Project Report
| Jul 12, 2019
Preparing for winter
By Vivian | Communications Sinal do Vale
![Princesa on her blanket]()
Princesa on her blanket
Here at SINAL we have entered the winter! Winter in Brazil means that we have temperatures around ten degrees at night and twenty during the day. Although our winters aren’t as cold as the ones in Europe or the US, the humidity in the air chills the property. But unlike us, our forty cats spend most of their life outside. They walk around outside, play, and most importantly they sleep outside.
So with ten degrees at night, they got a little cold. You could see them cuddle themselves together on chairs and benches to stay off of the ground. So we decided to create “hot spots” for our 40 cats . We chose areas where they like to gather at night. We chose two verandas in front and underneath our houses, the favorite spots of approximately 30 cats. We laid out thick cotton blankets, and are happy to report the cats were very excited about claiming them immediately! Now when we walk around SINAL property we can see them day and night laying on their favorite blanket.
Additionally, we want to inform you about the July bonus day - Donations over 100US$ made on July 18th will be matched by GlobalGiving! So bring some friends together and help us maintain a safe and comfy home for our 40 cats.
Links:
Apr 22, 2019
Treating bot fly larvae
By Vivian | Communications Intern
When it comes to cats, we can find many similarities to humans. One is the fact that there are seasons cats are prone to certain diseases just as we are. Unfortunately one of those seasons was in march. It was the season in which the so called bot fly leaves its parasitic larvae on cats’ skin. This is not only painful for the cats but can also cause infections. Sadly there is no way of preventing the bot flies to leave their larvae on the cats. The only thing one can do is to be prepared to treat it. And luckily we were prepared.
As soon as we realized that two cats were losing fur and heard them complaining we knew what was going on and were ready to act! When these larvae sit on dog skin they can be easily removed. This is not possible with cats. So how did we treat the two cats? We gave them medicine, which has to be crushed into powder and mixed in their food. But as all of our 40 cats eat together we had to separate the two cats (Bolinha and Linda) from the others during feeding times so they would not loose their appetite by eating the not treated food. Once we started the treatment it only took two days for the cats’ skin to be cured. After those two days they were happy to rejoin the other 38 cats for their meals.
This treatment with medicine was made possible through your donations. Thank you for caring about our cats as much as we do!
Links:
Jan 28, 2019
Meet Chancla
By Johanna Barba | Sinal do Vale Team
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Our cats have very diverse personalities - they have their friend groups and places they like to hang out, they even are very close to some of us caretakers, and to others not so much. This particular cat loves to be near one of our houses, and his specific hang out spot is always on top of our shoes, which is why his name is Chancla (flip-flop in Mexican Spanish).
Chancla has been in and out of the flu for the last couple of months so we have been giving him special attention to make sure he doesn’t relapse. Good thing we always know where he is! If you come near him, he will be automatically ready for a belly rub, so he is not very hard to treat.
Keeping a close eye on each cat is very important to keep viruses from spreading, so it is good to know their personalities well! A big thank you to our donors for helping us keep Chancla in is happy place (see photos) - stay tuned for more stories of our feline community.