Rikki's Refuge: Mar 26, 2015

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Good Morning Good News !!!! March 26, 2015

John Kitty --- thank YOU for coming to Rikki’s Refuge and letting us save your life and for giving us the opportunity to help you have a long wonderful fulfilling life !!!!

It’s what we do best !!

Did you notice anything “different” about John Kitty, the brown tabby in the video? The guy reaching up and jumping and chasing the Red Dot?

Did you notice he’s differently-abled? Yup ... he sure is.

Do you think it makes him any different, any less desirable, any less able?

Nope !!!! He’s a great and wonderful kitty. He would have died at the hands of his owners or at the pound instead of being the chance to lead a fulfilling life being differently-abled.

What do you think he would have chosen?

At Rikki’s Refuge we think LIFE !!!!!

And that’s why we do what we do !!!!

When life hits you with a hard one and you’re born with a birth defect, have an accident or illness that leaves you different .... you have a choice. You can give up, withdraw from the world, feel sorry for yourself and be dis-abled.

Or you can put your purr right back on, say well dang gone bummer uhhh ahhhh scream in the woods and get the anger and frustration out and then say, now I’m gonna make the best of it and have a wonderful life being differently-abled !!!

Non-human animals almost always choose the latter.

And Rikki’s Refuge is here to help everybody, regardless of their species, reach that goal of being differently-ABLED.

We’re also here to teach the world that differently-abled is ok ... it’s just fine .... so you’re missing a leg, you walk funny, missing an eye, or two, an ear, have a gimpy leg .... so what ..... you’re still valued every bit as much as someone who looks and acts just like everybody else .... and you have your own individuality too !!!! And it’s to be appreciated.

I love going to schools and teaching kids about the differently-abled. Vincent was the best teacher ever. He’d always scoot right up to the differently-abled kids and he’d love and snuggle and then he’d teach the class how they were all the same. Starting from see, I’m different. But look at me !! I’m not disabled !!!!

Soon John Kitty will have a chance to see if he’d like to become a teacher. If he enjoys the roll, he’ll join Opie and Timmy. If he doesn’t, he’s got a good home waiting for him. He’s received three good offers for homes. So no matter what he choose in life .... it’s gonna be good and wonderful !!!

I’ll let him tell you his story.

IN THE BEGINNING

Hi, my name is John Kitty and this is my story of going from ordinary run of the mill run around kitty to a special differently-abled kitty. I’m two years old and I’ve lived in a lot of homes. My sibs and I got left at a pound when we were little. I got adopted to a family where I lived for most of a year.

They gave me away and I lived with somebody else for a while. They were moving so I got taken back to the pound. Somebody else took me home last October. It was a cool place to live. There were no rules, no bed time, I was allowed to roam and run all I wanted to.

One day I got hurt. I think you call them automobiles and they smush kitties and I almost got away, but my left arm got hit and it hurt real bad. The bone was sticking out at my wrist. My hoomans said you stoopid cat, don’t think we’re paying any doc bills for you. So I went out looking for a job, a paper route or something, cuz I was hurtin and I knew I needed to see the doc.

It’s hard enough to get a job when you’re not injured and limping, nobody wanted me limping and bleeding.

Not even my hoomans. When the infection got so bad that my leg was really swollen up, they took me back to the pound. They went home with another kitty. I sure hope he had better luck than me. I loved them ....... Do they grieve for me?

AND THERE I WAS ... LEFT TO DIE

A volunteer there said, Oh I hate to see him killed. He’s so nice. But even if we can fix him up, no one will adopt a gimpy kitty, let’s call Rikki’s Refuge, they like three legged cats, maybe they can fix him, and I hear they love everybody.

And somebody, who’s name I later found out is Mom, came and looked at me. She said .. ohhhh geee this is bad .... I don’t think you can save the leg, but the rest of the kitty is just fine !!!!

And so I went home with her.

Wondering how long this home would last, and would they find a way to make it stop hurting. I was starting to feel bad too and my temp was 105 which the hooman called Mom said was really high.

Mom called her doc and described my injury to her, it looked like a break at the wrist and an open wound and really badly infected and doc agreed to see me in the morning and see what she could do.

Mom gave me some pain meds and I felt a little better, and she gave me good nums to eat. She was so surprised that I wanted to cuddle and purr and I was nice and loving and appreciative even though I was in so much pain.

MY DAY AT THE HOSPITAL

I was at the doc’s all day. They wanted to save my leg but explained to me that the infection was in the bone really bad, and it went up to the elbow, and my fever was high and they were amazed I’d survived this long with such a serious bone infection. I guess I shouldn’t have kept walking on it with the bone sticking out .... but what else could I do?

When I woke up my leg was gone from just above the elbow down. I was kind of sad about that. But I was tired and not feeling so well and they kept giving me medicine to make me sleep.

I wondered where I’d go next. Would I ever see my old hoomans again, or the ones before that, or the one called Mom who brought me here? Would another hooman want me, now that I was missing a leg?

Mom came and took me home again and helped me eat some, and gave me lots of meds, all night long she kept waking me up with more meds, a shot for this, a shot for that ...... When I’d wake up and cry she’d come pat me and give me little bites to eat and more medicine to make the pain go away.

BACK AT WHAT I HOPE WILL BE MY NEW HOME

The one called Mom takes this horrible cone contraption off my head to let me eat. I am feeling pretty alert today. And I slept well last night ..... I can’t manage a purr yet ....... too much pain ..... and I feel so sick ...... the one called Mom keeps talking about me havin a very high fever and how worried she is. Then she gives me more meds and I sleep.

THINKING I MIGHT RECOVER

This morning I’m able to stand up and greet her who controls food, I give head butts and purrs hoping she will continue to feed me ... She takes my cone off while I have breakfast. While I’m feeling good and alert, she takes the cone off and lets me eat and move around easier. As I get drowsy, she makes me wear the cone, I don’t know why, one more humiliation suffered at the hands of hoomans. They must be crazy.

As I’m drifting off, I hear da hooman say, oh dang .... temp is still 105 ..... please God please heal this poor kitty.

WHEN I WAKE UP THAT EVENING

My temp is down to 104 ....she who is stickin me wif needles and puttin icky gunk in my mouth and puttin cone of shame on me saya she gonna keep puttin that temperature stick in places it don't belong till it says 101 .....

please, please pray it does soon. Love, John Kitty

LIFE IS COMING BACK !

Good Morning !!!! Thank you for your prayers. I made that lady with the temp stick chase me round to get my number this morning !!! My temp is down to 103.2 ..... so I'm fighting the infection !!! Yeahhh

.... and I'm hungry and I wanna run and hop .... Socrates, Timmy and Opie are teaching me how to get around.

They tell me I’m not dis-abled .... but I’m differently-abled .... and they tell me I’ll have friends here and everybody will love me ! I wonder if my old hoomans miss me? Do they know I’m alive? Do they care?

I’m even able to jump up on the bed today !

The lady with the temp stick and icky tasting meds says I can't play around too much .... and I bet she's gonna put that cone on me too ...... I hate that cone ..... Why does she DO this to me?

Keep praying for my temp to get all the way normal .... two more degrees down .... get all the infection gone, and for me to finish healing up and my fur to grow back .... it's cold when your shoulder is naked !!

Love, John Kitty I need a job to pay by bills .... got any openings? Or you can help me here www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate

YES !! I’M GOING TO SURVIVE !!!

Morning ..... I'm feeling GREAT today .... My temp is 100.4 .... so that lady can stop chasing me with that temp stick now !!!! That's a normal temp by the way.

I gave her quite the fight to get it this morning too. You hoomans need to come up with a better idea on how to go about doing this, let me tell you !!!

I'm sick and tired of confinement ... I've been locked up since Thursday ... I'm done .... I want out to play ... I'm racing around and jumping up on the bed and thinking of climbing anything I can get my paws on ....

I've got energy to burn ...... if them pain meds is keeping me drowsy ... Just you wait to see what a live wire I am when I'm off that !!!!

If she comes after me with that cone again ... we'll just see who's gonna end up wearing it !!!!

Love, John Kitty

PS thank you to those of you who've been helping me pay my bills for survival .... YOU can help too is you like, www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate ... without YOU they would have killed me at that pound ... and I wouldn't a liked that one little bit .... Thank you !!!!

I will be YOUR friend forever !!!!

DAY 6 OF CAPTIVITY

.... will no one come to my rescue?

I can not stand this confinement.

The alien came with the probe again today ..... 100.2 ... normal she says

..... so open the door I say ..... let me go ......

I think they are holding me hostage till I pay my bill ........ you can help me pleaz? www.RikkisRefuge.org/donate ...... thank you, love, John Kitty

DAY 8 OF CAPTIVITY

... and I continue to sit by the phone .... I've tried and tried to call home ... I remain captive ....

the alien with the probe visits .... forces pills down my throat ....

I saw snow out the window yesterday .... and I wanted to feel the flakes on my nose .... but no, alas, I am held captive ....

I believe the aliens are trying to extort large quantities of cash from me .... I have none .... perhaps they are looking for hidden treasures with the probe .... I do not know .... I know I must pay my bill before I will be allowed friends or escape .... will you help me?

Pleaz?

Thank you, John Kitty

VALENTINE’S DAY

Valentines candy movie

Happy Valentines Day. Won’t YOU be my Valentine? Won’t you come to my rescue? I’ll love you forever, I promise !!!

Get me out of here ! .... Help me to break the window ... I want my freedom ... I’ve never been confined before and don’t see why I am now. It wasn’t my fault I was injured.

Why oh why am I being punished here .... four walls around me ... no sunshine ... just this artificial light controlled by the alien with the probe .... the alien comes in and forces me to swallow something .... then uses the probe in a very inappropriate place ...

the nums are good I will concede ... I ate so much the first few days I thought I’d burst .... and the food kept coming ... mmmm .... I don’t need to find a hidey hole nest at night ... it’s late spring here in captivity and I sleep on a bed where I can look out at winter and freedom ...

The pain in my leg has subsided, no longer is every step earth shattering stabbing pain .... yet it aches where it has fallen off.

Oh my friends .... stay away from cars ... such dangerous things. I see none of them out the window here ... none .... I yearn to be back on the streets of my home, romping with my friends ....

I believe if I pay my debt, I shall be released .... please help me gain my freedom ... www.RikkisRefuge.org/Donate .... I’ve only made a small dent in earning enough to pay my bills.

Thankfully they are still feeding me.

Love,

MY Valentine,

John Kitty.

DAY 10 OF CAPTIVITY

Good Morning!

My captors are good hunters ... the nums are endless .....

ahhh but to feel the grass under my feet again ..... to hunt my own nums ......

I sat in the window and watched the moon ..... I could feel the coolness of the outside world thru the window .... it is always summer in this place ... my winter coat is already shedding out ...I must escape soon ......

the wind was blowing .... the trees swaying in the moonlight .... how I wanted to sit on the fence and howl and feel that cool wind blowing my fur ........

John Kitty

DAY 11 OF CAPTIVITY

Even with snow on the ground, my captors manage to hunt and bring home the nums.

How I long to play in the snow .... to feel the wind in my fur .... instead I sit here .... captive .... my winter coat shedding .....

I hear the voices of others of my kind ..... I think they may be held here captive too .... I wonder if I will ever meet them ....

I do not understand why I am held captive.

What have I done?

I am walking, climbing, running and jumping on three feet .... I am good to go .....

I pound and pound away at the window and I can not get it to open ....

ahhhh to leave paw prints in the snow ......

John Kitty

(ps from da hooman, as healthy as John Kitty seems to be, he must remain in quarantine for 14 days to ensure he was not incubating any nasty viruses, soon, he shall have friends)

THERE IS LIFE OF MY KIND AROUND HERE!

When the hunter arrived with nums this morning .... two most unusual things happened.

There was no probe ! This is a development I am most thankful for. I do pray that probe is lost forever.

AND one of my own kind accompanied the hunter. Perhaps he is the true hunter as the taller alien one seems poorly equipped to catch much of anything in the way of nums and the variety she brings me is quite delectable.

The one who came with her is named Ninja, a large solid black fellow. He was quite nice, asked to share my nums ..... and though I had been starved all night with only dry kibble to abate my hunger .... I immediately conceded ..... we only had a moment to speak before the hunter swooped Ninja up and removed him from my room.

She promises that in a few days I may meet others, she says there are many of my kind.

So what’s the secret? Is it still about the bill that was paid to remove my damaged dragging arm? Do they not understand that my kind does not trade with their green currency? I have no pockets to whip out a credit card. What am I to do?

Some of you kind hoomans have donated a little over half of the green trading papers required to buy me freedom. Please ... can you help me with the rest? I shall hunt for you upon my release to repay you.

Help me gain my freedom and remove me from debtors prison http://rikkisrefuge.org/donate/?purpose=John

I pray of you.

Love,

John Kitty

DAY 13 OF CAPTIVITY

.... and I’m restless .... this confinement is killing me .... I need to be out running, chasing things, climbing trees ....

I cannot stand this !!!!

I have climbed up the walls, leapt from one thing to another, raced in circles, tried to express my need to be set free this morning .....

The hooman is not smart ..... it does not understand .... it gets the video camera because it thinks I am cute.

I am not cute .... I want my freedom.

How do I express this in a way the hooman will understand?

I met Timmy this morning ..... he figured out how to pull away the towel separating us from under the door .... and we shook hands. I can’t wait to meet this dude.... he tells me he has all four legs, but his hind ones were badly damaged in an accident when he was a baby .... another one of those vehicle things .... perhaps hoomans should not be allowed to move about in such dangerous ways .....

I remember the stories my great-great-great-great ....... great-great-great-great grandma cat told me about the days of old when hoomans didn’t zoom about .... but traveled by horse .... and you could hear the horses coming and get out of the way .... not many of my kind every lost a leg to a horse and buggy .....

But alas ... the hoomans call it progress ..... this destruction of nature and it’s animals .... I hope my kind can teach much to hoomans.

More good news ..... I think the hooman has lost the probe .... shhhhh please don’t mention it and please don’t send funds for another ... please !!! No probe ... never again .... hoomans are totally weird, I don’t think I’ll ever understand them.

Oh let me gain my freedom before the snow melts .... ahhhh to feel the cool and refreshing snow on my feet .... the wind in my fur .... the sun on my face .....

Love, John Kitty

(ps from da hooman please forgive the little mess, John Kitty is a scatterer ..... nums and love comes before clean up time !)

DAY 14 OF CAPTIVITY

.... well today ... maybe I’m not so much wanting to go out.

Touch my nose to that glass .... and it’s COLD ....

Think I’ll snooze in a sunbeam after I clean up .....

THANK YOU all very much !!! Opie tells me YOU ALL are kind and wonderful and take care of our hospital debts !!! That is so kind of you. I don’t mind working ... it’s just finding a job when they won’t let me out this room is really tough, ya know?

So Timmy tells me, thru our under the door communication slit, that he’s heard da hoomans talking about FREEDOM tomorrow ..... I asked him if that meant back outside ... hunting down my own nums ... dodging them auto mobiles .... hopin’ I don’t loose another leg ....

Timmy said not to worry, da hoomans is really OUR captives and here to provide our every need .... he says they won’t dump me back in the snow to fend for myself.

Hmmmm we’ll have to see how this all works out ......

Love,

John Kitty

FREEDOM DAY !!!

They said it was FREEDOM DAY ....

Then the hunter made me get in a box ..... there was a large viewing port .... They were taking me home !!! Back to my neighborhood ... back to my friends ... where I could wonder and roam ... YES !!!!

But when we stopped .... it was somewhere else. They took those itchy stitches out of my arm and that was good. Well it hurt a little. But I’m glad they’re gone.

FREEDOM NOW ???

But no ... it was right back to MY room .....

but the hunter didn’t shut the door .... and others of my kind came in to see me .... many of them !!!

I came out and I got out of that room as fast as I could ...

looking for an open door .... how do I get out to the snow ?

I do not like living in confinement summer when I could be my natural self .... outside .... finding my own food ... roaming my hood .... romping in the snow .... I do not like this ... no I don’t .... I want OUT .....

I have found many windows and doors ...

NONE can I escape thru ....

They promised me FREEDOM .... this is a LIE.

Please demand my release. Sign a petition, get 125,000 votes and maybe the hunter will give me my FREEDOM ....

Love,

John Kitty

DAY 16 THE LESSENING OF CAPTIVITY

I have tested every door and window in this place. Pushing around the edges .... pounding on the glass .... that snow out there looks so inviting !!

There are many others of my kind here ... they just sit in this artificial summer and look at me like I’m the one who’s crazy. They are content with their capture. I want my freedom.

I found this area on top of the couch with LOTS of kitty smells .... everyone travels about here .... what is going on ... why are they all coming and going from here ???

The alien hunter, who I’ve been told is called Hooman, or by some Mom, which is a little easier for me to pronounce .... shows me the way !!!

YES ... Freedom .... and I’m OUT !!!!! At las .....

........ but it’s a screened room .... I cannot get to the snow .... to the ground .... to a tree ..... I am still captive .....

And it’s rather cold out here? Really quite cold ..... I here Hooman saying, I wonder if he can figure out how to get back inside? I think, yeah, and why would I want to .... until I smell dinner !!!!

And then YES, I’m back in to chow down !! Now I can get to this room when ever I want .... I come in and I go out and I come in and I go out .... out to watch the night sights ... back in to warm up .... back out ..... And so life has improved a bit,

Love,

John Kitty

JOHN KITTY CHECKING OUT THE WINDOW.