A Happy Ending for One Special Kitty

In April we rescued Chanel, from horrific conditions, in an apartment where she'd lived with 17 other cats, trapped inside for 3-months. Luckily someone fed the cats every few days during the time she was abandoned, but the filth was so severe it sickened all of us who entered the property.

Chanel, unfazed by her ordeal, was happy, affectionate and grateful to have a clean, safe, loving foster home with her new foster mom and dad, Traci and Paul.

They did a great job helping Chanel feel secure and loved but they were sad because they knew a cat as sweet as Chanel deserved a forever home, but no one seemed to be interested in her.

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©2018 Robin AF Olson. Sweet Chanel.

Being a 5-yr old cat, meant it would be difficult for us to find her a home when there were so many cute kittens up for adoption. After 6 long months, Chanel found her place. A lovely couple, who live in a quiet home with an elderly, sweet, doggie, asked to meet Chanel. It was love at first sight for Nancy and her hubby, Jeff. Nancy particularly bonded with Chanel right away and Chanel clearly liked her new friend.

A few weeks have passed since Chanel, now nicknamed, "Nell," began her new life. Nancy reports that Chanel is charming, has a funny me-ow and likes to chat with Nancy a lot. Nell is getting used to the doggie and found her new favorite place, sitting on Nancy's lap while she works on the computer.

Nell in her favorite place-on her mama, Nancy's lap.

Chanel's life could have ended in a kitchen cupboard where she'd made herself a nest, as she wondered where her family went and why there was no one to love her any more. Her family gave up on her, but we didn't. That's our job at Kitten Associates-to make sure every cat we rescue gets whatever they need and that we do what it takes, give it as much time as needed, for all of cats to find their truly forever home.

A Shocking Rescue Leads to Meeting One of the Sweetest Cats Ever

18 cats were abandoned in a small apartment for THREE MONTHS. A good samaritan at least put down food and water but never cleaned a litter pan. The ammonia smell in the enclosed space was suffocating. It's amazing none of the cats passed away in such deplorable conditions.

Despite the stress and difficulties, a brown tabby cat made herself a shelter inside a kitchen cabinet and hoped one day she would wake up from this nightmare. Thankfully, our rescue and our friends at Whiskers Cat Rescue, got together to save every single cat.

The brown tabby was the third cat we removed from the property. She was so friendly she came up to us and walked right into a cat carrier. She must have known we were going to take her someplace better! We named her in honor of one of our cats, Chanel, then later and added "No. 3" as a little joke to her being the third cat out and as a nod to the perfume, Chanel No.5. We didn't know what sort of emotional problems Chanel would have. She may have become feral. We'd know more once she got to see our vet for a checkup.

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Chanel survived living in filth and was nothing but happy to be around people again.

Chanel surprised us in every way. She walked out of the cat carrier as happily as she entered it. Her tail was held high. She walked over to us to be petted. Her fur was sticky and grimy. She didn't smell very good, either, but...wow...what a friendly cat!

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©2018 Robin AF Olson. Meet Chanel No. 3. Love bug, lap warmer, your new BFF.

Chanel is in terrific health. Even her teeth are nice and clean! Our vet thinks she is about 5 years old. She weighs about 9 pounds and was already spayed so all we had to do was to update her vaccinations. She tested negative for FIV and Feline Leukemia. Yay!

Over the weeks Chanel has been with our rescue, her fur has gotten shiny and silky and no more stinky smell. She loves to play and be petted. She loves sunbeams and soft beds. She deserves a family of her own, one that will never abandon her again. We don't know how Chanel is with other cats, but since she lived with 17 others, we're guessing she at least tolerates them. She loves people. That much we know.

If you'd like to adopt Chanel, fill out a Pre-adoption Application HERE.
If you have any questions just contact us at: info@kittenassociates.org

Save Margo's Life

A little kitten, barely a few weeks old, faces a life or death challenge and we've decided we need to stand by her and her family during this difficult time. Margo has atresia-ani with recto-vaginal fistula. It means her rectum never developed and the only way she can pass stool is through her "lady place."

Four years ago, one of our fosters had the same rare birth defect and we helped her get the reconstruction surgery she needed to save her life. Her name is Freya and she's doing great today.

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©2018 Kathy Ray. Used with Permission. Margo with her family.

Margo's family does not have the resources to provide for her, but because Margo is also blind (her eyes never developed), she depends on her cat-mama, Pearl, to navigate her world. It would be unkind to put Margo into a rescue, alone, without her family, so we're doing things a bit differently and are overseeing her care from afar (she lives in Jacksonville, FL). We're also taking the lead in raising funds to save her life.

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©2018 Kathy Ray. Used with Permission. Sweet girl.

As of this writing, we've raised nearly $2100 of our $5000 goal. The surgery, to be performed at the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital, is estimated to cost between $3500 and $4500. We are raising a bit more to cover pre-op blood work and x-rays. Hopefully, we won't have to do a CT scan which would add another few thousand dollars.

There are risks. Margo might not make it. She might need additional surgeries. Our other options are to put her to sleep, but Margo is feisty, happy-go-lucky and lives a very loved life. We have to try for her. She wants to live.

UPDATE: 4/25/18: WE MADE OUR FUNDRAISING GOAL thanks to people from all over the world who joined together to make this happen. THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH from all of us at Kitten Associates and from Margo and her family!

Be a part of Margo’s Life Saving Team:

DONATE

Give a gift of any amount over $1 to Margo using our PayPal.me link (you don't have to have a PayPal Account to give a gift) HERE.

Quick shortcuts to donate a specific amount :

To donate $5: https://www.paypal.me/kittenassociates/5

To donate $10: https://www.paypal.me/kittenassociates/10

To donate $25: https://www.paypal.me/kittenassociates/25

To donate whatever you wish: https://www.paypal.me/kittenassociates/

Please note: We choose not to use fundraising web sites because they charge a fee on top of the fee PayPal charges us so we get less of a donation. Some of the fundraising sites also take a LONG time to relinquish the funds and we do not have the luxury to wait. If we reach our goal I let you know so that we can close the fundraiser.

If you wish to write a check, Please make out your gift to: Kitten Associates and send it to: P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354 and add a note that it’s "For Margo."

Your gift is tax deductible. We're a 501c3 non-profit. Our EIN Tax ID is 27-3597692.

Sleep Margo
©2018 Kathy Ray. Used with Permission. Margo is dreaming of growing up and loving life. Please help that dream come true.

Thank you everyone. Remember, sharing is caring, too. If you can’t help with a gift, maybe one of your friends, can.

You can follow Margo's progress on her brand new Facebook Page: Margo's Friends.

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Help Pom Pom Walk

We tried. We tried so hard, but now we need you.

Pom Pom Pomegranate has no chance of walking without discomfort unless we remove her back left leg. It’s taken us 10 months, specialist visits, tests, treatments, and zillions of hours of physical therapy to come to this decision. We need all of you to make it happen.

We need to raise $6,000. by March 9^th.

Give Pom Pom the gift of less pain and a chance to walk more easily.

You can use PayPal

Venmo @KittenAssociates

Checks: made out to Kitten Associates, P.O. Box 354, Newtown, CT 06470-0354

Why Now?

Pom Pom is almost a year old. Her body will not improve beyond what we've been able to do for her.

Imagine you have to keep your leg stretched out. You can’t bend it. You can’t support yourself on your foot because it bends backward at an awkward angle. The weight of the malformed leg forces your back to twist unnaturally. It causes shocks of nerve pain. How can you live like that?

Pom Pom can’t continue to live like this.

We know there are surgical risks. We’ve done extra testing to be as safe as we can be. Will this surgery make everything perfect? No, but her back leg hinders her mobility, so we feel this is her best option. We have to try for Pom Pom.