No one knows what their day is going to hold when they wake up each morning. You may be headed to your normal 9am-5pm job or you may be a student in school. You likely have a pretty good idea of what your day is going to entail. When you are in the world of animal rescue though, you can guarantee that any day could hold unimaginable horrors. But then there are the days that make it worth it every second. These are the days that hold rescuers sensitive and caring emotions together. A hairspray of sorts…
So when nine kittens were saved this month, the rescue turned to the famous movie/Broadway musical, Hairspray, for names!
It began on August 19th, when non-profit Fox Foster Kittens (FFK) based in Sarasota, Florida, did what they do everyday. They start reading the dozens of messages that come in daily regarding stray, feral and/or needy animals on the Gulf Coast.
The worst thing that can happen to an animal, is to end up at a kill shelter, on a “kill-list”. These are usually kittens or cats that are younger than 2 months or have medical issues. Sadly, shelter workers do not have the time or in some cases, the experience, to care for these animals.
So rescues step in and have a deadline, literally…to pick up the animals.
And this day, no one at FFK was going to let that happen.
Before they knew it, NINE kittens from mixed litters arrived at their new foster home.
There were 3 sets of kittens in total but they all had a few things in common.
1…2…3…4…5…6..keep counting. If you counted NINE babies you would be correct!
These 9 babies were given just TWO HOURS to find a rescue or they would have been euthanized. They all have scabies, upper respiratory/eye infections and oral ulcers (likely from calici virus).In addition, the tiniest little dilute calico has a ruptured eye.They are a hot mess.
I know…a group of 9 with all of these issues. Crazy. I was thinking that all along. I talked to majority of the rescues who pull from this shelter and no one had the space or ability to care for such a large sick litter. So before they were euthanized I snatched them up. Because they didn’t need to lose their lives over something treatable.
In total, there were 6 girls and 3 boys, and in only ONE night in a caring environment, and they began to improve.
They are already looking a bit better today, the swelling in their eyes has gone down. It seems we have one ruptured eye and one eye ulcer. The rest just have infections.
You can’t track the progress and transformation of a kitty with no name though!
I mean you can, but there’s just something that forms a connection when a name is finally bestowed upon them. And one of the joys in rescue is getting to come up with fun names for the babies. So the rescue put the call out for suggestions…and received quite a few themes. Pretty sure being a science buff, the last one would have been my choice for a clowder of nine.
What about gemstone names?.Theres lots to choose from! Topaz, Citrine, Sapphire, Ruby, Jade, Jasper, Diamond, Onyx, Opal, Emerald, Garnet, Jet, Coral, Pearl, Aquamatine, Peridot and Amethyst! Take your pick!
They’re all so cute! I gave a lot of my colony kitties flower names…Daisy, Lily, Poppy, Blossom, Rose, Violet, Sweetpea, Dahlia, Buttercup…I had a Fern, Clover, and a Willow, too.
Grease: Sandy, Rizzo, Frenchie, Jan, Marty, Vi, Blanche, Cha Cha,principal McGee,Danny, Sonny, PutziePlanets! Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto
It was the fan favorite cast of Hairspray character names that won out in the end.
Introducing….
It’s a mouthful…but the scabies babies have names…from the cast of HAIRSPRAY!Meet Amber Von Tussle, Penny Pingleton, Tracy Turnblad, Maybelle, Velma Von Tussle, Edna Turnblad, Corny Collins, Seaweed, and Link Larkin! What a crew!These 9 cuties are a wild bunch, so full of personality. They absolutely love everything. A freshly scooped box (seriously I think this is their favorite….let’s all poop at the same time), clean water, a full bowl of food, lots of wet food, toys, pets, they just soak everything up. I think they are just so thankful.
Anyone see any similarities or have a favorite, cast or cat?
We’ll be sure to share what will certainly be star-studded futures and forever homes that await the Hairspray babies!
We’ve had the 9 hairspray scabies babies for one week now! They just received their second treatment for scabies. However, the crusting on them has mostly fallen off now and they’re looking better. One more week and they’re going to look even more gorgeous! Their URI and eye infections are clearing and they’re eating and gaining weight. All good things!
The one baby who had a severe eye ulcer is almost healed now. On the other hand, the baby who has a bad eye appears like it will need to be removed when she’s big enough.
REMEMBER: ADOPT, DON’T SHOP; FOSTERING SAVES LIVES & SPAY AND NEUTER!
