Thursday, March 28, 2024
cats for adoptionDaily Feature

Cats for Adoption: Kiki, Vinnie and Howie, the Garage Misfits!

Kiki!
Kiki!

Kiki, above, is a very fun kitty despite her rough beginnings along with her brother Vinnie, below—and they share the garage with Howie, who also has a story!

Kiki and Vinnie are brother and sister and were rescued from under a U-haul in a parking lot at the end of August. Someone had called about the two kittens needing to be rescued and noted they were also infested with fleas. Thinking they’d help the situation they sprayed the product “Off” under the trailer and on the kittens. Vinnie had clear neurological symptoms from the chemical including a head tilt and trouble walking.

Vinnie!
Vinnie!

Then as soon as Margo got them into her garage for quarantine and began treatment she noticed what looked like ringworm, and was diagnosed as ringworm shortly after. Ringworm again! And to complicate it, the kittens weren’t terribly friendly—Kiki was pretty scared and would roll over on her back for belly rubs, then hiss. It would be a long four to six weeks.

Today they are cleared of ringworm, Vinnie has a very slight head tilt but no other symptoms and recently had a nasal polyp removed. His sister Kiki his a slightly cloudy eye from an old corneal scar, but it doesn’t impair her vision. Vinnie is a total snuggler and Kiki is completely socialized and loves to play.

Howie!
Howie!

And Howie was already in the garage when Kiki and Vinnie arrived. Howie had developed a horrible eye infection with another foster, bad enough he could lose his sight and possibly both eyes. Margo took him into her garage to foster and began constant doses of eyedrops, every few hours at the beginning, and slowly Howie’s eyes began to improve. Even though it seemed certain he’d lose his sight though not his eyes even after the infection cleared, he continued to improve. Today, though his eyes are a little cloudy, it’s apparent from his movements and his love of play and affection that he has a good big of his sight returned from all the treatments.

All three cats are right around six months old and play together all day long, and could be adopted together, alone, or in any combination. All three are located south of Pittsburgh and are available for adoption through PittsburghCAT.

. . . . . . .

Gift Card and Merchandise Auction to Benefit Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement

Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement is the online group of rescuers who run around trapping and rescuing most of the cats I write about as fosters and who end up at Homeless Cat Management Team clinics. We are not non-profit—except in the joking way in which we never manage to make any money but spend plenty—but we do need to raise money constantly to cover all the things that go into rescue and foster, like all the treatments mentioned above for Howie, Kiki and Vinnie, from steroids for the neurological symptoms, dips and creams and oral medications and various tests run for the ringworm and months of expensive drops for Vinnie’s eyes. And while some veterinarians give us a break with treatments, veterinarians still need to be paid and medicines are specialized and usually full price.

Help us pay for these things, purchasing traps and food and more spays and neuters—visit our Pittsburgh Feral Cat Movement Auction Page!

PFCM-AuctionPage-header


Amazon Wish Lists

amazon wish list for kittens
The Amazon Wish List for our group’s foster kittens.

Many rescuers pay out of pocket for veterinary care and food but the costs of raising even the average litter of four healthy kittens is more than many people have, and many rescues have greater needs. Pittsburgh CAT has a number of wish lists that include foods for feeding neo-natal kittens like KMR, and other lists that include the best kitten foods, adult cat foods, food and materials for feral cats, and preferred toys and litter.

Pittsburgh CAT Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/2IUQ0FQOL2I51

2015 Foster Cat/Kitten Wish List: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1A1HUNQ7J3DL/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Winter Kitten Wish List! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/3CZ6IYCKS2A7N/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Fall Wishlist for Fosters/Ferals! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2TD3TQBOEMT1E/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Food For Foster Kittens: http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/OJQIYGC91289/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?

Our Groups Foster Kittens! http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/1D226142CCGZX/ref=cm_wl_rlist_go_v?


Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.

There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.

  • Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
  • Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
  • Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
  • Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
  • Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.

If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.

Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives


Browse some rescued cats and kittens—browse here or visit PittsburghCAT!

cats and kittens
Gallery view of Pittsburgh CAT cats for adoption.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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Weekly schedule of features:
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Bernadette

From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

4 thoughts on “Cats for Adoption: Kiki, Vinnie and Howie, the Garage Misfits!

  • best fishes times three hundred guys ya all findz yur foreverz home & hope full lee two gether !! ♥♥♥

    Reply
    • Thanks, Pilch92, they’re working on it. Little Kiki’s sideways hat just kills me.

      Reply

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