Feline Ohana – Not Forgetting Our Extended Family

9th Life Hawaii rescues some feline victims of hoarding.

By Jennifer Hayes, Best Friends Staff

Animal welfare can be a difficult endeavor even under the best of circumstances; however, imagine the challenges faced by those advocates who live on an island.

(Note the cat perched on top of the mound of plastic tubs.)

In January, the Maui Department of Health was informed of a potential health hazard involving an elderly couple, suffering from illnesses. They were living in squalid conditions, along with approximately 50 cats and 75 chickens. For fear of what might happen to their felines, they refused to allow officials access to their property to help. While various agencies stepped forward to assist the people, options for the cats were limited. It was only when they were assured that 9th Life Hawaii, Maui’s only non-profit no-kill feline rescue and sanctuary would guarantee the cats’ safety, that they permitted the rescue to begin.

Phyllis Tavares, Executive Director of 9th Life Hawaii, said describing the conditions at the residence is difficult, “The filth and the stench made it hard to stay too long on the property.” Volunteers donned protective masks and clothing to shield themselves from the chicken feces-covered yard and entry to the home. Once inside, the odor of cat urine from eight unaltered males, was overpowering.

When the elderly woman scattered cat food in the yard, the chickens would flock to the kibbles. Only the quickest adult cats were able to grab a few mouthfuls before it was all quickly devoured. The kittens, not strong enough to battle the others, received very little. As a result of the malnutrition and lack of veterinary care, the kittens were literally starving and upper respiratory infections (URI) were rampant.

(Phyllis Tavares and Alexis Plume administer flea treatment to one of the feral cats.)

The organization has been there multiple times and has successfully captured 38 of the cats. Most lived outdoors and did not receive much socialization with humans. Trapping the cats was very labor intensive and even hazardous. The debris littering the property caused Tavares to fall, which resulted in a badly sprained ankle and torn ligaments. She is now in a cast, yet remains one of the two primary caregivers to the new arrivals. Alisha Jensen, Vice President of 9th Life Hawaii, was very instrumental in catching the indoor cats by hand, and had to receive medical treatment for a bite from one of the frightened felines. An estimated ten cats remain on the property, and there are plans to trap again this weekend to hopefully rescue those remaining animals.

All of the cats have needed veterinary examinations, sterilization surgeries (except one female who had been spayed), microchipping, combo testing, and treatment for parasites. Most are undernourished and being treated for upper respiratory infections. Some are so ill that they have ulcerated eyes. While all efforts are being taken to save their eyes, there is still the risk that the deterioration is so severe, they may require surgical removal. There are others who have serious dental issues. One cat is already scheduled for surgery next week for extensive dental work.

Meet some sweeties
Magic is one of the cats whose eyes were ulcerated due to his illness. When first rescued, they feared he would lose one eye, but he is now undergoing treatment. It is hoped that the eye can be saved and that he will maintain partial vision. At about 8 months of age, he is socialized to people, yet remains fairly timid. He has grown comfortable to being petted and has a wonderful purr to prove when it is being done correctly. He is missing some of his lower teeth, so occasionally his tongue will stick out, making him look all the more endearing.

(Magic, with tongue sticking out, being held by Keith, the main cat caretaker.)

OJ and Luvbug are a bonded pair of orange and white tabbies. They are lucky and only have a mild case of conjunctivitis and need to put on some additional weight. These two were fortunate to have been afforded more protection and socialization since they were among the few chosen to be house cats. Both kittens are playful and very friendly with people. Since the brothers are so close, preferably they will be adopted together.

Sending out an SOS
The influx of so many sick animals has been a major strain on 9th Life Hawaii’s resources. The new arrivals must remain quarantined from the other 140 cats in their sanctuary.

(OJ is not only sweet, but very striking in his spotted tabby coat.)

While some organizations such as United Animal Nations and Best Friends Animal Society have offered some financial assistance, more help is needed. Because everything needs to be flown or shipped to the islands, all supplies are more expensive than on the mainland. A surcharge is added to all shipments to Hawaii, and Tavares notes that a sufficiently sized crate found online retails for $139, yet shipping costs an additional $100.

First and foremost, they are in desperate need of a separate quarantine area. In this hoarding case, and other instances when the organization receives cats who are sick, it is important not to spread illness to the healthy population. They estimate the cost for a used trailer to be around $10,000, plus another $10,000 to transport it to Maui. Though not inexpensive, this would be more economical than building a small facility.

The group is always in need of supplies, such as premium cat food, litter, large metal crates, litter boxes, bowls, medicines, and parasite treatments. Their major expense is medical costs, including sterilization. They conservatively estimate a cost of $150 per rescued cat or $7,500 total, without any additional medical procedures. However, with so many cats on various medications, in addition to the multiple serious eye and dental issues, the charges are sure to be significantly higher.

(Oreo does not look too happy, but you would not either if you had a mouth full of problems. She is going in for dental surgery next week.)

Though the organization was officially given non-profit status in 1998, 9th Life Hawaii Founder Crystal Smith (Tavares’ daughter) spent prior years in communication with Becky Robinson of Alley Cat Allies to initiate TNR (trap, neuter, and release) in Maui. Although the organization was originally started as a safe haven for many of the island’s homeless cats, they soon realized that the overpopulation problem stemmed from intact cats. While they still maintain a sanctuary, the organization has adjusted its mission to focus on spay/neuter. Tavares states, “There is a terrible cat over-population on Maui. 9th Life Hawaii does not advocate killing animals to control the population, nor does it work. We advocate spay/neuter as the only acceptable method of population control and to that end we have been providing free or extremely low-cost spay/neuter services for cats on Maui.”

9th Life Hawaii offers free feline sterilization surgeries to the public, though they do accept and very much need donations to continue the spay/neuter clinics uninterrupted, while also caring for the sanctuary cats. The group now has four participating veterinarians in Maui and one from Oahu. He flies in with vet techs and supplies every four to six weeks to perform spay and neuter surgeries. They volunteer their time; however, 9th Life Hawaii covers the cost of their flights, at approximately $100-$150 each round trip ticket. Ideally, the organization would like to have its own surgical table and autoclave, so they may invite veterinarians from the mainland to hold clinics at their facility.

Despite the current financial hardship, Tavares knew they had to help in this hoarding situation. “It was the right thing to do. Maui is a small community for the people who live here. There is a beautiful meaning attached to the word ‘ohana.’ It means family or extended family and if you feel a part of it as we do living on a very small island, then you help your community.”

(Luvbug is very appropriately named.)

As said in Hawaiian, “Mahalo,” which means thank you.

For more information:

9th Life Hawaii
PO Box 476
Makawao, Hawaii 96768
Phone: 808-572-3499

• 9th Life Hawaii Hoarding Situation
• When Helping Becomes Hoarding
• Feral Cat Resources
• Just last month, the Hawaiian legislature withdrew S.B. 2017, which would have instituted a fine, up to $1,000, on caregivers caught feeding feral cats. For more information, see You Helped the Ferals of Hawaii!

How you can help:
• Please see their website help page for various ways to support 9th Life Hawaii, as well as a link to donate online via Paypal.
• If you maintain a feral colony on Maui, and have room for even one or two additional cats, please e-mail 9thlifehawaii@earthlink.net.
• 9th Life Hawaii consists entirely of volunteers. Assistance is always appreciated to help care for the cats and provide foster homes.
• Looking to add a feline companion to your home? Consider adopting one of their many socialized cats. If interested, call the 9th Life Line at 808-572-3499.
• While hoarders often isolate themselves from their community, it is important that if you suspect an individual of hoarding animals, based on odors emanating from their property or seeing multitudes of animals in need of veterinary care, please report it to the proper authorities.

Photo credit: all pictures provided courtesy of Phyllis Tavares of 9th Life Hawaii.