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About Our Kitties
The cats and kittens have come from all over the panhandle of Florida. A lot of them were found abandoned as kittens and were bottle feed. The Humane Society used to send me kittens, one in particular, Katie, was found in an abandoned warehouse. Her eyes were infected and she was blind. I bottle fed her and we treated her eyes for 9 months to no avail. They were causing her a great deal of pain and we finally had to remove them. She is now 8 years old and doing well. She loves to hear her name and will come just like a dog when you call her. She is a very sweet, talkative and lovable short haired brown tabby cat.
I also got Thomas from the Human Society, he was found with his right hind foot and his left ear cut off. He had pneumonia when they sent him to me. He was nurtured and nursed back to health and later had to have the rest of his leg amputated due to infection from using the stub as a foot. He is now 9 years old and has kidney stones, he needs intermitten antibotics as the stones hold in bacteria and cause him to go into kidney failure if left unchecked. He had always kept his body lean and toned. He was a fast runner, climber and definitely took care of himself. Very independent and talkative cat. He kept me in awe. He is a light grey short haired tabby. Right now his weight is way down. He is getting very spoiled to people food though he really needs to eat Hill's K/D all the time. Update on Thomas, he passed away April 13,2004 at 3 am in my arms at home. He is missed a great deal.
Then there is Fancy. I got Fancy from work. She was brought in when she was 8 weeks old and her head had been crushed under a rocker/recliner. She had severe brain damage. The owners could not afford the care she needed and signed her over to me. I took her home and nursed her, fed her and kept her quiet and slowly she showed signs of improvement. Today, she is quite healthy but she never fully recovered her sight. She gets along very well with the other cats. They seem to sense that she is special and do not pick on her. She plays and runs (sometimes into things or someone), she talks to you and can be affectionate. She is a beautiful plaid calico with silver streaks. She is almost 2 years old now. That is a few of our successes. There are those that we lost and who will forever be in our hearts.
Our Need List
I feed only Science Diet Sensitive Stomach to the tune of 160 pounds per month. Sensitive stomach is fed due to the exposure to FIP (Feline Infectious Peritonitis). This illness affects the digestive track and causes severe diarrhea to the point that there is no absorption of any food whatsoever and the cat will die of starvation if not stopped. No one knows what causes the cats body to react to a corona virus to make it mutate into FIP. I feed easily to digest food and lower in fat food to prevent diarrhea from starting. I have also been successful in stopping the virulent diarrhea in several kittens and so far they aren't showing any more signs of the FIP, they are almost 2 years old now. The next stage after the diarrhea are legions being formed on major organs and then organ failure and death. The only true diagnose of this illness is from biopsy after death. I have had 6 confirmed deaths. My successes came after that. Sick kitties usually require special diets to included fresh boiled chicken breast or lightly cooked steak, tuna, salmon, whatever it takes to get them eating. Cat litter, I have never even estimated the amount in which I use. I think the best litter on the market is the crystals. Unfortunately, I can't afford them. So to try and keep my people happy I have been using a combination of the pine litter and special kitty litter from Wal Mart. The pine works well except that I am allergic to pine. Thankfully, Allegra helps in that department. If I had a choice it would be hands down ... the crystals.
There always seems to be someone who needs medical care, to be neutered, dental care, medicine, flea control, heartworm preventative and the list seems endless especially when I am trying to budget and get the priorities done.
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Want AND Need List
Supplies to fully enclose the Privacy Fenced area called the Cat Yard. Air conditioning, heat, insulation for the cat houses. As well as the supplies to build them. And of course the realization of our dream ... property and a large shelter built. With the right shelter more cats/kittens can be taken in and adopted out. The feral cat colonies that are being trapped and killed in Florida could have a place to go where they'd be safe and cared for. With what we have now, that just is not possible. The kitties already exposed can not expose other kitties, nor be adopted out for fear that they will become ill due to the stress of a new home. Keeping all these kitties inside my house isn't good for the people or the kitties. Some will always have to be inside. There is no getting around that. They require more care. With a shelter, we can take in more, save more, find homes for them, educate the public about proper pet care, teach them where the feral cats come from and why, the kitties would have the opportunity to have space that is just theirs which is especially needed for those kitties that really do not care for the company of any other kitty. The sick kitties would have a special place of their own so that they may get better and not expose the other kitties. The kitties that owners no longer want due to illness would have a place to go where they would be cared for and loved unconditionally. That is what this is all about ... the unconditional love of cats. Please do what you can to help me make this happen for the cats. They need you as much if not more than they need me because I alone can only do so much, but together we can save thousands. We may not be able to save them all ... but at least we can try to save those that we can.=^..^=
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We are always in need of cat litter, blankets, towels, toys, cleaning supplies and building supplies. Any help you can give is VERY GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!! =^..^=
