Iris

Last Friday we got a call for help from Adrienne, who works with Green Youth Farms based at Dyett High School in Washington Park (on the west end of Hyde Park). She had just found two kittens in a gardening shed. "One kitten has what appears to be conjunctivitis in one eye," she wrote. "The mother apparently has a litter every year (the old timers tell me)." Mama cat is a black and silver tabby and her babies are tabbies too.

One of our volunteers, Ruth A., was able to bike over to the park to meet Adrienne, and they easily secured the kitten with the bad eye. She was seen at Hyde Park Animal Hospital that afternoon, where we learned some bad news: "Iris" had had such a raging infection in the eye that it had perforated (the eye is gone). The remaining eye is also infected but Iris is receiving oral antibiotics as well as medicated eyedrops and we are hopeful the remaining eye can be saved.

Here she is in custody:

These types of eye infections are, sadly, not uncommon in outdoor cats. Other than the eye, she is in good shape (Mama cat did her best) -- about six weeks old, not dehydrated, no fleas, no ear mites. She weighs just over a pound and has a beautiful coat with some orange in it. Ruth says she's very sweet and cooperative.

Adrienne and Kim C. (who fostered Sitwell) were able to return to the site and captured the second kitten, who we are calling May. We hope to at least get Mamacat TNRed. If you would like to foster these kittens, please email hydeparkcats@gmail.com.

Please consider a small donation at this time to help us treat Iris and May and get them on the road to adoption, and to get their poor Mamacat some veterinary care too.