CAN'T REMEMBER

Can't remember the cats name but I was at Jet Repair services in Milwaukee Wisconsin when I was told about a cat wondering around inside the building. The mechanics tried to catch it but no luck. The cat seemed to want to be friendly but would run as soon as someone got to close. The cat was medium sized and dark grey. He was also rail thin. I was able to catch him in a live trap. Happy Endings took him to the vets and discovered he was full of parasites. The worms were eating the food as fast as the cat was. Since he was friendly the shelter nursed him back to health and were able to get him adopted to a forever home.

MECHANECK

Meckaneck was found at Jet Repair in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I had gotten my truck worked on and one of the mechanics left the window open a little to far. Jackal the cat I was working with escaped. Curt the general manager had told his wife about Jackal getting out and she a cat lover had come over several times to help look for Jackal. While trying to catch Jackal I caught Mechaneck a very large and friendly grey cat. Curt volunteered to take him to the vet's office since he was going that way. Curt told his wife about the cat and his wife insisted they adopt him. Mechaneck became Curt's sleeping buddy. Unfortunately Mechaneck did not get along with their other cat. They have since given the cat to some friends that insisted on having him for their own. It all turned out in the end. Mechaneck is in a forever home and I recaptured Jackal.

JET

Jet was found at Jet Repair in Milwaukee Wisconsin. I was getting my truck worked on when I heard cats fighting. I set up a live trap and was able to catch 1 of them. I noticed he was injured and it was late at night. Happy Endings shelter had me take him to South Shore Emergency Hospital. They stitched him up. Jet was such a friendly cat he went right to the shelter where he was quickly adopted.

BRENDA

BRENDA was found at a truck stop in Gary Indiana. She was jumping out of a garbage can when I saw her and almost got run over trying to escape with her chicken carcase. I was there to get fuel and head home. Again I saw her running between trucks trying to get what a driver had throne out toward her. I decided to see if I could catch her so I parked. I set up a live trap and went to bed. I checked the trap several times during the night and caught her. Brenda was a very small, very friendly and very dirty cat. The next day I took her to Happy Endings shelter where she was cleaned up and taken for a vet exam. It was discovered she had been shot. Brenda had the bullet removed while being fixed and was quickly adopted.

CARMEN and CALYPSO

Carmen and Calypso are prime examples of what I do. They are calico sisters. Carmen is long haired and Calypso is short hair. They have been at the shelter for over 8 years, ever since they were kittens. Their siblings were adopted while still young. Carmen and Calypso have so much stacked against them. Carmen is friendly but had a constant nasal issue and Calypso stayed feral and both had diarrhea. The old president decided to keep them together and now they are a bonded pair. They must go together! The shelter took great care of them. The girls got medical treatments when needed and volunteers tried working with them but with little success.
     Happy Endings shelter received some medical grants and with some successful fund raising and reduced medical costs decided to look further into their medical issues and see if Calypso would come around. That is where I come in. I took the girls for a couple months and got them friendlier. They got dentals and poop samples tested and blood work. It was discovered that they had a parasite and that was causing them off and on diarrhea. We went through hell together but the blood stops after a while and the bites healed so they were on there way. The last problem was Carmen's runny nose. She was taken to a specialist and scoped. Tissue samples were taken and tested and she has some permanent medical issue. She gets a little liquid medicine every 3 days and more if there's a flare up. In the truck, their crap was firm and no sneezing or runny noses. They loved being pet and hanging out. However now that they are back at the shelter they are so stressed the diarrhea is back. They are still friendly but standoffish. I had them with me for almost a year. They are so used to a small area I think if someone takes them and keeps them in a small area for a little while and goes slow with them they will be someones best friends. My wife and I are even paying their adoption fees.

SWEET PEA

Sweet Pea came to the shelter with a bladder issue. The vet prescribed meds. She is a small black and white (tuxedo) cat with no front claws. Should be simple. Wrong! Sweet Pea is a bundle of attitude. You start to medicate a house cat and wind up fighting a panther. She fights, bites and screams like your killing her. That is where I come in. I took Sweet Pea and fought what I thought was a good fight. A couple of my fingers were swollen and didn't move to well, but I didn't black out from loss of blood. And she did get her meds. Problem was it didn't help. Sweet Pea was still peeing often and very small amounts. So back to the vet. X-rays were taken and it was discovered she had a stone in her kidney the size of a good sized pea. Her bladder is the size of an average man's thumb. She always felt like she had to pee. She had it removed and got more meds, OH JOY! After all was done Sweet Pea got better and turned out to be a great cat.
       Whoever she owned in the past must have really loved her. She still has all the attitude but enjoys being pet. But there is always a catch. Sweet Pea has a very strict diet to help prevent her from getting more stones. She doesn't eat much and likes her dry food so feeding isn't a problem, but the food comes from the vet and does cost more. She can have and loves treats but they have to be lean treats. That wasn't the catch. Remember the attitude I mentioned? She must have gotten lots of people food from her previous people and craves it. That's the catch. NO PEOPLE FOOD EVER! I eat almost all my meals while driving. The cat with the attitude believed I was not being nice or fare by not sharing my food. Try driving with a cat on the back of your chair and one paw on your head and the other trying to grab your cheeseburger. She spilled a can of spaghettos on her head and was not fazed, just started eating. She ran off with meat out of my sub! Tore into potato chip bags, bread and cookies! And more. Sweet Pea is the reason all food is now stored in plastic containers. She ate through her cat food bag. At home it makes a small mess and you can quickly deal with it. Have that bag of food bouncing down the road for hours spilling it's contents. I really like Sweet Pea. She's the only cat so far that came right out of the carrier and laid down in the middle of the bed and start washing herself. My wife and I are paying for her adoption in hopes it helps find her a new forever home. It had to devastate the person that had to give her up. I know I miss her.

JACKAL

Jackal was truly feral. Here is how I got him. Happy Endings had given me a feral cat to work with. At a steel plant in Chicago he got out. The doors on Freightliners aren't the best. I don't know if my seat belt may have been caught in it or loading the coil of steel just jarred it open. All I do know is the door was open and the cat was gone. I looked for him but did not see him. I went back with live traps and had the people that worked there keep an eye out for him. For over 5 months I went back trying to trap him. People said they saw a black cat roaming around. One night I got lucky and caught him? He was tearing up the trap so I got him into a carrier.
     The next day I took him to Crawford Animal Hospital. As soon as I opened the carrier I realized that I had made a mistakes. There was no way to touch him. He had to be sedated to be examined. Now I had to get him back in the carrier. He is a very powerful bundle of hatred. They use welding gloves when dealing with fractious cats. Armed with those and a towel I went in. Turns out we were both on the offensive. It quickly turned into a game of cat and mouse. Any time I tried to grab him he would bite right through the gloves. He was able to jump from the floor to the ceiling (10ft). He tore pictures off the walls and put holes in their bench seat. Basically destroyed the room. With blood, sweat and tears I got lucky and was able to eventually get him in the carrier. I did not wear him out or even down. He was totally up and ready to kill me.
     The next day he was sedated, examined and treated. That is also when it was discovered that I did not have the right cat. He was named Bob and put into quarantine. After his quarantine was up he was fixed and given his rabies vaccine. They gave him to me with liquid pain meds that are to be placed under the tongue and along the jaw line. The 1st wasn't bad but he was still half knocked out. I have really thick fleece lined winter leather gloves that I was using. He bit right through them. I then bought oven mites and put them over the gloves. He stopped drawing blood but have you ever gotten your fingers caught in a door? That's what it felt like. Then I tried backing my fingers out of the glove and while he thought he was tearing me up I got some medicine in his mouth, kind of where it was supposed to go.
     I used the same glove trick while trying to pet him. He is the reason I now have a plastic mattress cover over my mattress. He peed and crapped on my bed and not from being scared. I watched him looking at me while he unloaded on my bed. It took a while but he did come around. It got to the point my fingers actually healed. He loves being pet and played with. You still have to watch it because he can get a little rough.
     Now that he was able to be touched without sedation it was time to look farther into his sneezing. It was thought he had upper repertory. An antibiotic shot would clear him right up. But the doctors didn't feel it should be constantly coming back. It was discovered he has part of his upper nasal passage missing. There are several causes but it doesn't matter, what matters is that someone needs to keep a close eye on him and if it gets out of hand he needs treated. Happy Endings shelter guards all their cats very closely and will not adopt out a cat that needs constant supervision. They are placed in permanent foster care and the shelter monitors them. So now we have Jackal.
     At times Jackal will blow out a wad of snot. This would be a problem but since it happens when he's been sleeping it's contained to that area. It does tend to piss me off however because he tends to sleep on my pillow. I'm only home a couple nights a week so it's all his the rest of the time. I can easily change a pillow case but it's when I'm sleeping on it and he sneezes that gets me.
   

SPAR HAWK

Spar Hawk was caught at a steel plant in Wisconsin. I saw him in a light rain eating worms off the concrete. I had a live trap and set it up while waiting to load. It did not take long to catch him. He was covered in grease and oil, matted and had fleas. I took him to Crawford Animal Hospital and they x-rayed him because of how round he was. They found a bullet in his liver which had not done any damage and could not be removed.  He was a very friendly cat which helped because it took 3 months of treatments to get rid of all the parasites. He was adopted right away! Spar Hawk always reminded me of a Star Wars Ewok, just a small loving little round puff ball.

CHESTNUT

Chestnut is a small Siamese that might be a mix but hard to tell. She was at a foster home that could not get her to come around. I took her with me and what a little terror. Chestnut feared everything. Problem was she had a bad kidney that had to be removed. She was sick and had to get healthy enough for the operation. Chestnut is extremely fast with a powerful bite. A lot of my blood was spilled trying to get her healthy.
     The foster volunteer was glad to see that Chestnut had started to let herself be pet. However the foster person forgot my warning about going slow before, during and after touching Chestnut. The foster volunteer moved away a little to fast, but not fast enough and was bit. I kept Chestnut until she recovered from surgery.
     My brother-in-law Frank agreed to foster Chestnut. He is also not afraid of being bit. We are not fans of being bit but understand a skittish cat is very unpredictable. If you fear getting bit you won't chance letting the cat build the trust that will lead to friendship. Frank can now pick up and hold Chestnut. He has even given her a few baths. Frank is always careful to wash the blood off himself and not get any on Chestnut. She thankful for the bath shows her appreciation by inspiring the purchasing of new plastic shower curtains. Chestnut is still not very trusting of others. She does let others pet her but it is at her mercy! She also still needs monitored closely for urinary problems. I don't think she will ever be adoptable. Happy Endings shelter will make sure she is taken care of. Chestnut's happy ending is in permanent foster being loved and cared for by Frank.

GENERAL

WANT TO HELP? www.HappyEndings.us

Are you worn out? Tired of relationships that you give more then get? Do you want someone there just for you? Someone that won't criticize your life? So the dishes aren't done, dust everywhere and your not sure where the vacuum is? Consider a cat! They are low maintenance. Food and a clean litter box (5 minutes work tops) is all they require. A cat returns love! Not unconditional love, but true love all the same! The condition is you must love and treat them with kindness! Treat an animal like crap and they will be crap!

CURRENT CAT IN THE TRUCK IS ZOE

TRAVELING

CHOOSING A TRAVELING COMPANION

Please think it through for you and your pet. Are you prepared for explosive diarrhea and vomiting all over your vehicle? Ready for emergency vet visits? Can you put your trip on hold to care for your pet? I have seen and we have all heard about pets abandoned on the side of the road. Traveling can stress out your pet and cause problems that would never happen on short trips or at home. It will cost you a lot more time and money than a pet at home would. PLEASE think it out carefully! Pets bring great joy and companionship on long trips but a sick or upset animal can ruin a trip. You may want to consider air shipping your pet to your destination. The cost is relatively low but you need to make sure they are up to date on vaccines.
     I have met people traveling with just about every type of pet you might have at home; cats and dogs, pot belly pigs, exotic birds including cockatoos, parrots, an owl and a hawk, also snakes and lizards, you name it. How good is this for your animal, ask your vet? Consider this; a truck driver tends to have increased medical problems when considered as a whole and compared to other occupations, so if it makes us sick imagine what it's doing to your pet. Most drivers won't admit that their pet did not live as long or had more medical problems but it seems to be the case. I have traveled with both dogs and cats, and cats do seem to do better. I believe it's a cats agility that helps them. Cats can react to the movement of the vehicle better than a dog. Cats also need less immediate care. A dog has to go out when a dog needs to go out. "Well at home", remember you're not at home! Most places don't want you walking your dog on their property so consider stopping before you have a long wait someplace. I can't imagine what it would be like with a more exotic pet. People tend to think about how kool it would be to have __________ animal. Mommy can I keep him? Can you? I believe pets are the greatest companion a person can have. Human companionship is something everyone should have, but the right pet is a joy onto its self.

PREPARE YOUR PET AND VEHICLE
     Scared animals can force their way into places you may not think possible. I had a cat get up between the interior and exterior of a Freightliner truck. There is a fist sized hole on both sides in the overhead compartment that the cat squeezed through. Once the cat was up there, I had no way to reach him, I had to wait for the cat to come out on his own. I now block that hole with spray foam insulation. My driver had his dog get under the dash by the pedals and tear out wiring. I now have sheet metal blocking that area off. A rule of thumb for cats is, if the head will fit the body will also (even if the cat is fat). Just because the animal gets in does not mean they will be able too or willing to get back out! You need to look at things from their level. Did you know that most car exhaust runs under the floor and seat? It can heat that area up and expose an animal hiding under a seat or on the floor to extreme temperatures. A frightened animal will stay in a spot even if it's injuring them.
     What if your involved in an accident and are not able to help with your pet? Do you have a carrier or leash? REMEMBER someone else may need to take possession of your pet so medical records, food and medicines will be essential. Have someone know the route you are taking and check in routinely so if your pet needs to be picked up arrangements can be made. Keep in mind some humane society shelters will not keep your animal if not contacted. I recommend getting a chip put into your pet to help recover them in case something happens. As careful as you may be your pet may still get out on you.
     Your pet may get sick or have an "accident". Get a good plastic mattress cover. Thick fitted mattress pad and fitted sheets to soak up and protect your mattress from what ever they produce. SPARE EVERYTHING! Will be a must! Hope you never need to use them. Some truck stops have laundries and I have had to use them. Cover seats and carpet with plastic and something to soak pee up. I use rubber backed welcome mats and rubber backed bathroom rugs. I put a scratching post on my seat at night to help protect my seat and a towel over the seat to help keep it from being clawed up. For food I have a large cake pan with a towel in the bottom of it. I use stainless steal bowls for easy cleaning. I keep water out all the time thus the cake pan and towel. Don't keep food or water that has been out for more than a day because flies and other insects can lay eggs there plus the food can be exposed to germs and bacteria. Use a high quality food and measure it out so you know if your pet is eating. Ask your vet what food they recommend for a traveling pet. I use Green Pea and Duck. You want a food that is bland and will help keep their digestive system calm. NO PEOPLE FOOD! You think this is a treat for putting up with the traveling, well remember that, when your cleaning up the mess. Have a clean up kit ready for your car and hotel room and hope you don't need it. Litter boxes should be out and accessible at all times. I have a cabinet that I removed the door and I use a covered litter box to help keep down the smell and mess. Use a high grade litter, UNSCENTED! Your cat may hide in their litter box and scented litter can make them sick. Pour it in thick! You want the pee to soak in and clump so it traps the smell. I find cats are quite good at using the litter box but keep in mind a scared animal can lose their bladder control. Fast food paper bags work great for scooping litter into.
      IT IS NOT THEIR FAULT YOU CHOSE TO BRING THEM! If you realize you made a mistake PLEASE ship them home or find a shelter. Animals left on the side of the road don't usually make it. Dogs don't turn into wolves and cats into tigers. They only know you give them food and will keep waiting for you to return until they starve to death. Cats in the wild do better then dogs but also die horribly! Feral (wild) cats die from all types of injuries and illnesses and they were raised outside. Your pet does not have the skills to survive. The only reason there are so many wild dogs and cats is that they breed so quickly. I have caught cats in truck stops and steal mills. They had been shot (ex-rays showed bullets) and were filled with parasites. Don't take my word for it, just look up the survival rate of dogs and cats in the wild.