Needs a Home

This past January, terrible snowstorms ravaged the southern U.S. Many roads were impassible for at least a week, that was IF anyone could even leave their homes. Undoubtedly many feral and free roaming strays perished from not having shelter and without having access to feeding stations or a friendly handout. One of those cats had a different journey. This is his story:

The brown tabby cat sat huddled, chilled to the bone, inside a cardboard box. The towel that lined the bottom of the box was supposed to help keep him warm, but it was wet from falling snow the day before. He'd never known snow or such deeply penetrating cold. His paws were numb. His breath came out in misty puffs.

He shifted his weight to keep the blood flowing to his feet, but he was unable to get comfortable. He had to stay put or risk losing his territory to the other homeless cats in the neighborhood. At his age, the days were fast approaching where he'd no longer be able to protect his simple home. The many battle scars on his ragged ears were testament to his struggle to survive for as long as he had.

For the past year, he lived on the lawn of a church in Georgia. The church members provided this box for him, as well as food and water. The church members adopted him, in a way, and were all very affectionate towards this rough and tumble looking cat. It was more than most stray cats get, but it was lacking in some ways, too. The church folks felt he was fine as he was, but one of the members didn't agree. He noticed the cat shaking his head, digging at his ears, clearly in discomfort. His coat was in poor condition. He looked like he'd been in fights many times. He could tell this cat needed veterinary care.

He suggested taking the cat to the Vet. The parishioners did not agree and said “he loved it there” and he was “fine”. The cat had food and water and the love of the church. It was enough. They did not want him to intervene, so all he felt he could do was to go to the local home improvement store and buy a big plastic bin that could serve as a more weather resistant home for this lost creature.

That was until this past winter. Warren Royal, whose love and compassion for animals goes beyond simply providing a great home for his own cats. When he and his wife were approached by two stray kittens one night when they were eating at a local pizza shop, they couldn't ignore their plight and ended up not only rescuing these two cats, but have gone on to rescue many others over the years. They do TNR, Trap, Neuter, Return of feral cats. They donate money to cat rescue organizations. They volunteer and give back in any way they can. They are truly a cat's best friend.

Warren was troubled about this cat's future. He contacted me and told me this touching story. He knew if he didn't go against what the church members wanted, the cat might perish. He'd seen it one too many times before. That this cat even survived the past few months out of doors was a feat in and of itself. I made some suggestions and told Warren, I'd be there for him if he needed my help.

A few days ago, Warren and his wife, Terri, rescued the cat. He named him Bruiser due to his rough appearance. They took Bruiser to the Vet and discovered he had already been neutered at some point in his 8 years of life. Most likely he was dumped for one reason or another. Bruiser was also FIV+, which was not really a surprise considering the battle scars he carried. FIV+ can be transmitted through deep, penetrating bite wounds. It was not a death sentence for Bruiser, but the Forsyth Humane Society, who did Bruiser's evaluation, said they could not accept him into their program. This left Warren with a difficult choice, but really, it was no choice. Warren was committed to caring for this cat, so he brought him home, hoping we'd be able to find Bruiser a permanent home one day soon.

Bruiser had ear mites and a bad ear infection. His belly felt hard, but after an ultrasound they determined it was just gas, probably from eating garbage. Sure, he had worms and teeth in very poor condition. Warren didn't turn away. He just paid the bill. Next week Bruiser will get his dental, but for now he's on a good diet and no longer living in a box.

Bruiser lives in his OWN ROOM, away from Warren's other cats. This is a wise thing to do when bringing a new cat into your home-especially one that may have parasites yet to shed. Bruiser has his own, soft bed. Imagine how it feels on his paws. The room is not cold or drafty. His food is always available and out of the elements. And Bruiser, Warren discovered, could not keep his name. Even though he was rough on the exterior, this cat was the biggest love-muffin Warren has ever met.

It was clear he needed another name, so Bruiser became, Buddy. That's all this cat wants to be. He wants to be your buddy. He wants to rub his head on you or get petted. He's so grateful to be out of that cardboard box and the freezing cold nights, that all he wants to do is spend his days purring and loving his new friends.

Warren knows that he can't keep Buddy. If he does, he can't rescue other cats in need, so Warren is hoping to find a lasting home for this wreck of a cat. His outside may be busted up, but his inside is gleaming with pure affection.

Buddy still needs to have his dental done, but after that he will be ready for adoption. Buddy is an 8 yr old, neutered male tabby with FIV+. He loves people, but we're not sure about other pets just yet. He will be COMPLETELY vetted before he gets adopted. If you'd like to give Buddy a home, or have questions about this lovely cat, please contact Warren directly at: wroyal@namefutures.com

If you live outside the state of Georgia, transportation can be arranged, so don't let that stop you.

If you know someone who might be interested in Buddy, please share this post with your friends and family! Thank you!

And Thank You, Warren and Terri for being completely awesome-for not giving up on an adult cat who lost his home. I'm proud of you!

Cara had her first endoscopy performed twelve days ago. She was weak, frail and exhausted on that drive home after the procedure. The next day I began giving her medications at least every six hours. It's a complicated combination of medications that have to be given on time. Although I'm turning into a zombie from lack of sleep, Cara's been turning the corner!

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara nibbles on her arm. Good eats!

Each day I brought Cara her food. Watered down baby food plus A/D (which I do not want to feed her!). It's a thin porridge-like consistency. I trained Cara to eat inside a cat carrier. This way her siblings or mother can't bother her (much) as she's eating and I can monitor how much she eats. It also keeps HER from getting into the canned food her family gets. I have to make sure Cara's esophagus has time to heal. Should she eat thick canned food, it might open up a sore or cause a stricture to reform.

I have to be scrupulous about not letting her have a nibble of anything, because she knows to explore the area where her family is fed, after I take up their plates and wipe down the rubber placemat. Cara frantically sniffs and licks at the tiniest morsel. At least her drive to eat is strong, but it could get her into trouble.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara and Polly watch President Obama's speech after the earthquake. The kittens and I are very sad.

Then, I'll wait. I'll sit with the cats and watch Cara. She had some grumbling tummy, some burps, but nothing too bad. I looked for signs of vomit around the room and found none. I decided after more than a week, to give Cara different canned food, baby food and water. She ate it but it was a bit thick and I thought she might vomit. The next morning I found a HUGE vomit all over the bed, with lots of water in it, too. I couldn't believe that tiny Cara had that much food in her AND she would have done it many hours after eating. I hoped that maybe her mama, Mazie had done it, not her.

Since I was worried that it WAS the food, I went back to the old standby.

After the first week, I spoke with Dr. K and she said to stay the course. Now we're at almost the end of week two and it's time to update Dr. K again to see what should be done next. Cara is growing rapidly and gaining weight. She's running around the room like a maniac, chasing after Polly and Chester. If she can keep down thicker food, then she may be out of the woods and will not need another balloon dilation. It's too early to say, but right now, she's looking great!

And since it's been almost two weeks, I think I can safely (I hope) say that I'm very glad we did NOT place a feeding tube into Cara. Cara seems very comfortable now, so perhaps we're one step closer to Cara being ready to be adopted? It's truly amazing to see her progress.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Who feels better? ME!

Go little sweetie, go!

LOCATION: DOUGLASVILLE, GEORGIA

DUMPED: 15 YEAR OLD, FEMALE

ID# 0850

BLOSSOM's owner brought her to animal control and paid a fee to have her euthanized instead of taking her to the vet's and paying for her to be treated for a urinary tract infection. Poor reward for her 15 years of gentle, faithful companionship!

If someone will take this beautiful Nebelung (German name for the long haired gray cat known as a "creature of the mist"), we have a sponsor who will pay to have her examined and treated by a vet.

Since her euthanasia fee was paid, she MUST have commitment by 3 PM Monday (Feb 28)!

Who makes up these moronic rules? Give the jerk a refund and don't put the cat down! This is a SERIOUS URGENT, please cross post and share!

If you can offer rescue or adoption for this cat, contact:

Pat Hopper - Douglas County Transporter

(cell) 404-725-0393

E-MAIL: pnh1918 (@) aol.com REMOVE SPACES AND PARENTHESIS FROM EMAIL ADDRESS BEFORE CONTACTING PAT. This was added to prevent spam bots from emailing Pat. If you're confused, just drop me an email.

It's been two full days since Cara last got sick. She's eating chicken baby food, drinking water, using her litter pan perfectly. I give her probitics in case her tummy needs to recover from the antibiotic load she's been given. I gave her some Nutri-Cal®, but after I read the label, I'm not so keen on giving her any more.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara enjoying play time after keeping her breakfast down!

As I continue to monitor Cara's food intake, I read more about PRAA. One of our CiCH friends was kind enough to share some information with me about another kitten, named Sassy, with PRAA who was with a rescue group in Wisconsin. I asked to speak with the kitten's foster Mom. This afternoon we had a chat. Linda, Sassy's “Mom” told me that Sassy was her first foster kitten! It's one thing to take on a foster kitten with a URI or who just needs TLC, but Linda really had to work hard to keep Sassy alive.

©2011 Two Left Paws. Sassy.

Sassy was very lucky. In addition to her foster mom, Sassy also had the support of Two Left Paws, the group who rescued her. They were determined to find out what was wrong with this sickly kitten who clearly could not keep anything but liquidy food down.

Two Left Paws had to make the same decision for Sassy that I will have to make for Cara. Do they spend $2500-3000 for ONE rescued kitten or do they put that money towards 50 other rescues? At what point does saving one life, possibly cause other cats to perish? Or is this just a ridiculous line of thinking?

I suppose that question might also include-is the cat going to have a great quality of life? Is the cat friendly? Would you do the same surgery for a feral you'd offer to a friendly cat? I can't say I have an answer. One of my ferals was suddenly lame. Though it took two weeks to trap him, I got him to the Vet and he got the care he needed. But if it's a matter of stretching an already tight budget, would I still provide the care for the cat or save it for a friendly, adoptable one?

It's worth discussing, but you all know me. I'll probably go down in the record books as the worst rescue in the world, but if a cat needs something, I'll find a way to get it done. That's it. I help as many as I can. It's not perfect, but if I choose to take on the responsibility of providing care for an animal, by God I'm going to see it through. Also, what if I didn't rescue ANY cats? Then my money would go to buying something dumb, like a vacation and even more cats would die.

If Cara or any other cat had a poor prognosis or poor quality of life, that would certainly require a great deal of careful consideration. Other than that, we gotta get these cats well!

Sassy's PRAA included Megaesophagus. Feeding became a carefully controlled event. Lot of small meals, with high quality food, pureed in a blender to make it smooth enough to pass through Sassy's throat. It took trial and error, but Linda found a way to get Sassy to gain weight and grow big enough for the surgery. In the meantime, Two Left Paws went to work looking for donations to help Sassy. With a generous donation from Sargento, along with other donations, they put the funds together and on Feb. 4th, Sassy had her surgery!

©2011 Two Left Paws. Sassy after surgery.

Sassy's doing very well. She's only vomited a few times since her surgery and the surgeon said that due to Linda's care, Sassy's esophagus didn't become overly enlarged. They hope that, in time, she will grow out of this problem and be able to eat a normal diet.

Sassy is stable enough to be adopted, though she's considered special needs. Linda knows it will be tough to say goodbye to Sassy, when the day comes, but I hope she knows that because of her dedication and care, this kitten has a great future ahead of her. If you're interested in adopting Sassy, you can see her Petfinder page HERE If you'd like to find out what Two Left Paws is up to or thank them for helping Sassy, you can visit them on Facebook.

-----------------------------------

I just got off the phone with Dr. Weisman, who did Bob's liver surgery. I love Dr. Weisman. She's just awesome and a very talented surgeon. We spoke about Cara and she let me know how serious a PRAA surgery is and that it's VERY hard on a small kitten and that some times they don't survive. She reminded me; “this is heart surgery, after all.” Dr. W. doesn't mince words and is a straight shooter. She suggested that the next steps would be to have a scope (little camera) put down Cara's esophagus to take a look at what's going on. It's smart to do this, than go straight to PRAA surgery since we don't know if Cara even needs it.

Scoping will cost around $1500.00. It may cost less if they only look down her throat and not do a full endoscopy, but they won't know until they take a look.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mama-Mazie, next to dear, Cara. Polly is in the background. She's getting so big!

I'm not going to ask to do a fundraiser today. I want to see how things go with Cara, first. Sure, if we raise the money now, we will have it when we need it, but if we don't end up needing it-yes we will bank it for the next special needs case, but I would rather wait to ask until I have more information. What I, in my deluded mind hope, is that Cara just needs some time to get some calories on board and she will be able to eat solid food one day. Maybe all her problems are from taking long term antibiotics? Ha ha ha..yeah, right.

That said...Cara just ate some baby food with canned food mixed in with it. I added a bit of water, just two teaspoons worth and made a puree. Cara loved it and kept it down, then ate more and kept that down, too. It's as if she were never sick to begin with. Is this the answer? No, it's way too soon for that. Cara's hanging in there. Baby steps...baby steps.

On my Covered in Cat Hair business card, under my name, one of my titles is “Cat Yenta.” Most people think it's a joke, but in truth, it's one of my favorite things to do.

Yenta, originally was a Yiddish word for “Gossip,” but over time has come to mean, “matchmaker!” Instead of matchmaking people together or two cats together (we don't want THAT happening unless they're spayed or neutered!), I love to help people find the perfect cat companion. Hopefully it won't take me twisting anyone's arm behind their back to do so, but a little whining, a trick I learned from my Jewish Mother, doesn't hurt, either.

Last week, Animals in Distress, my true friends in rescue, asked me to help them get the word out on a cat that needed a home. His name is Mittens. I didn't have time to do a write up, but I did post one photo of him on my CiCH Facebook Page.

Mittens was rescued by AID from a terrible situation. He was filthy, starving and trying to survive in the frigid winter without shelter. As you can see, Mittens no longer looks like he's suffering, but on the inside, his heart is broken. He's lonely and needs a true home to call his own.

Mittens is...NINE MONTHS OLD. He's not an adult. He's a BABY! He's a VERY VERY BIG BABY! He's a Maine Coon mix, with an extra toe on each front paw. Having this special feature is called “Polydactyl.” It's also how Mittens got his name.

©2011 Animals in Distress. The ever-lovin' Mittens.

Mittens LOVES to play and loves most other cats. He's affectionate and friendly, despite what he's suffered. He's been tested negative for Feline Leukemia and FIV+. He's been neutered and has his shots. Now he needs a home.

Before I could post this information, one of my readers, a very nice lady named, Ms. Kelley, who lives in New Hampshire, wrote me and asked about adopting him! I didn't know if AID would adopt to her since she lives out of state, so I mentioned something else I'd just found out about.

Cheese.

Remember Cheese? Last year his owner contacted me. She had lost her job and was in the process of losing her home. Instead of turning her beloved cat over to a shelter, where at the age of 9, he didn't stand a chance of leaving alive, she chose to try to find a suitable foster home for him until she could get back on her feet. You can read the entire post, HERE.

The next DAY, one of our kind readers, Ms. Amy, contacted me and offered to give Cheese a home until his Mom could get her life back in order! Hurrah!

But that wasn't the end of the story...

©2010 Ms Amy. Cheese recently.

Recently, Amy was contacted by Cheese's Mom. Sadly, things were still going terribly and in all fairness, she could not see being able to ever take Cheese back home. Could Amy find Cheese a true forever home? He would have been welcome to stay with Amy, but one of her other cats was scared of him-not because he was mean, but because she is a scaredy cat and it was causing some issues-you know the ones...

So I told Ms. Kelley about Cheese. He's 10, now. He weighs 18 pounds and needs to go on a diet. She could have said she really wanted to adopt Mittens, but she didn't. She knows how tough it is for cats to find a home when they get well into adulthood, so she decided Cheese was the one for her and she offered to give Cheese a home!

Cheese, in his yonger days.

I had Ms. Kelley fill out an adoption application, which she passed with flying colors! Ms. Amy agreed it was a MATCH! All that's left is to find a way to get Cheese from Williamsburg, VA to New Hampshire! If any of you are traveling that way or even part of the way, let me know! If any of you happen to be a pilot and can fly a few extra pounds to the northeast, that's great, too! We'd like Cheese to get to his new home soon, so he can enjoy life with two other kitties and two cute Papillons!

But what about Mittens?

So far, Mittens does not have a forever home, but I have a sneaking suspicion he may find one soon. If you're interested in adopting Mittens and live in Connecticut or a nearby state, you can visit AID's website and fill out a Pre Adoption Application. Make sure you mention that Robin sent you!

There's one more kitty who needs our help. Ms. Amy told me that in addition to Cheese needing a home, there was another big orange kitty who was languishing in foster care. His name is Zanzibar.

Zanzibar, waiting for a forever home.

Zanzibar was given up by his owners-their reason, allergies. Zanzibar is a senior cat, so not sure how they suddenly decided they were allergic to him!

Zanzibar has lived in a room, alone, for a year. He keeps hoping to find a forever home, but no one wants him. Zan loves people, but I'm told he's not too keen on other cats. When I hear this, I always have to ask if Zan was properly introduced to other cats OR was it not done according to cat to cat etiquette? He may be just fine with another cat, but the owner would have to take the introduction slowly. They think he might prefer dogs, but again, SLOW introduction might be the key.

The bottom line is this big, orange, senior needs a break. He can even do tricks, so this is no dull boy. Zan is located in Williamsburg, Virginia. If you'd like to know more about Zanzibar and see a VIDEO of him, please visit HERE

On the Eve of St. Valentine's Day, I hope my words are like Cupid's arrow and that somewhere, out there, the hearts of a few families are inspired to fall in love with these big fellas and to help make their dream come true—a real forever home, filled of love.

...and no chocolate, please. Cats and chocolate don't mix!

For the past three weeks, I've taken Polly, Chester and Cara to see Dr. Larry at least once, some times twice a week. The kittens are just NOT “getting over the hump.” They get mildly better for a day or two and seemingly overnight they get very sick. They also don't all have the same symptoms at the same time. I've learned not to freak out when I see Polly's eyes all watery again or Chester sneezing, but...what can be done for them?

Last week, Dr. Larry and I had a long talk. He was very concerned that the kittens have FIP. For those of you not familiar with Feline Infectious Peritonitis, let's just say that it's a death knell for any cat who gets it. It's highly contagious, as well, which means I could have put ALL MY CATS, even Bob Dole, at risk for getting this incurable disease.

I did NOT want to think this is a possibility. I pushed back, saying the kittens were chronically ill, BUT they were thriving, in some way, too. They did PLAY, they ate well, they WERE gaining weight. Yes, they were sick with some sort of horrible URI that wasn't responding to MONTHS of medications, but could it be FIP? Oh no..PLEASE NOT THAT. Please don't make me have to EUTHANIZE MY FOSTER KITTENS!!! I could NOT IMAGINE A WORSE CHOICE TO HAVE TO MAKE. NOT MY LITTLE ONES. NO surely, not them. Granted my life sucks right now, but having to face this would put me over the edge and into a dangerous place.

That's why I couldn't write about it. I was too sick.

So we ran tests, even though Polly fussed and screamed, being the sickest, we decided to do the tests on her. We ran a PCR, which might tell us if she has Calicivirus, Herpes, etc. We ran a full blood panel, a stool sample, bartonella screening, re-snap tested her for FIV+/Feline leukemia. The tests cost $600.00 and many took the better part of a week to get results on.

While I waited for test results to come back, I spent time with the kittens, and their mom, Mazie, too. The kittens slept on me for hours. I didn't mind spending that time not working. My head was killing me. Having a headache for two months is not really fun. I loaded up on painkillers and we all took a nap. The kittens have grown fond of me, in their way. Once in awhile, I get a purr, especially out of Polly. Her coat is now like silk, from the grain-free food. I love to pet her while she snoozes. She sounds like a stuffed up duck when she breathes.

Cara tugs at my heartstrings. At 16 weeks old, she is only barely 3 pounds. She has so much mucus in her, if she eats too fast, she regurgitates her food, then hysterically tries to eat it back up, only to pass it out again. I have to feed her very slowly and still she is anxious to gobble up whatever she can. She is so tiny, with such big owl-green-eyes, I can't help but want to do whatever I can to save her life.

The test results started to come in. Bartonella-negative, Bloodwork, ok, but showed she is anemic, just slightly. Stool sample showed positive for a type of coccidia I haven't heard of and I will have to report on exactly what this was later since it escapes me just now. The PCR was inconclusive-probably because Polly has had so many antibiotics. Dr. Larry feels they have a heck of a herpes virus infection...DUH! We knew that going in! Would he take FIP off the table now? He said, YES, maybe, but he also insisted we snap test Cara and Chester for FIV+/Feline Leukemia. So we did that. Negative/Negative. Thank GOD.

Dr. Larry called a vet he knows in Arizona who works with shelter cats. She said she's seen this before. She suggested we hit this and hit it hard and that would get rid of what ails these cats. The problem is, there goes another $400.00.

Here are the meds...I am deworming them with Panacur, it's gonna blow out whatever parasites they've got. They are getting shots of B12, Zithromax, Baytril, Terramycin for their eyes. Most of this will take two weeks of daily or twice daily application. If the kittens don't hate me now, they will soon. I'd rather they hate me than have FIP any day of the week.

The other problem, as usual, is funding. I've asked so much of everyone that I can't even bear to ask now, so I'll just post this ChipIn and if you can help the kittens, that would be very much appreciated. If you can't, no worries.

These kittens deserve a chance at a healthy, long life. If I can get them over this, then I can start the happier task of finally finding them good homes. For kittens who've been sick almost every day of their short lives, it really would be remarkable to see them healthy-at last.

And if this doesn't work...I'm just not sure where that path will take us next. I won't let them down. I just won't, no matter what.

Even if I find out their Mom has RINGWORM...yeah...surprise! She's got it.

Halp.

There are few parts of this country that aren't being hit with cold temps and more snow than they've seen in years. I can't afford to have the heat up to a reasonable temperature and if you're stuck with high energy bills, as I am, what better solution than to adopt yourself a BIG, WARM, LOVEY-DOVEY kitty to keep away that winter chill.

Meet ID# 1/18-161. He doesn't have a name. I'm going to call him, Mr. Big. As always, I have NO IDEA WHY he was given up for adoption. He is enormous. Maybe his family liked petite cats or were just JERKS, I don't know. What I DO know is Betsy, our friend at Henry County Care & Control in McDonough, Georgia, asked if I would get the word out on one VERY SPECIAL CAT.

The most awesome thing about Mr. Big is that he's READY to be ADOPTED. Sure, we'd LOVE IT if a Rescue Group would step up and offer to take him, but what would be best, if some chilled-to-the-bone family would offer to give him a FOREVER HOME.

Mr. Big has been neutered and had his snap test so we know he doesn't have FIV+ or Feline Leukemia. He should be vetted prior to going to his forever home, as he would need a rabies vaccine and a distemper combo shot, as well as just an overall checkup. It's not expensive to have done and, as always, TRANSPORT CAN BE ARRANGED, so if you live out of state, don't let that stop you from adopting this cutie.

As of this moment,“Big” is not a risk of being euthanized, BUT...that status can CHANGE at ANY MOMENT. If he gets sick, they will put him down. If they suddenly get a wave of cats being surrendered, he will be put down to make room for them. It's wise to not drag your feet about rescuing or adopting this kitty.

THIS IS DIRECTLY FROM OUR CONTACT: BETSY at Henry County. Her contact info and the info of the shelter is below. This cat deserves a loving home!

---------------------------------------------

This fabulous big giant teddy bear was combo tested [negative] and neutered today at our county's Spay/Neuter clinic. NOW he is ready for rescue. Please save his life, he is awesome!

Be SURE to refer to THIS: ID# 1/18-161, when you call about this cat.

©2011 Betsy Merchant. Who wouldn't want to adopt this big lug?

©2011 Betsy Merchant. He just wants to be loved and for someone with big biceps to carry him around! Woof! He's a BIG BOY!

-------------------------------------

**Please Note; When forwarding, crossposting, or re-posting I ask that you leave this message intact exactly as it was written by me. I do not give permission to post my message, part of my message, or my photographs on Craig's List. Thank you for your help and support, and for respecting my wishes.**

Betsy Merchant~

We are very rescue friendly and are more than happy to work with any rescue group as long as the group has a valid Georgia Department of Agriculture license! Any rescue group, whether in or out of state, that takes pets from Georgia shelters, is required, by Georgia law, to have a rescue license issued by the Georgia Department of Agriculture's Animal Protection Division. Having tax exempt status is not the same as a license. For more information on obtaining a license, please call (404) 656-4914.

©2011 Betsy Merchant. What a sweetheart! Any cat that can tolerate being held like that and stays relaxed is a VERY special cat!

Contact:

mystiblu@bellsouth.net

Henry County Animal Care and Control

527 Hampton Street

McDonough, Georgia 30253

(770) 288-7401

http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/GA67.html

Our Hours:

Monday-Friday: 9 am-4:30 pm

Saturday: 9 am-1 pm

Sunday: Closed

County Observed Holidays: Closed

The shelter is located at 527 Hampton Street in McDonough. We are located south of Atlanta off I-75. Take exit 218 and head east on 20/81 toward McDonough. Our address is 527 Hwy 20/81 East.

For all other information regarding ordinances, county codes, and other functions of Henry County Animal Care and Control please visit www.hcacc.org

---------------------------------------------

Please cross post and share so this cat CAN find his forever home! We've done it before, let's do it again! Let's WIN one for a kitty-in-need before his time is up! THANK YOU!

The day before Halloween 2010, we rescued Mazie and her babies, Polly, Cara and Chester. They were tiny and already incubating a URI the day they were picked up. Within a few days, all the kittens were sick.

If we hadn't rescued them when we did, they would have been put to sleep for getting sick. Shelter rules, as many of you know, do not allow for sick cats to be in the shelter. There's no quarantine. To prevent the spread of disease (but it doesn't), they kill the sick animals. It's heartbreaking that they have to do this.

For the first month, Polly and Cara were hit hardest. I don't know how our foster Mama kept her sanity. I wasn't sure Polly would survive she was so congested, her eyes were sealed shut. She and her siblings had to be syringe fed, too.

I didn't know if they'd ever be well enough to make it to Connecticut.

And here we are. The family has been with me for a month. I'm still doing, at least a weekly Vet run. These cats have been chronically ill, to the point of which I wonder if they will ever shed their illness.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Mazie and Polly have a nappy on the electric blanket.

Through all of this, Mama Mazie has been almost completely unaffected. She's spayed, has her shots and is ready to be adopted. I've been moving at a snail's pace to make this happen-partly because I hate separating Mamas from their babies and partly because I thought her being there would comfort the kittens.

It's not really fair to her. She's put on a nice chunk and I do mean, chunk, of weight. She's bored. She isn't very invested in the kittens, but when I take them to the Vet she cries and cries. I know I need to find her a great home. The kittens are 15 weeks old now-ready to be on their own.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Cara warms up on her sister, Polly.

With all that's been going on with my own cat, Bob, it's hard to focus on any one thing. A further complication is that about six weeks ago I was in a car accident with Sam. We were rear-ended by a moron, while we were stopped at a traffic light. Sam is okay, but I don't know what is going on with me. The Dr. said “sprained back and sprained neck.” That it would get better over time and to do some light exercises to stretch out the muscles.

My back is basically fine, but my neck is not. I've had a very bad headache every day since the accident. We just lost our health insurance right before the accident happened, so I've been trying to deal with the pain on my own. I haven't been able to think clearly, my head hurts so badly. I also thought I might have a sinus infection, so I waited until I couldn't take it any more and I dragged myself to my GP last week.

I'm on heavy duty pain killers and a muscle relaxant. My head is finally starting to feel better and I can focus on tasks, instead of sit here like a zombie. Once I'm off the meds, hopefully I won't get the headaches again. There is so much to be done. I need to get these kittens ready to be adopted, but if they won't get better, I'm in a holding pattern that could last another few months.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Chester, lookin' fine!

As far as Chester is concerned, he's just about ready to go now. He weighs a whopping 4 lbs.,.1 oz.! One of his eyes is a bit runny and once in awhile I hear a sneeze, but that's about it. He was never seriously effected-not the way his sisters were.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Back at Dr. Larry's office, Chester now bored with the wadded up napkin for a toy, waits for a chance to chase Polly around the exam room.

Then there's Polly. She's finally gaining weight and is at 3 lbs, 6 oz.-quite a bit smaller than Chester, but not too bad. She's still got a visible third eyelid, but it's not serious. She's still sneezing. Her left eye, the one we thought she would lose the vision in, still has some cloudiness to the pupil. She doesn't have any uclers, but we're not 100% sure she will have perfect vision in that eye. I may have to take her to an ophthalmologist if she doesn't improve in the next few weeks. What's nice to see about her is that she's growing. Her coat is like satin (yes, from the grain-free food). The pattern is more defined now. She has the same mackerel pattern on her back as her mother. She likes to snuggle, but she's still a bit too mouthy as I learned last night when she climbed on my chest, purring away, then turned and BIT my cheek, then ran off! Guess she's not feeling too badly.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Still waiting to pounce.

The most fragile of the bunch, is Cara. She only weighs 2 lbs 8 oz. She is just TINY. She has tons of spunk, for such a small and sickly cat. She's been vomiting and/or retching every day. We're tying to figure out why-some of it has to do with the amount of mucus in her sinuses that drains down her throat, into her stomach, but we're not clear on if the underlying problem is that she has a stricture of her esophagus.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. It's a bird! It's a plane! It's super-cat!

I'm going to water down her food, so it's easier to digest and so she gets some fluids back in her system. She's had 2 rounds of sub-q fluids at Dr. Larry's office to make sure she doesn't dehydrate. She always has this “owly” look about her green eyes. Her coat is crazy. She is BROWN, chocolate brown. I have never seen this color on a cat that wasn't a purebred Burmese. Her coat pattern is classic tabby, a bit fluffy, but her tail is almost black and skinny with short fur. She is truly a mixed bag.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Givin' some sass to his sis.

Cara's always cold. I have a space heater running in her room 24/7. She still likes to sit on the top of it as it rotates back and forth. She prefers it to the electric blanket on the bed, but that's there for her, too. I've done everything I can think of to help them get better. The rest is up to them.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Polly and Chester preparing for their next “Battle Royale.”

I'm not happy that I haven't been able to rescue any other cats. I have to slow down-partly due to Bob being sick, partly due to the kittens being sick and partly due to the fact that we need to get our basic operating expenses worked out for Kitten Associates. I can't foot the bill for it any longer. Until things get straightened out, I'm going to do my best to help get the word out on cats in need, but I won't be able to take any into my rescue for awhile. I really hate it. I have faith that we will sort this out and ramp up our rescue efforts as soon as we can (and as soon as we lock down some additional foster homes, too!).

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Meanwhile, Cara goes to sleep after making Dr. Larry clean up her vomit. Poor sweetie (Cara, not Dr. Larry!) (Okay, Dr. Larry, too!).

I also have to have faith that all of this will work out. Bob's on his path. We'll do what we can for him. The kittens will either get better and get into homes or stay here awhile longer. I never thought “Santa's Team” would leave (okay, technically, ONE of them, Blitzen stayed behind), but they did. I just need to focus-get some work done-get Kitten Associates ramped up and keep on savin' more kitties!

We all get notices about cats and dogs needing rescue. Many of them are marked as “urgent.” It's great that we can get together and help spread the word, BUT there are millions of animals out there who need help, who go unnoticed. Many of them don't have a group of folks trying to help them get a forever home.

I came up with a fun way to help animals, it's totally free, just takes a minute of your time and could potentially help save more animals lives.

I call it:

Save-A-Pet-Roulette

Step One: Visit Petfinder

Step Two: “Search for a Pet.” Do you want to help a dog, cat, bunny, goat, what? Chose Animal Type, Breed, and a zip code. You can GUESS a zip code, or chose the zip code of your own home town. It's more effective if you choose a local zip or a zip in your state, since most of your friends will be able to share with their friends and be able to act on a local level! Hit the “GO” or “SEARCH” You don't have to fill in BOTH locations of Search for a Pet, just one is fine.

Step Three: Review Search Results. Which animal would you like to save. Pick one!

Step Four: Chose the Tweet and the Facebook icons to share with your friends!

Make sure you ADD information on WHERE the cat is located when you send out your Tweet or Facebook share!

That's all it takes! Doing this does not require you to adopt a cat or sponsor a cat or dog, etc, but it's a way of helping spread the wod about animals in need and it's fun to know that you may have helped get that animal adopted because one of your friends, or their friends, or beyond...has heard about that animal and it got a home.

Now go. Save a life!

Smudge and Spice are two lucky gals who live at the Overlook Veterinary Hospital in Portland, Oregon. They were part of a colony of ferals who were living near the hospital. Instead of being ignored, Dr. Scott trapped the cats, vetted them and found many of them good homes. The two that remain, Smudge and Spice are hoping to find a way out of their cages, too.

©2011 Overlook Vet Hospital. Spice waits for a special person to adopt her.

Smudge and Spice don't hate people, but they aren't too sure about them, either. They might be a bit hissy, which isn't particularly heartwarming. What I can tell you from experience, is that one of the greatest feelings you'll ever have is to work with a semi-feral cat and gain it's love and trust. Once you do that, you have a devoted best buddy. It's a labor of love, but these kitties deserve that.

©2011 Overlook Vet Hospital. Smudge waits for a special person to adopt her, too!

Smudge and Spice do NOT have to be adopted together, but they DO each need a quiet home with someone who knows how to work with cats who have a lot of 'tude. The kitties have been vetted and tested and are nice and healthy and ready to go.

©2011 Overlook Vet Hospital. Spice doesn't hate people. She's just not so sure about them.

Maybe you're New Year's Resolution is to do something to help animals in need? Maybe you have room in your home and the know-how to help these girls finish their journey to being domesticated?

©2011 Overlook Vet Hospital. Spice would love to get out of her cage and into a loving home.

If you'd like to know more about either or both cats, please contact Dr. Scot! You can reach her at the following address/phone number, below.

Overlook Vet. Hospital

2009 North Killingsworth

Portland, OR 97217

503.283.0753

Tell them Robin from Covered in Cat Hair sent you!