November 10, 2020
y
Christina from Nutley
y
For as long as I can remember I have always been an animal lover.
I believe this was because of my older sister, Monica, who cared so much to help those animals in need. I have many warm memories of helping animals from dogs, to cats, to birds, to even bats! I have owned cats my entire life and have always had a special bond with each of them. They bring me joy, peace, and laughter.
y
My fiance Mike and I moved to Nutley a few years ago with our two singapura cats. When we started noticing multiple cats hanging out in our backyard, we started leaving food out for them. Now, we have 3 who come every day. We call them Tom, Lily, and Mr. Orange.
y
During the beginning of the pandemic we noticed Lily was getting fatter…
…and sure enough she had kittens under our neighbors porch. The neighbors were very willing to help feed them. We noticed that one of the kittens couldn’t walk very well. Her back legs were dragging behind her. Lily could barely carry her and we watched as she jumped off the driveway only to drop and leave that kitten in a narrow space between our fence. On top of this traumatic event it was raining! We were able to broom the tiny kitten out and also with the help of Mike’s family members catch the other kitten who was hiding under a dark porch.
y
This was my first time rescuing kittens this young and I was very thankful for my mother in law, Gael Corris, who came to the rescue. She has been rescuing animals for many years as she was a kennel owner for over 35 years. She showed up with kitten formula and a bottle and knew what to do and taught me a lot. The CLAWs organization examined them for fleas and even gave me litter boxes and formula to start with. We named the kittens Oakley and Runty. Oakley was adopted by my good friend Rebecca.
y
After many tears, work, and time, Runty, the kitten who couldn’t walk, COULD!
y
A fantastic vet diagnosed her with mild Cerebellar Hypoplasia. We loved Runty so much we ended up adopting her and she is a very happy and healthy kitten now. She can’t walk perfectly but who is perfect!
y
I learned of wonderful CPAW by just googling cat rescues in the area and met Karen Shinevar. She was able to advise me to trap and neuter Tom and Lily so they would never have any more kittens out in the cold. She was extremely helpful. Tom and Lily have sweet little souls and it breaks my heart to see them outside. I feel happy I can provide a meal for them and some kindness. We now have a cat house that I hope they begin to use.
y
