The Fur (& Feather!) Flyer
Established in 1965, HAWS assists over 6,000 animals and welcomes more than 31,000 human visitors annually. As an "open admissions" shelter we lead the community in animal welfare and assure sanctuary for all animals in need, regardless of age, health or temperament. HAWS is a non-profit, entirely donor-fund organization with an active humane education program, and both wildlife and companion animal rescue services for Waukesha County.
HAWS License #267280-DS
Sandy's Stories - A Cat Named Mouse
Please enjoy another story by HAWS volunteer Sandy!
MOUSE - that is exactly what the adorable 3 week old kitten looked like when I first saw her under a drain pipe, in a pile of leaves. I bent down to pick her up and she was hissing and spitting to beat all and trying to look so mean! She was adorable.
While we lived our of the area, a friend and I often went on ‘kitten patrols’ looking for abandoned litters. Her husband was the police chief, and more often than not when he'd get a call pertaining to kittens he would say "I'll get my wife and her friend right on it."
Once we were sent to an abandoned house in the neighborhood, where sounds of kittens crying could be heard as far as the sidewalk. We were armed with carriers, nets and first aid equipment - for the kittens and for us! As we walked through tall weeds and an overgrown garden carrying as much as we could I mused aloud, "I don't think we should be in here." My friend laughed and said, "Are you forgetting who sent us here?!" (True, how can you get in trouble if the police chief sends you?)
We picked up two litters about 3 weeks apart. We took them over to my friends garage (the police chief's house) to clean them up and get them ready for adoption.
It was then that the horror of horrors happened: one of the kittens got out and crawled into the police chief's cruiser (under the hood) which was parked in the garage! Sheer panic set in and we did the reasonable thing - we called my husband for help. He called our veterinarian friend, and for over an hour all of us tried everything we could to get the kitten out of the chief's cruiser.
Finally we resorted to a live trap with the disgusting smell of canned mackerel in it. It worked like a charm, and before we knew it we had the runaway back in her cage. My husband and the vet left as quick as they could before the chief came home. We're still laughing about that episode!
Both of the litters were adopted, with the exception of little Mouse. She was very small and people were afraid to adopt her for fear that something was wrong with her. Finally we took her home ourselves, and we were always glad we did! Her whole life she rarely left our large utility room, but she would venture out to be petted briefly and then run back to her comfort zone. We could tell that she was happy - her purring confirmed that.
It always gave us great comfort to see her cuddle in her favorite places in the sun. Most of them were at the windows where she could look out. She was not a pet in the normal sense of the word but she was special to us and we loved her.
By the way - KITTEN SEASON IS COMING! In this part of the country we have a distinct time of year when mother cats are having their litters...and it is swiftly approaching. How can you help? Support spay/neuter initiatives like ours at HAWS, keep your owned/housecats indoors, and...adopt a new best cat friend from HAWS!
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