Thursday 31st December
Yesterday we took little fluffy Trixie along with Marty to see vet Miguel for blood tests and more vaccinations. Marty was declared very healthy and has now been chipped, but we are still struggling to get weight on Trixie, and so her further injections and test have had to wait.
This is not a serious problem but may delay her departure to Germany until March. She still only weighs 950g which is very light for a 3 month old kitten, and although she had loads of energy for play, and seems healthy it is a concern. She is now getting yeast for her digestion and a homeopathic remedy is on order. I am hoping we can build her up to at least 1300g in the next 2 weeks.
All the news from Germany regarding our cats is good, apart from little Rocky having a bad cold. I have lots of great photos and feedback coming through so will be posting a lot in the next few days. I have also been told that new foster parents are available in Germany and cats are actually needed so we continue to try and catch Lucia, and then big Chivers from the rocks, and Calypso Jenny’s latest stray.
It does look as if January may be a quieter month certainly regarding cats. Amazingly we only have 4 foster cats at the moment and 2 of them, Beau and Emily, are due to travel on the next transport on January 8th. This has a lot to do with all the hard work before Xmas, getting 12 cats away to Germany. If we don’t get any more abandonees in the next few weeks it does mean I will have more time to re-focus on sterilising and taking in some more of our longer term port cats.
Apart from Lucia and big Chivers, there is a lovely tabbie female on the rocks, one little female left near the Banco Andalucia, and 6 cats, including 2 7-month kittens fed near the Nautico restaurant. The last group is in danger of becoming too big, particularly if the kittens become pregnant, so needs to be the next focus. We still have work to do to get our port cat population under control, AND we are starting to get a little more directly involved with some of the stray dogs.
SO our ‘project’ continues into 2010 with a lot having been achieved but lots still to be done. A big thank you to everyone to has helped in any way in 2009.
Wednesday 23th December
Latest update is that Mira arrived safely in Germany and is now being fostered by a member of the Katzenhersen, so couldn’t be being better looked after. Also, as you will see from Pam’s comment on this post, little Marty does have a broken leg, and is now in plaster. We will know in 15 days how well it has healed. Begona is a little concerned as she thinks it has been broken for about 3 weeks and had started to mend not straight!
And finally, little Trixie, having lost her original adoptant, already has a lovely new lady, who wants her.
Tuesday 22th December
It is definitely time for another update. The last 10 days has been extremely busy for me with Almerimar Strays, and mostly it is all good news.
Emily’s is now fully recovered from the traumatic week surrounding her castration, and little Trixie continues to do well, now that we have come up with the feeding solution, of putting her in a transport box for extra weight boosting meals. Her next weigh in will be tomorrow, and I am hoping for an increase on her 700g.
The other fantastic news is that Rocky, Domino, Belle, Twigs, Balu, Micki, Moushu, Ricki, Elsa, Molly and Farley all travelled safely to Germany on the transport last Friday 18th, and are all doing fine in their new homes. News and photos are already coming in, and the last 6 of that list are already with adoptive parents.
AND more good news is that last Saturday, our Xmas book sale raised 170€, and a good time was had by all. Thank you to Ray and Kay for hosting it, and for the mince pies, music and mulled wine, and to all the other helpers and supporters.
Lovely, Gentle Mira
Today the last of our Xmas cats travels to Munich in slightly more luxury. Mira pictured is flying with Roya, her flight partner. The poor girls initially set off yesterday afternoon, but due to bad weather in Madrid their flight was cancelled, and they have had to go again today. The latest news is that the flight is 40 mins delayed, but right now they are in the air close to Munich.
The very sad news of last week, is that I had to make the decision to put Keba siamese to sleep last Wednesday. We initially thought she was responding to antibiotics, but then she made no further progress, and after 10 days without proper food or fluids, there was little hope. We believe she had kidney failure.
This all means that now we currently only have 4 cats in foster homes and are hoping for a quiet Xmas. Beau and Emily are ready to travel and a foster home already awaits them in Germany. They will travel on the next transport that I believe will be January 8th. Little Trixie remains on her weight gain program and will be with us until at least February. Her adoptants have unfortunately had to pull out for family reasons, so we now have more time and will not rush her vaccinations.
Our 4th foster cat came to us today. Pam collected little Marty from the protectora this morning, where his rescuer had taken him. Watch out for his first photo in my next post.
Meanwhile we are actively trying to catch one of our remaining rock cats, Lucia, and a beautiful little white female cat who is currently causing havoc among Jenny’s strays. I have named her Calypso.
I was very worried about little Marty from the Protectora and took him to Begonia this morning – his back leg was broken in 2 places and had already set incorrectly – so Begonia sedated him and tried to reset the leg – he is in plaster – full length and at first found it very difficult to move around but he is getting the hang of it and my 2 cats and Rufus dog are being very good with him as he has done a lot of hissing and spitting thru frustration.This is why the Book Sales are so important for emergency treatment = Begonia was very reasonable, resetting the leg, sedation, anti-inflammatory and antibiotic jabs all for 50 euros. I felt that he couldnt wait until next Monday to see Miguel at the Protectora and I think I made the right decision.The semi plaster is on for 15 days – fun and games in the Roberts household. At the moment he is lying across John’s ample chest and purring like mad – better than being in a garden in the cold and rain and hungry.No doubt we will find a good home for him in Germany even tho he may never really walk properly again.
What a huge amount of rescue work has been achieved over the past year, and still the good work continues! Just wanted to say ‘very well done’ to all those concerned, particularly to Sandra and her immediate team whose unfaltering dedication never fails in bringing hope and loving homes for all these abandoned/homeless cats. Happy New Year to you all!
Regarding Calypso, she is a gorgeous, pretty little thing, who would love the company of a like-minded fun-loving cat! She tries to play with the other strays, but they just hiss at her! But catching her is likely to be a bit of a problem as she is extremely skittish and runs away if approached. She has great potential and I hope one day will have a happy home.
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