Street Cats In Manila

Faith

2010-11-14T10:18:00.005+08:00

Tonight I would like to dedicate this entry to Faith - he was a very brace feline who had been dealt the most horrific cruelty inflicted by the hands of an evil person. The pictures I post here are very graphic and they will make you weep, my purpose is not to shock or provoke sadness for the pure sake of it, I just want people to know that cruelty against cats are taking place every where every day and night, if you are a good person, then be their guardian angel, and look out for their safety. If you hear a cat's cry of pain, or see a cat or kitten being tortured or disposed of, don't turn a blind eye or deaf ear, go and help these poor animals before it is too late. Animal torturers are cowards, they run when challenged.
Faith was found with his left ear hacked off. When CARA members found him, we thought his chance of survival was zero and he was destined to be put to sleep immediately, but he wanted to stay in this world a little bit longer and showed us the meaning of unconditional love. Despite his severe injury he never cried in pain, and when the vet reached out to stroke him he responded eagerly by licking her hand and purred out loud... the vet said "this cat does not want to die!", and she took Faith home with her and tried to heal his physical and spiritual wound. Faith climbed into her lap and purred every time the wound had to be cleaned, he still had so much love to give for the rest of his days. 3 weeks later when we finally had to spare him from further suffering, it was a very sad day. CARA had set up a FAITH fund to provide life saving treatments to victims of cruelty.

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2010-11-13T08:49:00.007+08:00

This is a more recent picture of Goldie, he has put on weight and looks so handsome!!! Looking at his posture and demeanor, he is one HAPPY cat, what a huge difference compared to his condition at beginning of this year... Thank you Roxanne for giving him a loving home, a well loved cat carries THAT look - confident, calm, regal, and loving. He is flicking his princely tail in total appreciation. Way to go!

Goldie

2010-11-12T12:50:00.011+08:00

In the Philippines, people like to celebrate festivals with fire crackers. The sound of fire crackers can be heard for many nights particularly around the New Year, but for me, fire crackers mean danger and terror to homeless cats in the city, that is why I can never sleep well whenever I hear the sound of fire crackers at night.

On the second day of 2010, we found an injured orange tabby in our village, I took one look at his injury and fell sick, his back was one big patch of raw burnt skin, his tail was barely hanging there with exposed bones, and he had a broken right hind leg. Some sick people had tied a fire cracker to his back and set it alight, the intense pain and horrifying noise caused the cat to jump on top of a roof, and as he could not escape from the intense burn on his back, he bounced and rolled until he fell off the roof and broke his leg. He managed to run away from his tormentors, but he could hear human laughters trailing behind him, he will never trust another human being again, he just wanted to hide and die.

By the time my friend Lou found the injured cat, it was a couple of days after the incident and he was getting very weak, infection had set in his wound and he has not eaten or drink in many days. He could not move, and he had been lying on urine and excrements. When he heard footsteps approaching him, he probably dismissed the chance of being rescued, he probably thought "who in her right mind would want to come near me?". But Lou was not deterred by the odor, she scooped him up in her arms and ran towards the direction of my home, by the time she reached me, her face was covered in tears.

It was the second day of New Year, we could not find one vet clinic open, but we knew we must get him to a vet urgently to stop the infection from killing him. We finally got hold of a vet who agreed to meet us at her clinic, it was near midnight by the time we got him to the vet, but we knew then he had a chance and we were grateful to God.

It took 3 months of tender loving care, many trips to the vet, and many words of encouragement to help this special cat recover from this trauma. When we found him, his body was limp and lifeless, but his eyes were intensely vibrant, those beautiful orange coloured eyes captured our hearts and we named him Goldie.

Goldie has found his forever home, a kind young lady named Roxanne has opened her home and heart to him, and everytime I look at these recent pictures of him, I rejoice.

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2010-08-14T11:44:00.004+08:00

Hello Kitty! Do you miss me? I miss you terribly, although I console myself that you are safe and well. I imagine you must have grown a bit since we kissed goodbye in first week of July.

I still remember so well the day you came into my life last February. I was heartbroken by the sudden brutal death of my white kitty Princess the week before at the hands of a cat killer, I was very disheartened. I asked God if he could mend my heart. Then I saw you at the fish market and I burst into tears, because that was the clearest signal from God that he was mending my heart. How else could I explain that unusual heart shaped marking on your body?

2010-08-13T11:01:00.002+08:00

Are these 2 kittens the same animal? One dark night in April we were driving home, had to slow down to cross a ramp, out of the corner of my eyes I noticed a dark creature crawling into the path of our car, I screamed for hubby to stop and hurried out to look under the car. There it was right in front of our car's front wheel huddled a little black kitty with the most beautiful pair of shiny emerald eyes, and I asked the little 'mouse': do you want to live?

He was no more than 4 weeks old, skeleton like due to starvation and abandonment, he trembled with fear as I cuddled him in my hands on the journey home. It did not take him long to 'beef up', good food and healthy exercise with my other rescued kittens helped him to recover very quickly, and he became a very handsome Obama. I will never forget those beautiful emerald eyes!

Life outside of Manila

2010-08-12T10:48:00.002+08:00

It has been more than 6 months since my last blog entry. I have left the Philippines but the memory of those beautiful but homeless cats will never leave me. I have re-homed all 17 cats I used to feed outside my house, and I vow to do more from outside the country. Angelina Jolie has set a fine example of internationl adoptions, why can't cat lovers do the same? I am sure there are many cat lovers in Europe and North America who will cherish the opportunity to adopt an exquisite cat from Asia. If anyone out there is interested, do contact me.

An apology

2010-01-21T20:57:00.002+08:00

Today I attended a conciliatory meeting with my neighbor whom we had mistakenly accused of killing Princess. It was wrong of us to accuse anyone without any evidence, and I accept that we should not have jumped to conclusion just because the dead kitten was found outside the neighbor's property. Because I was out of the country at the time of the event, what I heard from my helper and friend was not necessarily the unbiased version, emotions ran high and have affected judgments and actions. I am very humbled by this experience and offer unreserved apologies to my neighbors and their helpers. It could have been handled better without damaging neighborly relations, I learn a lesson each day.

Extra half hour of daylight

2010-01-19T23:49:00.004+08:00

If You were to grant me
an extra half hour of Daylight,
How shall i spend it lovingly?

Shall I watch the sun set graciously
and marvel at the wondrous Grace
as Day gives way to Night and
the hustle and bustle of the morning
gives way to the silent & peaceful hymns
of creatures of the night?

Shall I visit the oceans
and allow the elements of air
water, fire, earth to swirl around me
the wind in my hair, the sand upon my feet
the sea embracing me, and the last day of Dusk
blessing the hairline upon my forehead?

Shall I sing You devotional songs
and envelop myself in sweet remembrance
as many a devotee did
in ancient times of the past
following a sacred lineage
to times of the present?

Shall I enter a closet
and study the writings of the saints and sages
allowing the wisdom of the scriptures
to cleanse and gently massage a soul
laden with the heavy energy of this world?

Shall I sit in silent meditation?
and focus on the inner light
which shines forth from all beings
that walk, move and live on this lovely planet.

Or shall I approach my animal friends
and learn from them
the gentle manners of submission
the warmth of co-dependence
the contentment with the simple joys of life
and heed their plead to "Live and let live"
to love all Mother Earth's creatures
and not displace them from nature
for we are all God's creatures
and companions til the end?

In memory of a white furry angel

2010-01-19T01:02:00.004+08:00

Princess, 4 months old white kitten, died young on Thursday afternoon (January 14th 2010). Til the day we meet again, Princess.

Something more to rejoice about...

2009-11-27T23:38:00.006+08:00

One day in the near future, my family will have to leave Manila when Mark transfers to another location. Since the first day I took in my rescued cats, I have been planning for this day. I will not be able to take all 60 of them with us, what can we do? My fellow expat CARA members share the same anxiety as they too will have to leave behind some adopted cats, so we got practical and built a solution to solve our dilemmas. I always believed that God always helps those who help others. We prayed for a landowner to donate some land for us to build a cattery, within 1 month of those wishful thinking God sent Juliet & Larry, total strangers to us but unbelievably they donated a piece of land on their farm! The next thing we needed was finance, and God sent Nancy, Barbara, Vera, & Carole. Within 4 months, our cattery was ready to receive its first batch of feline guests. Hooray! imagine the joy...

Something to rejoice about!

2009-08-02T11:00:00.003+08:00

It's been many months since I last made an entry, life has been extremely busy and our work to help homeless animals have been very demanding. During the last 6 months I have mourned the passing of many cats and kittens, and it never gets any easier. Tonight, I remember a little angel who has left very deep pawprints in my life:

Tiger was such a wonderful kitten to have in my life, I heard her faint cries for help during one of my evening feeding rounds in a neighboring street, this was back in May then, I followed the sound of her cries and discovered her by a sidewalk, she was not more than 10 days old, and she was hungry and lost. I took her home with me, she knew me as her mama and used to follow me around, Tiger grew into a bubbly toddler kitten and she was full of life and energy, somehow she caught a cold and never managed to recover from it, I miss her very very much.

Remembering Rocky

2009-02-01T03:27:00.002+08:00

Monday 26th January 09 10:21pm Manila time, Rocky was put to sleep, he had crossed the rainbow bridge, no more suffering, no more pain. I will always remember him.

2009-01-25T21:54:00.004+08:00

As we were approaching Christmas last year, our family was looking forward to returning to the States for our Christmas holiday. Two nights before we were due to leave Manila, I was on my usual feeding round outside a vacant house on Taurus Street. I had just put down a trap cage on the ground, was hoping to trap a tri-colour female cat for spay surgery the next day, my target cat however was very suspicious of my motive and so she stayed away from the bait of delicious sardine positioned at the far end of the trap. I was waiting patiently for things to take its natural course when out of the corner of my eyes I spotted a white cat walking towards the trap steadily and calmly to claim the prize.
After the trap door slammed shut I went over to check on my unexpected catch, she was a young intact female white cat with black ears which I have never seen before, she was sneezing with runny eyes and nose - an obvious sign of having caught a cold. But there was something else far worse, there was a long scald scar running along her backbone from the nape of her neck to the beginning of her tail. It was a fresh scar deliberately inflicted by a human being who had threw either hot oil or boiling water over her. As I visually inspected her injury to gauge the severity of her condition, I didn't sense any panic nor terror on her part which is a normal reaction displayed by trapped animals, instead, she sat down graciously with folded legs, looked up at me calmly with big pleading eyes as if to say "help me." God has sent a wounded animal my way, and I knew my duty.
6 weeks later Beauty has fully recovered from her unfortunate experience, she has her favorite resting spot under our porch, and she likes to sit on top of our front rail post to watch life goes by, the way cats do...

Rocky

2009-01-24T21:17:00.005+08:00

Two Fridays ago I was returning some cats to their families for whom we have carried out free Spay & Neuter service at the CARA clinic. I spotted a cat with a horribly disfigured face on the street, his head had a swelling the size of a tennis ball across his nose, the eyes were completly covered by the swelling and pus was clearly oozing from the infected wound. He reminded me of a battered boxer's face so much I named him Rocky...
Upon enquiry I was directed to a nearby family who was the owner, they admitted readily that it was their cat and that his injury was probably caused by a cat fight 2 weeks ago, and they had done nothing about it... It beggars belief how an owner could just witness their pet's suffering like this without any inclination to seek medical attention, it beggars belief... I asked if I could take the cat to a vet, they shrugged their shoulders and so Rocky came with me, he didn't put up any resistance as if he knew we only have his best interest at heart.
The following Monday Dr Candice examined his injury and he was immediately despatched to the Xray room. Luckily no broken bones were found but the infection itself was life threatening being so near to his brain. The first task was to clean his wounds of pus and dead tissues and to boost his immune system with heavy dosages of antibiotics. The next 3 days were critical and it was up to Rocky the fighter to help us, and of course there was God.
Thursday came and I was relieved to hear that Rocky was still alive and fighting for survival, his swelling was going down gradually, the antibiotic has worked!
Rocky has been at the CARA clinic now for over two weeks, the infection has subsided considerably, which enabled us to examine his injury more clearly, to our horror we found two pellet wounds on the sides of his nose, so contrary to what his owner has told us, this was no cat fight, he was hit by someone firing a pellet gun at his face, the pellet entered the right side of his nose and exited on the left. Another sad finding was that his eyes have been so badly damaged that they are beyond treatment. My heart was very heavy upon learning this, but Rocky's fighting spirit has cheered me on, I know that if he recovers from this bad episode of his life, he will be OK, we will never return him to a family who cannot offer him protection and compassion, we will see to it that the remainder of his life will be in caring hands. My deepest thanks to Dr Candice, Dr Raymond, Dr Emma, Dr Ensai, and all members and staff of the CARA team. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for improving the lives of our community cats.

Oreo and Biscuit

2009-01-23T17:18:00.003+08:00

Two days ago (Wednesday 21st January) someone had the heart to abandon two tiny kittens outside CARA - the cat welfare clinic which I volunteer for with passion. The kittens were barely a couple of weeks old, and they meowed for their mother and milk pitifully. Fortunately another volunteer of the clinic has experience of hand-rearing kittens, so Denise kindly showed me the way...
The kittens were so young they needed round the clock care, so I decided to take them home, I didn't consult hubby beforehand as I knew he would try to talk me out of it...

Luckily I had my three daughters on my side, and they lent a hand in taking care of Oreo and Biscuit. My oldest daughter Jasmin even offered to take the night shift for feeding the kittens, which was greatly appreciated. Thanks Jasmin!
The kittens seemed to know their chances of survival depended on their co-operation and good behavior. So far they have been model citizens of our household, they take their milk eagerly and sleep peacefully most time of the day and night. Oreo has even learned to hold the bottle like human babies do! He will be a big boy when he grows up judging by the amount of milk he drinks per feed...
Biscuit is the smaller of the two, maybe because she is a girl, but she screams the loudest if the feed is not on time!

A new beginning for Frosty

2009-01-22T20:37:00.000+08:00

This is my first blog and I am dedicating it to my first foster cat - Frosty. Frosty came into my life when my daughters told me they had spotted a white cat being hit by a car at the entrance to our village. I couldn't put that out of my mind for the rest of the day, so my friend Tracy and I decided to look for it. A couple of days later Tracy told me the village guards have found the cat, we raced there and there he was, with one broken left foreleg, he was just skin and bones. That night I took him to the vet for an xray, they found his leg was beyond salvage, due to his mature years (4 years is considered old for street cats in this country) and weak health it was deemed too dangerous to amputate, so the only option left was to try give him a good life for the rest of his time. So I took him home. Hubby was not so pleased as we have 3 cats and 1 dog already.

As cats go Frosty was definitely a lap cat, boy did he yearn attention and affection from us. I have never seen a cat that loving... he would jump and sit on me or by me at any opportunity, and he always wore a dreamy look on his face whenever I gave him a body rub. Being a three-legged cat at a mature age he was definitely too vulnerable to roam the streets again, so I vowed to find him a forever home before we leave this country.

And so today, on January 22 2009, Frosty took a Cebu Pacific flight to Boracay, his new home is on this dream island and his new parents Mich and Mana are just ideal for him, it was hard for me to say goodbye, but I wish him all the best and I will want to visit him soon...

2009-01-12T20:12:00.001+08:00