They have flushed out his wounds, given him a shot of covenia and he will be neutered today. He was extremely lucky as kitties go- he is a stranger to us, a new kitty at our sanctuary. He was full of fleas so they have dealt with that issue as well. He seems to be pretty calm until he is put into a cage no matter the size he goes ballistic.
The last time I was witness to a HBC it did not turn out well for the driver or the cat. The driver swerved to miss the kitty but hit it anyway and then hit a pole. The kitty did not make it in the swerve it was hit twice. 🙁 But Elliott used one of this lives up that’s for sure.
My next challenge before in is headed by this question: Do I save cats, or do I save a building? A few months ago, our one cat enclosure suffered damage in a storm and there is a hole in the roof. The enclosure is also not fully insulated and I did a quick tab and we are looking at a cost of about $1,900.00 to replace the roof- insulate the sucker all the way around and make it usable in all weather situations. I have about $900.00 left from the sale- which still brings us up short to do the repairs. Plus nothing left over to pay George to do all that hard work. I talked to a local home improvement center about this damage and brought in all the documents needed to prove we are a non-profit. They were kind enough to tell me I could get all supplies at their cost- but as of yet, they haven’t got back to me as to how much this cost would be.
So now with two new arrivals in need of TLC and meds, I am wondering if it would be better to just buy a large tarp and have George go up on the roof and cover the damage and wait until the money becomes available to fix the whole building? The manager suggested I take out a credit card for their center, but I don’t make any money- everything goes to the cats so that wouldn’t work. So I am conflicted. If I fix the building- it would easily house 15 cats with no problems- or I could keep it as storage which forces me to keep my population low because I have no room for newcomers.
Adding to this is that Cooper’s surgery did not go as planned and he still isn’t using his leg. He is scheduled to have his leg amputated on Monday. I was told they wouldn’t charge me full price because the vet didn’t see or find the sharp bone that is now poking a hole in my dog’s tissue, but I am sure there will be some charges. So again- do I save the animals- or the building?
I’m sorry about Cooper. I’m sure that boy will be bounding about on three legs in no time, but he’ll still miss the limb, and he doesn’t deserve this.
As for the costs, I would say that in this case, repair the building. You ask whether you should wait until money becomes available to fix the whole structure. You always take care of the cats first, so the money may never be there if you wait. Some cats will go without while the money is spent on re-construction, but in the end, more will be helped, and you will have a shelter that’s good in all weathers. As tough as it may be to take money away from the cats, I think the building needs to be repaired first.
I am going to have to agree with John, in the long run having the building will enable you to help more cats. Pretty much a no brainer Mary Anne. we can all pray that a lotto ticket blow on your property and you take a change and check the numbers finding a winning ticket.
** what it could happen, God works in mysterious ways and bends the rules for Mary Anne and the cats. **
LOL! Okay, we will save the building. The vet visit after they deducted the credit on the bill was $71.00 Elliot is indeed a young man about 9 months old but really quite sweet now that he doesn’t have to contend with those balls of his. I didn’t pay anything on the bill- will move forward with fixing the building and hope that getting the materials at cost instead of retail will allow me to keep the vet bill low at the same time.