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Annual report on the activity of Cats Friends Association for the year 2008
In 2008 the members of our Association took care of more than 250 cats. Some of them were found on the street in life-threatening condition, while others were placed under our care after being abandoned by their owners.
A total of 151 cats were adopted in Bulgaria and Germany, after receiving care in the form of temporary homes, medical and antiparasitic treatment (both internal and external) and vaccination. Those of suitable age were also neutered. A considerable number of cats were sent for adoption in Germany due to lack of interest in Bulgaria, mainly because of their fragile health and need for loving, unprejudiced owners. For all of them our Association covered the cost for international passports, microchips and air freights.
During the year we also managed to neuter and return back to the places, where they were originally found, about 100 cats. Unfortunately, we also had several deaths when the condition of the animals was so grave that they couldn’t be saved, despite our efforts.
In the beginning of the year we managed to close the case from 2007 of the numerous cats, kept in a basement in the Druzhba district. After extensive treatment for dermatological and respiratory problems, the last two male kittens were finally adopted – Leopold on 10th January 2008 and Leo on 12th January 2008.
From an inner yard in the centre of Sofia we rescued and treated for rhinotracheitis a small female kitten, which was later adopted. From the same place we also removed two eight-month old kittens. Both of them were neutered and one of them received antiviral treatment. After spending a month in our care, one of them was adopted in Bulgaria, while the other was sent to Germany after two and a half months’ fostering. An adult female cat was also taken from the same place and after being spayed and monitored for ten days, was returned back to the place where she was originally found.
At the end of January five cats were sent to Germany – the last four of the Druzhba case, which had been under our care and undergoing treatment (one of them had a missing eye and required surgery), as well as a male cat that had been in our care for nearly a year.
On 16th February 2008 six cats were sent to Berlin, among them – the Siamese cat suffering from mammary tumours and uterine infection, which we obtained from her owners in the autumn of the previous year.
At the end of February a cat and her four kittens were rescued from a grocery store and were put in foster care. At the age of two months the kittens were adopted, while the mother was spayed and returned back to the district from which she was removed.
On 26th April 2008 a cat which had been found two weeks earlier being hit by a car was sent to Germany, after receiving surgery, due to torn abdominal wall. Along with this cat, we also sent another one that had been under our care since the summer of 2007, when her owner died, as well as a cat that we had found two months ago and had treated for severe fungal infection.
In the beginning of April we managed to rescue from a street shaft a cat with two kittens – both kittens had acute eye infection, while the mother was suffering from infection of the upper respiratory tract. We took care of them for two months, until they were cured, treated against parasites and vaccinated, so that they could be adopted.
About the same time we found an abandoned cat in very bad condition, weak and suffering from a cold and a cough. After receiving inpatient treatment for ten days, the cat remained under our care for almost a month until her condition allowed for adoption.
In the middle of February we found a young female cat with respiratory problems. She was under our care, receiving treatment, for two months before she was adopted.
In the middle of April in a basement in the Lozenets district we found a cat with four kittens. The mother was spayed when the kittens were two months old and the five of them were treated against parasites. Two of the kittens were adopted in Bulgaria, while the mother and the remaining two were sent to Germany in May.
In May we found an abandoned cat, which was spayed and, after a two-week stay under our care, sent to Germany for adoption.
In the same month we sent for adoption in Germany 14 kittens and 2 adult cats. The mothers of the kittens were spayed and returned back to the place where they were found originally.
In May we also sent to Germany a four-year old male cat, which had been in our care for more than two years.
In the beginning of June we found two stray female cats, one of which was spayed and after a week-long stay with us, was returned back to the place where we found her. The other had severe kidney problems and needed surgery and further treatment, which, however, had to be delayed, as she had recently given birth. We managed to find the hiding place of her litter and took care both of her and of the five kittens, until they reached four weeks of age. Meanwhile, the mother underwent kidney surgery and was spayed.
In June we also found a two-week old female kitten that had either been hit by a car or hurt by a dog and whose rear leg had almost completely necrotised. After receiving treatment for nearly a month and spending another month in our care, the kitten recovered sufficiently (losing only two toes) and was sent for adoption in Germany. Also in June we found two kittens whose eyes had been seriously damaged by rhinotracheitis. They received treatment and remained under our care for two months before their condition allowed for adoption.
The same month we found two abandoned kittens, which remained under our care until they were fit for adoption. About the same time we found a six-week old kitten that had lost her sight due to rhinotracheitis. Besides an acute viral infection, the kitten was also suffering from severe microsporia, for which she had to receive treatment for months before recovering and being adopted.
In June we found five ten-day old kittens that we tried to raise by ourselves. Unfortunately, despite our efforts, only one of the kittens survived and was sent for adoption in Germany a month and a half later.
In July we found a cat suffering from microsporia, which she had transmitted to her six kittens, as well. The treatment lasted more than two months, after which the kittens were sent for adoption in Germany, while the mother was spayed and returned back to the place where we had found her. About the same time we found a cat that had been hit by a car. She couldn’t move her hind legs but the prognosis was good and after being treated with Nivalin for several months, her condition improved sufficiently for her to be sent for adoption in Germany. Along with her, we also sent a kitten that had been successfully treated for diarrhoea, another one which had lost almost all its fur due to a fungal infection, as well as two kittens that we had found two months earlier abandoned in a cardboard box and which had been treated for viral infections.
In August we found an eight-ear old Siamese cat, either abandoned or lost, which was starving, dehydrated and suffering from microsporia. She required treatment for two months before her condition allowed for adoption. At the end of September she was sent to Germany, as she could neither be adopted in Bulgaria nor go back to her previous owners, who never came for her. Along with her we sent two other kittens that had lost their mother when they were two weeks old and that had been under our care for two and a half months.
On 2nd August 2008 we sent three litters (16 kittens and 3 adult cats) to Munich.
We sent to Germany in August a male cat which had been in our care for six months. Initially suffering from numerous fractures and injuries, he had two broken legs and later developed bone inflammation caused by the orthopaedic nail. After a lengthy antibiotic treatment, he contracted a fungal infection, but was finally healed and after his condition was stabilised, was sent to Germany for adoption. Along with him we also sent three young kittens, aged about four-five months, as well as a several-year old male cat, whose owner could no longer take care of him, due to the large number of animals that she was keeping.
At different times we found two kittens in the Mladost district, both of which were adopted, one of them – after undergoing treatment for diarrhoea.
In August we also found a cat with broken pelvis and a fractured leg. After undergoing a series of surgical interventions, she spent four months with us before being adopted. When we found her she had two kittens, aged two months. One of them was adopted straight away, while the other, after spending a month with us, was sent to Switzerland, together with another of our kittens. About the same time we also found an abandoned pregnant cat. A visit to the vet showed that she was overdue and after an unsuccessful attempt to induce labour by medication, the cat underwent a Caesarean section and was also spayed. Five kittens were delivered and after a six-hour reanimation, due to them having swallowed amniotic fluid, one of them died. Both the mother and the rest of the kittens remained under our care for five months, until they were all adopted.
On 3rd September 2008 we sent to Germany an adult cat and four kitten, which we had been looking after for two months, until the kittens were old enough and the mother could be thoroughly examined, as there was suspicion that she was suffering from viral peritonitis. Fortunately, this working diagnosis was later dismissed.
Also in September we sent to Germany another stray cat that we had rescued, spayed, treated against parasites and prepared for adoption.
The same month under a parked car we came across a female kitten that had been attacked by dogs – one of her legs was hurt and she was missing part of her ear. The kitten received treatment and care from us for two months before being adopted.
Also in September we managed to neuter five cats in the Krasna Polyana district (four female and one male). The male cat was also missing an eye and required surgery, while one of the female kittens had lost her tail and needed to have several of her tail vertebrae removed. The female cats were later returned back to the place where they were found, while the male cat was sent to Germany for adoption.
In October we found a female cat in a very bad condition – weak and anaemic and suffering from dermatological problems. Despite receiving treatment, she died ten days later. The post-mortem showed a liver tumour.
In September we found a cat which had developed severe mastitis after losing her litter. She was treated and spayed and was then returned back to the place where she was found.
On 26th October 2008 a four-month kitten was sent to Germany, along with a disabled adult cat, which had been receiving treatment with Nivalin for several months. She was sent to Germany to undergo complex spinal surgery, after which she was adopted.
In November, on two separate occasions and in two different places, we found two one-month kittens. One of them was quickly adopted, while the other died due to severe diarrhoea.
On 7th November 2008 we sent three cats to be adopted in Germany.
On 15th November 2008 a further six kittens, aged about four-five months, were also sent to Germany, while another two-month kitten was adopted in Bulgaria by foreign citizens.
In November we also had an abandoned Persian cat, which unfortunately and despite the efforts of her new owners, died some time later, due to viral peritonitis.
On 6th December 2008 we sent seven kittens and a blind adult cat to Germany. One of the kittens had a deformed leg due to previous fracture.
On 15th December 2008 we sent to Munich a deaf male cat with urethrostomy, as he couldn’t be adopted in Bulgaria, despite the fact that with the correct diet he could lead a long and normal life. He was under our care for a month.
On 17th December 2008 we sent to Frankfurt an abandoned male cat that we had found in the street, looking for food in some dustbins, a young male cat that we had found with torn abdomen, a kitten that was missing an eye and four six-month kittens.
Maria Dimitrova
Chairperson of Cats Friends Association
1st July 2009
Sofia
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