A Special Announcement (Wordy Wednesday_

We have a special announcement today, but I want to make something very clear before I tell you what it is.

No cat will ever replace Lita. And I know that nothing is going to take away the pain of losing her. I am still very sad and grieving for my beautiful girl.

Shortly after Lita passed away, I began looking for a friend for Carmine. I have a lot of love to give another kitty, and I want to give another kitty a good and loving home where he can be spoiled to pieces, just like he deserves. I found a gorgeous Siamese cat on PetFinder named Kao Grong (which translates to Brown Rice in English). 

I inquired about him, and he sounded just perfect for us! But he was showing signs of a URI and was on antibiotics, so he couldn't come home right away. 

I waited five days to do our meet and greet so I could bring Carmine along to meet Brown Rice. When I met him, I knew he was the right kitty for us! 

Carmine did very well at the meet and greet - especially considering it was in a strange environment for him. He allowed Brow Rice to sit near him, but he did get hissy when he tried to rub up against Carmine or get too close. I think they will become good friends once Brown Rice comes home and they have a chance to get to know each other. 

Brown Rice has quite the story. This is what I've gathered from his foster mom and the blog about him on Demi's Animal Rescue's website. 

A well-intentioned older woman they call Granny took in a bunch of kitties to keep them safe from the mean people in Thailand. From what I gather, most people are not very kind to street cats and dogs in Thailand. 

Granny works 12 hours a day washing dishes in a food cart for the equivalent of $10 US per day. She loves the street cats in Thailand, but her love for them grew out of control, and she became a hoarder. She lives in a tiny apartment (smaller than the studio I had when I first moved into this building) and had 30-40 kitties stacked in cages to the ceiling. She sleeps on a stack of newspapers between the cages, and she lives in poverty.

Granny believes she is helping the cats by saving them from the dangers of the streets in Thailand, but as many of us know, being in a cage without adequate care is not a good life for a kitty, either. A kind woman named Apple helps Granny by bringing her cat food and litter and gets the kitties sterilized. Apple is helping rehome the kitties so they can get out of their cages and into good homes. 

While Demi (of Demi's Animal Rescue) was in Thailand, Apple pointed out four beautiful Siamese cats in Granny's apartment. They were all in terrible pain due to severe dental issues. They were drooling and couldn't even close their mouths. They desperately needed medical attention to get them out of the pain they were in. 

Demi talked to the board of Demi's Animal Rescue, and the board voted to help the kitties. They were all taken to get dentals, vaccinations, microchips, and examinations. They returned to Granny's apartment, able to meow, which they could not even do before!

When the kitties were taken back to get their booster vaccines, three of the our were showing severe flu-like symptoms. Demi and Apple knew the kitties couldn't get better in Granny's tiny and dirty apartment, even with the appropriate medication.

They called an incredible German animal rescuer named Adrian. Adrian had a spare room in his home in a town called Pattaya, about two hours south of Bangkok (where Granny's apartment is). He graciously agreed to treat and care for the kitties.

They took the kitties to Adrian right away, straight from the vet. 

Once the kitties were well, they had to be quarantined in Thailand for 30 days before they were allowed to fly to the US. The foster in Thailand ended up keeping one of the Siamese (who could blame him?), so three of them flew to the United States and have been fostered by a wonderful woman at Demi's Animal Rescue.

I have not had the chance to meet Demi yet, but she is very inspirational. I have had a chance to meet her mom because she is fostering Brown Rice, and she is a wonderful woman who loves her fosters very much. I know he is in the most excellent hands until he is cleared to come home with us.

Unfortunately, we may have hit a little snag. Carmine has been sneezing just a little and I'm not so sure he can smell his wet food too much. He may have a URI himself. Our regular vet cannot see him until next Tuesday. To me, that seems like a long time to allow a URI to fester, if he has one, so I'm going to call around later to see if anyone can see him this week instead. 

I might just be being paranoid. He might be sneezing from something else. But after what happened to Lita, I am not willing to take any unnecessary risks. Even if the vet says nothing's wrong with him, it is worth spending the money on the exam to me.

I do plan to get pet insurance on Brown Rice. 

Brown Rice doesn't really respond to his name, so.........do you all have any name suggestions for him? Maybe something to honor where he came from? Or something that symbolizes courage or the fact that he is a survivor?

I'm hoping that if Carmine has a URI that his foster mom will hold Brown Rice for me until Carmine is not contagious. I'd hate for them to pass an infection back and forth, if Carmine has one. 

It has not been easy waiting for Brown Rice to come home, but I know he will be a perfect fit in our little family! I hope he'll be able to come home soon. He is quite the inspirational little guy. 

I am so thankful to Demi, Apple, Adrian, Demi's Animal Rescue, and anyone who helped Brown Rice and the other Siamese through this long journey.

Demi made a microdocumentary about animal rescue in Bangkok. You can watch it HERE.