Monthly Archives: October 2009
Where's my dinner?
We had a nice email from the Swider family today telling us how their little colony of cats were doing. These two decided they liked being outside kitties more than they liked the comfort of the Swider basement. Kim tried unsuccessfully, after these two came back from neuter surgeries as kittens, to tame them enough to make them inside house cats. While they are still wild and will only come close enough to be touched, they never miss a meal, as you can plainly see. These are some well fed kitties. You’ll also notice that they are ear-tipped.
This is what feral cat caregivers want everyone to know. Feral cats do not live sad, horrible lives. They can live long lives outside with someone keeping an eye on them, getting them spayed and neutered, and providing them with their daily chow. They do not deserve to die just because they cannot be made into a lap kitty.
Feral Cats Rule!
For all our adopters, there is a contest being offered through “Guideposts” magazine asking for “Inspiring Tails” that would encourage others to adopt from a shelter or a rescue. All you need to do to enter is submit your full name, mailing address, email address, and daytime phone along with a short tale (500 words or less), and a photo of your inspiring pet to InspiringTails@guideposts.com. Or you can also mail it to Guideposts, Attention: Advertising Marketing Dept, C/O The Inspiring Tails Contest, 39 Seminary Hill Road, Carmel, NY 10512.
If your inspiring adoption story is chosen, you could win a $500 American Express Gift Card along with a pet gift basket for your adopted friend. There will also be three runner up pet gift baskets awarded, as well.
In addition, for every inspiring tale that is submitted, $1 will be donated to Petfinder.com to aid in their efforts to get more animals adopted. We love Petfinder.com. They have been an enormous part of our success in getting homeless cats into wonderful homes.
To find out more about the contest, go to: guideposts.com/inspired-offers
The contest ends on October 30, 2009, so submit your stories before the end of the month.
And if you win with a story about one of our kitties that you adopted, please let us know, because we would like to feature that on our web page, too!! Keep adopting and thanks for adopting B and O kitties.
We have signed up for the Macy’s “Shop for a Cause” on Saturday, October 17. That doesn’t give us a whole lot of time to sell tickets, but if you would like to buy one, they are $5 and we keep all proceeds. The $5 allows you to buy a Shopping Pass for exclusive savings in every Macy’s store on Ocotber 17th. You can enter to win a $500 Macy’s Gift Card as part of the shopping events.
If you would like to purchase a $5 Macy’s Shopping Pass, please email us at bandocats@columbus.rr.com and we will make sure to get a ticket to you. You can also purchase tickets at Plain City Druggist, 480 South Jefferson Avenue, Plain City, across from Der Dutchman Restaurant on Route 42. The pharmacy is open 9-6 Monday to Friday, closed from 1:15-2:15 for lunch, and Saturday from 9-12.
We will also be selling tickets at the Mall at Tuttle Crossing located at 5043 Tuttle Crossing in Dublin from 7-9 pm on October 17, the day of the event. We will be located at the main entrance doors to the mall, so look for us. We will be wearing our Black and Orange Cat Foundation t-shirts and cat ears–you won’t be able to miss us. We want to make sure you can find us so you can be assured that your $5 will go to B and O!! The mall will be open that day from 10 am-9 pm and Macy’s is open from 10 am-10 pm!
Black and Orange Cat Foundation is entered in America’s Giving Challenge giving us a chance to win $50,000!!
All you have to do to help us is donate (no matter how big or small) by going to http://www.causes.com/donations/select_donation_method?m=566209a4&cause_id=302509
For us to win, between now and November 7, Black and Orange Cat Foundation has to get the most donations to our cause (you can donate once per day and have it count as a unique donation). We can also win daily awards of $1,000 or $500 if we can get the most people to donate in any 24-hour period. The best thing is, it doesn’t matter how much you donate, but just how many people we can get involved in our cause. So ask your friends, family, and neighbors to make a donation–even if it is only $10–which we recently learned is the minimum amount that can be donated.
We all have tons of friends on Facebook who could make a small donation for B and O. You can do other things, too, though, to get the word out–put our cause in your email signature or organize other people to fundraise. There are tons of other ways to help us win.
Check out the Giving Challenge at www.causes.com?m=566209a4
Let’s win $50,000 for B and O!!
We will be participating this year in the 9th Annual Magical Night of Giving on November 15th from 6-9:30 pm at the Polaris Fashion Place. The event is family oriented and will feature door prizes, entertainment, “Santa’s Grand Arrival Parade,” and discounts for ticket holders that are not offered except for this one night. There will be a tree lighting in the Lifestyle Center at 6 with Magical Sales beginning at 6:30. The parade will start at 7.
Tickets to the event can be purchased from Black and Orange Cat Foundation for $5. We keep 100% of the funds generated from the ticket sales. So not only do you get to attend a fun event, but you also help support us with your $5 donation.
If you would like to purchase tickets to this event, please contact us by email, bandocats@columbus.rr.com and we will arrange to get the ticket(s) to you for each $5 donation per ticket. We will also be selling the tickets at our next adoption events on October 24 at the PetSmart on Sawmill from 12-2, on October 31 at the Pet People in Powell from 12-3, and on November 13 at the PetSmart on Sawmill from 12-4. Please stop by any of our adoption events and purchase a ticket for this fun evening. Tickets can also be purchased at Plain City Druggist, located at 480 South Jefferson Avenue in Plain City (across from Der Dutchman Restaurant).
Polaris Fashion Place is located at 1500 Polaris Parkway in Columbus, Ohio. For more information, visit their web site, polarisfashionplace.com
Called “America’s largest day of doing good,” Make A Difference Day is sponsored by USA WEEKEND, HandsOn Network, and Newman’s Own to encourage people to get out in their communities and do something to help others. According to the web site, www.makeadifferenceday.com, in 2008 3 million people volunteered throughout their communities.
Projects can be as big or as small as you choose. You can go online to the web site to register your project. Once you’ve registered, people can then search through the database of projects and choose something they would like to be involved with as a volunteer. By participating in the Make a Difference Day, charitable organizations can also earn extra monetary awards and honors from groups such as Newman’s Own.
Additionally, you can receive updates and find inspiring stories by joining the Facebook site: facebook.com/makeadifferenceday.
Black and Orange Cat Foundation will be participating in the Make a Difference Day this year with an adoption event at our local PetSmart. Since this was our regular adoption event day, it made sense to focus some of the efforts for this day on the fact that others nationwide will also be trying to make a difference in their community. We are registered in the database and we will be doing our part to help our foster kitties find new homes on Saturday, October 24, making a difference in not only their lives, but the lives of their new families.
So please come out and support us and all the other groups, large and small, that will be doing their part to make a difference. When you stop by to see us at the PetSmart on Sawmill from 12-2, we will also be dressed for Halloween, wearing our cat ears in celebration of all that is good about life!!
We recently went to see the Jane Campion film, “Bright Star,” about the short lived and extremely emotional romance between poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne, the girl next door. While the images in the movie were breathtaking to behold–fields of shimmering blue flowers, white winter days, and butterflies dancing on linen bed sheets rumpled by afternoon sunshine–the surprising hit of the film for me was Jane Campion’s 17-year-old cat, Topper, who stole every scene he was in.
Topper, a black and white tuxedo kitty, was, in the film, featured as a member of the Brawne family, jumping into laps for a back scratch, rubbing his head against hands and books, and generally drawing your attention to his purring feline form every time he entered a scene. I had to laugh out loud at his veiled look of contempt as he was carried by Fanny’s sister, Toots, into their new home. Yes, he would let her carry him in such an undignified manner (not befitting a cat of his status), but he did not have to like it.
The scene with Topper leaping at the window to bat at a butterfly in a room filled with the delicate, brightly colored creatures is just gorgeous. Abbie Cornish, who plays Fanny Brawne, remarked that her reproach of, “No, Topper,” to stop the cat from killing a butterfly was not written into the script. Topper jumped for a butterfly and she just reacted, but the scene was left in with Topper again receiving all of the attention. I found I wasn’t even watching the actors when the cat was on the screen.
The funniest part, however, was that Topper was listed in the credits along with all the other performers. He got his very own line at the end of the film: The Cat Topper.
I love period pieces with the costumes and romantic misty English country sides (I admit to a Bridget Jones’ obsession Mr. Darcy). This movie, with its intense sadness and pathos over a great talent lost too soon, was given some relief from the overpowering emotions by the addition of a friendly feline who lightened the mood by doing what cats do best–just being a cat. Bravo, Topper.
Because I could not find a photo of Topper the cat, I chose a beautiful scene from the movie.
We love Yesterday’s News. We used it for our one and only rescue rabbit, Jackson Jefferson (aka Bunny Foo Foo), because it was the only litter suitable for a bunny. After J.J. was adopted, we still had some of the litter left over and the cats would seek out the litter pan with the Yesterday’s News first.
Yesterday’s News is sponsoring a contest for cat owners or any “do-gooder” who cares about the environment. Simply go to their web site: http://www.YesterdaysNews.com/DoGooder/Contest/ to enter the contest. All you have to do is a submit an essay of 300 words or less (not so easy to do for us chatter box writers) describing the steps you take and the choices you make to help: 1) Your cat (hey, we know you have tons of these), 2) Your home, or 3) The environment. One winner will be picked from each category. If you win, a $15,000 cash award will go to your favorite pet shelter/rescue group. You will get $5,000 and a year’s supply of Yesterday’s News. For each entry, Yesterday’s News will also plant a tree on your behalf from the Arbor Day Foundation.
So go to the web site before October 23, 2009 and enter your do-gooder story. And hey, we kept this under 300 words, so maybe we will enter, too!!
We recently signed up to be part of the Kroger Community Rewards program. To help B and O receive funds from Kroger, all you need to do is register online and put in our NPO (84918) or our name. Follow the instructions below to start helping us!!
TO USE THE KROGER COMMUNITY REWARDS PROGRAM:
- Simply register online at krogercommunityrewards.com
- Be sure to have your Kroger Plus card handy and register your card with Black and Orange Cat Foundation, NPO 84918 after you sign up.
- If you do not yet have a Kroger Plus card, they are available at the customer service desk at any Kroger.
- Click on Sign In/Register
- If you are a new online customer, you must click on SIGN UP TODAY in the ‘New Customer?’ box.
- Sign up for a Kroger Rewards Account by entering your zip code, clicking on your favorite store, entering your email address and creating a password, agreeing to the terms and conditions
- You will then get a message to check your email inbox and click on the link within the body of the email.
- Click on My Account and use your email address and password to proceed to the next step.
- Click on Edit Kroger Community Rewards information and input your Kroger Plus card number.
- Update or confirm your information.
- Enter NPO number 84918 or Black and Orange Cat Foundation, select Black and Orange Cat Foundation from the list and click on confirm.
- To verify you are enrolled correctly, you will see Black and Orange Cat Foundation’s name on the right side of your information page.
- REMEMBER, purchases will not count for B and O until after you register your card(s).
- Do you use your phone number at the register? Call 877-576-7587 to get your Kroger Plus card number.
- Members must swipe their registered Kroger Plus card or use the phone number that is related to their registered Kroger Plus card when shopping for each purchase to count.