Four Months Today

For four months I've been hoping our feral cat MaMa would return, but so far she hasn't showed up. As I've mentioned before, she ran off when workmen came in the backyard to do slab work. I still receive phone calls and within the last two weeks I checked out two possible sightings, but the cats I saw weren't MaMa.

MaMa lived in our yard for nine years and during that time we had other workmen in the yard and she never ran off. That's why I feel pretty confident that she probably hid under the deck when she heard them and then panicked when they starting pulling up the boards.

I just feel so bad for her. I wanted her to live out her days peacefully in our yard where she was safe.

The life of a feral cat is never easy. I had no idea there were so many out there, but I've spoken to quite a few people that are feeding them just within a half mile of my house.

I read on a website that if your cat is missing you should continue to put out food. In fact, they said to put out a kitty buffet in hopes the food will attract other cats and your cat will follow those cats back. It sounded like a plan, so I continued to put food out. I now have another feral cat living under the deck with her four kittens. At first I felt guilty continuing to feed her, but my son reminded me that she was hungry too. And I'm also hoping that someone is feeding MaMa for me.

I'm planning to try and catch this mother cat and have her fixed like we did with MaMa. She can live in the backyard and if MaMa comes back they can be companions. MaMa always enjoyed the company of neighborhood cats. If we can tame the kittens it's possible they can be put up for adoption, but it might already be too late.

Almost done! Family update...

As I write this Reid is down at MD Anderson having chemo. There will be one more treatment after today, and the end is in sight!

Last week I mentioned to him that he only had two more treatments. He told me that he doesn't think of it as only. For him each treatment is an ordeal. Two weeks ago he was very sick for around five days. It varies from treatment to treatment and I'm hoping this week's treatment and the last one will be better.

He had his doctor's appointment yesterday and since he's been having some shortness of breath they've removed the one chemo drug for these last two treatments. Hopefully, that will make a difference.

Tomorrow is Easter, but for Reid it means another trip down to MD Anderson for the shot he receives 24 hours after chemo.

Meanwhile, our feral cat MaMa has never returned. It's been over two months, but I still hope I'll go out there one day and she'll be back. We received a phone call Thursday evening from someone that thought they might have seen her. We drove over to the spot and looked around and called, but saw nothing.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow!

Family Updates...

Last week Reid went with me to visit Dad at the nursing home. He hadn't been for a while and I wondered if Dad would remember him. Dad spent most of the visit drinking the milkshake we brought him and only said a few words the entire time. As we were leaving he told Reid to get well. We were both shocked since I had no idea if he even remembered that Reid was undergoing chemo for Hodgkin's Lymphoma. We think Dad is often off in his own little world and on occasion snaps out of it and joins us in this world.




Reid had a PET scan last Thursday and the usual blood work. On Friday he had his doctor's appointment at MD Anderson. His voice has been weak and horse for a long time. We were originally told it was because the mass in his chest was pushing on his vocal cords. Reid has found communicating a little frustrating and was looking forward to his voice improving. At his last visit we asked why his voice was still horse even though the mass had shrunk significantly. Well, the latest PET scan indicates that his one vocal cord is paralyzed. We were told this can sometimes happen after a chest biopsy or it could possibly still be from the mass. It just sounds like it's more likely from the biopsy. If it's from the mass there is a possibility the vocal cord will recover. So, we just have to hope and pray that's the case. Reid was very disappointed with this news.

The doctor said when he completes chemo he'll have a consultation with the radiologist to see if he can have radiation. He probably will, but since his mass was so large there is a possibility the field is too great for radiation. We'll have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

We also learned that the mass hasn't shrunk much since the last scan, but were told this is common. I guess it shrinks significantly at first and then slows down. I asked if it would be gone by the time he finishes chemo and was told no. It will continue to shrink on it's own for one to two years. After that he will be left with scar tissue.

This past Saturday he went for chemo again. That means there are only (easy for me to say) 3 chemo treatments left. There is light at the end of the tunnel! This time he seems to be doing a little better. They tweaked his medication again and he has been able to keep food down. He sleeps a lot, but fatigue is a constant side effect.

I asked what the stage of his cancer was originally. (I hadn't wanted to ask before.) He had stage 4 cancer, but with Hodgkin's Lymphoma it doesn't have any bearing on the success (or lack of success) of the treatment. It only indicates that it left the lymphatic system and with him that was his spine. I've mentioned before how Hodgkin's is different from other cancers in that only about 1% of the mass is cancer. The rest is inflammation and white cells. That is why there is a pretty good cure rate. Although there are no guarantees we remain very optimistic and hopeful.

Reid still walks with a cane when he goes somewhere, but around the house he goes without. He just needs it for balance when stepping off curbs or on uneven surfaces.

I want to thank everyone that calls and/or sends E-mails asking how Reid is doing and offering their morale support. You know who you are and it means a lot. Thanks for being with us on Reid's journey back to good health.



Meanwhile, MaMa our feral cat has been missing for six weeks now. I've put about 125 fliers on doors in the surrounding neighborhoods and continue to get calls from people who think they might have seen her. We continue to go out looking for her and I'm hoping she'll hear my voice and associate it with food and come home. Meanwhile, I continue to put food out for her. I had thought she might be sneaking into the yard and eating, but discovered this going on in broad daylight. Someone will have to tell this possum that he's supposed to sleep during the day!



That's it for the latest update from the Martin Family!

ALPHABE-THURSDAY - "F" is for Fear

It's time again for Alphabe-Thursday hosted by Jenny over at Jenny Matlock..."off on my tangent." For a list of participants head over to her blog. This week we are doing the letter "F."

I wasn't sure what word I'd use for the letter "F" until I picked up the dog from the dog groomer and brought her home this afternoon. For some strange reason our cat Zoom has a terrible FEAR of the dog when she first comes home from the groomer. It's as if she no longer recognizes her. Her tail will go up and she'll arch her back. Then she stalks the dog from a distance.



She even hid behind the vacuum of all things!



She slowly works her way closer to the dog.



All the cats are a little curious, but Zoom is full of FEAR.



(The last two pictures are kind of dark because the sun was shining in the window. Click on pictures to enlarge.)

One time the dog didn't even see Zoom when she came happily running into the room. Zoom was startled and attacked the dog in FEAR. It was like one of those cartoon fights between the dog and the cat. The two of them went rolling across the floor. Now I try and watch for a while so that doesn't happen again. They're actually very good friends and normally have a good time playing together. Within a few hours things will be back to normal.

According to Dictionary.com the definition for FEAR is a distressing emotion aroused by impending danger, evil, pain, etc., whether the threat is real or imagined; the feeling or condition of being afraid.

Here are some FEAR quotes that I like:

Let us never negotiate out of fear. But let us never fear to negotiate.
John F. Kennedy

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.
Nelson Mandela

In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure.
Bill Cosby

We gain strength, and courage, and confidence by each experience in which we really stop to look fear in the face... we must do that which we think we cannot.
Eleanor Roosevelt

When even one American - who has done nothing wrong - is forced by fear to shut his mind and close his mouth - then all Americans are in peril.
Harry S. Truman

I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.
Rosa Parks

I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
Isaac Asimov

And here are some well known words on FEAR by Franklin D. Roosevelt:




NOTE: On Friday it will be five weeks since our feral cat MaMa ran off in FEAR when we had workmen in the backyard. She had been with us for nine years, but was not tame and had a FEAR of most people. I still miss her very much. It sounds strange, but I was just as close to her as I am to my indoor cats. We've put fliers on 100 doors in the surrounding area, posted signs, and continue to check with animal control every few days. I've had a couple of calls and learned of a few feral cat colonies nearby. I continue to search for her and I'm not about to give up. It makes me very sad.

Updates on the latest happenings...

REID

Reid had his doctor's appointment at MD Anderson last Friday and on Saturday he had another chemo treatment. He's now slightly more than half way through. YEA!

I am so grateful that he's in remission, but the treatments continue to be difficult for him. It's difficult to see him so sick every other week. And he's very tired. I think everyone that goes through chemo complains about the constant fatigue.

He'll be scanned again after the next chemo so they can be sure the mass continues to shrink. Yes, he's in remission even though he still has a mass. That's what makes Hodgkin's Lymphoma a unique cancer. Only approximately 1% of the mass was cancer and that is believed to be gone now.

He'll finish up with the chemo in May and then radiation will follow. I have no idea how long that will take.

His walking has greatly improved and all he needs is a cane now. There's been a lot of progress since the tumor in his spinal canal was removed. YEA!

MAMA

Our feral cat MaMa has been missing for three weeks today. Earlier this week I passed out fliers to everyone on our street, and today I visited animal control again in hopes she had been picked up. She is afraid of people, so she's likely hiding somewhere and I still have hope that she'll return. She's lived with us for nine years.

DAD

In a little while I'm going over to see Dad at the nursing home. I saw him on Monday and he seemed alert and ate well. He just doesn't have much to say any more. Dad was always so talkative, but Alzheimer's has robbed him of that too.

Last night they called and said he had fallen out of bed. He sleeps in a low bed that is only around 18 inches off the floor. They were confident that he was OK, but had ordered X-rays anyway. Because he's a fall risk and a restless sleeper he has a low bed in hopes that he won't get hurt if something like this happens.

STILL MISSING...MAMA COME HOME!

MAMA UP IN THE RAFTERS OF THE SHED - JUNE 2003

I still haven't spotted our feral cat. She's been missing 5 days now. I know she must have been terrified when workmen came into the yard last Friday. The backyard, shed, and under the deck are where she feels safe and when they all arrived at once she must have taken off. I don't think she's used to going very far from her safe haven.

I called the city yesterday and she hasn't been picked up. I'll call again tomorrow. But something really strange happened today. This morning I thought I heard a cat crying and it didn't appear to be any of my inside cats. I was sure it came from outside and it sounded like out front. I walked around the perimeter of the house and called MaMa's name. No luck. Then this afternoon I heard it again. This time it sounded like out back. Again I walked around the perimeter of the house and called her name. Again, no luck.

I took out a bowl of canned cat food and put it under the deck. I'll check in a little while and see if any is gone. I won't be 100% sure though. There are neighborhood cats that come around from time to time. I have to actually see MaMa to know for sure if she's back.

WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND

Yes, I know it's January 24, 2010. I actually considered leaving the Christmas stuff up and pretending I was ready early for Christmas this year, but Zoom had been climbing branches and the poor tree was looking pretty pathetic.

Jim took Reid to chemo on Saturday and I stayed home and started to take things down.

When he came home he helped with the disconnect.

And we packed and stacked boxes and containers.

God willing I'll get this stuff all over to the storage shed sometime this week.



Sunday morning Keith left for Austin with his cats. He works for the State of Texas and was here for work on Saturday.

Poor Keith. He probably won't like me telling you this, but his one cat always "poops" or "pees" in her carrier. I think she's trying to tell him she doesn't enjoy traveling.

After Keith got off I drove Reid down to MD Anderson for a shot that he has to get 24 hours after chemo to build up his white blood cells. (No photo...he doesn't consider this a photo op.)


And I'm worrying about our feral cat MaMa. I knew she'd be scared when we had the work done on the house Friday. I'm sure she panicked when she heard the workmen come into the back yard and I haven't seen her since Friday morning when I fed her. The food wasn't touched yesterday which surprised me with all the other neighborhood cats and possums around. This morning the food was eaten, but I don't know if it was her. Until I actually spot her I won't feel comfortable. I just hope she found a safe place nearby to hang out.

This has happened before. When my husband caught and brought her inside for Hurricane Ike she disappeared for a couple of days after he released her. It kept her safe, but she didn't appreciate it one bit. Here's a picture I took of her in 2004. It's not easy to get a picture of her since she tends to run when she see me holding something different in my hand (other than food). She's been with us for almost 9 years and I think she was probably close to a year old when we first spotted her. That's really old for a feral cat.

Please come home MaMa!!

Feral Cat Surprise

OK...I'm going to try again.

We had beautiful weather last week. I love it when they humidity is down. Most of the time there's quite a bit of moisture in the air which means in the summer it's hot and humid and in the winter when it gets cold it's usually a damp cold. I rarely use moisturizer which I guess is one advantage of living here, but I love a warm day without a lot of humidity and that's what we had last week. Perfect weather!

I decided to bring my camera along when I went out in the backyard with Sophie. She enjoys watching squirrels and would do it by the hour if I let her.



She's eight years old, but we've only had her two years. Her original owners were unable to keep her, but she's got a forever home with us.

We were both taken by surprise when our feral cat suddenly appeared. I guess we disturbed her while she was sunning herself in the ferns. I know it's difficult to spot her, but MaMa is behind the bike right up against the trunk of the tree.

It's not easy getting pictures of MaMa. She immediately becomes suspicious when she sees anything in my hand other than her dish of food. She's even more cautious since Hurricane Ike. The day before Ike hit my husband grabbed her and brought her in the house for the storm. It was a traumatic experience for her, but she was a lot better off inside than out in the storm. She didn't appreciate the kind gesture and my husband has the scars to prove it. I just hope she forgets before hurricane season arrives this year because we'd want to catch her again. (I hope my husband forgets too!)

I did check on her later in the day and she was back in her shed.

We've had MaMa for seven years now and I'm as attached to her as I am the inside cats. MaMa however is only attached to the food we feed her.

And poor little Zoom wanted to join us in the yard, but she's an indoor cat now.

MEET ZOOM...Our Newest Feline

In October I was walking out of Interfaith Caring Ministries Resale Shop on Bay Area Boulevard in Webster when a man came running after me. "Ma'am, could you do me a favor and drop this kitten off someplace?" I turned around and saw this tiny bundle of fur in his hand and "he/she" was obviously sick. Both eyes looked bad, but the right eye looked horrible. They were runny and red and the right eye had a white coating. He claimed to have found it behind the shopping center. I couldn't walk away. Instead I took the kitten and drove straight to my Veterinarian's office. I must have been wearing my Crazy Cat Lady sign that day or certainly the man would have chased down someone else.

She weighed only 13 ounces and was dehydrated. (Oh yes, it was determined "he/she" was a she.) She had an upper respiratory infection and a scratched cornea on her right eye which allowed the infection to get in. I was told there was a good possibility she'd lose her eye in which case they'd operate and sew the lid closed. So, I left with oral antibiotics, ointment for her eyes, and a package from Science Diet with kitten food.

We already had five indoor cats and a feral cat that's lived in our shed for seven years. I knew we didn't really need another cat. When I brought her in the house even my son said, "Mom, I'm not going to say anything about this one...she obviously needs a home." So, he helped me get her settled in the extra bedroom. After she had a drink and plenty to eat she went to sleep in a the cat bed. She hardly got up that first day, but after that she obviously started feeling better.

She ran all over the room and my husband soon named her Zoom. I wasn't sure how he was going to like me bringing home yet another cat, but she quickly won him over. Actually, he's now in the running for Crazy Neighborhood Cat Man. He's almost as bad as me.

She grew stronger every day and then got sick again. One day she stopped eating and felt very warm. Sure enough, the infection was back. They told me that's not unusual with kittens because of their immature immune systems. After another round of medication she was OK. Amazingly her eye cleared up.

Here she is in her cat bed. Poor baby must think it's her mother. She runs to that bed and sucks on the side while purring. This totally confuses our dog, Sophie, who hears the noise and assumes there must be food nearby that she's missing out on.


I hate to sound like Bob Barker, but please spay and neuter your pets. We have had all of our animals fixed (except for Zoom who's still too young) including MaMa (our feral) who we caught with a humane trap, had her spayed, and then released her back into the yard. That's called TNR...Trap, Neuter and Release in cat circles. For those who don't know, a feral cat is a cat that has had no human contact while a kitten and is untamed. Usually they're the kitten of a domestic cat that was dumped or abandoned. (I'll write more about MaMa at a later date.) Below is a picture of MaMa in the shed. If you'd like to learn more about ferals I would recommend reading An Unlikely Cat Lady by Nina Malkin.

Personally, I'd like to see all the humans that dump animals spayed or neutered too. They certainly don't need to be reproducing any more like themselves.

OK...I'm off my soapbox for today. Thanks for listening to something near and dear to my heart.