Wordless Wednesday

My sweet budgies are adjusting well to their "winter quarters" in my bay window.

Marvelous Monday - My Cat the Clown

Today is Marvelous Monday yet my heart is feeling a little broken.  This morning I took my little clown cat "Kroompli" in to the vet and had to make the difficult decision to say good-bye to him forever.

Kroompli stalks our Roomba

We have been growing increasingly worried about Kroompli for the last month.  At first we thought maybe he was upset that Tiger (our shop cat who was a stranger to our house cats) was living in our sunroom.  Perhaps this is why his stomach seemed to be upset.  Then we thought it was because the little beggar managed to sneak into the mudroom where we keep our dog food and had a huge feast of dog food.  Surely that would be the reason why he suddenly had severe diarrhea and an upset tummy.  We took him to the vet a month ago and they confirmed after thoroughly examining the 18 pound monster that the dog food was probably the problem.

Kroompli investigates my flowers.

But then Kroompli began to lose weight. This cat who would eat anything became a very finicky eater. I tried different types of food and he seemed to perk up. But this past weekend, he suddenly took a big turn for the worse ... became very lethargic and looked like he was in a lot of pain. My husband and I checked him closely all over and felt what seemed to be a hard lump on his side. I took him to the vet first thing this morning and was told he has a cancerous mass on his stomach. It has appeared so rapidly that the vet feels it is an aggressive form of cancer. It was very obvious that he was in terrible pain so I made the decision to take care of him one last time by ending his misery.

Kroompli comes for a snuggle.

So today, on Marvelous Monday, though I am in tears, I am celebrating the life of a very loving pet who gave us so much joy over the 8 and a half years of his life.  Kroompli was born to my mother's cat "Button" on March 22, 2002 - one of 5 of Button's first and only litter.  He was such a sweet little kitten when he was born - all black and white patches, with his little ears folded down and his eyes shut.  He was the runt of the litter and right away I knew I would take him.  When he was 7 weeks old, we took him home and he quickly made himself at home, not only in our house, but in our hearts.  I gave him a Hungarian name "Kroompli" (meaning potato) in the hopes of ensuring that my husband, who is of Hungarian descent, would be happy that I was bringing home yet another kitten.  We were newly weds at the time but if I had known my husband better, I would have realized that it was a completely unnecessary gesture.  My husband absolutely loves cats and he and Kroompli became the very best of friends.

Kroompli loved his basket.

The runt of the litter grew fast!  Kroompli became a ginormous cat - the biggest cat we've ever had.  And what a clown!  He was an extremely playful cat who loved to lie on his back with his paws waving around in the air, begging to have his tummy rubbed.  He loved food, especially people food, and delighted in pushing his big nose into our cereal bowls in the morning, hoping to slurp up some milk and possibly some cereal too.  Kroompli loved to be snuggled and if he felt it was time for his cuddle, he would climb up on top of my computer and look at me with his beautiful big green eyes as if to say "Hello!!!  I'm much cuter than that stupid machine!"  And of course, he was much cuter, so I would stop whatever I was doing and scoop him up off of the computer and into my arms for a cuddle.  And he would look up at me with those flirtatious green eyes even as I was cuddling him, as if he was smugly acknowledging that he had me wrapped around his paw, and I would always do his bidding.

Kroompli discovers our wide-screen TV

Kroompli, annoyed that I won't let him eat the gingerbread house.

Kroompli poses as a Christmas ornament.

It's hard to imagine all that personality and life can simply end in one moment of time.  I can't imagine that his life is over.  This morning when I said good-bye to him, I told him that I hoped he would being seeing his brother Czardas soon - the beautiful black kitten we also adopted from his litter who later was killed on the road outside of our house.   And I said a blessing over him too - because I believe God created my little cat, and that somehow, He will find a place for him in eternity.  I hope that place is a sunny spot, where Kroompli can lie on his back, waving his paws in the air, and that someone kind and loving is there to lean over and give him a gentle tummy rub and whisper in his ear as I have done so many times, to tell him what a beautiful cat he is, and assure him that he brings joy wherever his paws take him.

Classic Kroompli pose - begging for tummy rub.

Marvelous Monday!

Oh, it has been a really crazy busy time here in the Magnolia household ... I apologize for getting side-tracked from regularly blogging last week and hope this week I'll be a little better at staying in touch.

Today is Marvelous Monday ... a windy cool day here in Southern Ontario.  I'm not complaining though because we have been enjoying such a wonderful hot summer that I don't begrudge a few days here and there of cool weather.

On this Marvelous Monday, I am especially thankful for my cat's recovery!   On Saturday, my little Tiger just seemed to turn a corner in her recovery and suddenly we looked up to see her walking almost 100% normal!  She's still "wobbly" so Mr. Magnolia says she walks a little bit like she's had too much to drink, but she's actually standing up completely on her back legs when she walks now so she no longer looks like a raccoon when she walks.  She has been only able to hold herself up about 3/4 of the way on her back legs up until now so she has been walking with a strange rolling, hunched-over gait.  I can't begin to tell you the feeling of joy that flood through me when I saw her stand up totally normal on Saturday and start to walk with like a healthy cat!  Every time I see her standing up properly now I get the same flood of joy in my heart.  I really didn't think she would ever walk normally again!

So on this Marvelous Monday, I'm very grateful to all of you for your prayers and kind thoughts towards my cat, and hope that somehow each one of you will able to see a little miracle in your own lives, to give you hope and cheer your hearts.

Blessings,

Ro

"I care not much for a man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it."  

Abraham Lincoln

Marvelous Monday!

It's Marvelous Monday!  And on this beautiful Monday morning, I really do have a lot to be thankful for.  This morning, I am especially thankful for the power of encouragement.

I have been so touched by all of the encouraging notes and messages I have received as I have been going through this difficult time with my little cat Tiger.  Words cannot express how much it has meant to me that so many of you have taken time to express an encouraging word.

It has always been my desire to be an encouragement to those around me, but I have found it to be very enlightening to be on the receiving end.  Your words of encouragement have been like little gifts of hope - hope that things will work out okay, hope that we will get through this, and hope that we are doing the best we can in the situation.  The encouragement I have received from friends, family, and fellow-bloggers has been like a breath of fresh air to me!

Knowing that so many of you are going through much more difficult and trying times than I am right now, yet you took the time out of your own struggles in order to encourage me, is very humbling.  So on this Marvelous Monday, I want to say a BIG THANK-YOU to all of you for your encouragement.  I hope I can be an instrument of encouragement in your lives as well.

I'll leave you with this little video clip - it's only 3 seconds long and you'll have to turn up your sound to listen to it - but I think it will make you smile.  It's a little snippet of Tiger having a cuddle with me the other night.  As she was snuggling with me, she was purring her little heart out!  It made me wonder what the function of a cat's purr really is!  Perhaps with mother cats, it's to help calm her kittens, kind of like a lullaby, but since male cats purr too, it can't only be for that purpose.  I wonder if a cat's purr is a form of encouragement too - encouraging the one who is purring and encouraging the one who is listening.  There is nothing quite so peaceful is the sound of a cat's purr that creates such an atmosphere of serenity, security, and love.  I think my  little Tiger's purr is letting me know that she is very happy to be alive and is going to be just fine!

Roller Coaster Ride!

When I was a kid, I loved roller coasters!  Actually, I still do - but not the modern ones with the loopy-de-loop, hang-you-upside-down-from-your-neck kind of ride.  No, I like the old-fashioned wooden roller coasters where you sat on a bench seat and where the ride had a couple of small hills, some twists and turns, and one great climb to a huge plummeting swooping downward spiral, all to the accompaniment of the rattling wooden track beneath you feet.  Remember those?  Those, my friends, were real roller coasters.

The Comet, 

now at Lake George, New York, 

in The Great Escape and Splashwater Kingdom,

has been restored to its former glory.  

It found its first home at 

Crystal Beach in Ontario, Canada

from 1948-1989.

Someday I hope to visit The Comet at its new home.

Growing up, we were lucky to live within a 45 minute drive of Crystal Beach, what was then a vibrant theme park and home of The Comet.  Awww...The Comet - my favourite roller coaster ever.  I dreamt of the day I would be tall enough to finally ride that coaster, watching my older siblings with a mixture of piercing envy and hidden fear as they tumbled wind-blown and happy at the end of the ride.  When the day finally came and I was tall enough for the "big people" rides, I was ecstatic!  And The Comet was everything I had imagined and more!  I can still remember the butterflies in my stomach as we rode that big hill, clicking and clacking up the track.  And then that brief second pause at the top, when the whole world seemed hushed and the laws of gravity stilled for just that second, before suddenly we were plunging down, down, down to the bottom, mouths open with glee, hands flung in the air, hair whipped back till we arrived breathless at the bottom, feeling somehow like we'd conquered a mountain or soared across the seas.

The problem with roller coasters, however, is that they aren't so much fun in real life.  Do you know what I'm talking about?  Days when your emotions are dragged all over the map, soaring to great heights, plunging to great depths, until your whole being feels stretched beyond repair and so very exhausted.

Right now, we are going through "roller coaster" times here in the Magnolia household.  A big part of it is the ongoing saga of our cat Tiger but of course, there are always other things going on as well because let's face it, life doesn't stop just because you are faced with a mini-crisis of one type or another.  I'm being pushed beyond my normal comfort zone to do things I wouldn't normally chose to do and that in itself is a stress.  I'm not good with "medical" things at the best of times and suddenly I am having to deal with a cat that needs medications five times a day, a bandage that has to be changed daily, wounds that have to be cleaned twice daily, a feeding tube that has to be used to feed the cat 3-4 times a day, and physiotherapy that I'm supposed to be giving her 4 times a day.

And obviously my cat isn't exactly enjoying this any more than I am!  Ever tried to give physiotherapy to a  tired, hurting little animal who has not in any way lost her ability to use her front claws?  Not fun!   She actually is being very patient, but she will growl at me with a warning and if I keep on going, she will swipe at me with her claws.  But the vet keeps insisting that it is imperative that I stretch both her back legs out 30-50 times, four times a day.  And giving her medication isn't exactly a picnic either!  She foams up at the mouth because the antibiotic tastes bitter and struggles so hard when I try to put any of her meds down her mouth with the syringe.  And all the time, I am very aware that she is hurting and I hate to hurt her any more.

Quite apart from the daily responsibilities of her care, is the fact that we have no idea if she is going to recover.  One day we have a positive day where she seems to be improving, and then the next day, it's like she's gone down hill again.  Up and down, the roller coaster drags us, from hope to despair.  And I am left questioning over and over again, if I have made the right decision to keep this little cat alive.

The thing is, when we first had to make the decision, we didn't have all the facts.  The emergency vet clinic we brought her to told us she had no fatal injuries, no broken bones, just one hip that had been pulled out of joint and some "unknown" damage to her other leg.  They assured us that the University of Guelph Vet team would be able to assess her much more accurately and since they are one of the only two spots in Ontario where vet surgery is available, it seemed logical to take her there.  At Uof G, the vets assessed her, even having a neurologist look at her, and they assured us that the "unknown" damage to her left leg was nothing to be concerned about.  Her right hip needed to be operated on, but her left leg would be fine.  They felt there was temporary swelling on her sciatic nerve on the left side and that given time, it would heal itself.

Strange thing:  No one ever talked about the bite wounds themselves.  No one explained that dog bites could be so deadly, that the small 1/2 inch punctures on the outside of her body could hide huge damage done by the way a dog shakes it's prey.

So, we authorized the surgeons to operate on her hip and clean up her wounds.  Then in the middle of the operation, they called us and said:
a) the hip operation went very well!
b) but the bite wounds were much more extensive than we realized and her stomach has been punctured,
c) but we can sew her stomach up and it will be okay, we just need you to authorize more money to be spent.

So, we thought YES!  sew up her stomach.  I mean, they had already done the expensive hip surgery and it was a success!  And they said if they sewed up her stomach it would be okay.  So why not go for it!

It wasn't until AFTER the surgery that the vet called us to explain that she had extensive wounds on her back, part of her tummy had to be removed, part of the abdominal muscle had to be removed, and they were very cautious about whether or not she would even survive the night.

So, the good news is that 12 days post-surgery, Tiger is alive!  But the harsh reality is that we have a little cat that has 20 staples in her stomach, about 10 regular stitches where they weren't able to use staples on part of her belly, a feeding tube, four staples under her chin where they attempted to put in some type of catheter but weren't successful, and two large stitched wounds, one on her hip where they did the surgery, and one on her back where they had to clean out a particularly bad bite wound, and plenty of little wounds that are about 1/2-3/4" in length all over back and hind legs.

According to the vet at U of G, she should be up and walking by now but so far, she is not doing much other than sleeping on her blanket.   Our own vet feels that is ridiculous and that with normal abdominal surgery they usually don't expect the cat to be up and walking for 12-14 days and then when you consider all the other trauma the poor cat has endured, it is no wonder she wants to stretch out on her blanket and sleep the day away!   But hearing such varying reports on her recovery is confusing and yet another part of the roller coaster.

My husband talked me into taking her outside today on her blanket.  It was a great idea!  She perked right up and began squiggling all over the grass, watching every bird as it flew by, and sniffing the grass with obvious delight.  But it became clear to us that she doesn't seem to be able to use her left leg at all right now.  She does stretch it out regularly when she is lying on her blanket, but obviously she can't hold herself up on it at all.  And the right leg that was operated on doesn't seem to be much better at this point.

So we are on the roller coaster still - wondering from day-to-day what kind of a long-term prognosis there will be for this little cat.  I spoke to the vet in Guelph yesterday, just clarifying a few details about her care.  One of my questions had to do with her medication.  The antibiotic and the stomach buffer have a specific end date on the labels, but the pain killers do not, so I wasn't sure how long I'm supposed to be giving them to her.  He explained that she might need to be on painkillers for the rest of her life!  This was one of those plummeting moments for me, because if she is going to be in pain every day for the rest of her life, I don't think it's fair to her to prolong her life.

Tiger is sitting up properly now on her blanket for a few hours every day. She is obviously getting stronger and feeling less pain every day.  The bandage around her neck is where her feeding tube is attached to her.  You can just see the orange feeding tube tucked behind her head in the picture.

My husband and I have talked this over extensively in the last week and have decided we will do everything to give her the best hope she can have for the next four to five weeks.  But after that period of time has passed, if she is not able to walk on at least one of her back legs, or if she is still in constant pain, we will have to make the difficult decision to put her to sleep.  In the mean time, I am going to do my best to take care of her medical needs, as well as spending lots of time cuddling her.  And she certainly hasn't lost her purr!  She stretches out beside me, tucks her head under my chin, and reaches one paw out to hold me, as if she is so thankful to know I'm there.

Last Sunday morning, I dragged myself to church feeling emotionally raw.  I couldn't believe it when the soloist for the day opened her mouth and began to sing.  She had selected one of my favourite hymns, one I hadn't heard for many years, and one whose words were particularly meaningful to me this week.  Knowing that we have a Heavenly Father who loves us and loves each little animal He created, is giving me strength as I ride this crazy roller coaster called life.  I hope the words minister to you as well.  (I've been singing the song all week long, replacing the words "the sparrow" with "my Tiger" - it has helped cheer me up considerably!)

1. 
   
   Why should I feel discouraged, why should the shadows come,
   Why should my heart be lonely, and long for heav’n and home,
   When Jesus is my portion? My constant Friend is He:
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
   • 
     
     Refrain:
     I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free,
     For His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
2. 
   
   “Let not your heart be troubled,” His tender word I hear,
   And resting on His goodness, I lose my doubts and fears;
   Though by the path He leadeth, but one step I may see;
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.
3. 
   
   Whenever I am tempted, whenever clouds arise,
   When songs give place to sighing, when hope within me dies,
   I draw the closer to Him, from care He sets me free;
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me;
   His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me.

Matthew 10:29-31 (New Living Translation)

²⁹ What is the price of two sparrows—one copper coin? But not a single sparrow can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it. ³⁰ And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. ³¹ So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

Tea Time Tuesday!

It's Tea Time Tuesday again over at Rose Chintz Cottage & Inspirations and Tea Cup Tuesday at Marthas Favorites.  Thanks once again to these lovely ladies for hostessing such delightful tea parties!

Where my dear "Mr. Magnolia" and I live in the Niagara Region, we are surrounded with lovely vineyards and quaint little villages, with only a half-hour drive to Niagara Falls or a one hour drive to Toronto.  As you can imagine, tourism is a big part of our local economy and as a result, we are very lucky to live within an easy drive of a number of really special tea rooms that cater to tourists and locals alike.

A couple of weeks ago, I visited one of those tea rooms with two very dear friends.  Located in Ridgeville, Ontario the Berry Patch is the sweetest little tea room you can imagine!  It's situated in a converted barn, with a little gift shop inside, and all the seating for the tea room is on the lovely deep verandah!

There are many teas to select from and each person is served their tea in an individual china tea pot with a unique china tea cup and saucer.  I chose a delicious Earl Grey Cream and found it to be an extremely smooth version of Earl Grey.  I had a lovely pink tea cup to drink it from.  Each tea drinker is also given their own little sieve to keep out the loose leaf tea.

They really do grow their own berries at The Berry Patch and my delicious scones came garnished with lovely plump fresh raspberries straight from the garden!

The gift shop has many lovely things to choose from and it was fun to browse.  Of course there were lots of tea related items, but also some lovely hand-made jewelry and other "girly" things that were lots of fun to check out!

My friends and I had a wonderful "tea date," enjoying the atmosphere and pretending for a moment that we were back in a more civilized time, with no troubles too great that a "spot of tea" couldn't cure them!  But we also had a true time of sharing and caring, something that is often done much more easily over a hot cup of tea or coffee.  It reminded me once again of just how valuable real friendships are - in this case, our friendships have endured well over twenty years, through incredible life changes, difficulties and joys.  I hope we're still drinking tea together when twenty more years have passed.

"Oil and perfume rejoice the heart; 

so does the sweetness of a friend's counsel 

that comes from the heart."

Proverbs 27:9

And just a little update on my dear "Tiger" - she is getting better every day!  It will be a long recovery time for her but we think she is doing quite well.  Thank-you to all for your prayers and positive thoughts!  She sends purrs back in your direction, and we send our many, many thanks for your kindness.

A Message from Tiger

Thank-you everyone for praying for me and sending me your love.  I am getting better and want to go home!  The vet says I have to stay at this hospital place until Sunday.   My tummy is sore and I can't understand why my back paws don't work very well right now, but I still tried very hard to stand up to see my Mummy when she came to visit me.  And when she said good-bye, I tried to struggle off of this silly rolling cart they had me on so I could go home with her, but the vet wouldn't let me.  Mummy says I have to try to be a good girl and keep resting up.

The vet told Mummy that I was a very sweet cat.  Mummy told the vet that obviously I am not back to normal because normally I am a feisty little tyrant.  She told the vet that she will know I am back to normal when she hears that I scratched someone for being annoying.  Mummy says I don't suffer fools gladly.  I'm not sure what that means, but I think she means that I don't take guff from anyone.  When I am feeling stronger, I will do my best to let the entire vet staff know that I am their superior in every way.  But for now, I'm just getting lots of sleep and hoping that my Mummy comes to take me home very soon.

UPDATE!!!


The Vet Hospital just called and I can pick Tiger up today!!!  Apparently she responded so well to my visit that she kept moving around after I left last night and they decided she would be much better off at home.  I'm going up to pick her up around 4:30 and they will be giving me a 45 minute training session on how to care for her, change her bandages, give her physiotherapy, feed & medicate her through her feeding tube, etc.  I'm a little nervous but very happy too.  I know my cat and I think she'll recover a lot faster at home.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright

Great report from the vet this morning!  Tiger is doing very well.  She is healing very fast and so this morning they were able to take out the drain on her stomach wound.  They are lowering her dose of morphine based pain-killer and starting her on non-steroid anti-inflammatory medicine so that she will be more alert and also to help reduce swelling.

And I get to go visit her this afternoon!  It's kind of funny that I'm going to be driving over an hour to go visit my cat for 15 minutes.  But I'm just so thankful that I get to see her.  I don't want her to think I've abandoned her.

The vet is hoping that while I'm there, we can get her to start trying to stand up.  I'm bringing my camera, so I will try to get a picture of her so you can all see what she looks like - I suspect she will look pretty bizarre!  But she's my little Tiger regardless of how strange she will look with tubes sticking out of her, hair shaved off and bandages all over.  I can't wait to see the little feline!

Thank you so much for all of your prayers, purrs, and positive thoughts.  I know it has encouraged me tremendously to know so many people are caring for her.  And I do happen to believe in the power of prayer.  In fact I really think God helped me find the little tyke when she was stuck up the tree and had no strength left to meow.  I'm praying that she will get stronger every day and come home soon.

Tiger Update

Well, Tiger my feisty little cat is apparently doing better this morning.  That's the good news for today.

Last night we got a very disturbing call from the Vet Clinic to let us know that when they operated on Tiger, they discovered that her bite wounds were much worse than they had realized.  Her little tummy was punctured!  So her leg being out of joint was only a minor repair really, but the tummy had to be repaired too, along with the muscle that holds the abdominal cavity in place.

Honestly, if we would have known the extent of her injuries right from the start, I think we would have had the little cat put peacefully to sleep.  She ended up last night with surgery to her hip, two drainage tubes from her two most serious wounds (one on her back, one on her tummy), stitches in her tummy wall and in her abdominal wall ... and then they told us that "of course, with dog bites, there is no guarantee she won't die anyway from infection!"   However they never told us that to begin with, in fact they downplayed her puncture wounds and said her only serious injury was to her hip!  And apparently they also put in a feeding tube because they were worried after all that surgery, she might not eat and then would die from liver failure because she stopped eating. : (

I was so overwhelmed last night after they called -- I just couldn't believe we had put that poor little cat through all of those surgeries and it might not work anyway!  I felt kind of duped by the vets.  They called in the middle of surgery to say the hip operation had gone very well, but after they had repaired her hip, they examined her bite wounds and that they needed permission to sew up her tummy.  I'm not sure why they couldn't have examined her wounds first before doing the hip operation and called us right away.  However, they didn't and we did give them permission to sew up her tummy.  And it wasn't until after the operation that they told us they had actually had to cut away part of her abdominal muscle and that as a result, her intestines might fall out in the next day in which case she will die anyway.

But this morning, they called with good news, or what they are calling "cautiously optimistic" news - Tiger ate on her own so they didn't have to use the feeding tube and she is already trying to sit up and move her left leg that was operated on.  All of her wounds and incision sites are clean looking with no sign of infection.  She is in the animal equivalent of ICU so I can't go see her today, but they will let me see her tomorrow.  The vet said she is on an upward swing, but warned me that with dog bites, she could easily spiral back down quickly so I shouldn't get to hopeful.  The next 24 hours are critical.

I wish they had told me right up front that the dog bites were so serious.  I wish they had examined her wounds before they did the expensive surgery on her hip.  But most of all, I wish poor little Tiger hadn't escaped from the shop and run off on an "adventure" that has used up probably more than one of her nine lives.

She is a real little fighter though - how else could she have escaped with such serious wounds, managed to haul herself up a tree, and held herself there for hours until I could find her and rescue her?  So I hope my little tigress holds on to her fighting spirit and gets through all of this.  And our budget somehow survives!  We definitely won't be going on a vacation this year after this expense, but if our little cat comes through it okay, I would rather spend the time at home anyway, cuddling the little bean and trying to keep her out of trouble!  : )

Wounded Kitty Prayer Request

Tiger hanging out at the shop several months ago.

Does it seem silly to ask for prayer for one of my cats?  Maybe, but not to me - in fact I prayed all night long last night that God would help me find her because she was missing, and I'm convinced He helped me!

I had a lovely idea for a TeaTime Tuesday post today - all ready to go with pictures and everything, but I'm going to save it for next week.  Right now, I'm going to ask you to pray for my beloved Tiger.

Tiger, our shop cat, was only about 10 weeks old when we discovered her and her litter mates out the back of my husband's automotive repair shop.  Her mother was absolutely wild and would not come near us, but it was the most horribly cold snowy December when we discovered they were our "guests" so we began to put food out for them daily, to make sure they would survive.

Originally there were 3 kittens.  One disappeared shortly after we discovered them.  The two that remained grew up from little kitten-hood to semi-adult kitten-hood and seemed to be quite healthy.  We fed them daily but they still would not let us near them.  One day, when they were about 4 months old, their mother was killed on the highway in front of our shop.  Shortly after that, the male kitten was killed in almost the exact spot.  Tiger was left on her own, but still she wouldn't let me touch her.  The great thing was that she would never go near the road, even from the time she was a wee little kitten.  So at least I didn't have to worry about her meeting the same fate as her mother and brother.

Then, when she was about 6 or 7 months old, she started to go into heat for the first time.  There were male cats everywhere!  Howling, mewling, snarling, male cats appeared from every direction!  I was actually caught between two of them fighting one day and got quite scared because they looked so mean!  And yes, Tiger got "knocked up."  But the good news was that with the help of all those hormonal swings going on in her body, she finally let me pet her for the first time.  And soon, she would even let me pick her up and put her in my lap and hold her.  She still had never been inside of a building, but at least we were making progress.

When her kittens (all 5 of them!) were born inside of a scrap tire behind our shop, I got to see them briefly before she whisked them away and hid them on me.  But after moving them a few times, Tiger finally decided she would trust me with them, so by the time they were about 4 days old, I was able to start playing with them and petting them.  When they were 8 weeks old, I took them away from her, brought them to our home and got them litter-trained, vet-checked, and found homes for them.  The reason I took them away so soon is because a female cat will go into heat again about 8 weeks after a litter is born and I really didn't want her to get pregnant again!  Now that she was so tame, I took her to the vet right away and got her spayed.  Even though she seemed tame to me at this point, she still had never been inside of a building and was so frantic in the kennel at the vets that she tore the skin of her face trying to escape through the bars.

But when I brought her home from the vet's, I decided to take her right into the shop and from that moment on, she made it her home.  She would go out side during the day and then come in for the night.  Gradually she became more and more tame and pretty soon she would go for days without going outside.  That was several years ago and she now feels that she owns our shop!  She is a little leery around strangers but surprises us from time-to-time by befriending one of our customers that she has arbitrarily decided she will trust.  Every afternoon at around 4 o'clock, Tiger knows it's her "bed time" so she usually goes over to the stock room door and waits for me to put her in there for the night.  The reason we close her in there, is so that she won't set off the motion sensors for our alarm system.  It's a decent sized room and she has her own shelf with her cat bed on it and her litterbox, water dish, and food dish.  It also has a big window for her to gaze out of, and a small window that looks into my husband's office, so she can look in there if she'd rather have an "interior" view.

Over the last 6 years since we've tamed her, I have debated back and forth about letting her outside.  Our house cats are strictly indoor cats because we live on a very busy highway, about one block from our shop.  But because Tiger was so wild before, I decided that she would never be happy if I didn't let her go outside during the day.  Also, during the summer months, my husband works with the shop doors all open to let a breeze through the building, so short of keeping her enclosed in that little shop room day and night, she would be able to get out whether I wanted her to or not.  So far, it is has worked out very well because she doesn't  go very far during the day and usually only goes outside for an hour or so at a time.  And she seems to stay well away from the highway.

Last night, however, she escaped.  My husband was working late and needed a part in the stock room.  He went in shutting the door behind him, but his customer didn't realize there was a cat there and yanked the door  open.  Tiger scooted out of the stock room and out of the big garage door like a blur.  I have no idea why she wanted out of there so bad, but the bottom line is she darted out and was gone like a flash.

My husband called me to let me know, so I went over to the shop and called her and called her, but she wouldn't come.  We stayed until midnight trying to find her, wandering around all over our property and the neighbour's field trying to find her.   Finally, we came home, sick at heart and very worried.  I couldn't sleep all night and prayed and prayed asking God to help me find her.  At 5 this morning, it started to get light out side, so I told my husband I was going back to the shop to try and find her.

I found her up a tree, severely wounded, but alive.  It's a miracle that I found her and another miracle that she trusted me enough to back down the tree into my arms even though she was in intense pain and extremely frightened.  The reason I was able to find her, is that she was in a tree up against the chain link fence between our property and our neighbour's and their large dog was barking furiously at the tree only about two feet away from it!  You can imagine how frightened Tiger was!  If she had fallen the wrong way coming down the tree, she would have ended up on the side of the fence with the dog!

We don't know if she was attacked by that dog or by a coyote, but there are bite marks all over her back and one of her legs has been dislocated.  We rushed her to an emergency vet clinic this morning where she was medicated and assessed and then we rushed her to Guelph University Veterinary College where she is having surgery right now.  The good news is that none of her injuries are life-threatening.  The bites are being cleaned and drained and her leg is being surgically fixed - basically they are taking the ball part of her hip joint right out, which sounds awful but apparently is the best thing under the circumstances and she will able to walk normally once it heals.  She has some nerve damage to her left leg as well, but the surgeon who examined her feels quite confident that it is caused by temporary swelling and in a few days should be better.

So please pray for my little Tiger, or if you don't pray, send warm fuzzy feelings in her direction.  She's just one little cat, but she is such a special little one, as they all are, and is very well-loved by my husband and I.  I know that God helped me find her, and it is amazing she survived being attacked, so I'm believing God will help her to recover as well.

Marvelous Monday!

Whew! It's a hot one today ... when I took the dogs for a walk at 7:30 this morning, it was already 90 degrees in the shade and there's 64% humidity, making it feel even more hot!  Thank goodness I actually love hot, humid weather.  But today, on this Marvelous Monday, the heat is making me extra thankful for two recent garage sale purchases:

The first purchase was an outdoor bathtub we came across.  It's a small tub, carefully built into a nice wooden box with casters underneath.  I think it was put together by someone who was a professional dog groomer and it certainly made me think immediately of my dogs.  Perfect for these DAWG DAYS of summer!

Deezer, my Jack Russell, doesn't normally like to get wet, but with these hot temperatures, she has been jumping right into her new bathtub as soon as we get back to the house from our morning walk.  She doesn't play in the water, just sits there in complete bliss and laps the water with her little pink tongue.

Bella, my black lab, ADORES water!  She thinks the new bathtub is absolutely WONDERFUL!  (although I think she wishes it was much, much bigger!)   She could play for hours in there and loves digging around in the water and splashing me as much as possible in the process.  : )

Our last garage sale find is also a wonderful treat in this hot weather.

Eventually it will find a home on our front verandah, but for now, it's tucked in a shady spot under a cherry tree where it's catching a light breeze.  It was the perfect spot to enjoy my morning coffee today.  

Marvelous Monday - Expect the Unexpected!

It's Marvelous Monday once again -






and today I am thankful for unexpected treasures...

For wild roses, planted by the birds and tended by nature...

....for daisies that spread with wild abandon by the side of the road...

...and for dragonflies with fairy wings.

For unusual garden sculptures deliberately placed to catch your eye...

...and incidental farm sculpture oblivious to its own beauty.

For Sunday drives with stunning views...

...that lead to unexpected roadside stands...

and spontaneous strawberry socials!

And when we return home, for cold wet noses...

and waggly tails...

and cedar wax wings whistling in the Saskatoon Berry trees.

I am Alpha Dog, Hear me Woof!

Today is Mother's Day and while I'm not a mother in the usual sense of the word, I am the happy owner of 3 cats (+ one on-and-off stray), 2 dogs and 2 budgies.  Sometimes this feels a little like being a mother, sometimes a little like being a zoo keeper, but frequently it feels suspiciously like I'm running a mad house!

Our animals have issues - and thus we have issues (or maybe it's the other way around???).   What this translates to is that the dogs and cats and budgies must all be kept separate.  While my black lab has always been cat-friendly (we got her when she was only 7 weeks old and she used to sleep curled up with our cats), my little Jack Russel Terrorist came to us when she was a few years old.  She already had developed quite a few life patterns that were unacceptable.  Some I have been able to break her of - others, not so much.  Unfortunately she was trained from a young age to hunt and (attempt to) kill cats.  In actual fact, being a terrier she would love to hunt and kill pretty much anything including things smaller than her (mice, birds, rabbits) and things much larger than her (horses, cows, and especially the dreaded garden statues which seem to be particularly repugnant to her murderous little mind).  Which means that my dogs and cats must never meet.  And although I have heard lovely stories of cats who have bonded deeply with birds, the only way my cats want to bond deeply with my birds is through that time-honoured system known as digestion.

So a year ago when we finally managed to enter the modern world of civilization, ditched our TVs antiquated rabbit ears and connected to cable, I was delighted to discover Cesar Milan, that dog-training guru, whose program "The Dog Whisperer" airs regularly on the National Geographic Channel.  Oh, he made the whole dog training process look so easy!  I watched religiously.  I took copious notes.  I became a die-hard fan.  His words became like manna to my parched and harried soul.  I learned that I must exude confidence, breathe deeply, remain calm in every situation, and always, always maintain a balanced emotional state so that my dogs would sense that I was the Alpha Dog, the Leader of the Pack, the Great Gazoo in my family unit.

In fairness to Cesar and his wonderful program, I have to say that things have improved since I started to practice his techniques.  No longer do the dogs burst out of the door as soon as it is opened.  They now pause inside the open door, bums wiggling with excitement, tongues lolling out of their mouths, looking up at me with intense joy until I signal them that they are allowed to go outside.  This is a major improvement!  I have also managed to curb their food aggression issues by taking control of the dog kibble, forcing them to stay several feet away from the food dishes while I prepare their supper, and only allowing them to eat once I have given them the signal.  This is another major improvement and means that the two dogs no longer end up in outrageous fights over the food dish, outrageous fights that were almost inevitably initiated by the 11 pound Jack Russel Terrorist, but most certainly, without my timely intervention, would have been finished off by the 85 pound black lab!

But along the way, there have been moments when I have felt like a complete and colossal failure.  I was out walking my dogs one day, each one on their four-foot leash.  Everything was going fine.  I was breathing confidence, feeling my calm inner-self taking control, shoulders back, head up, I was the ALPHA DOG!  When suddenly Bella, my black lab, darted into the hedge and in less than 30 seconds emerged from the hedge with a full-grown angry, frightened muskrat in her mouth.  Deezer, my Jack Russell, began to yip hysterically.  She was so full of jealousy, anger, and the desire to kill that she was literally hovering above the ground on the end of her leash.  The muskrat was shrieking for dear life!  Bella began to shake the muskrat viciously, blood spattering everywhere.   Her eyes took on that ominous red glow I have noted before whenever she gets the taste of red blood and raw meat.  My heart rate escalated to alarming rates.  My shoulders were no longer held back in a stance of confidence.  I was no longer feeling calm, confident energy.  I had two dogs and a dying muskrat attached to the ends of my arms by four-foot chains, all three animals attempting to go in different directions, one animal growling, one animal yipping, and one animal giving out a final death rattle before succumbing to a high-speed shaking death.  Where was Cesar when I needed him?????

Within a few moments the muskrat had been entirely inhaled by my lab, and I do mean INHALED!  She left nothing but the claws behind.  And then, having morphed into a blood-thirsty wild beast, she turned on my Jack Russell with a vengeance.  I actually don't know if she would have seriously injured her but I wasn't about to give her the opportunity, especially since Deezer is the hugest pest in the world and frequently nips at Bella's paws for no good reason.   I wasn't sure if this was the time when the "still waters that run deep" in Bella might erupt into some kind of raging volcano.

Fortunately, as I have discovered to be consistently true after a fresh-blood kill, Bella only took about 5 minutes to turn back into her sweet and lovable self.  Deezer, who will always be a trouble-maker, remained hyper and aggressive, but it's hard to incite anger in a laid-back, mellow black lab who likes nothing more than to be as happy-go-lucky as can be and has just had a delicious snack of fresh muskrat.  So the walk eventually ended with a modicum of calm, even though my own heart was still racing.

Later the guilt settled in as I reviewed all that I could possibly have done differently.  And it occurred to me that perhaps this is how parents feel, second-guessing their decisions, trying to remain calm and appear confident in the midst of chaos, and then later feeling guilty, completely convinced that someone else would have handled the situation in a far superior manner.  It makes me appreciate my own parents even more.   Having 5 kids in 6 years must have been quite a handful and I'm sure there were moments where we gave my Mum and Dad reason to second-guess themselves and their decisions.  I hope through all of it, they realize how much we appreciate them.  And to all of you who are mothers, I take my hat off to you today and wish you well!   I bet you get more things right than you realize, I bet your kids love you more than you can ever know, and I bet you will never have to deal with one of your children holding a bloody muskrat in his or her mouth while shaking it to death on the side of the road!

Here's a pic of Deezer trying to look as innocent as can be having just given herself purple spots all over by rolling around under the mulberry tree.  No one would guess from this picture what a little tyrant she is!