Sometimes it feels like cats find their way to SAFE Haven by aligning the Kharma of the universe to bring them the best life possible. This wise, spunky young kitty was no different.

Canobie before

One of SAFE Care’s regular feral TNVR (Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return) caretakers contacted us with an urgent request. She found one of her friendly teenage colony cats with a severe injury. His head was swollen, and he had a crooked jaw!

Once he was brought to the clinic, our team discovered he had a broken jaw and had likely been hit by a car. This brave kitty was put on pain medication and antibiotics. As he was a feral cat, his caretakers couldn’t pay for his care. We knew we had to step in and help.

After more examination, we realized his jaw was not only broken but also misaligned. He could not even fully close his mouth! Even with the pain of his intake exam, he purred the entire time we examined him. He was shy and nervous, but he seemed to know we were going to help him. We named him Canobie.

Canobie now, all healed

We sent Canobie to have his jaw realigned and repaired at one of our surgical veterinary partners. The surgery was a success, but he had to have his jaw wired until the fracture healed. It took six weeks for the injury to recover fully.

During his recovery, he slowly became more comfortable and confident. By the time we had his wire had removed, he was like a different cat! He plays and solicits attention from anyone walking by his cage.

Canobie had a long road to recovery, but he is wholly mended and ready for his forever home. Meet to this handsome gentleman!

If you’d like to start the adoption process for Canobie, please fill out this online form.

Cats that come to SAFE Haven are cared and loved for regardless of their needs. Extra medical care means extra love from our staff.

During Croissant’s intake exam, we discovered she has feline leukemia. Feline leukemia is a contagious viral disease that is present in saliva and other body fluids. “friendly” contact between cats typically spread it. This often means shared food or water dishes, grooming and shared litter boxes. While there is no treatment for feline leukemia, but with proper preventative care, cats can live for years.

Some cats that test initially positive for feline leukemia will revert to being negative in a few weeks. Unfortunately, Croissant’s definitive feline leukemia test came back positive. This test meant that she is positive for feline leukemia.

At SAFE Haven, we believe feline leukemia positive cats are “pawsitively” adoptable! Because the virus is contagious, we will only adopt her into an only cat home. She could not be around any other cats even if they are vaccinated for leukemia.

Thankfully, her perfect person came along quickly and she was adopted in September. Our beautiful girl, Croissant who loves to snuggle found her forever home with a caring family.

To save the most lives, we rely on foster families to open their homes to cats in need. We received a plea from one of our partnering county shelters to take a gorgeous mom and her newborn kittens. Thankfully a foster family was willing to take on the extra work and love on this cat family.

On her initial exam, mom was healthy but terrified. She and her babies had been through a very difficult 24-hours, but they were finally safe. Mom was a beautiful, but skinny, dilute tortoiseshell. We named her Moonstone. Her kittens were feisty for newborns. We decided they needed feisty names. So, we called them Ant-Man, Mantis, Moon Knight, and Phoenix.

Here at SAFE Haven, we can help our cats and kittens thrive and grow. Luckily, thanks to an awesome mom and foster family to support them, these kitties only need a little help, and after eight weeks in foster, they came to SAFE Haven to find their forever homes.

Open your home and have a profound impact on saving the lives of cats in the Triangle. Start your journey to your foster care future by completing our volunteer forms.

By Dr. Jennifer Bledsoe-Nix

Some cats come to us in need of a little love and a little time to learn how to trust humans again.

Our team received an email from a family unable to care for their cats any more. They had mentioned that they were “kittens,” but in reality, they were full grown cats living in a cramped dog crate outside a home. In trying to keep the cats safe, the caretakers had locked them in a very unhealthy environment. All four of the cats were in a crate with only had a small space to sleep, eat their food, get water and use the litter box. We knew we had to get the cats as soon as possible.

The first pair of cats came in terrified but very easy to handle. They enjoyed being petted and loved. We named them Dogwood and Dandelion since we knew they would genuinely bloom in our care.

When the final two sisters arrived in our care, they appeared to have much more severe emotional problems. They enjoyed petting but were so terrified that they were unwilling to even walk around a cage. They were virtually frozen in fear. These girls would take more time to recover, but we knew they would become sweet and beautiful girls. The cute little girls were named Hibiscus and Honeysuckle.

Over the next few weeks, they slowly started coming out of their shells and showing us their beautiful personalities. Once they cleared isolation, they were put in a large colony room together. It was amazing! They were back together with their siblings but had so much space to stretch and explore. Every week they improved. We did quickly learn that they had formed bonded pairs. Dandelion and Dogwood were always together. Hibiscus and Honeysuckle have slept in the same bed together since they came to us.

All four cuties found homes quickly this summer. Thanks to your donations were able to take the time needed to build trust with cats and get them ready to be the best cats ever!

By Dr. Jennifer Bledsoe-Nix

Saffron, a little orange tabby kitten, was in serious need of medical care when one of our volunteers found her and brought her in. She had a severe neck injury and was in critical condition. She was initially treated by a local veterinarian who stabilized her but feared she would have trouble recovering, so we agreed to take her in and do our best to treat her.

When she first arrived at the SAFE Care Clinic, Medical Director Dr. Jennifer started the exam and quickly learned the extent of the injury. Saffron had sustained a deep bite wound to her neck that resulted in a torn trachea. Her windpipe was leaking air into the surrounding tissue, and her entire body was puffed up with air.

The medical team started her on strong pain medications, antibiotics and strict rest while her trachea healed. Even though she was in pain, she purred and kneaded the entire time her wounds were treated. It never ceases to amaze us how resilient cats are and how trusting they are when they know they’re in good hands.

Her injuries were significant, so it took time for her to heal. After six weeks, the fight was finally over, and she was ready to be adopted. During her recovery, she won the hearts of all the staff and volunteers. One volunteer, in particular, felt a deep connection to her. On her first day on the adoption floor, that volunteer adopted her!

Every cat and kitten that comes to SAFE Haven needs our help with something. Some need a new home. Some need minor medical attention and some need life-saving emergency care. While they are with us, we do everything in our power to heal them mentally and physically. We know once they are healed, they will find the amazing, loving home they deserve. Just like little Saffron found her forever home.

Make a difference in a cat’s life! Adopt a cat today!

By Dr. Jennifer Bledsoe-Nix

You might have noticed a bit of chatter online about free or low-cost pet adoption events in the news. Take a moment to read this response from Executive Director of the No Kill Advocacy Center Nathan Winograd.

In light of our recent participation in Clear the Shelters in addition to our 8+ low-cost adoption events each year, we felt the need to say a little bit more about our belief in holding free and low-cost adoption events.

Each cat adopted at SAFE Haven means we can save one more life. Our wait list is usually around 60+ cats plus we take 6 cats every week from traditional, euthanizing shelters. Low-cost adoption events means that our cats find homes at a faster rate so we can save more lives.

Our free or low-cost adoption events are saving lives by lowering the barrier to pet adoption for worthy families and individuals. We still rigorously screen and interview every person who adopts a cat from our shelter. On days like Clear the Shelter, that means even more work and care from our team.

Lower adoption fees mean that more people have access to pet adoption. Whether it’s the marketing spur to come in and meet the cats, or that old adage that “Southerners love a sale,” low-cost and free events help bring more foot traffic to our shelter so more of our cats have a chance to go to a loving home. Our adoption numbers prove that on weeks with a low-cost or free adoption event, our adoption number goes up and so do the lives we save.

Another interesting factor in holding low-cost adoption events is that we only do it when necessary to find more homes for cats. In the nearly 25 years of our organization, we have observed times in the year that are low for adoptions. No amount of Facebook posting or email nudging will increase our adoption numbers like an adoption event. We often cancel adoption events when our full price adoption numbers are good. We use low-cost adoption events to increase the number of cats going home.

The daily reality of cat euthanasia in our country is truly depressing. Nearly 3.2 million are cats are surrendered to shelters in the US each year, of those 860,000 cats are euthanized each year. We work every day to impact these numbers.

Trust that if we ever had a bad experience with this type of event, we’d evaluate the whole process. But our experience mirrors studies that have shown that events like Clear the Shelters increase the number of animals who find homes without lowering the quality of those adoptive homes.

People who attend our adoption events are outstanding individuals and families who just want to love cats as much as we do. We hope you’ll support us in continuing to find homes for as many cats as possible, regardless of what it takes to get them loving homes.