Tails of Hope!

Here at the RISPCA we love all animals even those that need a little extra support, medical attention, and kindness. And we want to make it easier for them to find FOREVER homes. That is why we are creating a new giving option strictly to help those animals that need more pre and post-adoption care. Each year, the RISPCA takes in hundreds of animals from our community and many of them require additional medical treatment and behavioral needs. The burden of that care is often passed on to the adopters which can deter some from adopting one of these special animals, or adopting from a shelter again. We want to break down that barrier and ease the financial difficulties by treating and offering assistance to the special humans who love our special needs animals post-adoption if needed. These funds are for all shelter residents – cats, dogs, small animals alike!

Some of the extra care to be covered by Tails of Hope would include but is not limited to the following:

Diagnostic testing (x-rays, ultrasound, blood work)
Antibiotics for infection (upper respiratory, urinary tract, skin, etc.)
Hernia repair
Dental cleaning/teeth extraction
Entropion surgery (corrects a condition affecting the eyelids)
Chronic condition support (diabetes, kidney disease, allergies)
Special or Prescription diets (due to allergies, weight management, etc.)
Treatment for Heartworm, Ringworm, Parvovirus
Pyometra surgery (due to infection of the uterus)
Limb amputation
Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) surgery
Pre and Post-adoption behavior support

Donate today to Tails of Hope to ensure even our most vulnerable animals receive the medical and behavioral attention and care they deserve.

Zesty’s story:

Zesty came into the care of the Rhode Island SPCA back in November 2024 when she was only a 4 week old bottle baby. She was transferred to us by another local animal welfare organization when her health started to decline and she was refusing the bottle. She was lethargic and underweight. We had to tube feed her every few hours and gave her many nebulizer treatments to help her breathe a little better. She was kept in an incubator with high humidity to keep her as comfortable as possible. To make matters worse, Zesty has a cleft lip. It's not severe but just enough to cause her nostrils to be smaller than normal. Her nostrils were so swollen, she was mouth breathing constantly and couldn't taste or smell. With numerous medications, in an experienced foster home (shout out to Tiny Paws Kitten Care of Rhode Island) and under the careful guidance from our vet team, she slowly gained more weight and kicked that URI out of here!

All of this, and we haven't even mentioned her eyes! Her right eye was completely covered in tissue when she arrived. It's likely from a past injury or a result from the URI. We assumed the eye underneath wasn't functional, and we just needed to get her weight up to be able to operate and remove it. Her left eye was SWOLLEN. Some days, she barely opened it. We had her on 3 eye meds, 3 times a day for about a month.

Early on we were pretty sure she would need her right eye removed once she was old enough to undergo surgery. However, Zesty was not having any of this, as the weeks went on Zesty’s eye became more and more visible to us, and we determined she could see out of it!

Due to the severity of the URI she suffered as a very young kitten, the eye healed with conjunctival scarring that is holding the lids together. The scarring causes Zesty to be unable to fully open her right eye and leads to constant tearing up. The good news is our friends at Eye Care for Animals said this is an easy fix for them! The bad news is the surgery is going to cost us about $1200, on top of the $600 we have already spent on getting her to this point.

This is where you come into the story! Won't you help us help Zesty??