Sunday at the Shelter 13-10-13

Holding was full today, but thankfully Libby was with me to help out.

First out was Lily.  She was previously adopted through the Shelter, but sadly didn't settle in her new home.  It won't be long before she is back in one of the main rooms.  She's a lively little girl, who's happy for some attention.

Lilly

Ruby is currently the Star for 7 Days.  She's still waiting for the right person to come along

Ruby

Next is Tia who I first met a couple of weeks ago.  She had just been admitted and the team needed to get her to take thyroid medication.  

Tia when she was admitted

Trying to give tablets directly was far too stressful for her so medication was instead put into her food.  Unfortunately, the downside to this was the tablet coating broke down within the food rather than in her stomach.  This lead to her getting an 'instant hit' of medicine rather than a slow release as intended.

Given the situation it was decided the best solution was to have her thyroid removed.  The operation was carried out and she is now recovering well. An operation like this costs the Shelter around £300, but it means Tia will no longer need medication, so hopefully she will start to become much more settled.  It just shows you that, regardless of the cost, the Shelter always do what is needed.

Here she is today, enjoying a brush :)

Tia, showing her 'war' wounds

The next little Lady was Doris.  Regular readers may remember her story.  She was living outside with a terrible injury due to her leg being through her collar.  Here's a reminder of the damage.

Doris and her collar wound

Doris is slowly becoming more trusting and her sores are gradually healing. Unfortunately, due to the location of the wound, it can't be stitched so it could take months to heal fully. 

Doris having a little cuddle

Flash has lost his slight limp and after having treatment for ticks there shouldn't be anymore problems, which is good news as he was pre-adopted today!

Flash

Finally to Gordon who was also a stray and thought to be a sibling of Flash. However, once at the shelter, he was obviously bigger so it's likely he's from a previous litter.  He's a little shy, but very sweet.

Gordon

I took the opportunity to visit Maternity where Texas and her kittens, Ohio and Vegas, are doing really well.  

Texas

The kittens are now 7-8 weeks old and are fully weaned. 

Vegas

Ohio

This means that at last Texas can concentrate on feeding herself as Ohio has only just started eating solids!

Ohio playing in the room

Kittens Alice and Archie are also in here.  They were brought in after being found in a box on someone's drive.  They are such lovely little souls.  Look at Alice's little pink nose!

Alice

My final visit today was to see Marmaduke.  He was a stray suffering with very bad teeth and a terribly matted coat.  He's a lot happier now a number of teeth have been removed.  

Marmaduke

Unfortunately, his fur was so badly matted in places, no amount of brushing was going to make a difference.  Instead the worst area's were shaved.  He reminds me of a lion with that tail!  At least this way he has the chance to groom himself and hopefully it won't take too long for the fur to start growing back.

Lions tail?

Marmaduke is isolated from other cats as he has Calicivirus.  The means he is a flu carrier. In times of stress or if he's unwell, flu symptoms are likely to appear and can also be spread to non vaccinated cats.

Just another example of the Shelter doing all they can to help all cats who are admitted no matter what it takes.

Don't forget, if you want to support the fantastic work of the Shelter visit the Donate and Support page to find out how.

Sunday 'sort of' at the Shelter 06-10-13

Today was a little different. I did go and volunteer, and I did go to the Shelter. However, my initial Shelter visit was a brief pit stop, just long enough to collect a table, cage, collection tin and some literature.

From there my Daughter, Libby and our latest 'Tribe' recruits, Millie and Willow, headed for Pets at Home, Kilner Way Retail Park at Wadsley Bridge. We went to help sell raffle tickets for Support Adoption For Pets. The Pets at Home branch support two local animal charities, Labrador Welfare and just recently The Sheffield Cats Shelter :)

During the month of October both charities are being offered the opportunity to come into the store and help sell raffle tickets, whilst raising awareness of the Charities at the same time. Funds raised this month will be shared between these two amazing Charities. What a fantastic gesture!

Labrador Welfare were the main attraction today, with a selection of lovely dogs, who were so well behaved.  They had an information point at the main entrance to help sell the tickets. No one can resist meeting and greeting these two :)

Beautiful Golden Labs

This lovely black lab really enjoyed a fuss too :) 

It made sense for us to keep the kittens a little away from the dogs so we set up in the cat section.

Set up ready to chat :)

We were unsure how much room we would have so took a small cage for the girls.  I decided to take them with me as they are a Shelter success story really.  To think they were born outside to a Mum who had no home, had it not been for the Shelter where would they be now?

We also took harnesses and leads for the girls.  Unsure how they would react to being out of the home environment we monitored them carefully.  They were a little hesitant to start, so we had one each on the lead in our arms and they soon settled into it.  

Millie stayed happily in my arms for quite some time.  I began to feel like a Bond villian, stood there, stroking my kitten. 

So Mr Bond, I've been expecting you....

Willow found her investigative feet.  She was very interested in the rows of cat food and biscuits, but her attention was soon turned to a meaty fly in the store.  Here she is having a rest.

We had a lovely time chatting to people and selling tickets, but we could not compete with yesterdays attempt by Emma and volunteers Amanda and June. But then they did have a secret weapon.......

Cute as my little girls are, there really is no way we can compete with Ernest in his jumper! As he struggles to retain his body heat, a volunteer knitted him this lovely little top. He can be seen above with his Foster Dad, Matt, whom I'm told he loves very much. I think the feeling is mutual :)

Today Ernest has been having a well earned rest.

As we called back in at the Shelter on the way home we got up to date on the day's news. Tilly, Cuebee and Lego have all been pre-adopted today!

We took a few moments to snap some new pictures of the residents in room 1.

Tinkerbell

Tinkerbell is beautiful and very affectionate, she was very interested in getting some attention from us. It's hard to believe she was a stray.

Next up is Tilly, who was pre-adopted today.  Very unusual colour as you can see, but again very friendly and keen for a fuss.

Tilly

As soon as she's had all her vaccinations and checks she'll be off to her new home.

Another one wanting a fuss was this little lady.

Mitzy

There are so many lovely cats in this room and these are just a few.  Hopefully, the right person will come along for them very soon.

Sunday at the Shelter 29-09-13

I worked in Holding today and met some new cats.  

First there were Mum and Daughter,  Sophie and Sheba.  Sadly their owner could no longer afford to keep them.  Both were a little frightened to start with, but it wasn't long before Sophie was enjoying a bit of a fuss with me.  

Sophie enjoying some attention

Daughter Sheba, on the other hand, was much more timid.  Eventually she plucked up enough courage to play with the bottom of my trousers but that was as close as she wanted to be.  

Sheba

When it came to putting them back into their cage Sheba tried her best to keep on the move so I couldn't catch her!  Once she was in my arms though she was happy for a tickle.  A pair of lovely cats, I'm sure in the right environment Sheba will soon become more confident.

Flash was brought into holding while I was cleaning.  Emma started to give him his health check and fill out his record sheet. At around 4 months old, he's only ever know life on the street, no surprise then to find him covered in ticks and fleas.  

Flash

I held Flash while Emma got to work on the tick problem.  She used a special little plastic tool to remove them.  If they're not removed correctly the head of the tick will be left in the skin which will lead to infection.  Poor flash had a lot, all over his face and ears.  As you can see, some of them were quite big! 

Ticks!!! yuck

It also looks like Flash doesn't want to put weight on one of his front paws.  There is no obvious sign of injury so we'll see what the vet makes of it.

Ruby is still in holding, she is shown to potential adopters,  even though she isn't in one of the main cat rooms.

Ruby

The last cat in holding today is Tia.  She's 17 and is suffering from a thyroid problem. Her owners were considering putting her to sleep.  Now she is in the care of the Shelter where she can receive the medication she needs to make her feel better. 

Tia

Unfortunately, she is struggling to adjust to her change in circumstances and hasn't yet been tempted with any food.  I spent some time with her and found that she enjoyed being brushed but couldn't encourage her to eat.  She doesn't like to be handled and isn't keen on medical intervention which is going to make treating her difficult.  

The Staff will do everything they can to try and gain her trust and get her medical needs under control.  It might be difficult to find someone willing to adopt an older cat with medical needs, but it may be that a foster place can be found instead.  Long term foster placements can be used so that medical treatment is paid for by the shelter but the cat benefits from having a loving home.  If you are experienced in giving medication and could offer a long term foster home to Tia, please call the Shelter to discuss.

I also had a peek in Maternity.  

Texas and her kittens

 Texas and her two kittens are still here, it won't be long before they go out to a foster carer. 

Little cutie

A stray and her kittens were trapped by Maggie a few days ago and they are now at the Shelter.

Dora

Dora was in a very poor state and had her front leg through the collar she was wearing.  The collar had to be cut off as it had gone into the flesh and left deep awful sores  

Dora's collar wound

Poor Dora

The collar was one with an elasticated section, it's supposed to allow the cat to wriggle its head out should the collar become caught on anything.  Sadly, what often happens is that the cat manages to get it's front leg through and there is no way it can free itself.  One of my own cats had this experience and I haven't used these types of collars since.  

Living outside with a injury like this, she's done well to look after her kittens, the fact she had the collar shows she was owned, so life on the streets must have been awful for her.  She originally had four kittens but sadly two didn't make it. 

 

Dora's kitten

Thank goodness Maggie was able to get her and her babies to the Shelter.

There are also a number of feral kittens at the Shelter.  They are now looking for experienced cat owners to become foster carers to help these frightened animals adjust to life in a home.

Could you foster a feral??

If this is a challenge you could rise to, please give the Shelter a call any day between 1pm and 4pm.

And finally, little Ernest was at the Shelter today. Still fighting a big battle, he's underweight and has periods when his temperature goes far too low.

Ernest

I got to have a lovely cuddle before I left :)

Visit the Donate & Support page if you'd like to know how you can help.

Sunday at the Shelter 22-09-13

Ernest was visiting the Shelter today with Emma, he's still losing weight and was scheduled for another visit to the vets.  The reason for his poor progress is proving difficult to diagnose, despite numerous tests, nothing has been conclusive.  He's now just over 8 and half weeks old but is the size of a 4 - 5 week old kitten. As you can see from the photo, he also has no interest in washing himself.  Emma generally needs to clean him up several times a day.

Ernest needs his face washing again!

At the moment it's just a case of looking after him and taking each day as it comes.  It will be some time before we know if he will be available for adoption in the future.

Here's a great picture of him with his big (foster) sister Amber :)

Amber, taking care of Ernest

It was great to see some of little Percy's 'family' have been pre-adopted.  Patrick will be off to his new home shortly.

Patrick

Little Florence and Peanut were taken home today :)

Georgie and Peanut watch the world go by

So that leaves Georgie, who is very friendly and Maisie and Sid, who are a little timid, to find their forever homes.

Maisie

Sid

Its been a while since I caught up with Libby.  

Libby

Some of you may remember this little lady had to be trapped not once, but twice, when she managed to escape from her new home too soon after being adopted.

She's currently sharing a room with Shadow, Julie and Tigger.  Thankfully, she is pretty much recovered from flu now, but she's still really timid and looking for that special someone.

The 6 black kittens brought in last week have made really good progress, but are not yet flu free.  They've  been moved from infirmary into a room on their own.  

This leaves infirmary free to have a deep clean ready for any potential occupants.

Sunshine came back from foster care and was pre-adopted today :) Her kittens are still with a foster carer until they are big enough to all be neutered, vaccinated and brought back to the shelter.

Sunshine :)

I also met up with Millie and Josh, who have just come back from foster care.  They are now in one of the main cat rooms, but are still extremely timid.  

Millie and Josh

As you can see they are spending a bit of time in this carrier.  The shelter often use cages or carriers for timid cats within larger rooms.  It helps to make it a little bit better for those frightened ones, as they are able to use it as a place of safety.

Here's Tallulah using a carrier in exactly the same way.

Tallulah

There have been a lot of updates on Twitter about Ernest, but also about Marley, too.  Marley is a kitten who was in foster care and suddenly became very ill.  Since this time he's been in and out of the vet hospital  and there have been a number of touch and go moments.

Due to him being so ill he's recently been back in the care of Kim. This week a diagnosis was finally made and the news is not so good.   Marley is suffering from a blood disorder.  The disorder means his immune system attacks his own red blood cells. He can't ever be vaccinated, and has to be on immune suppressants to survive. Sadly this means if he picks up any infections he won't be able to fight them.  

In view of this prognosis, Marley will stay in Kim's care and won't be available for adoption. 

Marley

It's not certain how long this little chap will have, but you can be assured that Kim will give him plenty of love and care, making every day count.

Sunday at the Shelter 15-09-2013

Its been a sad week, poor little Percy who was first featured a couple of weeks ago, was just too poorly to survive.  It turned out he was actually 7-8 weeks old and should have been around 800grams, not the pitiful 260grams he weighed in at. After fighting sickness and diarrhoea, he then began to have breathing problems.

Little sweetheart Percy

It's soul destroying to think this could have been prevented if only he'd received basic care in his previous home. Proper nutrition, plus flea and worm treatment from the start and his story could have been very different.

A new little family arrived in my home yesterday.  Fluff and her 3 kittens are here for the weekend, while her foster carers have a well earned weekend away.

Fluff and her three kittens

She's a lovely cat and a very good mum.  The kittens are about 2 weeks old.  She's coped really well being in a strange environment, quickly settling down and enjoying our attention. Her foster carers will be picking her up again tomorrow, but I'm hoping to keep in touch so I can get updates on their progress.

So, back to today.  Libby and I started in holding this week.  There were two very shy little girls, Tabatha and Milly sharing one cage. 

Tabatha and Milly hiding in a litter tray

Arriving only yesterday, they are still finding it hard to adapt to going from a home environment to the cage room.  We spent a little time cuddling and talking to them.  I'm sure these little girls will be absolutely fine, they just need a bit of time to adjust.

Ruby was next.  She'd recently been adopted but sadly didn't like being in a home with children so she has been returned to the shelter. 

Ruby

It won't be long before she's back in one of the main rooms and now the shelter have more information about her, it will help to get her the perfect home.

Finally to Mitzy, a petite little lady who enjoyed a fuss :)

Mitzy

Texas is still in Maternity and I managed to get a few new pictures.  This little one looks very sad for some reason but is perfectly ok!

Little sweetie :)

Next was Luke who is now in a room on his own.  If you've been following the blog, you may remember these partners in crime.

Luke

Charlie

So friendly and loving with each other and visitors, it came as no surprise when they were quickly pre-adopted. 

As part of the health checks before re-homing the boys visited the vets.  Charlie needed some dental work but sadly became very unwell after the operation.  Tests revealed that he was suffering from FeLV - Feline Leukaemia Virus, which contributed to his poor recovery. He became so ill that the vet decided the kindest thing was to put him to sleep.

Luke was also tested for FeLV and has been found to be positive too. He must remain isolated from the other cats (which fortunately, he has been) as the infection can be passed on through saliva.

The shelter are now desperate to find a home for Luke.  He will need to be either an only cat, or be with another cat who is also FeLV positive.  FeLV positive cats should be kept indoor only to prevent spreading infection to other cats in the area. 

So this little guy found himself at the shelter when his owner passed away and has now lost his lifelong buddy.  If you can help to promote Luke and his sad situation, it would be greatly appreciated.  He still has so much to give.

Luke

Finally, Libby and I tried to clean up this mucky pup.

Ernest

Ernest is one of the kittens currently being looked after by Emma and he likes to stand in his food bowl as you can see.  He's not been doing so well this week either and will be spending sometime with the vet on Monday for them to try and work out why his tummy has suddenly become very swollen.

The Shelter do an amazing job looking after all these cats and kittens.  Check out the Donate & Support page and see how you can help too.