Sorry for the long delay

I will try to catch up on what has been happening the past month. First and most importantly, we lost our sweet little Iona who I had been working so hard with to tame. In the 8 weeks she was with us she turned into a very sweet girl who loved petting and who learned how to play with toys and with the other cats. She was really enjoying herself for the first time in her life. We think that during the surgery to place the pin in her leg she picked up an infection we did not know about. This bacteria spread slowly into her bone and then all through her body. Her other health issues we were dealing with masked symptoms until it was too late. She stopped eating and we took her to the vet. The two antibiotics they gave her did not help so we took her back in 3 days. The vet knew she had to have a stronger antibiotic even if there were risks involved if we were going to save her. He gave her an injection of gentamycin. She was allergic to this drug and she suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing. They gave her oxygen and tried to stimulate her to breathe. I gave CPR. All this did not help and in a few minutes her heart stopped. We buried Iona in the front yard next to a small lemon tree where she used to look out the window. The vet thinks the germ was already systemic throughout her body and in her weakened condition the gentamycin pushed her over the edge.

I have been extremely distraught over her death as I had become so close to her. Shortly after her death I developed eczema and had to go to the dermatologist. He said that it was the worst case of eczema he had seen in his 40 years of practice. He gave a cortisone shot, prednisone pills, and the strongest steroid cream made. I have been dealing with this for the past 3 weeks. It is about 75% cleared now and hopefully in another week or two it will clear up completely. I've been sleeping an hour or two at a time before waking up with the dryness, burning, and itching. If anyone out there needs a great moisturizer I can recommend Cerave lotion. It is very gentle on the skin but helps to lock in moisture better than any other moisturizer I've found. Even with this my skin absorbs it quickly and I have to put it on several times each day and then sit under a vaporizer.

That is pretty much what my life has been like for the past month. Hopefully after I finish healing I will be able to get back to my photography. In the meantime here is the last photo taken of our sweet Iona. Even that last evening she still managed to play with Sam through the baby gates, slapping playfully with him. She enriched my life and I miss her so much.

What I Really Want For Christmas!

For years now I have wanted the infamous leg lamp from "A Christmas Story". With Iona the rescue cat's medical bills we aren't buying any Christmas presents this year so here is my take on the lamp. At least I sort of have one now. Merry Christmas and be careful or you'll shoot your eye out!

Hoppy Holidays!

I would like to take this opportunity to wish the hoppiest of season's greetings to my dear friends on the internet group PetBunny. I love you all!

Ken Albin

3 Weeks Working With Iona

I've been totally tied up with taming Iona lately. It's been a real challenge but I've seen tiny improvements daily. She has now figured out how to play with her 'ball in a ring' toy. Iona is more relaxed and she is also starting to put a little weight on her bad leg. Here is a photo I took today of her resting in the window with her little stuffed toy. The surgical scar where they put the pin in is evident. I estimate she will take several more months of work before she is completely tame.

Iona Has a Godfather

Her godfather is Goldy McJohn, original keyboardist of Steppenwolf. He loves cats!

Here is Iona today. Notice her sling is gone now and I've been working with her a lot this week. She has mellowed out a lot from the totally feral cat we took in 2 weeks ago. She is doing great and will just get better over time. She took some treats from my fingers today!

Iona Update

I've been completely tied up this week working with Iona. She went in for a check at the vet Thursday. He thought he could get her out of the carrier by wrapping her in her towel but he changed his mind when she started hissing and growling. He looked her over in the cage and said everything looked good so far. Next Thursday she goes in for x-rays to see how the healing is progressing.

Working with a completely feral cat is quite a challenge. It took a few days before Iona would use the litter box regularly. She still greets me with a hiss most of the time but I think she is starting to gain a little trust that I'm not going to grab and harm her. I am feeding her Wellness kitten food. It is probably the best canned food, containing no additives or byproducts. She is about 10 months old but only 5 pounds due to malnutrition so I'm trying to build her up with good nutrition. She is eating very well. Iona has made tiny increments of progress. She touched noses with a couple of our cats through the baby gates so far. Here she is today giving me that famous "eat poop and die" look that she uses when she thinks I am going to get too close.

After the surgery

The vet put in a pin to hold the broken humerus. The shoulder popped back in as he was working on the humerus and seems to be stable so he left it alone. Iona was bandaged and the arm was placed in a sling. She was given a long term antibiotic and a pain patch. She ripped off the E-collar about 30 minutes after she got back home but has not been picking at the bandages. Iona is eating well now and she is apparently feeling ok since she hissed and growled at me when I brought in her evening meal. She goes back to the vet for a checkup Thursday.