Now we have 23 foster cats!!! This was not planned but our numbers have swelled since Tracey and my visit to the dog protectora to see vet Miguel yesterday. I knew that there were 4 lovely kittens who had been stuck in a dog cage for about 3 weeks, and Nicola had agreed to take them for a while, but when we arrived we found 3 more cages with a total of 10 other cats and kittens, all of whom had been deposited up there over the weekend.
Sadly we could not take them all, but we did come away with 7 of the kittens. The original 4 are now rushing around at Nicola’s with the rest of the tribe, loving their new found freedom, and I believe already have at least a foster home waiting for them in Germany, so will be on the next transport.
Tracey and Kev have kindly taken 3 smaller kittens, and these I will take on re finding them new homes via the lovely girls we work with in Germany. Tracey reports that all are well, and that both son Jack and large dog Lady were very excited to see them arrive as both love kittens.
All these 7 kittens are tame and very friendly so have obviously been treated well, and given lots of attention but however kind they are at the protectora, spending most of the day in a small cage surrounded by dogs is not the best place for a cat. We urgently need a home for a nursing mother and her 2 tiny babies. She was crying to be let out, but I have no home right now to take a large cat. I am however happy that we have been able to help Jos with the 7 we have taken as he and Miguel do so much to help us.
On the transport front, I am hoping Jos will be able to give me 6 boxes as we have a lot of cats ready to go. The good news in the last week is that we now have real homes for Lutz, Luki and Mimi, as well as for Goldie, Gizmo, Luke and Snoopy, and we have a free foster home for one other cat, which will probably be Ginger Jasper, who although loved by Pam’s cat Capone, is continually arguing with her 2 older females.
Other good news today is that a foster home has been found for our beautiful old Tomcat Tommy, with another FIV positive old boy. We will be looking to fly him over to Germany at the end of October. This will separate him from his new love Keba, which is not now forbidden, but in the long-term their new friendship is not really sustainable as finding a home for these 2 together is highly unlikely. In the meantime, having agreed that there is no risk of infection for Keba, these 2 are enjoying each other’s company.
Other news is that Lucy kitten has recovered from her bug which may in fact have been ‘female’ as she actually came on heat very early, Mouchou and Baloo, our other little black devil kittens are confirmed as boys, Beau is appearing for breakfast and strokes every day in Calle Alcor, and Lucia our remaining rock girl is doing well and is still next on our list for a foster home.
Next week we need to get Gizmo back to Miguel for his final jabs, and his 3 siblings Lucy, Mouchou and Baloo to start theirs. Lucy continues to be very friendly with little Pippa so I am particularly keen that she is ready to travel with her on the next transport at the end of October with her friend.
Also urgent for next week is the sterilisation of our little grey Nautico female. Her kittens are big enough to manage without her for a couple of days, and apparently can now be stroked, which is good news as they are next on my list.
Overall we are making fantastic progress with the stray cats here in Almerimar, and in addition we are managing to help others from the region. I am very keen therefore to ensure that all of the cats fed in the port are sterilised before the next breeding season which will be upon us in a matter of weeks. We can then concentrate on re-homing the remaining tame semi-ferals, rescuing the next lot of abandoned kittens and hopefully widening our area to include other parts of Almerimar.
One of the problems here is that a lot of the Spanish people do not sterilise their own cats, merely dumping the kittens they produce or letting them run around the streets. This obviously adds to the stray population, which is why Jos at the protectora is trying to establish education programs which I may get involved in later in the year. In the meantime we are definitely making a difference, and always grateful for any support.
If you want any more information on any of of the cats mentioned, please click on their names in the Tag Cloud for previous posts or feel free to contact me via this blog.