Ruby

That is my Ruby ... well, was my Ruby - yesterday I surrendered Ruby to my place of employment.

For some time now, I have attempted to integrate Ruby into my apartment. I kept her (and the other kitty I saved from this disgusting shelter, Candice) in the bathroom for almost a year, switching blankets around, trading toys with my cats (siblings, Dani & Dorie) and I was also well aware that my kitties were sniffing at those kitties under the door. Things weren't going so well though because when I let them out, my kitties would spazz - hiding, hissing, but the biggest issue was them running because Ruby would chase them and with that crooked head of hers, she'd make a mess trying to keep her balance and the noise from that only freaked my kitties out even more.

I felt bad leaving her in the bathroom though because Ruby loves company so much and there wasn't much stimulation in there either even with her toothless buddy, Candice. So, I moved Ruby and Candice into a large crate in the middle of my apartment in the hopes that with everyone face to face, but Ruby unable to chase, that things would go more smoothly. My kitties still wouldn't adjust - hissing and eyes dilating when they saw the new cats and that's when they weren't hiding!

The reality is, Dorie I have strictly because of how very spastic she is. Though I have had her since she was about 6 weeks old, I had to wrap her up and carry her everywhere just to get her to how social she is now ... and she's barely social! No one really sees her and any sudden moves or loud noises cause her to run for cover. So, when overbearing Ruby approached her to check her out, Dorie would spazz and run ... and when Dorie ran, Ruby would chase. Candice did well though - she's quiet and not like Ruby at all. So, my most recent solution was to have the HH pair in my room all day while Dani and Dorie had the rest of my apartment and then, at night, I would put Ruby in the crate and allow Candice to free roam with my cats ... but Ruby would cry most of the night for affection and company. It broke my heart...

I know Ruby could not be in a better place -that's a fact- because TP has the money to further look into her severe head tilt if necessary (though it doesn't seem to bother her), she'll eventually be loose to play with all the kitties that will tolerate her, Ruby will have lots of volunteers to talk to and she'll have a much better chance of being seen & adopted than she did locked up in my apartment ... but I still feel awful. I've had her for so many months now that I've grown very, very attached. She's such a big, soft mush ball and so personable - talking so much that she even talked to herself at times and after surrendering her, I came back to Candice curled up all by herself - no Ruby pushing herself on her to cuddle. I cried all afternoon and still haven't brought myself to go into her holding her while she adjusts to being a sanctuary kitty. If it wasn't for how much Dorie got upset, I'd have kept Ruby and there's not doubt that Ruby & Candice could be the most wonderful pair of kitties a person could adopt together (laid back, quiet Candice and super sweet, glued to the comfiest spot/your side Ruby), but me being upset is strictly selfish. Like I said, Ruby's in the better place right now, even if it's not with me and/or Candice.

On top of feeling awful, I also felt like a complete creep doing her intake. My original plan was to take two of the sanctuary's more aggressive/more outside appropriate cats and the sanctuary would take Ruby. So, I didn't plan on letting her go until the Spring when it is warmer out to put kitties out to adjust to my parents' farm. She is late on getting her vaccinations because I was waiting until the end of the month to get Dani, Dorie, Candice and Ruby on the same schedule - getting the HH pair's a bit late and Dani & Dorie's a bit early so they would all be on track together. Ruby's paperwork from the shelter is unreliable too, for example: they had her as a male cat! Though looked at by a vet and vet tech and never going into heat, it was never actually determined if she was even spayed, but I also wasn't advised to do an exploratory surgery to check. Not to mention, I got her while still involved in my rescue, but within several months I resigned - leaving Ruby & Candice in my care, but with no real way of adopting them out or seeing a rescued discounted vet.

So, I turned over Ruby yesterday because she was spending most of her time in a cage and with her not up to date on shots, along with being unsure if she's been unfixed for over a year in my care and ... talk about looking like a bad pet parent! As if I didn't feel lame enough surrendering her in general!!

For months now Ruby & Candice have been living together (Ruby loves to snuggle with Candice ... though I'm not sure how much Candice liked it). The pair mushed together was and remains in my mind to be a perfect example of their two personalities - Candice always tolerant and Ruby so extremely overbearing affectionate. When I came in to get Ruby yesterday, she was curled up on the bed with Candice. She popped her little crooked head up and did her high pitched meow at me. I was pretty good at not crying until I was on my break and a lone ... sort of.

Here's the last photo I took of Ruby & Candice in their classic snuggling up together way before surrendering Ruby...

Sam

Sam is in foster care in Brooklawn, but his home is actually under attack ("harassment") due to the town's pet limit law ... apparently the public service that their resident does by fostering is not seen that way by the town board.

Sam
Brown Tabby w/ White, Adult, Male

[Sam] was getting so stressed out [at the shelter he was at before] that he was repeatedly getting sick to the point the vet suggested just to put him to sleep. Instead, he was kindly kept in an office by himself until FFRV stepped in and put him into a foster home of our own.

Sam is a LOVE. He adores his new foster family and follows them ALL over the house and sleeps with them at night. He also LOVES to play ... This handsome, sweet boy just wants attention and is a real love ... The vet also discovered ... Sammy's declawed!

Sam was at a disgusting, disgusting shelter before that kept their animals in awful, neglected conditions. One kitty that I have myself in foster care, Candice, had her mouth in such an awful condition that every single one of her teeth removed ASAP and her mouth was so infected that her tonsils had swollen to the point of almost blocking her breathing:

Sam was said to hate other animals, keep getting stressed in the shelter environment and so should be put to sleep ... he's in a very diverse foster home now with lots of other animals needing homes and was doing just fine the last I heard. He could have been killed for an absolutely bogus reason!

I know the back story because I was the one that pulled Sam and was lucky enough to have his foster mom offer to care for him and take him into the rescue she is a board member of.

Sammie

Today we lost our Sammie at the sanctuary, Tabby's Place.



Last night Sammie was not doing so well. He was very picky when we were feeding him, which of course is always a concern since he's diabetic - we needed to make sure he ate before he got his insulin. We ended up giving him beef baby food which he licked at.

Today apparently he was having trouble breathing and was taken to the emergency vet hospital we use. Tests were still being done there when I had my break between shifts, but apparently he was doing very poorly - suffering from either congestive heart failure or/AND some form of quick forming cancer mass in his chest, I believe. Angela referred to Sammie as the "come back kid", but it seems he met his match today. Jon and Ginny went to the hospital to be with him when the decision was made.

I'd refer you to his page, but I'm not sure how much longer it will be up on the site. He's been with us about three years and I'll put a few words up about how Sammie came to us:

Since Sammie is diabetic, his health depends on careful monitoring of his eating and behavior, as well as administration of insulin. Unfortunately, Sammie was owned by an elderly woman whose health was fading. She was not giving Sammie the attention and care he needed and his health (and, in fact, his life) was in jeopardy.

To make matters worse, the owner's daughter was strongly suggesting that Sammie be put down, since her mother was not able to care for him properly. Fortunately, a kind neighbor intervened on Sammie’s behalf. While she couldn't take Sammie, herself, she called us and pleaded Sammie's case. As usual, we had a long waiting list, but the woman said she would be happy to visit Sammie regularly, to keep an eye on him and administer his insulin, for as long as it would take for his spot to open up. We were very happy when Sammie was able to finally join us at Tabby's Place.

Sammie
1993 - January 18th, 2008
Forever Loved, bud

Ah, geez, I had to just go back and put everything about Sammie in past tense ...

On a good note, though, Candice is cancer-free! The mass we removed was apparently inflammation, some form of extreme tonsillitis, which Dr. C was amazed to find out - good news, but amazing since it was so awful looking. Candice is on antibiotics now and will have the teeth she needs pulled out on Monday.

Candice

Almost time for work!

I just found out Monday that my one little rescue foster kitty, Candice, may have cancer. I'm terribly disappointed.

Furrever Friends Rescue & Volunteers (FFRV), my rescue, pulled her, Norbit (now Ruby), Sam and, a few days before those three, Cleo from this shelter near where I work. They seriously need help there ... and that's putting it nicely! Candice was there for almost 3 years in a cage and now it seems she might have been sitting there with this gigantic mass in the back of her mouth. We were going to pull her teeth Monday, but after they put her under and opened her mouth to put the tube in, they saw this huge mass pretty much blocking the entire back of her throat. So instead of pulling out most of her teeth, they removed most of the mass and did a biopsy. They didn't want to pull her teeth (and put her through that pain) only to find out she has terminal cancer ... and the mass they removed was like an inch or little under in size. It was huge! Poor baby ...

She's the sweetest little girl too! She just lays around, spinning a bit and purring when I talk to her. They think she's about 7 years old, but it's hard to tell from her teeth since her mouth is so bad.

Here's Candice: