Sammie’s Tail Part 15

While waiting for the vet’s appointment, we put her in the bathroom.  We tried to read up on this stuff and educate ourselves to the best of our ability.  To put her in a small room would not overwhelm her.

Well, we put her in there and I opened the window for air.

Well, next thing we know, we had what we call today, “the great escape”.  The screen was completely chewed out, a complete circle that would fit Sammie perfectly in her light 6.7 lbs she was.

There in her usual spot where she sat and stared at us when she was outside, looking at us for food in our window.  I opened the door and as usual, she came in for the food, and we closed the door.

 

What was amazing, when we fed Sammie outside at the same time, she would sit in this sheltered spot and stare at us looking back at her and in our window.   It was funny and neat to us.  We figured she was smart.  We continue to learn how smart cats are.

Done and phew!!!  She is back home.  Wow, Home.  We have a responsibility for this life.  I felt excited and I took my responsibility very seriously.

She had her teeth cleaned and the bullet removed.  It was a pellet gun bullet and not a bb gun.  Wow!  I felt she had been abused on top of this. 

I still have the bullet in a container.  Why I kept it, I don’t know.  I felt sooo bad.

She had her teeth cleaned and a couple removed.  So now I not was only with a new cat, the first one I would ever have, the first pet too.  I was now going to give pain relief medicine 2 times a day for her teeth that was pulled.  We also gave her baby food as mild enough to eat.

So now this is the first pet I have ever had, responsible for this life, and now I have to be a medicine expert.  Gee wiz.

I feel her first days with us were more traumatic and not so great.  Also, try catching her to take her to the vet.  She eventually hid under a little house we bought behind the couch.  So we let her be where she wanted to be comfortable.  But she was in pain.

To catch her was traumatic for us and her.  I had a vet appointment.   Eventually, only one time, the vet techs came to our house and got her for us.  The first vet appointments were very stressful for all.

I hate to say this, but I think she chose us.  People say that.  I feel like she is my relative and some people can say I am crazy, but I really feel that way.  She was not going anywhere and we were committed and responsible.

 

https://sammiestail.com/355/

Sammie’s Tail Part 14

Now it was time to pick her up and take her to the vet.  Yikes again.  I was very excited and nervous.

We picked her up.  This is what we found out.  She is a she.  They clipped her ear.  Now we had decided to keep her inside so unfortunate that they had to do that with the ear.  I guess it is only cosmetic.  Normally the clipped ear is for cats who stay outside and people can identify that they have been trapped and neutered and won’t be adding more to the cat population that is outside and/or feral.

She got her major shots etc. and seemed to be ok.   The interesting thing, she was already fixed.  So she had been someone’s cat, or was dumped or whatever.  Sad.

I took her directly to the vet we chose in the have a heart cage.  The vet was in a nice area and they looked horrified that I brought this cat in with a trap/cage instead of a regular cat carrier.  They quickly removed her from it.  Now they were going to check what shots she had at the town and what else she needed.

I had previously felt something odd behind her ear like a round bump.  The vet confirmed that it was a BBgun bullet.   So, as I said, people are dangerous.  Someone shot at her.  I have heard horror stories of people putting cats in a box and shooting at them.   I will never understand.

They also wanted to have her back for a teeth cleaning as they confirmed gingivitis which humans get too.  It is a gum disease.  She already had missing teeth.  If we didn’t bring her in, she may eventually die from infections etc.

The vet was very nice and Sammie was very scared and very good.  She was small for a female and the vet said she was a different cat and suspected her to be a Burmese cat and not a domestic short hair.  She had a pushed in nose sort of and a different face and came from the Siamese and all of these types of cats get gingivitis so it fit.

Now we had to anticipate another vet appointment for her to be knocked out and have her teeth cleaned.

They will remove the bullet behind her ear at the same time.

 

 

Happy Canada Day July 1.           Happy 4th of July.

Sammie’s Tail Part 13

Now it is the night before Sammie’s appointment at the town.  It was for first thing in the morning.

So it was time to set the trap.  We thought we would let her come in and eat and well, just close the door.  Usually Sammie kept looking back and checking the door was open.  Well, my husband grabbed her and the I closed the door and we put her in the cage and then put her in the garage with the sheet covered.

I was so nervous, excited to get her checked out and get her shots for rabbis and other shots they need to be healthy.  But, beginning to feel like this cat’s mother.   I felt bad for her to be in the have a heart cage, but knew it was for the best.  I felt a big responsibility.

Now it is morning and we have Sammie in the cage in the garage.  I take her and put her in the car and drive to the town shelter.  Yikes.  Thank goodness I am early.  When I arrived, they told me they would clip her ear since I am using their facility.  I waited so long for this appointment.  I didn’t know what to do.  They advised me the cat stays in your house or out, which is it?  They told me about the dangers of having a cat outside.  Dangers of raccoons, cars, other predators and worst of all, unfortunately, people.

They also told me during some of my calls and visits to them to ask questions.  A cat that is fixed and stays outside must have a clipped ear to show she or he is fixed and won’t need to be trapped again as part of a TNR trap, neuter and release program to eliminate colonies of cats from increasing.

There are millions of cats living outside in the US alone.  So, this was a free service, so I said ok.  So the cat would have a clipped ear when I pick her up.  There was a time I was to come back later and pick her up.

They put the cats under anesthetic to do the procedures.  I won’t know anything until I pick her up. I had a ton of questions when I arrived.  They never seemed to end.  I went home and waited to pick her up later that day.

In the meanwhile, I was advised to take her to a local vet. I found one my neighbor uses, so I made an appointment.  As I found out they do not give them all the shots etc.  Also, we decided to bring her into the house.  Yikes!  So we were told to put her in a small place where she could get socialized and used to our house.   I did not know how to socialize a cat.  Yikes again.  I felt a big responsibility for the life of this cat.

 

Sammie’s Tail Part 12

 

We were now coaxing Sammie up our back stoop and into our backdoor area.  She would now come and eat with us sitting near her.  Wow.   It was now October 2012 and getting chilly to hang out while she ate her dinner.  We began the coaxing with treats.  We still fed her both soft and dry food.

We slowly graduated to being able to feed her right in our kitchen.   She would constantly be checking behind her to make sure we left our back door open which we did.  We would sit on the floor and enjoy her and watch her eat.  I did think to myself, maybe she has fleas, but I didn’t care.  She was so lovely and loving.

Outside on the bottom of the stairs of our stoop is where we continued to pet her.  She would raise her behind up and also head butt my legs constantly.  She appeared to be addicted to being pet.  We figured she must have been in a home before and socialized somewhat.  She ate in the kitchen but loved to be pet on the bottom of our stoop.

There was the tiniest kitten that showed up to also share in Sammie’s water and food.  I was trying to get near this cat, but so fast and gone in the blink of an eye.  I knew I would be able to get a home for this kitten.  However, so scared, fast and tiny.  It is like I had slippery fingers.   Not successful, so far.  In the meanwhile, it was almost time to trap Sammie.   We had the cage, the tuna and a sheet to cover over the cage to calm her.  The cover could be a sheet which we used, or a towel.   This way when they are trapped, it calms them to be in the dark.  I was told to use newspaper if they peed or whatever.  This was a big day.  Almost 3 months of knowing Sammie this way.

 Sammie Love – We love her just the way she is.

Sammie’s Tail Part 11

Happy 4^th of July & Happy Canada Day (July 1)

I wonder about Sammie’s story as this is her story, but I can’t fill in all the blanks for her.   I know people don’t like black cats, but not sure if this was the reason.   Was it her bad eye, they didn’t want a cat with a runny blind bad eye.  Such a loving cat left on her own.  Also being a purebred or almost purebred Bombay cat, the only black cat breed that someone paid for her and still she was left on her own.  So many like her. 

 

 

We also started to visit pet stores like MuttsandButts, Petco, Petsmart and places like North Shore Animal league and other shelters and rescue places here and there and the cats want love so much and may be waiting months to be adopted, just because they are not kittens.   I knew I may be allergic to cats as I always seemed to sneeze around them, so this was a perfect scenario to have Sammie outside.  Sammie has so much to offer.

I would check with my friend Margaret, about how she did things, ask people in the rescue places and try to learn a bit more.

Continuing to know Sammie better.    As time went on, she loved to be pet.  She began head butting me for more petting and was very affectionate.  She was very very soft and felt different than other cats I had pet before.   Her fur was more compact, felt very soft and different than other cats.  At this time we did not know she was a Bombay cat.  That comes later.

I could even pet her behind her ears also.  I felt a funny bump behind her ear.  I was anxious for her appointment with the town to get neutered to find out what that was and to know more about her.

We continued to enjoy her, hanging outside in my backyard with her.  She used her house sometimes.