Forgotten Souls Rescue and Rehab

05/31/2026

I can’t tell you how refreshing it is to have someone message me who is willing to trust my recommendations and allow me to keep a mama with her babies.
Thank you Climax school employees for reaching out about humane eviction assistance!

The amount of orphans right now is absolutely heartbreaking 💔 The only way to prevent the suffering is through education . We don’t have to kill everything anymore, this isn’t the 1900s. There are new, more humane, proven methods!

05/30/2026

A great way to support a small business and our rescue!

Shop local TODAY at Here in the Mitten and help support Forgotten Souls Rescue and Rehab!!

It’s baby season so they could use all the extra help they can get. 🦝🦝🦝
So grab some Tallow skincare for yourself and we will be donating 5% of all our sales TODAY!

If you would just like to donate you stop into the store and add money to the collection box 🗃️

05/29/2026

These babies did not deserve to suffer like this! They were at the brink of death on intake and still very critical.

🩷The finder did exactly what she should; contact a rehabber, follow their instructions, do not feed anything, give warm unflavored pedialyte (very slowly) from a syringe and remove any flystrike.
💧Rehydration is the most important thing to address, food can come later.

Since these two are so debilitated they will require pretty intense supportive care to recover.
I love to educate so here is a play by play of my protocol for intaking a critical baby if anyone is interested 😉

❤️‍🩹First, before anything else, I have to make sure their body temperature is close to normal. I typically use a clear plastic tote with welded wire on 1/2 of the lid, a heating pad on low underneath 1/2 of the tote, fluffy blankets/towels and a stuffy.

❤️‍🩹Next I have to treat the dehydration. If they are able to take liquid from a syringe, I give warm unflavored pedialyte with homemade simple syrup (thanks Celine) mixed in. (I love the *large puppy ni**le* from miracle ni**le for this!)
If they are unable to take fluids by mouth, SQ fluids are given, along with vitamin B complex. The severity of dehydration determines how long I keep them on Pedialyte, typically 24-36 hours. When I do start giving Fox valley raccoon, I begin with a higher water/formula ratio of 4 to 1. As their energy improves and they start urinating normally I slowly increase the formula to water ratio until I reach 2.5 parts water to 1 part formula.
❌Feeding a cold or dehydrated animal leads to re-feeding syndrome, organ failure and death❌

❤️‍🩹After the first round of fluids I give them a head to toe exam, a warm bath with dawn soap and remove any external parasites. Large ticks I remove with tweezers and flystrike with a flea comb or clean mascara brush. I also apply revolution to kill any fleas/ticks I missed and give capstar if there are any signs of flystrike/maggots.

❤️‍🩹Once stabilized they are dewormed with both Fenbendazole and toltrazuril and vaccinated with 3 way cat and 5 way puppy vaccines.

We do realize it’s VERY hard to find a rehabber right now but don’t give up! Our patient numbers change all of the time and a spot may become available. If you need advice in the meantime reach out!
“Letting nature take its course” may sound like the only option but it is very inhumane and causes immense suffering. I would much rather an animal, even a baby, be humanely euthanized than starve to death!!

FYI: all of the black dots on his muzzle are tiny ticks 🤢

05/28/2026

People always ask what we need for the rescue and obviously we do go through things like paper towel, bleach, puppy pads, formula etc….BUT…Do you want to know what us rehabbers REALLY need??

We need people to STOP killing and relocating wildlife, especially in the spring!! That is the REAL problem and why we are so overwhelmed.
Sure, there are babies who are orphaned due to mom being hit by a car but I would say 80-90% of the time orphans are created by uneducated/uncaring people. Most of the public thinks that live trapping and relocating an animal (which is illegal), is humane and solves their problem. I’m here to tell you that neither of those are true! ❌

Relocating an animal from its home territory would be similar to dropping you off in a foreign country with no food, water, shelter or currency. IF the animal does survive, it suffers immensely and so does its young. Raccoons stay with their mama for a year or more and are very similar to human infants. They are not able to survive alone.
✅Humane Eviction WORKS
✅Deterrence WORKS
Below are examples of what happens to the babies when people relocate, kill and “let nature take its course”.
Dehydration, emaciation, hypothermia, hyperthermia, ticks, fleas, flystrike, maggots, anemia, botflies, etc.
It is an AWFUL, PAINFUL, LONG death!

05/28/2026

05/27/2026

Definitely not our normal intakes but still Forgotten Souls 🤷🏻‍♀️
Van Buren Animal Control contacted us after these 3 were confiscated along with several dead snakes, tarantulas and guinea pigs.
From what I understand they are:
1 adult Yukatan rust rump tarantula 🕷️
1 Brazilian Black tarantula spiderling 🕷️
1 Giant millepede

05/25/2026

We are SO excited to launch a new, community TNR program at Kzoo Cat Cafe and Rescue that gives YOU the tools, training, and support to help make a real difference in Kzoo!!

Here's how it will work:

🪤 Learn to Trap: Sign up for one of our hands-on trapping workshops and learn safe, humane TNR techniques from experienced volunteers. You'll learn where to rent or buy a trap, how to bait a trap effectively, proper trap placement, the best timing for successful trapping, how to safely handle a trapped cat, and general best practices for the entire TNR process.

🚗 We Handle Transportation: Getting a cat to a spay/neuter clinic shouldn't be a barrier to helping them - so we've got you covered with our new transport van (grant funded by the wonderful Mission Meow)!! Once the cat is trapped, we will coordinate with you to drop them off at the cafe and we'll transport them safely and free of charge to one of our trusted partner spay/neuter clinics and back home!

💰 Funding Covered: Cost should also never be a reason a community cat goes unfixed... they deserve care too. Financial assistance is available to help cover the cost of spay/neuter services upon completion of the workshop. We cover the full cost of spay/neuter surgery, rabies vaccination, and any emergent medical care that arises (ie: flea or parasite treatment), so you can focus on trapping without worrying about the bill.

So whether you're already feeding a colony, dealing with strays on your property, or just watching cat numbers grow near your home, and want to help rescuers help cats in your community, this program is for you!!

The only proven, humane way to address cat overpopulation is spay and neuter... But wanting to help and being able to help aren't always the same thing. Affordable and accessible veterinary care, transportation to low-cost clinics, and financially providing for all this is a barrier for some. So we will provide the training, transportation, and funding so that cost, access, and lack of experience are never the reason a community cat goes unfixed. And local rescues like ours can't always take in every cat that needs help, but this program allows community members to still HELP community cats, and help an already overwhelmed shelter system.

Ready to make a difference?
🐾 Sign up for an upcoming trapping workshop, absolutely no experience necessary. Fill out our interest form (below) and we'll be in touch soon with upcoming dates.
💜 Support the program — every dollar used for this program will come through the community! Donations will go directly toward spay/neuter surgeries for community cats in Kalamazoo. No cat should go unfixed because of cost.
📣 Spread the word — do you know a neighbor who's been feeding cats in their yard, a property owner dealing with strays, or someone who just wants to help? Share this post! One share could be the reason a whole colony finally gets the help they need!

Every cat fixed is a life made better, and dozens of future lives spared from the harsh environment and a life of hardship. We want to address the barriers in our community so that more humans can help more cats can get the care they deserve!

05/23/2026

📅Mark your calendar for next Saturday May 30th!

We will be hosting our monthly shopping for a cause day. Up to 10% of all sales will be donated to Forgotten Souls Rescue and Rehab.

Come support local and help us support this amazing organization!

📍Here in the Mitten-822 E Michigan Ave Paw Paw
⏰12-6pm

05/23/2026

This time of the year is so incredibly stressful for Rehabbers! If you message/text/call/comment and we don’t respond right away or forget to respond, maybe we just could not stand to hear about another baby we couldn’t help. I’m trying not to scroll Facebook for that reason.
Going on intake hold is heartbreaking, especially with raccoons. There are SO many babies that need help but realistically, we can only take so many. 😞

Who wants to donate a bunch of money so we can build a rehab facility with a vet and training classes for rehabbers? Anyone? 🙃

05/20/2026

Want to help us, help more animals?
We now have a platform for reoccurring ACH donations!
We currently have over 6,800 followers on Facebook, if 100 people gave just $5 a month it would help tremendously ❤️ Having reliable monthly donations allows us to budget and use donations the most efficiently.

Hello everyone! Forgotten Souls Rescue and Rehab is a 501c3 non-profit public charity dedicated to the rescue and rehabilitation of both domestic and native wildlife species. Through education we aim to raise awareness about the importance of preserving natural habitats and coexisting with native wi...