It’s Hip to Snip!!!
On Wednesday, September 15th, Corpus Christi Animal Care Services (2626 Holly Rd) will be hosting a ‘Hip to Snip’ cat neuter campaign!! Male cats will be neutered all day for just $20! Cats must be current on vaccines and you need an appointment! Call 826-2489 to schedule!
Here is the flyer for more information: Hip_to_Snip_Flyer_8-101.pdf
Mary Kay Fundraiser
Any time you purchase Mary Kay through this link from September 1st though September 30th, the proceeds will benefit The Cattery! After clicking on the link, register as a new user, accept the terms and conditions and shop away! Great products for you and a donation to The Cattery at the same time!
Oktoberfest 2010 Sponsorships Available
On October 9th The Cattery will celebrate our 3 year anniversary by having an Oktoberfest style open house at the shelter! If you own a business or just want to do an individual sponsorship of the event you can do a banner sponrship for $250. You will be listed as a sponsor on our website and your company banner will hang at the event! Please call (854-6369) or email ((JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)) if you would like to purchase a sponsorship. You can also click HERE to purchase a sponsorship via PayPal.
New Phone System
The Cattery switched over to a new phone system sometime between yesterday (8/11) and today (8/12). Any messages that were on the old system were lost, so if you left a message and we haven’t gotten back to you, please try again!
Claire - A Very Special Kitty
Claire was diagnosed with the dry form of FIP (Feline Infectious Peritinosis) in October of 2009. We were all devastated as FIP is always fatal. This was our shelter’s first experience with FIP and while we had a vague idea of what it was, having a kitty of our own come down with this terrible disease led us to frantically research any options we might have for our dear Claire and the other cats that had been exposed to her in our shelter. We found out that the virus that leads to FIP is really common in cats and only a very small percentage develop FIP, basically due to problems inside the kitty with their DNA. This was good news for the other cats in our shelter because they could not catch FIP from Claire - but still bad news for Claire. Having only limited tools on the internet to find options, shelter staff was only able to find a controversial drug that had not given very good results and wasn’t available in the United States. Our Vet decided to research some on her super duper Veterinary Network. She found a study going on at the University of Tennessee where several cats with FIP were taking a drug called Polyprenyl Immunostimulant, which helps boost immunity and helps the body’s own disease fighting mechanisms (http://www.sassandsass.com). These cats had already lived two years with FIP!! Our Vet found that there were openings in the study and we were able to get Claire into the study and on the drug.
All of this, of course took time because when Claire first started having symptoms we thought it was just a cold, as FIP can present as many different ailments. By the time Claire’s symptoms progressed to the point that we were sure it was FIP and all of our research had taken place, the disease had reached the point that we were very close to losing her. With just the first dose of Polyprenyl, Claire’s symptoms started to diminish. She had Uveitis in both eyes which caused blindness. After several doses of Polyprenyl, the swelling in her eyes cleared up by 99% and while it was too far along to restore sight completely, Claire could now at least see shadows. She was so smart that losing a little eye sight didn’t stop her at all anyway. Her neurological symptoms disappeared and she started gaining weight. Claire was a happy, healthy kitten for 9 months. During that time she lived in the bathroom at The Cattery and was loved by all of the shelter staff, volunteers and visitors that met her on trips to the restroom. On days the shelter wasn’t open, Claire played in the store and hung out with the shelter director while she did work on the computer. She went on monthly trips to the Vet where she would get her testing done and continued to have good results. She entertained the overnight staff at Oso Creek and followed them around the hospital when they weren’t busy. She had an infectious purr that sounded like a cross between a dove and a frog and her favorite pass times were curling up in a warm lap, scratching on shoes and playing fetch with a toy mouse and chasing her firework stick toy. She warmed the hearts of many with her sweet nature. She passed away this week after suddenly having neurological problems last week. While there are 100 other cats at our shelter, it seems empty without our Claire, like a good friend is missing. She was a wonderful cat.
While the purpose of this article is to tell you about Claire and our time with her, it is also to stress the importance of FIP research. FIP is a horrible disease that has left felines and their families without hope for so long. We are thrilled that there is at least a glimmer of hope now that some day this medicine will be readily available for those cats that have the dry form of FIP. Because of these researchers that work so hard developing these treatments, Claire lived 9 months longer than she otherwise would have and her time was happy and healthy. In addition to Claire, there are several cats in their study that have been on Polyprenyl now for 3 years and are still going strong! This is nothing short or amazing! Thank you to Sass and Sass, Inc for developing and manufacturing Polyprenyl (and Tanya Kuritz who has guided us through the process) and to Dr. Al Legendre at the University of Tennessee who accepted our Claire into his study, and the Winn Feline Foundation for providing support to Dr. Legendre. We hope they all continue to acquire the means to further study and develop this drug so it can prevent the heartbreak and loss associated with FIP!
LEGENDRE, A. M. & BARTGES, J. W. (2009) Effect of Polyprenyl Immunostimulant on the survival times of three cats with the dry form of feline infectious peritonitis. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 11, 624-626
To request this article, please email Dr. Legendre @ (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Raffle Winners!
Raffle results:
Salon Paloma Certificate: Wendy Patterson
Janet’s Cakery: Pinky Kempski
Padre Island Burger: Ellen Strickland
Padre Island Burger: David Freedman
Snoopy’s: Chance Hoffman
Snoopy’s: Daniel Kealy
Rock Band: Steve Trip
Schlitterban: BJ Hurley
Fine Wine and Felines Tonight!
Wine and Cheese tonight (7/6) from 6-8pm at the shelter (8201 Weber)! Come visit with the kitties, sip on a glass of wine, have some yummy snacks and just relax while listening to the soothing sounds of the Bach V orchestra.
The menu for this month includes Asian Salad, Ranch Pasta, Deviled Eggs, cheese, and more! $20 per person donation requested, or $10 per person requested with a donation of hand sanitizer, copy paper, bleach, postage stamps, dry swiffer pads, or clay or clumpable litter.
Raffle Tickets
This year’s summer raffle has lots of great prizes!
Click HERE to purchase tickets! You can also buy tickets at the shelter, Friday - Sunday 12-5pm or at Petsmart from a Cattery representative from 11am-5pm.
8 CHANCES TO WIN!
Raffle Prizes:
6 tickets to Schlitterbahn South Padre Island ($225 value)
Rock Band 2 for Xbox 360 includes software, wired guitar, drums, mic ($139 value)
2 separate ‘Dinner for 2’ at Snoopy’s Pier
2 $25 Gift Certificates to Padre Island Burger
1 $40 Gift Certificate to Janet’s Cakery
1 $35 Gift Certificate to Salon Paloma
Drawing will be on July 15th! Those who purchase tickets online will be notified via the email address on you PayPal account. Winners will also be posted on our website!
500 Adoptions!
Today we had our 500th adoption! We are especially proud that this milestone comes after only being open for 2 1/2 years! Thank you to all of our volunteers, supporters and adopters for embracing our shelter and our vision of a cage-free environment!
The Cat’s Pajamas
This week is our first Cat’s Pajamas adoption event! The second Friday of each month, the shelter will be open until 8pm for adoptions, to accomodate people’s busy schedules! Milk and cookies will be served! Adopters wearing pajamas will receive $10 off their adoption fee!
