Lives we shared—and lost
HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!
You all know that we, meaning me, Mom L and Dad P, are very involved in our 501c3 non-profit we call Delta View Cats, right? We only serve on city of Pittsburg, CA and we are a very small all volunteer group that is passionate about promoting and delivering humane management of our city’s over population of abandoned community cats. Part of our work includes humane management of several small colonies around our city’s marina and waterfront area. Probably about 45 or so cats and sometimes, kittens.
This includes 13+cats we feed every day who live in a long standing colony at our waterfront city park River View Park. This park has long been a favorite dumping area for humans who want to get rid of their cats and kittens. You may remember, that our two foster kittens, Frodo and Arwen and their Mom Eowyn were all dumped at this very park August 26 of this year.
I want to share with you, my furriends and your humans, the side of our TNR work and colony management work that is both so fulfilling and also sometimes filled with sadness and loss.
We have come to know and love and share in the life of Elizabeth. A beautiful part lynx point Siamese girl who has lived at this park since she was abandoned there as a kitten, along with her sister. Her sister was willing to become socialized and lives a happy safe indoor life with a former colony feeder. But Elizabeth chose to live her life with the colony. We have shared her life for probably ten to fourteen years. Only recently she was beginning to allow our feeders to actually pet her beautiful furs.
Early the week of our Thanksgiving, a couple who feed noticed that Elizabeth was suddenly looking extremely poorly. We put out a call to all of our eighteen volunteers to see who was available the weekend following Thanksgiving to watch a drop trap so we could get her medical help. Thankfully, the day after the call went out, the couple who noticed her at first on the Friday, were able to pick her up late on Saturday and get her to an emergency vet hospital.
You can see how unkempt she is and she was very thin. Sadly, the vet found her mouth and throat were full of cancerous sarcomas. We agreed to keep darling Elizabeth from suffering any more and we asked the vet to give her help to start her journey to The Rainbow Bridge. I know many of my readers do not believe in this fantasy, but it helps me and Mom L and Dad P when we have to let go of one of the many abandoned community cats for whom we provide care and love. Elizabeth shared her life with us and we helped escape her earthly body that was in such pain and now wherever her spirit is, she is chasing butterflies and basking in delicious sun puddles, cushioned by soft, fresh green grass.
Please wave at Elizabeth next time you see a floofy cloud pass over that resembles a cat!
Savannah's Paw Tracks 