Calico

So the little cow kittens will be here in about 3 weeks. I guess they'll have some company. It's not my fault. Betsy should not have sent me photos from kittens that were brought in to Henry County on Friday night, just after our cow kitties were rescued!

She sent me this:

and this:

and this:

and this:

I also found out that the cow babies and their mama missed being euthanized by a few hours! A lot of babies died that day. Now these guys will have a few days, then their time is up, too. I know I can't save them all (yet!!!)

I asked Maria if there was any way to fit 4 more foster kittens into their own space in her house. She said, YES.

I asked Bobby if he could go to Henry and pick up the kittens on Monday and get them to the Vet.

He said: “Yes.”

Betsy asked me if I would rescue them.

I thought about it. 6 foster cats is a lot to care for and a lot of cats to be stuck with if they don't get adopted. These guys are so cute I think they'll get adopted quickly, but as with any rescue, just the basic costs to get them all spayed/neutered and rabies is $50/cat if I go to the low cost clinic. I also have to have them all vetted before they go into foster care, combo tested for FIV/Feluk, de-flead, de-wormed, and FRVCP shots.

Doing this is not cheap. And God forbid any of the cats get sick and we know they probably will, then it could go into the thousands.

So, when time came to decide on if I should rescue these cats or not...well, you know what I said.

YES to ONE!

YES to ALL FOUR!

I've paid for their initial vetting this afternoon. For the first time in my life, I'm going to ask for some help. I've got the first vetting on my dime, but now I'd like help paying for the cats to be S/N. I've cut my goal down as much as I can.

I don't have my Non-Profit status, so you can't write any donation off, but you CAN feel good knowing the money goes to the kittens. You can visit H.O.P.E's Website and see their costs listed there, so you know the costs are legit. I'm only asking for money to help get them S/N and rabies shot and a little extra in case I need a booster FVRCP. I've got their food, litter, any other vetting covered (if it's not astronomic). If you'd like to ChipIn a few dollars, that would be great. I promise to work on getting my Non-Profit so you can write the next donation off!

Yes, I'm doing this bass-ackwards. I should have a few big benefactors, but I don't have time to find them. These cats would be dead, so I just did what I needed to do.

Now I hope you'll join me and be an important part of this rescue! Run to your sofa and dig around for some spare change! Every dollar helps! I know you get bombarded by requests for donations, so I'm going to try to keep my request to a minimum

Thank you for your help and to everyone for all their supportive messages and good wishes. I hope to make you all proud of me and rescue more kitties in the coming days!

If only we lived in a world of good news, all the time...but some might argue the point and remind us that we could not appreciate the good, without the bad.

So with that, here are some updates-a mix of happy and sad news.

Last week, I asked for financial help to get three kittens (see below with the "rescued!" banners on their photo) moved from Henry Co. Care & Control to Henry Humane Society. With your help, the kittens WERE rescued, but are STILL looking for forever homes.

All these kitties are safe, but they still need forever homes! See my post HERE for more info about how you can add these cuties to your family!

The good news is that instead of raising $700.00, at last count we've raised $890.00! Henry Humane doesn't get donations this big and I can tell you they were shocked that SO MANY PEOPLE wanted to help them and they are SO VERY APPRECIATIVE!

Some of that money will go to the care and feeding of ALL the kittens and cat you see, above, and the vetting the newly arrived kittens will need, but the money also did one other thing...

It gave Betsy, our friend in McDonough, GA, the chance to do MORE! She made some space to rescue FOUR MORE KITTENS OFF DEATH ROW. They are now SAFE at Henry Humane!

What a crazy, mixed up bunch of babies! Each little muffin is safe and off death row. Next stop, combo tests and shots, etc., then off to Henry Humane to wait for their forever homes to find them!

Of course it's not all a bed of roses. There were thorns in this tale, as well. Last week Betsy asked for help to rescue a plain-jane, but sweet brown tabby and her two offspring. One was a little tabby, like his mama, the other a colorful calico. Two of them had a parasitic infection called wolf worms. It's a nasty and gross (and I'm NOT going to show you the photos of the kittens with their necks slit open to get the worm out), but it's completely treatable. The cats were making a recovery, but...

The shelter ran out of space. The family was slated to be euthanized. I did not think it would be right to share their photo with you, now that they are gone. I just don't have the heart to think that they only died due to space issues, not because they were too sick to recover.

Mama and son were put down, but...

They just couldn't euthanize the baby girl. When you see her face, you'll see why.

Her Mother and Brother were euthanized, but this little girl was spared at the VERY LAST SECOND.

As of last night, she was in DIRE need of rescue. I offered to take her into foster here in CT. While I was waiting to find out if I could help her, another local group called FurKids of Atlanta, GA stepped in and offered to rescue her. So...

This little sweetheart is SAFE and healing from the wolf worm infection and will be moved to FurKids some time today.

Every cat deserves a chance at a full and happy life. Getting a chance to find a home, shouldn't be like winning the Lottery. I hope one day I won't have to share such bittersweet stories with all of you.

And last, but not least...

This lovely lady, nicknamed, Arizona, who had almost NO CHANCE of being rescued out of Henry Co. Care & Control---because all black cats are the least likely to be adopted, will arrive at her forever home on SUNDAY.

If you missed the original story about this amazing rescue and want to read more, go HERE

Congrats, Arizona and ALL the kitties whose lives were spared thanks to the hard work and dedication of so many people who offered to get involved, stick their necks out, go without so they could donate funds, or take time out of their busy life to forward a post or email a friend who could help these cats. We all did this together and we all share this joy.

Last week I got a plea from Betsy Merchant, our friend at Henry Humane. She wanted to pull three older kittens, get them spayed/neutered, get their shots and GET THE THE HELL OUT OF HENRY CO. CARE & CONTROL, who we know euthanizes 95% of all the cats they take in-young or old.

Last week, I asked YOU to help me help Henry Humane pay for these services by asking for donations of as little as $1 to as much as you could comfortably give.

You answered my request with grace and generosity. In ONE DAY we raised $700. Some of the donations were just $1, but we did it by the large number of folks who donated. See how awesome things are when we all take it upon ourselves to be involved?

That money will go to the continued care of the kittens below, after their vetting is complete, so they can be fed and have clean litter until the day comes that they are adopted. They are no longer on DEATH ROW because of all of us!

To adopt these cuties, visit Glory and Jefferson on Petfinder!

Not only that, but because we have EXTRA money, Betsy has been inspired by us to do more! She is looking to find another "Condo" (cage set up) so she can try to squeeze a few more kittens into Henry Humane, the little non-profit that stands by, trying to help as many as they can.

Put a smile on this boy's face! Visit THOMAS on Petfinder!

Betsy has more kittens and cats that need help. Some have been waiting years for a home. FOR EACH CAT WE FIND THEM HOMES FOR, then Betsy can PULL MORE CATS OFF DEATH ROW and bring them to Henry Humane!! These cats come fully vetted for $100. Which is SUPER cheap considering if you had all that stuff done at most Vets it would be a few hundred dollars!

You live too far from Georgia? Heck no. I'm sure we can arrange transport to your area. Just ask. It doesn't hurt to ask, right?

Here are the kitties who've been looking for a home for a LONG time! Let's get the word out and see if we can find them a forever home!

First up, the furry fun factory --- Patience and Prudence:

Patience

Her sister, Prudence

Next, Sabrina

Cinder

Not to play favorites, but...HOW THE HECK IS THIS CAT NOT ADOPTED??? Meet ARK

Another cutie...heck, they all are...Shadow Is he on the right or left? I don't know! I'd take 'em both!

Flower!

THIS CAT HAS BEEN LOOKING FOR A HOME FOR TWO YEARS. COME ON! WE CAN FIND HER A HOME! A TABBY FOR GOODNESS SAKES! THEY ARE SO FRIENDLY! Her name is Amethyst

Please, just spread the word on these kitties. All they ever wanted was a home to call their own. Let's help them find one! Thank you!

I knew today would be tough. Donner and Dancer were slated to be adopted together. I was somewhat prepared to let them go, knowing they were going to a good home. Sure, I would cry, but they need to be with a new family who will love them always.

Little Donner. ©2010 Ryan Feminella

A few minutes before the adopters arrived, I noticed that Dancer had a bald patch on her leg-surely not today...no...not RINGWORM again?!!! I began to worry that if Dancer had to stay behind, then Donner would go alone and I could not allow that. Donner is far too social of a cat to be without the company of another cat. This family had no other pets. In fact, it's been so long that they had anything other than fish, they had no Vet reference. I was willing to overlook that because they would not let the cats outdoors, not declaw them and were certainly willing to feed them a grain free canned food diet-maybe even raw. They were going to take the kittens to my own Vet, too. So maybe it would be okay?

Then the family arrived. All six of them. The youngest was 11 and the oldest child is in college. I felt like it would be too much for Dancer to handle and the poor cat freaked out. She showed terribly and if Donner hadn't been so fantastic, I doubt they would have adopted the kittens. My heart began to sink. I just thought that maybe it was too much. That how could I adopt to people with no Vet reference? They didn't seem to be madly in love with the kittens. Maybe something was wrong. I can't say exactly why, but I started to feel that maybe this was not a good idea...but it was too late.

Dancer looking lovely as ever. ©2010 Ryan Feminella

I tried to talk them out of the adoption-offering them first pick of the next litter due in a month or so. They said they had been looking for a long time and that they were sure these were the right kittens. The eldest daughter said she knew the kittens needed time and that it would be all right for them, but I kept hoping they would change their minds-even after knowing that Dancer probably had ringworm.

My sweet muffin, Donner. ©2010 Robin Olson

Apparently, the two youngest boys do wrestling in school and perked up when I mentioned ringworm. One of them casually replied; “ Oh yeah, if a kid gets ringworm, he can't wrestle. It happens all the time!” Yikes! Their stepmom looked worried about it, but they all assured her it was not a big deal.

I called Dr. Larry and made them an appointment for the kittens. At least I know they will, hopefully, continue to use him as their Vet and that way I'll get some updates on how they're doing. I offered to pay for the visit, since Dancer will need medications and a DTM. I should have kept her here for another 30 days, but the adopters wanted her today. There was just no keeping them here. The giant band-aid had to come off and boy did it hurt.

I'm very thankful that Jennifer called me while I was writing this post. I cried for the better part of an hour after everyone left. Sam comforted me as best he could, but somehow it wasn't until Jennifer talked to me-my comrade in mourning-that things didn't feel quite so painful. She smartly reminded me of another adoption I did last year. I was SO sure it was the PERFECT family for my one little kitten. They were going to dote on her and they had a big McMansion, etc...

Then, Jennifer and I paid them a visit. Once there we both got the creeps, very bad creeps. These folks wanted to adopt another kitten from me and I kept putting them off-for MONTHS. I was sure they were not great adopters and I had wished I hadn't adopted to them at all. Jennifer reminded me that where I thought these guys were perfect, they were lacking. That the adopted kitten should be all right, but no more should go to this home-ever. That perhaps, the people who adopted from me today, might not appear to be that great on paper, but may, in the end, turn out to provide a big, loving home, for two cats who have carved a place in my heart, forever.