Rocky Start Rescue

03/10/2025

Happy Monday! Tucker was adopted last week to THE best home! I'm so over the moon for him, he's a great cat!

03/06/2025

Cali has been adopted! She found her forever home earlier this week and is working on settling in and being a part of a family!

02/28/2025

I want to officially introduce our very first wild ambassador! This is Ray Snarles! He came in last summer as a baby who seemed to have an infection in his eyes, but over time it became evident the problem was his eyes themselves. He's been to our vet several times, and it was determined that for whatever reason before he met us, he is blind. Due to not being able to see anything at all, it was determined with the help of our veterinarian, that he is non releasable.

In addition to holding a permit to rehabilitate wildlife in the state of Michigan, I also hold a separate permit to keep non releasable wildlife in my care. Because of this, Ray snarles is officially one of the gang! He has a very docile temperament as well, which while unusual, makes him a good candidate for an educational ambassador. He will be making appearances at our events here and there starting very soon!

I want to be very clear: while I'm happy to give Ray a good life here with me, it is no easy task and it's not smart to keep wildlife that is releasable. I did not take the decision to "keep" Ray lightly. I spoke with other rehabbers and our veterinarian several times to make sure his quality of life was still maintainable in captivity and there was nothing I could do to make him releasable. He will need a large enclosure with plenty of accommodations for his disability to keep him mentally and physically happy for his entire life. Adult raccoons have big attitudes and can be dangerous when not handled by someone who knows what they are doing. Ray is an outlier in terms of a raccoon. I'm happy I get to share the wonderful parts of raccoons with all of you through him.

Welcome home, Ray!

02/28/2025

It's five dollar Friday! I just placed a supplies order for some supplements for April, some supplements for Simon, some ferret food, and some kitten food. $103 dollars later and we still need so much more! If you can spare $5 this Friday, it goes so far in giving everyone here the things they need to be happy and healthy! Gus says thank you!

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02/22/2025

Who's ready for baby season??? (Not me!) 😂 But it's coming rather wer'e ready or not. This (late) five dollar Friday post is to prepare as much as I can! I'm pretty well set up supplies wise, but some things that are on the needed list are:

Formula for raccoons - this is huge as we do mostly raccoons and luckily we are stocked on both kitten formula and squirrel formula! We plan to use at least 40lbs of Fox valley raccoon formula between myself and my sub, Jamie. I'm picky about formula and this is the one I believe helps the babies grow the best.

Feeding tubes! - we use these for tiny opossum babies! They must be tube fed and the tiny tubes needed are easily compromised.

20 ml feeding syringes! I use these syringes for growing bottle kittens and older squirrels. I replace them often as the gaskets wear out quickly and it makes it more difficult to control the flow. I use 1,3,5,10, and 20 ml syringes depending on the baby size!

Squirrel blocks! - I love these for weaning baby squirrels as they're soft and packed with all nutrients needed for transitioning to foods!

We also will need another pallet of dog food, litter, and cat food this coming season. For this, we drive to Detroit and get a great deal with the goods program. We will rent a cargo van and pay cash for the pallet!

I'm so sure I'm forgetting things, but you get the gist. I have a ton of stuff already for this season, but so much goes into wildlife rescue during baby season. We take on many species so we need the best supplies for each one.

I know I say it all the time, but I couldn't do this without the support of each and everyone of you. There's no way I could find this rescue myself, and I'm so grateful I don't have to worry about it a lot of the time! I'm proud of how far we've come and the relationships we've made as an organization.

Here's to 2025!

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02/18/2025

Meet Annie! This sweet girl is so laid back, loves pets, playtime, and her siblings. She has been searching for her forever home for over 7 months! If you are looking for the perfect orange cat vibes, she's it! Fill out an adoption application for her here:

https://form.jotform.com/233407167579162

02/11/2025

Adopt from a reputable rescue or shelter. We know what we're doing, and without adoptions for the animals we already have, many that we've saved from a terrible fate, we can't save more.

What does that free kitten REALLY cost?!

This is a quick reference guide on the basic costs of a kitten in the first 4 months...we haven't even accounted for any of the supply costs or the countless hours our fosters pour into each cat and kitten.

When you adopt from a rescue, rest assured you're getting a pet that has been vetted and been given the best treatment, care and love.

These costs are from a few years ago....they are higher now.

*Copied from a friend

02/10/2025

Meet April. April was surrendered to me on Friday. She is six years old, very sweet, and weighs less than five pounds. Her mom loved her so much but she is sick, and can't care for her anymore. Being in the hospital, and not having the funds to afford testing for her, led her to make the difficult decision to give her girl up. I promised her mom I would take good care of her. April has chronic diarrhea that's been going on for some time. We aren't sure of the cause, as she hasn't had any testing done. First step was getting her treated for possible intestinal parasites, and giving her supportive care for her diarrhea. The food she needs is prescription diet and it isn't cheap. Blood testing begins tomorrow and we're looking at around $300 to get started figuring her out.

I didn't need another cat. I have too many that I'm desperate to find forever homes for. But when I laid my eyes on April, I loved her right away. I easily said yes to taking her on. She deserves to be healthy and live out the rest of her life without discomfort.

If you would like to donate to April's care, you can do so below, or with any of the links attached. I can't do this without the support you guys give. We don't get grants, or funding and without donations, we wouldn't be able to take on cases like this one. Follow along for April updates and let's get this girl healthy, and happy. Thank you!

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02/07/2025

Happy $5 Friday! I am gearing up for baby season to come in about a month, which means baby supplies! We will need raccoon formula, mostly! We went through three five pound tubs last year! If you can donate towards the costs of formula, it takes a lot of my plate so I can focus more on the babies that come in! Once the raccoons we take in are old enough, we also vaccinate them against feline and canine distemper at least twice while they are with us! Those of you who own pets know vaccines aren't cheap, either! If you are able to donate, it means helping so many more!

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02/02/2025

Happy groundhog day! Remember, every animal has a place in the world!

Happy Groundhog Day!

A lot of people dislike groundhogs, also known as woodchucks or whistlepigs, because they find the animals’ burrowing habit troublesome. But groundhog burrows serve many important purposes! After a groundhog vacates them, their burrows become dens where skunks and foxes raise their young. The young skunks and foxes, in turn, help to control the populations of crop-destroying pests like mice, beetles, and locusts.

If you have a groundhog in your yard and it’s becoming too much of a problem to endure, you may be able to get it to leave by scattering hot peppers through your yard, which can cause it to begin associating your property with pain. Other repellent scents and tastes can also be effective. Cruelty and extermination aren’t the answer for these important creatures!

01/29/2025

01/22/2025

Happy wishlist Wednesday everyone! I hope you all are having a great start to 2025, and I hope this year is a wonderful one. This wishlist Wednesday, we are in need of kitten food of course! But my biggest wish is to start finding these guys homes! We've had a few adoptions this year but nothing compared to last year! We have six kittens that are completely vetted and ready to go to their forever homes! As the kittens have grown I have set up a large area for them to be able to run and play and this takes up most of my small rescue space. With spring approaching very soon, if we do not get adoptions this will deeply hinder my ability to take on any babies this spring. With each year becoming worse and worse for orphaned babies and not enough rehabbers to do it all, the last thing I want is to shut down for spring.

Not only do we have six kittens ready for homes now but we have five others that will very soon be in their spot as well!

So how can you help? If you are seeing this post please share it, comment on it, give it a like, and if you or anyone you know is interested in any of these sweet souls please fill out our application form and we will reach out!

If you would like to donate anything from our wish list, please follow the second link. Thank you!!!

https://form.jotform.com/233407167579162

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/2CY5C21QD49SA?ref_=wl_share

12/31/2024

Meet Cali! Shes a little gal with a HUGE personality! She's playful, sweet, and loves to snuggle! Cali is 7 months old and is spayed with her first rabies vaccination. To apply to Cali, clock the link and fill out an application!

https://form.jotform.com/233407167579162

12/21/2024

Even the Grinch loves Raya! There's no way this cutie can't find a home with the purfect family! This kitten is so laid back and loves to nap and cuddle! Fill out our adoption application if you are in love with her like we are!

https://form.jotform.com/233407167579162

Photo: Redbow Photography

12/17/2024

Here's another Hank update! He came up negative for heartworm and Lyme disease and that's great! His blood work was all within normal range too!

Hank had an awful ear infection, a bladder infection, and was full of roundworms and whipworms. He's currently on antibiotics for both infections, and he's been treated for his worms. He's not completely out of the woods yet, as he still is battling diarrhea on and off, is extremely skinny, and hasn't got enough muscle mass to carry himself around well yet which makes it harder on his arthritis.

You wouldn't know this dog wasn't loved before he got here if he didn't show it physically. He's so tolerant, laid back, and gentle (except when treats are involved! 😁) he loves his beds, food, pets, and his new toy with a heartbeat in it. ❤️

Here's the best part: he's been transferred officially to his very last home! ❤️ We couldn't be happier for him, and we are all the more happy to be able to visit and give him the extra care he needs! Hooray for Hank! We aren't sure how he got where he did, how old he is, or how much time we have with him, but we know his last chapter will be full of love. Thanks to all who donated, and continue to donate. I couldn't do this by myself, but together we are making a difference.

12/17/2024

This was one of my favorite fundraisers to date! Every single dog that came through was so fun to watch get their photos taken. We raised a total of $375! I seriously can't wait to work with Redbow Photography again! The Grinch's heart MUST have grown that day for sure because he helped give Christmas to all of our rescues here at Rocky Start!

We have some HUGE thanks to give today!

First off, thank you to Pet Supplies Plus Battle Creek for hosting us once again. You’re always so incredibly gracious!
Next, a huge thank you to Jolie Ellis for bringing The Grinch! We had a great time with The Mean One today, and you were so generous in giving us your time!
Thank you to Rocky Start Rescue for allowing us to partner with you for this shoot! We learned even more about your rescue work, and we got lots of laughs and kitten snuggles on top of it all!
Finally, thank you to all our clients who came out to see us today in support of a great cause. We appreciate you all more than we can say!
We were able to raise $345 for Rocky Start Rescue through the shoot, and some of you were even kind enough to give extra on top of that! We are sooo thankful! We will have your edits to all of you as quickly as possible, and DEFINITELY before Christmas. Thank you all, again!!!