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Annual report on the activity of Cats Friends Association
for the year 2010
In 2010 our Association took care of about 260 cats. We had numerous cases of cats with severe injuries, some of which had been abandoned by owners, unwilling to provide them with treatment. We took care of a great number of stray cats with different diseases and in very bad state, due to the horrible conditions of living in the street. We also managed to find new homes for cats, whose owners had passed away. There were also several very grave cases when the kittens did not make it. On occasion, we also helped provide treatment to several dogs.
A total of 120 cats were adopted both in Bulgaria and in Germany. All of them were duly prepared for adoption – they received treatment against parasites, vaccination, microchipping and neutering, in the cases where their age allowed it. Half of these cats required medical treatment and had to spend a certain amount of time at a veterinary clinic and afterwards – at a foster home. For all the cats sent to Germany, our Association covered the expenses for international passports and airplane tickets.
More than a hundred cats were neutered and returned back to the places where they were found.
In 2010 our Association took part in several events, aimed at garnering public support for the adoption of non-pedigree animals, as well as for the prevention of animal abuse. One of these events was the International Felinological Exhibition, which took place at the Earth and Man museum on 20th and 21st November 2011 and at which our Association had an information stall.
All cats that come under our care steal a little bit of our hearts, but there are some particularly special kittens, whose pain, which we’ve shared with them, has been so great, that to see them finally get a new home occasions us even greater joy.
In March we met Uma, who required surgical treatment for a massive hernia. In June, she was sent for adoption to Munich.
In April we had to assist in a very sad parting – the management of a local retirement home refused to allow the residents’ pet to live in the yard of the facility and insisted that the animal be removed. Lucy fell very ill after leaving the home, but luckily managed to pull through and was adopted in May.
In April Summer was abandoned by her owners, who didn’t want to provide her with the treatment she needed after a bad fall in which she broke her hind legs. After she came under our care, Summer received surgical treatment and spent a long time recuperating in a foster home. She was finally adopted in the beginning of 2011.
Bonnie and Clyde are two one-eyed kittens, who both lost an eye due to severe inflammation. They live in a colony of feral cats where chronic eye infections are widespread. We are still trying to prevent procreation by neutering all cats in this colony.
On several occasions we provided treatment to cats that had been severely bitten by dogs. In some of the cases the animals required very serious interventions, such as amputation of a leg or a tail, but after recovering these sweet creatures quickly forgot their pain and gave their unreserved love to their new owners.
In August we admitted for treatment Casper, a white female kitten with congenital malformation of the pelvis and the hind legs. Despite this, she quickly managed to find unprejudiced people in Germany who adopted her.
Unfortunately, we encountered many kittens suffering from eye inflammations, missing an eye or completely blind. One of the kittens in worst condition was little Miss Callie – she was found in a very bad state and by the end of 2010 had undergone three surgeries. Despite this, she grew up to be an extremely playful and dynamic cat, whose blindness most people would be hard pressed to spot.
Chris was a cat that we managed to rescue from some children who were torturing him. He was later adopted in Leipzig.
Cosette and Gavroche we found in the autumn in very bad condition – they were suffering from severe malnutrition, serious dermatological problems and ear inflammation. After receiving medical treatment they became a veritable prince and princess and were adopted by a family with two kids for New Year.
Oliver is another kitten found in a truly bad condition, which after undergoing treatment turned into a lovely, purring kitten and was successfully adopted.
The cat Sivko received antibiotic treatment for several months and was successfully adopted in Frankfurt.
Maznyo was a very charming and cuddly cat who had to undergo surgery due to a broken jaw. After a subsequent and rather long course of treatment with antibiotics because of skin problems, his story had a happy ending – he was adopted by a family in Sofia.
Tanya and Macho are two kittens that were found in a truly horrible condition. However, they turned out to be real fighters and their incredible will to live made them our pride and inspiration. Even though neither of them could use the rear part of their bodies (pelvis and legs) they were healed and recovered to a condition which offered them a dignified and, in its own way, full life. Macho had to have both his hind legs amputated, but he managed to find a way to walk, using just his front legs, without having to drag the rest of his body, thus injuring it. Tanya learnt how to use her paralysed hind legs for support. Both kittens were adopted by German families who had other cats, in whose games our kittens quickly joined. The undying thirst for life of this lovely animals filled us with immense admiration and this turned out to be one of the most gratifying cases of the year.
Another such special case was the raising of three litters (ten kittens in total), who were bottle-fed. They were found abandoned in nylon bags, while they were still blind. They all grew up into lovely kittens, received all the necessary vaccinations and went to their new owners in perfect health.
In conclusion we would like to thank all our volunteers, all the people who donated money and everybody who took care of our sick animals. Without all of you none of these lovely animals would have received a new chance at life. We would also like to thank everybody who took, as it were, the torch from us and adopted our kittens, dedicating themselves to caring for their new pets.
We hope that you will continue to support us, so that we could keep up our struggle to help all hurt and endangered cats that need our help. As always, we need both donations, material, financial and logistical, as well volunteers, willing to provide temporary homes for our cats.
Maria Dimitrova
Chairperson of Cat Friends
7th July 2010
Sofia
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