7/20/21 – Last Wednesday evening I received a call from a rescuer we have often helped. Here is the story of Baxter and Tawny:”They were found at Hall’s nursery and were initially put in a safe space out of the weather in hopes that the mom would come back. The next day they were still alone; there was no mom in sight. The store employees reached out to me for help and when the kittens were brought to me, I realized that the smallest one, Baxter had a botfly. He was very listless, rolled up in a ball and not responding to any food at that time and the other kitten, Tawny, appeared to be aspirating as she was blowing bubbles out of her nose. – Patricia” Patricia contacted me and because the day veterinaries were all closed, I contacted our friends at Advanced Animal Emergency who advised to bring the kittens into the hospital. The kittens were seen shortly after arrival and the botfly was removed from Baxter and he was put on antibiotics. Tawny was x-rayed to determine if she had fluid in her lungs and none was found. But, she did have fluid in her sinuses. She was also put on antibiotics.and Baxter was put on Antibiotics, next morning he was vocal and had a good appetite and is doing great. By the next morning both were doing well, eating, drinking, and playing.Patricia believes the kittens are not from the same litter, as Baxter is only 6.7 oz. and his teeth are just now starting to come in, so she believes he is about 2+ weeks old. Tawny, on the other hand, is 9 oz. and her teeth are fully in and she is more than likely 3+ weeks old. Anyone interested in adopting these babies when they are old enough should contact Patricia at: [email protected] contacted the finders and no other kittens were found; there are multiple cats in the area, so the mother couldn’t be determined. They appear to be taken care of by a neighbor but, unfortunately, she has not TNR’d any of them. Obviously situation that needs to be addressed. But, again, the number of these types of situations are overwhelming. The wonderful volunteers who do trap/neuter/return are overwhelmed and under-resourced. The low-cost clinics are doing the best they can but still behind because of the restrictions and closures of 2020. Most often the individual rescuers are using their own money or asking 4 Paws 1 Heart for help. In the past ten years we have helped hundreds of TNR projects but because my resources are limited, I have not had the time to go after grants as many much larger rescues are able to do. Consequently, we have had to rely on our very generous donors. – diana.4paws1heart.org/donations/