Lake Wylie kitties are doing well {RATE US!}

Before my update, don't forget that to the right is an auction link that helps different fosters at different times. It depends on the urgency. Also to the right you will find a donate button and all money raised goes directly for the fosters that I have (you will see their pics as soon as I update those in need of a home). There is also a Wal-Mart link that will take you directly to my 'wish list'. This is a list of items I need for all the babies I care for.
I could not wait for yesterday to get here. All 3 kitties from the lake and my baby Thomas went to be either spayed or neutered. The lake babies went to the s/n clinic while Thomas went to my normal vet since he has CH.
It was confirmed that Wylie's left foot has been cut off and not a birth defect. So whatever it was that cut it off, did a nice, clean job. His leg has completely healed. No bone shavings, no infection.
Also, they tested negative on the combo test.
Even though Brim didn't get spayed, they must have really hooked her up. I mean, they told me they would feed her and make her comfortable.
Let me tell you, she seemed like a different cat when I got her home. She was more friendly towards me but she did hiss at Tuna. So that part of her hasn't changed. Though I think she hisses at Tuna because Brim is in heat. But as long as Tuna just snuggles up, Brim is fine. The moment Tuna starts to move around, Brim hisses at her.
Watching them, you can not split them up. It's amazing how they act when just one is away. So much different.
So I have another month with these 3. Once Brim is spayed on the 1st, they all need to leave by the 7th of April.

So I am asking, pleading, if anyone out there can continue to foster them or can give them a furever home, please contact me. I hate the thought of taking them back to the lake. It's hard to say how much they eat during the summer. I know people toss them fish once in awhile. But they were starving this winter. And to top it off, Wylie gets his foot cut off.
They really need a break. If no one steps forward, I will have to take them back to the lake. I do not want to do this! But I will have no choice. So please, share this blog. I believe patience, Brim & Tuna and a lot of love, will break this young man out of his shell.
Also, I will be adding an adoption post soon. Rescues, fostering or adopting is always welcomed.

Got 'em all

Finally! We caught the last cat from Lake Wylie. It is not a happy camper. My shower curtain is no longer hanging. I haven't been able to get too close to "Wylie" yet. I did see it's foot while in the cage. Looks like it is fully healed from whatever took it off. I hope to get a better look at it within a week. And this cat is big. Really big! And very heavy.
I also need to make sure what the sex is. I'm pretty sure it's a boy. I've been able to pet him, only on the head, and he has some fat jaws. I'm hoping being around Brim and Tuna will calm him down. They don't seem to have a problem with him being in there. I got some pictures of all of them together.
When I went in early this afternoon, they were all cuddled together and it was so sweet looking. I went for the camera but when I got back, Tuna had moved to the food bowl and Brim was eating the mackeral.
Wylie has such a mean scowl on his face. He's scary just to look at.

Let's get back to the names. Tuna does not come to Tuna. Wylie probably won't come to Wylie. So I have decided to name them all Brim since that is the name they are used to and they all come to it. So Brim is Brim. Tuna is Brim 2 and Wylie will be Brim 3. But on the paperwork, Tuna and Wylie will be in parentheses.

As long as Wylie doesn't get sick or show signs of illness, he will go with Brim & Tuna on March 4th to the spay/neuter clinic.

I was able to get some good pics before finishing this post. I was also able to pet him on the head and chin for quite some time.
I would like you to share this post/story. I would like for this little family to stay together. It's obvious as you can see in the pictures, they love each other.

Last night:

Today:

I want to thank Anne for all her help with Wylie. She fed him every day until we could catch him. Not even bad weather stopped her from checking on him and feeding him. Thank you!

No cat but...

I'm still out trying to catch the last cat at Lake Wylie. It's a sly little booger.
So instead of catching the cat, I caught a raccoon. The look on it's face was screaming "please don't hurt me!". It was so pitiful.
Here are the pics of it. And please pray and keep your fingers crossed that we will catch Wylie this weekend. Oh, btw, I have decided to name them Brim, Brim 2, Brim 3 (we'll drop the number when they get adopted out). That name is the only name they will come to.
One more thing: I've said it on Facebook and now I'm saying here, Lynette - you rock! I really feel God sent you my way through Jo Ann. He knew I was at my wit's end and then you appear. Again, YOU are the reason two feral cats are healthy. YOU are the reason my crew never has to go hungry. I wish I could hug you :)

And please don't forget to check out Lynette's auctions and raffles. All monies go toward animal care. A link to her page is located on the right side of blog. After you 'like' the page, ou can see so many wonderful items.

Lake Wylie cats

I'd like to apologize to every one who follows this blog. I have been a little under the weather since Christmas.

It's been all I could do to get back to Lake Wylie and try to catch the feral cats out there. Last summer I fished several times a week. There was a mom cat with 5 kittens, another cat that looked like the mom (sister maybe?) and a third cat with long hair that looks like the other two adults. I fed them fish straight from the lake.
I took several large catfish out to the lake to feed them all at the end of December. Unfortunately one of the adults were gone and four kittens were also gone.
I caught the last remaining kitten who I named Tuna and a few days later I caught the mom who I had already named Brim (because we fed her brim fish all summer). The other adult with long hair has it's front left paw missing. I don't know how the injury occurred. There's plenty of broken bottles and glass near the piers. It could be he (we believe it's a male) landed on a shard of glass and cut it clean off. I was able to get close enough to see from the front that no bone was visible.
I have tried catching him but he's pretty smart. Right now, another woman, Anne, has been going out to feed him. I'm worried a bit because we just got over a foot of snow. There isn't much cover out there. I haven't been back there in a few weeks due to my health and because Brim & Tuna have been very ill. The vet said they had a really bad URI but I believe both contacted Distemper. I know enough to know the signs.
It's been touch and go with them. I was very worried about Tuna as she didn't have much weight on her to begin with. When a kitten doesn't eat or drink on it's own, it's around the clock medical care.
Thankfully, she and her mom are on the up swing and are eating and drinking on their own now.
As long as they continue to have good health, they both will be spayed on March 4th.

Then I will be putting all my efforts towards catching Wylie. That foot missing has us all perplexed.

Tuna

Brim

Shadow Cats

A dollar here, a dollar there. It all adds up. Can you please help, even just a little, so these cats who are a victim of hoarding, can get a fresh start in life?
Let's remember that hoarding starts off as not being hoarded at all. This person, as many others do, starts with good intentions. I'm sure the phrase "What's one more?" came out of the mouth from their owner many, many times.
Try not to judge and be happy the cats will now be taken care of properly.

Here is the link to help

Another year under our belts. Welcome 2014!

2013 was a busy and stressful year. But we were able to save a lot of lives. And though it's only January, we need to look forward to Spring. Many cats who will go into heat and have babies will do so around March or April. Then the same mother will go into heat around the end of June with babies being born in September.
Many, many unwanted kittens will be born. A lot of kittens will die from hypothermia. The one's who survive will be trapped and brought into animal control. Most will be sick and immediately killed. If a female is pregnant, a few rescue groups will pull them.
And the biggest heartbreak of them all, a shit head will bring in their 'pet' of ten years because they are moving and can't take it with them. I detest these individual's!
A few of us are still either fostering cats & kittens or have some in boarding from last summer. We depend on gifts and donations from you. Without YOU, the rescuing of these cats & kittens would not take place. It's the generosity from you that allows us to purchase food & litter, cover any medical cost and provide transportation to other rescue groups up and down the East coast. I personally want to thank each and every one of you. And I'll be the voice for them, "You have no idea how much we appreciate you!"

Christmas holiday season & funds needed for foster kittens

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

I would also like to remind everyone this is a crucial time of year. Yes, we get tons of kittens during the spring and summer months. What makes this time so important is all the kittens from earlier in the year that didn't find a home are now at the age and size where the 'cuteness' factor may be on the decline or people just don't want an older kitten because they miss out on the growing personality of the cat.
I'm not above begging for help. I wish more people would beg for help so they could possibly keep their pet and get food through their local animal shelter long enough to get them through a rough patch.
I have a friend who I've been working with for several years now. She has paid thousands of dollars of her own money rescuing cats and kittens. She recently changed jobs and she took a pay cut. I don't have to tell you what that means. But I will anyway. It means less cats & kittens are going to be rescued.
Without funds, gifts & donations, we can not save as many as we'd like. There is a handful of us who work the East coast. We try to rescue as many cats & kittens as we can from high kill shelters here in NC. We also work with other rescue groups all the way up to New York. We also will do what we can in helping other rescues in nearby states transport all kinds of animals to places they will be safe.

Let me get back to the kittens we've not found homes for yet. They are now aged 6 - 9+ months old. At this point, we will have to find and rely on cat sanctuaries to take them in. That is if they have room.
And we have foster families who have room to home a few until a permanent forever home is found but these foster families need help with purchasing food, litter & medical expenses.

I personally have ended up keeping 8 older kittens the past few years because homes couldn't be found. Not only is it hard to find people to foster cats/kittens, if the few fosters we have end up keeping a quarter to half of all their fosters, they no longer have room to foster more that we could save.

So I am asking, no, begging for your donations this holiday season. You wouldn't think it would be hard to raise enough money to care for the cats. I look at how many so called Facebook friends I have and I can't get each of them to donate $1 a month. If I could get that from my friends and if my post is shared and someone else posts it and they have say 879 friends who also give just $1 a month, we could save just about every cat and kitten that gets brought into animal control. We're not asking for a dollar a day. Just one dollar a month.

This will be my last post until the new year. I have zero shame when it comes to saving cats and kittens and asking for help. Begging for help even.
I still have one foster that I need to get neutered and current on his shots. And I still have four total that I've had for months. We also have kittens that have been in boarding for months and if we are able to find another rescue, we will need funds to get them a medical certificate and pay for transportation cost.

So if you can, please share this with your own group of friends and ask them to share with their friends and so on and so forth. Just one dollar a month from 400 or 800 or 1300 or more people would change the lives of so many.
Gift cards to Wal Mart are also needed as they have the best price on food & litter. You can send an email for the address.

God bless you & yours this holiday season and God bless our four legged best friends.

I know it's been quite sometime since my last post. That's what happens when your back goes out on ya. I've spent a majority of my time in bed. My back is feeling a bit better. Well enough to sit here and update everyone. We are in dire need of donations for the cats and kittens.
I understand it's the holiday season but the rescued animals don't know that. They are just happy being in a comfortable setting. No cage bars to look at. Room to run and play.
Maybe I should do a drive like the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots. I see no difference in the plight to get toys for kids and getting funds to purchase food & litter for the foster kitties.
My fosters are content to play with empty bags of M&M's or a rolled up ball of tin foil. They don't know how much I stress over whether or not I'm going to have money to feed them or take them to the vet for check ups. And the biggest expense of medical certificates and transportation cost.
Please don't forget those of us who rescue these babies. Some rescuers never actually foster. The cats/kittens are sent to a vet directly from animal control and then taken to a boarding facility where they sit once again in a cage until they are adopted out or sent to another rescue. It's these babies who need your help the most.

I have never charged a fee to care for these fosters. They have a visit with my vet (Dr. Robinson) and then I open my home to them where they roam freely about the house until transportation is scheduled to pick them up.
I can't always foster due to my health. I also can not foster without the assurance someone is going to fund the foster's until they get on transportation as I have no way financially to care for them.
Please, during this holiday season, set aside a few dollars to help with the cost of rescuing.
Thank you and God bless.