Normally Shadow Cats rescues cats in the Austin, Round Rock and surrounding areas but on this day, things dawned just a little differently. First of all, it was a beautiful and dry Texas morning. Now for those of you who have been paying attention to the weather this summer, dry it has not been! It has rained all summer. So already I was in a good mood.

Well, then comes the email from SCR volunteer, Susan, with the link to a place called Pahrump, Nevada. What could be going on there? I clicked on the link and there she was. The saddest, most pathetic cat I had ever in my life seen — at least for one that was still upright and alive-although she was barely that. Looking like she could barely support herself, she staggered away from the cameraman. She seemed to accept that no human could help her. I have to admit when I saw that picture, I had no hope for her.

I sat back in my chair and thought about it. I read the entire story about how an organization in Nevada called FLOCK (For the Love of Cats and Kittens) had collected hundreds of cats and they were now starving and dying there in the desert. Best Friends Animal Society (www.bestfriends.org ) had stepped in at the request of the local authorities and was trying to make sense of a horrible situation. And make sense they did. After addressing basic needs such as food, water and shelter, they used Best Friends resources and knowledge and began an organized and systematic process of sorting, identifying and adopting out and placing the healthiest cats into approved homes. The others were isolated as needed, medicated and cared for by the Best Friends staff and volunteers until they too were ready for adoption.

The number of cats suffering and struggling to survive before BFAS' arrival has steadily climbed from the initial 400 estimate to the present number of over 900. Many died before their arrival. This is obviously a huge commitment for Best Friends to undertake.

So as I sat there reading about this travesty out in the desert I knew I wanted to help in some small way. I contacted them with the intention of sponsoring the black and white cat in the photograph. I fully expected her to be deceased and for them to tell me I could sponsor another cat but she was...alive!! However, I was told she was feral, feline leukemia positive, had skin cancer of both ears and a shot of Ringworm to top it off.

Groan!!

Well... this was just the kind of cat we like here at Shadow Cats! No foofoo fluffballs here! We want those cats that really are down on their luck and could use a little southern TLC.

After talking with Danielle, the adoptions supervisor, for several weeks, we worked out a great arrangement for both Best Friends and for Shadow Cats. Since our mission is not really adoptions, but rather TNR, we just happened to have a dozen highly adoptable kittens that needed to find homes. Best Friends had dozens of feline leukemia cats that would be hard to place. At Shadow Cats we already had 11 leukemic cats, so we were definitely set up for a few more. We took eight. A great example of two organizations helping one another.

Now how to get them down here? Well, no worries there! Best Friends just happens to have two fabulous volunteers that hopped in their private aircraft, packed in eight carriers and flew down here Texas way! Pilot Juliette and photographer Elissa, were the flying angels that delivered all eight kitties to our doorstep and took back our sweet adoptable kittens along with a nice donation from the Meta Vereudge Foundation to help other cats still there.

So now here we are, life after Pahrump. We have Cover Girl, Diamond, Fresca, Frogger, Sugar, Tabitha, Callie and Salty Two. (we already had a Salty One from OakHill Rescue). All the cats were understandably stressed after the 7 hour trip from Nevada to Texas. After isolating Cover Girl in her condo and freeing the rest into their room, we saw that several had upper respiratory infections and other issues that needed intervention. They were all seen by Dr. Smith and Central Texas Cat Hospital the next day and placed on the appropriate medical courses. Today, a few weeks after arrival, most respiratory infections have cleared. There are still some gastrointestinal issues being checked and Cover Girls ringworm is still an issue however all of the cats are looking so much better. They have shiny coats and they all seem happy and content. Two of the cats are feral but both seem happy to have three meals a day and to be left alone. As long as dinner is on time, they seem okay with the indoor life for now. Soon they will all be able to go outside to the safely enclosed outer decks where they will find lots of hiding places and can survey their domain in secret.

Shadow Cats continues to care for the neediest of the needy but this does not come without a price. Many of the cats in our care require specialized and specific care and treatments. We need to be able to provide for the cats that come to us in order to be able to help the next cat down the line. We can not do this without your help and support. Every donation, whether it is ten dollars, a hundred dollars or a thousand dollars makes a huge difference to the cats such as the ones above and for all the cats in central Texas who have been under our care or may cross our path in the future. Will you help?

Read more about Cover Girl and her story at BestFriends.Org You can also also check out our Blog.

Please click here to see how you can become a Guardian Angel and double your contribution with an in-kind matching grant from Central Texas Cat Hospital!

Help us say Yes to them!

Original article at http://network.bestfriends.org/nyecounty/news/18116.html.