October 5, 2021 – Seal Beach, CA – It’s easy to get caught up in the numbers. That we took in this many hundreds of cats, helped the public by covering the cost of 300 spay/neuter surgeries, kept hundreds of kittens out of shelters where they are vulnerable to sickness and euthanasia with our DIY Kitten Care Kit Program.
But sometimes – just so we can keep perspective, we have to bring it back to The One. We want to tell you about one kitten whose life changed because of your support and donations.
CatPAWS received a wonderful update from his adopter recently and would like to share it with you since you made it happen.
Do you remember Pirate?! This was him when we first got him from the shelter.
CatPAWS was alerted to this tiny little boy by a public shelter. Pirate had a congenital condition called eyelid agenesis, which was beyond the shelter’s capability to manage so they asked CatPAWS to take him.
Eyelid agenesis is when eyelids do not develop, leaving eyes vulnerable to irritation, infection, and damage – even from the cat’s own fur around the eyes.
Unfortunately by the time CatPAWS got him, the damage was so great to his left eye that there was nothing left to save; that eye had to be removed. The other eye, however, was saved through cryoepilation, a surgical procedure in which the hair follicles surrounding the eye are permanently frozen off to avoid damage from hair rubbing against the exposed eye. Pirate still requires lifelong drops to help keep his eye lubricated and protected.
We told Pirate how many people donated so generously for him to have the surgery to save his other eye and he was so grateful! ‘For me?!’ he asked, ‘but I’m just a little cat and they never even met me?’ For you, we told him, because there are a lot of wonderful people out there after all.
Pirate’s adopter loves him so much! None of this would have been possible without your help, thank you.
But back to the many. Pirate was just one of the many stories of suffering, doomed kittens we are faced with every single day. Would you do Pirate a favor? He asks that if you can, to help the next little cat who comes along to have a chance at a new life.
Can you help save another One? DONATE NOW
P.S. – Pirate’s adopter went on to adopt another of our ‘special needs’ vision-impaired kitty! We always remember, the only special need these cats have is to feel safe and loved, which we all want.
About Helen Sanders CatPAWS
Founded in 2010 to continue the legacy of Helen Sanders, who practiced and advocated trap-neuter-return (TNR) for feral community cats ever since the 1990s. CatPAWS rescues at risk cats from public shelters, finds adoptive homes, provides support to the community with education, low or no-cost spay/neuter vouchers, traveling kitten therapy program, and the DIY kitten care project. Visit www.helensanderscatpaws.com, CatPAWS Facebook page, or call 562-280-4450 to learn more or get involved.