TAAG Times
Newsletter
Fall 2016Volume 10, Issue 1
Bottle Babies and TAAG
Just like every rescue during the summer, TAAG has kittens...LOTS of kittens. Ours are a little
different. Most of the kittens that we place up for adoption are “bottle babies,” and these cats have great
personalities. Because bottle babies begin bonding with people very young, they usually have very
people-oriented personalities. Some develop strange quirks such as sucking on a blanket, a bed, or, as in
the case of 4 year old Simba, the end of his tail. These just make us love them more. Adopters have come
back to tell us that, “this is the best cat I’ve ever had,” “I didn’t really like cats, but I love the kitten my wife
brought home,” and that “they act more like a dog then a cat.”
Because of many dedicated and well-trained fosters, we at TAAG are able to save many baby
kittens that have been orphaned or abandoned. So far this year, we have taken in and raised 86 kittens
under five weeks of age, many newborn or premature. For
example, Stormy came to us as a newborn after her mom gave birth to her under a car, in a
parking lot, during a pouring rainstorm before she ran off. A group of five came to us at about
two weeks old after their mom was hit by a car. We have taken in kittens from ten counties
across North and South Carolina this year, answering calls from individuals, shelters, and other
rescue groups that seek our expertise with neonates. Some come in weighing as little as 39
grams, and some have injuries or health problems.
All of these babies, even the healthy ones, require care and feeding with special kitten
formula around-the-clock. Newborns need to be fed every two to three hours! Our bottle feeders
have learned how to provide specialized care, such as giving subcutaneous fluids, injecting
medication, and tube feeding to give these babies their best chance at survival. We also have a
NICU set-up, complete with incubator and oxygen concentrator. Our selfless, caring fosters could not do any of this without the generous
financial donations from members of our community and beyond.
Linus’ Journey
Sometimes the unexpected happens and it catches us all off-guard. Linus and his siblings had a
hard start: their mother, who had been taking such wonderful care of them, was hit by a car. We received
the call about five orphaned kittens in need and we immediately took them in. While mom took amazing
care of them, these babies would still need bottle feeding. No problem for our amazing TAAG fosters.
One day after an adoption event, Linus’ foster returned home to find him injured. Linus’ face was swollen
and he was bleeding from his eye and nose. He was immediately rushed to the emergency vet for
treatment.
After we got the swelling down (most of which went away
with a couple doses of antihistamine indicating an allergic
reaction), we realized there was some underlying trauma, most
likely from a fall. The best that we and his vets could guess about
what happened is poor Linus was stung by a wasp and then fell on
his face as he tried to get away. It’s possible that Linus may have fractured his eye socket.
Unfortunately, he developed a blood clot in his eye as a result from complications from his injury.
Several visits to the vet and different medicines have had no effect. Linus no longer has vision in that eye,
and it has begun to atrophy and shrink. He will have to have it removed before it begins to cause more
issues for him.
We are currently fundraising for his surgery, and hope to get it done very soon!
UPCOMING EVENT: Fall Fest for the Animals :: October 22nd, 11am - 3pm :: Tractor Supply Co. in Brevard
Happy Tails for Sally
We at TAAG will always support our animals and sometimes that means finding them another
home if they make their way back to us.
Sally was adopted from us years back. Unfortunately, her person passed away. We got a call from
her family asking if we could find another home for this sweet older lady. Of course we said “yes.”
Sally came back to us in early February. Being used to a quiet home with no other animals, Sally
was a very timid girl in the hustle and bustle of PetSmart. We rigged up a box for her to “hide” in so she would
feel safe, but that potential adopters could see her.
Sally didn’t like being around other cats or dogs. All she wanted was a quiet place and a lap to sit
on. This, combined with her age (at age seven, cats are considered seniors!), meant that it would be more
difficult to find a new home for Sally. But we believe there is a
home out there for every animal, and we and Sally waited
patiently.
It took six long months, but we’re pleased to announce that Sally was adopted by a young
couple, who LOVE her so very dearly. It was love at first sight for Sally and her new mom, who later
told us that after two hours of hiding under the bed, she came out and sprawled on the floor like she’d
been there all her life.
Congratulations to the new family, and many, many years of lap snuggles!
A Special Thank You
In a foster-network group, our fosters get a lot of attention and credit for the work they do with our animals.
However, there is a group of un-sung heroes in TAAG, and we could not operate without them: our PetSmart
enclosure volunteers.
These volunteers spend a few hours a day, once-a-week, cleaning our cat enclosures, scooping boxes and giving these cats time to run around and plenty
of love. They come every week, rain or shine and even on holidays. They love our cats as much as we do, and we can’t thank them enough for all of their hard work
and time they dedicate to TAAG, despite their very busy lives.
Thank you Laura, Christine, Sheridan, Jana, Connie, Jimmy, Kellie, Zac and Aaron. We love you guys!
TAAG NEEDS YOU…to VOLUNTEER!
We need volunteers!
-Dog Fosters
-Cat Fosters
-Saturday Adoption Day volunteers
-Public Relations
-Social Media Gurus
-Grant Writers/Fundraisers
Please contact us at our TAAG Line and
leave a message: 828-966-3166
OR
Email us at [email protected]!
http://www.taagwags.org
President: Terry Grossmann
How Can I Help? We Need Donations!
The services and experience that TAAG offers has been in very high
demand this year. We have gotten calls from vets, individuals, shelters, and even
other rescue groups. We have made rescues in ten counties across North and South
Carolina. So far this summer we have bottle-raised over 55 kittens, and the summer
isn’t over yet.
We need your help. Donations are how we keep operating and helping
the animals in our community and beyond. Every little bit helps, and 100% of your
tax-deductible donation goes right to helping our animals. Please visit our website on
all of the ways you can donate to TAAG!
TAAG Boad of Directors
Vice President: Angela Creech
Secretary: Christy Lennox
Treasurer: Laura Ward
Member: April Joyce
:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::
Please sponsor our adoptable animals!
____$10 for one
rabies shot
____$45 to neuter
one cat
____$65 to spay
one dog
____$95 to sponser
one cat or dog
$________ in honor of:
____________________
____________________
____________________
Name: _____________________________________________________________
Address: __________________________________________________________
City: ______________________________State: ______Zip Code: _________
Phone (Cell or Home): ____________________________________________
Email: _____________________________________________________________
THANK YOU!!
Please make checks payable to TAAG.
Mail to: TAAG, PO Box 844, Brevard, NC 28712
Your tax-deductible donation makes a difference to pets and families
in our community. TAAG is a 501c3 non-profit corporation.