I had an email from a lady, Olivia Smith, who needs to temporarily place her mother’s two cats in foster care until she and her husband can move from her grandmother’s house where they are currently staying. As Olivia related, her grandmother is extremely allergic to the cats and the doctor has advised that the cats can no longer stay in the house. Additionally, Olivia will need help transporting the cats to foster care. They are currently in Conneaut, Ohio near the Pennsylvania border.

Here is what Olivia wrote: “I need to find a temporary foster home for my mom’s cats. My husband and I will be taking them with us when we move (currently living with her and my grandmother), but they need to be out of the house for now because my grandmother has severe allergies and her coughing is getting worse. Her doctor said they have to go.  The closer to where we are now, the better, so we don’t have to travel so far to get them back.  We also don’t have transportation to take them to the foster home, which has been a huge problem for us. We’ve had 2 possible places to take them and we couldn’t get them there so the foster care fell through. My husband is a truck driver, so when we move, it won’t be a problem to come and get them.  We are currently in Conneaut, OH, which is on I-90 near the PA state line.

“I have attached pictures of each of them. Phebe is about 4, and Sassy just turned 3.  They have been tested for FIV and leukemia, and both are fixed. Sassy is front declawed; Phebe uses a post.”

If you can help foster Phebe, who is the orange and white cat pictured, and Sassy, the Siamese mix (the family would like for them to stay together if possible), please email me at bandocats@columbus.rr.com and I will put you in contact with Olivia. As a side note, I would be glad to help set up a transport to get the cats from Conneaut to wherever their new foster home may be located. We have done this type of thing several times to take cats to new homes in New York and Virginia, so just getting them across the state should not be a problem.

Last week, Lisa, one of our adopters (she adopted a kitten, Maddie, a few years ago and then last year helped her mom adopt two kittens from us), wrote to ask if Black and Orange could help with a kitten that her mom found dumped near the family’s barn. Lisa said that it looked as if someone “literally threw him from the car.” Lisa went on to say that “his face is scraped and his bottom lip looks like it was torn off and he has tar in his fur. Mom has him eating and drinking and he’s super friendly, but he definitely needs to see a vet and get some medical attention.”

From Lisa’s email, I didn’t realize what terrible shape this poor baby was in. It sounded like a few scrapes and bruises that could be healed with antibiotics. And even though she said, “his bottom lip looks like it was torn off,” I was not prepared for what was going on with this little guy.

I told Lisa to take “Oliver” to Noah’s Ark Vet Hospital in Dublin, so last Friday, she did. I stopped in later Friday evening and Dr. Achtel pulled out the digital camera to show me Oliver’s lower jaw. As you can see in the photos I posted, it looks as if his lower jaw is missing. In the photos Dr. Achtel had me look at, he had to explain to me what I was looking at–when the jaw was open and closed, because I could not tell. It just looked like a mass of raw flesh. I was cringing, thinking of this poor kitten trying to survive–and he is only a kitten. Dr. Achtel said he weighed less than two pounds and was probably only eight weeks old. Just a baby and someone did this to him either from the trauma of being tossed out of a car or something else too horrible to imagine.

Dr. Achtel was sending the photos around to his veterinary colleagues, because he was not sure how to proceed. He said the lower jaw may need to be completely rebuilt and there was not enough skin the way it was to cover up the exposed bones (yes, there are exposed bones). They had sent Oliver home with Lisa and her mom on antibiotics to treat him for the infection that had set in. Dr. Achtel told me he had never seen anything like Oliver’s condition before. Now, you know you are dealing with excellent veterinarians when, instead of acting worried, they can’t wait to work on the challenge to help an animal in need–that was exactly Dr. Achtel’s attitude.

Dr. Achtel also said that Oliver was eating and playing and did not act as if he was in pain. He just could not believe the resiliency of kittens. We discovered the same thing, however, back in April with our little Bean Bag, who also had a broken jaw from being hit in the face with a blunt object. Bean Bag tried to carry a ball around in his mouth and ate like a champ. Dr. West’s test for euthanasia is always if they will eat, she will not put them to sleep. Both Bean Bag and Oliver passed the test.

Lisa sent me photos of Oliver, not knowing that I had already seen the clinical pictures Dr. Achtel took. She told me that she was taking him back to Noah’s Ark this Friday and that he had been on the antibiotics, which were helping to heal his other scrapes and cuts.

She told me, “Oliver is absolutely the sweetest thing and has the biggest heart. You’d never know he was even in pain. He just wants to snuggle and love and play. I attached some pictures of him for you. As you can see in the pictures, he doesn’t have his mouth open, that’s just his exposed jaw where his skin was ripped away. His other cuts and scraps are healing nicely. He got a little bath this weekend so he’s looking less shabby!”

Bless Lisa and her mom for caring for this guy. I am continually ashamed at what we humans do to animals, but equally restored in my faith in our goodness by people like Lisa and her mom and the wonderful veterinarians we work with. I am also always amazed that cats so easily forgive and love us.

I’ll keep everyone posted on Oliver, but please send lots of good thoughts his way.

  

In my super cat cape, I paralyze my enemies with my high pitched kitten scream!

Hamilton, sadly, had to have part of his tail removed this past week due to being thrown from a car as a baby. The trauma of that experience damaged his tail so that it was not receiving blood flow and did not work–it just basically dangled and he could not move it or lift the end. 

After a surgery this past week that left him with a small stub, Hamilton is recovering nicely. He also has gained super cat powers with the loss of his non-working tail–powers that seem to have come to him via his e-collar cape. 

Hamilton’s surgery has not slowed him down. He has been fighting kitten crime and rounding up animal abusers due in part to his newly acquired super powers. You can call him “SS”–Super Stubby.  Super Stubby will use his keen cat powers to aid him in finding his forever home.

I think a crime was carried out here at the water fountain. I am gathering clues..what do you mean, I am the one who made this mess? Show me the proof! No punishment for Super Stubby!

Our shady set up under a tree on the lawn at MARS.

This was one of the nicest events we have ever attended. For starters, the “cat people” got prime spots on the lawn at the MARS Adoption on the Lawn Event on Saturday, July 10. The MARS volunteers put all of the kitties under trees in the shade to keep them from getting hot. We had prime real estate at this four hour event during some of the hottest moments of the day.

Not only did we get spoiled with our location, but I have to say, the MARS people who came out and helped with this event were the kindest group of volunteers I have ever met. They went out of their way to make everything very, very easy for us. The MARS people helped us carry everything to our spot. Then they also provided us with water for ourselves and the cats. Additionally, they came by every half an hour to ask us if we needed anything, and then they helped us clean up. I have been to other events where you are pretty much on your own–and don’t even bother to ask anyone to lift a crate or a table. But not here. Everyone bent over backwards to help us in any way possible.

Plus, we had food galore–free food, at that. Chips and drinks and water and a giant cat carrying all the M & M’s you could eat! What more could you ask for?

The Giant M & M toting MARS cat.

The MARS event is by invitation only and there were fifteen groups on the Lawn on Saturday. A DJ kept track of the adoptions that occurred throughout the day and there were well over twenty lucky animals that found new homes.

While we did not have any adoptions, we did have several people who were interested in our kitties. One family in particular fell in love with our Maine Coon boy, Alastaire.

We also discovered what sweethearts Apple Seed and Bean Bag are. We split the brothers up because their crate was just too small for both of them. But Bean Bag, separated from Apple Seed, went and crawled in his litter pan, a bit despondent. So we picked him up and passed him around for the entire four hours. He never grew tired of sitting in someone’s lap. I have never seen a cat behave so well for that long of a period of time. He went to sleep, perfectly content, and was not disturbed by the noises, the dogs, or the kids who wanted to pet him.

Bean Bag was passed around from one lap to the next and he never grew tired of all the attention.

Apple Seed, on the other hand, never lost any energy. He is like a hyper Energizer bunny. He knocked over his litter pan trying to grab a tiny green toy mouse. He batted at the kittens next to him, trying to steal food from Harper Lee and her siblings, Stephanie and Hamilton. He practically did flips each time someone came by his crate, lifting his butt in the air, and shaking his tail.

The kitten crew, Harper Lee, Hamilton, and Stephanie, did very well considering that they must have been picked up over one hundred times. Every kid on the lawn wanted to hold them.

By the end of the day, everyone was worn out and we had to turn on the portable fans to keep the gang from getting too hot. Alastaire, the hairiest of the bunch, laid down in front of his fan and refused to move. He was perfectly content with the breeze in his whiskers.

My own personal fan...what more could a cat want?

We want to thank everyone at MARS for treating us like royalty. We also want to thank Kristin, Christina, and Susan for helping with the event and Linda, Brian, and Christina’s Aunt and Uncle for coming out to visit us and support us. An especially big thank you to Sheryl, Diane, and Judy, who I work with at MARS for food donations. You guys are the best!

Finally, at the end of the day, MARS gave all of the rescue groups lots of free food to take home to their animals. No one got left out–not even those who stayed behind at the shelters or in foster care.

Who could toss these babies in the trash?

I had an email today from Emma, a lady we have worked with in the past to get vet care and homes for kittens. Here is what she told me:

“So another sad story. I went out to my dumpster at my apartment complex late last night and found very small kittens. Two had already passed away and the two that were left were in bad shape. I took them both in my home and warmed them up and cleaned them up.  They were both skinny, flea infested, with gunky eyes, and listless. One has a hernia, I believe, also. I picked off a ton of fleas because I figured bathing them would be too stressful in their fragile state. They are about three weeks old. They are not litter trained yet either. I got them to eat kitten wet food and to drink water.

“I’m actually very happy they made it through the night.  They look better this morning. They are walking around, but sleeping lots still. I am taking them to the Kenny and Fifth Animal Hospital to get a check up and find out what the best thing for them will be. The kittens are very friendly and just want to be held.”

Just a while ago, I had another email from Emma with the photo at the top of this posting. She had taken the two to the vet and they gave these tiny boys a dose of dewormer and Lysine for their colds. The vet’s office told her to wash them with Dawn Dish Soap to get rid of the fleas, as they were two small even for Capstar. They are only about three weeks old. One weighed eight ounces and the other was eleven ounces–the tiny boys were not even a pound.

Emma is going to take care of them and will return them to the vet in two weeks to get them checked out again. I told her we would help her find homes for them when the time came to do that.

I am sitting here now trying to keep from crying. Who would throw tiny kittens in a dumpster and leave them to die?

I want to change the world to make it a place where there are not so many kittens that people think it is okay to just consider them trash and leave them in the garbage. My heart aches for the two that did die amongst the litter. But my heart also bursts with joy to know that people like Emma exist who save creatures from this horrible fate. One day, I want to live in a world where kittens are valued and cherished, treated like rare jewels, not unwanted banana peels.

With all of us working together, that day will come.

Kristin and Christina took Miss Springfield, the gorgeous Siamese who hitched a ride with Kristin when she was in Springfield on a work assignment, to see Dr. West and discovered that our “prego” kitty needed a new nickname. She could no longer be called “Mama,” because she was not pregnant.

Boy, did I have you all fooled!

Just to remind you how Springfield wormed her way into our lives:  Kristin saw her standing by the side of the road, trying to make her non-existent thumbs work so she could play kitty hitchhiker. Kristin slowed down and before she could ask what a nice cat was doing in such a bad place, Springfield jumped inside the car and demanded to be taken home with Kristin. Such is the will of these cats. From Kristin’s car, she went straight to Noah’s Ark, where Dr. West diagnosed her as pregnant (and at her age!). Shocking!

But weeks passed and no babies were ever born. We had talked at length about whether to abort these “non-existent” kittens and had decided to let “Mama Springfield” have them. We had worried for nothing. Like a can of tuna in a house of cats, Springfield’s pregnancy disappeared–too bad that doesn’t happen with every supposedly pregnant cat! We could save a lot on our spay budget.

No worries now. Springfield went today to get spayed, so she will never, ever be a “Mama.” Thank, goodness!!

We’re not exactly sure what happened. Dr. West said it was just a misdiagnosis and we are thrilled with that. While we know Kristin and Christina are slightly disappointed not to have tiny kittens, Miss Springfield is not. She had decided long ago that most children, especially those spoiled Siamese, are kind of bratty.

Look for Miss Springfield soon in her very own, forever home.

"It's okay. I love you even if you're not pregnant."

Apple Seed peeking out the door at me. He wants his breakfast…NOW!

Bean Bag and Apple Seed are the brothers who came from the construction site. Bean Bag had the jaw that was broken in five places and we did not know if he was going to survive. But survive he did and the boys are both flourishing and doing so well (which just goes to show what can happen with a bit of love and care). They love to play and their favorite game is trying to dart out of my office where they are staying. Each morning when I arrive with breakfast, I am greeted by little kitten faces trying to push their way free. This game is usually  followed by a rousing game of “chase,” as I run through the house trying to carouse them back to eat their breakfast.

The two are the best of buddies. Bean Bag has not grown any bigger. He has filled out some, but he is still as small as a four month old kitten. Frankly, we don’t think he will ever get any bigger. We think the lack of nourishment as a baby caused his growth to be stunted. Apple Seed is twice his size and we still call Bean Bag the “Mini Me” version of his bigger brother.

Chillin' in his chair, Bean Bag is enjoying the good life.

Bean Bag also suffered damage to his right eye when he was hit in the face. He is blind in the right eye. We don’t know if he is completely blind or only partially, but he does have trouble figuring out what is going on when something happens on his right side. He will turn around to look with his left eye. Sometimes, he also jumps if you approach him from the right side and he does not see you coming. 

These are the happiest cats you will ever meet. They love everything–their toys, their food, a dust bunny they can chase across the floor. Everything makes them jump around with joy. They especially love people and love having your attention. The boys are still looking for their forever home, but we know a wonderful family is searching for them, too!

Pink ears, pink nose, white whiskers, and big eyes. Have you ever seen anything as cute as me? Well, I guess my brother, since he looks just like me.

Play with me!

As many of us know, black cats and dogs are often the ones that languish longest in shelters or get euthanized first. Black cats and dogs often seem to be the most bountiful. So what would you do if you were presented with this unique problem–saving the lives of 200 (yes, I said 200) black cats all at once?

This is exactly the situation faced by the director of Northside Humane Society in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. I had an email from Lori D’Arensbourg this morning and here is what she wrote:

“I  am the Director of Northside Humane Society in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Last year I received a plea for help from a couple with approximately 200 cats. When I arrived at the residence, I was in shock at, not only the number of cats, but the fact they all are Black with only three that are black and white.  My first thought was it is going to be too overwhelming, spaying and finding homes for 200 of the least adoptable, black adult cats. I decided to look at this as a challenge and thought, even if we help 100 that is half that will not be killed at animal  control where 10,000 animals are killed every year.  I started picking up 15 – 20 cats every week and delivered them to and from Spay Baton Rouge spay days. To date we have spayed 170 and found homes for around 80.  With postings and  the story airing on two of our local news channels we still have between 120 and 130 to place. I speak frequently with animal control and they have granted a short reprieve but can’t give us much longer. I hear this all the time: ‘It all started out with 3 kittens.’   I’ve included a link with video from WVLA news.”

Here is that link: Black Cats in Baton Rouge 

I have to confess that I have a soft spot in my heart for black cats just because they so often are the cats people overlook. I realize that we have just as many black cats in need of homes here in Ohio and the plight of one group of black cats in faraway Baton Rouge might not seem worth focusing on since hundreds are being euthanized locally. But I keep putting myself in this situation. I have walked into a lot of overwhelming cat problems, but never a home filled with 200 black cats. And so I truly feel for the Northside Humane Society and Director Lori D’Arensbourg.

If you know anyone in the Baton Rouge area, please encourage them to consider adopting one of these kitties. If you can afford a donation, even a small one, to help these black kitties, please visit the Northside Humane Society’s web page.

And if you can do nothing else from here in Ohio (or wherever you may be in the world), please keep these kitties in your thoughts and send tons of positive energy and love their way.