96

My little "Barbie" was adopted last night.  She's still with me until her Forever family is back from Florida:

It's very hard for me to keep a foster cat after they've been adopted.  I don't want her to get any more settled in to our routine.  I agonize a little longer because my beloved foster cat is leaving soon.   

Barbie's adoption made  January's Adoption #96!!  I'm still astounded that we've adopted out almost 100 cats in a month.  Never have I seen such teamwork from a rescue before!  To give you an idea, I'm usually pretty excited when 50 cats are adopted in one month....but NINETY-SIX?? 

With all the bad stuff I often report, it's nice to have a little brag-fest.  :) 

A Rescue and a Rant

I was at the shelter later than usual this morning.  There seemed to be an overabundance of "things to do before I leave the house" tasks. 

The shelter was incredibly empty.  I should've counted, but there must've been...maybe 20 cats there.  I rescued a very sweet Tortoiseshell female with her 3 two week old nursing kittens.  Apparently, she had accidently suffocated one of the kittens right before I had arrived.  It was nice to rescue a Mom and kittens, something that seems so easily organized when there's no "kitten season desperation factor" involved. 

The SPCA (who shares a building with Animal Control) next door had already been into the shelter yesterday and "stickered" the young cats and kittens. (meaning that nobody else can take them)  Apparently, they still get cherry pick the cats and kittens before rescues.  I must say that although I'm happy when ANY cat is rescued out of Animal Control, I'm completely baffled that AC would allow the SPCA priority over rescues when these people only show up for cats once or twice A YEAR when things get slow over there. 

But the rescues - like mine - are there year around through the good, bad and ugly - Distemper, URI, etc.  We're without money, scrambling and working FOR FREE.  I would love to be able to go into the shelter and know a cute little litter of highly adoptable healthy orange kittens could be offered to a rescue (ANY rescue) BEFORE the paid staff of the SPCA who only show up during the good times.

So this summer when the SPCA takes a litter of highly adoptable kittens from their distraught nursing Mom and leaves the Mom to die, who do you think will be there to help her?  RIGHT - the cat rescues!!! 

I'm a lot more ticked about this than I'm writing here.  I'll end the rant...but I fume about this every year. 

On a happier note, I have a lovely family coming over to meet my foster kitten "Barbie".  I'll miss her.  :)

A Multi-Cultural World

I had to meet with a family today who wanted to give us her 5 kittens.  She was very nice, and apparently the cat got out before she could be spayed.  I don't believe in taking kittens from the public unless there's a plan in place for the Mom.  I've known one rescue in particular that takes kittens from some guy over and over again, but never offers to help him with the Mom cat.  That sounds very wrong to me. 

The kittens were dropped off at the vet clinic where I received a call a few moments later - the vet wanted to adopt one of the kittens!   Grrrrrrrrreat!   That's one adopted, 10 million to go!  :)

 I was talking with another foster Mom today about how difficult it is to screen adopters when I have trouble understanding their English.  Toronto area is a mega-multicultural area with so many different people from so many different walks of life.  Some accents are harder for me to understand than others.  Over the phone, there are some folks who don't sound like they're speaking English at all.  They want to adopt soooo badly, and they sound very frustrated as we both try to muddle through an adoption screening process. 

Every once in a while a get a phone call from a young child asking about adopting a cat.  They sound so cute and it's always for a non-English speaking parent.  I often wonder how what I say translates into their language.  When I screen someone to adopt one of our cats, I rely on the tone of voice and the manner in which they answer the questions to determine honesty and integrity.  I can't do that when I'm speaking with a 7 year old. (hmmm....or can I?) 

Then there are those people who speak English well, but some things don't translate the same way.  For example, I will often get the question:  "How much to buy?"  We all know that rescuers prefer the word "adopt", so I try not to bristle.  Nine times out of ten, the adopter is wonderful and I'm glad that I pressed on with adoption. 

I had no intention of rambling on about this today.  But those of you who read this blog know that I often don't plan what I'm going to write and just start typing.  That's not always a good thing :)

I'm happy that it's Friday and happier to learn that we just "sold out" of cats at one of our Petsmart locations.  (Did I just say, "Sold out"?)  LOL!   Happy Friday!

"Ann-Margaret"

The rescue received a call yesterday from a woman who has had a cat in her back yard for weeks.  Honestly, I probably receive 3 or 4 of these kind of calls daily.  But what inspired us to call her back was the fact that we have a volunteer who lives a few blocks from her AND this cat was dumped in the city where we rescue from the high-kill shelter.  It was only a matter of time that she would be there anyway.

Our volunteer graciously called the woman back and went out to meet this cat.  (Thank you, Shelley!)  My faith in human nature is slowly being restored, because this cat was described as "very sweet" and she was just that - VERY sweet!  The family had made a makeshift shelter for this girl out of a cardboard box, plastic garbage bags and blankets inside.  They obviously tried very hard to make her comfortable.  Our volunteer took her home where she's proven to be fine with other cats (bonus!) and seems very very happy to be inside:

I don't know why, but I want to call her Ann-Margaret.  (Most normal people would want to name her "Smudge") Her face tells me that she has a story to tell. I wish I knew it. I have a feeling she's a very interesting girl.

We have a new one for the list:  "Stupid Reason To Get Rid of Your Cat" .  Ready?  "It's not snuggly enough and it hurts my sons feelings when he tries to snuggle with the cat and the cat won't snuggle back with him." 

I'm flabbergasted .  Gratefully, I wasn't speechless when that EXACT stupid reason came across my desk a few days ago.  Holy shit - stupid people. 
We're finally winding down to the end of a ridiculously busy month. I think our volunteers are exhausted. (I know I am) I woke up this morning feeling that I was on the otherside of the flu bug, only to get dressed, and be completely exhausted after blow drying my hair. Obviously, my body disagrees with my recovery :)

Today is my 800th post. EIGHT-HUNDRED?!!  It's hard to believe I've had enough to say to make 800 blog posts.  Amazing that we "animal people" will read posts on cat poop and be able to relate.  :)

Anyhooooo......Ann-Margaret, you're a fortunate girl and we're happy to find you a great home.  Welcome, little girl.  "Please don't be pregnant...please don't be pregnant...."

From The Sick Room

There are very few things worse than a case of the stomach flu, but yesterday allowed me to reacquaint myself with my porcelain friend.  I won't go into details, because I'm still ridiculously sick, but am glad to still be alive this morning.  :)

While I was crawling into the washroom on my hands and knees, a volunteer was at the shelter rescuing "Josie" and 3 adorable kittens:

Josie had been at the shelter since before Christmas and was quite depressed.  I'm happy to say that Josie went from the shelter to an AMAZING Forever Home:

She waited a long time.  Doesn't this picture make her look like she's lived there forever?  It was taken shortly after her rescue.  Bless her little heart.

Going back to bed with happier thoughts of the day.

Some Happy Updates!

I woke up this morning thinking today would be insanely busy, but as the morning progressed I found my calendar slowly clearing.  I love it when that happens! 

An Update on Cutie Pie. You might remember this pitiful little sweetie:

He's quickly blossomed into a wonderful, loving housecat.  In fact, it's been reported that he's quite smitten with the foster Mom's dog.  We renamed him "Wesley", but I think he'll always be a "Cutie Pie" to me.

A few weeks ago, I put out an embarrassing post-Christmas plea for donations for Oscar, the Himalayan that needed eye surgery.   I'm thrilled to report that we ended up with enough donations to JUST cover his eye surgery!  Right now, we're praying that he won't need a second surgery.  We'll know in two weeks.  His eyes look GREAT:

(Once again, I can't figure out how this picture became rotated this way.  But you'll get the idea!)

I received a really neat letter in my regular mail this morning.  I thought the art of letter writing was long gone and was thrilled to receive a lovely 4 page handwritten letter from England this afternoon!  Jackie told me how she adopted a little black cat from the shelter that had been in a cage for 6 months and nobody wanted her.  Her pictures that she sent me spoke volumes for the happy ending that Kitty received with Jackie:

Thank you, Jackie for taking the time to write me.  It meant a lot and will remain in my scrapbook with other emails and letters that have great meaning to me. 

I love it when days that I dread turn out to be days that I treasure.  Thank you all for making that possible.

Friday!

It's been a long week without David.  Talking long distance and trying to communicate the day's events are never the same as in person.  He should arrive in the next hour or two and I know one little dilute calico named "Phoebe" that is anxious to see her Daddy.  :)

I've spent the day working on our affiliated veterinarian's list.  I think of our vets the way I did about a really terrific babysitter:   (I remember when my kids were little and I had a list of great babysitters that I'd guard with my life.)  I'm very private about who I work with and what I pay. I go through our vet bills with a fine tooth comb and am never surprised to see mistakes.  Some of our vets work with quite a few rescues, and I can't afford to pay another rescue's bills!  

Our adoption lines have slowed down a little bit.  It's a nice change as the first two weeks in January were insane.  I'm grateful that I was alone this week because I was on the phone for HOURS with adoption calls.

I decided to not call the CBC back after their request to talk about the Gas Station cats.  One person made a comment on that blog post that really resonated with me.  Last time I had any major publicity I didn't end up with donations or adoptions, but dozens and dozens of people wanting to dump their cats.  I thought about going on a local programme "Animal Housecalls".  I've done it before, but never had any more adoptions or donations - just people begging for help.  In fact, after that little blip in the local newspaper, I had 6 phone calls today from people wanting help with their cats - and I don't even take cats from the public.  Argh.

I've missed going to the shelter this week.  I think I went only once.  Our time at two Petsmarts are 10 days from closing out for the month,  (Thank God) so I need to insure proper foster space for cats that haven't been adopted.  It's been an awesome month at these two new locations and a very different experience from our last PS location.  Everybody is happy and relaxed. 

I have a corner in my office where I keep our rescue's banners, posters, etc.  I found Sherman in the best spot in the house:

"Baked Sherman"

Happy Friday to all....may you find YOUR special spot near the heater too. 

Happy Stuff

As I type this blogpost, Josh is on his way to his new foster home. I'm sure he's wondering what the heck is going on his life and what happened to his former life. I'm glad we were able to skip the shelter this time and give him a chance without ever having set foot in there.

Today was a far more mellow day for me - just providing some cat taxi service for a spay surgery.  Laundry was on the docket for the afternoon.  It never ceases to bewilder me that when I put out a laundry basket on the kitchen table, I end up with a line up a mile long to partake in "The Splendor That Is the Laundry Basket"

Everytime I walked by, there was a different cat in the basket and another one waiting to get in! 

You might remember an older orange girl that I rescued back in December.  Her name was Morla. I'm pleased to announce that Morla (now "Peachy") is Forever Home! In fact, she never made it on our rescue's website because her foster Mom fell in love with her:

Our little rescue was in the news again this morning:  Gas Station Cats Need Help.  The CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Centre) got wind of the article and called me this afternoon for an interview.  I'm definitely not a colony cat expert and feel extremely underqualified to comment.  But I can certainly comment on behalf of these cats and every cat that is homeless and needs help.  Let's hope the publicity gets these guys some help to be trapped, spayed, neutered and (hopefully) socialized. 

I forgot to mention that I been to the shelter yesterday and picked out a REALLY cute black cat for rescue:

The shelter staff made it possible for our handsome boy to be delivered to his foster home!  What service!  (It's such a shame that some people think that this shelter is all about "killing animals" and that nobody cares.)

Nice to have some happy things to write about today.  David is still out of town and the 10 minute long distance calls to Portugual we've been having just isn't the same as sitting by the fireplace at night and chatting about our days. 

Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone

I feel like a drenched rat today.  It started with meeting a woman who had been helping a small colony of cats who were living under a dumpster.  She had promised me that they were "Very Friendly" and about "10-12 weeks old". 

Truth?  They were 5 months old and I couldn't touch them.  I drove 40 minutes to get there this morning in dead stop traffic in the rain and pea soup fog.  I hate it when people lie.  I gave her some advice on trapping and some resources, but I really couldn't help her otherwise.  These kittens were on the cusp of adulthood and if she didn't get them in to be fixed within the next week or two, she would end up with hundreds of cats very quickly.  It was all very sad.  I'll think about their little faces when the weather gets colder later this week.

I received a call from a woman a few days ago who had been helping a cat left alone in an apartment after his owner died.  When I arrived to the modest building, she warned me:  "It's pretty bad in there."  But nothing could've prepared me for the smell.  It smelled like someone very very sick had lived there.  It smelled like death.  I'm not sensitive to smells, but I gagged when I walked in:



Even though I said he needed a name, I decided to call him "Josh".  He's being neutered at the vets tomorrow and he needs a foster home.  I introduced him to the vet clinic cat named 'Bob', and he was fine with him.  (Bonus!)

I really feel like I've been stepping out of my comfort zone with regards to rescue.  That's not always a good thing for me, but it's certainly been an education.  It's left me feeling really exhausted.  I can't really remember the last time I felt well rested.  I've been staying up too late while David is away watching reruns of, Hoarders and Intervention - ALL t.v. shows that David hates to watch.  He calls Monday night "Despair Night".  LOL

Early to bed tonight - it's going to be another early morning.... 

 

A Joy-Filled Weekend!

If I'm blogging on a Sunday night, David must be out of town.  He's in Portugual on business and I've spent a Sunday doing nothing but rescue-stuff.  As much as I hate to admit it, it's been wonderful to have some weekend freedom to do what I need to do for the rescue - guilt free!

I went to the shelter today and rescued a cute fluffy tabby kitten that I named "Smuckers", along with "Millie":

I also rescued a very handsome guy named "Malcom":

I can't imagine what this guy must've been thinking when I sang my Rescue Song:



It was very quiet at the shelter today.  There weren't many cats.  While I was there a tearful family was reunited with their beloved dog.  Such a joyful reunion!  I wish they could all be loved and missed like this dog. 

I'm VERY happy to say that we had 3 BLACK cat adoptions this weekend *AND* our little Twinkle was adopted into a magnificent home!   We've been having trouble keeping our Petsmart Adoption Centres "stocked" with cats, as adoptions have been incredible!  

What a joy-filled weekend!  I'm going back to the shelter tomorrow....there's a little girl that I can't stop thinking about and she needs me us. 

Ring-a-Ding

I had hoped that this morning's snowstorm would allow me some much needed administrative time for the rescue.  But it turned out that many people stayed home from work today and on the internet. 

Seriously, I don't think the rescue's phone line stopped ringing all day!  The adoptions have been amazing and it's been very exciting around here. 

On a sad note, I heard that a woman brought a VERY pregnant cat to the SPCA (The SPCA and Animal Control share a building...I rescue from Animal Control).  Not only was her cat very pregnant, but she also had a litter of nursing kittens with her. 

Read Carefully:  The SOCIETY FOR PREVENTION OF CRUELTY TO ANIMALS took the kittens away from the very pregnant Mom, and sent the woman to Animal Control with the pregnant Mom where she will be killed if not rescued.  She's an "owner surrender", so the shelter is under no obligation to keep the Mom for 3 days. 

Honestly.  Why do they call themselves the SPCA?  (A City Pound is different.  They can't say "no". ) In all fairness, I'm not an expert on the SPCA - but they seem very poorly managed to say the least.  I hear so much bullshit, that it makes me wonder why the crazy protesters are bothering with a city pound and not asking questions of the SPCA.

I'm having a hard time concentrating on this blog post.  The phone has not stopped ringing and continues to interrupt my concentration.  This might be an Advil night :)

Happy Friday :)

A Clean Refrigerator and Me

I cleaned out my refrigerator today.  I can't tell you how good it feels to have a clean refrigerator.  Doing animal rescue doesn't usually leave time for the little things like clean refrigerators, clean baseboards or a swept front porch.  Between a clean refrigerator and a Weight Watchers meeting, I'm feeling like a wild woman. 

The update from Cutie Pie's foster Mom is all good! She said he was the perfect little guy and told a rather endearing story:

"I have two litter boxes with lids in my basement but decided to take one lid off just in case Cutie Pie isn't used to using a litterbox with a lid. I lay it on the floor. I woke up this morning and brought some food for him in the basement. When I called out his name, there was no response. I couldn't find him. I started to panic a bit until I looked over and found him curled up in a ball in the litterbox lid lying on the floor. I ALMOST STARTED CRYING! It was like he was so used to being in that little house that Andrea made."

Bless his little heart.  :)

I've been trying harder to reach out for help which isn't always easy for me to do.  I'm going to have to remember how I felt taking the time to clean my refrigerator AND go to a Weight Watchers meeting on the same day.  Asking volunteers take over some of the day-to-day tasks have definitely made my load a lot lighter.

Apparently, they've cancelled the "vet day" at the shelter tomorrow.  Looks like we have some additional time to rescue some more cats!  I *almost* went out there today after receiving a call from a friend-in-rescue who wanted a cute orange guy rescued.  I had a brief moment of relief when I saw the rainy weather and was grateful I didn't have to leave the house this afternoon.

....as the fire crackles in the fireplace, I can't help but think of the ones that are out in the cold rain tonight, or in a cold steel cage.  Maybe I should've gone to the shelter today afterall.

"Cutie Pie"

Volunteers who do "stray cat rescuing" amaze me.  When I go into the shelter, I have a captive audience.  The cats must deal with me and I'm able to fairly easily assess them for their personality, etc.  But people who rescue cats from the streets have fewer options than I do.

I received an email from a friend-in-rescue the other day.  Her house is full and she's been feeding a little guy she named "Cutie Pie" at her front porch.  CP is about 7 months old and despite her best efforts at finding his home, apparently it was just another "discarded cat".  She had built a shelter for him over the past few weeks on her front porch:

It has a warming disc in it and a flaps to keep wind out.  But with the bad weather coming in, she sent me some pictures with hope I could help him.

Let's put this on the record:  I do not like taking cats from the public.  There.  I said it.  In the 20 years that I've been doing this, I've found that the public often lies about the health and personality of the cats.  Very few people tell you that the cat pee's on the bed, etc. 

That being said, Stray Rescuers often lose sight over what "Friendly" really means.  They're so used to being hissed at, growled at and ran from.  To me, "Friendly" means I can pick up the cat, hold him and kiss him. 

So when I heard that CP was VERY friendly I was cautious. 

My rescuer friend wasn't home, but I drove into the city anyway with Temptation Treats in hand to try to lure this guy from his warm hidey spot. 

Temptation Treats were not necessary.

This guy came bolting out of his warm hiding spot and started rubbing around my ankles.  He was purring.  He was chirping at me.  I leaned down to pick him up and kissed him and fell in love.  He was adorable and exactly as my friend had described:

There's no doubt in my mind that this handsome boy with 4-white feet would've been killed on the street or was within 30 days of becoming sexually mature and making kittens, fighting and becoming just another street cat.

I really feel like I did something today by saving this guy.  Sure, rescuing from the shelter is important too.  Those cats have NO chance.  But I honestly don't think this guy had much of a chance either.  I dropped him off at our vet for a neuter and I'm hoping a foster Mom calls me back shortly about taking him.  Either that or he's coming to the House of the Discarded (my house) tonight. 

I sort of hope he comes to my house.  I really like this guy:

Mutant Ninja Himmie

First, I want to thank those of you who donated to help "Oscar the Himalayan".  His surgery is done and I'm betting he's feeling better now that his eye lashes aren't digging into his corneas:

(I tried and tried to fix that picture so it wasn't upside down, but for some reason, my photo software wasn't coooperating.)

The poor little mutant guy also had undescended testicles, so he had a spay surgery at the same time.  Thank you all so much for your help.  I did receive the vet bill today and almost fainted.  :)

I went to the shelter today and was happy to find that there were very few cats.  They euthanized one poor soul this morning because he was quite ill. 

I rescued a little tortie girl today.  Another rescue took her 2 sisters, but she was left behind. Their owner had died and the family left the three of them:

She's VERY sweet and I'm so glad I took her.  Poor little angel had been there since before Christmas.  She was kneading in the air while she looked at me.  I couldn't leave her.

My January has turned out as chaotic as I had expected.  Being in two Petsmarts at the same time wasn't the best idea I ever had, but we're managing.   David goes out of town for a week next week and quite frankly, I'm glad he's going.  It'll give me some much needed "without guilt" working time for the rescue.  I've been glued to my desk until 9 pm every evening making calls - each time feeling soooo guilty that David's being neglected.  He never complains and maybe I should be worried about that.  :)

Thank you again for all your help with our little Himalayan Wonder Boy.  The vet said he might need a second surgery, but we won't know for another 4 weeks.  Ugh. 

Oscar The Himalayan

Last week as I pulled into the shelter parking lot, I saw a woman carrying a little bundle wrapped in blankets.  I'm always on alert for that sort of thing, and I had sort of hoped it was a baby and not a cat. 

But it was a cat.

I bolted up to the woman (probably startling her) and we walked inside together.  She carefully unwrapped the "package" and I found a very small Himalayan.  He had an obvious eye infection and I carefully opened his mouth to see VERY VERY tiny white teeth.  This Himmie is a kitten!  Turns out, he's about 4 or 5 months old of a purring love machine.  He was kneading in the air and I found myself falling in love with this sweetie. 

One of the staff members at the shelter happily took him home to foster (Thanks, Tiff!), and named him "Oscar".   We figured getting his eyes fixed up would be a *snap*. 

*sigh*....no such luck.

His foster Mom took him to the vets and found that Oscar had "the worst case of Entropic eye lashes" the vet had ever seen.  Entropion is when the eye lids are turned inwards and the eyelashes rub against the cornea of the eyes.  It's painful and requires expensive surgery.  You can't just pluck out the eyelashes because they grow back.

 No wonder he was being dumped at the shelter.  The owner probably got the bad news about his eyes and couldn't afford the surgery. 

Of course, I'm taking on a special needs guy just when Christmas bills are coming in for people and asking for donations feels almost....embarrassing.  But I'm going to HAVE do it...

He's currently at our vet clinic waiting for his surgery.   Look how cute he is!!!!!!!   

Friday In The Land of the Discarded

It was another busy day in the Land of the Discarded.  I left early this morning to do another rescue at the shelter and left with "Walter" a fluffy adult brown tabby.  (His picture has been deleted off Petfinder or I would've posted it)  I quickly fell in love with a 5 month old grey kitten that I rescued too. 

I was saddened to find that they had euthanized a declawed boy named "Perry" stating that he was sick.  There were very few cats at the shelter.  Not a happy place to be after they killed so many.  Lots of empty cages being cleaned.  I hope they died peacefully and once again, I found myself apologizing for being human.

There's a senior guy at the shelter named "Herman":

Oh. my. gosh.  He's SOO sweet!  I'm sure he should've been euthanized by now, but he's obviously become a shelter favourite.  He's not THAT senior - 10 years old or so.  LOVE him! 

Maybe I had orange on the brain today, but I also loved a cutie named "Cheetoh":

I was surprised to find out he was an unneutered male cat.  He didn't have that beat-up-lookin-for-girls look.  I have a feeling he has been indoors and somebody got tired of him spraying and dumped him.  He's SWEET and doesn't know why he's there. 

My own foster guy "Lloyd" is very sick with Calici virus.  He's pitiful and I keep finding him hiding with goopy eyes and drooling.  He's been to the vet so there's not much left to do but make sure he's hydrated.  In the meantime, he looks awful.  I keep warming up Fancy Feast Grilled Tuna (aka: "Kitty Crack") to keep him interested in food. 

I'm glad it's Friday.  For me, Friday isn't much different from any other day of the week because it's a 7 day per week volunteer job.  But David's home and I've got some support with day-to-day household stuff.  I think I need something fun to do - even if it's just a movie or some shopping.  Maybe I'll leave my cell phone home for a few hours.  (or maybe not.)  :)

Happy Friday!

Mittens: An "After" Story

Over the New Year's holiday I received an email that made my heart skip a beat.  Months ago, I blogged about a cat named Mittens.

Her situation was dire.  She was a big girl and needed help immediately.  After seeing my urgent blog post, she was rescued a few days later by Forgotten Ones Cat Rescue.  I was over-the-moon happy and I figured that was the last I would hear about Mittens. 

Then I got the following email:  (posted with permission and edited for length)

"Dear Beth,
It took four months to find you.
I am sure that you remember Mittens to whom you gave another chance by posting a very touching story about her on your blog.

I am her mom.

Long story short, to show my gratitude to you in person I went to SPCA to meet you up with a bag of gifts the other day. I've been preparing that moment for weeks thinking about the
moment that I finally hug you and telling you how your writing makes my commitment for Mittens ever strengthen. I even saved your posting in my phone and revisit quite often and I
have to confess that I just can't shed my tears each time!...Mittens, now Leena is doing great, happy and content.
She is cared and loved dearly and now the gem of my life. Just let you know that you gave me a tremendous gift and that she won't be sent any where ever!

She is my family.

She fills our empty nest...
Now she's snoring beside me while I am writing to you. She's taking a nap on her favorite spot, a window seat. Her snoring even sounds lovely!

Many many thanks and our love to you.
What you are doing has a great impact on people like me. You not just save cats but hearts and souls.
Because of Leena I now see all the animals with warm heart and in more compassionate way. She enlightens our daily lives and enriches colors our routines.

With Love I hope you have a great 2012 and health and sanity to continue your good deed.

Leena's mom"

Just copying that email makes me cry!  I think I've read it a hundred times since it arrived.  Then came the pictures:

I didn't need a Christmas present this year.  This was by far THE BEST present that anybody could've ever given me.  Thank you to Forgotten Ones Cat Rescue for doing the hard part - rescuing this sweet girl for somebody else to love.

Whiny Wednesday

I think I've been burning the candle at both ends since before Christmas.  I've been waking up feeling stressed and tired and my day hasn't started yet.  Today was another pick up/drop off sort of day, but I was still gone all day! 

To those of you who work 8 hour days, you might say "Quit yer whinin',Beth".  But after the long rescue days, I also have long evenings filled with phone calls, emails, and site updates.  Since I've been typing this blog post, I've answered the phone 4 times.  Crazy stuff!  Our volunteers have been completely wonderful and going above and beyond the call of duty to help me.  I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't have the kind of help that I have. 

One of our volunteers has pneumonia and went to the shelter for me today  (Thank you, Shelley!) to save "Peggy":

Peggy was considered "Special Needs" as she is missing her left rear foot.  I was afraid because of this disability the city would see fit to euthanize her.  She is absolutely darling and was an instant success after rescue today:

I knew this month would be crazy with going into two NEW Petsmart stores for the same month.  But I didn't bet on being sick.  I'm on my 2nd round of antibiotics and now I've got a swollen right eye - (think Popeye) and am on antibiotic drops for that.  Good Grief.  Even my haircut and colour today didn't improve my appearance.  :)

Anyhoooo....don't worry about me.  (I'm FINE, Mom!)  It's rescue business as usual.  Just moving a little slower and going to bed a little earlier.  I really love my life...really!!!

Another rescue tomorrow....

Catching Up....

It was the kind of day where I put my coat on and left the house at 10:30.  I didn't take it off until 4:30 this afternoon.  I never stopped today!  From the foster parent's home, to Petsmart, to the shelter, to the vets, to the pet store for cat food, to a doctor's appointment, to the pharmacy.  I didn't have lunch until I dropped off a cat at a foster home, and she had turkey rice soup for me - to go!  Bless her heart...it was the only food I had all day!  (Note to my family:  Dinner is going to be late and I dare you to complain about it!

Whew....(insert deep breath here)

Happy New Year to all!  Last year, on January 3rd I officially opened my rescue.  It's been a year, and we've had 495 adoptions during the course of the year.  That's a staggering number to me.  I never thought that our little rescue would find homes for almost 500 cats!  I don't know what I expected, but I don't think I expected that many!  I had sent out a "Merry Christmas" email to our foster parents the week before Christmas and announced 481 adoptions - but we ended up with 14 more adoptions before the end of the year!

Yesterday, we opened at TWO Petsmart stores.  Thank heavens for our volunteers - I couldn't come close to doing what they did yesterday!  We ended up with NINE adoptions between both stores on the first day!

Thanks for allowing me a brag-fest today.  I feel very blessed.  There are rescues who do more, and rescues who do less - it's all about the cats.  When one finds a home, I'm happy. 

We rescued a very cute guy that I'm dying to name "Mack".  His name is "Freddy" at the shelter, but I definitely think this handsome guy looks like a "Mack":
 

Happy One Year Anniversary to our little rescue, and Happy Four Year Anniversary to my blog.  I'm so proud of everything we've accomplished - the good, the bad, and everything in between.  But most importantly,  thank you for taking the Rescue Rollercoaster Ride with me...