The new Ark Animal Sanctuary is now home to 22 cats. It has been a very exciting month for us and our kitties. The rooms are now filled with beautiful new tenants.
We currently have eight FIV-positive cats that occupy the first room. They are some of the most gorgeous and social creatures you will ever meet. They are loving their new digs and they can hardly wait for it to be warm enough so they can go outside to their new cat pens and bask in the sunshine and fresh air.
The second room is home to two senior kitties, ages 14 and 15, as well as four other kitties, all adoptable and very sweet. They love it when the volunteers come to keep them company as well as any visitors who might pop in the door.
Room number three is home to two semi-feral kitties who were surrendered to The Ark after their owner passed away. They are very shy and nervous so we are giving them their space and a little time before we introduce them to other cats
Room four is now home to seven feral cats. These cats all came to us in the dead of winter with health issues. After they were healthy we did not have the heart to release them back, so The Ark has become their permanent home. At first they hid all of the time and only came out at night. Now, little by little, they are coming out while we are there and are more active during the day.
Room five is our special-needs room and is being used temporarily to house Indra, our queen bee, who does not like other kitties. We are in hopes that Indra will find the perfect home where she will be the only kitty.
We still have five kitties in foster care to get to the vet before they can move up to the new sanctuary. Of those five, two are special needs and three are feral.
All of the cats that have been moved to the sanctuary have been fully vetted. All are altered, fully vaccinated and tested for AIDS and feline leukemia.Three of the cats had to have full mouth extractions, so our vet bills for the month are just a little under $4,000. On the average, it was about $100 per cat to be fully vetted. The full mouth extractions were something we did not plan on, and it made a big hit to the budget.
We have been fortunate to have enough volunteers to be open 10-2 Monday through Friday, and soon we will be open 10-2 every other Saturday. The volunteers are all doing an awesome job and our kitties love them and the time they get to spend with them.
I can’t thank everyone enough for your support and generosity and helping to make our dream become a reality once again. This has been quite the journey and learning experience, and none of it would be possible without the support of this wonderful community.
I invite everyone to come up and see what we have accomplished. You will be amazed and you might even find a new best friend.
Thank you for your continued support, and as always, thank you for reading our column.
