by Jackie Dale

My month of taking it easy has been anything but relaxing. Although I did not have any TNR projects, there was no shortage of cat-related jobs. A friend called and said that she and her husband had found a lone kitten in the street, sitting next to its dead mother’s body. The kitten was crying piteously and there was no way she could just leave it there. She brought me the kitten, and although she seemed healthy, her eye was infected. So for the next several days I cleaned the eye and applied antibiotic eye medication. However, the eye did not get better. I took the kitten to the vet where it was discovered that she had a foxtail lodged behind the eyeball. The vet removed the foxtail, but the infection caused the kitten to lose sight in the eye.

The same day a lady brought me two newborn kittens she found in her driveway. She said she waited for hours for the mom to return but she never did. The kittens still had the umbilical cords attached, and the cords were dry so the kittens were about two-days old. I bottle-fed till one passed after a few days. I really thought the remaining kitten would survive but after about ten days he too passed. This scenario is really why I like dealing with adult cats. Far less death to deal with.

Speaking of adults, the rescue called asking for available adult cats. I was grateful to send out Merv. Merv was a pain. I had agreed to take a friendly cat from a friend, and in return she took a feral who needed a place to go. Merv was okay the first couple of days. Then he decided to hide underneath a dresser in the room. He apparently came out when I wasn’t in the room to eat and use the bathroom. This went on for three months. Then he would emerge and circle the room like he was stalking me. It was really freaking me out. Turns out he hated the broom and would lunge and strike at it. Then he would retreat back to the dresser. One day, for no discernable reason, he decided to come out for good and be my friend. I loved on him for another month, and shipped him off to the rescue. The orange cat that I was boarding was slated to go to the rescue but the owner actually returned to claim her cat. This left a last minute opening and I decided to take a chance with Merv. He did me proud with his good behavior. I also sent the tuxedo cat, named Tennessee, who had been left in a box at my bank, but he had an abscess on his neck that wasn’t quite healed, so the rescue rejected him. They said he could come back on the next transport. I also sent a couple of cats that came from two elderly ladies who both had health issues that forced them to find alternative homes for their cats.

The ringworm kittens are doing fantastic and show no signs of ringworm anymore. I need to get them fixed as well as nine other kittens. I can’t use trapper vouchers for my cats so I have to pay full price ($85-girls, $55-boys). Still a good price. That $1500 donation for the ringworm kittens will help pay for some of those spay and neuters.

I got a call on a Sunday morning from the Mexican restaurant where I had TNRed four cats, all female. There was a kitten there with a bad eye. When I arrived, the man had let the kitten go. When I asked why he had done that, he just kept saying “someone told him to.” However, I spotted not one, not two, but four kittens underneath a nearby trailer used for storage. I crawled around on the hot, rough ground using a broom to usher the approximately four-week-old kittens close enough for me to grab. One kitten was in a far corner, and the owner had a worker move a bunch of stuff so I could access the area. I reached in blindly through a spider web covered hole in the corner of the trailer and was able to grab the kitten. I told the owner I hoped to “at least get some free tacos out of this!” I went home with the kittens and tacos for me and my husband.

I had loaned my drop trap to a lady who was attempting to trap an injured cat. She called me to say that she had trapped a different cat but that the cat was in serious shape. It sounded like a burst abscess. I called Kyle Kirkland and he said I could bring the cat in the next day. The cat smelled HORRIBLE! They also thought it was probably a burst abscess that had become infected. There was a tremendous amount of necrotic tissue and … maggots. Lots of maggots. The vet spent a lot of time cleaning up the cat. It looked like there might have been hope for the poor kitty. But when I went to pick up the cat, it had passed away. I guess it was all just too much shock and infection.

That day was full of surprises. My friend had just dropped off the injured cat when she called me minutes later to say she had seen a kitten fall from the engine of the truck in front of her. She pulled over; most cars just kept going. Another kind lady pulled over and helped my friend corral the frightened kitten. My friend is fostering it.

Someone gave my name to a lady at a nearby high school. There was a lone kitten faltering in the heat. No one wanted to be bothered to give it some food or water, much less take it home. The kind woman brought me the kitten but it didn’t make it. Kitten rescue is NOT for the faint of heart. The same scenario repeated itself the very next day. A lady brought me a kitten she’d found. It was not doing well. I took the kitten to the vet where the vet said the kitten was hypoglycemic. As the doctor was preparing a shot, the kitten bit down HARD on my finger and refused to let go. My cries for help brought a tech rushing in to pry the kitten’s mouth open. Despite my best efforts, this kitten did not make it either.

My mood was lightened when the rescue called asking for fixed kittens. Since the rescue usually takes only five months and up from me, I was thrilled. I sent seven kittens, including the lovely Pearl. I also sent a tortoise-shell kitten a friend had rescued, and a cat from a tech at my vet’s office. The tech’s neighbors had moved and left their cats behind. One fellow was desperately trying to ingratiate himself to anyone who walked by. It was like “Hey, you there … Need a cat?” The tech asked if I could help, and I said, “Yes.” He was about eight to nine months, but so friendly the rescue said they would take him.

I accepted an adorable tuxedo kitten that had been dumped at a local Walmart. It is mind-boggling that people can be so heartless, so callous, as to leave a small kitten to somehow survive on its own. These are the same sort of low-life scum that would abandon a beautiful, friendly Siamese cat at a sports park. I’m not sure if she was pregnant when dumped or she subsequently got pregnant, but her pregnancy will be terminated and she will be sent to rescue.

DONATIONS ARE ALWAYS GREATLY APPRECIATED!! All these cats eat TONS of food. Donations also help maintain a fund to pay for people who don’t have the money to pay. If you would like to make a donation, 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. Thank You!!

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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.