Sunday, March 2, 2014



Blog 02/24/14 to 03/02/14 

Relocations and In Take
February Closeout
Our Cats after Release
Tributes to Sweetie and Sam
Calls/EMAILS You Don’t Want to Get – Grotto Name Change
BMG (Bitch – Moan - Groan) – Disadvantages of Technology
OMG (Oh My God) – Our Equipment
 
Relocations and In Take:   Placed 13 this week with intake at 16.   
3          Barn in Gunter (Sister, Sara, Alice)
2          Plant Nursery in Flower Mound (Nali, Dea)
2          Workshop in Terrell (Sophie, Cici)
2          Return to Owner (Blackie, Carl)
4          Bonham Rescue         

February Closeout
We placed 73 in 10 North Texas counties.  This was the best February ever for us. 
            Bosque            Dallas              Fannin             Johnson           Tarrant
            Collin               Denton            Grayson           Kaufman          Wise

Cats after Release:      Picked up equipment in 6 locations this week in 4 counties.    
1.      Fort Worth (Pinky, Sister, Taylor):  These 3 girls went to live in a bathroom attached to a workshop/garage off a swimming pool area.  They have seen two of the three which is good.  Below is a picture of either Pinky or Sister (both are black) peeking out of the garage.  Notice her tipped left ear!
  
2.      South Lake (Sherlock, Jasper, Flash):  Flash, the most feral, has only been seen once.  The two black boys, Sherlock and Jasper, were both running around and very visible.  Got one picture of Jasper – tough to photograph black cats!  The barn owner sent a picture of Flash.  Life is good in Southlake! 
                  
                                                                              Jasper             

3.      Terrell (Geri, Gandalf, Marty, Willie):  Did not get to see any of our cats at this location.  I was putting cats out at her daughter’s next door so she brought over the caging before I arrived.  She has been 3 out of the four:  again – we seem to lose one of each group. 
4.      Burleson (Annie, Miss Kitty):  These 2 girls are hiding out in the rafters of the barn.  The property owners have seen them, but I did not.  Both are still there and doing well. 
5.      Burleson (Tuffy, Mirabella, Smokey, Oscar):  All are hanging out in the workshop area.  The owners built them a special elevated area and all are doing well.  Oscar (The Grouch who came from Highland Village Animal Services) is KING OF THE HILL and lets everyone pet him – especially if they have treats!  TYPICAL GUY!  
                



6.      Denton (Heckel, Jeckel):  Put these brothers in a garage in Denton.  I did not get to see them but was assured they are both still there. 

Tributes to Sweetie and Sam
1.      Sweetie was an elderly tabby cat that had come from Denton.  I felt that he was too old to place so he was living WARM and DRY in the cat room with other permanents – Tinker, Bunny, Valentina, Tess, and Rambo.  I went into the cat room about 11:30 on Thursday morning and found that he had passed away.  He was eating and pooping well so this was probably a heart attack.  It appeared he died peacefully…we should all be that lucky.  RIP, Sweetie!
2.      Sam was an orange tabby that (although a senior cat) appeared at first to be in good health.  BUT – he ate like a horse but started losing weight.  His blood work was okay which is not a good thing when you are losing weight.  It was x-ray time and the results were not good:  cancer in several parts of his body.  I put Sam to sleep on Thursday afternoon at All Care.  Dr. Gregg gave him a compliment:  “Wish I had known him in better health.  Bet he was a great cat!”  I agree.  Sam and Sweetie will both be missed. 

Calls/EMAILS You Don’t Want to Get:  Grotto Name Change
We have two fundraisers each year.  In June (this year Sunday June 1st) we gather at Grotto in Highland Village for dinner and an auction to benefit Barn Cats, Inc.  The restaurant is taking part in a new restaurant-related reality show that is schedule to air in April or May.  With that, they got a total make-over (paint, drapes, layout, etc.) plus a new stove or other cooking appliance that is a HUGE expense.  But also there was a name change…
            FROM:  The Grotto – A Salerno Steakhouse
            TO:       Bistecca -- An Italian Steakhouse
After a little research, Bistecca is Itialian for beefsteak.  BUT – there is nothing on the menu that is Italian...except the owner.  Because of where we are, Bistecca sounds like the name of a MEXICAN RESTAURANT – not a fine-dining steakhouse.  The menu has not changed:  steaks, seafood, great soups and salads, plus my favorite:  Shrimp Grotto.  My black cat, Randy, starts dancing and meowing when I come in with shrimp tails from Grotto.  He is my gourmet cat, I guess! 
                                                         
                                                                                                                                                         BMG:  Disadvantages of Technology
I received a call on Tuesday from a Lisa who had found a feral with a broken leg.  The vet said it needed to be repaired by the end of the week because of gang green setting in.  She was looking for a person or group to treat the cat because her husband had not worked for several months.  WELL – her phone is set up to NOT LEAVE A NUMBER – I have seen this before.  BUT this was different:  In her message the phone actually REMOVED the number as she said it.  Where was a blank space where she left her phone number with voice both before and after that blank space.  I have never seen/heard this before – but if you need help, make sure these types of “features” are not activated.  I had NO WAY to contact her.  I am sure that other groups she contacted had the same problem.  POOR KITTY!   I would have had her take it to All Care and we get that leg either fixed or removed – whatever was appropriate.  I just felt so helpless! 



OMG:  Our Equipment
I hand-deliver each and every cat to the barn site that has been selected for them.  Plus, each barn owner signs paperwork that they will take care of the cats and our equipment.  Numerous times the water containers that we use have broken (failed to hold water any longer).  We had seen a lot of this during this winter with the extreme cold.  I had this in two locations this week.  ONLY ONE OTHER TIME in our 12 years have I picked up equipment with PAINT ON IT.  This week there was white paint on several pieces of the caging.  PEOPLE:  Please treat our stuff like your stuff…that is all we ask.  We cannot replace this caging – it is no longer made.  All the pieces are separate for easy moving and storage.  The “newer” caging is the suitcase type where all the pieces fold in on each other.  Those are sooooo heavy that it always takes two people to move them.  Sometimes I am carrying our stuff over-land to the barn…so the individual pieces are much more practical for us.  That other location was in Grapevine where the workers used our equipment to hold their horse jumping poles while they put a fresh coat of paint on them.  I still see those paint drops on the bottoms of some of our caging and remember that situation.  Another cat that lived there had GREEN PAINT on her back. 

Thanks for following the Barn Cats blog.  See you next week!           Peg

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