Monthly Archives: June 2010
Most of us deal with this on a daily basis during the warm months of early spring and summer. May used to be my favorite month of the year until I became involved in rescue and discovered that “Free Kittens” signs blossom as readily as tulips and daffodils in spring’s warm weather.
This article, in The Columbus Dispatch, highlights what most of us know. There are too many kittens and not enough homes. One estimate that I have read says that only 1 in 4 kittens will find a home.
While I was reading this story over lunch today in a local Plain City restaurant, a drugstore customer approached me and began telling me about the mother cat and kittens he was caring for in his garage. He informed me that he would not let them starve, but after reading the newspaper article, he held little hope of getting them into one of the local shelters, where he knew they would just be euthanized.
“I won’t let them be killed,” he said, “So they can just go back out and live in the neighborhood with the other cats.”
I told him I’d call him in a month when the kittens were weaned and we’d get the mother cat in to be spayed and work on homes for the kittens.
I hear stories like this every day and it gets to be very overwhelming.
Spaying and neutering is the only answer to the problem of “so many kittens without a home.” I hope someday, articles like this will be a mystery to people who value a limited supply of kittens and who always fix the strays in their neighborhoods.
Here is a link to the June 10 article by Ben Wolford: The Columbus Dispatch article, “So Many Kittens Without a Home.”
Come join us for the MARS Petcare “Adoption on the Lawn” event on Saturday, July 10 from 10 am to 2 pm, rain or shine. The event will be located on the Lawn at the MARS facility located at 5115 Fisher Road in Columbus. There will be 15 local rescues and shelters involved in this event, including us, Cat Welfare, Central Ohio Greyhound, Citizens for Humane Action, Clark County Humane Society, Colony Cats, Columbus Cocker Rescue, Cozy Cat Cottage, Delaware Humane Society, Franklin County Dog Shelter, Forgotten 4 Paws, Golden Endings, Ohio Pug Rescue, Stop the Suffering, and Ohio Rottweiler Rescue.
There will be discounted adoption fees, free admission and parking, live music, kids activities, free food and drinks, product giveaways, as well as visits by the Rascal Unit and the Hilliard Police K-9 Unit.
Please join us for a good time and visit with some of our adoptable kitties. You may just find your next best friend!
Thank you to Sheryl and Diane for inviting us this year! You are both so good to us!
This is the flyer for the MARS event. If you would like to print it out, click on it to bring it up to full size.
I know we have several of these out here, because we’ve adopted to you–World’s Best Pet Parents!
Well, now there is a contest to celebrate what a good pet parent you are. This is a photo contest and you just need to send in a photo showing how you are the best pet parent and explain why you should be selected. If you win, the adoption group you choose (and I hope it will be Black and Orange Cat Foundation) will win cash. Grand Prize is $10,000, Runner-Up is $5,000, and 10 Honorable Mention Winners receive $1,000. Plus there will be a random drawing for a 6-month supply of Advantage or K9 Advantix for 50 winners.
Enter now and you could be crowned “World’s Best Pet Parent” and also help Black and Orange win a cash prize that will help us help more kitties: World’s Best Pet Parent Contest
HRH: Her Royal Highness
Fiona’s pink bed was made for her. With sparkly hearts on the side and her name on the back, it is the perfect fit for her fluffball body. Yes, we know it doesn’t actually say “Fiona.” What is does say is “Princess” and that is what our girl is: A Royal Feline From the Kingdom of Fluffdom.
We think Fiona is some kind of Maine Coon/Norwegian Forest Cat Mix. She has the tabby “M” on her forehead and tufts of hair sprouting out her ears like a little old man. She also has the best personality, loving to sit in your lap as long as you will let her. She is shy whenever we take her to PetSmart and infuriates us because she doesn’t let anyone see her true personality. As soon as we release her from her “jail cell” at PetSmart and take her home, she struts about as if to say, “I knew you couldn’t live without me. Why do you continue to take me to that place?”
Yes, this is my, "I'll put up with you" smirk. Do my bidding, underling.
Besides Suzy and Winston (our pirate cat and his fuzzy girlfriend), Miss Fi-Fi, as we lovingly call her, has been with us the longest of any of our fosters. And we just don’t understand why. She is gorgeous and sweet and loves any warm lap. But getting her to show her true nature when she doesn’t like her environment is tough to do. We often say that she must be waiting for the most wonderful family in the world. She knows that they are coming, but she is letting them take their good old time, content with us.
But she wasn’t always that content or happy.
Fiona came to us from a farm. A lady found her running around with a tuna can on her head. Fiona had been so hungry she stuck her head in the can and then could not get the blasted thing off no matter how much she tossed her head around. With her tuna hat in place, Fiona had to be trapped before it could be removed. Perhaps due to the “tuna can terror” and other bad memories, when Fiona first became a foster, she was a bit standoffish and didn’t really like a lot of interaction.
After she went in for a dental procedure, however, that all changed.
While she was under anesthesia to have her teeth cleaned, Fiona had a reaction to one of the drugs, which caused a drug burn. Large tufts of her hair began to fall out. Strangely, one of those bare spots formed the shape of a perfect pink heart. We said it was Fiona wearing her heart for all the world to see so she could finally find her family.
The drug burn caused Fiona to need lots of extra care. Her wounds had to be soaked and washed. She had to wear a baby’s onesie to keep the wounds clean. She was held and carried and tossed about numerous times a day by loving human hands. And it had a wonderful effect on our formerly fickle girl–she became the sweetest diva ever!
The drug burn changed Fiona in very dramatic ways. Never in the past would she have let us dress her up. Over this past year, she has endured all our humiliating photo shots–bunny ears and pirate hats (she borrowed Winston’s) and Santa caps. She gets dragged along for all our adoption events and always receives the most attention even when she doesn’t want it. Usually at the events, she just wants to sit in someone’s lap and be held. She loves people. She loves getting a rub down and being brushed. She is our purring lap cat. That drug burn truly did expose her heart to us.
And it is time for her to find her people and give them her heart. She has been a foster too long. It is time for her to know what it is like to be a “kept” woman, owned and loved beyond the boundaries of our love. She deserves to be someone’s favorite, someone’s reason for getting up even when they are sick.
Ready to spend her days looking out another window in her forever home.
The drug burn has healed, the hair has all grown back in now, and Fiona is still waiting. But the wait is coming to an end. It is Fiona’s time to find her family.
If you know anyone who is looking for a cat with Queenly behavior or if you would like an “HRH,” please consider Fiona. She is fine with other cats. In fact, she mostly ignores them as long as they don’t pick on her. She hides from the dogs who approach her cage at PetSmart, but we think she would adjust to a docile dog, too. She would probably be best in a quiet home with lots of windows for daily bird watching.
And, oh, yes, she must have her very own bed with sparkly hearts and her name embroidered in pink.
Fi-Feye-Fo-Fum–Fiona Wants Her Forever Home.
Our girl is recovering from surgery and wearing bandages with hearts on them because she is loved.Miss Fruit Bat had her surgeries just over a week ago and is recovering well from them. She had pins put in both ankles to provide stability from the bones that were shattered. The pins were very small and it required a specialist to do the intense surgeries. Thus, Fruit Bat’s stay at Ohio State to get her legs fixed.
We have joked that she will not be able to go through airport security in a purse, like Paris Hilton’s little dogs, because she’d set off the security systems with her artificial, bionic legs.
We are happy to say that our girl is now hopping around in her casts. The staff at Noah’s Ark says she sometimes bounces around as if she is walking on something hot. But she is all sweetness, rushing to greet everyone who comes to the front counter from her safe spot in the back. Fruit Bat does have some problems on slick surfaces, but other than that, she is doing amazingly well for having had such difficult repairs done to her tiny toothpick legs.
Still smiling and happy even after all she has been through and getting a helping hand from Christy as she stands on the slick counter for a photo op.
Fruit Bat goes home each night with Dr. West and comes to Noah’s Ark for doggie daycare with her friends each day. Dr. West reports that Fruit Bat likes to burrow under the covers at night to sleep (which her cats do not like), and perhaps she has some “mole” tendencies as well as her batty ones.
Still Standing..and walking and playing. Our Fruit Bat is a survivor.
We have had around $300 in donations come into our PayPal account. Dr. West has also collected some checks. We are planning to do a mailer and Colony Cats is also collecting donations, so we should be able to pay off the surgery debt very soon. In fact, the good news is that OSU ended up only charging around $1200 for the surgeries!! Thank you to OSU.
We’ll keep everyone posted as Miss Fruit Bat continues her journey to good health and, eventually, a new home and life.
I've got lots of friends supporting me.
I just wanted to let everyone know that all six of the Siamese in Georgetown, KY are going to LIVE!!! None of them will be euthanized. I had an email from Judi yesterday and all six will be leaving the shelter and going into foster care with her and another rescuer until they can be adopted (or go to their approved adopters–the two girls do already have homes and one of the boys may be going to Chicago!). These kitties are going to be travelers once they leave the shelter.
So everyone can stop worrying. These babies are SAFE!
I was reading the June 2010 issue of Guideposts and came across a super story about a disabled dachshund who works as a therapy dog. Super Lance was just a normal, happy “wiener dog” until he woke up one morning and and could not walk.
The vet diagnosed Lance with a ruptured disc that was pressing on his spinal cord, a condition that is common in dachshunds and is usually easily corrected with surgery. Lance’s parents went forward with the surgery, but his spinal cord had been severed and Lance was permanently paralyzed.
I cringed when I read what happened to Lance. I, too, had a ruptured disc in my back that pressed on a nerve (not the spinal cord, thankfully) and caused severe pain. I also had back surgery. Thankfully, I was not paralyzed, but I cannot imagine a little dog going through the pain that I went through. Lance certainly is Super Lance–heroic and magical.
From this horrible set of circumstances, God worked amazing miracles in the lives of Lance and his family. Lance was outfitted with a wheelchair for his back legs, produced by Eddie’s Wheels. With his new rolling back legs, Lance was off and about again, seeking new adventures. Nothing could slow him down.
And his new adventures led him to become a therapy dog, working with children and seniors in hospitals, visiting schools and nursing homes. Super Lance gives out books to the kids telling his story and providing them with a reminder of the little dog who overcame many obstacles to bring happiness to others in need.
To read the complete Guideposts story: Super Lance in Guideposts
To see more photos of Super Lance in action and download the book he gives to kids, go to: Super Lance’s web site
Slobberfest, a celebration of dogveristy (and cattitude) is being held again this year by the Humane Society of Madison County (HSMC) on Saturday, June 19 from 11-4 pm. They are currently inviting rescue groups, shelters, and vendors to participate in the event, which will take place in The Pavilion at Coffman Park in Dublin.
Slobberfest will once again feature an “adopt-a-thon” with many rescue groups bringing their adoptable dogs and cats (and bunnies–House Rabbit Society was there last year). I was assured by HSMC Board Secretary, Cindy Phillips, that cat groups would be placed inside the Pavilion this year to get them out of the heat. Last year’s event was a sauna, out in the sun, on the pavement. We ended up sending our cats home early because it did get too hot for them.
June 13, 2009, last year's Slobberfest.
There will also be a Celebration Walk with registration from 11 am to 1:30 pm and the walk beginning at 2 pm. The walk is a “dog mile,” so we are assured that is not very long at all. If you register for the walk before June 9th, it is $25. After that, and the day of the event, it is $30 to register. Walkers will receive a goodie bag packed full of things for the animal lover and their animal friends.
Food will also be available for purchase and there will be many vendors selling lots of cool things.
We are trying to get the word out about this so there will be a large turnout this year. Last year, mostly rescue groups showed up without many participants from the general public. You can’t adopt out animals to other rescue groups, so we need to spread the word to get lots of animal lovers out to Coffman Park.
Susan and Jimmy--love at first sight.
We also want to wish Susan and Jimmy a happy one year anniversary. Susan met Jimmy, a four-month-old puppy mill puppy, last year at Slobberfest. Jimmy had lost his leg when his foot got caught in the metal wiring that lines the bottom of many puppy mill cages. From standing in his own waste, with a hurt foot, the puppy got a terrible infection and luckily was saved from euthanasia by a rescue group who had his leg amputated. Susan fell madly in love with the three-legged angel.
Susan and Jimmy are just one of the happy stories from Slobberfest 2009.
Please let everyone know about this event, so there will be a large showing of people looking to adopt and buy items to support the work of local rescue groups and shelters.
For more information on participating in Slobberfest or just spending a fun filled day with other animal lovers, visit the Humane Society of Madison County’s web site: HSMC
Stewie and Maggie are finalists in Petfinder.com’s “The Whiskers” photo contest. They were chosen as one of six finalists in the category, “Best On-Screen Duo.” The public now has the chance to vote for their favorite photo, so please log on today and vote for Maggie and Stewie: The Whiskers Awards
Besides Maggie and Stewie’s CATegory, there are also finalists in categories such as “Best Newcomer,” “Cattiest” (we entered Fiona in this one, but sadly she was outranked by some other divas), “Best Comedic Performance” (Winston in his pirate hat was our choice for this, but again, there are some bigger clowns than our boy–okay, maybe not bigger in weight, but bigger in clownishness), and “Best Picture.” All of these pictures were chosen from ones that are used on Petfinder.com to profile cats for adoption.
Petfinder.com is celebrating June as “Adopt-A-Shelter-Cat” Month with this contest and encouraging everyone to adopt a rescue or shelter cat as a friend.
You can vote for one finalist in each category every day until June 30. So please stop by and vote for Maggie and Stewie each day so our sweet sister and brother duo will WIN! Amazingly, their picture was picked from out of 1,350 nominees.
We have to thank Kristin for the photos of Maggie and Stewie, who are her fosters. Kristin is a super photographer and she always takes the best pictures of her pets and fosters.
So please go VOTE . Besides winning in their category, we also hope that Maggie and Stewie might even find a home from this great exposure.
Our Dynamic Duo!
I had an interesting email today about a program I didn’t even know existed. This program, called Operation Noble Foster, provides temporary foster homes for cats owned by military personnel. While Operation Noble Foster focuses on fosters for cats, NetPets.org works to find fosters for military non-cat pets.
Operation Noble Foster was started by Linda Mercer who runs Purebred Cat Breed Rescue, a group I have worked with in the past, as they pull purebred cats from shelters and find homes for them.
I cannot tell you what wonderful services I think Operation Noble Foster and NetPets.org are providing. So many times, I hear of military personnel who cannot find anyone to take their pets when they are being deployed and the animals end up at a shelter or in the care of someone who does not really want them. Sadly, many animals also are abandoned because the military person cannot find any other solution on short notice.
As we just have come from celebrating Memorial Day, let’s remember our military in another special way–by helping them keep their pets, pets that are often the one point of stability in their lives and a source of unending comfort.
If you would like to do a very important job and foster military pets until their owners can return home to them, please check out the links below. Or if you know anyone in the military who needs help placing their pet, please guide them to these sites as well.
To learn more about NetPets.org’s foster program: https://www.netpets.org/netp/foster.php
To learn how you can foster for Operation Noble Foster: http://operationnoblefoster.org/basics_foster.htm
