SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE

Fire Twins Story
Save Our Strays has been actively working in a South Carolina community, to assist the neighborhood in reducing the number of feral, and community cats. We have trapped, spayed and neutered over the last year.  Unfortunately, all it takes is a few new cats moving into the area to start the whole scenario up again.
 
Neighbors noticed a new white cat in the neighborhood, and put out a plea for help.  We asked specific community members that we had worked with previously, to keep a look out and establish a pattern.  The white cat, friendly, was taken in by another homeowner very recently, who said she would be an indoor cat and would be spayed appropriately.
 
The white cat has not been seen outside since, but a tiny white kitten was found crying along a fence line belonging to one of our fosters.  A Foster mom sprang into action, and scooped up the baby, bathed her, treated her little ears, fed her and set her up in her own little apartment for an isolation period.  The Foster mom then canvassed the entire are looking for the mom, and siblings.  No one had seen, and no one heard anything.
 
A little white female cat, with gray markings, approximately 6-7 weeks of age, began to socialize beautifully.  Four days later, another tiny sibling showed up in the yard, crying.  The Foster mom immediately scooped them up again, and repeated the process.  The second girl is almost a carbon copy of the first.
 
The two girls were very happy to be back together, and are both going to be awesome housecats.  Their first veterinary appointment has been scheduled for testing, deworming, first vaccines and ear mite treatment.
 
Welcome to Save Our Strays, little Smudge and Scorch…
           
Save Our Strays is committed to every cat we accept into our organization, from neo-natal kittens to adoptable cats being campaigned for forever homes, to supported colony and community cats, to extended foster arrangements in our Seniors to Seniors program.  Please help us to help them.  Every dollar counts. Every Paw Matters.

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SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE
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JORDYN’S JOURNEY
Jordyn is a tiny, dilute Tortoiseshell cat.  She is 9 years old, and was in a happy home for years.  She lost her home when her person lost their lease, and came into rescue with 5 other cats.  Although her person searched for a place for them all to land together, time ran out.  Choices became slim, and rescue was the absolute best option.
 
Jordyn was found to have some pretty severe dental issues, and she is scheduled for pre-operative blood work, and then a full dental cleaning with extractions.  Although it is sad that Jordyn lost her home, she is now in a place, with her cat companions, where she can get the medical assistance she needs.  Once Jordyn’s medical needs are addressed, decisions can be made to determine whether she can ever get back to her original person, if alternative housing is found once the current leasing period ends.  Or, if a new permanent home will be needed.
 
Save Our Strays depends upon donations to provide foster or sanctuary housing, food and supplies to meet the needs of the communities we serve. Without the funding, the critical medical care these cats need won’t be available to them.
 
Save Our Strays is committed to every cat in our care, from neo-natal kittens to adoptable cats being campaigned for forever homes, to cats placed in sanctuary for life, to supported colony and community cats.  Every Paw Matters.
 

SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE
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Uh Oh’s Story
Uh Oh, a young, but mature, male cat, showed up during a very cold snap here in the South at a managed food station.  He was pretty ragged, and banged up looking, with a sore on his nose, cold and looking for a warm place to curl up. The decision was made to trap, test, neuter, and vaccinate him appropriately.
 
Trapping was incredibly easy.  He went directly into the covered trap for the delicious tuna, and sardines.  Once he was in, and we were able to get a good look at him, his developed “man cheeks” told us we had a mature boy.  He was calm, and relatively unconcerned with our presence.  He was loaded into the back of a warm vehicle, kept covered to lessen stress and transported to our vet who had been notified in advance of the trapping exercise, and what we hoped to get.
 
Uh Oh was given a day or so to decompress, and showed no aggression while kenneled.  He was given anesthesia the next afternoon, and tested for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), Feline Leukemia Virus (FELV) and heartworms. Unfortunately, he tested high positive for FIV, so he was returned to his colony an is off the table.  He was neutered, vaccinated, groomed and treated for all external and internal parasites.  He was sent to clinic boarding to recover, and will stay there, with staff continuing to befriend and work with him, as he still remains calm but wary.  The thought is that perhaps he had a home once, and was somebody’s baby once, but has forgotten how to trust with his hard life on the streets.  Maybe we can help him to remember, and get a real home for him.  If not, we will be looking for an indoor sanctuary where he can live with warmth, food, and have a sunny window to hang out in.
 
Save Our Strays is committed to every cat in our care, from neo-natal kittens to adoptable cats being campaigned for forever homes, to supported colony and community cats.  Every Paw Matters.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE
 
We have had a rush of rescues,
which we will bring to you
next month.

​SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE
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PUZZLE AND HER PIECES STORY
Puzzle found herself out, and alone.  A young calico, she either got out or was put out, when she went into season.  She had her babies under a deck, and a tropical storm was coming.
The homeowner, hearing tiny kitten sounds, investigated.  She befriended Puzzle, and crawled under the deck to retrieve the four little puffs, still with their eyes unopened. The homeowner brought the family inside, installed them in a bathroom and began to look for help.
The tiny babies, 2 girls - a stunning little tabby with white, and a solid black with a white chest feather - and 2 boys, an orange tabby, and a white with 2 orange tabby spots on his head, were about 8 days old.  Puzzle is also young, and though likely this is her first litter, was a good mom.  She was protective and attentive, but allowed her new caretaker to handle her babies without any aggression from her.
Save Our Strays became aware of Puzzle’s plight through a community Facebook page, and plea and reached out to a rescue partner in the area to investigate, and look for foster options.  Sometimes, the planets just align.  Foster was available, transport was arranged and the little family was brought under our wing.
Puzzle, and her little pieces will need to be vetted.  They will need their required vaccinations, their spay and neuter surgeries, flea prevention and microchips to be able to campaign for their forever homes.  We are asking for your help to be able to provide these needed services.  This family is safe.  With your help, we can get them into homes where they will be safe for the rest of their lives, and open up space for the next lost family.  With your help, and every dollar counts, Save Our Strays can continue those so needed services.  We are committed to helping all we can.

​SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE

       PHILLY AND OSCAR’S STORY 
 
Two tiny boys, heard screaming under a mobile home deck for 2 days.  No mom in sight.  Was she run off by dogs?  Did the coyotes get her?  Was she hit on the road searching for food?  We will never know.
 
The babies were pulled out, placed in a box and dropped off at a dog rescue with a note, which said “These kittens were found under our trailer’s deck. They’ve been screaming for 2 days, and no mom ever came back for them.  We gave them some milk with an eye dropper, but we can’t help them and they aren’t doing well.”
 
The dog rescue Director reached out to us for help.  We immediately contacted our bottle mom, to see if she had availability to take on these two fragile boys, who had been given cow’s milk, which is very bad for neonatal kittens and can actually cause enough GI distress to kill tiny babies, and who were also ice cold.  The Director of the dog rescue got the babies on heat right away, while we arranged transport to the bottle mom, who thankfully had the space to accept them.
 
It was very touch and go for the first week, as they battled issues from being left cold and then given the wrong nutrition.  They suffered from diarrhea, and refused to nurse.  Thankfully, blessedly, our bottle mom is so knowledgeable and savvy with these types of issues, and was able to pull them through with the appropriate meds and tube feedings.
 
Then, they never looked back.  They thrived, and they grew into two happy, bouncy, playful boys.  They were tested for feline aids, and leukemia (both negative) and received their first vaccines this week.  They will need to finish their vetting - boosters, neuter surgeries, and microchips, so that they can interview prospective adopters, and be placed in their forever homes for life.
 
Save Our Strays is a champion for the fragile, the sick, and the special needs. Can you find it in your heart to donate towards their needed vet care?  Please help us help them, and enable our work going forward?
 

SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE

OAKLEE’S STORY
 
We received a request for help from one of our rescue partners.  Our local Animal Control had accepted another fragile baby, looking for rescue saviors. Little Oaklee had a broken left rear leg, and a dislocated right rear hip with tendon stretch and inflammation.  Having both rear legs incapacitated made for some serious nursing care, and intervention.  X-rays were repeated once rescue assistance was obtained, and it was determined that the dislocated hip had slipped back into place, with remaining residual stretching and inflammation.  She was still very sore on that hip.
 
The break, although very close to the ankle joint, was not aligned perfectly, but satisfactorily enough to allow healing.  The other option would have been pins
or amputation on a one-pound kitten.  Not a good surgical risk.  The decision was made to support Oaklee, and to kennel rest her for 6 weeks, under strict supervision.
 
Oaklee was set up in a well-padded, hard-shell kennel with room for a low litter pan, food and water bowls and some soft stuffed toys to cuddle with.  From her perch, she was able to see the household activities, also the birds and trees outside the window, and was kept clean and quiet.
 
Oaklee was re-examined on October 15th.  Her hip is normal now, and the break is solidly calcified and fused.  She was medically discharged to continue her regular vetting path (vaccines, spay) and has joined little Figgy as a roommate. Figgy is 4 weeks older, and had 2 broken front legs.  One has healed, and one had to be amputated.  The girls are now perfect companions for each other, and will be campaigned for adoption together once their vetting is completed.
 
Save Our Strays is a champion for the fragile, the broken and the special needs.  Please help us… help them.
 

SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE
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FIGGY’S STORY 
 
We got a plea from one of our rescue partners in South Carolina, to help with a critical kitten.  Our local Animal Control had taken in a 7-week-old girl, with a badly broken left foreleg and a damaged, possibly fractured or dislocated, right shoulder.  This poor soul had no working front legs, and needed assistance with everything - eating, drinking, using the litter tray.  Round the clock care, and constant clean up.  The injuries were too severe for the shelter vet to correct.
 
Our rescue partner was willing to step up for the daily care, and nursing assistance and Save Our Strays stepped up for financial and mental support.  Figgy was brought into the fold, seen immediately by our vet and evaluated.
 
As she was in poor physical condition, and v ery underweight for her age, the vet determined that she needed a week on good food, heat and antibiotic/pain management support to prepare her for potential orthopedic surgery.  It became readily apparent that the right leg, with its swelling, discoloration and temperature, was not going to be salvageable. The foot hardened, and blackened and continually got caught under poor Figgy as she tried to manage.  The left leg was stabilized so that it could be used to hold her up as she ate and used the litter pan.
 
Surgery day arrived, the planned ortho surgery became an amputation and the other fractured leg, previously stabilized, was knitting and calcifying on its own.  Figgy came through the amputation surgery like a little warrior, and recovered in a soft bed, with heat and pain meds. She went home to our rescue partner for post-operative nursing care, and monitoring.  Figgy has never looked back.  She ate warmed canned food immediately upon returning to the rescue, snuggled against her heated rice sock and just began to heal and move forward.
 
Figgy remained on cage rest at the rescue for 6 weeks, and was medically discharged on September 10th, with her fractured leg now completely healed.  She will be getting a new little roommate this week so that she has someone to grow up with, and learn to become a well-rounded kitten.  Her new litter mate, Rory, is about 3 weeks younger, but appropriately sized for her age.  Figgy is very small for her age, so this should work out perfectly for both.
 
Both kittens will need their vetting completed, appropriate vaccines, spay, microchips, etc, to be campaigned for their forever homes.  Save Our Strays appreciates any financial help you may be able to give.

SOUTH CAROLINA RESCUE

​COCOA BEAN AND DOUBLE STUFF
 
We were recently contacted by one of our foster moms.  An adult cat, a gorgeous long-haired black beauty, turned up in their yard and was seeking attention, and affection from the foster’s youngest child.  The moment her daughter went out into the yard, the cat sped immediately over to her crying, and rubbing around her ankles.
 
The cat would not allow our foster mom near and would run off, and stand back every time she went out to try to interact.  As soon as she would move to a safe distance, the cat would return to the child.  After several days of this activity, the cat brought a 7 to 8-week-old, black and white kitten to the child.  The kitten was very shy, and stayed a respectful distance.  It was observed that the adult cat was mothering the kitten and allowing it to suckle.
 
Traps were loaned to the foster, and the two renegades were caught and brought inside.  They were picked up by our rescue partner, and taken to an open foster, who works as a veterinary technician.
 
Both cat, and kitten were wormed, treated for fleas and tested for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and Feline Leukemia Virus.  Both were negative for each.  They were brought to the vet clinic, and the staff worked with them every day to accustom them to be handled, and to overcome their fears.
 
Spay day arrived for the adult cat, named Cocoa Bean.  To everyone’s surprise, Cocoa Bean was not Double Stuff’s mother.  She was actually a He.  Spay turned into neuter, and all records were adjusted!
 
We think it is very likely that Cocoa Bean could very well be an older sibling.  In any case, these two are very bonded, and will be campaigned for adoption as a bonded pair of brothers.  Double Stuff needs to finish his vetting, i.e.: remaining vaccine series and neuter/microchip, and then these boys will be interviewing potential adopters.
Things are not always what they seem, and in rescue, we are constantly fading back to punt.  Save Our Strays, in stepping up for these two, has learned that there is always something new to learn!