A Rescue Gone Right

If you every wonder if you have made a difference…just think of these guys whose lives were saved because of Petco!!

A New Colony Needs our Help!!
 
Paws and Love was contacted with an urgent plea for help with a new colony of feral cats. The caretaker reported that the mama cat was not walking right. She was very unsteady; her gait was shaky, she could not hold her head still, and she would fall when she tried to use the stairs. He said he had seen her splayed out in the yard unable to move. He could not understand what was wrong and was very worried. Audra, Director of Paws for Love went immediately do a welfare check.
 
Audra, “What I found made my heart sink! The landlord is a plumber and had discarded old toilets in the back yard that fill with rainwater. To prevent mosquitoes, he then fills them with a colored bleach solution. I was very fearful that mama may have been thirsty and that she had swallowed this water.”
 
In addition to mama there were several other cats and kittens in the colony. Given the setting, it was clear that this was not a safe place for these kitties to be. Because the mama cat was no where to be seen, Audra went back at around 7:30 when the caretaker feeds the cats. Mama did come out and she was just as wobbly and shaky just as we had been told.
 
That night we set up a drop trap to try and rescue Mama, but unfortunately a male cat entered followed by two tiny kittens who probably did not even weigh a pound. They were all after that chicken!! Then mama made her appearance. She walked under the drop trap, but the feeding bowl was occupied, and she looked like she was going to leave.
 
Audra, “I had no choice but to pull the cord with 2 cats and 2 kittens underneath. I hooked up the transfer cage and babies and mama shot in it instantly. Since I was there for the ill mama cat, I only had the transfer cage. I had to release the male (I did go back for him) and I kept mama and her two babies.
Unfortunately, at the vet, the worst possible thing was discovered, mama was not going to make it. I was devastated!! I knew the only thing I could do now was to help her pass with peace and promise to help her babies.”

The next time we came prepared with MANY traps for the remaining kitties and we were able to trap 4 other kittens who were quite “spicy” little things. They were appropriately named, Fennel, Mace, Nutmeg, and Saffron. The females were a bit more challenging after seeing all the trapping they were skittish. Audra kept going back to this location to trap all kittens and ended up with an additional FIVE!! A total of 11 kittens rescued from this location. The 11 kittens became temporary residents of Paws and Love while they learned to socialize, use inside manors, and live with a forever family!!
Two adult females were trapped as well as three adult males. The five adult cats were fixed, vaccinated, and returned to their home creating a much more manageable colony for the caretaker to feed and look after.  We also informed the caretaker of ways to make the area safer for the cats.

We are so truly fortunate to have a wonderful network of supporters and fellow rescuers who we can count on to help our community cats. We still have three of the kittens, though they are now almost 7 months old, and HUGE! They have not quite decided they are ready for adoption. Until then, they are being loved, as they desire, and inside preparing for a wonderful healthy life!!
 
Thank you, Petco, for assisting with the cost of spaying/neutering these precious cats which allowed us to save the lives of 16 cats and kittens from this one location! Your support made all the difference!!!