Today a little cat soul left us to join the Big Cat Soul. It was an accident, no one’s fault. He had been rescued by one of the loveliest women – inside and out – I have ever met, Amra Ribić who lives in Tuzla, Bosnia Herzegovina. If you read this blog, you will have seen her in the photographs of the rescue of cats and dogs during the floods.

R.I.P. sweet kitten Milo, I hold you in my arms when I hold my own cat Ronan, or perhaps the Big Cat Soul holds me.

I can only console myself with the fact that little Milo had Amra’s love and care. I have always said that if I returned in another life it would be to Angel’s Rest, Amra’s little cat shelter in Tuzla.

Please visit Amra’s first blog… Good bye M(s). She wrote about Milo so beautifully….. please send her your love and healing for her broken heart.

Perhaps the best way to show her some support is to help with the cats she looks after… you can ‘like’ the Angel’s Rest Facebook Page, you can join the Angel’s Rest Facebook Group. You can offer to be a virtual adopter of one of the cats or kittens, sending a small monthly donation, or you can send a one-off donation for food and kitty litter via Paypal to:
ernaerf@gmail.com – please mark for ‘Angel’s Rest’.

Andrea Kalman, her two eight-year old twins and I visited Angel’s Rest in September. The first thing we noticed was that the little apartment smelled so clean, so good. Given how many cats Amra takes care of, this is an astonishing feat. And also – all the cats were so happy and healthy! Yes, there were a few grumpy moments between one or two cats, but most cats prefer to be solitary and really do not like to be in a group of other cats (unless they are family). But these cats…. they played, they cuddled, they purred, they smelled delicious. It was truly cat heaven.

Amra is a talented, educated, beautiful young woman. Like so many of the rescuers in Bosnia Herzegovina. She is living in a country where she cannot get work, certainly not using her skills (she has a degree in arts production). Any work available does not pay enough to live on. She cannot leave the country as it costs too much to get visas.. and where would she go? Until one of us wins the lottery… in the meantime she has to try to stay sane in a country that is listed as number ONE of all countries the citizens are most dissatisfied with. Incredibly high unemployment rates, corruption in government. Almost everyone I met in Bosnia was depressed, or worse.

And if you are an animal lover, it is hell on earth. Bosnia Herzegovina has some of the highest number of animal abuse reports to international welfare organisations…

How someone like Amra who is so sensitive, who loves animals so much, who does everything she can for them… how she manages to survive mentally and emotionally, I don’t know. I know it’s hard for her, I know she has very dark times.

So please reach out and keep visiting Amra’s new blog THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A CRAZY CAT LADY.

Let’s show her that she has a huge family, a community who care, who are listening.

Photographs of our visit to Angel’s Rest…..

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DONATIONS

Funds are needed not only to help individual rescues but also to continue our advocacy work in Bosnia Herzegovina, uncovering the truth about what is happening there.

On our sister site, Animal Welfare Advocates for Bosnia, you can set up a monthly donation via PayPal, or if you want to make a one-off donation, please go to your PayPal account (or set one up, it’s very easy) and send the money to: donations@awabosnia.org . Click on the image below to be taken to PayPal’s home page.

Or if you want to use the customised PayPal form, click the link below. However, a transaction fee and a percentage (2- 5.4%) will be deducted by PayPal for any contribution made.

If you want your contribution to go to a specific dog or cause, please make a note in the PayPal comment box. If you wish to contribute via bank transfer or have other difficulties or questions, please go here.

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This site is dedicated to Vučko. Read his story and don’t let him have suffered and died in vain. Please help the stray dogs and cats in Bosnia-Herzegovina. The situation there is utterly dire, Vučko is but one amongst many horrifically abused animals. Go here to find out how to help them.  Money is needed for food, medicine and foster housing. Even just one dollar or one euro will help.