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.

Henry's Cats - Working With an Unintentional Hoarder

Not that we ever left. We have been here there and everywhere tho. The last few months, we've been busy doing TNR, kittens, fundraising, TNR, adoptions, kittens, education, conflict resolution, kittens, TNR, supportive care for seniors, a couple of fund raising and networking parties (our Party Like A Feral was a great hit - watch for it net October in honor of National Feral Cat Day) and now, our first hoarder. It's our hoarder that prompts our revisiting this blog - both as an educational exercise and because it's the face of something rarely addressed by those in rescue because it's ugly and difficult. Not many people want to do it. Many times, with no where to go, cats have to be euthanized. Over the course of the next couple of months, we hope to keep you updated about what actually happens when people have too many cats and are too old to care for them. Our hoarder is a lovely 89 year old man. An unintentional hoarder, with about 30 cats. It started when his wife brought in a number of cats she'd been feeding in the driveway. She's been in a facility for people with Alzheimer's for about a year. When they just had six, Henry (name fictionalized) took them into the vet, one by one. There were 5 females and 1 male. He had the male neutered. Apparently, one of the females was pregnant or he picked up the same cat twice because now there are about 30 cats, not including those that died along the way, to be buried or (I suspect) have died in the crawl space between the walls I've seen them enter. Henry knows he can't do this any more. He called his township, who'd just gotten one of our flyers, and they called us. On our initial assessment, we saw about 7 young cats between the ages 4-6 months old. They were friendly, a few to us and all to Henry. As we sat talking at the kitchen table, they surrounded him. He loves his cats. The house wreaked of urine and spray and something deeper. The house was clean and clear of clutter but any small appliances on the kitchen counter were urine rusted. There was no finish on the lower kitchen cabinets caused by the spray and urine. All furniture was shredded. The carpeting held stains from urine and fecal matter, tho none was observed in the body of the house There was some poop in the basement but considering he only had two litter boxes, the off box poop was limited to a few poops here and there. He cleans the boxes several times a day. The odor hits like a brick wall, then subsides but we can only stay about an hour at a time because then it hits the chest. It's amazing Henry's survived. Most of the cats had Upper Respiratory Infections. A couple had something wrong with their eyeballs (more on that later). There was also a mom with 4 kittens about 2 weeks old in a closet. Our next visit, we brought a number of litter boxes and water bowls and meds for the URI's to be added to their canned food. We were hoping to stage their improved health and slow removal at his house while we found foster homes and places for the feral types at his house. Not so. He called that night to say he couldn't do it. We went in the next day and removed 11 kittens ages 4-6 months old. We left the mom and the 3 week old kittens because we couldn't access them, they'd been moved from the closet, and we left the feral types until we can find a solution, one that rarely exists because there is no place for the cats. We're still looking for a solution and getting medical care, foster homes, adoptors while socializing the kittens. No one likes working with hoarders, it makes TNR look like a walk in the park. More tomorrow.............

Donate Part of Your Yard Sale Proceeds!

Last year, Jennifer Wolfe of Wolfe Photography in Forest Park donated part of the proceeds of her garage sale to CatVando. Thanks again, Jennifer! This year, think of us when you're having your garage sale. Or if you just want to make a donation, we could really use it. A growing number of our TNR's depend on funding from CatVando. With the increase in Strays and kittens, we're really stretched. Thanks to Chicagoland Stray Cats for their generous donation of $200. It paid for Katrina and 3 of the 2118 Colony cats last week and will cover another 3 this week. 2118 is an example of what we run into. 2118 is comprised of cats that have been multiplying in a house for years, decades, actually. Grandma had cats and kitties too. Every once in awhile, when there were too many in the house they'd open the door or call Animal Control. When Mom died, Daughter let the cats out, unsterilized. Shortly after the cats were left out, she left. So, the cats have been put out with no food. Numbers are unknown. These cats are in an area where 90% of the cats have been TNR'd. It's an area about 4 blocks long and 2 blocks wide. In 2005-6 about 70 cats were TNR'd. Now there are about 30 in that same area - plus the new ones. I've been feeding since I found out, hoping the cats won't spread and can be TNR'd on the spot. The 3 so far were male. When there, I've seen 2 others, both pregnant. Neighbors said, there are a lot of cats but couldn't give actual numbers. We'll be working to round them up with food and trapping for a couple, three weeks or more, then, they will be one of CatVando's sponsored colonies until we can find someone to sponsor them. We'll keep you posted on numbers. Remember, think of us next time you have a barbecue, birthday party, any time people are gathered! We'd love to provide you with a donation jar all about our mission and work at CatVando. We'd be happy to provide a receipt and would love to post your donation on our Blog! Yes We Can - we can ride through these tough economic times and come out the other end better for it! Let work together to solve today's problems.

Today's New Kitties

These babies are new today. Someone delivered them and their friends, another mom with kittens all black or black and white. They're all skinny and a bit scared but friendly. A little good food, some good supplements, and they'll be ready to roll. Actually, they're ready now. We'd let these babies go with a deposit to assure return for spay or neuter and suggestions for proper nutrition to assure a healthy life. They're not even named yet! Mama needs a home too. Someone had to give up their cats and their kittens. You can tell, aside from food, these cats had a lot of love.

More and better photos of both soon.

The advent of new kitties is stretching our coffers! We need donations to cover the cost of these kitties. They all need not just food and supplements, but, deworming, flea treatment, spay/neuter, vaccinations, microchipping - then there's the extra litter and laundry. Oh my! 12 more mouths to feed!

The New Face of TNR

More Strays, Faster Pregnancies

seems to be the way it's going with our TNR this spring.

So far we've spayed 2 mamas with 5 & 6 week old kitties. Both were pregnant already, while still nursing. That's frightening!

We're trapping more strays this year than in the past. It's one of the delimas of TNR. It's always been our belief that if a cat has a good feeder, someone who has their cats TNR'd and provides food, water and shelter while monitoring the colony for new cats or medical needs, that that cat is pretty lucky. However, when there's a recent release who's sweet, scared, and used to being a pet, the lines get blurred. Not being a shelter, we can't house the cats for any length of time. We have fosters that will do temporary care but with the number of strays we're finding. Shelters are besieged with people giving up their cats and dogs and often can't take another. Many of the areas we cover have been heavily effected by the economy, release of pets is unfortunately, inevitable. If you have a solution to offer, please do.

Out of 5 cats last week, 3 were pregnant, 15 kittens were prevented. One of the mom's, with 6 in her belly was still nursing 2-6 week olds. Two out of 5 cats today were friendly strays.

Margo's Ready for Adoption!

ADOPTED!!!!!

Margo of Elmwood Park is Ready for Her New Home!

Margo is a hoot! She looks like a meanie in this photo but she's far from it. Great personality and loves belly rubs. She can often be found lounging on her back with her belly up, seems to be most comfortable that way. She's a sturdy cat, muscular but rolly polly and really comfy to hold. She use to be all black, with long hair. A while back she developed an almost irridescent silver ring around her lower neck that extended 3/4 of the way down her front legs, her belly went slightly silver and the underside of her tail. Now she seems to be loosing a lot of that coloring, watching her changes is amazing. She looks like a bruser but she's not, she's sweet and loves to be loved.

General Description for all cats up for adoption. All of our kitties were born in the streets or in someones yard. While our mission is TNR (Trap Neuter Return) to prevent kittens, sometimes we get TNA's (Trap Neuter Adopt) before their mamas are spayed. When we get young kitties, we also capture their mom to care for them until their ready to be weaned. Then mama returns to her home in her caretakers yard. Our kittens are all well socialized. They've been exposed to many wonderful volunteers, children and adults alike. Many have also been exposed to dogs and most are comfortable with them. Our kittens are all healthy. We feed a good quality kitten food and supplement to assure a healthy beginning for a longer healthier life. Our adoption fee of $140 covers spayed or neutered, distemper and rabies shots, F/F testing, treatment for parasites and fleas, and a micro chip and may or may not have a slight ear tip (identifying them as a TNA). All our kittens are always welcome back for the duration of their life, and we're always available for questions about their health and wellbeing.

For information on adopting Margo, write catvandotnr@yahoo.com