Rescue funds depleted, do you care?

[Suzu]

The cat rescue/shelter that I help run is on the ropes right now due to major vet expenses and because we suck at fundraising. We would deeply appreciate any help. The shortfall comes out of our hides, which are worn out.... We have an Amazon Wish List... a Paypal address [donations@kittysafehaven.org], and a bitcoin wallet, in case you feel like lending a hand. No gift is too small - even a comment on this topic helps, as more people will see the message. Thanks.

ETA: Additional ways to support us:

Use the link below to sign up for an excellent, inexpensive web hosting account, and the shelter will get a commission.
http://www.hostmonster.com/track/suzu/CODE30

Also, we have an Amazon Storefront:
www.amazon.com/shops/kshr

[helmuth_hubener]

Since you said it will help, this topic reminds me of the animal shelter where they shot Aeon Flux:







Cool, huh? Can you believe that's actually an animal shelter?

[Kotin]

Bump

[heavenlyboy34]

Sorry I can't help monetarily, but I'll bump for you. ~hugs~

[Suzu]

Thanks for the bumpities, guys. HH, what sort of animals inhabit that place? Looks like maybe dolphins?

[Deborah K]

Suz, did you ever get the 'Funds to the Rescue' book you have listed on the wish list? Maybe I can get that for you? And some cat food?

[Suzu]

Suz, did you ever get the 'Funds to the Rescue' book you have listed on the wish list? Maybe I can get that for you? And some cat food?

Deborah, I don't know offhand about the book. I've just been so busy! But food is ALWAYS welcome. Thanks so much for thinking of us!!

[Deborah K]

Okay, Suz.

Order Number: 111-5336608-6283445
• 1 item will be shipped to KittySafeHavenShelter by Amazon.com. Estimated delivery: Oct. 8, 2014 - Oct. 11, 2014


C'mon folks, help the kitties out. <3

[Schifference]

Sometimes the best of causes are not financially viable. Do you expect this down trend to turn around? As heartbreaking as it may sound maybe you should close it down or find a different interest. If you choose to continue on a venture that will always be hurting for money then you need to expect to dedicate all your assets to it. If the reason you got involved was because it made you feel good to help the animals, maybe you need to weigh how it makes you feel to not be able to help.

[Deborah K]

Schiff, Suzu can speak for herself, but as someone who has helped out in the past, I know that her shelter needs help once in a while and that is what we do around here, we help fellow RP supporters in their ventures when we can.

She states right in the OP that they suck at fundraising. Maybe you could buy the book they have listed on their wish list, if your intentions are to help, rather than trying to kill her dreams of rescuing cats. All communities need animal rescue homes, they serve a valuable purpose.

[Suzu]

Thank you so much, Deborah K!!

[Suzu]

Sometimes the best of causes are not financially viable. Do you expect this down trend to turn around? As heartbreaking as it may sound maybe you should close it down or find a different interest. If you choose to continue on a venture that will always be hurting for money then you need to expect to dedicate all your assets to it. If the reason you got involved was because it made you feel good to help the animals, maybe you need to weigh how it makes you feel to not be able to help.

Animal rescue is always an uphill battle, financially and otherwise, for probably 95% of rescue groups, but it doesn't stop us doing the best we can for as many of the orphans as we can. As to closing down... it's not just a simple decision, because the animals in our care will not survive if we quit taking care of them. Most of them ended up with us because they are not "adoptable" due to health and/or behavior issues, yet they are just as deserving of life as any pet.

[Kotin]

Sometimes the best of causes are not financially viable. Do you expect this down trend to turn around? As heartbreaking as it may sound maybe you should close it down or find a different interest. If you choose to continue on a venture that will always be hurting for money then you need to expect to dedicate all your assets to it. If the reason you got involved was because it made you feel good to help the animals, maybe you need to weigh how it makes you feel to not be able to help.

No point in being a jerk.. You are assuming quite a bit so why not just say nothing at all.

[Suzu]

A big shout out to an anonymouse donor sending two cases of tinned cat food - WOO HOO!!! Thanks, S!

[KCIndy]

Y'know....

Cats are smart. I mean, *REALLY* smart. I'll bet with a little encouragement and training, you could teach those shiftless little critters some basic job skills and get 'em out in the workplace! I'm sure they could do simple stuff like running a cash register, sweeping floors, running for political office.....

Okay, okay, okay! I'm just kidding! I love cats, I really do.... (they taste like chicken, and I love chicken!) Oops! Did I say that?!?

Okay, I really am kidding. I just had to get a few cat jokes out of my system. I'm cruel that way.

On the serious side, three more cases of cat food heading your way. If it's not there by the 11th, let me know and I'll follow up:

Order Number: 116-6440511-3105063

3 items will be shipped to KittySafeHavenShelter by Amazon.com. Estimated delivery: Oct. 8, 2014 - Oct. 11, 2014

Hope it helps at least a bit. How many cats do you have there?

[KCIndy]

C'mon folks, help the kitties out. <3

aaack!

omg! I just re-read your post.

It's.... kitties. kitties.... kitties!!

...with a "K" not... hmm.

Dammit, with that <3 sign, I read to fast and thought you wrote - aw, never mind.

[Suzu]

Hope it helps at least a bit. How many cats do you have there?

Only 20 at the moment, KC, but that could change at any time. Many thanks for the food donation! We mostly feed wet, so this is good news indeed. Kibble isn't the best thing for their kidneys, but they love it, so we do give them some.

[Deborah K]

aaack!

omg! I just re-read your post.

It's.... kitties. kitties.... kitties!!

...with a "K" not... hmm.

Dammit, with that <3 sign, I read to fast and thought you wrote - aw, never mind.

ahhahhahahahahaha no it's not titties KC! That's the other thread. I lol'd really hard! +rep hahaha

[Suzu]

Special thanks to C.H. for his contribution via Paypal.

I feel a little bit less hopeless today. Thanks, everyone!

[Suzu]

C'mon folks, help the kitties out. <3

We're a little more than $200 away from being able to pay off the vet bill now.

[Deborah K]

You heard her, folks. Let's help out a long-time member and supporter of the Good Doctor. Can we scrounge up 200.00 for the kitties?


(Suzu, did anyone get that fundraising book for you?) If not, I'll get it and I'll pitch in some cash this time, regardless.

[liberalnurse]

You sent $25.00 USD to donations@kittysafehaven.org

Love what your doing. Love my kitties, Karma, 11 and Mya, 7.

[Suzu]

Deborah, I don't find the book here. I was a little foggy last night and couldn't remember.... We did get a book on a different topic. I suppose I would have removed "Funds to the Rescue" from the list had we received it! Trouble is, I don't know what is coming until it arrives -- Amazon only notifies the sender, not the recipient, so I can't be sure no one has ordered it yet.

THANK YOU so very much for your generosity!! Thank You, too, liberalnurse!! We normally try to raise funds toward the end of the year because that's when people are looking for tax deductions, but this has been a year of higher than usual vet bills.

[Suzu]

One of the kitties had an accident that resulted in a lost foreleg. We don't know how it happened. The scapula was torn clean off the rib cage with massive nerve damage. He was recovering well from the surgery and adjusting to being a tripod, but the meds he was on wrecked havoc with his digestion, put him off his food and gave him severe constipation. We gave him round-the-clock intensive care but about a month after his surgery, he slipped into irreversible hepatic lipidosis.

[Deborah K]

Oh poor kitty! I thought that was a reversible disease if it is caught early enough? Are you having to force feed him?

[Suzu]

We love socializing the ferals so they can become house pets. We had a mamacat show up with three little ones. They were all wild, but they accepted food from us and gradually became less frightened. Eventually we trapped them, one by one, in Havahart live traps, to take in for de-sexing. After their snips, they spent a week indoors, in a quarantine room, to heal up. This time provided the opportunity for some taming. Initially, they tried to climb the walls and dig their way through the windows to get out, but by the end of the week, they were comfortable enough with us humans to allow their claws to be trimmed! Meanwhile, they got wormed, treated for fleas and ear mites, and learned to use a litter box. Here are some pics of the family:

One of the boys:




Another boy:




Sister:

[Suzu]

Oh poor kitty! I thought that was a reversible disease if it is caught early enough? Are you having to force feed him?

We weren't able to force-feed him enough food to keep him going. The vet initially recommended not force-feeding because it tends to make them averse to food. But there was no other way, as he would only eat a tiny bit on his own, and eventually he wouldn't eat voluntarily at all. It happened so fast, over the July 4th holiday weekend, that by the following Tuesday he was suffering too much and had to be put down. He was a good sport about the whole affair, though. He even let us give repeated enemas without protesting. We really expected him to make it.

[Kotin]

bump

[Deborah K]

Wow, the first one looks exactly like one of my barn cats, Ginger.

[Suzu]

It's too costly for everyone to have regular dental cleanings, and it can be risky for the older cats, but whenever anyone develops halitosis, we check for symptoms of gingivitis and schedule them for dentals as needed. Two of the older girls had to have them recently, and both got extractions -- one lost a fang, the other lost a pre-molar. Both came through their procedures without difficulties.