Exciting News

Losing Patches was terribly devastating to all of us in the Big Piney Woods. It has been almost 5 months and the pain is still so great. I kept looking for a sign from her, something ,anything...........and then a miracle. A momma cat in labor was brought to the shelter where I volunteer. The people who brought her in said it had been at least a full day, no sign of any kittens. I rushed her to our vet, the same vet that set Patches free. She did a "C" section where she was only able to resuscitate one of the kittens. Two were stuck in the birth canal and one died shortly after birth. I fostered Mom and baby, bringing them home 5 days after Miracle was born. She is 7 weeks old tomorrow, now a permanent part of the Big Piney Woods and, I feel, sent by Patches. She is a calico, and has one orange leg and one black leg, just like Patches had. Happily, her momma is being adopted by the wonderful vet lady. So.........meet Miracle

Hi......my name is Miracle. I reside in the Big Piney Woods with my sisters Mittens, Precious, and Mistrie. My hobbies are running, jumping, climbing, playing with my momma's tail, biting everything, getting into everything, purring in my Daddy's ear and being too cute.

Thank You

My heart goes out to all of you! Thank you so much for everything you said about my sweet Lady Patches. I had no idea there would be such an outpouring of love for her, even from strangers. Also, thanks to those of you who posted on your blog about her and sent others by.

Maybe you wonder why I don't have any recent photos up of my girl. I chose not to take any. I debated, believe me, but I decided it would be too heartbreaking to look at them, I prefer to remember her the way she was before she got sick. I can still see her that way, and hope that time will erase that memory, it wasn't good and weighs on me heavily.

If tears could be measured I think I have cried an ocean.

I am hoping that someday she will return to me, in a dream maybe, on the breeze, or in a shadow. Maybe a soft "mack mack", a touch of whiskers on my face, a paw on my arm; something to signal "all is well."

Again, thank you, everyone!!

CalicoMom Toni

A Tribute To Patches

Miss Patches Lady

1997 - Nov. 19, 2010

Oh, dear Patches, where do I begin? I guess it was when you came walking up our driveway after being abandoned by your previous owners. You were an "in charge" cat, even then. You told me, "I am here to stay, like it or not." And.......we loved it. You always were a Daddy's girl and preferred his lap. Funny how, when he was holding you and I came in the door, you would get down, really quick, like I would be jealous.

You were finally diagnosed with Auto Immune Deficiency (Lupus) right before your final breaths. Three different vets and tons of blood work, all of them thought it was thyroid. It was the AID attacking your thyroid, like it was attacking the rest of your body. I am not going into the ravages this thing took on your little emancipated body and I don't blame anyone; AID is very rare in felines, leave it to you to get something rare, you were a rare find! You fought such a valiant fight, such a brave little calico girl.

We will miss you signature "mack mack" and your soothing purr. We had eleven wonderful years with you. Many memories, but one that stands out is when I was diagnosed with an eye condition (macular hole) that finally warranted surgery. I cam home crying, you were in the gold chair, and I saw a big tear in your eye! You were a compassionate soul, a well seasoned traveler (going to Laughlin Nv. with Mittens for three years and staying in condos) and went camping in the Idaho woods. The first time I put your leash on, you fell over and couldn't get up. So funny. You loved it outdoors so I would put you out on our upstairs deck; you never tried to climb down, which would have been easy for you. You would scare me when you jumped on the railing in our bedroom, it was a long way down. You knew when I accidentally left the closet door open that houses the pump (someplace you were forbidden to go) and I could here you opening the door. You tolerated Mittens and Precious and actually got to love them, in your own cat way. They miss you, too, you know.

Three nights ago you slept between us all night. Now, this was unheard of as you never did that. If you stayed on the bed it was at the foot, or next to Dad, and only stayed a short time. We know you were saying goodbye. I touched you many times that night, always received a soft chirp. I could go on forever........

This morning we took your little body, wrapped in a blue towel with two of your favorite toys, and we laid you to rest in the kitty cemetery in the Big Piney Woods. You join Itsy Bitsy, a two day old kitten I fostered but was taken from me in a few hours; his momma refused to nurse him. There is a tile with a butterfly on it, on your grave and a candle is burning.

This closes another chapter in our life. I hope someday,the pain won't be so raw, the hurt so deep, and I can remember you with a smile, not with all these tears. Thank goodness for all the photos I have, The Big Piney Woods blog, and the website I made called "The Calico Girls" that I kept a copy of. (no longer online) You will always be a part of our lives, in our hearts you reside. Your pain is over and ours has just begun.

Love and kisses to you, lovely girl, RIP.

Momma Toni, Daddy, Ron, Mittens, Mistrie, Precious Flower

Patches is an angel kitty

My sweet little girl was helped to the bridge at 4:15 today. RIP doll girl. We love and miss you so!

Calico Mom, Calico Dad, Mittens, Mistrie, and Precious Flower

Patches Update

I took Patches to the vet thinking probably I would be saying goodbye. The vet said she was "on the fence with this one." Her ears, from the horrible thyroid meds she was so allergic to, are healing and her temp was down. These are both good signs. However, she is one sick kitty still. The vet also said it is possible all the meds aren't out of her system yet, her system has been through a lot and may take sometime to come back. This is only a MAYBE, but it was enough for me. She gave her fluids, B Vitamins and Steroids. I think all those kitty purrs worked. Thank you all!

Calicomom Toni

Patches

My poor little Patches...she is loosing her brave battle. Please purr for her. My heart is breaking for this dear sweet little girl who ruled the Big Piney Woods. Patches, I love you so, you are going to be so very missed.

All my love,

CalicoMom Toni

Update

It has been such a long time since I have brought you up to date on the BPW Cats.

Mittens is still real good, her weight is stable and she is happy and content. She was given a few months, over a year ago! I feel so blessed to still have her.

Patches started loosing weight. I took her to two different vets numerous times, all for blood work, as her thyroid is overactive. She gets the meds in her ear as the oral meds made her very ill. She is only 7 lbs now, down from 11, yet they say nothing is wrong. She spends most of her time in front of the fire, warming her frail little body. She seems so tiny now.

Precious needs to loose a few pounds, but she is part Maine Coon and they are a big cat. She loves to have me pick her up and toss her over my shoulder, her favorite place. She sleeps with us every night and follows me around, discussing "things." She likes to pick on Patches and I am constantly after her; she thinks it is playing but Patches sees it differently.

Mistrie is fat and sassy as ever. I made her a new bed in the woodshed, like I do every year. She still is shy and reserved, guess she will always be that way. She is a great mouser and never wanders beyond her self imposed boundries.

Well, that is pretty much it. I am still spending my three days at the shelter and am doing fostering of kittens now, as well.

Mom to the girls

Latest News

Hi all:

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. Here is an update from the BPW.

Mittens is fine. She was given two months in Nov. and, while she sleeps most of the time, is great healthwise.

I have been working 3 days at the animal shelter, taking care of the cats and taking photos for Petfinder. I love the work and photography is my latest passion!

I won't be blogging on here, will update you on Mittens and any of the other BPW cats. Mistrie is great and had a great winter. Patches and Precious are doing great, as well.

Hope everyone has a great spring.

Hugs, Toni

Report

Everything is fine here in the Big Piney Woods. Mittens is doing great.

~Precious Flower~

Little Man, Revisited

Momma saw Little Man at the shelter today. The lady who adopted him brought him by and Momma got to hug and kiss on him and take pichers. He is all grown now, a true Mancat.

My Ears Are Fine, Thank You

Momma seems to think I needed my ears cleaned (which I didn't) so she got this oily stuff and put it on a cotton ball and swabbed my ears! I got real upset and walked away in a huff. She says Precious needs hers cleaned (which she does) and so does Mittens. I think I will go warn Mittens of the upcoming event. As far as Precious goes, she deserves it; she is always picking on me!!!

~Patches Lady~

Feeling Great

Yes, I feel real good. Momma gives me medicine wrapped in a treat........she thinks I don't know what it is, but I do. It does really help. Momma even said the word remishun. All I know is I feel great, I even run and play a little.

~Mittens Pollypaws~

Mittens Update

Mittens seems to feel pretty good, although, she doesn't eat much. I have tried everything I can think of, including baby food. She will eat canned chicken but seems to prefer the juice so I keep adding water and letting it soak. She eats a few crunchies, but not enough. She is taking her steroids in a pill pocket, but if she won't eat them I have decided not to force her to take them, anymore. It is so upsetting for her; and me. All in all, she is doing very well. Thanks for all your wonderful comments.

~CalicoMom Toni~

One Day At A Time

I am taking things a day at a time. I am making more time for Mittens, hugging her, loving her, holding her, petting her. Each day is precious now. I have spent time looking at photos of her, I know, when the time comes, I won't be able to do that, not for a while. It is hard to wrap my mind around the fact she won't always be here. She will always be one of the Big Piney Woods Cats, her spirit will always reside here. She is giving me sweet memories to cherish, on this her final journey. My heart is already broken and I feel a terrible loss. Thank goodness she doesn't have a clue, one nice things our animal friends share. She looks at me with her loving, trusting eyes. She isn't eating much and I won't force the steroids on her anymore. They seem to have stopped working, anyway. She has real bad times and real good times. That is my wish........time.....

Thanks for all the gotcha day well wishes.

With tears,

~CalicoMom Toni~

What A Great Day!

Thanks to all of you who came and snuggled with me. We had so much fun and it was so good to see all my furriends, again. If you want to reminisce, like I have been, you can go to January, 2006 and read all about the Napathon and who came. Momma says I need to snuggle her now.

~Mittens Pollypaws~

It's Me, Mittens

Hi to all my furriends...

I just want to thank all of you for your kind thoughts and wishes. I don't know what they mean cuz I feel fine. Momma looks sad at me and has been snuggling me and giving me all sorts of good things.

I have been spending time reminiscing. My good furriend Victor reminded me about the Napathon. That was the first kitty party, and we had such fun teaching everycat how to teleport.. We also hosted the Cat Olympics, which was tons of fun. Mistrie carried the torch from Max and all the excitement helped her not to be so shy. Patches won a gold medal in the tub soccer competition. Then, I won a prize for my special big paws on the Pawprint Contest. Patches and Mistrie entered that contest, too.

A short history about me, for those who don't know........When I was 7, in 2000, I was brought to the shelter (it wasn't a no kill shelter then) where Momma was volunteering. She cleaned my cage and she was the only one I trusted. She knew my time was almost up, so she took me home and said I found my furrever home. For three years Patches and I went to Laughlin, Nevada and spent three months with Momma and Daddy in a condo . Yes, I have had a good life. I have wonderful memories and have been safe and secure and well loved in the cabin in the Big Piney Woods. I just wish I knew why Momma looks unhappy and stares at me so much. She keeps telling me she loves me, but I knew that. Patches seems nicer to me, too. She comes in my bedroom and naps and doesn't hassle me.

Again, thanks to all of you for the wonderful well wishes. Come on ofurr anytime and visit. I will be waiting for you in the guest bedroom.

Purrs,

News On Mittens

First of all, thanks to all of you for your kind words and support. It means so much to me!

The meds the vet gave Mittens seem to be helping and she is very hungry! I am giving her things she shouldn't have (she has been on special food for years, due to constipation.) She is getting stinky goodness and I will continue as long as it doesn't upset her. She loves it, poor girl is so sick of the same thing. She was very vocal after I brought her home, telling me to feed her something good. She still is very vocal, talking and talking to me and following me around. I wish I could understand her!

Again, thanks to all of you........your support is phenomenal!

~CalicoMom Toni~

Sad News

My Mittens has a tumor in her small intestine, where it connects to her stomach, also it has spread into her upper chest cavity. Mittens was very good, even through the lengthy ultrasound process, on her back. I held her front paws and talked to her, she actually nodded off once and never attempted to scratch or bite, she didn't even growl, like she does when she is upset. Christine, her vet, said they could operate for the tumor in the intestine, but that doesn't address the fact it has spread. Also her age is against her. She gave her two months. I have meds to help with her appetite. It is a cold, cloudy day, the way my heart feels right now. :(

Thanks to all of you for your kind comments, they mean so much!

~CalicoMom Toni~

Upcoming Vet Visit

Mittens is going to the vet tomorrow. They were booked today and she didn't seem to be ill, in fact had fun with a fly and carried on quite a conversation with me. She asks for food, but hasn't eaten in three days.

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments and all the purring! What great furriends you are. I will let you know the results.

~CalicoMom Toni~

Please, Purr For Mittens

Sometime in the night Mittens vomited blood and mucous, no food. She hasn't eaten for a couple of days now. I am taking her to the vet tomorrow or Tuesday. Please purr for her. Thank you.

~Calicomom Toni~