I am well aware that, because I do animal rescue work, I am looked on with disdain by a certain percentage of the population. A "crazy cat lady", as it were, who simply doesn't have enough to fill up her time, and has some weird compulsion to collect as many cats as possible and then simper over them endlessly. Someone with a screw loose.
Yeah, no. I do rescue because there are cats out there who are starving.
Who are living in horrible conditions and are helpless.
Yes, there are people living in poverty who manage to take beautiful care of their animals. Unfortunately, those people are in the minority. And we get calls ALL THE TIME for when a situation is out of control; when a relative or authority finally throws up their hands and calls the shelter.
All of these photos are from a home we took cats from this week. Three pregnant females, and seven kittens of varying ages.
They won't all make it. Because they were indoor/outdoor cats with no vaccination history, the odds of some of them testing positive for Feline Leukemia or FIV are high. FIV is survivable; Feline Leuk is a death sentence. Because the pregnant cats were severely underfed (all of the cats had been visiting area dumpsters desperately trying to supplement their meager diets), they will most likely bear small litters, and not all of the kittens will survive. If we get a fifty percent survival rate from these cats, that will be considered a sound success.
But we keep telling ourselves the Starfish Story, and we keep plugging on. Because if we don't do it, who will? We get zero government funding. All of our funding comes from individuals; from people who respond to our Facebook and GoFundMe requests; who stop by the shelter or at one of our events and put some change in the donation jar.
Yeah, we're rolling in dough, all right. NOT. All of us donate out of our own pockets, deeply, to help the animals who cannot help themselves.
And this, these pictures, this is why I do what I do. I can't see something like that and not help. I. just. can't.
6 comments:
People spend their time on far stranger things than being compassionate towards living creatures. I don't understand spending 2 hours glued to a screen watching someone throw a ball around. My sister volunteers a lot for a cat shelter in Seattle, and in addition to helping cats, it's a social affair. Everyone has their thing, and I think your thing is pretty admirable.
How can I send you a donation?
Kris
Oh, I know - I get a Christmas card from you and it will have your address :-) Should the check be to you or to an organization?
Kris
Kate, there is definitely a social aspect to it! Some of my best friends are rescuers. :) Tell your sister I said thanks for being a fellow comrade in arms. Ha.
And hey, when's that BAYBEE coming? You must be so excited!
Kris, I really, REALLY did not mean this post to be a request for money. Truly! But if you'd like to donate, you can rest assured that 100% of the money goes to feed and shelter homeless cats and to pay for their veterinary care. You can write a check to "Little Mews Rescue" and send it to me, or if you'd prefer, you can donate on line at littlemews.org. If you donate on line, I won't see the donation, (someone else handles that end) so THANK YOU in advance! Thank you!
I really love the idea of donating when I know the money will be used to do good - not for "administrative costs." Will you email me your address to lindquist@acd.net? Thanks!
Kris
Will do, Kris. And THANK YOU!
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