The "Save the Leadwell Kitties" mission began in late January of 2010 addressing the suffering and neglect of over 150 cats behind the gates of a private property in the San Fernando Valley (a suburb of LA). The name of the street is Leadwell.
This place is a run-down, dilapidated, abandoned apartment complex in the heart of the San Fernando Valley. It's soul tenant is a violent and mentally ill woman in her 60’s. Her elderly mother owns this property along with several other buildings in the County... all of which are in ill repair. Maria (the mother) lost the ability to insure the Leadwell property years ago - making it uninhabitable for tenants.
For over five years there has been no running water or electricity at the 12-unit complex (something I thought was against the law). Maria, the mother, drives over each night with white buckets filled with water and exchanges the used ones. This is the time when she and her daughter, Julia, feed all of the cats. Like the Pied Piper they come out from every nook and cranny when the mother arrives. They crawl out from underneath the foundations of the two buildings and bolt out from the rotting garage stalls. From every direction they arrive at the center of the driveway... it's feeding time!
This mother and daughter team have been hoarding cats here for over twenty five years. Long-time residents in the neighborhood can attest to this. Many of the surrounding neighbors have witnessed the suffering, neglect, and overpopulation and have contacted me. There are also a couple of women within the rescue community who have sided with Maria and Julia... misleading others to believe these are "community cats" and that their condition isn't as bad as my videos and documentation suggest.
But to those of us who know the situation firsthand, we beg to differ. Both the mother and daughter are responsible for creating the situation... collecting cats from other locations and bringing them to Leadwell... not getting any of them sterilized, and allowing them to reproduce over and over again.
For years many of these animals lived inside two of the units until a raid in 1999. During that raid, I’m told approximately 30 cats were seized along with two aquariums filled with rodents... piled on top of each other. Detective Rudy Ramirez (formerly with the ACTF or Animal Cruelty Task Force) told me that Leadwell was the first raid he went on after joining the team.
These animals receive no veterinary care unless it is done so by an outside party. The property is an eye sore and health hazard to the surrounding community. There is debris, overgrowth, f***s, and urine throughout. Many neighbors have told me they can't walk on the sidewalk because the stench is sickening. I can attest to this, as well. The crawl spaces under buildings and surrounding lots are used as litter boxes. Children cannot play on the grass due to contamination and erratic behavior by the daughter and mother.
Many of the neighbors have carried the burden of the overpopulation by trapping the ones that wander in to the vacant lot or on to their properties. They've taken cats and kittens to their own vet hospitals and given them homes (indoors). They are the lucky ones!
For years I drove by the Leadwell property... always wondering why such neglect was being allowed to take place. Anyone who knew about the location refers to it as, "the crazy cat lady's property". It wasn't until moving in to the neighborhood and living one street over that I could no longer turn a blind eye to the suffering.
To date; I’ve rescued and/or removed 78 cats from behind the gates or along the perimeter. Most of the seventy eight were kittens, suffering from illness and disease: including URIs (Upper Respiratory Infections), fevers, eye ulcers, Conjunctivitis, extreme malnutrition, diarrhea, flea infestation and anemia, Pneumonia, Parasites (Coccidia, Giardia), worms, skin sores, untreated bites, and abscessed wounds.
At one point, during this rescue I had over 23 boarded at a Veterinary hospital on the West side of Los Angeles. At the same time my own bathroom served as a small triage center and nursery.
The daughter, Julia, once told me that she just picks up the bodies of the dead ones and puts them in her blue trash bins!
You may not see their numbers when you drive by. You may not be aware of extent of the problem but I can tell you this; it's a place of darkness and death. The horrors I've witnessed with my own eyes would shock and sicken most. Make no mistake; these innocent animals have suffered indescribably. It’s the kind of place nightmare are made of.
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Want to better understand this mission?
• "Wake Me From This Nightmare": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAemAUGq3TE
• "Ground Zero On A Cat Hoarder's Property": http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DhF-N8aS_dmg&h=2f51a
Little Rupert is the one who started it all. This was also the very video I had ever made:
• "Little Rupert": http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-wi4FScRk0
You can find us at my YouTube Channel: Rhae of Light
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Our mission, originally, was to end the continual cycle of reproduction and suffering of the cats/kittens living at a hoarder's property - one block over - on Leadwell Street. It was a daunting task but we believe they have all finally been spayed/neutered and given proper veterinary care. I rescued and removed over 78.
As long as there are no more kittens being born at this location, I can breathe a sigh of relief... and focus on the tremendous need to spay/neuter elsewhere - within the community.
Please feel free to click on any of our public photo albums and view some of the precious lives we've been able to save. Would you like to help but aren't sure how? Here are a couple of ways you can...
** If you'd like to fulfill an item or two on our Amazon Wish List, here's the link: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2SED17NZ4XV4R/ref=nav_wishlist_lists_1
Donations to help pay the veterinary costs for our rescued animals can be made over the phone, directly, to:
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What we need on a regular basis:
Foster homes!!
Volunteers to assist in trapping cats/kittens within the community
Transporters who can drive animals to/from spay/neuter appointments, picked up from shelters or delivered to fosters
Donors to fulfill items on our Amazon Wish List!!
Photographers to take professional shots of our rescues - to help get them adopted
SUPPLIES: Canned wet and dry food (preferably grain-free or those on our Amazon Wish List), Bath sheets/towels, flat sheets, litter pans, litter (non-clumping, non-scented), kennels, cages/carriers, cat beds, cat trees, Clavamox, Drontal, Flea treatment for all ages (including newborns), powdered kitten formula, etc.
And, whatever you choose to do, we thank you, in advance, for your kindness and generosity!!
