One family. Five lives saved through Euclid Beach Cat Project.
A few weeks ago a resident of a Cleveland suburb brought in a trio of sick community (outdoor) kittens to an emergency veterinary hospital. One baby (Miso) was sicker than the others. He was running a high fever, was very congested, had eye discharge and a limp. The second kitten, who was named Knuckles, received treatment, and the caregiver decided to keep him as her own.The third kitten (Sushi) in the litter seemed to be doing ok, but later she started showing signs of a respiratory infection and needed medication. It was recommended to her to contact our organization for help. She did, and we offered to help her with the kittens and their mom. After a few days of communication, one of our lead trappers went out to get the kittens and set a trap for their friendly mother (later named Tofu).
On arrival, the team found that Tofu and another male cat (Edamame) were also ill. The caregiver was informed that Euclid Beach Cat Project works to save all cats in the colony, not just the babies. If cats are unsocialized they are sterilized, given the medical care they need to live a healthy life, and then returned to their colony. Friendly cats are placed in our adoption program to help find a family with whom they can live safely indoors. In this case, we were able to safely and humanely trap the adult pair and bring them inside for medical care. The caregiver indicated that they had been sick for well over a year. Both cats tested positive for FIV (Feline-Immunodeficiency-Virus), which could have complicated their recovery from their sickness. Both cats received three weeks of antibiotics and are starting to seem much better while under our care. Edamame is scheduled for a dental procedure in the near future.
While we were waiting for Edamame to enter the trap, a brown tabby male came to the home and seemed like he had not had a good meal in a very long time. We fed him and asked for the caregiver to continue to feed him daily until we could come back and help him too. A few short days later we were able to bring him (Wasabi) in as well. During his veterinary visit he also tested FIV positive and had periodontal disease. He will have his dental procedure at the same time as Edamame. The medical team aged this boy a bit older than the others at eight years young and will be considered healthy after cleaning up his dental disease.
Life on the streets is a hard and often ends in tragedy. A lot of times cats live a life with chronic illness, wounds, starvation, and (if they are in an unmanaged colony) multiple births. Community cat colonies can be made up of both socialized and unsocialized cats. Many cats are strays that were neglected and abandoned by people that once were their families. Most of these cats are unfixed and populating areas they live in with more and more cats. Some colonies are lucky enough to have caretakers that supply them with daily food and shelter. Other colonies even have caretakers that understand the need to sterilize the cats so they don't continue breeding and will remove the socialized cats through local rescue organizations when possible. This colony is one of the lucky ones to receive the help they so clearly needed.
We can already see the impact we have made on their lives in just three weeks time. We can't wait to see how they continue to transform through more medical care, socialization, and consistent nutritious meals.
Check back soon for more updates on these fantastic felines!
Together we can change the world, one heartbeat at a time.
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