Last month, 30 cats and kittens found their forever homes! The month’s group ranged from approximately 14 weeks to 12 years old – several of these cats and kittens arrived to our rescue due to unfortunate circumstances that were no fault of their own, while others were humanely trapped as strays thanks to our community cats efforts. 18 of our adopted cats this month were found or trapped as kittens in May, two older cats were humanely trapped and socialized with the help of their foster families, four cats were adopted by their foster families, and two kittens were adopted as a bonded pair.
Our rescue relies heavily on donations from our amazing supporters to help us give the cats in our care the best possible chance at long, healthy lives where they are cherished by their forever families. In response to the cats in our program’s needs, we have created our Forgotten Feline program to help scared and under-socialized cats regain trust and confidence. We have also created The Lazzy Fund, which gives a second chance to those cats who have been neglected and forgotten, including cats in need of critical and lifesaving medical care. The Forgotten Feline program and The Lazzy Fund help many of our cats during their time in our rescue, and this month, one of our Forgotten Feline graduates was adopted!
If you follow our Facebook and Instagram accounts and have read previous posts in our blog, you may recognize Ishmael (formerly known as Ingrid). Estimated to be 10-12 years old, this sweet senior came to Ten Lives when his family moved, leaving him behind. He spent at least two years trying to survive outside living under a deck, and during that time developed serious dental disease and was in extremely rough shape. Ishmael joined our Forgotten Feline program, and thanks to the generous donors of The Lazzy Fund, Ishmael received the dental and medical care he needed. Ishmael has since graduated from our program, and now enjoys spending his days cuddled up with snuggly, warm blankets and showing off his superb biscuit making skills. With the support of his foster families in our rescue, his spirit was restored, and after eight months in foster care, he’s now living his best adopted life filled with love and spends his time with his new canine siblings!
Six of our adopted kittens found in May had similar beginnings. The “Job Lot kittens,” Havana, Jovi, and Rozelia, were found, all with eye issues, in a box in a Job Lot parking lot. A Good Samaritan, who has helped us with a few cats in the past, contacted us for help. One of our fosters, Elizabeth, agreed to take them in, and our Intake Coordinator, Kim, went to pick up the kittens with the intention to drop them off with Elizabeth that day. However, when Kim opened up the box, she describes it as “pretty much a done deal,” as the kittens were mini versions of one of her cats, Ten Lives alumnus, Javier. Elizabeth was gracious enough to let Kim foster them herself, and Elizabeth joked that she knew there would be another litter for her soon. She was right. On Mother’s Day, another litter of kittens were left in a box at Ocean State Veterinary Services, and they called us for help. Even though Elizabeth had plans for Mother’s Day, she made time to welcome the Mother’s Day kittens into her home. She named each one “Mother” in various languages – Mummy, Madre, and Mumuska. All three of the Mother’s Day kittens thrived under Elizabeth’s care, and they each found a loving forever home this month.
The Job Lot kittens spent the last few months overcoming their eye issues. Rozelia’s eyes were in the best condition of the three, and they cleared up very quickly with medication. Both of Jovi’s eyes were in bad condition, but because we caught it early, we were able to treat them with medication, as well. One of her eyes does still have scar tissue over it, but it’s not very noticeable. Havana’s eyes, however, were noticeably the worst upon arrival. Her left eye was swollen with lots of discharge covering the eye, and her right eye was also in bad shape. After several rounds of eye drops, eye ointments, oral antibiotics, and oral anti-virals, the hard determination was made to remove one of her eyes as the pressure was too high and could cause her pain later in life. Kim shares that Havana was such a trooper before and after her surgery. “Nothing slows her down, and if you didn’t know she has only very minimal vision in her remaining eye, you wouldn’t know. She has adapted better than I could have hoped and she gets around the house without any issues.” Rozelia and Jovi were adopted by their forever families in July, and Kim adopted Havana after her eye surgery this month.
Congratulations to Amaretto, Bongo, Flora, Fox, Grey Ghost, Halley, Havana, Hopper, Ima, Ishmael, Jovi, Kallen, Leonardo, Lou, Lulu, Madre, Mama Cosine, Mama Figg, Mamuska, Mummy, Orri, Peanut L, Prince Alex, Prince Peter, Quesadilla, Serenity, Shirelle, Splash, Sunnie, and Teenie Queenie for finding their forever homes!
Are you interested in adopting a cat from Ten Lives Cat Rescue? Take a look at our adoptable cats!
How can you help the cats currently in Ten Lives’ care? Sponsor a Forgotten Feline, become a foster, apply for one of our volunteer opportunities, donate to The Lazzy Fund, or purchase a needed item on our Wishlist.