Lily was found on March 27, 2016, Easter Sunday, in South Park, Allegheny County. Somehow she had found herself abandoned, alone and struggling to find food and shelter.  As difficult as that was for this tiny cat, her struggle was made more challenging since she was suffering from a spinal injury, which had rendered both of her back legs useless.  When I first saw her she was fearful and tried to run from me.  It was then that I saw that she had been injured as all that Lily could do was crawl away from me using only her front legs to pull herself through the brush.  It was apparent that she had been managing to move through the park finding food in this manner for some time since the fur was completely worn off of both of her back legs , including both rear paws.  Fortunately, Lily had found a feeding station for food and a habitat for shelter from bad weather that had been placed in the park by some of the “friends of Lily.” These caring individuals have expended great effort and many hours strategically placing these feeding stations and habitats throughout the park in a concerted effort to save the poor souls who either have been abandoned by their owners or born into such an unfortunate circumstance.

It wasn’t difficult to capture Lily and take her to a veterinarian.  Sadly, there was nothing that could be done for her.  The injury was too severe.  And so Lily,, who had suffered alone in the park, was euthanized as I held her and stroked her fur.

Lily has come to stand for the remaining kittens and cats who face the daily struggle to survive simply because they have been abandoned and forgotten.  They are being dropped off to fend for themselves at an alarming rate.  These poor souls face the daily exposure to parasites, disease, contaminated water, extreme temperatures as well as predators.  Most of these cats are domestic and unprepared to survive such a struggle.  The “friends of Lily” are their only hope.

In the kind spirit of Lily, we desperately need your help.

– Richard Hamel