Search the Community

Good morning VC! Here's a lengthy but cute story of how we got Yma. My name is Margarita and I don't post here often but I felt I needed another media outlet to let people know about Yma (Ee-Ma) the kitten. My mother's backyard in NJ is littered with feral cats and kittens. She feeds them and gives them water everyday. I was visiting her early June with my boyfriend Cliff (randomfortunepa) and we heard my mom scream out one morning to wake up and see the kittens outside. JUST ADORABLE. Cliff decided within minutes he was going to try to catch one. We already had 2 cats at home and I thought all of this was a bad idea but I went along with it. He fooled the other cats into going behind my mom's patio door for food while leaving this kitten in arms reach. SWISH and grab, we got the kitten into the patio. He is clearly scared, shaking, and running away from us. Cliff went inside to find a towel to wrap around him. In the time (5 mins) he came back, I calmed this kitten down and was able to cuddle him against my chest. From this moment on I knew it was going to be hard to let this one go. A few hours later we decided to the Monmouth County SPCA to check if we could get some help. Unfortunately, they weren't able to help us. They gave my boyfriend a surrender form, with no guarantee that the kitten was going to be put down due to health concerns. My bf explained that we wanted to keep him. They recommended a nearby vet to get a checkup. We get to this vet and we know we are getting into BILLS$$$ for helping this feral kitten. All the while he is being so sweet and calm. Our vet was incredibly nice and helpful. But the bad news was that not only was he a girl (not a boy like we thought) but she had a tumor in her left eye. He gave us tons of medications, for deworming, fleas, anti-viral, and eye drops to give to her each day. It was recommended to see a vet in Philly for a follow up on her tumor. Everyone there thought it was great that we were rescuing a feral and wished us the best of luck with the health concerns. While we waited for her results, we were talking about names for her. We wrecked our brain, and then I shouted Luna like the Sailor Moon cat they look just alike. Cliff says it is too common. I agreed. Then I exclaimed how about Yma for Yma Sumac?! She was a beautiful Peruvian operatic singer who sounds like a bird. It was a perfect choice. This trip cost us about $450. We took her home and I administered all the medications while keeping her away from the cats in our bathroom until she's healthy. We encountered people who gave us lip for trying to rescue a feral. But we couldn't care less because we loved her and she's already a part of our home. Our next vet visit was coming up. I walked over the VCA Cat Hospital which is only a few blocks away from us. A technician was taking her temperature and getting a gauge on her health to tell the vet. As soon as the vet walks into the room she GASPS and says that I need to take her to the emergency room right away. She goes onto to say that her tumor has ruptured causing her eye to move forward. This needed immediate attention from the ophthalmologist. I panic of course and I immediately go pay the bill for the 20 minutes that I was there which rang up $70. I walked back home and called Cliff and told him to come with me to the ER (he was at work). We got in a cab as quickly as possible and we were off to PennVet. We were told to drop off Yma at a table and then she was rushed back because the VCA vet called to let them know the situation. We waited 4-5 hours and had plenty of paperwork. Our options were to either have her eye closed shut temporarily to help the eye move back and keep any irritants out or to give her medications while wearing a cone. It was going to cost $800 to get the eye sewn shut. We opted to just administer the meds. An assistant walks out and hands us a bunch of new medication to administer. We weren't allowed to give her any other medications despite how much they cost us. We were told to make another appointment for a follow up on the left eye. This trip cost us around $700. Her next follow-up with the eye doctor went a little better, I was told I was doing a good job giving medications. There were new blood vessels appearing in the eye which a good thing! They gave her vision tests and she can see a little bit out of her left eye, and can see super well out of the right. She senses things and can manage just fine. Overall it was all good news, we still need to worry about her losing her eye if the tumor gets deeper in the eye but for now it's okay. This visit was around $300. This was our last visit and she has a visit next Tuesday. Aside from the vet bills, we had to buy her a bed, food, toys, dishes and anything else this little one needed to feel at home. She has brought me a sense of purpose and happiness. I have suffered with depression for the majority of my life, recently I was taken to the ER for overdose. Only a few weeks later and I have Yma, she is a blessing in disguise, keeping my heart and mind in check. We need help, and donations to our GoFundMe https://www.gofundme.com/littleyma are greatly appreciated. Anything to alleviate the financial burden. She's a beautiful little kitten who deserves the best in life. We will keep you informed on her health here on VC and my Instagram @leche_con_miel. Thanks for taking the time to read or skim this post. I appreciate it My boyfriend is selling off his Kevin Devine test pressing and rare 7 inch to help pay for the bills, make an offer and own a piece of Kevin Devine history AND Help YMA!

Looking for these two variants to finish my collection. Hook me up!

Figured this was probably worth sharing if so. With the emo revival in full swing people gotta be getting down on this stuff again. Just uploaded this video of short, but complete sets from Rescue and Grayson from the 2002 tour we did for our split 7".

Hey dudes, a bunch of Forge Again Records test presses up on the 'bay. http://www.ebay.com/sch/justinwexler/m.html?_nkw=&_armrs=1&_from=&_ipg=&_trksid=p3686 From the really old (ST Monroe/The Like Young split 7") to the newest (Tight Phantomz - Silk Prison 2xLP). I don't press these things to sell them, so there aren't more than 7 or 8 of any of them in existence. Get em while you can.