AlStrays Update: 19/10/10
I keep wondering if I am going to get a quieter week, but at the moment things remain VERY busy for me, not least because I am constantly juggling cats, due to the lack of foster homes.
The email exchanges with the girls in Germany are getting longer as we are trying to re-home so many kittens, and, as the regular transports from the protectora have stopped, we are also planning to drive cats ourselves to Germany, and scheduling flights.
Apart from the daily emails and processing photos and videos to market the cats and kittens online, my AlStrays diary last week had something every day!
I started on Monday with a photo shoot of the beautiful siam-mix litter (Misha, Tilly, Marley, Milo & Cyrus) at Kev and Tracey’s, and writing another article for Euro Weekly News, and then on Tuesday I introduced Kindness with Responsibility in my Spectrum FM segment (see my last EWN article), and talked more about my plans for the Subway cats.
Wednesday was a foster Mum’s meeting to work out where the siam-mix would go next, and what else we had to take in urgently. This was very civilised over a coffee and a glass of wine. Thursday was less relaxing, as Erika and I went to vet Miguel with little Fleur, and 4 other kittens. This was our last visit to the protectora, so I had to sort passports, and make sure I had the records of all the vaccinations my cats have had to date. From this week, I will be working with Miguel from his clinic in Almeria. This will be further to travel, but a much less stressful environment (away from the dogs) for the cats and us!
On Friday I was in Mojacar to start the Subway cats project. Our plan was to assess the cats, but as Matt (one of our foster Dads) is willing to put them on his land until we can foster them properly we agreed to start catching them. I managed to catch a beautiful siamese kitten, who is now called Mocha, and on Saturday the smallest, most vulnerable (white) kitten was caught, and named Jasmine by Diane. The next most urgent is the mother cat, who has only 3 good legs, and after that we have 4 more beautiful kittens that we know of. Scott and Marilyn, who work at the Subway restaurant, have been kindly feeding these cats when they are on shift, and it is Scott who is helping to catch them. We must then assess how tame they are and what to do with them next.
On Saturday, I was treating ear-mites in 5 of the babies at Erika’s. With Miguel’s advice we are starting to deal with this ourselves, as I am always trying to reduce vet costs, and have realised that this needs re-treating every couple of weeks until clear.
Then on Sunday afternoon I moved the siam-mix to their new foster home.
Overall last week was very busy, and this week I have already checked on foster cats yesterday, recorded my Spectrum FM segment this morning, and started planning for our first transport next week. In addition I will be at Miguel’s on Thursday and visiting Mocha and a new litter of tabby foster kittens at Matt’s on Saturday.
This morning I talked about the new kitten sponsorship scheme on Spectrum FM, and this will be formally launched next week. Each kitten needs 2 sponsors of 30 euros each, to cover the vet costs to re-home it in Germany. I will be appealing to organisations and individuals to come forward and donate. In return, I will provide feedback and photos of the kitten’s progress. By next Monday photos of the first Subway kittens needing sponsors will be on this blog. Jasmine, the baby white kitten, already has Spectrum FM as her first sponsor. Thank you to them for this and for supporting the sponsorship intiative.
News from Germany in the last week is that 4 of our kittens have found adoptants and Mojacar cat Poppy, who travelled to a foster home in Germany in August, is now also reserved. Other good news this week is that I have successfully facilitated the sterilisation of 1 female and 8 kittens (5 female) with the help of the English lady who feeds them in her garden. We will look to re-home these kittens later, but for now they are safe and fed and VERY importantly, now unable to breed!
Overall it remains VERY busy, and I am conscious that we are probably now trying to send too many cats at once to Germany for re-homing. Sterilisation programs must be the focus for the next 2 months, along with re-homing of the cats already being fostered. There are SO many cats and kittens needing our help, but I and the other ladies, and the vets who help us, continue to do what we can, and to help as many as possible. It is hard work at times, but continues to be one of the most real and rewarding things I have ever done. Thank you as always to everyone who helps in any way.
Misha
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