TLC ADOPTIONS

A non-profit cat rescue and adoption organization

Hello everyone,

I am happy to see that you found your way to my website and I sincerely hope that the information contained here will be of benefit to you and your cat(s)!

This page is a shameless plug for donations to TLC Adoptions which is a non-profit cat rescue and adoption organization that I donate my time to.  Our focus is the 'street rescue' of injured and abandoned cats and kittens, some of which are in very bad shape when they come into our care.   (See pictures below.)  As you all know, quality veterinary care is costly and our adoption fees do not cover our expenses.   It is only through the generosity of others that we are able to continue our work.

In addition to our rescue and adoption efforts for these unfortunate homeless cats and kittens, we focus heavily on TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) to decrease the numbers of unwanted animals that would otherwise be born - only to die an early death, or live a very hard life as a feral cat. (My personal passion is TNR work.)  Our group also helps fund the spaying and neutering of other feral and stray cats that the members of the community trap, but only when our funds allow.

We are very passionate about our motto - "If you feed it, fix it!" - but this takes money.  Spaying and neutering surgeries are costly even though we are blessed to have a low-cost spay and neuter clinic in our area, as well as a couple of local veterinarians who generously discount their services to help us with our efforts.

Many of you know me from the various internet groups that I try to help out on during just about every moment of my free time.  I am happy to help in any way I can and I feel such joy when I hear about a cat's illness improving when sound nutritional principles are implemented or when someone lets me know that their cat started using a litter box after the suggestions on my Litter Box page were put into place.  

If you have benefited from my help online or from the content of this website, please consider a tax-deductible donation - no matter how small - to help further TLC Adoptions' rescue efforts.  (See address below.)

TLC Adoptions spends your money wisely and every penny goes toward helping our rescues.  Due to our non-profit status, we are able to obtain some of our food and litter at discounted prices and, as mentioned above, we are lucky enough to have a low cost spay and neuter clinic in our area.

Here are some examples of what your donation will provide for our needy kitties:

$10 will provide relief from nasty fleas for 10 cats or awful, itchy mange mites for 5 cats.

$20 will feed an adult cat or 2-3 kittens (those little ones eat a lot!) for 1 month.

$45 will provide funds for the neutering of 1 male cat.

$55 will pay for the spaying of 1 female cat.  One female cat and her offspring have the potential to produce 420,000 cats in 7 years.  Many of these kittens die miserable deaths, so for every female cat that is spayed, you can see the tremendous impact that it will have on the prevention of future suffering of the little ones.

Any donation, no matter how small, or whether it's a one-time gift or a regular pledge, will make a huge impact on our ability to continue our work.  Every penny does count!

The following pictures are of some of our rescued alumni.  Please rest assured that even though some of the pictures are graphic, the suffering that these poor cats and kittens had endured prior to finding themselves in our care was alleviated.  None of this would have been possible without our volunteers, donations from kind people, and the incredible talent and generosity of the veterinarians who discount their fees so that we may save these little ones and end their suffering.                                   

Sweet and kind Chester was abandoned at the shelter because his owner did "not want to deal with him and his problems anymore".   He was rescued by a TLC Adoptions volunteer and as soon as he was put on a high quality diet, his skin problems cleared up.

Willie was found as an 8 week old kitten with a severely traumatized and infected eye.  He was also emaciated and terribly hungry, but even in his horrific condition, he would purr and head-butt!  TLC Adoptions provided for the necessary surgery to remove his eye,  and the aftercare.  He is now living in a wonderful home where he receives lots of love!

                          Before surgery                                            After surgery

Eddie, Pita and Levi all suffered from a very painful congenital condition called 'eyelid agenesis' meaning that they were born without eyelids.  This caused their fur to constantly rub on their cornea (the highly sensitive covering of the eyeball) leaving them in constant excruciating pain and heading them toward eventual blindness.  Just imagine if you had 100 eyelashes scratching your cornea 24/7 and you will get a feeling for what these cats had to endure....and would have had to live with for the rest of their lives if surgery had not been done to correct it.  If left uncorrected, most of them just keep their eyes closed at all times like Eddie - pre-surgery.

Eddie in severe pain pre-surgery            Eddie - much happier after surgery

Pita and Levi undergoing surgery by Dr. Michael Smith to correct their eyelid agenesis.  Several difficult, and expensive, surgeries are often needed to correct this condition.  They do not end up with gorgeous eyes after the surgeries, but at least they are out of constant pain.

Luke, Sam and Spike were found stuffed into a dog food bag which was inside of a dumpster.  They weighed only 14 ounces, were covered in their own feces and were also very close to death.  They are all now in loving homes.

Katie was found, along with her deceased brother, in a vat of glue.  She had a badly injured leg which had to be amputated.  Katie did not miss a beat after her surgery and gets around just fine on 3 legs!  She now lives with 2 other cats and 2 dogs in a great home.

Monique was a heartbreaking rescue...she was found in very poor condition nursing 5 kittens.  After she was rescued and fed a high quality diet, she perked up and started gaining weight.  She was a great mother to her kittens but we soon realized that she was still not well.  A blood panel revealed that Monique was in chronic renal failure and she was humanely put to sleep. It was a blessing that she did not have to die hungry, cold and unloved.

Jet and Nicholas....nursing broken legs.

Eve was found lying in a gutter in the middle of a rainstorm. She was emaciated, shivering, loaded with worms and covered in diarrhea. Eve was also severely injured and had a badly fractured pelvis (in about 6 pieces) and a paralyzed rear leg. We were afraid that if she did not regain the use of her leg, it would have to be amputated.  Eve did eventually regain nerve function to the limb but the hip joint was so badly broken that the top part of her femur had to be removed.  However, Eve does not realize that she is missing half of a thigh bone as she runs through the house chasing her housemates in her new home.

Tora, formerly known as Trooper, was rescued along with his 15 siblings and cousins when they were all about 4-5 weeks of age.  Tora was essentially blind at the time of the rescue with one ruptured eye and the other one glued shut from infection. He probably could not find his mom to nurse sufficiently....or she may have pushed him away knowing he was not well. Tora only weighed 8 ounces when his siblings weighed 1 pound.  The night that he was rescued, Tora started convulsing and I went to get the euthanasia solution...but just could not do it.  I really wanted to try to save him but was so overwhelmed with all of the kittens to care for.  But...here he is in his new home...just hanging out on the couch wondering what all the fuss and worry was about when he was just a little guy!

One evening, while on my way to PetSmart to volunteer for TLC Adoptions, I saw what I thought was a black rag laying on the sidewalk.  I was on a very busy street and did not dream that it could be a kitten!  I decide to give it another glance as I was driving by and saw the face of Kai.  He was sprawled out on the sidewalk - inches from the traffic - and he was not moving.   When I got Kai home it was clear that he was severely neurologically impaired as  this video and this video shows.  After a few weeks....and a bit of daily physical therapy with a tassle toy.....this video shows how much he has improved although he does fall down twice at the end of this movie.

Only time will tell if Kai will regain full coordination of his rear limbs but the good news is that he has been adopted into a safe and loving home where his healing will continue.

Dusty was rescued with is three siblings when they were 5 weeks old.  Here are two pictures of Dusty and his little human, Dylan.

           Dylan and Dusty....growing up together.

A little foster parent with her foster kitten.

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These rescued cats and kittens represent just a few of our success stories. We receive countless calls each year regarding litters of kittens that need homes and adult cats that have been abandoned by their owners....people who have just moved away and left their cats to fend for themselves with no food or water.  Unfortunately, the daily problems that we face as a rescue group will never end until people become more responsible about spaying and neutering and caring for their pets, in general. Until then.....

If you would like to make a tax-deductible donation to TLC Adoptions via snail mail, you may send it to:

TLC Adoptions

PO Box 1538

Torrance, CA 90505

Please let us know if you would like a receipt for your taxes.

All donations, no matter how small, will be greatly appreciated!