Dec 5-12: Edgefield shelter meeting

Warm weather to start, cold front moves in midweek with a blast ... Skit and Skat come inside to meet the Damcat ... council meeting on proposed county impound-kill facility, vote postponed ... back hurting very badly this week ... pet therapy day for Banshee, rehab for Snoopy, Reindeer Romp (I only take Banshee as my back is acting up) ... the week ends with my dog van breaking down, and I'm catching a cold ....


"Ever occur to you why some of us can be this much concerned with animals suffering? Because government is not. Why not? Animals don't vote." ~Paul Harvey

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."  Edmund Burke

Monday December 5

Warm weather continues ... can this be December? Fine with me. Morning run, Corey's hot spot looks better, but it should be healed by now ... feed and kennel, feed kittens and clean their room, off to work, return well after dark. Take yogurt and chewies out to dogs, check Corey's hot spot, clean his ears (which are doing fine... )

Tuesday Dec 6

Still very warm, Morning run-walk, feed kittens, clean box, then off to food banks ... return lunch time, load up all dogs, go to nursing home for pet therapy with Banshee, then to Hopeland gardens to walk others ... traffic too bad to go over to PetSmart, so return home, brief run, feed and kennel, then on to council meeting about funding new county shelter. At least vote postponed. Back starts hurting in the night.

Wednesday Dec 7

Cloudy and cool, bad weather coming today ... morning run, my back is really bothering me, feed and kennel, go to work ... bad weather comes mid day, very high winds ... leave work, go to church for ordination service, then home, I am in severe pain by now...

Thursday Dec 8

Clear and much colder! Manage to do morning run-walk and go to work and return home. Let kittens in house to meet the Damcat, goes surprisingly well, he is playing with them, grooming them etc.

Friday Dec 9

Cold and heavy frost. Back still very painful. Morning run-walk, feed and kennel. Take Snoopy with me into town, take her to rehab, go and try to work, go to meeting, try to work, give up. Take Snoopy home. Other dogs in trailer with husband. Lay down, then get up feed and kennel, go back in town to chiro, husband drives, pick up building supplies, buy back brace, return home, let kittens in house after supper.

Saturday Dec 10

Back seems some better. Morning run, starts hurting again. Little Mattie joins us. Feed and kennel, then take Banshee into town for SPCA event, very cold, windy, stick it out for a few hours then return home. Kennel Banshee with others, then lay down for an hour, up again some better, clean kitten room, then let dogs out, take for run, riding the mower makes back hurt. Take dogs to grooming shed, groom everyone (except Snoopy who cant get on table and I really cant bend over) then am taking them out to go back to trailer when husband shrieks ... 'put the dogs up' ....  he had let the kittens out , Banshee and Skit in a 'standoff' ... whistle, dogs all return, rekennel, wait for husband to put kittens up, then let dogs out and proceed to trailer. By this time my back is painful again, so lay on couch (or try to, Corey keeps nudging me awake, and yes, I know they havent had enough running today ... ) Fix food, decide against atempting evening run, feed and kennel. Then let kittens in house .... wow they are really destructive, Damcat tries to keep them in line. Skat even got in the refrigerator and perched in the bottom door, didnt see her, closed refrigerator. After a few minutes noticed only 1 kitten milling around my feet, opened refrigerator and there was Skat, trying to open the butter tub. Been a long time since I've had kittens. Put them back on the porch for the night, am NOT trying to sleep with them rampaging thru the house.

Sunday December 11

Cold and windy morning ... put on back brace, morning run-walk ... riding the mower really aggravates my back. Feed and kennel. Feed kittens. Go to church, return. Kittens are inside. Back hurting, lay down, kittens all over me, fighting with each other in the bed, this isnt working. Put kittens on porch, go get dogs, take the 3 for run. Then back to trailer. Feel like I'm catchinhg a cold now (guess its the wind). Husband also not well. Highpoint of afternoon was dogs are asleep, I'm on computer, the Damcat has gone under sink and comes out, slamming the cabinet door which the dogs think is an 'intruder' knockong on door, leap up, race around knocking things over while I try to catch Snoopy's leash, to let them out to check on the non existent intruder. Husband and I then decide to take dogs for van ride, I get them all loaded up, we take off, make it a block ... and with a terrible noise, a belt breaks ... smoke pouring under the hood ... husband walks back home, gets truck and tows it home... the dogs were wonderful watchdogs, the people who stopped to help (while I was sitting waiting for husband to return) were greeted with ferocious barking and growling. After get back, its near dark, let dogs out get food feed and kennel ...then let kittens in house while clean their room ... Damcat plays with the kittens , grooms them, chases them and tries to get them to chase him. But ... he also grabs them (not hard but grabs them) by the neck behind the ears (they just stiffen), and, they were on their side and he was mouthing at their tummies. The Damcat is NOT 'puffing up' and not making that weird moaning noise upset cats make. but the kittens 'squeak' when he grabs them behind the ears. The kittens using his litterbox hasnt distressed him, they eat together in relative harmony (occasionally he swats them). I'm pretty good at identifying dog 'body language', but its been a long time since I've had kittens to interact with a grown cat, and, really havent observed any cat fights for years (the Damcat and my last cat, Callie, who passed 4 years ago, never fought ... How do I tell if cat behavior is getting 'dangerous' and needs intervention?