Our Fur Family Maybe Expanding

With so many recent losses and having so many senior cats, mom has been adamant about NOT taking in any more kitties for the time being. We have settled into a new pecking order and everyone seems to be happy with their station in our household. And then this happened in Tennessee:

One of mom's online friends wrote about these two. The top one is the kitten. She's about 3 months old. The bottom one is the mom. We don't know how old she is, but she looks young. There were two or three other kittens that a neighbor trapped and dumped in a different area. This little one and her mom hid and escaped his clutches.

A lot of circumstances will come into play regarding mom taking them in. Of course, the first thing is they will need to be captured and vetted. Mom has no doubt that they have the normal outdoor cat things going on: fleas, earmites, and worms. But those are treatable. What she must know is if they are FeLV negative and FIV negative. Unfortunately, if they test positive for either then mom can't take them.

Mom's other concern, should these babies check out healthy, is how will we accept them? She doesn't think the kitten will be a huge probably, but she is concerned about the adult. Another woman that is helping with the rescue said if mom cat doesn't work out, she would take her, so there is a backup plan.

Wonder if these Tennessee cats meow with a Southern drawl? They are located near Chattanooga.

So that's what is going on in our part of the world.

And Then There Were 11: Farewell sweet Lily Rose DeWinter

It seems we only post now when there is sad news. Our family said goodbye to our sweet Lillian Rose DeWinter on Saturday. We knew it was coming, but we didn't expect it to be so soon after losing both Johnny and Spunky.

When Lily saw her eye specialist last week, mom asked them to weigh Lily. She was painfully thin and weighed in at only 5 lbs. She had stopped grooming over the summer, so mom would brush her coat, and occasionally she would have to wash Lily's hindquarters. The ulcer on Lily's eye was also starting to look worse. Per the eye specialist's instructions, mom was putting several different drops and a soothing gel in Lily's eyes multiple times per day. When mom did Lily's eye drops on Saturday morning, Lily cried out in pain. It was the first time she had ever done so during all of her treatments. That's when mom knew it was time to say goodbye. She wasn't going to allow Lily to hurt.

Our regular vet's office was able to meet with mom late that morning. They had all of the paperwork ready to go. Mom thought Dr. R might cry right along with her. He hadn't seen Lily is quite awhile and I think he was surprised to see how thin she was.

With the help of Dr. R, Lily passed peacefully shortly before noon on Saturday, November 4. Mom was right beside her, stroking Lily's head and telling how much she was loved. We all loved Lily, even when she was being a diva.

Mom was having Lily cremated. When asked if she wanted a paw print, mom declined. Lily was a four paw declaw and she hated having her feet touched. Even in death, mom didn't want anyone messing with Lily's paws.

We aren't exactly sure about Lily's age, but we think she was around 17 years old. She was 6 or 7 when mom adopted her from the Kentucky Humane Society. She adopted Fred at the same time. He was younger at 2 years old. It is hard to believe that they are both Angels now.

Besides being a total declawed kitty, Lily was also partially deaf. About 2-3 years ago she started losing her eyesight. Glaucoma and cataracts. If she had been younger, mom would have had cataract surgery done for her. But at 14 the vet said she wouldn't recommend it. Lily developed an ulcer on on eye early this year. It never seemed to bother her, but she was getting the many eye drops and the soothing gel. About two weeks ago that eye started looking worse. It was just one thing after another for that sweet girl.

We know that fair Lily is much happier and healthier at the Bridge. She has her claws back, she can hear, and she can see again. We miss her, but we know it was the right thing to do.

Rest easy Lily Rose. We will meet again.