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About The Siuslaw news. (Florence, Lane County, Or.) 1960-current | View Entire Issue (July 13, 2016)
❘ / SIUSLAWNEWS ❘ @ SIUSLAWNEWS WEDNESDAY EDITION Siuslaw News Coast Life F LORENCE ❘ JULY 13, 2016 ❘ SECTION B SENIOR NEWS CALENDAR INSIDE — 7B TAKES TO THE SKIES PHOTO BY GENE WOBBE F lorence Municipal COURTESY PHOTOS Airport hosted Wings and Wheels Fly-In and Car Show on July 2. Vintage and military car groups drove to the airport, but it was formation flying by the West Coast Ravens and the appearance of the World War II-era P-51D Mustang that stole the show. Some lucky flyers took helicopter or biplane rides and competed in the raffle to win a ride on the P-51, a part of the Erickson Aircraft Collection based in Madras, Ore. Those who took flight got to see these panoramas of the Florence and sur- rounding areas as the planes dipped, dove and delighted viewers. Purrfect ending for happy ‘tail’ B Y B ETTY A NN B LACHOWICZ Kitten season for Oregon Coast Humane Society means hard work for healthy pets COURTESY PHOTOS Special to Siuslaw News S pring and early sum- mer is a busy time at the Oregon Coast Humane Society, as it is kit- ten season. This is the time of year when people find feral cats with litters nesting in their garages, under the porch or any warm place they can find to care for their kittens. Caring neighbors bring these darling families to the humane society shelter on Rhododendron Drive, confi- dent that these new lives will be cared for and loving fami- lies will be found for all the kittens and moms. This year, there are five families of kit- tens in the shelter and in fos- ter homes. At the end of June, five newborn kittens were found orphaned. These tiny kittens had very little chance of sur- vival but the shelter staff and hard-working volunteers resolved to do whatever they could to save the adorable orphans. Newborn animals have no immunities and are vulnera- ble to many diseases. The kittens needed to be isolated from germs, kept warm and hand-fed with a bottle every two hours. At the shelter, Nina took the day shift. Heather took the kittens home each night and set the alarm to feed the kittens every two hours.With a lot of hard work and much love, this litter survived. The shelter work goes on between feedings. There are currently 119 cats and 28 dogs who need to be fed and socialized, cages and food dishes to be kept clean and dogs to be walked. Much of this work is done by our dedicated volunteer corps. Oregon Coast Humane Society received five orphaned kittens in June. Careful feeding and attention kept them healthy until a nursing moth- er cat (right) adopted the litter. Soon, the whole family will be avail- able for adoption through the shelter, at 2840 Rhododendron Drive. More cats and dogs are surrendered to the shelter every week. The following Monday, a stray cat was found near Twin Lakes Store. The per- son who found this poor ani- mal had a kind heart and brought her to our shelter. When an animal is given to the shelter, the cat or dog is given an examination and tested for any illness, before it can be housed with the rest of the animals. During the stray cat’s exam, shelter staff found that this female cat had recently had kittens. She was in dis- tress because she was still producing milk. The shelter staff rushed to get the results of the disease screening tests. If she was healthy, the orphan kittens could really use a foster mom. Shelter staff introduced the kittens safely to the mother cat, and she was allowed to smell the kittens. It was up to her, but the staff got to watch as the mother cat walked into the kittens’ crate and started to nurse them. The miracle happened. This makes all the hard work at the shelter worthwhile. There was more good news to this “happy tail” — the mother cat’s litter was located and brought to the shelter. After their reunion, the mother cat is caring for all eight little ones. Oregon Coast Humane Society worked hard for this, but the community is a big part of making this story have a happy end- ing. In a couple of months, the kittens will be placed in loving per- manent homes. The mother cat will be spayed and this hero of our tale will also find a forever home. However, these at-risk cats could all have been lost. It is so important that we spay and neuter our pets. The shelter has a low cost spay/neuter program to avoid the tragedy of unwanted or neglected pets. Call the shel- ter at 541-997-4277 for information. If you would like to vol- unteer to care for the kittens at the shelter, or to give a temporary foster home to a mom with kittens, the shelter could use the help. See the Web page at oregoncoast humanesociety.org or email volunteers@oregoncoast humanesociety.org for more information. Donations are also wel- come all year. The website has a list of items that are needed to care for the kittens and other pets and allows people to make a cash dona- tion. — Betty Ann Blachowicz is an Oregon Coast Humane Society board member CYAN MAGENTA YELLOW BLACK THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
