Remember the kittens that were rescued from under a tree a few weeks ago? Here's Bluebelle, one of those kittens, desperately trying to sleep sitting up. Although she doesn't get her nap, it's clear that she's doing great in foster care and growing up to be a very pretty young lady!
This could be what you see when you YOU foster kittens with Kitten Associates! We're looking for foster homes right now!
Vist our Volunteer page to learn more and to sign up to be a Kitten Associate!
This weekend, one of our volunteers spotted a young cat lying in the street. She stopped to see if it was injured and discovered it was lactating, indicating it either was a mama or had kittens that had passed away.
It took two days, a visit to the Vet, a lot of fresh water and food and a few trips from our volunteer's home to where she found the cat before this 8-10 month old mama showed everyone where she had hidden her kittens!
From this hidden notch under a tree, the opening covered by leaves and other debris, our volunteer saw the eyes of the mama cat, then another movement-a KITTEN! She reached into the darkened space and carefully lifted out a tiny, 2-week old calico kitten. She'd been away from her mother for over 24 hours and it was vital she begin nursing soon or she could perish.
Slowy and thoroughly, the nest was emptied out.
There were FIVE precious lives at stake now. The mama made it six.
They were immediately taken into foster care. The mama had a big meal, then proceeded to nurse her babies in the clean comfort of a new bed.
Though we didn't plan on taking any rescues in this week, we knew we couldn't sit by and let this family die. They are safe now, but we need funds to provide for their vet care and food. We hope you'll agree that these lives were worth saving by making a tax deductible donation using the ChipIn widget below.
Thank you for caring enough to help this family! It's with support like yours that makes it possible for us to keep saying YES when cats are in need.
Cara's been sick for most of her short life. She continues to have episodes of vomiting every two weeks or so. Before she had two endoscopies to open up her esophagus, Cara vomited daily. Her growth is stunted and she is just a tiny cat and very underweight. If you're not familiar with Cara's story, you can read more HERE and HERE (on our sister web site: Covered in Cat Hair).
©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Sweet Cara.
Cara's been struggling for a very long time. We moved her to a new foster home so she could have “alone time” and a chance to recover. Cara was doing fairly well. Then, the vomiting started again and Cara became withdrawn.
©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Dr. Larry listening to Cara's lungs and heart.
We did not hesitate to bring Cara to see our Vet. He took some blood and did a thorough exam. He told us he was very concerned that Cara still has a problem passing food through her digestive system and that Cara will likely need a third endoscopy. This time, they'll also need to take biopsies of her stomach lining and small intestine.
The results of the blood work indicated that Cara has a very high white blood count. It's 28,000, when a high normal is about 19,000. This is bad news for our little sweetheart.
©2011 Robin A.F. Olson.
Our resources are depleted, but our resolve is not. We need to raise money to provide another endoscopy for Cara. Should there be any additional funds, they'll go into our General Fund, to provide food and basic Vet care for any of the other cats in our Program.
If you'd like to help Cara, simply use the ChipIn widget, below. Your donation is tax deductible.
Thank you for helping Cara feel better.
What does makeup have to do with helping kittens in need?
One of our friends, Amy Sikes, has the answer.
For the Month of June, Amy, who's an Avon representative, is going to donate her online profits on all her orders to Kitten Associates, Inc. If you need new nail polish to spice up your pedicure, sunscreen to protect your skin, or a host of other products, please visit Amy's Avon page HERE and place your order.
Just think, you can help yourself, or maybe splurge on some jewelry or something for the kids, while you help us provide food and other essential care for our foster kittens! Avon also sells products for men, your home and lots more, so it's not just about makeup! There's something for everyone.
Let's go shopping! The kittens are hungry!
We're very pleased to announce that we're just about finished building our first web site for another animal rescue organization! As part of our Mission Statement, one of our goals, in addition to rescuing cats, is to help other rescue groups.
We know that if we provide the tools for those rescue groups to do a better job getting the word out on cats, dogs or even rescued wildlife in need, then more animals lives will be saved. Our tools include robust websites that allow the rescue group to manage their incoming and adopted animals, be more effective at fundraising, reach volunteers and build a community of like-minded supporters. The tools are simple enough that most staff/volunteers can use them, so once we've completed setup, the rescue group can update and maintain their website in whatever way they wish.
We're always available should there ever be a problem or question. We won't leave anyone out in the cold!
In the future, we'll be having training seminars and will add staff to handle all our support issues. For now we're just thrilled we're off to a good start and we're beginning to search for the next rescue organization we're going to help.
If you'd like to apply for a Grant for us to build you a website, we'll be taking applications in the coming months. For now, you can contact us at: info@kittenassociates.org and tell us why your organization needs our help and we'll get back to you.
If you'd like to talk to us about sponsorship opportunities or would like to make a donation towards building communication tools for other rescue organizations, please contact me directly at: robin@kittenassociates.org
Stay tuned! We'll be unveiling our first web site soon!
Kitten Associates, Inc. is joining with Petfinder.com to help celebrate its 15th birthday! The celebration kicks off March 15,2011. Support adoptable pets by adding a special badge to your Web site, Tweet about adoptable pets & add an adoptable Petfinder pet to your Facebook page! Take the pledge to spread the word to at least one contact about pet adoption. For more info on how to help, visit http://petfinder.com/adopttheinternet
Cara, at 16 weeks old, weighs barely 3 pounds. Her sister, Polly, is at a normal size for her age, which is one pound heavier. Their brother, Chester is a meaty, 2 pounds bigger. Clearly, Cara is the smallest of her litter, but why is Cara so small?
Being so small, Cara gets chilled easily.
Since Cara was just 3 weeks old, she and her littermates have been struggling with a serious upper respiratory infection. We've taken them to the Vet more times than we can count, at least once a week, if not more often. We're trying a very heavy dose of medications now, to see if we can shake this thing loose and get these kittens on the permanent road to wellness.
The latest medications for Cara and her siblings.
Cara lags behind. We've caught her vomiting up her food a few times a day, then hastily trying to eat it back up. While this is rather unpleasant to have to talk about, the fact that she's doing what she does, gives us more clues. She's having what's called, a “barium study” done using radioactive material that using x-rays, will be able to see if what Cara eats is completely passing through her digestive system or getting blocked somehow. If this doesn't tell us anything, we need to have an Ultrasound done on Cara. She can't continue vomiting like this because it will cause her serious health issues if she grows to adulthood.
With her big, green eyes, Cara is hard to resist.
Unfortunately, providing this level of care, costs money. We've been asking for donations to help Cara and her family get better and we're really thrilled many of you have offered to help. We're not where we need to be with donations, as the Vet bill just keeps growing since we can't find a cure for Cara.
Cara and her sister nap on their foster Mom.
If you'd like to make a donation to our Boo-Boo & Sniffles fund, 100% of your donation goes directly to providing care for kittens like Cara. You can make a donation HERE. Thank you!
©2010 M. Sandoval. Sugar Pie just after being rescued.
Sugar Pie, was just a few weeks old when we rescued her and her three siblings from a Kill Shelter. She was one of the first kittens we rescued under the Kitten Associates moniker. We saved her just hours before she was slated to be euthanized, simply due to lack of space at the shelter. We couldn't let that happen.
A very special family stepped forward to offer Sugar Pie a forever home. They had no other cats, but three very big dogs. We were a bit worried about how Sugar Pie would do and if she'd be safe. Once we visited the family, we knew they were going to do everything for her, and more, to keep her safe and give her a great home.
©2010 J.Prevelige. Jasmine all grown up!
Over the past few months since Sugar, now named, Jasmine, has been in her new home, her “Mom” sends us updates showing how beautiful Jasmine has become. She fits in perfectly with the dogs, who love her and treat her as one of their own.
©2010 J.Prevelige. Jasmine and her buddies wait for a treat.
Jasmine even has her own place to sit when Mom is having a snack, in the hopes she'll get a nibble of that yummy treat, too.
©2010 J.Prevelige. One happy cat!
We couldn't be more delighted to see our Cover Girl doing so well!
This time of year, it's especially difficult to know there are hundreds of thousands of animals, waiting in kill shelters, hoping to find a forever home or for a rescue group to come along and save them from being euthanized.
A 5 month old kitten, sat alone in a litter pan in a stainless steel cage. His cage is small and one of so many, each containing one or more cats, just like him, hoping to get out.
He sat there for nine days. Each day was one less day he had to live. Each day the odds were going up that he would be euthanized simply because more cats were entering the shelter and they were running out of space.
These are the cats we want to rescue. The ones who can still love humans, even after being treated so poorly by them. We will make a difference in their life-for the better.
This morning, this little cat no longer has a shelter ID number, he has a name and he has a place to call home until he finds that forever home he so dearly deserves.
Please welcome our latest foster cat, MacGruber into the Kitten Associates family! MacGruber will be available for adoption AFTER December 19, 2010.