Ten years ago, a stray mother cat named Scarlett made worldwide headlines (and the cover of Time Magazine). One day, the building in Brooklyn, NY she was living in caught fire. Although Scarlett was safely outside, she realized her five kittens were trapped inside. As firefighters bravely fought the blaze, Scarlett braved the fire not once, not twice, but five times. Although she was left badly burned, Scarlett and her four surviving kittens were nursed back to health and adopted.

While Scarlett's actions seem extraordinary to some, many of you have seen the maternal instincts of animals in action. So as mother's day approaches, in the spirit of Scarlett's actions, we'd like to hold our first "Queen for a Day" contest.   

Below, three animals who have touched our organization will tell you their stories. Under each animal's photo is a button which will allow you to "vote" for that animal with a donation made in their name (which will be used to care for all our animals), by either credit card (no Paypal account required) or by Paypal account. At the end of next week, we will add up all the donations raised by each animal and crown our "Queen for a Day" (and share it on our website).

In addition, if you make a "vote / donation" online, you will have access to a Mother's Day PDF card we have made (just print it and fold it), which you can use to honor your mom as well.

Now, let's meet our contestants.
 

ERIN Um...hi there, they call me Erin. A few years back, my owners drove me, my two daughters (Ebony and Socks), and my sister to a forest preserve. I was wondering what the plan was, and then they put us in this little room. It was really quite disgusting, I think you call it an outhouse. Anyways, once they locked us there, they just left. I was sure they would come back for us....I mean, we were four fabulous females, why would they leave us? Then one day passed, then another, and another. My girls were worried, they said we are all going to die! I told them to have faith, because there are more good people in this world than there are bad. Then...it happened. After over four days in that stinky little room, with no food or water, someone came by, our angels. They said they were just ordinary people, hiking in the woods, but to us they were lifesavers. They took care of us, and then they contacted some group called Animal Outreach, that helped abandoned homeless ladies like us, and we were transferred over to them. Well...I'm happy to say that both my girls got adopted, actually Ebony twice (the 2nd time just recently after spending years with a loving foster home). As for me, I have something called stomatitis. I'm not sure what it is exactly, but my foster mom said that she would take care of me and adopted me permanently. She is very caring, and sure knows a lot about us cats.   I would be honored if you made me Queen for a Day, but considering where I was a few years ago, I think I'm already treated like royalty.          P.S. to my girls - I love you. 2007 UPDATE: Erin has been adopted by her former foster mom. Erin's sister and daughters were adopted, including her daughter Ebony, who spent almost 3 years in foster care before being adopted.

LOUISA  Hi, my name is Louisa. I grew up in New Orleans, but last year, this fierce storm came. It was the worst I had ever seen in all my one and one half years! When it was over, no people were left in my neighborhood. I wandered around for over three long weeks, looking for someone...anyone...nothing. I ran into some other dogs and cats, and they were as puzzled as I was. How could they just leave us? One cat said his people had wanted to take him, but they were told NO. He said they cried when they left him. Then it happened. I saw some people. I was wary of them, but by this point I was desperate. They caught me and put me in their truck. They could tell that I had been nursing recently, and looked for puppies, but my babies were not to be found...I don't want to talk about that. They took me to this destroyed grocery store to be checked out. Outside in the brutal heat, more than a dozen people (they called themselves volunteer animal rescuers) scurried around, feeding us, and walking us. There was this nice doctor lady, said she was from some place called Canada (I don't know where that is), and she gave me fluids. I was put in a cage under a tarp with fans and I waited. I watched groups of people come and take all the small dogs and all the dogs with tags. They took the cats, they even took some chickens and fish. But no one took me. Then some people in a official-looking big green truck showed up. They said someone was coming, I think her name was Rita, and that we all had to clear out of there for our safety. It was then I saw these two people looking at me. They stared at me for a little while and talked to the man in charge. Before I knew it, I was headed to some place I had never heard of...Illinois. It was nice and cool in their truck, so I pretty much slept the whole way back. They posted me on some website (whatever that is), for people who lost animals in the storm to reclaim them, but no one called. Then they took me to the doctor. He said I had some sort of advanced case of worms in my heart (sounds silly to me- I didn't eat any worms), but that it could kill me. On top of that, I have some problem walking, they said its my hips. Now look at me, who could believe it. They said my worms are all gone, I'm at my full weight, and in a few weeks they will fix my hips and soon I'll be as good as new. I have not one, but TWO sets of people who care for me. They asked me if I wanted to be Queen for a Day, but I think I already am ...everyday.    2007 UPDATE: After spending almost a year in foster care, Louisa was adopted by an older  couple who saw her on petfinder who were the perfect fit for her. They had lots of skill handling dogs, and had the time and devotion to commit to her.

HOPE Hi, my name is Hope, and I am a feral cat and mother of five. They tell me you are having some kind of contest, and want me to participate. You might not consider that very amazing, but considering how little respect feral cats have gotten over the years, even from some humane groups, I think its pretty neat.   In case you don’t know, feral cats are cats that are not domesticated and never will be (although we look exactly like housecats), so we are different than say what you people call “strays”. Years ago, one of my great, great, great grandmothers was left to fend for herself, and over generations of fending for ourselves, we’ve reverted back to our undomesticated roots. Until recently, we were offered no protection or formal help, since we were called unadoptable. If we were caught and taken to an animal control, we were killed (and still are, in most parts of the country). The funny, no make that unfunny, thing is, the more they try to exterminate us with this method, the more we flourish, and the more hostile some people get at us, accusing us of all sorts of things we're not responsible for. Some people, I think they are called animal welfare experts, say that in many places, the majority of all cats and kittens that are entering animal shelters today are either ferals or descendants of ferals, so effectively dealing with us not only saves lives like mine directly, but also frees up more space in other shelters so other, non-feral cats, can live. We’re pretty good at that multiplying thing you know, nature and all.   Anyways, rather than kill me (which in my opinion wouldn’t solve anything), there is a new plan. This plan is being done now all throughout the U.S. It’s called, Trap, Neuter, and Return (TNR), and some good people here in McHenry even made it officially legal and all. It’s quite simple really. Regular people, people who just want to help animals, work with local humane organizations and trap us in these little cages (that part scared me a little at first, but it was ok). But then, instead of just killing us if they determine we are feral, they make it so we can’t multiply anymore. If there are kittens or strays in our little group (which we call a colony), they adopt them out, and for the rest of us, the feral ones, they make sure we are put back and provided with someone to watch over us. They do all of this on their own time, with their own money, they are really quite special.     While there is nothing wrong with being feral (I love the others in my colony), I want the best for my children. Since they are so young, they can be..what’s that word…domesticated. That means they get to go live in people’s houses. Meanwhile, I’ll be healthier now, since I won’t have to go through bearing more kittens every couple of months, and I'll have my new guardian angel helping me. So that’s my story, if you elect me queen, I’ll share it with all my other feral moms out there. Have a great mother's day, I know I will. 2007 UPDATE: Hope was spayed and returned to a feral cat colony, where she is watched over. Her kittens were socialized and adopted.

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