Rough Day!

Hi! I'm Colby. I'm a 7 week old Calico and I have 1 sister and 4 brothers. I had a very rough day today. I woke up in my new foster home and I was very scared. My eyes hurt, because they are both infected and I couldn't stop scratching my ears, because of the earmites I am being treated for. See that picture? That's me when GHS came to my rescue. I can't even get my eyes open and I am covered in dirt. I don't feel very good, but I did meet my foster mom today who seems very nice. I like her snuggles. She told me I would never have to live outside again and that she was going to help me feel better. She gave me and my siblings baths which we didn't like at all. We didn't complain though, because it felt so good to get all the flea dirt washed away. Our foster mom said the water was so dirty...what did she expect? We've been rolling around in the mud for weeks! Then, we had to be dewormed. I don't know what that means, but we had to drink this yellow liquid. Our tummies are huge, because of the worms. Foster mommy asked us why we each ate tennis balls. We don't eat tennis balls! They are too big! She thinks she is funny. Not funny. We just are kittens that lived outside. She said we only have to drink the yellow stuff a couple more times and then we will have happy tummies! Then, she put more stuff in my eyes. She said she was sorry they were red and swollen and that soon they will be better. I was so tired after all this that I asked foster mommy if I could take a nap...well I didn't really ask I just crawled on top of her and fell asleep. My brother Chief came and curled up too. She gave us lots of kisses and hugs and told us that soon we would be ready for a new forever home. I don't know what that means, but I do know that I feel lots better now that I am all clean. Now if only Cougar and Champ would stop playing I could get some rest!!!

Wow.

*L->R: Captain, Champ, Chief, Colby, Creamsicle, Cujo, Cougar*

GHS rescued some gorgeous kittens today...we were asked to help a woman with good intentions, but who had way way way way way too many animals that she could not care for. We started with two of her puppies, then grabbed these guys. We hope to get the adults soon. Some are feral, some are domesticated. Some are indoors, some our outdoors. Their numbers are unknown, but at least fifteen adult cats and potentially more kittens are on site. 6 of the kittens are 7 weeks old, 1 is 3 months old. There are 2 medium hair orange males, 1 long haired orange male, 1 cream long haired/maine coon mail, 1 short hair black male, and 1 calico. Their names are Cougar, Colby, Captain, Chief, Champ, Creamsicle, and Cujo. We're hoping they make a speedy recover from eye infections and ear mites in foster care, so we can get them adopted to other great homes and then go rescue some more! This took a whole group to coordinate: Leslie made the arrangements, Chris did the transport, Mary did initial vet work, and thanks to Donna for fostering!

Kitten Season

We often reference "kitten season" many are not familiar with this term. Kitten season is a time period from spring to fall where many cats give birth, flooding animal shelters and rescues with homeless kittens. It peaks in the early summer, so we are about to be right at its peak. Basically, the warm weather coincides with female cats' heat cycles. Pregnancy for cats is 8.5 weeks from conception. We place kittens up for adoptions at 8 weeks of age (sometimes they can be pre-adopted!).

How does GHS address kitten season? Both proactively and retroactively.

• Proactively---we seek to reduce the number of unwanted cats by actively promoting spay/neuter through support and assistance to low-cost clinics.
• Retroactively---we try to rescue as many litters as we can from high-kill shelters, abandonment, and owner surrender. We organize transports to help move animals away from high-kill counties and into areas where they have a better chance of adoption. GHS has a policy where we always rescue the mother with the kittens. Many times the mothers will be instantly killed once their kittens have been adopted or removed.

Kitten season puts a huge strain on us. Our adoption center is jammed packed with kittens, our fosters are full, and we receive calls and emails about hundreds of kittens we simply cannot rescue. It's tough knowing you can't save them all and that the majority will not make it. The lack of resource, space, and money to take care of kittens during this time is so stretched all across the country, many kittens are killed without even given a chance.

It's hurts adult cats too, because they are often overlooked by potential adopters when there are kittens are around. Many people would rather rescue a kitten, even though they require much more training and attention. It's easier for most organizations to find home for kittens rather than adults, and the adult cats suffer for it. Luckily, GHS rotates our adult cats in and out of foster care so they don't get overwhelemed at our adoption center. At the first sign of stress, we take them back to a love home to give them a break and hope we can get them adopted via the internet!

The risk of illness often increases during this time. Crowded kennels means that disease can spread almost instantaneously. The biggest problem is upper respiratory infections. They are easy to treat and have an extremely high survival rate, but they cost money and time and most shelters are not willing to put forth that effort. As a complete no-kill organization, GHS will do everything it takes to save a cat or kitten with an upper respiratory infection and we have never killed an animal because of it. We've had kittens that have been sick with months and incurred hundreds of dollars in vet bills, but that is NO reason for killing.

How can you help the kittens and cats during this stressful time?

• GET INVOLVED! We are in desperate need of foster parents. GHS will pay for all food/litter, vet work, and care. We just need loving homes! For the application please click HERE!
• VOLUNTEER! We always need volunteers to clean our adoption center and socialize the cats/kittens there. The requirement is 18 years of age, dedication to the kitties, and a committment of one day a week (2 hour shift). If this commitment doesn't work, we are always willing to work with you!
• SPAY AND NEUTER. Even if your cat is indoors...once your kitten is as young as 8 weeks old they can be safely altered. Most kittens are "accidental" births. There are low cost clinics in Georgia that you can find by clicking HERE.
• DONATE. If you cannot donate time, donate supplies or money. We are always in need of kitten food, litter, litterboxes, beds, and toys. Any money donated goes towards vet work. For every cat or kitten we can vet and rescue, we can use that donation to go into another high kill shelter and rehabilitate another needy kitty. Every penny counts!
• ADOPT! We love pairing families with their perfect kitty! At any given time we have someone for everyone...purebred, declawed by previous owner, kitten, adult, laid back, social, great with kids, loves dogs, etc.
  

The sad truth is that many cats and kittens will be euthanized (killed) in shelters to make room for the kittens they know are coming in. It's heart breaking to know that so many kittens will be brought into this world only to die, because we as a species don't care enough to do something about it.

We are always so happy to find great new homes for our fur babies. However, with the economy being like it is we have seen an increase in owner surrenders and a decrease in adoptions. It's tough right now. We have 16 kittens at our adoption center, and many many more in foster care. Not to mention the hundreds upon hundreds trying to hold on in the streets or the high-kill shelters!

Please...spay or neuter your pet. Millions are dying and everyone needs to do their part to STOP THE KILLING!

Adoption Event

This past Saturday, we went to Suwanee to the Goddard School for an adoption event sponsored by SPOT society. While we didn't do any adoptions, it was nice for our canine friends to get some fresh air. SPOT society is a great organization!

It stands for "Stopping Pet Overpopulation Together." They are an alliance of animal lovers, dog/cat rescuers and veterinarians working together to reduce the number of animals impounded and exterminated in Atlanta area shelters by:

• funding and providing low to no cost spay/neuters for disadvantaged residents of the metro area - targeted geographical areas for spay/neuter programs include the metro Atlanta area and rural communities with no low-cost spay/neuter resources.

• providing community education/counseling services to individuals regarding the effects of pet overpopulation on the community, the benefits of spay/neuter, tenets of responsible pet guardianship and the importance of pet identification

• promoting companion animal adoption.

For more information on SPOT society please click HERE.

Just Call Me Mr. Mom

This is Conner. Conner is a 4 month old kitten who has taken on the role of "older brother" to all our younger kittens at the adoption center. Apparently, that wasn't enough, as now all the kittens like to suckle on Conner right after dinner and before bed. He doesn't even care. Check out how wet his tummy is after being Mr. Mom! We have been careful to make sure this is not a repetitive or harming behavior, and has only happened a couple times. Kittens and adults do this when they feel safe and content. It is funny though to see a group of 8 kittens on top of each other purring and kneading. A few just took it the extra mile and decided Conner could be surrogate mom!

Jonah and Laina!

Jonah and Laina are two new puppies. They are currently nine weeks old. They will be ready for adoption after they are spayed and neutered, which is about three weeks. Jonah is the boy and is bigger than the girl, Laina. Jonah is mostly grey with some brown on him. Laina is grey with white and brown markings. They get along well with other dogs and cats. They play non stop together. Every time I see them sleeping, they are right next to each other! I am potty training them right now, and they are getting the hang of it. These puppies can't get any cuter! We are enjoying our time fostering Jonah and Laina!

Emily Going To Meet Some New Furry Friends!

Emily is finally ready to go to her new foster home today! She is so lonely and needs some friends to play with her. She is doing very well and seems to be clear of the mange. She still has a lot of hair loss but all of her sores have healed and her skin looks good. Emily has been a trooper through all of her treatment and continues to be a sweet little girl. She is very excited to meet her new playmates. I won't be able to update her as often from her new foster home because this foster doesn't have a computer. I will post about her as much as I can for those following her story. She still has some recovery but we have gotten her through the worst of it. Stay tuned.....

Awesome video!

Emily Update!

Emily is finally showing signs that she's feeling better! She's playing with her toys and is much more active this morning. She ate all of her breakfast and is exploring her space instead of getting back in her bed to continue scratching. The tips of her ears are almost healed and I can see signs of healing on her legs as well. I will be giving her a medicated bath later today and that should help with the flaking skin. She hated the first bath so I decided to wait a few days to give her another one since it stressed her out so bad the first time.

Emily continues to be a sweet little girl and is so well behaved. I know it's hard on her being alone most of the day and I feel terrible about it. There is no other choice until we get rid of the mites because I can't take a chance of spreading it through my house. That's one of the bad things about sarcoptic mange but the good thing is that it's easier to treat than demodex. I do know she's in a better situation than being on the street suffering and her time alone will only be temporary. Once we get her healed she will go to another foster home where she'll have other puppies to play with her. She will need that socialization to learn how to interact with other dogs. Someone is going to be very lucky to have her as a member of their family!

More updates to come......

Feral Kittens

Almost four weeks ago, two of our volunteers (Caley and Mary) found out that a feral mom was raising her kittens behind the Starbucks on Howell Mill Road. Basically, connecting the stores was a small drain about half a foot wide and 2 feet deep. Mom is a huge long haired black cat with bright piercing orange eyes. In order to get to the kittens, Mary and Caley had to reach in and "scruff" the kittens and quickly pull them out before they ran and hid back underneath the store and before Mommy kitty got mad. They couldn't see really what they are doing and we are all very impressed that these girls made such an effort to rescue these kitties! The kittens were about 5 weeks old and just starting to play so they were pretty oblivious to the girls. They were able to get three out of the four kittens. The mother has since been guarding kitten number four and has taught it to be very alert and avoident of humans. Caley and Mary continue to check on them, feed them, and we hope to get the mother spayed. The other three, however, have now found themselves in foster care with me. They started out scared, hissing, spitting, and pretty wild. With four weeks of patience, love, wet food, and nurturing they have become 100 percent domesticated. As I write this, Xena is curled up on my shoulder kissing my neck. Zeus and Electra are curled up in my lap. It's amazing to see them start off so vulnerable and scared and then transform into happy, confident, and playful kittens. These kittens were weaned in less than a day, and mastered the litter box without any accidents. At first, I wasn't able to tell them apart. Now, they all have such different personalities!

• Xena: She is like a puppy. She rolls over on her back when she wants you to rub her belly, and meows at you when she wants attention.
• Electra: She is extremely laid back and likes to sleep on my pillow with me. She likes to watch her siblings play and loves the laser pointer.
• Zeus: I thought Zeus was a boy until yesterday. He is the shyest, but has the loudest purr which he uses non stop whenever you touch him or scratch his head. He is also extremely handsome and has gorgeous eyes.
  

Working with these feral kittens has taught me to be patient, to slow down, and to realize that a little love can go a long way. I am going to be so happy when these guys find their new forever homes, knowing that they probably wouldn't have made it if left in the wild. But, I am also going to be sad seeing my new friends go. Luckily, I can fill that void with a new litter of kittens who desperately need rescuing.

***Do not attempt to domesticate feral kittens unless you research it and have the time...please contact a rescue group for help. For more information on feral kittens please click HERE!

Poor little Emily! She's such a good girl and so tolerant of all I have to do to her for her treatment. She hates the dress but it helps to keep her from digging her nails into her skin when she's scratching. She seems a little better today but she's got miles to go before we have her completely well. She's eating good and has finally learned to use the potty pads (thankfully). All of the stuff you can see on her bed is from the skin flaking off. So, sad that she was allowed to get in this condition. Just wanted to update those who are following her progress. I'll write more later in the week.

Hero Mamma

I finally got to meet our "hero momma." Jolie is an 8 month old tabby/manx mix who is as gorgeous as they come. Seven weeks ago, she found herself living outside with her two new born boys. GHS was able to rescue them all and even hoped that Jolie would serve as a surrogate mommy to four kittens we found in the woods. Instantly, Jolie was raising 6 kittens which is definitely not an easy job. After many many weeks in foster care, Jolie was ready to be spayed and put up for adoption. Normally, when we get mothers who have just had kittens and been spayed they are pretty stressed. It usually takes them a couple days to warm up to the adoption center. On Saturday afternoon, I was planning on opening her travel kennel and letting her take her time getting familiar with our adoption center. To my surprise, I was greeted warmly by a bright eyed Momma who wanted to be picked up and held. She gave me some happy purrs and snuggled into my arms. Today, as I was working with her and the kittens, she head butted me a few times before cuddling against me and gently licking her kittens as they walked by. When I thought she was asleep, I went into the other room to start cleaning. She followed me and gave me a few happy chirps and weaved in between my legs. She's a great conversationalist! Jolie, as it turns out, is a very happy girl who loves people and loves her kittens dearly. I forget that she is really a teenage kitten herself and you would never know she hasn't had the easiest of lives so far. I already feel so connected to this little girl who is loving, playful, sweet, talkative, and our hero. I know Jolie will find her forever home soon, and then she can spend the rest of her life being loved and pampered like she deserves!

Emily

Emily was rescued by Laura Fields on the day Laura and her husband Chad were to become foster's for GHS. She was sitting on the side of the road, covered in what Laura knew was most likely mange. Laura knew she had to pick her up or she would be hit by a car or starve to death living on the streets.

We took her to the vet on Saturday and they confirmed she had sarcoptic mange with a secondary skin infection due to scratching and biting herself from the itching. Mange can be deadly if it's left untreated so Emily was very lucky that Laura found her when she did.

Emily is an extremely good puppy! She didn't cry at all her first night with us even though she was alone in our bathroom and miserable from the itching. I gave her a bath with medicated shampoo (which she hated) when we arrived home and gave her three different kinds of medication. She took it all in stride but I knew she was depressed. When I got up this morning I could see that she hadn't eaten any of her food last night so I pulled out a can of good puppy food. She perked right up when she smelled the food and ate every last bite of it. She took her meds. and laid back down on her bed for a rest. Hopefully, by tomorrow she will be feeling a lot better since it will be her third day of treatment. I'll keep updating on her progress.....

Hollis the Beagle gets a home!

It was a Saturday, almost 3 weeks ago that Hollis came into my life. I was whizzing down a busy highway, taking my own sick cat to an emergency Vet. and there she was! A scared and confused girl -less than 3 feet from the road! All kind of thoughts ran through my head...I had a sick cat I had to get to the Vet and I already have a foster dog at home and 9 foster cats! It only took me a split second to swing the car around. I held my breath wondering if she would even come to me. I threw open the car door and Hollis hopped in! It was obvious that Hollis had recently been pregnant and that's why someone had dumped her. The fact that I share this earth with someone that could throw away a loving and good companion like Hollis, makes me sick! Like a miracle Hollis was a young and healthy girl. She was heartworm negative and came through all her "Vetting" with flying colors! Undaunted by the way the world had treated her to this point, she was a dear! She loved every child, cat, and other dog she has met over the last 3 weeks. Just a few hours ago, I delivered Hollis to her new WONDERFUL home! She will be a very spoiled and loved companion. Her new Dad even stayed home from work today to meet and greet her! Hollis, you've come a long way baby! I am better for having had you come into my life!

P.S. The cat is fine too!

Asher's Story

On Sunday 6/11 one of our volunteers was doing a cleaning and socializing shift at our adoption center when the Petsmart Manager told her a kitten was trapped under someones car. She went outside to find about 20 people hovered around a car, some with boxes, some with blankets, some wearing gloves all trying to get this kitten. Our volunteer asked the car owner to open her hood, and within seconds she had scruffed this little kitten and quickly tried to calm the visibly upset little guy. He was covered in oil, his fur seeming to be a dark gray color, and he was covered in fleas. He seemed to be somewhat in shock and was desperately trying to free himself from her grip. After giving him an hour to relax, we gave him a bath. The sink was FULL of dirty brown water. After a good meal and a nice grooming, the little kitten turned out to be a beautiful Blue Point Siamese kitten around 10 weeks. He was very sweet, and gave excellent snuggles. We were relieved he wasn't feral as we have 8 feral kittens we are domesticating. We named him Asher. He was in foster care with Amy, who said he was very talkative. Within a day of putting him online, he was adopted by a great new family!

-Mary