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 |   They thank you for caring. "I hold that the more helpless a creature, the more entitled it is to protection by man from the cruelty of man." Mahatma Gandhi | |
See pictures of some of our successes in the [Before & After Gallery]
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Happy Tails
Bea came to me on March 16, 2004, appearing one night at one of my semi-feral colonies as I
fed. She was young and shy, but her hunger overruled any thought she
may have had to exercise caution as she approached the food with great
fervor. She was painfully thin and had an obvious upper respiratory
infection. Bea clearly had been "dumped". She nervously
allowed me to pick her up; and upon closer inspection, I realized she had
a large, terrible skin wound to her belly; actually, there was no skin
there at all. I brought her home and then to my vet the next
day. With love, attention and antibiotics, her wound closed up
nicely and she revealed herself to be a very sweet cat. But there was
another predicament: she was pregnant. After struggling with my
heartstrings and the ethics of it, I finally decided it was best that her
pregnancy be terminated and she be spayed; there are just too many kittens without homes.
Meanwhile, I was also fostering three small kittens that were barely old enough to eat solid food and were struggling on their own. Upon the very moment of Bea's return from her surgery, she assumed those kittens were hers and took to them like a magnet. Well, that was the just the beginning of Bea's career as a surrogate mom, and what a wonderful mom she proved to be. Time after time when Jennifer or I came across orphans (human-made or otherwise), Bea would lovingly take them in, clearly enthralled with nursing and mothering them. It didn't matter whether they were one hour old or three weeks. She loved them all and nursed them to be healthy, well adjusted babies. In total, she saved the lives of 28 kittens and nursed 32. I, and many "cat people" out there, am eternally grateful to her: a "Miracle Mom." As such, I knew she was way overdue to retire as surrogate mom and deserving of the perfect home. It was imperative. By word of mouth and nearly a year after her rescue, Bea was adopted by a wonderful couple in Pupukea, along with one of her "stepchildren" who required medical monitoring. Bea is now bringing joy to her new family as a country cat, loved, and living happily ever after. What a great ending to a story that could have easily ended so sadly. I love you Bea. by Carrie Amendola The Story of Nike  Nike (meaning "Victory") was a 3-month kitten that was recently saved by Cat Friends volunteers. When Nike was rescued near a Kalihi construction site in May 2007, he was badly injured and in great pain. Both of his rear feed and half of his tail had been amputated somehow, perhaps by some construction machinery falling on him. Once rescued, Nike was cared for by volunteers who helped him re-gain his strength and prepare him for surgery. Nike needed the surgery to save what was remaining of his rear legs which were infected. Thanks to the generous donations Cat Friends received from compassionate people at the Pet Expo, we were able to raise enough funds to cover Nike's surgery. A vet tech at the Feather and Fur Clinic (where the surgery was being done) fell in love with our little boy and adopted him into her feline family. She has experience in caring for cats with special needs and he is thriving in his new home. We hope to post pictures of Nike with his new family soon.by Jennifer Kishimori The Story of Scott One Wednesday night, at around 9 PM, I received a call from a woman named Barbara who was referred to us by the Humane Society. It seems that Barbara had seen an adult cat on the roof of McCoy Pavilion at Ala Moana Park. The cat had a fishhook in his mouth with the fishing line hanging out! My husband and I immediately packed up the car with the ladder and attempted the rescue. The poor cat's mouth was shaking as he attempted to eat, and he kept jumping from the roof to a nearby tree and wouldn't get near a trap, or us. By now it was 11:30 at night, and pitch black. The best I could do was cut the 6- or 7-foot fishing line as close to his mouth as possible and plan to return later. I wasn't able to trap for the next two days, but other volunteers attempted the rescue. They encountered the same problem we had. Finally, on Saturday, we were able to coax the cat to the ground and after what felt like hours, lure him into our trap by actually laying on the ground next to the trap and hand feeding him from a spoon. Barbara was kind enough to take him to the emergency room, cover his medical expenses, and care for him until he recovered from his serious injury. She named the cat Scott, after my husband. by Jennifer Kishimori The Story of Muffin On March 15, 2004, I saw a mottled calico kitten sitting in the sunlight in the long grass next to my apartment building. She was all alone, and I took a step towards her. I noticed she had a strange yellowish ooze dripping out of her eyes and nose. The kitten started, tripped, and fell down the small hill, hitting her head on a cinder block at the bottom. I picked her up; she did not struggle. I brought her inside and decided to clean her up so I could figure out what was wrong with her. The poor thing was so weak she barely moved while I washed her off in warm water with some Pantene shampoo. Numerous engorged fleas fell off her, as well as rivers of dirt and mud. She sniffed a bit but didn't make a sound, and allowed me to dry her off. She feel asleep inside the towel. That night I showed my husband. He was shocked. He was terribly allergic to cats and had forbidden me to ever bring a cat inside the house. I assured him it was only temporary until the little kitten got better and we could find a home for her. He grumbled, but agreed. I put the kitten in a carrier to take with me to work, but I kept
taking her out to lie in my lap in a towel while I typed at the computer.
She was constantly sneezing, her eyes and nose running, and I was able to
meet with Jennifer a few days later to get medical assistance for the
kitten's upper respiratory infection and ear mites. The kitten would suckle
at a bottle and eat some wet food, and would even suckle on my fingers
when a bottle wasn't available.
by Carly J. Cais
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