House of the Discarded

Peace

2012-02-02T17:07:00.000-05:00

I was back at the new shelter today with 2 excited foster parents. Between us, we rescued seven more cats - for a total of 14 cats over the past 24 hours. The shelter staff were so excited and it was wonderful to be treated like *a somebody*. I managed to grab a couple of pictures of the new rescues:

I left one cat at the shelter as the city offered to spay her for me. (Yes, you read that correctly) I'll pick her up on Monday.

So I'm sitting here listening to a little bit of old Burt Bacharach with a fresh haircut and feeling a nice sense of peace for a change. I know that this kind of peace is short-lived, but I'm going to savour every moment of it.

New Kid On the Block

2012-02-01T19:39:00.000-05:00

Today I rescued 7 cats from a shelter that I had never been to before.   It was a strange experience to be at a shelter where I didn't know the staff or the routines. But like any shelter, the cats needed homes and the staff were thrilled to see a rescue come in to help.

At the shelter where I usually rescue, I could almost count the minutes until a newly rescued cat got sick.  I know where the washroom is, and what staff member was helpful and who wasn't.

This shelter allowed me to come in and rescue after calling people in the industry and finding out that our rescue is reputable and I'm not a hoarder.   I was impressed that they cared enough about their cats to find out where they were going and what I was doing with them.

It's still too new to say that I can continue to rescue there, but so far it feels like a decent partnership where there isn't a bunch of political bullshit that is preventing me from actually rescuing cats.

Sadly, there seems to be more than enough cats everywhere for everybody to rescue. Believe me, I'd be happy to be out of a volunteer job. "Sorry Beth, but there are no cats for you to rescue today. Come back next week."

Tonight, there are 7 more cats that are out of a cage and into a loving foster home. I'm going back tomorrow to rescue a few more cuties that need us.

This time? I'm going to find out where the bathroom is.

96

2012-01-31T16:39:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-30T15:47:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-27T15:57:00.000-05:00

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"

2012-01-26T16:25:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-25T16:14:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-01-23T16:00:00.001-05:00

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!

2012-01-20T17:10:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-17T15:48:00.000-05:00

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!

2012-01-15T20:00:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-13T16:21:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-12T17:17:00.000-05:00

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"

2012-01-11T15:18:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-10T17:06:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-08T11:33:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-06T17:15:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-05T15:31:00.000-05:00

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

2012-01-04T17:19:00.000-05:00

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....

2012-01-03T16:51:00.000-05:00

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...

More Advil, Please

2011-12-30T17:30:00.001-05:00

I've been battling a nasty sinus infection and haven't felt up to snuff to really write. I used to think people who whined about a sinus infection were wimps - until I actually got one. Holy Moly...

The past two days have been spent organizing the Petsmart Adoption Centres and volunteers beginning on Monday. I desperately need to get to the shelter for a rescue but have been too sick and too busy to get out that way.

I enjoyed speaking with one of the Directors of another rescue today. We exchanged war stories and found that we had lots in common. I always go with caution with another rescue because not all rescues are as kind as they make themselves out to be. Some can be downright nasty.

My latest foster "Lloyd" (also known as "Donnor" on the shelter website) is doing great - he's a great fit with my gang.

After posting about the euthanasia of "Noel" on Wednesday's blog post, I got a lot of flak from the Crazy Protesters. Instead of being compassionate, I received not-so-anonymous crappy messages. Way to be supportive fellow "rescuers"! It's easy to pass judgment when you sit behind a computer signing senseless online petitions instead of actually doing something.

I may have felt crummy, but that didn't stop our volunteers who wanted to go to the shelter and rescue several adults! "Benji" and "Joe" are now safe for those who follow the shelter's Petfinder page:

Benji Before.....

Benji After:

For those who didn't get enough cuteness from those pictures....here's a little more of Benji right after his rescue:

Be safe on New Years tomorrow evening! I think David and I are going to do "The Old Folk's New Years Eve" and stay in with a bottle of Sparkling Cider. I couldn't be happier.

"Noel"

2011-12-28T17:15:00.000-05:00

I had planned on blogging tonight about the joy and fun that I'm having with our new foster kitten, Lloyd. David discovered him on a midnight kitchen run with the sink sponge in his mouth. He was having a great time.

But instead, I'm incredibly sad and angry.

I tried so hard to get my sweet white declawed boy out of the shelter. But I didn't try hard enough:

They euthanized him over Christmas because he was sick. I feel like there are so many things I did wrong .

I should've taken him when I saw him.
I should've taken him when I saw that he was getting sick.
I should've advocated for him even more.

Today? I had a foster parent contact me that wanted to foster him - even if he was sick.
Today? I had an adopter that wanted to meet him tomorrow.

I'm so angry today I can hardly write.

I'm sorry Noel. I let you down. The "should haves" and "could haves" are really going to haunt me tonight.

It pisses me off that I have to shoulder this burden when his family dumped him there. I'm sure they had a great holiday while their cat sat in cold cage alone and sick. I'm grateful that the shelter worker saw that he was suffering and sent him to the vet where he could be humanely euthanized.

I'm sorry that I didn't get a chance to save his life. I didn't do enough for him. I'll probably take a Benadryl so that I can sleep tonight.

Normalizing

2011-12-27T16:02:00.000-05:00

Is there anybody who celebrates Christmas who doesn't feel totally and utterly behind on everything right now? I'm embarrassed to say that I'm wearing yesterday's socks, there are 34 unread emails, 6 adoption calls (yay!), and a half dead Christmas tree in my living room.

Having David home today really put a crimp in my plans. I thought he was going back to work today so I tried not to look too panicked when he said he had the day off. He gummed up my plans by declaring me a "Cat Carrier Hoarder" and counting 23 cat carriers in the basement. Does he not know that I have more important things on my plate than to dispense with cat carriers? Apparently not, because while I was on a phone call, he loaded up my SUV with half the carriers and demanded we donate or return them to the shelter. "Do NOT pull a Ricky Ricardo on me at this time of year!"

(*cough*) So we went to the shelter. Actually...I dropped HIM off at an electronics (geek) store, and I went to the shelter. I smiled smugly as I loaded up a VERY cute little guy that the shelter named "Donnor":

His new name is "Lloyd" and he's happily exploring my washroom. :)

My Christmas decorations took 4 hours to put up and 15 minutes to put away. Except for the half dead tree in the livingroom, my house looks fairly normal now - and I'm feeling more normal too.

Call me a Scrooge, but every year I feel the need to put away Chrismtas decorations as soon as Christmas is over. It's my way of saying, "On to bigger and better things!" But truthfully, the cats really terrorize my Christmas stuff and I'm sick of looking at cat hair on my Christmas placemats, and my decorations dangling precariously off my tree.

Tomorrow, David's back to work and the weather is calling for snow and ice tonight. I'm looking forward to staying home, catching up on everything as we go into TWO Petsmart Adoption Centres on January 2nd.

I promise to be wearing clean socks tomorrow.

Wishin' For Holiday Miracles

2011-12-23T17:31:00.000-05:00

This will probably be my last posting before Christmas, and I wanted to give a quick update on Twinkle. If you haven't followed Twinkle's plight, I encourage you to read about her. I'm sad to say that Twinkle ended up needing her leg amputated. If you've recently donated money to our rescue, please know that most of the donations went to her care:

To add insult to injury, the poor little monkey ended up with a terrible upper respiratory infection that she got from the vets office. Poor little monkey! Twinkle is on the road to recovery and will be available for adoption soon. Her foster Mom has been a rock star with her care and as you can see by Twinkle posing on the kitchen table - she's been a bit spoiled too. (As she should be!)

Yesterday, I blogged about my latest foster kitten "Holly". I'm not sure why I bothered to name her, because the little sweetie was adopted this morning by a terrific family! She's already ruling the roost and has a new tabby "brother" adopted from another rescue this morning too.

I sent out a Christmas email to our foster parents and volunteers this afternoon. I was really at a loss for words (unusual for me!) to express my appreciation for everything they've done for me, the rescue and the cats. I've always found it strange that dozens of people from different socio-economic levels, education and personalities can come together with great enthusiasm for the mutual love of saving cats.

I wish every cat could have someone advocating for him or her. Wouldn't that be a beautiful thing?

Have a blessed holiday and thank you for reading. :)

A Holly Christmas

2011-12-22T15:19:00.000-05:00

Now I can see why some people wait to do their Christmas shopping until the week before Christmas. Wow...the shopping is awesome and I definitely got into the Christmas spirit. I had some last minute odds and ends to shop for, along with Christmas Eve dinner. I've been gone all day. I'm sweaty, my hair is frizzy, and my wallet empty.

Bring on Christmas!

My new foster kitten "Holly" has been a pure joy. She was never quarantined and immediately out with everybody:

If you're exhausted, tired and need a smile, I hope you enjoy the following video that I took this morning of Holly:

I've watched it three times and I'm so grateful she's safe and at my house. I can't imagine why someone didn't want this little angel.

Merry Christmas, Holly...it's going to be a good one for you this year, I promise.

A Rescue and A Rant

2011-12-21T14:23:00.000-05:00

I drove out to the shelter this afternoon with fog and drizzle and was greeted with some cheery artwork on the door to the cat area. On one hand, I felt happy that there was some cheer within an otherwise gloomy area, but mainly felt sad:

1. There's a picture of cats near a Christmas tree. The cats in this shelter don't have a chance to enjoy the holidays. They're killed if not rescued. There are no adoptions.

2. A Mom cat with kittens???? C'MON - how about a sign that says, "All we want for Christmas is to be spayed or neutered!" That's a message that needs to be sent to the public who comes in looking for their cats.

Yesterday, I was at the shelter when a couple of young guys (20-something) came in looking for their cat. I was excited to learn they were looking for a black cat! (Yahoo...somebody is missing their BLACK cat, right?) The staff member points out a black cat and then says, "Couldn't be that one - that cat is neutered." In other words...these guys were looking for their unfixed male cat. Gee. I wonder why he ran off?

Can we educate these ~~dipshits~~ guys please?????

I came home with a 12 week old little girl that I thought was pretty cute:

I can't think of a creative name for her. I used the name "Holly" because it's Christmas season, but am game to hear some good, creative, cute names for her too. Sherman was missing little Chester and seemed happy to have a new friend to terrorize. :)

The white guy that I spoke of yesterday is still there. He now has an Upper Respiratory Infection and has been moved into the sick room. He still got up and looked at me with great hope when I walked in. My heart broke. He's going to need some nursing care and some love.

The Rescue List

2011-12-20T16:31:00.000-05:00

It's rare that I show up to the shelter with the intention of rescuing 3 cats and leaving with only 1 cat. Walking out the door with 1 cat and two empty carriers wasn't the plan of the day.

I had a specific agenda today. I had space for 1 teenage male kitten for myself, 1 longer haired friendly cat who likes other cats and dogs for another foster home, and a "rescue anybody as long as he/she gets along with other cats and is adoptable" for somebody else. Going into the shelter with that kind of list is usually pretty easy, but it wasn't the case today.

I must've walked up and down the aisles and the cat rooms for 45 minutes. I'd hold up one cat to another cat. "Doesn't like other cats" or "Getting sick." or "Possibly pregnant." or a big "Caution" sticker on their cage. I finally settled on one sweet fluffy girl who had been at the shelter long enough to probably get sick:

Dalilah seemed great with other cats and I had hopes she would be OK with the foster parent's busy house.

Deciding on who to rescue today was unusually agonizing for me. Some of the cats looked so depressed they didn't lift their head to greet me. There was an ADORABLE declawed white guy in Room #2. I called one foster Mom from the shelter who has a love for white cats. Everytime I'd walk into the room, he'd get up and looked so expectant that I was his family coming to save him. "I have to get him out of there."

Some people don't realize that I can't just start loading up cat carriers with rescues. Foster parents rely on me to make the right choices for their own cats, dogs and family. If fostering is fun, they'll continue to do it. I can't guarantee that it's always fun - often it isn't - but I can't just say a "Hail Mary" and load up a shitload of cats for rescue. Our rescue would crumble under the weight.

I still have Christmas shopping to do and an important doctor's appointment that I can't miss tomorrow. I've got a lot of juggling to do but would really like to put "rescue more" on my list. Unfortunately, it can't be at the top of the list and I hate that.

Saying Goodbye

2011-12-19T19:26:00.000-05:00

It doesn't seem fair that my daughter went home tonight AND my foster kitten "Chester" was adopted on the same day. It's left me feeling rather gloomy and sentimental tonight. Truthfully, Chester went to a wonderful home - kids, loving parents and he played quietly and gently with their 4 year old daughter.

Almost 10 years ago, I was bottlefeeding kittens at the same time my daughter left for University. I couldn't bear to part with BOTH the kittens and my daughter so I ended up adopting the kittens. Looks like things haven't changed too much. It was tough saying goodbye to my Chester:

I hope he has a beautiful life with this family. He's going to be an "only cat", and for that I'm always a little resistant. Chester plays beautifully by himself and seeks out human attention far more than the other cats. I think he'll be 100% fine.

Sooooo my dear Chester: I'll miss you little guy. Tomorrow I'm going to the shelter to find somebody else that needs me. You were really the best little house guest I could've ever had. Love you....

Friday Nesting

2011-12-16T08:58:00.000-05:00

It's always a happy day when my daughter from Southern California comes to visit. I pick her up from the airport today at 3:30 and I feel like I should be motherly and baking something. (Maybe I'll just squirt Gingerbread Febreeze through the house.) As I laid in bed this morning, I realized that this will be our last Christmas together sans husband. What a way to start the day with memories of a little girl in red Mary Jane's and tears streaming down my face. UGH.

I took a picture of The Sherminator last night as ~~we've~~ I officially decided to make him A Turner. David still doesn't know we adopted him, but his picture is off the rescue's website and he's not leaving.

Sherman was SO happy and thanked me profusely by having his own little party in my guest washroom:

My youngest son promised that when he moves out he's taking Sherman with him. Where have I heard that before?

Surprisingly, the rescue's phones are still ringing and we have adoptions still pending. I figured that we'd slow down by now, but that doesn't seem the case. I guess everybody wants to give a homeless cat a home for the holidays. It'll be interesting to see how busy we are in January.

Yesterday, we received a call from the shelter asking us to take a 4 week old kitten that had just arrived. Many thank you's to the volunteer who ran out to the shelter to pick up this little dude. His name is "Tiny Tim" and I'm sure you'll agree that it's a name that's entirely appropriate:

Wow. I'm totally having an estrogen-filled-maternal-nesting-thing going on today. If I could burp that kitten and put a diaper on him, I probably would.

O' Happy Days!

2011-12-14T13:51:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since I felt like I was really *doing something* at the shelter. Yes, I do rescue from there but sometimes I leave with cats and feel like I haven't done all that I could do. Today was really a terrific rescue day.

It isn't often that I get to rescue a BLACK SENIOR cat and I'm pleased to say that "Rosie" is now Forever Home:

Rescuing a black senior cat feels like I rescued 10 cats. This sweetheart really beat the odds. She's a sassy thing and I think her new Mom was thrilled with her.

I also rescued a couple more cuties "Beau" and "Carli"

I also rescued "Snickers" who is only about 12 weeks old:

I think the vet was smitten with Snickers! He rubbed his little black lips all over the vet's face. It was SOO cute.

The best rescue of the day was "Morla". Morla was brought into the shelter with the tips of her ears burned off by frostbite. I'm sure you'll hear the enthusiasm in my voice today:

I wish every day could feel like this one!

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

2011-12-13T16:19:00.000-05:00

Today was a bit of a down day (NOT "downer) for me. My sons borrowed my car and I found myself with an unexpected "admin day". I'm terribly behind on my tax receipts, so today was the day!

I received an email today about a cat from the shelter named "Bubba":

What the picture doesn't show you is that Bubba is a "two-hander" - he weighs at least 20 pounds. So when an adoption call came in for Bubba I was quick to tell them that he was "full figured" first. That didn't bother Jean! She loves big cats, and after being approved for adoption by me, she drove to the shelter within the hour and met Bubba. Bubba curled his cute little fat head in her hand and it was *love* and Bubba had a home.

Tomorrow, I'm picking up a little girl named "Morla":

Morla is about 4-5 years old and came into the shelter with the tips of her ears off from frostbite. I think she has a sad story to tell, but you wouldn't know it. She's genuinely a sweetheart. I think I want to rename her "Peachy". Somehow, that feels better than "Morla".

I asked a foster Mom to rescue the little black and white girl that I posted about yesterday:

I'm happy to report that "Tippy" is snuggled and enjoying every moment of happiness she deserves in her new foster home:

Look at her paw - she's kneading in happiness!!! Many thank you's to "Beth C" who ran out this morning to pick her up.
It was a busy day today for this rescuer who never left the house - but in all honesty, I don't think I'd be happy as an "Armchair Rescuer".

Bonafide Pity Party!

2011-12-12T17:15:00.000-05:00

I went back to the shelter today to rescue an adorable grey brother and sister pair that I saw on Sunday. The sister was missing one eye and seemed to be having a hard time in the shelter. I was glad I took them.

A sweet 5 month old girl caught my eye today too:

When I picked her up, she started nursing in my neck....*sigh*....I'll have to go back again and get her. I don't know where I'm going to put her - but I'm gunna git her :)

I walked through the "sick room" today and wondered who wouldn't be there tomorrow after the vet leaves. Nobody looked terribly sick - just the usual Upper Respiratory stuff, but they all looked desperate and my heart hurt when I left. The little black and white girl was in that room, and I put a "HOLD" on her. Hopefully, she'll be there tomorrow.

Sorry for the doom and gloom. I'm not sure why - our adoptions have been awesome (we had FIVE cats adopted TODAY!) and I've had very little cat-related drama lately. It's sad that I've been letting some ~~do nothing idiots~~ people get to me - people who don't understand animal rescue and the decisions that have to be made for the greater good of the rescue. There have been some days recently where I feel very fragile and am very aware that I'm merely just a another VOLUNTEER. I don't deserve to be dragged through the coals - certainly not by people whom have no clue what it means to run an all volunteer animal rescue.

Whew...that last paragraph felt GOOOOD to write. :)

So I'll go put dinner in the oven and keep pressing forward. There are Christmas plans to be made and my daughter arrives from California on Friday for a short 3 days. Certainly nobody can find fault in me for trying to have some semblance of a life.

An Update On Monty

2011-12-11T20:04:00.000-05:00

Monty was a sad little guy when he was rescued. He was placed into several foster homes and seemed to have trouble adjusting. Our experienced foster Mom Michelle M. took on Monty and loved and nurtured him for a year. During the year, two potential adopters came to meet him and on both occasions Monty headed for
the hills and hid under the foster Mom's bed and wouldn't come out. It's always a sad moment for any foster parent when you have to dig a unhappy cat out from under the bed. "How will Monty ever find a Forever Home?"

Until one day...

Bernice called the rescue line and was interested in adopting Monty. As an adoption screener you want to give people an accurate picture of the cat. So I was thrilled that Bernice wanted to meet Monty!! Understandably, Bernice wasn't sure
about our orange boy. But Monty was sure about HER! He came over to her and stretched out on his side. "Pick me! Pick me!" Monty seem to exclaim. Bernice took Monty home and we held our collective breaths that it was a Forever Home.
The next day Bernice wrote to say how much she had loved him. After all that time, Monty flourished and we could once again breathe.

One of the greatest moments of my cat rescue "Career" is receiving a video of our "sad little boy Monty". A very thoughtful adopter sent Michelle the following video and with her permission I'm posting it here.

Many hugs and thank you's to Michelle and to Monty's new Mom "Bernice" for giving Monty an opportunity to know love again.

You make my life meaningful.

Something To Think About

2011-12-09T17:30:00.000-05:00

I was listening to Christmas Carols on a Buffalo, New York radio station. They were having a HUGE adoption and donation blitz for the local SPCA. It was impressive. They adopted 52 cats today and the public was really rallying around them. After every 3rd Christmas Carol, they would do a public service announcement about the SPCA.

There was definitely a twinge of jealousy happening. I thought about our cats and wished we had something similar. Then the Adoption Coordinator said, "Just $25.00 per month does so much for the animals..." and I stopped.

Sure. $25.00 X 12 months is awesome! But this shelter has EMPLOYEES. They have paid people to take care of the animals. What's the percentage of your $25.00 that really goes to the animal's care?

Yes, I know this is a touchy subject and I expect to get some crappy emails.

My own, sweet parents give to their local SPCA in Seattle Washington. They adopted a dog from a small dog rescue but STILL give to the big ol' mighty SPCA. They don't send it to our little rescue. I work 50+ hours per week for free and there are MANY MANY other people who do what I do and barely scrape by to pay their vet bills.

So where am I going with this? Give to the LITTLE rescues. Your money will go so much further! It won't go to somebody's salary. It'll go to vet bills. I have nothing against the big shelters who are trying to help the animals. Honest to goodness, I don't. But if you have $25.00 and want to spend it somewhere - give it to a small rescue! ALL of the money will go to the animals.

I rejoice every time I get a donation. *I* get the money. Not a paid administrator or staff member. It's just me and I shout out to David over the top of my computer screen, "Oh thank God...we can pay the vet this month!"

It's not just me - there are thousands of us out there working the work...walking the walk...and kissing the kitties. We're doing it all and making it happen - for the cats.

Afternoons at the Shelter

2011-12-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

Going to the shelter in the afternoon is SO completely different than in the morning. In the morning, the cats are noisy and desperate. They haven't eaten for 24 hours and although the staff is busy cleaning the cages, many of the cages are still disheveled with empty food bowls as the staff move through the rooms.

In the afternoon, the cats have been fed and are quiet. Many of them are curled up asleep in their litterboxes and others come up to the front of their cages yawning lazily. I have mixed feelings about the afternoon - the vet comes tomorrow and the cages are marked for euthanasia. Walking through the rooms and knowing that the sweet furry faces are facing their last hours on earth is horrendous.

I went in today to rescue two cats and left with five. Two of the kittens remain in my older son's room - The Land of Dirty Underwear - and the other three are being delivered to a foster parent tonight. The two kittens came out of their carrier and looked around my son's room cautiously. One of them looked around the messy room and back up to me. If he could talk he would've said, "You call THIS rescuing? I know my rights - take me back to the shelter!" :)

I've been waiting to hear about an adopter for my little "Chester". I haven't said much about him, but he's really a joyful, happy boy:

It's SO nice when a foster cat comes into your home, makes himself part of the family without a bunch of fanfare.

Tomorrow is going to be a bad "vet day". The shelter was almost full. Believe it or not TWENTY...yes, T-W-E-N-T-Y cats were brought in yesterday. I guess people were lined up out the door to dump cats there. There was a Siamese cat that had just been brought in because the owner committed suicide.

I still have some foster space available, so will keep doing what I can, but it always feels so desperate the closer we get to Christmas.

An Update On "Twinkle"

2011-12-07T17:47:00.000-05:00

If you haven't read about Twinkle, please read here. All I can say is, "I'm glad I'm not fostering her." She'd become a Turner the minute she came into the house!

Twinkle is doing well despite her disability. The vet has put her leg into a cast with hope to stretch the deformed tendon so an amputation isn't necessary. She isn't out of the woods yet:

That last picture cracks me up. Look at the ATTITUDE on that kitten's face! I saw her at the vet today and she was sporting a beautiful new yellow cast! The foster Mom has to bring her in weekly to have the cast changed. Certainly a pain in the neck for anybody who has a life outside of cat rescue! Ahhh...the devotion these foster parents give their charges.

I was saddened to find out the shelter killed two kittens yesterday that I was going to rescue today. I'm not sure what they're thinking by killing kittens in DECEMBER. I have foster homes begging for kittens right now. I'm really too angry to say anything more. I was really upset yesterday over it and felt very responsible for not taking them Monday.

I guess they all can't be as fortunate as Twinkle.

Imperfections

2011-12-06T17:14:00.000-05:00

My spaghetti sauce is cooking on the stove and the smell of garlic and carbohydrates permeate the rooms of the house. It leaves me feeling a little nostalgic and wondering if there's anything else on this blog I can possibly say?

I've been writing now for 4 years and almost 800 posts. I think there are some that rely on my blog to see what's going on at the shelter and others who find cat rescue interesting or inspiring. But for the most part, it's really just a look at my life in cat rescue. I never expected anybody to really read this blog! Believe it or not, it was just something I did for myself as a diary of my life. I've definitely been an "open book" and disclose (maybe too much) about myself and my life.

You'd be surprised at the ~~shitty~~ comments that I decide not to post. For some reason, people think that because I do animal rescue that I must be perfect, thoughtful, patient and kind at all times. I can't imagine why anyone would think that. Recently, I posted about two kittens that I rescued and was saddened to have left the Mom behind to die at the shelter. Funny thing is....the nasty comment that I received on that post never asked if the Mom was healthy or feral? The kittens weren't with her - they were in another room and definitely old enough to be on their own. Sometimes I really hate opening myself up for criticism like that.

I suppose there's a lot I *don't* say in this blog. When the crazy protesters came along causing lots of problems with the shelter where I rescue, I began to censor myself which changed the way I wrote. To be honest, writing in this blog hasn't been the same since. Every time I wrote something, I would find it torn apart on the Crazy Protesters' Facebook page. I'm grateful that they seemed to have turned their ambitions to something more realistic. Maybe because I stopped giving them so much ammunition?

I think *I* still need to write and express myself here. Every day, I fight becoming one of "those jaded rescuers". I want to think that the majority of the adopters that contact me are good people and their intentions honourable. I shake my head as I hang up the phone with yet another owner wanting to dump their cat and remember that I'm imperfect too.

"Imperfect" might be the understatement of the year.

The Pressure Builds

2011-12-05T15:21:00.000-05:00

The first 3 days of December were exciting! We had 13 (THIRTEEN!) adoptions and the phone continues to ring for cats. Needless to say, I was back to the shelter this afternoon rescuing...

I left the little tortie's brother at the shelter and I need to work on placement for him. He's VERY sweet and I'm hopeful that somebody can help him.

We also rescued an 8 week old tabby (!!) who had a prolapsed rectum. I'm hopeful this won't cause undue stress to the foster parents or a huge vet bill. We've certainly had our share recently.

I went to the grocery store today and in the pharmacy section there was one of those automatic blood pressure cuffs. Generally, I only use those things to kill time while waiting for a prescription. But I've been feeling a little crummy and "off" lately so stuck my arm through the cuff and waited. For a moment, I thought I had won the lottery as the red lights flashed a scary blood pressure of 180/100.

I knew I had been under a lot of stress lately, but didn't realize it was that bad. I've been just taking Advil for headaches and trying to get lots of sleep. I thought only old people had high blood pressure. Has it come to this? Maybe I need a holiday in the Bahamas. I've heard that works miracles. :)

There are quite a few declawed cats and some REALLY sweet black cats at the shelter. I'm definitely going back later in the week to do another rescue. The vet comes tomorrow to kill some of them and I'm already feeling badly that I didn't rescue more today.

Pee On My Snowman

2011-12-02T09:59:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I decided would be the day to put up my indoor Christmas decorations. I had Christmas music playing and forced myself into some holiday spirit as I pryed open the green and red plastic boxes that were dragged up earlier by my sons.

As I opened the first box, the familiar stench of dried, old cat pee hit my nose like a ton of bricks.

"NO!!! Who pee'd on my Snowman?????" I screamed.

Cats scattered for a moment and came slithering back. Did each one look guilty or was that my imagination? How on earth did pee get IN the box with the lid over it? Did I pack it away last year with pee on it?

I really liked that snowman. It wasn't anything special - no sentimental value. But I liked it.

The way I describe things, you'd think my house was a festival of pee. Not so! But I do occasionally find the random crystalized drops of pee in places that I wouldn't expect. A few days ago, I found a little bit of pee on top of my scale in my washroom. "What on earth....?"

Such is life with multiple cats. I think people with one cat don't have that occasional problem, but I know better.

Tomorrow is our adoption event and my cats were in an excited flurry over the box of adoption agreements, spay/neuter agreements, toys, cat dishes, pens, Temptation Treats and other goodies to make the event more enjoyable. After the snowman incident, I pulled everything out of the box. I won't be attending the event and I need to know that nobody in my house took it upon themselves to pee in THAT box.

Buy why would they? There's Temptation Treats in that box - Sacrilege!!

It's About the Love...

2011-11-30T18:59:00.000-05:00

When the phone rings at midnight it's never good news. David's out of town and I was sure I was going to have to deal with some tragedy on my own.

But that wasn't the case at all.

On the other end of the phone was my beautiful 27 year old daughter screaming with excitement that she's getting married! Her boyfriend of 3+ years had proposed and "the ring is GORGEOUS, Mom!"

My baby's getting married. Back to Weight Watchers and lots of trips to California for wedding planning.

I was full of sappy sentimentality while driving out to the shelter. I don't remember really driving out to the shelter - I must've been on autopilot. I rescued 4 cats today - one of them named "Hartley" who is an ADORABLE black kitten. Hartley isn't going to our rescue, but I was more than happy to rescue him for another rescue's volunteer. It's always fun to meet other people who "get it". Rescue can be so isolating. Jill had a lovely room set up for him - fresh food, water, a cozy bed, a heater and lots of sunshine beaming through the window. I wanted to stay and play with him too. :)

I grabbed a 16 week old orange kitten for myself. I'm still trying to decide what I'm going to name the little sweetie. It's Mark Twain's 176th birthday today - maybe it should be "Huckleberry"! I'm open for suggestions. Nothing seems quite right - yet.

For tonight, I'll sit with my little orange guy, missing my sweetie and thinking about white dresses....

After all, it's about love, right?

Rainy Days and Tuesdays

2011-11-29T17:32:00.000-05:00

Many thank you's for the emails and understanding of my meltdown yesterday.

Tomorrow is a rescue day which usually lifts my spirits. I'm going to try to NOT listen to Christmas music on the way to the shelter. What is it about listening to Christmas songs that really make the trek to the shelter even more painful? I remember feeling this way last year too.

I've had so many wonderful rescue stories to tell lately, but haven't been able to sit down and write them out. I think that comes with stress which has been overwhelming the past few days.

With the rescue scheduled to go into TWO Petsmarts in January, I'm going to need a few more temporary foster homes willing to quarantine cats and kittens to go into stores. Sadly, it's right at Christmas which means a little extra begging. When has it ever been beneath me to beg? :)

(I think I felt my face crack when I smiled a moment ago)

If you follow the shelter website, you may have noticed a big ol' Maine Coon on their site named "Odin":

It was an exciting day when I heard that the sister of one of our (fabulous) volunteer drivers was interested in adopting him. Unfortunately, as we all know, life gets in the way and she had to cancel the possibility of adopting Odin. It was the 11th hour for Odin, and I was surprised to find that he was still alive when I walked into the shelter the next morning! That was all Kelly (our volunteer driver) needed to go into action and find a home for this sweet fluffy guy. I'm happy to report that we rescued Odin and is now living an incredible life with a Forever Home. It was a scary couple of days, because Odin would've been killed the following vet day. (In fact, I still can't figure out how he managed to remain alive)

I can't imagine a world without Odin. I'm so grateful that he's still with us and happy. I wish they could all live a life like that.

Pizza delivery will be arriving in a few minutes. Things are starting to look up.

Faking Through A Crummy Day

2011-11-28T16:27:00.000-05:00

I've had some really terrific news over the weekend. We've been accepted as a full time partner in another Petsmart store! We're involved with 3 stores now, on a rotating basis which should really help our adoptions. There's going to be more work, organization and anxiety involved, but it'll all be worth it in the end.

Our adoptions for the month of November have been incredible - even without the extra store publicity. :)

It was a fairly crummy day and it's not over yet. David is in Europe for the week and I'm using the time to do some extra evening rescue work.

In all honesty? My day was so crummy today that I don't feel like writing in my blog, and I certainly don't feel like faking through cheerful news. Usually, I use this venue to rant a little (or a lot), but I think I need to put today behind me as soon as possible. Somehow, I think if I start spewing out what's going on at this moment, I wouldn't stop.

You know it goes...one step forward....then another....

Brushing Off the Emotional Dust

2011-11-25T17:36:00.000-05:00

I received a call from the shelter last night. Can I save 2 grey and white kittens marked for euthanasia tomorrow? I'm appalled that they're killing kittens in eff'ing (almost) DECEMBER, for Christ's sake. (Excuse the language)

Then the next question came....and this one hurt most of all...."Can you save their Mom too?"

You can't imagine how badly it hurts to say, "I can't save the Mom too."

I went to the shelter this morning and picked up the babies. The Mom's empty cage nearby. My heart broke into a million pieces. I silently vowed to find THE BEST home for her kittens, and cursed the person who dumped the family there in the first place.

I also rescued a 3rd grey and white kitten too. Many thank you's to Susan who took this little guy at the last minute.

Lots of juggling today - including taking a video of our latest little "Special Needs" girl that I call "Twinkle":

The call came from the shelter earlier this week - they were going to kill her because she had an injury or neuro damage to her front left paw. "Can you come get her?" Sure. We can come get her. A volunteer dropped everything to pick up this little girl because the staff found it appropriate to kill her.

Do I sound bitter today? I guess I am. The shelter seemed virtually empty today and I couldn't muster enough courage to ask how many were euthanized this morning.

So once again, I find myself brushing off the emotional dust and dealing with other people's mistakes. I have to wonder what the vet bill will end up being for little Twinkle:

But right now....I don't really care. I'm just glad she's safe.

Three Cheers For Admin Days

2011-11-23T17:13:00.000-05:00

I took advantage of my son borrowing my car for the day to declare today "An Admin Day". If I don't take days to do paperwork, update our website, and spreadsheets, I end up with 7 month old unneutered kittens still in foster care. (Yikes!)

The phone rang off the hook for adoption calls yesterday. But oddly enough, I ended up with four adopters calling who were named "Jennifer". Those who know me, know I'm pretty organized, so it was very unlike me to end up calling the same Jennifer THREE times over 3 different cats. Holy God, I felt like such a doofus. She must've thought I was a complete idiot.

I had some Kodak Moments for my little foster guy "Phil":

It wasn't until I took a few more pictures that I realized that this guy ALWAYS has "the deer in the headlights" look:

It's not that Phil is startled or anything - he's always looks...um...a bit goofy. It seems that I have a knack for picking out the goofy guys to foster. Phil has turned out to be my little shadow and rarely leaves my side.

I'm still wearing my slippers from this morning, but am happy for the work that was accomplished today. David has clean socks and underwear, and the dishwasher has been emptied. I'll try to put on some lipstick before my man gets home. Maybe he'll notice the Christmas wreath on the front door. :)

"The Governor"

2011-11-22T17:37:00.000-05:00

Last night I received a call from another rescue who needed some help with transport of 4 cats from the shelter. Although I'm very busy with my own rescue, I hate the idea of 4 cats sitting in cages when they could be safe in foster homes.

At the same time, I received a Facebook message from a friend who was interested in a very handsome big-headed tomcat at the shelter named "Simon".

Ahhhhh....now I have FIVE good reasons to go to the shelter!

I practically skipped into the building knowing that I had an opportunity to meet and greet a big ol' tomcat. I love those guys. They're hard to get out of the shelter sometimes. Somehow, foster parents often equate tom cats with spraying.

But I was too late....

My heart sank when I found that Simon had been killed only a few hours before I arrived. I put up with so much emotional shit when I go into that shelter, but THIS is the one thing that drives me crazy more than anything else. I had a probable home for this guy. He was so sweet. I was The Governor and I missed the execution. I hate it. I hate it.

With a heavy heart, I drove the 4 rescued cats to a predetermined vet clinic. I tried so hard to be happy for them.

This afternoon, I had a VERY sweet young woman come to meet my foster kitten "Bradley". She's going to pick him up on Friday night and take him home. She has a female cat and it's unknown how she'll react to Bradley. But "Brad" is a pretty happy-go-lucky fella and not much hurts his feelings:

As usual, I find myself brushing off the dust and moving forward. Some days are harder than others, and I'm sure I'll go to bed tonight thinking about Simon and what his life might have been like as a happy, loved cat.

I Have Nothing Figured Out

2011-11-21T14:45:00.000-05:00

I was looking at our "adopted" spreadsheet and realized that the last 3 cats that were adopted were black and white!! Is that possible? Seriously - in August, I reduced the adoption fee by 20% on all black or black and white cats and not ONE was adopted. Suddenly, three get adopted.

Don't get me wrong - I'm THRILLED when any of our cats are adopted! But the black and white cats are often left behind with the black ones. I have to wonder if there's a popular commercial or t.v. programme that features a black and white cat on right now.

Thanks to a toiletpaper ad, everybody wanted a white, fluffy kitten for a while.

I put a probable Maine Coon kitten on our website for adoption late last night. I went to the grocery store this morning, and came home to EIGHT phone calls about the same kitten! Holy crap....we have so many cute kittens! Ask me about somebody else for cryin' out loud!

Two nights ago, I put "Noah" (Norwegian Forest Cat) on our website for adoption and I thought the phone would be ringing off the hook....but not one call:

Noah Before:

Noah After:

The highlight of my weekend was having an adopter call for "Diana":

We all know Diana is adorable, but she's definitely an ordinary black and white cat. This family drove almost an hour (ONE WAY!) to meet Diana and take her home! They just *knew* she was "the one"!!!

Just when I think I have people figured out....I realized that I don't have anybody figured out at all!

But then again, *I'm* the one thinking about taking "The Sherminator" off the adoption page.. :)

The Vet Bill Cometh

2011-11-18T15:25:00.001-05:00

Thank you all so much for your kind emails, comments and thoughts for my Maggie. As you can see from the picture below, she's resting comfortably and getting all kinds of spoiling and attention. We even took her to Starbucks on the way home from the vet's office for her cup of whipped cream. Nothing is too extravagant for our girl!

I always find it ironic that when a loved one (human or furry) is ill or having surgery, THEY are the ones that get the awesome pain meds. I could certainly use whatever Maggie has for pain right about now.

I'm hopeful our holiday fundraiser will be a good one tomorrow. Our vet bills have been scary lately, as one of the cats in our program needed very expensive knee surgery:

"Jared" is "the million $$ man" and is doing very well post-surgically.  The same vet performed Maggie's surgery and did an excellent job!

(Note: As I typed this blog post, Jared's foster Mom called and said Jared did "something" to his knee and she's rushing him back to the vets...UGH!)
I always laugh when I look at the rescue's bank account after a big adoption event.  For a couple of days, it feels like we actually DO have money.  For a few moments, I feel like one of those people who won the lottery and is rolling around $100 dollar bills on their bed.

But then the vet bills come in....and in....and more come in...then the phone calls from former adopters arrive who are ready to spay and neuter their adopted kittens....

I pity the next person who tells me we're charging "too much" for an adoption fee. :)

Serious Business!

2011-11-17T14:26:00.000-05:00

My heart feels heavy today, as I left my 14 year old dog Maggie at the vets for surgery today. It was considered a "high-risk" surgery due to her age, but the poor old girl had a mouth of infected, rotten teeth that needed to be taken care of. I feel completely negligent that I didn't notice she was having trouble eating until I gave her a TimBit (small donut hole) and she yelped. It's awful to be so busy that you don't take proper care of the ones you love.

My son works at Starbucks and whenever David and I go there, we bring Maggie. My son dutifully brings out a small cup of whipped cream for her. It's VERY serious business for Maggie!

I really cherish the time this old gal has given me and my family. I don't think we have lots of time left with her, but I'm going to do my damnest to make sure that she knows we love her every minute of her life.

After dropping off Maggie at the vets for her surgery, I went on to the shelter and rescued a couple of kittens. One little grey/white 4 month girl that wasn't on the shelter website yet, and "Tonka":

Eight week old "Tonka" arrived at the shelter with a terrible eye infection. She's been given proper medication and her eye looks great now! Holy crap, is she CUTE! She was covered in poop when I arrived at her foster parent's home. She never stopped purring when we had to put her poopy feet in water. I think she knew she was safe!

But the name "Tonka" has to go! :)

Our rescue is part of a big Holiday Fundraising Bazaar this Saturday at a local church. Fortunately, we have such a kick a$$ fundraising committee, I don't have to work at the event! I'm actually going to be a SHOPPER, which is something I do VERY well.

Glad there's *something* I do well, because right now, I'm feeling pretty hopeless where my Maggie is concerned. I can hardly wait to pick her up tonight.

"We Dun Good"

2011-11-15T16:27:00.000-05:00

Typing anything today has been an exercise in futility. My new little foster guy "Phil" has decided that my keyboard and in between my hands is the very best place to be. It's taken me twice as long to do anything today than it usually does! "We've" erased important emails, added to text and I've had cap locks on several times today. Why don't I just put him on the ground? (I don't think I need to answer that - those of you who read this blog certainly understand)

I'm VERY happy to report that I rescued Noah today. Lots of you asked about this gorgeous 22 pound Norwegian Forest cat. Many thank you's to the city shelter where we rescue who provided great veterinary care for him so that our rescue didn't have to foot the bill:

This guy really is impressive in person too!

I also received an awesome "Before" and "After" picture from a foster Mom who took in a couple of really sad looking little waifs from the shelter.

Here's (obviously) the Before picture:

And.....AFTER:

As my grandmother would say, "Ya dun good on this!"
"Phil" and I are so proud.

Gearing Up For a Good Week

2011-11-14T16:48:00.000-05:00

It was a very successful adoption weekend and I'm full of good news! We had more than 15+ cats adopted over the weekend - not just from Petsmart, but from our foster homes too. (I would certainly hate to think what would happen if we put all of our eggs in the Petsmart-basket. )

We had a very close call with one of our kittens on Saturday. I met with a terrific couple with a large dog who wanted to adopt one of our kittens. They brought their dog into the store and we sat in an adoption room to insure that the dog would be ok with the kitten and vice versa. It seemed like a great match! The dog was licking him, and the kitten seemed 100% ok. Apparently, the couple took the kitten out of his carrier in the car. The dog viciously lunged at the kitten. Thank God, the couple had fast reflexes and the kitten was OK. Thankfully, the couple brought the kitten back. They were all very upset. It could've been so much worse.

If any of you "dog people" know how this could be prevented in the future, please let me know. I really thought we did full due diligence and all was well. The dog was wonderful with the kitten in the adoption room. *sigh*

Speaking of Petsmart, we've been approved to be an adoption partner at another one of their stores! We'll be rotating on a monthly basis with one other rescue. We open in January there, and couldn't be happier with this opportunity. Lots to do in December to get ready!!

I'm also happy to say that Hubert for whom I put out an urgent plea last week was rescued today by another rescue! In fact, I was speaking with Kim at the shelter last night and found out that more than 20+ cats were rescued out of the shelter today! I can only hope that the vet day was cancelled for tomorrow.

This feels like the start of a good week....

Why I Do This....

2011-11-11T16:25:00.000-05:00

The cages and tables are set up for our big adoption event tomorrow. But I'm not really writing about that.

Tonight, I wanted to write about a special "Before" and "After" picture, along with an email I received with the "after" picture. It started with the recent adoption of Monty:

With the writer's permission, I'm copying her email word-for-word. My purpose for doing so, is to bring understanding of the importance of these wonderful animals in our lives:

"Hey beth!

No complaints over here, I'm just emailing to let you know how 'monty' aka 'sheldon' is. I originally thought of naming him cornelius but it didn't stick. I've just been calling him shelly, or sheldy. He sleeps in my arms and yells at me if I stop holding him. Are you sure you didn't give me a dog? He follows me around and literally will throw himself at me for food. The first day I left him alone in the bedroom, he was so happy when I got home he jumped into my arms. He also tries to stop me from leaving. Hell jump up onto the coat rack and dive bomb onto my shoulders. He's a little goof ball. I'd really like to thank you for suggesting this guy to me.

Ill be honest, I've had depression for years and coming home to him makes me the happiest person on the face of the planet. I do have another cat (as you know) but she's nowhere near as cuddly and I think this is what I really needed.

You rock!

No. I think *YOU* rock! Monty's "After" picture will make me smile for days.

Thank you for reminding me why I do this (often) gut wrenching work.

Happy Friday....

Never Enough

2011-11-10T15:23:00.000-05:00

It was a fab rescue day today - NINE little sweeties were rescued!! It felt like a drop in the bucket when the shelter was full. I did my best to empty cage space so that the vet day isn't so drastic. Unfortunately, it's not going to be a good day for many of the cats in the shelter.

There's one guy in particular that everybody's in love with (including me) - his name is Hubert and I'm hoping somebody can come forward for him:

One of the litters that I rescued was a litter of FIVE fluffy little darlings. It wasn't until I walked into another cat room that I heard an outrageous sounding meow:

Now I don't want to say "Typical Tortie"...but she was already a 5 week old diva! I couldn't leave her, so put her with the 7 week old litter of 5. She was SOOO happy to be with them. I could almost hear her *sigh* with relief as she snuggled in with her friends who immediately accepted her as part of the gang.

I also rescued a sweet girl named "Bindy":

As always, I left the shelter feeling like it wasn't enough. But it's never enough.

Right now, I have a red couch calling my name for a 30 minute siesta before I return the voicemails that were left from earlier this afternoon. I'll dream of one of my rescues being "enough".

6 Hours and $40.00 in Gasoline

2011-11-09T15:32:00.000-05:00

I'm happy to report after 6 hours and 1/2 tank of gas later, 5 cats have been rescued and are now in their foster homes. I'm exhausted and came home to 10 voicemails and more than 35 emails that still have to be promptly answered. I've brewed a pot of coffee, put a fire in the fireplace and I'm good to go again.

I met with a young woman at the shelter who had rescued a pregnant Mom cat about 4 months ago. The two remaining kittens are now 12 weeks and she was devastated that she couldn't keep them. At one point, she actually changed her mind about letting me have them. She drove out of the parking lot at the shelter, turned around and came back to find me. She was in tears.

We also rescued this sweet little pair:

I placed them with a new foster Mom. Her face lit up as she saw them - like a girl on Christmas morning! The resident cat was mildly interested. I loved watching "Chewy" (the resident cat) awake with a lazy yawn from a sound sleep, sniff the (now) empty cat carrier and muster some interest in the newcomers. Cats are a riot. You know that Chewy was probably THRILLED with some excitement in her day, but she wasn't about to let me know.

I also rescued a 4 week old FLUFFY FLUFFY FLUFFY dilute tortoiseshell kitten. Oh. My. Gosh. It was like something from a cartoon calendar. Seriously...that little fluff-ball made me laugh just to look at her.

The trip today involved delivering cats to 3 foster homes and 2 veterinary offices. Looks like tomorrow is going to be more of the same. But this time, I've asked a volunteer driver for help...Thank goodness for volunteer drivers. Did I ever mention how much I appreciate the volunteer drivers?

Tomorrow is going to be another great rescue day.... :)

The High Cycle Cometh

2011-11-08T17:15:00.000-05:00

I'm finally feeling back on my game. I believe we all have high and low cycles...or whatever you want to call them. You can have a bad few days, but never fear - a few good days are always right around the corner.
Some of our foster parents are battling some tough situations both with their cats and their personal lives. Watching and helping them gives me strength too. I've put my energy in positive things and it's paying off. No more obsessing over my ex-husband's Facebook page, or his young wife (with new boobs! Argh!).

Tomorrow is another rescue day for us. We have several new excited foster parents on our books and their enthusiasm is contagious. For the first time in a long time, I'm taking several older kittens from the public. I've made it no secret that I really don't like taking cats from the public, but this young woman took in a stray Mom cat and needs some help. Fortunately, we have the space (for the moment) and these two kittens have been socialized with children....a bonus! As always, I hope they are what she says they are - "Friendly", or I will have to turn her down. Lordie, I hate turning people down.

I'm also going back to the shelter tomorrow. The shelter has sent "Noah" back out to the vets for blood in his urine:

This guy is 25+ pounds of Norwegian Forest Cat handsome and sweet! I really want to rescue him now, but I might as well let the city pay for his immediate medical care and let me know what's going on. It'll probably save our rescue $300+ in medical costs. I hate that he's there and scared, but it's the right thing to do for now.
Tomorrow, I have a few others to rescue from the shelter, along with taking the 2 from the public. I have to drive them to their foster homes about an hour away. It's going to be a busy day and will start EARLY. I'm trying to prep for a big adoption event this weekend and will need every ounce of my renewed sense of positive thinking to keep organized and not get frantic with all there is to do.

Serenity now..... :)

A Pathetic Spider and A Rescue Day

2011-11-07T14:27:00.000-05:00

Somebody sent me a video that they thought I might think was funny. It was a bunch of university-aged guys who see a HUGE spider on the wall. They start to scream like girls and try to flick it with a rubber elastic band. It became a competition on who could kill or flick the big ugly spider off the wall. The poor thing was so frightened it ran behind a picture frame. One of the guys flicked a rubberband at it and it snapped two of it's legs off. The spider fell to the floor and tried to get away. As it did, it dragged it's remaining legs - obviously in agony. The boys were laughing hysterically. I closed the video.

I was so angry. I don't like spiders, really. I wouldn't want to have one as a pet, and I have two adult children with severe spider phobias. So why on earth was I so upset?? I wish I could just let things like this go, but I closed the video and felt so awful for this big ol' ugly spider. I'm sure he was squished and forgotten about.

Back to the shelter this morning to meet an adopter! It's been a while since I met somebody at the shelter, but she had adopted one cat from me already and is really a neat girl. Nothing warms my heart more than somebody calling me and saying, "Beth, I want to adopt a declawed male cat from the shelter - he can be the ugliest cat in the shelter...I don't care..."

She came home with the first cat she looked at: "Monty" who is now known as "Cornelius":

Monty snuggled into her arms right away. His eyes and nose were a little runny, and he was great around the other cats. He had a pink nose and Meagan was in love. :)

My plan was to rescue a HUGE Norwegian Forest Cat named "Noah" today. Unfortunately, on Noah's cage was a note that said he had been urinating blood and for the vet to check him out tomorrow. They had sent Noah out to the Emergency Vet over the weekend, and he came back with some antibiotics. I think I'll wait on Noah to see how he's doing before taking him. He's probably got crystals with a UTI thrown in for good measure. No doubt somebody dumped the poor guy there for pee'ing inappropriately. Assholes.

I ended up rescuing little "Valerie":

She's a VERY red little girl - certainly not orange! She was so sweet, gentle and purr'd the moment I picked her up. It won't take long for her to be adopted. (I hope) She reached her little paw up and gently put it against my cheek.

For a moment, I forgot all about the video and the spider.

What's a Few Extras?

2011-11-03T16:59:00.000-04:00

My intention when I woke up this morning was to rescue one little very sick guy at the shelter:

I saw him on Monday and promised him that I would be back for him this week. I knew they'd euthanize him tomorrow, so I was true to my word. His name at the shelter was "Manny", but I am determined to call him "Phil"! (C'mon!....that's CUTE!)

As always, I checked my email this morning before I left and there was an email from a foster Mom that said, "Beth, if you're going to the shelter today, would you check out Frazier and Murphy for me?"

Ha! I knew what that meant: Put a couple more carriers in the car!

It's a great feeling to go to the shelter and rescue more than one. I had three on my list today which was more than I had rescued recently. It felt wonderful!!

A shelter staffer reluctantly brought me into one of the cat rooms and pointed to a lower cage. I eased down unsure of what I'd find:

Five weeks old - and SIX toes on every foot. He was just the right age to be buddies with the little black kitten that I rescued on Halloween. Fortunately, the foster Mom for "Cha-Cha" was more than happy to take on a second little hooligan.

What rescue would be complete without "The ~~Ridiculous~~ Rescue Song":

"Phil" is currently at our vets on IV ($$$) and lots of TLC. I asked the vet to make sure they put in lots of blankies for him. He's been sick and sleeping on newspaper for weeks. I could almost hear his "sigh" from another room when he cozied into the softness of the blankets. I bet he knew he was safe.

I wish they ALL knew they were safe tonight. My heart breaks every time I leave that place.

B-O-R-E-D

2011-11-02T19:53:00.000-04:00

One aspect of cat rescue that nobody talks about are the days that are ridiculously boring. For the life of me, I can't figure out why I'm either insanely busy or am twiddling my thumbs and waiting for the phone to ring. It's not that I don't have things that need to be done. It's just that I don't really feel like doing them.

This morning was spent calling our 15 affiliated veterinary offices and letting them know that my credit card expired on the 31st, and to give them the new card's expiry date.

Oh the glamour!!!

I spent 20 minutes writing an email to a foster parent to ask about the health of their foster cat only to remember after pushing "Send" that she wrote me last week to tell me that the cat went to the vets and is fine.

Chalk up another insane brain fart to a menopausal moment.

This afternoon, I sat on the sofa holding "Bradley" our latest foster kitten. He likes to be held like a baby, so it was really wonderful to just sit and hold a kitten. No T.V....no computer...no phone. Just me, Bradley...and 5 other cats climbing up to enjoy the moment with us. I heard a crash from the kitchen and knew that the only other cat missing was "The Sherminator". My peaceful moment was over.

There was so much that I should've been doing - tax receipts, filing, correspondence, updating foster lists, and phone calls. It probably doesn't make much sense, but I was just too bored to do any of it. I did however, manager a "Kodak Moment" of "The Sherminator" teaching his new prodigy "Bradley" some of the finer points of begging and receiving a mid-day unauthorized meal:

I'm OK with a little bit of boredom. It looks good on me for one day. But I can't afford too much sluggish behaviour.

Somewhere there's a cat that needs me, and a foster parent willing to love him until there's a Forever Home to call his own. *sweeet*

Just Another Tuesday

2011-11-01T17:30:00.000-04:00

I woke up this morning to a Barf and Poop Extravaganza. Honestly, I don't know why this seems to happen all at once, but the dog seemed to have a field day in our basement, and I found several piles of cat barf in strategic locations around the house. *sweeeet*

My new foster kitten "Bradley" has been a perfect fit in the house so far. He spent the night in the washroom so that he could get used to the idea of being in a home again. This morning he was ready to party! Unfortunately, he only wants to party with ME...not with the other cats. Poor Sherman really needed a partner in crime. It's not that Bradley doesn't like other cats - in fact, he's GREAT with other cats. He just loves me. He perched on my shoulder the entire day!

(A ponytail AND dark roots...have I no shame?)

The highlight of the day was when "Butters" our grumpy orange alpha male cat sauntered up to Bradley. Bradley looked so sweet, "Hey orange guy! Be my friend!" Butters laid his ears flat and gave Bradley the nastiest, spitty hiss I had ever heard. In mid-hiss, Butters started to sputter and cough like an old man. It was a lovely moment that ol' bad a$$ Butters wasn't such a bad a$$ afterall.

I think things are going to work out just *fine*.

A Halloween Rescue

2011-10-31T14:11:00.000-04:00

I was back at the shelter today. Why do I go the day before the vet comes to euthanize them? I've been sitting here agonizing over the little faces that won't be there when I go back. The shelter seemed very full and I'm guessing they won't be cancelling the vet.

As I was trying to figure out who to rescue, I went to the intake area of the shelter and found this little girl who had arrived a few minutes earlier. I accidently left the video running with the cap on, so please shut the video down at about 45 seconds:

It seemed appropriate to rescue a black kitten on Halloween. I'm dying to name her "Harriet", but I think I'll leave that up to her new foster Mom.

We also have a new foster kitten at my home:

He's about 12 weeks old and is purring and kneading. I love him already. I've been trying to think of a good name for this guy. Bradley? Norman? I guess he'll let me know....

The staff at the shelter has a favourite that needs help very badly. Her name is "Geri" - I hope somebody watching this video will come forward for her:

What a little sweetheart. But they all are. Bless their little hearts.

This and That...

2011-10-28T13:59:00.000-04:00

I desperately needed a "me" morning. With my nails sparking and various (unspoken) parts of my body now hairless, I'm ready to face the afternoon doing rescue related-stuff. I've been under enormous stress lately, but am finding that I'm handling things better than I used to. I wonder if it's confidence, support or just the fact that I believe "Sooner or later, all things pass"...I'm guessing D.) All the above.

Our adoptions have skyrocketed this month and have reached the point where we have had *almost* as many adoptions as we had when we were in the Petsmart adoption centre. Lots of bonded pairs have been adopted this month and I couldn't be more thrilled.

We've had a huge number of "owner surrender" calls this month too. I'm assuming it's because the local Humane Society has had an outbreak of ringworm and they aren't taking in any owner/surrender cats. The stories these people tell in order to dump their cats completely piss me off. The latest owner/surrender call was from a woman with a cat who told me quite seriously, "My 8 year old daughter won't leave the cat alone, and I'm afraid she'll get scratched." I politely asked the woman if her daughter was mentally disabled. She said that she wasn't, but still kept pestering the cat who was getting more and more upset.

People this stupid shouldn't have pets....or children.

I've been anxious to rescue out of the shelter again. We put things on hold for a while as there had been possible Distemper in one of the rooms. By the look of the shelter's Petfinder site, it appears they killed a lot of cats to reduce the possibility of contamination in the other rooms. It's all upsetting. I think we're ready to get back there and start rescuing again, but need to move forward with caution.

This morning, a friend sent me an email that said "Help the Horses!" with a clickable link. Of course, I love horses and helping them is something that I would do if I can. The link opened a window that showed some asshole slaughtering defenseless horses for meat. They're being shot repeatedly, but the horses aren't dead and are struggling to get up. My God, please don't send me this stuff or give me some warning. I can't undo what I saw.

I was a vegetarian for a number of years and loved it. I went back to eating meat when I realized I was doing a crummy job balancing proteins, iron, etc and got really sick. I've started the process of eliminating meat from my diet again. This link about the horses was a sad reminder of what we do to our animals, but I'll never judge those that do eat meat.

As you can see, the title of today's blog post is aptly named. :)

A Dedication

2011-10-26T13:37:00.000-04:00

Weeks ago, the rescue was asked to save a skinny little Mom cat and her 8 tiny kittens from death row at the shelter. Honestly, when I heard about them I really didn't want to take them. I was being cautious as they had been at the shelter just long enough to get an upper respiratory infection and no doubt the litter of kittens would get sick and die.

The little family did get sick. But they didn't die. The dedicated foster Mom bottlefed at all hours, medicated and loved this little family until they were well. This rescue is so blessed to have such dedicated volunteers.

The Mom cat (now named Jolie) is slowly gaining weight. She either has a cleft lip or a rodent ulcer. She has a tooth that needs to be pulled too.

I find this sweet little angel so endearing and am filled with gratitude for the two foster parents who have loved this little family into health despite my initial objections.

The following poem was sent to me via email today. I don't know who wrote it. It was geared toward dogs, so I've changed the wording for cats and dedicate it to Jolie, her 8 babies and all the foster parents who put their own lives on hold to help the little ones:

The Reason

I would've died that day if not for you.

I would've given up on life if not for your kind eyes.

I would've used my teeth in fear if not for your gentle hands.

I would have left this life believing that all humans don't care

Believing there is no such thing as fur that isn't matted

skin that isn't flea bitten

good food and enough of it

beds to sleep on

someone to love me

to show me I deserve love just because I exist.

Your kind eyes, your loving smile, your gentle hands

Your big heart saved me...

You saved me from the terror of the pound,

Soothing away the memories of my old life.

You have taught me what it means to be loved.

I have seen you do the same for other cats like me.

I have heard you ask yourself in times of despair

Why you do it

When there is no more money, no more room, no more homes

You open your heart a little bigger, stretch the money a little tighter

Make just a little more room...to save one more like me.

I tell you with the gratitude and love that shines in my eyes

In the best way I know how

Reminding you why you go on trying.

I am the reason

The cats before me are the reason

As are the ones who come after.

Our lives would've been wasted, our love never given

We would die if not for you

BooBoo Update and Fire Fighting

2011-10-24T17:02:00.000-04:00

I spent the majority of the day on the phone and on the computer. It was non-stop emails and phone calls. It's typical of a Monday, but even more so when I've been out of town. I was back to "cat juggling" as one foster home had too many, and several others were looking for foster cats. It's nice when it works out well for a change!

I wanted to give you another update on our little BooBoo Kitty. So far, she's doing beautifully - in fact, it looks like she's doing as well as she can be and will be ready for adoption:

She has neuro damage to her back leg, so she limps and walks with her toes tucked in. Thank heavens she didn't have to have her leg amputated. I'd love for her to tell us what happened to her. I guess it doesn't really matter. She's going to end up being loved by somebody special forever. Sometimes it's hard to find somebody "good enough" when we have a cat like this.

(I often wonder how many pictures of brown tabbies I have in my blog.)

Right now, I'm enjoying having two less foster cats. Gabby and Ramone are doing great in their new home. Their new Mom told me that she believes my "Sherminator" has taught Ramone a few "naughty things". I pretended to not know what she was talking about. Hahahhaa :)

It's been a day of putting out fires and damage control. I don't really mind those kind of days, as I consider them part of what I signed up for when I started a rescue. But they are so stressful! Every time the phone rang today I felt like it was somebody out to get me! Ugh!

On the road tomorrow...more cat juggling. (Insert circus music here)

Back to Reality

2011-10-22T20:20:00.000-04:00

As always, it's really lovely to be home. My beloved pets survived without me, despite my worries that they wouldn't. I came home to the usual phantom dried barf on the rug that the men of the house didn't appear to notice, but walked over for 5 days. There was a pile of poop (or two) in the basement next to the washer and dryer. Of course, the dryer was running when I got home, and nobody "noticed" the poop. MEN!

Last time I was in Seattle I wrote a blog post about a cat there named Timmy, who was going lose his home and be dumped at a farm.   If you didn't read about Timmy last year, I encourage you to click on the link before reading on...

I went to visit the couple who were "rehoming" Timmy. They're friends of my parents and the wife had been ill. I was dreading it, because I knew Timmy wouldn't be there and I was afraid to ask. Guess who met me at the front door??   TIMMY!! He was still there and seemed quite happy. Thanks to heaven above that this sweet fluffy boy still had a home. I almost started to cry when the couple told me Timmy was actually SIXTEEN years old - not ten years old like I had thought back in December. Holy God...how could anyone even think about dumping a 16 year old cat at a farm? I don't know what changed their mind - maybe it was me, but Timmy is still in his home.

Sounds like things were very chaotic at the rescue while I was away. I think our volunteers were overwhelmed with lots of post adoption questions and few adoption calls. I don't know why it works this way, but it seems like these kind of crummy weeks happen suddenly and with no warning. Usually, I just blog about it and move on, but I felt awful that our volunteers had such a rough time while I was away. Last time I left, they had lots of adoptions - I suppose we were due for a week of unhappy people.

For example, somebody contacted us regarding their cat that was adopted months ago that needed to be dewormed. They felt the rescue should pay for it even though they've had the cat for over a month! Really? I've heard other rescuers talk about this, but it's so aggravating! Take care of YOUR cat!

I'm feeling a tad overwhelmed now that I'm back, but isn't that what always happens?  Today was spent at the pet food store, grocery store and doing laundry. No surprise that we were down to our last can of cat food. I'm anxious to get an accounting of our cats and our foster homes so I can figure out what's what. I'm sure there are cats that need us. :)

Look at the little angels that we rescued while I was gone:

I wish Monday would come so that I felt better about ignoring the family and able to actually get something done. :)

Braggin' Rights!

2011-10-15T18:52:00.000-04:00

I'm exhausted and exhilarated! What an incredible adoption day today!!! We had FIFTEEN cats and kittens adopted from our adoption event, and a total of 22 cats adopted (so far) for the weekend!! Things are happening so fast, that I posted on our Facebook page that 21 cats had been adopted for the weekend, when ANOTHER foster Mom called and said her foster cat was adopted - and it's only Saturday!

Pet-Valu was simply amazing and the adopters that came were wonderful. The local newspaper, The Oakville Beaver came and took photos and will be doing an article on our rescue and the event! I think we all felt like movie stars for a moment. :)

I believe the best part of this adoption event was that we had several of our cats adopted in pairs, and many cats and kittens that had not been adopted at prior events are now "Forever Home". It wasn't just the cute little ones, but the 4, 5, and 6 month old kittens being adopted too.

The District Manager from the store was there and said he had never seen such a beautifully done, professional event! He was actually taking pictures on his cell phone and sending them to his other store owners. They're anxious to do more business with us and are discussing more "in-store" adoption opportunities - not just occasional events.

Honestly, I'm so proud and hope the other volunteers feel the same. As I type this, I received another email from a foster Mom that said "Tuggs" was adopted tonight too. That would make 23 adoptions for this weekend so far!

Looks like we're going back to the shelter!!!!!

Yes....I think we have braggin' rights tonight! I can go to Seattle tomorrow feeling accomplished and content. Many thank you's and hugs to our volunteers who made it all possible.

An Adoption Event and A Holiday

2011-10-14T15:42:00.000-04:00

My phones have been ringing off the hook today with questions regarding our big adoption event at Pet-Valu tomorrow! I'm hoping that this is a sign for a successful day! I was only gone for an hour today and came home to NINE adoption calls pertaining to this event. One person was disappointed the cats weren't free, so that may hamper some adoptions tomorrow.

Regardless - I doubt we'll be bored!

I'm leaving on Sunday for a trip to Seattle to visit my parents for a few days. My daughter from Southern California is flying up at the same time, so we should have a great time. It's always stressful leaving my Canadian family, but I think everything is well in hand. I gave David instructions on pilling my little "Newman" with her seizure medication. It's been a while since he's had to do that, and he needed a refresher course. Newman was unimpressed with his technique.

The lady that adopted my Gabby and Ramone is picking them up on Tuesday while I'm gone. I'm sort of relieved that I won't have to say goodbye to them. Fortunately, she only lives about a kilometer away, so there might be some opportunities for updates. Sadly, I had to warn the adopter to "please forgive the condition of my home on Tuesday evening with 3 men living in it while I'm gone." I suspect it'll smell like cat pee, B.O., and rotten cat food from cans left in the garbage too long. Nobody seems to take out the garbage but me......UGH....don't get me started.

There's so many things I need to do before I go. One of the cats barfed on my white bathroom rug. (naturally.) On top of everything else, I have to wash the rug along with a zillion loads of laundry. I'm sure if I left it, the barf would be there when I came back.

"Dear God, please don't let anybody come to my house while I'm gone."

(I'm so excited for tomorrow's event! I'll try to post the numbers before I leave on my trip.)

Back To The Shelter

2011-10-13T14:11:00.000-04:00

It's been a week since I've been to the shelter. Whenever I wait that long, I'm always having to reacquaint myself with the cats. I think that I also put my "shield" down, because I find those first few walks down the aisles very upsetting. Tomorrow is a vet day and sometimes it's very painfully obvious which cats aren't going to be alive tomorrow.

But I can tell you TWO cats that will be alive tomorrow and those are two that we rescued today:

"Austin" is an insanely cute polydactyl boy that was already neutered. He'd been at the shelter for almost a month. This guy is a frickin' Einstein and had figured out how to slide the latches of the cages. He gets out of the cage and has a ball at night rambling around!
I met a very sweet adopter at the shelter today. She wanted to rescue a declawed cat that would get along with her family and their current cat. "Teddy" was the ticket for her:

He was SO sweet - purring and loving. He took their two year old little boy in stride and didn't hiss at other cats. Thank heavens!

My big news is that my foster cat Gabby has been adopted.....

....along with....

my foster kitten RAMONE!!!!

I'm SOOOOO excited and it was a wonderful surprise that the adopter wanted to take them both. As you can see from the picture, they really seem to like each other. (Although Gabby LOVES everybody) She's signing the paperwork tonight and picking up her new "kids" next week on Tuesday. (They're going out of town)

Looks like I'll be getting a new foster cat...or two..... :)

Never a Dull Moment

2011-10-12T14:41:00.000-04:00

Long after David and I went to bed last night, I had an uneasy feeling and got up to look around. I'm not especially intuitive, but I went downstairs to get some orange juice and have a look around. As I walked down the stairs, I could hear "the cat phone" ringing in my office. It's not unusual for the cat phone to ring so late. People often think they're going to get voicemail anyway and will leave a message. But this time, I glanced at the caller ID and noticed it was one of our foster parents.

It turned out to be a major emergency for one of her kittens. The intestines were slowly coming out of his bum and experience told me that if we were going to save this kitten he had to go to emergency immediately.

What's so awful, is not knowing if you're already too late.  Once their intestines come out, tissues start to die. The kitten seemed very nonplussed by what was going on and was playing and doing the usual kitten things.

I called one of our vets who offers emergency services and by the sound of his voice I obviously got him out of bed. The foster parents were on the road within minutes and took him in.  Little "Peanut" had emergency surgery last night and is back home this afternoon! Looks like our little guy is going to be OK!!! I could hear the sound of relief in the foster Mom's voice this morning.

Somebody slap me when I start to complain about quiet days in rescue. Just recounting the events last night made my palms sweat.   Hahaha.

I'm terrified of our vet bills this month. I was just feeling pretty good about things (which was a mistake) when I've taken in some expensive kitties. No regrets - just the usual "rescue financial struggle".

On a happy note, I've got an adopter coming to meet my little Gabby today in a few hours!   I hope she's adopted - she's truly one of the sweetest little cats I've ever fostered. She never does anything wrong and is always game to be adored. PLUS - Gabby is black and white which is always an exciting adoption. I'm going to track her down in a few minutes and trim her nails. The adopter is coming right at the cat's dinner time. The key to THIS adoption will be to NOT feed Gabby, so she'll be extra cute, chatty, and will stay near us. :)

Going to the shelter tomorrow....I hope my Gabby is adopted today. She deserves a wonderful home.

An Update on "BooBoo"

2011-10-10T16:50:00.000-04:00

Last week I posted about an urgent call I received from the shelter regarding a 5 week old kitten with injuries that would require him to either be euthanized or immediately rescued. (You can read the story here. ) Fortunately for this little angel, we had an awesome foster Mom on standby who literally hopped in her car, picked him up and took him right to the vets.

"BooBoo's" injuries were severe. (Turns out HE is a SHE) She had a huge laceration from around her abdomen and down her leg. The vet said the injury was do deep that there was dirt in her muscle tissue and her leg may not be salvageable:

She walks and drags her leg somewhat. The vet is unsure what kind of neurological damage there may be.

I don't think the pictures accurately portray how bad this is. But typical of a kitten, BooBoo continues to want to play with the other kittens in her foster home and be loved:

I think I'm going to put a "Donations Desperately Needed" plea on our Facebook page for this little girl. This is going to be an expensive surgery and care.

We couldn't walk away from her despite the cost and I don't think anybody else could either. She deserved to live. Then again - they all do.

Thanksgiving Thoughts

2011-10-07T17:02:00.000-04:00

I think Canadians are feeling very festive today as the long weekend is nearly here. I've received bunches of cute cat pictures, videos and links to more feline cuteness. The adoption phone lines rang frequently a few days ago, and are now quiet as people consider what they're doing for the weekend.

Every year I cook Thanksgiving dinner for the family. With the family emergency last month, and one son working that day, I just don't have the *ooomph* to put it all together. I'm actually thinking about making reservations at a restaurant. Being served, eating, and walking away sounds lovely - no dishes...but no leftovers. I think my latest Weight Watchers meeting zapped the excitement out of Thanksgiving.

The thought of making dinner with Sherman on the counters, in the food, and on the table seems daunting at best. Sometimes I get tired of fighting it, and I don't want to explain to the rest of the family that we really live like this.

I took my little foster kitten "Ramone" to the vets today. He definitely has Calici as his whole tongue is covered with ulcers. It's amazing that he never stopped eating through it all, which is probably why I didn't take him in sooner.

Every year at Thanksgiving (U.S. or Canadian) I try to reflect on everything that I'm thankful for, and the list is long. As I'm typing this blog post, I had to stop to answer the phone from David who was just winding down his day at work. When I inquired as to what we should do for dinner tonight, he answered: "Anywhere I can show off my beautiful wife."

I think I'm thankful for him most of all.

Happy Thanksgiving, to my Canadian friends and family.

Thinking Outside the Box (Again)

2011-10-06T14:00:00.000-04:00

This has been a week of opinions and soapboxes, and if you'll bear with me I have one more. Every year at this time, cat rescues put a *hold* on every black cat adoption because of Halloween.

I get it. I understand why you wouldn't want some teeny-bopper to adopt a black cat or kitten because it looks great at Halloween. This is the same reason why I was appalled with a shelter employee took home a shelter bunny for the day at Easter to give their kids a thrill - THEN she brought the poor bunny back to the shelter!!!

I don't see a well-qualified pre-screened adopter falling in love with a black kitten around October 15th, paying $175.00 for it, only to abandoned it on November 1st - OR spend the $175.00 for some satanic ritual.

To me, I think this whole "No Black Cat Adoptions" in October is way overblown. If somebody is offering a FREE black kitten at Halloween on Craigslist - that's a whole 'nother story, and I wouldn't condone it. But if rescue volunteers are properly screening adopters - and maybe even taking some extra precautions - I don't see why black cats can't be adopted in October.

If a qualified, loving adopter wants to adopt one of our black cats, I'll probably get a veterinary reference just to put the foster Moms mind at ease. But I think I'm going to do it, unless somebody can give me a reason that this is a dreadful idea.

I went YEARS thinking that kittens needed to be adopted in pairs or with a feline friend in the home. I thought this while kittens were DYING in the shelter for lack of having a home. I was brainwashed to believe that a kitten growing up without a cat friend would have a miserable life - hogwash!

So now I'm questioning this standard practice among rescues, and want to know: (assuming ALL precautions have been taken to adopt the cat into a proper, loving Forever Home) "Should black cat adoptions be permitted in October?" Thoughts?

Short But (VERY) Sweet!

2011-10-04T17:27:00.000-04:00

It's going to be a Pizza night tonight at the Turner house. I'm exhausted and have still so much to do!

It was a BIG surprise to me today to go down the usual street to a pet store near my home and see this:

How AWESOME is that that the owner of the pet food store spent the money on a sign for the next two weeks!!!! I went to the store to thank the owner and found this:

If you look at the poster behind the register in the right hand corner, you'll see our rescue's name! The owner had custom posters made for his store - and they're pasted all over the place. PLUS, he's putting "bag stuffers" to showcase the event too.

I'm getting excited about this adoption event now!!!

We had volunteers at the shelter today and rescued a sad little guy that's only about 5 weeks old. He came in with quite a gash in his stomach that was majorly infected. The choice was that he'd either be rescued or the shelter would euthanize him immediately:

Guess which one we chose? :)

He's safe in a foster home who will nurse him back to health. He's so sweet, isn't he?

We also rescued three more cats, including "Veronica":

I fell in love with Veronica while I was at the shelter yesterday. I'm so happy that the volunteers picked her up. According to the foster Mom, Veronica is happy and gallivanting around with the rest of the cats in the house. Yahoo!

Short, (but very sweet) update tonight. Time to order the pizza!

A Rescue & A Soapbox Moment

2011-10-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

I was back at the shelter this afternoon rescuing a cute little guy named "Turnip":

David said his named sounded a little too much like "Turner" and was suspicious that he might be a keeper. Gratefully, Turnip is on his way to a new foster home tonight.

There were lots of sweet faces at the shelter and tomorrow is a euthanasia day. It wasn't pleasant rescuing there today - especially when I could only take one.

There's something I really need to get off my chest. I don't think I'll edit what I'm going to write so that it stays "pure" from my heart to the paper:

I don't like taking cats from the public.

There. I said it.

I can't tell you how many surrender calls I get from the general public each day. ALL rescues get calls like this. Some rescues are much nicer than I am about it.   Most of the time I don't call them back unless I think I can give them counsel and salvage the situation.

Over the weekend we had a call from someone I know. She knew a lady who desperately needed to rehome her cat because "the daughter was going to throw the cat outside and it's a purebred Ragdoll". "Hmmm...purebred Ragdoll.." As it just so happens, we had a Ragdoll on our site and multiple phone calls on her. Maybe I could get this little girl who is about to be dumped adopted right away!

To make a long story short, I sent an adopter to this person's house. I had no intention on taking an adoption fee, as I had not vetted the cat, but I did screen the adopter and knew she was terrific. Not only was the cat NOT a Ragdoll...but the lady lied about the hair length and the colour! The poor cat was emaciated and the woman felt so badly she took the cat home with her.

Happy ending, right? Not for me. I felt duped. I sent a kind woman to drive HOURS on my say-so to adopt a Ragdoll that needed help. It was a rescue. Yes, it was definitely a rescue. But our rescue didn't look so hot.   I feel awful that I didn't meet the cat, that I took someone's word for it and trusted that they were truthful. Silly moi.

When people are desperate, they'll lie through their teeth to dump their cat on you. Litterbox issues, aggression problems etc. I just can't take owner's cats any longer. This is the last time I'll listen to an owner whine about why they need to rehome their "precious cat". No more. I'm done. Take the cat to the shelter, and I'll rescue him or her there. Why should I make it easy on you? Why should I sterilize the process of abandoning your cat by placing him in a loving foster home?

I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I didn't write this to start a debate, so please don't send me nasty comments. :)   I think it's GREAT if rescues want to take cats from owners. I just can't do it.

So there it is. Unedited.  It seems a little harsh, and there's lots of room for grey areas - nothing is absolute.

  I'm stepping off the soapbox and pushing "Publish".

A Rainy Sunday Update

2011-10-02T14:52:00.000-04:00

The weekend has been a blurr! Our fundraising event on Friday was a wonderful success despite the dreadful weather and ridiculous Friday night traffic. I don't know if others can appreciate this, but it was AWESOME to show up to a fundraising event where I didn't have to do anything! I just showed up with David, ordered a couple of Diet Cokes, and laughed. Good times!

I think the fundraiser was a terrific way to spread the word about our rescue and combine efforts with another rescue. The\other rescue was selling cute t-shirts that said, "Saving Pussy" from the recent Pride Festival in Toronto. Of course, I had to buy one. It didn't seem so strange to buy a t-shirt that supported another rescue. I gave it to my 23 year old son who seemed to appreciate the reference. :)

Saturday was spent at an Indian (India) wedding. I really complained the entire morning about having to spend the better part of my weekend at a wedding, but it turned out to be a blast - Bollywood style! It was nice to be away from the phones for a bit. Besides, we had THREE adoptions on Saturday and TWO were adults! Adult cat adoptions....are they coming back???

I'm feeling far more together and content now that we're out of Petsmart. We had an amazing team of volunteers where the kittens were able to get out of their cages (many days) 3 times per day! What a lot of people don't know is that with this particular Petsmart, we were responsible for cleaning the cages - the staff didn't do it. We provided supplies, etc. So we had to have a team of people in the store at least twice per day. It was a big undertaking, but I'm really glad it's over for a little bit. I'll miss the days where we had 5 adoptions, but hey, we can't have it both ways!

People who live in the city will laugh when I tell this story, but over the weekend there was a knock at our door. It was a woman from a nearby neighbourhood who heard that I did cat rescue. I *froze*. I'm not used to people knowing that I do cat rescue in our neighbourhood. My biggest fear has been that someone will leave a litter of kittens at my front door step. Funny thing is - I know that cat rescuers from the city face this ALL THE TIME! Believe it or not, this has never happened to me in all the years I've been doing rescue. I've had phone calls from people, but never has a stranger knocked on my front door saying that they found a cat. This lady wanted help with a "stray". I asked her if she called the Humane Society and have him checked for a microchip. She hadn't. C'mon. People have to do their part if they find a cat.

Needless to say, I'm glad I don't get these kind of visitors very often. I really don't think I like these kind of knocks on the door. It made me feel very uneasy. I can't explain why. But it did.

2:50 pm on a rainy Sunday calls for a nap snuggled in with my kitties. I'm *there*.

Apathy

2011-09-29T17:17:00.000-04:00

I suppose I've been fortunate that after 8 years of living in the greater Toronto area I've never run over a squirrel. Those guys are *everywhere*, and I'm always on alert. So when I was driving to our vets office this afternoon, seeing an injured black squirrel flopping in the middle of the street put me in a full panicked alarm.

We live in an urban community. Lots of people walking on the sidewalks with their dogs. Seeing the squirrel made me immediately pull over to the side of the road. As I instinctively opened the back of the SUV to get a towel and a cat carrier, I noticed that people were breezing by the injured squirrel with only a moments glance. One lady stopped to see me with carrier in hand and said without remorse, "I think it was hit by a car." "No shit, eh?"

As I got closer to the squirrel, I noticed blood was everywhere. My heart sank. The squirrel went on alert and managed to get up and drag himself off the side of the road. I cautiously opened my cat carrier to see if I could coax him in, but he started to run. Not really "run", but quickly dragged himself, with blood trailing. I ran through the wet grass after him, when a man I couldn't see yelled after me, "JUST HIT HIM WITH A SHOVEL!!" "asshole."

I never found the squirrel. I don't know if he's suffering somewhere and the whole incident has completely ruined my day. How do people look away? How do they walk by a suffering animal that is in need? Why was I the ONLY person who seemed to care?

Right now, I wish I didn't care. I wish I could forget, but now that it's raining outside, I'm sitting here wondering if he's in a place where he's dry. ARRRRGGGH.

I suppose there's lots of sadness in the world. You can go to your local shelter and get the same shitty feeling as I'm feeling now. My parents are HUGE animal lovers, and it's always ticked me off that they didn't volunteer at their local shelter. But I get it - they're protecting themselves. One can only stand so much hurt before you stop getting hurt and start to get pissed off.

Tonight I'm pissed off. Not just because of the squirrel, but because dozens of people walked by that hurt little creature. They're living their apathetic beautiful lives. Despite all I'm saying now, I'm glad I don't live an apathetic life. Even if my night is ruined because of a squirrel. Even so.

It's Black. It's White.

2011-09-28T17:04:00.000-04:00

I wish somebody could give an intelligent answer to the question everybody wants to know: "What's wrong with adopting black or black and white cats?"

We have B and B-W kittens who have grown up in their foster homes because despite our best efforts they haven't been adopted. Oh sure, everybody wants the oranges, calicos, or fluffy tabbies....but Black and B-W cats are overlooked.

Such is the dilemma for all rescues and shelters - dogs and cats. I've tried reducing adoption fees, and featuring them on our home page, adoption events and adoption centres. Yesterday, my favourite little girl named "Quinn" was FINALLY adopted after NINE months in our program:

Look how cute she is!!! Thank heavens somebody finally saw what a treasure Quinn is and gave her a Forever Home.

I've only known one person who has had great success at adopting B and B-W cats, bless her little heart. She markets them beautifully with interesting names and pictures that would make you want to call about them. I try to explain to foster parents that their choice of fostering sweet B and B-W cats might mean more time spent in foster care.  After a while I can understand why they're discouraged. It's a time when I wish I had been wrong.

When a black cat is adopted in our rescue it's a great source of celebration! I post it on Facebook and want the world to know that *somebody* thinks they're fabulous!!!   Earlier this month we had FOUR black cats adopted!! Holy crap...I'm still amazed about that!

I have two black cats - one is a little girl named Pella who was thrown out on the highway in a box with her kittens. NEVER was there a sweeter cat. I can't imagine my life without her. She puts up with more crap from those rowdy tabbies in my house than most cats wood.

I don't really expect anybody to have an answer as to why Black or Black and White cats are harder adoptions. Simply put:   I really feel that people are missing out on some really sweet cats because of colour.

But once again...I'm preachin' to the choir.

Grief, Joy and Decision Making

2011-09-27T16:40:00.000-04:00

I woke up in the middle of the night to my tabby girl "Newman" having a seizure. She's an epileptic and despite being medicated 2 x per day, she still has breakthrough seizures. Not only does she shake and jerk, but she also loses her bladder. Yesssss Sireee....pee spraying all over my bed at 4:30 this morning. Right after her seizure stopped, our 11 year old black cat Pella barfed all over the bed. Thirty minutes later, Sherman spilled my coffee and I slid down on my ass on our basement stairs in my stocking feet.

So started my day - before 5:30 am.

...Should've gone back to bed. I really should've. I knew I would have days in rescue that would make me scratch my head in wonder, but today was completely ridiculous. I dealt with a bunch of stuff that wasn't the rescue's fault, nor was it anybody's fault. It just *was*. Sometimes being diplomatic when you feel like screaming is one of the most difficult parts of being a ~~sane~~ human being.

I worked on tax receipts today and was reminded of the incredible generosity of the people who support our rescue. It was spectacular to read the notes attached to the donation. I recalled the urgent pleas for donations on special medical cases on cats that are now Forever Home today. Yes, wallowing in GOOD things does make a difference in my attitude.

Although I have lots of care and support, there are times I feel very isolated with decisions I've had to make. Last night I had to help a loving foster parent make a decision to not take tiny kittens that were not suitable for her busy lifestyle and they were euthanized this morning. When I was with a larger rescue, it was reassuring to be able to share the grief, joy and decision making. Now I just sit here and feel pitifully alone with this stuff.

So yeah....today is a pity party. Waaa. Waaa for me. :) I'm OK, really. This has never been a 100% "Look-how-great-rescue-is-why-don't-you-join-me" kind of blog. It's my life - the good, the bad, and the ugly...and I like it that way.

Monday Stuff

2011-09-26T17:33:00.001-04:00

I called today "Business Development Day". I know that might ruffle a few feathers to those who think rescuing cats isn't really a business, but I beg to differ. I spend countless hours per week in administrative duties. I am accountable to Revenue Canada (Canadian IRS) for what I do and how I receive and spend the rescue's money. Yes, it's a business alright.

Our adoptions over the weekend were wonderful and I'm actually finding myself with available foster space! Discovering available foster space is like winning the lottery. Finding out that the foster home can take TWO is like winning the lottery - twice!

Looks like I'm going to be going back out to the shelter. There's lots of juggling to do, as I have foster parents that need to move cats, and we're leaving Petsmart for the month. Lots of planning to insure everybody is where they're supposed to be. It's never a good thing to over-rescue.

Wish I had something exciting to report today, but alas, it was quiet with some adoption calls and a couple of lovely adopters who were having trouble integrating their new kittens with their current cats. I really like giving counsel to knew adopters. It's tough to bring home a new sweet kitten only to have the current cat hiss, growl and act like a jerk.

I've definitely worked my 8 hour day today and don't have much to show for it. That's not always a bad thing. In fact, it feels kind of normal. I like *normal*.

Friday Wrap Up

2011-09-23T14:06:00.000-04:00

I decided I'd better write in my blog now, because tonight I'll no doubt be too tired. It's true, the majority of my energy is spent from early morning until around 3 pm, where I clunk out until about 4 and then I'm renewed. I have to drive out in Friday traffic this afternoon to pick up 7 kittens at the vets and check them into Petsmart. God, I hate traffic. I thought I left that when I left Southern California. Silly moi.

I'm happy to report that "Romeo" the urgent sick tabby at the shelter has been rescued! I had a lovely sounding adopter for him, but another rescue snatched him up after seeing my blog. I don't care in the least bit - I'm just glad he's out of there and there is (unfortunately) never a shortage of cats.

We have a foster Mom going to the shelter tomorrow to rescue a Mom and kittens. I love hearing that and pray they all stay healthy. Sick, dying newborns is a struggle for any foster Mom to contend with...

Our adoption line is ringing this Friday afternoon. I love hearing that phone ring! While the phone is ringing and I'm busy working, I have a friendly helper with my new foster kitten:

I was asked to give some awesome information about the shelter from where I rescue. The only problem is I've NEVER mentioned the name of the shelter in my blog, so I won't do it now. On October 1st, they're offering a LIFETIME cat registration and microchip clinic for $12.50! I wish I lived in that area - I'd take advantage of it. I think it's a big step in the right direction for this high volume shelter. Baby steps - nothing is fixed overnight.

Our big Comedy Fundraising Event is in one week from tonight...I'm starting to get excited! I love stand up comedy and am hoping that we'll sell out!

I'm finally caught up from Monday. After an afternoon of sending several humiliating emails, "Which cats do you have now?" I think we're in good shape. Our bank account is balanced, my desk is clean and phone calls have been returned.

The weekend is shaping up....now on to the adoptions...

Taking a "Me Day"

2011-09-22T15:21:00.000-04:00

The Weight Watchers meeting was just the ticket for me today. I had a million other things I should've been doing, but as soon as I sat down and the WW facilitator said, "Make some 'Me time'", I knew I had come to the right place. I've never been ashamed to take "me time". I did it when the kids were younger too. I was a better parent and wife because of it. But the past two weeks have taken their toll on me. Several days ago I had even worn a shirt that I took out of the dirty clothes hamper. David said he has had to resort to wearing underwear from the BACK of his underwear drawer. We were a pitiful looking couple - no doubt about it.

After my WW meeting, I was motivated. I went to the nail salon and had a mani-pedi, then called the local spa. If I didn't get my upper lip waxed today, I'd have to start pee'ing standing up.

It only took 2 hours to renew myself and I feel so much better. I was sure that the world had come to an end as I checked messages on the rescue's phone line. There were no messages. "REALLY?"

Tomorow is a busy cat rescue day, and I feel equipped to handle whatever comes my way. I really hope other rescuers, (no matter what you rescue!) learn a lesson from my mistake. The world did not come to an end, and my toes are a gorgeous shade of deep purple.

Do I hear an "Amen"?

Rescue Day This and That

2011-09-21T16:32:00.000-04:00

I was happy to be able to rescue this little man today! It's been a while since I sang my little rescue song!

This little guy spent the afternoon in my washroom. I also rescued a tiny grey kitten that desperately needed help, along with a newcomer grey and white kitten from the shelter that had been passed around on a school bus between children.

I was going to give my newest little tabby boy to another foster home, but I couldn't let him go after I took the following video of him yesterday:

Yes, it's true - he might be a "Sherman Part Deux". I thought I was taking a video of a darling foster kitten moment when he took a flying dive towards me off the stair ledge. I love him. :)

I took 4 kittens to Petsmart yesterday and 3 have already been adopted. Our adoptions are amazing this month! I've been trying to tell excited foster parents that it's not always this way. There will come a week where the phones don't ring. But until then, I'm enjoying the chaos of many adoptions.

A foster Mom sent me a darling picture of Elroy (now George) - couldn't help but make this a great "before" and "after" moment:

I'm looking forward to more adults getting adopted. Maybe I'm wrong, but they just seem to appreciate it more.

Crawling Out For a Better Day

2011-09-20T16:26:00.000-04:00

When the phone rang in the middle of the night two nights ago, it's never good news. My 16 year old granddaughter had gone to the corner market in the middle of the day and never returned. In her bedroom was her purse and wallet that she had left behind. She also left behind a 2 month old baby (she dearly loves) that made me a 49 year old great-grandmother in July. The police were called and I was left wondering if I would end up identifying a body.

Making a long story short, she's safe and at home now. She decided to sneak away for a few hours with a friend, but once she felt a bit of teenage freedom, she just couldn't go back home and face her responsibilities. The police brought her home late last night. We're all grateful, but an emotional mess.

For me, getting back to doing something normal today was going to be harder than I thought. I found myself missing highway exits, forgetting names, and a simple bank password.

But I did go back to the shelter for a rescue today.  I hadn't been there in more than 2 weeks, and left with several adorable kittens when I intended to only take one. :) A staff member approached me to help with a special boy that she had taken off the euthanasia list - twice:

If you can help this adorable tabby fellow, please let me know. He's such a snuggler and he's almost over his upper respiratory infection.
I decided to take this video inside "the sick room". Some people believe that this shelter only kills the cats and doesn't medicate or help them. This isn't true. There's an entire room dedicated to helping the sick guys through URI. Unfortunately, if the shelter becomes too full, this room is one of the first one cleaned out.

One of the kittens I rescued is a 16 week old brown tabby baby that I've named "Leonard". I'm hoping he'll be a buddy to The Sherminator and praying he doesn't pick up The Sherminator's raccoon-like behaviour. He's adorable beyond belief and every inch a "Turner". I love him already. God help me.

There's lots of catching up to do. I rescued, picked up cats from a foster home, took cats to the vets and on to Petsmart. I accomplished lots today, but still needed a volunteer to help me with phones and emails so I could finish it all!   Still lots to do tonight, but will catch up quickly.

If I were a drinker, I'd probably have a big ol' glass of wine tonight. Instead, I'll settle for some iced tea and a few hours of thoughtful gratitude.

A Gut Check

2011-09-19T17:36:00.000-04:00

Thank heavens for this blog to allow me to vent a little. I've had an incredibly stressful day and I'm not sure I'm ready to publically discuss. It's one of those days that knock you on your ass and twist your insides around a few times. It's definitely a gut check for me.

The weekend was terrific. We had TWELVE adoptions over the weekend, and I'm completely at peace with the way things have turned out. I can't take credit for any of the adoptions, as I was busy at a Baby Dedication on Saturday. Our rescue's volunteers rocked it as always, and we were back at the shelter on Sunday rescuing more cats.

I was hoping I could muster some hoopla for the new rescues and newly adopted cats, but my heart is elsewhere tonight and will close this post prematurely. Many hugs and thank you's to the volunteers who have answered the phones and emails today. One volunteer had to leave work today to pick up a sick kitten from Petsmart...something I would've normally done. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping today.

To end the post with a smile...a gift from Sherman (and last night's leftovers that I stupidly left on the counter)

Last Minute Excitement!

2011-09-16T16:13:00.000-04:00

What an awesome day today! It was business as usual; adoption calls, emails, etc., when the phone rang and it was our local Humane Society asking us for help. Apparently, they had a BIG adoption event this weekend at a local pet food store and were unable to attend at the last minute. The manager of the Humane Society remembered me and asked if we were interested in taking their place TOMORROW!

It was a big scramble, but we're going to pull it off! The best part was being able to call two volunteers who said, "Sure Beth, we can handle this!" I just took cages and tables over to the event location now, and we have volunteers and kittens going in tomorrow. This is really wonderful, because the Humane Society advertised the heck out of the event along with Hill's Science Diet. *Fingers crossed for a good turn out*!

Regardless of the turn out, I felt really honoured to be given this opportunity by the local Humane Society. I'm sure they didn't want to give it to just anybody and the fact that she thought of our rescue made me feel terrific!

We also had two new foster parents sign up with us and one is asking for a nursing Mom and kittens! Looks like we'll be able to save a few more lives now.

I'm trying to really enjoy riding the high point of the "rescue rollercoaster", because what goes up must come down. But it's a great way to start the weekend. But (in my best "Scarlett O'Hara voice")"I won't think about that now, I'll think about that tomorrow..."

I'm so excited for the weekend!

Breathing a Little Easier Now

2011-09-15T17:33:00.000-04:00

Many thank you's to all the blog readers who sent well wishes regarding my doctor's appointment and subsequent test results today. I'm happy to report that I'm cancer-free and continued surgery isn't necessary. Looks like I'll have to have continued biopsies every 3 months, but it's a small price to pay.

Since I'm going to live (*smirk*) I went back to Weight Watchers today. Again, it felt great to do something normal that meant I was taking care of myself.

We had a huge number of "owner surrender" phone calls today. One of them was from our own veterinary office who has a client who wants to euthanize her 9 year old cat because he pooped on the floor. The cat weighs TWENTY pounds and no longer can get to the basement to the litterbox and the owner doesn't want to move the litterbox upstairs. She'd rather kill the cat. God, I hate people sometimes.

I really don't like taking owner surrenders. God bless the rescues that do. I find that once I see the cat at someone's home, vet office or my own home, I feel obligated to take the poor thing even though he/she isn't a good fit for our foster homes.

Case in point: About 5 years ago, I had somebody call me about a kitten wandering around the edge of the streets. They thought the kitten was under 6 months old and looked fragile, and starving. I hopped in my car and drove an hour (!!) to pick up this one little kitten. Turns out "the kitten" was a 20 year old cat that I'm POSITIVE belonged to the person that called me. I took the little old lady-kitty and she became the love of my life for the last 6 months of her life. I have no regrets, but it certainly wasn't what I had expected.

Obviously, this doesn't apply to our foster parents and people that I know that find cats. But I'm always leary of friends of a friend...of a friend...of a friend...that needs to rehome their cat.

You don't have to agree with me, it's just the way I feel. I think it's great when a rescue takes cats from the public. I just wish I trusted the public a little more. None of what I say on this subject is set in stone. I keep finding exceptions to the rule.

I had cooked dinner ahead of time before my doctor's appointment. Just a simple crappy casserole that I can pop in the oven tonight. I came home to find this:

Take a GOOD look at my casserole, the lid, and the location of the casserole dish. That dish was on top of the stove in the back when I left....AND....Sherman wasn't even ashamed of himself enough to leave the scene of the crime. Bad boy, Sherman. (Good thing you're cute)

Life is feeling pretty good tonight. David asked if I wanted to go out to dinner tonight to celebrate the good post-doctor's news. But I think we'd better eat that casserole before it's too late.

What's a Normal Day?

2011-09-14T17:09:00.000-04:00

Today was the first day that was somewhat normal in a LONG time. The loose ends that I had accumulated during a very busy two weeks was insane!

This morning, I received a phone call from my doctor's office: "Beth, you missed your appointment yesterday" Usually, that's not a big deal to miss a doctor's appointment, but I've been losing sleep over this because it's THE appointment where I find out the results of the pathology after my recent surgery.  Now I have to wait two more days. Believe me, I won't miss the next one.

I glanced at the calendar this morning and was horrified that my daughter's birthday is next week.  She lives in Southern California, so I like to mail her gifts 2 weeks ahead to avoid the stupid extra freight charges. I ended up mailing her presents today for a ripping $67.89! Crap! That's what happens when you're too busy to think ahead.

Today was the first day that my file "Pictures to add to Petfinder" was EMPTY! I worked hours and hours today updating our site and pictures.  Petfinder hasn't made things very easy for me to update pictures.   If it's an existing cat and you want to update pictures, you have to delete the frickin' cat and add him again to get new pictures! Otherwise Petfinder doesn't update properly.   Ya. Frickin'. Hoo.

I received a phone call today from an adopter that may have to return a cat that was adopted in June. Apparently, they've been dealing with wicked asthma that has sent her husband to the hospital where his lips were turning blue. Last night, he went via ambulance and the wife was scared to death. She loves loves "Kaluha", but realizes her husband's health is paramount. I agree. She was crying and felt like she had failed. I gave her some recommendations that she hadn't tried before and she's going to give it one more try. Fingers crossed that my suggestions work. It sure seems like she tried everything.

Funny how "normal" feels almost "boring" now. But I'm savouring the "boring". If memory serves me right, chaos is just around the corner. :)

A New Venue!

2011-09-13T17:30:00.000-04:00

I kicked ass this this morning so that I could have a somewhat normal afternoon. I answered emails, telephone and even managed to spend time with my own cats this afternoon! Our 14 year old dog Maggie has a lump on her head so I'm suddenly feeling guilty for being too busy to notice any sooner than this.

I'm pleased to announce that I spent the better part of the morning settling two of our adorable kittens in a GORGEOUS new Pet-Valu store in Mississauga that is going to feature our kittens full time:

The manager was coo'ing over the two kittens and before I left she said that she would probably take them home at night. LOL! She is such a lovely person and we're so fortunate to have another friendly venue to show off our cats!

I feel like our rescue continues to move forward in the best possible way. We've had some "bitter pills" that don't share our happiness, but we're not letting bad attitudes get in the way of being so happy and excited. It takes too much time and energy to feel angry and petty, so we choose "happy" and screw the rest!

One of these days soon, I'll post more on actual rescuing. Right now, my focus has been on keeping our rescue stable through kitten season and pay our vet bills on time. I've heard stories of (and have seen) other rescues with cats in cages in their garages and bedrooms and we won't do that. I don't want our foster parents living like that. (That isn't rescue - that's insane and probably against the law where you live.) But not doing it takes planning and careful consideration. It's hard - really hard.

I've been leaving the actual rescue part to others in our group for now...and they've been doing a GREAT job. Check out the cuties we just rescued:

Yeah....I'd say the volunteers are doing a GREAT job with rescuing without me.

Exhausted and Proud!

2011-09-12T16:57:00.000-04:00

My desk looks like a war zone. Honestly, I haven't been this far behind on admin work in months! Fortunately, it was all worthwhile as our weekend adoption event at Petsmart last weekend was a HUGE success. We had SEVENTEEN adoptions for the weekend and were left with 4 sweet kittens left in their cages this morning.

Needless to say, I was out rescuing again this morning to "replenish" supply. :) Err...should I say "one of our dedicated volunteers was rescuing today". *I* was setting things in place for our placement in a local Pet-Valu tomorrow! We have two really cute kittens going into a large ferrett cage tomorrow. I hope the store manager there is pleased.

Speaking of "Dedicated Volunteers", this blog post wouldn't be worth a damn unless I recognized several of our volunteers who went over and beyond the call of duty for the adoption weekend. I've never seen an event go off with more pizzazz, class and excitement. Two of our volunteers showed up for ALL THREE DAYS, scooping poop, cleaning cages, doing adoptions and organizing. I basically just had to show up on Friday and Sunday. (Saturday, I was trying to stay married and delivering a cat in the city to his new home!)

Running a classy event is a tricky operation. I was witness to a "not-so-classy" adoption event this weekend and I'm beaming with pride for our little group. "Y'all made us look GOOOOD!"

I'm looking forward to things slowing down for me a little bit. I took two kittens to the vets this afternoon for vaccinations and exams and ended up falling asleep in the chair in his waiting room! My head kept bobbing up and down. I must've looked ridiculous. Hahahhaa!

Time to start dinner and I'm sitting here wondering if I'm better off ordering a pizza. Nah...I did that yesterday. Chinese delivery, perhaps?

Saving Ferris

2011-09-08T20:37:00.000-04:00

You'd have to be nearly dead to not smile when you see this little guy. His name is "Ferris" and he's now safe in our care. Many thank you's to Shelley who went to the shelter today on a moments notice to pick him up!

I need to paste this guy's picture on the bathroom mirror to remind me why I'm killing myself to get ready for this adoption event this weekend. My throat is sore and I have a headache - not a good start to a busy weekend.

David helped me load cages and tables in my SUV (three cheers for the new SUV!) tonight. I was in a chipper, energetic mood until about 6:30 tonight and I felt myself fade. I think that's the difference between a 30 year old woman and a 50 year old woman. Seriously...I'm pooped!

We've already had 3 adoptions out of Petsmart since yesterday in anticipation of the adoption event. People want to get "first pick". We have so many cute ones, I doubt anyone is going to go home disappointed this weekend.

I picked up five kittens this afternoon and was able to spend some time with one of my favourite little guys:

"Charlie Chaplin" would make me smile on the worst of days. I'm so tempted to send his picture to that website: Cats That Look Like Hitler. But I figure if I have THAT much time on my hands, my time could be better spent saving some cats! Needless to say, if Charlie Chaplin were MY kitten, I'd kiss his little mustache every day!

But then again...I'm sort of hopeless that way. :)

Brain Fog

2011-09-07T17:09:00.000-04:00

I haven't been myself since my surgery last Friday. My mind feels foggy and I feel constantly stoned. "Stoned" might have been a good thing if I didn't need to be so productive this week. There's so much to do with a huge adoption event this weekend at Petsmart, and I can hardly coordinate enough energy to make dinner.

Apparently, I really screwed up my story about the Cornish Rex yesterday. Not only is he NOT a Sphynx, but I guess I got the facts mixed up and Forgotten Ones Cat Rescue was also involved in his rescue. I may have hit a new blog record for "Screwed Up Blog Retractions" in one week.

We had an adoption call for Sherman yesterday. What a lovely lady, but unfortunately she only wanted one cat and I think Sherman would've been lonely. I found myself describing Sherman to her in what quickly appeared to be an unflattering manner. She started laughing....and laughing...as I described Sherman as the "Resident Raccoon". A few moments before I took the adoption call, I took the following picture of Sherman as I was trying to make Burgers and Fries for dinner:

I only left that cookie sheet out for a few minutes while the oven preheated! I came back to find that he was totally relaxed and having a grand time.

Honestly, I don't want Sherman to go to a home where he's going to be squirted with water or "shooo'd" all the time. It's true, he doesn't need to be in the kitchen counters. He doesn't need to sit on the kitchen table while we eat dinner. He's a cat of his own mind and he keeps us laughing. No, I'm not keeping him, but I need for Sherman to be in a home where he's appreciated and loved for all his toiletpaper-ripping-antics.

His most memorable is our refrigerator. Nobody in the house opens the refrigerator - at any time of day or night - without hearing Sherman galloping through the house and making a run for the open refrigerator door:

I haven't been to the shelter in more than a week. Cats are still being rescued, so there's no worry about that. But it always bothers me me when I get lost in administrative rescue work. BOTH are equally as important as the other. But I enjoy one more than the other - that's all! :)

I'm hopeful that my foggy-anesthesia-brain lifts a bit in the next day or so. I really need to be at my best for the adoption event and to add support to the volunteers. In the meantime, I'm going to let Sherman run amuck and hope there are no adoption calls for him. :)

HUGE FUNDRAISING EVENT!

2011-09-06T11:08:00.001-04:00

Last year, I was obsessed with a scrawny little orange sphynx that arrived at the shelter. He was an older guy. (For the life of me, I wrote about this, but can't find the post!) To make a long story short, I mentioned him to one of our volunteers and it turns out that this cat had been missing for WEEKS and belonged to a friend of hers that lived two hours away! He must've crawled into a delivery truck or something. I don't believe in coincidences, so to find this 12 year old cat's family was a huge thing for me.

To thank us for our hard work, the guardian of this sweet kitty is having a special Benefit Comedy Show for us. This is a HUGE event and I'm so excited that we're part of it: (Note the picture of the orange sphynx on the poster)

The fundraiser is for Forever Home Cat Rescue and Toronto Cat Rescue (The rescue I was with when I rescued this little guy)

Tickets are only $15.00 or $20.00 at the door. You can purchase tickets online HERE. This is an adult show, so you must be over 19 years of age. C'mon out, laugh, and say "hello" to me!!

Please help us to make this a big event! We could easily raise enough money to pay our vet bills for months!

(PLEASE NOTE: I was just corrected that this is a Cornish Rex - not a Sphynx!)

Looking Up!

2011-09-02T11:51:00.000-04:00

The rollercoaster ride of rescue continues to baffle me. My week started in absolute chaos and seems to be ending with some excitement!

We've had SIX adoptions yesterday!!! What a way to start September, eh? We don't even have cats in Petsmart until tonight and we're movin' and shakin'. I crunched some numbers and realized we had 52 adoptions in the month of August! It's really wonderful to think with all the hard work and care that 52 little lives have found their Forever Home.

Speaking of "Forever Home"...I checked on my "Max" in his new home and he's doing great. He's sleeping with his new Mom and she said that he's a keeper. Good stuff!!

I'm having some surgery this afternoon, so as I type this I'm feeling a little distracted, but didn't want to wait until I'm home from the hospital to try to blog. This certainly isn't going to be my best blog post. LOL

We're going to the shelter this weekend to do a rescue. I wish I could be part of it, but I don't want to push myself too hard. I'm happy that we're rescuing an adult cat this time.

We woke up yesterday morning to water all over the kitchen floor and a ripped up loaf of bread dead set in the middle of the kitchen. EVERYBODY looked guilty to me, but I suspect my little Sherminator. He must've had a great time. He actually opened the bread drawer, dragged the loaf of bread out into the kitchen sink where I had some dishes soaking. Then pulled the water-soaked bread onto the floor. What a party he must've had! Wish I had the video camera running for that.

I took a picture of my own cat "Willy" yesterday. He's such a goofy guy - I often find him in this pose:

Please note that this is my dining room table - and his partner in crime "Thomas" behind him. I actually found a pile of barf ON my table this morning!!! ThankYOUverymuch.
Tonight, we have foster parents arriving at Petsmart with their beloved charges to place them in a cage for adoption. Our volunteers have worked VERY VERY hard at making the Petsmart cages look gorgeous. There are fluffy blankets, toys, and cubbies to hide in. It looks like cat-xanadu in there! I'm so impressed and proud.

I'm logging off for the weekend and heading out to the hospital. No worries - small diagnostic procedure, but I'm there for the day - but it's hardly Disneyland, right?

A Retraction, Adoption, and a Silver Lining

2011-08-31T15:15:00.000-04:00

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?

2011-08-30T17:29:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-29T15:37:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-27T21:05:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-18T09:33:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-16T17:58:00.000-04:00

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!

2011-08-15T15:28:00.000-04:00

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

2011-08-12T17:05:00.000-04:00

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!