Sunday (not quite) at the Shelter 4-08-13

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit the shelter in person today but I'm not going to let that stop me from bringing you a weekly round-up of news.

If you remember last week I mentioned the article in The Star. We were hopeful that this would bring in a lot of potential adopters and its certainly been a better week in that respect, around 12 cats/kittens have gone to their forever homes.

One particular adoption put a big smile on my face and that was Kit.  She'd been at the shelter for months and no one could understand why.  Here she is from one of my previous posts.

Kit

Such a lovely cat, I'm so happy someone has given her a forever home.  I'm told she has gone to a lovely family who already had a cat and were looking for another.  After visiting a number of rescues they felt Kit would be the perfect fit for them. They have made a great choice and I do hope they update the Shelter on her progress.

Sadly as soon as one cat or kitten leaves for their forever home there is another coming through the doors and some of the details are shocking and heartbreaking.

Mid week, 3 abandoned cats sharing one pet carrier were brought to the Shelter.  It seems they had been  dumped on someone's drive.  They were, understandably, very stressed at first but responded well to food and some tlc. The new additions are thought to be a Mum around 2 years old and her kittens who are approximately 7 to 8 months old.  The Shelter staff have named them Ruby, Sapphire and Pearl. It's likely we'll never know the real story behind their abandonment. 

Today a 1 week old kitten was brought in, in pitiful state, after being found under a bush. The little mite's face was covered in fleas and tics. He had puss under his eyes, was filthy, starving and to top it off had horrid diarrhoea. This is an awful lot for any kitten to deal with, but at 1 week old it really is going to be touch and go.  Egbert, as he is now known, is in Emma's care and rest assured she will do everything she can to give him the best possible chance, including hand rearing and veterinary care.

Egbert, looking much cleaner

Another admission today was a Mum and her 6  2 days old kittens.  Mum had no milk to feed the babies, so they were literally starving.  They were also in danger from foxes and possibly dogs. If they hadn't been brought in they would have died from starvation, if nothing else.  At the moment the plan is to get plenty of food into Mum so that she has a chance of producing milk for the kittens.  If this doesn't work, hand rearing will be the only option.  Emma will be back at the Shelter later this evening to check on them. 

There are no 9-5 hours here.  Young kittens need feeding every couple of hours, day and night.

One of Emma's previous hand rears

In between the adoptions and the admissions there were 6 individual calls from the public asking for help in respect of Mums and kittens or Mums to be, all of whom are living outside and are therefore terribly vulnerable.  No doubt there were countless other calls in addition.

Another sad story broke this weekend.  Libby was a very timid cat who had come into the Shelter after being found as a stray. Her age was approximated at around 1 year.

This photo was taken when I first met her in June, she was hiding in the back of a pet carrier as everything was very strange for her.

Libby at the Shelter

It wasn't long before she was adopted, but sadly she escaped from her new home and is currently missing.  The Shelter and others are doing all they can to try and find her.  If you, your family or friends live, or work in the Abbey Brook/Chancet Wood area of Sheffield (S8) please look out for Libby.  (This is the area  behind Morrisons on Meadowhead )  She is micro-chipped, but is not wearing a collar. 

Here is her most recent picture, taken before she left the Shelter. To date there have been no sightings.

Libby

Everyone is very concerned about her welfare. She is very timid and won't approach people, please get in touch with the Shelter if you have any sightings of her at all.
 

Sadly calls about abandoned cats and kittens are all part of the working day for the Shelter, but there are only so many spaces available. They do everything possible to give all cats and kittens a chance, but they can't do it without you and me.




With so many calls about Mums and babies and so many more on the waiting lists, volunteers are so desperately needed.  Can you help?  Can you support the Shelter to allow them to keep doing what they do?

Could you help with fund raising? Adoption fees are a drop in the ocean against the costs the Shelter has and raising funds is vital to enable this work to continue. How about one morning a week cleaning in the cat rooms? (read my previous posts if you want to know more about this)  You will be greeted by lovely, friendly staff and will receive an induction to give you all the information you need. Rubber gloves provided!!

Maybe you are an experienced cat owner (or have recent past experience) and could help with short term fostering?  (again read back on my posts to see about my own experience of this)  All you need is a spare room where foster cats can be safe, plus transport to attend vets appointments.  All vet fees, food and litter will be covered by the Shelter.

If you don't have time to spare, visit the Donate & Support page to see if there is anything else you can help with.

Finally, share the Shelters Facebook posts, share this blog, invite your friends to 'like' their page.  Do you know that some residents don't know about the Shelter?  The more people who know, the more cats and kittens can be saved.