A Paws for Pets

We have had cats and kittens coming into the Sanctuary fast and furious these past summer months. Just last week, three kittens were left in a cardboard box in front of Gloysteins door, Dr. Jennifer McCartney found them as she made early rounds Sunday morning. That same morning, a young man dropped off a little kitten found on the highway north of Henderson. I retrieved a stray cat from the grounds of the Nebraska Center for Women. Another woman brought in a found mother and three babies. Another couple found two small kittens dumped by their mailbox north of McCool. This is just a small portion of new cats and kittens that we received within the last several days.
This is the story of one of those cats, Little Willie.
Last Friday I received a call from Claudia who works at Gloysteins Veterinary. She said "LaMoine I have a man standing in front of me who found this kitten up on the Platte River while fishing. You will need to make a decision on this little guy as he has a definite problem."
 I said I would be right up, and asked to speak to the man who had brought the kitten in.  He explained that he was from out of town and was in York visiting his father. He had headed up to do a little fishing on the Platte River. As he was fishing the banks of the Platte, Little Willie comes walking up to him from out of the weeds near the river. He said "I just couldn't walk back to my car and leave him standing there, so I brought him to York and someone said that there was a place that took in stray cats and kittens." He left a donation for Little Willie's care. When I first saw Little Willie I did a double take, he had this huge tumor completely covering his right eye. Dr. Brad and Dr. Jennifer checked him out and said that unfortunately it wasn't a common cyst but was an actual tumor. His eye was not affected, but again unfortunately it was attached to his eyelid so removing the tumor meant he would be left with his eyesight but no eyelid to keep dust, dirt and infection from his eye. 
When I first saw Little Willie he was in a holding kennel. When I walked up, this yellow little paw reached out through the metal bars and continued to paw the air until I reached in and picked him up. He immediately began to purr and his paws were constantly kneading on my hand. 
Little Willie definitely had a medical "problem." I immediately made a decision whatever it took this little guy was going to get help. His eye and tumor were removed later that morning. He now has a tiny little slit where this huge tumor was weighting down his head. His surgery was a complete success. He has captured the hearts of the volunteers at the Cat Sanctuary. Several have donated their own money to help pay for his surgery. He loves the attention and rewards everyone with purring and head butts as his little paws are kneading constantly when he is petted or being talked to. 
We have no idea how he came to be on a lonely river bank, but we are thankful that Mitch and his donation for the care of Little Willie. We are thankful that he didn't leave this little guy to meet the future on his own. We are thankful our volunteers not only donated money for his surgery but gave him the attention and care. We are thankful for the staff and veterinarians at Gloystein's for checking him in and performing the surgery so quickly and efficiently. And, in a classic ending, I am happy to announce that Little Willie was adopted this morning. 
Nancy, who lives in Chester called several weeks ago asking if we would call her when we received a white kitten. I first met Nancy a year ago when she had adopted a nearly blind kitten. I knew from visiting with her that she was a very special lady. Ironically the litter left on this past Sunday morning included 2 white kittens. I e-mailed her pictures and since we had just received Little Willie I included his picture as well. When she left today, she had both white kittens and Little Willie tucked into her carrier. They are three lucky little kittens; they truly have found a "forever" home. 
It’s just not one person saving a cat or kitten, but the effort of many people. You can be a part of that effort to save kittens and cats such as Little Willie with a tax free donation to the Cat Sanctuary. 
If you are a cat owner, consider donating on behalf of your cat or kitten. They would be helping the less fortunate felines brought to the Cat Sanctuary. We also welcome donations of scoopable litter and canned Friskies. Canned Friskies is used to entice sick cats and kittens to eat and to keep up their strength as they are recuperating. It is also used for our very young kittens to help sustain them until they can eat hard cat food. Please be part of our effort and you too will have the satisfaction of knowing that you can make a difference. Little Willie, Tamera & Teague can attest to that!