Kim's Ark needs your help with our latest rescue

Mon Jan 16, 2006 4:57 am

The Ark was recently contacted by a woman in New York state who desparately needs help.
Basically, due to a cage breaking, she went from 13 rats to 116 rats in 5 months and more coming. This also was due to missexing and improper caging.

We had a volunteer check out the home. She reported to us that there is no running water in the house, no heat in the house (it's a cold time of the year up here), no bedding in the cages. These cages haven't been washed in months, neither have the rats.

Cages that should only hold 1-2 rats are holding 44 girls and 33 boys. There's another cage that's holding the younger rats as well as a 20 gallon tank. I want you to imagine what it's like. Some have some newspaper, most are just sitting there on piles of lab blocks. These rats are overcrowded and beating each other up -- some are missing parts of their tails. some of the males have bite marks from where hormones and overcrowing is making for an uncomfortable living situation.

Our volunteer did end up taking home some that were the neediest, including a boy with a large abscess. She says while they do occassionally sneeze, most is from the severe overcrowing and the overwhelming ammonia that comes with having so many rats in a 6x6 room.

These babies range from 3 weeks old to 20 weeks old. Actually, there's a pregnant female too.

This is more than the Ark can handle and we're asking for this community's help. We really need foster homes and transporters to help us get these rats to where they will be safe. We will try our best to provide foster homes with cages, food is always provided. This also means we will be ordering a load of cages from Martins. It will take a lot of time, money and most of all love to get these rats to the places they deserve, but we cannot leave them there - especially not after finding out what it is really like there. If you can help give these rats a place where they'll get socialization, basic care, love, please contact us at kimsarkadopt@gmail.com

Kim is planning to meet with the owner and get all the girls out next weekend. We are going to try and get as many girls spayed as possible and we're arranging some as I type. We honestly don't have enough money (over $4000) to spay every single girl but it's possible that we'll get more litters from the ones coming. If you have any spare change, please consider helping these girls before more of the babies have more babies. I shudder to think...what if this is their third, fourth litter? Paypal donations can be sent info@kimsarkrescue.org

I don't want to this to be a thread judging the owner. She thought she was doing the right thing even after it was apparent things were out of control. I just want to get the rats out and get them the care they deserve.

If you can contribute by donating your time or a little money, we would be forever grateful. Even shopping our Ark Store will help.

Please help us save these rats

Girl cage

Yes, there are 44 rats in that cage.

You can see more pics here

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~Michelle

Mon Jan 16, 2006 5:03 am

Yes, I am well aware of the situation, I am in California that may be too far if not, I open my home

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Rest In Peace, My Lil Naked Man- Dobie, 2004 -Nov 11, 2005. My perfect acting English Gentleman, my heart still cries.
King George I- 2001-August 2004 My heart is always with you, my sweet departed friend

Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:10 am

But where do I donate?

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Rest In Peace, My Lil Naked Man- Dobie, 2004 -Nov 11, 2005. My perfect acting English Gentleman, my heart still cries.
King George I- 2001-August 2004 My heart is always with you, my sweet departed friend

Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:14 am

info@kimsarkrescue.org
That is their paypal email....Shaz

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Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:18 am

Main web site with mailing info..
http://www.kimsarkrescue.org/

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Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:22 am

That is so sad.

I don't know how anyone with an even semi-decent conscience could let that happen.

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Lise...

& Molly, Nora, and Tevy

Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:41 am

agreed, but now is not the time to debate.......

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Rest In Peace, My Lil Naked Man- Dobie, 2004 -Nov 11, 2005. My perfect acting English Gentleman, my heart still cries.
King George I- 2001-August 2004 My heart is always with you, my sweet departed friend

Mon Jan 16, 2006 6:45 am

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Not judging the owner, just trying to offer some insight to those who are wondering how something like that could've happened.

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-Ben
My rats: Squishy, Squee, and Nibbler
My dogs (at my mother's house): Lucy and Ricky
My cats (at my dad's house--in Florida!): Cleo (RIP) and Zima

Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:14 am

Well I live in PA. If I could take rats it would only be able to be one. BUT I am willing to transport. I'm not working right now so I have all the time in the world. I would like to help transporting these ratlets anywhere they need to go. Let me know where to send my e mail and contact info.

Nevermind I see it Mr. Green

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Crystal...The Ratties..Cocoa & Splinter...The Doggies...Jack & Molly

Mon Jan 16, 2006 7:53 am

Aww. Poor babies! I would take some in if I lived closer. =(

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Mon Jan 16, 2006 8:43 am

Oh those poor babies break my heart. I can't quit thinking about them. Those pictures are so sad. I live too far away to take any though so I just made a donation. Good luck and please give us updates on how the rescue is going.

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Rat Goddess and the Bruxysnugs
Mama Lucy Beledi Bellatrixy Tatinka Kreaver

View my rat cam here

Mon Jan 16, 2006 10:46 am

That is terrible Sad

Wish I could help, but for now accept my prayers and good thoughts.

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~Obedient women are never remembered in history~

Mon Jan 16, 2006 3:08 pm

Ohhhhh and they are so so so cute too

these things just dont happen near me....ide take as many as possible

the more the merrier....smile

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Rosie Ginger Gypsy Bambie Beatrice Cassie Kira Shapelle Shelley kath Kim Corby Chloe kimmies bubs: Leelee Lilly Molly Morgan Jassie Jayjay Tess n Tammy
Roxy 30/06/2004 to 28/11/2005 Relaxing on the banks of the river at Rainbow Bridge

Mon Jan 16, 2006 9:27 pm

I would love to take some, but unfortunetly I am not allowed. Sad

Good luck, I'll tell all my friends!

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Tue Jan 17, 2006 1:15 am

What else can we do?

I would foster, but I think I'm too far away. I don't have a whole lot of money to donate. What I do have is time. Do you need people to spread the word? Has this been posted at other rat message boards? I really want to help.

Tue Jan 17, 2006 2:46 am

How far does transportation go. I live in IN and I would be more than happy to take atleast 3 in(thats probably way to far). If so, I can donate some money instead.
Thats truly horrible Sad

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:20 am

If transport can be worked out (to Georgia), I can foster 2 (if you can get down to Ga there is also a rattery/rescue that could probably take some).

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:26 am

Oh, this was posted on RR too, and they were talking about getting it down to Georgia, so they might be able to get it to you!

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Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:51 am

Thanks so much for all your help, everybody! We really really couldn't do this without everyone's generosity. In fact we were joking about naming the rescue "Operation Desparation" because we have to depend so heavily on help from the rest of the rat community.

At this point I wouldn't rule out transport to anywhere, and yes, it looks like rats may be headed down to Florida, up to Maine, and possibly even westward to Ohio/Illinois if we can work out transport in that direction.

Carolyn, this message has been cross-posted pretty extensively - RatPalace, Rats Rule, RMCA, and several Yahoo groups. If you know of any other forums or message boards that get a fair amount of traffic, feel free to spread the word.

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~Michelle

Tue Jan 17, 2006 3:59 am

Well I'm not really a member of too many forums, but I do stop by petshub every now and then

Petshub.com

Try the rat section I suppose.

I wish i could be of more help.
I'm hoping transportation will be available to where I am. I would love to help out a few little guys or gals

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:05 am

Unfortunately, I can't offer transport...but I will definitely be able to provide a home for one or two. I'd prefer boys, but I'll certainly take girls if necessary. I'm located in Columbus Georgia, so if anyone is headed my way, let me know.

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:05 am

It would be great if you could get some down here! If transport to Ga can be worked out, you should email Amy at Phoenix Gate (her contact info is on her website www.pxrats.com) and Tara from Rattie Express (her contact info is also on her website www.rattie-express.com).

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Tue Jan 17, 2006 4:44 am

I just bought some stuff from the store. Ihope that helps alot

I needed more food anyway.

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<3 to my Fats and my Meeces

Tue Jan 17, 2006 8:07 am

Anyone else here is Toronto able to take some?? I could if there was transportation out this way.

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Loving Mum to my rattie boys, Zipper and Ty
Bestest Bud to Milly, the greatest horse ever

Thu Jan 19, 2006 10:25 am

I'm having trouble sending in the adoption application. Every time I try to send it I get a failure notice. Finally gave in and PM'd it to Kim's RatsRule account, so *hopefully* she'll get it in time. Sad

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Thu Jan 19, 2006 4:01 pm

I would really love to take two females. If there was a way to get them to CA right on the AZ border.

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Mom to 2 ratties: Snickers and Twix, 1 Hermit Crab: Sandie, 3 kitties: Nadine,Angel, Cookie.

Have you kissed your fur babies today?

Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:27 pm

i think i know what is happening with the emails...

Posted by Tracy on Rats Rule:

Hey all,
Thank you SO much for helping us in our efforts to get these rats help. Every bit helps, from donations, homes, and word of mouth!
I'm working on emails and organizing everything into a readable spreadsheet.

For those trying to email us through kimsarkrescue.org, we just moved hosts and these emails won't be working for a couple days.
If you're emailing to help with fostering, adopting, or transport please email Jessica or Tracy at Kimsarkadopt@gmail.com
If you're emailing to find out donation instructions or other additional info, please email Tina at kimsarkrescue@gmail.com

Thanks!!

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Visit ACE, MELANIE, BONBON, and the rest of my crew in Rat Tails

Thu Jan 19, 2006 7:42 pm

Yeah, I finally got an email that said I was approved...so hopefully transport can be worked out so that I can get a couple of wee girls or boys. Mr. Green

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--Brittany

"He who breaks a thing to find out what it is, has left the path of wisdom."

Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:01 pm

it actually looks like there is a VERY good chance that we have transport garenteed to georgia at the very least. i am not 100 percent sure, so don't take my word for it, but keep working on finding more homes.

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Visit ACE, MELANIE, BONBON, and the rest of my crew in Rat Tails

Fri Jan 20, 2006 1:19 am

Yay! I just emailed them about fostering, so hopefully transport will work out.

EDIT: They emailed me back, and said that they have some potential problems, that they can't fix, so might not be able to have fosters/adopters that far away Sad

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Rosie

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I miss you Tut, Goldy, and Raoul Angel rat

Fri Jan 20, 2006 5:44 pm

I'll talk the rents about forstering some ratties. Poor souls. I'll ask Twitch as well.

Is there anyway to get them to New Brunswick? Even if they could be near Bangor, Maine for the second week of March (we'll be flying back from Florida and could bring them up from that point ourselves). I'll be praying for all those wee cuties. It's a shame to see what a lack of education can cause.

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mother to:
rats: scooter, kermit, lestat + tsume
mouse: bingo [rip sweety. you're with peanut + wizard at the bridge]
horse: phoenix

Mon Jan 23, 2006 12:43 am

Posted by Tracy on RatsRule:

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Hey all
Kim, Shannon, and Lydia made the long trip into NY today to get the rats.
They drove back 85 rats (males, females, moms, litters). 19 rats went to our volunteer in NY to transport around the Rochester/Buffalo area. So a total of 104 were pulled out. 10 male rats were left with the owner and the owner found homes for some on her own.

About 6 of them need/needed medical care (including a baby boy with a big umbilical hernia) and one will definitely need surgery (a girl missing half her leg). There's about 10 potentially pregnant girls that we're hoping to spay ASAP. That's pretty good considering there were over 44 girls to begin with!

Kim says that some are scared, but almost all of them are being remarkably good - some scratching and very few gave some nervous nips while they were here. "They are enjoying having food, fresh water, and being in spacious cages - we broke most up into groups of under 5."

Of course the boys have already spread out and staked out prime napping spots. Which, I'm sure you can imagine, is very much different that 33 in a cage and piling on each other! So while the males passed out the first chance they got, the girls just had to explore their new cages to make sure everything was in order. No hammock nappers yet. But the babies are exploring in their new 680, where they have tubes and stuff to play in.

All the girls have a place to go, foster and adoptive. The boys still need homes.

Thank you to everyone who sent emails to adopt and offered your homes to give these guys a chance at real love! Thank you to everyone who donated money, cages, and hammocks. This helped us so much in preparing for this rescue. Thank you for spreading the word!

I love rat people. You guys really rock! I am touched by how rat lovers across the country came together to help out rats in an unfortunate situation! It's a privelege being part of a community where our animals really matter and support is given to those in need.

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~Michelle

Thu Jan 26, 2006 5:42 am

posted by kim on Rats Rule

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Just wanted to update everyone on how the NY rescue went - it's been exhausting! We pulled a total of 106 rats out of the location, with 85 going straight to me, and 21 going to western NY foster homes and adoptive homes. We currently have three litters on the ground, two or three litters most definitely coming, and most of the other females are being spayed. The males are doing well, and we hope to have many of the older ones neutered and adopted out as time passes.

We have received so many generous donations, offers to help, wonderful adopters, fantastic foster homes - it warms our heart! These rats are adjusting VERy quickly - we already have at least two cases (potentially four!) of failed foster homes (our favorite type!!) -- that isn't even counting me!! Most of these rats are very sweet and lovable - a little scare, but adore to be held and pet. One of our failed foster homes held her boy for over an hour at my house while he slept, and she has fallen in love!

We are still in the process of spaying the females - we are doing this for a variety of reasons, including the fact that these rats are terribly inbred, most of them are not even 5 months old yet, and some of them have already had multiple litters - it is simply not healthy for them OR any litter they had, to be in that situation. Females that are near term will have the litter and then be spayed to ensure that they will never have to have another litter again!

Two of our babies have umbilical hernias, which are currently under observation and once they get bigger will undergo surgery at the Tufts Vet School. We have all our vets, as well as some new vets that have volunteered their time and services, as well as fit us in as an emergency, working overtime to get these rats the medical care they need - at last count, we have no less than 7 vets treating these rats in 3 different states!

We have received so much from everyone - some people sent us hammocks, some water bottles, other cages, and even more sent monetary donations - and we appreciate each and every donation! Foster homes have gone out of their way and rearranged their schedule to help us out, and it means so much to us - an even more to the rats! Martin's cages was amazing and shipped us out cages within 24 hours so that we had the spare cages necessary to properly care for these rats, and people like Dru, Dearpie, Ann, Meghan, Jane, James, Lauren, Cathy, Colleen, Debra, Valerie, Michelle, Melissa, Shannon, Lydia, Emma, Cathy, Alana, Michelle, Erika, Carrie, Paula, Suebee, Jane, Suzanne, Kimmy, Wee Companions, Christa, Linda, Joan, Fir, Dr. Sean, TUSVM and Drs. Mayer and Melidone, Dr. Ember, Holly, Lisa, Nancy, Laurie, Robin, James, Paula, Rachel, Micheal, Bill, Trevor, Cheryl, Natalie, Helene, Branwen, Heidi, Heather, Kim, Kelly, Jenn, Amy, Emily, Jennifer, Gia, Crystal, Amber, Dawn, Janet, Stacey, Arlene, Janet, Melissa, Krissi, Diana, Janice, Dawn, Beth, Fenella, Lydia, Pamela, Rachel, Sherry, Nancy, Dorin, William, Julia, Michelle, and anyone else I forgot - I am sorry, but thank you!

We have pictures of the rats uploaded and hopefully they will be on our site soon (our webmaster just got her internet repaired!) Already, of the 107 rats, almost a third are adopted! We still have some males that need loving foster homes or forever homes, and we hope to have descriptions up of these rats as soon as we can. You can view the pictures of these rats here, until we get them on our website: http://www.petfish.net/gallery/OperationDesperation

These rats are in heaven right now - they are enjoying their spacious caging, good food, fresh clean water, and have finally figured out what yogies and hammocks are! Thank you ALL for keeping them in your minds and most of all, your hearts!

*Please crosspost as necessary*

Kim, Tracy, JoAnna, Tina, Michelle and Jessica
Kim's Ark Rodent Rescue
http://www.kimsarkrescue.org

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Visit ACE, MELANIE, BONBON, and the rest of my crew in Rat Tails