USA Island Cats At Risk
HIYA! SAVANNAH HERE!!
First let me make sure you aren’t confusin’ my buddies over at The Island Cats blog—this is not about Ernie, Wally and Zoey bein’ at any risk whatsoever! Well, except maybe from trying to figure out how to make space during their day for The Lady With The Yellow Hair who is rumored to be getting ready to being around to supervise them ALL DAY LONG very soon. But, that may be just a rumor.
Moving on, the mystery island cat who was a guest selfie on The Kitties Blue Sunday Selfie Blog Hop, is indeed an island cat from the great state of Hawaii, hailing from Kaui.
If I just close my eyes, I can see the palms waving and hear the ocean waves laughing
Mom L once again visited the first USA Cat Cafe—Cat Town Cafe—in Oakland, California when she hosted a little tour for the human from Dash Kitten.
Miss Marjorie is going to have a great visit
Mom L was fortunate to have a good long chat with one of the hostess to Cat Town Cafe, Ms Devon. Mom L asked Ms Devon if she had kitties and of course she did!
Hey Mom Devon!! Look at us!! We are famous!!
She introduced Mom L to the Cat Town program with Kauai Community Cat’s Organization. And that is where she first met Mr Havana Brown cat! You can see him in the lower bunk on the left!
Cat Town Cafe quiet room
There were two other cats in that Quiet Room who also hail from the Island of Kauai. Naturally Mom L had to know why these island cats were in a rescue in Oakland, California!!
The challenges of community cats, aka feral cats, across the USA is not unknown. But in the island stats of Hawaii that challenge is increased. You see, the islands are small, and the community cat population if huge. The sentiment of many residents is directed toward viewing these cats as “an invasive species” and thus falling under their legislation to eradicate them.
There were four cats residing in Cat Town Cafe on the day Mom L was there.
Please, dim the light when you are done admiring me
One of the Kauai cats was actually hanging out in the common room.
*spftt* Take your flashy box away please!
Perhaps some of my readers may not realize how much danger the community cats in the island state of Hawaii face. There has been a recent push in legislation to insure that this population of cats, on all the islands, is eradicated.
Rescues such as Kauai Community Cats are fighting to move as many adoptable adult cats and kittens as they can to partner cat rescues in the mainland USA. And with great pride we learned that Cat Town Cafe in Oakland, Ca is one of those rescues who are willing to accommodate as many of the Kauai cats as they can.
Now listen up humans!! If you are visiting the island of Kauai, you can help them save adoptable cats and kittens simple by agreeing to have a cat/kittens added to you ticket home to Oakland, and other states in the USA. You bear now cost. However Kauai Community Cats bears a great challenge to manage the cost of getting these cat off their island.
- A health certificate – health exam with official paperwork — is about $55.
- Rabies vaccination is about $45. Rabies vaccination is NOT required for California state, but some shelters require it. Rabies vaccination IS required for Washington state for kitties more than 3 months old.
- FVRCP vaccination is about $40. Some shelters require this vaccine, and some don’t.
- Other testing is SNAP testing for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV – feline AIDS)/Feline Leukemia —” is about $35. THIS TEST IS NOT ALWAYS REQUIRED — but Cat Town DOES require this test.
- The cost for ONE carrier on Alaska — either in-cabin or cargo — is $100. That at is $100 PER carrier.
- Up to FIVE cargo carriers can go on one flight, and these can be accompanied by ONE passenger. The TOTAL number of cargo carriers allowed on any one flight is FIVE. There can also be up to FIVE in-cabin carriers. So ONE passenger could theoretically accompany five cargo carriers, each with TWO kittens, and also take ONE in-cabin soft-sided carrier with two kittens. So ONE passenger could potentially accompany 12 kittens. The cost for carriers would there be $600: $100 for the on in-cabin carrier, and 5 X $100 for the five cargo carriers.
- After we find a traveler, we get their six letter confirmation code and call Alaska to make a reservation for the cats with that passenger. The earlier we can do this the better, because other people sometimes book pets either in cargo or in cabin.
Kauai Community Cats stated “This is a list of all potential costs. We have looked at our costs, and come up with the approximate cost of shipping one kitty in one container of $200, or two kittens in one container for $300. NOTE that we save $100 off the top in Alaska Air fees by putting two kittens in one container.”
COST TO MY TRAVELLING READERS: NONE
Simply contact Kauai Community Cats and let them know you are willing to have some kitties fly home with you. They have other locations in the USA, especially in the western USA who participate in this program.
If any of my readers are anticipating a little vacation to the glorious Hawaii islands, please be sure to check in with the island you are visiting to learn if they have a similar program to Kauai.
The Hawaii Island cats are under attack and even the state’s own Department of Land and Natural Resources is less than a “friend” to free roaming community cats.
As if the situation weren’t bad enough already. Under current state law, cats “may be destroyed by any means deemed necessary” by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, if they’re found “on any game management area, public hunting area, or forest reserve or other lands under the jurisdiction of [DLNR].”
I hope you can help by donating a few green papers to helping these beautiful island cats get over to our USA mainland. And if not, then perhaps you might get your humans to schedule an island get-away and purr really hard to convince them to bring back a few cats for a welcoming rescue.
I have included some links to further information about the very dangerous legislation being considered in our island state of Hawaii. Please click on at least one to learn more. The Island Cats in Hawaii are counting on all of use to help save their lives and to get their overpopulation under control.
TARGETED TNR WORKS
Further reading:
Kauai Community Cats
Trip Advisor
Hawaii News Now
Vox Felina Blog
PAW PATS, SAVANNAH
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