10/24/2026
Please make sure your pets are treated for fleas if they go outside or you have other pets coming in and out potentially bringing these pests indoors.
Just two days ago, I went to check on a kitten one week post spay and found that she was infested with fleas to the point that she was lethargic and had extremely pale gums. I immediately took her to my shelter where I administered Capstar to kill all live fleas, gave a Dawn bath, and then took her to OSU Emergency Veterinary Services in Columbus, Ohio where she had a blood transfusion to save her life. This kitten was not a part of our rescue at the time. We had helped someone get her fixed. We were not notified of any flea problem.
It was by divine intervention that I went there to check on her that particular day because I had to put one of my ponies down that morning and had intended on not going anywhere that day as I was struggling with grief. It turned out to be a decision that saved her life. if I had checked on her one day later, it would have been too late to help and she would not have survived.
I made it up to OSU around 6:00 p.m. Thursday and left around 8:00. It was going to take several hours for the transfusion. I also want to give a huge hug and thanks to Taffie Abrams, one of our volunteers, who went out in the middle of the night to pick her up at OSU and bring her back to us!
Photos show the amount of blood loss during a dawn bath, one in the car on arrival to OSU, extremely lethargic, and then photos upon her arrival back home at 3:00 in the morning and the following day, very lively, happy, and hungry!
FENNEL is now a very happy, beautiful kitten and a part of our rescue. She will be up for adoption soon. She's super sweet and wants attention all the time. She absolutely loves to be held. She's good with other cats but has not been around dogs.
We would like to stress with this post the extreme importance of flea treatment and also why we have the need for fundraising throughout the year, not only to help with spay and neuter, but when we come up on emergencies like this that can't wait to save a cat's life. These emergencies often become very costly for any rescue.
Please donate to help us in these cases. We come across these issues frequently but don't often post about them.
Donations can be made through:
PayPal to [email protected]
Venmo to Starlene-Kinser-1
Or by mail to PO Box 2346 Heath Ohio 43056