Serilisation Drive Success

We serilized 80 dogs and cats Monday and Tuesday!
It was great and quite tiring!

Thank you to the following members:
Riana vd Westhuizen who helped organising the communications to keep everything moving successfully and commitment.
Always on call what every was needed even though she was at work her presence was felt like she was right there with us
Natalie Becker who was the vet's 'right hand' - very important transfering patients to allocated area's
- driving form Plett to Clanwilliam to come help us out with a vehicle to transpot animals to and from the clinic 40 km outside town.
- Getting up at 5am every morning to get the show on the road even skipping coffee!
Lynn Ferreira who helped with information on running the drive and driving around to pick up emergency straws and drinks as needed when they ran out.  Lynn arranged more hands to help us do the work too and is willing o help when she can.
Lizette Burger  drove from far to come in on Tuesday to help and caim to the aid of many recovering patients by massaging them genly when they woke up.  She also provided a much needed extra fan that day!
Clint  who refuses to let woman do a mans job! Helped wherever cleaning cages carrying heavy things and patients, helping withe the fiesty ones!  He is a great help and never lets you down. 
Margie Smit, Hanneline Waterboer and Nodene Waterboer  the staff at Oudrif who can on their own accord to help with anything they could. Cleaning the stoor like it's never been before! Making phone calls to owners of pets who were ready to go home, helping and arranging the arrivals and departures. They also with the help of Clint packed up at the end of the long tiring day and cleaned the buliding. With out them i would not have made it.
And then Cheryl Spilsbury for being on call when needed after hours for arrangements until 12am. She also accommodated the vets at her guests house.
Linette van Taak who organised the use of the building we used.
Anna Koeglenberg who helped on Monday with paper work.
Georgia Sinclaire who poped in every now and then, and posted a letter for registering the NPO!

And then Vetsol for coming up to Clanwilliam to do the operations! They were quick efficient and great to work with.  Charl and Daggie were willing to share information where they could and worked very professionally!  They were great to work with especially with a sense of humour!!  Thank you!

We send our deepest condolences to Riana who lost her dear Polisie Stasie kat. We  tried our best.
Polisie stasie now rests in a medicinal garden on a farm.

Mass Sterilization Drive

We are doing a mass sterilization drive in November next month in Clanwilliam.
so far we have raised enough funds to bring in one vet and one nurse to do 80 sterilizations in two days.

If we can raise another R6000 we can get two vets to come in and we can have 130 animals sterilzed and vaccinated in two days.

We are trying to get more funding by doing another jumble sale at the end of this month and we have a table at the farmers market.

If anyone can assist us please have a look at our contact details.

KITTENS

Kittens, kittens everywhere!

We have a very big problem with cats and kittens.  We are sitting with 11 kittens at one home at the moment. The farms that have many more from cats that  are abandoned or expected to work.

The farms get cats to keep the rodent poulation down and keep snakes away.
They dont sterilize them and the cats breed.
Some farmers to control this have the cats disposed of by their own means.
The problem is if you do this you make space for more cats to move in and so the cycle continues.

The way to solve the problem, sterilize the cats that are there, they will establish a territory and control the numbers in their own way.
Then put up owl boxes for the rodent problem.
When the cats die the rodent problem should be under control and we might make a difference. The barn owl will have as many chick as there is food to feed them.

This could also help save the diminishing african wild cat population as the wild cats breed with the feral cats on farms.
Education Education Education!

I am trying to go to the farmers meeting to get this message across.
This picture is of Barry a half siamese half afircan wild cat, he arrived at our place out of the bush.
It took 4 months before he took food and i tranqualised him,  took him to the vet to change his little life.
It took a year before he came inside. He is now happy and healthy but he is only one of hundreds....

• On average, cats mate at least 3 times per year (sometimes 4), and have 5 kittens per litter.
• 3 female cats can produce 3 x 3 = 9 x 5 = 45 kittens in one year.
• If half those kittens are female and go on heat 3 times a year, then 22.5 x 3 = 67.5 x 5 = 337.5 kittens will be born in a year.
• That means in 5 years there are 16 875 kittens without sufficient shelter, food or care in Clanwilliam.

Jeannie

This is Jeannie, she is the dog that got me involved in CLAWS.
I found her on the road, hungry, covered in mange, open sores and looking for food.  I fed her and left town, but i couldn't get her out of my mind.
I took her home after finding her owners a week later, they did not want her anymore.
Her pups from the previous year that also lived at the house where she was were not able to be saved.  They were undernourished and sick with no sufficient shelter.
I brought her home and nursed her.
She got a uterine infection, we then rushed her to Piketberg for a historectomy to save her life.
She was pregnant and not strong enough to give birth, the pups that were still inside her had to be removed.  Unfortuantely Jeannie did not survive her depression after the operation.  She knew that her pups were gone. 
She was much loved and cared for in her final days,  We were told to give her one week, we gave her three.
She will be missed by us all here at Oudrif and Clanwilliam as she mothered many of the dogs in town.

She leaves behind a new start for the animal welfare society and a huge wake up call to the needs that are really out there that we do not always get to see.  To prevent the same thing happening again we run mass sterilization drives anually.