A-TISHOO! A-TISHOO! WE ALL FALL DOWN
I’m exhausted. The staff are exhausted. We all want to fall down! Catflu is stalking our rooms.
I think sometimes when I mention catflu, people conjure up an image of dainty cats sneezing prettily into polka-dotted hankies. Trust me, it ain’t pretty. Nor should it be fatal, but when it is contracted by cats with depleted immune systems and malnourished bodies, the consequences are severe. For those mums nursing kittens, the prognosis is doubly grim, with the likelihood that their babies will catch the highly infectious disease.
Villa Kitty is in the grip of an outbreak. Our respiratory ward for adult cats currently houses thirty-five patients while our Nursery catflu room has thirteen kittens. All of these felines have levels of disease that can be managed by Villa Kitty’s in-house vets and vet assistants, but for the desperately ill, we must enlist the aid of Sunset Vet. Yes, they’re expensive, despite the mates’ rates, but can you put a price on suffering?
You might remember Opal, the tiny mother, not yet out of kittenhood, who was found in the construction site next door, huddling in a cardboard box with her three kittens, just as the torrential rains began. Opal was emaciated and weak, yet devotedly fed her kittens despite her lack of nourishment. We quickly diagnosed her catflu and isolated her in the respiratory ward. Her tiny babies, already deprived of so much comfort and care, had to nestle together without their mum.
Tragically, Opal succumbed to the virus on 5 November. Onyx, Othello and Odette seemed to be healthy and free from disease and we breathed a sigh of relief and then a whoop of delight when a couple offered to foster all three kittens. Before this could happen, the little ones were diagnosed with catflu and are now in the care of Sunset Vet. One day at a time. A further three mothers and their kittens are also at Sunset Vet: Ibu Missy and her five babies, Ibu Rosa, another kitten/mother with her infants and Ibu Primrose, who arrived in an advanced stage of pregnancy with a severe dose of the disease. She gave birth at the clinic whilst on an IV drip and all three babies have miraculously survived thus far.
It’s relentless. Villa Kitty Foundation has 453 cats and kittens at today’s report. Our numbers have shot through the roof in line with the arrival of visitors to the island, people on holiday who cannot walk past a cat or kitten in distress. Whilst we work so hard trying to encourage people to adopt our vaccinated and sterilised kittens and cats, we simply can’t keep pace with the number of kittens found abandoned in temples, markets, rice fields and on roads, Frequently, tiny kittens, two, three and often more at a time are found in cardboard boxes, plastic bags or just wandering, fearful, motherless. Motherless. Heartbreaking.
As I sit writing, the requests for help pour in and the flooding rain continues to fall. In different instances, people have found tiny kittens. All in desperate states. One little ginger kitten with a possible broken leg, another so painfully thin she couldn’t have eaten for days. These rescuers are staying in hotels. The kittens are brought to us, to be placed in our overcrowded Nursery or hospital Nursery. The travellers’ hotels will not allow anyone with a compassionate heart to bring the kittens in, to give them comfort, nourishment and sanctuary, even for one night.
Please, consider supporting our work. We need help with our Sunset Vet Bill, to ensure they will continue to supply essential support and treatment for the sick and damaged cats Bali has abandoned. We need to build the remaining buildings to complete Villa Kitty Foundation: the clinic, the consultation rooms, and the operating with an adjoining recovery room. This will significantly expand and extend the service we provide and the hope we can offer. We knew this work wouldn't happen this year. We didn’t realise 2022 would increase our numbers so dramatically. Who could ever have known?
In other worlds, people’s thoughts are turning towards Christmas and celebrations. Could you add Villa Kitty to your gift list? With your help, we can keep standing. Without you, we all fall down.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Henzell
Founder
Villa Kitty Foundation