by Jackie Dale

As I finished my last column, I was patiently waiting for the vet to return from vacation. She had already contacted me and set up appointments for the day after she got home on the 3rd. Meanwhile, someone dumped two friendly cats in my yard. Both males, one was fixed and one was not. The unfixed fellow is super fluffy and full of matted fur. The vet tech had to give him a “Brazilian” just to find the man parts. So in addition to paying for their medical expenses and food, I will need to have this cat professionally groomed. And true to form, the cat dumpers never throw any money in my yard.

I took in a friendly cat that had been dumped at an apartment complex and had been wandering door to door, crying for help. Some of the residents are not very nice to strays, and friendly strays are in the most danger. So she came to stay here in my giant catio.

On Facebook that same day, someone posted the photo of a cat that had been hit by a car. The incident occurred right in front of an elementary school, and the driver did not stop. The cat, severely injured, dragged itself over to a small ditch on the corner. The poster was unable to help the cat, and it was only 15 minutes from me. So of course, I went to check on the cat. It was freezing cold and intermittently raining. I found the cat still in the ditch. It attempted to run when I tried to grab it, however, it was clear the back legs were not functioning. I retrieved a towel and leather gloves from my car and quickly captured the poor kitty. My vet was closed, so I took the female kitty to a Fresno vet. It was determined she had two broken legs, and a crushed pelvis and bladder. The decision was made to end the cat’s suffering.

Back In Business
The first Saturday in February found me at the vet’s office with 14 cats. A lot of folks had been waiting for the vet’s return to get their cats fixed. Three more were fixed on Wednesday. I was then contacted by a local rescue friend who said someone had picked up a sick or injured cat on the street that needed immediate medical attention. She was not in town, so she was unable to help. I just happened to be taking two cats to my personal vet that day, and they were kind enough to let me bring in a third. The young cat was barely conscious, its respiration was very shallow, and the gums were white. Based on these criteria, we concluded that survival was iffy at best. The cat most likely had a serious disease such as leukemia or panleukopenia (feline distemper). We could have spent a whole lot of money trying to keep alive a cat that was likely going to die anyway. Another difficult decision. Animal rescue is definitely not for the faint of heart. You must make very hard decisions, and it never gets easier.

An abandoned restaurant in Reedley is being torn down to make way for another, no doubt desperately needed, Starbucks. I found a fence erected around the site and made a plan to trap what I thought was one cat. I ended up catching a very large, very angry male cat I had never seen before. The cat I was after was a light orange male. I had previously fixed two other cats at this site, a fluffy black female and a fluffy light orange male. I had not seen either in quite some time. So I take “Mr. Jumbo” to get fixed, and I continue trapping. As I’m waiting in the car, I see two cats cross the street from a nearby orchard. They head straight to the restaurant. They obviously spend their days in the orchard and come to the shopping center at night for food.

One is the cat I’m after, and the other is the previously fixed light orange cat. Neither cat would go into the trap, and eventually, I gave up. A new feeding station has been set up, and the cats are free to continue living as they have been.

The next Saturday found me back at the vet’s office with eight cats, seven in traps and one dropped off in a carrier. The carrier broke when I picked it up, and the cat ran off. It is still on the grounds, and we are still trying to trap it. Secure carriers can’t be overemphasized. Zip ties can be purchased at the dollar store.

Transports Again!

The month of February was a good month for me. The rescue needed cats and boy, did I have a lot of them. The four siblings that were wrecking the kitten room on a daily basis got to go, as well as the brother/sister duo who had been our bathroom buddies. “They think I’m a tree,” said my husband. I was also able to send a frisky ginger kitten and the abandoned adult from the apartment complex, now named “Ursula.”
Ten days later, seven more cats got the green light. My gorgeous Russian Blue, Derek, two adult strays, two ginger males gleaned from a lady who had too many cats, and two ginger girls. Seven cats headed for better lives.

There is already another transport scheduled for six more lucky cats!

The Drama

I have lately been plagued with people who, while well-meaning, have been a burr under my saddle. A woman who had to move and give up her four cats has been a constant source of annoyance. She apparently regretted giving up one of the male cats and launched a full-blown campaign to get him back. With the help of a lady who has fostered for me, she began to overwhelm the staff at the rescue with phone calls, emails and texts. The problem was, that both cats had already been adopted, together. I begged them to stop trying to get the cat back. I tried to get the woman to take back one of the ginger girls, but she only wanted the one cat. She even got her church involved. They raised money to attempt to buy the cat back. The rescue said they would not vacate the adoption. Once the two girls arrived and were posted for adoption, the original owner saw their photos on the website and started again contacting the rescue, complaining that the names were wrong. I told her that even if that were true, the rescue frequently renames cats and the new owners may certainly do so as well.

Their efforts finally backfired. The rescue said they understood that it was not my fault, but that they did not want to take any more cats from this foster. This is not the first time she has attempted to retrieve a cat that had gone to the rescue, and they have had enough of the drama.

Meanwhile, I had also returned to the lady with too many cats. I picked up four more cats that would eventually be headed to the rescue. One of the cats was hissing and growling, so I called and said that one was not going to work out. Bear in mind, the owner of the cats speaks no English, so all conversations were going through a 3rd party, mostly over the phone. I’m not sure if the she was angry that one had to come back or if she just regretted giving them up, but she absolutely insisted that I return all four cats. I did as asked. Perhaps she will reconsider in the future.

As I wind up this month, I helped some women at a local senior village get their cats fixed. I helped one of them, and then word started to get around about my service. One sweet lady had recently lost her husband of 70 (!) years. She told me that shortly after his passing, she opened her door one day to find two tiny kittens on her doorstep. She truly felt that her husband had sent her the kittens to help ease her through her grief and loneliness.

This is the week of the yearly veterinary conference in Las Vegas. That means a few days off for me. Well, sort of. I got a call from another apartment resident that two friendly strays were in danger. She had the brother/sister pair fixed a few months earlier, but now the manager said they had to go and was threatening to dump them somewhere. I picked them up, and they are residing in my bathroom until an upcoming transport.

DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS GREATLY APPRECIATED!! I can’t operate without them. For example, cats that come in stray or from the local shelter are fixed and vaccinated with those donations. Not to mention veterinary costs. PopEye’s surgery alone was over $400. If you would like to contribute, I have a PayPal account jackiejoy@hotmail[dot]com You can also support the post office and send donations/supplies via good old snail mail to Jackie Dale P O Box 1859, Reedley, CA 93654.

You can check out more animal rescue articles in KRL’s animal rescue section! Join our Pets Facebook group to help keep up with our pet articles.

Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 27 years, Frank, and their 2 children. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms in addition to her cat related duties.