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By Penny Fletcher
penny@observernews.net
RIVERVIEW- Most of the cats hid under furniture when I rang the doorbell at Karen Boyce’s “rescue house.”
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| Karen Boyce of Riverview started rescuing cats and kittens with Precious, now almost 13. Since then, she has joined efforts with other local rescuers and has formed Neonatal Care for Orphan Kittens, to which she hopes to bring 501(3) C nontaxable status soon. Meanwhile, she continues to locate colonies of homeless and abandoned cats; see that they are spayed or neutered; have all their shots; and tries to find them homes.
Penny Fletcher Photo
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A few came over and checked me out; arching their back and swishing me with their tails. Two even jumped up in my lap, and one seemed to enjoy playing with my hair while perched on my shoulder.
It reminded me of when I adopted my beagle-basset, Karmel, from a Lost Angels foster home six years ago. That foster home had “gone to the dogs,” while Karen’s gives a whole new meaning to the term “cat house.”
When Karen first emailed me about her rescue operations I thought it might make an interesting feature. After all, I like cats, and have owned a few myself over the years.
But Karen’s love of strays is plainly evident in the stories of rescuing abandoned cats and kittens left behind stores and in parking lots; whole colonies of them hiding near dumpsters in hopes of scrounging a meal.
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| Groups of bottle-fed babies make good poster kittens. Their photographs are found on business cards and flyers in hopes of making more people aware of how many cats and kittens are being abandoned and breeding in the wild.
Bruce Avery Photos |
“It’s really bad now with the economy the way it is,” Karen explained. “People can’t afford to keep their pets, or they get foreclosed on and can’t take them into apartments or when they move in with relatives or friends. But the problem doesn’t end there because when they’re left unattended, they breed. People don’t realize they can have kittens when they’re 6 months old and leave them when they aren’t spayed or neutered.”
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| This baby tiger cat doesn’t like the camera flash.
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Whole colonies of them are living in places all over South County, and this doesn’t even include the feral population, she said.
Feral cats are the “wild” offspring of domestic cats and cannot usually be domesticated, according to information provided by the National Feral Cat Association.
The organization’s Web site, located at www.feralcat.com, explains that feral cats are elusive and do not trust humans and can often scratch or bite if approached. These cats are different from domesticated animals that are abandoned, because abandoned pets have no instincts to fend for themselves, and therefore usually starve or are killed in other ways.
Karen told me people assume their animals will survive if left behind but they usually cannot. For this reason, shelters in the U.S. are forced to euthanize more than 15 million homeless cats and dogs each year while those who have been abandoned are often abused by other animals or die a slow death from disease or starvation.
The Florida Humane Society reports that state-wide more than 50 million tax dollars (and some donations) are spent each year by animal control agencies for cat-related expenses including shelters.
Together with partners Brandy Poole-Lassiter and her mother, Cindy Poole of Poole’s Towing & Body Shop in Gibsonton, who have also been volunteers in cat rescue efforts for many years, Karen has driven through South County at night when cats gather. Then she works with Boyette Animal Hospital to obtain a discount for spaying and neutering; obtaining flea preventives and medications and getting basic shots for all cats she humanely traps and rescues.
At this time, she has 10 indoors, plus 7 ferals outside. All (even these ferals) are fixed and she is actively seeking homes for all the domesticated cats but one- her Precious- the first of her rescue cats, that she has had as a pet for almost 13 years.
The adoptions cost $75, a cheap price compared to what people would have to pay to have their cat spayed or neutered; fleas removed and obtain the necessary shots and tags.
Any potential donors, adopters, or people who want to help supply KMR Kitten Milk Replacer (the company that gives them online bulk rates), litter, cat food or other necessities, may contact Karen at Kb81@tampabay.rr.com or by telephone at (813) 541-7574.
With cats slowly coming out from beneath furniture to look me over, I asked Karen about her background. Surely something had caused her to develop this empathy for abandoned and homeless cats.
When asked how and why she began rescuing the cats I learned that animals are not the only ones she has spent countless hours rescuing.
Her early career was spent in Ohio working as a caseworker with foster children with special needs. She worked into a program there with mental health, to guide mentally-ill children between the ages of 16-to-20 into society after leaving foster care so they wouldn’t become homeless.
“It was a very challenging group,” she said. “Because these kids have such a high anger and resentment level.”
About 9 years ago she moved to Florida and began work at the Tampa Bay Academy where the primary focus is working with troubled teens problems; especially alcoholism. Later she became a counselor for the Florida Department of Children & Families and Hillsborough Kids Inc.
Now, at 46, she is a full-time counselor with Military OneSource, a referral service for service persons and their families, and answers all kinds of questions from, “where can I go for help with my depression,” to “I need my car fixed so I can get to work.”
“Military OneSource has a national network of counselors and referral agencies for just about everything anyone could ask,” she said. “You name it and we can help.”
The company is not a military operation, but a private contracted service, she added.
So after working a full shift helping people, Karen is putting in a “second” shift helping cats and kittens.
To join her, contact her at the email given earlier in this story.
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