It Takes A Village…
HIYA!! SAVANNAH HERE!!!
That old human adage—”it takes a village” is true for what it takes to rescue an abandoned community cat in danger. Mom L and Dad P are co-founders of a nonprofit TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) all volunteer group, Delta View Cats (DVC) dedicated to helping these cats in our city of Pittsburg, CA.
Of course, this is one of my most ambitious Paw It Forward project ever!!They are carrying it out under my paw tracks guidance. This story was first written by one of our DVC volunteers who pawticipated in this rescue story. Mr. Chris and Mr. Mauro were present the night Stormy was finally saved and Mr. Chris wrote this about it.
“Shivering, hungry, and covered in fallen leaves
On Saturday, July 31, during their routine, daily, community cat colony feeding at Riverview Park, a couple of volunteers with Delta View Cats (deltaviewcats.com), a nonprofit trap-neuter-release organization in Pittsburg, heard a loud yowl and went to investigate. They found an adult, black kitty in one of the park’s storm drains.
We suspect Stormy was abandoned in the park, an all-too-common practice. We found a cat carrier in bad shape near the storm drain.
It would make sense that this frightened feline, an apparent domestic cat, dumped through no fault of his own, would retreat anywhere to safety from park traffic.
(this video is not professional but if you turn up the volume you can hear Stormy’s cries of fear and his hope for help)
Volunteers to the rescue
On Sunday, after several unsuccessful attempts to coax Stormy out of the drain, one of our tireless Delta View Cats volunteers reached down into the drain with heavy-duty gloves. Ray began petting stormy and offering him smelly tuna. After several tense moments, with a confident scruffing, Ray lifted Stormy into a cat carrier held by another volunteer. Collective sigh of relief!
Chalk it up to timing & good fortune. The quiet of the near-midnight hour. 4 people putting their heads and hearts together. And a little black kitty magic.
He rested on our balcony covered with a blanket, heated by a safe space heater and he had a midnight snack of water and a little bit of tuna. He appeared to not be feral; he gave slow blinks and didn’t hiss or strike when I went to put water in the carrier. His eyes are so soulful.”
After the rescue, our DVC volunteer Mr. Ray, had a storage building already set up to house community cats on their way to being adopted. It is managed by another cat rescue, Kitty911. Stormy waited for a neuter appointment and we knew his adoption would be overseen by our partner, Community Concern for Cats.
Delta View Cats is making neuter surgery plans now and fortunately, another DVC volunteer who feeds the colony we manage at this park, Miss Shashi, fell in love with Stormy and his rescue.
Short story short! Stormy is now with Shashi as a “foster to adopt”.
We are fortunate that our city of Pittsburg has provided us with funds for spay/neuter for cats we find along the waterfront area. Once Stormy is all done with his medical needs, then Shashi and her family can adopt him forever!!
Again a short, not great, video of Stormy accepting the love from his foster to adopt human!
I will keep you updated on Stormy’s journey.
Savannah's Paw Tracks 