Unconditional Love Home

		Mickelson, Unexpectedly and devastatingly, on the evening of February 10, 2014, we lost our beloved Mickelson . . . a.k.a. Micka. . . a.k.a. Micka-Muffin. . . a.k.a. Muffin-Top-Bottom-And–Sides. His mama and daddy, and his BFF Harley, are heartbroken. Mickelson was born in April of 2002 (we weren’t sure of the date, so we just gave him his daddy’s birthday—April 18th). We don’t know what Micka’s life entailed during his first 7 or so weeks, but we do know that he landed at the Humane Society Silicon Valley, and into the lap of Jeri Seiden (the amazing rescue coordinator there), who then called Lisa to “come get this kitten before I take him home! [MORE]

		Buddy-cat, lost his fight with kidney failure on September 17th 2011. Buddy left his mama and daddy peacefully in the quiet room of Adobe Animal Hospital. Mama held him, and Daddy scratched his chin. He was nestled in his favorite blanket. It was an exit fitting of a little feline soul who was all but forgotten for a long time. [MORE]

		Mitty, our very first fur child, has left us. Mitty co-inspired Unconditional Love Rescue, he exemplified the best of what a soul can possibly be: other-focused, accepting, trusting, loyal, wise. . . a walking and breathing example of unconditional love. [MORE]

		Sir Julius Extraordinaire, passed away on the 19th of June. In a touching tribute to this amazing dog his mama and dad wrote " It is with broken hearts that we announce the passing of our sweet polar bear pupper, Julius Lotti. Julius left us on June 19 th —just ten days short of his third anniversary with his mama and dad..." [MORE]

		Precious Milton Kitten, whose seizures could not be controlled by any combination of medicine ... one of the sweetest little purrmonsters ever.

		Amazing Barkley Dog, who survived mast cell tumors and pancreatic cancer (with radiation therapy and multiple surgeries) and died peacefully on his bed after three wonderful years with his adoring mama and daddy...

		Sweet Claire, who came into the shelter with ears ravaged by cancer that spread to the rest of her body . . . she had six good months with us. Her message: kitties should be indoors!! Light colored kitties are especially susceptible to skin cancer, which leads to horrible disfigurement and, in Claire's case, death.

		Dickens (renamed Phantom), Dee's little soulmate, who died suddenly after a year plus being the light of his parents' lives, thus teaching all of us that it's the quality of life and not the quantity of years that is important. He loved to play fetch, and chase birds - we still miss him dearly. We like to think he is up in kitty heaven chasing birds on lush hillsides...

		Little Rocky B, who was a tiny bottle baby and only survived a few days... he purred earlier than any kitten we've ever experienced, like he already knew all of life's secrets.

		Winnie (aka Bella), who died after being loved by her family for ten months. She was diagnosed with congestive heart failure...

		Sherbert, the world's most amazing cat, who raised nearly 100 kittens in his foster home... adopted and worshipped by his mommy and daddy... died suddenly at home with no apparent explanation. Tainted cat food is a possible cause. Sherbert packed a lifetime of love and influence into three short years.


		Kevin (pictured with his brother, Kenny), who succumbed to FIP while he was under the care of our wonderful foster parent, Karen. Kenny has been adopted and is doing wonderfully.

		Little Lori, who was a tiny bottle baby and died suddenly at three weeks. Such a beautiful little baby. It is difficult to make sense of these things. Lori's siblings all did well and were adopted into loving families. Sometimes, one kitten of a litter has congenital issues and will simply pass away with no warning. This is what happened with Lori.

		Evie, a sweet little green eyed steel gray girlie, who suffered a freak accident in her adoptive home. Her family was crushed, but ended up saving another little one in Evie's name.

		Fifi, who just didn't seem right when we rescued her (she was oh, so quiet and stayed snuggled in a corner)--when she went to the doctor a couple days later for her a checkup and spay, she found Fifi had severely damaged organs from probable abuse. Because important organs were beyond repair, Fifi was humanely euthanized. Such a beautiful kitten .

		Daisy's Babies... All five, died one by one from pneumonia, despite our around the clock effort to save them (which included suction, antibiotics, steam, and tube feeding). Daisy cried for a week--she was an amazing mama who sat by our sides as we tube fed her little ones and gently carried them back to her bed when we were finished. Daisy herself has a wonderfully happy ending, however--she was adopted almost immediately by a wonderful family who loves and spoils her completely--which led us to believe that, though we rescued Daisy BECAUSE she had kittens, it was actually Daisy who was supposed to be saved.

		Little Bear, the sweetest dog ever, who was old when rescued, died of Cushings Disease in a loving home with a loving mama.

		Luna the lab, who was rescued and adopted by an amazing family, succumbed to horribly aggressive cancer after just a few months at home. Her family went to extraordinary measures to keep her alive first, and comfortable at the end. Though Luna had an exceptionally short time with her people, they gave her a lifetime of love and care.

		Wagner, the "one dead kidney, one unhealthy kidney" cat, who we rescued because he was such a cool guy only to find out the extent of his health issues. We thought Wagner would spend his short life with us, but an amazing couple showed up at an adoption fair and, upon learning about Wagner and his issues, immediately decided to take him home. Wagner lived a charmed year with his amazing mom and dad, who learned to give him fluids and took extraordinary care of him. After Wagner passed away (and a mourning period), his mama and daddy came back to adopt four other kitties from our organization! What fabulous folks!

		Felix, who was adopted as a kitten and was euthanized by his family when he developed erratic behavior associated with a brain issue. Felix is photographed with his bunny--one of the most adorable photos ever.

		HauKea, the gorgeous little siamese mix fluffball, who was a tiny kitten when we rescued her (and her siblings). HauKea died of Fading Kitten Syndrome, in which a kitten simply fails to thrive and her little organs shut down. HauKea had been chosen by a family who adored her, and they were heartbroken when we lost her. They did decide to bring another kitten into their family, and for this, we are grateful.

		Biscotti, an adorable little polydactyl orange tabby runt in a litter of four, who had physical deformities far beyond what we could fix once he started to grow. We tried surgery, but he died during our attempts to help him. Biscotti will always be remembered not only by us, but by his loving foster mommy, Katherine Strong, who spent extra time and care giving him enough love for a lifetime in his short weeks with her.

		Tapa, who was only 18 days old when we discovered he had a severe case of megaesophagus (he couldn't swallow his formula--it kept coming right up). Despite our efforts to save him, Tapa wasn't meant to be here for a long time. He purred at three days old, and loved snuggling in our director's shoulder-length hair after gallant attempts at eating. Tapa had a perfect little white stripe down his perfect little black nose. He was loved like crazy while he was here and will be remembered always.

A note on FIP: FIP stands for Feline Infectious Peritonitis. Approximately 70-80 percent of all cats are exposed to the virus that is at the heart of FIP (the corona virus). This virus usually lives silently within kitties, causing no issues. But in some cats (and we don't know why--perhaps there is a tweak in their immune systems, or they have experienced one too many stressors in their lives) this virus mutates into the deadly FIP. FIP can present itself in dry form (no fluid buildup in the stomach, but neurological issues or incontinence or organ shut-down still occurs) or wet form (where the kitty's stomach fills with a yellowish fluid, among other symptoms listed with dry form). No matter what form, FIP is fatal. Approximately 1 percent of the total kitties we have rescued (over 1300) have presented with FIP. This is lower than most shelter averages, so we feel fortunate to have only experienced this awful disease as few times as we have).

		Winston, adopted with his sister Charlotte, who succumbed to FIP after a few months in the home of his doting adoptive parents. Sister Charlotte is doing well.

		Chopper, a sweet little kitten who came into the shelter with a "blown eye." We love rescuing kittens who need extensive help, so we got him out of there, only to find out, when we brought him to our veterinarian, that he was feline leukemia positive (which is what probably caused his eye to rupture--felv kittens often have a particular eye disease (uveitis). Because Chopper was already sick from this disease, which is terminal once signs appear, he was gently euthanized. And we were heartbroken.

		Charm, who survived being hit by a car and left in a gutter to die, and major surgery...Charm became Claire's best friend, and shortly after she succumbed to cancer, Charm developed FIP, the most awful and deadly kitty disease...We like to think that Charm's purpose was to be with Claire.



		Nomad, who was nicknamed "old man" by his foster mom. Nomad was adopted and adored by his new mommy for several months before presenting with FIP. He is deeply missed.

		Mahari, a wonderful little orange tabby, who was adopted and loved by his family and died later of FIP. Mahari's family humanely euthanized him to save him from more suffering and paid extra to stay with him when this was done. They have since given a loving home to a sweet pair of orange tabby sisters in honor of Mahari.

		Shrimp, the ADORABLE orange tabby, who was chosen by a little boy and his family and who was loved like crazy until he became sick from FIP. This kitten was doted on and cared for until the very end by these wonderful people. And they honored Shrimp by bringing two other kittens into their family, which was wonderful.

We really believe that we honor little ones who pass away by sharing the love we had for them with other babies who need and deserve love, too. We thank all of our adopters who loved and lost, and decided to risk and love again!