It’s raining cats and dogs

I am probably starting to sound like a broken record but sadly things just do not change in Romania. We are yet again overwhelmed – but not just with puppies but also kittens and cats. Just as puppies get dumped at the shelter so do kittens. This is particularly bad for the kittens as the shelter is surrounded by stray dogs and their chances of getting attacked, injured and killed are very high. Fortunately we generally manage to get to them in time. We also rescue kittens we find on the streets or are asked for help from our vet or people in the area.

Just as when we find puppies on the streets, in danger of getting hit by cars, poisoned or beaten to death by locals, we cannot walk by and abandon them to their miserable fate. We have to step in. We take this poor little babies in and do what we can. Funds permitting we take them to vets and get them vaccinated. If they are injured even if we have no funds we still take them to the vet and get them the care they need – paying via debt that we hope we will be able to repay soon.

We also have to put kittens in foster homes as we have no shelter for them.  This will be one of the benefits of having our dream of our own shelter realised – we will have more space to dedicate to these poor tiny abandoned souls.  We have already moved them into a new room, with some basic facilities such as a cat tree.  Here they are safe and we care for them, providing them with food, shelter and love.  Sadly however we have no funds to really improve their space, for example by adding more baskets and cat trees, and we do not have enough time to dedicate to them.  We are also at a point, with over 30 rescue cats and kittens, were we are getting “full” and will struggle to take in more rescues unless we can rehome our existing rescue cats.  Just as with the puppies we urgently need homes for these cats and kittens.  Just as with the puppies we also urgently need more funds to cover the cost of caring for the kittens and making our little dream of improving their living space.

And of course then there are the puppies.  Again over the last couple of weeks we have had a flood of very young puppies dumped at the shelter or caught on the streets by the dogcatchers.  Left in the shelter over 90% of them die so our work in getting them out of the shelter really can be life saving.  Puppies, if they are old enough, get put in the puppy kennels If they are still too young to have been weened they go to Aniela or a foster home where they are fed by hand until they are old enough. Sadly so many of these puppies are already ill and many of them, besides our best efforts die. This is doubly tragic for those that our foster “mums” hand-rear. It takes an incredible amout of courage and strength to go through this.

Just as with the kittens however we have a limited amount of funds and space for the puppies.  We need to pay for their vaccinations, shelter and whenever possible special puppy food.  This later element is actually very important for rescued puppies as the special food helps them grow and stay strong, strengthening their immune systems and giving them a better chance of survival.  We see when the puppies are on the normal, cheaper food, that the death rates do go up.  Tragically we are not always able to pay for special puppy food, again resulting in heartbreaking situations.

So what can you do to help?  Of course the absolute best thing you can do is offer one of our kittens or puppies a home, or help us find a home for them.  This is the best way to really ensure that they will be safe – as well as having the loving home they all deserve.  If you cannot offer a permanent home we are also always looking for foster homes. However for many of you these are not options but there are many other ways you can help.  You can decide to sponsor a kitten or puppy which essentially entails providing monthly funds to cover the costs for that kitten or puppy or you can make a one of donation to help cover some of the expenses, such as food or vet bills.  If you cannot spare a few Euros or you want to help in another way too then you can help us spread the word by sharing their photos and our posts and by making people aware of their desperate plight.  You can help let people know that they should not buy a kitten or puppy from a breeder or pet store but rather adopt one and by doing so actually save a life.  Finally we are always looking for volunteers to help fundraise for us.

Take a look at these photos, just a few of the many kittens and puppies in our care, and have a think about how you can help these poor innocent souls and what you can do to help save their lives.  It does not take much to help but it makes the world of difference to that one young little baby.  Please contact us if you can help in anyway at hopeforstrays@yahoo.com or via our Facebook page or you can donate via paypal using the above email address.