Zelda – Hewwow

August 3, 2015January 4, 2018

Zoey

Temporary Name:

Zoey

Gender: Female
Color: Brown Tabby
Fur: Short
Born: Approximately 3/1/14

Adopted!

Zoey has had a rough start to her short life, but she has retained her cheerful, playful disposition. She loves all cats. She loves all people. She is learning to like dogs.

In early summer, Zoey was confiscated from a hoarding house in our neighborhood. At Animal Services she was evaluated at 1.5/5 on the body fat scale, and deemed emaciated. She was treated for parasites and infections, and held for adoption. But after 30 days, ACAS needed the space, and since no one showed interested in this tiny cat, they opted to release her as a feral cat to her original neighborhood rather than euthanize her.

When the tech came to release Zoey and her companion Zelda, Zelda took off running as fast as she could. Zoey wouldn’t come out of her carrier. I pulled her out and she tried to go back in. The tech and I weren’t sure what to do because the other options were grim, but Zoey didn’t know that. I carried her to my yard and showed her my colony cats, their food, their shelter. She tried to hide in a corner of my porch and curled up in a miserable, terrified ball. I realized that she probably spent her whole short life inside the hoarding house and the outdoors was too overwhelming for her.

Even though I was at my cat limit, I brought her inside my house because she was breaking my heart. I set her up in a crate for the night. She stayed in her crate for two days sleeping and being too scared to come out. And then little by little she snuck out to explore the house and make noses with the other cats. As soon as she discovered rattle mice, she was convinced this was an awesome new magical place. She LOVES to play. She discovered the kittens and earned a place as their fun big sister. She discovered cuddling on the bed at night. She discovered sunny windowsills and always-full food bowls.

She is now an amazingly happy cat, and she’s ready for a home of her own where she can continue to discover how good life can really be. She’s tiny and active, and would be a great apartment cat. She loves every cats she’s met but would probably do best with another active cat, or even on her own.

Health history:

5/13/15 – Alachua County Animal Services confiscated Zoey from a hoarding house. She was treated for malnutrition and evaluated, as well as given FELV/FIV tests. Treated for respiratory infection, ear mites, and tapeworm. She was deemed adoptable and held at Animals Services for adoption.

7/3/15 – After over 30 days at Animal Services without interest, they arranged for Zoey and Zelda to be released to their original neighborhood (rather than be euthanized). First she was taken to No More Homeless Pets for spay and rabies vaccines.

8/3/15 – After living with Zoey for a month, I feel confident about her health and behavior status. She will likely have a minor sinus problem and drippy eye that comes and goes with stress levels. It doesn’t seem to bother her, but she might benefit from vet care in the future. She likely had an untreated infection as a small kitten.

Quick Details

Litter box: A
Other cats: A+ [She wants to play with and be friends with everyone]
Cuddling: B+ [She loves attention and is still learning about lap sitting]
Food: A+

Zoey loves sunny windowsills, 7-615

Zoey has a cute stubby snout, 7-6-15

Zoey adores rattle mice, 7-9-15

Zoey likes to find small places to nap in, 7-13-15

Zoey loves attention, 7-27-15

Zoey really loves the bed, 8-8-15

Zoey has a little squint to her left eye, 7-6-15

Zoey is a tiny cat, 7-31-15

Zoey loves cuddling at bedtime, 7-15-15

July 21, 2015

Zelda is Still Finding a Place

Zelda has been hanging around more lately, showing up for almost every meal. She’s made her way into the back yard, taking Sally’s place under the mock orange bush. She has even darted inside a few times.

It’s amazing how similar she is to Henri. From her dense, wiry frame to her round belly to her silky long fur. Her face. Her funny stiff-legged walk. Even her meow as she tries to get attention. The ACAS vets estimated her at 4 years old, which definitely means she could be Henri’s daughter.

Although I can tell she’s been an indoor/outdoor cat at some point, she likely has been indoors for a few years by the way she seems disoriented and overwhelmed outside. With a little TLC, she would probably convert to a mostly indoor cat again.

She’s so sweet, and essentially just wants to be snuggled and feel like someone is looking out for her.

I’m also watching her eartip. Zoe’s tipping looks awkward, but Zelda actually had a double snip, leaving a flap of ear hanging on cautiously. I may have to get her back in to see someone to have it fixed rather than leave it get infected or ripped.

July 3, 2015

The Hard Days

I don’t get paid to do what I do for animals. I do it because I care. And I think somehow it makes a small difference.

But not all days have rewards. Some days are tougher than others. Today was a tough day.

Moxie has been sick for almost a week. Throwing up. We got her roundworm medication, which also made her throw up. I took her in to the vet to get weighed this morning because of how skinny she’s gotten. She weighs 4.75 pounds right now. Which is down half a pound from her peak at 5.25. Which doesn’t sound bad. But she was 4.5 on her first weigh-in. So she’s gone almost all the way back to the beginning.

I was also contacted by the folks that work with Animal Services on feral and stray cats. Of the three cats confiscated from my hoarding neighbor, one had already been returned to the neighborhood, and the two girls had been put up for adoption. But apparently there was so little interest in them, that Animal Services wanted them out. At least it wasn’t euthanasia. But the girls were going to be returned to the neighborhood.

The only problem was that my hoarding neighbor and her family were at the house working on the yard all morning. So I asked for a delay on releasing the cats.

This afternoon she brought the girls to release. Zelda took off in a blur of fur and panic. Zoey tried to curl up in a corner of my porch, meowling. I don’t know if she’s ever been outside.

She’s tiny. She’s scared. Her belly is still shaved from getting spayed. And she has no idea what’s going on. I couldn’t just leave her out there. She was happy to sit in my arms. So I brought her inside. A friend gave us a medium/small dog crate she wasn’t using and it came in handy for the moment. Zoey is in a quiet, dark, calm space for now. I have no idea what is best for her, but it’s obvious she’s on her own now.

I hate that there’s no room for these little ones. I hate that animals pay the price for people being stupid. I hate that I now have 20 cats in my house. Five are mine. I spoke up for them. But the other 15 are cats that no one seems to want.

The alternative is life on the street. Is that really an option for a little cat that probably hasn’t been outside before? I can’t accept that as an option.

These are the days I wonder why I do this.

On the other hand, I controlled myself from crossing the street this morning and starting trouble with the hoarding neighbor and her family. So I guess *gold star* for me there.

June 3, 2015

The Cathouse Three

As part of the ongoing saga with my hoarding neighbor, I’ve been waiting to hear what happened to the three cats that Alachua County Animal Services liberated from the house. Last I heard they had seen a vet and were at the shelter. But nothing else.

This morning I got a call from Animal Services asking if I minded if the one-eyed male was released back into the neighborhood. What? Of course I don’t mind! I asked after the other two which turned out to be small females that were now in the system and up for adoption. Yippee.

Not long after that, two ladies from Gainesville Pet Rescue arrived with a cat in a box. We had a lovely conversation about feral cats, resources for animal advocates and activists in Alachua County, and how to handle issues that arose like kittens and colony food needs. Apparently GPR is heavily involved with helping the street cats and feral cats make their way out of the shelter alive.

I also immediately looked up the two female cats and put it out there on Facebook to get them circulating the interwebs. Fingers crossed that they get into good homes. All of the cats that came out of that house over the years are super people-friendly and love affection. Some are nervous about other cats.

The one-eyed male was released and I’ll be keeping my eye out for him (haha no pun intended!). And here are the ladies:

Zoey is at Animal Services (ZOEY – ID#A519957)
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32324076/

Zelda is at Animal Services (ZELDA – ID#A519956) This picture doesn’t do her justice!
https://www.petfinder.com/petdetail/32324075/