It has been quite a week, and sadly full of more examples of how horribly human beings can behave. We have seven new foster kitties from two different situations.
Flora and Fauna
On Sunday, July 17, we transferred two sisters here from another foster. The two cats are adults, probably about 2 years old. They were found abandoned in a house with no food or water, and one of them had three kittens. Someone pulled a sofa out and kittens fell out. Eventually they ended up with 9 Lives Rescue, but not without someone threatening to shoot them all first. The kittens seemed to be doing well for a few days with their new foster mom, and were gaining weight, but died the sixth day. No one really knows why – perhaps there were delayed consequences from their earlier treatment.
The adults are called Flora and Fauna. Flora is a light orange tabby, and she was the mom, and Fauna is a brown tabby with tortoise-shell markings: a torbie. They’ve been here six days and I have only had a few quick glimpses of Fauna; I haven’t seen Flora at all. They live in a big “popup” pen that is 7 feet across and octagonal, and 3 feet tall. They have a fleece blanket and hide under that all day. I’m going to do my best to convince these kitties that there are good people in the world, but they’ve had some pretty serious trauma – plus they are grieving from the loss of babies. Having each other is a great thing – they have a tight bond and are probably sisters.
Farm kitties
On Wednesday I went with the director of 9 Lives to visit a farm that asked us for help. Less than 20 minutes north of Madison, it is a tempting distance for humans who want to dump cats they don’t want and can’t be bothered to surrender humanely. As an example, the owner watched as someone drove by and just threw their cat out the window of the moving car.
With some of the cats pregnant and also an active tomcat across the highway – who loves to visit – the farm ended up with more cats than they could afford to feed. Cat populations get out of hand so fast! So they reached out to 9 Lives for help.
The fact is, 9 Lives Rescue is not taking new cats in, because all the foster families already have more cats than they are comfortable with. I agreed to take some, because I had openings, but the farm has many more cats that need new homes. We’re going to try to help, but, like most of the rescues in the area, we’re overburdened already.
On Wednesday we brought home a young mama cat, her three kittens, and also her sister – who is pregnant. I think that will make me officially over-extended with foster kitties, and yet there are so many more!
None of these kitties will be ready for adoption soon – but I invite you to follow along if you’re interested in watching their progress. I’ll be posting more photos soon!
Please surrender your cats humanely! Please spay and neuter your cats!