What started as a scheduled surrender of four cats quickly became eleven, then fourteen, but eventually 19 cats arrived at the shelter.
The owners no longer wanted any of their cats; what they didn’t realize was how many litters had been born in their home this summer until they began gathering them all. Even though we weren’t planning on those additional litters, our amazing team of staff and volunteers quickly sprang into action.
Upon arrival the cats were covered in feces and urine from head to toe, some with severe medical complications. As the stench of these poor kittens filled the shelter, our team formed an assembly line starting with a warm bath, then vaccines, followed by all necessary medical care. All 19 mouths were fed and sleeping in their warm beds by the end of the day...but then we had to address the more complex medical cases.
‘Scout’, one of the smallest kittens in a litter, had scalds to her tiny paw pads from sitting in urine for too long. ‘Wander’, a mother of one of the litters, has a severe heart murmur. ‘Ranger’, an adult cat, had an abscess on his rear leg from a possible bite wound which had to be drained. Our youngest litters were divided and placed into two foster families who were willing to open their doors to the cats in need. Sadly, weeks later one of the smallest from a litter, ‘Skipper’, passed away after battling worm infestations she was treated for multiple times.
Presently, the cats and kittens who survived are now all in stable condition. Some are currently available for adoption! The COVID-19 pandemic has made it so adoptions are only able to occur by appointment, but this hasn’t stopped us from continuing our mission to find homeless pets forever homes. We have adapted to our current COVID struggles, maintaining safe health protocols for staff and potential adopters. Our community has not shied away from adopting during this difficult time, with a total of 236 feline adoptions this year already! Together, we increased our lifesaving impact, reaching a 97% live release rate and we could not be more grateful for your support!
