I keep sitting down to start up writing the blog again, but it's been difficult for me to find the words to describe the past few months, and the tragedy that was our first encounter with Parvovirus. I had heard about shelters suffering Parvo outbreaks, and had tutted sympathetically without having any clue of the depth and breadth of the impact. In the aftermath, while researching Panleukopenia and shelters, I came across an interview in which the writer describes the shelter manager as "still noticeably shaken" while recounting his experience with the virus. The loss of so many so quickly, despite incredible efforts to save them...the constant and urgent nursing, checking, isolating and removal...the frantic cleaning and repeated bleaching...waking up everyday to start over again, never knowing who you will find sick or which one will die next. While we were going through it we were unable to stop and even grieve, and then when it was over, the depression hit. There were times when I thought we'd never make it back.

The lowest point came when we sat down to meet with professionals who advised us that we should close and empty the shelter. We had lost 10 cats of the 55 that we were caring for at the time, and had been symptom free for a couple of weeks by then. We were exhausted, having managed most of the crisis on our own, and it was a huge blow hearing so matter-of-factly that we would need to aggressively re-home and/or euthanize our precious survivors. In the end, we took a short break from any work outside the shelter, and decided to continue on as is without accepting any new cats for the following few months. Kittens or cats that cannot be previously vaccinated 2 weeks prior to intake, will not be accepted until we are absolutely certain that we have a safe quarantine zone. Luckily several volunteers really stepped up to the plate to provide foster care for this season's kittens. We've gone out to their homes to help multiple times, but they've done the lion's share of the work, and we wouldn't have been able to save any little lives this spring without them. These people have also been a constant source of encouragement, and I don't believe we could have recovered without that. I guess it's true that hard times really show you who your friends are! We received some wonderfully heartfelt words from our far away supporters, and I can't say how much those messages meant to us.

Cats are now testing negative for the virus, and we've been able to start placing them again. Adult cats Kuro, Lilly, and Iris are in new homes now! We've also placed several of the younger ones recently. Though there are things that will never be the same, I believe that we can go forward, and I have hope for the first time in what seems like a long time. Take a look at the little lives that we've helped to save this past month, cared for by Sharon, Gina, Kim, and Monique. We can't give up, when there is so much to do and so few shelters doing it--thank goodness we're not alone in thinking that!

 

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