to Chaplin’s story with encouraging comments and a ton of love. The heartaches of rescue work are lessened when I know that others care what happens to our kitties, too. 

And now my second disappointment with an adopter and a sweet boy named Charley.

On May 2, I had an email from an adopter, J.K. who had just adopted Charley, a loving, gorgeous tabby boy on February 17 of this year. Her email said: “I adopted a cat named Charlie from Black and Orange in mid-February of this year. I am writing to touch base with someone to make arrangements because, unfortunately, I am not able to keep Charlie anymore. I will be happy to go into more detail over the phone, but basically it is a combination of my not being able to keep paying for medical issues as well as his chronic urinating outside of the box. I have been working with my vet for this issues since I adopted Charlie, and I feel I have exhausted my options and am not able to do any more for him. I am also concerned about putting any more additional stress on him, or onto my other cat I have had for six years who has been adjusting to things since I brought Charlie home.

“Please send me an e-mail so I can arrange for someone to pick Charlie up.”

Notice that J.K. said she had been working on the issue of the inappropriate litter pan use since she adopted Charley. You will find out in a moment that this was not the case.

I immediately wrote J.K. back. Charley had a sibling who had had a urinary tract infection and I worried that perhaps he had one as well that had been overlooked. I apologized to J.K., offered to have her take Charley to our vet to be checked (and we would pay), and gave her suggestions so she could ultimately keep Charley. 

She did not want him.

In her follow-up email J.K. said: “Yes, Charlie has been found to have some kind of lower urinary tract infection issues. I have taken him to the vet multiple times and paid for many different types of tests. He is currently on the last few days of an antibiotic. No crystals were found in his urine though, according to the vet. Charlie has had significant diarrhea since I adopted him, (we had sent her home with a bag of special food just for the diarrhea, but she changed his food) but the vet doesn’t seem to think that is related to the urination since he is gaining weight still and deficates in the box, even though he doesn’t urinate in it. At this point, my vet has said the options for trying to deal with the urination are either anti-anxiety medications or re-training him. I have had to draw the line on the money I am going to keep spending on Charlie, so I just can’t afford to try any more medicine. My current living situation is a rental, and my carpet is now a mess. I can’t even justify getting my carpet cleaned until Charlie is not in the house anymore. As far as retraining goes, I am gone at work for a large part of the day. The only uncarpeted area in my apartment with a door is my bathroom , and I feel this is too small a space to lock him in for such a large part of the day. As far as my other cat, she currently does not have any issues. I am concerned, though, about the effect all of this is having on her. I can’t have a second cat start urinating all over my carpet because of her seeing Charlie do it.

“I am very sorry I didn’t contact you sooner, as I was unaware of the 30 day expiration on the return (I had told J.K. that within the first 30 days we take a cat back immediately if there are problems, but after 30 days, we ask the adopter to work with us until we can find a foster). I wish I had known Charlie and his sibling had all of these issues before I adopted him. At this point, I have decided it is in his best interest as well as for myself and my other cat that I don’t keep him. All of this has been much too stressful the last two and a half months, and has taken a toll on me emotionally and financially. This is my busiest time of year at work, and looking back, I obviously wasn’t prepared to adopt a second cat into my home.”

After this email, I made arrangements with Dr. Kim West, our friend and vet, to foster Charley as I thought he had major medical conditions that would need her expertise. I let J.K. know that Dr. West would be out of town, but as soon as she was home, we would get Charley from her. 

On Saturday, Bobbie and I met J.K. at PetSmart and picked up Charley. I had asked her to bring back his folder with his medical records and to also bring her vet’s records showing what they had done. 

I was not expecting to find what I found in the vet records.

J.K. had Charley declawed. 

Charley was adopted on February 17 and at that time, J.K. signed our adoption contract stating that she would not have him declawed. Kristin, who was his foster, spoke to her in depth about declawing. We also provide paperwork about the problems with declawing in all our adoption folders. 

On March 5, J.K. took Charley for a declaw consult. At no point did she contact us to tell us she was having problems with him scratching and ask for solutions. On March 10, barely two weeks after adopting Charley, she had him declawed. 

According to the vet’s records, there had been no problems with Charley urinating outside of the litter pan until he was declawed. After the declaw surgery, he would not use the litter pan, at all, because his paws hurt too much. He did start defecating in the pan after a few weeks, but continued to pee right beside the litter pan. 

The vet stated that the change in Charley’s behavior was due to the declaw surgery.

At no point in any of our correspondences did J.K. mention the declaw.

Here is where I need to educate the uneducated. And forgive me, since many of you are in rescue, if I am preaching to the choir. Declawing is not a simple surgery. It is very painful and very inhumane. Declawing actually involves cutting a cat’s toes off at the first joint. If a human were declawed, it would be like cutting our fingers off at the knuckles. Many cats have issues after the surgery with walking and using the litter pan, because their feet hurt. Due to the pain, they often associate the litter pan with the discomfort in their paws and refuse to use the pan. This was the case with Charley. 

You can read more about declawing at www.declawing.com

What makes me angriest about this whole episode is that J.K. led me to believe that we gave her a flawed, unhealthy cat. She never took any responsibility for her actions or admitted that she had caused Charley’s issues herself. Instead, she made me think this was our fault and that we were obligated to take back this “problem cat.”

When we asked Dr. Jensen to check Charley out, she didn’t do any tests to see if he had a urinary tract infection or other health problems. She believed, just as the other vet had, that Charley’s problem was due to the declaw surgery. She said she sees problems arise often after declawing, but people still continue to have the surgery performed out of convenience. Rather than teaching the cat not to scratch in certain areas or keeping the nails trimmed, impatient owners have the cat declawed.  In many countries, other than the United States, declawing is outlawed, because it is so inhumane. 

Charley was very stressed with J.K.–not only because of the declaw, but we think he may have been having problems with her other cat. This was not a good home and he needed out of there. He is now with Dr. West and guess what–NO MORE LITTER PAN PROBLEMS. The very first night with her, he used the litter pan like a champ–even with regular litter in it (Dr. Jensen told us we might have to re-teach Charley to use a litter pan without litter in it or with a puppy pad). 

Sometimes, just getting a cat to a safe, loving environment takes care of everything.

At the end of April, my friend, Cynthia, called me in a panic. She was walking back to her house and found two tiny kittens in the ditch. They were both healthy, although the smaller orange fluff ball had crusty eyes. Cynthia called me to get advice on what to do with them. She did not think they had been dumped. She just thought that perhaps the mother cat had been moving them and dropped them, planning to return, but getting sidetracked. Cynthia was afraid to leave the kittens where they were because within a few hundred feet there were two large chained dogs that she feared would kill the babies. So she scooped them up and took them down the hill to her house. 

Cynthia set the kittens up in their own little kitten “play land” and took care of them. 

A few days later, Cynthia was talking to a neighbor who told her about a mother cat that had babies under a shed. The neighbor warned that her husband was going to shoot the cats. Cynthia asked her to please not do that and to let her know where the cat and babies were. She figured this was the mother to her two little ones. The woman had reported that there were two babies still with the mom, but she thought there had been more. 

Cynthia asked me last week if she could borrow a trap to try to catch the mom and find the other two kittens. I lent her a trap and she planned to begin her trapping efforts later in the week.

When I talked to Cynthia on Monday, she reported that there had been no sign of the mother cat and kittens. The neighbor said the mother cat had moved the kittens again. 

Cynthia also reported, however, that she had “another new face” show up on her back porch. She sent me photos of a very petite tortoiseshell kitty who she said was “very noisy.” Cynthia was worried that the little cat was in heat or already pregnant and asked if we could get her in for clinic this week. We agreed to meet up on Tuesday to do the cat exchange. Cynthia thought the cat had been recently dumped as she was very friendly and was familiar with cat flaps. She also kept continually trying to get in the house with Cynthia. 

This morning Cynthia wrote me and said she was “speechless” and there was a crimp in our plan to get the tortie girl in to be fixed. 

Turns out, this little girl is the mom to Cynthia’s two kittens. That little cat had somehow hunted down her babies inside Cynthia’s house, ingratiated herself to Cynthia, and then darted inside to find her kittens. 

Cynthia said the babies went wild when their mom finally found them in their room. Cynthia also said that she thinks she misjudged why mom was so anxious previously. It was not because she was in heat, but because she was searching for her kittens. 

I still cannot believe that this little cat tracked down her two kittens this way. They were in a house and she had to fight her way past Cynthia’s outside cats, go through the cat flap into the back porch, and convince Cynthia to let her inside. And she did all of that to get to her babies. Amazing!

And how, in the world, did she know where they were?

I asked Cynthia if she thought the little mom would lead her to the other kittens. Cynthia said she thought something must have happened to the other babies, as the mother cat had no milk. The kittens tried to nurse, but it was more just a bonding ritual than an actual feeding. Because of the lack of milk, Cynthia thought the other kittens were no longer around and that was the reason the little mother had come looking for her other two babies.

In any case, this is one of the happiest stories I have heard in a while. Of course, we’ll keep you posted if Cynthia does find the other two kittens.

This little family will eventually need new homes, so if you are looking for fluffy, cuddley kittens or a smart mama, we have the cats for you.

I cannot help but notice that the mother cat looks as if she is smiling in these pictures. One satisfied and intelligent creature. Never underestimate the power of a cat…or of a mother. 

A lady we had worked with in the past sent me an email about one of her outside kitties who she thought had “something wrong with his jaw.” I collected him to take in to Dr. Murphy at the Spay Neuter Clinic, intending to have him neutered and let Dr. Murphy look at his jaw. I had poor Exodus the night before and noticed that his one tooth hung out of his mouth, but I thought he just had a “snaggle tooth” that needed pulled. Imagine how awful I felt when the Spay Neuter Clinic called me and said the poor cat had a broken jaw that was seriously infected. He had also tested positive for FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus).

While this raggedy kitty had lots of things working against him–his ear was all sliced up, he was missing fur all over his body, he had an engorged tick hanging off his earlobe–he had one major thing working in his favor: his personality. Exodus is the nicest cat you would ever want to meet.

I picked this lover boy up from the Spay Neuter Clinic and took him to Dr. Tom Klein at East Hilliard Veterinary Services. Dr. Tom is the feline dental guru. He is the vet who fixed our little Bean Bag’s jaw last year when it was broken in a trauma. 

Dr. Klein was not deterred by the fact that Exodus was FIV positive. He thought that he was too nice to kill and so he kept Exodus to work his healing magic. 

This cat had a ton of problems. Whatever broke his jaw came up from the underside of his jaw (sort of like getting hit with an upper cut), pushing a tooth up into his upper palate and fracturing the bone. Fragments of bone were embedded in his nasal cavity. To me, this sounds like a kick. Most animals do not grab under the jaw. They go for the back of the neck. I hope some human did not do this to this cat. It makes my stomach ache to even think of it. 

Exodus’ injuries were at least several weeks old. I cannot imagine going around in this much pain for weeks. His whole mouth was filled with infection. Yet, believe it or not, this boy is such a fighter that he was eating hard food and meowing even in this horrible condition. 

Just to give you an idea of what Dr. Klein had to repair, here is a list he gave me of all the problems Exodus was facing:

1. His palate was fractured into his nasal cavity–and this happened at least several weeks previousy.

2. His center of his lower jaw was fractured as well as a complete fracture of the middle part of his lower left jaw. Both areas had severe infection.

3. He was under anesthesia for 3 and 1/2 hours (yes, you read that right-3 and 1/2 hours!) and Dr. Klein removed his upper left canine tooth and his lower right one and the remaining teeth on his upper left due to fractures. 

4. Dr. Klein attempted to move over the palate defect and repair it.

5. Dr. Klein wired the lower jaw center fracture. 

6. The lower left jaw fracture was left after cleaning the site and suturing it. Dr. Klein could not repair the bone at this time due to infection.

7. Exodus was given a 14 day long acting antibiotic and pain medicine. He was bathed and neutered while under. Two ticks were removed and he was treated for tapeworms. 

Whew!! Can you imagine if this had happened to a human? Exodus came home with me after two days in the hospital and is eating soft food like a trooper. He is on NO pain medicine. He is on cage rest, however, because Dr. Klein wants him to stay fairly inactive while he is healing.

This cat is just so wonderful. He utterly loves people. I had a hard time taking photos of him because he kept flopping down and rolling around for me to love on him and give belly rubs. 

The lady who called me about Exodus is willing to take the boy back with her. But he would have to be an outside kitty as she has a very jealous inside cat. I asked her if we could work on finding him a home and she was very happy to think he might have a safe, inside only haven. So that is what we are doing now. 

Exodus will need more vet care in the near future. He goes back to see Dr. Klein on May 20 and will probably need his lower left jaw fixed at that time. Being FIV positive is not a death sentence and Exodus, who is only three years old, can live a long and healthy life. He just needs a home with dogs only, another positive kitty, or by himself. He would be happy to share his life with anyone who wants him.

The virus that produces FIV is usually only passed from one cat to another by fighting or mating. Since Exodus is now neutered, he won’t be doing any of those things any more and will have a hard time giving other cats the disease. 

I have to thank Dr. Klein for once again coming to our rescue. He also had a vet student help him with Exodus’ procedures and because of that used the surgery and repair work as a teaching tool, giving us a giant discount.

Dr. Klein’s final words in his summary report were: “Exodus is a great cat!”

I completely agree!

Now it is up to us–I am counting on all of you to help me–to get Exodus into a safe, loving home with a family that does not care that he may never win a “Best in Show” ribbon for his appearance! What Exodus lacks in looks, he makes up for in love. 

I just recently learned that two groups I support, one national and one local, will be moving into new and bigger homes, which will allow them to help even more animals. 

The first group is Dogs Deserve Better (DDB), a charity in Pennsylvania that is committed to “ending the cruelty of chaining and penning dogs.” Dogs Deserve Better is buying “Bad Newz Kennels,” the property that was previously owned by Michael Vick and facilitated his dog fighting ring.  The former site of cruelty and suffering will be transformed by DDB into the “Good Newz Rehab Center for Chained and Penned Dogs.” 

I can think of no better way to honor the dogs that died there under Michael Vick’s reign than by giving other dogs that have suffered a new lease on life.

The 15-acre property on Moonlight Road in Virginia contains a house and various sheds. DDB is buying the property for $595,000. The group has already put down 30% ($178,500) and has been approved for a loan for the rest. Now they just need to raise the additional money to pay off the loan, build a fence around the property, and renovate the buildings for their state-of-the-art rehabilitation center. They hope to begin the transformation from Bad Newz to Good Newz by the end of May.

With this new facility, which will also include a memorial for the dogs that died under Michael’s Vick brutal ownership, DDB will be able to help 500 more chained and penned dogs each year. They currently rescue and rehabilitate 400-500 dogs per year in foster homes nationwide. Until now, the group has never had a shelter.

To read more about DDB’s efforts and to make a donation, please go HERE.

The second group that is expanding into new digs is the Humane Society of Madison County (HSMC).

With their move, the shelter will actually be relocating closer to Plain City (which thrills me). Their new building used to be a church. In fact, in a weird twist of fate, it was the church that one of my dear friends, Paul Carpenter, attended before his death in 2001. Paul was a huge animal lover and I know he would be delighted to know that his former church will now be a sanctuary for homeless animals. I went to several church services with Paul and his wife, Jean, at this building. It was also the place where Paul’s funeral was held in December 2001. I know a tiny part of him will be there watching over the animals. 

The building, located at 2020 State Route 142 NE, is just off I-70 at the Plain City exit. While the new shelter will have a West Jefferson address, they will only be 10 minutes from Plain City. The building is 5,000 square feet and includes five acres. Geo-Sites, Ltd. bought the property when the church moved and now plans to lease it to the humane society for $1 a year for twenty-five years. 

The new site will allow HSMC to house all of their animals in one building. Currently, the dogs are in a block building and the cats are housed in two trailers.

The shelter’s upcoming fundraiser, Cash 4 Kibble Dinner and Auction, will be held at the new building on Saturday, May 21. If you would like to attend and check out the facility, please go to the HSMC web site and download your RSVP form.

HSMC will also need additional funding to help them with their move and renovation. They hope to be in the building by July or August. 

With the expansion by DDB and HSMC, more animals will be helped across the country and in our own back yards.

To celebrate their 15th birthday, Petfinder is asking everyone to spread the word online about adoptable pets on Tuesday, March 15. 

There are a number of things you can do to help get the word out. 

1. You can take the Petfinder pledge saying that you will tell just one person about pet adoption on March 15. If you take the pledge, you will be entered in a drawing to win one of 10 Bissell Pet Hair Eraser Vacuums. And then make sure you do tell one person about pet adoption on March 15!

Take the Pledge HERE.

2. Add your own caption to a Petfinder adoptable pet photo on ICanHasCheezburger. Those pets with the best captions will be featured on the ICanHasCheezburger web site on March 15.

Caption a photo HERE.

3. On March 15, donate your Facebook photo and status to an adoptable Petfinder pet (preferably a B and O kitty–if you need a photo of one of our adoptable cats, visit our Facebook fan page or email me for a picture you can post–bandocats@columbus.rr.com).  Or you can also pull a photo from the “Adopt the Internet All-Stars” gallery HERE. 

Once you have changed your picture, post one of these messages in your status:

More than 320,000 pets are waiting for homes on Petfinder.com. Help Petfinder Adopt the Internet today and find forever homes for as many as possible. 

OR

I adopted my pet from Petfinder and now I want to help get this pet adopted! If you want to help pets in need of forever homes, please repost this!

4. Additionally, on March 15, share an adoptable pet on your Twitter page with the hashtag #adopttheinternet.

For more information on Adopt the Internet Day, please visit HERE for more ideas, badges to post, and other helpful links.

Ollie

I had an email today about a purebred Ragdoll kitty named Ollie. He is about a year old and is up-to-date on vaccines and is neutered. The owner does have his purebreed registration papers, so he must have come from a breeder.

If you click on the word “Ollie” above, it will open up the flyer about this boy. The owner wrote that he has “exhibited generalized anxiety syndrome, some aggression to petting, status aggression, and fear aggression.”  It sounds to me as if he is a dominate cat who is not getting enough attention.

Furthermore, Ollie “needs a loving home with no small children and other pets should be secure, large animals.” Probably Ollie is picking on other smaller animals and would not be suitable for little kids.

He also “will need lots of play time throughout the day and an owner who has time to work with him.”

I think Ollie just needs to be an only cat or he needs to be with a large dog who likes cats and will not be bullied.  I also think he needs someone to pay lots of attention to him. He is a gorgeous cat and probably has a gorgeous personality for the right person.

If you are interested in Ollie, the contact phone number is 937-309-9524.