By Lorraine Monfils
Quite often I get asked how do you do what you do? Or I hear comments like, “I could never do what you do because it is so heartbreaking when you lose one.”
My response is simple. “How do I not do what I do?” Yes it is heartbreaking to lose an animal, but it makes you even more determined to save another. In animal rescue it is in your blood and once you start making a difference in the lives of so many animals you will always do it you have no choice. We do not do it for the glory or the recognition because at the end of the day that does not matter what does matter is that we did the best we could and if we are lucky another animal has survived because of that.
We are not going to stand here and tell you how hard we work and how many hours we put in because it does not matter. We give our time freely because that is the commitment we have made. What we give is not the priority. The priority is the animals that need our help. The main focus here is helping as many animals as we can and educating the public.
The Ark took in a mama cat and six kittens this week. No big deal right? I wish that were true mama cat is just about a year old and this is her second litter of kittens. The first litter was six kittens the second litter was wight. Do the math that is 14 kittens in one year. Two kittens from the second litter died two weeks after she gave birth.
Mama was so sick she couldn’t walk or eat and she went blind. At the most mama weighed 4 or 5 pounds — she is so tiny. Now who is there to take care of the babies? Taking care of babies is not just bottle feeding them, it is feeding them the right amount. Over feeding can kill them. It is stimulating them to go potty. It is keeping them warm enough and it is doing this every 3 to 4 hours.
Mama kitty was rushed to the vet where it was determined she had a very high fever, she was dehydrated, off balance and cortically blind meaning her eyes worked but her brain would not allow her to see. Her white blood cell count was also high. Poor mama just a kitten herself is now in a fight for her life.
The six kittens have been placed in foster care and it is an uphill battle because they are so tiny and they need their mother. What mama and the six tiny babies are experiencing should not ever happen to any animal. Mama never got a chance to just be a happy healthy kitten. Instead she was a kitten having kittens, not once but twice in less than a year.
Mama is currently in stable condition still at the vet. We are in hopes to bring her home next week and she has a wonderful foster home all set for her. Her kittens are a concern for us and only time will tell. We ask you to keep mama and her babies in your thoughts and prayers.
Today, there are so many programs out there to assist people with neuter and spay to help prevent unwanted litters. There is absolutely no excuse not to alter your pets. There is the Help Fix me Fund, the Cleo Fund and Flash’s neuter and spay. For more information on any of these go online or contact the Hollywood pet Salon. Be responsible and get your pets altered.
This heartbreaking story could have been prevented with a simple spay. The cost to the owner would have been minimal probably around $10 to $20. Weigh the options the life of a mama cat and eight kittens or the cost of a spay. Which would you choose?
Our bake sales will resume again in February. The first one being Saturday, Feb. 6 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. outside the Hollywood Pet Salon. Thank you for your continued support and as always thank you for reading our column.
