Purrfect Endings: Hurricane Katrina Orphans
Hurricane Katrina devastated more than people when it hit New Orleans in late August of 2005. Untold thousands of cats and dogs were left orphaned and homeless. When local animal group Pasado's Safe Haven set up a large rescue facility in Louisiana, five different Purrfect Pals volunteers and staff member headed south to help out. When they returned, we had 36 new orphans, desperate for new home. Among those orphans was Brennan, pictured above.
Purrfect Pals supporters Kathleen Shaw, Carina Borja, Lila Barnhart, and Deby Southwick flew to Louisiana to help Pasado's facility in Raceland. The volunteers returned to Seattle with two mom kitties and their litters, all born on the day that Hurricane Katrina hit. The mother kitties were named Katrina and Rita in acknowledgement of the devastating natural disasters.
Later, Purrfect Pals Outreach Coordinator Chris Wujcik and volunteer Jennifer Milton drove from Purrfect Pals to the same Pasado’s facilty and rescued 21 cats. Chris and Jennifer drove more than a thousand miles a day at times and completed the entire trip in less than a week. Th e return trip was especially hectic, as Jennifer and Chris would shimmy through a maze of cages to feed and water the kitties, and replace their litter.
After the kitties came to the Purrfect Pals shelter in the northwest, there was much hard work left . Many of the kitties were very sick from their experiences. De- spite the best foster care possible, several of the kittens died; their little bodies never quite recovering from the horrible ordeal of the first few weeks of their lives. Other kitties stayed in intensive care and medical isolation at Purrfect Pals while they recovered from a whole host a maladies picked up in the swampy, wet atmo- sphere of post-Katrina New Orleans. Volunteers worked hard to identify as many of the original owners as possible, but sadly, most would never find their original families. Purrfect Pals would eventually find new, loving homes for these sad orphans.
But for some of the families devastated by Hurricane Katrina, their missing pets were their strongest connection drawing them back towards New Orleans. When one older woman returned to her house after two months, here first thoughts were of her three young cats that she was forced to leave behind. She searched day and not to find a rescue group that may have saved her cats. Eventually, Purrfect Pals learned of this woman's search and determined that Brennan (above), and his brothers Carondelet and Emeril where her kitties. Using a special fund designed to facilitate these reunions, Purrfect Pals flew Brennan, Carondelet, and Emeril back to a tearful reunion with their grateful mom.
Purrfect Pals helps almost 2,500 orphaned cats like Brennan, Carondelet, and Emeril every year. If you would like to support the work of Purrfect Pals, please donate now.
Read other heartwarming Purrfect Endings.
