If our veterinary team cannot return to Lamu Island in time, a tiny street cat named Casandra will become pregnant.
And she is still just a kitten herself.
This is the harsh reality for Casandra and hundreds of other street cats across Kenya’s Lamu Archipelago.
From the moment they are born, kittens like Casandra face hunger, disease and danger.
They are forced to grow up fast and carry the added burden of becoming mothers as early as just four months old, continuing the cycle of suffering for both them and their kittens.
Casandra is one of hundreds of street cats struggling to survive on Lamu Island.
This is Casandra. Without urgent sterilization, she could soon become pregnant – even though she is just a tiny kitten herself. Credit: NFA/Ian Karinga
Every day is a desperate search for food. Casandra waits at the waterfront for fishing boats to return, hoping for scraps. She searches through rotting rubbish under the burning sun. Sometimes, a kind local shopkeeper shares a little food too. But a full belly is never guaranteed for a cat like Casandra in Lamu.
And hunger is only one of the dangers she faces.
As she searches for food, Casandra must weave her way through sick cats suffering from severe diseases. In Lamu, illness spreads like wildfire. There are cats everywhere with swollen, pus-filled eyes, crusted noses and labored breathing. For fragile kittens, these infections are often fatal.
Casandra has already beaten the odds once.
Our team has sterilized and vaccinated 3,774 cats across the Lamu Archipelago. But Casandra, and thousands of other vulnerable cats like her, are still waiting for our help. Credit: NFA/Ian Karinga
When we visited Lamu a few months ago as part of our trap-neuter-vaccinate-return (TNVR) program – which has already sterilized and vaccinated 3,774 cats – we vaccinated and dewormed Casandra so she could grow strong enough for surgery during our next visit.
But that next visit depends entirely on donations from compassionate supporters like you.
Without you, our vets cannot return to Lamu. Not for Casandra. Not for the thousands of other street cats still waiting.
If we do not return soon, Casandra will go into heat. She will become pregnant. And before she is fully grown, she will give birth on the streets, her kittens forced to face the same hunger, disease and suffering all over again.
This is the tragic cycle we are working tirelessly to stop. With ongoing sterilization and vaccination, we can make a real, lasting difference.
It costs just $25 (£18.75) to sterilize and vaccinate one cat.
Credit: NFA/Ian Kiringa
Your donation today can protect a cat from painful disease, prevent litter after litter of unwanted kittens and spare cats like Casandra from becoming mothers too soon.
Friend, our next visit to Lamu is critical, for Casandra and for hundreds of vulnerable island cats.
Will you give $25 (£18.75) today to help sterilize and protect a cat in Lamu, Kenya?
Please donate now to send Network for Animals back to Lamu before it’s too late. For Casandra, for her unborn kittens and for every suffering island cat still waiting desperately.
