2/2: #crowdfunding and #cats

This week has been tough for me. And tonight is the anniversary of losing JoJo. Two years ago, one week after my eviction hearing, I rushed her to Dove Lewis. She wouldn’t have made it to dawn. She hid her congestive heart failure all too well.

She was my soul. We both had the same food issues (hers was an allergy to wheat and I have Celiacs). She was right there, in my face, when I wasn’t feeling well to provide me with some purr therapy to help me feel better.

She chose me in such a clear and obvious way. I was her only human for 14 years. She was 11 months old. I adopted her February 2003, and she passed away February 2017, a month shy of turning 15.

She was a ginger force to be reckoned with. Opinionated, loving, sassy cat. My first indoor cat.

******

I’ll post stuff tomorrow. Tonight is quiet.

~A

12/26: Personal Projects

I have a few personal projects that will be incorporated into this blog. One will be a static page. The second will likely be just a post. Same for the third one. Then there’s the Big Kahuna. That one is semi-secret, namely because I want to try to get a grant to do the research. But it’s a massive project.

The first post project is about Medicare For All. I’ve had discussions on FB with people about what is being pitched and what I think it should have. Admittedly, I haven’t delved too much into it yet. It’ll take me a bit. I do know, from my own personal observations, that there are things from Medicare as it is right now that need an overhaul. My parents were on it, being they were older from the get-go. I saw issues with the system from my dad’s experiences in caring for my mom as her Alzheimer’s worsened. And for his own health.

I also don’t think what we have for Medicaid is perfect either. Same for private insurance. My ideal is to take the best aspects of all three systems and make THAT Universal Healthcare. But I’ll go into more detail later.

The second post project is more a personal observation of the systems in place for the homeless population here in PDX. Some organizations are doing just fine, others… well, they need a LOT of work. And an institutional spanking because they’re trying to do shit they don’t have the staff/funding/training for. I’ll do my best to dissect the good, bad, and the ugly.

I won’t go into too much detail about the Big Kahuna. But if anyone knows where a solo researcher can get a grant for a social science project, let me know. That one will likely surface over on a barely-started blog of mine that has nothing going yet. Life and all.

Then there’s the static page project. I can do a fair chunk of the searching for links myself, but if anyone knows of non-profits in their state/country, let me know. This project is about FERAL CAT RESOURCES. My intent is to list links and some info on TNR (Trap Neuter Release) programs in all 50 states of the US, hopefully Canadian provinces as well. And if there are any, overseas in other countries.

I think that’s it for now. I’ll try to get back to the poetry posts at some point as well. I just haven’t felt really super creative of late.

~A

3/20/18: #crowdfunding, adjusting, and some bad juju

I’ve spent the day adjusting to the new space here at the shelter. While my room is a bit larger than most on this floor, my next door neighbor, who also has a kitty (she’s 6 and a beauty), mentioned that some bad juju has happened in this room and that may be partly why Portia is uneasy. I need to cleanse the fuck out of this room… without setting the smoke alarm off. I’d love to smudge it, but my smudge stick is “somewhere” and I can’t really go get another one. Same applies for my salt bowl and candles. I can’t risk setting off the alarm. Ideas would be great.

Twin size bed, as opposed to the single width rollaway I’ve been sleeping on for a year. Those, for people who haven’t heard of that size, are about 2 feet wide, where a Twin size mattress is about a foot wider.

Portia is still mostly hiding. Partly from being in a new place, partly from all the noise (doggos in the hall being noisy doggos), and likely some from the bad air/juju in this room. We have a dresser, small closet (litter boxes are in the bottom of that and fit perfectly), and a two tier plastic shelving thing. And a chair.

The Wi-Fi isn’t ideal, at least in the rooms, but I don’t expect super fast anything. Well, I’m gonna go sneak in a shower and then relax the rest of the evening… it’s been a long and somewhat stressful day.

As I was typing this and an FB post up, Portia came out of hiding and is now purring on the bed next to me. She’s still uneasy, but getting there. I’ve discovered having classical music playing kinda low helps buffer the noise from outside the door.

And more tomorrow! I start physical therapy (again) tomorrow afternoon. Maybe a poem tonight, if I get inspired.

~A

3/16/18: Bite Marks, Thermometers, and Unholy Growling

You guessed it, Portia had her V-E-T visit today. She REALLY didn’t want to be there. But she needed to be up to date on her shots so we can move into the shelter next week, so off we went. Thankfully, we had a ride there and back, and I used the frame of the old pet stroller to haul her 14.1 pound butt between car and exam room.

What happened in the exam room was something I’ve never witnessed with any of my previous felines… even the cats I grew up with when we hauled them in. Nope.

My sweet little airheaded Portia who loves petting and treats turned into Hell Beast.

She growled when the thermometer was *ahem* inserted.

She bit my arm twice while helping the vet. Didn’t break skin, except one spot which only got the very top layer… no blood.

The majority of the exam went fairly well with the exception of fur flying, more growling, two vaccinations, and -after all of that- she STILL didn’t want to go back into the carrier. The tech had to do ‘butt first’ like I did.

And we’ll have to do the carrier thing sometime next week for moving to the shelter. Yeah, this won’t be pretty.

She has a prescription for an anti-anxiety med to help chill her out during all of this.

And somehow I’m supposed to smear some cream on her butt because the skin is inflamed due to stress-grooming.

Even I don’t think I have enough bandaids for that.

Oh, and I need latex gloves.

You can tell I never had kids. I’ve changed a few diapers, but damn…. smearing cream on my cat’s ass is a new one.

She’s currently napping under the bed. I mixed half the capsule of her medication into her wet food. She ate part of said wet food.

Seriously, cat, that shit is expensive.

And I’m not talking about the medication.

I think I just need to get some cheap Friskies Pate.

~A

3/10/18: Cats and their Foibles

(In time, this post may be turned into a page with additional info for things like spay-neuter resources. I’ll make it more info-based and not as much anecdotal)

FOOD ISSUES

I swear I don’t really mean to, but whenever someone is having gastro or skin issues with their kitty, I step in with advice. I’m not a vet or tech or anything, just an experienced cat person who had one cat with UTI’s (Jack), one with a wheat allergy (JoJo), and my current Monster Floof has a sensitive stomach and skin. I’ve tried the super-top-of-the-line food and down to some of the “nicer” Purina foods and Whole Foods store brand kibble which is grain free… and a whole bunch in between.

What many humans don’t realize is that cats can be allergic to a LOT of things.

• Chicken
• fish
• wheat
• wool
• fleas
• chemical house cleaning supplies* (these can be toxic and lethal to kitties, so if you mop, go back over the floor with a damp towel with JUST water and that can pick up the chemicals… or find options that are safe)
• Pollen, grass, plants, mold, mildew, and other organic substances*
• Perfumes and colognes*
• Prescription drugs*
• Some cat litters (if said feline is allergic to wheat, do NOT use Swheat Scoop! I almost made that mistake… once.)

If their food is too rich, they can hurl that shit up so fast you wonder if they broke any gut-to-floor speed records.

When I’ve explained to people that I’m homeless with a cat and don’t get much income, if they’re local, they automatically bring up The Pongo Fund. As much as I love what they do (donate to them…. they’re freaking awesome), the food they give out is extremely high end stuff like Canidae kibble. It’s WAY too rich for Portia’s sensitive stomach. I used it for three weeks a few years back. One day I came home to small piles of partially digested food ALL. OVER. THE. CARPET.

I thought at first it was JoJo and her notorious hairballs. I sat down at my desk and then heard the *hork*hork*hork*blargh* in the living room. It was Portia. She wasn’t well, so I called the vet and brought her in. With her sensitivities, very rich foods weren’t good for her, nor are cheap foods. No “grocery store food.” She mats and throws it up. Her only kibble is Natural Balance’s L.I.D. (Limited Ingredient Diet, basically grain free) Duck and Green Pea. They did some sub-q fluids and I got her normal food. This was also around the time I learned that using squash and chicken stage 1 or 2 baby food is great for re-hydrating kitties. The squash helps with digestion and *ahem* “moving things along. Just check the ingredients. It should be nothing but the main item (squash, chicken, turkey, etc) and water. That’s it.

STRESS

Believe it or not, cats can get stressed out just like us humans. So can dogs. This can manifest in many ways in cats. Litterbox ‘ettiquette’ (peeing/pooping just outside the box, or elsewhere. This can also be a sign of UTI’s or other health issues). Jack (RB, 2002-2010) had UTI’s a lot (Urinary Tract Infections, humans can also get them) and ultimately hid one from me that was so bad, he went into Acute Renal Failure and I could no longer help him. He was ready to go, but it hurt to do it. He was too damn young. I still miss that goofball.

It can manifest in overgrooming and other areas. JoJo became a bully when she was stressed. She also overgroomed and my apartment was Hairball City when she was stressed.

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So, I can -and likely will- expand on these subjects as well as go into other cat and dog subjects once I start making this a static page on here. Animal welfare is a big deal for me. I do not condone the big national AR groups as they don’t do as much for the critters they say they’re helping. That’s a huge pet peeve of mine. The one that starts with a P is the worst. But I want good information to get into the hands of those who need it.

More to come!

~A

(Yes, still desperately need help to save my storage and everything in it. Anything you can do would be awesome.)

 

• Source: Allergies