Our Kitties that Found Forever Homes

Tigger, submitted by Jennifer

Voting for the “luckiest pet” runs from February 21 to March 18. We had four people enter their kitties in the “Luckiest Pet Contest” sponsored by Petfinder.com, Petco, and Animal Planet. Thank you to Debbie, Jennifer, Cynthia, and Jessica for entering Grayson, Tigger, Susan, and Cali in the contest as the luckiest pets around!

If Grayson, Tigger, Susan, or Cali’s photos win, their moms will win a $500 gift card to Petco and Black and Orange will receive a $5,000 donation!

You can vote once a day for either Grayson, Tigger, Susan, or Cali from February 21 to March 18!

To vote, go HERE and put in “Black and Orange” under “See the Lucky Pets.” The four photos included in this blog posting are the photos you will see of Tigger, Grayson, Susan, and Cali when you go to vote. Choose one of them and vote for your favorite to help B and O win!

Just a note on Susan. She is Cynthia’s foster kitty and is available for adoption. This sweet older gal is deaf and declawed. She was found wandering at a local farmer’s market, starving and alone. To read more about Susan and see other photos, go HERE. And if you are interested in adopting Susan, download an application on our web site, www.bandocats.org, under “How you can help” and “Adopt.” Once you have filled it out, either email it back to bandocats@gmail.com or fax it to 614-873-0972.

Again, vote once a day until March 18 for your favorite kitty!

Grayson, submitted by Debbie

Cali, submitted by Jessica

Susan, submitted by Cynthia

For all the Cat Daddies we know: Happy Father’s Day!

And if you are still looking for the perfect gift to get the cat daddy in your life, how about Jackson Galaxy’s book, Cat Daddy? This wonderful book, by the cat behaviorist of Animal Planet’s “My Cat From Hell,” tells the story of how a very special cat saved Jackson’s life and made him the “cat whisperer” he is today.

For all the men who are not afraid to admit they love cats, we love you, too! Thanks for being cat daddies.



























I know everyone has been waiting anxiously (I know I have), but the wait is finally over and the 2012 calendars are fresh from the printer (a big thank you to Tim Wilson and Melissa Noble from Wilson Printing and Graphics in London for putting this fabulous calendar together for us).

If one of your photos was selected to be in the calendar, you’ll be receiving a calendar in the mail to thank you for your support. If your photo wasn’t picked, don’t be upset. We had over 120 pictures to choose from and it was really, really hard to do! Everyone sent in professional looking pictures–even our printer said he couldn’t believe how super the photos were.

If you are ready to purchase calendars for the holiday gift giving season, you can do so in one of three ways. The calendars are $20 each.

1. Stop in Plain City Druggist, 480 South Jefferson Avenue (across from Der Dutchman Restaurant) any time during open hours and buy a calendar for $20 (no tax!). No shipping fees if you come in–just the cost of gas to drive to Plain City. The drugstore is open Monday to Friday, 9 am to 6 pm (closed from 1:15 to 2:15 pm for Lunch) and Saturdays, 9 am to noon.

2. Order on our web site under the special PayPal button that is set up about halfway down the home page. Shipping costs will be included. Shipping is $5 for 1-5 calendars; $10 for 6-10 calendars; slightly more as you order larger quantities. Look for the photo of the calendar on the home page and follow the instructions to order. You can use a credit card or a PayPal account to order this way.

3. Download a handy order form on our web site or do it right HERE. Send that back in to us with the costs of calendars and shipping and we’ll mail the calendars back to you. This is for those people who don’t want to use a credit card, but would prefer a check or money order.

We will also have calendars with us for sale on Sunday, December 11, at our Photos with Santa at the PetSmart on Sawmill Road (next to Target). We will be there from 11 am to 4 pm, so bring your pet for a photo and pick up a calendar.

Thank you to everyone who sent photos for the calendar and to all of you who are supporting us by purchasing them!

 

We received over 120 photos for our first ever rescue calendar for 2012. And these were not run-of-the-mill photos. They were all gorgeous. We had a really hard time choosing our winners. We finally had to make it a rule that we would only pick one photo from a family, because some people sent in multiple beautiful pictures.

One example of this occurred with the Hamiltons. Dick and Linda sent in four photos and they were all stunning. It looked as if the cats had been posed–I do not know how they got the cats to sit so still for the camera. I am including two of their photos that did NOT win here. Just look how great they were. Their winner will be featured as the November kitty, so you can check that out when you buy your copy.

Another person with multiple great photos was Mary Dietz. Most of the photos that Mary sent were of strays who had been dumped on her. She mentioned that in one year, they had 22 cats dumped and we helped them get 12-13 of those fixed. The remainder either found other homes or ran off after the spaying and neutering efforts were under way. They now have a stable and fixed colony of 14 cats that they care for–proof that trap-neuter-return (TNR) and spaying and neutering are the solutions to feline overpopulation.

I am going to post a few of Mary’s “Loser” photos at the bottom of this. Her winner will be featured as “September” in the calendar with a picture of a sweet kitty named “Tres” who she says doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. Tres is currently an outside kitty, but Mary would love to find him an inside home if anyone sees him in the calendar and is interested.

I thought that over the next few weeks, as we are working on the calendar with our Printer, Wilson Printing and Graphics in London, that I would post some of the photos we received here and on Facebook.

Thank you to everyone who submitted their babies. It was so nice to see some of our former fosters and know they had found lovely homes!

 

The ASPCA is currently promoting their 2011 “My Furry Valentine Photo Contest.” To enter, all you have to do is take a photo of your beloved pet and tell your “love story” in 100 words or less. Five winners will be selected to receive an ASPCA Prize Pack. You can enter through February 12. 

For the complete rules, visit the ASPCA Blog HERE.

And please post your Valentine and contest photos for us to see, too, on our Facebook fan site.

On Tuesday, August 3, our dear friend and board member, Carol Gaul, lost her kitties and her home in a fire. The only cat to survive this disaster was Carol’s foster, Little Rascal, who was in the adoption center at PetSmart at the time.

On Wednesday, August 4, the day after the fire, I had the following email about Rascal:

I’m extremely interested in adopting Little Rascal… but I’m not in the area yet.  I’m military, currently deployed. I’ve got about a month left out here before I get to the Dayton, OH area in September.  Can you send me more information on this cute cat, please, and let me know if it’s possible to hold him until I arrive in person?

Up until that day, we had had no interest in Rascal at all. Not at PetSmart. Not on Petfinder. Then strangely, the day after the fire, someone wanted our boy.

I wrote back and told Jeny, the potential adopter, about Carol and the fire and how lucky Rascal was to have been at PetSmart. She was stunned and saddened. But she also recounted her own tale of living with Murphy’s Law over the past year.

How sad!  I hope everything works out for Carol. My condolences to her for the loss of her home and the loss of her feline family members. I know how horribly crushing it is to suffer the loss of four-legged children and there’s nothing that really heals except time.

“Yeah, I would say that Little Rascal is one lucky cat. I’ve had a rather difficult year myself. I got divorced prior to coming on this one year deployment. I had orders to Germany with my son, but halfway through my tour, my ex filed for custody and I had to fight it. In the end, I had to cancel my orders to Germany and am instead coming to Ohio, but I retained custody of my son.  Our move to Ohio is the start of a new life for us and we can’t wait!

“I had three cats when I filed for divorce last year, and had to leave my kitties in the care of my ex-husband. One by one, he ‘lost’ track of my babies and hasn’t seen them since.  I had my kitties since 2003, and I am still crushed at not being able to see my cats.

“After our very, very long and trying year, my son and I said we should get an all black cat and name it Murphy since Murphy’s Law follows us around.  At least, this way we’d have a Murphy we can more easily forgive (lol).  I’ll admit, I didn’t look too long online today (just a brief search that lasted 15 minutes tops). I saw a picture of Little Rascal and thought he looked just perfect! I feel that everything happens for a reason and I’m all the more interested in adopting Little Rascal so he can be our Murphy, because one of the lessons we’ve learned over the past year is that while sometimes everything that can go wrong does… sometimes every little coincidence leads to the beginning of something beautifully meant to be.”

After reading Jeny’s email about the awful year she had had and her way of beating Murphy’s Law, I knew that all of this had to be happening according to some larger plan. It just seemed so strange how things were working for our boy.
Rascal, aka Murphy, came to stay with me once we knew Jeny wanted to adopt him. He left PetSmart and spent a month and a half in my spare bedroom where he became the nicest cat you’d ever want to meet. He was a bit shy at first. His coat was a bit ragged. He was too thin. But within a few weeks, he had a shiny coat, was greeting me at the door, playing with the other cats, crying when he wanted attention, and sitting contentedly beside me while I brushed him (he loved to be brushed–I could do it for hours and he would accommodate me). He had become a cat who seemed to know how truly blessed he was.
Rascal and Carol were reunited for the Blessing of the Animals celebration that honored the Gaul kitties–those that had perished and Rascal. For that brief ceremony, Carol was surrounded by all of her cats once again.
Carol also met Jeny and her son when they drove over an hour to visit Rascal earlier this week. Carol was thrilled that her surviving baby was getting the kind of home he deserved.
On Thursday, September 16, Murphy went home with his family. It was bittersweet, but it was also our way of disproving Murphy’s Law. Sometimes things do go the way they should.

I had an email yesterday from Judi, who rescued the Siamese from the Kentucky kill shelter. She reported that Mr. Miles had an announcement…..

Miles told us: “Hi, Everyone. I got a WONDERFUL, new FOREVER home! YIPPEE!!

“A very nice lady named Judy (with a Y) came by tonight and now I am on my way home with her to my FOREVER home. I’m pretty confused right now, because I was starting to think that Judi (with an I) was going to be my new Mom. But Judi explained that I was in a placed called a ‘foster home,’ so she kissed and hugged me good-bye and told me I was going to have a wonderful, new home. Of course, I believed her.

“I want to thank everyone for all your help in spreading the news about me and my family. I really do appreciate your help as we are all alive today instead of the ‘other thing,’ known as PTS (Put To Sleep)–whatever that is. Foster Mom Judi said, ‘That’s not a good thing.’

“I especially want to thank Cory for fighting and blogging for all of us. Cory also gave my brother, Simon (his new name–he was formerly known as ‘Bubba’), a super new home. I want to thank Bridget for giving my baby sister, Stella, now known as ‘Yum Yum,’ a new loving home. You guys are the greatest in my book.

“I am told that I have four new brothers and a sister at my house with Mom Judy. At least, there won’t be as many cats as Foster Mom Judi had. Maybe I will settle in sooner. The two moms in my life told me to tell everyone not to worry about me–that I will be loved and wanted forever.  Thank you all again.

“Purrs,

“Miles (for now–you never know what I might be named later. New Mom Judy said that Miles will always be part of my name, however, even if it is a middle or last name).”

It has been a long time coming, but our toothless, sweet girl, Naomi, finally went to her forever home. And the story of how she got there and how her dad, Scott, found her is just as amazing as the rest of Naomi’s story.

  Naomi with her new dad, Scott.

One of my friends, Jackie, from Siamese Rescue posted about Naomi to several of her friends who then promptly donated money to help with Naomi’s surgeries. One of those people, Susan, who is also involved with Siamese Rescue, not only made a donation, but also wrote about Black and Orange on her company’s monthly bulletin board. For May, the company did a board for “Be Kind to Animals Month.” Susan put up ten acts of kindness and under each one, some information that pertained to that subject. For the “Adopt a Shelter Animal” bullet point, Susan posted four of Black and Orange’s kitties. From seeing that bulletin board and the flyers about our cats, Scott, Naomi’s new dad and a manager in Susan’s department, checked out our web site.

Isn’t it just amazing how things happen? Susan learned about Naomi’s predicament, donated to help with her surgeries, and then was instrumental in finding our girl her new dad.

When I first spoke with Scott, one of the things he most wanted was to adopt a cat who had special needs and who might take a bit longer to find a home. In the process, while we were trying to decide on the perfect cats (Scott initially wanted two), a stray female, barely bigger than a kitten, showed up on his doorstep. Scott felt like fate had led her to him, so he decided he would take care of her medical expenses and keep her.

But he wanted a second cat and so we kept discussing different B and O kitties. I gave him a list of female cats to check out on the web site and he narrowed it down to Naomi and Lydia. After he met Naomi and her fosters, the Swiders, Naomi stole his heart (and thank goodness, because at the very same time, Lydia was winning over her new mom, Linda–so both got great homes).

Naomi tells foster mom, Kim, good-bye. Thanks for loving me and helping my mouth get better.

Kim and Paul Swider have had Naomi since last Fall, so sending her off to her new home was a bit bittersweet. They had nursed her through all her surgeries and watched her blossom as her pain disappeared. Miss Naomi is quite a talker and she was voicing her opinion the whole time as Kim handed her, wrapped in her safety blanket, to her new dad. Scott completely looked the part of proud father and before long, Naomi had snuggled down into his arms and was peeking out at us over his elbow.

I've got my blankie, now let's head home.

This story also has a funny little twist. Earlier this week, a lady called me from South Carolina. She had read Naomi’s story on the Petfinder site under the most heartwarming stories. She had a friend in California who had a dog with a similar problem–he had chewed on an electrical cord and had horrible holes in his mouth. But they could not find a vet to help with the problem and so she wrote me to find out who had helped Naomi. I promptly sent her the info for Dr. Tom Klein and East Hilliard Veterinary Services. The lady was going to contact them to find help for the dog in California.

So Naomi’s story has a second happy ending, because our girl’s ordeal may now help another poor animal!

I want to thank everyone who donated, wrote to ask about Naomi, and kept sending her lots of good thoughts. None of this wonderful story could have happened without all the support Naomi had from her hundreds of well wishers. I also want to thank Dr. Tom Klein once more for giving her the chance at a happy ending.

Thank you Scott for giving this girl the home she so truly deserved. Naomi sends slobbery, gummy, toothless kisses to everyone and a gigantic smile!!

Settling in. Miss Naomi peeks out from behind Scott's arm.

Is that a cat's head in a basket? No it's Michael (there is a body attached somewhere).Is that a cat’s head in a basket? No it’s Michael (there is a body attached somewhere).

We are sure you all remember Michael. He is the kitty that arrived at Riverside Drive Animal Care Center last November and could not urinate. He ended up having a surgery to remove his penis, because he continued to become blocked (these blockages are very dangerous and can kill a cat). 

After his surgery, Michael went to Noah’s Ark, where he is currently the greeter cat. You can find him most days hanging out in the main lobby or lying on the front desk. He usually tries to find a basket to crawl in and will sometimes even allow you to pet him (if he’s not in an amicable mood, you’ll get a swat to the hand).

You must always check out Michael’s nails. He wears Soft Paws in a myriad of colors. Usually, he has a rainbow on the tips of his toes. 

Michael went from being a kitty with a very poor prognosis to the president of the Noah’s Ark Social Committee (however, being that Michael is  not always the most social cat, he may need to learn how to take the dogs for walks or clean a few cages if he loses his front desk job).

Are you looking for me? Darn, don't I blend in here?

Are you looking for me? Darn, don't I blend in here?

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