Help save hoarded cats

Here’s an appeal to cat lovers everywhere:

Two local women have taken matters into their own hands to help rescue 40 cats from a hoarder living in horrific conditions — 8-inch-deep feces, rooms full of garbage, and toxic breathing conditions.

Karen Wood and Barbara Crummitt are asking for donations to help care for these 40 cats. Donations include Kirkland brand dry cat food and Friskies paté-style wet food, litter, and money for medical treatment. To be adoptable, all cats need vaccines and testing and some will need dental care and teeth extractions. Three cats are leukemia positive.

Then they are looking for good homes for cats who deserve a second chance at a better life.

These cats were rescued from the street by the hoarder but have lived in nightmarish conditions for years.

Wood and Crummitt are currently working with several veterinarians who have reduced their fees or donated some services. Thank you to Feline Limited, Arizona Spay & Neuter, and the Cat Hospital of Tucson. But with 40 cats, they’re still looking at large bills.

You can make tax-deductible donations to The Last Resort, c/o Karen Wood, 340 E. Hillcrest Place, Tucson, AZ 85704. Checks should be made out to The Last Resort, a local animal welfare organization partnering with us on this project.

Save the date: Sunday, June 26 – Fundraising benefit concert — Cats and Jammers, A Concert for Cats at the Boondocks Lounge. From 5-10:30 p.m., a number of bands will play, including a local Tucson favorite, Chuck Wagon and the Wheelchairs (formerly Chuck Wagon and the Wheels). Suggested donation is $10 at the door; no one will be turned away for a lack of funds. The concert list is still evolving–and more information will be posted as it becomes available. Boondocks will donate $1 from every food order.

Please call Karen Wood at (520) 293-3091 for more information.

(Ellie, a Maine coon mix is one of the 40 cats rescued from the hoarding situation – photo is courtesy of Karen Wood)