CAYE CAULKER, Day 13

A warm island breeze woke us gently this morning. Donna was in the kitchen fixing oatmeal for breakfast, and many of us strolled down the street to Deals on Wheels for fresh fruit juices.

Oreo during his dental surgery

Dr. Anna began the day with a difficult dental extraction on an owned cat named Oreo. “I got to take nine rotten teeth out of him without a drill, which is a bit of a challenge. We had a few elevators and extraction forceps, so I just used those two tools. I think he’s going to feel a whole lot better now. Those teeth would be so painful to eat on,” she said.

Dr. Sherisse and two puppies in surgery

Dr. Gina hard at work

A litter of eight flea-ridden puppies arrived at the clinic and the team worked at spaying and neutering all of the little ones. “It was awesome, those little puppies. We can get them before they even attempt to reproduce,” Isabelle explained. “We saved probably between fifty and a hundred more puppies that would make between fifty and a hundred more puppies.”

The puppies rest after their surgeries

Dr. Jennifer worked at the vaccine table for much of the day. “We did probably about twenty-five vaccines and exams,” she said. “We had one boat that came in with seven dogs on it alone.” She also treated six demodex cases. Demodex is a mite that gets under the skin and causes mange.

In surgery, the team has had to improvise with the island’s feral cats. “Their skin is so tough that when you try to feed the catheter on the front leg veins, it’s very hard to feed with these guys. We have more success with this back vein, so we’ve started using it,” Eve explained, injecting a needle in a cat’s hind leg. The team has had no anesthetic deaths or major problems throughout the two weeks.

In amongst the many surgeries and examinations, the team was able to bathe Charlie and clip her nails. Her health has improved exponentially since she has been in CAAT’s care, although she is still bothered by fleas, ticks and flies, as well as a red rash on one side, possibly a symptom of lyme disease, which is treatable. Charlie has more energy than ever – she trots around the yard, wags her tail and jumps up and down for her food. “I think she’s doing really well,” Chris commented. “Anna has worked really hard to get everything organized to get her on that plane.”

Caitlin gives Charlie a hug

Caitlin clips Charlie's nails

Just after 4:30pm, Jennifer and Carmen visited Kenny's yard to watch him feed his thirty-three cats. He feeds them a homemade concoction of bread, Friskie's wet cat food and chicken livers. (Stay tuned for an in-depth interview with Kenny, to be posted later this week.)

A few of Kenny's cats enjoy each other's company before feeding time

A kitty waits patiently to be fed

A cat licks his lips as Kenny prepares their grub

Kenny makes dinner for his 33 cats

Kenny's cats rush the troughs to be fed

Madi organized a complimentary dinner at the local Canadian-owned bar, The Sports Bar. (A big thank-you to Lloyd for the generosity!) After dinner, the team signed a CAAT t-shirt to be placed on the wall with all of the sports jerseys and memorabilia, and called it a night.

The sun sets on the west side of the island