Saturday, January 9, 2010

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.

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