Transfer of cats to other shelters – It’s a Good Thing!

As you know, we have been transferring many of our cats and a few kittens to shelters in other parts of Maine. We have been extremely fortunate to have established these working relationships and hope to continue for as long as these wonderful organizations will allow. It takes a lot of coordination and volunteer dedication to ensure our cats are prepared for the transition. It is always difficult to say goodbye to these sweet babies (especially when some of them have been in foster care for weeks or months!) but we feel blessed to know they will find new hope when they reach their destination. We are so deeply happy when we are told of their placement in just days – instead of lingering in a shelter cage or room for weeks or months.

But we know that some of you may wonder why we have been transferring so many of our cats, why not place locally?  Well, the fact is that there are a lot of abandoned cats in our area and not enough adopters that make application to HHPR. In the past, we have had cats stay with us for weeks and even months waiting for a home. Their initial anxiety from being brought to the shelter often turns into a longterm depression that can contribute to their physical health. With cages full and not enough foster homes, we could not take in more cats who were in desperate need of our help. And with limited resources, we were all concerned as to how we could solve this dilemma.

We reached out to our colleagues across the state and many offered their resources to help our cats. From north to south, some wonderful humane groups have provided their assistance and found homes for so many County kitties. The most recent relationship has been with the Animal Refuge League of Greater Portland in Westbrook. We can’t say enough about how blessed we feel to have this relationship for our cats.

So, to sum up what transfer means for our cats and HHPR, here’s a breakdown:

• no overcrowding at HHPR
• no overcrowding = less chance of upper respiratory disease outbreaks
• less cage time for the cat = less stress = better health
• quicker adoption time = happy happy happy

Kitten Season isn’t over yet …

Did you ever get so exhausted that you honestly wished that you would be run over by a Mack Truck.  Well, bring on that Mack Truck for this crazy cat lady. This is one of the most difficult kitten seasons ever. We have 17 babies upstairs in the 2 empty bedrooms, a dozen in the basement and about 18 in foster care, and then we come to the young adult cats. So many loving, purring hearts thanking us for saving them from a fate worse than death… Starvation, serious injury and being eaten alive by parasites and predators.

Momma Cass is looking much better today.  Keep the prayers going for her as she is responding to them.  She has actually started to eat a little on her own, but is so smart and spoiled now that she will stop eating if she sees me watching her. What a little drama queen she has turned out to be.  She is so cool and smart.

Little Evelyn, our little hit and run car accident, is facing major surgery soon. The X-rays proved that the femur bone has a complete break just below the knee.  Poor little baby, she is only 10 to 12 weeks old and already had far more pain than any little one should have to face.  Kevin and Kate McCarthy are our Caribou Pet Heros this week for coming to the aid of this baby and bringing her to HHPR. Where is the person who struck her with his car and kept on driving?  He didn’t even look back.

BTW, it is shoe packing time again.  Do you have some nicely used shoes to donate to HHPR for our recycling program?  Drop them by 11 Pioneer Ave., in Caribou and we will take it from there. Also, looking for more brand name used ink cartridges and toner cartridges. The only thing we cannot recycle is the cartridges marked as “compatible.”  Help us with our recycling programs of returnable bottles and cans; used shoes and used ink cartridges and help save our environment at the same time. You can do this and it doesn’t cost you a cent.  What a win/win situation for HHPR cats, the city dump, and the environment.

HHPR LOVES PetMeds

OMG, can you imagine the surprise and gratitude to the pick up the package from UPS and find a gift box of over $500.00 worth cat products  from 1-800-PETMEDS —  FREE.  What a godsend right here during flea season when we so greatly need it.  The box was packed solid with so many good items, quality products that pet rescues like HHPR desperately need and find it so hard to buy.  There were tapeworm medications, more than a dozen boxes of 3 dose flea prevention products, vitamins, etc. etc. etc. Thank you so much 1-800 Petmeds.  The pet distribution company with a compassionate heart for our cats.