Purrl Paws Oregon Cat Rescue Needs Help

When it comes to cat rescue-This year is bad. No. This year is horrific...

First the regular influx of cats and kittens that we see in any normal year. Then SARS-CoV2 (Covid Pandemic) hit and people began relinquishing their cats and kittens for fear that they would transmit the illness. Then Veterinary Clinics were closed (Due tot he Pandemic) and we could not get our pregnant females in for spay. So many litters of kittens were born! Now, Shelters are full. Humane Societies are full. Private Rescues are full. The situation was dire...

Then... the Oregon fires came raging through our lives. Countless families had just minutes to gather their furry family members and in the life and death chaos, cats and kittens went missing, got loose from frantic arms and were left behind as families desperately searched before fleeing the inferno. As my Spouse and I evacuated our home Sept 8th, we had in tow, three fire kittens that I was able to trap and rescue the night before. The Mother cat and her 4th kitten, I was unable to get. After we settled safely into the RV park 30 miles from our home and the fires. I went back every day through the choking ash, laying on my stomach near the shed the cat was hiding under for up to 6 hours a day. For 32 days I went back, until I was able to rescue the Mother Cat (now named Roxy) and her last kitten (Peaches). That is the kind of dedication it takes to do this work.
Volunteer Cat and Kitten Rescue has been my love and passion for over 35 years. I have done the hard work (Ferals and Wildings/Sick Cats), the fun work (Bottle Babies/Kittens) and the work no one wants to do (Necropsy as a Vet Tech and body recovery in the Santiam/Beachie Creek Oregon Fires to help families recover their beloved cats lost in the disaster). If you see a woman in a white car stopped to move the hit by car body of a kitty from the road so the family can have a loving burial...that's me.

Every Rescue Organization I know is maxed out. We are all doing everything we can but this year, I need your help. The costs involved with Veterinary Care, food and supplies has far outpaced what I can keep up with.

Examples:

A female FIV+ cat with painful tooth abscesses and rotten teeth needs $1,092.44 in dental work.

A female rescued from the fires needs spay, deflea, deworm, eye meds, antibiotics (she lost her kittens and has mastitis), vaccinations, FIV/FELV test and microchip runs $400.00 to $500.00.

A male, white heterochromic cat abandoned with his sister (she did not make it) needs neuter, vaccinations, FIV/FELV test, deworm, deflea and microchip runs $350.00.

An 88 year old sweet Widower who has been feeding a former feral and wanted to officially adopt the ancient black kitty but who could not afford the Vet bills and food- Cost $300.00.

Currently I am trapping and rescuing at a hoarder/feral cat colony where there are 18 cats and kittens. Each needs spay/neuter, veterinary care, food and supplies, then a forever home or a spot at a Winery, Ranch or Farm as Gopher Management. Some cats/kittens stay with us for months for rehabilitation, some we get lucky and they can be placed in a week or two.  The costs to rescue each of these cats, if they are healthy and have no issues, is $300.00 each and up. 

We have kittens in a kennel in the bathtub of our heated bathroom, cats in kennels in the guest bedroom, a dedicated "Cat Room" inside the house, and two heated catios under our back deck gazebo. The residents come and go, but their needs are the same. Love, veterinary care, food, water and patience. But I can't do it alone. I need you!

If you can help, it would be so appreciated. Donations can be made directly at Silver Creek Animal Clinic under the "Purrl Paws Rescue" Account. https://www.silvercreekanimalclinic.com/

Donations would also be most appreciated through this GoFundMe. Every dime will be spent on a cat or kitten, to give them the best chance at recovery and a long, happy life. The funds will go to purchase Veterinary Care, beds, puppy pads for kittens, baby wipes, kibble, wet/canned food, bottles for bottle feeding, kitten formula, ear wash, nail trimmers, blankets, towels, cat litter and more. I am not currently a 501(c)(3). I just don't have the time or money to spare to do all the required paperwork, so donations are not tax deductible. I am so sorry for that. If someone is a legal wizard and knows how to do that, or would do it for me. Please reach out!

Why "Purrl Paws"? I fostered a tiny newborn white kitten in 2016. She was different, but I had no idea how different...I thought she was blind in one eye as it was almost black. The other eye was bright blue. When she slept, nothing woke her.  At 2 weeks of age, I tested her hearing and found her to be completely deaf. Then as she grew, her eyes changed. She was not blind after all, she had a blue eye and a deep orange/yellow eye. I bottle fed her for 6 weeks, fostered her for 4 months, until she was ready for a perfect home that understood the needs of an all-white, deaf cat (indoors only and teach her hand signals). Purrl now lives in California with another special needs cat named Calypso who has a heart defect.

Thank you for reading and considering helping. I appreciate you! There are other very deserving rescues in Oregon that are also struggling. Silverton Cat Ladies, Cat's Cradle Rescue, Oregon Friends of Shelter Animals, Salem Friends of Felines, Willamette Humane Society. Any and all, need more help this year, than ever before.

-Kimberlee Turner-McDermott
Purrl Paws Rescue
Silverton, Oregon