by Lorraine Monfils
Last week a sweet little black and white kitten arrived at the Ark. She is very petite and doesn’t look too much more than five or six months old. She weighs about 5 or 6 pounds as well. And as I am sure you must have guessed she is a namesake. We have chosen to call her Echo.
Echo is just a kitten herself and shows a lot of kitten tendencies. At this point in her life she should be playing with toys and running around getting into all kinds of trouble, without a care in the world. This is not the case for Echo. At six months of age, Echo is on her third home. Echo had to be someone’s cat. She is so sweet and loving. She was found roaming the streets and infested with fleas. A second family rescued her, but when they came home and found Echo under their couch with three tiny newborns they decided they couldn’t keep her. Echo and her three newborn kittens were taken in by the Ark.
Upon arrival, it was clear that Echo had no idea how to be a mom. She would walk off leaving them crying. Sometimes she would drag one of her babies along as she walked. She looked at me as if to say what is going on here? What am I supposed to do with these three tiny creatures? They are so needy. It was clear that Echo would rather continue being a playful kitten without a care in the world.
Once we confined Echo to a small area with her babies, she began to settle in and be more attentive. Echo’s babies are growing and are very healthy and she has become a wonderful mom to them. It just took a little time and practice. She has one male and two females. We have named them Gaston, Esmeralda and Mary Lou. They are now two weeks old and will be ready for adoption in six weeks.
Echo’s kitten stage was cut short when someone let her out with out spaying her. I am not sure that people realize that kittens can have kittens. Be responsible pet owners and do the right thing, spay and neuter your pets. The world does not need any more homeless animals. Echo is one of the fortunate ones. There are so many out there that do not stand a chance of surviving in this world, but we can change that if everyone would just do the right thing and alter their pets.
Building update — We do still intend to re-build, but we do not have a set date. We are still waiting on the insurance company as well as prices on what it will cost. We need to have some ground work done and a new foundation poured and it is going to be very expensive.
Our fund raising efforts are still in full swing as we need to raise another $20,000. Please joins us on May 3 and 17 outside Hollywood Pet Salon for bake sales from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. We will be having a dinner at the Elks on Saturday, May 24, 4-7 p.m. and the menu will be Italian. There will be a dessert auction as well as a silent auction. If you would like to help please, call Lorraine at 532-7387.
Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
