Our Kitty Rescue Story started by Purr accident. When My husband (Bryan) and I meet (2007), He had two cats, and I had two cats. Therefore we started out with Four Cats. This wasn’t to bad; all the cats got along and it was pretty simple to keep up on the care of them.
Our First Stray Cat:
Bryan and I decided to move to the country to start our New Life Together; Nice place that sits on two acres (which the back yard runs to the woods). We had only been here, Maybe two-three months before the first Cat showed up. He was a lovable gray tiger! We sat with him outside and when we decided to go in he came with us. I told the cat if he came inside that he had to be a good kitty; and he was; We named him “Snuggle Bees”. Ok so now we have Five cats! We got him fixed and all his shots and he was allowed to come and go as he pleased.
I don’t think it was a month when the next cat showed up. She was a sweet pregnant gray and white cat! She loved my husband and I but really didn’t care for other cats. We noticed she was staying in our closet a lot. That’s we decided to fix her up a bed in there; And that’s where she had her four babies. Once the kittens were old enough we found homes for them. Then we got Gray fixed and her shots; and she was allowed to come and go also. Were not sure how old she was when she came to us. Our Vet thought about two years old; We had her for 16 Wonderful years).
The Snowball Effect:
By the end of the Summer (5 months) We had 4 more feral cats show up. Three of them were friendly and one was scared of people. Therefore we started putting out cat food and fresh water every day for them. We really thought Snuggle Bees was telling all the feral cats he could find about our place. Because we had cats showing up all the time (and we still do).
Then Christmas rolls around; and I seen this Ad in our Local Paper; I have 2 kittens that I need to find a home for before Christmas Eve. I showed Bryan the Ad and we decided to go get them (our Shelter here was a Kill Shelter). In nine months we have four adult cats; 2 kittens; two that can go outside and inside; and about Five feral cats outside. This was just the beginning of Our Snowball Effect.
Momma Kitty
Bryan belongs to a Cat Community on Facebook. And in 2008 when he was at work; There was an alert put on this page about a Mother Cat and her four kittens were brought to a Shelter. The Mother cat had some wounds on her; And the Babies were Healthy. The Alert was that the Shelter was going to Euthanize the Kittens because they were to young to adopt out.
This was a Friday and the Kitten were going to be euthanized Saturday. Bryan calls me and tells me about this (around noon on Friday. We both agree we can’t let this happen! I called the Shelter; I was told that if we wanted to save them we would have to be at the Shelter by 10:00 am Saturday; Because the person who was going to do it about 10:15 am; I told them we would be there and we that we were going to take momma and her babies.
Picking Up Momma And The Babies:
This Shelter is over a Hundred miles from us; To make sure we were there before 10:00am; I booked us a Hotel in the City where they were; And we Drove down that Friday night. We were waiting on there door step when staff arrived around 9:55 am. I put Momma and the Babies in the Pet carrier and back home we went. We made up a bed for her and her babies in the girls room (Daughter and Grand daughter) she had her food and water; liter box; and safe because the girls always kept their door closed.
Momma was taken to the Vets to have her wounds taken care of; And she able to raise her babies with no care in the world and lots of Love from us all; We kept momma and one of the Babies (Spike) ; and found homes for the other three.
The Rescue Of Banjo:
Our Daughter was looking through the classified Ads and came across Free 1 week old Kitten, I can not take care of him. Of Course we had to go get him. He was so small that he fit in the palm of my hand. We topped at a Pet Product Place and pick up Formula; And Bottles. We kept him in a large Pet Carrier with blankets and he Stayed with me at all times.
I would feed him every four to six hours; His bottom got cleaned after he ate. Once he was up moving around a lot we put a little plastic pan in his Carrier and started him on can food with Formula. We did have to take him to the Vet because he had a runny nose. With some antibiotics he did get better; but he was going to have major sinus problems all his Life.
Banjo was our Baby; And Bryan and I were his Mommy and Daddy. We were able to love him for 8 years before his Sinuses would get so bad that even antibiotics was not going to help.
The Years of 2008 to 2023
The Past 15 Years; Bryan and I have continue to Rescue any Cat and/or Kittens that need to be Rescued. We have found Kittens; under bushes; in a Ditch; From people who are going to take them to the Shelter; and some of the Kittens from the Feral Cats out here. With the Help of a place that fixes Feral cats; We were able to catch 18 Feral Cats and had the Spade and Neuter. All the Cats and Kittens we bring inside; All get fixed and get there shots.
We never have less then 20 Cats inside; and about 15 Feral cats outside. It is getting hard to take care of them all since the prices of Pet Products have Ski Rocketed since Covid-19 hit in 2020. We go through about 56 pounds of dry Cat Food; 42 cans of wet Food; and 80 to 120 pounds of Liter a week. Plus the Up Keep to keep the house clean is very time consuming.
We did turn one of Our Bedrooms into a Cat Room. First we replaced the door with a screen door; Added shelves on the walls for them to climb. There are two Kitty Condos in there (For any cat to use); And two Cat Towers. Plus we have other Cat Towers around the House; And 16 Liter Boxes that have to be cleaned every day. You may be wondering how we clean 16 Liter Boxes every day; We Created a Kitty Cart!
Is It Worth It?
Most People probably think we are NUTS; I have been called the Crazy Cat Lady; Maybe I am. But I do know that my Heart or Bryan’s Heart could not handle not helping these animals. Therefore my Answer is Yes it is Worth it! We have had a lot of Heart Aches from the loss of many Cats; And I can’t even imagine the Money we have put out! I am Thankful that I now have Place that I can Save on all My Kitty Items. But Yes it is all worth it; The Love we get back from these Fur Babies is Everything; And knowing that most of them would not have lived if it wasn’t for us. I can also look in the mirror every morning knowing we do make a difference with these Fur Babies.
Response Magic