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The R Word: CHAPTER TWO, THREE, FOUR & MORE

Wed, 2009-08-19 15:39 — Robin Olson

Big News! Time to do the HAPPY DANCE!

Huggy Mama is OUT of Henry Co. and on to her temp. foster home. Instead of going to Indiana, she is coming right HERE to Covered in Cat Hair HQ for fostering until she and the babies find a forever home!

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Dilute Calico Mama is OUT of Henry Co. and also on her way to a temp. boarding facility where she will be out of harm's way until she can go to her foster placement!

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And this my friends, this is my great joy...this mama and her babies were going to be put down today, but at the very last minute we got a SUPER GENEROUS OFFER from one of our very own, beloved Covered in Cat Hair members, Jennifer, who is graciously opening her home to these at high risk foster babies! (Apparently, Jennifer just picked out names for them, not being able to wait for them to arrive!) This morning, Barb did her magic and I made a tearful call to Robin at Henry County to ask if these guys were still available (ALIVE) and she said YES. Once I found out, we got the balls rolling and Mama will be out TOMORROW.

And yes, I will put out ONE MORE request to bring in some funds to help cover the costs for this mama and her babies, but then I will shut up for awhile. Once we have a widget set up for their donations, I will post it and if you can help, super great. If not, then just send them your love. They need that, too!

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And our spare, orphan was adopted by the woman who dropped her off a few days ago. We didn't raise funds for this little one, so no harm done and we are very happy she's off to a good home!

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And believe it or not, Barb and Judy have managed to rescue even MORE cats than I have photographs of! I am SO SO HAPPY that all of you pitched in, gave up money during a friggen' recession, and sent so much love and support-well THANK YOU isn't enough, but that's what I got!

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR YOUR HELP!

We've got MORE to rescue, so let's get to it!

Poopie thing I have to add: I hate to worry alone, so you should all remember that ALL these mamas MUST TEST NEGATIVE FOR FELINE LEUKEMIA AND FIV or ELSE I am gonna CRY and they are gonna have to be PTS. I'm sorry to rain on the parade, but we got them this far...hopefully this is just the beginning of their journey to their forever homes.

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Comments

Wed, 2009-08-19 15:57 — Laura (not verified)

Well done! I love reading happy cat news. :)

Out of curiosity, why do FIV positive cats need to be PTS? I'm in the UK and over here FIV cats can still be rehomed from shelters (mostly fostered on long-term arrangements rather than adopted, as far as I know) and many go on to live happy lives.

Wed, 2009-08-19 16:17 — Robin Olson

I have an FIV+ cat, but I don't make the rules in GA. To me, it just takes longer to place the cat, but that's it. Our group accepts FIV kitties, too. I guess we'll have to see what happens with test results and fight that battle if we have to. Also, I believe the cat can show a false positive, so there's that to worry about, too.

I'm with you. I would not put down an FIV+ kitty, but sadly, Feline Leukemia, is another story...

Wed, 2009-08-19 16:35 — debrue

I will make a donation when you get the widget up... not much else I can do from Missouri. This is like a very "important" soap opera - no, a reality show where the stakes are really, really high!
Hoping & praying the mama cats are healthy!

Wed, 2009-08-19 16:51 — Robin Olson

I wish it was a MOVIE! Then every ending could be scripted into a happy one! This is far too real for me. I need a nap!

Thank you for your offer and heck..I'm in CT and I'm helpin'...we can find a way and work with anything you've got to offer even if it's just good wishes. Bring it on. We love it all!

:-D

Wed, 2009-08-19 20:35 — Catnonymouse (not verified)

Laura.. I think it has to do with more of the population & sheer number of cats & kittens. If it comes down to having to put some down.. they put the FIV/FeLV ones down first. There's never a shortage for cats.. so that's what I understood from the shelter I foster for. There's just so many, they focus on saving the healthier ones that are more apt to make it. Lots of the positive kittens don't make it to adulthood...

Thu, 2009-08-20 18:07 — Lynette (not verified)

FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus) and FeLV (feline leukemia virus) are very different things, IMO.

I've had a FIV+ cat, and he lived happily with my FIV- cats. FIV is only transmitted through deep bite wounds (and possibly from a mother to her kittens while in utero) - so unaltered tom cats running at large and getting into territorial fights are most likely to be FIV+. FIV+ cats can live full lives if kept indoors and not exposed to disease. It's like a HIV+ human, they're more susceptible to colds, pneumonia, etc... but unlike humans, FIV+ cats rarely develop AIDS.

FeLV is highly contagious, on the other hand, and can be spread by mutual grooming, possibly even sharing a water bowl. FeLV+ cats rarely live more than about five years, as they're prone to developing a form of cancer.

http://felineoutreach.org/Education/FIVFeLV.html

Thu, 2009-08-20 22:46 — k (not verified)

HUZZAH! I felt very, very anxious knots in my stomach after i read the call for help here the other day. SO glad all the little ones and their mommies have found safe havens. I wish I could foster on this kind of large, grand sweeping-action scale, but: that day will come, eventually. For now, I'm so happy and grateful for people like you and the friendly donors who helped rescue these kit-kats!

Fri, 2009-08-21 06:25 — Robin Olson

You know one person at a time stepped forward and took responsibility for just one or two aspects of this rescue. I offered to foster just 3 cats. Another person took in 3 more. Another person used her GA license to make arrangements with the shelter to get them the paperwork, made calls to get someone to pick up the kittens, another picked them up...LOTS of people donated monies from a few dollars to many hundreds. I'm not fostering on a grand scale. In fact, it's quite small, but when you add it together with the pieces everyone else added, then suddenly we've done something quite impressive. We all also were online for about 5 days straight, writing up pleas, articles, asking questions, making arrangements. It was very crazy and complex and stressful and even the last day, I was sick and crying because I knew one mama cat and kittens was not going to make it...then all of a sudden, with one more person stepping forward, we were able to pull the cats. the next day I found out they would be dead if we hadn't said we would take them.

So please, don't think you can't be a part of this. You can foster a few kittens or one adult or you can donate a few dollars or offer to drive one leg of a transport, which is usually no more than about 50 miles. It ALL makes a difference and i hope you can be a part of effecting that change with the rest of us!

:-D

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