The Extra Mile for Irma’s Cats: Lifesaving Care Beyond Rescue

The Extra Mile for Irma’s Cats

In rescue work, the headlines are usually about the big wins. The kittens saved, the adoptions, the colonies sterilized.
But behind the scenes, there is another kind of work. The quiet, unglamorous, wallet-draining “extra” that keeps cats alive long after the photo ops are over.

Irma lives in David. She is caring for her elderly mother, barely scraping by on part-time work, and still she cares for her cats like family. Four of them have urinary problems. It is the kind of condition that, without help, can turn fatal fast. One was just sent to Dr. Crespo to be unblocked. The others need constant monitoring, vet visits, and the one thing that can keep them from going through that agony again, special urinary care food.

This food is expensive. Irma cannot afford even half a bag. She told Kirsten, “Before the pandemic, I could manage their food and surgeries, but now I only work part-time while caring for my bedridden mother and helping my sister. I simply cannot make ends meet.”

In Panama, like everywhere, most people buy the cheapest food they can. Not because they do not care, but because that is all they can manage. Cheap food often means too much salt or fat, and for cats prone to urinary issues, it can be a slow march toward pain and decline.

Kirsten cannot stand by and let that happen. She will find a way by asking for more donations, by cutting back on feeding stations, and by stretching every dollar to make sure these cats get the food they need.

It is not glamorous work. It is not the kind of thing that gets hundreds of likes online. But it is the quiet, relentless care that keeps cats alive and safe. And in the end, that is what matters most.

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