Oh baby, baby, it’s a wild world.
A couple winding their way back to their villa on a wild night in Ubud, having fled from their home in war ravaged Ukraine, seeking a few months respite on the island of Bali. Think about that. They’ve had their dinner, waited and waited for the torrential rain to allow them to walk without drowning. It’s late. It’s dark. They’re on the path when they hear the unmistakable sound of babies crying. Tiny babies, kittens, peering desperately out from fallen banana trees, their bodies shivering and sodden.
“No mum!” she says. They search: no anxious mother. Carefully they wrap the infants in her jacket and carry them to their villa. Theirs was the first call we took at Villa Kitty the next morning. And we thanked them: those kittens would not have survived the night alone. Dumped. Abandoned. Left to die. One hour later, another call. Kittens. Two hours later, a third call. More babies. That makes six in a day. The day before, three arrived. The day before that, eight kittens.
Let me give you some numbers: since 1 January 2023, we have had 173 cats and kittens arrive at Villa Kitty. Our population has stretched to 523. We have an additional 11 cats in foster care and 6 currently being treated at Sunset Vet, not to mention 38 dogs in house.
I am constantly asked if the dumping is increasing. Not at all: let’s turn this around. The rescuing is increasing. Greater numbers of visitors are exploring Bali’s forests and jungles, the paddies and streets and alleyways. Travellers stop their scooters when they find a baby alone and frightened in the street. Visitors shocked to find the kittens on garbage dumps, in bins, hiding under market tables. They wait to see if mum arrives. While they wait, they search the internet: surely there will be some agency, somebody, who can help these frail and vulnerable creatures. And they find Villa Kitty. When mum fails to appear and no one nearby is willing to take responsibility, they scoop the infants up into safety and bring them to us.
The orphans, the maimed, the injured, the sick: every day we open our doors to another sentient being in need. We cannot save them all, but we try. We try. And for those whose lives are lost, we know that they spent their last breaths surrounded by love and respect.
With every communication, I tell you that Villa Kitty is full. With every communication, I report increased numbers of residents. How to end this? Our free sterilisation program is a start, but we need so much more. More money would bring in more vets so that we might sterilise daily and not three times a week as we do now. More money would see us commence the building of our larger operating rooms, our clinic, and our consulting rooms. What a difference we could make! What suffering we could ease.
A boost in funds would enable us to expand our vaccination work so that the mums and dads of these kittens in the community were free of viruses and not pass them on to the kittens who have been ripped from them. As I write, our nursery is full of unvaccinated kittens. Our hospital nursery is full of sick unvaccinated kittens, some of whom have tested positive to the lethal panleukopenia. Next door are kittens who are showing symptoms although testing negative.
Villa Kitty is so full that daily we perform a strange, ritual dance of juggling cages and containers, attempting to make room that simply isn’t there. How we long for more foster families to come forward and for more forever families to cross the threshold. Our Quarantine building is filled with kittens midway through their vaccinations. Adjacent to this is the Kitten Kindy Adoption Centre, where whiskers and tails are bristling and alert. Every infant is waiting for their family to walk through the door and say “It’s you we want. And you”. This is the ultimate. This is the goal.
We’ll never give up, because we can’t. We believe we can and do make a difference. Every cat and kitten saved is a win, every adoption is a celebration. Big change comes in small increments. We applaud the positives and learn from the negatives. Your support is the biggest positive in the world of Villa Kitty and in the lives of our residents. You literally save lives. You inspire us to do more. Like that couple from Ukraine, you cannot turn your back.
Please, stand with us again now. Let’s make a difference.
Thank you,
Elizabeth Henzell
Founder
Villa Kitty Foundation