The stories of three cats saved by VSPCA
As told by Ms. Sarada Buddhiraju and Mr. JVVS Rajsekhar, Visakha SPCA Shelter Managers Tiffin[Editor’s note: in India, a “tiffin” is a lunchbox]Taking in injured animals is always a little bittersweet. Bitter in that they were injured, often by cruel and thoughtless people, but sweet because we found them before further harm could be done.
Our workers found Tiffin being attacked by the side of the road by dogs and his back legs were (thankfully) only slightly injured. Now, he thinks everyone is his mother. When anyone enters the cat house, they really have to be careful not to step on Tiffin as he follows them around. We cannot release motherless babies, as we do the healthy adults dogs and cats, back into the neighborhood where we found them. Tiffin awaits adoption, but in the meantime is honing his feline instincts with the other 37 cats in the meantime.
Taffy 
Cruelties in the pet trade in Asia are not only limited to endangered species. While on patrol in one of the local markets notorious for illegal sales of restricted species, one of our workers found a little bundle in a dustbin. While we don't know the background of Taffy's abandonment, an increasing trend in this part of India reveals a disgusting practice. Dogs are much preferred over cats as pets in India. So, many of the cats sold in markets are not really for companionship--they are being sold for food. When nobody is buying, the cat is no longer needed. Whether this was Taffy's story or not, much of our feline family has been rescued from dustbins. Taffy has been with us for about two and a half years now.
[Editor’s note: The VSPCA has started a program to re-train and rehabilitate those who caught and killed cats for their meat. Skilled at capturing feral cats, these cat catchers are now paid by VSPCA to bring unharmed, live cats to the shelter.]Milky 
One of our sharp-eyed drivers spotted little Milky by the side of the road. He was about 4 months old. At that time, about 4 years ago, he had a very bad eye infection. After some antibiotics and other routine remedies, the eye still didn't heal that well. Finally, the eye was so bad that the only option was to perform surgery and remove the eyeball altogether. Milky had to be kept in his own cage for 2 months, to protect his eye from other cats' claws while the eye healed. Milky will live out his remaining eight lives in the safety of our shelter, where his sight problem cannot endanger him.
How you can helpPlease look for the donation button for the India Campaign over to the side.
Thank you for your very kind generosity to the animal organizations in India
If you missed the introduction to the India Campaign, you may read it by going
here Visit the Visakha SPCA
website.
Photos: By Eileen Weintraub, Visakha SPCA representative, and Scott Feldstein, Visakha SPCA volunteer