Gizzy in Heaven!

Gizzy in Heaven!
I love you forever and ever, Amen!

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Thursday, June 23, 2011

My very small and simple life!

Since moving from California to Georgia about seven years ago, my life has changed drastically. Not only physically (having undergone bilateral hip replacement four years ago) but also mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Not for the better or the worse, just different.

Where I used to have a very productive and busy life, I now spend my days pretty much by myself and with the animals (dogs, cats, ducks, bugs, birds, toads, lizards, frogs, etc.) Although I know there are very good and decent people in this world, the rotten ones really disgust me and make me almost ashamed of being a human. I have to confess that generally speaking I probably do prefer the company of animals, but of course, there are exceptions to every rule and let me emphasize here that my blogging buddies are the best!!! You make it possible for me to live like a hermit by being alone - yet not all alone - and I really appreciate that!

I start my day about 6 am when I plug in my coffee pot and check to be sure Gizzy is still breathing. After all, he's getting up there. His birthday is November 1st when he'll be 14 years old, but "knock on wood" he seems to be doing fine all things considered.

I feed the stray cats every morning and as of late started to feed them at night also because I don't want to leave out too much cat food at once or else the ants will get to it. I take reasonable precautions for that not to happen, but there are no guarantees in life.

One of the strays, Mr. Bloomers (formerly Smoky) waits for me on the front porch and I let him in to eat while Gizzy is sleeping oblivious to the world.


Mr. Bloomers is skittish, but loves for me to pet him for a little while before he meows to go back out. In the winter time, he sleeps in my bedroom on top of a big pile of comforters to keep from freezing...and the rest, I can only pray for.


(Gizzy unaware of cat in the house - he HATES cats!)


Mr. Bloomers is a lover and not a fighter. He got neutered during our TNR program several years ago and is a real sweetheart, but afraid of everything, which is good so he will stay hidden and out of harm's way! (I can't believe how many people here don't like cats and would rather hurt them than feed them - and these are people who claim to be Christians - buh, humbug!)

Another reason I have started to feed the cats at night again (like I always do in the winter) is because one of the stray males that we call Legs is a real tough Tomcat and he actually waits under the car out front to see if I feed Mr. Bloomers (which I do inside the apartment) and then he beats up on him when he comes out.  Me feeding them twice avoids any friction and fighting, but I have to always feed Mr. Bloomers someplace else because Legs won't let him eat at the cat feeding station. 

As usual, the cats wait for me to feed them. They know where I live and on rare and desperate occasions one or two will stroll by looking for me. This is the female that recently had kittens so I'll have more mouths to feed since I'm pretty much the only one feeding them on a regular basis, but if this is my purpose in life, so be it.


Here is Legs. He's skin and bones and I would not be surprised if he had Feline Leukemia. He gets into the most brutal fights and I often see him with big gashes, bloodied and dirty - I feel sorry for him, but I'd be afraid trying to handle him because he could tear me a new face. If I ever get a chance to trap him, I'd like to have him neutered, even if I have to pay for it myself because he's responsible for a lot of the kittens around here.


Below is Legs and one of the black (new) kittens that I just discovered a couple of days ago. Apparently mama cat keeps them hidden till they get bigger and are safe from injury or death.


In the underbrush I got a glimpse of another multi-colored kitten. The third, orange one, was too elusive.


We also have another, young orange tabby in the group, but he's been around for over a year and this is a picture of him. Sorry the photos are so grainy, but I can't get too close because they are very quick and shy.




This is the cat feeding station in the woods with a kitchen table and another end table I found by the trash, a couple of water dishes and a board nailed to a tree, so they can eat up there since we also have stray dogs coming through eating up all the cat food - there are no leash laws here and dogs roam free and make a nuisance of themselves and people have a gazillion cats and never spay or neuter them and they always end up here, but thanks to Legs, he keeps them pretty much away or else I'd throw in the towel because I'm on disability and struggling myself.

(here's legs laying above on the board on the tree)


I feel so sorry for this cat because every little thing he gets he has to fight for. He's had a very hard life and I'm afraid he won't last too long. He's not old, but he just fights too much. I have to admit, when he first showed up in the neighborhood, I was very unhappy with having him around because I hated having Mr. Bloomers beat up on all the time...but now I can see that if it weren't for Legs, we'd be overrun by stray cats and I could not afford to feed them all.


Dinner Time - come and get it!

I often stick around from a distance to be sure they can eat in peace without any interruptions from people or stray dogs. 

So, that's what I do when I'm not out walking around the lake with Gizzy or sitting inside in the airconditioning crocheting or spending too much time on the computer.

Love you guys! ... and those of you who help the animals, I love you double!


(Excerpt from Chapter One of 'Dominion' , a book I am currently reading  by Matthew Scully)

I know that they do not have reason comparable to ours. I know that their lives and place and purpose in the world are different from ours. I know that theirs is an often violent world, "nature red in tooth and claw" as Tennyson described it. But I also know that whatever their place and purpose among us might be, it is a mysterious one beyond any man's power to know. Whatever measure of happiness their Creator intended for them, it is not something to be taken lightly by us, not to be withdrawn from them wantonly or capriciously...


I am thankful for the animals. I would not want to live in a world without them!

16 comments:

Ginny Hartzler said...

I'm loving getting this look into your other (non-blogging) life! You remind me so much of my best friend who lives a few blocks away. She feeds all the strays, and even had a back porch roof built on so they can have some shelter, she also has box houses for them. I have several pictures of her cats and set-up, and will be posting them shortly

Furry Bottoms said...

If I could, I would rescue all the stray dogs and cats. I've rescued a few dogs, and thankfully they all have had collars so we could contact their owners. There is a border collie out there, with a tag which tells me her name is Cindy, but she will NOT let me near. The closest Ive got to her is when she tries to "herd" my dog into a corner. But even then, when I reach out my hand, she zooms off into the distance. She is a beautiful dog, somebody's pet for sure so I am always hoping she found her way home.

I think you're doing a good thing, you're the strays angel!

marianne said...

Oh Doris this breaks my heart.
You are such a sweetheart for taking care of them!
What do you feed them dry or cans?
Oh and that blue cat, what a darling. They are so lucky to have you.
I love you for being so good to them.
You are a beautiful person Doris♥

OmaLindasOldeBaggsandStuftShirts said...

This is a wonderful look into your soul....what a dear one you are. Caring for the thrown away or abandoned is something that is a higher calling. Blessings, Linda

Anonymous said...

Oh Doris, this makes me so sad to think of all those poor little kitties. I wonder if the human society would help you with food. That just breaks my heart. Life shouldn't be so hard for them. It's not their fault there are irresponsible owners that didn't have their pets spayed and neutured.

Chatty Crone said...

Oh Doris - you sweet thing you - you have such a generous heart. You love all the animals out there. And take your money to feed them.

Gizzy just sleeps through the whole thing - I had to really look for his face.

I'm glad you like all us bloggers!

Thanks for sharing your heart.

Janine said...

Hi hi, sieht aus, als ob Gizzy nicht mehr Herr im Haus ist.
Aber was er nicht weiß, macht ihn nicht heiß...

♥♥ The OP Pack ♥♥ said...

We just love that pic of sleeping Gizmo:) You are such a kind person to care for those stray cats. We applaud you loudly.

Woos ~ Phantom, Thunder, and Ciara

Moois van mie said...

i LOVE cats!

Ann said...

If it wasn't for my husband and my job I would most likely spend very little time talking to people (other than blog pals)
You have a kind heart helping all those cats out. You reminded me of Marg from Margs Pets. She takes in all kinds of cats, feeds them and takes care of them and helps to find many others homes

Susan said...

Hi!!!

I love that picture of Gizzy on his back... Sissy has done that before too. ( She is 11 ) Her birthday is Dec. 17. ( she was born in 1999 )

Susan

Karin said...

You really had bi-lateral hip replacement really early in life - wow! Love your positive, encouraging and caring attitude towards peeps and pets! I have several friends who are what we endearingly call them, 'the cat lady'. Don't know how you have time to do all this with your creation of all those crafts!

sprinkles said...

I had no idea you got a hip replacement! I wouldn't be surprised if I ended up having one when I'm older. It never bothered me growing up and then one day, it's bothered me ever since. I was supposed to get an MRI but my insurance wouldn't cover it so I never figured out what was wrong with it.

I used to feed all the stray cats when I lived with my parents. My dad would get so mad because they'd all hang around the house. I don't live with them anymore and where I live now, I hardly ever see strays.

Mariette's Back to Basics said...

Liebe Doris oder Katzen mama,

Ja ja du hast da so Recht! Es sind Probleme die wegen den Menschen entstanden sind da die einfach keine Verantwortung haben. Arme Katzen die zwei mal am Jahr oder öfters vieleicht, Jungen haben und keinen Schutz, kein gutes Essen, keine Impfungen usw. Wir haben auch nur Asieltieren und dann die Spicy die wir vom Tod gerettet hatten im Hyatt in Acapulco weil man dort nicht mehr als zwei-drei Katzen tolerierte... Und da war sie schwanger und alle fünf haben wir behalten. Alle zum Tierarzt und geimpft und auch kastriert und sterilisiert. Keine neue Probleme. Schade das die Mama Katze verschwunden ist. Ich denke jemand hat sie gestohlen weil sie so schön war.
Sag mal, kennst du das Blog von Celia aus Kanada? Ich gebe hier mal ihre Geschichte, es ist etwas für dich. http://mariettesbacktobasics.blogspot.com/2010/09/our-home-of-almost-20-years.html Ganz unten kann man zu ihr Blog.
Auch diese Geschichte ist von ihr, aber in die genaue Reihenfolge lesen... http://bit.ly/iBw3Bc
Weiterhin ist die Joan von http://godslittlepeople.blogspot.com/ eine herrliche Katzenliebhaberin. Sie nimmt auch alle Strays und das in Griechenland wo es sehr schlimm ist.
Ja, ja wir kennen einen Satz auf Niederländisch: Wenn ich die Menschen kennen lernte fing ich an den Tieren zu lieben... Tiere sind so grosszügig, die verletzen unsere Seele nie wie es Menschen können.

Lieber Gruss,

Mariette

Beansieleigh said...

Awww.. GREAT post, Doris! So sad to see animals mistreated, neglected, or abandoned. A BIG issue around my neck of the woods are the Canadian Geese. I love them, and think they're a BEAUTIFUL bird!!.. But there are so many that gather and settle around here, that people complain, and then government and various authorities step in... Well, you can just imagine the suggested options to get rid of them, and I agree with you whole-heartedly, it's hard to believe some of them are Christians!.. God bless you Doris, for taking care of these kitties as best you can! ((big hugs)) ~tina

AkasaWolfSong said...

Dear Doris and Gizz...You are Earth Angels in my eyes! Helping those animals so they aren't as sick is just amazing. Too bad your neighborhood can't pitch in to help feed and spay/neuter them. The stray population is a problem everywhere simply from people not caring enough for their pets to have them properly taken care of. It is good to know there are good souls such as you on earth to help them!

I'm going to send you some money for food, Dear Heart! I'm on disability too but every little bit helps eh?

May Your Blessings Be Many! Gizz as always is so adorable! :)
I miss you my Sister/Friend!
Muah!