Schoharie Cats

01/04/2025

Meet two of the cutest kittens ever ❤️

These little ones are two of the five kittens rescued yesterday.
These sisters were born with a congenital malformation known as radial aplasia where the radius bone is missing or incompletely formed which causes their front legs to be twisted. There is research to show this condition to be commonly connected to polydactyl cats, which this whole litter of kittens are.
The fluffy kitten has a more severe case affecting both her front legs while her sister is more mildly affected with only one front leg being bent inward.

After just spending one day with these little ones, we can easily say it doesn’t stop them at all from living life to the fullest.
They are some of the most playful, sweet and spunky kittens ever!
And certainly adorable 💕🐾

We can’t wait to watch these babies grow and thrive! Make sure to follow along to follow their journey.

31/03/2025

These 5 little ladies were rescued yesterday!

A facebook post was shared with us the other night by a few fellow rescuers about a litter of kittens being given away online, two of which have special needs (we will be sharing more about them shortly).
After speaking with the owner of these little ones, she gladly agreed to surrender them to make sure they would be safe, get spayed/neutered and have any medical needs taken care of.

With the help of a wonderful fellow rescuer and foster, Tom, we were able to pickup these babies yesterday and split them between two foster homes.
When we work together, we can do great things! These 5 adorable, all polydactyl, sisters are enjoying lots of love and TLC in their foster homes.
We will be helping the owner to get mama cat spayed and vetted.

If you have kittens that need homes this kitten season, do the responsible thing like this owner did and please surrender them to a rescuer or shelter whenever possible!
This way you can make sure they are in good hands and will get the care that they need.

26/03/2025

“You can’t save them all”
It’s something you hear all the time as a rescuer.
Sometimes no matter how hard you try, you can’t change fate.

Hickory sadly lost his battle to FIP. It wasn’t for a lack of trying, that’s for certain. We grasped at every straw and begged for answers and solutions that weren’t available. We exhausted all options available to save our sweet boy but unfortunately there was nothing more that could be done.
After a week of treatment, around the clock supportive care and almost daily vet visits, he began to rally, he started eating on his own, acting more like himself and his eyes were so full of hope. But when he went to sleep with a full tummy, in his fuzzy bed by our side while receiving lots of pets, he peacefully drifted away. We are grateful the end of his time here on earth was uneventful, unlike his life had been.

Today we are mad at the world. Angry that this horrible disease continues to steal the lives of far too many. Desperate that one day soon they’ll be a vaccine to prevent this so nobody else has to feel this heartache. Sad for Hickory and us that his time here was cut short. Not tomorrow or hopefully anytime in the future but if we run into this inevitable heartbreaking diagnosis again, we will take the plethora of knowledge we learned this time to hopefully save the next kitty.

Our sweet boy overcame so much in his lifetime. He was a fighter.
Hickory came to us as baby after he was thrown out of a moving car with his sister, who sadly didn’t survive. He had a severe double eye infection that ruptured his one eye. Our days with him then consisted of around the clock care, so many antibiotics, eye drops, ointments and serums which ultimately saved his eyes.
Many months after that, Hickory went on to have a sudden breathing emergency once day and developed neurological symptoms out of the blue. Come to find out, he had two polyps, one which was quickly blocking his airway. After a quick emergency surgery, he made a full recovery, though it was short lived. A few weeks later and two new polyps showed up, one in his ear and another rapidly growing to begin blocking his airway. Another surgery after that and he was good as new!

Hickory went on to look for a home for nearly a year. He went to adoption event after adoption event but never received one bit of interest. We were stumped. How could a kitty so loving, sweet, playful, strong and determined, not be able to find a home?
Now we know why.
Hickory was meant to be with us. While we may not have known that then, we know now.
We were blessed to have two beautiful years with this wonderful boy. A kitty so full of personality and love.
We surely faced many hardships together but he overcame every hurdle in his path until now.

Our sweet boy…
Last night was the first night in two years that my pillow wasn’t taken up by you. When we cracked open a can of cat food this morning, you didn’t come running from across the house like you always did. And today the world felt a little more gloomy without your purrfect personality and silly antics that always made us laugh.
After all, “grief is the price we pay for love” and for that, we would feel all these hard feelings ten times over for the gift of getting to know and love such a beautiful soul. Rest in peace Hickory. You’ll live in our hearts for the rest of time.

Thank you to all of those who supported Hickory in his journey. Through every hurdle, you rallied together to help him. Thank you to everyone at East Greenbush Animal Hospital who fought as hard for Hickory as he did. Thank you to Kae for transporting Hickory to his almost daily vet appointments over this last week.
Though Hickory’s story didn’t have the ending we hoped for, we know he was grateful for every moment he had as he showed it every single day. Thank you for your support. Through thick and thin, each and every one of you continue to be here to support countless cats and kittens through both success stories and the hard parts like these. We are so grateful for that.

23/03/2025

Are those kittens you found, premature?
Before we get into helping you identify a premature kitten, let us share why this is so important for you to know!

Well, if you find orphan neonate kittens outside this kitten season, you may already be aware that they require tedious around the clock care. But preemie kittens require care that is much different of that than a full term kitten. Caring for a preemie kitten as if they were a full term kitten, while well intended, can often be a death sentence.
It is not uncommon to come across orphan preemie kittens outside as it’s also very common for these little ones to be rejected by their mom due to instincts that tell mama cat that they will likely not survive. If they are orphaned right after birth, they may even still be attached to their placenta which can quickly turn into an emergency. If you find any newborn kitten still attached to their placenta or not cleaned off after birth, reach out to rescues for advice on what to do immediately. NEVER pull or rip the umbilical cord off the kitten.

Since premature kittens’ vital organs are not fully developed when they are born, they need care that is carefully curated to their unique needs.
They CAN’T digest formula and should NOT be bottle fed. Their best chance is NOT with a surrogate nursing mother.

When a premature kitten comes into our care, they receive the following care:
- They are immediately put into an incubator with temperature and humidity control. Neonatal kittens can’t regulate their own body temperature and while a simple heating pad will often suffice for a full term kitten, direct heat sources can be dangerous and ineffective for preemies. The extra humidity helps with the difficulty breathing they usually have, due to their lungs not having enough moisture.
- They are put on oxygen to help lessen the burden on their lungs so their body can focus on finishing fully developing their lungs.
- They are tube fed a specially made mixture that is meant to both hydrate and help keep their blood sugar level while putting minimal stress of their underdeveloped digestive system, kidneys and liver.
- They are tube fed every 30-60 minutes (depending on gestational age). While a full term newborn kitten should be fed every 2 hours, preemie kittens need frequent feedings to help maintain adequate hydration and blood sugar. Properly tube feeding a preemie kitten is the best way to avoid aspiration and secondary complications.
- Depending on where they are with fur development, they may need skin protectants to help protect their extremely fragile, thin skin.
- They’ll receive a variety of different supplements on a case by case basis

What is a preemie kitten?
A premature kitten is a kitten who is born before the typical cat gestation of 63 days. A kitten who is born five days prematurely has significantly decreased odds of survival. If a kitten is born two weeks prematurely, their chances of surviving are extremely slim. While their odds of survival are slim all together, their best chance is always with experienced preemie caretakers.
Since cats are pregnant for such a short period of time, kittens in the womb are developing their little bodies so much every day so the more time they miss in the womb, the more underdeveloped they will be when they are born.

Ways to identify premature kittens:

- Missing Fur: Fine or no fur on paws, legs, ears, tail and if very premature, their full body
- Low body weight: Less than 87 grams
- Wrinkled skin w/ earthworm like feel
- Lack of movement/reflexes: Not easy to wake, minimal to no; rooting, crawling, suckling and general weakness

If you come across orphan premature kittens this kitten season, reach out to your local rescues! Make sure the kittens are only placed with rescuers/fosters who have the knowledge, experience, supplies and ability to give them the best chance they can get!
If you have experience raising bottle kittens and helping give a chance to the underdog is something that fuels you, consider fostering critical care kitties like preemies. Rescues will be able to help teach you everything you will need to know to help these babies.

22/03/2025

Hickory went back to the vet this morning for another anti-nausea injection. He kept down his first two doses of the new steroid he started which is wonderful!

He has his ups and downs. This afternoon was tough but tonight he is feeling good. The vet prescribed him an anti-acid medication that will be picked up from a compounding pharmacy on Monday. We gave him some this afternoon that we had left from another kitty (Louie ❤️) for the meantime and it seemed to help a lot. He stopped drooling, has been able to sleep comfortably and was even making biscuits in his bed. He got more fluids, syringe feedings throughout the day and then he ended up eating a jar of chicken baby food tonight on his own… yay!

Right now he is napping comfortably in his fluffy bed with his heating pad, all tucked in while we patiently wait for his meds to start beating the dreaded disease FIP is. Today more of his FIP meds were delivered, we picked up a large array of different foods to help encourage him to eat and we placed an order for a bunch of supportive care supplies.
We are hoping for the best for this sweet boy. We will do everything we possibly can to give him the best chance he can get. As long as he is willing to fight, we will be there right beside him.

22/03/2025

Hickory went back to the vet today (huge thank you to Kae).

His anti-nausea injection from Wednesday wore off last night (it only lasts 24 hours) and he started going down hill again. He became visibly nauseous, drooling excessively and sitting hunched up, obviously very comfortably. He didn’t want any food and when we tried to give him his anti-nausea oral meds to hold him over, he instantly projectile vomited everywhere. We gave him more sub-q fluids (as advised by our vet) and his FIP injection ($300 more worth of FIP meds were purchased today in addition to the $350 purchased the other day)

He woke up today with green goo coming from both his eyes but acting like he was feeling a bit better. He went back to the vet for another anti-nausea injection this morning. He started to decline again in the late afternoon but has perked up again this evening. He ate dinner but is still struggling with keeping it down. Since he is throwing up so much, he is continuing to lose weight rapidly and having trouble getting better.
After talking to our FIP warriors admins, they recommended starting him on oral steroids to help with the extreme intestinal inflammation he is dealing with. We called the vet tonight, talked it over and she went ahead with prescribing him a course of steroids. Our hope is he will be able to keep this down and start to show signs of improvement.

He is returning back to the vet for another anti-nausea injection first thing tomorrow morning and then again on Monday.
Please send healing thoughts Hickory’s way! We are crossing our fingers and hoping for the best for this sweet boy. He’s a fighter!

21/03/2025

If you are giving away or adopting out kittens that are not spayed/neutered, you are part of the problem.
No matter what spay/neuter contract or deposit you have in place or the promise you receive from the new adoptive family, the ONLY way you can make sure all the kittens you give away get fixed, is by fixing them!

This is why EVERY single cat and kitten that comes to us is spayed/neutered BEFORE they ever leave our care. By doing this, we know the cats we rescue will not be contributing to the overpopulation crisis our world is facing.
Without rescues and shelters spaying/neutering and people in the general public giving away unfixed cats/kittens, more work is being created and more resources are now needed for kittens being born who never had to be in the first place. Spaying and neutering stops preventable suffering.

We know that there are differentiating beliefs on when to spay/neuter. Kittens can safely be spayed/neutered at 8 weeks old (our vets do it at 12 weeks).
In an ideal world, you could wait until the cat is fully developed but in an ideal world, there also wouldn’t be 860,000 cats killed in shelters every year and thousands dying on the streets every day.
Kittens can become pregnant as early as 4 months old. Last kitten season we rescued a 12 week old kitten who was already in heat and trapped many 4-6 month old kittens who were already pregnant. Unfortunately, this is not uncommon at all. Kittens should not be having kittens. Not only for the sake of new kittens being born into this world but for the health and wellbeing of the “mother” cat.

So if you find yourself in a situation where you have kittens in need of homes, do the responsible thing and have them spayed/neutered prior to giving them away or surrender them to a rescue or shelter who will.
We cannot rescue or adopt our way out of the overpopulation issue our world is facing. Spaying and neutering is the only answer.
Want to save thousands of cats? The answer is simple…
Spay one.
The overpopulation of cats in this world was not created by just a handful of people, therefore it will take more than a handful of people to make a change. We all must do our part. We aren’t saying you have to start a rescue or trap daily for TNR but rather that you can help greatly by not contributing to preventable suffering in the first place.
SPAY AND NEUTER!

20/03/2025

Happy Spring! 🌻

Spring means it’s officially kitten season! Yes, kittens are adorable but the world doesn’t need more of them.
SPAY AND NEUTER!

If you would like to enjoy some kitten cuteness while also helping to save little lives this kitten season, reach out to your local rescues to give fostering a try!

20/03/2025

The last few days have been a bit hectic with Hickory so we are just getting around to share an update now!

Hickory is still hanging in there. His bloodwork results came back on Monday and confirmed his FIP diagnosis.
He has been receiving treatment for a few days now with the miracle drug “GS-441524”.

He still has a good appetite and energy level most of the time so that is a good thing. He is struggling a lot with nausea and throwing up, despite being on an oral anti-nausea medication he has been taking daily. He has been drooling excessively and throws up everything he eats and drinks.

Tonight we brought him back to the vet to get an injection of anti-nausea medication to see if that makes a difference. It only lasts for 24 hours but if it helps him tonight and tomorrow, it will be a regular thing we go back to the vet for until he starts holding his own. He also was given fluids at the vet tonight and was sent home with sub-q fluids for us to administer to him to help with the severe dehydration he is dealing with because of all of the throwing up. In addition, we got him a case of prescription urgent care A/D food which is full of fats, proteins and vitamins that help aid in recovery. If he can keep that down, he should be packing on the much needed pounds soon as it is like the prime rib of cat food.

We will be continuing supportive care at home along with his FIP treatment while we cross our fingers and hope to see some progress in the right direction soon.
Please keep this sweet boy in your thoughts! He has a long journey ahead of him and is in the toughest part of it now. Despite how crummy he is feeling, he made biscuits, purred and demanded pets at the vet today while waiting to be seen.

Please continue to help Hickory in his fight against FIP!
Between FIP treatment, supportive care, vet appointments, bloodwork, x-rays, etc, his care will be thousands of dollars. This is a big undertaking but Hickory is so deserving of this chance. He had a rough start to life and many bumps along the way since then which makes us even more determined to help him make a full recovery so he can enjoy just living his life to the fullest!
If you would like to donate towards Hickory’s care, we greatly appreciate! Donations directly to the vet will help with follow up appointments, bloodwork and supportive care meds/supplies. Other donations will be used to purchase the very costly FIP treatment he needs.
Thank you!

To Donate Directly to the vet, please call: East Greenbush Animal Hospital at (518) 477-7400. The account is under “Martha McCaffrey”.

PayPal:

Venmo: -McCaffrey

17/03/2025

Ozzie says “Happy St. Catrick’s Day” 🍀

15/03/2025

Well, our suspicions were confirmed by today’s vet appointment.
Hickory has FIP.

Hickory went to the vet for an emergency appointment this morning after displaying concerning symptoms that were all too familiar. Hickory had a full bloodwork panel sent out as well as an FCV PCR test but we won’t get those results until Monday. The vet preformed a centesis (aka fluid tap) that revealed a buildup of yellow fluid in Hickory’s abdomen that is a very clear indicator of the wet form of FIP. Hickory’s kidneys are also very enlarged so the vet recommend abdominal x-rays as well so we proceeded with having those done.
While we won’t have total confirmation of this diagnosis until lab results come back on Monday, FIP is not a disease you can wait to start treating. Hickory received his first dose of the miracle drug “GS-441524” today. He has also been started on an anti-nausea medicine to hopefully control the vomiting and settle his tummy so he can be more comfortable.

FIP is a horrible, quick progressing disease that’s 100% fatal without treatment. Luckily, the treatment that is now available works miracles, as we have witnessed first hand before with other rescue kitties. These first days are critical though as Hickory is in rough shape. Please send good thoughts his way!

If you are able to, please help Hickory in his fight against FIP!
The treatment available is miraculous but it comes at a high cost. Today we were faced with two options to make for Hickory and we of course chose to fight for and alongside him to help him overcome this dreaded disease. This poor boy has been through one hurdle after another. He is the sweetest kitty and even when not feeling well, his spirit still stays holding strong. He is so deserving of the best care and we will make sure he continues to receive only that.
If Hickory can pull through these next few days, he will need a minimum of 84 days of treatment followed by 84 days of observation. During this time, multiple more bloodwork panels will be run to see how his body is responding to treatment.
Thank you for all the support thus far that made his care today possible!

To Donate Directly to the vet, please call: East Greenbush Animal Hospital at (518) 477-7400. The account is under “Martha McCaffrey”.

PayPal:

Venmo: -McCaffrey

15/03/2025

Hickory is headed to his emergency vet appointment! Our poor guy is definitely not feeling well. We are still a bit short for covering his bloodwork and supportive care he’ll likely need. If anybody would like to donate that hasn’t gotten the chance yet, it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

To Donate Directly to the vet, please call: East Greenbush Animal Hospital at (518) 477-7400. The account is under “Martha McCaffrey”.

PayPal:

Venmo: -McCaffrey

It’s $5 Friday and we need your help once again!

We have a kitty headed to the vet for an emergency appointment in the morning. Can you donate $5 to help Hickory?
After Pinto’s neurology appointment and Itsy Bitsy’s dental surgery this week, we desperately need your help to raise the funds for this emergency appointment.

You may remember this sweet boy! Hickory came to us when he was just a baby after him and his sister were thrown out of a moving car.
Sadly, Hickory was the sole survivor of this tragedy who sustained only minor injuries.
This boy has been through a lot. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was so sickly when he was first found that his eye ruptured and he almost lost his eye. With lots of medicine and tedious care, we were able to save his eye and get him back to
100%.

After all that, Hickory began having difficulty breathing and developed neurological symptoms. He was rushed back to the vet where it was found he had a large (peach pit sized) polyp blocking his airway and a small (pea sized) polyp in his ear. He underwent urgent surgery to remove these which brought him immediate relief!
Unfortunately, it was short lived. A few weeks later, the symptoms returned so back to the vet he went! He had two more polyps so he underwent yet another surgery where another nasopharyngeal polyp along with an ear polyp were removed. He received steroids after surgery to help with a lot of inflammation buildup.
We crossed our fingers for no more polyps and were thrilled to pass through the weeks following his second surgery with no issues.

Hickory was medically cleared for adoption and spent the last year looking for a home with our rescuer partners with no interest (which we don’t understand because he is literally the sweetest boy ever).
We have recently noticed Hickory losing weight along with having an extreme thirst. Though he still has a great appetite, last night he threw up everything he ate shortly after. Today he has not been acting himself. Our typically crazy playful, bubbly and overly affectionate boy is concerningly subdue.

In the morning, Hickory has an emergency vet appointment to get to the bottom of what’s going on. We are very concerned with these symptoms as the last time we saw these same symptoms in a cat, it was FIP which without immediate treatment, is deadly. Hickory will be having a full bloodwork panel tomorrow so we will know what’s wrong and know how to proceed to hopefully get this sweet boy back to feeling his typical self. This appointment tomorrow will cost at least $500. If you are able to, please consider donating $5 to help Hickory! Thank you!

To Donate Directly to the vet, please call: East Greenbush Animal Hospital at (518) 477-7400. The account is under “Martha McCaffrey”.

PayPal:

Venmo: -McCaffrey

14/03/2025

It’s $5 Friday and we need your help once again!

We have a kitty headed to the vet for an emergency appointment in the morning. Can you donate $5 to help Hickory?
After Pinto’s neurology appointment and Itsy Bitsy’s dental surgery this week, we desperately need your help to raise the funds for this emergency appointment.

You may remember this sweet boy! Hickory came to us when he was just a baby after him and his sister were thrown out of a moving car.
Sadly, Hickory was the sole survivor of this tragedy who sustained only minor injuries.
This boy has been through a lot. If that wasn’t bad enough, he was so sickly when he was first found that his eye ruptured and he almost lost his eye. With lots of medicine and tedious care, we were able to save his eye and get him back to
100%.

After all that, Hickory began having difficulty breathing and developed neurological symptoms. He was rushed back to the vet where it was found he had a large (peach pit sized) polyp blocking his airway and a small (pea sized) polyp in his ear. He underwent urgent surgery to remove these which brought him immediate relief!
Unfortunately, it was short lived. A few weeks later, the symptoms returned so back to the vet he went! He had two more polyps so he underwent yet another surgery where another nasopharyngeal polyp along with an ear polyp were removed. He received steroids after surgery to help with a lot of inflammation buildup.
We crossed our fingers for no more polyps and were thrilled to pass through the weeks following his second surgery with no issues.

Hickory was medically cleared for adoption and spent the last year looking for a home with our rescuer partners with no interest (which we don’t understand because he is literally the sweetest boy ever).
We have recently noticed Hickory losing weight along with having an extreme thirst. Though he still has a great appetite, last night he threw up everything he ate shortly after. Today he has not been acting himself. Our typically crazy playful, bubbly and overly affectionate boy is concerningly subdue.

In the morning, Hickory has an emergency vet appointment to get to the bottom of what’s going on. We are very concerned with these symptoms as the last time we saw these same symptoms in a cat, it was FIP which without immediate treatment, is deadly. Hickory will be having a full bloodwork panel tomorrow so we will know what’s wrong and know how to proceed to hopefully get this sweet boy back to feeling his typical self. This appointment tomorrow will cost at least $500. If you are able to, please consider donating $5 to help Hickory! Thank you!

To Donate Directly to the vet, please call: East Greenbush Animal Hospital at (518) 477-7400. The account is under “Martha McCaffrey”.

PayPal:

Venmo: -McCaffrey

14/03/2025

Remember the picture of the mama cat of the preemie kittens rescued from the Amish farm last week? Poor mama was scared and confused after all she had been through.

Well, this is her now! She has settled in and is living the good life (and loving it). She is such a sweetheart!

*The top picture is of her when she first got to us. The bottom picture is her today 💕*

14/03/2025

Pinto went back to the neurologist yesterday to follow up on some concerns we have had for after she began displaying some signs of pain in the past week.

For those who may not be familiar with Pinto’s story, she was surrendered to us after becoming paralyzed following an incident in her previous home where she was stepped on which fractured a vertebrae in her spine.
Pinto was given medicine to make her comfortable and put on strict crate rest for a month following her injury. Her body did what it was supposed to and stabilized the fracture in her spine.
She has been doing very well mobility wise until the other day when she began suddenly not acting herself so her neurologist had us start her on two pain medications until she could get in for her appointment..

Pinto returned to Upstate Specialties yesterday where she had another neuro exam and more sedated x-rays done.
Our biggest concern was if x-rays revealed weakening at the injury site causing pain, which would put us in a position to have to make a very difficult choice for the sake of quality of life.

Luckily, Pinto’s new x-rays revealed quite the opposite! Her spine is actually more aligned and stable! While we can’t for sure say what is causing her to be dealing with some pain right now, her neurologist suspects with the great amount of bone growth she has had to stabilize her spine, there may be some nerves that are pinched.

A urine sample was collected and a culture was sent out to the lab. Since she had a UTI not long ago that she was treated for, we wanted to rule out a reoccuring one incase that could have been causing any pain. More good news, the results came back for the urinalysis today and all looked great!

Pinto will continue her pain meds for now and she will have them available if needed long term or for just as needed. She will also be going to see the rehab team at Upstate Specialties for acupuncture and laser therapy to help with any chronic pain she may experience. These are therapies that are often done multiple times a week to start and then done once a week long term.

We are and will always be willing to go to any lengths to provide the best specialized care she needs and yet again, YOU are the reason this is possible!
Pinto’s hefty speciality appointment was covered in full thanks to each and every one of you! Pinto is very lucky to have such a wonderful army behind her and we are so grateful to have your support to make it possible for us to help cats like Pinto, who wouldn’t have a chance elsewhere. THANK YOU!