April 2025

Dear Readers,

It's that time again—you've been patiently waiting for news from our animals.

Every day we experience things that either make us laugh, shake us, or sometimes leave us in despair. Especially when we get an emergency call and an animal needs help.

But read for yourselves…!

Kitten Alert on Mallorca's Streets!

At this time of year, we receive multiple reports daily: cat mom with babies found in trash bin, kittens found with mom run over, heavily pregnant cat wandering a busy street, kittens in cold cages from Natura Park (former shelter) with sniffles and matted eyes, crying out for love, attention, warmth, and milk.

We've taken in a current emergency case where we lost faith in humanity all over again. A cat mom sought shelter to protect her babies from danger and, in desperation, found a restaurant terrace. Mallorca is just waking up from its winter sleep, restaurants are reopening—an animal seeking shelter and food is not welcome. We're often threatened on the phone that they'll kill, drown, poison, or take the animals to the shelter if we don't remove them from where they're unwanted. This happened with the mom and her originally four kittens. One baby died shortly after being born on the street, another was rejected by mom because it was simply too weak. Our attempt to bottle-feed the little one was unfortunately in vain. Two of the rascals are in perfect health and are currently enjoying discovering the world with mom here at Finca Noah in a dry, warm, quiet, and above all protected place. Mom only lets us touch her babies reluctantly, and she's truly a caring mama who defends her babies like a lioness. Sometimes a bit unsettling, but we have patience with her—being a mother isn't always easy.

At the end of April, 6 kittens are coming to Finca Noah. They had to watch their mom get hit by a car while searching for food. Fortunately, the babies were found by the right people. In this case, we're just a foster station. When the 6 kittens reach the appropriate age, they'll travel to Germany, where their families are already waiting longingly. Kirstin has really shown tremendous effort and commitment to these kittens. Last summer I told you about a mom who had two babies with us. These three were also rescued from the street through teamwork with Kirstin and us, and accompanied to their forever home.

Day after day, more emergency calls keep coming in. It gets worse every year. Only spaying and neutering street cats can help. Please feel free to donate to make these spaying and neutering procedures possible. We have over 200 cats neutered each year. This is vital work, and it's the only way to really alleviate so much suffering on Mallorca's streets.

Veterinary House Call with an Unexpected Outcome!

Our veterinarian Toni visited Finca Noah for a checkup. As you know, all our animals are spayed/neutered and vaccinated, so several animals—especially dogs and cats—were due for their annual vaccinations. With regular vaccinations and general checkups, we want to protect our animals as best we can. We take in so many animals whose history we don't know, so it would be irresponsible not to protect our animals from possible diseases and infections.

The little tomcat Oreo, whom we took in during summer 2023 after rescuing him from drowning and certain death, had an extreme reaction to the vaccination. With previous vaccinations, there were no signs that he couldn't tolerate them. This time, just minutes after the vaccination, he suffered an allergic shock. Our veterinarian was still on site and immediately treated him with emergency medications. But his condition didn't improve. He could barely breathe, vomited several times, and developed bloody diarrhea. We immediately took him to the emergency clinic, where he had to stay for two days for treatment, tests, and observation. Two restless nights that barely let us sleep, because in such cases we're naturally always on call and reachable for the animals at any time. The uncertainty of what's happening to our protégé gives us no peace. Every time it's a matter of hoping and worrying. He's recovered a bit and is doing his best to keep us from working in the office. Currently he's eating very little, and only when someone keeps him company. Oreo isn't quite himself yet. Another visit to the veterinarian will be necessary. What hasn't changed is that he's still the world's biggest cuddler. The little guy can and may continue living—we love him just as he is!

Hit-by-Car Kitten by the Roadside!

The following night, our volunteer Gina called us in tears and visibly distressed. When the phone rings that late, it's never good news.

A cat that was hit by a car and bleeding heavily was simply left on the street—Gina found it on the roadside. We don't even want to think about how many people simply looked away and drove past the helpless cat. It's terrible how many people abandon animals to their fate and offer no help. Out of helplessness, lack of empathy, or laziness—we don't know.

We also took this poor soul to the emergency clinic to see how severe the injuries were. We had the cat operated on—the jaw was broken. We hope to nurse the cat back to full health and hope that afterwards it will have a long and healthy life. Since the cat was operated on in the jaw and mouth area, it's now wearing a collar. This is meant to prevent the little one from scratching open the scar. Several times a day we remove it so it can eat and drink without problems. We do the hours-long cleaning that cats do all day long, using care tissues for the fur, because the cat can't do that on its own with this collar. Both cats are currently punching a big hole in the Animal Police Association's budget. We would be happy if we could find someone among our readers who would like to take on the sponsorship of one of our furry friends. A monthly donation/sponsorship is sustainable for the animal and helps us as an organization enormously to be able to pay the high veterinary and food costs. On the topic of sponsorships, we warmly invite you to visit our homepage, where you'll find all the information and photos. You'll find the link to the homepage there…. You're also welcome to contact us personally if you have questions or interest—we answer every question.

Four-Legged Lawnmowers!

Over recent weeks here on Mallorca it's rained repeatedly. The grass, weeds, and wild flowers grow so fast in such weather that we can't keep up with the mower cutting it all short.

We don't usually do this, but this time we had our sheep, pony, horses, and donkey work. We figured it's kind of legal anyway. They work, but get food all day in return. A win-win situation that our animals clearly enjoyed, because such a little trip to a different field, a different paddock can be a little adventure.

We thank our charges for the mega support and hope they enjoyed it with pleasure.

That really gives the term "livestock" a whole different meaning.

We're currently dealing with a really terrible case of animal abuse here on the island of Mallorca. For some days now, it's become known through social media that there's a woman and her daughter who run a horse farm. The horses on this farm are being abused—there are photos and videos that prove it. We promise you, we're on it and will help these animals.

We will continue to report.

Beyond all this work and tasks that are routine for us, we keep adding tasks that are equally important.

This month they were:

– Vaccinations for dogs and cats

– Sheep were sheared

– The equine dentist visited Finca Noah

– Hay bales were delivered

– We tilled 9,000 square meters of field

– Did spring cleaning in every corner of the entire sanctuary

– Trimmed back plants, trees, and shrubs

– And repaired both our golf caddies, because walking the whole farm all day long is just too time-consuming.

I thank you very much for reading and staying with us to the end.

Animal greetings from Finca Noah,

Nadine