Cowlitz Animal Rescue Resource

03/05/2026

A rescue reached out about a virulent strain of Calicivirus popping up in Western Washington. It is not like typical Calicivirus. Vaccinated cats are still at risk of dying.

The order of the symptoms are:
Poor Appetite (likely due to sores in the mouth/throat)
Audible pharyngeal congestion (hoarse meow, difficulty swallowing, coughing)
Sometimes tongue ulcers are visible

PCRs are coming back positive for Calicivirus. Some cats are so sick that they are requiring feeding tubes.

The cats being hit the hardest are the seniors and cats that are stressed. Even with cats that have been vaccinated with FVRCP, are still turning out to be fatal. The cats that have passed went into respiratory distress despite vet treatment. 😢

The virus can present like URI (it looks very similar) but then it goes downhill from there.

Be aware. Take precautions. Practice good biosecurity.

Remember that Calicivirus is airborne. It can also spread by direct contact with food bowls/blankets/toys/ect. While you should always wash your hands and wear gloves while handling sick cats. If a cat that is positive Calicivirus and is sharing air with other cats... all cats will all get it.

OFS dealt with Calicivirus in the summer of 2024. It was brutal but nothing like some of the rescues are seeing up north - Intake mindfully, know your limits and have plans in place if you have sick cats entering your rescue

03/05/2026

Ferral to Barn cat Acclimation set ups.
6 -8 weeks minimum or cats will run off

03/05/2026

01/31/2026

Found animals at SW Humane Longview Campus as of 1/31/26 10:26am

01/23/2026

Found animals at SW Humane Society, Longview Campus as of 4:45 1/22/26

01/21/2026

The last three days have been a blur. 🤪

We trapped 9 kittens and 8 adults from 2 sites. Sadly, the property owners asked them to be removed.😢
Several were accepted by Nine Lives & More Rescue with hopes of socializing.

Barn homes are lined up for the rest. These are experienced barn home adopters.

I assisted 3 caretaker/residents with trapping there outdoor stray cats for spay surgeries. All were successful and they were beyond thrilled.

So it was trapping in Wednesday, transport to clinic on Thursday, and then returning cats to their homes on Friday.

Friday we accepted a family of 5 cats from a resident who needed assistance because she was overwhelmed. All are now in foster homes.

Today, we are making our way to Seattle Area Feline Rescue to transfer 3 cats for adoption opportunities. And also placing some feral cats into barn homes.

Since tomorrow is my birthday, hoping to enjoy lunch in between all the duties of rescue.

Did I also mention the Baby Hope is tagging along today? Only 17 days old and already a traveler! Lol

Rescue life.❤️

01/20/2026

Current Found Animals at SW Humane Longview Campus as of 1/20 @ 3:52pm

01/02/2026

I'm looking for a free kitten because shelter prices are a scam!

Annie posted this on Nextdoor because she wanted to adopt a kitten for her 8-year-old daughter for Christmas. She had just returned home from a local shelter and was horrified to see the adoption fee of $100. "Shelters shouldn't be making money by selling pets. Those adoption fees are ridiculous!"

You can guess how this turned out. Annie found a free kitten in November but didn't have any place to hold the kitten until Christmas morning. You can't wrap them and hide them in a closet. So, her daughter received a very early Christmas present. Her daughter fell in love with the cute little striped tabby. She slept with her at night and rushed home after school so she could play with her new baby. It was perfect.

A week after adoption, the kitten stopped eating, was vomiting and wasn't playing any more. She rushed her to the emergency vet and had x-rays and other tests. It appeared to be panleukopenia, so the vet kept the kitten so they could monitor her, give her fluids and provide other supportive care. Three days later, she was still p***y but on the mend. She was lucky to survive! Annie, however, wasn't so lucky. The vet bill was over $3,600!

When the kitten was older, she put a note out to find a "cheap vet" to get the kitten vaccinated and spayed. She'd called a few clinics and it was going to be over $600. Isn't there a cheaper place?

When she contacted us, we gave her links to our local low-cost clinics. The cheapest one was going to be $120 for the spay, rabies, FVRCP, parasite treatments and a microchip. That is a great deal, but $20 more than the shelter's "scam" price. And she would still need another vet visit in a month for booster shots. By the time the tabby was fully vetted, she was a $3,750 kitten. Worth every penny of course, but it will months before Annie can pay off the credit card bill for the emergency room visit.

There is no such thing as a free kitten. If you adopt from a shelter or rescue, you are getting a kitten who is vaccinated, altered, microchipped and treated for parasites. A free kitten has not even been checked for common diseases or birth defects. It is a bargain compared to the prices you will pay to do this all yourself.

01/02/2026

On a recent post someone commented "How can a homeless person keep a cat??"

It's okay. We get this question a lot!

First off, WHY would a person experiencing homelessness want to keep a pet? Well, for the same reason the rest of us do!

*Pets provide a sense of companionship that improves mood, outlook, hope
*Science proves that pets boost oxytocin and endorphins, providing a sense of general well being and comfort
*Caring for a pet lowers blood pressure, anxiety, and depression
*Caring for a pet provides a sense of normalcy and structure, something many of us take for granted but that can be golden for someone struggling to maintain routine
*Caring for a pet provides a sense of self worth that is critical to a person who is used to being passed by people daily who don't spare them a second glance. Lack of eye contact and recognition is dehumanizing and makes one feel invisible. Communication from pets in the form of eye contact, purrs, and cuddles can be restorative and keep people grounded. It tells a person experiencing homelessness that they are visible and loved.

And then you may wonder, well, HOW do they keep a pet? I mean they don't have a HOME?

Well, first off, they do have a "home." Home is where you make it, right? Home is where the heart is. Maybe that's a tent, maybe that's a mansion. Home looks different for different people. Look around your local community and look around the globe - "home" varies widely!

Logistically speaking, OCK serves folks in a variety of circumstances. Some of our clients live in unsanctioned encampments in the woods, with cats going in and out of tents or makeshift structures. Some of our clients live in tiny home villages, with cats going in and out of 10x10 structures with centrally located bathrooms, kitchens, and laundry facilities. Still other clients live in emergency shelters like converted hotels, with cats living indoor only. In all cases, the cats know who their person and where their "home" is, just like my own 6 cats do. They know who feeds them (and they may know which neighbor to go to in order to sneak an extra snack).

Sometimes this question is asked out of genuine curiosity - "their life is so different from mine, how do they make it work?"

Other times this question is asked out of judgement - "they are poor, poor people shouldn't have nice things." You hear this tone all over the place - why is that mom on welfare getting her nails done? Why is my neighbor taking out a big loan for a luxury car? Why is that person buying a fancy purse on a credit card, they can't even afford it? Wow, people shouldn't go to Starbucks so often, it's so expensive. Consider the old proverb, "before you judge someone, walk a mile in his shoes." People do a lot of things to feel normal, or to provide themselves comfort. Judging another says more about the judger than it says about the judged. And, anyway, who wouldn't want a cat?