Christmas is a time of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, a time of year when family and friends gather together and exchange gifts to commemorate this Christian holiday. Today is Christmas day, but it's almost over now and even though the holiday season will linger for a few more days ...

Christmas died today.

Today is Christmas and an old friend called from Virginia just to day hi. We had a good time catching up with each other's lives, talked about cats quite a bit, and gave each other a virtual hug before saying goodbye.

Christmas died today.

After the call from my friend, I left to go visit my father. Dad lives alone now and I wanted to spend some time with him on Christmas so he wouldn't feel too lonely.

Christmas died today.

It was about 4 pm when I left the house to head over to Dad's place. As I made the turn from my street to the main road out of the subdivision, I noticed a stray cat on the sidewalk across the street.

Christmas died today.

The gray tabby and white cat had an ungainly walk, almost as if he was drunk. As I started out of the subdivision, something told me to turn around and take another look at the cat.

Christmas died today.

I made a u-turn and drove back to the intersection where I had seen the cat. And there it was, still walking funny and as I drove closer I could see a reddish-pink area on the right side of his head that I hadn't seen before.

Christmas died today.

Thinking he must have been hit by a car, I quickly turned back onto my street and made a dash to my house to pick up a pet carrier out of my garage. When I got back to the intersection, he has heading back across the street, away from me (as if he had started to follow my car and then turned around?) to where I had first seen him.

Christmas died today.

I stopped my car, grabbed the pet taxi, and started walking toward the cat. I know, it was really stupid to walk up to an injured stray (feral?) cat and try to grab it and stuff it into a carrier, but I was way more concerned for the cat at that point than any possible repercussions to myself if I got bit.

Christmas died today.

I was able to get close enough to the cat after it briefly tried to run away but it stopped and waited for me to approach. He was like a sack of bones covered by scrawny looking fur and knowing I probably had only once chance I quickly grabbed him by the scruff, avoiding his flailing legs in a feeble attempt to escape, and dropped him into the carrier.

Christmas died today.

It was Christmas day, a day when all veterinarian clinics were closed. Off to the 24 hour Emergency Pet Clinic for a healthy wallop to my credit card.

Christmas died today.

The cat didn't complain too much on the way to the emergency clinic and looked at me a few times with his head cocked to the side as if that was normal to him. At one point, his eyes locked onto mine with a pleading "help me" look, a look that I won't soon forget.

Christmas died today.

At the Emergency Pet Clinic, I completed the check-in paperwork and took a seat to wait. A few minutes later, I was ushered into a waiting room, carrier in hand.

Christmas died today.

A vet technician came and took the cat in the carrier into the back of the clinic to get the cat's vital signs. I cautioned her that I wasn't sure if the cat was friendly or not.

Christmas died today.

In the waiting room, I waited. All kinds of thoughts crossed my mind: How bad was the cat's injuries? How long would his recovery take? Would he be adoptable after he recovered?

Christmas died today.

The veterinarian came in and informed me that the cat had not been hit by a car, but that it was an old cat (about 12 years old) with a carcinoma growing out of its head by his right ear and he had also felt a large mass in the cat's abdomen. The vet assured me that even if the cat underwent surgery (after biopsies could likely prove the growths were indeed cancerous) that its quality of life would never be good and recommended humane euthanasia to end its suffering.

Christmas died today.

After questioning the doc for a few minutes, to exhaust all possibilities for saving the cat, I reluctantly agreed to the euthanasia. I requested to be present so I could comfort the cat in his last few minutes of life.

Christmas died today.

While the vet got things ready, I had a few moments alone with the cat in the waiting room. I petted the cat while talking soothingly to "him" and wondered to myself when he had last been treated kindly (the vet and I had been referring to the cat as "he," but neither of us really knew that cat's gender until the end).

Christmas died today.

The vet returned a few moments later to administer the sedative to put the cat to sleep. Just before he slipped away, I gently spoke to the cat and told him that his name was "Christmas."

Christmas died today.

Sherbert found his forever home on Saturday at AAPAW's (http://www.aapaw.org) Home 4 The Holidays Super Adoption event. This was a bittersweet parting from a very special foster kitty. I am overjoyed that he has gone to a good home, but letting him go was a very emotional thing for me. Saying goodbye to little Sherbert opened a huge hole in my soul. Even though I came home to a house full of cats after he was adopted, the house still felt so empty.

I've posted a slideshow of some of the photos I took of Sherbert while he was with me. I regret that I didn't take any more photos of him for the past couple of months.

Back in late June of this year, I received a call from one of my colleagues at the S.A. Feral Cat Coalition that she had taken a request for help from Nancy, a lady who works at the Crowne Plaze Hotel in downtown San Antonio, on the Riverwalk. The call for help was about a little kitty that was living under a huge dumpster at the hotel's loading dock. I grabbed my trap and headed to the hotel where I was met by the hotel's chef (Nancy was out of town). After searching all over I saw no sign of the kitty. The next week, Nancy was back in town and called me saying that the cat had been sighted again at the dumpster. I loaded up and headed down to the hotel again.

Upon arrival, I looked under the big dumpster and sure enough, little Sherbert was under it. I set my trap next to it and Sherbert went into it a few minutes later. Before covering the trap, I noticed that he wasn't flailing around hysterically like most feral cats would do. I tentatively put my finger into the trap to see what his reaction would be (usually not a wise thing to do) and he wasn't bothered much by it. I covered the trap and headed home with Sherbert in the back of my car.

Upon arrival, I set up a 3'x2'x2' dog crate on a table in my garage and transferred Sherbert into it. He was pretty lethargic and I was able to immediately place my hands on him and pet him. You should have seen the little guy. He was obviously emaciated and was covered in dirt and grease from being under the dumpster. I could pick him up and handle him without a problem. This was no feral cat!

As our rescue intake protocal demands, I took him straight to our vet's office for an initial checkup (exam, fecal sample, combo-test). Since he was so easy to handle, I left him at the vet's office and requested the staff give him a bath to clean him up. When I later picked him up after his bath, I saw that he had white on his paws and underside that was apparent to me before. The little guy was so scrawny and small for his age! The vet who examined him estimated he was about 10 months old. Sherbert was a pitiful little thing to look at. His had a cauliflower right ear and his left eye was clouded over, possibly from blindness.

After a couple of weeks in quarantine in the garage crate, I brought Sherbert inside to meet the other cats. He curiously met them (some who hissed at him) and started fitting into life inside. From that first day, I could set him in my lap and he would stay there. Sometimes I would fall asleep in my recliner and wake up with him in my lap. From the beginning, he would also curl up on my chest in bed at night and sleep. Sherbert seemed to be very thankful he had been rescued from his formerly horrible life, scrapping for anything to eat on the street and under the dumpster at the hotel.

Over the next few months, Sherbert became the center of attention in the house. He ate voraciously and his fur slowly filled in where it had been thin (see the photo of him on the window ledge where his fur sparsely covered his tail in spots). At feeding time, he was always right there at the food bowls, impatient while I filled them. Sherbert had a horrible gastrointestinal problem for months, most likely from the crappy diet he had suffered from on the street. Over time, his GI problems got better. In mid-July, I took Sherbert to the Animal Eye Hospital to have his left eye checked out. Dr. Bonney said he might have some vision out of it but probably not very much. He attributed the clouding to a possible puncture wound at some point in the past but said Sherbert could see fine out of his right eye and the left eye probably wouldn't bother him much.

What a talker Sherbert is! He would often stop in the middle of doing something and proclaim a loud series of Mrreowwws for no apparent reason than to vocalize his philosophy of a cat's life to whomever could hear him. Often, he would just sit on the counter and meow loudly or as he finished his business in the litter box (as if to express his satisfaction that he felt better).

It was a real joy to watch Sherbert play. Most often, he would attack a small ball (his favorite toy) by backing up across the room, wiggling his butt, and then launching himself at the unsuspecting object. He would knock them into one of the bathrooms and bat them around for hours on the lineoleum floors like a soccer ball. He also liked to play tag with a couple of the other cats and got his exercise chasing, or being chased, back and forth through the house.

I never heard Sherbert hiss at one of the other cats until the tortie kittens came along. He would often hiss at one of them and then I would see him grooming them a few minutes later. For such a little guy, his heart is as big as the universe.

I want to thank Susan for taking Sherbert into her home with her two older cats and dog. I know she will be blessed by him as I was during the short time our paths crossed.

I spent a couple of hours working outside yesterday (cleaning cat cages, pet taxis, etc.). When I came back inside and sat down at my computer, I noticed that all of the icons on my desktop had been rearranged. Aaaargh! Now I can't find the icons on my desktop without hunting and searching. I guess after I rearrange them back the way I want I will have to set the option to lock them in place.

Could this be the culprit?

Daisy went to her forever home on Saturday.

She was a stray cat that was originally being fed by a lady but not being properly cared for. Back in February, I received a call about Daisy from Jean, an elderly lady who I have been helping TNR her cats around an apartment complex where she lives. Jean told me about the sad shape this kitty was in and asked me to come investigate. When I arrived, Daisy was just on the other side of the fence from the apartment complex. Two young girls (daughters of the lady who had been feeding her) were playing rather roughly with Daisy. I could see right away that this kitty was in bad physical shape. In addition to being pregnant, she had mastitis. Her tummy was so swollen from that, and her pregnancy, that the skin had split open. Horrible!

I took Daisy and rushed her to our rescue vet (Traveling Tails on Thousand Oaks). We started her on antibiotics and a few days later Daisy was spayed and also had a mastectomy. Over the following months she made a great recovery. I eventually brought her into my "shelter" (house) and fostered her until she was adopted at PetSmart on Saturday. She was one of the most inquisitive cats I have ever known. Nothing much escaped her attention.

Daisy has now gone to her forever home in Comfort, TX. Thanks, Shelley and David, for taking her into your heart and home!

Taffy got adopted today! She's going to what sounds like a great home and will be a companion to a couple and their two young girls...and a Yorkie dog. Taffy's just over four months old and should adjust to her new home (and the dog) fairly quickly. Many thanks to the Babbitts for giving Taffy her forever home!

A little over three weeks have passed since I snatched the three tortie kits from Dad's backyard. On 9/15/07 they weighed about 2 pounds seven ounces each and received their first FVRCP shots.

On Sunday (9/16/07), I brought each of the kits, one at a time, out to the garage where the mom cat, Mandy, was caged after recovering from spay surgery. She immediately started trilling and making the call of a mom cat when she saw her babies. She just melted and seemed so happy! After returning her kits to the house (to romp and play), Mandy was so affectionate and let me pet and rub her all over. She even reached out with her paw and touched me on the nose as if to say "Thank you for taking care of my babies!"

Yesterday, I put all three kittens in the cage with her for a few minutes. She was again very happy to see them, all together, even though the kits weren't much interested in her.

(Mom cat, Mandy, is in the back of the cage while her kits wander, uninterested in her)

(We're outta here, Mom, time to go play some more!)