Helping the Orphans

It was a day of rescuing orphans. There's something exponentially sad about the word "orphans". Maybe I've read Oliver Twist too many times, but seeing orphans at the shelter is really a sad event. Funny how I always associated orphans with kittens. But that really isn't the case.

I'm sooooooo happy to announce that I've rescued "Baby"(aka: "Honey") today, along with Magoo! Both of these cats I consider to be orphans. They grieved for the death of their favourite human and lost everything. Many hugs and thank you's to Jan and Tally who came forward to give these mid-life cats a second chance at happiness.

I called Jan shortly after Baby's arrival and she said he was already purring and on the sofa! Sounds like Baby has decided he doesn't want to be an orphan anymore and is looking forward to a new life. He sure seems pretty happy with his temporary one!

I touched base with Tally who took Magoo and she said he immediately flopped over for belly rubs. Awwww!

Many thank you's to one of my favourite husbands "Andy" who drove in Friday traffic to make it possible for these two to be in a loving home tonight. I don't think spouses get enough credit on my blog for all the great stuff that they do.

The little family of 4 (now orphaned) kittens whose mother was euthanized this morning were also rescued today by a new foster Mom that stepped forward. They were so hungry this morning when I arrived at the shelter - it occurred to me only at that moment that they must've been really missing their mother. I silently prayed, "Please, don't let me cry in front of the new foster Mom."

I also rescued two kittens that were not on the shelter website. Steve, who recently rescued 3 black orphan kittens offered to take these grubby little guys. Holy smokes - "Grubby" is an understatement. These two are about 7 weeks old and look like they fell out from under a car. They're going to have lots of fun at Steve's Disneyland for Cats. :)

This has been a WONDERFUL week of rescues. So many cats have been placed into foster homes and this is the big adoption event weekend. My fingers and toes are crossed for great adoptions so that more can be saved.

I must be tired tonight. Just reread the blog and found it to be desperately uninteresting tonight. I was going to post some pictures and found these pictures on my camera of little "Howard". I don't know WHO took them - but they sure are cute.

Seems to be a great way to end the week - cute Howard pictures:

A Bittersweet Day

Today was one of those bittersweet days. I went to the shelter to rescue 6 kittens, "any female cat" and a "maternity cat". Sounds like an AWESOME rescue to me! How often do I get to leave the shelter with 8 cats + some unborn kittens? I was practically fist-pumping when I arrived at the shelter.

As I walked up and down the aisles looking for the cats to rescue I stopped suddenly when I saw him:
It was Baby. I felt frozen in my tracks and my eyes started to burn. If you haven't read about Baby, I encourage you to click on the link. I was so sad that the people never contacted me again. I tried so hard to find Baby a home. My heart hurt to see yet ANOTHER cat whose owner died and the family left him at the shelter. At least this family tried. Baby doesn't like other cats, so it's not an easy match. He's listed on the shelter website as "Honey" - which I'm fairly certain this really is his name. (Where the hell did I get "Baby" from anyway?)

The good news is, I might have a foster home for Baby. I'm going to make contact tonight and keep my fingers crossed. This foster home has no other cats, so it might just work!

Another foster home came forward for Magoo, so I'm insanely excited about that!

There's a feral Mom at the shelter with her kittens:

The Mom cannot be saved because she's too frightened and she'll be euthanized tomorrow morning (along with many others) before the shelter opens. Because it's only April and not July, I'm going to be able to save her kittens. This will be their last night together as a family. My heart broke into a million little pieces as I watched this family snuggle together for the last time.

God, I hate this.

To add insult in injury, I came home to THIS email:

"Hello Beth,

Thank you for your e-mail, yes, I am looking for a friend to my cat Buddy, who is very friendly, happy male cat, he is not fixed, because one of my friend wanted kittens for her female cat, but she changed her mind and now maybe it is too late to do it...

The reason, why I wanted second cat, because I am working all day long 10-12 hours/day and Buddy sitting alone at home, I feel really sorry for him...."
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My response to her was probably over the top:

"I'm sorry (name deleted), but I can't permit a female cat to be in the home with an unneutered male. I must admit that I'm appalled that you and your friend would consider breeding her cat. I just came from the shelter where they are euthanizing thousands of kittens each year because there are not enough homes. Even if your friend could find homes for HER kittens, it takes the place of the ones that are dying in the shelter.

Please have your male cat neutered and encourage your friend to have her cat spayed. She really should be ashamed of herself for permitting her cat to have kittens. She needs to come to the shelter and watch them kill kittens that have no homes. It's awful.

I'm sorry, but I don't think this will work."
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With all the education out there about animal overpopulation, it's still shocking to me that there are people out there wanting to BREED their cats for the sake of just having a litter of kittens. Makes me want to puke. It really does.

You can see why it was a bittersweet day. I've gone from doing a Snoopy happy dance, to feeling emotionally crushed like an overripe grape. I wasn't planning on going to the shelter tomorrow, but if I can get out Magoo and Baby...I'm going. Somebody has to pick up those 5 week old kittens after their mother is dead too.

It might as well be me.

Tabbies and Tales

I'm really hoping that the big Petsmart adoption weekend proves to be a good one. Kittens and Moms with kittens seem to be rolling in way too fast. It feels like June at the shelter instead of late April. My usual summer angry rants are starting far too early.

Fortunately, I'm back at the shelter tomorrow to rescue what I thought would be 7 little tabbies:

The SPCA came in and took 3 of the kittens and left the remaining 4 to either be rescued or die. Looks like it's going to be "rescue" for these guys. I wish it could be that way for all of them.

My latest project cat is "Magoo":

Magoo was found by the police department after a call was placed about a deceased man in an apartment. Magoo was found perched on his dead owner's chest - holding vigil - for at least THREE days. Magoo has been held-in-trust at the shelter for 10 days in the event a family member wants to claim him. Surprise. Surprise. Nobody has stepped forward. Magoo has lost everything in his life. He's not a young cat - probably 10-12 years old, but Oh. My. Gosh - he's SWEET.

Not too much to report on tonight. I've been enjoying little Howard enormously:

How cute is this little varmint?

I'm hoping for some happy stories at the shelter tomorrow. I don't want to come home and post anything that's going to hurt. I'm really going to dig for some good stuff and look for something positive.

It's just too damn early to feel so overwhelmed.

Tinkle, Tinkle, Little Howard

Every day at about 3:00 pm I treat myself to a little siesta. I stretch out on my comfy living room couch with an old quilt and my cats pile on me. I take great comfort in this little ritual. The nap only lasts 30 minutes, but it's really awesome and I look forward to it every day.

Howard was driving my son crazy in his room, so we decided to let him out. Howard hasn't stopped running since. I sighed happily as the clock struck 3 pm and I pulled the quilt up to my chest. I could hear Howard galloping in another room...."aaah...the pitter patter of little feet..

Howard came sliding into the living room where I was. I could hear the side of the couch shredding as he climbed up....then he climbed down...more galloping...somebody on the otherside of the room started hissing...more ripping - different chair this time...gallop...sliiiide....gallop.. I grumbled a bit but tried to nap anyway. I need that 30 minutes.

Then I heard a different sound...

...it was the sound of running water...a soft sound....a tinkle, perhaps?

I bolted upright. The cats that had been snoozing with me went flying onto the floor. The *tinkle* sound was still going and I could see Howard on my favourite rug squatting. It was all in slow motion after that:

"Nooooooooo....HOoooooowaaaard....!"

I grabbed Howard and started running with outstretched arms. But Howard never stopped peeing! I'll never fully understand what happened next. Maybe it was just the panic of running with a peeing kitten? I ran to the bottom of my stairs and looked up (pee...pee...pee) Carpet on the steps...I'll never make it to the upstairs litterbox. I run to the basement steps. Drat! More carpet!

At this point, I'm thinking that this must be THE LONGEST pee on record! This kitten is STILL peeing and there's a line of pee accumulating throughout the house where I had been running.

My final moment of sanity came when I held the little guy over the kitchen sink! Of course, by this time, there was only a small tinkle. I gave him a little shake to shake off any drips. *sigh*

Needless to say, I spent my 30 minute siesta cleaning up pee. Lots and lots of pee. Yay.

The best part of my day was hearing about the latest rescue! I wasn't really part of this rescue, although I made my recommendations. We were able to take EIGHT cats today! One of them was a special favourite of mine named "Lyla":

Lyla and her sister (the black cat next to her) were surrendered to the shelter some time ago. Their owner had passed away. Lyla's sister was euthanized at the shelter, but Lyla has survived. She's been living in a dog holding area and she's SO sweet. I'm so grateful that Lyla has another chance. She certainly deserved it after losing everything.

Things seem very full at the rescue right now. I keep going through the foster home list with hope there's somebody that I've missed that needs a foster cat. I'm hopeful that the big adoption weekend will free up some space.

I didn't get my nap, but it's hard to be grumpy when eight little souls made it out today. I'm going to push "publish" on this blog post and go kiss Howard. I love him already...

A Hodge Podge of Friday Thoughts

It was a beautiful day to take a day off from rescue. There were still phone calls to make and emails to answer, but I stayed in my robe until 9 a.m. this morning and drank that luxurious third cup of coffee. Heaven!

Back in December of last year a special boy came into the shelter by the name of Chunk. He weighed a whopping 35 lbs and could barely walk. The staff at the shelter decided to make Chunk a project cat and keep him in the office area. Since December, Chunk has lost 5 lbs. He's the first to greet me each time I arrive:


I always tell Chunk that if he doesn't like it there, he can come home with me. But he loves his life there and and gets a ton of attention.

There's another cat at the shelter named "Sulton":There's always sad stories that come in that place, but Sulton's really tugged at my heart. On his cage is a handwritten letter. I took a picture of the letter, but had to block out any personal information from the person who wrote the letter, along with the person being charged for abuse:

So this poor guy was abused. There was video proof, but the person who did it couldn't be charged because Sulton wasn't injured. Geezus. Are you kidding? The cat has to be INJURED before something is done? Sulton is amazing. He's sweet as pie and I'm hopeful somebody will come forward to prove to him that not all humans are cruel.

I neglected to mention in yesterday's blog post that 3 black kittens were rescued too! These little guys are about 4-5 weeks old and were hissin' and spittin'! Nothing is cuter than a kitten trying to act like a bada$$. We had been hopeful a nursing Mom would take them in, but she rejected them. Fortunately, we were able to place these little monkeys in a foster home - My friend Steve came forward (Yes, *that* Steve) and they're happy and partying at the bachelor pad:

I'm always so pleased that folks see me as an inspiration. But behind me, there are so many people that make it possible for me to rescue. Yesterday, for example, there was a volunteer driver that took "Alice" to her new foster home. Behind THAT driver, was a Driver Coordinator who arranged it all. There is someone within the rescue that does the thankless job of paying the bills and dealing with tax issues. Without THAT person, vet bills would not be paid. (Lord knows that are vet bills that need to be paid!)

I received some disappointing news this afternoon that one of our more active foster homes is moving up north. Kate & Garrett - you've saved so many deserving cats and I'll miss you guys so much! With you leaving, who will rescue all the dilute calicos? :)

It was a good week. I'm hesitant to say how many cats were rescued this week, because in my mind it feels like I rescued a lot of cats - but the true number might feel disappointing. I don't want to end my week on that note. Just for today, I want to pretend there were no cats left to euthanize this morning.

Besides....I'm already planning Mondays' rescue....

A Day of Miracles

After yesterday's blog-whine about being burned out and needing a day off from rescue, there could only be ONE thing that would make me go back to the shelter today for another rescue...

I can hardly type this post without bursting into tears. Maybe the smile on my face will speak volumes:

I'm holding "George", one half of the bonded pair of 20 year old cats that was scheduled to be euthanized tomorrow.

The email came in late last night. A wonderful couple came forward and is giving this bonded pair a FOREVER home. Ack...here comes the tears!

These little old kitties are currently ensconced in my downstairs powder room waiting to go to their new home tonight. I honestly don't know what else to say...I'm so overwhelmed and joyful for these two that I'm nearly speechless.

While I was at the shelter, I had another call from Ian, one of my favourite foster Dads who wants to help "Brinnie" a scrawny, little half-hairless-from-fleas black cat that was also marked as "Urgent":

I rescued her too! She's currently in The Land of Dirty Underwear (my son's room) and will be going to Ian's house tonight. She licked the end of my nose when I took her out of the cage. :)

I went to bed last night feeling nothing but the need for self-indulgence. This afternoon? I'm full of such joy for the love of helping 3 little cats that had no hope whatsoever. Tonight, I have hope for ALL discarded cats. Not just the pretty cats, or the purebred cats - but ALL cats.

You can't buy THAT at the local outlet mall.

Fighting the Burnout

I'm feeling a little burned out today. I sympathize for other people in rescue who don't have an outlet in which to vent like I do. I've spent way too much time in the car lately and would like to have a day to myself. How on earth do people drive for a living?

Today's rescue was really terrific despite my cranky, burned out attitude:

Luke was marked for euthanasia two times. He's safe now!

Gumby has MASSIVE feet! He's going to be Luke's new BFF

I renamed this little monkey "Bob". I also rescued a buddy for him but don't have her picture. He's a curtain climber for sure!

This is "Alice". I rescued her for a new foster Mom. She's a VERY sweet little girl that came into the shelter already spayed and declawed.

Nine days ago a woman inquired about adopting Alice directly from the shelter. She's contacted me via email every day for 9 days telling me that she's been "too busy to call me". I kept telling her the importance of the call...please don't delay....euthanasia...yada, yada, yada. I needed to speak with her and screen her as a potential adopter. As I read through her latest email apologizing for not calling again last night, I became madder and madder. I want to write her back and say, "Alice died, because you were too eff'ing busy."

I won't send that email. But it sure felt good to type it here. Unfortunately, it could've easily been the truth.

On my way home from dropping off the kittens, I stopped at a local clothing store and bought myself some things that I didn't really need. "Retail therapy"....I swear they invented that saying for me.

I think I'm really feeling the pressure of the pending kitten season. It hasn't arrived yet, but it's looming. Craigslist is already full of people trying to dump their cats for stupid reasons, and those cats are taking up adoptive homes from MY cats that are scheduled to die.

There's a VERY sweet Mom that just delivered a litter of gorgeous kittens - little dilute calicos..I'm worried about this family making it through the euthanasia day on Friday:

But then again, I always worry.

The Travelin' Gal

It's hard to have a bad day on an insanely beautiful day like today. I had lots of driving to do, but nothing could spoil the day with the wind in my hair and the sun on my face.

When I arrived at the shelter, I was happy to learn that another rescue wanted one of the cats that I had planned to rescue. I'm always willing to "take one for the team", and found a different cat to rescue that would still make the foster home happy. It's nice to know that two were rescued because both the foster home and I were flexible. The fortunate fellow is "Edgar":

Ahhh Edgar! That boy must've saved up 4 days worth of poop and barf in the event he might be rescued and put into a cat carrier. I hadn't even left the shelter parking lot and I could hear Edgar throwing up. Don't get me wrong - I know that some cats don't travel well. But I had to drive with Edgar in the car for 2 hours today. He pooped somewhere within 10 minutes of the highway. I finally had to get off the highway to clean up the mess. The smell was taking the curl out of my hair, and what did he eat that was GREEN??? Holy God.

I also rescued 3 perfect little black kittens today too. They were probably about 5-6 weeks old. If this had been July, they would've never made it out of the shelter:
By the time I had arrived at the foster home, one of them had pooped and managed to roll in it. (Thankyouverymuch.) Many thanks to the foster Mom AND her roommates for allowing the extra kitten - I know 2 kittens was max....but what's "one more"? :)

I was pretty happy to be rescuing "Muffin" from the shelter today:

Esztella who reads this blog emailed me and offered to help Muffin. Muffin's former owner had surrendered him because she became so disabled that she could no longer care for him. It was my understanding that she was nearly hysterical at the shelter when she left him. I wish there was some way I could tell her that Muffin was OK and going to be loved forever. If you met Muffin, you'd know he must've been a VERY loved cat. He was the only "Good boy" in the car today!

Within a few minutes after I arrived home, Esztella sent me the following picture - it must've been taken within minutes of Muffin's arrival to her home:

Imagine the joy that this picture brought me!! The memories of the crummy bodily-function- filled journey dissolved and my heart filled with nothing but joy for the rescue.

Doesn't his face seem to be filled with gratitude? It hardly looks like the same cat.

You're welcome Muffin-Man :)

Don't Mind Me...

Don't mind me. I'm having one of my "Angry With Humanity" days. There are two things that really set me off when I go into the shelter. Rarely, do they happen on the same day. But today was one of those days.

I was sitting in the parking lot at Animal Control talking with a friend on the cell, when I see a man in a new mini-van park next to me. I know the drill - if they open the back door, they have a cat. If they just get out of the car, it's a dog licensing gig.

Sure enough - he opened the back door.

I hung up on my friend to approach him in the parking lot. (I'm not really supposed to talk to people surrendering their animals in the lobby) He's a clean cut 30-something guy with a very sweet looking (albeit overweight) cat in a carrier. I asked him why. I'm moving. God, how I've learned to HATE that excuse. He was moving across town, and no matter what I said I couldn't convince him to take his poor cat. She's been spayed and she was darling.

By the time I made my rounds at the shelter, "Chase" (I later learned her name) was in a cage:

If this guy could only see her sitting in her litterbox, would he care? Is she going to sit there for days and look for him? I picked her up and held her closely, kissed her and apologized for humanity.

While walking the cages, Kim pointed out a pair of seniors that just came into the shelter. They were surrendered because their owner died:

Looking at the cage card, they are TWENTY years old. What kind of human dumps little old cats at the shelter who have lost probably the ONLY person they've ever known? Kim said that they always lay on top of each other. They obviously are very bonded and love each other very much. She gave them a little bed with hope to minimize the guilt of being a human being. These cats don't need a foster home - they need a retirement home. A place where they can be loved for whatever time they have left.

I tried to contact Sandy who adopts senior cats, but her email was returned to me. There's very little hope.

So there you have it. I'm fine going into the shelter, but physically meeting the people who abandoned perfectly wonderful animals there for lame excuses along with senior cats who are discarded like garbage...well....it drives me insane.

I'm angry. I rescued a really sweet cat today for my own home and I'm rescuing several tomorrow for other foster parents and I can't even be happy about it.

A Happy Friday

I decided today would be the day that I didn't do anything that involved cats in carriers. I had a mini outing planned at Home Sense and some of the local boutique shops in town. My spring wardrobe was uninspiring, and I really wanted to buy a few things that didn't show cat hair.

One thing I've learned in cat rescue is to be flexible. I didn't feel very flexible when I looked at the calendar this morning and discovered my own two cats at vet appointments. Cats in carriers. Just what I didn't want to do today.

It's 1:15 pm now and I'm home from the vets. I have cat hair stuck to my lipstick and I'm sweaty. I am no longer inspired to go shopping, so I decided to write a bit here. Not sure where this blog post is going today....

One of the new favourite cats at the shelter is poor Rufus:

One morning the staff came into the shelter and found that Rufus had escaped! Cats can't get very far since the doors are closed. This is where Rufus was found in the morning:

Rufus found a DOG dish on a shelf and was curled up there! He must've had a ball the other night walking around. I would've hated to put him back in the cage in the morning. Rufus is a VERY sweet boy. He's already been neutered and doesn't have much time left. One staff member at the shelter doesn't like Rufus because he hissed at her. Oi vey.

Occasionally, I post some comments, questions, etc from my email Inbox here. Some are funny, some are sad. Here are a few - you be the judge:

"...the diarrhea sort of looks like a melted brownie (without nuts)..."

"...I can foster 2 kittens. 3 at the VERY most. But no more than 6. Six kittens is the limit!"

"I heard you can hook me up with a free cat..."

"Every day I thank my lucky stars that Locket came into my life. She gives me a reason to get up in the morning."

"Do you have any baby kittens? I want one that's under 5 weeks old so it can have the benefit of my love longer."

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Happy Friday and don't forget:

"Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something..."

Mission Accomplished - and Then Some!

I don't think I've ever gone to the shelter and had everything go as planned. There's always something that doesn't work out quite as expected. Today was no different.

As promised, I picked up a very kind adopter and brought her to the shelter. It was love at first sight - she scooped up "Elize" who gratefully licked her chin. When I do these type of no adoption fee adoptions, I always confirm that they have a vet appointment set up for the cat, etc. So it was no surprise when I heard from her this afternoon to let me know how the vet appointment went.

"Elize" is 40 days pregnant. (gestation for a cat is 63 days) I held my breath and waited for the adopter to want to return Elize. But my fears were unfounded. She loves Elize and will let her have her babies and foster the kittens until the rescue can find homes for them when they're 8 weeks old.

It was only then did I start to breathe again. Thank you...thank you...thank you....

I rescued my buddy "Herkimer" who is now known as "Hercules" and gave him lots of kisses and told him he was FINALLY getting out of the shelter. At first I thought he was shaking. He had been so frightened of the shelter. But no....I felt his throat and he was purring. Ahhh! :)

I walked past the holding area - where the cats first come into the shelter - and a little face was peering back at me. It was a 6 week old tabby kitten all by herself! My heart pounded as I started making deals with myself. I casually glanced into another cage and there were two FOUR week old kittens huddling together. Oh my gosh!!!!

When I reached into the cage to see one, they both hissed at me. What's cuter than a 4 week old kitten trying to look like a badass?? :) :)

Needless to say, I put the 6 week old baby with the 4 week old babies and packed them up. I made a few phone calls and begged my VERY sweet (did I mention she was beautiful too?) friend Kathleen to take them.

Five little lives got out of the shelter today, plus the 4 unborn kittens. I need to have a day that doesn't involve rescue soon. Maybe a day to buy some Spring clothes or plant something in the yard....

....Naaaah. :)

When Good Things Happen

I'm in awe of the people who read this blog. I really am. Last night after I posted the pictures of "Kentucky" and "Charlie Brown" I received an email from Shannon who stepped forward and offered to foster BOTH boys! I started to cry when I received the email from her. It's amazing what can happen when animal loving people rally together, isn't it?

Tonight, they are safe and being loved probably for the first time in their lives. (**tears**)

I received a phone call from a very nice sounding lady that wanted to adopt a scrawny little girl named "Elize" from the shelter:

The adopter doesn't drive, so I have to pick her up and bring her to the shelter to meet Elize. I love cats with pink noses :)

I received another phone call from a former adopter that had adopted TWO cats from me and the rescue. One cat was directly from the rescue and the other was directly from the shelter. I remember her - she's a lovely human being and wants to help "Herkimer":

I'm so happy for Herkimer. He's absolutely terrified in the shelter and hides under his one sheet of newspaper. He's been marked for euthanasia before and I'm SO happy he's getting out of there tomorrow.

I think like most people in the world, there have been times in my life where I've wondered what would make me the happiest. People continue to accumulate cars, houses and spouses, and an assortment of religions - all with the hope of finding *something* to give their life meaning.

I'm very much a spiritual person. I believe in God. I believe this is what I'm supposed to be doing. Sometimes I feel like a failure at it, but I keep standing up and brushing off the dust and moving forward. I guess that's what we ALL do who love rescue.

The best part? I'm not alone. Every time I read through the comments on this blog, I'm reminded that there are friends AND strangers who care about the cats the way I do. There are volunteers who have never been to the shelter, but offer to help a cat that I've written about here.

Tonight, I feel really blessed. Thank you all for everything...

The Boys Club

I promised Kim that I'd tell people about two VERY handsome Tomcats who have been at the shelter far too long. I'm not sure why, but they keep getting overlooked by rescues. As kitten season begins, there isn't much hope for guys like these two, so am hoping that somebody sees their picture and will come forward to help one...or both?

#1......"Kentucky"
Kentucky has been at the shelter the longest - TWO months. When I saw him today, he was laying on his one sheet of newspaper and look terribly depressed. I tried to talk with him, but he barely lifted his head..."why bother? You're not going to help me." He's really a nice boy with HUGE Tomcat cheeks. He seems FINE with other cats even though he's surrounded by other male cats and females in heat. It must feel like torture.

#2...."Charlie Brown"
Despite Charlie Brown's lion-like meow, he's really and truly a big, sweet lug. I love these big headed Tomcats! As soon as he came into the shelter, he immediately became a shelter favourite. When I saw him today, he seemed a little happier than in the past because he's in a double maternity cage so has a little bit more room to stretch. As the kittens keep coming in, this big boy is going to end up getting booted back to the "microwave oven" style cage - or euthanized. Charlie is mellow and gentle. He just wants to be loved.

If you can help them, please let me know. They don't have much time left.

TODAY's RESCUE!!

Today was a great rescue day. I thought I was just going to rescue one cat, but it turned out to be a fabulous day!

As I type this, my new little guy "Stan Marsh" is now roaming through the house and seems happy for the change of scenary. I've replaced him with a temporary guy named "Sonic":

Sonic is going to his FOREVER HOME tonight! A lovely couple who adopted from me before are taking him home. He's a VERY sweet boy and has been neutered and declawed. When I let him out of his carrier in The Land of Dirty Underwear, he looked around then up at me as if to say, "Are you kidding me??" Why do I feel the need to apologize for my son's room to the foster cats? But that's another blog post and I digress...

These sweet blind kittens were also rescued today. Their blue eyes are TRULY blue - that's not the flash. The male is twice the size of the little female. They're adorable and already play fighting! I love that! Thank you to Kristen for given these little guys a chance. They were taken off the euthanasia list this morning at the last second.

A darling litter of five kittens is being picked up by a new foster home tonight. They all came from the same home despite the fact that they're ALL 2 weeks apart in age. Do you think the ignorant person FINALLY will get the female cats spayed? Probably not. Stupid. Stupid.

We had another 11th hour rescue last night when a foster Mom came forward to save "Norman" the Himalayan:

It blows my mind that this SWEET guy was scheduled to die this morning. He had matts on him the size of a baseball and his skin was ripping from the weight. I was horrified to see him in that condition. Fortunately, he's at the vet now and has been neutered and shaved today. I bet he's going to feel like a million $$'s!!! :)

Despite the large number of cats rescued by the rescue over the past few days, there are still more cats coming in than going out. It's truly heartbreaking. I never EVER want to make it seem hopeless. It's not.

Ask the cats rescued today if they feel hopeless. I think they'd tell you that they won the lottery.

"Stan Marsh"

I went to the shelter today to basically "walk the cages". We have a couple foster spaces to fill that really have very specific needs for their home. It's not always black and white who I can rescue. I need to take the cats out of their cages, hold them and see if they fit the foster family's home.

I didn't really plan on rescuing anybody for myself today, but couldn't resist this guy:

Did you grimace when you saw his picture? Holy crap. I sure did. This poor guy is about 4-5 months old and weighs 2.5 pounds. He came into the shelter starving. I can count the bumps in his spine. When I picked up his little skeletal body, he melted in my arms. His face buried into my neck and he kneaded in the air with his feet. He was so happy to be touched and loved. I don't think anybody has ever loved him. He is the same weight as a 10 week old kitten.

But Lordie...he's so homely that he's cute. :)

Sooooo...I took him home and am feeding him anything he wants. He's in The Land of Dirty Underwear (my son's room) and really must be the sweetest little thing I've rescued in a long time. (Do I always say that?)

I named him "Stan Marsh":

Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't he look cuter already?

Welcome, little Stan Marsh - we're glad you're here. You can have anything you want.

A Week Worth the Effort

I don't want to jinx anything, but I'm so happy to hear of the numbers rescued this week - including a HUGE rescue tomorrow. SOO excited!

I was contacted by another rescue last week and have been helping them choose cats to rescue. They're about 1 hour from the shelter, and I think they needed someone they could trust to rescue cats and give them some honest answers from the rescue's perspective - health, temperament, and adoptability.

After many emails going back and forth, they authorized me to rescue 7 cats for them today! I met one of the directors at a Tim Horton's parking lot (where else?) and these little darlings are all safe and finally out of the shelter. It felt really good. :)

Just as I was leaving for the shelter this morning, someone contacted me about adopting a kitten. They didn't have any other cats, and there were no kittens that I thought would be suitable to live the life as an "only cat". They sounded like such a nice family, so I met them at the shelter today during a regular rescue.

It was love at first sight:
This grubby, dirty, matted little guy climbed into her arms and licked her face like a dog. It still gives me goosebumps to think about it. She never looked at another cat. "Oliver" was her guy!

Tomorrow I have a very nice sounding couple coming to meet my little Radar. He took a nap with me this afternoon by the fire. I was in heaven - a kitten purring in my ear and a nap by the fireplace....*happy sigh* The couple have 3 other cats. They are truly "animal people" and I hope Radar goes home with them tomorrow.

Tonight? I'm content with the work that I've done this week. How many people get to say that about what they do?

Shameless!

When I picked up Rita from the shelter yesterday, I kissed her and made a deal with her: "I can take you out of here, but in two weeks you'll have to go into a Petsmart store for adoption."

Seriously. I said that out loud to her. It was a deal we made. I figured that VERY sweet black cats have a better chance at being adopted through a Petsmart, because people will see how incredibly adorable she is as soon as they pick her up. Anybody who has ever taken a picture for the rescue website of a black cat knows that it's no easy task.

As soon as Rita arrived in my home last night, I knew that perhaps it wasn't the best plan for me. Adult female cats generally get picked on by my male cats. I called Cindy (who had helped Moe) and she graciously agreed to foster Rita at her house. When we arrived there, Rita already looked liked she owned the place and Cindy's own cats seemed thrilled to have a new friend.

Rita will still have to go to a Petsmart store soon, but for now....she's living like a Princess. :)

Shameless plug for Petsmart coming up:

What did foster-based rescues do before Petsmart came along to help us?? Petsmart not only gives us money for every adoption, but they provide us a beautiful place to show off our cats, and our rescue's mission to help them. It's a great way to educate the public and hold adoption events.

No doubt that it stings a bit to leave our precious foster cats at Petsmart. But this is NOT a shelter cage. Petsmart adoption centres are usually very nice, with fluffy beds and kind volunteers that come in each day to get the cats out of their cages and play with them. Personally, I like to think of it as a "camping vacation" for cats!

End Shameless plug for Petsmart here :)

The phone hasn't been ringing off the hook with people wanting to adopt my little Radar like I originally thought. If they only knew how cute this little guy is, they'd want to pay double the adoption fee, I'm sure:

How cute is my husband and Radar?? I never post pictures of David, but I couldn't resist this one. If women only knew how handsome he looks singing little songs to our cats, I'm afraid I'd lose him to another shameless cat loving blonde that won't make him sleep with 5 cats!

Back to the shelter tomorrow!!

Wallowing in the Love!

I didn't realize I hadn't been to the shelter since before Easter until I signed in the Rescue Log at the shelter this morning. Unfortunately, it looked like a whole bunch of new cats had arrived. *sigh*

There was one little girl that still remained at the shelter when many others hadn't survived. Her name is "Rita":

Rita arrived at the shelter in January 30th. She had already been spayed and microchipped, but nobody had claimed her. Every time I'd go into the shelter I'd hold and kiss Rita. Nothing seemed to bother her - she loved other cats, and she loved attention. Sadly, I'd put her back into her steel cage and keep trying for her rescue. Even the staff loved Rita, which was why she was never euthanized.

Maybe I was feeling fragile when I arrived at the shelter today. I don't know what it was. But after 3 months, Rita came home with me.

Rita is currently in The Land of Dirty Underwear (my son's room). When I walked into the room a few moments ago, I don't think I've *ever* experienced more love from a cat than I have in the 10 minutes I spent with Rita. This little girl coo'd, rubbed, purr'd and licked for 10 minutes. The gratitude shown to me was more than I have ever received - ever.

I only wish I had brought her home months ago.

I also rescued a cute little guy named "Bart":

Bart was marked for euthanasia on Tuesday because someone said he was feral. Bart had a big "CAUTION" marked on his cage. The volunteers worked pretty hard to find somebody to socialize this little guy. Fortunately for Bart, somebody came forward and offered to save his life.

Bart's story doesn't end here. When I reached into the cage to take him out, I used extreme caution. I haven't been bitten in a long time, and I wasn't anxious to start now. Bart looked at me with big eyes....but I could hear something...what's that sound?? Bart was purring! When I brought him to the vets this afternoon, he came out of the carrier like he owned the place. He jumped up on the chair and *licked* the vet clinic cat "Bob" on the head!

They must have a different definition of "feral" than I do. Think how close he came to dying because of a mistake like that. I realize that shelter staff must protect themselves, but to not give a kitten a chance? Pffft.

The rescue is telling me that there are a "bunch" of adoption calls pending for my little foster guy, "Radar". After being at the shelter today, I'm anxious for him to be adopted so I can rescue somebody else. OK..."anxious" isn't really the word I was looking for.

In the meantime? I'm going to go upstairs and kiss that sweet little Rita! I'm going to be jealous at whomever adopts her. :)

"Thirteen" is a Lucky Number Today

(Blogging hasn't been easy lately. Everytime I sit down at the computer a little orange waif comes and plops himself down on the keyboard!)

Ahh...it was a good day to be in rescue and I didn't even have to leave the house! Thirteen beautiful souls were rescued today! The phone was ringing until 10 pm last night with ideas on rescuing and placing cats.

Many hugs and thank you's to Heather H. who made the drive to the shelter and loaded up cats by herself. It's always a big, emotional job to do this when you're not used to it.

The "overpass cat" named "Fido" was rescued today:

Fido was found on a highway overpass and was stuck there. Someone cared enough about him to rescue him from that perilous location, but I'm sure didn't realize that Fido would end up dead anyway. Fortunately, Fido gets another chance to have a beautiful life!

Handsome Ranger was also rescued today! I had a lot of people ask about this handsome boy. But he's a young very dominant cat and needed to be placed in a home that could handle a cat like him. Gosh, he's C-U-T-E!

Tuxedo "Joshua" had been at the shelter so long that he was beginning to get "swipey" with the shelter staff. I think they get angry and depressed when they've been in that cage for so long. I bet he's enjoying stretching his legs tonight!Little "Maui" was scheduled from euthanasia this morning. She was truly an 11th hour rescue this morning. This little family was also rescued this morning. I honestly didn't think that they had much of a chance because they ALL had a bad case of ringworm. Ringworm isn't really a worm...it's just a fungus, but it's still contagious and icky. Bless the foster home that came forward for this little group.
Handsome "Hansel" took the world's worst picture - I guess you can tell he wasn't happy to be there.

His sister "Gretel" is one of the sweetest little girls -ever! When they were reunited today, they licked each others face! Awwwwwwww!!!!! :) :)

Tomorrow, I'm going back to the shelter and rescue two more cats. I'm over the moon with the number of cats we've rescued over the past 24 hours.

I couldn't help but think about the ones that didn't make it this morning. There was no 11th hour phone call for them. I hope they found the way to the Rainbow Bridge and in the arms of somebody that loves them.

Every cat should experience that.