Saving cats Down East.
Fran’s Felines By Jean Smith, Best Friends NetworkFran’s Felines is a cat rescue operating in the home of Mel and Fran Arbit. It is located “Down East” in Craven County, North Carolina.
Before Fran moved south from New Jersey, she had been rescuing cats for some 30 years.
Fran’s Felines reside in her home. They are treated like family members and you can’t tell which are Fran’s or orphans waiting to be adopted. Fran accepts all cats and kittens even if they are feral or have disabilities. Some will probably never be adopted because of their special needs, but the will receive the love and care they need for the rest of their lives. All are spayed and neutered. All, of course, are inside cats.
All sizes, colors and breeds have come through her front door!
Four are memorable. Sandy was a feral cat living in a rundown neighborhood. I trapped her. Of course she was pregnant and delivered two kittens—Sunny and Feisty. Sunny was adopted quickly. Sadly, Sandy’s back leg began to swell and she was diagnosed with cancer. Today she is a three legged cat who is beginning to be approachable.
Hope was an unspayed cat found on the streets of New Bern. A woman found her. Both of her eyes were in bad condition. When Fran got her, a vet had to remove one eye. The other is cloudy and it is not known how much vision she has.
Meitzi came from Morehead City. Her owner had died and her sister came from Connecticut to settle the estate. The owner had made no provisions for the cats. One was Meitzi, a pure white cat whose ears had been partially amputated because of cancer from being outdoors in the sun. Good thing the sister found Fran on the internet!
When I asked Mel and Fran what the most memorable rescue was, they looked at each other and said, “Bessie!” Bessie was living in squalor. She had a litter of four kittens and her uterus was prolapsed (hanging outside of her body). A neighbor took her to a veterinarian who wanted $500 to operate—a fee they didn’t have. Fran was called and she immediately drove to Oriental, North Carolina, and picked up the mother and three kittens. Fran said that the smell of rotting flesh from the uterus made it necessary to open all the four car windows in February. A successful operation ensued that night at half price at Fran’s vet. But the remaining kittens were missing. Later, Fran got the call that they had been found. Fran drove back to Oriental to get the kittens—a twenty mile drive.
Each cat has a story—mostly sad. Fran received her 501 (c) 3 tax deductible status in 2005. Since her formal formation of “Fran’s Felines,” Fran has found homes for 250 cats.
Fran has dedicated her life to saving cats. She is helped by her husband, daughter, and two volunteers.
What You Can Do:To make a donation, volunteer, or adopt a special cat, visit
http://www.petfinder.com/shelters/NC408.html