It's been two long months since we closed our doors to adoptions and intake. During that time we've helped cats behind-the-scenes by granting funds for vet care or to find them rescue placements. We opened up one of our foster homes so another rescue could place a mama cat and her 4 kittens into a safe and loving environment. We've continued to do cat behavior consultations and helped cat owners understand the power of a fresh diet.
We've been astounded at the number of adoption applications that have come in for our few, remaining foster cats, but sad we've had to say "No" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The good new is, we're finally at a place where we can slowly open our doors, so our foster cats can go to their forever homes.
Based on the guidance of Governor Lamont, we will partially re-open starting on May 20th.
Because we're so careful in screening potential adopters, instead of doing home visits in person, we are going to do home visits via FaceTime or other web video program for the next few months.
We are also limiting adoptions to IN STATE ONLY (Connecticut). We will re-open to doing out-of-state adoptions as the pandemic dies down. Most likely that will not be until September 2020 or later. There is too much additional paperwork and vetting for out-of-state adoptions. We're sorry, but we can't take that on at this time.
We will also implement other changes regarding how we do adoptions for the time being. Adoptions will be handled on a case-by-case basis. It will likely include doing hands-free adoptions where adopters pick up our cats without meeting them in person. Of course we ALWAYS take our cats back if it does not work out.
Our doors remain open to anyone who needs cat behavior counseling, feline nutrition or wellness advice. Though it is still too soon for us to take on any new foster cats or kittens, we will continue to network with our rescue peers to help find cats who need rescue an appropriate placement.
Catshew is getting ready to be placed for adoption! Photo courtesy: Dana Sharkey.
We need you by our side so we can continue to operate. If you'd like to make a purchase of items from our WishList or give a gift to help feed and care for our foster cats, go HERE.
We want to extend our gratitude to everyone who has stayed strong, stayed home and been courteous to everyone by wearing masks. And a special Thank You to our grocery store clerks, our hospital workers, our delivery folks and everyone else on the front lines.
Due to the COVID19 virus, our town offices are closing, as well as the school system. As a business here in Sandy Hook for the past decade, we have been asked to make some changes to help keep our community healthy, which we are more than willing to make.
Because we are so careful in screening potential adopters, that requires we do home visits. Once approved, adopters come to our home, or the home of our foster family, to finalize the adoption. Clearly, doing this with a virus outbreak would put ourselves, volunteers and anyone we meet at some measure of risk. Effective at noon (March 14, 2020) we will be suspending our adoption program until further notice.
We will STILL BE HERE for anyone who needs cat behavior counseling, feline nutrition or wellness advice. We will continue to network with our rescue peers to help find cats who need rescue an appropriate placement. Behind the scenes, we'll take this time to work on some long overdue tasks, like update our web site and more, so stay tuned.
We will also continue to show off photos of our adoptable cats, along with any updates on adopted cats in their forever home. We'll tell some rescue stories or share some fun cat-centric tips to help you live better with your cats.
For now, we'll focus on the day to day care of our treasured foster cats, like Matilda. This poor, sweet girl has waited nearly two YEARS to find her forever home. It's heartbreaking to continue to make her and the others wait, too, but it's for the safety and benefit of our community.
Matilda still waits for her forever home. Photo courtesy: Dana Sharkey.
We need you by our side so we can continue to operate. We may need to do fundraisers for simple things, like food and litter, but we never ask unless we really need it.
We want to extend our love and support to all of you who are struggling and afraid. We CAN and WILL get through this together. Please offer to help your neighbors if they can't leave their home. Please don't be grabbing every item off a shelf if you already have enough. It's scary times. We really get it, but we can show the world how well we can work together in a compassionate, caring way for the benefit of others.
In the nearly ten years we've been open, what drives us to say “Yes!” to taking on a new foster cat or kitten is a gut feeling we get that "this is our next rescue kitty."
When we first saw a tiny kitten, in a video posted on Facebook, we knew we had to do something. He was struggling to walk, dragging his right hind leg behind him, while his front legs twisted inwards into his chest. He was living outside on a deck with his furry family, waiting for someone to adopt him. His human family wanted him to go somewhere safe, where he would get the extra care he needed, but they weren't sure that such a person existed to provide that level of care. What if the kitten could never use a litter pan? What if he got sores on his legs? What the sores made it was too painful to move?
Their worst fear-what if they took Flap to the vet? The vet would tell them to put him down (which actually ended up happening).
Thankfully, his family protected him. They wanted him to have a chance to live so they said "NO"to putting the kitten down.
We reached out to them and offered to help. Luckily for us, they were willing to trust us with their precious boy. Sure, we had the same fears about how the kitten would do once he was with us, and wondered if he would be incontinent and have mobility issues that would make his life miserable, but we had to try. We would find a way. Then one day we'd find him a family who would cherish him and give him the forever home of his dreams.
We named him Flapjack Shortstack. Flap will probably be with us for at least a year, until he is fully grown. At that point Flap would be ready for any surgery, if we felt it was needed. We estimate that each leg could require $4000-$5000 in surgery fees OR maybe he won't need any surgery. It's too soon to know or get hung up on costs.
Until then, how would we provide for Flap for so long? He'll likely be with us for a year without any buddies. It wouldn't be fair to him to be alone all the time, so we reached out to the owner and they were willing to let us take Flap's sisters, Sugarsnaps Sugarpants and Tickle Nurbington into our rescue program. Since we're not very good with math, we ended up with five kittens in total. Boom-Boom McGillicuddy and his bro, Trinket Worthmore, joined us, too.
So Flap has plenty of friends who love to play and snuggle with him (you can see them 24-hrs a day on our SqueeTV Web Cam).
We're building our team of experts to help Flap walk better even after four Vets told us to put him down. Flap has a fire in his belly, a strong will to live. He doesn't let things get him down. Just because it will take time and resources to help Flap, that doesn't mean to save a buck we should end his life. That is just wrong. We do NOT DO THAT. Someone has to fight on behalf of the kittens who need the most help. How could we harm this kitten? Look at his face! Something magical is already happening. In Dr. Deb Weisman, at Newtown Veterinary Specialists, we found a great ally. When we asked for her advice she replied, "Let's fix him!"-NOT put him down. From day one she has been focused on finding a way that balances what is appropriate for Flap without causing him an unreasonable amount of discomfort.
Her approach is wise-do a little, watch and wait, adjust things here and there, respect that Flap already can get around just as he is now. The trick is to see if we can help him get around better, more comfortably and more appropriately.
Flap is also seeing his friend, Aunt Gail, who is a top notch physical therapist. Between his visits we continue the therapy sessions here every single day. Flap is stretching and moving much better than he did a month ago. A few days ago, he jumped up and off his bed and onto the lower portion of a cat tree-a normal thing for most cats, but for Flap it was a major achievement.
Flap will need us well into 2020, so we really need all of YOU to lend a helping paw. If you'd like to be part of our rescue team by giving a gift to provide for Flap so he can continue physical therapy and see our specialists, and provide essentials for Flap and his friends, you can do the following:
Gifts of ANY AMOUNT (You do not have to have a PayPal acc't) PayPal
Mail a check made out to: Kitten Associates. Send to Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354
