What's Lucy up to?

Here comes the sun?

2011-03-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

Spring is here according to all the cats I have that are in heat. I am hoping to announce pregnancies in 3 weeks for Blondie x Tugger and Pixie x Tugger. Lucky Tugger has been getting a lot of action lately. My bedroom, unfortunately seems to be the magic place for him. So thats what we've been doing - bringing the ladies into Tugger's chamber. Which just happens to be MY BEDROOM. Lovely going to sleep with cats screaming in your ear. Just to be on the safe side, I am going to be sending in DNA samples from Tugger, Blondie and Pixie to test for PKD. Cross your fingers.

Successful Idaho Show

2011-03-21T13:15:00.000-07:00

The weekend of the 18th brought us to Boise Idaho for another CFA show. This time I brought six with me including Bruno, Dandelion, Avatar, Sammy, Blondie and Tugger. Sammy did really well picking up 7 finals in 8 rings. Dandelion picked up 5 finals and the other kittens one each. Blondie picked up 14 GC points. It snowed, hailed, rained and blew hard wind - how nice for me. Especially since I had just picked up my truck from the body shop the Thursday before the show. Fortunately we had an uneventful drive to and from the show - a most boring and windy drive.

Snow Snow Go Go Go Away

2011-03-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

This time last year I was posting about how much the snow was going away and that bare patches were showing up and spring was coming. Well it snowed last night and I'm miserable! The Emus *are* laying again, though not a the rate they were laying last year. We've had about 20 eggs total this year so far with more to come. Of the 5 chickens that showed up last year, we have one left, the rest disappeared via food or fowl play. We picked up 4 new chickens and our 5 chickens have the run of the farm and seem to stick around for food. The goats are all pregnant I'm sure and will be due in May. We *still* cannot ride Peak or Info. Peak I rode a little last year but only with Steve's hand firmly on the halter.

Dramatails had a second litter in 2010 which came to Dramtails Eclipse. 3 beautiful curly babies. They are now 4 months old and two of them show huge show potential. One is going to Taiwan in August or September and the other is staying here. Dramatails Avatar is available for sale. He is by far the sweetest of the bunch but is smaller than the rest and lighter boned. He'll make someone a fantastic pet.

IW Bangles Terraincognito has been here for 9 months and has managed to breed ONE girl. He just was not in shape to breed earlier and plus no cats were in heat. He has bred Kitsarkat Pixie and hopefully Dramatails Legally Blonde. I have also put Spellbinding Rosetta Stone and Dramatails Charmed in with him just in case they go into heat. Although Tugger is not very aggressive about his breeding.

So cross your fingers for 4 litters this year, thats about all I can handle.

Car Accident

2011-02-25T13:11:00.000-08:00

I was in a car accident on Feb 18 while en route to a cat show in Colorado. I rolled my truck onto its side. It sustained about $3000 in damage plus the window and the towing. Sammy got out onto the road but was picked up by a passer by. One of my kittens was lost for nearly 5 hours. I actually had to leave the scene with the tow truck driver and come back and look for him. By some miracle we found him in some weeds by the side of the highway. I still went to the show with my friend in her truck, we did mediocre – it was a campaigner show and the kittens, while nice, are only 4 months old. I managed to get a new window for my truck while in Colorado and got the wheels fixed to a point where I could drive the truck home. But not after picking up a nasty flu bug. The drive home was absolutely terrifying and I broke down (mentally) 2 hours from home. Fortunately Steve was able to talk me home. This is my third accident driving to Colorado for a cat show - maybe Mother Nature is trying to tell me something? Fly maybe?

New Kittens

2010-08-27T09:44:00.001-07:00

The summer is in full swing and babies have arrived. Dramatails Casablanca had her second litter Tuesday. Initially she had 4 straights and a curly. Unfortunately the beautiful tortie and white runt died within 24 hours, but the rest are doing well, gaining 10grams a day. The one lone curly is a beautiful lavender and white boy, I hope so much that he turns out nice! Here are photos.

Farm update

2010-03-10T16:47:00.000-08:00

The sun has been showing itself much more often. So much so, that we've seen the ground for the first time in weeks. We took the horses out for a walk and it was divine. We didn't actually ride them - Peak and Info are not broke to ride yet, so we put stuff on their back and walked them a bit. The little stinkers are herd/barn sour so it was a challenge.

The emus have been laying eggs like crazy, we got about 20 in February. They appear to be taking a break, but judging on how much they are eating, we'll be seeing more eggs soon.

The goats are getting large with babies. I don't think they are all pregnant, but a good portion of them are. Hopefully they will have their babies on a sunny day so they won't die in the cold. Goats are notorious for being crappy mothers.

We had five chickens turn up on the property, roosting in the trees. Then there were four, now there is one. He wakes us up in the morning. I'll keep an eye on Craigs List and see if we can get some more adults. Not ready for chicks right now, still too cold. Rooster is in love with Romeo, the peacock though, its pretty funny.

Cats are doing well, but we have many to place - slowly but surely. PEACE!

Long Time No Blog

2010-02-27T14:47:00.000-08:00

I moved to Idaho in August 2009 to live with my boyfriend. My animal brood has now increased from a bunch of cats to: 2 emus, 7 llamas, 15+ pygmy goats, 4 horses, 3 ducks, 1 peacock, 4 chickens and a dog. I have only had one kitten born since August, I am in the midst of a welcome break. I had high hopes for the litters from 2009 but I've quickly been disappointed. From the Fire x Sammy breeding, I'm just keeping Willow and she may not work out even then. Her muzzle is too short. However she has a nice coat and personality and her structure is sound, she shouldn't have trouble giving birth. American Gangster and Dirty Harry from that litter are neutered. Gangster is going to live in Pennsylvania and Dirty Harry is looking for a home.

From the Pixie x Sammy litter, I'm keeping two girls; Eclipse and Charmed, polar opposites. Charmed is a longhaired straight hair and Eclipse is a short haired homozygote. Brother Mimic showed great promise but his legs are crooked, he goes to a pet home soon hopefully. Pixie is here and doing well and will be bred late in the season.

From the Crystal x Grissom litter I kept Silver Bullet, a long haired curly boy - very sweet. I placed the two sisters from that litter.

From the Blondie x Grissom litter I had just one, a very homely looking silver and white shorthair. He's been neutered and will be placed.

From the Mercy x Sammy litter I had some nice babies. I'm keeping a long haired curly tortie and white girl I call Dramatails American Beauty and a homozygous silver male I call Dramatails Little Man Tate. I have placed a red and white boy I call Lethal Weapon, with a great gal in Portland. She's currently showing him and we may breed him in the future. Both Beauty and Lethal Weapon have shown well in competition.

I had a surprise Rosie x Grissom litter in October. Considering Grissom shipped out of my house in August, that must have been a quickie. I'm keeping the one boy that lived from that litter. I call him Dramatails Velveteen Rabbit and he is a very long haired, straight haired, cream and white. A personality and type to die for.

This leaves me with 7 girls and 3 boys, plenty for me. I have recently placed Gato with one of my best friends who lives in Colorado. He will be much happier there. That leaves me with Seamus, Woden, Apollo, Andy, Charlie, Church and Lacey. I don't see much of Andy as he revels in his out door status on 27 acres.

Palm Springs June 25 to 28

2009-06-23T23:24:00.001-07:00

I'm packing for a trip to Palm Springs. I'm picking up an award for Sammy, he earned Best of Breed Selkirk Rex shorthair this year. Steve will be picking up 2nd Best of Breed and 3rd Best of Breed for two of his Turkish Vans.

I updated photos of my kittens this week. Check them out at http://www.dramatails.com/ Here are some of my favorites!

Chehalis Show June 13-14

2009-06-15T23:22:00.000-07:00

I'm still not employed but had an opportunity to show one of my cats in exchange for clerking at this TICA Chehalis show. I brought Seamus, my manx alter. He had a fantastic time and ended up 3rd best in show. A great way to celebrate his 4th birthday. I have to say that I was not too energized to go to this show, its getting a bit old. I'm sure once I have a job and some cash, showing will be more fun again.

Long time no post

2009-06-10T23:08:00.000-07:00

Still no job, but I've had a lot of time to play with the cats. I sent Blondie down to California to be bred to Bangles Terraincognito of KittiKat. The owners thought it was a good match and they are judges and have more Selkirk experience than I do, so who am I to argue! June 4 I flew into Idaho Falls to meet up with a friend to drive to the CFA Regional Award show in Reno. The Reno show was fairly political with lots of popular cats and judges cats being finalled - as opposed to the best cats which should have been finalled. I clerked for Carolyn Lyons - LOVE her...although I don't want my photo taken with her anymore because she is so tiny she makes me look like a whale. The awards banquet was ok, definitely not the best. It was fun to get dressed up.

Ok, now I see why so many people have complained that my blog is out of date. I'm going to back date some posts to let you all know what trouble I've been up to.

Issaquah, Wa - May 8-9

2009-05-10T23:49:00.000-07:00

It was weird going to this cat show as I did not have any cats entered. But it was a chance to see a number of my friends, make some money clerking and hang out with Steve all day. Steve drove up from Idaho Friday and arrived about 3pm. He showed 5 cats this time, which is not a lot for him would you believe! It was a fun show. Racing Rat No Reservations who we fondly call "my boy" became a Grand Champion. "Res" is a bit small in stature but huge in heart. He's incredibly affectionate and I dote on him shamelessly when my other cats aren't looking. Steve left Racing Rat Tar Baby with me to find him a home and get him neutered.

Crystal had her kittens

2009-04-26T18:36:00.000-07:00

I really did not ask for this litter, it was a volunteer. I thought that "oops" breedings happened to irresponsible breeders but now I see that it can happen to anyone. I don't know if Grissom flipped the lock on his cage or I just didn't latch it but...about 68 days ago, I caught him and Crystal on the dining room table doing the nasty...and here is what it got me!!

This last one is going to hang out here at Dramatails to see how he develops. But the other three, all girls, will be available in July.

Another Fire Kitten gone

2009-04-18T18:47:00.000-07:00

The beautiful long haired curly torbie died today. No idea why. I went to weigh them and she was just dead. Another Mother Nature cruelty. But I have 5 left and they look good and strong. Fire is an OK mother. She's not a good cleaner and does not keep herself too clean, but she's doing enough to keep the kittens happy.

Pixie had her kittens

2009-04-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Pixie, my cream and white girl from Kitti Ruttan and Bonnie Smith, gave birth to five healthy kittens today. She popped these kittens out in ONE HOUR! Cleanest birth I've ever seen. All babies are beautiful and stunning colors. Photos at www.dramatails.com.

One baby lost

2009-04-15T18:43:00.000-07:00

Kitten #7 died today. From what I could tell, he had aspirated and had a lot of fluid in his lungs. He was not gaining weight and would not nurse. Mother nature had other plans.

Fire's kittens born today

2009-04-14T18:41:00.000-07:00

Fire, first time mom, gave birth today to SEVEN kittens! She did such a good job and popped out the last one about 7pm. Labor started around noon. Kittens are beautiful. She took care of everything herself, but I wasn't there for many of the kittens so I'm hoping they all came out ok, without fluid in the lungs. With first time moms, you can't always be sure how dedicated they are going to be to the birthing process. Photos on www.dramatails.com

Longview, WA - April 11-12

2009-04-12T18:15:00.000-07:00

I went to the Longview show mostly to spend time with Steve. He was showing 4 kittens and 2 adults. I brought Seamus along to show for fun. We all had a great time. Seamus got along fine with all of Steve's crazy cats. Seamus took home 5 finals out of the 7 rings I'd put him in. He did not get a final in Hillary Helmrich's ring since he hissed at her. He would not stand up for Karen Lawrence. I didn't put him in Wain Harding's ring since he has never really liked him anyway and Seamus doesn't like Wain for some reason. We ended up the day with a "BEST CAT" from Betty Denny, that was sweet. Steve's cats did "ok". One champion picked up 11 grand points. His premier won her Grand Premier title in grand style. His kitten, Classic, picked up a few finals as well. I still think he should show fewer cats at once, but he loves it - he does his own thing, fine with me. He brought along 4 kittens he had that had caught nasty colds. Diane used to do all of the veterinary treatments around the house and he'd asked for my help with these babies. I've taken these kittens home and they are recovering nicely. I cried pretty hard when Steve had to leave, but we'll meet again in two weeks - he is such a great guy, I am truly blessed.

Tukwila & Monroe, WA - March 28-29

2009-03-29T16:13:00.000-07:00

Oh my, crazy weekend I'd planned. Friday in Tukwila, Saturday in Monroe, Sunday in Tukwila, all the while having a house guest. Friday was fun, but I only brought two cats, Blondie and Grissom. Grissom picked up one final and Blondie picked up three. Steve stopped by on his way to the house to say hi to everyone. It was really nice to see him. We both went to the Monroe show together, I brought Grissom and Blondie. Sammy was entered into both shows but his tail is infected again, that boy needs to be neutered (Sammy, not Steve!) Blondie picked up some nice finals and Grissom picked up some points. I decided to skip the show on Sunday. This is something I've NEVER done before. But spending time with Steve seemed so much more important. Who knew I'd ever say THAT about a man...who knew?

Steve and I dropped by the show on our way up to Idaho Falls to check out his place. It was nice to see everyone again and see the smiles on friends faces when they realized that Steve and I were together. We seem to have at least 50 friends in common.

Boise, ID - March 20-21

2009-03-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Ok, did I say that Eugene was a long way? Boise is insanely far from home. My friend Jovannah and I set off in a rental car Friday around 3pm. We saw every type of weather we could possibly have run into, then drove into Boise around midnight. I drove most of the way. Thankfully, the rental was very comfortable. The radio sucked, and the GPS unit took us odd places, but the companionship was fun and the trip, uneventful. During the show we experienced thunder and lightening outside, but it didn't do much to affect the goings on inside. I had brought Grissom and Blondie with me. Blondie picked up 5 of 7 finals and Grissom picked up 62 points. A very successful show for both of them. Donna Bass was there with another breeder (Donelle?). They were both very nice to me and helped me with grooming and showing, great comraderie.

Saturday night found Kay, Jovannah, Phyllis and I at Joe's Crab Shack on the water. POURING down rain. We had a great time though, drinking too much, eating too much, and watching Phyllis dance on the table and spell her name with her butt. It was her birthday after all!! After dinner I met up with a cat friend at the nightclub in the hotel. We talked for about 5 hours and decided to call it our first official "date." I will see him again this weekend. I would say more but I know that lots of my cat friends read this blog and you'll just have to wait and wonder. I like him, he likes me, its a good start.

Ride home had some scary parts. Like Jovannah saying very quietly.."I don't think we should be doing 80 through the snow." The trip was a gentle reminder that if you speed, you only win about 5 to 10 minutes per hour and it really isn't worth it. I'm glad I went to the show. A successful show, a little romance, great friendship - woot!

Eugene, OR - March 14-15

2009-03-16T16:04:00.000-07:00

Eugene is a long way, a long boring way. But add a good friend (Wendy Heidt) and the trip is a very pleasant one. My cats kicked butt!! I brought Sammy and Blondie to compete, Cassie for fun. Sammy and Blondie each picked up about 120 points each. There were many compliments from the judges and exhibitors. Lots of fun, no stress, love Eugene.

Las Vegas, NV March 7-8

2009-03-08T15:47:00.000-07:00

In hindsight I saw this show as an experience rather than a cat show. Jazzycats cat club is awesome and I really like the members, so I try to go to their shows. This time it was in Primm, NV. Primm is about 45 minutes south west of Las Vegas in the middle of nowhere. Blondie, Cassie and I flew into Las Vegas in the evening on a crowded flight. It was such a trip to see slot machines in the airport the second I got off the plane. "Ding Ding Ding" as soon as you leave the plane! I managed to avoid the slots, got my luggage, and made my way to the Avis counter via a shuttle bus. Avis gave me a red Prius. I gave no thought to how to operate the thing, I just wanted to get out of the airport. The Las Vegas airport has to be, by far, the most crowded airport I've ever travelled to.

The Prius proved to be a challenge. I had to call my Brother In Law to find out how to start the damn thing because I was too proud to ask the attendant! The car is not one I would purchase for myself. The spedometer is at the base of the windshield and the windshield is at a sharp angle. If I sat up straight, I could not see out the windshield. Add to that it has huge blind spots on either side. Granted it felt very smoothe at 95 miles an hour down the vacant Las Vegas highway - but still...don't like it.

I spent way too much money in the casinos, nearly died from cigarette smoke inhalation and Blondie only got one final - not worth the trip, will not go again.

Photo of Blondie/Sugar Rush

2009-03-05T13:10:00.001-08:00

Longview, WA - February 21

2009-02-21T13:05:00.000-08:00

It is in these types of shows where I am greatly humbled and I am ever learning, still. I took Seamus and Blondie to a 6 ring show in Longview. Seamus, of course, took home 5 finals from 6 judges and had a really good time. Blondie, just had a good time, and picked up one lonely final. In my opinion her muzzle is lacking. I personally like the fleshy muzzle of the British Shorthair and American Shorthair on my Selkirks. Other people may disagree and think they are too big, but I like them, and apparently the judges like them too. While Blondie has magnificent boning, size, structure, and color - she also has a pointy nose. Her curl too, inherited from her parents, is very fluffy, and not a ton of defined curl. If she's anything like her dad, her curl will come in next winter. So here we sit in 7th place officially. Unofficially we are in 4th place - but that is because of the 140 points we will never recover.

Maumee Ohio - TICA Feb 14-15

2009-02-16T11:27:00.000-08:00

Another WHOPPER of a show. 16 rings over two days. 16 rings going at once, 16 ring clerks, 16 stewards and 290 cats. It really makes CFA sound so wussy when they whine about back to back 12 ring shows. My babies flew with me on a red eye to Detroit via Minnesota, then we were driven to Toledo Ohio. We missed a few rings but the girls each hit at least 12 rings each. Then we flew back again. They were up and playing around this morning!!

Cassie picked up 14 finals out of 14 rings with a count of 25. Blondie did not fare as well, picking up 4 finals out of a possible 12. 1 out of 3...I'll take it!!! I believe now that Cassie is guaranteed to be the NW Regions Household Pet Kitten of the Year and will end up with an International win as well. Blondie is currently the 3rd highest scoring Selkirk Rex SH kitten in Selkirk history and we are going to shoot for #1. We need only 200 more points to get to that goal. She should stay as #1 Selkirk kitten in TICA and I believe at 5707 points we are also guaranteed a NW regional win. I did not plan to show so much in TICA, but we've done well and I'm very (tired) pleased.

Portland, OR - OCI TICA Show Feb 7 to 8

2009-02-09T11:22:00.000-08:00

Wow..this was a huge show. Nice for the club, nice for campaigners, not nice for us little folks. My outstanding Selkirk appeared on most judges top 20 lists, but did not make top 15 in any but one judges final. We made one final out of 8 this weekend - I was pretty pissed. Blondie is a fantastic example of her breed - I think some CFA judges are just chicken to put them up in their finals because they don't know the standard as well as they should.

Sammy did not attend because his tail hair hasn't totally grown back from his infection yet and with competition at 100 adults, he would need to be in tip top shape to compete. So he stayed home and bred Fire!

On the plus side - I clerked for Walter Hutlzer and had a ball as usual. That guy is a kick to clerk for! My friend Phyllis had her Manx kitten there and he did well by picking up 5 finals. I need to pick it up and get to some more CFA shows if we're going to be #1 Selkirk Rex kitten.

San Diego CFA show Jan 24-25

2009-01-26T11:57:00.001-08:00

Word from new mom Jan Mellinger is that Dramatails Wall-E of Spellbinding wowed the judges in San Diego. He picked up 3 finals out of a whopping count of 110 kittens - I wish I would have been there to see him. I'm so proud of both Wall-e and Jan for this accomplishment. Since my scoring snafu, this puts Wall-e over big sister Blondie in the standings. Its all Dramatails so I could not be happier.

Portland TICA Show Jan 24-25

2009-01-26T11:54:00.001-08:00

Tough competition at this show with 70 cats and 63 kittens. That is a lot for a TICA show in the North West. Both Sammy and Blondie were in great shape for this show and performed well for the judges. Blondie picked up 5 all breed finals and one specialty final. Sammy picked up three all breed finals and one specialty. Sammy still did not get that elusive Best Cat but we're still going to try. I have not yet seen the show report so I haven't been able to see how they did overall compared to the rest of the cats.

Wanted: Large Bird for crazy woman

2009-01-25T22:41:00.000-08:00

Oh no you din't...oh yes I did. Rescued another Macaw. Call me crazy? Yes.
Meet Carmen. Carmen is a female Scarlet Macaw, about 8-10 years old. I am her 5th home. She was picked up from a group of people who, unfortunately represent a growing population of those less fortunate. They wrote to Mollywood for help re-homing this bird. Conversations were something like this: "What is your work schedule so that..." -they don't work. "When can you drive the bird over..." -we don't drive. "Can you please fill out this..." -we can't read. Add to that, they have no teeth, so I guess they don't eat either, or have health care. It doesn't stop them from producing a baby however - as proven by the 10 month old kid they had. That child had very nice teeth, but a nasty case of pink eye. Carmen was on a pure seed diet. She had one toy, a plastic dog ball, and two perches, both made of concrete. For a breed that loves to chew, that really sucks.

Her first two days with me, she did not touch a single toy, as if she did not know how to play anymore. Where her previous owners had handled her with a broom stick, she was eay to hand handle and, as it turns out, is a total cuddler. I have introduced her to the world of pasta, grains, fruits, vegetables and nuts. She has not seen a seed since she came here and is happily munching on pellets. Where she used to just eat crackers as a "treat" she has decided she absolutely loves pasta and grapes are a definite favorite. I was gone overnight this last weekend and when I came home, I found she had eaten all the wooden beads from her toys and had started pulling off the plastic ones - progress!! She has not splintered any wood yet, hopefully that will come next. You know a macaw is happy when they have something they can destroy. Her only down side so far is that she is a horizontal pooper. To her, this is a way to keep her cage clean. She hangs on the door, and poops outside the cage onto the floor. This is amuzing the first time, and it totally sucks after that. Hello vinyl flooring, trip to Home Depot is on the list.

Seattle TICA show Jan 17-18

2009-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for this? Dramatails Sugar Rush (Aka Legally Blonde) came in BEST KITTEN IN SHOW!! This is the first time in my life that I've had a kitten come in best in show. I may never see this again in my career as a professional breeder so I am relishing this moment. Blondie picked up two BEST kitten awards, three 2nd best and three 3rd best kitten awards. Unfortunately she did not get much love from the northwest judges which was very disappointing. But she got love from the Mid Pacific judges and I thank them for it so much. Aline Noel gave her best allbreed kitten - that was just phoenomenal. Sammy only picked up two finals, but he's got a tail injury which makes his tail look funny - or else it was just a different set of judges. Cassie went best kitten in 9 of 11 rings. She did not get best in show because I did not put her in one ring. It was not a big deal though because with just 3 kittens competing, I could only use 5 best allbreed kitten ribbons anyway.

Next show is in Portland next weekend. I'm bringing Sammy and Blondie. Cross your paws!

Lucy

Jazzycats show in Lodi : Jan 9-11

2009-01-13T16:41:00.000-08:00

The Jazzycats show in California is always a fun one. It is also very exhausting. Three days and 17 judges, flying, hotels, clerking, tired kittens. I took Cassie and Blondie. Cassie because I knew there would be a good household pet kitten count. Cassie was the superstar. Out of 16 kittens, she was one of only 3 kittens to make all 17 finals. She also came in best in show. This makes Cassie best household pet kitten in the NW, very cool. I don't know if I want to show her enough to get her an international win, we'll see. Blondie did well too picking up 6 finals and 1197 points. She ended up #13 kitten out of 64, not bad. I like looking at it this way...she was better than 50 other kittens :-) This makes her #1 Selkirk Rex SH kitten in the world!! I'm so proud:-) I had professional photos taken of both girls, I should get them soon. Next show is this weekend. I'm showing Sammy, Cassie and Blondie. Should be fun. Only 3 HHPK, but fun anyway.

Chehalis, WA Show Jan 3 - great show

2009-01-05T14:37:00.000-08:00

Blondie (aka Legally Blonde, aka Sugar Rush) continues to wow the judges. This has been overwhelming for me since 2008 pretty much SUCKED from a breeders perspective. She is my first home grown success and I'm just so pleased with her. She picked up 4 of 6 finals this weekend at a CFA show in Chehalis WA. Two of the judges awarded her 2nd best allbreed! That means she was better than 51 other kittens, wow...just...wow. She loves showing, and even did well being shown by someone other than me. I met Jan Mellinger of Spellbinding on New Years day. She is going to take Dramatails WALL-E in exchange for 2 girls of hers. Hopefully we'll see some good variety here at Dramatails in 2009.
1/20/09 note - I did not notice that Blondie's registration number was missing from the catalog so we will not get credit for these points. So disappointing.

Sammy did not attend the show. I found a painful sore on his tail, likely due to a "stud tail" infection. I've never seen it before. I've put some ointment on it and it is much better. I will continue to show him and hope that his fluffy tail will cover up his little bald spot. I received a lot of advice this weekend so lets hope that the hair starts to grow back soon. Next show is this weekend in Lodi, CA with Cassie and Blondie.

I'm not good at this snow stuff

2008-12-21T19:03:00.000-08:00

So my neighbors said they had been spending time sweeping the snow off their outdoor plants. I thought to myself "should I be doing that too?" I know nothing about plants you see - that gene went from my mother to my sisters and bypassed me. I grow cats. Nevertheless I picked up a rake and went outside just now and started whacking my plants. I whacked a really big one, and the entire contents of the tree next to it, fell on my head. In effect, I threw a really big snowball at myself and made a direct hit! Snow down my shirt, in my hair, covering my glasses - thank goodness it was dark!! I immediately stopped my plant whacking, I suck at this snow stuff!!

Ok, the snow is not so cute anymore

2008-12-21T17:08:00.000-08:00

I never for a minute thought I'd ever be snowed in - in SEATTLE. Yes, I'm officially snowed in. My neighbor went skiing this afternoon and he barely made it back here in his 4x4 and it is still snowing. yesterday my neighbor and I managed to get my truck out of the driveway, took an hour and a lot of kitty litter. But this allowed me to get out and get some essentials. My cell phone was on the fritz so I got a new one, and I bought kitty litter, diet coke, and toilet paper. Seriously, what else does one need when they are stuck in the snow? But I have not been able to leave since yesterday. Even walking on my lawn, the snow is higher than the top of my waffle stompers. Here are some snow photos.

Dinner anyone?

My dad built this in the 70's, look at the snow!!

The cats are fascinated by the snow

No bird seed today

Let it snow let it snow let it snow

2008-12-18T16:40:00.001-08:00

It is snowing - won't stop snowing. I wish it was just enough snow to keep me from work but not enough to keep me from the movies. No such luck. Here are some photos. Meeee in the snow.

Yes, I feel like I'm in Siberia. You can't see it well, but this is a photo of my trucks efforts to get out of the driveway.

The neighbors keep coming over and begging for food

Show Results

2008-12-18T16:38:00.001-08:00

Sammy went 2nd best cat in show!! I am so thrilled I can't stand it! Blondie went 4th best kitten in show - fantastic for her first outing :-) Gato went third best alter in show - not bad for an old fart. And of course Cassie went best household pet kitten. I just wish there had been more than three kittens there. I am really looking forward to the rest of the season!

Puyallup Wa Show Dec 13-14

2008-12-15T12:33:00.001-08:00

Wow, is what I have to say about this weekends show. This may very well be the most successful show of my cats careers. We had so much fun and the success was overwhelming. This was Blondie's first kitten show in TICA, Sammy's first TICA show since July, and Gato's first show of the year. It was also Cassie's first outing as a household pet kitten. They all came out in the top end of their respective classes. Gato picked up four BEST ALTER awards and went best of breed in 11 of 12 rings. Not bad for a 13.5 year old grandpa. He picked up 8 finals out of 12, that was so heartwarming. Sammy, who is looking like quite the brute right now, picked up 9 finals!! Not bad in a field of 52 really nice adult cats. He did not get the one final he needed to become a supreme grand champion, but he picked up some really nice points. Blondie loved showing and showed herself off well. So well in fact, that she picked up a BEST KITTEN in her first All Breed ring!!! That was one of two best kitten awards she picked up this weekend. She ended up with a total of 7 finals out of 12 - not bad for a 4 month old kitten in her first show. Cassie was shown in the household pet kitten class and picked up 10 Best Kitten awards. I'm very proud of her - but I wish we had more competition. There were only 3 kittens competing.

Needless to say we are very much looking forward to the rest of the season! This is Blondie.

This is her daddy Sammy.

Portland Cat show Dec 6-7

2008-12-08T13:07:00.001-08:00

The Lewis and Clark cat show in Portland this weekend was the largest I had attended in the Northwest. It was nice for the club and the region to have over 300 cats attending this show. It did make it a campaigner show, which is not so good for cats just starting out, but it is a nice opportunity to see some spectacular cats. Seamus was in top form physically, but his reluctance to stand on the tables affected him this weekend. When you are competing against 75 other cats, you need to make a good presence, and sleeping on the table doesn't cut it. He picked up 4 finals out of a possible 8, all from NW judges who knew him. He ended up 14th out of 75, very respectable. I pulled Grissom from the show on Saturday. I found that his whiskers had been poking him in the eye and his eye was all red. Sunday he looked much better. He did not make any points, but enjoyed the attention. His coat needs to grow in some more to make him a contender. Sammy had a great time. Had his coat been perfectly white where it should be white, he would have done better. But I had just pulled him from the cattery and he was still yellow in places. As a result he only made one final. But proved to me that after a 5 month layoff, he still enjoys showing. The kittens (Legally Blonde and WALL-E) did very well for their first show. They were not scared in the judging cages. WALL-E took a while to warm up to the judges but they were very gentle with him. At the end of Sunday he was playing with them. He picked up a best of breed from Diana Rothermel - there were 4 Selkirk Rex kittens total. Blondie loved every minute of being on the judging table, she has lots of potential. She made one best of breed. Most of the other BOB went to Curly Bears Sassafrass, a 7 month old female. She is really spectacular and is now #1 Selkirk Rex kitten in the world - yay!! I felt bad for her owners, Sassafrass started her first cycle at the show and was very grumpy. But Sassy is a nice BIG girl - she made one final.

Showing 5 cats was exhausting but it was fun to spend time with friends. I spent way too much money on the vendors. But hopefully the cats will appreciate my spending. I bought three hanging beds to go in the cages, two tents for travelling, and some cage and hammock covers. We are now white and zebra stripes - crazy.

How to ignore your life

2008-11-27T10:43:00.001-08:00

I am a professional avoider of life. I am so good at it, I should start a business. I have so much to do, and the list keeps getting longer. Its a double edged sword though. I have a long list of things to do because I'm avoiding life, and I have a long list of things to do because I'm avoiding facing the list and the list keeps growing longer. When I have a ton of stuff to do, I go to a movie. That's two hours I don't have to think about anything and I'm thoroughly entertained. Going to the movies also has the added bonus of two of my comforts, diet coke and popcorn. I'm not a movie buff, I just love avoiding life. I'm also figuring out that I need to lock up my home computer. Whenever my computer is not here, its in the car or at work, I get tons done. It is my home avoidance system. Like right now, I'm starving, but don't know what to eat for breakfast, so here I am on my computer, and watching tv. Yes, this blog today is my free therapist. I'm due at Bonne's house around 1pm, I hope that will go well. What I need to do is... scoop litterboxes, bleach litterboxes, vaccum and wash floors, wash walls, bleach the house, clean the bathrooms, pull a bunch of poop for fecals, finish the laundry, buy more totes to contain the cat beds, box up stuff to go to Phyllis' for storage. Notice anything? None of this really benefits ME. I need to make breakfast, do my hair, take a walk - and get off the computer. Bye!

Blondie - The Superstar

2008-11-14T14:11:00.000-08:00

This is my show girl. She is a sweet and loving LARGE girl. At 3 months of age she is already nearly 5 pounds. I was almost thinking I should get weight OFF of her! Her coat is dense and curly. Her paint job is gorgeous and who knows what color she is. I'm thinking in CFA she is going to be called a dilute torbie with white or a dilute calico. In TICA she will either be a black silver patched tabby or a black silver tortoishell with white. I think she has some stripes in her tail so she will likely end up being a patched tabby. She's beautiful and sweet all the same. She should eventually make some nice babies with Grissom.

Cassie - all growed up

2008-11-14T14:08:00.000-08:00

Look at this beautiful girl! She will be 4 months old in Dec. Because she is a straight coated selkirk rex, I cannot show her in purebred competition. But what a shame!! Her paint job is by far the most magnificent I've ever seen on any cat. She is also independent, but sweet, a classic tortie girl. I've decided to show her as a Household Pet Kitten in TICA. That should be fun and she should do well. She travels very well too so hopefully I can send her on some road trips with friends.

Kramer is growing up

2008-11-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

Sept 2 we had a birth at Dramatails from Katomymme Evening. Her first kitten was born in the afternoon. A beautiful curly mac tabby. Her labor continued with no progress. Another $1800 later, and one dead baby, we got Kramer. Within 24 hours the first baby died, leaving Kramer as an only kitten. Unfortunately, Evie was just too confused and in too much pain to be a good mother. So my good friend Phyllis took in Kramer and one of her manx queens has raised him. He is 10 weeks old now and a beautiful black smoke shorthair. His registered name is Dramatails Nightmare on Elm Street. He was going to be called "Krueger" but it came out to be Kramer and Phyllis says he answers to it. So Kramer it is.

Flowers for me!

2008-10-13T13:06:00.000-07:00

I won 6 arrangements from Elizabeth Morgan flowers. You can see my first arrangement on her blog! http://morganandmoss.blogspot.com/2008/10/fall-order-and-biz-card.html I highly recommend her for special occasions!

New Babies

2008-09-27T12:51:00.000-07:00

Crystal had her babies. We finally had a birth at Dramatails that did not involve so much Drama and expense. The birth went well. I didn't get any kittens I really wanted, but they are all firsts for me and a good experience. All longhairs, one straight hair and TWO homozygous. Ugly and interesting at the same time!

Dramatails Iron Man - Selkirk Rex Long Hair.
Straight hair. Silver Mac Tabby

Dramatails Ghost Rider - Selkirk Rex Long Hair.
Homozygous. Silver Mac TabbyDramatails

Igor - Selkirk Rex Long Hair. Homozygous. Cameo

Good Bye Maddie

2008-09-25T12:33:00.000-07:00

It is with a heavy heart that I share with you that I had Maddie put to sleep about a week ago. I haven't been able to write about it until now, it was just too painful to think about it. Medicating her made her so scared and it was scary for me. I was bitten and scratched so many times I lost count. I could not pill her, giving her antirobe liquid would make her vomit. The injectible form of antirobe was very painful. The toxoplasmosis had caused nerve damage to one side of her face and it made her eye twinge. The only way I could handle her would be to cage her and when she was caged, she would barely eat. If I tried to force feed her, she would struggle so hard she would make herself sick. I re-arranged my home so I could shut up all of my younger cats so Maddie could have a couple of final days free in the house - one more time. I found a great video I'd taken of her with some super-powered catnip –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mofPoQR4usU

I played this over and over again when I came home from that final trip to the vet. My vet was very supportive and sat and talked with me for a long time about my decision. I had such high hopes for this precious girl. It seems like from the day she was born, the cards were stacked against her having a normal life. I'd like to think that she was able to experience a little bit of happiness while in my care. At times, she certainly did seem happy. The house feels different without her here, but I find comfort in knowing she is in a better world, where ALL cats are loved and treated like the kings and queens they are. She has crossed the rainbow bridge and is enjoying the company of Macallister, Dante and other foster cats I've known and lost - and hopefully she has made furry friends of those you have lost as well. Thank you all for your support - I know there are people around the country sharing in my tears.

New Job!

2008-09-22T12:35:00.000-07:00

Yay! After 3 months of interviews and back and forth communication, my recruiter Joel and I were successful in snagging me a full time position with Verdiem Corp! I will be their new Program Manager. This is going to be a first for this company and they are hoping I'll be able to come in and help them organize their main products Edison and Surveyor. This is an awesome green company and is hot at a time when green is hot. I will get to bus to work, will work in the middle of down town, two blocks from Pike Place market! I'm very excited.

How to pill a barracuda

2008-09-15T12:18:00.000-07:00

Of course I must medicate Maddie with the worst tasting medicine on the planet next to metronidazole. Antirobe (Clindamycin) is so nasty - of course capsules are preferred. I've tried to pill Maddie and I swear it was like trying to pill a snapping turtle, a barracuda, or a pirhana. We are going to investigate options.

A definitive diagnosis

2008-09-13T14:34:00.000-07:00

Maddie's final bloodwork came in and she has toxoplasmosis. When you look at the description of toxoplasmosis, her case is textbook:

The most common symptoms of toxoplasmosis include fever, loss of appetite, and lethargy. Other symptoms may occur depending on whether the infection is acute or chronic, and where the parasite is found in the body. In the lungs, T. gondii infection can lead to pneumonia, which will cause respiratory distress of gradually increasing severity. Toxoplasmosis can also affect the eyes and central nervous system, producing inflammation of the retina or anterior ocular chamber, abnormal pupil size and responsiveness to light, blindness, incoordination, heightened sensitivity to touch, personality changes, circling, head pressing, twitching of the ears, difficulty in chewing and swallowing food, seizures, and loss of control over urination and defecation.

We are switching medication to baytril and Clindamycin today and for the next three weeks. We have a VERY good prognosis here!

Maddie - encouraging news

2008-09-12T16:58:00.001-07:00

Some of the bloodwork has come back on Maddie as well as a professional evaluation of her xrays. The bloodwork is NOT pointing to FIP! It is showing a decrease in liver functions from not eating as well as suggestions of a slight infection. The most surprising information came from the evaluation of her xrays. According to the report, Maggie has pneumonia. This would account for the on and off vomiting of the last month, the high temperature, and the difficulty in breathing. She shows no outward signs of a URI of any kind, eyes bright, nose clear. But we cannot find any record of her ever being vaccinated either. The vet suspects that Maddie may have sustained some nasty damage to her lungs while in the cattery from hell and the stress of that, plus the rescue, being in animal control for a month, then moving again... She's likely been hiding pneumonia for quite some time. We will continue the baytril and fluids and add amoxicillin. I've let her out of her confinement now that we have no lab signs pointing to FIP. She's much happier out of the bathroom and actually ate for the first time on her own since Monday. Catching her to give her medications is going to be the most difficult part. Right now she's sitting quietly on the floor in the middle of the family room watching my every move. I hope I can catch her tonight without stressing her out too much. We'll see. I'll feel better if she feels better in a week. To all our friends...I think the prayers worked - stay tuned.

Maddie's Vet Visit

2008-09-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

Maddie's temp was down to 103.5 this morning when we went to the vet. But unfortunately, that just gets her closer to the average range for FIP. The vet did not feel any fluid in her abdomen, that was a good sign. They put Maddie under with gas anesthesia and drew blood and took xrays. Initial review of xrays showed a lack of contrast of the organs suggesting some type of peritonitis. Maddie is back home with me. Ive given her some raw food today to see if she will eat. The kind folks at catsafratsrx were kind enough to offer to send medications and royal canin rescue food for maddie. We received some catnip balls the other day. The well wishes are very comforting to me as Maddie and I go through this together. I really appreciate the emails we get from all over the country. I have no idea how this will all turn out - either way, it has been so wonderful watching her this past month discover new things and actually enjoy life.

She bit me! Good times...

2008-09-09T23:06:00.000-07:00

Well, little Miss Maddie hates to be scruffed, hates it with a passion. So just now when I gave her fluids, I had to pinch off the skin where I took the needle out. She wasn't having it and sunk her teeth into my finger. Good times - as my good friends would say - she has a little spunk left in her. I gave her some buprenex in case she was in any pain. Shoot, now I need some. I work at Microsoft and not being able to use my right index finger will make it hard to type and click! Dang..hurts like a mmmmmudda. Maddie 1 - Mommy 0

She purred for me - oh the irony

2008-09-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Anyone who has ever dealt with FIP knows that it is often called "the purring disease" because the stress and pain of a fever causes the cat to purr - thus making the cat feel more comfortable. Tonite I came home, not sure what to expect. Maddie was very easy to handle, which concerned me. She had peed next to the litterbox. Her little tongue was sticking out but she often does that. She went behind the toilet and I gently put my hand around her belly and picked her up. Yes..I picked her up. In any other circumstance I would be thrilled, but at this moment, I wished she would fight me. I've dealt with a lot of ferals in my time and they get more and more tame as they get sicker and sicker. Both a blessing and a sadness. I easily took Maddies temp and it quickly went up to 105. I crushed up some baytril for her and gave it to her with some babyfood, she really liked that. She just kept looking at me as if she were giving up and asking me for help. As she sat facing away from me in her bed, I started running my fingers back and forth on either side of her spine, and she began to purr. Her entire body relaxed and she just sat there, purring. In an instant I almost wished she would stop, turn around, and run off. Wouldn't it be wonderful if she was purring because she knew that I was helping her? A tiny part of me thinks that, but the practical side tells me that she is feeling the effects of whatever ailment is taking over her body and she's trying to calm herself. I'm going to go and give her another 100cc of fluids. I'll mix some vitamins in with it. I'll also put together a row of dishes with various foods in it. Anyone who has ever had a really sick cat knows this drill too - find every can and bag of food in the house and line them all up, hoping that one of them will be sampled. Our appointment to see the vet is Thursday. I have received prayers from all over the country - keep praying and Thank You from the bottom of our hearts.

A little improvement

2008-09-09T09:55:00.000-07:00

Maddie's temp is down to 104 so I'm encouraged that the antibiotics helped. She did not absorb the fluids well which is a concern. Since she improved, I do not think she has a heart problem. She urinated so that eliminates the possibility of a blockage due to UTI. She definitely feels better. But we all know that FIP can come and go with the fever. The vet has suggested I stay the course and bring her in on Thursday. That way we can look for patterns in her reaction to antibiotics. She is going to be a huge challenge to treat. I could only give her fluids last night because she was so sick. Seems to work well if I put her in a single sturdi cage which I can easily manipulate and access her with. I'm expecting at least one bite through all this! She has not eaten.

I do think it is FIP

2008-09-09T00:05:00.001-07:00

In writing the previous post it really got me thinking about the possibility of FIP. It can definitely come on quickly like this. I just went in and knelt down next to her, she was curled up on the bed I'd put in there. Needless to say I was crying. I spoke to her softly as she hissed at me. She allowed me to put my hands around her belly. It is large, hard and distended and when I put a little pressure on it, she grunted in pain. Oh my Lord...No - this cannot be happening. More tomorrow after we go to the vet. All I can keep saying to myself is NO, this is NOT fair! She just started her little fragile life over and she's been so happy. No...no...no! I hope I'm wrong.

Maddie is very sick

2008-09-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

Just a half hour ago as I was sitting here working, I saw Maddie slink across the floor. Something just wasn't right about that slink. So I walked after her and watched her slink away again. Hm, still, something wasn't right. She looked as if she was disoriented, didn't want to move her neck, actually, didn't want to move at all. So I reached down to touch her. She was fine enough to move away quickly. I followed again and scruffed her – kapow! - fine enough to kick her way out of my grasp. But after only this minute of effort, she was mouth breathing heavily, not good. I chased her around for 20 minutes last week and she was only slightly winded. I went and got a towel and got her into the bathroom. She was burning up with fever. I took her temp...106.9. Of course it is 11:30 at night. She isn't sneezing, doesn't have the look of a cat with URI, but perhaps she has a virus? She is a regular vomiter, but I always figured that was nerves as she has gained weight nicely. Without a clue on her background it could be just about anything. I have given her 100cc of lactated ringers and some baytril. At this point I have absolutely no idea what tomorrow will bring. If this was one of my other cats, they would be sleeping with me all night. Maddie is in a cool room with tile, food and water. I did not give her a litterbox, just a towel. I want to see what her urine/poop look like. I called my contact at MEOW and they have agreed to initially front any vet bills. I said I thought perhaps that BAP or CFA might be able to help with reimbursement of any vet bills. She could also have FIP for all we know, thus the difficulty in breathing? She will definitely go to my favorite vet to try for xrays and bloodwork. Poor girl...please keep her in your prayers. Here is a recent photo of her from last week showing how happy she was hanging out with Charlie, my other semi feral.
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Maddie Movie!

2008-09-03T00:31:00.001-07:00

Aug 19 Maddie Update

2008-08-19T22:58:00.000-07:00

A week ago I decided to let Maddie out into the house. It occurred to me that she was continually being cornered by me in any type of cage and that must be terrifying. For the first 4 days she hid, I didn't know where, but I trusted that she was eating at night.

Do you ever have one of those days when you float around the house, doing this and that, and you have this feeling like someone, or something, is watching you? Now granted I have a lot of cats in my house - but lately, it's been different. For the past few days I've realized that there was a little girl watching me. I have started noticing her more and more. It's been Maddie. She is no longer hiding all the time, she's actually out and about - her curiosity getting the better of her. For example; right now I'm sitting at my desk in the living room, the Olympics are on, the cats are lulling around. Behind me there is a cat tree, with a little persian sitting on it. When I turn around she stares at me as if I had no right to stare back. Later I turned back to my computer and when I looked again, she was gone. Now, out of the corner of my eye, I see her sitting on the sofa, then she jumped down and walked (not RAN!) across the floor. As I spied her creep back to the cat tree, I turned around and picked up a four foot cat toy on a pole. The other cats of course came bounding out to play. I shook it in her direction, first fear, then curiosity, then - was it? It was! A paw stretched out to catch a feather. We continued on with this for a few minutes. This is the first time I've ever seen her play and it was with ME!

She really must be relaxing. This is even after I cornered her this afternoon to give her an exam. She had been vomiting and I was concerned she might be down on weight. Nope, she's of good weight and her hair is growing back. While I had her cornered in a cage, I held out a piece of chicken - and she took it out of my fingers and ate it!! Chills ran down my spine, this was progress!

Wow...she is sitting on the floor now, just four feet away from me. Whoops...gone again! To see this girl embracing her freedom is something to behold. Every experience she has is a first. I've seen her sitting by the back screen window, soaking up the smells of the fresh air of the back yard. It has just started to rain, if she sits by the window again tonite, it will be the first time she's seen and smelled rain, can you imagine?

Gymnatics is on...gotta go!!

Dramatails WALL-E

2008-08-19T22:57:00.002-07:00

Dramatails Casablanca

2008-08-19T22:57:00.001-07:00

Dramatails Legally Blonde

2008-08-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

Dazz and her lumps

2008-08-11T14:02:00.000-07:00

I left Dazz at home this weekend while I was at the show. I had flushed out her infected tissues a number of times before I left and arranged to have a friend look in on her. My friend called with updates, rather worried, but things were ok, just, well...kind of gross. The infection had to go somewhere. The infection has gone but left some weak and broken skin. There are now holes where the skin and mammary tissue died. I actually have a degree in Animal Science from UC Davis where I was pre-vet, so this stuff is wildly facinating to me. Here are the before and after shots of her day 5 and day 8.

The vet and I have come up with the theory that this particular milk duct must have started backing up pre-partum. When the kittens were born, I encouraged them to nurse on this nipple because I thought it was just very full. During birth, Dazz was not sick and was in good spirits. Likely the duct was blocked and eventually began to become impacted. Bacteria, possibly from the c-section, entered the blocked area and created a septic environment. That led to the fever, lethargy, lack of appetite, and stiffness. The kittens too, were not thriving. Even with strong antibiotics, some of the mammary tissue died. This caused the bruising you see and the infection to surface. I definitely learned from this experience. In hindsight, as soon as I saw these mammaries filling up and becoming larger than the others, I should have made sure that they were freely expressing milk. Dazz is a very large queen who is prone to being overweight. She also has always had a pounch where these glands are, therefore, having sagging mammaries there, did not look unusual. We have the option of surgery, or just keeping it very clean. I have opted to continue to cage Dazz and keep the area clean. Tonight I will glove up and do some serious flushing and try my best to pull out the dead mamary tissue. She is still on baytril. Now that the infection is gone, she is a VERY happy girl. A very good friend of mine is bottle feeding the kittens and they have literally tripled in size since coming off mom and going on the bottle. They should be fine. Dazz should heal in a couple of weeks, and will go on to a new home. For this entire year...I'd like a "do over" please!!!!!!!!!

Exhibitor support for Maddy

2008-08-11T13:41:00.000-07:00

I attended a show this weekend in Portland with my alter - I was truly not prepared for the number of people who came up to me to wish me well with Maddy. The support was overwhelming and the stories that were shared really hit home. I met people who knew Judy - these were not friends of hers. The feedback I've received regarding the owner of the 22 Persian cats was grim. Granted, so far as I know this is a "he said, she said" issue without concrete proof, but it is not pretty. I won't go into details about the character of the owner of this cat in regards to her conduct in CFA - it is opinion and I prefer not to pass judgement on hearsay of others. HOWEVER - I think people need to be reminded that how they treat others will be reflected on how they treat you. "Do unto others as you would have them, do unto you." When this woman told authorities that "she could not get anyone to help her"; I wonder how many times she had gone out of her way to help others. What do they call it...kharma?

I guess this could explain why Maddie acts like she does. She's giving back to humans, the same as she's received. I don't think her previous owner should be put in jail. I think she should be made to live in her garage with a toilet that doesn't work, no running water, no soap...you get the idea. Oh..and no visitors, no love, no kind words, no gentle hands. Sorry, a little bitter today.

Maddie is still very scared. She makes a mess of her cage every day. She's lost her dignity. She does not work very hard to clean herself. I suppose when she was caged, there was no point in keeping herself clean. That must be torture for a cat. She is eating well, but not a lot. I'm wondering if the food I'm feeding her is too high quality. Sometimes when cats have been raised on cheap crap food, its hard for them to convert to the good stuff. She loves treats, that's cute to see. I've had to isolate her from Grissom because he was getting tired of her torti-tude. I don't like caging her, I wish she could be free. I can't set her loose in the house as I still want to run a lab fecal on her and besides, she would most certainly find some hiding places in my house that I'd never known existed. I really don't like keeping her caged though. I don't think it is good for her not to have anywhere to escape to. Sometimes when I come and open the door to this newer cage, she starts jumping up against the back corner of the cage under the shelf. There is no where to go so all she does is whack her head on the ceiling with her jumps. So along with being scared to death...she's rather an idiot. She is a persian, after all...

My New Kitten!

2008-08-09T12:45:00.000-07:00

Meet Woolibaar Edyta Sliwoolska - newly of Dramatails! I was at a show this weekend and had seen this girl before. I am not a tortie fan AT ALL, but I got to meet this girl and she is so sweet. She also has behind her Pamacs Alacurlzam and Castlekatz Harry Potter, two outstanding sires. I made a deal with Donna Bass her breeder, that I would grand this cat for her and help her to gain the title of "Distinguished Merit" on her dam. This will be just the second DM for the Selkirk Rex breed in CFA! I'm going to call this cat "Fire" as her call name. In TICA I will register her as "Woolibaar Firestarter of Dramatails." She has some very sweet cats behind her and with her own great personality, she should make some very sweet tempered babies.

Devil Persian

2008-08-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

Maddy likes the hammock! Usually only little kittens like the hammock, but Maddie loves it. I must say, she lives up to the look she's giving in this photo. She is the classic tortie, rather bipolar. I can go into the cage (it is a walk in) and pet her, but I have to be careful. I can't scruff her because, as my arm scratches attest, she's a mad rabbit kicker and ignores the scruff. You know the type! So I have to wrap her in a towel or a pillow case to handle her. I had her in a pillow case the other evening. She wiggled up near my ear. In some other story I might write: "I could feel her soft sweet breath in my ear..." But this time, I was thinking..."Holy shit I hope she does not take my ear off!"

Even Grissom is getting tired of her temper. He gave her a warning growl tonite, she'd better listen, he outweighs her 3 to 1. She had just drawn blood from me, I wasn't going to defend her. I swear she was playing with the feather toy earlier this evening - could have been she was eating the feathers, imagining it was me - but one can hope.

Bedazzled is doing well. Her fever finally broke today. I had her at the vets every morning for the last 3 days getting her IV fluid therapy. At one point her temp was 104.7 for two days. She's now down to 101 and she ate for the first time today since Sunday. I gave her some mirtazapine to help stimulate her appetite. She's in with Lacey and together they are sleeping with and pottying the kittens. Neither has milk (unfortunately) - so I will be up again in 4 hours. Labor of love...labor of love...

Selkirk Stress

2008-08-04T19:47:00.001-07:00

NiteWind Bedazzled went into labor last Friday, she had been due that previous Wednesday. She had two live babies, then one dead one and then labor came to a screeching halt. Rather, the delivery of kittens did. $1800 later and an emergency c-section, we have 3 live babies out of the original 5. This is my catteries second c-section in one year and I tell you, I'm seriously thinking that this might not be the hobby for me. My first litter produced two live kittens out of 3, with a $1300 c-section. The next litter came when I had run to work, and my maiden queen did nothing to take care of her babies and they all died before I even had the chance to get home. The next litter of one (Lacey's litter), produced one kitten with physical challenges that died shortly after birth. Now Bedazzled. Bedazzled spent today at the veterinarian's office on IV fluids and antibiotics for a nasty case of mastitis. Lucky for me Lacey is a very good wet nurse and at the very least has kept the kittens clean. It is clear, after seeing how clean the kittens are today, that Bedazzled has not felt right since she gave birth to these babies. The babies had been fed up until now, but not very clean. Between Lacey and I, we will raise these babies together - with what little milk she can produce and supplemental bottle feeding.

I've only had whole cats since last year. And nobody told me then about the number of c-sections and the high mortality rate that this breed, as well as others, have experienced. At first I was shocked, then when I thought about it from a scientific standpoint, it made sense. The mongrel, mutt cats of this world - reproduce by natural selection, survival of the fittest. We don't breed the fittest reproducing cats, we breed the ones who conform or will lead to the correct type for our breeds. As a result, reproductive fitness has been reduced to a case of chance. I'm happy to be working with cross breeds, but right now I would give anything to be able to outcross with domestic cats. I bet the LaPerms are doing well.

Bedazzled's temp is 104 right now and has been all day. She's on baytril and clavamox, plus buprenex and fluids. Her days of being a mom are over. I just want to get her through this so she can start the rest of her life as a wonderful pet.

A Soft Bed to Lie on

2008-08-04T18:11:00.001-07:00

First it appears I need to change Angels name. A wise person has said that perhaps it is not a good idea to name a cat like this "angel", she might become one. Which was not the entire reason I decided to change her name, but partly. I really like the name Madeline, or "Maddy" for short. It really suits her and she was the youngest one rescued. She is Maddy.

As I've watched Maddy move about her cage, I really have to wonder if she has ever actually slept in a soft bed before. She continually ended up in the litterbox, which, if you think about it, must smell like home. Even when I took the top off the litterbox, she would sit in it. As I went about my daily routine of scooping litterboxes, I thought to myself, "is this really so hard?" Most people I know have at least 20 cats in their programs if you include the pets, kittens and alters. They seem to in most cases single handedly scoop daily, sometimes twice a day! I have a feral boy called Charlie who I get to pet once or twice a month. When I do, I will gently cut off the little matts of furr that gather on his hind end. I just can't imagine someone who loves cats, letting these little balls of fur, grow to the size of a baseball.

I finally went down to Costco yesterday and brought home a variety of boxes. If you've been to Costco you know they have great kitty boxes that used to be baked bean boxes or the like. I set up a box in the cat run and put in some bedding. Grissom quickly claimed it. Since Grissom had hogged the cool box, I put a bed next to it, hoping it would look like a good hiding place to Maddy.

We had another petting session in the bathroom before I went to bed last night. This time I brought out some babyfood and a plastic spoon. The spoon was brutalized but in the end, she ate the entire jar. Glad I did not use my fingers on this first try. She still needs to be picked up with a towel if I want to avoid being rabbit kicked and she is very wiggly and flashes her teeth from time to time. I put her in a pillow case and turned her on her back to rub her tummy. I think she enjoyed it, but I'm sure would never admit it. Apparently torties must have their secrets.

Jump to this morning and guess who was sitting on a soft bed - yup! Grissom was still hogging the cool box, but little Maddy was lying on the soft bed next to the box. It gave me a warm feeling just thinking about how it must have felt to her. Before I left for work, she had moved up onto the shelf and was watching the world go by - baby steps!

Still calm waters

2008-08-03T15:28:00.000-07:00

This morning (ok, I slept in until 1pm)...ahem...This afternoon I wasn't sure what to expect from (enter new name here). I don't know if we can go on without a name for this little spitfire of a girl. I thought of "Madeline" from my favorite book series as a young girl. "The smallest one, was Madeline." There have been some great suggestions emailed to me; Beauty, Angel, Autumn Leaves. As I sat here thinking of a name, the blue angels kept flying over. That name has stuck in my mind as well, Angel. I googled "angel beauty" and ended up on Amazon.com. There is an album of inspirational songs referred to as "Healing Harp Music." The songs include: Shining Ones, Angel Beauty, Soaring Wings, Angels Of Mercy, Angel Light, and Lord, Come And Heal The World. I'm not a terribly religous person but you have to admit, these songs sound very inspirational and positive. I've decided to call her Angel. If she bites me, she might have another name temporarily, but Angel will be her real name.

Angel likes to hide, no surprise there. But hiding in the litterbox while sharing a pen with a whole male is not my idea of an ideal hiding spot. I've pulled the top off the litterbox and given her a kitty cave. But first I picked her up with a cat bed and placed her on the bench in the walk in cage. She is letting me pet her and has yet to strike out or hiss at me. Her eyes are completely dialated though, she's very scared. I'm being very careful to move slowly around her, lets face it, I'm a big girl, and my presence must be mighty scary.

We did have a little breakthrough though. I left the cage and came back with some freeze dried chicken. As I reached out to place it in front of Angel, I half expected this to be the time I got a warning shot. But NO! She sniffed the chicken and stayed still while I placed it in front of her. Another baby step.

She needs a name

2008-08-02T20:39:00.000-07:00

How do you tell a cat that she matters? How do you persuade a cat that she's worth being loved? Can you imagine the confused and messed up mind a child would have, locked up for the first couple years of its life, completely ignored, wait...not ignored, treated like vermin? I don't know what this little girl thinks I'm going to do, and that must be it, she has no idea, so she thinks the worst. Every interaction she has had with humans, has been painful. This little girl was forgotten early. Apparently she showed her shyness early in her life, and was put into one of the tiny wire cages in the cattery. The plan had been to euthanize her, but the "deed" kept getting put off. Did I mention that her previous owners answer to how things got this bad was "I could not get anyone to help me!!" Somehow I don't think that is going to mean anything in court.

So into this little wire cage, was thrown food from time to time, and water. Her feet are yellow and blistered from urine scald and stain. After her time in cat hell, this little girl was then pulled out and taken to the shelter. There was no way for her to understand that she was safe. She struck out at every hand that approached her. She was put under anesthesia, spayed, and her matts were shaved off of her back and tail. She was also tested for PKD and put back in a carrier. She's negative for PKD, not the case for at least half of the other cats who were rescued. Back to the shelter she went, and into a stainless steel cage. This must have seemed like a little bit of paradise to her in comparison to what she had been in before. But this was, for this little feral, a slightly different kind of hell, just not as bad as the first. The shelter is full of people, something she was not used to seeing. There were dogs barking, and strange cats meowing. And her friends and family, were gone.

My friends tell me that I am crazy when it comes to ferals. I take chances that most people would not. When we have what we call "hissy spittys" at the shelter, I get very excited and will reach in and pick one up. Granted, I have had 3 trips to the emergency room in the past 8 years, but I think that's pretty good considering! So of course, while driving home with this little girl, down I5, at 65 miles an hour, where was my hand? In the carrier of course. This little cat has never actually been petted before, and I was eager to show her how nice it was. Now, I'm not completely stupid, I put a little towel around my hand and gently covered her head with it before I started petting her. I won't say she enjoyed it, but I still have my hand, so it could not be all that bad.

After we came home we went and sat in the bathroom together. I opened the door a crack to let Seamus, Gato, and any other purr monster come in who were curious. The goal was to have this cats first real look at me, be with ambient purring and very positive cat:person interaction. She was petrified, but it was not bad. Like the crazy person I am, I picked her up from the corner of the room where she sat and placed her in my lap - 1,2,3...10 yes, all fingers still there. Her body language made it clear she wanted to run, but I held her in my lap for just a moment, then let her go. We repeated this a few times, then I put her in with Grissom, my selkirk male. He said hello to her, noticed she was spayed, and then ignored her - PERFECT!

We had another petting session in the bathroom an hour or so ago. Same deal. Seamus gave her a bath and then sat on her, purring all the while. I was able to pick her up, being careful not to look at her. She clearly did not want to be in my lap, but she didn't try to kill me. She clearly needs a name, but it hasn't come to me yet. Baby steps.

She is so beautiful, I really hope this works.

CFA Email: There are no words

2008-08-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hello AllI just got home from Animal Control in Olympia where I was able to see 13 ofthe 22 persians rescued earlier this year in the Northwest. First of all,this city shelter is an example of what I wish all of the city shelterscould be. They are so lucky to have this state of the art facility. When Iwalked in, the place did not smell of litterboxes and dog poop, it was likewalking into an office. There were tons of people there looking to adoptpets and a wealth of volunteers and staff waiting on them, I was soimpressed. The main reason I had gone there was to meet one of the Persianswho was too feral to handle.

I first met the three ferals from the original22. Two had started to come around and the shelter staff was working onthem. Their eyes were bright and their hair was growing back in. Theirtummies were nice and round from being well fed, and their cages were clean.The feral girl I went to see, a tiny calico they called "Feralina", tried tocharge at me through the bars, she was petrified of humans, with no place tohide.

I next went to see the 10 persians who were up for adoption. They hadtheir own room and each had their own cage. They had special litter fortheir sore paws, soft beds to lie in, and fresh food and water. The sheltervolunteers work with these cats daily, helping their atrophied limbs learnto walk again. All had excellent medical care and were learning to lovebeing loved by humans. I think I spent most of the visit crying. Theyshowed me some of the case photos. Truly, there are no words to describethe conditions as shown up close in these photos. After seeing thesephotos, I no longer have an ounce of sympathy for the previous owner. Thepain and suffering these cats experienced is something I cannot imagine andsomething I hope never to see again in my life. In most of the photos, whatI saw was a yellow mound of fecal matter. I thought I was looking at a moundof hair that had been shaved off of a cat, until I saw one eye in the photoand realized, it was a cat. On this particular cat, the nails had grown tonearly an inch and a half, the toes had begun to slough off, the tail wasfull of infection, his testicles were swollen to three times their normalsize. Next to that photo was a professional photo taken of this black andwhite bicolor, in his competitive prime. Then another photo of the shadowof that cat as he is now. He will get a new home today, and the love he sorichly deserves.

I brought Feralina home with me. She definitely needs a new name. Sheappears to be about 10 months old, and scared to death. I put her in a largecat run with one of my sweet males as she was housed with a male before. Heis gentle and loving with me and with other cats. This is more room in therethan she's ever had in her life. And it is right next to a window, I doubtshe's ever seen what the outdoors looks like either, much less felt thewarmth of sunshine on her face. I'm hoping that she'll see how I interactwith my boy Grissom and she'll learn that people are OK. I think I'll starta blog for her, with photos of her progress. She may never "turn" as we hopeferals do, but it will be a long time before we give up on her. My fondestwish is to at least get her to a point where I can handle her enough to combher. She cannot go to a feral colony or be an untouchable indoor feral, asshe would have to be caught, put under, and shaved once a year - that is toomuch for a feral to handle.

The shelter was very appreciative of the support from CFA - they received agood chunk of funds to help pay the medical bills of these cats. To allthose who donated, THANK YOU.

Trip to Denver

2004-08-10T10:58:00.000-07:00

Flew out to Denver with Julie on Friday. We managed to get on the same flight which was cool. She was on her way to a cat show in Denver and I was on my way to see Linda and Warren so travelling together worked out great. She's travelling with one of her girls called Sister Moon. Since Linda was going to have company Friday and had a class on Saturday, I decided to stay in Denver and see some of the show. Friday night I met up with Julie and her new boyfriend Mark. He's a really nice guy. He's a cat show judge and they met on the TICA circuit. We had dinner and drinks.

Saturday I showed up at the show around 10:30. Sister Moon had already finalled in one ring! It took me hours to understand the way the points and ribbons were scored but I think I understand it now. Very complicated. I must say, I thought I'd hate cat shows but I was hooked! It was a really cool environment and it was fun to follow the cats I liked. The judges were all different too and very entertaining. Mark especially, knows how to please a crowd. There were a ton of vendors too (dangerous, they take visa) So I bought some toys and cat earrings. Sister moon got 2 ribbons, I was off to Longmont.

Took my trusty rental just an hour to find Linda's home. I was determined to find it without directions. Warren got me to the highway, I found the house on my own! Not bad since I'd not visited for 2 years. Linda looks great. And HUGE! She's 30 weeks along and everything has gone perfectly so far. She's having girls. Saturday night we went out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse. Fabulous food! Warren and I stayed up until midnight talking each others ears off.

Sunday we woke up to a fabulous breakfast prepared by Warren. Love a guy who cooks. Sunday afternoon found Linda and I at the movies. We saw a cute movie called "A Cinderella Story" with Hillary Duff. Thank goodness it was a matinee, you shouldn't pay full price to see Hillary Duff. She's a horrible actress. I am dumbfounded as to how this chick has become so popular. Sunday evening we stripped and painted some drawers for the baby room. Sunday eve we had Chili and watched a movie. Note to self - next visit, limit movie watching to theaters - Linda and Warren talk too much during DVDs!!!

Monday morning I was up bright and early to get off to the airport. Got there in plenty of time, met up with Julie, Mark and Sister Moon. Julie and I got seats next to each other, WHAT ARE THE ODDS?? Had a great chat the entire time. Greta picked us up. Got home around 3pm.

Kittens are still sick - UGH.

TEETHING!

2004-08-03T11:11:00.000-07:00

They are teething. I spent a large part of the night massaging their gums with fingers wet with baby food. Poor babies loved it. I'm so relieved. I feel like there is an end in sight. Willy is feeling better this morning. Now Nathan is feeling sick. They have definitely lost weight. If they do not get better by Thursday I may need to cancel my trip to Denver. (Going to see Linda and Warren)

No answers

2004-08-02T23:06:00.000-07:00

Took Nathan and William to the vet today. CBC was normal. Willy has a temp of 103.5. He's miserable. Just sat there like he was in pain. He has no desire to play. He keeps vomiting. I'm at my wits end. I've emailed the breeder to let her know what is happening. If these kittens die, I will never forgive myself. I can't imagine they have distemper. They have had two vaccines. ARGH.

(later) Terry has written back. She's sick about this but doesn't blame me thank goodness. She's going to help me by doing some research herself. She's suggested some herbal remedies. Latest email from her is suggesting teething?

Cuteness and hersheys

2004-08-01T10:59:00.000-07:00

Nathan and Willy settled in well their first couple of days. Lots and lots of hissing and swatting has settled down into wary looks. I'm mortified, however, to find that the kittens are getting sick. They are vomiting daily, are lethargic and have the hershey squirts. (Those of you who have been in rescue know what those are) Could this be distemper? I shudder to think. We're definitely off to the vet tomorrow.

Got a great email from the folks who adopted Ashes. They LOVE her! I miss her sweetness. Petey, Sassy and Missy Boom Boom are doing well. I wish they'd grow faster though. Ok, no creativity today. the end.

My new babies

2004-07-29T14:30:00.000-07:00

Welcome Willy and Nathan. I brought my two new kittens home yesterday evening. They are so beautiful and SO BIG! They came from a breeder in Bothell. I think I completely paid too much for them, but they are wonderful. They are both 15 weeks old with a classic coat. Apparently this is not desireable in the Pixie Bob world, but who cares. Nathan has a short Pixiebob tail, tufts on his ears, and is polydactyl. Willy has a long tail, tufts and regular feet. William is such a lover boy. He followed me around like a dog and slept with me all night. Nathan is definitely the more active little stinker of the two. He went around most of the night hissing at everyone. It was funny, if he heard another cat hiss, he would turn around and hiss at what was usually nobody in his vicinity. Hopefully a day alone will help them get used to the house. I'll post photos soon on my website.

I'm reducing the number of fosters down to 4, sending Ashes to the shelter, and three of the Lewis County bunch back to their foster dad. That will reduce my numbers from 14 to 10, much easier to handle. Hopefully the little ones will grow quickly so I can send them to the shelter for adoption.

I've finally started watching what I eat closely and it's working well. Now if I could just simplify my life a little more so I can get to the gym in the morning and still get 8 hours of sleep.

The dog from hell

2004-07-27T14:10:00.000-07:00

Thursday evening I picked up my friend’s beagle Baxter. Baxter is 30 pounds, about 2 years old, very cute. The pleasure of taking care of Baxter stops there. He is a whiny, spoiled dog with no manners, no training, and has separation anxiety. Friday when I left work he was in the dog run. Friday evening when I came home, he was in my living room. One screen down. Pissed on my bed and in the living room – bad dog. Saturday I had to travel all over, so I brought the dog with me. Saturday wasn’t bad. Sunday I had to work at MEOW. I ended up there from 12-8. Left the dog in the dog run at noon, he was waiting for me in the living room when I got home. (Baxter 3, Window screens 0) This time he pooped in my bedroom, ate all the dog treats, barfed on the floor. So now I finally wised up to the little bastard. Monday when I go to work, I shut all reachable windows (with no screens on them) and barricade the dog run so he can’t get out. Monday evening, he’s still in the dog run – halle-freakin-leuja. Tuesday his family came home and said they could come by in a few hours. NOPE, I said, I will drive him TO YOU. Good bye Baxter, hello Home Depot – “where can I find window screen material please?”

Lance is my hero

2004-07-22T17:27:00.000-07:00

It was pretty funny yesterday. I looked up Lance Armstrong on Google and found a hilarious article written by a gal that he went to school with - she hates him! Check it out, she has this really unflattering photo of him and she talks about what a sleazeball he was in school. Hmm... talk about having issues that you can't get over. Speaking of high school, I'm having my 20 year high school reunion in October. 20 YEARS!! Holy cockamamiecrappola. I looked at the list and there are tons of people I know attending. Thank goodness I won't have to tell everyone that I've been unemployed for the past 2 years... That I work at Microsoft will be a very cool thing to share. The last reunion I was working for Apple - ok...toot toot goes my horn.

So seems to me I have 12 weeks to lose 20 pounds. I can do that...sure...no problem... I'll just cut off an arm.