Bear, Pip and Jiffy were born in BAWCS care. We opened our doors (and our hearts) to their young mum “Caitness”, who was living on a farming property, heavily pregnant and unwanted. The next day, 3 beautiful little champagne kittens were born. Bear, Pip and Jiffy have grown into the cutest and funniest little kittens and are now ready to find loving homes!
As another year passes, we look back on all the lives we’ve been able to change in 2015 because of YOU! A huge THANK YOU to all of our dedicated volunteers, donors, sponsors, foster carers, business partners and adopters….we could not have done it without you!
We wish everyone a HAPPY NEW YEAR and look forward to continuing our work in 2016 saving more lives and caring for the vulnerable.
It is with sadness we advise that we have finally received the results of tests undertaken on Tuppence that recently indicated something was not quite right. The high white cell count cannot be accounted for (the urine culture was clear) so it is feared that our sweet princess may have cancer. This means she is not a candidate for the Radioactive Iodine Therapy we had planned to cure her Hyperthyroidism.
Tuppence will now join our palliative care cats. We will continue to monitor her health and do whatever is required for her to be happy and comfortable.
For everyone that had donated to her thyroid treatment, please contact us if you would like a refund of your donation, otherwise we will put the funds raised to her ongoing palliative care, including her thyroid medication. Please note: we were unable to get the results of pre treatment tests prior to raising the funds as the tests have to be undertaken one week prior to Tuppence being admitted for the treatment.
With the clip clop of little hooves and a neigh to announce his arrival, Phantom made his debut at the Vegecareian Festival yesterday.
The yearly event held at the Great Stupa of Universal Compassion attracts crowds from all around the Bendigo region, many of whom met Phantom at our stall yesterday.
Phantom is an 18 year old Falabella (miniature horse) who is a permanent resident at the BAWCS shelter and part of our Farm Friends Sponsorship program.
With his calm nature and small stature, he proved to be quite a popular boy with many people keen to have a pat or share a photo with him.
Later in the day, he even lined up to participate in the Animal Blessings where he was happy to take the spotlight and charm everyone he met along the way.
Thank you to everyone who visited our stall and made a purchase or donation. It is only with the support of the community that we can continue our work.
A huge thank you must also go to Ian and Ester from Horse and Country Bendigo for kindly donating use of their float for the day and safely transporting Phantom to and from the festival.
We look forward to next year’s event, where Phantom will be no doubt make many more friends!
If you would like to become Phantom’s Farm Friend Sponsor, click here
Almost a month ago, a very special match was made with our beautiful Marvel. Such a gentle soul, who had been in BAWCS care for some time and was loved by all of our volunteers. It warmed our hearts when we received this lovely update from Marvel’s new “mum”, and we just had to share…
Thought Tony and I would send through an email letting you know how Marvel is settling in. Marvel is absolutely adorable and we love him to bits. He has settled in really well and seems to think he’s boss…lol!
He is very well toilet trained, no mishaps whatsoever and loves his tucker both wet and dry food and has his daily routine down pat….or should I say we have his daily routine down pat…like I said he thinks he’s boss 😉
Marvel loves his smooches, snuggles, pats and kisses with both Tony and I and distributes them differently with the two of us.
At night when it’s bed time, he snuggles right in with Tony and I on our bed, on our pillows behind our heads, at the foot of the bed or anywhere on there he feels comfortable. We often wake up at night and he’s on our pillow next to us looking at us, then he makes sure we’re okay and settles back in and starts purring all over again….until we move our tootsies and he’s up for a play 😉
He has started to become more adventurous within our home and looking into places he hasn’t yet gone. He knows exactly where his food is kept and even when Tony and I are in the backyard he is often at the sliding door watching and staying close.
He has found ‘his spot’ on the couch, on our laps, on the dining room chairs, on our bed, on the floor and has just started approaching his scratching post without as much fear.
Oh and he loves, loves playing with his toy mice and adores shoe laces.
The kids love him to bits and he is not so shy with them as he was when we first brought him home.
Tony and I just laugh at all the fun and cute little things he gets up to, even his cantankerous mood and crankiness at times.
We are so grateful for our furry feline child in ways I can’t describe and Marvel means the world to both Tony and I.
One thing I am so thankful for is BAWCS no kill policy because we would not have Marvel if that was the case seeing as he was a BAWCS resident for 2 years. How no-one snapped him up before us is unbelievable however he was waiting for the right family to come along and take him home and love and spoil him rotten, which Tony and I do without hesitation.
Marvel has started snuggling with one of his toy mice attached to a shoelace of a night time. If you look closely at his photo, the toy mouse is under his cute little head.
Before I sign off…this kitty loves TV…he sits there watching it with us…he sure is lovable.
Until next time…love Marvel, Tony and Christine x
Rusty was a pretty sad sight when he first arrived into BAWCS care, with a large open wound on his head and a damaged eye. While he was happy to have a loving pat and keen to get some attention, it was obvious this poor boy was in pain. As fate would have it, he had found himself at Central Victoria’s only “No Kill” shelter and he was in safe hands. He was immediately taken to our vet who suspected the head wound was an abscess which had been untreated. The eye had a very painful and deep seated ulcer, leaving the only option to remove the eye. A blood test also revealed a further challenge, he was FIV positive.
FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline disease which weakens the immune system and is most commonly spread through deep bite wounds that usually occur outdoors during aggressive cat fights.
Rusty underwent surgery to remove his damaged eye and repair his head wound. A flap of skin was stitched over the wound on his head but it was unknown if this would be successful given the size of the area. Rusty came through the surgery well however he was left with quite a few stitches and a drainage tube.
A return visit to the vet confirmed that the skin flap hadn’t worked but the skin around the area appeared to be healing. A second surgery was undertaken and this time the stitches held and over time, the wound healed and revealed a very playful and vibrant young cat.
It was a long road of recovery for Rusty, but we never doubted that the process would be worth it…and he reminds us every day! Rusty is currently sharing with our group of “office cats” at the BAWCS Shelter, where he entertains us with his antics, sometimes his playfulness proving to be a little too much for the more mature “Pumpkin”.
Rusty is available for adoption now and ready to start his new life. If you would be interested in adopting this special boy, you can view his profile here.
