Love For Kittens

My friend Kim found a kitten along side of the road on her way to our house. The kitten somehow managed to push open the box and climb out the window while we were in the house. We looked everywhere but couldn’t find her. We figured she ran away and there was really nothing else we could do. She was no where to be found… until the next morning when Kevin started his truck for work. CLUNK!

She was in the fan. She came hobbling out, broken, bleeding, and scared. He managed to scoop her up and put her in the carrier for me to take to the vet. I ended up having to take her to work with me because none of the vets opened until 9. It happened at 7:20. It was the longest hour ever! At 9 a.m. AVH Veterinary Hospital in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania agreed to see her right away.

The break went through the upper growth plate which means that it’s hard to splint and immobilize without surgery BUT they managed to do it. She lost a claw & a small piece of her paw. Her ear, tail and other paws were all cut but luckily not all of them needed sutures.

She was approximately 10-weeks-old and weighed 2 1/2 pounds.

She is the sweetest, most lovable kitten. She purrs the minute you touch her. She snuggles up to your chin and sleeps in your arms. She cries to be held. She will have a cast for at least four weeks and there is no guarantee that it will work, but we are hoping for the best outcome.

We decided to name her Lucy McGillicutty from I Love Lucy because she is a redhead that gets herself into trouble and we LOVE her.

It was about six years ago. Groucho was one of the kittens left by their mother in my beautiful yard.

I never had a cat before, I had never been close to a cat before, and at the time, I couldn’t afford to have any pets. I was just starting my own life. Groucho and his siblings were growing up, and after a few months, they left my yard.

But, one day, Groucho came to my yard and he wanted to get into the house. I was surprised, but I let him in anyway. The same thing kept happening for days. I didn’t understand what he wanted, but after a few days, I started to share a little food that I had with him.

After a while, I found a job and started to buy him a proper cat food. I didn’t consider him mine for a few months of our life together. Now, I think it was because he seemed to be very independent. Maybe he adopted me, not the other way around.

Unfortunately, just when I was very much in love with him, I found out that he was very sick – his diaphragm was broken. The vet strongly recommended keeping Groucho inside the house for the rest of his life. That was for three more years.

He was sick for a week before he was gone, but I've never forgotten him, the way he asked for attention , the way he commanded me, my husband and other cats, the way he decided to live with me, the way he complained when I told him no, the day he brought me a locust, the day he listened to my instructions on how to come down from the roof... All of that is in my heart and will be forever.

I’m grateful to Groucho for showing me how great it was to have him. He was always there, sitting next to me and looking through the window.

Jack first came to my house about six years ago. She was scared and hungry and wouldn't let me near her.

I started feeding her, and after several months, she was brave enough to show me her five 4-week-old kittens in the backyard. She still wouldn't let me touch her, though.

I live-trapped her and the kittens and took her to a local rescue for TNR. I found homes for her kittens and returned her to my backyard. She suddenly decided to let me pet her and quickly started a daily routine with me. She would run to greet me when I came home from work in the morning, and we would have several minutes of together time before she left to go about her day.

One day, Jack didn't come greet me in the morning. I was so worried about her! I left her favorite foods out for her and walked all over the neighborhood looking for her. I eventually gave up looking and decided something awful had happened.

Six months later, I looked out the kitchen window and saw Jack staring at me from the top of the trash can. I screamed and ran out to her. She was as happy to see me as I was to see her. I don't know where she had been for six months, but I truly believe that she was trying the whole time to get back to me. We quickly fell back into our old routine.

A couple of months later, Jack showed up in the morning with a limp. She had hurt her paw. This once feral cat allowed me to pick her up and place her in a cat carrier to take her to the vet. On the ride there, I decided it was time to try to integrate Jack into my household of six other cats. I had her tested for FIV (negative!) and brought her into the house.

She has finally decided that I can be her human and loves living in the house. We were meant to be together!

It was late, and I saw a dead cat in the road. I went to get it out of the road and take it to the vet's the next morning so the owner could have closure.

As I went to pick him up, he moved his head slightly and gave out one of the weakest meows I've ever heard. I rushed him home as soon as I could, put him on my bed, and called every vet in the area to find one that was open. I found one and carried him to the car.

He was feather light and had no microchip. The vet determined he was most likely a stray, and an x-ray showed he had two broken legs and a broken rib. Through all of this, he could not stop purring; it was very weak but it was there. The vet said as the bill would be very high and there was no owner, the best thing to do would be to put him to sleep and to leave the room.

I couldn't leave. I decided he needed someone at the end, but then I realized I just couldn't let that happen. I was determined he had an owner who would have been devastated to have seen him like this, and I'd find them. So, with my term's fees for school, I had him fixed. No owner ever answered my ads.

While he was in casts, he was determined to try and follow me, but his legs flung around like paddles on a boat, so he got the nickname Paddlefoot, Pad for short. It stuck. My best friend of nine years now.

If I could say anything, it would be that not all cats die on impact with a car, so please stop if you hit one.

stray cat with a horribly disfigured face had been living a miserable life, scrounging for food in garbage bins in Istanbul, Turkey. Everyone who saw her just kept walking. They quickly wrote her off because of her ugly appearance.

A seven-year-old girl discovered the sick animal and felt differently than the rest of the people who had ignored her. She saw beyond her disfigured face, and knew she had to do something to save her.

She brought the cat home to her father and begged him to help. The poor cat was extremely emaciated, had a missing ear, could barely open her right eye, and had mites.

The little girl and her father rushed the cat to the vet, where they were able to nurse her back to health. They treated her with proper medication and performed surgery to repair some of her facial deformities.

They named the cat Gulumser, which means “she who always smiles.” The cat is now doing well and has grown inseparable with the little girl who saved her life.

This story just goes to show that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover!

I volunteer as a foster for a local rescue, and an older cat (7-years-old) named Ginny came into our care. She had been without proper socialization for months after the death of her owner, and I stepped up as her foster, hoping I could help her, but fully expecting she would be in our care permanently.

From October 31 until February 23, she shared our home, with two resident cats, a dog, and two young boys. She went from a cat who trembled when you were in the same room as her, to one who became an absolute snuggle bug.

I still remember bringing her home and setting her up in our spare bedroom. She dove under the bed and refused to come out. For two weeks, I just went into the room and talked to her. It took a month before we could really say we were petting her and two months before she actively sought us out for attention.

Although it was heartbreaking to see her go, she has a wonderful new home with those who plan to love her furrever! It reminds me why I do what I do. When a cat most thought was unadoptable found her home on her first debut to the public, talk about rewarding!

My boys already talk about when we will have our next foster. They are learning love and compassion and the wonder of loving a little someone who they know will leave us for a fantastic future.

My mate and I were out shopping in October when there was a sudden rainstorm. We pulled into a grocery store parking lot and saw a poor 2 month old kitten lying in a shallow crack in the pavement. She was soaking wet, cold, and obviously badly hurt.

We picked her up and drove to our vet. We thought that she couldn't possibly survive being run over and that we would have to euthanize her. The vet examined her, and asked if we were willing to keep and care for a special needs cat. We were.

It was not clear what internal injuries she had, or how badly she would be crippled. An x-ray showed that her pelvis was crushed. Her rear legs were not attached to anything. One rear leg had some feeling, but the other showed no reflexes at all. One front leg was broken into three pieces. Her tail was folded completely in half. She was deeply in shock.

We think that when she was caught in the rain, she tried to hunker down into the crack in the pavement. That was enough to keep her from being completely crushed when she was run over. The vet casted her broken leg and we brought her home.

At first, she stayed in a basket next to us every second. A month later, she sat up! She started pulling herself around with her good arm and used a pad as a litter box. After two months, we had the cast removed. We were hoping her front leg would support her weight and the one rear leg would work.

On the first day she crawled; the second day, she walked clumsily. The third day, she crawled into the litter box. Then she ran. Then she walked up the steps. Then she ran up the steps! I did physical therapy three times a day on the paralyzed leg, and she learned to walk on it correctly.

We are so proud of our brave and tough little soldier! We named her Med, and we love her dearly!

It was February 2010, and I had recently lost my 13 year old kitty. I missed having him shadow me and needed the companionship. We went to the local shelter, and I found Starlight, a four month old short-haired kitten who stole my heart! She quickly made herself at home with me, and we formed a deep bond.

Unfortunately, we had another older cat who didn’t appreciate this new interloper. Being an active kitten, Starlight wanted to play with Jasmine, who wanted nothing to do with her. We discussed the possibility of getting another cat to play peacemaker, but we were reluctant to add another cat to our household.

After she’d been with us for four months, I randomly visited the shelter’s website to see the available cats. Imagine my surprise when I found Starlight’s picture back on the adoption page!

In the photo, she was pictured with another cat, cuddling together. He was a long-haired male cat, who looked very much like my Starlight, and they were the same age. I called the shelter and confirmed it... He was her brother! He had been adopted before Starlight, but his new owners could not keep him when they moved to a new apartment.

We went to the shelter that day to meet Spock. He was very easygoing, gentle, and very playful. We made the decision to bring him home and reunite him with his sister.

They didn't recognize each other at first, and for a few hours, I wondered if I'd made a mistake. But by that evening, they had begun romping around and playing together! Starlight had someone to play with, and Spock's easygoing nature made him the perfect peacemaker between Starlight and Jasmine. They have all been a joy to our lives ever since!

We had closed the doors due to a shortage of funds, carers and having almost 270 cats in care. Then I received a call from my vets.

A mumma cat had been found in someone’s yard with her little ones, and upon no neighbours claiming her, she was taken to a local vet, my vet. Beth, the vet nurse, texted me, “She is messed up so bad,” so I drove over there immediately.

I have struggled all day to write this post as the emotions that hit me over the next hour were just all too much. I went out back to meet mumma cat and her little ones before Beth took me to show me an x-ray. This poor sweet girl’s spine was totally severed. None of us had seen anything like it, and it wasn’t a fresh injury as she had awful sores on her legs and feet from dragging herself around trying to tend to her little family. She was incredibly thin, her gums were pure white, she was dehydrated and giving her all to save her babies.

I have seen a lot of horrible things in all my years of rescue, but this mum just broke my heart. She was simply amazing, fighting to keep going despite her spine being snapped in two pieces and she would have been in so much pain, but she kept going and going to save her babies. The sores were not fresh, so she had been like this probably since the babies were born.

I was picturing her in my head, crawling around on her front half searching for food and water, and going back and forth to her babies each day to keep them safe and make sure she was back to feed them and keep them warm. This just made me realise why I do what I do, and I knew even though I really should not take this family on I HAD to, I owed this mumma to take over and make sure these babies thrived and got to loving homes.

I sat with her for a while until the vets were ready to close for the day and watched her babies suckle as mumma purred. Tears filled my eyes knowing this would be the last time for this, as sadly mum’s spine was not able to be repaired and she was on her last legs having done so much for her little family. She had nothing left to give.

I stayed with her until the very end, holding her as she crossed the Rainbow Bridge, whispering to her she was an amazing mum and had looked after those babies like no other mumma before her. I also promised her I would take over watching her babies, so she could let go.

She had no name as we don’t know where she came from, but I don’t like them crossing without a name and someone there to hold them. So I whispered to her also that I was calling her Liberty, as all I could offer her was freedom from this world and freedom from having to continue to give everything she had and more for those little ones. Liberty crossed the Rainbow Bridge quickly and peacefully. She was ready to go knowing her babies were safe, and she was just so depleted and in so much pain, so she let go in seconds and was gone.

I have sat through many Rainbow Bridge crossings in my years of rescue, and while they all affect you, some hit you more than others. I gathered her babies and walked back to my car where I sat, and I bawled. I cried for Liberty who had been through so much and given so much; her story of what she went through on the streets with a broken spine to make sure her babies were looked after just drilled into my heart. I cried for those babies who were now orphans and were sitting in the carrier crying for their mum, I cried with frustration knowing if she had responsible pet owners she would have been safe inside and she would have been desexed.

It’s been a pretty emotional and rough week in rescue, one I wanted to throw up my hands and walk away from, but I know Liberty made her way to me to remind me why I do what I do, why I must never give up, why I have to continue to be their voice when they have none, and why I hope that her owners see this post and think twice about EVER getting another cat again. If they do, I hope they realise they need to desex their cat and keep them safe inside.

Fly free, Liberty. I am sorry your humans failed you, I am sorry we couldn’t save you, but I will keep my promise and those little ones of yours will be safe and well loved.

I was feeding a very feral kitty on my back deck for several years. One day, I went to put his food outside and noticed he had brought a friend. This pretty kitty was friendly and very hungry. I fed both of them and they disappeared.

To my surprise, that pretty kitty showed up again the next day and ate voraciously. It appeared that it might have worms, so I couldn’t bring it in, as I had seven cats of my own! However, I promised myself that if the cat showed up the next day I would corral it and take it to the vet for a checkup. Sure enough, it was back the next day, so I packed it up and off we went to my vet to get the kitty checked out.

Imagine my surprise when the vet told me not only was this kitty relatively healthy but also quite pregnant! Now I had a dilemma. I couldn't let the poor thing give birth outside, so I sectioned off my basement with everything she needed, including a birthing box, and waited.

About two weeks later, Grace gave birth to six beautiful kittens, three boys and three girls. I named them Sheldon, Leonard, Howard, Lucy, Bernadette and Penny. Once they were weaned, Mama Grace went in to be spayed. But when it came time to adopt out her babies, I couldn't do it. I simply didn't trust anyone else to take good care of my new little family. So all six were taken to the vet to be spayed and neutered and then brought home to stay. With me!