EYE ON SMOKEY

 

We are now trying to calm the Villagers over the news about Smokey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had our consultation with the Veterinary Ophthalmologist today. We were advised that Smokey has to go under the knife for a third surgery to her eye.

Monday, August 27th at 9:00 am, Smokey will be operated on. The Ophthalmologist Surgeon advised she will have to take out all the eye tissue within the eye socket all the way down to the bone. This will ensure no future issues with Smokey’s Enucleation.

      

 

Taking you back in time through Smokey’s ordeal.

It all started April 26th when we first noticed Smokey’s eye. It then took us two days to trap her and bring her to the Veterinary Hospital.

 

 

Her first operation was April 28th which consisted of pulling the third eye lid across the eye and stitching it closed. At the same time, a draining tube was added. This was in hopes that the enzymes created by the third eye lid might heal the eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because the procedure did not work, she then had her second operation on May 5th, removing the eye.

 

On June 20th we discovered fluid  had built up inside the eye socket to the point it needed to be drained by the veterinarian.

 

On July 30th, fluid built up again and was drained. This time a culture was sent to the laboratory for anyalization. This test showed bacteria in the fluid.

On August 4th, Smokey was brought in for a anti-bacteria injection which was followed up on August 18th with a second injection. By this time, Smokey’s eye was starting to swell again.

On August 22nd Smokey was examind by the Ophthalmologist Veterinarian.

On this coming Monday, August 27th, Smokey will be operated on again and hopefully for the last time.

Stay tuned for more on Smokey.

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News

S&B

Smokey recently went in for her second anti-bacterial injection. We hoped for better news but Smokey’s eye is swelling up once again.

We think that Smokey’s eye damage might have been caused by herpes virus but we are not certain at this time. What we are certain about is that the greenish goo that is extracted from her eye socket is caused by the presence of conjunctival tissue that was left in the eye socket which creates a cyst.

Each time her eye is drained it brings on the risk of bacteria entering the eye socket causing an infection.

It is very difficult to distinguish between conjunctival tissue and subcutaneous tissue in the eye socket. Because of this we are now taking Smokey to an Animal Ophthalmologist Surgeon where she will have to go under her third surgery. We need to get this issue corrected so when the yard enclosure is completed Smokey can enjoy her new home with her family.

  So it’s back into surgery for poor Smokey. The date has not been set yet but we will keep you informed.

Again, I truly wish to thank every one who has helped with our cause and please forward our blog onto others who might be interested in following the lives of this wonderful family.

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

Getting to Know the Villagers

 

This is going to be a series called “Getting to Know the Villagers”. We are going to introduce you to our Kitty Villagers so you can see and get to know their different personalities. We will give you insight into their every day lives and what happens around the village during an average day here at Kitty Village.

This post will give you the basic knowledge on who everyone is.

Introducing to you, the Villagers.

Orangey was the last to enter the village on January 17, 2017 and was adopted by Smokey and Bandit.

 

Smokey and Bandit arrived September 2015 with their family.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smokey had three kittens on our property and Bandit, we know, was the father of two.

Can you guess which two?

 

 

 

Well, there is Pete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then there is Samantha (Sam).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally there is Teddy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are all of the early settlers of Kitty Village. In future posts of “Getting to Know the Villagers”, we will talk about each villager and everything there is to know about them.

Once again, thank you for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

 

 

The village has taken a turn!

Yes, Kitty Village has surely taken a turn  since it was first started. You see, we have taken our first turn in our fence enclosure project. To be more specific, the fence building has made its first right turn through our yard racing towards the finish line.

 

 

Well, maybe not racing towards the finish line!

 

   The fence plans are working out fine so far.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now we have made our first turn since starting the project.

 

 

Here is the fence layout 

Fence Diagram: The fence consists of a large solid plastic fence that is buried one inch into the ground. An aluminum base panel attaches to the rear side of the fence and extends out eighteen inches and is four inches below ground level.

The top of the fence has a wavy plastic panel that will flex slightly. Above this is a wire mesh that extends eighteen inches away from the fence and also flexes.

 

Cats like climbing sturdy, steady objects and the reasons they like to climb are because of their  Instinct, Safety,  Increase Territory,  Escape, and  Vantage Point.

The below ground panel prevents the cat from digging under the fence. The smooth plastic fence panel makes it hard to climb. The wavy flexible panel makes it awkward and even harder to climb. The wire mesh makes it awkward and much harder to climb. If necessary the top mesh can be electrified.

Eye On Smokey

 

Here is Smokey coming back from a view of the house.

 

Smokey is still doing well and there is no eye swelling. She goes in for her next injection on august 17th.

Once again, we thank you for your support and for reading

Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

 

 

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

 

Well today is August 8th and the villagers are in full celebration mode.

                                   

 

 

 

 

 

You see, today is International Cat Day!

International Cat Day was created in 2002 by the

International Fund for Animal Welfare

The organization works to rescue individual animals and safeguard populations. It also preserves habitats, and is an advocate for greater protection of animals. It was founded in 1969 to stop the commercial hunt for seal pups. The IFAW is one of the largest animal welfare organizations in the world.

 

These Organizations help to promote the proper care of not only feral cats but all cats. This makes it possible so  they can live live long healthy and safe lives.

 

 

Like what we do here at Kitty Village. Our kittens have grown up, and are happier and healthier for living here.

 

 

 

 

Here at the Village we took it one more step by constructing an enclosure not only to protect the villagers, but also to protect other animals that the villagers might want to instinctively hunt.

So Happy International Cat Day to all!

 

Eye On Smokey

As for Smokey, so far so good. She has not had any adverse effects from the anti bacterial injection she was given. Also, so far there has not been any additional swelling to the eye. Let’s keep our paws crossed.

Keep an eye out (sorry about the pun, Smokey) for our newest blog called Nutty About Nature.

Once again, we thank you for your support and for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

 

What is 93 degrees and 94% humidity? Well, that’s Kitty Village.

That is some of the high temperatures we have been having in July. Working outside in those conditions is not fun at all.

We have begun installing fence panels. Thirteen  panels are up with another twenty five having to go.

 

 

 

 

Elsewhere in the village the boys are catching some Z’s, while Sam is out exploring around the the Village. Look what she came upon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Even if Sam knows what we are doing, our plan continues. This is the only way of assuring that the  villagers will be safe.

 

 

I have had a few inquires about post thirteen where I said, “I am finally getting to use my phd I received from S&R for landscaping design”. I understand the confusion, so let me clear things up. I was referring to my Post Hole Digger I received from Sears and Roebuck.

 

 

And the fence project goes on, and on, and on, and on!

 

 

An Eye on Smokey

 

Well, the final results have come in and they are not that good.

 

Smokey went to the veterinarian and had more fluid removed from the eye socket and that culture was sent out for analysis.

 

 

It showed there is bacteria growing. So now there is fear that the bacteria could spread to the brain if not immediately taken care of.

Smokey is going in for a high dose anti bacteria injection today and then again in two weeks.

 

 

In three weeks Smokey is going under the knife again for her third surgery to her eye.

 

 

 

 

I don’t have to tell you that all the villagers are worried about Smokey and the outcome of her ordeal.

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News and stay posted for more on Smokey.

S&B

 

 

 

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

Eye on Smokey

Well, since our last post a lot has been going on with Smokey. First of all, she now allows Betty to pick her up and carry her through the house with out getting panic stricken. That is Smokey not Betty.

They have actually started to form a bond that you would not usually see with a feral cat.

 

This is due to the relationship that is developing between the patient and the care giver. This we know is not normally possible with true feral cats like Smokey with out this special bond.

 

 

 

Our Veterinarian has now consulted Four Ophthalmologists for what is best with Smokey’s condition.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Three out of four Ophthalmologists do not recommend injecting Polidocanol into the eye socket.  They recommend surgery to remove the eye tissue that was left behind in the eye socket during the first enucleation surgery.  All epithelial lined or glandular structures have to be removed. This includes the third eyelid, the gland of the third eyelid, the palpebral conjunctiva, and the lacrimal caruncle (located at the medial canthus). If not, an orbital cyst will form around the tissue that was left.

A cyst is a closed sac, having a distinct membrane and division compared with the nearby tissue. Hence, it is a cluster of cells that has grouped together to form a sac. However, the distinguishing aspect of a cyst is that the cells forming the “shell” of such a sac are distinctly abnormal  when compared with all surrounding cells for that given location. It may contain air, fluids, or semi-solid material.

So poor Smokey is going to have surgery for the third time. Stay posted for more on Smokey’s eye dilemma.

  

The fence project has slowed down with the bad weather and other home projects that needed to be done. We will get back to the fence project this week. 

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

 

Well the veterinarian and the ophthalmologist have decided that a less intrusive method should first be used on Smokey.

This procedure will consist of first draining out the eye socket cavity of all fluids. Then they will inject Polidocanol into the eye socket.

This works by damaging the cell lining of blood vessels, causing them to close and eventually be replaced by other types of tissue.

Hopefully this procedure will work for Smokey. If not they will have to perform surgery on Smokey again.

 

The clowder is certainly worried about Smokey having another surgery.

 

 

 

Stay tuned for further posts on Eye on Smokey.

The Fence Project is still slowly coming along.

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

 

We have experienced a set back with Smokey, and all the villagers are worried.

As you know, Smokey is still living indoors inside the habitat I built for her. When we came in to see Smokey on the morning of July 13th, we observed that the area of her missing eye was badly swollen.

We rushed Smokey to the Veterinarian’s office where the Doctor inserted a needle into the eye socket extracting fluid that built up. Unfortunately, they tested the fluid ruling out an infection but are not sure what it may be .

Smokey is back home resting quietly while further tests are being made and the ophthalmologist is being consulted on this issue. Because of the sudden fluid build up in the eye, we are checking on Smokey almost hourly to see if there is any change.

One possibility is that a piece of the removed eye is still in the eye socket.

If this is the case, Smokey will have to undergo another enucleation surgery. Enucleation is the medical term for the removal of the eye.

The biggest difference between human  and cat vision is in the retina which is a layer of tissue at the back of the eye that contains cells called photoreceptors. The photoreceptors convert light into electrical signals that are processed by nerve cells and sent to the brain which translates them into the images we see.

The two types of photoreceptor cells are known as rods and cones. Rods are responsible for peripheral and night vision. They detect brightness and shades of gray. Cones are responsible for day vision and detect color perception.

Cats have a high concentration of rod receptors and a low concentration of cone receptors. Humans have the opposite. This is why we can not see as well at night but can detect colors better.

Well other than that, the fence enclosure project is moving along and we now will start to assemble the fence panels. I will go into more detail about the building process of the fence in a future post. I am glad that I am finally getting to use my phd I received from S&R for landscaping design.

Stand-by for more news about Smokey.

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News.

S&B

Welcome Back to Kitty Village News

 

Well, everyone survived the fourth of July celebrations and don’t seem fazed over the frightening experience. You might wonder why they are not fazed by it. Well, now that you’re thinking about it, I will tell you.

Humans conceive time very differently than cats do. We have no evidence to suggest that cats can spontaneously recall memories and can think when those memories actually took place. For an example, a few days ago, as opposed to a few hours or a few weeks ago, a cat can not distinguish between them. This is something we as humans find easy to do.

Cats do have a general sense of the rhythm of the day and get used to having certain activities happening at the same time each day, such as meal time. They are creatures of habit.

So in that sense, cats do measure time, even though they probably don’t think about time passing the way we do.

Cats will also take their cues from the onset of daylight and the arrival of night. Since they do know the difference between night and day, I believe that they might also know when we are away.

So when we are away, we use automatic feeders on our rear porch. The clowder will still gather at the rear door waiting for food, but as soon as they hear the food drop from the feeders they race over to eat.

 

The next day and even the day after that will be the same with them, waiting by the rear door for us to bring out the food.

Now, when we do hand feed the clowder we give them a mixture of wet and dry food.

 

 

The feeders are enclosed inside a wood box which have locks. No, the locks are not so the cats can’t open the feeder box and overeat. It’s so the raccoons can’t open the feeder box. On occasion, we have been visited by raccoons that come onto the porch and try to open the box.

With the wood lid off, it exposes the automatic feeder. The feeder can hold up to five pounds of dry cat food and can be dispensed different times of the  day with different quantity settings.

I am in the process of making an improved feeder box which I will share with you in a future post.

 

Thank you for reading Kitty Village News and pass it onto other cat loving friends.

Till next time.

S&B