Zammie has been with us since January 2010. He was dumped at a pet store with injuries to his neck. They called us and we took him in. At first it looked like he had a collar that had embedded into his skin and he looked like he had gastric bypass and had lost 50 pounds in a short time because of all this extra skin he had. He received medical treatment for his wounds, testing, vaxes, etc. And we thought all was well.
But after a short time, Zammie had to go to the vet and get stitches because the skin was split all the way through and we thought maybe the other foster in the house had hurt him and they were seperated. But then it happened again. The whole house was scrutinized to make sure there was nothing sharp that he could've caught himself on - and there wasn't. But then it happened again and he went to a vet who specializes in the "unusual"! After several examinations and consultants, Zammie was diagnosed with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) - which means his skin was extremely fragile and hyper-extensible (super stretchy).
We tried to keep his claws clipped very short and filed, but if he scratched himself, he would split the skin through and need stitches again. It was then determined that Zammie had to be four-paw declawed. That was not a decision that was made lightly as we do not believe in declawing. But with Zammie it was a medical necessity or he would spend the rest of his life going back and forth to the vet many times monthly getting stitches and wearing an e-collar and his quality of life would be horrible - that is not rescue. We researched, the vet researched, and it came down to Zammie had to be 4-paw declawed or euthanized. We went with the 4-paw declaw. Since his declawing in May 2010, he has done great. No more stitches needed, no more constant visits to the vet and wearing an e-collar (which Zammie truly hated). And at his exam this year, he was given a clean bill of health.
Zammie could only be adopted to a family with no other pets. And he could not be adopted to a house with rough surfaces such as a brick fireplace, etc. His special needs status scared off most people.
But early this week we received an application and they were interested in Zammie. We called and talked with her about his condition and she met him Thursday at his foster mom's house and learned more about his condition. The subject line of email we received after the meet and greet was "I love, love, love Zammie" and wanted to schedule the adoption as soon as possible. Honestly, it was very hard not to fall in love with this boy! He has the cutest little button tail - he is a rumpy manx - no cartilage in his tail, just a little cotton ball fluff of fur. He had a double and triple chins due to his EDS and had a belly that hung to the ground. Seriously - how could you not love all that?!?!
Zammie went to his forever home today. Wooooooohooooo!! He is going to be so spoiled rotten. Thank you. You have gotten a great cat and he has gotten a great family.
Well, for the fourth or more week in a row, adoptions are still way down. We had one adoption each the last two weekends (Lucy Liu the first weekend and Gordon this past weekend). But we've had many drop-offs in the past week, including the litter of five very young kittens (3.5 weeks old) that had only been given water in an almost 24-hour period before they came to us.
So with more than 70 young kittens in our care and a lot of adult cats as well, we've had to officially close intake.
Our emergency medical care has been very high this year and we've had so many emergent cases come to us. This past weekend, Montgomery Jack spent a good part of his weekend at the regular vet on Saturday and then urgent care - Veterinary Speciality Hospital on Sunday. Jack has a prolapsed rectum, but after medical treatment he is eating and eliminating well and his prognosis is good.
So it's back to the drawing board to think of some fundraisers. Everything always works out, it just sometimes take a little longer to go from "ack...what" mode to "ahhhh...it's ok" mode. :-)
Survived an encounter with a pit bull who does not like cats at all. Dr. Jodi said she's actually unscathed by the dog, has lots of intestinal parasites and is malnourished -- but that's treatable. Maybe her name should be Miracle Panda.
The below picture is after she drank a ton of water and was flea combed and before her visit to the vet.
Under all that hair, she's just skin and bones. So terribly thin, malnourished, and dehydrated. We are so thankful for a vet we can call in the middle of the day and say "we have an urgent case, can we bring them in right now". And the answer is always yes.
She's safe and sound inside now. She was taken to the Sasser house last night, who will be fostering her. They are already in love and she will be fat, sassy, and spoiled in no time!
Or...we're just really bad at math. Four adoptions between last weekend and this weekend: three adults - YAY!!! and one mid-age kitten [5.5 months old]. Miss Cole, Minou, Rambo, and Lucy Liu were adopted.
However, we managed to take in over 30 cats/kittens in the same time frame. Can you say Oy Vey?!! We don't take in cats just to take in cats. All of these cats were in very dangerous situations or very sick and time was of the essence on all of them. This really reinfores the fact that we desperately need more foster homes.
We have adults and kittens of all ages that need foster homes.
Kittens here, kittens there. Kittens, kittens everywhere!!
We have lots of little ones right now:
- The G kittens: four orange tabby girls, 1 orange tabby boy, and 2 black male kittens: now 13 weeks old and available for adoption!
- The Drop-offs (not named or themed yet, but they were dropped off at my previous job before I left): 3 adorable medium haired kittens, approximately 8 weeks old
- Candy kittens: three sweet kittens from a feral colony, now approximately 10 weeks old
- Morgan kittens: four sweet kittens from a feral colony, now approximately 6 weeks old
- Skittles' kitten: four sweet kittens born to a mama cat - friendly mama cat that showed up in a feral colony, kittens are now 5 weeks old
- Muppets: these polydactyl darlings were born to a friendly mama cat who migrated to a backyard feral colony: five kittens now approximately 8.5 weeks old
- Spring Hope litter: 4 kittens born to feral mama. Mama will go back to colony after spay: these darings are approximately 4.5 weeks old
- Spring Hope Mother's Day kittens: three adorable darlings, taken in on Mother's Day, approximately 7 weeks old
- Europena City kittens: several litters from one feral colony: 2 Maine Coon mixes, 1 orange tabby, 1 white and brown tabby, and 5 Siamese mixes: approximately 8 weeks old
Tomorrow, we'll be taking in yet more kittens from feral colonies.
If you "like" us on facebook and like our Kitten Alley page, you can view pictures on our Kitten Alley facebook page under the Available Cats and Kittens photo album.
