I have known Great Kitty Rescue survivors Nachos, Kudos, Yam and Tommy for about 4 years now.
GKR Orange Brigade
At first I had trouble telling these four orange tabby boys apart. Now that I know them so well, it seems odd that their identities were not readily apparent to me. As I got to know them better, I saw their physical differences and since their personalities have blossomed over the years, I can see that they are decidedly unique individuals. Continue reading
You may not remember Great Kitty Rescue survivor Nova. Many may have never met her.
Miss Nova June 2010
We do not know how Nova ended up at FLOCK, but we do know her story after she was rescued.
Nova was one of 18 cats “adopted” by a small cat rescue group in Buffalo, NY. When faced with the enormity of caring for and finding homes for over 700 cats, the Cat Adoption Team at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary did all they could to place the cats in homes or with other rescue groups. Continue reading
We celebrated Sylvester’s third anniversary with us on September 30, 2011. He seemed unfazed, but liked the special treats.
I on the other hand still marvel at how far he has come and what a happy, well adjusted cat he has blossomed into.
I was looking back at Sylvester’s Blog and reminiscing about the various milestones: Continue reading
“Our” Miss Dice has been adopted and I couldn’t be happier for her and her new mom!
From what we’ve been told, Dice’s new mom volunteered in Pahrump during the Great Kitty Rescue and fell in love with Dice. She has thought about her all this time and finally decided now was the ideal time to give Dice her forever home.
Three years ago today, we adopted Kermit, loaded him into the car amid tearful goodbyes and brought him to his forever home with us.
Kermit, Bob and I have all come so far from that day – all of us growing in understanding, trust and love. I marvel at his transformation from a frozen, terrified kitty to the purring ball of fur that snuggles close to us in bed making bread on whatever body part is closest.
I am in the middle of putting together a video tribute to our boy, but in the meantime I thought I would share some photos that illustrate Kermit’s growth. Continue reading
I have had a very hard time sitting down to write about Kendra. Perhaps it is due to the suddenness of her crossing. Or maybe it is because I had just spent a long weekend with her at Robin’s house when she suddenly left us. Or maybe I am in a bit of denial that she is really gone.
I do know that the only way for me to continue is to focus on the positive and there was so very much positive about Kendra and her effect on those who knew her, both human and feline.
And so that is what I will concentrate on here, the positive light and energy that were the lovely Miss Kendra.
From the beginning, Kendra was a favorite with her sweet gentle ways. Kendra loved to be petted and to nestle in your arms purring the entire time. However if you pulled away before she said it was okay, she would quickly reach out her paw and grab at you.
Kendra’s chart noted that she was in early renal failure. In addition to surviving the Great Kitty Rescue, Kendra fought many health issues – respiratory problems, ring worm and depression.
Still her sweet disposition shone through and humans and cats alike were drawn to her positive energy and fell in love with her.
Here are some of the comments from people who knew her:
Oh, this makes me so sad. I didn’t even know the little sweetie wasn’t doing well (though I began to suspect when she went to foster care). I am so glad that she had at least a little time in a home and that you got to spend some special time with her, Corinne. Carrie Fosters
Oh no. I named her after my niece. She was such a lover. This saddens me. Tell Robin thank you for taking her in and loving her. XOXO Fletch
Oh my God!! This came as such a shock, even though I knew you and Robin were worried about her when I saw you on Sunday. Thank you so much for letting me know; I will say a little prayer for her and for Robin too. I don’t know how many more of these she can take! Rest in peace little Kenji-butt, and if you see Dexter, tell him I said hello. Pollie
I am so sorry to hear about sweet Kendra. She was such a loving and gentle soul and deserved many happy years. I was happy to hear she found a home with Robin and felt love and companionship at last.
How is Robin? It must be so tough on her to first loose Snow and now Kendra – Hope she can stay positive and see all the joy and love she brought to both. She truly is a very special person. Please give her my love when you talk to her. Gilla
Awwwwww Kendra.
Shelley and I rushed her to Vegas on New Year’s Eve that year and she was always very special to me. Sweet and special.
I loved her so.
Kendra who looked at everyone as if they were her favorite person in the whole world.
She will be missed. D
Yet another one that brought tears to my eyes as Kendra was always one of my favorites…She will indeed be missed.
I also take some measure of comfort knowing that she was very much loved right up to the end… Shari
I believe that Kendra knew peace and fulfillment in her foster home with Robin and her fur babies and that she felt her life was complete.
Up at Rescue Village, we never called Princess Leia by her full name. It was only after she was transferred to Niblet’s in Benton’s that we had to use her full name to distinguish her from the Princess currently residing there.
Princess Leis was always a bit of an enigma. At first she was very fearful and would frantically run whenever someone got too near. Over time she gained some confidence and she became calmer.
She spent a lot of time with her buddy Patch before he moved down to Cat HQ – I think she missed him when he transferred.
But, she was social with the other cats and formed feline friendships with the others.
She still ran whenever she felt you were too close, but she wasn’t as panic-stricken as she once was. And she became a bit of a tease. She would scamper just out of reach and then sit and look right into your eyes as if to say “I could let you pet me if I wanted to.”
I believe that she really was curious to be petted and was working up the courage to let her caregivers lavish her with pets.
Of course I wish that she had known the warm feeling of a human petting her, had experienced elevator butt and the rumble of a purr in her throat in response to those pets.
It saddens me that she did not reach those benchmarks…and yet I know Princess was loved by many both feline and human. And I truly believe that she knew that.
I could never get a really good photo of Andy Bartholomew. He was always so active and whenever I pointed the camera at him, he would walk over to me. Being very inquisitive and intelligent, he wanted to know what I had in my hand. This resulted in many blurred shots of Andy’s face, belly and tail.
Andy was always on our top ten list. You know the one, the list of cats that we would take home if we could adopt that many cats.
So, it was with mixed feelings that we said goodbye to Andy the day he was adopted along with his “sister” Crystal.
We were so happy for him to finally have his forever home and sad to know we wouldn’t be seeing him every time we came to Kanab.
And now we must in our hearts and mind say a final goodbye.
Goodbye my feline friend. You were an extra special cat who will be remembered by many with love.
Hope for the cats of the Great Kitty Rescue
Mr. Bettinger was hoping for a continuance as there is so much evidence yet to go through and more is coming in daily since the word has spread about the trial. Yesterday the judge denied the request saying the opposing attorney would have none of it.
We are hoping that Mr. Bettinger and his investigator Sharon Wehrly have managed to compile a solid case based on what they have compiled. The trial is set for 9 am tomorrow morning (Thursday, 02/11/10).
If you are interested in this case, I would appreciate hearing your experience, thoughts and feelings about the case in the comments section.
You may send a private message from the Contact the Great Kitty Rescue Story page.
Normal & Special
As promised, I want to share the medical results for Hugo. The final diagnosis was that he had an atypical case of Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP).
My first thought was, “Leave it to Hugo to have it be atypical!”
Hugo was always a very special cat. Handsome, intelligent, stubborn and ultimately so very loving.
As we all know, despite over 20 years of research, the experts still do not know why FIP develops. They know the cause, but not the why. Nor has anyone come up with a treatment. The “effusive” or “wet” version of FIP is swift in its course and in all but a very few cases as documented by Dr. Irene de Villiers, it is deadly.
His veterinarian, Dr. Ann Middleton of the Cheshire Cat Feline Health Center, suspected FIP from the very first, but the lab results did not support that diagnosis. In this case, experience and instinct were sadly more accurate that lab results. Continue reading
