October 30, 2020

Randy Rainbow Fundraiser for the ACLU!

This is several weeks old, but the DONATE button is still there and it is still brilliant! Randy Rainbow and Patti LuPone!

October 23, 2020

Lucas is HOME!

Lucas is the cat we adopted almost two months ago. He was adopted by the college aged daughter of a friend who is studying via computer and got to extend her summer job through at least this fall - but she could not have a pet where she is living. Lucas (aka Rascal aka KittiBoi) was relegated to the screen porch at her parents' house. Their dogs - golden retrievers - are fine with cats, but her brother's blue heeler (another rescue) wants to eat them.

So they had been trying to find a forever home for Lucas - and we were it. He was happy here but a week after we got him, my husband came home late. He was not accustomed to indoor only cats and watching the door and Lucas snuck by him unseen. We didn't even realize that Lucas was gone until the next morning and ran around calling and trying to entice him with food, but no sign of him.

The next two weeks we had a lot of construction, mowing the pastures and the yard, all sorts of chaos. If Lucas had wanted to come back, all of that would have scared him away.

A few weeks ago the previous owner thought they saw him on the other side of our farm, but just a glimpse. With a brown tabby at dusk, it was hard to be sure.

Monday night he showed up at her house. Now her place isn't far, maybe a mile in a straight line, but that straight line is through the woods, across a stream and through some rough areas. Plus there foxes and coyotes that live around here, a black bear has been seen in those woods, and at least one neighbor has dogs that would tear a cat apart.

So we are very happy that Lucas is safe!

He's a little thinner - but he was a little chubby before - and was limping on one paw. I took him to the vet today and the diagnosis is that he sprained his leg, probably got a foot caught when he was jumping down and twisted it. He's getting a couple of days of anti-inflammatory and a lot of rest.

Now we have to introduce him to the girls. We'd adopted Maya two days after adopting Lucas so they sort of knew each other, but he has not met Sabra yet. We're keeping him confined and separate for a few days until we're sure his leg is healed. He's in the upstairs bathroom, but my husband took him into his office and Lucas jumped into his lap for attention, so he wants to be an indoor people cat again.

While Lucas is the largest of the cats, he is the least assertive, so other than Maya and Sabra hissing at him, the biggest problem will be where to put three cat boxes - oh, and finding another cat tree for Lucas. Sabra has claimed his.

I'll post a picture of Lucas as soon as possible

October 20, 2020

Good News! Lucas has been found!

I posted about adopting Lucas and Maya over a month ago, then the sad post about Lucas disappearing (https://www.democraticunderground.com/116150350) a week later.

Lucas, also known as Rascal by the old owners, showed up last night at his old home. He's a little thin, but otherwise in good condition. He'd been seen at the barn on our farm a week or so ago, and I have no idea how he found his way back to the house where he had only lived for a month.

I am so glad he is safe. I told the woman that I would take him back, but she is worried that we have two kitties and a third might be too much. She's not really a cat person - she and her husband have gold retrievers that get along with the cat fine, but their son's blue heeler does not like cats and looks at them as if she thinks they might be a good meal.

I've made the offer and it is up to her to make the choice. It might stir things up here for a while, but Sabra and Maya are adjusting and we have the room for another cat. We've had more than three cats in the past - at one point we had eight, though three or four were supposed to be barn cats. (Those cats were not stupid and moved into the house during the winter and the hottest parts of the summer.)

Whatever their decision, I am so glad that Lucas is fine.

October 18, 2020

Mean Birds

I love Aaron's Animals!

October 18, 2020

We're making major progress with our shy kitty, Sabra

I have pictures to show you!

Here is Maya:


Maya is two and a half years old and had a litter of kittens before she was put up for adoption by the local Humane Society. She was shy at first but now she runs the house. She's tiny, weighs less than eight pounds. I've adopted kittens larger that Maya!

I finally got a picture of Sabra. It's not great but she let me take several while she was in her tent:



We have not been able to weigh Sabra yet but while her frame is not much larger than Maya's, Sabra probably weighs half again as much. I was concerned about her weight and called the Humane Society to check. Since Sabra was spayed as a young cat, there is no chance she is pregnant. She's probably just fat from hiding all the time.

Today we made a major break through with Sabra. I'd posted here about how shy she was. Since I got her the tent, she has been spending time in it instead of under the bed and she will let me pet her when she is in it! In fact, she's gotten so if she is in the tent and I walk by without petting her, she meows at me.

Today she spent time in the larger of the two cat trees we have and was so relaxed she let me pet her while she relaxed in it. This evening she came out of her tent to ask to be petted and even let my husband pet her! We are both so happy with the progress she is making. Even if we could never pet her, she has a home for life, but I was very worried about her mental health and the stress she was under.

We have one more week with construction outside, then the house will be quiet. It's been quiet for four days, which has helped with Sabra's progress, but she will probably have a set back this week. But once the construction is finished, the cats will have a screened porch to hang out on which I know Maya will enjoy and I hope Sabra learns to appreciate, too.

Oh, at night, both cats travel all over the house. Most mornings they are upstairs in my husband's office. When he goes upstairs, they run down. Maya has shown Sabra the living room and they gallop the length of the house whenever they are found in there, even though we do not restrict where they go. I'm glad Sabra feels comfortable doing that, even if she is not comfortable with people other than in the bedroom yet.

October 5, 2020

Decoding US Postal Searvice excuses about not delivering the mail

I was expecting a package on Saturday that did not arrive - a cord cover from Amazon so the cords and cables for my computer are not exposed trip hazards. When I checked the tracking number from Amazon, this is listed:

The thing is - Saturday was one day that no one was here working and the driveway WAS accessible. Since the 800 number that Amazon gives out for the USPS has no useful information (lots of stuff about Covid-19, a two choices if you have not received mail in 2-3 days or more than 3 days) I called the local PO branch.

The woman there told me that the line that is given above about "front door/driveway not accessible" is their code for "the carrier had more mail than they could deliver and will attempt the next delivery day. I suspect that they have standard reasons for non-delivery and have adapted this one for the current situation.

I would have been happier if they had told me the truth from the beginning!