The fourth journey began! A visit to the feeding site immediately after arrival gives: Familiar faces are there, Melina and Hope, shy as always, several of the tomcats, including Elias, with a new abscess on the cheek – but seems to have healed. And new faces, many unknown adolescents from the early summer, apparently immigrated since July.
The next day, seven cats were taken for neutering and four places for the return flight for cats who can not stay on Andros were reserved. It is always a difficult consideration for Marie, which cats are allowed to leave:
If I thought it necessary that the blind cat would come with me, I would try to render it possible by hook or by crook. But the blind cat gets along well here, has favorite places, moves very safe outside, runs up the stone stairs and waits for the feeding person. He is blind, but there is not a direct reason why he has to go with me. Generally, in the last few days, as always, I have been thinking about this topic. Taking cats to Germany is too expensive and too less effective than doing it in cats where it is not immediately essential. Even then – I can not even take all the cats for which there are health reasons. A. would have liked for the blind cat that it could leave, because it is the jackpot for the cats. She set her heart on it and thinks he deserves it. He would have it too – that would have so many cats. Armao needs the treatment of an eye specialist, Star also. The two kittens do not grow, are in poor general condition and one has an injured eye that does not heal and threatens to be removed. That’s why these four come along. They are the lucky ones, but I leave other cats here knowing that they will probably not live anymore the next time I am here… The gray flu cat from my feeding site is no longer there. He would have been so easy to rescue – a decent antibiosis, a roof over his head and a bit of fostering. I have not yet taken the time to grieve for him, but that will come – with sadness and the knowledge that I can not rescue everyone.
Impressions from the feeding site #1 – the cats at the garbage place. Old acquaintances, who were so far shy, but now found trust. Some are in good condition due to the feeding, others are still or worse sick, such as the cat with sunburnt ears. There were also new faces – some heavily snuffing.
After 11 cans of food and half a kilo of dry food spread over two meals, the cats enjoy the afternoon sun full and satisfied.
Four more, two of them very shy cats, were caught and neutered.
And there are always newcomers: These three small moths have turned up at the garbage place today. I can’t clearly assign a mother cat, but it could be the extremely scrawny red cat – in total there are three plain red, two tomcats, one queen. The kittens move quite freely and one of them cuddled the red cat and she has put up with it. I hope there is a mother cat to it. It’s hard for me to see the little ones, it’s dangerous for them. But there is no room left at S., there are already too many cats. It’s always the same: neutering is the only thing that helps in the long run.
The feed from the food pallet shipped to Andros is well received by everyone! And the food is needed urgently. On day 3, further newcomers appear at the feeding site. You can recognize them by the fact that they are gorging extremely fast and are not yet well integrated into the group.
At the feeding site #2 there is just as busy! The blind tomcat is here and several of the neutering candidates from July, and they also look very good thanks to the feed from the food pallet. The visit was immediately used for deworming, so that the food benefits the cats and not the worms.
Immediately after the return, appointments for Armao and Star were arranged in a Berlin eye clinic. For both it is urgent – for Armao more urgent than for Star, but also Star shall finally get rid the pain. Armao’s situation with the eye is dramatic, he has a huge bulge over the eye and the left half of his face is so tense that fluid is constantly leaking out. The pain he has can be imagined. Nubi and Narnia, born in May 2017: Nubi’s eye is injured, both are very thin, have heavily diarrhea. But that can be got under control!
In Star´s case, the preliminary examination revealed that the eye must be removed, and also the teeth need surgery. Nubi has a bad injury on the cornea, but that seems to heal very well. And, unimaginable, Armao’s preliminary examination found that he had been shot at with shotgun. He has bullets all over in his body and two where his eyeball was!
Unfortunately, the exam also revealed that Armao has a malignant tumor, aggressive, the nasal septum was already dissolved. The tumor progressed rapidly, was no longer treatable, and was only a few millimeters away from the brain via the optic nerve. Even if it had been a tumor that would have responded to radiation, it would have been possible only after completely healing the wounds of his planned operation, and the tumor would have continued to grow meanwhile. After detailed consultation with the surgeon on the medical options, ultimately only the way was left, Armao not to leave waking up. He left on December 1, 2017.
Armao’s sad fate also shows how important animal welfare work is on Andros. A few days after his passing, Marie wrote, I still think about Armao and try to get over on his fate. He could have been spared a lot. And at the same time I am even more determined to completely neutering the two feeding sites before next spring, so that not even more kittens are born, which share Armaos destiny and thus there also more resources available for the cats are already living there and need help. And that is feasible as well!
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