The heat is on........

So you think two three-pound kittens can't burn down a library? Wrong..... While "Peanut Butter" and "Jelly" were visiting the library, they stayed in my office, and managed to get into REAL mischief. I was out front talking with patrons for over an hour, and decided to quickly check out to see if they were asleep. Looking in the door's window, all seemed serene as they were smugly sitting quietly on the desk and computer. Fortunately, I decided to go in and give them a pat and put more food in their dishes. However, upon entering I smelled fire. At first I assumed the smell was coming in the open window from someone burning rubbish outside. Then, as I approached my desk, I was horrifed to see smoke rising from my leather blotter! The little monsters had been playing with the dangling cord which turns on my green glass banker's light . Apparently, they had managed to yank on it, which turned it on, and knocked it over. The bulb was rapidly raising the temperature of the blotter to the point of bursting into flame. Good thing I went in, that's for sure. Meanwhile Rosemary, our children's librarian, came running in and raced with the blotter out to the back steps. Whew! We laughed, but the Marion FD wouldn't have found it funny at all. (Especially since they had already rescued one of my other guys-detailed in Emma vs. the MFD. )

ALLEY CATS ALLIED

A headline in the local paper recently read "OFFICIALS TO TRAP FERAL CATS". Reading further, I noted that the healthy ones would be taken to local shelters, and those that were "ill" would be destroyed. There is no question that if a huge colony had been allowed to develop in Freetown, it was problematic as to how to control it or fix the situation. As a rescue person myself, I look at this situation from a totally different perspective. The Marion library is obtaining pamphlets from Alley Cats Allied, an advocacy group, describing what to do with strays in your neighborhood and why killing off ferals will not stop the population from growing once again in an area where there is food (and, of course, is inhumane, except for those who are truly ill). Basically: you are not being kind in just feeding a stray that comes to your door. After inquiring with neighbors as to whether or not he/she is owned, the kindest thing to do is to trap the cat and have it spayed or neutered. ( I will volunteer to have a jar on the library counter to help raise funds. ) Then, release it. As the feral cat advocacy experts say: Ferals like living away from humans. If there is a food source, they will stay in that area and be content. Spaying and neutering all strays, hopefully one by one, will keep the colony from growing. Then, folk may feed them, and even provide outdoor shelter, to their heart's content. I will be writing more about this as events unfold. The Freetown Library, where this is happening, will have information to help their citizens, too. There's a lot of work involved in loving animals, but we can do it together!

R.I. "Pee" Little "Bee"

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to my little black cat . Boston Blackie, known as Bee, was a tiny little girl with front legs that had never grown properly and were too short, so she always walked, and ran, at a tilt. She was my first foster-care baby, and like so many before me, I couldn't give her up. Coming from a feral background, she exhibited many of the traits of her wild ancestors, fearing strangers, and people in general. However, she loved my other cats and soon became a part of the pack, sleeping and eating, and playing with them every day. I could get near her at feeding time, always patting and stroking her to keep up a connection. Over the Fourth of July weekend I noticed she wasn't running into the kitchen to her bowl with the others. I soon discovered her hiding under one of the beds. This is usually not a good sign with any animal because when they're really feeling sick, they hide. As each day went by, I hoped for the best, that she'd be out and about, but by Monday I knew she was seriously ill. The big dilemma was: how to capture her and get her to the vet's. I called upon my good friend Carol, who is a cat caregiver herself, to try to shoo her out one side of the quilt so that I could grab her in a blanket and drop her into a carrier. Bee just screamed and ran. Then we knew we had to get the Animal Control Officer to come help. Sue King warned me that she would have to use a noose on a pole, and , wearing heavy gloves, she dragged Bee, yelling at the top of her lungs, and managed to get her into the carrier. There was no other way.......We drove to the emergency hospital in Buzzards Bay where they are equipped to deal with all kinds of situations. I had to put "she can't be handled" on the intake form.......When we got into an examining room with an ER vet we discussed our dilemma. (Bee was silent all this time, feeling safe in the box.) Dr. Robertson said that in order to determine what was wrong, a cat that was so wild would have to be sedated. All the necessary tests would be very expensive, and then we had the dilemma of how to administer medication if she couldn't be handled at all. Also, since she was very ill, it was most likely that she'd have to come back for re-checks. This meant calling the ACO again and terrorizing B. The decision to end her suffering had to be made, but it was very, very painful because I still didn't know WHAT was WRONG? I did remember that she'd had 10 happy years in my house that she never would have had outside with her mother. The head of Cause for Paws also told me that no one else would have adopted her with those bizarre legs. So, I just had to let go and keep remembering her funny little self. One final note. At this wonderful hospital they have a special way of dealing with the death of animals like Bee who are very frightened of being touched. They kept the carrier temporarily, and Dr. Robertson said it would very gently be tipped into a large glass enclosure where she would lie and fall asleep as gas was administered. Only after this, would the final anaesthetic be given to her. This kind of tender loving care and respect for shy Bee's need to be separate, though loving her caretakers for sure, is rare and wonderful. I am so grateful to the doctors and techs and my friends for all their support and wisdom at this time of sadness. A little black shadow flitted through my kitchen last night-just a glimpse......