An All-Volunteer, Non-Profit Rescue Organization for Needy Cats

A Newsletter for our Friends and Supporters

Issue #21

A Beacon of Hope

by Joan Abbott

Our mission has always been to be a beacon of hope for the most needy — the forgotten strays and the homeless cats. And this year proved no exception.

We were contacted about an 8-week-old kitten, seen thrown from a car, who had hit the guard rail with such force that both hind legs were broken and his pelvis fractured in several places. Admitted to a hospital specializing in critical care the vets said that this tiny broken kitten, if given the right care, had a good prognosis to live a long and happy life. His care would be extremely expensive and his recovery long. Merritt, as we named him, had done nothing to deserve what had happened to him and had no family to contribute to his surgery. It came down to us. As we watched him knead on his blanket and purr, despite his pain, we knew what we had to do. We said yes, let's do this.

We are happy to report that, after a long period of recovery, Merritt is thriving in his forever home.

Another part of what we do is work with ferals.

A beautiful friendship was formed when we were contacted by a man who had been feeding a feral colony of cats for many years. He is so incredibly kind to the cats and kittens. He spends much of every morning putting food and water out for them. They hear his voice and come running — across the field, from the old buildings on the farm — they arrive from every direction. They are very well cared for. He knows the original mothers and fathers and the offspring are many. Unable to find help before reaching us, there are now more than 50. We have trapped 34 so far and will trap the rest; 21 kittens have been placed in foster homes to socialize, and the others have been returned to his care after being spayed or neutered and vaccinated. It has been a pleasure working with him. It warms our heart to see kind and caring people like him looking out for these creatures.

Kitty Angels accomplished a great deal this year. We are so very proud of what we can do with your support, day-after-day, year-after-year.

"The unselfish effort to bring cheer to others will be the beginning of a happier life for ourselves."
Helen Keller

HOW YOU CAN HELP KITTY ANGELS

Money...to pay for the daily care and medical bills of the cats.

Visit the Kitty Angels Facebook page and click Donate (best for Kitty Angels). Facebook doesn't give us your contact information, so hold onto the Facebook email receipt for your tax records. (If you're on a mobile device, use the Facebook app to see the Donate button.)
Donate through PayPal or Network for Good (for anonymous and/or recurring donations)...see kittyangels.org/howtohelp.html
Do you have a Donor Advised Fund through Fidelity, Schwab or BNY Mellon? You can make a charitable grant to Kitty Angels using DAF Direct, at no cost to you or to Kitty Angels. Please check with your Donor Advised Fund on their requirements.
Shop at online stores through igive.com or Giving Assistant - see kittyangels.org/howtohelp.html
Use your employer's Matching Gift Program.
Specify that your United Way payroll donation go to Kitty Angels.
Donate Gift Cards, Cat Food, Medical Supplies, Cleaning Supplies, Towels.

For these and other ways to help, please visit the How to Help page on our web site at kittyangels.org/howtohelp.html

Rescue Stories

Ay Caramba when found — Ay Caramba When Found

Ay Caramba! It was one of the hottest days of the year and the stray cat had sought shade under a car. The car's owner, not seeing the cat, began driving off. She saw the cat run out from under her car and feared she had injured it. Going a very short distance, it quickly laid down growling not letting anyone near. It stayed in the hot sun for hours while the finder tried to get help. Not knowing what to do, she posted on Facebook and someone loaned her a catch alive trap. She managed to trap the cat- but now what?

Contacting the Animal Control Officer (ACO) she was told to take it to the local emergency hospital that the town used. The cat was in rough shape and still not moving. It probably did have something very wrong with it. The hospital called the ACO and explained the situation and quoted a cost that was way above the fixed price of $100 that the town allocated for each animal. The ACO had worked with KA before and contacted one of our volunteers to ask if there was anything we could do. We agreed to take full responsibility for the cat. Thank goodness we did. It turned out that he had a urinary blockage which is life threatening. It was caught just in time- a few more hours and his bladder would have burst, and he would have suffered a very painful death. As it was, he was already in terrible pain. Ay Caramba, as we named him, was immediately taken into surgery where he was unblocked, but the treatment required more than that. He spent 3 days in intensive care – being monitored and medicated. After being released he required follow up with our regular vet. He needs to remain on a prescription diet for the rest of his life to prevent the blockage from happening again. Luckily for him one of our volunteers fell in love with him and he now has his forever home.

"It is the anonymity of animal victims that makes us deaf to their cries"
Luise Rinser

Sandpiper was one of many cats we took from a family that had let their cats reproduce for years and roam the neighborhood. They all suffered from fleas, ticks, and ear mites. Sandpiper had an additional serious medical condition - the worst case of eosinophilic granuloma complex we had ever seen. This condition causes lesions in the mouth, usually from a severe hypersensitive reaction to something. In her case it was believed it was caused by the horrendous number of fleas that she had been living with for so long. We were heartbroken looking at her mouth. The lesions on her upper lips were so large and infected that she could not close her mouth entirely and they caused excruciating pain when she ate.

To make matters worse she was a nursing mother. We could not locate the kittens and after we spayed her, we made the painful decision to let her back out hoping that we would be able to find her kittens and recapture her to give her the medical care she desperately needed.

We didn't even know how she could care for the kittens in the shape she was in. Volunteers put in countless hours searching until her kittens were found under a shed. Luckily, we were also able to trap Sandpiper again. Her kittens went to foster, and her treatment began. With multiple drugs, special food, many vet visits, months later her condition was resolved. No more lesions, no more pain. She loves to carry her toys around in her mouth. Her new mom has even taught her to fetch them and drop them at her feet for another race to get them. She is now living the good life, free of this condition, safe inside and oh so happy.

Courage Some kind soul had been caring for him for over a year. Living under her porch, the interaction with him was all on his terms. He was fearful, so she had to approach slowly, leave the food, and retreat. After almost a year, she could sneak in a few pats on his head which always resulted in a few swipes of his claws. Despite this rocky rela-tionship, she continued to care for him. Things were fine until one day when he came to eat she noticed he was limping badly. On day 3 he could no longer put any weight on his front foot.

Fearing the worst and knowing that he needed immediate help, she caught him in a catch-alive trap and began to frantically look for some-one to help this poor cat. As his good luck would have it, Kitty Angels inter-vened, and we went and got him. What a tragic hot mess he was. He had a wound on his face from panicking in the trap, and a big wound on his front foot, among other injuries. The irony of this was that he was not a feral cat. He behaved like one but once safe, dry and warm it turned out he was deep down just a scared, abandoned, friendly cat. We named him Courage because he had it and he needed it. After sev-eral months we are so happy to report that he has just been adopted. He went from cringing if his foster mom tried to touch him, to now he can't get enough attention and he runs like a playful kitten at top speeds. Yay for Courage!

"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
Anatole France

Please help break the cycle of overpopulation...

We are so proud that Kitty Angels has been offering a Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic for 14 years, improving the lives of so many cats. Clinics are held twice a month at Animal Rescue Veterinary Services in Londonderry, NH, with an average of 20 cats each time. Cats are spayed or neutered, receive distemper and rabies vaccinations, a physical exam, and are microchipped. Kittens must weigh a minimum of 2 pounds. Although a $100 donation is suggested, the generosity of our supporters enables us to adjust or eliminate the fee, on a person-by-person basis, based upon need.

The BEST WAY to make an appointment is to email lindab@kittyangels.org. She is the only one who can book appointments for our clinics. If you don't have internet access, call us at 978-649-4681 and someone will get back to you. Cats are dropped off in the morning and picked up later the same day.

Requests for assistance grow every year. The cats we deal with at the low-cost clinic would not otherwise be neutered or spayed. Your donation, in any amount, will help us continue to run this much needed clinic.

Donate Your Small Antiques and Collectibles

Gail Mosher, a longtime Kitty Angels supporter and volunteer, and an expert in antiques and collectibles, has created an eBay store devoted entirely to selling items that have been generously donated by our supporters. You can see it at:

https://www.ebay.com/usr/kittyangelsma/

If you have small antiques, collectibles, or other items to donate please contact Gail at gailmosher@gmail.com or leave a message with us. 100% of the proceeds of every sale goes directly to Kitty Angels.

Everyday Heroes

Collar tag Volunteers are the heart and soul of Kitty Angels. While many of you see the public faces of our shelter team, there are so very many others that you will likely never meet. They contribute their time and love in so many ways, doing tasks that make a huge difference and keep our shelter running. Trapping, driving cats to and from places, cleaning cages, feeding, medicating, volunteering at our low cost spay neu-ter clinics, doing endless paperwork, keeping the books, writing grants, answering e-mails and phone calls, feeding ferals, managing our Facebook page and our website, building feral shelters, scheduling, working adoption days, and caring to make a difference. Thank you, thank you, to every one of them!!!

They Rely on Your Generosity

Each year brings greater numbers of cats into our shelter, requiring that we supply more veterinary ser-vices, food, litter and shelter space — and care for an increasing number of feral cats and colonies. We're so grateful for your donations — without them so many of the cats that we have been able to save would have simply been added to the grim statistics of animal suffering. Thank you so very much for your help — but please understand that our task never ends and that we need your continued support to continue our work!! There are so many ways to help — you can find more information on our. web site.

"An animal in need is a sacred object."
Ovid

CHURCHILL

Churchill came to us in terrible shape with a large wound on his neck that extended down onto his back.

We aren't sure what his history was or what happened to him, but the wound was horrific and excruciatingly painful. Our vet be-lieves it might have been some sort of burn, but we'll never know. He had many vet ap-pointments to try and resolve the mysteri-ous wounds. Even biopsies gave us no an-swers as to why the wounds were so large and slow to heal, despite all attempts.

Churchill and his foster mom have wrestled for the past nine months as she soaks, medicates, washes, and applies prescrip-tion creams to his wounds. He has not al-ways been the most cooperative patient, but he makes continual progress and we definitely think he secretly loves his foster mom.

His burn, once the size of your hand, is a fraction of the size that it had been. Best of all, he rolls over for belly rubs and purrs. He still lashes out and hisses at times but he's getting better each day.

We love him so much. And we love him enough to try and find him an incredible home some day. He deserves to find his forever, patient, loving home and realize that humans can be trusted.

Thank you for your support! Your donations saved CHURCHILL and can save so many others! Please consider making a tax-deductible donation in ANY amount to help us carry on with our mission to help the neediest at-risk cats. You can do so by clicking on the "DONATE" button on our Facebook page; mailing a check to Kitty Angels, P.O. Box 638, Tyngsboro, MA 01879; or using the PayPal link on our web site.

ABOUT KITTY ANGELS

Kitty Angels is a no-kill shelter dedicated to rescuing stray and abandoned cats, furnishing them with treatment for injuries or other health problems, and placing them into life-long, loving, indoor homes with compatible owners. We take all necessary steps to ensure the well being of our cats, including emergency and routine medical care, screening for infectious diseases, spaying and neutering, microchipping and providing rabies, distemper and other necessary medical care. We take in, and place or foster, hundreds of cats each year and deal with many feral cat populations. Kitty Angels is an all-volunteer organization. We have no paid staff — every cent of every donation goes to caring for needy cats! Because the cost of caring for our cats greatly exceeds our adoption fees, we depend on the generosity of individuals and businesses to make up the difference. Please consider making a tax-deductible donation today...and, please be sure to send us a Matching Gifts Form if your employer offers one...we, and especially the cats, would very much appreciate it!!

ENDURING SUPPORT In the 42 years since our founding, Kitty Angels has been fortunate to have many long-term supporters. In recent years, an increasing amount of our funding has come from bequests from the estates of these committed benefactors. The enduring impact of these bequests, both large and small, has helped Kitty Angels expand its life saving programs and find loving homes for the neediest of animals. By naming Kitty Angels as a beneficiary in your will or estate plan, you can support Kitty Angels' future efforts as well as gain financial and tax benefits for you and your family. Your estate planner can explain the different ways you can make a bequest to Kitty Angels or you can contact us. We thank all our supporters for their wonderful generosity!!

A very special thanks to all of you who have opened your hearts and homes to animals; to those who have donated in some way to help us or others who act in concert with our cause; and to our team of dedicated volunteers and foster home caregivers. You are the ones whose compassion, kindness and generosity makes the difference. We couldn't do what we do without your continued support.

Thanks to PETsMART for providing us with first class space in their store in the Royal Ridge Mall in Nashua, NH. You can see some of our adoptable cats in the cages at the front of the store.

Kitty Angels, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable corporation. All donations to Kitty Angels are both federal and state tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. Every penny of every donation is used in caring for cats. Federal ID 04-3270369; Massachusetts ID 034406