Blog – Page 4 – Mandarin's Retreat

Odds & Ends

Most of the last 10 days or so, I’ve been working on creating a fillable form for our monthly Asilomar reporting to Shelter Animals Count and to Shelter Pet Data Alliance. We had to bite the bullet and buy a software subscription and then learn how to use the damn thing. I made a fool of my self by submitting a support ticket for something that was in the user manual, but you know; who reads the manual!

Any way, the Cats Gallery is set up and running and our gallery of all our cats is 99.9% done as we’re missing one photo. We don’t have a decent photo of Mishka, who is a chocolate black long hair who as a passion for hiding except at night. It’s hard to take a good picture of a black cat at night.

The most recent photo to go into the gallery was that of Luna. Luna was born in our backyard some years ago and is a daughter of Miss Tabz. Luna became an inside cat one very dark night at around 0300. Mrs H couldn’t sleep and was using her iPad to look at the backyard with one of the CCTV cameras. She saw Momma Tabz carrying a kitten and another kitten following (Luna). Unbeknown to Mrs H, both kittens had ocular herpes and their eyes were welded shut with gunk. Little Luna, a bit behind and late to the party, ran after her mom and fell into our swimming pool. Mrs H yelled at me to get up as she headed outdoors to rescue the kitten. Getting the cat out of the pool didn’t take much effort and Mrs H was soon back with one soaked little kitty. Two towels later, the kitty was dry and warm and being fed by Mrs H with a syringe. The moon was out and the kitten was gray so she earned her name of Luna. The next day brought a trip to the vet and the purchase of some meds for the kittens vicious ocular herpes.

The following days changed our relationship with feral momma Tabz. She brought all her remaining kittens (each with ocular herpes) to our back door and left them in our care. Subsequently, with each new litter, she would bring all her kittens to us once they were ready to be weaned. After several years of trying to trap Ms Tabz, we nabbed her and her latest batch of kittens in April.

This week has as also been about expanding our donor reach to include Donor Advised Funds or DAFs. Through a on-line workshop and with help from Givebutter’s support staff, we have a DAF donor form. You should see the button on our new Donations page on the website soon.

Oh, almost forgot! This week started the Community Service Campaign by Ignitify using radio stations ESPN KLAQ & KISS FM, and text messages to ask their customers and the community for donations to the Retreat. Our relationship with Ignitify began earlier this year when our HVAC mini-split bought the farm and we needed it replaced. Ignitify was quick, professional, and they liked what they saw of the Retreat. When they said they wanted to help, we were quick to say “YES!”. Talk about a business chipping in with community service! We’ll be posting more about both these companies on our “Friends” page which is currently under construction.

Please return next week to see what else is going on at Mandarin’s Retreat! 🎉

Temp Gallery

We’re trying to post gallery pictures of our cats in different situations, but have been running into roadblocks (or gallery blocks). Below is a draft of our Cats in Treatment gallery. This will be an active gallery as cats will move into or out of treatment. Please give us a shout on social media about what you think.

This gallery displays photos of the cats currently undergoing active treatment for acute sickness, chronic illness or injury. Our cats with FIV are shown in their own gallery.

Anne BonnyLittle Ann we have discovered was abused by her previous owner. Kicked in the head, we think her jaw was dislocated or broken. Everything healed "off" and she can't eat on her right side and is in pain. We're working with the vet to find the right combo of meds to allow her to eat pain free. In the meantime, she is getting tiny bits of Thanksgiving ham.

ElizabethLittle Elizabeth, momma of six, has a food allergy.

HamletHamlet has stomatitis and has almost no teeth. His vet is currently working out a treatment plan to help him get better.

LinusLinus has terribly matted fur and he is waiting for an appointment for a medical shave. He explicitly stated, "No Lion Cuts"!!

LJLJ has a deformed left rear leg. He is essentially walking on his knee.

LuluLulu came to us because of her anxiety which caused over cleaning of her ears, belly and inside of her rear thighs. A new environment and meds are helping with her anxiety.

NixlingNixling has an Upper Respiratory Infection.

OthelloOthello has some sort of skin problem that looks like mange but isn’t. We’re trying different treatments to find one that works.

ShortcakeShortcake has a cold that turned into an Upper Respiratory Infection (URI)

SophiaPoor Sophia has a bladder infection.

StellaStella is responding very well to her thyroid & pain meds. She is bright eyed and her fur silky smooth. Her lesions have almost disappeared. She takes her meds like a trooper most days, which is well as she will have to take them for now on.

TwinkleTwinkle has eye problems and may be permanently blind. She’s off to see a specialist soon.

Cole and Cars

We got a new kitten on Friday. Presumably this is just a foster for the Human Society, but we’ll see. We haven’t had much luck of our fosters being taken back, but that’s another story for another time. This is Cole’s time. Cole came to us straight from the vet where he had been in treatment for three days. His front paws were horribly burned.

This is a photo of Cole's burnt paws. — **Cole’s Burnt Toe Beans**

We receuved Cole’s story from Sun City Cats and it’s posted below in his own words:

Cole’s Story

I’m Coleman… you can call me “Cole” for short. I’m named after Christian Coleman the world champion in running.

A couple days ago I decided to explore a parked vehicle.

I guess it wasn’t very smart of me to choose to hide in an exhaust pipe. Especially after the car started moving. I gave it my all to keep my little paws moving and keep up with the vehicle…. Maybe if I had some “Nike Air Zooms” like Christian I wouldn’t have hurt my paws. Luckily, a very kind lady waved, honked, and screamed hysterically to stop the vehicle (before we entered the interstate). She then sprang into action, laying on the street not caring about her cloths getting dirty and she-saved me as my paws were already damaged. Thank you “kind lady”, for caring. I heard she doesn’t really know much about us furry felines, but she cared enough to save my life. We need more two legged critters like her.

I was in the vet all week (thanks to those kind two legged critters as well). And now I’m with my favorite people. They never skimp on the Churu. YUM. Once I’m all healed up I hope to find my fantastic family. But I need some extra TLC right now. Please, if you know anyone that’s sweet, patient, and gentle. I’ll fit right in.

Sorry no biscuits right now but I’m sending you lots of purrs. Thank you for giving me a chance!

Fondly,

Lil’ Cole

So for now, Cole will be healing and returning to our vet for further treatment. If you would like to support Cole, please click Donations and specify in your comments that you want gift to go to Cole.

Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

These are the Ginger kitties currently in residence at Mandarin’s Retreat.

FinbarFinbar came to us from the Valvoline dealership with a wounded left shoulder and covered in grease.

Glen with a smileOur newest ginger kitten who is all purrs and meows. He is a very chatty kitten!

HerculesHercules is one of our older cats at the Retreat. He is shy and often lurks in dark spaces.

Kit KatKit Kat was a "temporary" foster from a family who lost there home. We provide updates and pictures to his family but they have not returned to pick him and his sister up. Kit is very affectionate and loves to rub your legs.

MarmaladeMarmalade is wearing her "Lion cut" trim. She had very matted fur which made her cranky. Now she is cooler and more comfortable, her charming disposition has returned.

Winston & Jeremiah

Jeremiah was a street cat and a victim of a dog fighting cabal who found his way to our driveway. He was so territorial that we had to limit his space within the Retreat to Mr. H’s office. He resided there, mostly alone for a couple of years.

Winston was a lost kitten placed with us by our vet and one day he ran through the open door of the office to bump noses with Jeremiah. From almost that time on, the two were best buds. They traveled together to the Vet ER when Jeremiah’s congenital heart disorder reared its ugly head, surprising us all and had their last kitty hug when he walked over the Rainbow Bridge on 5 Sept 2022. Winston was heart broken and kept wandering the house looking for his friend; we think he had never recovered from his loss and followed Jeremiah over the bridge on April 29, 2024, having lost his fight to total bone marrow failure. They are now forever together.