An All-Volunteer, Non-Profit Rescue
Organization for Needy Cats
A Newsletter for our Friends and Supporters Issue #15

Never Give Up

by Joan Abbott

Even before the rescue of the "Hollis 11" began, I had decided to start this year's newsletter with the phrase "Never Give Up." Some may have heard the story of the rescue of the Hollis 11, but as I write this the number requiring rescue has risen from 11 to 27 kittens and cats, all allegedly abandoned by one family in four different locations in two neighboring towns. Unfortunately, one kitten was hit and killed by a car before we could rescue her. Our volunteer's rescue efforts were tireless, day and night, driving from location to location, walking the woods, setting and checking traps. One location was on a dirt road so remote that many did not even know it existed.

When we went to investigate one of the groups, only three were seen and only one was recovered the first day. Two days later, a kitten was heard crying and volunteers traced it to a tree, over 20 feet up and unreachable. Failing to coax her down, we engaged a professional tree climber. The kitten fell as the man climbed towards her. She fell hard, hitting branches and the ground below, strewn with boulders. She ran off. Over the next few days, several kittens were heard far back in the woods, crying piteously. But we were unable to find them. Then none were seen. Days went by. Volunteers drove great distances from their homes, walking the woods, setting traps and checking them continuously. More volunteers joined the search, spending hours walking the woods, in different quadrants, but to no avail. Dispirited, afraid that the cats had wandered away or met terrible fates, we reminded ourselves that we could not give up until all were accounted for. If we gave up, who would continue to search for them? As our concerns mounted, so did our commitment of time and energy. Days later, a kitten was heard crying off in the woods at night. The volunteers stayed late, waiting and listening for hours. Success! The second kitten was recovered. On another night, two more were caught. But the tree kitty was not seen and we feared she had not survived. Nevertheless, we continued to set traps, to sit, and listen, and watch, night after night. One week after we had seen her fall, days after the others had been caught, we finally caught her. Emaciated, riddled with fleas, ear mites, and dehydrated, she was rushed to our vets. We are so glad that we did not lose hope and persevered.

Whether it is our volunteers or the cats we rescue, our goal is to never give up. Every year we need to raise more money to cover the many things that Kitty Angels has become known for: helping the injured, rescuing from difficult situations, dealing with hoarding situations, sponsoring low cost spay/neuter clinics, providing food, shelter, and medical care for countless feral and homeless cats in our communities, ensuring the utmost in care to all. We only send out this one newsletter each year in the hope that funds can be raised to continue the hard work we do, without which so many "down on their luck" cats would suffer.

Kitty Angels gives its time, love, resources and dedication to the cats who would not otherwise have the chance that each special one deserves. With your help we promise we will never give up.


"If a man aspires towards a righteous life, his first act of abstinence is from injury to animals." Albert Einstein


HOW YOU CAN HELP KITTY ANGELS

For these and other ways to help, please visit the How to Help page on our web site at www.kittyangels.org/howtohelp.html And, for updates and events check our Website, Facebook page (which now has over 6,700 followers) and Instagram @kittyangelsrescue


They Rely on Your Generosity

Each year brings increasing numbers of cats into our shelter, requiring that we supply more veterinary services, food, litter and shelter space — and that we care for a growing number of "unplaceable" cats in foster homes and TNR colonies. We're so grateful for your donations — without them so many of the cats that we have been able to save would have simply been added to the grim statistics of animal suffering. Thank you so very much for your help — but please understand that our task never ends and that we need your continued support to continue our work!! There are so many ways to help — some are listed here and you can find more information on our website.


LOBSTAH had been found in deplorable condition on the coldest weekend of the year, He spent almost a week at our vet, having an abscess cleaned and stitched and many infected and broken teeth extracted. Unfortunately, as the KA volunteer was taking him out of her car at his foster home, the carrier he was in broke and he fled across her yard. He went under a fence, continued down a steep cliff and disappeared into acres of conversation land! We searched all that day and the next, setting many traps in the woods, walking, and putting up posters. We were heartsick wondering where he was and fearful about the stitches that would surely become a problem for him should he survive out there. Thankfully, two days later, while checking the traps at 2AM, the volunteer found Lobstah in a trap at the top of the same steep cliff he had first run down! There are two important lessons here; first, please check the condition of your carriers so this does not happen to you; second, do not give up hope when you have lost a cat! Lobstah was lost in an unfamiliar location, yet he re-turned to the location from which he had fled. Had a trap not been set, we would never have gotten him back. He was too frightened. We have an informative article on our web site on what to do if your indoor cat gets out.


"Do what you can, with what you have, where you are." Theodore Roosevelt


Rescue Stories

AVA

It was a hot day in June when Ava suddenly appeared in someone's yard seeking attention. They had never seen her before but all it took was one look at Ava for them to realize that she was in serious trouble. Some sort of trauma had caused a painful injury to Ava's eye. She was also seriously underweight, full of fleas and had a respiratory infection. Our vets concurred that the eye, which was on the verge or rupturing, needed to be removed, but that Ava could not withstand surgery until her overall condition improved and stabilized. With proper care, Ava's health improved and she was spayed. Several weeks later she had her eye removed. Happily adopted she is now loved, pain free and safe for the rest of her life.


ODESSA

Despite being a fully grown adult, Odessa weighed only five pounds when she was found. She was anemic from fleas, dehydrated and had a broken jaw. Because her broken jaw made her unable to fully close her mouth she was unable to eat and had been struggling to fend for herself. Her broken jaw was not a recent fracture and by the time she came to us there was nothing that could be done to repair it. After extensive medical care, and finding a diet and feeding regimen that made it possible for her to eat, she began to gain weight and feel better. After several months she was well enough to be adopted. Although she will never be able to entirely close her mouth her new family loves her unconditionally.

 

 

HEARTACHES...

Most of our posts are about happily rescued cats drawn back from the brink of death, now blissfully living the good life. But there are other stories that need to be told.

Some days and weeks are hard. Rescue takes a toll. You hear about a cat, hit by a car, crying and howling all night under someone's porch. It was seen dragging its hind leg behind it, it's abdomen terribly distended. The cat, part of a colony of fifteen feral cats, was wild and unapproachable. Rather than relaxing after a busy day at work, a KA volunteer went home, loaded a drop trap in her car and set out. The volunteer waited several hours until the injured cat walked under the trap. She arrived at our vet just as they were closing, but the Doctor and staff kindly stayed to help the cat. Tragically, the cat had a hip injury, a broken leg and a ruptured bladder and was in agonizing pain. The only humane choice was to put her to sleep.

It's bittersweet, this "rescue" work. You look into their eyes and are moved. You know that this animal was an individual, who had a life and a soul, and you wish that there could have been a happy ending, that you could save them all. It is hard to do. Even knowing that their suffering is over, it is something you will not forget. You will always remember this night, this cat.

This is only one such story of what we must still consider to be a rescue. There are many volunteers with similar stories of cats that they, too, will never forget. Our thanks to them and to our dedicated team of vets and hospital staff who share with us not only our successes but also our heartaches.


"If animals could speak…the cat would have the rare grace of never saying a word too much." Mark Twain


Please Help Break the Cycle of Overpopulation!

Kitty Angels offers a Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic twice a month (on Sundays) at Animal Rescue Veterinary Services in Londonderry, NH.

Cats are spayed or neutered, receive distemper and rabies vaccinations, a physical exam, and are microchipped. Other treatment can be provided for an additional fee. Kittens must weigh a minimum of 2 pounds. A suggested donation of $90 per cat is requested and grant money may be available for those who cannot afford the fee.

The BEST WAY to make an appointment is to email lindab@kittyangels.org. She is the only one who can book appointments for our clinics. If you don't have internet access, call the shelter and someone will get back to you. Cats are dropped off in the morning and picked up later the same day. We spend countless hours dealing with the tragic results of cat overpopulation. Our low cost spay/neuter clinic was established eight years ago. Last year we ran twenty-three clinics. Despite this number of clinics, requests for assistance continue to grow. So far this year we have spayed/neutered over 426 cats at the clinic; over the past eight years the clinic has done a total of 4,437!! Can you help us continue to save lives and spay/neuter cats that would otherwise not be done? Any donation amount will help! Please help break the cycle of pet overpopulation!

The Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society also offers low cost spay/neuter packages on their "Catmobile." The Catmobile is in Lowell once a week, as well as other towns throughout MA. For dates and times, check the MRFRS website at www.mrfrs.org. For appointments and information call 978-465-1940.

Volunteering – how you can help…

We are looking for people to help at our adoption center located in the PETSMART store in the Royal Ridge Center at Rte. 3, Exit 1, Nashua, NH. We need help on Saturday adoption days and volunteers to cover shifts during the week, feeding and caring for the cats in the AM and PM.

We also have many feral colonies that are fed and cared for by Kitty Angels volunteers each and every day. Our feeders could use an extra hand, even if only one day a week. We have locations in Nashua & Hudson, N.H. and our most critical need is for several areas in Roxbury & Dorchester, MA.

Please contact us for more information.


Trap-Neuter-Return

The Lowell Trap-Neuter-Return Coalition has recently disbanded, however the Lowell Humane Society plans to continue to fulfill the role that the Lowell TNR Coalition played in the city. Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is a humane alternative to euthanasia for managing and reducing feral and stray cat populations. Cats are trapped, sterilized, vaccinated, humanely marked by ear-tipping for identification, and returned to the site of capture. Caretakers provide food, water and shelter for the cats while they live out their natural lives in familiar surroundings. A formal TNR program began in Lowell in 2009 in response to the growing problem of feral cat overpopulation in Lowell, MA. To date, over 2700 stray and feral cats from Lowell have been spayed and neutered, and hundreds more have been rescued, socialized and adopted. In addition, the number of unwanted kittens surrendered to the Lowell Humane Society has dropped from over 700 in 2009 to just over 200 in 2016. The goal of TNR is to spay and neuter all feral and stray cats while helping to reduce the number of unwanted cats and kittens in the city. Interested in helping local cats? Are you feeding stray or feral cats? Know the location of a feral cat colony? The Lowell Humane Society can help! Phone: 978-452-7781 Email: info@lowellhumanesociety.org


"Never, never be afraid to do what's right, especially if the well-being of a person or animal is at stake." Martin Luther King Jr.


Gordon

Gordon, a city cat being fed by a kind family, was one of the many cats that we helped this year.

Everything seemed fine until the day that Gordon showed up with a deep wound on his face. It was clear from the severity of the wound that it had been festering for some time and was painful and life threatening. The easy thing to do would have been to trap him and put him to sleep. But, because Gordon had a good chance of surviving, Kitty Angels began a lengthy and expensive process of saving him.

Gordon needed intensive medical care. His injury was so severe that it took much effort to surgically remove all the necrotic tissue and close the hole that was created. Due to the risk of the incision re-opening, Gordon required an extended hospital stay with daily medications and monitoring. While hospitalized he was neutered, vaccinated, and microchipped. Gordon then graduated to the care of a foster home for yet another month of recovery. Ultimately, due to his feral background, we brought him back to his original outdoor home and re-released him. The family who cared for him were happy to have him back and are continuing to provide him with food and shelter.

Feral cats like Gordon — living in the shadows and on the peripheries of our communities — have the deck stacked against them. But it is Kitty Angels' mission to provide medical care for all cats based solely on need and irrespective of whether they are friendly, stray or feral. Cats like Gordon receive the same level of care and commitment that any cat or kitten coming into our care would receive.

It is your generous donations that make it possible for us to rescue so many cats every year — including feral cats like Gordon. Thank you so very much.

You can donate securely and easily online by visiting our website at www.kittyangels.org and clicking on the How to Help link. You can make your online donation through Network for Good or PayPal (no PayPal account required). For other ways to help, please see page 2 of this newsletter.


ABOUT KITTY ANGELS Kitty Angels is a no-kill shelter dedicated to rescuing stray and abandoned cats, furnishing them with treatment for injuries or other health problems, and placing them into life-long, loving, indoor homes with compatible owners. We take all necessary steps to ensure the well being of our cats, including emergency and routine medical care, screening for infectious diseases, spaying and neutering, microchipping and providing rabies, distemper and other necessary medical care. We take in, and place or foster, hundreds of cats each year and deal with many feral cat populations. Kitty Angels is an all-volunteer organization. We have no paid staff — every cent of every donation goes to caring for needy cats! Because the cost of caring for our cats greatly exceeds our adoption fees, we depend on the generosity of individuals and businesses to make up the difference. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today...and, please be sure to send us a Matching Gifts Form if your employer offers one...we, and especially the cats, would very much appreciate it!!


THANK YOU !! A very special thanks to all of you who have opened your hearts and homes to animals; to those who have donated in some way to help us or others who act in concert with our cause; and to our team of dedicated volunteers and foster home caregivers. You are the ones whose compassion, kindness and generosity makes the difference. We couldn't do what we do without your continued support. Thanks to PETsMART for providing us with first class space in their store in the Royal Ridge Mall in Nashua, NH. You can see some of our adoptable cats in the cages at the front of the store and you can see us there on weekend adoption days.


ENDURING SUPPORT In the 34 years since our founding, Kitty Angels has been fortunate to have many long-term supporters. In recent years, an increasing amount of our funding has come from bequests from the estates of these committed benefactors. The enduring impact of these bequests, both large and small, has helped Kitty Angels expand its life saving programs and find loving homes for the neediest of animals. By naming Kitty Angels as a beneficiary in your will or estate plan, you can support Kitty Angels' future efforts as well as gain financial and tax benefits for you and your family. Your estate planner can explain the different ways you can make a bequest to Kitty Angels or you can contact us. We thank all our supporters for their wonderful generosity!!


Kitty Angels, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation. All donations to Kitty Angels are both federal and state tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Every penny of every donation is used in caring for cats. Federal ID 04-3270369; Massachusetts ID 034406

Kitty Angels, Inc. P.O. Box 638 Tyngsboro, MA 01879 978-649-4681 - kittyangels.org © 2017 Kitty Angels