It’s been a busy day. Feed Mr. Whiskers. Vacuum the living room. Feed Mr. Whiskers. Write an article. Feed Mr. Whiskers. Scoop the litter boxes. Feed Mr. Whiskers…Are you seeing a pattern here?

Mr. Whiskers is my new foster kitty. A handsome brown tabby and white with a dull, vacant expression. He developed the life-threatening condition, hepatic lipidosis (also called fatty liver disease) when his owner left him home alone for two weeks. Cats get fatty liver when they stop eating. No one knows if the brother failed to feed him, or if he was too stressed, but bottom line, the kitty kibble didn’t making it into his stomach. The cure for fatty liver disease is food, but these cats feel too nauseous eat. To survive, he needed a surgically implanted feeding tube. His owner couldn’t afford his care, so she surrendered him.

Animal Allies of Texas, the nonprofit rescue group I foster for, paid for Mr. W’s new fashion accessory: a feeding tube that pokes out the back of his neck like a red car antenna. Don’t worry. It looks creepy but it’s not painful and now he broadcasts soft rock. (Not really. But it looks like he could.) Every couple of hours I fill a large syringe with a yucky gruel and shoot it down his tube. Today for first time he stood up and meowed when I walked in the room. It’s a promising sign.

Mr. Whiskers is just one are millions of homeless animals who need help. Because of the sagging economy, people are abandoning their pets in record numbers. Shelters are brimming with friendly, personable dogs, cats, and even horses. Shelters across the country complain the economic downturn has caused donations to plummet.

Rescuing even healthy animals costs money. And when they’re sick or injured, as Mr. Whiskers was, expenses skyrocket. Let’s be real for a moment. Your own economic situation has probably suffered as well. So how do you help the growing number of needy animals without opening a vein?

Check out our online stores. You shop at these places all the time. Designate your favorite shelter or humane group and they’ll receive money every time you shop. Will your single purchase make a difference by itself? Probably not. Think of your purchase like a raindrop. One drop by itself evaporates. But a rainstorm can fill a reservoir and provide lifesaving water for thousands.

Let your shelter know about us. Your friends too. Let’s seed that cloud. Together we’re going to help save a lot of animals.