Monthly Archives: February 2021

Garfield – Rescued from Under a Deck; Thin and Sick with an Upper Respiratory Infection

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1/20/21 – In November, 2020,garfield w:kayla gordon 11:2020 I received this e mail from a person who moved to the Mt. Pleasant area and over the past couple of years we have helped with the many cats who have showed up on her property:
“This one I’ve been calling Garfield and I do plan on keeping him, he’s fought too hard to make it. My grandparents heard a cry from under their deck at the end of September. My grandpa tore his deck apart and this little guy was under it, starving and sickly. instantly I took him into the vet as he couldn’t stop sneezing and shaking his head. He ended up having upper respiratory problems from being thrown out to fend for himself so young and he had an ear infection. We did drops and an immune boost for him and he’s gotten somewhat better. He’s not fixed yet though. I did get his rabies shot though so he could get fixed once he turned 6 months. (The vet said they like to wait till this age and they (were/are) booked out for surgery appointments. Can you help? Kayla”
Of course we covered Garfield’s medical bills and he is doing well. – diana

Bunny, Vivian, Rascal, Skeeter, Artemis, and Penelope and 3 Unnamed Kittens – All Very Sick But Survived With the Help of the 4 Paws 1 Heart Village

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It was in April, 2020, that we were contacted by our good friend Charlotte Y. (known for her amazing TNR work) and her friend who had just moved into a mobile home park in Shelby Twp., MI. Amanda, who had moved into the park, found an extreme population of stray cats. Without getting into all of the details — 33 adult cats had been trapped and spayed/neutered prior to us being contacted. At the end of this scenario, another 20 adult cats and 11 5-week old kittens has been attended to. There were emergencies where two kittens died and 4 paws 1 heart paid for that medical bill and then there were a few more sick kittens who were taken care of by our friend Jo A., Gina, and Debbie N. Back then, I reported on some of the kittens and moms and today I just wanted to show a few more of these beauties who had been either rescued and turned over to Tigerlily Cat Rescue to assist with adoptions or returned to the park. Unfortunately, I have learned over the past ten years that mobile home parks are notorious for horrendous numbers of stray cats. It is critical that when a stray cat is seen, steps be taken to get that cat neutered/spayed. It’s the only way we are going to curb the overpopulation of cats in our neighborhoods. Here are three unnamed kittens, bunny & vivian who were very sick but nursed back to life by Jo A. and Gina, Rascal, Skeeter+3, Artemis, and Penelope. 2020 was quite the year — like no other. – dianabunny and vivian 4:2020 rascal 3:21:20 skeeter+3 3:21:20 artemis 3:21:20 penelope 3:21:20 unnamed kittens 4:20:20

Kittens During the Pandemic – Born as Strays With Upper Respiratory Infections, One Died

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1/20/21 – It was back in October, 2020 when we were contacted by a group who assists stray cats in Hamtramck, MI. We were asked to cover the treatment for upper respiratory infections, vaccines, testing, and spay/neuter for 4 kittens found in a person’s backyard. Our friends at Ferndale Cat Shelter would then take them in to get them adopted. Unfortunately, the rescue group was only able to capture 3 and one passed away before he could get into a veterinary hospital. Our friends at Comfort’s Place in Redford took care of the remaining two kittens and found them homes. – Diana

Cheeto – Update — Once Alone, Malnourished, Losing Fur, and Needing All Teeth Removed — Now Loved With His Own Family

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1/20/21 – As I said in an earlier post, here is a little guy who came into our lives July 30, 2020. His now mom, had been taking care of a cat community and Cheeto came walking into it. He had diarrhea, scratches on his eye, fleas possibly causing the fur that was missing around his neck, and was only eating treats. The poor guy would eat fast and was somewhat skittish; he was definitely malnourished. We started off having him seen by All About Animals because he needed to be vaccinated, tested, and neutered but they didn’t want to take a chance doing anything because of his condition; they suggested he be taken to a standard veterinary hospital. We authorized Cheeto to be taken to another partner vet who found he was FIV positive, and was drooling pus — after his mouth was examined, it was determined all teeth would also need to be removed. Once I heard of everything Cheeto needed to get him healthy, I referred him to one of our favorite doctors at Patterson Veterinary in Clinton Twp. By the end of September, Cheeto had been treated, neutered, vaccinated, and had all of his teeth removed. During this two month process, the rescuer and her friend fell in love with him and decided to give him a furever home. Yesterday, his rescuer and now mom reported that Cheeto is doing great and that they LOVE him. Thank you to our many generous donors who give us the ability to help these defenseless animals who have no where else to turn. – diana

Precious and Shadow, Marshmallow, Pumpkin, Buddy Holly, Boots – All Rescued From Abusive Conditions on the Streets

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1/19/21 – First let me apologize for being redundant but this past year has truly been the year of CATS/KITTENS. Not because we chose to only help felines but because that is where the majority of calls for help have been. Some of the conditions this past year that resulted in such overwhelming situations were: 1) the shut down of low-cost veterinary clinics like All About Animal, The PAWS Clinic, and the Humane Society of St. Clair for a number of months; 2) the restrictions put on standard veterinary hospitals to only perform emergency surgeries; 3) then when everything opened for all animals, the backlog for owners and rescuers were overwhelming and that backlog continues partly because of the virus procedures put in place for the protection of staff and animals; and 4) with so many people who lost their jobs or had their salaries reduced, a number of pets, unfortunately, found their way back into the wild.
So now, every so often, I will be going back in time to report on the many animals we continued to help throughout the year but whom I didn’t report on just because of the numbers.
Here are five sweet kitties who were taken off of the streets by independent rescuers, some of whom we’ve helped in the past. They all received some medical treatment, typically testing for FIV/FeLV, vaccines, flea/parasite treatment, spay/neuter, and eye meds which are very often needed. I present Precious and Shadow, Marshmallow, Pumpkin, precious and shadow 1:3:21 marshmallow 12:22:20 marshmallow 10:26:20 Pumpkin - sheila vickery 11:11:20 buddy holly boots 1:15:21Buddy Holly, and Boots. – diana
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Chris and Squirrel – Updates – Now 6 Months Old and Getting Ready for Eye Surgery

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1/15/21 – In September, 2020 I received the following request for assistance:
“My name is Courtney and I am the director of Paws, Awes & Claws rescue. We have a situation that we would like to assist with, however this year has been a lot for us to keep up with. We have had three different cats need enucleation surgeries (two were double and one single which was unexpected) on top of more routine visits.
However, we have a foster who would like to help and take in two kittens in need. They are coming from a barn life, but their ailments make this difficult and the homeowner cannot afford their care and will not do anything further unless able to surrender them. One of the kittens has a problem with her rib cage. It feels as though it curves inward and seems to cause her pain. As she is growing it seems to get worse and she can not continue to live outdoors this way. She is called Squirrel. The other kitten appears to be very cross-eyed and is beginning to have trouble opening one of his eyes. They call him Cross-eyed Chris. We believe he may be suffering from entropion in one or both eyes causing this problem to get worse and worse as it does not appear to be a URI.
Squirrel is a tabby kitten probably around 9-10 weeks old and I believe she is over the weight to allow surgery soon if needed. However, Chris is small, maybe 6-8 weeks. I believe he appears to be smaller than 2 lbs although probably not by much. He is a little black kitten. I have attached photos of each.
We are wondering if your organization may be able to help us with the costs of taking in these two kittens. As much as it pains me to say it, we just can’t cover these costs right now while already trying to find ways to fundraise in this hard time to cover the current vet bills. Please let me know if this is something you would be able to help with.”
We said YES and had Courtney set up visits with one of the best Dr. Zalac at Orion Animal Hospital. It turns out that Chris has a congenital defect called egenesis which is being born without eyelids. Although Dr. Zalac had never performed this particular surgery in the past, she was confident that she could do it. And, we are also confident that Dr. Zalac can perform the surgery successfully. At the September visit, Chris’ eye had actually fused shut and needed to also be cut open, which was done. She wanted to see Chris when he was about 6 months old. As to Squirrel, Dr. Zalac felt that as long she was not having other issues, she should be ok. Dr. Zalac just advised that she be monitored in that her liver is outside of her rib cage due to her
deformity.
So, here we are and Chris is now about 6 months old and will be scheduled for his surgery. Squirrel will be getting spayed next week and she will again have her rib cage examined. Please say a pray for these sweet babies who owe their lives to a great rescue — Paws, Awes, and Claws, and our amazing and generous donors. Here are some photos from September and now. Chris is the black baby and Squirrel is the Tabby. – diana

Noelle – Update – Surrendered by Her Owner to Giver Her a Second Chance

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1/12/21 – noelle 1:12:21 noelle -- 1:12:21Noelle Update!
This little girl is doing GREAT with her medical foster. The previous owner allowed her to be surrendered so that 4 paws 1 heart could give her a chance by paying for her necessary care… She is a beautiful sweet girl who is loving her new journey and the new friends that she has made. We are fortunate to be able to work with such caring veterinary staff and it’s because of them that Noelle was given a 2nd chance to live out her geriatric years with a quality life.♡ If you would like to help with Noelle please go to www.4paws1heart.org. thank you ♡ Gina

Ash and Sammy – Wandered from the Flint River to Their Furever Home

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1/11/21 – These little sweethearts wandered up from the Flint River to the home of a kind woman who is willing to give them a furever home but is unable to to have them spayed/neutered, tested, and vaccinated. Unfortunately, like so many others at this time, the homeowner was a server in a restaurant that hasn’t been open. Of course, we are thankful to have been contacted and to have the funds to make this union happen. Ash and Sammy are scheduled to get the works at the end of the month. – diana