TGIHD (Thank God its Hump Day)

Well, its been a while!  Its been a busy past week, including the long weekend we had.  Nothing really new, except someone took all my shelters on corner of Grand and Stout.  JERKS.  I don't know if its the Community Place that may own that huge lot, but I will be placing more there soon.  I am pretty sure I had a sign there where they could have contacted me.  At least its warm out these days.  The kitties run to me each day I pull up there.  This is where I rescued Gracie, who had her babies the very same day. 

Speaking of kittens, all are well.  We have four on my porch that are going to new homes this weekend - Snowball, Lulu, Ernie and Jake.  We have eight kittens at foster Sue's house - let's see if i can remember names....  Hawk, Sparrow, Robin and Finch, and then Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton and Peter (these last four are adopted and will go to their new homes in a few weeks).  Then we have three kittens and an adult at foster Kristin's house.  There we have Calvin, Hobbes and Susie.  The adult is Stormy, and there has already been several inquiries for her.

Calvin Hobbes and Susie

STORMY!

There are many still on the street that are just dying, literally, and waiting for rescue.  I still can't do much without a date from the clinic when they will reopen.

In the meantime, thanks to all for sending food, dropping food off, etc.  I am all set with paper products at the moment, so please save your money there.  The food really helps though.  It has been delivered without a note as to who its from so please know, I am very grateful.  Thank you so much.

Have a great day!

"My socks may not match, 

but my feet are always warm."

I Am Someone, Not Something!

My Boy...  I miss him so much.💓💓

So I received the following email yesterday.  I always hesitate to open emails that I know are either not an adoption application, or someone I personally know.  So I waited a day.  Sure enough, its someone hoping I will take in their TWO cats.  Its either someone wanting to get rid of their pets, or someone needing help with a large colony of cats that are reproducing like mad, and/or starving.  Those are two things I cannot help with.  If I were cloned, that would be a different story.  If I had shelters, and people that would be willing to take in/foster/adopt these unwanted pets, that would be different.  But I just cant.  What I do is already too much for me.  Does it break my heart?  Yes.



Hi Janine,

I came across your website and wanted to reach out to you.

I have two cats that are brothers, 5 yrs old (one black cat, the other brown/black tabby, indoor cats) and we are trying desperately to find them a home. Within the last couple of years I've become extremely allergic as I already have bad seasonal allergies to begin with. That on top of my wife not working at this time and the food cost (Leo is on a prescription diet) has been tough.  

The brothers Jax and Leo are fantastic cats, they get along great and I've never heard them hiss even once. They like laying around, laying on your lap and playing at night of coarse.

Are you accepting any new cats at this time? I really would love for them to get into a good home together. I'd be willing to make a donation, pay for their food while waiting to be adopted? Really anything, any ideas or help would be great.

Please let me know if i can answer any further questions.

Thank you for your consideration.

Rob

"Hi Robert, I am sorry but I don't take in unwanted cats.  I feed and rescue them right from the streets, the most desperate.  I am sorry for your plight, but I am in the large circle of people that once you bring a cat or a dog into your home, its there for life, no matter what (with the exception of the animal being dangerous).  With that being said, I applaud you for reaching out to see if someone can take them rather than bring to a shelter or worse, leave for them to fend for themselves.  Some people do that.  I would suggest that you either go to your doctor and get some meds for your allergies, there are a ton of people that do that, or get some pictures and personality descriptions to tug at people's hearts and put them on social media, i.e. facebook, etc.  I am sorry if I sound harsh, but with all the homeless animals on the streets, and kittens being born because of neglect of spay/neuter, its pretty sad when someone wants to get rid of their own pet.  Good luck."

That may have sounded harsh to some of you reading that, but ...  that's my opinion.  And you may have yours. 

Have a nice day.

Spring has Sprung!

Taco's dad's manicure skills
on one of his pet chickens

It was rainy, soggy, and humid when I walked out the door this morning at 3 am.  I am dreading mornings now because I have not been able to do TNR with the clinic being closed.  I am dreading finding kittens.  Actually, Sheryl and I DID find kittens on Saturday morning.  They were in a soggy straw-filled shelter on Ferndale Crescent.  Newborns, all dead.  This stuff gets to Sheryl, but not me so much.  I've hardened my heart sort of - I guess you would call it that.  Sheryl has been doing this for/with me for six years now.  I am so thankful for her.  The one day a week she goes with me she checks the shelters for kittens.  She also changes towels, and does the dirty work basically.  Grateful, totally grateful for her.  Myself, I've been doing this for over 20 years (have I been saying that for at least 5-10 years now?).  I've seen all sorts of things.  I walk away from crying animals that have run to my car each day because they are hungry and miserable and maybe are thinking that I will be their savior and rescue them off the street that day.  Its a very hard thing to have to do.  Walk away.  Just walk away. 

DAKE STREET Kitty

So last week, all four kittens I am fostering have been adopted.  All great wonderful people that will love, care and protect them for life.  Although I prefer kittens to be adopted in pairs, this time I made exceptions because the people adopting them individually are just so nice.  And what a better time really - this Covid thing - because people are home and can really work with and pay attention to the individual kittens.  Ernie and Jake were adopted together, so I am glad of that.  Lulu's new adopter visits her often on my porch, as well as Snowball's new peeps. 

I couldn't be happier.

My friend Kristin has also got herself some new kittens which will be part of my rescue.  She figures they are about 4 weeks old, and are already weaned and using the litter box!  She will be sending pictures to me shortly.   She also has an adult female cat with an injured leg and she will also be available for adoption. Just gotta get those pics!  Kris...  :)

Have a great day!

RERUN - March 19, 2015

March 19, 2015

Thought I would share this story with you - I just read about it this morning:

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (AP) - A cat that vanished in South Carolina two years ago is going home after ending up nearly 2,000 miles away in Southern California. Kevin the orange tabby is leaving Palm Springs on Wednesday after disappearing from Anderson, South Carolina, in 2013. John Welsh of Riverside County Animal Services says the cat turned up in early March inside a U-Haul trailer a woman had driven across the country. During a routine inspection, the inspector heard meowing. The driver says she didn't know Kevin was inside. The dehydrated cat was taken to a shelter. His microchip helped track down owner Cheryl Walls, who jokes that Kevin has seen more of the country than her. She says somebody must have cared for Kevin. But who -- and how Kevin got into the trailer -- are mysteries.

Read More at: http://13wham.com//news/features/nation-news/stories/missing-sc-cat-found-2-years-later-ca-2766.shtml

Pretty amazing!~

All is well this morning.  It is a nippy 22 degrees out.  Cold enough to be able to walk on top of the snow, kind of like JC walking on the water!  I am seeing more and more cats out now.  On my way to do my dreaded first feeding spot on Parsells, I spotted a black and white cat - of course, I immediately pull over whenever this happens and grab a paper bowl or two, get out, and fill the bowls with food and water.  This baby came over and started to hungrily gobble the food down.  Breaks my heart, but knowing I fed a hungry animal makes it easier.  As I drove off, I knew I would be keeping an eye out for this guy every morning to come.

At my Hayward location, I thought I could hear a tinkling behind me, and sure enough, there was a very gorgeous fluffy grey cat with a collar and tag on.  I saw Petey and Paulie at my second Parsells location, waiting hungrily for their food.  Two beautiful reds.  There is a whole colony of brown tabbies at the Garson/Hayward locations.  A beautiful grey cat on Pennsylvania and Second that I have been feeding for over a year now meows like crazy when I pull up.  This is where I rescued Wally (#2) in the fall of last year and adopted out to Alex, the 89-year-old gentleman who ADORES him.  There is another black and white kitty on 3rd and Central that waits for me each morning, never letting me get too close.  As I drove off I was thinking that I must be his only human contact each day.  The only one, and that's only for one minute of the day.  How lonely that must be.  I wonder if cats feel lonely.  I thought he must be glad I am going so that he can eat, and then curl back up inside the shelter there on the porch and get some sleep.  At least I hope he does.

Milly

Vilified, scrutinized, and misunderstood, while there are many of us that feed, care, and advocate for the feral and homeless cats out there, the general consensus surrounding these cats is filled with misconceptions.    Pet cats and homeless cats are really the same.  The care and compassion we give our animals at home should be the same as what we do for our homeless creatures, even if we can't pet them.  Each has a personality and individuality, and each would have a good story to tell.

That's why in the darkness and quiet of the morning if you are out in the neighborhoods I go into, you will hear someone having a one-sided conversation and making a lot of kissing type noises... and that would be me.  :)

One last thing I thought of - you know why city and county and governments don't step up and do more for the animals?  Cruelty, overpopulation?  Because animals don't vote.  If they did, we would have a lot more help with these problems, eh?

"Hurt no living thing:

Ladybird, nor butterfly,

Nor moth with dusty wing."

Taco Update

Anyone remember Taco?  Here he was as a baby, and here he is today.  WOW.  What a difference!  And I am lucky enough to have him as my neighbor!  I am so thankful that I made the decision to wait a month to retest him for leukemia.  He was originally tested and was found to be positive for feline leukemia, a highly contagious and deadly disease to cats.  I was lucky enough to have neighbors that said - "we will take Taco for a month to keep him separate from your cats until he is retested."  Sure enough, it was a false positive and he is leukemia free.  And of course, the neighbors fell in LOVE with him so they decided that they wanted to adopt him! 

TACO as a Baby

TACO Today!

This morning I was prepared to rescue the fluffy red cat on Melville that I TNR'd several years ago.  He has really learned to trust me the past year and allows me to pet him.  I discovered he is completed matted due to his fur being so long.  Its got to be painful, so I've mentioned this in past posts, and finally someone stepped up and not only said she would foster him, but also pay for his vetting that he might need.  Now THAT' S an offer you can't refuse!

So, vet appointment made, and carrier in truck as I headed out to Melville this morning after my rounds.  Sure enough, fluffy red was there.  I scooped him up by his scruff, laid him gently into the carrier, and as I went to latch the door, he pushed his way through the door and ran.  UGH.  And I cut myself doing it.  So, no rescue this morning.  I am so disappointed.  He was going to be shaved and given up to date shots.  It will be some time before he trusts me again.

Thank you Anne E. for your kindness.  Anne wrote me a while ago to say her room would be ready if we can get that frightened matted kitty.

This little one, however, is also available.  He has been living in the shelter on Dake Street since last year.  Runs to the truck just about every morning now, crying.  He would love a good home if anyone is considering adopting a sweet lovable adult cat.

Have a great day.

"Learn to appreciate what you have,

before time forces you to appreciate 

what you had."

TGIF

Nothing new this morning.  Kittens are going like hotcakes though.  Which is a good thing?  I am not thrilled about kitten season, especially knowing there are so many out there that are being born on the streets and there is nothing we can do about it.

Just sharing a bit of nostalgia.  Is that the right word?  IF you will recall, three years ago, we had a batch of kittens, and one of them was Posey.  Here is Posey then, and here he is today, having a birthday party in his honor, by his adoptive family.  What a very lucky kitty he is.

CLICK ON PICS TO SEE UP CLOSE!!!

And NOW!  All grown up!

LOVE happy endings!

Have a great day!

"Every day may not be good, but there is something good in every day."

FOSTERS NEEDED!

Ernie, Jake, Lulu, Snowball

Crazy past four days.  Friday was uneventful because it was a skip day.   Kittens were picked up by a temporary foster  on Thursday - kittens being Snowball, Lulu, Jake and Ernie.  Darling little things, but frightened of their own shadow.  This is what happens when born outdoors and let to roam after being weaned by their feral mother, at approximately 5 weeks old.  I am giving them birthdays of March 30th.  Thank you to Maree for helping out!  Until Sunday that is, when Maree reported that kittens were displaying blood in their stool, vomiting and diarrhea.  Great.  So, Sunday morning, after calling the Emergency Vet in Brighton/Henrietta, the only place open, to make sure they were open, I got the OK to bring them in.  I drove to Maree's at 7:30 am., picked them up, and was at the clinic at 7:45 am.  Out came one of the staff to get the kittens, and by 9 am., I received a call from the doctor inside the clinic telling me there was not much to report, but that they could be treated with meds.  I asked about the combo test, and he wasn't aware I had requested one.  So, he told me that with the blood draw they could pinpoint with more accuracy as to what the issue is, or isn't.  He told me to come back at 10:30, which I did, and it wasn't until 12:15 pm. that I was able to drive off with the little darlings.  And I was also out $504.00.  They eliminated a few things, but said the cause was most likely the deworming that was given to them on Thursday and its like a poison to their system, and it could be the cause for the symptoms they were displaying.  They are much better today.

So, I've had the kittens here with me since Sunday, and I am looking to find them a good foster.  The foster should be local, with a room that is large enough for four kittens to play in, but also a room where there can be no hiding spaces.  Its highly unlikely the kitten will begin trust when you are trying to pull them out of something or somewhere.  These kittens need to be handled gently and often to get them to trust humans.  They must also have some flexibility for meet and greets with potential adopters.  Not necessarily at the foster home, but I can get them and keep them for a day.

Pennsylvania Avenue Cats

This morning, as I crossed over Goodman to begin my spots near the public market, I could see the air was cloudy under the street lights.  Before crossing, a firetruck sped by.  I then noticed a burning smell, and sure enough, after verification on the news when I returned home, there was a fire on Portland.  Portland!  That's a distance, and the smoke wafted all the way over to Bay and Goodman?  Then again, there was a fire on Monroe Avenue a few weeks back and I could smell that one too from the same distance.

Chappas - Grand Ave.

 Clerk was murdered at this corner store last week

Still hasn't reopened

Very friendly Calico I feed here at Chappas, 

under the porch next door - would love to rescue!

The moon is almost full, and its so pretty to look up and see it against the backdrop of 3 am. dark sky.  Then of course the birds begin singing around 4 am. and its the welcoming sound of springtime.  Although its certainly taking its time these days to get here.  38 degrees this morning.

That's all I have.

Have a great day.

"Let your smile change the world,

but don't let the world change your smile."