———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Kinship Circle - kinshipcircle [at] accessus.net
Date: Wed, May 14, 2008 at 12:21 PM
Subject: From Floodwaters To Here: NOLA Rescuer Needs Help

KINSHIP CIRCLE DISASTER AID NETWORK - PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

The following information is brought to you courtesy of Kinship Circle.
Please DO NOT hit reply! Respond directly to: Linda Watrous, lindakwatrous [at] yahoo.com

ALERT FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE MEMBER:
5/14/08: From Floodwaters To Here - NOLA Rescuer Asks For Help

FROM KINSHIP CIRCLE:

We regularly receive pleas from solo rescuers in New Orleans who comb Katrina-ravaged areas…still looking for left-behind animals. Some have survived on desolate streets since Katrina, burrowing inside broken homes and gutted cars. Others are offspring, born into a bleak landscape.

Once trapped, most animals are sick or injured. These independent NOLA rescuers “scrap” together funds to literally put broken animals back together — and offer them the chance of a safe home. Though nearly three years have passed since the 2005 storms, animals still suffer in areas slow to rebuild and repopulate. Kinship Circle

ALERT FROM / REPLY TO:

Linda K. Watrous, lindakwatrous [at] yahoo.com

A NEW ORLEANS EAST MIRACLE: ISABELLA

Isabella is a calico mama cat found in the flooded-out remains of Causey’s Country Kitchen on Chef Menteur Hwy in New Orleans East — an area that experienced a huge surge of floodwater when the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet topped its levees. Some animals were washed away in a surge so strong, railroad cars were swept off their tracks.

The winter after Katrina, Isabella was trapped (and spayed). A structure sheltered five or so adult cats. Isabella had three beautiful kittens who were rescued and adopted. But on New Year’s Eve 2007, Isabella disappeared.

For weeks, I feared the worst. Then in early February, Isabella reappeared, very thin and unable to walk on her hind leg. Fortunately I was able to scoop her into a carrier. The next day at Southern Animal Foundation, x-rays showed a dislocated hip. Her surgery was scheduled for Feb 15.

During that time she only licked her food, so did not gain weight. And under anesthesia for surgery she had breathing difficulties — so the surgery was canceled. Chest x-rays revealed a ruptured diaphragm. Her intestines were in her chest cavity, pushing against her lungs so she couldn’t eat much. With only 50/50 odds of survival, Dr. Gene Jessup began chest surgery to close the rupture and replace her intestines. During the procedure, vet tech Deanna Theis manually maintained Isabella’s breathing. After three days with a chest tube removing excess chest fluid, Isabella was OK!

Dental work followed to remove 12 teeth badly damaged, most likely because Isabella had been hit by a speeding car. She recovered fully…and finally, on 3/31/08, Isabella underwent hip surgery. As she nears completion of six weeks on cage-rest, Isabella is a living miracle!

Unfortunately, Isabella’s vet bills total $1,455 — much more than I’d anticipated. Contributions to help cover her care are greatly appreciated!

HELP ISABELLA & THE FORGOTTEN ANIMALS OF NEW ORLEANS:

DONATE BY CHECK TO:
Southern Animal Foundation (501c3 accepting payment for Linda Watrous’ vet bills)
1823 Magazine Street; New Orleans, LA 70130
www.southernanimalfoundation.org/
ph: 504-671-8235; email: animallover [at] southernanimalfoundation.org
MEMO: For care of Isabella/Chef Causey & other N.O. rescues under Linda Watrous

TALES FROM THE 9TH WARD: LOUISE’S HAPPY ENDING

Louise, a small black cat, battled rain and cold when discovered in the lower 9th Ward’s Louis Armstrong Elementary School in Nov. 2007. She limped across the street from beneath a deserted house, her leg badly injured.

Louise (left) and one of her kittens, Luigi (right).

I trapped her that night, but the next day we discovered she was lactating…which meant her kittens had been left behind! X-rays showed a bad break that had begun to heal, so Louise was prescribed cage-rest. Meanwhile, I returned nightly to leave food at the house where she’d been trapped. After a week, two teeny faces peered from under the house. The kittens were successfully trapped and their purring upon reunion with Louise left no doubt they were hers. Luigi and Armani are healthy, happy, and now with Mom. Louise has only a slight limp to show for her ordeal.

TALES FROM THE 9TH WARD: GORDON’S RECOVERY

Gordon, a Ninth-Warder from Gordon and North Rampart Streets, is a sweet tabby found with a torn ACL. Gordon’s knee was stitched to immobilize it as he healed and allow him to regain use of the joint again. Gordon’s stitches were recently removed and he’s getting around nearly as good as new!

MORE OF LINDA’S NOLA RESCUES: Tabitha (left) and Indiana Jones (right), whose neck wound has fully healed.

HELP KATRINA’S FORGOTTEN WITH A DONATION FOR LINDA’S VET BILLS:

DONATE BY CHECK TO:
Southern Animal Foundation (501c3 accepting payment for Linda Watrous’ vet bills)
1823 Magazine Street; New Orleans, LA 70130
www.southernanimalfoundation.org/
ph: 504-671-8235; email: animallover [at] southernanimalfoundation.org
MEMO: For care of Isabella/Chef Causey & other N.O. rescues under Linda Watrous

ABOUT LINDA WATROUS & HER RESCUE WORK BEFORE/AFTER KATRINA:

FROM LINDA WATROUS, lindakwatrous [at] yahoo.com — I’ve done TNR and rescue for nearly 20 years in New Orleans. SpayMart’s Lynn Chiche negotiated low-cost spay/neuter that enabled me and others to provide TNR for many NOLA ferals. I’d managed colonies in N.O. East, the lower Garden District, and on the West Bank before Hurricane Katrina. Afterwards — as floodwaters receded and areas re-opened — I went to designated food/water stations. Along the way, I found an incredible number of cats who’d survived and were reproducing…

For the many colonies I now maintain in a largely deserted Ninth Ward region — as well as a few colonies New Orleans East, Gentilly, and Central City — my goal is zero population growth through TNR. The struggle to keep up with TNR, made worse by Hurricane Katrina, is ongoing… Linda Watrous

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