Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Sometimes we all need a little help from our friends

Its garbage pickup day here .... and in as an empty nester with four indoor cats, pretty much all of the garbage bags are for kitty litter. Its not a matter of being fussy, because I am too much of an 'outdoor' girl to ever be at risk of becoming Little Suzy Homemaker. Nor is it squeamishness on my part .... as I am both an organic gardener and a responsible dog walker. ( Although I am lazy enough to appreciate how much easier frequent litter box cleanup is )
I have whole page about this on the homeless pet site The More the Merrier - click here to learn how to manage a multi cat household , but at the end of the day, no matter how clean and how careful folks are, even the best kept shelters can hit the kind of speed bump that can't be prepared for This morning, I received this email:
SCAR is a rescue based out of Eastern Passage that specializes in stray and feral cats, run by Sonya Higgins. Sonya was in the Chronicle Herald recently for her hard work in helping the colony at Fisherman's Cove, several of those cats are now up for adoption.
On the 25th of April, a litter of barn kittens came to SCARS, and sadly, one of those kittens turned out to be positive for Panleukopenia, more commonly known as Distemper. Despite heroic efforts to save little Tongo, sadly, he grew too sick and too weak and he was euthanized this late afternoon.
Panleukopenia is an extremely dangerous, extremely contagious disease. It's typically fatal in kittens and unvaccinated cats, so needless to say, Tongo's litter mates are being watched very closely.
In the attempt to eliminate the virus from the environment, Sonya has no other choice than to throw out many supplies and SCARS is now in desperate need of donations. Litter boxes, bedding, toys, scratching posts, as well as cleaning supplies such as bleach and wipes. There is a bottle drive coming up on May 16th, so recyclable bottles are also welcome! Because the Rescue Workshop is now under quarantine until further notice, there's also a desperate need for foster homes.
If you're able to help in any way, please contact Sonya directly at 469-MEOW or by email at katsonya@accesswave.ca
If you don't live in the immediate area, there are still ways that you can help. I'm betting that Canadian Tire money and Superstore/ Sobeys/ Walmart / etc gift certificates would be a big help.
If you do live in HRM and haven't got a way to get your donations to Eastern Passage, put a post on the facebook group Nova Scotia Pet Transfer and we'll get someone organized to pick it up for you.
If foster parents are the lifeblood of rescue, right now if you can foster it would be a lifeline indeed.
Sonya can also be contacted through the SCAR facebook group Healing Animal SCARS - Sonya's Cat & Animal Rescue Society.
In a world where so many treat stray cats like second class kittizens, its always worth supporting people like Sonya whose compassion has led them to pick a better path.
One of the deep secrets of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others. - Lewis Carroll

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