Ten cats, ten stories UPDATE

UPDATE: SEE BOTTOM of POST

This is Kiki (Kikki, KiKi) here with
Gabriella (Gabby, Gabs, Skunk) because their human family became homeless.


This is Jet, the baby He's a kitten now, but he's very well mannered and will be a fine cat.  He came from a feral colony, but you can see there's nothing wild about him.  (Well besides foolish kittenish behavior that is)

Well, that was him the day after we caught him.

And this is him now. I couldn't get a picture of him like I usually see him, I can't seem to use the camera when he is lying on my keyboard snuggled around my hands. Hard to work around, but oh so lovey.

Chi.  Her mom dropped her and her siblings in the dust in front of my door.  They were wet newborns and had to be bottle-fed.  Like all bottle fed babies, Chi is spoiled and doesn't think of herself as a cat.  She would be a lot happier living somewhere there weren't those pesky kitties around so she could sleep on someone's face in peace and not have to share the warm bodies at night.   She was born crippled, but therapy gave her strong legs, and she was a sick kitten who the vet dubbed a miracle.  She no longer is a special needs cat, but at 6 years of age, now she has prejudice working against her.






Dora is most definitely a special needs cat.  She has asthma and a condition called stomatitis.  Right now, her condition is controlled with supplements and special dental gels, but in her future there may have to be a special type of dental operation.  She loves to sit high on your chest so that you can't see around her, is a great alarm clock, loves to talk and makes a good secretary.  She reminds you when to feed the dogs, when to medicate anyone on meds, when to take the dogs outside and when to sit awhile with the kitties.  Especially her.  She watches the trains go by and has taught Ebonetta to enjoy doing the same.  But exploration is her first great love, since she could first toddle. 

Salem is considered special needs, she has a condition called herpes (don't worry, it's not the kind people can get), but she doesn't have many problems from it.  Once in awhile she gets a teary eye and loses the hair around her eyes and mouth.  Usually that is a sign of stress in her, like when we have an overload of cats waiting for adoption.  She was left here when her owner died.

Ebonetta wrote her story in an earlier post.  Sadly, neither she nor her brother Onyx have found their forever homes yet.















Gabby (written about earlier along with her housemate KiKi) is also still available.










Amber is another special kitty.  She has asthma and needs medication mostly in wet desert summers.  (I know, sounds like an oxymoron, but we live in Tucson.  Normally most of our rain falls in the summer monsoons.)  This year was very dry and she has had only mild attacks.  She recently had all but two teeth pulled, and she is only six, but she had a hard beginning to her life.  Her very feral mother brought her and her siblings into our garage and came to our door, crying until I followed her to the babies.  They were soaked in oil and covered in grease.  It took a long time to get those kittens healthy, and a longer time to get Amber so that she could keep food down.  Turns out she is allergic to beef, chicken, wheat and corn.  Her very favorite food in the world?  Doughnuts.  She will try to pry them out of your mouth if she knows you have them.




This is Onyx, another sweet rescue feral.  He loves to hug and be hugged, and when you try to leave, he wraps himself around your feet.  He loves to sit on you as much as his sister Ebonetta likes to sit near you.  But where she likes to pet you, he only likes to be petted.



Finally, there's Bubba, Dora's brother.  Take out a camera and he's there, posing.  If you want a picture of someone else, you have to be sneaky or his face or feet will appear magically in the frame.  He was my mom's cat and she kept telling him how pretty he is.  It must have sunk in.   He is as healthy as his sister is sickly.  He likes to bathe people and kittens and the young cats adore him, sleeping on top of him and trying to get him to play.  However, he doesn't much like Kiki, we aren't sure why, and he really would prefer fewer cats to bathe.

I'm sure you are wondering why we would allow any and all of these cats to be adopted, but as much as we love them, we are in rescue.   And right now, rescue is hard.  One organization I have fostered for in the past is having so many problems getting homes that they have not taken in any more for a year.  And that is a large group with a lot of foster parents.  Our local humane society, who normally shows my kittens for me,  is inundated with cats and kittens who's families are homeless and desperate, and doesn't have the room.  If we can place any of these cats, especially the kittens, we will be able to open up room to save others that are either special needs, need special handling or just need more time.

I have sad news. The economy has struck us hard. We are down to one income, which is limited to minimum wage and 19.5 hours while I am in school, and we are filing for bankruptcy. We do not want to risk that these wonderful cats are subjected to less than good care, so  we have struck a deal with the local Humane Society to take them. They took seven healthy, adoptable cats. You can see them at  http://www.hssaz.org/site/PageServer?pagename=adoption_adoptable_animals, HSSA-Humane Society of Southern Arizona,  3450 N. Kelvin Blvd, Tucson, AZ  327-6088 If you are looking for a loving companion, please take one of these wonderful kitties. Don't be put off by their photos, they are scared and their photos were taken before they were given a chance to understand why their worlds are turned upside down. To see what they really look like, see above.