It’s cause for appaws!
Southern Brooklynites honored by do-good group for saving stray cat
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
It took a borough — or two —
to save this kitty!
Leaders of a local animalrescue
group cheered the efforts
of two Southern Brooklynites
and another city
dweller who saved a stray
kitty from life on the streets,
recently giving one of the dogooders
an award as part of
the organization’s ongoing initiative
to reduce the number of
feral felines citywide.
The Gravesend woman
who fi rst discovered the wayward
fur ball — and started
the chain of events that
took the kitty to Bay Ridge,
Queens, and ultimately its
forever home in Texas — said
the whole ordeal started back
in 2015, when Babydoll fi rst
showed up on her patio looking
for a bite to eat.
“I’m an animal lover and I
love feeding these cats,” said
Fran Coyle.
Following her initial visit,
Babydoll regularly returned
to Coyle’s house — often with
friends — over the next two
years, knowing she could always
fi nd a fresh meal, according
to the homeowner,
who said there were times no
less than eight strays swung
If you care for someone with
Alzheimer’s or dementia, we
haven’t forgotten your needs.
COURIER L 20 IFE, DEC. 14–20, 2018 DT
by looking for grub.
But in November 2017,
Coyle noticed that Babydoll
suddenly stopped eating, and
wouldn’t leave the makeshift
shelter the animal lover set up
for the cat in her yard.
Coyle then took Babydoll to
a vet in Bay Ridge, who kept
her for about a week for treatment
after she contracted a
serious cold, according to the
doctor, who said the kitty was
all skin and bones when her
care taker dropped her off.
“The cat was in a very poor
body condition and dehydrated
at the time, it had a 106-degree
fever and we had to keep her
here for a few days,” said Dr.
Ninette Ibrahim, who nursed
Babydoll back to health at the
Animal Clinic of Bay Ridge on
86th Street between Seventh
Avenue and Dahlgren Place.
Ibrahim on Dec. 4 received
the honor from the Mayor’s
Alliance for NYC’s Animals —
which has no affi liation with
the mayor’s offi ce — for her
work to get Babydoll back on
her feet last year, but the cat’s
vet-assisted recovery was not
the end of her ordeal.
Coyle could not keep Babydoll
after her stint at the veterinarian,
due to what she
said are her severe allergies
to cats, so she called around to
city rescues until a Manhattan
shelter put her in touch with a
Queens woman, who said she
agreed to foster the ball of fuzz
and get her in better shape.
“She was in a bad condition,
really frail,” said Clara
Collazo.
The foster mom said the
kitty arrived at her place with
dirty, matted fur — under
which, she found something
even more grisly.
“The day before Thanksgiving
we took her to a grooming
place in Queens because
we wanted her to be clean.
They gave her a hair cut, and
then we discovered she was
covered in fl eas,” said Collazo.
“She was infested.”
The groomers gave Babydoll
a three-hour cleanse that
included a fl ea bath to get rid
of the pests, which made her
anemic because they sucked
so much of her blood, according
to the Queens resident.
Babydoll remained in the
care of Collazo — the owner
of two other felines — for
months, and when the foster
mom moved to faraway Texas
this past January, she decided
to become the kitty’s real
mom, adopting her out of fear
the cat would not fi nd another
home in New York City.
“We weren’t sure if she
would get adopted,” she said.
Babydoll still suffers from
an autoimmune disease, however,
which Collazo treats by
giving her medication and
steroids every other day — a
regimen she said has already
helped the cat develop a fuller,
healthier fi gure.
LOAFING AROUND: Babydoll
showed off her new, healthier fi gure
and fl uffy, clean fur while relaxing
at her new Texas home.
Clara Collazo
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2019 New Year’s
Resolutions for
Caregivers
Taking care of a loved one is
difficult, time-consuming, and often
heartbreaking labor. It takes a
physical and also emotional toll on
those providing care. For this reason,
caregivers often feel they cannot
take time, especially around the
holidays, to work on their wellness.
“More than half of the caregivers
we serve report high or very
high levels of emotional stress,”
says Sheila Williams, Program Director
for Sunnyside Community
Services. The program Ms. Williams’
directs, CARE NYC, focuses
on caregivers whose loved ones
have Alzheimer’s or dementia—
an estimated 390,000 New Yorkers
care for a loved one with these conditions.
Caregivers: In 2019, make a resolution
that helps you reduce this
stress.
1) Resolve to make sure you share
one fun activity with the person
you’re caring for each week. Make
sure you balance stressful caregiving
tasks with enjoyable ones.
2) Make time for the doctor’s appointment
for yourself that you’ve
been putting off. Remember: you
need to be physically well to ensure
the person you care for is, too.
3) Join a support group or seek
out other caregivers in your community.
Finding others who share
similar experiences can provide
comfort.
4) Ask for help. There are organizations
across New York City that
exist to serve caregivers, including
Sunnyside Community Services,
which assists caregivers of loved
ones with Alzheimer’s and other
forms of dementia in all five boroughs.
You can learn more about
this free program by calling 877-
577-9337.