Purrhaven, Inc. is a registered 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
Our purpose is to promote spaying and neutering and humane treatment of cats through funding of low cost spay/neuter and humane education.
02/02/2026
More on Porsche(from a prior post)... a TNR kitty from the Comfort Inn/Dairy Queen Dual Highway Hagerstown project 2014 - 2018 who had his rear leg amputated in May after an accident. He has learned to jump onto our couch 🙂 They DO adapt.
12/09/2025
A Surprising Encounter/ Rescue Tip
Here is an account of my unexpected encounter with a baby starling. Our paths crossed with this little bird, leading to a memorable experience and one I hope never to have again.
One day last May, while I was working at a Washington County Park building, I found this baby starling whose head was stuck firmly onto a glue trap that was set out to control pests.
The poor bird was struggling and the more he struggled the worse his situation became. I had no idea what to do, but I picked him and the glue trap up, and ran into a bathroom thinking I could wash the glue off with water. It didn't work and I could only peel off the large part of the paper trap that wasn't attached to his head.
When I put a little water in the palm of my hand, he drank it, and I drove him to a local bird lady. She quickly brought out a bottle of vegetable oil and we gently massaged a little oil at a time around the piece of trap still stuck to his head. After an hour, the trap and glue was off! But, the starling was very weak from not eating and the stress from being handled was also taking its toll. You can see in the one photo where he has a bald spot on his neck which is where i had tried to remove the glue with water.
My bird lady friend hand fed him with a syringe for the next week every few hours day and night, and we set him free when he was eating on his own
Rescue Tip - use cooking oil to remove a glue trap, not water. https://www.purrhaven.org/donate.html
12/07/2025
PORCHE:
Yet another year of counting my blessings and learning from the rescued kitties at our safe haven called Purr Haven, Inc. in Pleasant Valley Maryland, how to recognize the tiniest moments of joy and hope in situations that appear hopeless.
Today's post begins our 2025 recap of a kitty we named Porsche. Porsche's journey began during our Trap, Neuter and Return project at the Comfort Inn on Dual Highway Hagerstown in 2014, making a stop at his relocation at Purr Haven, Inc. in 2018 and his latest adventure earlier this year. Porsche was enjoying life at our place mole hunting and watching bugs in my garden until one June morning when I found him sitting on the barn loft steps with his rear leg dangling(literally) and litter mates sitting all around him. Xray's at Palmer Animal Hospital in Myersville revealed a nasty rear leg fracture--it was so bad that it was a miracle that the broken bone did not piece the skin. The options presented to me were to: 1)repair the fracture with surgery (best option), 2) to reset the leg (a 50-50 successful outcome ), or 3) amputate the leg. I wanted to choose option 1, but orthopedic vet surgery would have run into the thousands of dollars. We went back to the vet for three weeks to have the leg and wrap checked and at the forth week, it was obvious that the bone was not setting and an infection had set in. Amputation was the only option left. The good news is that Porsche adjusted after a couple of days to getting around on three legs and also to living the life of a house kitty with window bird feeder views. I think he misses the outdoor life, but just a wee bit. He's not a lap kitty and won't let me pet him, but let's me get within inches and enjoys the company of the others. More stories to follow and thank you for loving the animals. https://www.purrhaven.org/donate.html
03/25/2025
Meet Zabby. She was part of our TNR project in Gapland Maryland in 2011 that Hula was also part of. She had a condition known as Entropion, where the eyelash rolls inward causing it to rub again the eye. After 13 years she never had a issue with it until last summer when her eye became horribly infected. Upon her exam, they also discovered an ear polyp. Took her to Spay Now Laurel for a surgery I could more afford. She did well and continues to do well in our home.
We had tried to re-home her on a farm in Lovettsville Virginia after she was spayed, but she would have no part of it. She ran away, ending up on the town of Lovettesville, was re-trapped by a nice townsperson who had been feeding her, taken to a clinic to be spayed. Upon being scanned, our microchip was found, I was called and went to claim her, Inside our home she came and has remained ever since. Basking in the sunlight windows, living the good life. Cheers to all -
03/24/2025
Here is Hula, resting in her cage three days after her full mouth dental surgery. Every tooth in her mouth was rotted and needed to be extracted roots and all, even her canines. She goes back in for a checkup in a week. Other photo is from 2012, from my on-site camera on the mountain in Gapland, Maryland, as Hula is going into a trap set up on a porch. Over the course of a day, I was able to trap her, her two siblings, Mom and Daddy. Part of a 25 cat and rescue TNR project when Purrhaven, Inc. first began. Hugs to all who donated to help get her healthy again.
03/15/2025
When I was putting Tutti into his cat carrier to take him to surgery, I noticed that Sebastian, a 13 year old kitty from our TNR project at the Shafer Farm in Brunswick in 2013, had some upper respiratory signs. Nothing really major, but his throat area seemed slightly swollen and that made me very concerned. I made an appointment for that afternoon and got Dr. Palmer to see him. X rays showed some mild bronchitis or asthma in his lungs, and a slight inflamation down his esophagus. We did xrays because his chest respirations were slightly pronounced. His temperature was elevated at 103.3.He got an injection of a Dexamethazone, a steroid to reduce the inflammation in his lungs and throat, an injection of pain killer since he was painful when touched and a fast acting but short lived antibiotic. Brought him home (along with poor tutti's body). Sebastian improved a lot that afternoon, still didn't eat or drink but was sitting up, happy, and walking around his crate, leaving me very hopeful. By the next morning, his breathing was rough and a totally different kitty from the night before. Got him right back to Dr. Palmer, and now, his temperature had dropped to a low 98 and his breathing was a more rough. Repeated the protocol, gave sub q fluids, took him home and everything kept getting worse to the point that I gave him rescue inhalers to try to improve his breathing. They worked and he rested comfortably all night. Back into the vet a 8am and they put him on IV, with pain killers, steroids and antibiotics and did another x ray. This time, the slight swelling in his throat area had dramatically expanded, the diagnosis was that what was going on in his throat was the issue. We also did lab work, which all came back fine except for some very slight anemia. But now his temp was 95 and he had been on a heating pad all night long at my house. Dr. Palmer was able to get his temp up to 98 that day and we discussed that the next morning he would sedate Sebastian and look down his throat to see if there was a foreign object, which we doubted since the x rays didn't show one. But by 5:30pm Sebastian was open mouth breathing periodically and on oxygen. I arrived to spend some time with him, and comfort him. The overall upshot was with all the treatment he was rapidly getting worse and the rescue inhalers weren't working anymore. At that point, with non of the treatment working, I couldn't stand to see him suffer and we euthanized him so he could cross the rainbow bridge. Your generous donations have paid for the care for both Tutti and Sebastian.
03/15/2025
It's been a very emotional 3 days Sadly, when Dr. Palmer sedated Tutti for surgery and was able to look deep into his throat and mouth, he saw another large mass on his upper palate and down his esophagus, and called to tell me that he wasn't going to be able to remove those mass, which were more of a problem that the one inside his jaw as it was obstructing now about a third of his esophagus He could try, but in view of this new information and that they weren't able in put in an IV catheter because his veins were so bad, which I felt Tutti was really going to need post surgery, we both felt the outcome for Tutti was not good at all. So, while Tutti was under anesthesia we let him peacefully cross the rainbow bridge. My heart is really broken because I still feel him following me around the house. I want to thank you all again. I've attached his bill which was only $275 and it has been paid. I had another unexpected very sick kitty, Sebastian, that I has to rush to the vet the same day Tutti was in for surgery. Some of your donations were used for his care.
03/11/2025
My dear friends,
It's been too long, I know. But saying goodbye to so many of my furry rescues that have faced the inevitable bravely after battling cancer, kidney failure and heart disease, goes with each one a piece of my heart, leaving behind a great deal of sadness along with the memories.
The veterinary bills to keep the quality of life bearable until their comes has been very high, and right now, I am going to have difficulty meeting the veterinary bills for several kitties who need immediate attention. I am reaching out for financial help to cover these costs.
Tutti - his brown tabbiness -His surgery is tomorrow 3/12/25. Tutti is stray from a local farm who decided our sanctuary in 2016 was the Cat's Meow.. He had been doing fine with no issues. In the late summer he started to decline. He needs a surgery to remove a mass on inside of his mouth and remove abscessed and rotted teeth. He half a tongue too, which was a surprise. His time, has not come as he has responded, against all odds with antibiotics and steroids. He is a messy kid, following me around the house, drooling most of the time. A very good appetite, as long as I give him a solid food like pate or dry food - without a tongue it challenging to lick things up :) Please consider donating to help me cover his surgery cost which will be about $1200. I've already paid for his lab work and several exams.
Hula - the tuxedo who looks like she was just drinking milk, and because she is a princess, she never looks messy- her surgery is 3/20/25). Hula has an huge abscess inside her lower right jaw and she needs surgery and a dental to remove the decayed teeth. She was a rescue from the Gapland/Route 67 area along with 13 others. Cost, about $1,000 and I have already paid for her blood work and exam.
More tales ( happier ones) , a little later. Blessings to you all.
09/04/2024
1- Babies and Kitties can co-exist. Pic is about one of our TNR fails who got adopted by a husband and wife who are doctors.
2- Yet another outcast and TNR graduate.... who we have named Monkee. We told him to go back to the farm he came from , after he decided to park himself at our place, but, he no speak a two legged person language and decided to stay. Older fellow. It took him about 3 months to calm down ( if you know what I mean ) and get along with the gang. Always at my back door looking for a treat and a pat on his head.
12/27/2023
Dear friends, I need your help to get a dental and nasal flush done on our skinny n***y girl Tess. Tess has been on several antibiotics for over a year with her nasal discharge only been getting worse. We switched to another vet who after an exam thinks her front canine may be part of the issue that is causing the pus to come out of her nose and mouth. She is scheduled for a dental January 3 and nasal flush. We have already paid for her lab work which also let us know she is hyperthyroid. With Lizzy's emergency bill of 1,700 this month which we covered, our funds are now zero. She really can't wait too much longer to have this procedure done.
In 2013, we did TNR of 50 cats on the Shafer farm outside of the town of Brunswick Maryland. Tess was part of a litter of 6 kittens we found in the hay in one of the barns. We decided to bring her and her siblings to our rescue for veterinary care of one of her eyes. She ultimately lost the use of that eye. Please consider donating if you can to help her. If we don't raise enough money for this procedure estimated to be about $1,000 and Lizzy's Echocardiogram estimated to be $500, we will need to post phone both procedures. Here is the link to donate if you can. We need to get Tess some relief as I can tell that this is beginning to make her weary. Sincerely, Liz http://www.purrhaven.org/donate.html
12/27/2023
Dear friends,
I wanted to give you an update on some recent events at PurrHaven, Inc. for just December on one cat by the name of Lizzy, who is part Siamese.
This video shows you know what the labored and rapid breathing an asthma attack/heart failure looks like, so you can get you and your cat or dog into the car and put pedal to the metal to to get to the ER.
It was awful at the time this was happening (two Saturday's ago) , and it got worse. She went open mouth breathing, started to stumble around to find a place to get comfortable and I remember thinking this cat is going to die either here on my kitchen floor or in the car on the way to the vet. It seemed like forever, but after about 5 minutes, she was able to catch her breath. I packed her up and we drove to Bennett Animal Hospital in Clarksville MD a 35 minute drive away. It was Saturday, December 16. As soon as they put her on oxygen, she responded. A Xray revealed a very enlarged heart and some fluid in her lungs. She kept improving over the next several hours, spent the night and home we came...$1700 later(with our rescue discount, which I am totally appreciative to the staff there for ). Now, Lizzy had been under the care of 2 vets. Neither picked up on the asthma, and the second vet, who did do a chest x-ray, didn't recognize the enlarged heart. So, they put on Predisolone, an oral steroid, to reduce the inflamation caused in her lungs by the asthma. That, was not the right protocol to use and after being on the oral steroid for 5 days had heart failure. Also, we found out that she has a detached retina, meaning she is blind. The second vet, while diagnosing the detached retina, didn't make the connection that high blood pressure can cause this, so they never checked her blood pressure. And boy oh boy, Lizzy's was 500 when she checked in to Bennett Hospital! At discharge it was 200 and at her recheck a week later it was normal - 150. Lizzy still needs an ECHO done to determine the how bad her heart is. That will be $500 and it includes the consultation at Bennett.
A little note on Lizzy. She is from the town of Rohrersville ( 2011 ) when we were doing TNR in that town. She was a breeding female and a super sweet girl. I remember the post mistress in town asking us to get her off the streets, so she wouldn't get run over by a car or shot by a neighbor.
If you would like to help with these vet costs, here is the donate button on our website. I hope you all enjoy your holiday however you celebrate it.
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We are a 501(c)3 non profit composed of all volunteers who want to give healthier lives to all outdoor cats.
Our mission is to provide information and dialogue that will create a supportive environment empowering people to help cats in their community.
At PurrHaven, volunteers work with residents of South Washington County Maryland who are financially unable to spay,neuter and vaccinate the feral cats who they feed and shelter.
The age group of the typical county resident who reaches out to us is between 70-82 years of age and feeds on average 7 -10 outdoor breeding cats. They lack the resources to spay, neuter and to keep their cats healthy by vaccinating. They also lack the equipment to trap all the cats at once nor the size vehicle it takes to transport the cats in humane traps to the clinic. Volunteers from PurrHaven humanely trap the cats or train the colony caretakers to trap. Volunteers transport cats to the clinic and bring them back to their caretakers for recovery and release. Your donations help us pay for the spay/neuter and vaccinations.
The cost is $20 per cat and that includes their rabies and distemper vaccinations. Antibiotics are an additional $20. Often these cats need additional medical care and we accept donations to help with those costs.
