Reader Bruce Cochrane sent me this photo yesterday with an explanation:
In honor of the day [International Cat Day], I thought you might appreciate a picture of our international cat, Luna Mew. She is a refugee Burmese from Ukraine, brought to us by way of Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, The Netherlands, Boston, and finally the Cincinnati airport, where we met up with her “cat nanny”. She’s a wonderful little cat, and as she see, she loves playing with a feather on a stick while Rommel looks on.
He also added that he has eight cats.
When I asked whether this was related to the war, and what was involved in adopting a Ukrainian cat, Bruce wrote this:
Yes, this is definitely war related, and all the credit in the world goes to Burmese Cat Rescue of America (based in Minnesota) for orchestrating this. Apparently, Ukraine is home to a number of Burmese breeders, and they have been trying to get their cats to safety. In this case, there were a total of eight cats, mostly kittens from two litters. A total of 3-4 cat nannies flew to Vienna, where they picked up the cats for transfer to the states and their final destinations. And while in Europe, they got their initial shots and were neutered, so while the cost of this was substantial, it wasn’t as bad as the amount charged seemed to be. And after a few days of recovery and adjustments, she’s worked out terms with our other cats.
That’s a lot of work! When I asked Bruce whether less privileged moggies, like non-purebred cats, also get adopted, he said he’s trying to find out.
Eight cats and no furry dust bunnies on the floor in the corner? I’m impressed!
My wife fills multiple vacuum chambers with them on an almost daily basis. And, we are pretty rigorous about brushing them.
That’s a nice story however, here in Wichita, where I live the human society facilities are all full up on cats and dogs currently. It’s not a good situation.
Good on you Bruce. Looks like a lovely cat, indeed.
Regarding the question of other cat rescue, I referred this post to Anya in Slovenia, who fostered our kitten. Her reply: “I know of some humane societies committed to rescuing cats from Ukraine regardless of breed. Also many Ukrainians have committed themselves to care for cats left behind and there were even people who worked tirelessly to break free pets from locked apartments and houses.” She also suggested one organization, https://rolda.org/, that is focused on pet rescue from Ukraine. It’s a general pet rescue organization (cats, d*gs, and horses) and states that they rescued over 100 of our canine friends from Ukraine in the last year. Anya is going to let me know if she comes across any other organizations that could use our support.
The cat nannies were neutered? That’s dedication to the cause!
I am tuned to news from Ukraine, and regularly read reports of rescued cats and other animals. One of the most remarkable was about a kitten from the Snake Island:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-war-mission-complete-one-additional-team-member-kitten-called-snake-2022-07-22/