By Lorraine Monfils
Early one morning, a big black and white tom cat is so hungry he quietly walks into a live trap to eat the food inside. Once he is far enough in, the door closes and he is captured. This beautiful cat has been spotted in people’s yards all winter looking for food and he has weathered the coldest temperatures. A phone call is made to one of the volunteers from the TNR program (trap, neuter and release). She quickly goes to pick the cat up and take him to the vet for what we believe is going to be a simple neuter so we can release him back.
Once he is at the vet things change. The vet examines him to find that his hind left leg is severely injured so they take X-rays. Because the leg is so swollen and infected it is not clear what the end result will be. The vet gives him a shot of antibiotics hoping that will take care of the issue, but the vet also explains if this doesn’t work that the leg may have to be amputated.
The cat has come back to The Ark and is being cared for until we know for sure what the diagnosis will be. The volunteers have named him Stevie. Our goal, if everything goes well, is still to release him back, but if his leg is amputated that will not be possible. Stevie is feral. He is not a cat that is used to the human touch and is not very trusting of humans which makes things more difficult. He is not a cat that can be handled — he will bite and claw. If Stevie’s leg has to be amputated, he will not be able to be released back.
If you read our last article you know that we were looking for a trailer. The good news is that we have found one. It needs some fixing, which will take some time but in the end, it will be used for special needs cats like Stevie. He will live in a cage-free environment and have access to a fenced in area outside. I realize that many people think that this is an awful lot to do for a feral cat, but we believe that every animal’s life is meaningful and our goal is to make a difference in every animal’s life that we come in contact with. For now, Stevie is resting comfortably and has an endless supply of food and water. For updates on Stevie please check our Facebook page.
Please join us on Saturday, May 4 and 18, outside Hollywood Pet Salon for a bake sale. On May 18, we will also be at the Pleasant View Tree Farm for an open house and bake sale.
For the month of April, the expenses for the Ark were $1,170.87 and we took in $1,371 in fundraising and donations.
For the month of April, we took in no dogs and adopted no dogs. We currently have one dog. We took in six cats and adopted two cats. We currently have 27 cats.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
