As some here might have read, I have been helping to reunite cats and people separated due to Hurricane Katrina. Even though it has been 21 months we are still making reunions.
I have been specifically concentrating on the area of St. Bernard Parish this past year. This area was one of the hardest hit, but got very little press. Mostly because of the oil spill that was the second largest this nation has experienced. The largest on land spill though.
Much of this area will never come back, even today very large portions of this parish look no different than a month after Katrina, depsite the hard work and best efforts of the determined residents who are trying to rebuild their lives.
Anyway it was one of these residents who found a very sick kitty lying in a bush in an abandoned lot. This sweet boy still had his collar on, but lost his tags. He was sunbleached and near death. This wonderful woman, who is still missing kitties of her own, made no judgements and contacted a volunteer group to see if they could find his owners. She was positive someone was missing this boy.
That volunteer contacted me, and luckily I knew a woman who was missing a kitty that matched his description. We had tried setting traps for this kitty last summer, but we caught nothing. It was like the entire area was devoid of life. We were pretty sure though this kitty had survived the storm. Neighbors had reported seeing him afterwards. He ran away the day before this family evacuated. He must have sensed the storm coming. Many cats did this.
The real mircacle is that this boy was front paw declawed. He managed to survive all this time. This particular area has not had a local food/water person for many many months.
Tonight he is home, had a gentle bath and is snuggling with his little girls again. He recognized them right away and gave the oldest daughter headbutts and started purring. This after being gone for 21 months!
Tomorrow morning he goes in for a complete workup. He is skin and bones, covered in sores and has a serious cut on one paw. But his will to live is strong.
Can everyone please send out some good healing vibes for Tiger the Katrina kitty who is finally back home where he belongs. This sweet boy and his family could really use them.
I have been specifically concentrating on the area of St. Bernard Parish this past year. This area was one of the hardest hit, but got very little press. Mostly because of the oil spill that was the second largest this nation has experienced. The largest on land spill though.
Much of this area will never come back, even today very large portions of this parish look no different than a month after Katrina, depsite the hard work and best efforts of the determined residents who are trying to rebuild their lives.
Anyway it was one of these residents who found a very sick kitty lying in a bush in an abandoned lot. This sweet boy still had his collar on, but lost his tags. He was sunbleached and near death. This wonderful woman, who is still missing kitties of her own, made no judgements and contacted a volunteer group to see if they could find his owners. She was positive someone was missing this boy.
That volunteer contacted me, and luckily I knew a woman who was missing a kitty that matched his description. We had tried setting traps for this kitty last summer, but we caught nothing. It was like the entire area was devoid of life. We were pretty sure though this kitty had survived the storm. Neighbors had reported seeing him afterwards. He ran away the day before this family evacuated. He must have sensed the storm coming. Many cats did this.
The real mircacle is that this boy was front paw declawed. He managed to survive all this time. This particular area has not had a local food/water person for many many months.
Tonight he is home, had a gentle bath and is snuggling with his little girls again. He recognized them right away and gave the oldest daughter headbutts and started purring. This after being gone for 21 months!
Tomorrow morning he goes in for a complete workup. He is skin and bones, covered in sores and has a serious cut on one paw. But his will to live is strong.
Can everyone please send out some good healing vibes for Tiger the Katrina kitty who is finally back home where he belongs. This sweet boy and his family could really use them.