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PITTSBURGH PA ~ Tiger Ranch Cats Thriving at Shelter ~ "My Goal Is to Have Them Adopted Into Good Homes. They Deserve It."

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Huddled in a small wicker basket in the corner of a makeshift cattery sleeps a miracle. Pirate's head peers over the basket's edge for a mere second -- long enough to display his remaining glossy eye that tells the story of a long journey to wellness.

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Thursday July 24, 2008, 2:01 am

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“Tiger Ranch Update: Video Shows Seized Cats Four Months Later”

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“Shelter Director Explains What Supplies Are Needed”

Huddled in a small wicker basket in the corner of a makeshift cattery sleeps a miracle.

The small black cat’s head peers over the basket’s edge for a mere second -- long enough to display its remaining glossy eye that tells the story of a long journey to wellness.

A neon yellow collar around the cat’s neck reads “J-12,” but to the workers at the makeshift animal hospital at the former Clarion County Humane Society in Shippenville, the cat is known as Pirate.

Pirate is one of more than 250 remaining cats that were seized by the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals from Tiger Ranch in Frazer about four months ago.

Almost all of the cats in the shelter are well enough to begin living normal lives again, according to veterinarian Dr. Becky Morrow.

Morrow has cared for the cats since they were seized March 13.

“It was the most exciting thing the day I saw a cat playing,” she said. “It was the biggest thing to me that we are starting to see normal cat behaviors such as grooming and playing again.”

“No one here looks at these cats as a job,” said Holly Raybuck, assistant shelter manager. “We have seen horrors getting better. We have been working long hours and these cats seem to be responding. They are letting us know their potential.”

Looking into the eyes of Franky Blue Eyes, an oversized striped cat who suffers from feline AIDS and calicivirus, shelter manager Wendy Evans gave off a smile as she scratched the underside of his neck.

“Many of these cats went through hell to get (well),” she said. “As we would wipe the infections from their eyes, skin and fur would fall off.”

According to Morrow, Pirate was one of the cats Evans was talking about.

“He had terrible eye infections when he was brought here,” she said. “Unfortunately, I was unable to save his eye and had to remove it. Now he’s a happy boy and playing with his buddies.”

“It doesn’t bother him,” said Rachel McNatt, a veterinarian technician, as she stroked Pirate’s head.

Naughty Boy reached its paw out from under an enclosed cattery as if to catch the shoe lace of Evans as she passed by.

Morrow said Naughty Boy, along with nearly 75 percent of the cats in the shelter, are well enough to be housed with other felines that are infected with the same strain of calicivirus.

On the other side of the first cattery sits a large black cage.

Inside is Rachel.

The once feral cat has begun to show signs of becoming tame.

“We could never get close to her,” Evans said. “But then she started to let us pet her and when you do she will kneed the ground. It just makes you happy.”

Evans said each cat has a story.

“There is Rocky who can’t be with other cats and Cassidy who had to have one of her hind legs removed due to infection,” she said. “At first we called her Tripod but we changed it Cassidy for Hopalong Cassidy.”

Morrow said one of the biggest accomplishments is the weight gain many of the cats have experienced since coming to the shelter.

According to Evans, many of the cats had to be weaned off of soft food.

“A lot of the cats were so thin with no muscle tone when they arrived,” Evans said. “You could see their veins, bones and tendons through their skin. To come in now, the agents on the raid would have no clue which cat is which.”

A litter of six healthy kittens were born April 26 to a mother infected with calicivirus.

Evans said each escaped contracting the virus and are considered to be 100 percent healthy.

But for the cats housed in the kitten and puppy rooms, their fight is far from being over.

“We still have ones with fevers and respiratory infections,” Morrow said. “There are five or six that I am still very worried about.”

And, despite those handful of cats, Morrow feels that each has achieved an amazing feat of survival.

“We have come a tremendous way because, in my opinion, I didn’t see a healthy cat at the raid,” she said. “There were some that were just awful. Knowing the setup at Tiger Ranch, I estimated a 50 percent loss and we are still above that. It’s miraculous.”

Evans said she predicts a bright future for these cats.

The PSPCA has been able to match a half-dozen cats with their former owners on PetFinder.com.

Although they are unable to hand the cats over to the former owners, if the agency gains complete custody of the cats, the former owners can adopt their cats back.

“I am quite attached to these cats and hoping they will all recover. I will not give up on them,” Morrow said. “My goal is to have them adopted into good homes. They deserve it. Most of the cats are just loving and want to be interacting with you.”

TO HELP:

The makeshift shelter at the former Clarion County Humane Society needs supplies to continue caring for the cats from Tiger Ranch in Frazer. Items needed include:

• Exam gloves and latex-free exam gloves, all sizes.

• Clay kitty litter.

• Canned and dry kitten and adult cat food.

• Bleach.

• Paper french fry boats for feeding.

Donations can be mailed to or dropped off at the shelter: 9562 Route 322, Shippenville, PA 16254.

Cash donations will also be accepted.

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PITTSBURGH PA ~ Tiger Ranch Cats Thriving at Shelter ~ "My Goal Is to Have Them Adopted Into Good Homes. They Deserve It."

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