Hoss

Hoss is a magnificent cat - not just in size, in presence and personality. Hoss was an infrequent visitor in one of our caretakers yard when he was trapped and taken to Tree House where he was neutered, vaccinated, ear tipped and microchipped, and given Revolution for fleas, ticks, ear mites and parasites. During his wellness exam, they discovered his dental issue. The right side of his lower jaw was infected and swollen. He must have been in pain, he drolled and dribbled food on that side. We also discovered he is FIV positive but aside from his dental issues, healthy. FIV cats can live long healthy lives. They can only transmit the disease to other cats through deep wound bites and once neutered, they loose their desire to fight.

The first thing we notice about Hoss was his size. Even tho his ribs were showing and his backbone stuck up like a mountain range he was HUGE! His face has the cheeks of an unneutered adult male, those big beautiful jowels that disappear after neutering. His coat is sort of a motled silver and black, medium to short in length. He was 12 pounds but ematiated. His ribs stuck out and his spinal cord stuck up like a mountain range. He has beautiful dark golden eyes with a slight dip in his upper lid. His voice is as mighty as his size. His coat was dry and thin, he had what looked to be a burst absess on his lower jaw and another developing on his right cheek. He's got a funny little fold to his left ear. He must have been in pain for a long time.

We knew Hoss was friendly, we didn't know how friendly and in order to go to our vet at Elmhurst Animal Care & Clinic, he had to be handleable. It took a few days to access that. Once we were able to pick him up, we were able to take him to the vet. From the beginning, we gave him good food, colostrum, pro-biotics and essential fatty acids. Once back from the vet, he was on Clavamox. We were hoping his jaw was just infected and that it wasn't squamous cell carcenoma. After 10 days on clavamox, we took him back to EACC. Good News! His jaw was so much better, cancer was ruled out. He was ready to have a few (5 actually) teeth removed. That was last week. One more trip to the vet and he'll be ready to leave. He looks fabulous! He's gained weight, his hair is filling out and getting healthy. His gum is healed - no more drool and mess. He is so much more comfortable. He's a great cat.

A bit about Hoss. Truely, the word magnificent comes to mind. He is very intelligent and responsive. He knows and responds to the word no. He's affectionate without being needy or demanding. He's wonderful to cuddle with. He has a presence. His wise old eyes speak volumes. Sometime, a long time ago, Hoss was tossed to the streets or maybe lost. He's survived and is still trusting and friendly. He needs a home with someone to love him and someone he can love. He may be an indoor outdoor cat - it's difficult to tell because of his current living situation. He's a senior, we just don't know his age. We think he'd be appropriate for any age.

HOSS NEEDS A HOME BY JULY 1 OR HE WILL BE GOING BACK TO THE YARD. He's not a candidate for a shelter - he hates to be caged and we can't keep him. We can only help him heal His caretaker can't take him in, her cat isn't cat friendly and Hoss may not be either.

Hoss doesn't like dogs at all. Not even our resident dog, Bella, who is loved by all the other feline furry ones.

Please email catvandotnr@yahoo.com or call 708 829 6013 if you'd like to meet him and possibly provide him a home to live out his life.

Robin's Cats

Alfred & Dottie are still in foster care. Alfred is such a hugger. Karen (foster Mom) was holding him with he had his arms resting on her shoulders, kissing her face and nuzzling her neck and cheeks. Great old boy. His ear is doing a bit better - looking forward to seeing what the vet says this week. Dottie is still shy. Squirt, a 9 month old muted grey tabby that purred through her test and vaccines and her housemate, Tennison, an orange tabby boy, about 1-2 years old have become Rose and possibly Leo. Priscilla, our webmaster, arranged their adoption. Their new family a young girl named Nina and Dorothy, her Grandma are thrilled to get them and by the sounds of it Rose & Leo are thrilled to be there. Rose has always been open, playful and friendly but we were a bit concerned about Leo - no need. he took time coming out of the carrier but then joined right in with the group............ A match made in heaven. Nina, Dorothy, Rose & Leo have all suffered a great loss of a loved one. Dorothy lost her daughter, Priscillas God Daughter, Sara. Nina lost her Mom. Rose & Leo lost their Mommie then their cat family. And they all spent their first night snuggled up against one another! Beautiful............... Helmut - a big old white cat with a grey cap was adopted by another family with another miracle of a story! Our vigilant volunteer, Janet, who's been working on placement for the cats, found him a place with the woman who does adoptions out of PetSmart. When a cage opened up, Mike took Helmut to Elmhurst Animal Care for his wellness exam, shots and blood work on Friday then Janet picked him up on Saturday to take him to Sarah at PetSmart. Janet fell in love with him during and after transport. A big old boy, really mellow. We hated the idea of him being in a cage for an unknown amount of time but sometimes that what it takes for an adoption. No need to worry! Janet stuck around for a couple of adoptions and on her way out noticed a family with a small girl coming into the store. By the time she got back home, she found out the family adopted Helmut. It was the little girl who made the choice. Sarah has already spoken to the adoptors. Helmut now follows the little girl wherever she goes. The miracle is that an old cat got adopted and within a couple of hours of being at PetSmart - that's incredible. 2 more - we got a call from a woman who's friend referred her after she read the story in the Oak Leaves http://www.pioneerlocal.com/oakpark/news/3071996,oak-park-cats-020911-s1.article . It's a great article. She and her husband have always had animals and their last one died a while back. They miss having critters and are willing to adopt 2. Their only criteria is 'male'. They'll take the older cats and color isn't an issue. Love it! We're bringing them the cats on Feb 1 or before 2-more - possible to a nice woman who's had a number of rescues and had been a vet tech for years. She and her family may be taking 2. Going out to Robin's this Friday take photos of the cats and pick up 4 cats for the vet, then to Karen's pre-adoption. We've had such great matches, seems like Robin's overseeing .

Willow

Willow

Continues to gain weight. The difference between when she first arrived at the back door, skin and bones, with a seemingly oversized head, is amazing. Her nail fungus is all but gone. She still hangs around in the bathroom most of the time but in the morning, I often find her on my office chair. She too is going to the vet to check her blood levels and see if the Tapazole she's getting for her Hyper-thyroid are on track. Her eyes have changed. She's lost the thin black line surrounding the division between her inner and outer iris. She's a sedentary cat. Mostly she sleeps in her bathroom bed sanctuary. She comes looking for us when she's ready for more food and she only eats canned. She loves being loved, whether being pet in her bed or being cuddled on a lap.

Elvis Extravaganza

Please RSVP - we're paying for the place by head count for food. Pay by 1/18 for advance sale discount.

Tri

I'm posting Tri, Willow & Blackie separately for photo purposes....

Tri

Well, the pumpkin is working. She had a good well formed but not rock hard BM. She's not always eating well. Sometimes, I have to start her off with food on a spoon. Sometimes not even spoon feeding helps and I have to spoon feed her her entire meal. I think she's just sick of being crated. Tomorrow morning, she's going to be out for the first time. I'll post the video. She's not bothered by the house cats. When I was spoon feeding her, Buster, one of the kittens, climbed the crate and tried poking at the food - Tri just glanced and kept on eating.

Tri, Willow, Blackie

Another quickie! Tri did great yesterday. I'd never picked her up so getting her into the carrier was a concern but no need for concern. I was able to slide her into the carrier on the bed, then slide her out at the vet. At that point, I was able to pick her up and she was fine with it. She's not crazy about being held but there's no sign of agression - just a ting of a struggle when she wants to be put down. The angel in the crate makes it awkward and difficult to pick her up for the first time. Now it will be easier. Dr. Singleton checked her out, showed her to the surgeon and she was given a star of approval for her progress. Leane, her vet tech while at the clinic came in to see her and give her some lovin'. One of the other techs said she's Leane's favorite all time clinic cat. It's really too bad she can't foster her or even adopt her. Tri is a bit constipated because of her pain meds so we started her on pureed pumpkin. I syringe it into her mouth but amazingly enough, she likes it! Her next vet visit is scheduled in two weeks. Willow is getting spunkier. She was at the vet yesterday too. In the past any blood work has been a breeze. This time, she put up a bit of a struggle - poor baby, she's sick of being poked! We'll find out the results of her blood work today. Interesting note about her eyes. They've been changing. Initially, her iris was divided into two by a fine zig zag line. The line is gone. Her iris is still a beautiful deep green and the pearlesence is still there, close to the pupil but it's more blended with the outer iris. - any iridologists out there? It would be interesting to know why? Blackie is getting spunkier too. Yesterday he interacted with the house cats through the cage, in the past, they've been checking him out but he's ignored them. He's up out of bed and around the cage more. Looking much more relaxed. Those flower essences do wonders! He's going to be ready for a home in days.

Tri, Willow and Blackie

No time for photos today - had an issue with one of the cats we adopted out and ended up spending most of the day trying to determine her whereabouts, calling and emailing the adopter (with no response) and all the area shelters.... she's find and is coming back to CatVando tomorrow. Tri We did get to see her flip from one side to the other with relative ease. She continues to eat more each day, now that she's on the gravy food. Her wound is healing nicely. She's going to need to get out her cage soon. WE NEED A FOSTER HOME FOR HER!!!!!!!!!!! We still don't know her true temperament - she's still on a lot of pain meds. She did his at me tonight when I administered her antibiotics but it was my fault. I approached her from an angle that she might not have been able to see. But then she took the oral meds just fine. She's going to have to start using her legs and there isn't enough room in her crate. We got another $100 donation today! That brings us up to $520! With matching funds, that's $1,040! Thank You - we're almost there! She's going to the vet tomorrow for her check up Willow I did get a shot of her at the bathroom threshold, in her 'I'm ready for more food now', stance. I'll post tomorrow. She slept most of the day with little wandering throughout the house. I've yet to see her play. To the vet tomorrow for her kidney values. Blackie His appetite continues to improve. I've been adding water to his food. He doesn't drink much on his own and he has a tendency towards dehydration. He drinks it up as long as it's flavored with canned food. I haven't attempted to open his mouth to see how things are healing. He just has his canines, everything else was removed. Still haven't attempted to pet him. He was the friendliest cat in the house he came out of but continues to look at me with a touch of fear. Am just talking to him, moving slowly, providing food and cleaning the cage so he'll get more comfortable. That's it - should have quite a bit to report tomorrow after the vet. Been a long day.

Tri, Willow, Blackie

Tri Willow Blackie Tri Didn't eat well this morning. At about 11am, we syringed a bit of colostrum water into her to provide her with some nutrition and to 'prime the pump' - sometimes just a bit of food gets them started - and it did. She ate a bit. It wasn't until we brought in some canned with gravy that she really perked up and ate. She ventured into the litter box today. Laid there for a bit then made it back to her bed. We still haven't seen her in motion. Her surgical site looks good. Prior to her amputation, she lay on the side with the damaged leg. I always thought that odd, thinking it would hurt, but maybe it was her form of 'traction' or protecting it. She now lays with the wound up. We're still a long way from paying for her care.

Willow Is doing her thing. Hanging in bed in the bathroom, only to venture out on occasion. She ate well as usual and has been eating smaller portions since starting the meds and supplements. She's looking good. She's such a sweet heart, happy for anything she gets, food or lovin'. Vet visit Monday will tell us more about her kidneys. Blackie Is a bit more relaxed and eating better. He's closest to the floor and even tho he didn't live in a house with a dog, he's very relaxed with our resident canine, Bella, who is loved by all. He too ventured out of his bed to the other side of the crate but mostly stays in bed and looks around and naps.

Tri, Willow, Blackie

Blackie Willow

Tri

I am NOT technologically inclined. Our wonderful tech magician Fatenah, still has to teach me how to make a beautiful blog. Excuse the layout. Here's the update on Tri, Willow & Blackie

Tri

We picked her up at the clinic today and brought her back to CatVando. Her primary vet tech, Leana, gave us a lot of insites into her behavior and likes and dislikes. She'd hoped to foster Tri but her roommate was against it. Unless everyone on the household is on board, fostering or adopting usually doesn't work so she's here with us. But, she's going to come visit her during her recovery. Her wound looks good. Dr. Mosley performed a clean surgery. She'll be in a crate for a while while she recovers. She's got a nice warm bed with a blankie to cover her and a heating pad to keep her warm. Her appetite is pretty good and she's taking her pain meds and antibiotic. We added pro-biotics and a touch of colostrum and grapeseed extract to her food for digestion, nutrition and to help strengthen her connective tissue.

She's amazingly strong. She doesn't like to be held. We had to get her out of the carrier into the crate and didn't want to hurt her so used the blanket she was laying on to help move her. The carrier was right in front of the crate. After she was about half way out of the carrier, she lept for the crate and layed down on her bed. She's got spunk! She's due back at Elmhurst on Monday for a check We're looking for people to help care for her during her recovery. The more humans she comes in contact with, the more she'll learn to embrase human touch and companionship. She responds well to touch and hasn't shown any sign of agression or fear - it's a great time to work with her. She's still on pain meds and a bit out of it.

Willow

As you can tell, Willow 's home is in the bathroom. She can roam around the house but prefers the privacy of the bathroom. It works, when she's getting her extra feedings, we can close the door to keep all the other's from eating her extra helpings of food. She's doing great. She does like it when she has company during her meals. Sometimes she eats on her own, sometimes, she cries for food but when left alone with it, it goes untouched, then, as soon as we go into the room, she goes to her food.

Willow is accompanying Tri to the vet on Monday. She has to get her kidney enzymes checked. She'll be on her hyper thyroid meds for 3 weeks and it's time to see where her levels are to see if her meds need to be modified. In addition to her Tapazole, she gets digestive enzymes, essential fatty acids and probiotics. Her abdominal mass is changing. It's gone from 2 distinct masses to one joined larger mass. As mentioned, after consulting with the vet, we've opted to forgo her surgery. If it's mammary cancer, there's no point and the surgery would only stress her out.

She needs someone to soak her feet in warm water and apply her anti-fungal medication to her toes and nails daily.

Blackie

Is a bit freaked out. He's getting his pain meds and Clavamox and is eating well but he's scared. We started him on flower essences to help during the stress. A stressed cat takes longer to heal, not to mention, their discomfort.

He hasn't shown any sign of agression or wanting to bolt, on the contrary, the crate door came open and he just stayed in there.

He too needs someone to comfort him, to talk to him and to pet him in the cage.

All three of these cats need homes. They will be ready for adoption in the near future.

So far, our generous supporters have donated $420 towards Tri's hospitalization and surgery. With our matching fund that means $840 - we're only about $500 short of our goal!!! Amazing for such a short time. We're appreciative and so is Tri.

Tri, the tri colored, tri legged cat

Tri

Is waiting for her surgery.

Tri became a CatVando cat last Thursday. We met her for the first time today. She is a sweet sweet soul.

Her story and more photos are posted on our FaceBook account. CatVandoTNR

Henry's Cats GIVE A CAT A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

First, the good news. Paul's eye is much improved. Looks like it probably isn't a tumor and the inflammation is decreasing. His lense is being reabsorbed without too much difficulty. His medication has decreased to once a day. He's playful, friendly and very curious. He doesn't like doors of any kind, on a crate or in the bathroom. He purrs up a storm and loves to be cuddled and played with. The rest of the story is the reason why I've skipped 3 days of writing. Too much. We've lost kitties. We have 5 kitties left, 4 here, one at foster (one died at foster too). One of the ones we have, Isabelle, has been battling her URI and is getting intensive care. She gets her oral and nasal antibiotics, she's tented in a cage and vaporized 3 x a day. Today, she's finally getting better. We added colostrum that we add to water and syringe feed. She's gotten about 2 oz today and it's made a great difference. She'd quit eating so it serves as nutrition and an immune boost. Peter is a bit punk, not gaining much weight and still shy. Another, a long haired grey tabby we've yet to name, is going strong, playing and eating, gaining weight, but still shy. 2 died during the night on Tuesday, one at the vet on Wednesday, and 2 died yesterday. Three had similar symptoms, 2 had different symptoms, even than each other. We're still unsure what killed them but believe it was a combination of things, their URI's, depleted immune systems and for some, possible panlucopenia. The last one, yesterday, was fine at 9am, and gone by 5pm - no vomit, no diarrhea fine in the am, then gone by 5pm. One of the symptoms shared by 4 of the ones that died is that their body temperature cools. Once a cats body temp goes cool, there's not much that can be done. As hard as this is to hear, imagine how hard it is to experience. The cat we had tested at the vet had no nutriphils, one of the bacteria fighting cells. We returned to Henry's Friday. We took the 4- 6 week old kitties - sorry we didn't get pictures, they were adorable. Long hair fuzzy kitties, 3 female, 1 male, pretty wild but because they're young, they should socialize fairly easy. They went from Henry's to Elmhurst Animal Care (EAC) for their vaccines, Frontline, and one got a Feline Leukemia test. Our Outreach Director, Janet P, found a home for them at CatNap, where they went from EAC this morning. We learned that another litter had been born about Thanksgiving. Out of 3, one tiny 2 week old remained. Her mouth and nose were red, she was missing a toe, she had scratches and small wounds all over, in addition to being overrun with fleas. The vet said she still had a lot of spunk so our wonderful volunteer and now foster mom, Kallie took her and her supplies home to feed, express and lovingly care for. Little one has 3 people caring for her (we think) round the clock. She's had a rough life. Henry rescued her from the house cats when they were throwing her around between them. He put it in the carrier before we got there. One of her siblings had no legs. Henry didn't know if it was a birth defect or if the cats ate the legs. I don't know if it's true but I've heard sometimes the dad kills kittens to encourage cats to have more little ones. I also wonder if, when living in crowded situations, they might kill the young, more volnerable ones. We're going to trap the remaining cats. Five will be returned to Henry after their surgeries, vaccines, and wellness checks and/or meds. The fate of the others is still unknown. With so many variables, healthy, sick, low funds, no place for them to go, there are decisions to be made. Each cat has to be trapped, evaluated and vetted. We are going to try to save as many as we can. We have more leeway with the project. Now that so many are out and we're helping, Henry is feeling less anxious. As hard as this has been, the next phase I think, will be harder. As I've said before, Henry is not a bad man. When his wife first started bringing cats into the house, he was getting them sterilized - the whole thing just got to be too much for him. A wife with Alzheimer's and a son with rage issues strong enough for institutionalization. He wants what's best for the cats he loves and cares for, he just needs his life back - at 89, the sooner, the better. If you'd like to be part of the team to help the house cats, please contact us by email or comment. We need all the help we can get. Of course, we always need more money, foster homes, adopters, sponsors too. If you have a couple of house cats, why not one more? We'll help with incorporating with your current babies and wouldn't adopt out sick cats to homes with healthy cats. Give a cat a home for the holidays sorry, blog won't let me post photos!

Henry's Cats - To foster

These babies are going to foster tomorrow! Meghan and Al are wonderful kitty people. Won't be long and they'll be ready for adoption. They are 2 of the friendlier of the bunch - still scared but not as much some of the others. We still have plenty available for foster. We provide all necessary food and crates, etc. WE NEED MORE FOSTER HOMES - PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSE I spoke to Henry today. He's in the midst of a huge change of life. Two weeks before we met, he'd gotten into a car accident. His fault. His foot slipped off the pedal. He and another driver went to the hospital. He's since gone to court and lost his license. Today, he took his bicycle to get groceries. It was mild - tomorrow it won't be. So, we deal with the cats and leave him to be? I don't think so. I'm calling the Health Commissioner of his municipality, the woman who originally called us, to see if they have some sort of senior services that assist in their area. Back to the cats. All the house kitties are about the same. Still either friendly or shy, sickish or getting healthier. Mike, one of our new volunteers involved in this project found out about Z today. Not an easy thing to tell a new volunteer who, the last time he saw Z held him in his arms while he purred and nuzzled. He, Mike, has been wonderful with the kitties and is greatly responsible for a lot of their care. We're still giving doxycycline for their URI's. Most are relatively easy to medicate. 3 are difficult and 2 we can only give in food. One of them quit eating canned and we're having to feed in a pureed chicken and Prowl (see http://siriuscooks.com for info) mixture. (We have it for one of our other kitties - Binka, who has an enlarged heart and liver and digestive problems so is on a special diet - a cutie who we're hoping will grow into her enlarged organs). We're investigating a mushroom mixture to help boost their immune systems and combat the viral issues. ............We're due to see Henry on Thursday. He said there are 4 (not 3) little ones, born Nov 5, that are now running around. It's too early to take them from mom but we're hoping to evaluate their medical condition and possibly take mom and the babies for a couple weeks, then return mom. She's one of 3 we're planning to leave there. I say hoping because they hide behind a pile (the only inaccessible place in the house but for between the walls) and we're hoping they come out.... maybe we can lure them with oily tuna. Not looking forward to Thursday, the stench, the situation. The inventory. Still no place for the cats in the house. 16 cats need a home and that doesn't include the 10 kittens we have. Thank those of you who have donated money towards this project. It really helps and we most certainly appreciate it - in these tough economic times, donations are even more appreciated. We haven't even come close to covering cost so any money sent this way is welcome.

Whew and News!

Cat Nap from the Heart of La Grange took all our 'delivered' kitties. 9 beautiful egyptian looking kittens and 2 beautiful mama's. If you're looking for a kitten that's georgeous, sleek and with that look.... Visit CatNap in LaGrange. And, Katrinka, the beautiful Seal Point with striped wiskers, visit Animal Care League of Oak Park, she'll be there on Thursday. We went trapping for a mama (already pregnant) and her 3 little cuties today. Mama moved them so we're starting over. We'll keep you posted! This is Nicki and her kits, Gracie & Cookie. They are all friendly and just waiting for a new home. Give us a call! They also need a sponsor! We got 2 more calls for TNR today. One from a woman who feeds cats about 15 minutes from her home. She's wonderful, she's been taking care of cats since 1991. We TNR'd 8 of these cats last year. One, a white one, was illusive, sometimes there, sometimes not and we didn't get them. She's been attempting for a couple of months, with no luck. The CM talked to a woman who feeds down the block and apparently, the white cat is usually there - along with a few more. They will be TNR'd next week, the 5 kittens from 2 different mom's may come here or go to another rescue who specializes more in adoptions. We like them! The other from a woman north of here who has 3 plus cats and kittens. She and her neighbor share feeding. We're conference calling tomorrow so we can give info to both, saving time! We love people who love their yard cats and who understand the importance of TNR!!!!!