No Friend Left Behind

NO FRIEND LEFT BEHIND!! ❤️ Our organization cares for cats with all our heart. And sometimes, perhaps, with a little more heart than reason. Because reason tells us as people often remind us: "This cat is costing you so much money... With those resources, you could have helped five other cats. Maybe even more." But what does that actually mean? That when a cat is sick and the treatment is expensive, we simply don't treat them? And what happens to them then? No. We simply cannot make that choice. Take Rafi, for example. Today, he is five and a half years old. Rafi came to us in 2021 from a construction site as a tiny orange and white kitten with a small wound on his lip, captivating blue eyes, and an innocent little face. When he was 11 months old, he developed FIP—a disease that, until shortly before then, had almost always been a death sentence for cats. By that time, a new treatment was offering hope. It was expensive, complicated, and lengthy, but for us, there was never a question. We treated Rafi. And he beat the disease. ❤️ But FIP left him with neurological damage. Rafi, loved by everyone who met him, remained in our shelter for years. He struggled with incontinence and recurring urinary tract infections, and despite his wonderful personality, we couldn't find him a home. Then, this past Passover, salvation finally came. An incredible foster family in southern Israel opened their home—and their hearts—to him. A home. A yard. Devoted care. A whole group of friendly cats. Happiness! But apparently, Rafi has a little tradition of bringing us "gifts" around the holidays... On the eve of Shavuot, he developed another urinary tract infection. His foster family set out late at night, through holiday traffic, and drove all the way to Rehovot because we couldn't find an open veterinary center in the south. ₪1,781 in a single night. Then came Rosh Hashanah. At the end of the first day of the holiday, Rafi developed a urinary blockage—a life-threatening emergency. At midnight, his foster family once again set out for the veterinary hospital in Rehovot. ₪4,600 in a single night. From there, he was transferred to Kfar Saba for another five days of hospitalization before finally returning home to the south. And Rafi isn't alone. This month, Scotty and Tiger joined him — two community cats who initially came in for dental treatment, only for us to discover that they needed much more extensive care, including several days of hospitalization. And then there was Lucian, a tiny kitten rescued from the bushes. She arrived with what seemed like a scratch on her eye, but it developed into a stubborn corneal ulcer that refused to heal, eventually requiring surgery. And so, in just one month, our medical expenses for these four cats have climbed to more than ₪10,000. So what are we supposed to do? Not treat Rafi? Not treat Scotty? Tiger? Little Lucian? We don't leave our friends behind. We care for them when they're healthy and when they're sick. When the treatment is simple—and when it's expensive. Because behind every veterinary bill is a life. A cat who is hurting. A cat who is scared. A cat who wants to keep living. But if we want to keep saying YES to the next cat who needs us, we need you. 🙏 Please help us cover this month's enormous veterinary expenses so we can continue rescuing and caring for cats who have no one else. Every donation helps. Truly. Even a small recurring donation of ₪20 a month may not seem like much—but over time, it allows us to keep doing exactly what we're doing today: Never giving up on them. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. On behalf of Rafi, Scotty, Tiger, Lucian, and all the little ones who haven't found their way to us yet. ❤️