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I'm very excited, so I have to share.^_^

I just found out at work today that we'll be helping the humane society take care of some of the cats they've rescued from the Katrina disaster area! The Marine Humane Society has been organizing volunteers to go down there and rescue as many cats and dogs as they can find- animals who have lost their families and their homes, and are now wandering around without food, shelter, or care. They're being airlifted to the Bay Area by the hundreds, and we're going to take on some of their cats- they will have secure shelter with us until we find them new homes!

All the animals which the humane society is rescuing are being checked for chips- which will help us find the original owners, if at all possible. Also, all the animals are having their pictures taken and put up on the web- but the sheer number of animals who have been stranded makes it highly unlikely that we will be able to locate many of the original owners. Of course, there is also the unfortunate possibility that some of those families were casualties of the hurricane. So now we're just doing as much as we can for the animals we have been able to save.

I spent the last part of my shift preparing a hurricane relief ward to house the cats when they arrive- we're gathering up boxes and paper bags as hiding places, since they'll probably be very frightened when they get here, and I've sprayed the room down liberally with Feliway to help calm them. We're going to make adoption posters- and since I have the best digital camera of anyone in the hospital, I'll be taking most of the pictures.^_^ We're also going to talk to the pet store across the street, to see if they'd be willing to do a "pet of the week" thing, where they'd take one of the cats each week to stay in their store, where it will be more visible to people who are in the market for a pet cat.

I am very excited about this program- for the opportunity to do something for these animals who must have been through so much already! I've been crying all afternoon, in fact.^_^' I can't wait until they get here- I wonder how many we'll get, and what kind? We don't even know at this point- we're not even sure exactly when they'll arrive. I just prepared as many places for them as I could this afternoon, in the hopes that we'd be able to take as many as possible.^_^ And Dr. L has donated two wire cat traps to help catch stranded cats on the other end of the relief effort.

Dr. L has also said that there is a family which has been relocated near her neighborhood, and she has been collecting furniture and clothing items to donate to them and to another relief organization. I'm going through my closet as well- I have a few things which I accidentally bought in the wrong size, and have never been able to wear. I've also been wondering if there are any Habitat For Humanity worksites which have been dedicated to the cause in this area.