The Round of Life

She had made the rounds.

When the feral cats that the lady next door feeds dropped two tiny kittens in her A/C unit, she made all the rounds.

She called the organizations, and was told they were either full, or that someone would get back to her in a couple of days if she put in an application. She was never able to get through to someone who understood these were bottle-feed kittens, or someone would have handled it better.

She went to the pound. They refused to take them, saying they would be euthanized immediately, and gave her one more number to try.

Enter Kate, who does not foster, but who does TNR. Kate offered to come out, trap the ferals, get them fixed.

Meanwhile, her husband and father-in-law were insistent the kittens leave immediately.

Her two rat terriers were going wild to get at the kittens, too.

She tried to give them wet food. One licked at it, the other wouldn't touch it. Then the one that tried to lick at it couldn't hold it down.

She was desperate, not wanting to leave them to die. She kept begging Kate to help somehow.

So Kate called me.

It's the usual rounds, the round of life as a foster mom to orphan kittens.

We now have seven.


Today is:

Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival -- Banff, AB, Canada (through Nov. 6; 37th annual)

Candies Day -- they have to be kidding -- this close to Hallowe'en?!

Coronation Day -- Cambodia

Cumhuriyet Bayrami -- Turkey (Republic Day)

Emma Crawford Festival and Memorial Coffin Race -- Manitou Springs, CO, US

Forgiveness Day -- a day to reconcile or forgive, for your own peace of mind

Hermit Day / Hide From Everyone Day -- internet generated, for those who would rather have a peaceful day today than celebrate the other holidays listed

Internet Day -- it's predecessor went live today, see Today in History for detail

Laugh Suddenly For No Reason A Lot Today Day (And end up either getting yourself and everyone around you in a good mood, or yourself being observed at the hospital in a padded room.)

Monster Mash -- Bogue Falaya Park, Covington, LA, US (annual fun and fundraiser for the children's hospital of St. Tammany Parish)

Naming Day -- Tanzania

National Cat Day -- US (with the goal of getting 10,000 cats adopted from shelters today)

National Disgusting Little Pumpkin-Shaped Candies Day

National Oatmeal Day

Second Fiddle of the Month -- Fairy Calendar (a very poorly attended event -- who wants to play second fiddle?)

St. Ida of Leeuw's Day (Patron of proofreaders)

Swamp Buggy Race Days -- Naples, Florida (through tomorrow)

World Psoriasis Day


Birthdays Today:

Winona Ryder, 1971
Kate Jackson, 1948
Richard Dreyfuss, 1947
Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, 1938
Bill Mauldin, 1921
Fanny Brice, 1891
James Boswell, 1740 (wrote the biography of Samuel Johnson)
Edmund Halley, 1656 (yes, that Halley, found the comet)--this is the date based on the OS calendar, often you will find his birthday listed as Nov. 8, because of the switch in calendar use.


Today in History:

Cyrus the Great entered the city of Babylon, BC539
First trial for witchcraft in Paris, 1390
Sir Walter Raleigh, adventurer, writer, and courtier, is beheaded, 1618
A severe earthquake shakes New England, 1727
Mozart's opera Don Giovanni receives its first performance in Prague, 1787
The first Ohio River steamboat leaves Pittsburgh for New Orleans, 1811
Queen Victoria grants Cecil Rhodes rights to Zambezia, 1889
The first intercity trucking service, from Colorado City to Snyder, Texas, begins running, 1904
Turkey declares its independence as the successor state to the Ottoman Empire, 1923
Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal, 1956
Cassius Clay wins his first professional fight, 1960
Syria exits from the United Arab Republic, 1961
Montreal's World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors, 1967
The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet, 1969
The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid, 1991
In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities, 1998
Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space, 1998
In Rome, European heads of state sign the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution, 2004