Sunday, March 30, 2014

Saving Hitch

OK, I'll say it, and I don't say it very often, but...I NEED HELP!
I'm relocating Hitch to a feral cat sanctuary and costs are totaling $800.
Her fundraising page is HERE.
This is Hitch, one of the first times I ever met her, doing recon for a TNR project in 2009, with North Brooklyn Cats.
 She was a baby then, but old enough to be feral and not able to socialize. She was very curious, always watching us, interacting from a safe distance.
 She was trapped, spayed and released back to her colony. I did not manage this colony, but when one of the feeders was hit and killed by a truck, I filled in until the community started feeding regularly.
 She knew the sound of my voice, and came running when she heard my bike. She was adorable. I stopped feeding there, because they didn't need me anymore, and after that I popped by once in a while, on a run or bike ride to say hello.
 In 2012, North Brooklyn Cats received a call that an exterminator was trapping cats at this colony. I headed over and there it was, a set trap laying in a puddle, from the thunderstorm the night before..., with the exterminator company's tag on it. I tripped the trap and, long story short, a summer long rescue mission was underway. Hitch was in terrible shape and something had changed with her. She no longer interacted with her colony and was very skittish (more than feral skittish, something else) - we found out she went missing for a while, and returned very different. We have no idea what happened. We relocated 4 of the remaining 6. Hitch came to my warehouse colony.
 She did very well here and was happy. She greeted me when I arrived, and followed me around while I refilled the feeders, waterers and litter boxes.
 Changes at this warehouse left Hitch in trouble again. She was very scared and uncomfortable and was living in a very tiny space in the ceiling. It was time for her to move on. But she's already lost 2 homes, is fearful, and another relocation just isn't an option. It's incredibly difficult to relocate ferals, and it's always risky.
 When we showed up to trap, she immediately headed down to the warehouse floor and got into a small corner where we couldn't reach her - either by trap or net.
 The next week, we showed up with netting to net off that whole area, and set traps at every escape point. We got her!
 She saw the vet, looks good, tested negative for FIV and FELV, her blood work is out for analysis and she received vaccination boosters and parasite control.
 The estimate to get Hitch safely to her sanctuary is $800. The sanctuary fee is $350, the vet bill was $370 (copy available upon request) and the fuel estimate for next week's journey is $80.
 She's ready to go! We just need a little help from our friends! Anything you can spare is appreciated.
 Very soon, Hitch will be in a safe, well maintained, feral cat sanctuary. She'll be surrounded by trees, grass and fresh air. I hope she'll again be happy and worry-free. Please help! 
Her fundraising page is HERE!
The full link is below if you can't click on the "HERE" hyperlink.
http://www.youcaring.com/pet-expenses/saving-hitch/156909
THANK YOU!!!
xoxoxo,
Big City Little Kitty

4 comments:

  1. this story has broken my heart. I wish you could ship her to my house. i hate this. Where's the sanctuary. Did i miss the link?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pinky, thank you. I did not post a link to the sanctuary, they keep a low profile for the safety of the cats. I went there with her to check it all out and make sure it was safe.

      Delete
  2. BE VERY CAUTIOUS with sanctuaries. They get overrun very quickly and the cats suffer! If there is any other option, please explore it. Farms, warehouses, garden centers, etc...
    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ed-sayres/hundreds-of-caboodle-ranc_b_1747467.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for your concern, Julie. As I mentioned on Facebook, I spoke with reliable sources who had been there, and I went there with her to check it out. Not all sanctuaries are bad, some are very good. The media only reports on the bad ones, for whatever reason it is not newsworthy to report on the good ones. Also, this place keeps a low profile for the safety of the cats.

      Delete