Star Kitty

No, April is not that far away...... I can't wait. I will try and get a camera tomorrow. Today was not a good day. 5-6 of my cats are sick. Husband just got home from the hospital yesterday and my daughter has pnumonia. I am a nursemaid.......

My daughter lives about 25 miles from me. So this morning, I tended to the cats, and my husband. Then about 10am, I went and took care of my daughter.....feeding her, buying her groceries and juice and a vaporizer. Then I came home, bathed my husband and changed the sheets. I just finished with my day. It is 8:30ish at night now and I am finally taking care of myself with supper. It feels like a treat. The house is spotless.

Hope tomorrow is better but more than likely it will be more of the same. Vet office was closed today. If he is not in tomorrow, it will be Monday before I can get antibiotics for the cats.

I finally got a digital camera........

This is the link to where I am going to store my cat pictures. They are not all there yet as some run from the flash. I will get them all however. But I have a couple of Star, Toe, Kissy, Tink, Mama, Angie and Dovey.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcribb...zl7dEBtzbbYuYz

I'm still learning how to use the camera. It is hard to get a good shot of them. They keep moving around.

I will get pictures of Yellow, Turtle, Cleo aka Patty Cake, Cookie and Socks as soon as I can. They have not been real cooperative so far. I also just discovered I can take little cat videos as well. I will try and get a picture of Cow-kitty too. She has not been around the last few days except to eat the food I keep for her on the porch. I haven't seen JJ in a couple days either. But I still watch for them and feed them.

What beautiful kitties!

Thank you so much. I just added Kissy and my husband when he was giving her a BABA. She was found when she was just a tiny little thing with her ears and eyes still shut. She was bottle fed and her favorite word is still BABA. I honestly believe she thinks she is human. She tries to sit on our shoulders at all times. She drinks from the bathroom sink as she only likes running water.

Juan, my husband, loves to feed her a bottle even though she is grown now. It gives us much amusement and Kissy loves it.......hehe She is spoiled rotten to the core.

When I want her to come inside and she refuses, I yell "BABA" and in she comes... She is always hoping to get one. We still warm it in the microwave for her.

awwwww look at them all what a beautiful family

I am so sorry to hear that your husband and daughter are both sick. I hope they recover real soon

They are both better thank you........... Husband had a hernia repaired and daughter is also doing better...

It is a vast relief.

Hi yall ,

Well, we closed on our house today and I have 10 cats on antibiotics. Very busy day indeed. But a very good day as well.

I am going to work on our new place tomorrow. Have so much to do that I don't know where to start! The cats are going to love it!!!! It will be sometimes in April before we can actually move.

Needs major clean up, new well, new septic and fresh paint and sheet rock in two rooms. Love it love it love it!!!!

I am going to take before and after pictures of my cat haven when I get it built. I want them to have an outside shelter so if they are out and we go somewhere and weather gets rainy,cold or wet or anything my babies will have someplace to relax out of the weather. I am not sure how I want it built but it has to be safe from 'possible wild critters'. I know there are deer and turkey out there, but there are possibly boar as well. I found some rooted up areas around a tree and some hoof print that look like pig so my cats need a safe spot. There are tons of trees they can climb but I want something that leads inside the house as well. I might connect their shelter to the house but I'm just not sure. Husband will have good ideas on that. We have to get our house ready first and then we'll build them one.

Love hearing about your adventures with your tribe.
Your description of the couple who sleep with you and their peregrinations was amusing. I have 3 whites that sleep with me, enclosing me like a coffin as I first go to sleep. Whenever I want to roll over, I have to displace someone.

I admire your efforts to adopt JJ & Cow. I have at least 3 ferals dining outside and would like to seduce a huge, battle-scarred white. He seems to have been someone's pet once, as he is not as people-averse as the others. (The food outside has also lured a raccoon regular and a skunk!)

Good lucj and please keep up the bulletins!

I'll keep you updated. I love my cats. When we lived in town it was hard having that many. Now that we live out in the country, it's much easier. And they all moved very very easy.

JJ is also people friendly and will even run in our house if the door is open. He likes it here but he likes it outside more. Right now we can't afford to fix him so we don't let him in a lot because he sprays and then I have to spend three days getting his odor out with bleach. Stinky.........

Cow is a sweetheart and my husband says it is just pitiful how she is. She is not outside at the moment and probably roaming. We are going to take them both when we move and fix them. JJ will probably move easy as he knows all our cats and they like him. Him and Cow are friends as well. It is harder to catch Cow but when you do, she purrs and purrs and like to lay by you. She needs to be fixed also.

6 of my cats are fixed. 1, Socks, goes in the morning and then I am going to get two a week fixed so they will all be done. Those were the last ones we got.

And then JJ and Cow. We will probably get then done BEFORE we move. They can recover here in the house in a back room. I think JJ also belonged to someone once as he likes people but Cow never belonged to anyone. It's sad when an animal has to scrounge for food. That's why I keep it out for them.

So you have 10 babies? Am I reading the names right?

You are like me....... Kitty land.

My last name is Cribbs and I have considered putting a sign out front of our new place that says "Cribbs Cats" and possibly on the mailbox. hehe

Also posted more pictures of my kitty's at......
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jcribb...zl7dEBtzbbYuYz

I am not sure how many photos yahoo will let me post but so far they are all going in. I'll just keep adding to the bunch as I get more.

As far as our sleeping, they just want to be in a pile with me. Sometimes I sleep on the couch and sometimes in the bed. Dovey likes to sleep with my husband but the rest perfer me or close in my vacinity. I am so used to cats walking on my body at night and I auto reach out and pet the baby. It's funny how you can tell who it is when they don't meow. But Dovey, TinK and Angie have very distinct meows. Dovey's sounds like she is asking a question. Angie has a low meow and Tink is real high and she meow over and over until I tuck her in. She is very sweet and likes to snuggle around my neck. But these three are my talkers. But Tink will not sleep until I love on her and tuck her in and tell her to settle down. Then she will lay her little head down and rest with me. Dovey sleeps between my husbands legs under the cover. He would kill me for saying that but she does. Angie like on top of the cover. Yellow likes under the cover as well but in the feet section. Toe sleep over my head on the top of my pillow. The others are just scattered around. Angie also sleeps with Emma the lab at times. Sometimes Angie gets in the huge huge huge dog crate and sleeps there. The dogs also love their crate and they lay so they can peer in waiting for her to come out. She can wait them out for hrs.........hahaha Dog and Cats have funny relationships.

From: Cleo aka PattyCake, Kissy Kitty, Mama Kitty, Star Kitty, Socks, Dovey, Angie, Cookie, Tink, Turtle, Yellow, Toe-Man, JJ and Cow........ and my dogs--Molly, Muffin and Emma

Socks is at the vet getting fixed today......... Poor baby. Tuesday Turtle and Angie are going......

The next two weeks are surgery weeks.

Yellow is already feeling better after only two doses of his antibiotics. He has been playing today. And Turtle's eyes look so much better already. He actually is opening both of them. Thank god for antibiotics. And after giving Star two doses, she knows what I am doing. She runs from the antibiotics and doesn't want them. I tasted it and it tastes like a childs pink antibiotic. Not too bad.. Cats hate it however... hehe

Now off to the new place to get it ready for us.

You furfamily is wonderful! I am so happy to hear that everyone is starting to feel better....nothing worse then sick kitties!

Socks is home now from her surgery. I am keeping her in a spare bedroom for 48 hrs since she has stiches. She gets them out next week. She has slept since coming home except when my hubby gave her an oyster. He cut it up in little pieces for her. She actually woke up and ate it. I have her a litter box in there and some cat food and water as well and a nice soft pallet over the heater vent.

STAR UPDATE. This is a hard cat to give medication to. She sees me coming with her med and she runs. She knows. We had to shoo her in the bedroom finally and shut the door. She hid under the dresser determinded NOT to take it. I finally had to shush her to one side of the bed so she couldn't get away.She wouldn't jump over the bed because my husband was in the room and she only trusts me and not even me 100 percent. I sat down on the floor with her about two feet from her and talked to her to calm her down. I coud tell she went way beyond not wanting the medication. She was scared to death. AFter talking to her about 10 mintues, I reached out to her and stroked her and she lfinally et me pick her up. She was stiff as a board but did not try to scratch me but all her claws were out. It makes me feel so bad that I could just cry when she is like that. I don't want to break her spirit but I have to give her medication right now and it terrifies her. I tried to be as gentle with her as I could but I just had to do it. I cuddled her for a moment on my shoulder talking soft to her until she relaxed a bit. Then I wrapped a comforter around her before sneaking the med in her mouth. My hubby came from behind and shot her meds in her mouth when she wasn't expecting it. I kept holding her trying to comfort her and she let me. It is something new to her. No one has ever given her medication before. I carried her back in the LV and placed her by her bowl so she could eat a bite. She is now back in her box........ I have to do that twice a day for 6 more days.

The other cats are easy compared to her but they don't like it either.

I have a scratched breast and scratched arms from giving kitty meds to Star the last two days. Most of those were this morning and yesterday. Whew.... And she is not trying to hurt me. But her claws come out and she just goes stiff. It's that flight or fight instinct thing. She only wants to get away.

When I got her in a crate to take to the vet when she was fixed, they had to shut the door so she wouldn't escape. She got in a cabinet behind some stuff terrified of us all. She was extremely wild at that time. Very feral. They had to place a pillow on her to give her a shot to relax her to do surgery.

The next time I bought a cat in to get fixed, the vet looked at me and smiled. That was Kissy kitty then and who at times has a very bad cat attitude. She wanted to kill us all at the vet. When I picked her up later, the vet gave me her worm pill and told me he hadn't given it to her yet. I told him, "I can't do it"... So he went back to the back and gave her a worm pill...

Kissy is a sweet girl now but she was NOT sweet at first. When we brought her home, she had never known anything or anyone but my daughter and a BABA. She threw her body on the side of her crate trying to get at us or scare us. My husband looked at me and shook his head. She would not let us touch her for a few weeks. She had never seen another animal, dog or cat. Now she sleeps with my dauchaund and with us. She was not socialized I guess. My husband is her favorite person now. When my daughter comes over, Kissy still runs to her. She is a good kitty now but even so, she hisses me sometimes if I tell her NO about anything. She wants to be the boss kitty but Socks is actually the commander. Kissy is the Captain who want to be the commander. haha

Back to Star: I have always been so gentle with her and patient. But this med thing is so upsetting to me and to her. It makes me feel like I am scaring her which I don't want to do. I can only be as gentle as I can and still do what has to be done. But it just makes me feel guilty where she is concerned because I want her to love me. I hope this week doesn't set her back on a backward spiral. She is so sweet and wants to be loved but she still has so much fear.

Any suggestions on this?

Tuesday the 7th, Turtle and Angie are going to the vet and they are getting fixed as well.

STAR UPDATE:

Giving meds to Star was rough again this morning. My husband sat at the computer with the medicine bottle and the eye dropper filled while I 'attempted to pick her up'. I put her cat bowl in the living room floor and so all the other cats were eating which drew her out of hiding. As she ate, I reached down and picked her up. I got her wrapped in a sheet and husband walked over and she went nuts. I have scratches on my arms, blood on my thumb and she raced away from me. I had to get my hubby to stand in a certain doorway hoping she would not dash by him since she won't get near him at all. She dashed by him anyway and ran to the laundry room which has no door to close and hid under a chair. When I got in there, I was calm and talked softly to her and she looked at me and said MEOW real loud and dashed back past my husband and got behind another chair. She was angry and scared. When she finally came out, I pushed that chair to the wall to close off that area of escape. I kept talking to her softly but kept closing in on her area. Eventually she lay down panting in fear because I kept getting in 'her space' . I slowly scooped her up and sat with her on my shoulder. She will only let me pick her up if I place her against my body with her head on my left shoulder. She does not do right shoulders good. She was stiff again with claws out in spite of that. I loved on her feet and stroked them to make her claws retract and then I calmly walked to the bedroom and shut the door. I placed the same comforter on her back that I used yesterday and hubby walked in with the meds. I can't wrap her entire body in the comforter as she won't let me. She lays securely against my body with the comforter wrapped around the rest of her. Hubby said, "I'm coming around on your right side Jen" and he gave her the medication without a lot of trouble. I kept holding her and stroking her telling her she was a good kitty. After a few minutes I carried her back in the other part of the house and placed her by her bowl. She is now in her box and I have medicated my thumb which has a pretty nasty gash in it.

She has 9 more doses of medication to take. I will be a bloody mess by then but her eye is improving drastically.

Yellow's eyes today also look much better.

I am leaving yellow, star and socks [surgery kitty] in the house today while I go to the new place to work. I have the others outside. I plan on leaving star indoors until her medication is over. I am afraid she might not come back inside since she is having a bad experience right now. It will be easier to give if she is already in the house.

Socks will remain indoors until her stitches come out next week. Yellow is staying in until we get moved in the new place in a couple months. He is a roamer and I don't want him roaming off since we will be moving soon. He won't know where we are and I have to get him settled in the new place first so he will know where his home is. It would just kill me to lose him. He is so loved by us. Usually he goes off for a week or so but once he was actually gone 6 weeks. It was a miracle that he found his way back. I think he got lost after our last move so I am going to be very careful with this move. Hopefully we will never have to move again. We plan on the new place being our retirement house which is only about 15 years away. The other cats all moved great and I anticipate no problem.

Our new dog yard is 75' by 70 feet by 53'. They are going to love it. I measured it off yesterday.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day! It is going to be 77 degrees here today. Great work day!

oh poor star. If there was only some way to make her understand it's for her own good. Once she's past the medication you might have your work cut out for your rebuilding the trust again. Thanks for sharing your stories...i love hearing about your kitties.

I feel sorry for her too. I went a head and let her out this morning. Right now, she is hiding in the porch area somewhere. I don't see her but I can hear her meow occassionally. The other cats are in the house and have all had their medication and that went without a hitch. When Star comes back inside, I am going to keep her in.....in spite of her sweet little high pitched meow that she gives me when she wants out... I shouldn't have given in to her...... But when a feral asks you for something real sweetly, it is hard to say no. It is always an exciting moment when Star meows to me asking me something. But more than that, it's the look in her eye when she does it. It's an uncertain look like she is not sure but she is going to ask me anyway. It's real hard to tell her no because she is communicating with me on her own. And there is nothing better than that as far as I'm concerned.

And you're right Renny, that trust thing will have to start all over again. But that's ok...... This is just a little bump in our road on the way to learning all about love. We'll get there.

Yellows eyes have quit running. His face is stained around the eyes right now, but that will clear up. His third eyelid is retracted and he looks much much better. He is laying in bed with hubby right now.

All the other cats eyes look normal now. No one has fever and the coughing has ended. I hear a sneeze here or there but that is it. They are getting better.

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I just went outside on the porch to find Star and she was quietly sitting on the porch rail with Toe-Man. Toe got down and started eating from the outside bowl I have out there. Star stayed on the rail. I walked over, not making eye contact, and paused and leaned about 3 feet from her. There was a post in between us. I talked to her about 5-6 minutes quietly and she listened to me and did not run off. She will be in shortly. I can tell. She is still on the rail right now. She watched me pet and love on Toe-Man. Watching me with the other cats teaches her a lot about trust. I sat on the porch swing for a few minutes as well. All this time, she stayed on the rail watching me. I went a head and came back inside so as not to spook her. I want her to feel all is perfectly normal and regular. She likes her schedule. Medication inteferes with her schedule.

She will be in shortly. Since learning to come in the house at night [4-5 months ago], she has never slept outside since then. She always comes in.

Then I will have to terrorize her again. Darn..... I will be so glad when this week is over.

I just went out again and Star and Toe are eating. They are friends.

And I just had a thought. I will try and see if she will drink it out of a bowl. It doesn't taste bad.

She might not because if I put her wormer in milk, she won't even drink that. If I put wormer in tuna juice, she won't even drink that. She is a smart cat. She can tell if I am trying to give her something different. She does not like change. She is quite a kitty.

Well, Star made a liar out of me. She would not come in last night. I stayed up till approx 1am trying to get her in. She stayed right by the door in her kitty shelter by the food. This morning the food bowl was empty and she came out and I picked her up with NO TROUBLE, brought her in and hubby gave her the med while I held her. I had left Toe-Man and Patty Cake Kitty out with her so she wouldn't be alone and would be with part of her kitty pride. The medication went easier than the other times. I did not have to catch her or trap her. When I went in the house with her, hubby gave her the eyedropper of meds instantly. Star did not even have time to think about it. No scratches today. But she missed last nights dose.

She is now free in the house where she will remain until her medication cycle ends.

The other cats take their medication great. No problems at all.

Whew...........

Talked the to well man about drilling us a well at our new place. He starts next week...Yippee!!!! When they are done, I'll get the septic done. It is very hard to work and clean without running water. Hauling water sucks.... hehe

i love reading your updates!!!

I'm so glad to hear that everyone is on the mend. There is nothing worse then watching your babies feeling sick. My Lucky is the absolute worst when it comes to taking medications. It's a battle and a half every time (and she's been an inside lap cat since she was 4weeks old). She actually learned with the pills how to hide them in her mouth and pretend to take them...and then she would run across to the balcony and spit them over.....too smart for her own good!

Good luck with the rest of the meds, i'm sure Star will forgive and forget in time. Scritches to everyone!