Welcome back Trevor!

Trevor is back! We're not sure why, because he's such a sweet cat. But here's what happened:

Trevor came from a kill-shelter in Kentucky last year. He was placed into foster care in September with another cat, Lia, whom the family decided to adopt! After several months of fostering Trevor, the family contacted us to say that Lia was not doing so well in their home and they did not believe she was happy there. They said she had started missing the litterbox and was hiding a lot. They really liked Trevor so they wanted to adopt him and return Lia. We agreed because we wanted what was best for the cats and we thought Lia may do better in a different home, perhaps without children. The family adopted Trevor in March 2011. All correspondence with the family from March til December indicated that Trevor was doing well and they loved him. Never once did they contact us to say otherwise.

On December 3rd at 2 am my fiancee and I were on Craigslist looking under the free section. There was an ad for a Free Cat, so I clicked on it out of curiosity. I never expected to see Trevor's photo and read about his family trying to give him away. Not once had they contacted us to return him or even to let us know there was an issue and could no longer keep him any longer. It states very clearly in our contract that if the adopter can no longer keep the cat for ANY REASON they are to contact us and return the cat. They had broken their contract and we were very upset.

We called the family and left a message regarding the ad, reminding them of the contract they had signed, and asked that they call us back immediately. Not 1 minute after hanging up the phone, it rang. I spoke with the woman and she told me that Trevor was 'attacking' them and the dogs. Last I knew they only had one dog so I inquired about it. Apparently, over the past six months they had gotten a SECOND dog, had a new baby and gotten Trevor declawed! Talk about being under a lot of stress! The poor cat no longer had it's primary line of defense, his claws. The woman told me he was biting and was also refusing to use the litterbox, two common side effects of declawing which I pointed out to her. She insisted that it had NOTHING to do with him being declawed, that they had taken him to the vet (probably the same vet who suggested declawing and made money off these people) and he said Trevor was fine, that the behavioral problems had nothing to do with declawing him. I find it very odd that she had no problems with him before she adopted him, got him declawed, and added a new dog and baby to the house. Cats don't just suddenly decide to become a nuisance one day for no reason at all. They aren't spiteful; that's why I love them.

So I offered to take Trevor back. I offered to help her find him a more suitable home. I offered to screen people and readopt him out, if she wanted to keep him until I found a new home. Would you believe that while I was in the middle of offering assistance, the ignorant woman hung up on me?!! Then, when we called back, her boyfriend answered and said she was in the bathroom and couldn't come to the phone. Yeah, I'm sure. We never got a call back that day or the following day. I looked into my options. It was suggested that I have someone pose as an interested adopter and contact her without mentioning the rescue. We did that. She lied to the person, failed to mention that she adopted him from our rescue and then when the person tried to set up a time to "meet" Trevor, the woman refused to respond to calls and texts. So I was then told i could (and would probably be forced to) take the woman to court. So I called the court, got the information and tried one more time to do things the easy way by texting her and requesting that she return Trevor. She got snippy, told me she had removed the ad so leave her alone, and said she'd get me for harassment if I didn't stop contacting her. Right. I never knew that one phone call and one text message in a three day period was considered harassment. So I told her we could do this the easy way or the hard way, she could either return him on her own accord or we would take her to court for breaking her contract. She responded, "See you in court." Real mature.

My fiancee sought the advice of his friend who is a Buffalo police officer. He advised that we seek assistance from the police department in the woman's town by having an officer escort us to her home for a property dispute. As much as I hate the idea of a cat being considered 'property' i was willing to give it a shot. It was our last option before filing a lawsuit. So we went, bringing along all the paperwork including her adoption contract for Lia, her adoption contract for Trevor, her adoption application, a copy of her ad on Craigslist, our records of Trevor and email correspondence from the woman. The officer went to the door with my fiancee, presented all the evidence to her and told her to return the cat. She refused, stating she "never signed a contract", which was a complete lie seeing as the document was in the officer's hand. The officer held it up and asked if this was her signature. She said it was but she had never signed a contract. Eventually, after 10 minutes of arguing with the woman about the contract that was CLEARLY in front of her face bearing her own signature, my fianceee told her she could return the cat now or we would be taking her to court. The cop pointed out that we had MORE than enough evidence to get the cat back in court so she would only be wasting everyone's time. She finally agreed, retrieved Trevor and handed him over, feigning sadness over losing him. Crazy, I thought she didn't want him anymore. Wasn't that the point of the Craigslist ad?

Trevor is back and he is doing very well. He is getting along with the other cats here and is just as sweet and talkative as I remembered. We haven't had any issues with litterbox use or aggression, so I'm really not sure what the woman was talking about, if she was even telling the truth about his behavior or if the truth was just that she didn't want to take care of him anymore. I will never know, it doesn't matter. I hope this is a lesson to others though: we stand behind our contract (which has been updated so this does not happen again) and we DO NOT give up on our cats!

Trevor is neutered, UTD on shots and is now front-declawed. He is seeking a new home, a true forever home where he will be safe and loved for the REST of his life! If you are interested in welcoming Trevor into your family, please email us at havenhousecats@aol.com.

The Truth About Declawing

If you are thinking of declawing a cat, or a veterinarian suggests declawing at the same time as neutering, before you make a decision for non-reversible surgery, please consider these reasons NOT to declaw. Your cat will live his remaining years with the result of your decision, one way or another.

Declawing is NOT Just Nail Trimming

Nor is declawing only the removal of a portion of a claw. Instead, it is the surgical amputation of the first joint of the cat's toes. Whether this procedure is accomplished with a scalpel, a guillotine-type cutter or a laser, it is major surgery, and not to be undertaken lightly.

Declawing Does Nothing to Benefit the Cat

You will sometimes hear the disclaimer, "It's better than putting him to sleep." This is a fallacious argument, and usually offered only to soothe the owner's conscience. Only the cat's owner can make the decision to kill her cat because of scratching problems. He or she can also make the decision to let him keep his toes. Unlike neutering, which does benefit the cat, both healthwise and behavioralwise, declawing simply does nothing positive for the cat.

Declawing Robs a Cat of His Chief Weapon of Defense

A typical counter-argument is, "My cat is indoors-only." Even indoor cats sometimes manage to escape. A declawed cat does not stand a chance against a large dog, a bigger cat, or a predator. Although he still has teeth, by the time he gets in close enough to bite, it may be too late.

Declawing is Painful Surgery

Think of it as 10 amputations (if only the front feet are declawed). Pain meds may help initially, but phantom pain may last for weeks or months, as nerve endings heal. Dr. Nicholas Dodman describes the pain following surgery: "Unlike routine recoveries, including recovery from neutering surgeries, which are fairly peaceful, declawing surgery results in cats bouncing off the walls of the recovery cage because of excruciating pain."

Declawing May Lead to Litter Box Problems

Declawed cats often associate the pain when digging in litter with the litter box itself, and will avoid it, choosing softer carpeting instead.

Declawing Sometimes Leads to Biting Problems

When cats lose their ability to give a quick warning scratch, they will often resort to their second line of defense: a good, hard bite. The cat's owner may sometimes find himself the victim, just when he thinks his cat is enjoying a petting session.

Cats Need the Exercise Their Claws and Toes Provide

Watch a cat stretch, whether horizontally on a carpet or vertically with a tall scratching post. He will grab the carpet or sisal with his claws, using the resistance to pull and stretch his muscles. Cats' claws actually play a large and positive role in their amazing muscle tone and agility.

Altered Gait May Lead to Later Joint Problems

Domestic cats are digitigrade, meaning they walk on their toes. Walking with an altered gait because of the lack of the first digit of the toes can affect all the joints of the leg, resulting later in arthritis of the hip and other joints. Jean Hofve, DVM describes this joint deterioration more fully, in her article, "A Rational Look at Declawing."

Cats Need to Be Cats for Their Entire "Nine Lives"

Honestly, if a cat could speak human language, do you really think, given a choice, he'd say, "Sure thing. Cut off part of my toes?" His claws and toes are an integral part of making a cat a cat. Would you honestly want him to be anything less, especially since there are humane alternatives? It's your decision, but please take your cat's needs into serious consideration before making such a drastic and permanent choice.

Source: http://cats.about.com/od/declawing/tp/reasonsnot.htm

Beautiful Bindi

This is Bindi, one of our beautiful adoptable kitties. Bindi has a very special story, she died and came back to life, or so it seems. Bindi had a grand mal seizure and stopped breathing. Amazingly enough she survived! She is truly a miracle!

This is Bindi's story.

August 17, 2011- Bindi is a 5 year old kitty who was surrendered to our rescue in June because her owner was moving and couldn't bring her along. She's been caged the past couple days with a cold and conjunctivitus that we were treating. While caring for all the kitties yesterday afternoon, I checked up on Bindi, brushed her long fur, and gave her some medication. She was not happy about being brushed but was otherwise acting normal.

Around midnight, my fiance, Shawn, went to fix a light in the basement and said Bindi was doing fine. At 2 am, we were in the living room putting the couch back together when we heard a loud banging and scrapping sound coming from the basement. I went down to check on the cats and found Bindi panting and breathing heavily. She appeared to be having difficulty catching her breath, her eyes were glassy and she was bleeding from her nose. I panicked and called my fiance down. We checked her over and tried to determine the cause of her sudden change in condition. Just two hours earlier she had been fine.

Shawn thought that Bindi was having an allergic reaction, perhaps from a spider bite. Antibiotics were the quickest way to counteract the allergic reaction so we mixed some amoxiccilan and attempted to force it down her throat. Bindi started choking so Shawn picked her up and tried to do the Heimlich manuveur on her. While doing a finger sweep of her mouth, Bindi bit down on his finger and locked her jaw. We pried her off and discovered she had bit right through his finger! He raced over to the sink, bleeding, to wash it out and i checked on Bindi who was twisted and convulsing on the blanket. Her breathing was so labored and her body was so limp I feared she would die as I watched her. Shawn's finger needed medical attention so we raced to the closest ER.

The doctor said the incident would need to be reported to animal control and they would do an autopsy on the body to check for rabies. Bindi was up to date on her shots so we didn't think rabies was a concern. But we figured Bindi would most certainly be dead by the time we arrived home so we agreed to give up the body if animal control called.

By the time we arrived home, our fears were confirmed. Bindi was not breathing. She was lying limp and still on the blanket in her cage. I covered her up and cried. Shawn and I went upstairs to wait for animal control to call.

We fell asleep around 8 am. At a quarter to 11, Shawn woke me up to tell me that he went downstairs to check on Bindi and she was alive! She was meowing and trying to walk but appeared to be paralyzed on one side. I called the vet right away and made an appointment for the afternoon. A few hours later I went down to get Bindi into a carrier and she stood right up and walked to the front of the cage, meowing and purring the whole time! It was the craziest miracle! Not only had Bindi come back from the dead, she was walking and purring as if nothing had happened! I took her to the vet where they determined she had experienced a seizure and could not pinpoint the cause. It could be a number of things ranging from herpes virus, to cancer, to kidney disease to toxoplasma. The vet prescribed antibiotics and suggested further testing if Bindi's condition did not improve. He also said there is a strong chance she will not survive this.

We want to make sure Bindi DOES survive this. She went through hell last night and she came back from the dead. She is a fighter.

UPDATE 12/10/11: After several tests, the vet determined that Bindi did not have herpes or cancer or kidney disease or FIV or FeLV. She was negative for parasites as well. We do not know what caused her seizure but since that night she has not had another episode or been sick at all. Her eye cleared up (she developed an ulcer from the seizure) and she is healthy and as beautiful as ever! Thank you to everyone who donated to help us cover her vet bills. Bindi is now looking for her forever home and a family. Can you make this beautiful girl's dream come true?

Say hello to Ebony!

This is Ebony.

Ebony is a super sweet, super sleek black female kitty who wandered onto someone's porch a week ago. She was emaciated, hungry and weak. All she wanted was a good meal and a warm place to sleep. Unfortunately the people who took her in could not keep her and threatened to put her back outside if no one took her. So our rescue stepped in and brought Ebony to our safe haven! She was quite lethargic when we got her here, collapsing in our arms. We gave her some yummy canned food, applied some Revolution, and set up a warm cage for her with blankets and a fresh litterbox. She slept a lot those first two days but with some nourishment in her belly she was perkier then ever!

At the vet Friday we found out she is not spayed and is just shy of a year old. Today she tested negative for FIV/FeLV and we introduced her to the other kitties at Haven House Cats.

Ebony will be spayed soon and will then be available for adoption. If you are interested in giving this beautiful girl a home, email us today at havenhousecats@aol.com for an adoption application!

Shop Avon to support Haven House Cats

Support your favorite cat rescue group while buying the season's hottest makeup and holiday gifts for your whole family! You can help Haven House Cats raise money for food, litter, supplies and vet care from the comfort of your own home by shopping on the Avon site. Our rescue receives 20% of every order. Just click the link below and be sure to use the code HAVENHOUSECATS at checkout so your order benefits our cause. We are aiming to raise $1000 so every order is important to help us reach our goal. Be sure to tell your friends and family how they can shop to support our kitties!

Click here to shop now!

RIP Sophie: My little lioness

Sophie passed away last week from kidney failure. We didn't even know anything was wrong until two days before she passed. It was so unexpected. Sophie was the sweetest purebred Maine Coon. She was found as a stray and brought to Haven House in July. My fiance and I fell in love with her right away and were planning on keeping her. But she hid under the bed a lot and only came out to sleep with us at night. I thought maybe she was unhappy here with so many other animals to compete with. I placed her up for adoption since she was all vetted, fixed and appeared healthy. A day later she stopped eating. I tried to force feed her and gave her a variety of different canned foods to eat but she wasn't interested. The next day she went into cardiac arrest and died at the vet. I loved her and will miss her little kisses at night as she curled up onto my lap in bed. I will miss brushing her long beautiful fur each night. I will miss watching her sneak downstairs to the food dish as if she's on a secret mission. We love and miss you Sophie. Run free across the Rainbow Bridge. <3 <3

Winnie was adopted!

After waiting almost two years for a forever family, Winnie finally got adopted Sunday night. We weren't sure it was going to work out because the mother emailed us only 3 hours later to say Winnie was being very vocal and was keeping her awake! But we received good news today! We got this pic and update from Winnie's new family. We're so happy!

"Winnie is def a "funny" little girl :) She is always sure to come to the kitchen when I am cooking dinner! She seems content & is "showing" her cute little self more and more (spending "lovey" time) as the days go by. She was keeping to herself initially. She is still very easily startled, but....she is a sweetheart. I can send more pics at a later date."