Juicy, Bittie & Tender need home by 7/2

Juicy Bittie Tender

or they have to go back the the yard..... They are three of the 11 we've trapped and clinic'd. They've lost their caretaker to foreclosure. Right now, we have a temporary feeder bringing food and water but the less cats we put out the better. These three are young and social enough to be further socialized and adopted BUT WE NEED A FOSTER OR FOREVER HOME BY THIS COMING FRIDAY, JULY 7. We have no place them and HAVE to put our focus,, energy and money on working the TNR Program to prevent babies like these from being born in our communities with no where to go and in this case, no home to go to.

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.

CatVando at ACL's 2nd Chance Shop

Ellen Miles will be at Animal Care League's 2nd Chance Shop, 159 S. Oak Park Avenue, Oak Park on Saturday, March 21, noon to 4pm to give overview and answer questions about street cats. What's a feral? What to do if you have street cats? What to do if you're feeding an outside cat. The importance and benefits of TNR (Trap Neuter Return) and street cat care.

Hoover & Kittens

Hoover arrived with her kittens on June 12 & 13th. They were born June 1st. Hoover (cause she's always eaten like one) is about 7 months old. She's a fantastic mom. Gotta love watching those kittens hold their head up for the first time when it bobs like a little bobble head or when they take their first steps and their butt does the bobble bob. Initially they were in a carrier in a big crate. When they started venturing out of the carrier, I replaced it with a big comforter in the crate.

This was one of the more challenging kitten and mama rescues we've done. This lucky cat is blessed with two wonderful feeders and two sleeping places. Because she was fed by humans as a kitten and because she was exposed to her feeders a lot, she's semi-feral. Her feeders can pet her and she walks between her feeder, Maryann, for food. With 2 feeders, when the feeder withheld food for an hour so I could trap, Hoover decided to go to her other feeder and take 2 kittens with her. Can't even begin to explain the details of this- lets just say, it was interesting and I should write a book! It took 23 hours to get the 4th kitten to her and 30 for the 5th, thanks to the hard work and determination of one of her feeders, Joe.

They're all waiting to go to their foster home then to be adopted out through Animal Care League mid August. Hoover, tho she's feeder friendly, will probably go back to her home with her two feeders. She may be able to be domesticated but it would take more than the resources CatVando has. With a cat as lucky as Hoover, she has a home, it's in the streets. There are so many adoptable cats that don't have homes as good as she. So, unless someone falls madly in love with her in the mean time, she'll be going back to the only home she's known. Spayed, to live out her life without kittens.

Our focus is Trap Neuter Return. Sometimes, as with these kittens, we're diverted. With TNR sometimes, cats just don't 'fit' on the street. And, when kittens can be taken this young, they stand a better chance of being adopted because they can be socialized to human touch and love.