Meet the Madison County Cats

Here is another blog entry from Marcia Goodman, RedRover Responders volunteer, Communications Assistant and talented photographer, on the RedRover Responders deployment to Madison County, Florida.


RedRover has been at the Jacksonville deployment during its first eight days. Developing a streamlined system for sheltering, feeding, examining and treating nearly 700 cats has taken almost all our time. We haven’t had the socialization time with the cats we might have liked until the last day or two; we also haven’t been able to participate in naming them. Still, we’ve found moments here and there to give the kitties moments of attention and lovin’ while feeding them and cleaning their cages.

Some of the cats are stand-outs for us. While leaning down to clean a cage in the B room, a cat jumped on Rebecca Cox’s back, and then the next day, jumped on Beth Gammie’s back when she leaned down.

Tightrope walkin’ kitty.

Rob Sullenberger and Andy Bass discovered that one of the cats is a tightrope walker; he loves to walk along the top edge of his litter box with all 4 of his paws on the edge.

When I was on my knees cleaning a cage in the D room, a small cat ran over to me, jumped up on my chest, and nuzzled against my ear. Those moments were so sweet that I nabbed Rebecca Cox during that afternoon’s break to come with me while I visited that cat again, this time with video camera in hand. Sure enough, as soon as I opened the door, that kitty ran up to me, jumped on my chest, and nuzzled against my ear. This little kitty has both FIV and feline leukemia. Guess who I would have loved to take home with me?!

And what about all the cats who’ve needed medical attention? They’ve all been getting it. As many as nine veterinarians plus support staff have been at the shelter at any one time. All the cats have been examined by one of the veterinary teams and are receiving appropriate treatment. Because there were some cases of ringworm, which is highly contagious, every cat at the shelter has been dipped in a lyme solution bath. Three of us from RedRover – Andrea, Beth and I – participated in the dipping process. Also, all of the cats with FIV, feline leukemia, or a combination of FIV and feline leukemia, have been housed separately to keep those conditions from spreading.

Visit our Facebook page to view more photos of the Madison County cats.