Greetings. I hijacked this journal since Mom never writes in it anymore. They call me Biscuit. You would not believe the luck I have had with my life. There I was, just a youngster minding my own business, when my so-called family decided to kick me to the curb. I was trying to beg at this place that had a lot of chicken smells, and here comes this SUV with a woman and a couple of older kids. I could tell she was a softy, so I gave her my best "mew" from behind the safety of a lightpost. She stared at me a bit and drove on through the place where the chicken comes out. I decided I had misunderstood, and wandered off to see what the trash held for dinner. All of a sudden there were bright lights shining on me and the woman and the girl-child were tossing me bits of chicken. I got a little too close, and the woman grabbed me by the scruff of the neck. I paniced at first, but she did not hurt me. Within moments I was wrapped in a soft blanket in her arms. I showed my appreciation by mashin on her with my paws (she said I was "makin biscuits"). We were in the car for hours, but it was worth it! You should see the crazy place I live in now!! Mom, as the woman became to me, decided to call me Biscuit. I like her, so that works. I lived in a room by myself for a long time, but Mom and this big "Dad" guy came in to visit all the time. I could smell a few other felines outside the room and occasionally even a canine or 2, but I had no idea who all lived here! I am allowed into the next room where Mom and Dad sleep now, but I have slipped through the next door a few times and tried to say hi to everyone else. It is a wild and crazy jungle, but there is good food to eat and soft beds to lie on and pettin's whenever I want!! Life sure is looking up these days!

'Till next time
Biscuit

"Every day in shelters across the country cats who are hissy, snarly or frightened are wrongly labeled feral and killed, but Best Friends’ experience in The Great Kitty Rescue has confirmed on a large scale that such cats can be saved with gentle persuasion." Read More...

Great article from Best Friends!

I am so glad that Best Friends is trying to get this word out! Rikki, Tikki, and Tavi would have died at 6 weeks old because they were terrified...now they can't get enough attention. Time, love, and patience...that is all it took.

"On November 7, 2007, Best Friends Animal Society hosted a historic gathering of people of many diverse faiths in Washington, D.C. United by their compassion for animals, the diverse group came together to witness the unveiling and signing of 'A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion.' This important document, created by a group of clergy representing more than 20 of the world's religious traditions, issues calls to action for people of all faiths to reclaim a commitment to animals." 

A Religious Proclamation for Animal Compassion is Unveiled! - The Story

The Proclamation Please help reach the signature goal!

I persist in calling these guys "The Ferals" even though they are not anymore:



Left to right: Dally, Tavi and Tikki

And here they are a month or so back checking out their new kitty condo:

Biscuit checked out well at the vet - at the visit that led to me quitting my current job (Friday is my last day!! WOOOOO!!) and going to work for my vet! :)
Anyway, here is a picture of the sweet chicken Biscuit!


We decided at the time not to treat his diarrhea but to wait and see if it cleared up with a diet change. That has not happened, so we have to go back soon and get some antibiotics.

Sorry for the delay in posting. We have pretty much been maintaining the status quo until this weekend.

Dally and the Jungle Boys are doing so well! They have turned into real lovey, sweetie boys. They are scheduled for neuter on Thursday and Friday, along with their final round of shots. Dally had some gassy issues, but the Dr. Bowe said it was likely due to the steroids killing off the natural bacteria in his tummy. We gave him a little fat free vanilla yogurt a couple of times and he seems to be all cleared up. :) He still does not have any external sensation at his sphincter, though, but it does not seem to be too much of an issue. He has bowel control, he just does not always know if there is a litle piece of poo "still hanging." Poor baby - freaked him out the one time I was in the room and he jumped out of the box only to have the little piece of poo jump right after him! I will have to warn whoever ends up adopting him that he uses the box well, it just does not always STAY in the box. Rikki, Tikki and Tavi are wonderful, beautiful, healthy boys. I will update my actual site later this week with more current pictures. http://www.bakerspets.org 

The outdoor cat enclosure was finally started this weekend. Many thanks to my dear Matt, my son, and our friends Tom and Abby for coming over to help dig 9 holes 2' deep each through the nasty sticky black clay we have in our backyard. Hopefully we can set posts this coming weekend. 

Ren and Moki are still with us. Moki is on schedule for a B-A-T-H this week. She has some issues with not keeping her rear end clean under that adorable puffball tail. :( I may just trim the hair instead. I have to really check it out and see what the problem is. Ren really has to find a new home soon. He is miserable in that front bedroom all alone, but I can't let him out in the main part of the house. 

We also have a new addition. I was on my way home from picking up the kids Friday and we pulled through a Chicken Express in Jacksboro, TX to get Toni something to eat. A little tabby kitten peeked out from behind a light post, looked right at me and mewed. We got our food, and drove back around the building to see him. It took us about 5 minutes and a bit of Toni's chicken to get him close eough to catch. He freaked out a bit when I picked him up, but as soon as I snuggled him close, he started making biscuits on my shirt and purring. His name is now Biscuit. He is living in our master bathroom. I am guessing he is about 4 or 5 months old. He looks like he may even have been fixed recently. He has a little bare spot on his testes. He is aggressively affectionate and just as sweet and cuddly as anyone could ask for. He does not have fleas, but he has diarreah - probably from eating greasy chicken or bad quality food, and he is gassy too. Stinky boy. He may also have ear mites - his ears are stinky and itchy. I have to make a vet appointment for him to get checked out. I am going to contact Jacksboro animal control and see if anyone is looking for him. He is just too sweet to NOT belong to someone - unless of course some jackass dumped him there. One of the employees said cats get dumped there all the time. What a crappy world. Still this one baby is safe and warm and fed now. I will post pictures of him later this week. He is marked like Dally, but his face is stuctured like no other cat we have right now.

"[No-kill] sounds very good, but the reality is that it will probably leave some animals to suffer," says PETA’s companion animal spokesperson Daphna Nachminovitch.

But no-kill shelters that don't warehouse animals fill up quickly and are forced to stop taking in new ones. "Now what's their alternative?” said Kim Intino, director of sheltering for the Humane Society of the U.S. The animal likely ends up either in an open-admission facility that does euthanize, or worse, on the streets.

The No-Kill movement is not simply about converting shelter policy to no-kill; it’s about converting an entire community’s policy to support a no-kill philosophy. (with details following)

No Kill is morally superior to killing. To claim otherwise is to abandon the very principles of compassion, caring and kindness that are the underpinnings of this movement’s founding. But take heart, the days when killing was considered kindness are coming to an end. And the dinosaurs of this movement will soon be swept aside. 

Here are my "not so ferals"

And close ups of each: