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 - And then there were 10

Sadly, we lost Z Saturday. He left feeling loved and in comfort. In the days prior to his passing he received and responded to a lot of love, it was beautiful. He loved being held, didn't even need to be petted, he just loved laying in someone's arms where he purred and nuzzled. His eyes looked better than he had in days but he just couldn't fight the infection. Its one of the rough parts of rescue, loosing them. We understand it's part of life. THe fact that these cats came out of such a sick home, if we save 1/2 of them, it's better than their previous fate. But it's hard. Neither of the photos picture Z - the red is Paul and the greys (yet unnamed - suggestions?) are 2 of the almost socialized and healthy ones. Gladly, a lot of the kitties are doing really well. They're learning how to play, responding to their meds and a routine is settling in. Playtime in the bathroom that now houses the cat tower - metal frame about 4 ' high, surrounded by netting with hammocks in the middle for extra fun. Some, like Paul, Peter, Emma, Cat # 3, 5, 7 (we haven't named them all yet). Others just sit and watch, like they're back in their cages but more of them are learning how to play all the time. Their coats are much healthier already and hey've all put on weight. Paul has his next visit with the ophthalmologist Dec 18. Where his lense should be is a pale mass encased in vessels. It could be due to a ruptured, necrotic lens being reabsorbed, or a congenital malformation of the lense or, unlikely, an intra ocular tumor. He's on opthalmic prednizone for the inflammation - we're hoping for the best. He's a sweetie. THe friendliest and most playful of the bunch. Depending on the outcome of the visit, he's ready for adoption. We'll post here and on our petfinder account. This picture is a few days old, he looks even better now. His picture is at the top of the page. Some of the kitties are taking longer to recover from their URI infection. 5 out of the 11 are really shy and 3 of them are questionable for socialization............. if they aren't socialized, then what. Emergency volunteer hours are needed to get these cats socialized. Volunteers can come as little as often as abailable, scheduling is a must tho. - no drop in's please. We'll be going to Henry's (sorry can't take it out of 'bold') this week to inventory for age, temperment, description to see if any are able to be socialized and adopted. Still no word on placement. No one has stepped up to volunteer to take any of the feral type house cats. We're having a difficult time thinking about what's going to have to happen if no one comes forward. Decisions and end dates are going to be set soon. Writing to one of the volunteers who's going to accompany me to the house, I spoke of deadline, end date. Never have those words been as appropriate and horrid.