Back in the saddle again...

Boy, did we get a lot of snow over Christmas! I don't remember this much as a kid, but considering I wasn't the one scooping/shoveling it out of the way, we could have very well had this much before. We have had a lot of fun playing in it though! Thank God for our safe travels and for my sister and her husband's surprise visit here and back. What blessings we all have in each other.

Now it's back to work. My new running plan started yesterday. I get one day off per week scheduled and I will take another if I get too tired or just need a break. I have a goal in mind but am not willing to share quite yet. I will say that I am going to run the marathon in Lincoln on May 3rd. It is 18 weeks away, so I am doing Hal Higdon's 18 week training plan for Advanced runners. We'll see if it kills me! I did make one change in that on Mondays, the day after long runs, I am going to do yoga instead of a short jog. I feel that I need to work on my flexibility, balance, and strength and that should be the perfect tool. I got a DVD so can just do that in my basement. I've found that I'm extremely "board-like" so hopefully this will help me!

I wish everyone a very Happy New Year! It's hard to believe that ten years ago, we were so paranoid about the Y2K thing. I was at Myrtle Beach for New Year's Eve and had a good time. This year I will be at Mannheim Steamroller with my 7 year old. Ten years ago, I couldn't imagine living in Iowa again and having two little boys. Strange how your life turns out, but I sure love it!

Well, better get on with my day. Cats to clean up after, but at least there's only 6 of them!

Merry Christmas to All!

As the three Kings addressed the crowds in Bethlehem, all at once the dark clouds parted and the sky was bathed in a radiant light. The people were filled with wonder as they gazed into the heavens. In the hills nearby, some shepherds saw the same light. They had been tending their sheep, but when the heavenly light broke through the clouds, they fell to the ground in fear. People in towns and villages for miles around and all the shepherds in the fields covered their eyes to shield them from the blinding rays. When they looked up, the glory of the Lord shone around them, and the sky was filled with singing angels. One voice could be heard above all others: "Fear not," said an angel of the Lord, "for I bring tidings of great joy. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign: you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger."
And then the sweet voices of the angels rang out like bells: "Glory to God in the Highest; peace on earth and good will toward men." And the hearts of the people were filled with gladness.

So it is that at Christmas we celebrate the birth of a blessed baby who was born one starry night in a peaceful stable in Bethlehem.

From me to you, a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you and yours!

Running for a Paws

Dear Friends,

I wanted to let you know that I presented Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue a big check for $3000 for my fundraising efforts. This could not have been done without your help and I sincerely appreciate the thoughtfulness of everyone who donated, whether it was a quarter or $100. One year ago, I had no idea where my life would lead, and I am so happy with the way it has turned. I never thought I would run another marathon, then plan to do yet another at an even faster pace. Crazy cat lady I am!

Some of the money has been used for pet food for people who were going to surrender their dogs because they had no money for food. The husband had lost his job a few months ago and they were down to nothing. They have pet food now and can keep their wonderful dogs who they love. I have also had three cats neutered and immunized with the funds. Beth has had two cats spayed with the money.

I tell you people, it IS making a difference in the lives of these animals and the people who need our help. We are always taking tax deductible donations, so if you want to give for the first time or again, just contact me for the mailing address.

There's so many things to talk about but I have to do some other things in holiday preparations, so will have to wait until the next blog. I do have to update that Sunkist, the cat from my back yard, is doing great. He was neutered and immunized, and he is currently running around my house. He's still a little shy, but he's coming around and is fun to play with. If he only knew how COLD it would have been for him outside! I'm so thankful that I was able to bring him in and take care of him.

The winner of our Christmas tree raffle does not want her name published. So if you haven't heard that you are the winner of our raffle, we're sorry that you didn't win. I can't thank those of you who helped sell tickets enough. The tree was beautiful and the new owner loves it. Thanks to all!

The cats

Chandler is doing much better. His little friend, Peace, got a version of his sickness, but she seems to be doing a whole lot better this evening. She got very sick when she was a tiny little kitten and ended up having a fever so high, she has neurological damage; meaning, she is a little unbalanced. Otherwise, she's a great and fun kitten. Chandler is still so tiny but he's plugging away and seems to be doing well.
Sunkist is amazing. He seemed to be wanting out of his large kennel and going nose to nose to several of the other cats, so I let him out today. He is playing and getting along with them wonderfully! I couldn't believe it. I kenneled him for the night, but he is just doing great and learning what it's like to be a house cat. He had to have been one before...I can't imagine a feral cat behaving so friendly in the first place, but I'm so glad that I was able to get him inside before these frigid temps this week.
Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue will be at Petsmart again this weekend. We have lots of cats available for adoption and will be taking pictures of your pets and you as a fundraiser. Come and check it out!
I do want to let you followers know that I will be on and off for the month of December. I have so much going on for the new year that I will be blogging more regularly after 2010, but for this December, I will be on when I can. Keep on checking as I know there will be things going on this month!

Sunkist

Sunkist is back home from the vet, getting all his shots and having "the" surgery. He's pretty wiped out though which is to be expected. The right is a picture of Renegade. I love this cat! He's about the most fun, prettiest and sweetest cat I've been around.
My little baby foster kitten Chandler, is at the vet with a mysterious ailment. He was favoring his left front leg, but now he has a fever and was just acting difficult to get around. He just has to be ok, so say a little prayer for him! He didn't have a mother from the start so he's had a rough start to life.

I am tring to attach a video that I made over the weekend for Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue. I'm not completely done but wanted to get it out before Thanksgiving. People need to know that even though you are "only" saving a cat's life, it is important. People are important if they only make someone smile. Every person in the world matters.

it is too big.....i just can't figure out a way to share this video.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!!!!

I am thankful to God, my life, my friends, my family, my animals.....

A great week for Paw Prints

Left is picture of Sunkist, my new addition.

Right is picture of Lyssa and Beth with the loot that Lyssa and Allied Solutions collected for Paw Prints.

Next picture is just 2 of 8 pallets of the dog food that was donated to Paw Prints.

Greats things happened for Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue this week. First, there was a delivery of dog food to the Siouxland Food Bank. It was about 8 pallets of food....Beth and Kris took 2 pallets to exchange for cat food. People have been calling to surrender their cats because they can no longer afford to feed them. This food donation will prevent the surrender of many cats and dogs, mostly to Animal Control. And again, if a dog or cat goes into Animal Control, it most likely will not come out alive. Thank you to Dawn and Country Vet.....it makes such a huge difference to the animals of Siouxland!

I have a HUGE thank you to Lyssa and Allied Solutions here in Sioux City. Lyssa knew Paw Prints from last year and is an avid animal lover. She took it upon herself to organize a fundraiser at Allied in November. Today I had the priviledge to meet her and some of the employees of Allied and was so taken aback by their generosity. It brings me to tears as I write this, and it usually takes me a tiny bit longer to get to tears about this kind of thing. As I said before, it's been an overwhelming week! Lyssa and Allied had a "Dogs for Dogs" (hot dogs for fundraising for dogs) and they handed over $344 to Beth today. They also collected several boxes of toys and food for dogs and cats. Thank you doesn't seem like a big enough gesture to show our gratitude for you, Lyssa. I tell you, not many people would go out of their way as you have and put your time/money where your mouth is, but you did it. THANK YOU!!!!

Also, because Mary Ann from S. Sioux City sent a donation earlier in my "Running for a Paws" campaign, I sent her an update of the marathon and fundraising efforts. I received a check from her for $100. Yet another WOW moment.

And for the icing on the cake, I "captured" the cat that has been eating in my back yard. I tried almost 2 weeks ago to catch him after knowing him for about 10 minutes. Of course he bit me. Stupid move, but he has been coming back and eating lots and lots of canned food every day and night, so today I put the canned food (warmed up) in the kennel, he walked in, and I shut the door. He is in a huge kennel in my basement (it's finished so it's not like a scary one filled with spiders and things...it's filled with toys and computer stuff). He lets me pet him and he wants to trust me sooooo much. So I'm giving him lots of time to adjust but I just needed him to be warm at night and to know that he didn't have to worry about where his next meal was coming from. I hope that he knows that he is loved and will be taken care of....he's a beautiful yellow tabby with an even more beautiful white bib and boots...so he's named Sunkist.

Thank you to everyone who has made a difference in an animal's life...to Paw Prints....to me.... I am so blessed to be able to do what I do because of the support I have and the God given love of animals and the need to help.

Be sure to check out the great things Paw Prints has to sell at the Sioux City Craft Fair this weekend at the Convention Center. It's 9-5 on Saturday and 10-4 on Sunday. Be sure to introduce yourself...I will be there almost all day on Sunday too. Come and say hi!!

If anyone notices, I deleted the blog about my cats, Tigger, Bailey, and Cooney (Grandpa). I just needed it to be a part of the past and move on to the great things that are going on! I still cry about what happened but just can't think about all of it anymore, especially the short time I knew Cooney. He's the hardest to get over and I miss him more than the cats I had for 9 years. Cheers again to you, Grandpa cat!

More kittens

I got four beautiful kittens today. They are black/white/tabby. They're a little timid but I assume that they will come around very soon. Hopefully, they will be at Petsmart on Saturday all ready to be adopted. Now just for some names!
It has been an extremely difficult week because of the events of the past blog. I am struggling with the morality of the entire situation. I've talked to a lot of people about it and they are all very supportive and understanding, but I still can't shake the idea that it was wrong. I just don't know what else I could have done. In order to try and make some repentance, I tried to catch a stray in my back yard. He bit me, but I just should have waited a few days until he was more comfortable with me. He comes every day for food and is a very pretty orange and white. Due to the way my kids name things, he is now called Orangey.
Well, that's all for now. More pictures soon. I finally found my good camera so I have pictures on three different cameras that I need to consolidate!

More info from marathon

It has been a week and I am ready to start getting ready for another marathon. Luckily for my knees, there's none close to here until May...so I shall be patient, rest up, then begin my training just as the holiday season arrives. That will keep me out of the eggnog!
There were a few things from the marathon that I had wanted to write about but had forgotten, plus I didn't want to make the thing about 25 pages too long. So here goes...
During the first few miles while running in South Sioux, a man ran past me on the right side. He was running in the grass, which I found to be easier on the body, but slower than the pavement. Then I caught a glimpse of...what? TOES? Could that be?? No..... so after the half point, after Stone Park, I saw a bare foot print in the mud. Goodness, it IS someone running with bare feet! Mark Mechaley was inspired by "Born to Run" that talks about the Tarahumara people of northern Mexico. He said that shoes can give people a false sense of stability, so he ran without. For 26.2 miles....in 30-some degree weather. I prefer shoes any day! But I give him a ton of credit for this. He finished in 50th place by the way, which was a time of 3 hrs and 42 min. Wow.
Another point of interest is that after I was done running and trying to figure out why my time wasn't registering, my mom and I saw a man finish who was dressed exactly like Forrest Gump. With the beard, sweatshirt, 80's shorts, tennies, and the hat, he looked the part and I really wish I could have gotten a picture of him. Now I want to enter a marathon where there's a theme and I can act as KraZy as I want without looking strange. During this run, when I was at mile 1, I wanted to yell very loudly "WE ONLY HAVE 25.2 TO GO!!!!!". There were some crickets and maybe a runner who would have heard me, so I will save this outburst for when others can hear. Hopefully they don't try and trip me.
So I started back to running this morning and it was good. Going for a 10 miler in the morning so better get some sleep, which I've just had way too little of over the weekend.
Oh, and I got six kittens last week...three boys, three girls. So Cindy, Greg, Bobbey, Marsha, and Peter were adopted. Poor little Jan is left. She's great so we expect her to be adopted by the weekend as well.

Ready, Set, RUN!

Picture: Beth and me and some random kids :)

MARATHON DAY.

Preparation: Mentally and physically preparing to run a marathon. Step one, be sure to be hydrated. I quit drinking caffeinated coffee a few weeks ago and started drinking more water and milk. The day before the race, I was sure to drink several bottles of water, but I didn’t force myself to drink. My nerves kicked in Thursday and were bothering me so much on Friday I had to force myself to eat. Not unusual for me, but was annoying.
Step two: Be sure to have good music for the run. There’s nothing worse than running by yourself on a boring course. Sorry Siouxland Marathon, it’s pretty, but not interesting. Large crowds are fun to run in and there's just not a lot of people around. I need tunes. Because my MP3 player beeps between each song every few weeks and I could NOT figure out how to get it stopped, I was given a very generous gift from a friend of mine…a pink iPod. We spent a few hours downloading (or is it uploading?) music to it for the run. If I had to run with the thing beeping between each song for 4 ½ hours, it would have been smashed to bits on Highway 12. There’s only so much I can handle.
Step three: Get up early before the race to eat and stretch. I was up at 4:45 Saturday morning and had a banana with peanut butter, water and some granola bar. I felt very good and was optimistic for the outcome of the run. My mom picked me up at 6 and I sat in her warm truck until about 10 minutes before the race started. Thanks, mom, it was great to chat with you and be distracted from what I was about to do!

THE RACE:
We gathered to hear a very nice prayer and National Anthem. I thought there was construction in the distance, but it was just the chattering of everyone’s teeth. Boy was it cold!! It started at 7am with a beep (they didn’t use a gun for this one). There were two waves of starters, one at 7 and one at 8. The “over 5 hour” finishers were to start at 7. I went ahead with this group because I like to run early and I wanted to get it over with! There weren’t too many people who started at 7 and it was extremely peaceful. We wound around South Sioux City and along the river. A bike was in the front of the tiny pack, thank goodness, since it was very dark! After the first mile, I checked the time and found that it was at 8 min 50 sec. I thought to myself, “Whoa Nelly, you gotta slow the heck down, you can't keep up at this pace!” So I tried. After the 2nd mile, I checked again and found myself at 18 minutes. Well ok, SLOW DOWN. After four miles of “trying” to slow down, I decided that I had found my pace and was going to keep it. I am used to running on hills, so I figured that because this course was flat, just take advantage of it, stay at a comfortable pace, and GO FOR IT! During this time, I was thinking silly thoughts and decided to write a poem in my head (of course it would be in my head as who brings paper on a marathon?). It would be made from the titles on my iPod and others that fit. I won't share it here because it's long and strange but here's a line or two: "It's a beatiful day but I need a new drug because I got bad medicine for this cat scratch fever. I won't ever say that I'm not running anymore because it's like a river of love and it only makes me stronger. I did it!" At the time, it was really funny and entertained me for a few miles.

I digress. Before we crossed the bridge into Sioux City, I saw the port-a-jons and decided to utilize one while I could. When we ran over the bridge, the sun was coming up and it was so beautiful. I took a video with my iPod and will post this week. We ran on the riverfront trail from mile 6 for about three miles. There were people with water and fruit and power ade. One stop by Riverside ballfields had signs urging us to keep going and had a Maragaritaville theme. It was fun to see although thinking of drinking anything but water or power ade was nauseating. I do remember them having cut up bananas for the runners, which was unexpected and very generous.

I was counting down until the half way since Andy and the boys were going to meet me. Before the half way, we wound around the riverside neighborhood and met one very steep yet short hill. Then we were thanked with a very long downhill stretch. I like to lengthen my strides going downhill to use gravity for my advantage.
At mile 13 and 13.1 I looked and looked for Andy and/or our truck. Nope, wasn’t there. I was hoping that the boys weren’t sick (Tyler had flu last week and Ryan was on the verge) or they didn’t get lost or something. I was upset as I wanted to see their faces and needed some food-gu (basically discusting but much needed carbs for energy), some granola, and new gum! After I topped the hill after the exact half point, I saw them and was so relieved! I got some medicine for my silly headache (silly wasn’t what I was thinking but that’s what I’ll say here) and took off my ear things and gloves, which I found out later was a huge mistake, and had some food. I got energized and told Andy that my strategy was to tackle the hills and try to keep at my 9 minute mile pace. I thought that after the race, if I looked back and thought I could have done better, I would be upset. So my thing was to do the absolute best I could instead of taking it slow at the beginning and go faster, if I could, at the end.

Kudos to Great West for a really fun water stop. Music was blaring and they were cheering loudly although I was the only one near at the time. It helps and is appreciated! We ran along Highway 12 for about 3 miles (this is where my patience would have run out and I would have smashed my beeping MP3 player into bits) and at mile 16, we headed into Stone State Park. Yikes. There was a water and gu stop before “the hill” and someone handing out water said “Have fun on the hills!”. Grrrrrr. I saw the first stretch and tackled it with all my energy. I went to a 10 minute mile pace for the next mile, which had a few steep hills and some flat parts. Then one more steep climb met us with the top, probably around mile 17.5. Whew! Not as bad as what I thought it would be. It wasn't easy by any means though. We were then rewarded with a very nice loooong downhill run for a few miles. I went for it and picked up the pace. Why not, I knew I had less than 10 miles left!? Go for it became my mantra. I had to retie my shoes along here and since I took my gloves off earlier, my fingers were like ice cubes. It doesn’t work well when you need to tie shoes quickly. Just put your hands under freezing water for about 10 minutes, try and tie your shoes and you’ll understand what I mean. They did soon warm up though. I zoned into running so don’t have any fun or quirky thoughts to write about for pretty much the rest of the run. I was hurting a little, of course, was tired, and was wondering where all the walkers came from. Was I was going the right way (of course I was, it was well marked) or miss something? I couldn’t do the math and figure out that the half marathon started 30 minutes before I got to that point so they were just that far ahead of me. I didn’t pick that up until after we were done. It did give me something to think about though.

Around Mile 21, it got really confusing. I was running on the sidewalk going one way, others were on the road, going the other way. Did I miss something again? There weren’t other runners there so I was just wondering if I had gone the wrong way. Nope, saw the 21 mile marker, so kept going. It was confusing at one point and I know one runner took the wrong way. He ran the same distance but just went the opposite direction on the circle part of the route.
Andy and the boys were there again at the 21 mile marker and between 22 and 23 along with my friend Anne and her 3 kids. It was so energizing to see them there cheering me on. One of them even yelled “Good luck Kelli!” to me. So sweet and appreciated so much!

Thankfully, I never hit the “wall” that is most dreaded in marathon running. Let’s just say that at mile 23, I knew I couldn’t go faster, but I wasn’t going to slow down either. My legs hurt and I was just plain tired, but I knew we were almost there. This part of the route was on the Perry Creek Trail, which is actually very nice! There was a water stop along this way decorated in pink, which I totally loved. (I had pink finernails, toenails, hair thingy, shirt, and gloves. I love pink. It was for the Race for Life next year. They were handing out pink beads, which I declined, then regretted that I declined. BUT another mile down the way I found two sets of beads by the trail, so I picked them up and wrapped them in my hands. I will keep at least one set forever, just to remember that moment and for all the women who couldn't run. Connie Prince Houlihan, the best female runner I have ever seen, ran by somewhere along this trail. She won the entire race in 3 hours 4 minutes! WOW! Remember that I had been running an hour longer than she had. And she's 52.
When I saw the mile 25 marker, I turned to my favorite inspirational song, Stronger, by Kanye West. I don’t think it really has anything to do with sports, but the words are true “N-n-not that that don’t kill me, can only make me stronger…” I love running hard to this song and it really helped me think about what I was accomplishing and what I was blessed enough to be able to do. So went for it, picked it up a little, and ran to the finish. The 26 mile marker was right before a turn, so at that point, I was exhausted and couldn’t “KICK IT” like I usually do. I ran for the finish, heard my friends and family cheering for me, and crossed the line in 4 hours, 12 minutes 39 seconds.
Mission: Accomplished.

Thank you to Andy, Tyler, Ryan, Mom, Beth and Larry, and Anne, Paul, Drew, and Kia. You gave me inspiration and I thank you so much for being there for me at a very important time in my life!

I got a cool medal, 93rd of 170 overall, 26th of 67 women, and 9th of 14 in my age group. Not too shabby!

How do I feel the day after? Ouch. My 2nd toe hurts and I expect I will lose my nail. My legs are tired but especially on the side joint and knees. Other wise I'm doing well. I got lots of sleep and hydration yesterday, thank you mom!
I am very proud and lucky to be able to do this and to have the support of my friends and family, especially you, Andy. I am amazed at the limits that I can push my body and how well it responds. I am thankful to Beth and Paw Prints for giving me the inspiration to set this goal of Running for a Paws and for supporting me in it. Thanks to my sister for her words of encouragement on Friday as well. You'll blog about your marathon some day too!
It doesn’t stop here. There’s so much more I can do. And I will!

The Day after Tomorrow; Lovie was adopted!

No, it's not a movie title, just a very important day in my life. Yes, I keep going on and on about it, but it's consuming almost all of my thoughts. I guess it's a good thing to get mentally prepared, yet another to get mental about it! I just need to calm a little and focus. It's hard to when I'm running my arsk around doing other things, but tomrrow will have to be the day to really get down to mentally preparing myself for this race. It's more of a run than a race.

Great news is that Lovie was adopted today. Beth took her to Petsmart and a few hours later, she went home with her new family with a playmate, Murphy.

I'm so happy that she has a loving home!! What a darling and my family and I will sure miss her so much!

I also learned something today that will change Paw Prints and the animals of Siouxland forever, for the good. I can't say anything, but good things are coming. Keep posted.

Welcome to any new readers!

The purpose of this blog is to detail my experiences being an active volunteer for Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue in Sioux City, Iowa. I was introduced to this organization, run by Beth Storm and Kris Kava, just about a year ago and began fostering a pregnant cat, then a dog with 9 newborn puppies. I wanted to do something "bigger" this spring and since I love to run, I decided to start my "Running for a Paws" campaign. I have asked all my friends and family for donations along with those I have done business with. I haven't gotten the best response from those that I don't know, but I am not done yet! I have run over 50 miles in races, trained for 700 miles since March 1st, and have fostered over 50 cats since I started this thing. And I love it. The purpose is to raise awareness along with the funds. I was very hesitant about getting involved since I knew I would learn things that happened to animals that I didn't really want to know. But it has been good for me and has "fired me up" to keep making a difference and to try to make a bigger one next year.

On Saturday, October 17th, I will complete the 2009 campaign by running the Siouxland Lewis & Clark Marathon.....26.2 miles. I have run two marathons before, but they were before my two children were born, so it's a different ballgame now! My goal is to finish around 4.5 hours, but with me being sick the past few weeks and my son having the flu currently, I'm just shooting for less than 5 hours!

I have received almost $2000 in donations and have pledges, most being $1 per mile run in races, totaling about $1000. I just cannot wait to present this pledge money to Beth and Kris, hopefully the very beginning of November!

I am a foster to 10 cats/kittens now, one being more permanent than the others. He is Tycoony, or Grandpa, that I blogged about the other day. He is 14 so I assume that there's not a lot of people who would want to take him on, given that he could have medical issues any day. Then again, I have an 18 month old cat with health issues now too, so you just never know!

I have a lot of stories to tell in the coming months. I am sure I will have a lot of complaining to do with running outside in the ccccold too! I get sooo tired of the treadmill so I make a go of it outside as long as it's safe. My youngest is now in preschool a few times a week so I'm hoping to get outside in the real winter months since I can get out when it's light out. Then I won't have to worry about sliding on my backside down a hill!

Enjoy the blog and please do email me with any comments or really, anything! If you are looking to adopt or want to volunteer or donate, again, please email me! I check my email every day now that I missed a month and missed some really important issues.

Thanks for reading!

~Kelli

Running for a Paws

This is what Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue is all about. These cats would most likely not be alive today if they hadn't cared enough to start Paw Prints and to take in these cats when they have so many to take care of already. Two were left in a cardboard box at Petsmart. Can't remember where the others were from, but it sure wasn't a nice home with lots of food and love! It's expensive, stressful, but oh so rewarding. My marathon is in just a few days and I'm hoping to bring more awareness to what Paw Prints is all about. If you happen to be at the race this Saturday in downtown Sioux City, look for my tired face and body with my Running for a Paws shirt on!

Tycoony & Freaking...a little

Picture: Lovey loving on Tycoon Kitty, Cooney wondering why I'm flashing this thing at him and won't let him go back to sleep.

This is the final week of prep for the marathon. I have my menu all planned out and groceries purchased, except for fresh fruit of course. I'm starting to freak a little...will it rain, SNOW? How will my legs be since I have been sick the past few weeks? Will I hit the wall at 20? 21? At all? Will the whole race be like the wall? Will I meet my goal time? Will I throw up at the end? Will anyone be there to see me finish? How steep are the hills? Will I need to walk up them? What if I trip? What if I need a short sleeved shirt part way through? What if my shoes get wet? See what I mean? Yup, I'm freakin.

Anyway, I've been doing some things for Paw Prints to prepare for the craft fair in November. It's going to be really cool...we have some neat things so come down...it's all for the cats we have- nothing is taken for overhead.

I wanted to write the story of Tycoon Kitty, Tycoony, or Grandpa as we call him. My friend, a high school classmate, works for a dog rescue in Des Moines, so she totally gets the animal loving thing. Her brother is going through a divorce and took his 14 year old cat to live in an insulated shed at his parent's house. My friend saw him looking out the shed window meowing to himself, so she called me. That's no way for a cat to live. No matter what. I couldn't really do anything at the time, but just couldn't stop thinking about him and how he must have been thinking "what did I do wrong?". A few weeks ago, we brought him HOME. He lives with the other fosters in our basement (it's finished) and seems to be pretty happy. I did mistake his emotions and thought he was playing and found out the painful way that no, he wasn't, and he didn't appreciate my hand on his head. He walks around a lot but when I come downstairs several times a day, he comes walking over. He also needed some help with the litter box situation. After I put it where he was going, he decided to just go in it. Hopefully that continues when I move the thing back. I pick him up a lot and he curls up in my arms and he purrrs and kneeds his clawless paws. That reminds me, Goldie is now declawed. I couldn't take the shredded carpet....I digress.

So our new family member is getting along just ok. That's a LOT of adjustment for an old cat to make...home to shed to other home to other home to other home with tons of kittens wanting to play with tail. He's relatively grumpy if he gets upstairs, but I think it's almost just desserts for Goldie, who spent months chasing other cats.

My lecture of the day is...if you take the responsibility to adopt a pet, you don't try and fit them into you life...you do it. It's like having children. Your new landlord doesn't take pets? Find a new landlord. What would you do if they said no kids, just let Grandma take the kids for your convenience? It's not right, not fair, and extremely selfish. So here is Paw Prints, taking care of the animals that YOU committed to but just decided that something else came along. And by the way, Grandpa cat hadn't been to the vet in 10 years, and had ear mites so bad that his ears were full and all misshapen, as you can see in the picture. End of lecture.

Tycoony is happy, healthy, well fed, loved, and warm. Thanks Paw Prints, I couldn't have done this without you! (My friend wouldn't have known I was into rescue so he would still be living in a glorified shed.) Thanks Court, for loving him enough to know what's best for him and for asking for help!

In one week from right now, I will have completed something that I never thought I would...another marathon. At least that's the way it's supposed to be! I am getting nervous about it, especially with this horrible cough I have had for the past week. I was up for about 3 hours last night coughing. I'm guessing that my abs are getting a nice workout! My back hurts from it though.
I have the entire week's meals planned out. They are mild yet rich in carbs and protein. I won't be having much caffeine at all and absolutely no wine or beer. I am hoping beyond all hopes that it will not be rainy next Saturday morning. It can be cold and windy (preferably not) but just not rainy! I'm getting all the songs I want downloaded to my MP3 player for running entertainment, and I will be doing several short runs this week, plus stretching. After the run, I'm very excited to start taking up yoga. I tried it once this summer and am looking forward to strengthening my muscles and getting more flexible.
I am still taking pledges for my run....I'm asking for $35 donations, all tax deductible. And I have a sneaking feeling that my "Running for a Paws" cause will continue into 2010.....

Some of My Kittens to Petsmart

Kitties: Lovey- Orange Tabby

Flower (we renamed him T-Bone)- Black with white

Edith- Calico

I admit today that it is extremely hard to be a kitty foster parent. They come to you so scared and hungry and tired. You take care of them and they learn to trust you and love you. They are happy. Then you take them to Petsmart in good faith so they can find a loving forever home so you can help more kitties like them. They don't understand.

Edith and Flower came from a pretty bad situation. They were literally shaking like leaves on an Iowa October day. Now they wag their tails like puppies and purr so loudly and just love to be hugged and loved on. I need to take them to Petsmart so they can find new homes....it's just very hard for these babies I grow to love so much.

In some instances, life would be so much easier if I didn't care....but it sure would be empty.

11 Days and Counting

Eleven days until the Siouxland Marathon. I'm getting nervous...will the weather be ok, will I feel ok, what do I wear, will my stomach hurt, will I lose the route and end up in LeMars, will my legs fall off in bits as I finish the last 10k? All these things run through my mind. I'm getting into mental race mode though...nothing that I know of can stop me. Pains, aches, all those are arriving this week with my cold, but I am determined to finish this race, hopefully running across the finish line!
I got a nasty cold last week. Ryan had pink eye on Wednesday, then was up practially all night Friday night with croup cough and high fever. Then Friday I started to feel bad, but felt better Saturday, thank goodness, as it was my 36th birthday. Then of all things, after flapping my yapper all day Saturday, I lost my voice on Saturday night and am still trying to find it. It's Tuesdsay. I did run 10 miles, 6 in the rain, on Monday. It felt good, although I could tell it had been a week since my last run. With the weather and sick kids, I just couldn't get one in! Ok, I could on the treadmill, but I'm not going there yet. No.
So I plan to run 10 again in the morning. The coughing hasn't affected the running, although I do lose about 90 minutes of really important sleep every night because of it. It's a dry hacking gagging cough that I can't control. I am really hoping that it doesn't come back tonite. I really dislike those zombie days when all I want to do is sleep. Pretty much nothing has been done in my house except for the litter boxes being cleaned out and my kids getting cared for and fed. Grrr. I don't like being so tired all the time.
I was so proud of my hubby, Andy, for running the Broken Toe run at Stone State Park on Saturday morning in the cold wet weather. He ran about 8 minute miles in the hills, and he hasn't run since JUNE. We are an athletic family, but JUNE? I don't understand that man's leg power. Anyway, we went to cheer him on and I will post pictures when I can figure out how to do it from that silly camera.
That is all for now. Kittens are to Petsmart this weekend, which hurts my heart, but I know I can't keep them all. I just have to trust that they will find loving forever homes.
Think of them today and wish them the best!

Sweet morning and a loooong run

I went downstairs to check on the kitties this morning and to also start the weekly family laundry task. I was quickly surrounded by sweet kittens and cats wanting my love and so ready to give me their love. What a good way to start off the day! Lovey and Velvet were spayed on Monday. Lovey is acting like nothing ever happened. Velvet is taking it slow for now. I hope to goodness she doesn't get sick after going through so much. She was walking around and stretching earlier, so that's a good sign. If only I could get her kittens off of her...they are old enough to leave her alone!
To back up a little, I started out Monday morning by running 20 miles. I didn't know when else I could do it. Boy was it windy! I think at that time it was blowing at about 20 miles per hour with some higher gusts. I detest running, walking, being in the wind. Maybe it stems from one of my Ragbrai experiences when we had to petal down steep hills to keep going when we should have been able to coast. I strongly disliked it then and I sure do now!
ANYWAY, I felt good for the entire run and finished the 20 miles in 3 hours 17 minutes. I was sore that day and Tuesday. I felt pretty strong through the whole thing, even with all the steep hills that I run along the route. All I want to do since then is EAT, which is a good problem to have, but sometimes I run out of things that I actually want to consume. I'm not doing well with vegetables (could have something to do with finding a baby worm on a piece of broccoli on my plate-my stomach gets sick when I even think of it!) this week but doing good on fruit. Gotta love those fruit and yogurt smoothies! I love to eat egg whites and turkey bacon too.
We are working on several fundraisers, so keep posted.
Also, thank you to Dawna for your donation to my Paws cause! I love you, girl!
More pics later and a nice story about a big old yellow cat!

Need donations for Merry

A day in the life of an animal rescue....

Last week, a woman called Beth with Paw Prints about a cat that had gotten hit by a car the previous day. This cat, a 3 year old calico, drug herself off the road and tried to get under a fence. The lady had given her food and water, but the cat was too injured to eat or drink. When Beth got to the cat, she was in shock and very hurt. Beth took her to the vet and because Paw Prints wasn't the actual owner, the vet could only stabilize her. Then, Beth went back to where the cat was hit, and knocked on doors for several blocks in each direction to try and find the cat's rightful owner. No one claimed the cat, although Beth thinks she found the owner, but never heard from them after leaving detailed messages on their door. On Wednesday, the cat was deemed abandoned and became the property of Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue. She had surgery to repair her broken leg. She also had scratches and broken toes. I went to see her on Thursday and got a picture of her. What a feisty thing, to require this collar around her, but she had already eaten the prior bandage off her leg. She was doing well and was released on Friday afternoon to her new foster parents, who live in a quiet home where she can recover.

I am asking for donations to cover the expense of the surgery for the cat, now named Merry Christmas. Kris named her that since she will be recovered in time to have a very Merry Christmas. How sweet!

Please email me at Runningforapaws@cableone.net or call Beth at 253-4099 to make a donation. They can also be made at Pioneer Bank. All are tax deductible and so very much appreciated and needed!

Donation from Missouri River Runners

I am so proud that Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue was one of the two non-profits chosen by the directors of Missouri River Runners to receive a donation. MRR was generous enough to donate a portion of the proceeds from the Spring Thaw (or FREEZE as we all did that day!). I got word last week and met with Patty Considine and Beth Storm on Monday to receive the check. Patty also made a personal donation, which we appreciate more than we can say! So THANK YOU so much from Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue!

Here's some pictures from the Race for Hope as well. Enjoy! Be sure to check out my beefy legs in the picture of me running toward the finish line. Just click on it and it will enlarge. Makes me feel like my hard work is actually making me look like I'm in better shape!

I have so much to blog about and have run out of time for the day. Please keep checking back as there is a lot going on! Paw Prints is in full swing with rescuing all sorts of cats. They go above and beyond all the time and just don't get the recognition that they deserve (by "they" I mean Beth Storm and Kris Kava). I don't understand why the Sioux City Journal does not publish press releases from them and no one else really seems to care. Hopefully with my next blog, we can let others know what really goes into an animal rescue group.

Error in Timing

The error in the timing system for the Race for Hope was ME. I went about 2 minutes too slow for my group. What a great fast age group! Oh well, doesn't matter anyway. Just thought I would make sure you knew that I wasn't expecting something I didn't deserve. Maybe next year.

The Race for Hope

The Race for Hope was this morning. For anyone who doesn't know, this race raises money for the June E. Nylen Cancer Center in Sioux City. The funds they raise will purchase things for the patients and family/friends, such as TVs for them to watch while getting chemo. What an amazing and inspiring group of people! I haven't stayed for the awards until today. I sincerely thought I would get one, but didn't. I chalk it up to an error in the timing system...but we'll see!
I finished the 15k (9.3 miles) in 1 hour 16 1/2 minutes. I felt great! I ran the first mile in 8 minutes and tried to keep the pace. A lot of the time, I was running alone, so I tended to slow down. It is on gravel as well, so I felt even better with my time. Last year, I felt absolutely terrible, so was pleased overall with my performance! When I got home, I decided to mow the yard too, so we're laying low watching football probably for the rest of the day today! So much to accomplish tomorrow....
I do have pics but they're not downloaded so will update when I can with those.

Pics of Kitties!

Here's pictures of the latest group that I am really attached too. We also have Squiffy and two more from yesterday, one is a beautiful medium calico and one black and white. I don't think Squiffy will be put up for adoption any time soon....or ever.
Enjoy the pics of my babies!

A great run yesterday and kittens galore!

After last week's disaster run, I was hesitant about being optimistic for my long run this past Monday. I was very careful about what I ate and drank on Sunday, and I am happy to report that my 18 mile run yesterday morning was a great success. If that doesn't speak volumes to take better care of myself before running, I don't know what does! It was nice and cool that morning and I ate a piece of bread before starting out at 4:48 am. I finished in time to take a shower and drink a smoothie on the way taking Tyler to school at 8:05 am. I think the actual finish time was 2 hours and 50 minutes, which I am very happy about. No barfing, cramping but just good ole' running! What a good feeling that my "bad" run didn't repeat itself.
I will not be doing a long run next week as the Race for Hope, a wonderful fundraiser for the June E. Nylen Cancer Center here in Sioux City, is this Saturday. I will not be wearing my Running for a Paws shirt.... This is a 9-something mile run on rocks and with the long runs this week, I am not going for time, I am going to enjoy myself. Yes, I always say that, but this time, I hope it is true! It is at the Adams Nature Preserve at McCook Lake, SD, and it is a beautiful place to be.
As for kittens, I had 4.5 as of this afternoon. Lovie is sort of a kitten, sort of an adult, so that is the reason for the ".5". She will be spayed next week as she will be 5 months old and we want to have her spayed before she gets adopted to absolutely prevent her from getting preggo and adding more kittens to the already overpopulated kitten world. She's such a darling and I hope she finds a wonderful home this time...she deserves it. She has the loudest purr ever and she curls up in Andy's lap when he studies at night.
I got two more bigger kittens this afternoon. I don't quite understand the circumstances, but they are going to be vaccinated tomorrow and will go to Petsmart this weekend and will hopefully find great homes. They're scared, but we'll give them a day and hope they realize that we are just trying to help them!
I made a mistake and let my boys watch the last part of Homeward Bound today before supper. We watched the first part last night and I thought I needed to get some consignment sale things done, so let them finish it today. I told the boys that it would end up ok, since my oldest tends to get a little emotional and cry over things that end up ok. So who was the one blubbering at the end???? ME! That's right, as the old dog crosses over the top of the hill and wags his tail all happy-like when he finally finds his boy, I just lost it! It makes me think of all the dogs waiting for their people to return but never do...they just wonder what they did wrong. Grrrr, now I feel like I need to own several acres and have all the dogs come and live with us.
Meltdown central at home so need to finish. Pictures tomorrow.

A Pretty Terrible Long Run Today

I have never thrown up after running....until today. I don't know if it was a factor of not having the best habits over the weekend or because it was later in the day and a lot warmer than usual or what. I am not a good "warm weather" runner. Never have been and don't plan to try. I didn't think it was too warm when I left and actually, not when I got back either. I struggled to finish 17 miles in 3 hours-I walked quite a bit in the last three miles. Ugh, and after such a great feeling last week! I just assume that it was everything all in one...not preparing enough, warm weather, and afternoon running. I won't do that again. I drank some PowerAde when I got home. For some crazy reason, I got the kind that doesn't have sugar in it. I got a ball in my stomach after I downed some and then had to go barf. I did again about 15 minutes later and then was done. My wonderful hubby was nice enough to get me some real Gatorade so I drank about half of that and started eating some carbs. I feel fine now and hope that I don't go through that again! Advice is welcome.....very very welcome!
On the cat notes, all the cats are feeling better. We got Lovie back from her "owner". Evidently, she was going poo where she wasn't supposed to. We will see the state of our basement in the morning to see if she gets it here. I have five litter boxes for the cats to use. I want to be sure they know where to go and that they can't get lazy and use the floor if they're too busy playing and need to go. I hope she is fine here so we can take her back to Petsmart this weekend for our adoption fair. She is playing with the kittens that we have here so it is good for her to be in a good environment.
Well, better get some sleep. This girl is tired!

A Labor-free Labor Day!

It was difficult to lose Sunshine. I know these things happen. Now Squiffy is pretty sick with a nasty eye which is probably related to his very bad cold. I never knew cats could be congested and get runny noses. We were gone for almost two days and had a friend check on them and give Renegade medicine for his bad eye, but sometimes they come on in a matter of hours. There's nothing more I could have done for crying out loud. I just hope he comes through it because he is a very special kitten to me and my youngest son. He says, "Mom, Squiffy is my cat and I am his boy." What could be more precious than that?

All the other kittens are doing well except for this bad eye things that is rotating. I thought we had conquered it, but evidently not with the inspection today. Ugh.

I have gotten another pledge and now I only need three more people to pledge $35 to benefit Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue. Because I want to show my dedication to SPPR, I am running the Race for Hope at the Adams Nature Preserve and the FULL Siouxland Lewis & Clark Marathon on October 17th. I will not be wearing my "Running for a Paws" shirt for the Race for Hope as this is the run for cancer and I refuse to take one tiny ounce away from what they are doing and saying for cancer for my own cause. Thank the Lord I haven't had to personally deal with cancer. Hopefully forever but you never know.

We went away to Ponca for almost two days this weekend. We saw the biggest tree I think I have ever seen (except for the one at Boone Plantation in Charleston, SC, but not sure how old that one is). The tree was a sapling in 1644. Wow! It is pictured above. I never knew that place was so pretty so I suspect we will be returning next year ready to hike. When we got home, we found the front of our house defaced by a Florida State flag. I believe I know the perp who did it and all I have to say is: I know where you live.

I made some spinach artichoke dip when we got home as well, and I have to say that it is light on the dip, heavy on the spinach. I could have done better and expect more from my culinary skills. At least we're getting our veggies in this way! Just a random thought: what is it with boys and lasers....mine are obsessed with it and I have no idea how or why.

I am not sure if I will do a long (17 mile) run on Monday or Tuesday or Wednesday this week. I will get one in, but there's a lot going on. I love taking some time off and just being with my wonderful hubby and boys, so I feel that running Tuesday or Wednesday will work fine. My 3 year old will start preschool on Tuesday and we're nervous about that, but he will probably do better than I expect. I hope anyway!

More updates after that long-awaited long run!

Sunshine

Rest in Peace, little girl. You are loved.

A very long run today

Pictures: Fun with Goldie.....and one of Holly, the kitten who, when I fed her, would hold up her paws as if to say "Hallelujah". Sweet, such a sweet baby...

Goodness, I ran 17 miles this morning. It took me 2 hrs and 40 minutes so not too bad. I was freezing and should have worn a long sleeve shirt. Of course, because it is AUGUST, I didn't but at least I didn't have a sleeveless on. I got my new pink shoes on Saturday and because of the strange way my old shoes with new inserts in them felt, I decided to wear my new ones. Good decision since my legs still feel good today. My long run with new shoes didn't bother me either so very happy about that. Not the smartest move ever...

I don't know if it's because I know I have to get up early or what, but I just couldn't sleep last night. I couldn't last weekend either before my first longer than usual run. Now today, absolutely no food sounds good. I just choked down a HyVee blueberry bagel, which normally, you would have to beat me back with a stick, but forced myself to eat it. NOTHING sounded good except for a certain kind of Smart Ones frozen meal that I didn't have. I almost thought about getting a little hamburger from McD's, but didn't feel like driving the entire mile to go get it. Sad, huh?

I will take tomorrow off running since Andy has to be at work very early. I need to get some rest too so that will be good. I have a lot to take care of tomorrow. Ugh.

Kitty news: I took Sadie to her home with her owner Steve. It was where she came from anyway so I'm sure it didn't take her long to get used to it. I saw a beautiful mom cat that Steve is taking care of. She's got some absolutely gorgeous kittens that are clean and chunky so that was great to see. Steve is also a sucker for cats and is a really nice person that I hope can help out Paw Prints if he can.

I took the itty bitty kittens back to Beth on Sunday. After cleaning the kennel out four times Saturday (once after only 30 minutes- I swear one minute it was clean, the next was armageddon) I had a breakdown and needed to spend more time with my kids. I was actually spending more with the cats so I felt very out of balance. She is such a gracious person and took them back with no issues. Now I have Velvet and her four remaining babies. If I didn't mention before, one was an early adoption. The new owner had a lot of cat and caretaking experience so Beth thought it would be ok to let her go. She had another kitten pal to cuddle with so that was good.

Because all I wanted to do today after the long run was to lay on the couch or floor, I didn't get much cleaned up, but I'm glad that it doesn't take several hours a day to take care of older kittens with a mother. That is a case in point why kittens should never be taken from their mother. I do feel guilty for taking them back. They were growing well and they were so thankful in their kitten way when I would feed them and just hold them close to me. I just have to be patient and remember that in two very fast and short years, I will have both kids in school and will have more time to take care of itty bitties like that. I just wish that it wasn't necessary.

Well, I am trying to get pictures of my kittens, but they look mad or all you see is a blurry tail, so will keep on trying!

Sadie is leaving tomorrow

I will miss Sadie. She's the tiniest full grown cat I have ever known at just over 6 pounds. She's a sweetie. I was worried because when I got her, she would hiss a lot and even when she was rubbing on my leg. She's just a darling and I will miss her. She is going to a wonderful home with her sister, Socks.
I am still bottle feeding the itty bitties (as Beth calls them). They are such an entire mess. I cleaned this morning as I do every morning and by the time I got home at 4, it was a disaster. I think Momma cat Velvet is getting worn down, but she needs to be in there with the itties in the night and she wants to be with her babies during the day as well. I'm not sure if she can overdo it, but I'm making sure she's getting lots of food and love. She is behaving normally though so I'm not concerned at this point.
One of the long haired puffball babies, Renegade, has a really bad eye infection. He's been to the vet twice so we're hoping this round of medication will work.
Besides being a pain to take care of and clean up after, those kittens are such a gift. I was feeding them last night and they start purring almost immediately after I started. I can feel their tiny hearts beating so fast and I know that because of Beth and her generosity, they are still alive. Otherwise they would have been left to die at Animal Control. It's just sad but a fact. I hope some changes are made there soon...we are hopeful.
I still need 5 pledges, so if anyone reading this would like to pledge for me running 2 races, one of which is a full marathon, please send me an email. Thank you!
As for running, I have to get new shoes so bad. My feet and lower back are hurting, especially my feet. I am going tomorrow. Don't think I will get my next long 15-16 mile run in with the new ones as I will need to break them in. Hopefully they come in pink like my current shoes.
Well, my kids are full of energy. I don't know where they get it and I wish I could bottle it for my own personal use, but of course I can't.
Time to play!

Kittens, Kittens, and more Kittens

Here are the before and after pics of what I have mentioned below....

Boy, are kittens messy! The mom cat Velvet is taking good care of all her brood plus her foster kittens. I'm glad I (or rather, Velvet at MY house) can help Beth out as she was getting really tired from getting up to bottle feed 13 kittens! These are the ones that Animal Control picked up and didn't take the mom with them. Duh. It's not like humans...they need their mom!

I also wanted to mention that I have received some pledges for my marathon running. I thank you all so much for your generocity. I did name one kitten after someone's cat who passed. I hope it is ok, but our soft orange kitten is now named Maggie. She's a darling!!!!!

Anyway, I wanted to post pictures of what Beth and Kris did at a lady's house who befriended Beth because of the grant. She has had several of the cats in her yard have babies and needed that to stop. Because of the grant, Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue was able to have her adult cats spayed and neutered and has taken in the kittens produced from these adults. Her yard was in disrepair because she was just not able to take care of it. She is 88 years old and works to pay her property taxes. She does what she can and really does love these cats. I think this is a tremendous story of heart, which started with Beth, who decided that this lady deserves more. And when I say lady, I mean Lady, not as in, "Hey lady, get outta my way!". It's supposed to mean Lady who cares and who we care about. There's so many stories like this in Sioux City and we are doing our part to make a difference in their cats' lives as well as their lives too. These people deserve our respect and love.

If you can show someone an act of kindness, whether or not you get recognition for it, I would strongly suggest it.....it can make someone's day, week, month, year. You never know, but just try it!

A realllly loooong run today

After having a pretty good day, nice and warm, kittens doing well, friends coming to play, it has turned to crap. Some of the reasons I won't say because they don't concern me, but concern a close relative. The other reasons are my wonderful boys, who decided that during a Wii bowling game, they wouldn't stop taunting and teasing and bugging and pushing and all those things that boys do but not in the same five minute time span, fell apart tonite. So now I'm hearing screaming and "no mom, I don't want to go on the porch and sit by you" or anything else. He's screaming for daddy but then says the next breath that he want to be by himself. I don't understand children. Yes, love them, but don't understand them. These are the boys who carry around little kittens and say "I love you" all the time.
Well, I just had to vent a little. They don't want me so I am leaving them alone since they
are wanting dad, and if I show up, they pitch an even larger fit. One of those "wonderful" moments that I never thought I would hear. I know they don't really mean it, but it still cuts to the core.
Today started at 4:45 am. I got up and was running down my hill at 4:49, and I ran back up the hill at 7:24. I ran 15 miles and was pretty happy with the result. I wasn't down for the count the rest of the day (I will have to update you tomorrow to see if that's still relevent) and was very busy for the amount of running. Life doesn't stop when you're training for a marathon!
I have my weird eating habits post-running that are quite annoying. If I think of something that will be good, I almost center on that and any other food is a little discusting. Today I centered on fried pickles from Ickey Nickel. They are the best ever anyway, but I wanted them so I got some for dinner tonite. No, that's not all I'm having, but are so yummy! I look forward to being able to eat more as my metabolism increases, yet it's sort of a task to find good things to eat when I am an endless pit. I can't fill up on jalapeno chips and granola bars now can I?
I wanted to just fill you all in on my running for the day. Not sure about weather tomorrow morning and don't think I will choose to run in the rain, so we'll see about the morning run. I was thinking of doing a 3-5 miler.
As for the cats, Sadie should be going to her home this week. I have tons of kittens too little to adopt out. I am hoping the mom can handle all of them as I know I will not be able to get up and bottle feed and still function with the boys during the day.
I named three more girl kittens....one is Maggie, one is Merrily, and one is Sunshine. If I had the pics on this computer I would post....probably tomorrow. I would love to re-name Squiffy "T-Bone" since he's so tiny, but I think Squiffy fits him. He's doing great.
I'm up to only needing 5 more pledges to meet my goal. If any of you pledgees are reading, THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are making a difference! That's what life is all about, isn't it!?

An interesting world

This is Gorgeous, pretending to be scary as I walk down the stairs.

I have been taking care of cats and kittens for the past week. A lot of cats and kittens, but mostly kittens. Did you realized how messy kittens are? I didn't realize the extent until I had so many of them. We have the three that came from Hazel's yard, who are the sweetest kittens and should be ready to adopt out in another week or so. Then we have the two long hair ones that are about a month old. I was bottle feeding the dark gray one, Ruffian, and her brother was pretty independent. Then we got Velvet and her five kittens. She took in Ruffian and Renegade as her own kittens and has really taken care of them. I have Sadie back from being spayed and declawed as well. Whew! I clean the litter boxes at least twice a day and boy, do they go through the food! I am still bottle feeding Squiffy once or twice a day. He is in the habit of climbing up on my shoulder and falling asleep. I thoroughly enjoy that part of it!

I have an answer to Goldie's messy problem, ie peeing on the bed. She has a huge amount of crystals in her urine, which is fairly common in cats and most likely causes them to pee where they are not supposed to pee. So $300 later and two rounds of antibiotics, plus prescription cat food (grrr, a point of contention between me and the cats), she is still peeing on beds. I'm hoping another day will help a lot. This food is supposed to prevent the crystals from forming at all, so the problem SHOULD be eliminated. We shall see. My patience with Goldie is running short, but she really did have me at "meow". I don't know why I love this grumpy, crusty cat, but I do.

Beth had a meeting with our mayor, Mike Hobart, and I found that he is a very nice guy. I hadn't met him before and didn't really have any preconceived ideas, but Beth had to brag to him about my "Running for a Paws" campaign. I told him I was looking for another 12 pledges for $1 per mile for the last two races of the year ($35 per pledge) and I would run the full Sioux City Marathon. He pledged! That motivated me and I got five more pledges that day. So now I need a few more to meet my goal and help Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue save more animals!

I will be running my arsk off starting Monday or Tuesday. I will be starting the training to be able to complete 26.2 miles without hurting myself. I will not look for a specific finish time, although the competitor in me wants to beat the time I had before. Then the realistic person in me wants to tell that competitor to shut her pie-hole and realize that she's not in her 20's anymore and that THIS marathon has HILLS, unlike the past two.

Anyway, if you are reading this and feel like you could support my efforts, it will cost you $35 at the end of October and would make me very grateful. I appreciate all the support I have received from my friends, family, and especially from my husband!

Anyway, I think I need a new pair of hot pink running shoes from Peak Performance. The last pair I got have over 500 miles on them and I know, with all the extra miles going to be put on my feet, that I need new shoes. Maybe I should get a tatoo to go with it. Hey, my b-day is before this marathon, so me thinks this is a good idea....now for that design....and where to put it!

Pics of the babies...

The picture on the top is the mom cat, Velvet meeting the orphan kitten Ruffian that I wrote about the last few times. She (yes, I confirmed it is a she) is thriving with her new family, as is her brother Renegade.

The next picture shows a little runt kitten sort of climbing on Velvet. Ruffian is the dark gray one and Renegade is the light grey one. I have bottle fed the runt of the family and I have named this on Squiffy. He's doing better than when they came to my house from Animal Control via the vet. If you are new to this blog, please read the last blog I had and it will explain the terrible conditions that the cats there are, I mean WERE subject to. Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue did in fact rescue the rest of the cats from Animal Control yesterday. The only one they couldn't take is a quarantined cat, who was quarantined because it scratched someone. Ohhhh, a cat who scratches? It's like babies that cry, it's gonna happen. Anyway, I assume this cat will be rescued when it comes available.

Velvet and her brood are in a room now and are really settling in. She is happy, purring, and is very affectionate. They are quite a mess, but it's so worth seeing that they are happy and healthy and not starving anymore! Oh, such is the life of a cat rescuer...

Why I do this.

It has been a roller coaster day today. I urge everyone to read this entire blog, as I have a request at the end.
I have the three kittens that were taken from a ROOF and they are thriving. Only one has eye goo left and I'm still treating it. They are very playful and fun to be around. I got two more little three week old babies on Tuesday, one of which has to be bottle fed kitten formula. They were left on someone's doorstep. They are so small, they can fit through the kennel bars. I couldn't figure out how one, Ruffian, was getting through until today when I saw the stinker pry himself through. I don't know if it's really a "him" yet but should be able to tell soon! He weighs about half a pound and has long hair (basically a puffball), plus he doesn't know how to clean himself because his mother is supposed to be doing that. He is so aware of what is going on. He watched me "disappear" a few times so when he got himself out of the kennel, he went to the bottom of the stairs and mewed. They are so strong and so smart, I think we fail to recognize how mature these THREE week old babies are. I am determined to get them to the age where they can feed themselves and get forever homes. Yes, I have connected with them.
Today, Beth called me and said that Kris (they are the co-founders of Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue) went to Animal Control to temper test a German Shepherd. Her daughter went into the cat room (or as I like to say, the room of death), and found that first of all, it was full, and second, the cats had no food or water. Some cats had litters to take care of, which is especially impossible when they are not being fed or watered. Kris found the food and fed them. Luckily, she kept her fingers as the cats were STARVING. Some of them didn't even have litter boxes.
When I was told of some of the things going on (it wasn't just about starving cats AND KITTENS, it's more about them being mistreated because "they're just going to be euthanized anyway" - WTF?????), I just was overwhelmed. I cried and cried and cried. It's so much easier to deal with life when I don't know of some of the evils, to pretend that they don't exist. But I DO know what is going on. It's NOT ok. I HAVE to do something.....I digress....

I will cut out a lot of extra detail, but I ended up with a mom kitty with a litter of five. This mom cat, Velvet, was starving. She ate and ate when she got to the vet and she is eating and drinking the kitten formula now. Velvet has even taken in the orphan kittens I just wrote about, Ruffian and Renegade. She has cleaned the one and has nursed them. What a cat. And she would have been killed ("euthanized") had Kris not been at Animal Control. Or she would have starved to death. Now she is sitting in a nice temperature controled house with food, water, litter box, and love. She just purrrred and purrrrred and I honestly believe she isn't scared anymore. Not that it matters, but she and her babies are absolutely beautiful.....gorgeous....I just don't understand.

Animal Control has these animals in their care and isn't caring for them. This is a city contracted position that was given in good faith that proper humane treatment would be implemented. THEY are the ones who get control of the animals removed from abusive and negligent owners. I wouldn't trust them with my computer mouse, let alone a living, breathing animal who requires basic care. Something needs to change. They are failing us as citizens, as taxpayers, and as a society.
I am asking anyone and everyone who wants to help me, even if by just providing your name, that you support a change, please contact me. I don't expect you to rally, or wave protest signs, but just show support as we try and make some changes to protect our innocent animals of Siouxland. I will NOT use your name for any reason without your consent either. Please email me at runningforapaws@cableone.net, post a message on this, or message me on Facebook- Siouxland Paw Prints Rescue is a member and you can send messages without being friends. Of course, I would love the friends as well, so if you do that, be sure you message me and tell me you read this blog.
We need help, support, voices. If you are outraged by just this (and trust me there's so much more that is NOT in this blog and it is NOT humane treatment), please let me know. I would appreciate it!
Tomorrow I will post pictures of our new family members.