Henry's Cats - Zeus

Zeus -photo added later, is a cool cat. He's a bigger cat, a grey short haired tabby. He is so affectionate, Kally was rubbing his belly as he rolled over in his trap, welcoming his hand. She said when she's petting a cat 3 traps down, he's already startig to purr. Zeus is going to Mike's. One of CatVando's volunteers. His cat recently died. Sweetie, a 2 year old we'd recently gotten went home with Mike last weekend. She's a great companion and appropriately named. She loves affection. She came from the yard of a feeder, Paula, who couldn't take her in - Paula's cat attacked her each of the 5 times she tried bringing her in. We think Zeus will make her a good companion for when Mike's gone and Mike and Sweetie will provide Zeus a nice life. Zeus has an ear infection. He needs medication for the next two weeks. If he's friendly and outgoing enough to be loose in an apartment, he'll be going to Mike's early this week where he can be given his meds

Henry's Cats - Transport & Clinic Pick Up

Here are a few of the little Greek Gods and Goddesses. After we dropped the 7 off at clinic, we picked up the other three and took them to TAILS at DeKalb. What a great Shelter with wonderful staff. We met Adrianne, who did intake and held them for Janet to pick up later. They all got some water and food for the wait. We had lunch and headed back in time to pick up the cats at Treehouse. Treehouse is a wonderful place. Their staff, policies and the way they treat their animals is akin to our work. Each cat is not only vaccinated, steralized, treated for parasites, mites and fleas, they're given an exam. We received the reports on our 7 Gods and Goddesses. All but two suffered the effects of stress with alopecia, hair loss. They had patches of very thin hair. Two had periodontal disease. One, Ilsa, Henry's pet cat that he wants back, needs all her teeth extracted. Another needs 4 extractions. The vet, Dr. Rebecca Levy, was able to pull a tooth out with her fingers it was so loose. Many had bite wounds at their back ends. We took 5 cats back to Kallie's and 2 to Ellen's to be transported to Sue's the next morning. We gave them food, water and made them as comfortable as possible in the traps. Fenini called to say she had a place for 3 cats. Fenini and a neighbor have been long term animal people, usually working with dogs, but the neighbor has agreed to take 3 of the cats. We need money to help pay for dental work. Henry doesn't have it for Ilsa and we don't have it for the other one. Over the last 24 hours, 3 cats have had a URI outbreak. Meds are needed. URI is based on a virus that is always there, it resurfaces when stressed. being in traps and out of their element is a stresser. The virus is present in the house and in every cat. They're weakened to it until their immune system is built. Money is also needed for immune boosters in additon to food. We've called our vet and will be finding out about cost of dental work on Monday when our account manager comes in. We love our vet. Without our Vet, we wouldn't be able to care for as many cats as we do If you can spare $10 or $100 - we could use it - everything helps. - THANKS

Henry's Cats - Five to go ????

Thursday morning started at 6am. I was up late talking to Meg, a long time trapper who's experience and intuition I trust. I'd called her when I got home to see if there was any thing else I could have done to get mom. She concurred, we tried everything we could. I was tired but got up quickly, knowing we still didn't have homes for 5 of the 10 cats we'd trapped. Still hoping for a miracle, otherwise we wouldn't have scheduled them for their surgeries, but thinking I'd have to make a decision within a couple of hours. Which cats were going to be killed. Kallie named the cats. It was hard for her. Naming anything brings attachment. She knew 5 of them didn't have any place to go. When I dropped her off, her job was to write the trap labels with names and descriptions - a necessary part of clinic. She named them all after greek gods and goddesses. I picked Kallie and the 2 cats up and we drove to the apartment. It was dark both inside and out. It was time. A decision had to be made. It was mine to make. I wouldn't put that on anyone. I couldn't believe I was having to make that decision. I'm not cut out for this. I know someone has to do it and that our presence with these cats made a good difference in many of their lives but overall - I'll never work a house with multiple cats again. I rarely say never because you just never know but in this case, I know. I respect and deeply appreciate those that do it. Because of the work involved, not the trapping, that's nothing. It's the emotional toll, the outreach to find homes, the expense trying to help medically and the moneys that need to be donated to places that take them but mostly because some of the cats are so sick that there isn't enough money to pay to help them get well or just plain because there is no place for them and they have to be put to death. All cats cannot be saved. No Kill is a myth. No Kill shelters get full, easily. Many are like sanctuaries that adopt. They can't take in any more cats than they have room for so there is no such thing as No Kill. I'm not justifying my actions. The decision I was going to have to make. What I would like to do is make you understand, the you that will condem us forever because we 'killed cats'....... You take them. You do something other than cast stones. Understand. Understand that as horrible as it is, it's a decision that has to be made and don't condom those people who are willing to make that decision..... In the case of hoarders, we had it easy in that Henry's.. It stunk but we didn't have to walk in feces. Think of the houses you hear about that have carpets of fecal matter to walk through in addition to the smell. People who help the cats of hoarders are special. So, there we were, standing over the 10 traps. It was time. Our hearts were in our throats, tears were close, sometimes filling over. The cats were quiet. We'd left them a small amount of food that they hadn't touched. We picked the 3 cats going to TAILS by the amount of gook in their eyes or if they sneezed. Tails volunteered to take the sick ones. It was time. I picked one. Kallie named the cat Kalliopi, her name. She was in the other room. I called to her that I was renaming Kalliopi. She was the first one I picked. She was beautiful - a long haired silver grey tabby like Lynx and Sister Mary Francesca but she was the most skiddish when being trapped and seemingly unlikely for socialization. I picked 2 more, not as sure about their decision. The phone rang. Fenini, who I'd re-called the previous day, called. It was 8am - it was a miracle. Who calls someone they hardly know at 8am? It was a miracle. She thought she could find a home for the 5 cats. She talked about more, about a newspaper reporter doing an article on ferals in their neighborhood, and more but I was only half listening - WE DIDN'T HAVE TO KILL THE CATS! Oh my God. Kallie and I hugged and cried. We attached their labels, removed the food and water bowls and loaded Sue's car - thank you for lending us your vehicle Sue - and we were off to Treehouse. We were about 1/2 hour late but we were there and all the cats were coming back with us. You can imagine our joy.

Henry's Cats - 2nd Trapping

On Wednesday, Jan 13, at 1pm, Kallie & I met at Henry's to trap 10 cats. Kallie got there first and found out the news of the new kittens, born Sunday. There were 2 out of 4 left. One or more cats killed the first two. Henry said they were pretty bloody. The other two, tiny little things, look like they're going to be long hair grey tabbies. They were in the corner in a Friskies 48 cans box in the corner. They have rudolph noses, mouths and butts - could be sick. We set up the traps and got 8 cats within about 20 minutes. One of the traps got triggered with no cats and the other we were saving for the new mom. We'd put the kitties into a carrier with the trap in front of it with a sheet over the trap and carrier - the idea being that mom would only be able to get to the kittens by going through and into the trap. 8 hours later, we still hadn't gotten mom. We weren't sure which cat was the mom. We tried to identify her. We tried many things during the hours we were there. We left the trap in front of the carrier for a couple of hours then were concerned that the babies weren't getting nurished so we took it away. Several times during the day, Kallie and I sat in the car in the driveway while waiting for things to normalize hoping to catch mom. At one point, Henry was sitting next to the trap and when mom entered, he was to close the door. He did. Unfortunately, he didn't close it properly and mom burst through the door. Cats can be pretty strong when they're panic stricken. We tried putting a long rope through carrier tied to the door while we waited for her to enter so we could pull the door closed and run to fasten the lock... Didn't work either. We found a place for mom and the kittens. Safe Harbor agreed to take them. Best with mom but even without. They are great with bottle babies. We had to get them there by 6pm and they were about an hour away. We were still trying for mom. The delima was, leaving the kittens in a house where they were being killed. Henry's house can be divided. At one point, we thought we had all the cats but the one we suspected being mom in the living area with the rest being locked in the basement. Henry lives in a tri level with a finished basement. We had a trap set for mom near the kittens. Kallie and I went to the car. When we came back in Henry said, 'There are about 3 cats running around up here!' We ended up using the two unfilled traps to catch two more cats for TNR at Treehouse the next day. We were pretty sure the mom was one of the two young grey tabbies. We checked the cats in the traps from the bottom and couldn't see any swollen milk glands. At some point in the afternoon, we took the 8 cats we had in traps to an empty apartment Kallie's mom owns near Fullerton & Laramie. It's closer to Treehouse near North Ave & Ashland and more convient for the morning. We had to be there by 8:30 am Thursday. At one point, we put canned food in the basement at a point where we could see the feeding cats through a window. We saw cats we hadn't seen but knew there were more hiding. There are 2 cats that Henry's described, a white one with black spots and a brown one. One of the cats looked like it had bald or light spots but it didn't look like ringworm. We left Henry's at about 8:45pm with the remaining 2 traps now with cats. Kallie agreed to keep them in the basement for the night so we didn't have to drive all the way in the city. I got home about 10:30pm. We found homes for 5 of the 10 cats we had in traps. Jane, a TNRer in DeKalb was going to take 3 of the sick cats, one's with URI's to access for sociability. Adrianne and Jenny at Tails made the arrangements. When the cats are socialized, they will adopt them out. That's if they're socializable. If not, they'll go the way of many cats too scared to socialize. They'll be killed but they will at least have a chance. We have 5 cats with no place to go. WE NEED HOMES FOR 5 CATS. Plus at least 8 cats left at Henry's. Cats are great companions, even those that can't be held and touched. We're hoping they'll go in 2's and 3's. They are family and the transition will be hard on them. They are stressed and have had lives abnormal to a cats natural surroundings. Separating them even further would be cruel too. They need each other. Please email us at catvandotnr@yahoo.com. DONATIONS ARE ALSO NEEDED to cover the cost of surgeries, vet care and meds, supplements and essences and food. THANK YOU TO THOSE OF YOU GENEROUS ENOUGH TO SHARE YOUR MONEY TO HELP THESE CATS AND KITTENS.

Henry's Cats The New Year

This post was typed on January 8th. Writing about this is harder every day. We've found no place for Henry's cats. Janet, Kallie & I have called numerous places in Cook and other Counties. We got a couple of bites, Tails in DeKalb offered to take the sick ones if they could handle them enough to test.... we don't know that they are. Some of the sick and healthy ones aren't touchable. House ferals. Six MIGHT be handlable, they came within about 10-20" of me when I was spoon feeding them canned food on the floor. But, we don't know how touchable they truely are. If we don't find places for them by Thursday, instead of being having their surgeries and shots, they will be killed. I know you're gasping as you should with such horrible news. That's what we've been doing since we took this on. It's a deep grasp; one that grips the heart and gut and stays there. It's been growing and tightening since this whole thing began. Knowing that we have the responsibility for cats no one wants and we have no place for. Shelters, fosters and individuals are full of cats no one wants or can have. Cats that are shy or may only be residents vs interactive members of the family, are even harder to find homes for. If you want to help and save some cats from being killed. Allow one or two of them your home or get a friend to share their home. That's the only thing that will save them from being killed because there's no place for them. BE SMART. Don't become a hoarder yourself. One of the issues involved in rescue is the tenancy to help when you see need and when it comes to animals, many people that start out helping, end up hoarding. They are sensitive to the needs of animals needing home or medical attention and it's hard to see animals killed or go uncared for. Hoarding isn't good for anyone, the caregiver, who's unable to care for them or themselves properly, and the animals. Overcrowding isn't natural to animals and they're stressed by it. This is incredibly difficult. It's weighed on all our minds, Kallie, Janet, Zarema, Sue and others who are involved in the project. Henry needs the cats gone. He's keeping 3-5 cats but the rest need homes. Knowing that the only thing I can do is kill them is killing us. It hangs over our heads and hearts. So many cats with no where to go. None of the people and shelters we've called have been able to provide homes, temporary or permanent. So far, Sue has agreed to foster and access two of them. She'll be moving soon so this home is only temporary. Last week Kallie and I went in for another assessment. We were suppose to be trapping but due to a scheduling snafu, we did another assessment. Henry'd gotten a new phone. The cats ate through the wires. He asked when the cats would be going. He's tired and he has no life. He cleans litter pans several times a day. He spends money he doesn't have on food. He pays $240 a day to keep his wife in the home. He still has hopes she's coming home. Maybe she can and they can both have a caregiver but not the way the house is now. Too many cats in the house. The remaining kitties we took from the house last month, Peter, Paul and Sister Mary Francesca, Isabelle and Lynx are all doing great. Their coats are thickening, they are playing like happy kitties should and they're getting more affectionate every day. Well, except for Sister Mary Franchesca. She's going to join Lynx (and Tigger from the VA) at Megan and A's wonderful fosters of the best kind. They love, cuddle and help them get ready for their new families and they let them go when they're ready. Many of our fosters fall in love with the kitties and wonderfully, the kitties have a good home but yuck, we loose a good foster home! Lynx, a sibling or cousin of Sister Mary, is now wonderfully friendly and very relaxed. He's ready for adoption and will be on http://petfinder.com soon as will Paul, Peter and Isabelle. Paul's eye continues to change, for the better, we hope. He's going to Visionary Vet on Friday, 1/15. . He's sweet as the dickins, playful and getting to be quite handsome. Peter is continuing to run but can be held for longer periods without squirming or wanting to bolt and he sure does like to play. Sister Mary is beautiful but still very shy. She'll play but forget any pets or hugs. Isabelle's recovery was miraculous. She went from a severe URI to cool (which is what happened to the others before they died) to recovery and lots of play and lovin'. We give them all good food and plenty of immune building supplements in addition to a flower essence blend for stress, changes and to release trauma, old and new. TO THOSE OF YOU THAT HAVE SENT DONATIONS - THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. WITHOUT YOUR HELP, WE COULDN'T DO WHAT WE'RE DOING.

Henry's Cats GIVE A CAT A HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS!

First, the good news. Paul's eye is much improved. Looks like it probably isn't a tumor and the inflammation is decreasing. His lense is being reabsorbed without too much difficulty. His medication has decreased to once a day. He's playful, friendly and very curious. He doesn't like doors of any kind, on a crate or in the bathroom. He purrs up a storm and loves to be cuddled and played with. The rest of the story is the reason why I've skipped 3 days of writing. Too much. We've lost kitties. We have 5 kitties left, 4 here, one at foster (one died at foster too). One of the ones we have, Isabelle, has been battling her URI and is getting intensive care. She gets her oral and nasal antibiotics, she's tented in a cage and vaporized 3 x a day. Today, she's finally getting better. We added colostrum that we add to water and syringe feed. She's gotten about 2 oz today and it's made a great difference. She'd quit eating so it serves as nutrition and an immune boost. Peter is a bit punk, not gaining much weight and still shy. Another, a long haired grey tabby we've yet to name, is going strong, playing and eating, gaining weight, but still shy. 2 died during the night on Tuesday, one at the vet on Wednesday, and 2 died yesterday. Three had similar symptoms, 2 had different symptoms, even than each other. We're still unsure what killed them but believe it was a combination of things, their URI's, depleted immune systems and for some, possible panlucopenia. The last one, yesterday, was fine at 9am, and gone by 5pm - no vomit, no diarrhea fine in the am, then gone by 5pm. One of the symptoms shared by 4 of the ones that died is that their body temperature cools. Once a cats body temp goes cool, there's not much that can be done. As hard as this is to hear, imagine how hard it is to experience. The cat we had tested at the vet had no nutriphils, one of the bacteria fighting cells. We returned to Henry's Friday. We took the 4- 6 week old kitties - sorry we didn't get pictures, they were adorable. Long hair fuzzy kitties, 3 female, 1 male, pretty wild but because they're young, they should socialize fairly easy. They went from Henry's to Elmhurst Animal Care (EAC) for their vaccines, Frontline, and one got a Feline Leukemia test. Our Outreach Director, Janet P, found a home for them at CatNap, where they went from EAC this morning. We learned that another litter had been born about Thanksgiving. Out of 3, one tiny 2 week old remained. Her mouth and nose were red, she was missing a toe, she had scratches and small wounds all over, in addition to being overrun with fleas. The vet said she still had a lot of spunk so our wonderful volunteer and now foster mom, Kallie took her and her supplies home to feed, express and lovingly care for. Little one has 3 people caring for her (we think) round the clock. She's had a rough life. Henry rescued her from the house cats when they were throwing her around between them. He put it in the carrier before we got there. One of her siblings had no legs. Henry didn't know if it was a birth defect or if the cats ate the legs. I don't know if it's true but I've heard sometimes the dad kills kittens to encourage cats to have more little ones. I also wonder if, when living in crowded situations, they might kill the young, more volnerable ones. We're going to trap the remaining cats. Five will be returned to Henry after their surgeries, vaccines, and wellness checks and/or meds. The fate of the others is still unknown. With so many variables, healthy, sick, low funds, no place for them to go, there are decisions to be made. Each cat has to be trapped, evaluated and vetted. We are going to try to save as many as we can. We have more leeway with the project. Now that so many are out and we're helping, Henry is feeling less anxious. As hard as this has been, the next phase I think, will be harder. As I've said before, Henry is not a bad man. When his wife first started bringing cats into the house, he was getting them sterilized - the whole thing just got to be too much for him. A wife with Alzheimer's and a son with rage issues strong enough for institutionalization. He wants what's best for the cats he loves and cares for, he just needs his life back - at 89, the sooner, the better. If you'd like to be part of the team to help the house cats, please contact us by email or comment. We need all the help we can get. Of course, we always need more money, foster homes, adopters, sponsors too. If you have a couple of house cats, why not one more? We'll help with incorporating with your current babies and wouldn't adopt out sick cats to homes with healthy cats. Give a cat a home for the holidays sorry, blog won't let me post photos!

Henry's Cats - To foster

These babies are going to foster tomorrow! Meghan and Al are wonderful kitty people. Won't be long and they'll be ready for adoption. They are 2 of the friendlier of the bunch - still scared but not as much some of the others. We still have plenty available for foster. We provide all necessary food and crates, etc. WE NEED MORE FOSTER HOMES - PLEASSSSSSSSSSSSSE I spoke to Henry today. He's in the midst of a huge change of life. Two weeks before we met, he'd gotten into a car accident. His fault. His foot slipped off the pedal. He and another driver went to the hospital. He's since gone to court and lost his license. Today, he took his bicycle to get groceries. It was mild - tomorrow it won't be. So, we deal with the cats and leave him to be? I don't think so. I'm calling the Health Commissioner of his municipality, the woman who originally called us, to see if they have some sort of senior services that assist in their area. Back to the cats. All the house kitties are about the same. Still either friendly or shy, sickish or getting healthier. Mike, one of our new volunteers involved in this project found out about Z today. Not an easy thing to tell a new volunteer who, the last time he saw Z held him in his arms while he purred and nuzzled. He, Mike, has been wonderful with the kitties and is greatly responsible for a lot of their care. We're still giving doxycycline for their URI's. Most are relatively easy to medicate. 3 are difficult and 2 we can only give in food. One of them quit eating canned and we're having to feed in a pureed chicken and Prowl (see http://siriuscooks.com for info) mixture. (We have it for one of our other kitties - Binka, who has an enlarged heart and liver and digestive problems so is on a special diet - a cutie who we're hoping will grow into her enlarged organs). We're investigating a mushroom mixture to help boost their immune systems and combat the viral issues. ............We're due to see Henry on Thursday. He said there are 4 (not 3) little ones, born Nov 5, that are now running around. It's too early to take them from mom but we're hoping to evaluate their medical condition and possibly take mom and the babies for a couple weeks, then return mom. She's one of 3 we're planning to leave there. I say hoping because they hide behind a pile (the only inaccessible place in the house but for between the walls) and we're hoping they come out.... maybe we can lure them with oily tuna. Not looking forward to Thursday, the stench, the situation. The inventory. Still no place for the cats in the house. 16 cats need a home and that doesn't include the 10 kittens we have. Thank those of you who have donated money towards this project. It really helps and we most certainly appreciate it - in these tough economic times, donations are even more appreciated. We haven't even come close to covering cost so any money sent this way is welcome.