The Georgia files...

Well it's been a crazy last couple of days with our Sweet Georgia.

Thursday, sometime during the night, Georgia's bad eye got worse

and ruptured even further beyond repair.

It was not a pretty sight at all but in true Georgia fashion,

she ate breakfast and continued to play and explore her little world.

I called the vet as soon as they opened at 8 and they took her in

straight away to have said eye removed.

There was nothing else could be done.

She has recovered so far with flying colours and continues to amaze us with her spirit!

As soon as she was home and awake but still groggy, she was wrestling

with her toys and wanting something to eat.

Even though I have my camera setting on sports mode, a kitten is not an easy subject to shoot!

The good news is that the vet thinks the remaining eye can probably be saved!

Although her vision in it remains to be seen...

She's still not the prettiest gal on the block but you just try to resist that joyful soul!

She has a little drainage tube which will come out after the weekend and has to wear

the dreaded cone when she's not supervised...which she managed to escape out of during the night 

using her Houdini super powers.

The technicians at the vet had to adapt one to make it small enough for her.

I'm calling it the 'Melita one cup cone of shame' 

since it's exactly the same size as those coffee filter holders!

In true kitten fashion she has 3 things on her agenda:

eat, sleep, play repeat...

So fingers, toes and paws crossed she continues on her road to recovery.

Thanks again to everyone who has helped and made this kittens life, well, a kittens life!

Will keep you updated as things progress but for now...time for a nap...

**Special thanks to Dr Debra Lambert and the staff at Sooke Veterinary clinic 

for taking such special care of our little mite.**

A little help from my friends...

Crowd funding.

It's a system that helps people raise money for various reasons online.

It's now my turn to try my hand at this.

I have just been to the vet this morning with Georgia and have

come home with a grim prognosis.

Double eye removal.

Seems that this sweet little feral kitten just had

too bad of an eye infection to save her sight.

I'm both sad and angry right now.

Sad for the obvious reasons that this little, joyful soul will

never be able to see her beautiful world from no choice of her own.

Angry at the fact that there are many irresponsible pet owners

out there that would enable this to happen.

I could go on and on about that but now is the time to move forward.

Now that Georgia has come into our lives at a time when we needed distraction

the most, I feel I have no choice but to care for her and help her

continue living her life as joyous as possible.

She is quite full of it, as most kittens are.

You can read the longer story on the link provided below.

Thank you so much.

Lost and found...WARNING: not for the faint of heart

(Those of you who follow me on Instagram and Facebook 

may already know some of this story)

About 3 weeks ago I was out in the garden and I kept hearing faint sounds of a bird 

that I couldn't identify. As I got closer to the source, to my surprise,

out walked a tiny grey kitten probably no more than 3 or 4 weeks old.

No sign of mom around so I brought it in the house to make a call to 

a friend of mine who I wanted advice from. She said I should probably 

put it back as the mom may come back for it. I followed her advice 

and sat in watch behind a hedge and sure enough the mom, a Siamese, 

came back. We fed them and kept track of them for about a week and I 

also saw a black kitten with them once. Obviously feral and hungry I wondered how 

these three (or more) were surviving. After a week and a half there were no

signs of them so we stopped feeding them.

Flash forward: Last Saturday.

Tom spots the little grey kitten alone behind the barn.

He comes in to tell me and I go out there armed with a dish of food.

When I see it my heart wrenches.

It's eyes are so infected and oozing with puss that it is blind and

 runs away at the sound of my footsteps.

I have a workshop to teach but Tom stays behind to try and catch it.

Success! When I get home he has it in a cat carrier and it is so afraid.

I take it out and see that this poor thing needs help.

 It being Saturday evening with no vet open, I clean its eyes gently (they were crusted over)

and give it some polysporin eye drops and some food. 

Sunday morning the vet here was open so I took it in to be examined.

Turns out "it's" a girl! She's about 7 or 8 weeks old and is suffering from a serious form

of conjunctivitis, a viral infection. Saving her eyesight is iffy but I am sent home with antibiotics,

worming medicine, eye drops and hope. 

 I've now named her Georgia since she is VERY curious (hence the George part but being a girl)

and also a nod to Ray Charles in case she does end up being blind.

I know she's not much to look at with the messed up eyes but oh my! she is so sweet!

I made her a playpen for sleeping in at night because she can't jump up and down yet

to use the litter box(which she is perfect at already!) and shouldn't mix with our other cat because the infection can be contagious and she doesn't make a peep!

 When I'm here in the daytime she sits curled up on a sweater and a piece of faux fur

I had in my fabric stash. I thought she would like the furry feeling...

Since she's blind (only temporarily I hope) her sense of sound is acute and those tiny

ears are like little bats ears picking up radar whenever anything makes a noise.

Probably how she's managed to survive this long...

 Georgia is just being a kitten despite her disability. Curious...

 Playful...

 Mischievous!

 Her appetite is voracious which is an excellent sign and the vet said she has 

a strong heart and there's no signs of pneumonia.

 Georgia is one tiny purring machine and loves to cuddle. She likes to lay on my chest and puts

her tiny paw in that hollow spot at the base of my throat. 

Maybe she likes the feel of my pulse.

Tom says we should call her Monster because of how she looks!

Whatever...she's now our little monster and I must say we are smitten with this kitten.

I hope and pray with all of my heart that she will one day see again. 

(when I first found her she did have tiny open blue eyes)

Even if she can see with one eye, that would be grand.

So now it's time for my rant:

PLEASE!

Spay and neuter your pets!!

This is the face of a feral kitten.

It is a terrible, hard, dangerous and often fatal short life.

I urge you to donate to your nearest pet shelter to help

these defenseless creatures. 

A rose by any other name...

There they were...

last weeks roses from the shop, extras left over from a wedding...

and I, the lucky one who got to take them home...

The variety is...actually I don't remember ...

But as William Shakespeare once wrote...

'What's in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;'

So true dear Billy!

These beauties are heavenly, taking us to a garden on a warm summers evening...

...to gaze upon the apricot and peach hues, we are transported to a romantic time,

...each petal unfurling in its own glory,

...revealing yet one more way that a thing can swirl,

...and curl

  ...the collection of all the petals become a symphony of soft ruffles

Oh to be minuscule and dive inside!!

Even in sepia tone they're simply irresistible!

 as the petals fall, there is poetry as well...

I just could go on and on and take hundreds more photos...

But for now I bid you adieu...leaving you to imagine the scent of summer...