Savannah's Paw Tracks

Will You Help?

HIYA!!!   SAVANNAH HERE!!!

I let you know on my Friday Memes last week that Mom L and Dad P and I were gonna be letting you know how our foster kittens Katie and Lilly are doing with their health challenges. I also hinted that we would be asking for some help to be able to keep doing what we do for community cats and all of my Paw It Forward work.

Back in July this year I hinted that I was going to be writing a blog post about “cat hoarding” from the perspective of whether or not it is “hoarding” versus “being overwhelmed”. As you know if you follow my blog, I never got around to writing that blog series. Yes, series. It will take more than one blog post to present what Mom L and I have learned since late June of this year about this topic. And we continue to learn more even now.

I also posted on #RememberMeThursday about our foster kittens Katie and Lilly. Now I have more to share and Mom L and I hope you will take the time to read this post and look at the photos we are sharing for the first time about where Mom L found foster Katie.

Before I start my story, take at look at this photo of Katie at about the same age as Lilly is now (about five months old).

Sure isn’t tough to tell they are closely related, is it??

Of course we are now almost six month later and Katie is starting to look more like a young adult girl cats. Lovely, don’t ya think?

Now let me tell you right up front that I am asking my readers to help me SHARE a Go Fund Me appeal that Mom L and I started with the expert help of our pals from Dash Kitten. Miss Marjorie and my AdventurCat pal Silver were instrumental in urging Mom L to set up this appeal.

The story on Go Fund Me is about the challenge to bring Katie and Lilly back to health so they could be adopted. The story I am sharing with you all, my closest pals, is how we got here in the first place.

A call to Mom L to help a nearby apartment manager find homes for five or six left behind adult cats when residents moved on. Friendly young adults, no problem. Mom L goes and learns that not only are there more than five or six “friendly” cats just waiting to be plucked up and dropped into a carrier, but that there are kittens involved as well.

As Mom L and Dad P completed their initial cat rescue at this apartment site in late July, they had a count of THIRTY cats, kittens, both alive and dead, that they personally helped. Katie was one of the inside females, not spayed, that the apartment resident “forgot” to mention she had. It started with “I have four females not spayed” to “I have four females not spayed and six kittens”. (PLEASE HOVER OVER PHOTOS FOR STORY TELLING CAPTIONS)

Outdoor males and females

Outdoor male and female

That turned into one spayed senior female, one not spayed not pregnant or lactating female, three females with kittens inside the apartment and Katie who at five months had only recently stopped lactating. Yes, Katie had kittens before she was six months old and all were dead within a week. Mom L found eight dead kittens in the closet area while searching for live kittens.

See ill kitten in closet?

Five tabbies who made it

Two who did not make it

In the above photos you can see this sweet little tuxie girl who was dying. The resident told Mom L that “such things happen when they are so young”. Mom L was stunned and quickly found a rescue who helped her get that kitten to a vet. Thankfully the vet’s office manage stepped up to take the little girl home and care for her. We don’t know if she made it.

Katie was born in this apartment.

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She never left until Mom L and Miss Stacey caught her with a towel so they could get her spayed. When Dad P and Mom L tried to return Katie to the outside by the apartment, Katie refused to leave the carrier. That’s when Dad P stepped up and said “she’s coming home with us”. Mom L learned from the resident that Katie had actually NEVER been outside and had no idea what to do. Katie’s first six month of life were spent in a dark, toxic environment with only one litter box between so many cats and kittens. She had kittens so young she didn’t know how to care for them and so they died.

Don’t make me go outside!! (Katie)

Lilly was one of a litter of five, the last litter born to this apartment resident’s hoard. Mom L couldn’t trap Lilly’s mom before she gave birth to her five kittens. But, Mom L and Miss Stacey found the kittens about ten days after birth. They then caught the mom cat who is probably Katie’s sister, and the mom cat and her kittens were fostered by Miss Stacey. Lilly was fortunate that she has only known kind and loving care from a human, unlike Katie.

Lilly is the kitten on the far right of photo

Because there was so much inbreeding going on in this apartment hoarding tragedy, most of the kittens and young adults suffer from immune system challenges.

This is where my appeal to my readers comes in. Katie and Lilly have suffered so many health challenges over the five months with Katie and four months with Lilly living with us. Mom L, Dad P and I have focused on keeping Lilly alive and helping Katie recover from health and emotional challenges from June until late November. Katie has a permanent disability limp, possibly from birth defect or early kitten injury. Thankfully this disability doesn’t stop sweet Katie from jumping and playing and running around.

After many trips to emergency and costly vet diagnostics, we believe the kittens are now ready for adoption. And we are asking that they go as a bonded pair. Katie and Lilly are so closely bonded that when one cries the other gets agitated.

What do you think? Are our foster girls ready for their own special permanent home?

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There you have it my friends and followers and readers everywhere. I am not appealing to you to donate to my Go Fund Me appeal. I am asking that you PLEASE SHARE SHARE SHARE this blog post on all your social media platforms to help me replenish our green papers so we can keep on Pawing It Forward.

My Go Fund Me site has all the medical costs and more details about the battle for health with each kitten.

Thanks to all who are willing to SHARE this blog post across all avenues of social media.

My pal Brian, from Brian’s Home, asked his Dad Terry to make an awesome graphic to use as the symbol for our fundraiser appeal. Please feel free to grab it from this post and use it yourself!! Isn’t Brian the bestest??!!!

This badge is smaller version. The one below is the larger.

You can find our fundraiser here or by clicking badge below.

PAW PATS, SAVANNAH