Goodbye Sweet Norm (2006-2020)

We let our formerly feral Norm go to the Rainbow Bridge Thursday afternoon.  He had been winding down, losing weight and eating less over the past few months.  In April 2018 he was diagnosed with either IBD or lymphoma. He had swollen lymph nodes and a thickened intestine. After two vet consults, I decide against exploratory surgery to find out what is wrong.Often they don't find out anything and Norm would have to heal from surgery.

We got him eating again and moved him into our home from the cat house.  He thrived for a good year and a half but over time he was slowing down.  I had been treating him with natural remedies for cancer and IBD to cover all bases. Last year he had a bout of not eating in July but we got him going once again.  This time even with appetite stimulants, slippery elm and other things, he was not responding.  He had almost two years of quality life after his diagnosis.

Snowball giving Norm h*ll.

Snowball and Norm snuggling

Snowball after he came home form the vet hospital.  Norm was so happy.

What can I say about this great personable cat.  Living in the cat house he was a shy, reserved cat. Except for Snowball for some reason. They were not from the same litter (Snowball was the only survivor of Lily's first litter)  but he loved Snowball and was with him every second, much to Snowball's chagrin.  They fussed and fought but Snowball still let Norm be his buddy. I have a theory - that Norm secretly wanted to be head cat but Snowball was, so Norm accepted being was second in command.  

Eating with Snowball, and Sam

When Norm moved into the house without Snowball, he became the head cat he wanted to be - without even trying.  All the cats deferred to him or gave him a wide berth. He was never aggressive or pushy. He was not lonely as Woody was his litter mate and they often along with Tabitha napped together.  Norm's name came from the Cheers show - Norm, Sam and Woody were all in Lily's second  litter along with Georgie.  We had many nicknames for Norm - Normy, Norm Norm, and Norman as they called him at the vet.

Food face

If you can't view this - go here

Norm always seemed to get food on his face when he ate and in later months he was not grooming as well so it was obvious. He would come into the kitchen and ask for his food.  Such a personality!

My nurse

Inside the house with us, Norm became an outgoing love bug who loved cuddles with us or the other cats. He disappeared when anyone came to visit..  He was still quiet but had a way of letting you know what the wanted. He snuggled with me on the bed when I was reading or not well.

The past few months he had taken to spending all his time with Woody and Tabitha - napping in a pile, coming on the bed to wake me up in the morning or sitting on the couch with Don.  I called them the three mouseketeers.  Norm loved being on the porch or looking out the window.

A few months back

Chester the Maine Coon mix we adopted in July 2019 became Norm nemesis.  Chester was not aggressive but I think was afraid of Norm even tho Norm was smaller.  When they met up in the hall, it became a silly game of who would let the other by first.  Norm never really did anything except maybe stare intensely at Chester but Chester would get all worked up and dash by Norm.  Often even swatting Norm but Norm just ignored him.

Norm watching Chester

Norm and Chester in the hall

A rare time when both were on the porch but the door to the house was open in case.

I thought I would let Norm go last week but he rallied over the weekend with appetite stimulants.  By Wednesday I could see he was floundering, and getting weaker.  He was spending all his time sleeping in out of the way places cozy places and not coming out to eat.  On his final day, he slept on the bed with Woody.  Don and I spent time with him and told him how much we loved him. 

Norm Thursday with Woody  - you can see how much weight he lost.

We usually have the vet come to the house but he was booked until Monday.  We did not think Norm would make it until then so we drove him to our other vet.  Norm sat on my lap and enjoyed the sun on him and curiously watching people and things go by.  Don said he was surveying his options as to what he would return to life as. He dosed a bit before we arrived at the vet.

Norm's grave

 His passing was very peaceful in a room with a lovely wooded view. I was leaning over him sending Reiki and love with his head cradled in my hand.  I think he was  gone as soon as they administered the sedative.  He is buried with some catnip and treats (his favorites) in our cat cemetery next to Only who passed a year ago next week.  We will miss this quiet mancat so much.  I know his momcat Lily and siblings Georgie and Only were there to welcome him to the other side. This is the hardest thing about rescue - to have to say goodbye to so many wonderful animals.

Lily with Only, Norm and Georgie

We're Celebrating National Feral Cat Day - Oct. 16

Ivy looking in from the deck. She left us last summer at age 17.

Today is the 10th Annual National Feral Cat Day sponsored by Alley Cat Allies to create awareness of the feral or community cats living in our midst.  This years theme is All Cats All Communities. To meet the post poster cats Inky, Pearl and Pie click here.

As most of you know by now, our cats are feral cats that were living in the woods behind our farmhouse in the mountains of western NC when we moved in 1999.  Back then most animal shelters euthanized feral cats thinking that was the best way to deal with them.  Ally Cat Allies was the only national group that offered TNR (trap, neuter, return).  I found this group online and contacted them about the best way to help our feral cats. 

With Alley Cat Allies brochures and instructions in hand, I trapped  over 30 cats for TNR.  I found a great veterinarian in our neighborhood who worked with me to get them all spayed/neutered.  Dr. Farmer did the spay/neuter for the local Humane Society (the one who were going to put my cats down) so she gave me their discount.  She was a life saver.  Dr Farmer explained that she drove by these cats every day and felt so bad for them but without consent or assistance from the neighborhood, she was at a loss how to deal with this.  That's where I came in.

The first shelter of straw bales.

It was an ongoing project for about a year or so but we got the cats all neutered.  I built a straw bale igloo as a shelter for the first winter with straw on the ground inside for warmth and a plastic tarp over the top to keep it dry.  That shelter progressed to an old kitchen counter that my husband insulated and out fitted for the cats with a flap door and a raised platform for feeding.

The screen porch on the present cat house.

We had a huge garden on our land and the feral cats kept the garden free of voles, mice and other pests.  They did not let people come too close but I would leave toys for them to pay with - catnip filled ones and balls.  Their favorite was  a plastic Easter egg - it would roll over the grass and was light enough for them to bat around. 

Our neighbors all knew about the cats so would keep an eye on them for us.  Unfortunately other people began to drop off unwanted cats here thinking we would care for them.  We did.  They were trapped and taken to the Dr farmer, then either rehomed if they were tame or released back into the group neutered.

The director of the local shelter did come by one day to see how things were going and was very surprised at how healthy the cats looked.  She had felt that because they had no home, their lives must be so miserable, they would be better off dead.  She came away from this visit with a different perspective on feral/community cats.

Woody on our deck.

Woody now

Many of my original feral cats have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Those left are living the best life indoors with us in our new home an hour and a half from the farmhouse where they all were born.  Even though the ferals were taken indoors at a late age, they have tamed up quite well with a lot of effort and love.

Please help feral cats in your community today and every day by volunteering for a local feral cat group if there is one, donating money or food for the cats.  Thanks to Alley Cat Allies, so many towns and cities have TNR groups now whereas when I began it was not the norm.  For other ideas about how to help the ferals visit here.

Caturday Art

Sweet Rosa posing in just a hint of light.  I processed this like a watercolor and liked the result.  Black cats are difficult to photograph at best.

Wishing everyone in the states a wonderful holiday weekend.  

For more Caturday Art - visit Athena and Marie.

National Feral Cat Day - Oct 16, 2012

Sweetpea was the first to come inside since she was so tiny.

It is National Feral Cat Day and I cannot say enough good things about Alley Cat Allies.  I could not have done what I did for all my ferals without their help. I told this story several years ago when I first started blogging and have brought up parts of it since. For my newer readers, I would like to explain how we ended up with so many feral cats in an indoor shelter. Here is their story.

Darby was rescued as a kitten, living alone under a house in another neighborhood

Many of you already know that all but our oldest two cats (Chica and Yoko) are feral cats that lived in our old neighborhood in a rural mountain community.  When my husband and I purchased the 1920's farmhouse 14 years ago, we inherited a large feral colony living in the woods behind the house.  I asked around and no one knew anything about the cats. An older couple living in the nearby trailer was putting dry food out for them but they could barely afford that let alone medical care for the cats so litter after litter had been born.

Ivy on left, Nick on right and Big Guy in rear next to their first straw igloo shelter.

I wanted to do something to help them, especially after a blind kitten wandered into the yard suffering from a severe URI.  Being new and not knowing any veterinarians in the area, my husband took her to the local shelter and they promptly put her down. ( I later learned that this shelter always euthanized feral cats when brought in.  They were considered unadoptable.) I was horrified that she didn't even get any veterinary care and vowed to do better with the rest of the cats.

Mamacita on left, daughter Rosa on right.

I looked online and found Alley Cat Allies and contacted them.  They gave me all the information I needed about trapping the cats, working with a vet to get them neutered, vaccinated and then releasing them back into the area. With the help of a compassionate vet nearby who offered me a considerable discount, I TNR'd about 18 cats over a period of a year. 

Young litter mates Minnie in rear, Joey in front - now 13 years old.

The feral cats were fed twice a day.  My husband built an insulated multi-level shelter for them. And when they needed medical care, they were trapped again and taken to a vet. We lost a few to wild animals, cars, illnesses - living outdoors is a hard life. When some of the cats developed health issues, we began to bring them inside to live. Several years later when I found the main male Big Guy laying on the upper level of the shelter unable to move, I knew this was the end for him.  I rushed him to a vet but there was nothing I could do - he died in my arms, knowing he was loved very much.

Albert, our deaf cat, found as a kitten  along a busy highway in 2004.

That changed the dynamics of the group and other male cats began to try to move in, chasing off the remaining ferals.  I brought the few left inside in 2005.  If you know anything about feral colonies - when there is a good place to live, if you remove the cats from the area, another group will come in and that is what happened.

Neighbors told me about seeing a white mother cat and tiny white kitten that had been fed by a shop nearby that closed in November for the winter. There had been four kittens in the litter - three black and one white.  I don't know what happened to the black ones.  It was January now and the two remaining cats were without food during a cold and snowy winter.  Of course, I put a bowl of food out on our deck with a basic shelter for them to use.  Lily and Snowball found it soon enough.  They were starving. It was pitiful watching them both shove each other out of the way to get at the food.  At last they had a safe place to get out of the cold and plenty of food.  I even put toys out for Snowball to play with on warm days on the deck.

Snowball that first winter.

Lily went on to have two more litters in spite of my best efrots to catch her.  I tried humane traps,  dog kennel cages - anything and everyhting but she was very smart and out witted me every time. She was a great mother and with food and shelter provided, both litters survived.  Again, I began TNR on the kittens as they became old eough to spay and neuter. Including Lily, we had ten more cats.

Two Spot on left and Only on right. Now you see how they got their names.

We knew at this point we were moving out of the area and began to solicit neighbors to feed and care for the cats with our financial support. No one wanted to make the commitment and I could not leave them behind.  We started trapping them to bring them indoors to move them with us.  I finally caught Lily and the last of the kittens by leaving the enclosed porch door open and letting them wander inside at their leisure.  Once they became used to this, I started to set the door as a trap door, pulling the string from inside the house when they were in the porch, safely away from the door.

Lily - mother of all the white cats.

So yes, we do have a lot of cats but I love each and every one of them. I can't imagine life without silly Lily (who is now a love bug), Snowball, Only, Two Spot and all the rest of them.  The white cats have a separate cat shelter on our land with an insulated heated indoor room and a big screen porch to play in.  The older cats are in the house with us so we can monitor and medicate them if needed.

Tabitha, one of two of Lily's tabby cats.

I am so grateful for organizations like Alley Cat Allies and other groups and individuals that have stepped up in the past 10 years to care for feral cats and educate people about them.  With love, time, effort and patience, feral cats can become a part of our community, our lives and our homes. 

Ivy's Gotcha Day

 Uh oh, looks like Mom forgot my Gotcha Day!  Since we got our computer back it has been nothing but problems.  Some programs are on it but don't work, others have to be reloaded ad then all our pictures are in one big file so it takes her forever to find one!!!

 It's OK tho - I am very happy in my home and so glad Mom gotcha'd me six years ago.  I spent six years living as part of a feral group outdoors and was very independent and would not let anyone catch me or pet me (except when Mom caught me to get me spayed)

All my brothers ad sisters had died or had been brought in to live indoors for some reason or another but Mom hated to bring me inside cuz I loved living wild!  She was afraid I would be unhappy inside but I love it.  No more worries about food, getting attacked by a dog or wild animal.  I love Mom and sit on her lap and make all sorts of funny noises cuz I am so happy.  When she pets me I can drool up a storm!  Life is good indoors!!!!  Thanks for taking me inside Mom.

Since this was short notice I will just share my treats and toys with you all for my party.  There is catnip (my favorite), Temptations, stinky goodness and lots of nip toys, balls and large stuffed toys to bunny kick!  Have fun and thanks for coming by!

Happy Gotcha Day Snowball!

Me talking in the window.

Mom got me a frog nip toy that I loved.

I was a tiny little guy when Mom bean first heard that a white momcat and her kitten we trying to survive the cold and snowy winter in her neighborhood. Those kitties were me and my momcat Lily. Mom bean had not seen us but put dry food out on the back deck with a sheltered place for us to eat and stay.  We found the food and were sooo hungry we gobbled the food pushing each other out of the way.  My poor momcat was just trying to survive too and didn't mean me any harm.  It seems that momcat Lily had 4 kittens that fall - 3 black and one white (me) and the BBQ place across the street was feeding us but they closed a few months back.  I don't know what happened to my 3 black siblings.  I hope they got caught  and have good homes but they may have died too. Life is rough out there.

We ended up living under the house in the warm crawlspace Mom bean had set up for the ferals before us. I liked Mom bean and came out on warm sunny days and looked in the window watching the indoor cats.  I talked alot too.  Pretty soon Momcat Lily was pregnant again even tho Mom bean tried so hard to catch her to get her spayed.  Lily was very smart and outwitted her.

Me sunning when the weather warmed up.

To make a long story short, I got caught come fall since there was another batch of kittens and Mom bean was afraid I was going to move elsewhere cuz that 's what we feral mancats do.  Mombean put out a kennel cage with food in it and of course I went it. Anything for food. Even back then.

Me again that first winter.

That was only four years ago but it seems like forever.  I am a portly guy now at five years old and a kind big brother to all my younger siblings who are all with me, even Momcat Lily.  I have a round face with jowls and do like to eat.  I also like to boss my brothers and sisters around too.  They know I mean business when I say something.  The only one I have issues with is Albert - the deaf cat. He is not related to me and he thinks he can be the mancat  in the group but I am. I like scritches and to be petted while I am eating but that is it. No lap time for me - I am a very independent guy. I am glad tho that I am inside and cared for - it was a hard life outdoors.

Me now in my look outpost.

Just chillin'.

Oh Mom - a close-up?

Now that I had my say, let's celebrate my 4th Gotcha Day and have a party! Since I love tuna - fish is the party theme today! Help yourself to all the goodies! 

Hope ya'll had fun.  Don't forget that Nov 4 is Blogblast for Peace - it is not too late to join in!