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Met a stray cat that needs rescue? Go to our website to submit a Rescue Request
Want to adopt a cat from us? Here are the cats that are up for adoption!
Come volunteer to clean the foster space and play with kitties!
Wish to give to Love Kuching Project? Deposit to our DBS Current Account 027-907655-0 or find out other ways to give here


Thursday, November 29, 2012

2013: What we at Love Kuching are looking forward to!

Have you ever come across a sick or injured stray kitty, and didn't know what to do? Or did something, but was hindered by financial difficulty? Found it difficult to find a shelter that could provide intensive care for critically ill or end-of-life stray kitties?

If you have been with us through the year thus far, you will know adopters have been few and far between. We do not know the mechanics why, and we know we are not the only ones in the cat rescue industry finding it hard to re-home rescues this year. Because of this trend we have had to freeze on new rescue intakes for the longest time. Perhaps the market is saturated or already mature. Perhaps stray cat populations are skyrocketing above adoption demands. What we know is the consequence of low adoption rates this year.

To wear us out even more, our Feline Founder Slinky has fallen ill. While we are used to having sick cats to care for, this has a morale drain regardless. We suffered from compassion fatigue: motivation was low, cat work felt dreary. For people who love cats, this is a big blow to us.

The downsides of 2012 have been aired above. What this has done is incite us forward for 2013. Without slumps there can be little victory.

We have strategised that for 2013, we will go where the need is greater. If kitten adoptions are down, we shall help other sectors of the cat populations in our lives and neighbourhoods. Which brings us back to the questions at the start of this post. There IS a need for critical intensive care for sick and injured stray and abandoned cats. These cats are either due to be released back into their territories when well, or to be cared for till they leave this world. Not everyone is available to foster cats like these not just due to lack of knowledge or funds, but also because of time.

This is timely because we have stored up experience in intensive care for cats over the years. Wound changes, injections, nutraceutical care, medications, handfeeding, dealing with incontinence, and yes, dealing with very feral cats that keep hissing and spitting at us while we try to care. We have also had requests coming in asking for help regarding sick and injured stray cats. There is currently still a low level of support for helping sick and injured cats from the streets and we want to help boost it a bit higher. And yes, Slinky has inspired us to care for more infirmed cats when they are vulnerable, and we are doing this for her.

So, come 2013, we will scale down on our rescue kitten intake, and open our foster home doors wider to the stray cats waiting in veterinary clinics for critical home care. For those we cannot take in, we hope to ease the financial burden for these rescuers by channelling your donations to these cats' vet care via our Stray Cat Fund.

Essentially, we are getting out of the adoption business. But for good reason, and for changes we are eagerly anticipating.

Our mode of operations is not changing much. We will still have the functions of boarding, veterinary care, and general operations costs. We will still be using sterilisation donations and reimbursements for TNR projects that we come across. We will also still be caring for the kitties already in our custody and available for adoption (see right side bar under 'Adoption Alert'). We will constantly be re-evaluating how we go about effectively caring for the welfare of stray cats to ensure mileage for your financial contributions.

To sum up, Love Kuching will continue loving the cats in our lives and neighbourhoods, and partner you to do the same. We are not going anywhere but to keep doing something better for cats' lives. And we would like for you to continue joining us on this mission.



Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7  
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme  
Give food and litter at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

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Monday, November 19, 2012

Update on Chanel in her new home

Here are pics of Chanel with her new parents and new home:

Before Chanel left our foster home
Chanel of course exhibited a bit of new-place stress, did some hiding, but eventually came out. She likes her new home and parents!

Chanel likes her TV. Our foster home had no TV for her!
Was okay and cuddly by her second day
Has a cat tree now too, which she uses!

So happy for Chanel! Let's make more forever homes, spread the word for us to your friends looking for kitty companions for life!

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7    
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme    
Give food and litter at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

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Monday, November 12, 2012

Updates

We are deliberating on letting Salmon become a stray kitty again, because he is not only not getting any adoption queries, he is too intraverted. He unlikely to bond well with humans which may make him a permanent shelter cat otherwise. Salmon is good at bonding with other cats and with asking humans for food, he is likely to survive as a stray cat. We will be releasing him in Ubi behind our block so we can keep an eye on him.

Chanel got adopted! Will blog her new family's pictures soon. So glad she has found her forever home! Times have been tough with finding adopters. Every cat has been and still is awaiting.

Lenny will be made available for adoption as a special needs cat. He is likely to have chronic flu' / wheezing despite having been on inhaler therapy. He survives well ans does not seem bothered by his occasiona runny nose. We hope some human will be fine with that too.

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Monday, November 5, 2012

Complete report on last month's TNR at Selegie

We finally got all our receipts, got a working computer again, so here is the report on the Selegie TNR we did last month.

On the second round of TNR in that area we trapped a total of 7 cats:

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App
7 cats

These cats were mostly from the areas opposite the HDB flats, at commercial buildings just nearby. We also released the cats neutered from the first round on the same day.

Bills from the second round of neutering were a tad higher than usual because the spay/neuter clinic could not operate on all 7 cats and once and those who had to wait needed extra boarding days which cost.

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App
Bill incl. trapping/transport and boarding

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App
Clinic bill #1

Uploaded from the Photobucket Android App
Clinic bill #2

So we spent exactly $810 on this Selegie TNR project. We want to do more. What you can do to help:

1. Look out for uncared for colonies of cats that have no one sterilising or feeders who are unable to sterilise the cats. Then contact us and let us know.
2. Support our Sterilisation Fund. Give to our POSB account (savings) 188-52652-7 and SMS Elaine at 90880675 to indicate you have given towards our Sterilisation Fund.

Our TNR efforts help stem the overpopulation of cats in our nation. Sure we can rescue, rehabilitate and rehome kitties, but sterilisation of stray cats to reduce the kitten population boom helps a lot more, and goes straight to the root of the problem. There are only so many homes kittens can go to. So, if you can do either step 1 or 2 of the above, PLEASE DO!

P.S. Glad to have a working computer again. :)

Give financially to our cause by depositing to our bank account POSB savings 188-52652-7    
Sponsor a foster kitten's vaccination through our Sponsor-A-LoveKuching-Cat Scheme    
Give food and litter at charity rates through our corporate sponsor The Water Dish 

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