Connecting cat people

---

Although neither of us grew up "cat people", MariBeth & I quickly fell in love with felines, beginning with Savannah, our first adoption.  As it stands now, we have six (6) of our own, but that's jumping ahead in our story.

September 11, 2016.

Just after Gaga left our house to head home to watch the Stillers, I heard a noise in our bushes.  Insert the cutest, friendliest stray, who followed us around incessantly for days, looking more for affection than food.  

We reached out to friends of ours, who happily welcomed Lola into their homes, and who still post pictures of her today!

Yes, rabies.  

November 12, 2017

The Cat Whisperers DOB

Lucy was his name, and she charmed us from day one.  Friends of ours found a injured, stray kitten near a soccer field.  MB & I felt that we were ready to take in/on our first real rescue.

Lucy's back left foot was slightly smashed although she didn't seem to allow it to impede her.  The day after we took Lucy in, I got her to the vet, who treated the injury and prescribed a care plan to help her heal properly.

After just a few days of treatment, Lucy was the proverbial bundle of energy you see in all those kitten videos.  She quite literally couldn't get enough attention, which she accepted from everyone who came to the house to see her.

Feeling that we were ready to adopt her out, we found more friends who had fallen in love with Lucy because of our Instagram posts.  MB & I both shed more than a few tears when Lucy walked out of our lives.

And then came the rabies.

Because the story is far too detailed & involved to spell it all out here, let me just say that Lucy was not acting herself after only 48 hours in her new home; she was easily agitated, hissed when anyone came near her, and looked ready to attack at any moment.  Veterinarians who initially examined Lucy felt that she was displaying all the signs of having rabies.  Unfortunately, they were correct.

Lucy, it turns out, had been a boy the entire time.  

After a series of rabies shots for everyone from the vet and vet tech who initially treated Lucy to my mother, we got a visit from the PA Department of Agriculture, who quarantined our (indoor) cats for 90 days.

I always tell people that if we had the chance to do it all again, we totally would because we followed every proper procedure from the minute we took Lucy into our home.  We loved her ... and still do.

Her name should have been spelled M-i-a because we only saw her twice in the five weeks we fostered Mya and her five (5) kittens.  She actually hid under the vanity in our basement bathroom, and would wiggle her way out only for food and to use the litter box, and ONLY when no filthy human was around.

But let's back up.

In March 2018, almost immediately after our quarantine had ended, we began to volunteer with The Kitty Harbor, a dedicated group of women, who really taught us more than we'll ever be able to pay back.  As volunteers, we offered to foster, which we began to do in late spring 2018.  Over the next few months we fell in love with fostering because it offered us the opportunity to both help and play with kittens ... I mean, this was our dream come true!

In late August 2018, Yvonne asked if we'd be willing to take a mama and five (5) kittens;  uh, yeah.  Even though we'd never had a brood of five (5) before, MB & I gladly accepted the challenge.  And oh what a challenge they were!

But we got into a routine with those little furballs, and we marveled at how incredibly much they changed in just over a month's time.  We held a adoption clinic just before we had to return them to The Kitty Harbor, and were able to find two of the five furever homes. 

Another of the rescues/shelters that taught us well and gave us the opportunity to foster is Nose2Tail in McDonald, PA.  Their commitment and dedication to their craft is a model for other rescues/shelters to follow.

In November 2018, Traci reached out, asking if we could foster a cat that was found badly injured on the side of a road.  After the rabies incident, we were a little reluctant, but ultimately agreed to take Wednesday in.  

The emergency vet services that initially treated Wednesday recommended that she have her right arm amputated, as she was missing two "pods" on her right paw.  Personally, I wanted a second opinion.

I like to call Dr. Craig Hill of Green Hill Veterinary Services the most progressive, open minded vet I've ever met.  His first thought was how he could not only save Wednesday's right arm, but how he could help her learn to utilize that paw without those pods.

Over the six years that I've gotten to know Dr. Hill, my admiration for him has done nothing but grow.  His belief in Wednesday, coupled with his detailed treatment plan, helped her to thrive!  

After we returned Wednesday to Nose2Tail, she found her furever home with a most loving family, who always kept us up to date on Wednesday's doings, that is until her passing last year.

Several years back we formed a partnership with Fix 'Ur Cat, a low cost spay/neuter facility that recently moved from Canonsburg (PA) to Washington. 

Michelle Bruce and her Team have built their program from "simple fixing" to a nearly full service veterinary operation.

We still do our very best to connect cat people although we offer this disclaimer:  We do not take in cats.

Because we don't have a traditional brick & mortar shelter, we must be selective on how and when we rescue and bring a feline into our home.  Just because you contact us doesn't mean that we will take in a stray.

All that said, we love to help the kitties.  Please reach out if we may be of assistance.