Hi Everyone!
We've been unusually busy the past few weeks, and that's the not-so-good, good, and great news!
The not-so-good part: we were called to a horribly sad situation. There were up to 20 cats and kittens who had been left behind in a now-abandoned house. They had no food, no heat, and no one to take care of them. And just the week before we were brought a cat so malnourished he seemed to have no will to live. (We'll introduce you to him in the next blog.)
We were really frightened for the sweet skin-and-bones fella. And we didn't know how in world we could handle a mass rescue unlike any we'd ever done. But in both cases, we appeared to be their only hope. We were already near capacity in the shelter and we didn't have enough fosters to house these babies. How were we going to save all of these kitties, most of whom were sick with intestinal parasites?
The good news: we're a determined team at RappCats and we weren't about to leave these guys freezing, ill, and starving. We're happy to report we have (with long hours and even some tears of frustration and exhaustion) trapped, treated, and housed this group of adorable little ones, and we've helped our malnourished boy find his fighting spirit!
The great news: our volunteers came through with flying colors - making extra trips and longer than usual visits to the shelter, taking cats & kittens into their homes, providing transport for vet visits, and spending hours on the phone and social media tracking down the food, supplies, and funds to help us to pull this off.
We're not through this yet. We're still tired, in desperate need of more fosters and volunteers, looking at big, unexpected vet bills, and we've pushed our shelter capacity to its max. But with the amazing help of so many in our community (and even around the world via social media!) we're getting there! By golly, we're pulling it off!
Here's some pictures and more of the story...
...Dr. Deb
PS - To join our social media community and get more updates on shelter happenings, just click these links:
The Abandoned Cats & Kittens
We keep an inventory of sturdy crates and carriers,
but we've never before loaded up so many at once!
As you can imagine, several trips were necessary.
As soon as Lesley opened her car door,
starving cats and kittens came running!
They could smell the food,
and their hunger was bigger than their fear.
Most of the rescues were young, some just born this year.
We have no way of knowing who's related to who!
Many of them are gorgeous "panfuls," with sleek black fur.
Some are beautiful gray Russian Blue types.
Amazingly, they are friendly & affectionate.
A few are still afraid of us, but even those are starting to trust!
RappCats prides itself on being absolutely no kill and also cage free.
New arrivals are the only cats who are housed - temporarily - in cages.
But they are NEVER confined to the small cages you see in many shelters.
We have a small "ISO" room for cats who need to be
isolated from others due to contagion risk.
We also have an intake room with space for up to 4 cats.
These cats get individual 2-compartment enclosures
with separate rooms for their bed, food, and litter box.
The cages in the photos above are called "T-cages".
These are usually for transitioning cats from intake into
regular rooms with other cats.
The transition period lets the newbie and the other cats
get used to each other, and eases anxiety.
With such a massive rescue, we are having to use T-cages
for those cats and kittens we have not yet found foster homes for.
(If you can foster 2 or more kittens, PLEASE call us immediately.)
This little guy is absolutely adorable and such a love-bug.
He's so happy
to have someone love on him!
Here's "Moose," one of the young adult cats in the rescued group.
Look how his fur is softening & his eyes have relaxed.
Thank goodness, Moose LOVES being brushed -
because we're still getting debris and old scabs out of his fur.
(These cats were in unimaginably filthy rooms. The smell was overwhelming...)
Here's "Hugo," one of the kittens rescued.
Again, you can see the changes a safe, warm, and loving environment brings about.
Hugo's fur is like silk now and his eyes have come alive!
So, that's the story of our biggest-ever group rescue.
We hope we don't have another for a long time.
But if we do,
it's wonderful to know we have a team and a community behi
Meow for now! Kitty kisses!
RappCats relies entirely on private donations
from animal lovers like you.
We can't do what we do without your support.
Please send this blog to your friends & family, and post it on social media so others will understand our work, and can choose to support RappCats.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
Donations in the form of checks and money orders are also accepted and can be sent to:
RappCats P.O. Box 307 Washington, VA 22747
AmazonSmile donates 0.5% of eligible purchases to RappCats.
Always log into Amazon via smile.amazon.com to be sure your purchases count!
Simply select RappCats as your donation organization.
These small amounts add up, and make a difference to our cats!
We also have a supply "Wish List" on Chewy's website.
Click on their logo below if you'd like to see what we currently need.
www.RappCats.org
