HCA: Hermit Crab Association

ARGHHHH. Forgive me for ranting here, but if I did this on FB I think it would tick some people off.

One of the longtime volunteers at the shelter where my husband works died quite suddenly at home on Thursday. She was a very vibrant and active old lady, so it took everyone who knew her by complete surprise. I might have met her in passing but I did not know her.

You would think that volunteering at an animal shelter her pets would be taken care of but noooooo. My husband had to bring them home because the cats were strung out and no one else would help. Mind that we already have 27 of our own, so more cats that need special accomodation is not the best of things to happen right now. (I'm also still mourning the loss of our Hanners to FIP two weeks ago, and Skitter before that to Kidney cancer. We also have four others with unspecific symptoms that may be cancer and all we can do is wait and see how bloodwork changes over time so that alone has me on edge.) And yes, the people around him who have like two cats know very well that we are overloaded with felines and still would not lift a finger. Small blessings we are still working on his mom's house since she passed away in the spring, so these new cats can calm down in a cat free environment. I think they would have imploded had we had to bring them to our home.

She had a dog, but it is a pretty dog so of course everyone is falling all over themselves to take it. It will be just fine. But who gives a hoot about cats, amiright?

Here is the worst part - no one knows a thing about these cats. We do not even know their names. She has a sister and a longterm boyfriend and no one knows ANYTHING. They wanted the animals out of the house so a few hours after she was found, and the police and paramedics and firefighters had left, they asked strangers to come in, chase the cats down, throw them into a noisy shelter in separate cages overnight and poke and prod them for entrance to the foster program.

I can only imagine how she would have felt seeing her cats treated like that.

No one even stopped to look to see what they were eating. After four days we got two to at least take a few bites because we don't know what they were used to getting. The third is not eating, we are taking him to our own vet for an Urgent Care visit tonight to try and save him. Not sure what will happen with him long term as he is an utter high strung mess at the moment, but we are going to do what we can. Right now they are piled together in a closet they broke into, with a Feliway diffuser over top of them to see if it makes a difference. They have five brands of dry food and three kinds of canned to choose from.

I spent all morning calling every vet in the area to see if I could find out anything. I got a name for the high strung one, and quite frankly that seems like a giant victory. Through records at the shelter we think we have a name for another. The third does not seem old enough to match records on file, but thankfully she has come around the most so I don't think it really matters if she is that same cat or not. I just wish I knew what she was calling them. With cats, being able to call them by name, nickname, or whatever special phrases they have learned calms them down. Mine all have a bunch of names, phrases and songs that are unique for them and they immediately react to them. These three are like strangers in a foreign land where no one knows how to communicate with them.

So yeah, we have three stressed out cats who have been through heck this weekend, saw their entire lives upended, who will never get to eat their favorite foods or be called by their special names or ever see their person again. Needless to say I have been crying a lot.

It also got me thinking about mine and this week I am working on creating a USB with all the needed info on our pets so whoever ends up helping in case of an accident won't be left in the dark. I had never really thought about having to do something in detail but it became obvious this week that maybe close family can't be relied upon to remember everything. It isn't their pets after all.

And I also told my husband that we are now at 30 cats. (Again.) If the three of them do okay they can just stay here. They are probably all older and I cannot see putting them through this all over again. So long as they are comfortable with our menagerie they have a home with us. We will be taking it slow!

OMGOSH!!! Thank you for taking them!! You are an angel!! Are they chipped? That would at least have their names...if the chips were registered! Perhaps she took them to mobile clinics and not actual vets. Try calling some of those!! Of course that would just be for vaccines - but that is all that most people do - if that! Good luck!

Edit: Egads..I probably should have worded that better...mobile clinics instead of actual veterinary clinics. LOL

One was chipped, she adopted it from the shelter in 2008 but it only had the name the shelter had given it, not what she had named it after. That was the one name I was able to confirm through a clinic from a wellness visit in 2012. Did not change it a whole lot, from Gordo to Gonzo.

I called Banfield and Vetco this morning and thry had no record of her. The only other mobile service around here is VIP and I could not find a phone number, I had to use a contact form, so we will see if they respond. The shelter offered a clinic, but the records don't quite match up and she hadn't been there in over five years with a cat. I also called the humane society that has a clinic but no dice.

We think the grey and white is CeeCee by its neuter record and one visit for an ear infection, and the third might be Alley. But Alley was fixed over a decade ago as an 8 pound cat and listed as a MH Tabby (this one is a LH Tortie, but that's a common mistake to see), and this one has pearly white teeth so I don't think the age matches up unless she has been getting regular dental care. It did mention the tip of her tail was having problems and this one has a slightly stubby tail so maybe? There were two other cats listed that had been older and we think had passed away a while ago. So we can't be sure the two we have match up with anything from before.

Thank you, we are trying!

Oh, gah. ... that's such a shame. You'd imagine that the people who were most important in her life would respect how important these animals were to her.... I know when my aunt passed, I made a small donation to an organization I frankly thought very little of, but it had been important to HER, so it seemed right to honour that. It's what she would have liked, and it was the last tribute I'd realistically ever pay her.

This lady seems like she must have been a wonderful woman. Hopefully the cats acclimate well to their new lives. Animals can often be more resilient than we give them credit for - and you'll help them build new associations & pet names and favourite things. Because you're lovely.

Exactly LJJ, I am gobsmacked by how little anyone knew about a cause that was obviously dear to her heart. You don't dedicate two days a week for 10 years to volunteering to send out thank you cards and writing up obituary memorials without having strong feelings. (No, the irony has not been lost on us.)

Gonzo has a fever, most likely from being vaccinated. My vet is hoping that is the only reason he is off his food. He got subcutaneous fluids since he is a little dehydrated (100 cc) and an-anti inflammatory (Onsior). Fingers crossed that does the trick, and if not we go back in two days.

I think that is probably why CeeCee is also doing so bad, they had given him shots while at the shelter as well. Miss Alley we managed to spring before she got sticked and I think it made all the difference. She purrs so loudly you can hear her across the room and she bounces all over when she gets attention. I'm all for vaccines, but not in a stressed or sick cat. They often won't work properly and it can trigger other health problems, had we taken them to our own vet they would have refused to vaccinate until they had calmed down and settled in. (Which is one of many reasons why I love them.)

Eventually I will get better photos. I took like 50 of Alley and she's a blur in every one but this one because she never stops moving!



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Awe...beautiful pictures!!

My other half went up and sat with them for a few hours last night because I wasn't feeling great and went to bed early. Gonzo loved him up and ate!! CeeCee came out to nibble as well. And two cans of cat food were eaten overnight. Alley wouldn't go near him unfortunately, looks like I have myself yet another only-me cat.

I was surprised that VIP pet care got back to me today, but they had no records for her either. Looks like we will need to do full wellness exams once they settle in a bit, the shelter checked them over but they aren't the best. Crossing my fingers we don't find any major issues, like we need more dentals this year. (At 8 with 3 more scheduled, bahhh)