May 2024

Hello dear readers. I'm Nadine from the Animal Police Team Mallorca, and this month I'd like to share a little bit about our everyday life in animal welfare. We hope this newsletter gives you a glimpse of what it means to work tirelessly day after day with both the sorrows and joys of animal protection.

Follow-up to last month's newsletter

Our mare Nebraska made it.
After being cared for daily by our equine veterinarian for quite some time, she's doing well again today. Following her antibiotic treatment, she had to take a vitamin supplement for three weeks, and now she's thriving. She walks around with her horse buddies, grazes, and enjoys the worry-free life that Animal Police has given her through her rescue — and we're happy for her from the bottom of our hearts. Nebraska is now 26 years old, and we hope she stays healthy for many more years to come and continues to enjoy the rides when we saddle up the horses for outings.
We thank you for your empathy and for keeping your fingers crossed.
There's news from the cat enclosure with the rescued cats from the Son Reus killing station. We reported in April that we managed to free 6 cats from their small cages. With two of the cats, we noticed that even after 6 weeks they still wanted nothing to do with humans — they're only grateful when they get food, otherwise they just want to be left alone. Since we couldn't place these cats in a loving forever home and couldn't bear to see them locked up in our cat enclosure any longer, we gave them their freedom. And behold — they're no longer stressed, they're not afraid when you approach them, and they stay put when you put food in their bowl. It's wonderful to see them enjoying their freedom now….

A scare in the cat enclosure!

The white tomcat with his shining green eyes has had to fight his whole life long. Out on the streets of Mallorca, he's had to fight his way through. Then suddenly he ended up in a small cage at Son Reus, the killing station, waiting sadly for someone to stroke his pretty head. He has a few scars and fight marks all over his body. That tells us his life so far hasn't been the nicest. Maybe that's why he loves to cuddle so much — he has a lot of catching up to do. During our daily cleaning of the cat enclosure, the little tomcat Snow came limping toward us on three legs to greet us in a friendly way. We were shocked and took him to the vet right away. Our vet Toni decided after the examination and X-rays that Snow would need to be operated on by a colleague in Palma. Snow had broken his hip joint. We had to take him to Palma immediately. After the operation, though, the healing didn't progress the way we expected, or so we thought. Once again, little Snow had to go to Palma to the animal clinic.
The hip joint operation went well, we were told. It was discovered that Snow had a nerve pinched in his spine from an older injury, and it had now become inflamed. For two weeks, Snow has to take medication to reduce the inflammation so he can hopefully move his leg normally again. Even before the accident, dear Sarah from Germany had fallen in love with Snow and wanted to give him a loving and warm home. Many hands are waiting to pamper him all day long. She was devastated when she found out that Snow needed to be operated on. She was rooting for the operation to go well, for Snow to feel better quickly. Despite the injury and the uncertainty about how he'd be after surgery, Sarah still wants to give Snow a home. We're in contact almost daily — she can barely wait for Snow to finally pack his bags, check out of his room at the Finca Noah hotel, and travel to her in Germany.

Last-minute rescue!

In the neighboring town of Cala d'Or, right in the yacht harbor where the rich and famous keep their boats, a large cat colony is being cared for. The cats there share a small stretch of sidewalk, drainage ditch, and bushes with wild-living chickens. Every now and then they get fed. The woman who looks after them is overwhelmingly overtaxed; the cats weren't spayed and neutered for a long time and kept multiplying. In January of this year, we at Animal Police offered her help with the spaying and neutering. A large part of the cats could be caught. One female and apparently also a male hid and weren't captured. Kirstin spotted the female heavily pregnant and called us immediately. Kirstin brought the cat to our vet, who confirmed via ultrasound examination that there are two little kittens that will see the light of day in just a few days. We didn't hesitate and set up our quarantine station for the cat mama, eagerly awaiting the arrival of her babies. Four days later, the time came. Mama gave birth to two kittens. One absolutely adorable white baby and one red and white baby. Mama is a lioness mama — she takes good care of her babies. She hisses at anyone who wants to touch them. But when mama needs a little break from her babies, she's affectionate and practically demands to be petted.
Kirstin and her husband have flown back to Germany, but they're coming back to Finca Noah in mid-June because they're going to adopt the mama and take her with them to Germany. We're thrilled that they've taken such good care of this cat. That they've given her the chance to have her babies in a safe place and not on the street, possibly on a cold, damp night, in the rain, without protection from the dangers that lurk there. We've received an inquiry for two little kittens — maybe the little ones will get lucky and find a home quickly too. We don't have a 100 percent confirmation yet. So it remains to be seen whether the little rascals will also get a happy ending with a couch spot. So if any of you dear, diligent readers have fallen in love with the two little ones, feel free to reach out to us. The little ones will enjoy mama's care for a while longer, need to grow a bit more, and get to be real cheeky kittens until they're old enough for their vaccinations.

Neighborly help!

Our Mallorcan neighbor and now friend Xisco has learned a different side of animal care and animal love through Farah and Animal Police. Apparently a side that has made him and his children think. Because he listened to Farah and had his dogs spayed and neutered with the help of Animal Police, instead of keeping them as breeding machines. And whenever he needs advice about dog care or dog behavior, he can call anytime and we're there with advice and action. Xisco called Farah and told her about a little dog that belonged to his father. A small brown 11-year-old female dog that has lived her whole life outdoors in a yard, locked in a roughly 20 square meter small cage. Day and night, every day, in wind and weather. Food scraps from the kitchen were put down for her to eat. When Farah set off to have a look at the situation, she made a plan, because she knew the stubborn Mallorcan wouldn't willingly hand over his dog.
When Farah saw the little female dog, it was immediately clear to her how she could help.
Because little Juna has an ulcer on her belly, so large that it's visible to everyone and especially noticeable. Farah made it clear to the Mallorcan that she needed to see a vet immediately, that it looked like a tumor, that she probably needed to be operated on, and that high vet costs would come his way. If he was willing to hand little Juna over to Animal Police so we could find her a nice home, Animal Police would cover the vet costs. Because one thing was immediately clear — this dog couldn't and shouldn't stay there. Surprisingly, he agreed. Once again on the way to the vet to see what the swelling was about. Relief, because it's not malignant. It does need to be treated, but there's no danger to her life.
At first a little scared and withdrawn, Juna befriended the dog pack in the yard after a few days at the Finca. She got to lie in the house for the first time, in a warm basket and dog bed, and never has to sleep outside in the dark, in wind and weather again. The plan to find Juna a nice home was quickly checked off. Because Juna chose her place in life, her new family, her dog friends, and above all her soulmate all by herself….. Juna clings like a stamp to Farah, follows her everywhere. She barks and gets very nervous when she hears Farah but can't see her. So it was clear to us — this time we don't need to find a home for this little mouse, she did it herself.
Juna now belongs to the private dog pack and can't believe her luck. She's blossoming more and more each day. It feels like she's been with us forever. She's just a wonderful and low-maintenance dog who simply wants to have a person by her side who gives her love. Okay, the little Juna also thinks food and dog treats are pretty great. So we have a new family for Juna. We're looking for a sponsorship for the little mouse. A godmama, godpapa, or godfamily.
This way you can support Animal Police with a regular donation to help cover the ongoing costs for the animals.

On behalf of the animals, we thank you for every bit of support.