Sunday at the Shelter 11-08-2013

It was lovely to have Libby with me again.  She's not been able to volunteer for some time due to illness, but hopefully she will be back to her regular Sunday slot from now on.

Thanks to the recent request for volunteers the Shelter was full of helpers today :)  Libby and I dried and filled litter trays while we waited for rooms to be allocated.


Holding was oddly a 'girl only' zone this week!  Lots of new faces to introduce you to, although I apologise in advance for my photography!!

First out was Ruby (black) and Pearl (tabby and white) they were abandoned in a carrier along with a third cat, Sapphire.  Pearl is confident and happy to have a fuss.  Ruby was slightly more apprehensive, but still happy to have some attention.  Both are beautiful girls.

Ruby

Pearl

Pearl having a look out of the window

Pixie is a little nervous and isn't keen on being handled at the moment.  We coaxed her back into her house with some treats.

Pixie

Wednesday is a gorgeous long haired black cat, she was playful but a little cautious around us.  Unfortunately, she was easily startled by some loud noises outside the shelter.

Libby with Wednesday

Sapphire is a tiny little girl who was happy to have some attention.  While we were in there a wasp wandered in through the open window and she was fascinated.  Watch the video to see :)



Crystal was in the yard as normal, waiting to see what everyone was having for lunch....

You may remember Libby (the cat) who was missing.  Thankfully, due to the shear determination of one lady called Maggie, who waited patiently to trap her, she's now in infirmary.  Thank you to everyone who helped. Her ordeal has unfortunately led to her being even more frightened and timid than before.  I managed a little photo of her, it's not great as I didn't want to disturb her with flash.  At least she is safe again and will be well looked after and fed.

Libby safe back at the Shelter

We were about to head for home, when the day took a little twist.  An un-neutered male, Marvin and a pregnant young female, Mika were brought into the shelter on Friday.  It was thought that the 5-6 month old female was in the early stages of pregnancy.

Emma introduced us to the pair and it was during this time that she noticed some changes in Mika.  These  led her to suspect that the little girl may actually be further into her pregnancy than first thought.  It seems that Mika is starting to produce milk. Mums 'to be' generally start to produce 24 to 48 hours before the onset of labour. This means that there is a possibility that Mika could deliver at any time. 

Rather than risk her going into labour overnight at the Shelter,  I offered to bring her home with me, where she could be monitored.  The risks to her are increased because she is young and very small.

This prompted a crash course in hand feeding and toileting kittens 'just in case'.  Emma talked me through the signs of each stage of labour and the actions I should take in certain situations.  I have the back up the emergency vet number, should I need it.

Here are my practice kittens :)

Ernest and Egbert

There are many Mums and kittens out on the streets at the moment, as there is simply not enough room at the Shelter. 

Experienced cat owners (or previous cat owners) are desperately needed for short term fostering.   Kittens are fostered until they are ready to go back to the Shelter for re-homing.  All you need is a bit of time, a spare room and transport to get to Vet appointments. Food, Vet bills, cat litter etc are all provided by the Shelter.

If you think you can help, contact the Shelter, they will be happy to answer your questions.

Oh by the way did you know the Shelter are now on Twitter??  Why not follow them via @CatsShelter

So far Mika seems settled, so hopefully we will have a uneventful night, but if that changes, I'll let you know!!

Sunday (not quite) at the Shelter 4-08-13

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to visit the shelter in person today but I'm not going to let that stop me from bringing you a weekly round-up of news.

If you remember last week I mentioned the article in The Star. We were hopeful that this would bring in a lot of potential adopters and its certainly been a better week in that respect, around 12 cats/kittens have gone to their forever homes.

One particular adoption put a big smile on my face and that was Kit.  She'd been at the shelter for months and no one could understand why.  Here she is from one of my previous posts.

Kit

Such a lovely cat, I'm so happy someone has given her a forever home.  I'm told she has gone to a lovely family who already had a cat and were looking for another.  After visiting a number of rescues they felt Kit would be the perfect fit for them. They have made a great choice and I do hope they update the Shelter on her progress.

Sadly as soon as one cat or kitten leaves for their forever home there is another coming through the doors and some of the details are shocking and heartbreaking.

Mid week, 3 abandoned cats sharing one pet carrier were brought to the Shelter.  It seems they had been  dumped on someone's drive.  They were, understandably, very stressed at first but responded well to food and some tlc. The new additions are thought to be a Mum around 2 years old and her kittens who are approximately 7 to 8 months old.  The Shelter staff have named them Ruby, Sapphire and Pearl. It's likely we'll never know the real story behind their abandonment. 

Today a 1 week old kitten was brought in, in pitiful state, after being found under a bush. The little mite's face was covered in fleas and tics. He had puss under his eyes, was filthy, starving and to top it off had horrid diarrhoea. This is an awful lot for any kitten to deal with, but at 1 week old it really is going to be touch and go.  Egbert, as he is now known, is in Emma's care and rest assured she will do everything she can to give him the best possible chance, including hand rearing and veterinary care.

Egbert, looking much cleaner

Another admission today was a Mum and her 6  2 days old kittens.  Mum had no milk to feed the babies, so they were literally starving.  They were also in danger from foxes and possibly dogs. If they hadn't been brought in they would have died from starvation, if nothing else.  At the moment the plan is to get plenty of food into Mum so that she has a chance of producing milk for the kittens.  If this doesn't work, hand rearing will be the only option.  Emma will be back at the Shelter later this evening to check on them. 

There are no 9-5 hours here.  Young kittens need feeding every couple of hours, day and night.

One of Emma's previous hand rears

In between the adoptions and the admissions there were 6 individual calls from the public asking for help in respect of Mums and kittens or Mums to be, all of whom are living outside and are therefore terribly vulnerable.  No doubt there were countless other calls in addition.

Another sad story broke this weekend.  Libby was a very timid cat who had come into the Shelter after being found as a stray. Her age was approximated at around 1 year.

This photo was taken when I first met her in June, she was hiding in the back of a pet carrier as everything was very strange for her.

Libby at the Shelter

It wasn't long before she was adopted, but sadly she escaped from her new home and is currently missing.  The Shelter and others are doing all they can to try and find her.  If you, your family or friends live, or work in the Abbey Brook/Chancet Wood area of Sheffield (S8) please look out for Libby.  (This is the area  behind Morrisons on Meadowhead )  She is micro-chipped, but is not wearing a collar. 

Here is her most recent picture, taken before she left the Shelter. To date there have been no sightings.

Libby

Everyone is very concerned about her welfare. She is very timid and won't approach people, please get in touch with the Shelter if you have any sightings of her at all.
 

Sadly calls about abandoned cats and kittens are all part of the working day for the Shelter, but there are only so many spaces available. They do everything possible to give all cats and kittens a chance, but they can't do it without you and me.




With so many calls about Mums and babies and so many more on the waiting lists, volunteers are so desperately needed.  Can you help?  Can you support the Shelter to allow them to keep doing what they do?

Could you help with fund raising? Adoption fees are a drop in the ocean against the costs the Shelter has and raising funds is vital to enable this work to continue. How about one morning a week cleaning in the cat rooms? (read my previous posts if you want to know more about this)  You will be greeted by lovely, friendly staff and will receive an induction to give you all the information you need. Rubber gloves provided!!

Maybe you are an experienced cat owner (or have recent past experience) and could help with short term fostering?  (again read back on my posts to see about my own experience of this)  All you need is a spare room where foster cats can be safe, plus transport to attend vets appointments.  All vet fees, food and litter will be covered by the Shelter.

If you don't have time to spare, visit the Donate & Support page to see if there is anything else you can help with.

Finally, share the Shelters Facebook posts, share this blog, invite your friends to 'like' their page.  Do you know that some residents don't know about the Shelter?  The more people who know, the more cats and kittens can be saved.

Sunday at the Shelter 16-06-13

Two weeks of news to catch up on today!

Last week I worked on my own in holding where I met Edward.  He's a beautiful white cat with one blue eye and one browny yellow.  Such a sweetie and straight on my knee for a cuddle.  It was no surprise to later hear he'd been quickly adopted.

Edward

It did get me thinking though, about how many odd eye'd cats I'd seen at the shelter recently. A bit of online research told me that its most likely to occur in white cats.  All kittens are born with blue eyes which change colour at around 8 weeks.  In the case of Edward his genes have only allowed one eye to change colour and the other stayed blue. Interesting stuff.

I went on to have an 'unfortunate' incident a little later.  One resident was upset by two of the other cats. Thanks to the bars seperating them they couldn't get to each other, but that didn't stop a lot of noise and upset.  In my rush to calm the situation and get the original cat safely away, I got a little damaged.  Still, I had been warned so it was definately not the fault of the cat, she just got spooked.  Lesson learned!!

War wounds!

Meet Libby who was named after my daughter!  She (my daughter) didn't believe me when I told her.  Libby (the cat) is around a year old and very nervous at the moment.  She looks a pretty little thing :) Here she is hiding in a carrier in one of the rooms.

Libby

Thanks to the power of Facebook little William was adopted.  He struggled to get on with the other cats and kittens and has thankfully found a home where he will be an only one.  His new family have called him Ozzy and, after just a week, say they can't imagine not having him in their home.  I'm so pleased that all my fosters have had a happy ending :)


This week Libby (not the cat) and I were in holding again.  In there was one of Emma's most recent hand rears.  Hope and her siblings have just returned to the shelter after being vacinnated and neutered.  Her siblings have been pre-adopted, but sadly this is unlikely to happen for Hope.  When the Vets spayed her they found a lot of fluid in her abdomen area and what looks like serious kidney problems.  Emma is waiting for results of tests, but the outlook is not good. It's such a shame for this sweet little kitten.

Hope enjoys a cuddle with Libby

I also met Bella for the first time, she was looking for plenty of tummy rubs.  Sweet natured and beautiful, I sure she won't be at the shelter long.

Bella has a tummy rub :)

Finally here was a goodbye for the shelter today.  One of the long term volunteers, Alex, spent his last day with us.  He baked a cake to commemorate the occasion!

Alex is going to be sadly missed.  He's a lovely young man who gets stuck in and works hard.  I'm sure everyone at the Shelter will wish him the very best.  In September he starts 5 years of study in Liverpool which will lead him to be a qualified Vet.  I'm sure he has a bright future ahead of him.

Sunday at the Shelter 28-04-13

Today was a little sad. When Libby and I set of to the Shelter this morning, we were not alone.  We had our foster cat, Wendy with us.  Today was the day for her to return to the shelter to look for her new home.  As you may have read in my last post, Wendy was getting sore from the kittens trying to feed, so the time had come to separate them.

We popped her into a compartment in holding and after helping to wash trays we were back in there doing our cleaning.  I'll be honest, it did upset me to put her in and walk away, I couldn't help but shed a few tears.

Wendy

To begin with she cried a lot, but she did settle quite quickly. Even so, it didn't make me feel any better.

I couldn't help but take a photo of Tigger.  He is a beautiful boy in holding, lovely bushy tail!

Tigger

Emma had her own mixed feelings today as she brought in the three 'G's'.  George, Gabrielle and Grace are now in a room ready for pre adoption.  Emma has hand reared these kittens since they were just a few days old, this previous post gives their story.

They are now beautiful and healthy little kittens, seen here playing in their new room.

I think Emma has done a fantastic job and I can't imagine how hard it must be to give them up. 

When I hear stories of people not wanting to adopt black cats or kittens, I just don't get it.  Look at these little ones, aren't all kittens cute?  I have four black cats and to be honest I wouldn't have had a problem having all 7 being black.  If you want to share your life with an animal, does it really matter what colour it is?  For me there is only one thing I would say is wrong with a black cat, you can never get a decent photo...

Emma still has her more recent set of hand rears to keep her busy.

Mixed in with these is Elsie who was recently rescued from a dire situation.  She is a lot smaller than the others so got her milk first.

Quickly followed by the others, who are also starting to be weaned on to solid food.

The Shelter put out an appeal recently for new cat trees for the main rooms.  The ones they had were showing signs of real wear.  They had such a fantastic response. All of the main rooms now have fab new  trees for the cats and kittens to play with.  Thing like these make a real difference for the cats.

Before leaving the Shelter I popped back and gave Wendy another cuddle . I can't help but be sad for her although I know she is going to be well looked after. Goodness knows what I'll be like when it's time to take the kittens back.

Sunday at the Shelter 14-03-13

Volunteering didn't go to plan this week as my foster family hadn't been well.

Mum and all 3 babies were due their first vaccinations on Friday.  Unfortunately, the girls started being unwell on Thursday, with vomiting, diarrhoea and a reluctance to eat.  We also noticed that Mum Wendy, had a swollen and sore looking nipple.  It seemed that our scheduled Vet visit would definitely be needed but not for jabs.

As I thought, the Vet only wanted to vaccinate William as he had remained in good health.  Wendy had an antibiotic injection with a course of tablets for 5 days.  Willow and Whisper both had antibiotic and vitamin injections plus I was given some special food to try and tempt them to eat.

Whilst they've been unwell I've been using a small syringe to try and keep up their fluid intake. The Vet advised me that if there was no improvement or a worsening of their condition I would need to bring them back the following day.

Poorly Whisper hiding herself away

For the remainder of Friday I kept on giving water and trying to encourage them to eat.  In the evening Willow started to projectile vomit even water, she wouldn't eat and her diarrhoea continued.  Despite this, she did continue to play and was reasonably hydrated so whilst I was concerned I was comfortable to leave the Vet until the following day.  Whisper ate a small amount but not enough.

Willow looking after her sister

On Saturday neither of them ate breakfast and they were both quiet.  I checked with the Cat Shelter and made an appointment for the Vet again. On the way Willow was sick in the carrier.  This time they were given an anti sickness injection.  In addition, Whisper was starting to become dehydrated and needed to have fluids injected directly under the skin.  Not a nice experience for her, but a necessary evil I'm afraid.  I was advised to make an appointment there and then to return on Sunday.

Later that day, once the anti sickness medication had started to work, Whisper began to eat again.  Willow, needed quite a bit of encouragement, but did eventually have some.

So on Sunday I was a little stuck with my volunteering duties as I had a Vet visit right in the middle.  I dropped Libby off around 9:45 and did some trays until 10:30 before I left to come home for the kittens.

Just a small amount of trays to go back into the rooms

As you can see all the trays are colour coded and are refilled with a newspaper lining and a small amount of litter.  These will then be taken to be used in the various rooms around the shelter.

Willow was the one needing extra fluids this time, but the Vet was very pleased with Whispers progress.  Both kittens had another antibiotic injection, but on the whole they seemed to be on the mend.

Back at the Shelter, I did manage to get a shot of one of the most recent hand reared kittens.  Unfortunately one of the little tabbies fell ill and didn't make it, so that leaves one tabby, one black and two ginger.

Libby cleaned out room 3 which contained the 3 month old kittens of Dexter and Cindy (see previous blog entry) They are two shy little ones who soon got used to Libby once she'd been in the room for a while.

It was windy on Sunday so they were watching things blowing in the wind!

Chloe and Carlos

All the abandoned kittens from last week are now happily settled in foster homes.

Libby also took a few other photo's while she was waiting for me to pick her up.

Frosty has a cuddle

 

Fi is out of holding and much happier

Bruno is a big softy

So apologies for the delayed post this week.  Hopefully normal service will be resumed!

Sunday at the shelter 07-04-13

A new Mum and babies had already been dropped off before we got to the shelter today. It turned out it was just the start for Emma, Judith and Leanne as there were 5 more kittens needing to be collected.

First things first though, there were hungry mouths to feed, Emma's latest batch of hand rears.

Their Mum,  Jude, is now doing much better away from her 5 babies and the kittens are thriving too.  Emma and Judith took turns in giving the kittens milk.  They are very strong little ones and they are certainly hungry :)

Judith feeding one of the kittens

Today, Libby cleaned room 1 and I went upstairs to do room 4.  Room 4 currently has a number of older cats.  Joe found my mop a great source of entertainment. 

Joe v mop

He also enjoyed a cuddle when I'd finished my jobs. :)  Despite being  8 he's a very lively boy who loves cuddles and playing.

Joe having a cuddle

Aragorn was in his element today. He's been moved out of holding into a room on his own. While we were there he also had a bit of time in the garden and had fun rolling around.

Cookie was reunited with his brother Biscuit, thanks to Friends of ferals. Unfortunately, it's been discovered that they both have chlamydia in their eyes and are now in isolation.  The condition is treatable, but may take a couple of weeks to clear.  In the meantime staff will need to be especially cautious as this is a highly contagious infection. Hopefully, it won't be too long before I am able to get a look at Biscuit and take some new photo's


If you've recently visited the Shelter's facebook page, you'll have seen the sad story of Max.  He's a very lucky chap now happily bunking down with Emma's cats. A member of the public saw a group of boys with 3 kittens. Worried for their safety she offered to take them. The boys refused but the lady saw them throw one kitten over a neighbours fence. She was able to rescue it and called the shelter. You really can't begin to understand how anyone could want to harm these innocent creatures.:( Everyone was worried about what could have happened to the other 2 kittens as the boys had left with them and we all thought we would never find out.  But then it seems fate decided to lend a hand.

Emma left to go to a Vet's surgery who'd called to say they had 5 kittens that needed collecting.  2 were estimated at 5 weeks old and 3 at around 7 or 8 weeks.

It turned out that the 5 week old kittens were the brothers to Max.  Another lady had seen the boys throw the first kitten and had taken the remaining two off them.  She looked for the third kitten but couldn't find it, unaware that it had been safely retrieved.  What a brave lady! Not everyone would have been confident enough to take the kittens from them. 

Rescued brothers

The other 3 were abandoned outside the Vets premises.  They will all be treated for flea's and worms before going to their foster homes. 

Emma is taking Max's brothers and the Manager, Kim was busy making room for the other 3.  There are no 9-5 jobs here!

As always, if you want to help, have a look at the Donate & Support page :)

Sunday at the shelter 31-03-13

I was very thankful to have Libby with me again this week. I seem to be suffering from some bug or 'man flu' type problem. Energy levels have been at rock bottom this weekend. Still, we made it to the shelter as usual.

We met some new residents in holding this week. Only Fi was still in there from previous visits.
The cheekiest chappie of all is Aragon. He hates being confined to quarters and makes people aware of this with his bizarre behaviour. He talks constantly in between chewing his litter tray and bathing in his water bowl!

Aragon after his 'bath'

Once we'd finished the entire room, we let him back out into the main area. His behaviour completely changes and he shows us what a lovely friendly fluff ball he is. Here he is using me as a cat perch while I clean up his messy paw prints!

Emma has her hands full again. One of the new mums stopped producing milk after just five days, which means these little cuties now need to be hand reared.

5 new babies

Mum had a trip to the vets today as she'd not wee'd or poo'd for 3 days. Fortunately, the vets managed to get her to 'go' and she was able to return to the shelter. It seems like it could be the stress of not being able to feed her babies that has had an impact on her health. To prevent further problems mum and babies will now be kept apart.

It was lovely to see Cookie out in one of the main rooms. He is still very nervous but seemed far happier in his surroundings, when you consider how he was last week.

Cookie

I was also pleased to meet Paul, who helped to bring Cookie into the shelter. Paul is one of a number of people who take time to care for the feral cats of Sheffield.

You can follow them on Facebook, Friends of ferals. They provide shelters and food for many ferals. In fact Paul was off to take a shelter out this afternoon. He told me they are still trying to capture Cookies sibling but as he's wise to being trapped not even tasty chicken can tempt him.  I've no doubt they will keep trying.

If you want know how you can help The Sheffield Cats Shelter have a look at the donate & support page.

Sunday at the Shelter 10-03-13

Well it was a snowy start to Mothers Day here in Sheffield.  Fortunately, there wasn't enough of the white stuff to prevent me getting to The Sheffield Cats Shelter.

I arrived with a golf bag in tow, courtesy of my Dad, another contribution to the yard sale which will take place next Saturday.  Libby and I have our names down to help out on this day too.  The cleaning will need to be completed earlier so that all the jobs are out of the way ready for the sale to start at 11am.

Libby wasn't well today, so I washed trays with Alex, another volunteer, who is a student at Sheffield Uni.  Once the trays were finished I was off to take care of Holding.  I'd just got started when Emma told me she was about to feed the kittens she's been hand rearing.  More importantly, they now have names!!  George, Grace and Gabrielle.  I have my own George at home, so I very much approve of this :)

Looking much bigger now

Much more mobile!

Look at those ears!

As the three G's were in the Maternity section, I also took a moment to check out Kit.  Kit is a beautiful girl, she has just given birth this week to four kittens.

Kits new babies :)

For some reason Kit is still a little unsettled, she is also looking a bit swollen around her tummy.  Usually a new Mum will curl up with her kittens, but Kit is definitely not doing this.  Emma is worried that maybe not all the kittens have been born.  If Kit doesn't settle, she'll be having a visit to the vets tomorrow for a check up.  I really hope she's going to be ok as she's a lovely cat.

Kit loves a fuss

Kit joins two other Mums who are currently nursing their babies in Maternity.

Finally I helped out a little when Cindy was brought out of Holding and re-united in one of the main rooms, with her previous mate Dexter.

Cindy

Dexter

These two beautiful cats were abandoned in a cardboard box with two of their kittens.  The kittens are now with a foster parent until they are old enough to come back to the shelter for adoption.

I can never understand why people can be so cruel.  I spent a while in the room with them and they both adore attention, I know they will soon find a new and loving home.  They certainly deserve it.

Playmates

Dexter rolling around :)

So, don't forget, if you're local to Sheffield, get down to the Shelter on Saturday 16th March from 11am.  The first yard sale of the year will help to raise the vital funds needed to help all these beautiful animals.