Our Mission and Purpose
Most of the kittens that come to us are
very tiny but generally healthy, un-weaned and just require bottle
feeding to survive. It is our responsibility as members of our
community to control the pet population in our city, rescuing these
kittens, not only removes them from living in the wild, stopping the
spread of disease/ illness and over population, it also educates the
public as to why it is important to spay & neuter their pets and
giving these kittens good homes bringing joy and love to their new
families. We believe every cat deserves to be with a family that will
love, care and provide for him/her for the kittens entire life.
Future for OKR
Orphan Kitten Rescue's goal is to help
control the population of feral cats in Eastland and it's surrounding
areas and educate the public of the importance in being a responsible
pet owner by vaccinating, spaying & neutering pets. We expect to
continue to be a valuable organization in Eastland and are always
looking for volunteers to foster kittens and opportunities to have
fund raising events. As funding becomes available we plan to provide
age-appropriate vaccinations, testing for Feline leukemia (FeLV) and
Feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) and assist with the cost to spay
& neuter each kitten.
Orphan Kitten Rescue Organization
The Orphan Kitten Rescue is a
small non-profit organization in Eastland Texas that was started in
2008. It began as a family just wanting to help out in the community,
to now becoming a non-profit organization. Our volunteers specialize
in bottle-feeding tiny kittens from birth to 6 weeks. We are devoted
to finding loving homes for kittens that are motherless due to either
death or abandonment. Since our inception, we have rescued and placed
over 150 kittens into loving homes. Orphan Kitten Rescue has become an
important need in Eastland County. Feral kittens and cats suffer from
preventable disease or illnesses, which are spread to other animals
and pets, and feral cats cause over population in our communities.
Our History
November 23, 2004, a small orange 1 ½ to 2
week old kitten was brought to Wendy, it was found alone in a barn, it
had just started to turn cold that day and the mother must have been
moving her litter or she had abandoned it due to the fact that it was
a polydactyl. Wendy warmed the kitten up slowly in a box with a
heating pad on low, bottle fed him every 2 to 3 hours, even during the
night for the first 2 weeks, by Christmas he was litter trained and
lapping milk from a saucer. That was the instant that she fell in love
with doing kitten rescues. Wendy vaccinated the kitten, had him
neutered, named him Milo and he has been a member of her family ever
since. In 2006 Wendy started volunteering with a local rescue group as
a kitten foster home for about a year before they closed in 2007. In
2008, her family decided to continue doing the kitten rescue on their
own, offering that service only to the Eastland county veterinarians
and city animal control officers.
Orphan Kitten Rescue rescues kittens from birth to 3 weeks of age
that are motherless due to death or abandonment. Our kitties live in a
home-like environment in volunteer foster homes until they are
adopted. Our volunteers care for the orphaned or abandoned kittens
that need to be bottle fed, even the sick or injured and have paid out
of their pocket in the event that kittens ever need veterinarian care,
so we do the very best we can to meet their needs.
One of our conditions for adoption is that the kitten must be
spayed or neutered by six months of age. Each kitten is sent home with
an Adoption Bag, containing a toy, a sample of cat treats, some dry
kibble, coupons for litter & flea prevention and information on
spay & neuter programs. We are in the process of finding a sponsor
so that we can include a coupon to put in the adoption bags to help
offset the cost of spaying/neutering.
Where do our kittens come from?
The kittens that come to
us are mostly found (on a porch, under someone’s deck, on
constructions sites), but some are rescued (usually because mom
disappeared or hit by a car), and a few have been abandoned at
veterinary clinics and shelters. We do not accept kittens from
breeders, pet stores or irresponsible pet owners that do not spay or
neuter their pets. As a result, we often have to provide a best
estimate as to a kitten’s age, which the birth dates for our kittens
will begin on the date that we receive them. In addition, we do not
have complete information about the kitten’s history prior to our
beginning to care for him/her. If we accept kittens from individuals
other than animal control, local shelters or veterinarians there is a
required fee of $20 per kitten to place with us, some price breaks are
offered for litters of 3 or more. To formula feed 1 kitten for 6 weeks
is about $20, added costs for Kitten Chow, Litter, toys, vaccinations
and vet care with prescriptions when necessary as you can see the the
surrender fee in no way covers all the costs of raising the kitten
until it is old enough to be adopted out.
What has been done for my kitten?
Every foster provides
loving attention to your kitten’s physical and emotional well-being
throughout his/her development. Because they have been bottle-fed, our
kittens are highly socialized to human beings. Whenever possible, they
are socialized to other cats and to dogs. All of our kittens have been
treated for parasites (worms, ear mites, ticks, fleas); any medically
necessary treatments or medication; bathed weekly with an anti-fungal
shampoo for ringworm and the kitten's first set of vaccinations.
Adoption fees are $20 per kitten, some specials for 2, adoptions are
limited to 2 kittens per home.
To rescue these young kittens demands lot of time & energy, and
it can be very costly. Orphan Kitten Rescue has expenses for formula,
litter, dry food and veterinarian care that have been covered at times
by the volunteers and by the generosity of donors. Whether you are
just around the corner or from across the US, you can touch the lives
of the many deserving, wonderful kittens in our care. There are many
ways you can help, and every dollar means so much. The Orphan Kitten
Rescue, the volunteers and especially the kitties thank you for your
support! We accept monetary donations by cash, check and online
through Paypal.
Want to Volunteer?
We need volunteers to foster kittens
in a home-like environment, whether the kittens are newborn or 12
weeks, in need of bottle feeding or just weaned, they need a loving
playful home to grow into good family companions. We are committed to
seeing that all our kittens receive the highest quality care,
attention, and socialization. We strictly limit the number of kittens
that any individual foster volunteer may care for at any given time to
6.
Mail: Orphan Kitten Rescue
P.O. Box 1201
Eastland,
Texas 76448
Phone: 254-629-1944 anytime or Wendy at 254-631-8494
after 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday, anytime on the weekends. If you get our
voice-mail, leave a message and someone will call you back as soon as possible.
FEIN 46-0753787
