09/10/2025
Ok, some updates. I wanted to post yesterday but exhaustion won. (why does it seem like everyone is positively running on fumes?)
I wish all the updates were happy ones, but unfortunately we lost Winkie Monday night. You know, we've been doing this long enough that we know when they are this tiny, sick and frail, it's a long shot, but every time our hearts tell us we can pull them through and then reality proves us wrong. Thank you to the foster volunteers who took shifts with her (Jessica and Jen and Carmen). If love could have healed her, she would have lived forever.
The other 2 kittens (found 2 days later in the same area as Winkie) are doing ok right now. It's so hard to tell in pics sometimes, and in the initial pictures sent to me I thought they were a little older, but turns out they are tiny! Only half a pound each and 2 weeks old, bottle babies (we weren't really prepared for bottle babies). But they are both little boys, have been to the vet, and are now known as Woozy and Toto. We truly hope they pull through, our hearts are fragile right now.
And now a quick recap of my personal summer saga. All of a sudden this year there's been a rush of cats and kittens in my neighborhood. I don't often see strays or ferals but 2025 has been a whole different type of year. I set up a feeding station in my garage with a camera, so I could see who was coming and going and get a feel for how many, when do they usually come, etc. so I could set up a trapping plan. It can be stressful, I worry all the time, it's time consuming and I already have none of that, but what kind of person would I be if I talked the talk but didn't walk the walk? So little by little, one (and sometimes two) by one everyone has been getting trapped and vetted, and the younger kittens have made it into foster homes. This little ginger lady was a mama, and I'm attributing at least 2 litters to her - I knew she had small nursing babies somewhere and so couldn't trap her until I was sure they'd be old enough to survive without her (they are now in a foster home). She's been my goal from day one. She got used to me over the summer, even got to the point where she would yell at me for food (if I wasn't opening the can fast enough) and would eat Churu from my hand - but would still occasionally hiss at me and would not let me touch her.
Finally trapped her Sunday night, she got fixed Monday, and I set her up in my small bathroom for the night as it's literally the only room left in my house that doesn't have a foster already in it. You have NO idea the shock (and surprise and GLEE) I felt when this is what she did literally 30 seconds after I opened up the trap. This little mama, henceforth known as Olivia Mewton-John, can not get enough attention or affection. She's making up for lost time! A windowless bathroom is not a good solution, so I'd love to find her an adopter or foster home ASAP. She's still adjusting to home life (startles at noises, etc), but she just wants love love and more love. She was the bright spot to a heavy day, for sure.
If you feed them, fix them. Too much suffering already exists in the world and we have the ability to prevent more.
