Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Fostering Little Angie


Little Angie was found in Sharjah staggering into a feeding area with other hungry, abandoned cats in the vicinity of AUS and University of Sharjah. She was about 7 months old, emaciated, caked with mud, her hair matted, and drooling from her mouth. At first the woman who fed the cats thought she had a serious fatal disease, but Sharjah Feline Friends rep David came over and picked her up. He kept her for a couple of days, saw she was hungry and eating well, so he took her to Belgian vet Jim for a checkup. Jim's specialty is feline dental work. She had rotten teeth and serious gum disease. He fixed her teeth/gum problems, spayed her, and gave her the necessary vaccinations. She was put in a cage for one month and then brought over to my place to be fostered. She came in the same day that Phil arrived in Sharjah, just a couple of hours earlier than Phil. He thought she looked and acted like two of our cats, Sweetie and our first cat Cubby who is no longer with us. It's no surprise then that we are both enjoying her. She purrs all the time and follows us around. She is gaining weight and confidence. Generally, she is a very happy cat, but probably will remain small in size due to starvation in her early months of life. She will be "homed" very quickly, David tells me, because hers is a "rags to riches" story. He has never seen a kitten in such terrible condition. Now, he is very happy that she is safe and happy here in my flat in Sharjah while she awaits a permanent home with a lucky family.

And now for the rest of the story: Phil Roberts of Laramie, Wyoming, adopted little Angie whom he renamed Jameela which means "beautiful" in Arabic. See her photos above. Jameela stayed with me in Sharjah from December to June. During this period, she was often very ill and had to be taken to the vet about every two weeks. On June 6, we transported in the passenger cabin of Lufthansa, arriving same day in Denver, and then drove up to Laramie, a 2.5 hour trip. Jameela is now at home in Laramie with our six other cats, one who came from Sharjah-Dubai 12 years ago (Myty-Myte). She loves being in a big cat family, loves running around our enclosed backyard, and loves climbing our trees. She is healthy and happy now.

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