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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
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