by Paula Hunsaker
Our rescue, receives so many emails daily asking for help in receiving cats and kittens. Our board has a policy of taking in only animals from high-kill shelters, because the cats and kittens in high-kill shelters have such a short period of time before being euthanized. Our rescue currently has pull rights at 17 shelters in California. As the CEO/Founder of this rescue, I can step up to help non-shelter cats and kittens depending on their stories. I honestly try not to override that policy because so many cats and kittens need help in kill shelters.
by Paula Hunsaker
Coco is a very special kitty in our family. Awhile ago I took my granddaughter to CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter, to pick up kitties that our rescue was pulling. While bringing in carriers to pick up the kitties. My granddaughter was looking at the kitties in the stray cattery. She came running out of the stray area and telling me, “Grandma, I found a kitty, and I want to save the kitty’s life. Grandma, come look at the kitty. Can we save this kitty?” I told her let’s go look at the kitty. She grabbed my hand and told me, “Come. Oh, Grandma, come and see the kitty.”
by Paula Hunsaker
Peg and Micky were both rescued from CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter in Fresno. Both have medical issues which meant that they were both listed on the daily urgent list, and they would be euthanized at the end of the day they were posted. Sadly, when a medical issue cat is posted, they are overlooked by other rescues for the expense in having to deal with the medical issues, unless they have a private sponsor who will pay for medical procedures. When Peg and Micky were posted, I kept looking at their photos during the day.
by Paula Hunsaker
We have been so blessed to work with Margo Campainha-Cassidy who is with Whiskers, Tails, and Ferals in Napa, California. Margo is amazing! She saves over 1,000 animals a year from High Kill Shelters. I truly admire her so much, because she is so much like our rescue who looks out for the misfits. I have followed her work with the cats that are so sick that they are on death’s door, only to bring them back to life so they can move forward to being adopted. We spend a lot of time texting about the animals.
by Paula Hunsaker
Mathew is a very sweet loving seven-month-old Tabby kitty. Mathew found himself at CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter on August 27, 2021. He was in the shelter clinic just waiting out his holding time as a stray before being euthanized. Mathew’s time was going to run out at 4 p.m. on September 2, 2021.
by Paula Hunsaker
In the world of rescue, it is like a battlefield between rescue groups and Animal Control. It’s a pretty simple battlefield: rescue groups want to save a life from being ended at a kill shelter. In the eyes of a rescue group, Animal Control kills perfectly healthy animals with just a few days to make it out of kill shelters. But people keep dumping their pets at high-kill shelters knowing they may die within three to seven days once they have been left there. From our perspective, we see the staff as heartless humans who take a life of a healthy animal. So, speaking of Animal Control in a positive manner is uncommon in the world of rescue.
by Paula Hunsaker
Freddie was rescued from CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter. A shelter staff member at CCSPCA texted me to tell me about Freddie who was being pulled to be euthanized that day. He wanted to see if I would help Freddie because he was such a sweet boy that was born with a crippled front leg. He was good with the litter box and got along fine with his leg being crippled. The shelter had tagged him to be euthanized deeming him as being unadoptable due to being infirm, or crippled. He was not this perfect cat for the shelter to be concerned with as being adoptable. As if cats coming into high-kill shelters are perfect purebred cats!
by Paula Hunsaker
As we are starting to see kittens being found by the public, and as a rescue group, we are bracing ourselves for the flood of underage kittens coming into shelters. While we know our public has the best intentions when bringing the kittens to high-kill shelters, the best thing we could possibly do for these kittens is to leave them alone. Mom cat knows what is best for her babies, and because of this, it is critical that they stay with her.
by Paula Hunsaker
Sweet Tiara was pulled from CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter. Tiara had kittens with her when she came to the shelter. While there, another rescue pulled Tiara’s kittens, but left Tiara behind. When I was at the shelter, I noticed that Tiara had been tagged on her kennel card to be pulled at the end of the day to be euthanized. She was out of time at the shelter because she had been with kittens and would require additional time at the shelter before she could be spayed. A female cat that had been nursing kittens requires a longer time in between being a nursing mother cat and being spayed as her milk needs to dry up before a spay procedure.
by Paula Hunsaker
Wednesday was rescued from CCSPCA, a high-kill shelter, with her sibling. I was at the shelter at the right time when Wednesday and her sibling were surrendered to the shelter at one month old after their mom was killed by a car, stated by the person that was surrendering them to the shelter.
by Paula Hunsaker
Our rescue pulls cats from many high-kill shelters throughout California. Our rescue is known for not just looking for perfect cats that are at these shelters, but we also look for cats that just aren’t going to make it out of the shelter alive. I wish I could help all the cats that aren’t going to make it out of the shelter, but that is impossible to do. When we pull one cat, their empty shelter kennel is full within minutes. At times it’s like an endless battle that just keeps going with no end in sight.
by Paula Hunsaker
During this unusual time in all our lives due to the Covid-19 virus, many of you are at home and now thinking it is a good time to bring a new cat or kitten into your home to spend time with while you shelter-in-place. But what happens when we all go back to work? Are you going to then think the cat/kitten won’t work because you’re busy again?
by Paula Hunsaker
I received a call from a lady wanting to adopt a cat, and she explained it was to keep her sister’s seventeen-year-old cat company. She said that her sister had passed away and the cat is her only last link to her sister. While her sister was very ill, her cat was constantly at her side. But now her cat is grieving, and she felt that maybe another older cat will help with this sadness.??
by Lupe Gore
This month I am going back in time seven years when my relationship with Feral Paws Rescue began, in February 2012. The first cat I got from the Rescue was a beautiful calico named Caleigh, and it went on from there. Each time Feral Paws Rescue would post on Facebook a black cat in need of saving from a kill-shelter, I inquired to see if they could pull him or her. In May 2012, one such post really got my attention.
