SNIP International: News_From

There is hardly a time when your equipment is not in use somewhere. At the moment we are using the large cage for the little kitten in this photo. She was picked up this morning with Feline Respiratory Virus. In the heat, another 24 hours and she would have been dead as she was lying in the sun and was not capable, or had no inclination, to find water or food. She has been to the vet for injections and must return tomorrow. When she is well, we will find a home for her through one of the organisations we work with in Germany.

Cage from SNIP International in use

In the hospitalisation cage (right) you can see a big feral neutered male from the same area in Agios Nikolaos where the kitten has been picked up. We have neutered 30-35 cats in this one smallish area, and visit there regularly to see how things are. This boy has a bad infection in his mouth, and was drooling badly for at least a week, in the last 2 days he had stopped eating. He is on antibiotics, but has to stay in the hospital cage for now as he is very feral and would escape from a big cage during cleaning etc.

The other 2 cages we have (one was another SNIP Int donation) are in use with small kittens. This morning an Englishwoman called me to say she had intercepted an old lady throwing her rubbish into the bin. In a plastic bag tied up, in a larger plastic bag, with rubbish piled on top, were four 4-5 week old kittens. She has found a home for one of them, and one will stay with her. She has agreed to foster the other two until they are older and we can find homes for them abroad. I have lent her a cage to protect them from her 5 month old puppy who has already brought her a small rabbit as a trophy!!

		Voice of the Cats Alliance (VOCAL) is a small initiative to promote cat welfare in and around Elounda, NE Crete. Their principal aim is to maintain a manageable population of feral cats through ongoing catch-neuter-release programmes.
	We have been extremely busy since the beginning of 2007 and have sterilized 22 females and 4 male cats since the middle of January. We have made a big difference in many cat groups in all 4 villages that go to make up the Elounda area. We are even seeing a difference in the attitude to sterilizing (and poisoning) by many of the older village people.
	In one of them we had been approached by an elderly lady to sterilize two female cats she feeds. We did one of them at the end of last year, but the second was more difficult to catch. Last week I made a concerted effort every day for 8 days, as I knew the cat would probably be in early pregnancy, and I caught her. The lady was so thrilled she was going round the streets of the village calling out to her friends in their houses, "She's caught her, she's caught her, the young woman (I'm 50!) has caught her!" It was great to see.
	I have also had a call for help from a young Greek woman in Heraklion, who rescues sick and injured cats and cares for them on her land. She now has 30-40 and needs help with money and equipment for sterilizing. I've managed to get a bit of money together, so will pass it to her soon. Our next challenge is to find a vet in her area who will sterilize a female for less than 100 euros - yes really, this is what I am being quoted! In VOCAL we concentrate our efforts on identifying particular groups of cats that contain females of breeding age, or approaching breeding age. The two cats recovering from a sterilization operation (pictures left and below right) live in a small vegetable allotment near the village where I live. When I first found the allotment in June 2006, it was being tended by an elderly lady called Georgia. She had several chickens and 3 female cats, whom she obviously loved. Every week or so I took her food to supplement the scraps she was bringing each day for her cats.
	In VOCAL we concentrate our efforts on identifying particular groups of cats that contain females of breeding age, or approaching breeding age. The two cats recovering from a sterilization operation (pictures left and below right) live in a small vegetable allotment, near the village where I live. When I first found the allotment in June 06, it was being tended by an elderly lady called Georgia. She had several chickens and 3 female cats, whom she obviously loved. Every week or so I took her food, to supplement the scraps she was bringing each day for her cats.
	There was an older, dominant female who had what appeared to be an ear clip, a younger mother and her kitten of about 2 months of age. We immediately caught the younger mother and had her sterilized. In September I arrived one day to find the older female nursing 3 tri-coloured (therefore female) kittens and a black and white one. It was not a sterilization ear clip after all! So, now this small area had five females, all who would be reproducing in the following spring. Here was a time bomb waiting to explode!
	During the winter Georgia became too sick to visit her allotment every day. Someone else in the family visited regularly to care for the chickens, but the cats seemed to be forgotten. I visited Georgia and although sad that she couldn't see her cats anymore she adopted the usual attitude, assuming they would manage without her. It was obvious to me that actually they were struggling so we added this area to the daily feeding round - and in the process attracted another female cat and her female kitten to the plot.
	In January, spring came early and females came into season, toms were on the prowl. We knew we must act quickly. We targetted the allotment and in the space of 5 days we trapped and sterilized the older mother, all her 3 female kittens, and the female from the younger, previously sterilized mother. We also caught and sterilized the new female adult. Her kitten is still only three months old, so will be taken in another month or so, and the young black and white male will be castrated in coming months too.
	This area could not support the cats that were already living there, so another litter of kittens for each of these females would have most certainly resulted in ill-health, weakness and probably death for many of them. Other people in surrounding allotments would quite possibly have used poisoned bait, as the number of kittens would have been considered excessive. Based on the statistic quoted by SNIP International that one cat and her kittens can potentially produce 10,000 kittens in 6 years, we have saved huge numbers of kittens from being born. Maybe someone would like to do the maths, as I'm not up to it!!
	Sylvester
	Sylvester and his son Willie live at Kantouni taverna in Mavrikiano, near Elounda, Crete, and are supported by the owner and staff of the taverna, and by Voice of the Cats Alliance (VOCAL). I circulated a story last year about Sylvester, who came into the care of VOCAL in October 07, after breaking his hip when he was hit by a car. He is an old cat, possibly more than ten, and the break took quite a long time to heal. During his recuperation, he stayed with my husband and me at our house.
	Sylvester returned to the taverna in December and was supported there until it re-opened in May. All went well until recently when I was informed that Sylvester was not well, he had a huge abscess on his neck.
	Sylvester was back in residence at our house for two weeks, until the abscess drained. For the first few days he stayed in his cage, which I think he remembered from his period of inactivity last year. He was quite happy inside but gradually with the antibiotics and care he wanted to be free, so the cage was packed away and he remained at our house for another few days, competing with our own 4 cats and 4 foster kittens for attention.
	One morning he followed me out of the door of our house and wandered back to his taverna - just 50 metres from our home - to say good morning to Willie. He obviously decided he was well enough to return to his evening duties! Rene, one of the staff at Kantouni, continues to administer his evening medication and I visit every morning to clean the wound and give more antibiotics. Unfortunately Willie wasn't on hand for this photo but it is for him that the sign was written. However, I'm sure that Willie has taken every advantage of Sylvester's absence, including putting his diet on hold for two weeks!
	Amanda’s long wait for VOCAL
	This is Amanda. She is about 12 weeks old, although she only looked about 7-8 weeks old when she was found. A holiday-maker in Agios Nikolaos, North East Crete, Greece, brought her to the attention of VOCAL. She was lying under a bush. Her left hind leg was badly broken and 2cms of bone was sticking out of a gaping hole and was badly infected. She was very emaciated, only skin and bone. We were told she had been like this for several days and it was only because the kitten's mother repeatedly returned to feed her that she had survived so long. Many people had seen her, but made no attempt to find help. Thankfully one holiday-maker used some initiative. She went to the local pet shop and asked the owner, Shelley, if she knew of an animal welfare organization who could take her to be put to sleep. Shelley immediately contacted VOCAL and a volunteer was there within 30 minutes.
	The vet thought she had a good chance of recovery, so he operated. He cut away the infected section of bone and now the break must be given time to fuse together. Amanda is making good progress. She is being cared for by a foster home and has already put on weight. Every day she has to visit the vet for antibiotic injections and for antiseptic to be put inside the wound. We are hopeful that she will make a good recovery, and although she will have a disability, she will be able to live a long and happy life. Although Amanda is recuperating in one of the hospital cages, kindly donated by SNIP International, she loves to sit with her foster mum and be cuddled. When she has completely recovered, we shall be seeking a special, loving home for her.
	August 2009 Update
	There is hardly a time when your equipment is not in use somewhere. At the moment we are using the large cage for the little kitten in this photo. She was picked up this morning with Feline Respiratory Virus. In the heat, another 24 hours and she would have been dead as she was lying in the sun and was not capable, or had no inclination, to find water or food. She has been to the vet for injections and must return tomorrow. When she is well, we will find a home for her through one of the organisations we work with in Germany. In the hospitalisation cage (right) you can see a big feral neutered male from the same area in Agios Nikolaos where the kitten has been picked up. We have neutered 30-35 cats in this one smallish area, and visit there regularly to see how things are. This boy has a bad infection in his mouth, and was drooling badly for at least a week, in the last 2 days he had stopped eating. He is on antibiotics, but has to stay in the hospital cage for now as he is very feral and would escape from a big cage during cleaning etc. The other 2 cages we have (one was another SNIP Int donation) are in use with small kittens. This morning an Englishwoman called me to say she had intercepted an old lady throwing her rubbish into the bin. In a plastic bag tied up, in a larger plastic bag, with rubbish piled on top, were four 4-5 week old kittens. She has found a home for one of them, and one will stay with her. She has agreed to foster the other two until they are older and we can find homes for them abroad. I have lent her a cage to protect them from her 5 month old puppy who has already brought her a small rabbit as a trophy!!