An Update

 To this post.

First, a big thank you to the folks that have donated to us.  A major part of that money allows us to spay and neuter and make a little dent in the endless reproduction cycles of cat colonies.  It also allows us to get treatment for the sick and injured that have a chance at being adopted.  We get discounts from various local clinics, but since we bring them several at a time, it's still expensive.

This is what 19 cats leaving this morning for a spay/neuter clinic looks like:

All 19 came from the same site over 2 days of trapping.  Eight kittens came out of the same site during those 2 days as well.  It was too dim in the hallway where the kittens were, so no cute pictures of them yet.

But there's also the main room in our "annex", where 8 kittens previously trapped currently reside.

And our main building, which has a fluctuating number of cats/kittens as we get adoptions or new cats come in from the annex.

Unfortunately, we weren't able to save Buttercup.  Despite $1000 in vet treatment she had so many things wrong and had been starved so long that her poor body was done.  By the second day she had developed a thousand yard stare that pretty much indicated that she was losing ground.  I sort of wonder if in some way our bringing her in and giving her comfort and warmth hastened her death in that she could finally relax and just let go.  

However, a lot of info had by that time had been collected on her "owner", including statements that the cat was "Just old" that she posted to the Facebook discussion about her.  She took down the post when she realized that people were angry about the condition of the cat, but she neglected to take down photos of Buttercup (whom she called Katie) from her own site from before she got tired of her and put her out.  We kept the vet records and statements from the vets about her long term starvation/emaciation and the variety of ailments she suffered from, most of them things that are easily treated if treatment is done early.   We kept the body - yep, it's in a freezer.  And I put together a several page document with all the vet info and statements and numerous photos of her appalling condition, which Animal Control now has.  The officer in charge of the case went to the house on Nov. 4 but nobody was home so she left a "please call" tag.  The "owner" has not called and the officer plans to go back.

It may be a pipe dream, but if we've presented enough evidence for Animal Control to give her a citation, we are hoping that we can sue in small claims court to recover the vet fees.  If not, well, at least she'll be put on notice and her other animals will be inspected.  This is not a question of someone not having enough money to care for Buttercup.  This is her home:

And this is Buttercup when she was still being cared for:

To end her life like this:

Fortunately I have enough self control not to go over to the woman's house and "discuss" it with her myself.  

I Don't Often Beg...

 ...and I know I don't have many followers.  But I thought I'd put this out there in hope.

I volunteer for a group called Mountain Cats TNR.  The TNR in theory stands for "Trap, Neuter, and Return" and refers to feral cats.  Trouble is, the stray cat world isn't just composed of ferals - wild cats that will form colonies that neutering/spaying can stabilize - but is full of dumped, abandoned, and neglected cats, as well as an abundance of kittens.  And we try to care for those and find them homes.  It's all volunteers running on donations and trading off chores - trapping, scooping cat pans, feeding, watering, medicating, making vet runs, and giving love to a variety of felines as they come in, recover, then go to a forever home.  We aren't supposed to be a rescue.  But we are.

Today Mountain Cats took in a cat that is in the worst condition I've ever seen an animal outside of the horrifying videos you find on YouTube.  She's been to the vet and we're waiting on test results.  I'm surprised the vet didn't immediately say to put her to sleep, but maybe that's a ray of hope.  

That's not actually brown around her mouth - it's bright red blood.  She is nothing but skin stretched over a frail skeleton.  I'll be surprised if she lasts through tonight.  I'm trying to comfort myself with the thought that tonight at least for the first time in God knows how long she's safe, with all the food and water she needs if she can get it down, and with a soft bed to lay on.  Even if it's just to die on. As weak as she is, she is very affectionate.  She's breaking my heart.

Anyway, despite discounts, vet bills cost money.  Sometimes lots of money - I think Mountain Cats has spayed/neutered something like 400 cats over the last few years.  And that's just the spay/neuter side.  There's vaccinations, respiratory illnesses, eye infections, ear infections, worms, wounds, fleas, FIV, and this year's particular plague, panleuk, which has killed kitten after kitten despite weeks of fighting for them.  And if this little girl survives she's going to be hellaciously expensive before she leaves.

And then there's the everyday costs of litter and food.  

So if you have a few bucks you aren't doing anything with, could you throw it at Mountain Cats?  Our furrbabies would appreciate it.