A Retraction, Adoption, and a Silver Lining

First, I need to make a HAPPY retraction:  The black kitten that was left alone after his "pretty sibling" was taken by a shelter staff member is alive and being rescued today by another rescue organization!  It's crazy how we all have so much technology and ability to communicate with each other, but my message didn't go through about saving him, and I didn't get word that he was still alive until a few minutes ago.  Regardless, it was WONDERFUL news and I'm thrilled!  (Although you could've knocked me over with a feather with the news!) 

Our adoption lines are ringing and I'm busy.  I didn't realize how frustrated and negative my last posts have been until I read them again.   Yesterday, I read a Facebook post from a fellow rescuer who publically proclaimed her frustration over something.  Was it a full moon?

I'm pleased to announce that we're going to be featuring kittens in a local pet food store full time!  That was a huge uplifting moment for me.  Many hugs and thank you's to our volunteer who started talking with a new pet store owner and made a great impression.  I went over to seal the deal today!  Without talking to people, we'll never know what the possibilities are.   In the meantime, we have to buy quite a few supplies - one of them is a $200.00 ferret cage on rollers so that the pet store owner can wheel the kittens in the back at night so to not set off the alarm.   I'm hopeful we'll get some donations to get set up there.   (Ohhhhh...how I hate asking for money!)

We really haven't been rescuing this week from the shelter.  I'm trying to stabilize our rescue as I received EIGHT phone calls in one day over sick cats.  When we get this many calls in one day, I have to stop, regroup and review.  To continue to rescue when our vet bills are in the thousands and thousands of dollars AND (temporarily) climbing makes no sense to me.   I'm in this for the long haul and being a conservative rescuer is what works for me.

Hold on to your hats...but my other big news is that my foster cat "MAX" was adopted last night!!!

My little goofy boy has gone to a great home by a family who was looking for a rowdy no nonsense guy that will "party" with two of their hooligan cats.  Max was oddly social with them last night.  He greeted them at the door and hung out with the family very closely.  He knew.  He really knew.  The Mom played a little rough with him and before I could caution her, he started bunny kicking her arm and gave her a good *chomp* and drew blood.  She wiped it off and casually said, "That's what I get for playing so rough with him."  Loved her!   

As usual, I miss my goofy boy and worried about him today until I heard he had slept with them and despite some hissing and growling at the other cats he seems totally fine.  So I'm down one foster cat and the house seems a little imbalanced. 

The silver lining in my life was never really gone.  It was just tucked away until I was smart enough to figure out how blessed my life really is. 

Where's The Silver Lining When I Need One?

I had a dream last night that I was hanging off a cliff and my hands were sweaty and slipping.  I sat straight up in bed and heard screaming from outside our bedroom window.  "Raccoons!"  I learned about 8 years ago when I first moved to Canada that Raccoons make some crazy noises.  The first time I heard it I went running out in the middle of the night swinging a hockey stick.  I was SURE that a coyote was killing a baby or something. A neighbour called the police on me. 

I was grateful to the raccoons last night.  That dream was going nowhere - fast.

After yesterdays urgent posting for the remaining black kitten of a Siamese litter, I received 2 volunteers willing to take the little guy.  But it was too late.  He was killed this morning at the shelter.  Our hearts are broken and I definitely want to grieve for this little guy.  *Somebody* has to grieve for him.  Obviously the employee who took his "pretty" sibling didn't give a shit.

The day didn't get much better after that. 

We had a dedicated foster Mom leave her Niagara Falls home at 7:30 this morning and drive ONE HOUR to a veterinary clinic to meet an adopter who wanted to adopt one of her kittens.  (It's amazing what we have to do these days for adoptions.)  The meeting was confirmed and the woman NEVER showed up.  Imagine driving 1 hour ONE WAY only to be stood up. 

The message I left the adopter wasn't nice.  I tried to go on the assumption that *maybe* there was a death in the family, or something.  Surely, she wasn't that big of a bitch to make a lovely volunteer drive TWO HOURS round trip for nothing?  It occurred to me that I knew where this woman worked.  She worked about 5 minutes from my house at a local pet food store.  "Could I help it that I needed cat food this afternoon??"  Sadly, she wasn't working.  I don't know what I would've said anyway - but I would've said something, you can be sure of that.

Nobody treats our volunteers like crap.  We all work too damn hard at this to be treated badly. 

I've been working very hard at finding the silver lining.  Yesterday, I had a phone call from a WONDERFUL former adopter who took the time to call me and give me some thoughts of fundraising.  She's such a delightful, positive person and "Rosie" was the first cat I rescued for our rescue! 

Speaking of fundraising, we also have VERY VERY exciting news coming up.  I'm not going to say what it is until the details are ironed out.  But it's a fundraiser that will knock your socks off!  I'm over-the-moon excited about this and will have full information in the next few days.  Keeping mum about it until then. 

We're back in Petsmart Oakville for the month of September.  Lots of work and we DESPERATELY need volunteers Monday to Friday in the mornings to scoop poop and feed the kittens.  No, Petsmart doesn't do this for us anymore.  They're getting away from PS Staff doing any Adoption Centre work.  If you're a charity,  have cats at a Petsmart, and the staff takes care of the cats, be prepared - times are a changin'.

(*Squinting*) "Silver Lining?  Is that you???"

Crummy, Stupid Day Rant

The flood gates of hell have opened and landed on my desk this morning.  Normally, I don't do a blog post at 3 pm, but I'm so tired and frustrated that blogging seems to be the best way to release some of my angst before David comes home from work.  :)

We've had a sick kitten, and an unfounded Distemper scare.  What is it about the "D" word that paralyzes us every time?  There's been *NO* Distemper in the shelter despite a bunch of ridiculous Facebook posts.  When somebody posts in a public forum that the shelter has Distemper, rescues STOP RESCUING.  Unless you know what you're talking about, don't post propaganda!  Now the shelter is full, and the situation there is dire.

By now, you have to know how much I hate to give fuel to the protesters, but I received word that a city employee who works AT THE SHELTER, took home a Siamese kitten, and left the black sibling alone in the cage to die tomorrow:

Seriously? How eff'd up is that?  If this employee thinks she's going to get any mercy on this blog from me, she's sorely mistaken.  The city employees that work at the shelter have a duty to set a good example for the public.  At least that's my opinion.  

My heart goes out to this black kitten.  He's alone in the cage as I type this and waiting to die tomorrow morning.  I hope this employee enjoys her one "pretty" kitten. 

We have a "return"  on a cat that was adopted back in April.  Apparently, the kitten scratched her 3 year old.  "Gee...a kitten who scratches a toddler.  I'll be darned."  Believe me, I try really hard to salvage returns.  I'm usually pretty good at it.  But there's no sense in trying to salvage an adoption when the adopter refers to the cat as "the animal".  She's obviously divorced herself from the cat.  The sooner we get him back, the better.  We just need to figure out WHERE to put him.  Our rescue is just so full right now.   He's an adorable orange and white guy - 7 months old.

Soooooo...it's 3:30 now and I haven't left my desk since 7:30 this morning.  Even PAID employees get a lunch hour, right?  It's time to use the washroom, kiss my own cats, and try to reclaim a more positive spin on the day. 

Thanks for listening....

Happy To Be Home

Gosh, am I happy to be back home!  Our rescue was in excellent hands in my absence and things moved along smoothly.  There were SEVEN adoptions during the week I was away and the volunteers managed to rescue 17 more.  Thank goodness for technology and volunteers willing to keep me apprised of everything going on.  I tried really hard to not tweak and worry about the rescue. 

Turns out worrying about the rescue was probably a good thing:  David and I put 6 adults (me, David, son #1, Son#2, and my daughter and her boyfriend) in a vacation condo in Orlando.  I guess being a sappy Mom I had silly expectations of us playing Twister in the evening, taking turns cooking breakfast, and reminiscing.  As it turned out, the best way to describe it is; "Where families are concerned there's always a bit of drama."  Believe me, I was glad to have the rescue to think about.  "I'll be in the bedroom checking my email...." 

Needless to say, I'm very happy to be back and so grateful to everybody who helped while I was away.  It's not easy to walk into a rescue and take over!

I made the mistake of watching 2 hours of "Animal Cops" on the flight home. By the time we landed I was in an urgent need for a "kitty fix" and couldn't wait to get home and kiss my own cats.  I really hate Animal Cops.  Normally, I can't watch that show because I end up hating the human race by the end of the 30 minutes. 

I'm faced with lots of updating and catching up.  I received an email about a cat from a foster Mom and had to respond with..."Um...who's so-and-so?"  Hahhaa...Oh well.  I hope everybody is patient with me.  There seems like there's LOTS to do.  I'll be glad when David goes back to work on Monday so I can get something done. 

My pets were in terrific care while I was gone. I came home to a very spoiled 14 year old dog and my cats seemed to be nonplussed about us being home.  There was a note from our petsitter who said, "I had to unplug your appliances on the kitchen counter.  I found Sherman with his paw stuck in the toaster!"  Good Gravy Moses!!! 

At the risk of losing our wonderful petsitter forever, we had sent our only problem child "Wilbur" to a fancy pet hotel Cat's Castle.  What a great spot that was!  Wilbur looked happy and relaxed when we picked him up.  For a big ol' grump like Wilbur, that's saying something!

Did I mention that I'm happy to be home?  :)

*Almost* Vacation Time

I wish I could be like other people and go on a holiday by packing a suitcase, watering the plants and leaving.  Instead, I have a wonderful petsitter coming to my home and stay the week while the family and I are going on vacation.  There's so much to do when somebody is actually staying in your home! 

Wilbur is my youngest son's cat that doesn't like anybody but my son.  He actually lives in my son's room and each day we put Wilbur outside in the cat den for about 4 hours to play.  He just wants to be with my son and is completely antisocial with anybody but him.  So Wilbur is going to a fancy $30.00 per day boarding facility while we're gone.  No sense in the Petsitter dealing with him.  Hell...it might be cheaper to rent a room for the little booger at a motel!  LOL 

Our other girl "Newman" has epilepsy and requires a pill 2 times per day.  She won't let anyone give her a pill but me, so our Petsitter has to deal with Newman.  She's too fragile to go into a boarding facility - even a fancy one.   Our 22 pound white cat takes anti-anxiety medication each day or he'll pee in her suitcase. 

Sheets have to be washed, cat dishes cleaned...of course, *somebody* barfed on our bed last night, so all our bedding has to be washed now.  Something else for the to-do list. 

I don't think men some people fully understand what's required to leave the house for a week.  I can't just leave out a shitload of cat food and a towel for the petsitter.  David and my sons are looking at me like I'm crazy.  They don't seem to understand why on earth a new bar of soap is required in the guest room shower when a disgusting bar with a black hair stuck in it works just fine.  ARGH!!!!!!!

Just getting the house in order is crazy - but getting THE RESCUE in order for me to leave, is crazier!  When you run a rescue, you are never "off the clock".  I'll have my phone with me for emergencies and questions.  I'm meeting with 3 of our volunteers today to go through some training regarding emails and phones.  I forget that I easily have answers at hand. 

I'll spend much of my holiday on the phone and will make sure WiFi is in the condo we rented.  David wants me to leave my cell phone at home.  "Is he kidding???"  My daughter and her boyfriend are flying into Florida from California to meet us for the week.  Once again, I'll be overwhelmed with joy that ALL my little chick-a-dees are under one roof. 

Am I complaining?  Naaah....I live a blessed life.  :) 

Keeping It Brief

Things seem to be cooking along as they should.  I neglected to add two cats to the weekend's adoptions, for a total of 21 cats adopted.  But I guess that's information that's a tad too late :)

Back to the shelter today to rescue a little guy that I completely forgot to rescue on Monday:

Turns out he has a huge abscess on his side.  Poor little guy - 12 weeks old with a bite mark?! 

Of course, I rarely leave with just one so took this sweet little pair:

I'm feverishly typing as David is picking me up for dinner shortly.  It's always an extra joyous day when I know that I don't have to cook! 

One of our rescued cats has a hip problem and needs x-rays, etc.  Whatever it is, it sounds very expensive. Keep your fingers crossed that we can fix this guy up without selling the farm.  It's been a while since I had a really expensive rescue.  I guess we were due.  *ack*  Of course, we get an expensive guy at the same time a bunch of kittens get sick.  Such is life, right? 

Lots happening - some good, some not-so-terrific.  I've been trying not to stress over the little things, because it's so easy to obsess over unimportant crap.  I was venting with David on the phone today and he said,  "Don't spend good energy fretting about bad people."

Now why didn't *I* think of that? :)

 

What a Weekend!

When I walked into the shelter this morning I was immediately faced with an elderly man holding an ancient looking cat in a towel.  The cat was obviously in distress.  He was gasping for air and no doubt in the final hours of his life.  I asked the man about the cat and he said he was 21 years old - had the cat since he was a kitten. 

I begged the man,  "PLEASE don't leave your 21 year old cat here to die"  I told him that his cat deserved to be loved in his final moments and to PLEASE take him to the vet. 

The old fart wouldn't listen to me and left his cat to die alone.  That's what you get for 21 eff'ing years of loyalty? 

The veterinary technician kindly euthanized the poor old cat after immediately assessing him.  He didn't have to wait until the vet day to be left in a pile with the rest of the discarded cats. 

The old shithead.  I hope somebody abandons him.  Not kind...but I don't feel very kind right now.

I must've been really rattled because I ended up forgetting a cat that I was suppose to rescue today.  Poor guy...one more night in a cage because I forgot.  UGH.

Now for the good news:

Our adoption event was a HUGE success!  We had EIGHT adoptions during the event!  Not only did we have 8 adoptions during the event, but we had a total of NINETEEN adoptions for the weekend!!!  Everybody kept saying, "See Beth!!!  People showed up!"  The adopters were wonderful and we had lots of visits from foster parents too!  We even had a prior adopter show up with their 5 year old son - he had a donation of saved money to us. (SOOO cute...in a ziplock baggie!)  It was a wonderful day!  I'm only sorry that I didn't ask for more help.  The three of us who volunteered for the event were swamped.

Volunteers went back to the shelter on Sunday and rescued more cats, and I went to the shelter today:

The Animal Control officer had brought in a really tiny guy - about 5 weeks old and I rescued him too.  He never really made it into the shelter.  :)

Once again, I find myself clinging to the good things and not overly holding on to the bad stuff.  Lots of cats found homes this weekend and many were rescued.  As always, I'm in awe of our volunteers.  There's no doubt in my mind that we have THE BEST there are in animal rescue.  :)

Friday Wrap Up

I hadn't planned on going to the shelter today until a foster Mom called me and said she wanted to rescue a few kittens.  She had never been to the shelter before, so I knew I had better go.   I went to my Weight Watchers weigh-in and headed down the highway....

Not only did she leave with 3 four week old kittens, *I* left with 3 kittens too and a homely little tabby named "Chelsea" that had been at the shelter for 2 months in oven-like conditions:

 Everybody is in my washroom right now, and I'm too exhausted to deal with the usual hissing and hiding from Chelsea and diarrhea from the kittens.  It probably looks like a war zone in there and I just don't care.

Tomorrow is our adoption event and I'm going to keep a positive attitude despite the fact that the local humane society is practically giving away kittens.  I have to remember that they ALL NEED HOMES.  Not just my cats - but all of them. 

My adoption line has been ringing, so no complaints there.  In fact, I just received an email from a foster Mom that tells me BOTH of her adult cat fosters were adopted this afternoon by a wonderful family I screened yesterday!!!  Actually....we had FOUR adoptions today, and I have adopters lined up to meet cats tomorrow at foster homes.  So if the adoption event isn't overly successful, I won't complain much.  It's always nice to hang out with the volunteers. 

I'm sure David is looking forward to me being out of the house tomorrow.  He usually goes on some online Bridge thingy for a "Bridge Geek Fest" with friends.  I usually complain when I'm around, but since I'm gone he can engage in a Geek-a-rama in his bathrobe all day for all I care.

Besides.  I have to sneak in Chelsea like she's already been here for months.  So play on, sweetie!  Play on!

Feeling The Pinch

Did you ever spend so much time in the car that you finally turned off the radio because you're sick of hearing the noise...NOISE...NOISE!?  I rescued 7 cats from the shelter this morning and spent the remaining part of the day delivering them to new foster Moms, "old" foster Dads, and veterinary appointments.  It was quite a busy day and I'm looking forward to being a little less busy tomorrow.

We're having a good sized adoption event at a local Pet Valu in Oakville on Saturday.  Hard to believe, but the local newspaper JUST put a front page article about the local Humane Society reducing their adoption prices this weekend to $50.00.  CRAP.  I just spent $60.00 for an ad in their newspaper announcing our event!  Crap..Crap..double crap.  I feel like banging my head on the wall - Charlie Brown-style. 

We have three new foster parents, which brings our foster home number to FIFTY!  Who would've ever thought that I'd have FIFTY foster homes in 8 months?!  I'm definitely feeling the pinch of being a little busier than I'd like to be, so am going to start asking for some more help.  I don't want to fall into the trap of saying stupid things like, "It's faster and easier to just do it myself."  BIG mistake that I don't want to repeat.

It's strange how some things can hurt me more than others when I'm at the shelter.  I was coo'ing over 3 kittens that I was rescuing....pulling them out of the cage and kissing each one as I placed them in the carrier.  I glanced over my shoulder  (not sure why I looked, but was compelled to) and saw this big orange Tom cat staring at me.  He looked very thoughtful, gentle and sweet.  But he stared at me and my heart broke again into a million pieces.  I could feel what he was feeling.  Silly as it sounds, but I swear I did.  Anyway - I made promises to him that I wasn't sure I could keep and although I left with 7 cats today, my shoulders were slumped as I left. 

It's never quite enough, is it? 

Floating To the Shelter

I didn't need a car today to go to the shelter.  I needed a canoe.  What a rain we had!  I'm not complaining, but it certainly slowed down my usual rescue, juggle and deliver of cats today to foster parents.

My apologies for neglecting to tell the readers what happened to the little pair that I asked for help:

I'm happy to report that they are safe and sound with one of our own Forever Home Cat Rescue foster parents. The pictures that have arrived have cracked me up. Their names are "Charlie Chaplin" and "Cracker Jack". I'm betting you can guess who is who:

I rescued 4 more kittens today - none of who are on the website. Three 4 week old little angels that are now BFF's with Charlie Chaplin and Cracker Jack. The other guy is a DLH orange and white kitten - 8 weeks old. Oh. My. Gosh. He's so cute I could've put sugar on him and spooned him up for breakfast.

I had a surprise phone call from one of our veterinarians yesterday.  I took the 3 kittens that I rescued to his office:

He calls me a few hours later and says that he wants to keep the little grey-short haired guy for himself and family!  So that was a pretty quick adoption, I think!!!

The shelter vet did arrive this morning, as predicted.  I don't want to ruin a couple of great rescue days talking about it.  It is....what it is.  Sad. 

I'm really falling behind in my admin work this week.  I had hoped to hang out tomorrow at home and work, but I screened a few foster Mom and there's an opening for a cat who can be rescued.  She sounds really nice and already has 4 cats and 3 dogs. 

Back to the shelter tomorrow....the admin stuff can wait again.

Rescue Monday

Going to the shelter the day before the cats are euthanized (for lack of a better word) sucks.  The shelter didn't seem too crowded, but there were a bunch of tiny, tiny kittens - most of them 4 weeks old and should still be with their Mommy.  They look so pathetic covered in cat food as they probably dove into the bowl this morning.  Otherwise, they're all healthy - just pitiful looking.

One little Mom cat really tugged at my heart today:

She was SOOOOO sweet.  You can see her paw in the picture recoiled and kneading.  When I peeked into her cage, she was loving up one of the kittens.  Not licking him, but rubbing her head against him sooo lovingly.  It hurt me terribly to watch them and I had to keep moving. 

Because we're going into an adoption centre Petsmart for the month of September, many of the foster homes have loaded themselves with a few "extras" to put there.  We couldn't resist taking this handsome devil:

Many hugs and thank you's to Susan who went "one up" from her comfort level to save this little guy.  Holy crap, is he CUTE.

These little guys have been at the shelter for 3 weeks.  I rescued them today!  (The crazy protesters swear that every cat is dead at the shelter after 3 days...here's proof that your propaganda isn't always truthful.)    That little silver tabby has "attitude" written all over her!! LOL 
We also rescued "Chrissy" and placed her in a lovely foster home today:

She's REALLY sweet and had been at the shelter for SIX weeks!!!  She was so happy to be out and rubbed all over our legs in gratitude. 
Several rescues came in over the weekend and took cats.  I'm hoping that between them and me maybe the shelter can cancel the "vet day" tomorrow.  One can only hope. 

While I was at the shelter on Saturday, somebody dumped off an 8 year old and 12 year old cat - no reason given - just old.  The lady had her tween daughter with her.  I hope that girl dumps her mother when she's "just old".  Not a very kind thing to say, but it sure feels great to type it here.

Not sure why this post sounds so negative.  We rescued 6 little lives today.  That's something to rejoice about, right? 

A Friday Hodge Podge of Stuff

Yesterday was an AWESOME day.  In fact, I was too busy to write in this blog with more than 10+ adoption calls on the line and email.  That's a huge number for a small rescue like ours.  It was so exciting for me to listen to the voicemail update..."You have 8 new messages..."  REALLY???  I was sure half would be hang ups or surrender calls, but they weren't - all adoption calls!

I'm pretty desperate to help a little pair that came into the shelter yesterday:

They aren't littermates.  They "found" each other in the shelter.  Bless their little hearts - they're only 4 weeks old.  I thought I had a foster home for them, but the foster home has 2 sick kittens and couldn't mix them.  Sooooo....my heart continues to hurt until they're safe.

I've had so many things I've wanted to say, but have been hesitant because the over-the-top protesters read my blog.  They seem to have mellowed with more reasonable demands.  They're still full of  propaganda about the shelter, so until they meet with management and take a tour, their credibility will be in the toilet as far as I'm concerned. 

A cat I had hoped to rescue was euthanized this morning.  I didn't speak up fast enough.  She had been at the shelter for quite some time - long past the 3 days.  I hate when that happens.  I was "the governor" and I didn't speak up.  Shit.  This happens when people don't spay and neuter their pets. 

From the "Glorifying Rescue" files, I spent the morning yesterday delivering diarrhea medicine for a newly rescued cat with tummy problems.  I came home and found diarrhea all over the basement from our 14 year old dog Maggie.  C'mon!!!!!

I took my foster kitten Sherman to the vets yesterday for his neuter.  They called me shortly after and said,  "Ummmm....Beth....Sherman has THE WORST case of earmites we've EVER seen!"   One of *MY* foster cats has earmites?  I was appalled, embarrassed and horrified.  To think he could've been adopted out like that!!  He never showed any signs of earmites.  So now I'm digging, looking and treating all my other cats for earmites.  What a mess.  I felt like such a crappy foster Mom!

The phones are quiet today except for some post-adoption spay/neuter appointments.  I suppose I got my fill yesterday afternoon.  I think I'm catching a cold - sore throat and a little rundown.

If anybody can help those little ones....please let me know...

A Few Updates

I thought a follow up was in order regarding the little tabby girl that I rescued on July 21st.  Her cage had already been marked for euthanasia and I couldn't leave her behind.  If you missed that post, you can read about her here.  This is her new life in her foster home with her new friends:

If the pictures don't make you tear up, maybe the email from "Angel's" foster Mom will:

"So this is "Angel"....as un-original as that name is, she literally is a little angel so the name has stuck.
She is the most friendly cuddly little thing I have ever met, she sleeps under the covers with me and will curl up to anyone who has any space on their lap for her. She adores Amos, so she definitely get along with other cats, I think she would be fine with dogs as well as long as they are "kitten friendly". She doesn't mind being poked and played with by kids either, my girlfriend has a 6-year old and he carries her around and plays with her for hours on end and she just can't get enough of the attention. She is really an all around angel of a cat."

I can't imagine what our world would be like without "Angel" in it and I'm so grateful I grabbed her at the last minute.  She's going to make somebody VERY happy.

Another email I received out of the blue completely warmed my heart!  It was about a cat named "Minucho" that I rescued in May 2010.  You can read about Minucho here.  Her email: 
"Hello.
I found your blog when googling the name Minucho. You wrote about his rescue in May 2010.
I was excited to find that story and your wonderful blog. Today I adopted Minucho from Forgotten Ones. I also adopted his friend Speck. Thank you so much for everything you do!"

Think about it....she googled her cat's name and found his rescue story and shelter picture!!  How cool is THAT?

Last month, I wrote about a sweet little cat named "Marci" that arrived into Animal Control with her leg dangling.  She had severe nerve damage and needed her leg amputated.  You can read about Marci here.  I was able to see Marci (now known as "Troika" today) and she's awesome!!!

Her foster Mom may be adopting her!  It's my understanding that even on 3 legs, she can kick some a$$ on the other cats.  Her foster Mom tells me that she'll stand on her hind legs and whomp on the other cats with one paw.  The visual is awesome :)

I love these stories and try to post them whenever I can.  They really warm my heart and keep me uplifted in times when I'm not feeling so terrific.  Sure, we're not saving the world.  But we mean something to them.

They sure mean something to *me*.

A Tuesday Update

It doesn't happen very often, but we rescued a cat over the weekend that actually had a home.  The family came to the shelter to find their cat today and we had already rescued him.  Apparently, he got out through a broken screen - 5 month old buff and white guy.  He was fortunate he was rescued and not euthanized.  I can't figure out why people take so frickin' long to come around to asking the shelter if they have their cat! 

We were under no legal obligation to give them back their cat.  The "stray time" was up, but we certainly don't want to rescue a cat that doesn't need to be rescued!  I asked the owner their intention on neutering and she said that they had an appointment set up on August 12th at "such-n-such" veterinary office.  I politely put her on hold and called the clinic.  Yes, there was a vet appointment for his neuter.  With great confidence that he's in a good home, we're happily giving her "Pokey" back.  Yay. 

Back at the shelter today and rescued a little blind kitten named "Mya":

Honestly, I'm not sure how sight impaired she is - she was whompin' on the kittens that I also rescued today:

Anybody who knows me, knows that I wouldn't leave THIS guy behind either:

Poor little Georgie was alone in the cage.  I put him with the 4 hooligans (above) and he was THRILLED!  He started purring and rubbing.  Bless his little heart.  He needed a friend!  Georgie is merely a skeleton.  He's going to a good foster home (with the other 4) that'll fatten up the little varmint. 

I've been busy, busy, busy.  We have 4 new foster homes and I feel like the administration stuff  for the rescue is starting to stack up.  Who wants to do paperwork when rescuing cats is far more fun?  Is it really August 2nd?  My stress level seems too low for it to be August.  Usually, by this time I'm in a frenzy. 

Did I really say that my "stress level is too low"?  Crap....I bet I just jinxed it.

Luxury of Time

I'm enjoying the luxury of going through my foster list and seeing BLANK spaces where cats have been adopted!  So far, I think we've had almost 10 adoptions this weekend and the phone keeps ringing!! 

It feels good to have a moment of success, doesn't it?

Three of our foster parents went to the shelter yesterday.  I had to laugh when I heard they were going together.  Three foster parents + shelter cats = Rescue insanity! But they did a great job and rescued 4 adorable cats that desperately needed out:

I'm pretty sure I'm going back to the shelter tomorrow.  Today is a Civic holiday in Ontario, so everything is closed.  Usually, there's no problem going to the shelter on a holiday, but David is home today so am still trying  being a good wife and hang out with him.

I've had a volunteer manning the phone lines this weekend for me (Thank you, Connie!) and I've spent a lot of time going through the minutiae of our foster list.  For every cat there is a statistic and I have to insure they are vaccinated, and older kittens are spayed/neutered at an appropriate time.  Making sure nobody falls through the cracks is paramount.  I wanted to touch base with some of the foster parents that have been quiet and let them know we appreciate them too.  It was nice to have some extra time to do so.

Some of the cats needed new pictures and I was suddenly aware that one of my own foster cats "Max" didn't have a decent picture on the site.  "No wonder nobody has called about him!"  So I got busy and started taking pictures. 

I wasn't happy with the first picture:

So I took another picture:

Hm....and I took ANOTHER picture:

Yes.  Max is one goofy lookin' guy.  I must've taken 50 pictures of him, and they ALL come out with this bug-eyed expression.  I'm thinking about changing his name on our website to "One Goofy Lookin' Guy".  Before anybody says "that's mean, Beth"!, let it be known  I was going to name my first born son that too...but his father refused.

I had some luxury of extra time this weekend, but unfortunately the cats at the shelter do not.   The protesters did their thing on Saturday.  Why on earth would they protest at a city building when it's closed?  Last time they did their protest at the shelter when it's closed.   I hope they felt like they did something worthwhile.  I'm sure it takes a lot of effort to do these rallies.  I just wish they'd go to the shelter, take a tour and rescue some damn cats. 

Tomorrow, it's back to life as I know it and I couldn't be happier.