Old Town, Orono -
The Old Town-Orono Animal Orphanage has temporarily closed its doors because of an outbreak of scabies and ringworm.
"Unfortunately, we had a little kitten come in and it had scabies and ringworm, which often go together. We immediately notified the veterinarian that we had a problem and he came up and they said we need to shut it down for six weeks," said Roberta Fowler, president of the Old Town-Orono Animal Orphanage.
The shelter is treating the 60 cats and are confident they will be rid of the problem in six weeks. They are concerned about looming medical bills.
"We're not exactly sure what the medical cost is going to be yet, because we have nobody adopting, getting adopted out, we have no money coming in, except by donations," said Fowler.
It normally costs the shelter about a dollar a day to take care of the felines, a total of around $2,500 a month.
With medical bills to treat the outbreak, as well as extra cleaning in the building, they're looking for any assistance they can get.
"One of the things we are looking for would be supplies, kitty litter, any Friskies cat food, paper towels, and bleach, which people have been very generous with and just the general things," said Fowler.
This is the first time they've dealt with an outbreak of this kind.
"Never! Never, it's the first time. We've been open for 21 years and it's the first time it's ever happened," said Fowler.
If the shelter didn't treat the kitties, they'd all have to be put down, something they don't do at this shelter.
They want potential adopters to know once the cats have been treated, they will be completely healthy once again.
"They're probably healthier then most cats would be because of everything that's been done to them, they're going to be extremely healthy and we would not let any of them go out with out making sure they are perfectly healthy. It's just nice to let everyone know that things are going well," said Fowler.
if you'd like to help out, the shelter is accepting cash or check donations, as well as gift cards to Hannaford and Wal-Mart.
You can also bring in food, litter, and cleaning supplies.
You can call 827-8777 or mail donations to P.O. Box 565, Orono , Maine, 04473.
you can find more information on their website, animal-orphanage.com.
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