01/17/2026
This past spring, I was done. Done with rescue, done with scrapping for pennies, done with getting out of bed and facing the world.
I could not handle one more loss. The majority of our rescue animals are getting up there in age and after so much loss 6 months in a row, everything finally was starting to get a little better. Until an unexpected loss the end of May that left me so depressed.... the uncontrollable sobbing, just sitting and staring at her empty bed, not being greeted by her little tippy tap toes prancing around me in circles. I finally broke.
Then I had begun to notice more and more feral and stray cats were finding our house knowing that we had food and water outside. So, we put a little cheap camera on the stoop to find out how many. Now anywhere from 10-20 different cats per night.
One day we noticed a kitten on the camera, shy and scared. A bigger cat one night attacked the kitten and would not let her eat. She fled, but we soon discovered that she was hiding in the woodpile. Not the best place, but she would watch us from afar but run if we got to close. We started leaving her food and water where she was and if we took a few steps back, she would come eat the food. A few days later we trapped her, gave her a place to feel safe while we quarantined her and let her know that she could trust us.
I noticed that at times this little kitty was crossed eyed and has a head shake. Her head shake is only sometimes, but at times it can be pretty bad. However, it does not stop her.
I know that she needed us, needed me. She knew that we would help her and we did.
I have named her Tulla, a strong Irish name.
Tulla rescued me when I just could not go on any longer. She has helped to heal me and has filled some of those cracks in a very broken heart.
I was never expecting this past year to be rescuing cats and trying to help a feral colony, but it makes sense. I grew up rescuing cats as I watched and learned from amazing examples like my dad and my grandma.
I often wonder why there is a world where we need to have animal rescues, but sadly we do. These animals are everywhere and they need our help daily.
Helping all of these cats has been a huge expense, but I am remaining hopeful that the Universe will keep sending these small miracles.
Tulla is learning to be a cat... and is now realizing that she is safe. She is truly the sweetest little fur baby that had such a rough start to life and deserves only the best from now on. 💗
(We rescued Tulla Mid-September, and she was about 2.5 months old).