The Animal Project

This picture is the face Kobe makes when he tries to urinate. 

 Kobe was a deli cat. He lived in a bodega in Hells Kitchen for 3 years. He was a community staple, and greeted customers with his presence and personality. He fell ill on a Monday, and we advised the bodega to take him to a vet ASAP. We were not looking to rescue Kobe- we do not have the time, space, or finances and plus he already had a ‘place to call home’. 

We were shocked to learn on Friday that not only did they not take him to a vet, they had no plans to do anything. 

Kobe was suffering. 

The bright eyed cat we knew was now catatonic. After giving his life to the bodega, they were fine with watching him suffer until he died. Well, we were not fine with that. 

 Our rescuers had no choice but to intervene and convinced the bodega to surrender him to us for urgent care. They rushed Kobe to Animal Medical Center, where we learned he was hours away from death. They would do their best to save him, but recommended he be labeled a DNR and to not get our hopes up. Euthanasia was on the table. 

 Kobe was admitted to ICU, where he was catheterized and given round the clock care for 3 days in critical condition. Against the odds he made improvements and the doctors were happy to report him ready for discharge on day 4. He has a ways to go before full recovery but we can’t believe how far he has come already. The team at AMCNY love him and thanked us for giving him a chance. 

 Kobe is now recovering in foster care. Despite this painful ordeal, he remains an amazing cat. He is affectionate, kind, playful and funny. He is officially retired from bodega cat life and will be available for adoption soon. He deserves soft beds, warm snuggles, and lots of love for the rest of his life! 

 We must repeat that The Animal Project did NOT want to get involved in this case. We have already had one successful fundraiser this year after rescuing Goldie, and then took on TWO hoarding cases where we vetted and placed 28 cats in a one week period (taking in 18 to our rescue alone!) However, when faced with a suffering cat dying alone on the dirty floor of a bodega, the choice to not get involved disappears. Sacrificing our time and scrambling to find space for him was the easy part- but paying his $7500 bill seems impossible. We can cover a little of it, and need community help to pay the rest. 

 Kobe became this ill due to a life of poor diet, boredom, and neglect. We are hopeful that once he finds placement in a home and with a good wet food diet, he will remain episode free for his future years. 

 We knew saving Kobe was going to be expensive- but we also knew he deserved more -and HE HAD THE WILL TO LIVE. On the day of his rescue, in his critical, excruciating state, he managed a head butt and stared into the eyes of the rescue team as if pleading for help. 

Our organization is a small non-profit that relies on donations to keep rescuing and helping cats and kittens in need. Can you please help us help Kobe? A donation will help us continue to cover his vet bill, as well as future medication and care. Even small donations help. 

 Kobe thanks you! 

Follow his story on our Instagram, @animalprojectnyc

Please help this ginger kitty who fell from the 3rd floor to the hard cement escaping a fire!

There was a big fire at a transitional housing building on 43rd in Manhattan a few nights ago, and when a firefighter tried to nab this poor kitty, it plummeted 3 stories to the hard ground. Miraculously, he jumped up and ran, but not without some pretty serious injuries.

I do rescue in the neighborhood independently with Kim Corrigan so a neighbor pinged me with messages within minutes saying the Citizen app showed a video of a cat falling. Kim and I ran over there to see if we could help and got there while the firemen were still battling the blaze.

We found that another fireman had secured the injured little guy, named "Goldie," a beautiful ginger kitty, and he was in the arms of his owner, a resident at the building. Both were in shock and almost motionless.

Goldie was bloodied up from the fall, and we thought maybe he had a broken hip, and his mouth was definitely injured—full of blood. We worried his jaw was broken. We were lucky enough to get the help of @TheAnimalProjectNYC, who told us to bring him right to them. They gave him pain meds, examined him, and made arrangements with @brilliantvet to see him.

The vet determined that miraculously, Goldie didn't have any broken bones. He does, however, have a split lip and many deep scrapes from the fall. He needed to be monitored for concussion and to make sure he wasn't suffering from the after-effects of a fall to the concrete, and will need surgery to repair his lips with stitches so he can eat properly. He has been staying over at the vets for medical care and to be watched.

His owner, who clearly loves Goldie with all his heart, was crying when he handed Goldie to us, begging us to help his kitty. He told us his apartment was burned, and he didn't know where he would go or if they could place him someplace else within the building. The gentleman did not even have a cell phone for us to follow up with him, so we gave him our info and whisked Goldie to get emergency care. His owner is relieved to hear Goldie is being looked after and looks forward to being reunited.

We are fundraising to cover Goldie's medical expenses, including sedation, stitches, meds, and ongoing care. We hope to raise enough to cover the vet bill and have a little leftover to help the owner keep Goldie—this would require helping him with flea meds, a good stock of food, a collar, and litter, etc.

If you are able to donate, it will really make a difference in not only Goldie's life, but the life of his owner, who has nothing.

Even small donations count and will be greatly appreciated. DONATIONS GO DIRECTLY TO THE ANIMAL PROJECT NYC, A local UWS organization that rescues cats 24/7 and places 100's of cats in loving homes. Your donations are tax deductible and you will receive a receipt.

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD AND HELP GOLDIE!

We appreciate it! Thanks!

Little Miss is a 9 week old kitten rescued from Columbus Ave & West 68th street in NYC. We need to raise $2000 to cover her vet bills and recovery. She has a large hernia that needs surgical repair, as well as a fractured femur which needs crate recovery time. These injuries are due to an abusive incident. The hernia on its own *could* have been congenital, but when paired with a fractured femur it can be assumed that she was either kicked, thrown, or yanked.

Here is her story:

Christine, a wonderful human and previous foster for The Animal Project, was walking home from church on July 14th when she noticed a small animal lying completely flat on the street. No one else seemed to notice this little soul, but Christine immediately got down on her hands and knees to check. This little animal turned out to be a kitten, who tried as hard as she could to scoot away under a car in fear. It appeared that something was wrong w her back legs. Kind strangers asked Christine, who was now laying in the street herself, if she needed assistance, and she said the only help she needed was for someone to get the kitten and put him/her into Christine’s bag.

A kind gentleman picked the kitten up and gave her to Christine, who brought her home. 

She named the kitten Little Miss, and after getting support and supplies from her local Buy Nothing FB Group, eventually called the Animal Project for help.

We all noticed a very large mass on her abdomen so we brought her to the vet. It was here we learned she had a massive hernia, but her X-rays also showed something else- a spiral fracture of her femur. A spiral fracture in a kitten is generally caused by only one thing: physical abuse. 

Despite the horror and pain she endured to sustain these injuries, Little Miss has turned out to be an extremely sweet and loving kitten who craves attention, snuggles, and playtime. She is on crate rest in Christine’s apartment, and once she makes a full recovery will be available for adoption!  She may have a small limp for the rest of her life, but ultimately will grow up to be a completely normal kitty 

Little Miss is a true testament to the resilient spirit of animals. And her rescue story shows the amazing difference ONE human can make. Who knows how many people passed Little Miss by, as she lay alone on the street. One Good Samaritan stopping to check on her saved her life. Animal Project is proud to support the good samaritans of this city ❤️

Please help us raise the funds to cover her recovery! 

Thank you 

Jen Warren loved many things -- her boys, Ben and Joe, her family and friends, and, a close third, all the creatures roaming the earth. Jen never met an animal in need that she didn't try to help. Jen rescued countless injured birds. She was also a fellow volunteer with The Animal Project, a long-standing NYC group that rescues and rehomes stray cats and kittens. She volunteered at our local adoption events, helped feed outdoor colonies of strays, fostered countless cats and kittens, and adopted two beloved rescues, Lafayette and Schulyer.

The last cat Jen rescued was found at the end of August. The cat was starving due to severe congestion, unable to smell her food and eat, but she still came running to us, looking for help and love. Jen and I immediately decided that the young cat (10-12 months old) would not last much longer on the street. Jen took her home and named her Hope. She only weighed 4 pounds.

We took Hope to the vet, who treated her with antibiotics, but she didn't respond well. After seeing a second vet, Hope continued to get worse. Finally, at Long Island Vet Specialists, it was determined that Hope needed immediate surgery to remove a nasal polyp that was obstructing her breathing. There was no time to raise money for the surgery. The options given were to euthanize Hope, or go forward with her life-saving surgery. I paid the cost up-front, and Hope's surgery was performed the same day.

The good news is that Hope's surgery, performed on September 30th, was successful! Hope now breathes well, eats well, and is gaining weight quickly. She purrs continually and loves life.

But there's also tragic news in this story. Jen passed away in September after a long battle with illness. Her family and friends have been devastated. She will never be forgotten by anyone who knew and loved her. We wish she had been able to see sweet Hope become a healthy and happy kitty with a bright future. Thank you, Jen.

This GoFundMe is an effort to recoup the out-of-pocket cost of treating Hope and saving her life. The Animal Project is run entirely by volunteers and has no outside source of funding. Nearly $6,000 is a tremendous amount for a volunteer group trying to save lives on a daily basis. (See surgery bill attached. We also have paid for Hope's previous vet visits.)

All donations will go immediately to reimbursing the out-of-pocket costs of Hope’s vet and surgery bills. We’re hoping that those who knew and loved Jen will pitch in what they can in her memory. And we’re hoping that anyone who wants to support the effort of volunteers like Jen, and her fellow rescuers who help animals in need, will give what they can. Any amount will help.

By the way, Hope is looking for her forever home or even a foster home. (Current photo of Hope attached. She likes to sit on top of the warm refrigerator!) Please inquire if you would like to meet her. You will never meet a more grateful and loving cat. She has taught us that so many things are possible with hope.

Added note: We are humbled by the generosity of so many people. Should we reach the goal that covers Hope's medical costs, we'll allow the donations to go slightly over to cover the GoFundMe fees (about 3%) and then close the fundraiser shortly thereafter. To those who have donated, please accept our sincere gratitude.

As you all know we fostered the three "Scarf Kittens" for The Animal Project starting in mid-December. Well, they finally found their perfect forever home—together!! That is the holy grail for such a tightly bonded threesome. Unfortunately, late on the night before their new family came to pick them up, Cashmere (the very popular "grayby") became very ill and had to be taken to the Animal Medical Center. It didn't look like he was going to make it, but after three full days and nights at AMC he was diagnosed with a very curable kidney infection, and has made a full recovery! He will soon be reunited with his sisters (formerly Chenille and Pashmina, now Luna and Lily) and will take on his new name, Neville. I am hoping to raise about 75% of Cashmere's/Neville's vet bills so that The Animal Project doesn't have to—they have more than enough on their hands. Can you please help? No amount is too small (or too large)! Thank you for considering! Xoxo