This morning started like any other. An extra cup of coffee, since I went to bed late last night. Walking and playing with the puppies, play and purring time with the kitties. And, of course, getting to work on time. Because I have bills to pay and my work with Animal Aid International is non-paid.
Ten minutes ago, my grandma (who lives in Bulgaria) called me. Usually this means she is just saying hi and doesn't want to wait until the next Skype 'date' we have to hear from me. But today the call was about animals in need. (As you may have guessed, my grandma is the grass-roots rescuers from whom I inherited my love for animals and rescue work. So we are of the same mind when it comes to helping those in need).
Next to the building where she lives (and where I grew up), there are about 20 homeless cats. Some of them are female. Some of the females are impossible to catch and therefore are unspayed. And they continue having homeless babies. Yesterday, something horrible happened to a litter of those babies. A crew had come through mowing the grass between the buildings. In the midst of all the noise and commotion during mowing, the person didn't realize he had run the mower partially over the hiding spot where a mama cat had nestled away her 4 babies!...
Later that day, my grandma happened to notice the mama cat trying to protect something from a couple of crows - the birds were swooping down trying to feed on something and the mama cat was attempting to fight them off. What turned out is that the crows were pecking at the open wounds covering the bodies of kittens mangled by a mower. 2 babies had significant open wounds, 2 kitties were in better shape. And they are only 1.5 months old!
My grandma scooped up the babies, rushed to the vet, and (thanks to knowing about their existence) contacted the rescuers. AAI will be raising the funds for these poor souls once we get photos and treatment details. In the meantime, this serves to yet again underscore the importance of preventing litters of kittens from being born homeless. No soul deserves to be mowed to death!
That is heartbreaking. You're so right about the importance of neutering and spaying. It has less emotional appeal and therefore it's more difficult to fund. But it's crucial and the only truly effective long-term solution to animal suffering. Keep up the great work cara mia. We need more guardian angels like you.
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