Happy Hearts Feline Rescue to host charity bazaar

Babe is one of the HHFR cats who is available for adoption on PetFinder

Cassidy is another of the HHFR kitties who can be adopted via PetFinder

by Marsha Chartrand

While doing your local Small Business Saturday shopping this weekend, don’t forget to stop at the Freedom Township Hall, where Happy Hearts Feline Rescue, a local nonprofit cat rescue, is planning a very special holiday bazaar!

From 1 to 5pm on Saturday, November 25, you can shop in style at the HHFR Charity Bazaar at the Freedom Township Hall, 11508 Pleasant Lake Rd, Manchester.

A donation of $10 is requested for entry, and inside you will find a treasure trove of gifts for everyone on your list—and maybe even for yourself! Boutique gift-basket raffles, many items for outright purchase, homemade baked goods, and many other options are available. And while you are browsing, help yourself to a sweet or savory treat or even a fun mock-tail! Bring your friends, cross some special items off your holiday list, and help the Cats at Happy Hearts Feline Rescue.

In 2012, Jeanne Spencer and four others established the board for a non-profit cat rescue that would help ill or elder cats. This interest had grown out of their passion for another cat-oriented charity, Kat Snips — a not-for-profit organization offering spay and neutering services to improve the health and welfare of cats in Hillsdale, Jackson, Lenawee, and Washtenaw Counties. Happy Hearts Feline Rescue was officially incorporated in 2013.

At Happy Hearts they not only provide homes and top-notch veterinary care for cats with nowhere else to go, but also have adoptable kitties that are listed on Pet Finder. They take in around 60 cats per year; about half are homed at the facility, located on Pleasant Lake Road, just down the road from the township hall, with about 30 more adopted out each year. The facility is state licensed by the Department of Agriculture.

“We recently modified our mission to take in only old, chronically ill and FIP (Feline infectious peritonitis) kitties,” Spencer explained. “We treat the FIP kitties with GS-441524 to save their lives.”

The veterinary care, of course, is expensive, and is the shelter’s largest single expense. Spencer says they are fortunate to have fabulous volunteers, and more are always welcomed. The HHFR organization runs primarily on donations and their largest fund-raiser of the year, Meeow-loween, normally held at the UAW Hall in Chelsea, had to be cancelled this fall due to the strike. So the Charity Bazaar is taking its place and the board is hoping for a great success.

And speaking of success, here’s a success story of one of the Rescue’s favorite residents, Q-Tip:

Q-Tip is a permanent resident at HHFR due to his medical issues.

In mid-November of 2022, Q-tip was taken to the Ann Arbor Emergency Hospital for humane euthanasia. A pure white kitten with vibrant orange eyes, Q-tip was lethargic, dehydrated, would sit and stand but intermittently fall over.

Potential diagnoses were: toxoplasma, FIP, head trauma, ear infection and PSS. Her owner said Q-tip was adopted from a shelter (not HHFR) about a month prior, but she was not able to schedule an appointment with a vet to get him seen.

Although Q-tip’s presentation was grim, Dr. Jen Azofeifa was convinced euthanasia would be a mistake. The owner was uninterested in helping Q-tip and insisted upon euthanasia. When Dr. Jen asked if she would consider surrendering him to Happy Hearts, the owner consented.

The next day, Jeanne picked Q-tip up from the ER and took him back to the shelter. Overnight fluids and care perked him up, but clearly he needed immediate and specialized care. Since neurological issues were evident, Dr. Jen helped Jeanne get an emergency visit to Dogwood Veterinary Referral Center, where Specialists diagnosed Q-tip with PSS, determined through further blood testing identifying an extremely high level of ammonia in his blood. His liver simply was not properly filtering the toxins from his blood.

In addition to the symptoms Q-tip was exhibiting, PSS causes a number of unusual behaviors and conditions, which require surgery in order to correct this condition. The needed surgery, while common in dogs, is rather unusual in cats.

HHFR started calling surgical specialists to get Q-tip scheduled immediately. Unfortunately, with COVID still very much prevalent, veterinary surgeries were being scheduled months out; Q-tip’s need was urgent. Jeanne was finally directed to Exclusively Cats in Waterford. There one of the vets, Dr. Steven Bailey, specialized in these surgeries. Although Dr. Bailey had retired, through persistence and his realizing the immediacy of the surgery, he agreed to help Q-tip.

Today, Q-tip is doing extremely well. He is active, eating heartily, playing, gaining weight, and energetic! Although his ammonia levels are still very high, specialists tell us it will take up to a year for the surgery to realize its full potential and his liver to function as it should. Q-tip has grown from 2.2 lbs when at the ER to a healthy 7 lbs!

Donations of all types are welcomed and appreciated throughout the year. Some of the expenses that HHFR incurs include: Emergency care – $100; Spay/neuter – $50; Immunize – $25; Feed for 1 month – $10. Other donations may include Canned cat food; Litter – non-clumping preferred; Laundry detergent; Bleach; Garbage bags; Paper towels; Cardboard scratchers; Cat towers; Fleece for blankets; Toys​​; Treats.

Contact the rescue at 734-545-2906 to learn more about adopting, volunteering, or donating. Or you can talk to volunteers and board members in person on Saturday, from 1-5pm at the Charity Bazaar at the Freedom Townhall.

HHFR’s Special Needs house

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by Marsha Chartrand

Marsha Johnson Chartrand, a founder, writer, and copy editor with the Manchester Mirror, is a 50-year resident of Manchester. She has a long history of volunteer and community involvement.