Peter, Paul & Z, Henry's Cats

We pulled (took the kittens to their new temporary home) the kittens on our 4^th visit there. On our 3^rd visit, Henry said he found a dead kitten (a 3 week old) in the hall. He reached into a closet and took out plastic bag that contained the dead kitten. It was in a state of decay. He said he use to bury them but can’t anymore – he’s tired and weakened by 89 years of a hard life. Remember, his wife, the woman who brought the cats in, was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s , for years before she went into a care center. We took the cat. Put it into the trunk and buried it. The smell stays in your nose for hours. On our second visit, in addition to extra litter boxes and water bowls, we brought cat toys. Most didn’t know what to do with them.

There are 3 remaining kittens , born Nov 5, who are staying until they’re are 8 weeks old. We’d pull them but there’s no place for them and the mom to go. Sad, it’s a sick house. Not just because of the urine but because of what has to be, dead cats in the walls. Cats often go to dark secluded places to die. We’ve seen them enter through a crawl space. Not to mention the Herpes /URI infections that effects the entire household. But there’s no place to go. Which is the real reason most people don’t want to deal with hoarders. Because there’s no place for the cats to go. Because some of the cats have to be killed as a result. Because we’re in this to save cats, not kill them.

Someone wanted 7 cats, 2 for her and 5 for her friend. I told her about the relocation process and I haven’t heard back from her. I also asked if she might be willing to pay the clinic fee of $26 per cat……. Said it wasn’t mandatory – that we were appreciative she’d take the cats.

We’re applying to get some of them admitted to TreeHouse’s foster/adoption progra m. We’re waiting to hear from CatNap who said they’d help. Animal Care League said they didn’t have room.

The 11 kittens we pulled range in age between about 4 – 6 months. They’ve been with us for about 10 days and they already look much better. They’re putting weight on, their coats are getting a shine and their URI’s are clearing up.

Peter, Paul & Zee, three medium and short hair orange tabbies, soft as a cloud, have terrible eye problems. Peter is blind in his right eye due to a herpes infection that probably happened before they all opened their eyes. Peter has an active herpes ulcer that has eaten away his lense. We’re hoping the ointment will stop the infection and just leave him with a blind eye. Paul has inflammation of the cornea that could be due to genetics, infection or a tumor – we’ll find out next week. So far, their first office visit with the ophthalmologist including meds was $300……. They are sweet. Paul is the most friendly and playful. Z is really warming up. After meds tonight, during lovin time, he relaxed enough to stretch out on my his back so I could pet his belly.

Part of this is great – working with the kitties. Unfortunately, it’s such a small part.