COVER GIRL'S RESCUE

Cover Girl (in Pahrump, Nevada) walking away from rescuers, as if to say “even you can’t help me”.

Cover Girl, recovering at
Shadow Cats Sanctuary.

Cover Girl was a painfully emaciated and sick little girl when Best Friends Animal Society (Kanab, Utah) rapid response team first arrived in Pahrump, Nevada (see photo left).  Best Friends had been called to the F.L.O.C.K facility, which was supposed to be a sanctuary, but had turned into a hellish concentration camp where many cats were diseased and starving.  Nye County Animal Control seized the 400-plus cats and asked Best Friends to come in immediately to make life better for them.

The heart-breaking image of Cover Girl struggling to stay on her feet and walking away from the camera immediately became THE image of the rescue.  The Best Friends team discovered Cover Girl was a feral among ferals, a brave-hearted warrior princess who would not give an inch, not even on the verge of death, not even to overt human kindness. Then they discovered she was feline leukemia positive, had skin cancer, and other insults to a warrior princess’ dignity such as ringworm.    

That’s when Shadow Cats Rescue (SCR) came into Cover Girl’s life.  When SCR President, Sheila Smith, saw Cover Girl’s photo on the Best Friends web site, it took her breath away.  Sheila has a very special place in her heart for feline leukemia positive (FeLV+) cats and knew that she had to bring Cover Girl to Texas where she could live her remaining years in a safe and happy environment.    

Sheila worked with Best Friends and came up with a plan.  Sheila would take eight FeLV+ cats from Best Friends and would send ten healthy, adoptable cats.  A couple of weeks later, Cover Girl and her nine friends were flown by private jet to the Georgetown airport.

It didn’t take them long to settle in to their new home and the SCR sanctuary.  The cats have really got it made here!  The FeLV+ kitties have their own section of the sanctuary, separate from the other cats.  The cats have four large rooms and a small enclosed sunning deck to call their own.  The rooms are connected by cat doors which they freely navigate, and all rooms are cat friendly. 

There are lots of chairs, beds and other amenities to make their lives comfortable.  Medically, they are looked after and monitored daily.  It’s a great life these kitties live here at the Shadow Cats Sanctuary!