News
We are VERY excited to announce that Litah, our first cat to begin LTCI treatment for FIP has tested COMPLETELY NEGATIVE for FIP after receiving 6 LTCI shots. Her FIP titer blood test just came back this week and we are very hopeful that by August most of our remaining cats in treatment for FIP will also test negative.
Upcoming FIP Retesting dates:
7/16 - Star
7/23 - Dash & Aranelle
7/30 - Kori
8/6 - Simba, Halle & Coal
8/13 - Calla
8/20 - Alanya & Cinder
8/27 - Blaze
ADOPTION UPDATE
Healing Hearts will soon be introducing a foster-to-adopt program for people who are interested in adopting one or more of our cats. To be available for foster-to-adopt, the foster cat must be negative for FIP or have received at least 6 LTCI shots and have a healthy CBC (Complete Blood Count) test. Right now Basil is the only negative foster cat, so he is waiting for Thyme to be ready on June 18th to go to a foster-to-adopt home with him. Families wishing to participate in foster-to-adopt must have no other cats already and be willing to take two cats who are siblings or friends. As soon as your cats are ready, you can take them home with you, where you would be responsible for food, litter, toys, etc. The only link that must be maintained with Healing Hearts is the follow-up LTCI shots every six weeks at Graham Animal Clinic in Hendersonville at 4 pm on Thursdays, and periodic blood tests to determine when your cats are completely negative for FIP. If your foster cats should need any other medical care until they test negative, Healing Hearts will cover that as well. If you are interested in foster-to-adopt, then please email Joy at healingheartsar@hotmail.com for more information.
FOSTER UPDATE
Basil and Sanctura are our only healthy foster cats available for adoption right now. By August we are expecting Halle and Aranelle to most likely test negative as well. Whisper, Thyme, Alexandra and Shadow will have to remain in treatment longer than that because their FIP blood levels are higher so it will take longer for their levels to go down.
FOSTER OPENINGS:
Healing Hearts does NOT have space right now for new animals of ANY kind.
All we can offer is courtesy posting on our PetFinder site. A courtesy posting looks like the postings for the animals already within our program and receives the same coverage throughout the PetFinder site. Email Joy at healingheartsAR@hotmail.com for more information.
Special Needs Cats - FIP+
FIP stands for Feline Infectious Peritonitus. It is a fairly rare but serious and contagious feline-only illness. All of the cats at Healing Hearts have been exposed to FIP. Following is a list of FIP symptoms ranging from mild to severe:
Mild or Early Symptoms of FIP:
loss of interest in favorite treats or foods
loss of interest in favorite toys or activities
general social withdrawal
vomiting and diarrhea
Moderate Symptoms of FIP
loss of paw-eye coordination (test with laser light or string toy)
crying or mewing for no discernible reason
throwing up long clumps of dry food pressed together with mucus
eating non-food objects such as biting and eating chunks of toys
Serious, life-threatening symptoms of FIP:
severe dehydration
not eating at all for more than two days
difficulty with coordination (walking or jumping)
extreme personality changes
extreme agitation (inability to remain still, need to be in constant motion)
throwing up large amounts of mucus (yellow, green or clear)
You have to wait until the cat reaches the serious, life-threatening stage before LTCI can be used, but once it is administered, the cat's condition changes dramatically with the hour. I have seen a cat who had not eaten in 4 days come home from her first LTCI and was eating dry food within the hour and bouncing around like a kitten again! We desperately need donations to cover the cost of vet care. It costs $114 a shot per cat, plus bloodwork before you start treatment and to follow up during and afterward.
So far only Basil and Sanctura have tested negative for FIP.
DONATIONS NEEDED
We urgently need some very specific items for all of our cats and kittens in foster care for FIP right now.
Royal Canin Special 33 dry food for FIP cats - sponsored
Whiskas dry food, any flavor, any size - needed
Whiskas with gravy canned food (pouches), any flavor - greatly needed
cat treats (any flavor, soft or hard) - needed
cat toys (any kind) - greatly needed
cat beds (any kind, any size) - needed
Feline Pine Scoopable cat litter - greatly needed
litter mats - donated by PetSupermarket of Bellevue
towels - donated by Pet Supermarket of Bellevue
blankets - donated by Pet Supermarket of Bellevue
food dishes (any kind) - greatly needed
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
As needed - We could use volunteers with HTML experience to help us with our webpage.
Pet Food
How safe is the food your pet is eating? You might be surprised by the answer. Many people are not aware that most commercial dry dog and cat foods contain zinc oxide, which causes cancer and Yellow 5 and 6, which cause diabetes. Most of our dogs and cats die of either cancer or renal failure when they grow old. This strongly suggests that something in their food is slowly poisoning them. Some of the brands that contain either or both of these additives include Nutro, Iams, Pedigree, Science Diet, Eukanuba, and Meow Mix. Most canned food and treats or chews (for either dogs or cats) contain neither additive, regardless of the brand.
Some of the brands that are safe include the Goodlife Recipe, PurinaOne, Royal Canin, Blue, Whiskas, and Purina ProPlan. A few cheaper foods are also safe, such as Purina Dog Chow, Purina Puppy Chow, Purina Kitten Chow and Purina Cat Chow. Healing Hearts welcomes donations of any of these safe brands of dog or cat food. Donations of dog or cat food can be left on our front porch or you can call Joy at (615) 865-4193 to arrange a delivery time.
Adopting a friend
*Healing Hearts Animal Rescue does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, national origin, disability or lifestyle preference. We regularly adopt cats and kittens to families with children or adults who have a variety of physical or mental disabilities. We also do out-of-state adoptions so long as you are willing to come and pick up your new pet. However, Healing Hearts does reserve the right to accept or deny any application on the basis of the individual needs of the foster animal. If your application or request to adopt a particular animal is denied, then you will be told what the specific reason was, and offered additional resources to assist you in locating the right animal for your family. *
Cats: You must fill out our cat adoption application and sign our cat adoption contract in order to adopt from our organization. We only adopt our cats and kittens to indoor homes. Cat and kitten adoption fee is $100 which includes Feline leukemia and AIDS testing, spay or neuter surgery, shots, deworming, flea medicine and any other necessary medical care. For older cats, special needs cats, or semi-feral cats and kittens, adoption fees may be reduced. If you choose to adopt two cats or kittens, then the adoption fee is $150 for two. At the present time, if you choose to adopt a cat from Healing Hearts, that cat must have recently tested negative for FIP or be eligible for our foster-to-adopt program.
Please email Joy at healingheartsAR@hotmail.com for more information on our adoption process.
The Rainbow Bridge
We have had to say goodbye to three cats and one kitten since January who died from the advanced stages of FIP:
Serengeti - 19 month old grey and white Bengal mix tuxedo male (original case of FIP)
Aislinn - 19 month old brown and white marble Bengal mix female (Geti's sister)
Velvet - 6 month old black Siamese mix male (born at Healing Hearts)
Bella - 14 months - black and gold tortie w/golden crown on forehead (Velvet's mother)
Come Visit Us!
Please email Joy at healingheartsAR@hotmail.com for directions to our shelter.
Foster animals are available for visitors by appointment only. Appointments can be scheduled any day of the week, usually in the evenings and on weekends, so long as you call ahead of time. Best times to call during the week are 5-8 pm Monday through Friday. Best times to call during the weekend are 9 am to 9 pm on Saturdays and 2-8 pm on Sundays.
Healing Hearts Animal Rescue
235 Maple Street
Madison, TN 37115
Phone: (615) 865-4193
Email: 
