Scenes from a Feeding

There was an old movie called Scenes from a Marriage...  just in case y'all didn't get the title...  :)

My rounds this morning were in the midst of a thunder and lightning storm.  I kept thinking I would get struck by lightning.  I hear of it happening a lot these days.  Thanks to my trusty pink wellies, I should be good, although I have a headlamp which has metal around my neck because its now pitch dark out for the hour I go out.  But don't they say whatever is the tallest in an open spot, the lighting will strike?  Not sure, but I was prime target for it this morning.  Here are a few 'scenes' from this morning (click on pics to zoom in):

Parsells Girl needs to be spayed

Little Black Boy needs adopting! (Hayward)

Pretty White Boy needs adopting!  (Baldwin)

Sweet Girl on Second

I have the day off tomorrow, Friday, and on Saturday is the fundraiser my friends are hosting for me.  Its going to be wonderful, with live music, great food, full bar, great stuff to bid on, and plenty of other fellow animal lovers.  I am praying the rain predicted holds off.  I am looking forward to meeting folks whom I've never met, yet they read this blog.  I am looking forward to seeing those that I HAVE met, through this blog.  I am looking forward to seeing friends and family that DON'T read this blog.  :)  All in all, I think it will be a great day, and I hope you will be there.

I was thinking about something after Kristin asked my advice on a situation she recently encountered.  A friend of a friend has a brother who is 'hoarding' cats on his property near a local college.  There are a ton of kittens because this person doesn't have the mental capacity to have them spayed and neutered, nor to ask for help.  Cats are found on college campuses and on military bases where students or military personnel abandon their cats when they move. Many college students think they want a cat. Later, when they realize they have no place for it during the summer, they surrender it to the shelter or abandon it to fend for itself. With the help of a local rescue group, and with the permission of this man, we can get these poor animals into a clinic to be spayed and neutered, and returned to him.  Although the kittens need foster homes, or adoption.  They are all friendly.  From what Kristin says - and she went to see first hand - they are very tiny kittens, and you can hold them in the palm of your hand.  My point is, its so important to foster.  Fostering animals is saving lives. When you become a foster parent, you volunteer to keep a homeless pet in your home temporarily until they go to a forever home.  Please consider becoming a foster - let me know if you can, I have adult cats right now that need to get off the street, and rescue groups have an overabundance of kittens.  Take your pick!  But please help!  Here are eight good reasons on WHY you should, and that you CAN do it.

1. Fostering increases an animal’s chance of getting adopted. Foster families are usually the first to find out about the pet’s personality. You may even be the first to teach your foster pet basic house manners, making them more appealing to potential adopters.
2. Your own pets will learn more social skills. The more animals your pets come in contact with, the better they are at dealing with stress and getting used to strangers. Your pet might even find a playmate in your foster pet.
3. You get to see if you’re ready to own another pet. Maybe you want to foster a certain dog breed to see if you’re ready to adopt one, or you want to see if adding a cat into your all-dog household will upset the  balance. Or maybe you want a new pet now but aren’t sure where you’ll be in the next 5, 10, 15, or 20 years. Though fostering is not a trial adoption period for that pet, it can help you try out changes to your current “fur family.”
4. Fostering is temporary. Cats require minimal space and are very low-maintenance, so they don’t take a lot of time to look after. If you’ve already got a dog, it’s not a big change to add one more pup to your daily walks and potty break schedule. Knowing the foster animal will only be with you for a short time makes it easier to find the time to take care of them, and it also makes it easier to give them up when it’s time.

5. You probably already have the space for one more. A spare bedroom, office, or screen porch is the perfect place for a foster pet. Even a bathroom is enough room for a kitten or puppy, and it’s much larger than a cage in a shelter. Sometimes a spare room is the only thing standing between an animal and euthanasia in an animal control facility.
6. You can choose how to foster. Only want to foster bulldogs? Prefer to look after kittens? Can’t foster for more than a few months at a time? Most rescues can accommodate your requests, as long as you agree to it beforehand and give them plenty of notice about changes.
7. Fostering keeps animals out of shelters. As wonderful as animal shelters are, they can be stressful from the lack of quiet, training, and exercise. And there’s nothing like the love and warmth of a family! Animals in foster care tend to be less stressed, better socialized, and have a lower chance of getting sick than animals in shelters.

8. You are saving a life. You feel good, your shelter or rescue group helps more animals, and your foster pet is happy, healthy, and well-socialized. Talk about win-win-win!

Make a difference, pass it on!

Have a Great Weekend, and SEE YOU SATURDAY!

Hump Day

Mickey 

The pregnant kitty that Laura trapped for me yesterday from Hayward, who we will call Burnie for now (kind of like Laura’s last name, kinda…  J) has been spayed, and her injured foot looked at.  They say she has a swollen carpus, which is similar to a sprained wrist?   Thank you to Laura who will keep Birdie caged for a few days, so that her ‘wrist’ can heal.   

It was back to usual this morning, out in the dark at 5 am., going to 14 different locations in the inner city, all within a 2-3 mile radius of each other, putting down food here and there, picking up a soaking towel, replacing with a dry one, patting a kitty’s head here and there, cat calling, and generally watching out for myself, in the dark.  Its been a wet summer really, we’ve had some really good storms – its been true what they say, when it rains, it pours.  So far I am down shelters at two locations – 4^th and Pennsylvania, and Parsells #1.  I don’t know what I will do when its time to batten the hatches when the cold weather comes.   I know I will need some more shelters built, which I’ve had some made out of wood, some out of plastic totes, and some out of Styrofoam boxes.  The problem is the creeps that take them and destroy them.  I need to rebuild the shelters on Central near 5^th, Short (needs waterproof tarp), Hayward, Baldwin, and the shelter on Chamberlain.  They are all in need of touch ups, and some creativity on how best to keep them dry over the winter.  I need help with this.  If anyone would like to come round with me some morning, and help figure out how we could rearrange, I would be ever so grateful to you!

I am feeling very bad for two kitties in particular.  The little mama girl on Second that I took her babies from this past week, and the little black cat on Hayward that runs to greet me each morning, starving.  Both allow me to pick them up and hold them.  Both desperately need homes (including George, Brady, Fraser, and soon the kittens, Daisy and Piper!).   Please spread the word about these angels.

Just a reminder about my fun’raiser coming up on Saturday.  A big shout out to all the women in my life who have helped to make this possible, including those that have made basket donations.  Its going to be a fun day, and I pray to the Sun Goddess to keep the Rain Man away.  We will have lots of food, live music, and a ton of great stuff up for auction.  I would be over the moon to meet as many of you as possible that read this blog, or that know me and my passion.  And if I may be so bold, if you can’t make it, maybe consider a donation of food or money to go towards food and spay/neuter.  Remember, I spend an average of $100 a week to feed the homeless cats.  That’s just food.  Spay/neuter, its $50 per cat at the clinic.   I don’t know how long I can continue to do this, my health always being the concern, but its much easier for me to have some help, as I don’t get breaks that the rescue organizations get.  So anything helps!

Thanks for listening, and have a great day!

"The animals of the world exist for their own reasons.  They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men." –

Choices

Well, she did it again.

Yesterday, I thought to ask Laura to help me trap the pregnant tabby on Hayward that I had tried to grab by the scruff yesterday morning, to fill my one clinic appointment for this morning.  Little Mama had a limp no less.  I knew it would be tough for me after my failure, because there are at least four other tabbies, and they mostly look alike (I’ve TNR’d most of them), and also Little Blackie, who is very friendly, but gobbled and hogs the food when I refill their bowls each morning.  I knew most likely chances of the right kitty going into the trap were slim.  Laura has a drop trap, and is highly skilled with it, a computer monitor hooked up to it and all.   She got there in the dark this morning, as I began my rounds, and within the hour, I got the text “got her!”.  I was thrilled.

Yes, this is a pregnant cat and her pregnancy will be terminated today.  Some may frown upon this, and call it a sin.  I have mixed feelings about it myself, but in the long run, terminating the pregnancy wins.  And only for the fact that there are millions of kittens being born each day outdoors, and millions don’t make it past the first few days, due to sickness, dangers such as injury or death from being hit by a car, being harmed by another animal or person and diseases and parasites.

A cat is spayed - they remove the reproductive organs, and with them any fetuses. People have choices about if they become pregnant or not - cats just mate. And when unwanted human babies are born, they are adopted into loving homes. Excess animals are taken to the shelter and killed, as there are millions and millions more animals than homes for them all.

Go to your local shelter and look around at all the cats and kittens looking for homes. Ask one of the volunteers there how many cats will be put down this week. How many last month? How many so far this year?  Then pick four or five of those cats. Those would be the ones put to death because you let your cat have kittens and those kittens took homes that would have gone to them. Why should these unborn kittens live and those shelter animals die?

Cats are best spayed even if pregnant. Rather take them unborn, than to take them alive and aware to the shelter and then euthanized because there aren't enough homes for them. At shelters all through the country, thousands and thousands of kittens are killed daily, their only crime was to be born and that people didn’t have their pets spayed or neutered.   That’s pretty sad. But reality.  We need to do our part to help animals who have no choice.  Maybe one day there won't be more kittens than there are loving homes for them. But that day is still pretty far away.

Have a great day!

“In the long run, we shape our lives, and we shape ourselves. The process never ends until we die. And the choices we make are ultimately our responsibility.” 

Another One Bites the Dust

Domino, recently rescued and adopted!  Thank you Joy! (does he look happy, or what!)

That is, another cat was rescued, and another one TNR'd over the weekend.  With the help of a new friend, whom I have never met - and look forward to at my upcoming 'fun'raiser' this Saturday (oh, I am getting nervous!  :)), I was able to get a few clinic appointments at Lollipop Farm clinic over the weekend.  Now, normally, Lollipop has only one spay/neuter day, on Fridays.  But apparently, with the help of a grant through some kind person, they have been able to add extra days recently to help the feral/homeless baby producing population by performing spays and neuters, for $40 per cat, which does not include flea treatment, deworming, etc.  Just your basic snip, rabies and distemper shots.

(Note:  Click on pics to see up close!)

The one I rescued Sunday morning is the calico sister feral kitten of black feral kitten that I rescued last Tuesday, Piper.  Hooray!  Piper was delivered, after surgery, to her foster home to join her sister.  And speaking of, I was actually able to hold this little black feral girl, who is feral no more, although still a bit scared.  I think it will take a while for her calico sister Piper to come around, but I am sure she will, and then they will be ready for adoption!  Thank you Julie D. and her daughters!!

Captured Sunday!

Captured Tuesday!

The other kitty was from my first spot at Parsells and is a boy, Sammy.  Feral, or semi-feral (he waits for me to replenish the food and then leave from a distance), he spent the night on my porch, and poor thing endured the severe storm we had over night.  Boy was that a doosey.  We had drenching rain, and here I still have a hole in my dilapidated roof already.  I am surprised I did not see any visual damage this morning, i.e. flooding inside, but I am sure there is damage building up under the shingles, due to the visible corroding of my dry wall in the attic that I turned into a master bedroom many years ago shortly after moving into my house.

I have a clinic spot tomorrow, Tuesday, at Rochester Community Animal Clinic on Bay.  I should be rejoicing in my two latest over the weekend, but there is a pregnant tabby on Hayward, who, with the little black boy that hungrily awaits me, and nudges me until I place the food down each day, she will get close enough for me to touch her. She is now limping, and pregnant.  I got a hold of her neck this morning, and scrunched, but not good enough, because she struggled just before me setting her free.  My intention was to place her in a carrier until the appointment on Tuesday.  Now, she won't trust me again for a while.  I will have to place black kitty in the carrier tomorrow so I can set the trap, and hope that she will go in, out of the other four that lurk, that I have already trapped, neutered and returned.  Wish me luck!

I think that makes 26 cats rescued this year?  And 28 TNR's on top of that?  Yea!  Great news! 

Have a great day!

"You must stop talking about the problem and start talking about the solution...  start speaking words of victory."

Breeding

Breeding.   I was thinking, to me, its on the list of one of the most inhumane things you can do in this present century.  As I finished up this morning, walking through the field where my last spot on Seventh feeds at least four adult cats, and now two baby kittens, a dog barks from next door every single morning.  One day, through the rickety wooden fence that the dog is enclosed in, I peeked through and could see it’s a female pit bull with signs that its been bred over and over again.  If dogs could talk, do you think they would say, please stop impregnating me over and over and taking my babies from me, over and over again.  Don’t we have enough homeless dogs in shelters that are being euthanized every single day, because they are unwanted?

I have a new neighbor since early this year, and don’t get me started on him – he is a creep in many ways.  I have always had good neighbors living there over the 20+ years since I moved into this ‘starter’ home (first and probably the last with my financial status!).  But this time, I didn’t get so lucky.  Without getting into specifics, he recently came home with a puppy.  A very cute puppy, golden retriever, aren’t they all adorable, but I asked where he got it and he said ‘a breeder.’  I just wanted to smack him.  I said (and yes, I am very honest, to a fault) ‘another strike against you Scott’.   I just can’t believe that in this day and age, people are still buying from breeders.  Do some research!  I’ll bet you can find the dog breed you wanted, or something very close, in a rescue, or shelter.  Save a life!  Each time we allow an animal – dog or cat – to breed, there are hundreds, thousands more being put to sleep every day in a shelter because they are unwanted.  Shame shame shame.

That's my opinion.  That’s my rant for the day.

Little feral black kitten, DAISY, is now in the custody of a kind woman and her daughter in Fairport, who will be working with little kitten to get her more socialized, which I don’t think is going to be hard to do.  She was a frightened little kitten at first, never having had human contact, but she will come around, I am sure of it.  She also agreed to take the little calico still out there, if I can catch her.  She was there with her mommy this morning, waiting on her breakfast.  So pitiful to see this, but I drove away knowing I was filling their empty little bellies.  UPDATE:  you aren't going to believe this.  Look at the picture JUST sent to me of her, with the words:  "look how calm and sweet she is already":

Holy smokes!  I am THRILLED!!!  :)

I have not seen Tuffy around, nor the black kitty that was dwindling before my eyes all summer on Seventh.  Tuffy, as of the last spotting, was not looking good.  I wish I had not put him back on the street when he was recently neutered.  I have a lot of regrets in this respect, but nothing I can do about them now.  I did see the baby black kitten on Short, the one I thought was pregnant.  Its got very tiny short legs, very low to the ground, maybe six to seven months old.  I did not see the two baby baby kittens on Seventh this morning, but did yesterday.  I did see Neck Wound Kitty on Stout come out of the garage for its meal, visibly irritated by the constant open wounds on its body.  We are figuring its has some kind of skin condition, or bug.  I wish we could get him trapped and looked at.

Which leads me to my plea – please help me to help them.  Anything you can do, your time, your donation of money toward spay/neuter and food, or just a delivery of food.  I will do the hard part, you can do the rest.  I have a fundraiser coming up on August 2^nd, here it the flyer.  I would love to see you, or hear from you, if you can or cannot attend. 

Thanks for listening, and have a great day!

Happy Dance

Another black Sweetheart that waits for its breakfast every morning on Hayward

Yesterday’s post was spot on when I said it takes a village. I never liked that expression before ever since it came out of Hilary Clinton’s mouth, but it has since become applicable in certain situations. I got home from work yesterday to a very miserable kitten still in a trap since Tuesday morning, waiting for Thursday morning to roll around so that I could get it to Lollipop, for spaying/neutering.  Over the course of two days, I would sit and talk gently to it, give it food and water, a little blanket inside to cuddle in, and hope that it wasn’t completely traumatized.  I had every intention of returning to the street, because I didn’t know what else I could do, nor did I have a choice to do otherwise, because it being somewhat feral.  Its young enough though, where I thought with time and patience and handling, would be a butterball soon enough.  I dreaded having to put it back out on the street after its surgery on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, Moonbeam, the kitten I rescued the Friday past, who IS a complete butterball, was delivered to a woman in Fairport to be fostered.  She and her daughter have done this before for me, and I was thrilled at her offer to foster, but also hesitant – I LOVE kittens, and hate to give them up, but with this little feral kitten, and the goings on in my own house, I knew I had to get Moonbeam out and into new hands.  This woman had originally offered to take in the feral kitten and work with it, but there was too much confusion at first in trying to get it vetted, so I made the decision that she should just take sweet gentle Moonbeam for now.

So, back to yesterday after work.  I get a call from a girl in the animal world that I just recently reconnected with, thinking she had moved out of state years ago to be with her son, and we lost track of each other.  She called to say she lives next door to Moonbeam’s foster mother, and that HER neighbor had just adopted Moonbeam!~   Turns out the neighbor took in another black kitten rescued from Pennsylvania (the state), and wanted a companion for it.  WOW!  Not even a half day and Moonbeam is now adopted!  Pretty good, eh?  I was told that the woman names all her cats with “P” names, so there goes another good name (Moonbeam).  I will wait to hear what her new name will be! 

And do you want to hear the REALLY good news?  The woman who was going to foster Moonbeam offered to pick up the feral kitten from Lollipop today after being spayed/neutered, and keep it and work it with to socialize it!  WOWOWOWOW!!!  I am thrilled!!!  I love this woman!

So there you have it.  It REALLY does take a village, doesn’t it?

Have a GREAT day!

“You will find as you look back upon your life, 

that the moments that stand out are the moments 

when you have done things for others” 

It Takes A Village!

An update to yesterday's feral kitten drama, and many thanks to the few that commented after asking for advice. I was hoping to get a spot at a clinic today, but instead have one for tomorrow.  So this poor little girl, or boy, is stuck in a trap until then. I will have to return this baby to the street after that, something I am totally against, but I have no other choice. I transferred it to a larger trap from the kitten trap it was in yesterday.  It has plenty of food, water, comfort.  Its just scared to death.  There is no better feeling though, like sticking your finger inside and rubbing its tiny little bottom.  I did not see its sister, little calico kitten, this morning on Second Street, nor its mom.  I did provide food, although someone has been removing the bowls there, I suspect the landlord of the young Spanish couple that lives there with their baby.

After the craziness of yesterday, and trying to figure out what to do with this kitten, I realized something, and am sharing my thoughts:

People that have compassion for animals are the kindest people on earth.  We may not always show it outright, I believe we all have a fear of rejection, fear of being hurt by others, etc., so we hide our emotions, but we really do come together to help each other in times of need.  I have seen such displays of kindness in the years since I've been doing this blog.  Prior to that, at least five years, no one knew me, and I knew no one who helped animals.  I had no clue these people existed.

I need to thank rescue groups such as Habitat for Cats, Julie Lafferty, founder of Another Chance Pet Rescue, Four Legged Friends, Wendy from Another Chance Pet Rescue current, Kitten Korner, Pet Pride of NY, Pet Adoption Network, Susie Q Dog Rescue, Blue Moon Meadows, Rescued Treasures, all have helped me in the past with either cats or dogs that I have rescued over the years. Whether it be taking them and bringing them into their rescue, supplying medicines, food or just providing advice.  As far as individuals, I could never begin to list everyone that has touched my life in this way.  I have adopted out hundreds of cats that I've rescued over the past 12-15 years, there have been so many kitties, so many people, it blows my mind.  So many groups and individuals who have stepped up to the plate for animals.

We try hard to forget the sad stories, but we need to remember the good stories.  And there are so many.

Rochester is such a big city, yet has so few resources to help people like me, like you.  We have only a handful of low cost clinics for spay/neuter, and we bust our butts sitting there waiting for a cat go into a trap in the early morning hours, then calming them, then transporting them to a clinic, then forking over lots of money for the fees, then picking them up, and finally returning them to the street.  There should be a task force that the city employs to do this.  If we had one, we rescuers would have a little more time on our hands, a little more money in our pockets, and there would be fewer cats on the streets.

I have seen such displays of affection between rescue groups, all rallying together to help these helpless animals.  My heart swoons!

This world would be such a wonderful place to live, if we were all on the same path of compassion.

"You better live every day like it's your last because one day you're going to be right." 

Black Magic (Cat) Woman

Well, my friend Kristin tallied up from my blog this weekend, and here is what she writes:

"DRUMROLL.....  you have rescued 22 cats and 2 puppies.  You have TNR'd 30 cats in addition to the ones you've rescued since January of this year."  (thats 52 cats spayed and neutered - thats also $2,600.00 in vet fees, and that is just for spay/neuter). 

WELL I'LL BE...  :)   I am proud of that.  I know there are people out there, including those that might be reading this, that have probably done a lot more than that, but for little old me, I am impressed.  I couldn't do all the TNR's without the help of Laura, who has caught some that were hard for me to get, and rescued all those without the help of YOU.  My friends, strangers, family.  Thanks for spreading the word, and helping with foster, and adopting all of those kitties!!!~  WE ALL can do it, one cat at a time!

The above was written last evening.

Here is today:

I was going to comment today about my mission and purpose.  What is my goal doing what I do, each and every single day, for the past 10-15 years, going out, into the inner city, where most houses are run down, where there is trash strewn about, where one in every five or 10 houses is boarded up, in the dark, at 5 am., no matter if its thundering and lightning, pouring rain, wind storm, snow storming, whatever, it doesn't matter.  I feed over 50 cats total, and those are the ones I can see.  I feed them at shelters that are made for me, I feed them on porches with shelters on them, I feed them under boards so the rain can't dampen the food,.  Some are hiding, some come out later and find the food I leave, and hungrily gobble it up.  Some cats are sick, some are kittens, some are pregnant, some are ‘healthy’, some are fixed, some are not. 

My goal, mission, passion, fixation, sickness, ha!  whatever you want to call it, is to rescue these cats, one at a time, sometimes two at a time (kittens) when ever I can.  I find them homes.  I’ve rescued hundreds, and spayed or neutered hundreds more.  I’ve been doing this for over 15 years.  Fixing them is a necessity, something that I hate to do, for many reasons, but its absolutely necessary, so TNR (trap, neuter and return) is something I try to do when I can’t rescue the others.

My dilemma today:  Whenever I have ever rescued kittens, and I have rescued MANY, I have always been able to calm them, hold them and give them love soon after I bring them home.  Today was different.  I set out two kitten traps on Second.  There is a black kitten, and a calico kitten.  The one trap doesn’t work so well, but the other did, and it got the black kitten.  I closed up shop after trying for that hour I am out, thinking I will try for calico tomorrow – I had even picked up mama and set her in the car in a carrier while I tried to get the two babies.  I brought kitten home, in the trap, and opened it up in the bathroom, hoping I would be able to do the same thing I’ve always been able to do with kittens.  This kitten went berserk, jumped so high trying to get out, get away, knocking this and that over, it was crazy.  I finally was able to get it and hold it by the scruff, immobilizing it.  Talking gently, sweet, stroking its tiny head, and as soon as I let up just a second, it bit me.  This is a feral kitten.  This kitten is back into the trap, with food and water, and a cover over it to calm it, but now I have to make a decision.  I either find someone who is willing to work with feral kitten, or ?I get it spayed or neutered and return it to the street, which is so against my belief.  Returning it.  I can do an adult, but to return a baby kitten to the street is, or WAS unthinkable for me.  I am seeking advice.  

What would you do???

Brady & George, Fraser & Moonbeam! ALL NEED ADOPTING

GEORGE

BRADY

Fraser

Moonbeam

Fosters Needed!

Moonbeam

I had quite a weekend out there, witnessing many babies.  Little Moonbeam, who I whisked off the streets on Friday, is pure sweetness.  Turns out it’s a she, and she is about – four months old?  You have to wonder how these innocent little things stay safe that long, on their own, with only the help of their mommy, if they are lucky.  Moonbeam spent the weekend in the bathroom of my tiny house, and started to become quite lonely, so I let her out onto the closed porch with the ‘adults’, and she thoroughly enjoyed being around the big kids.  Most tolerated her, and there were a few hisses from some grumpy kitties, but all in all, what fun she had!  I need to find a home for her quick.

In the meantime, there are two kittens on Second Street that I really should get.  One is a calico, the other is black.  I would say they are the same size as Moonbeam, which makes them about four months?  I was able to snap this picture of the calico this morning, but little black kitty was too frightened to come any closer for his picture to be taken.  My problem here is:  My only alternative is to bring these other two to Lollipop, unless I can find a foster for them.  Ideally, I could keep all three in the bathroom, but that’s a bit much.  I am having issues with the other cats in my house and its not pretty.  Remember, I still have George, and Brady.  No one cares for Brady, so he is being stalked, and there are a lot of ‘time outs’ lately for one or the other.  I can only rescue so many.  These kittens are pure innocence, and I am hoping someone will step up and offer to foster them. 

PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD.  I will try to get them tomorrow if I have some interest.  Thank you!~

DO YOUR BEST

"Look to this day!

For it is life, the very life 

of life.

In its brief course

Lie all the verities and

realities of your existence;

The bliss of growth

The glory of action

Splendor of achievement,

For yesterday is but a dream

And tomorrow is only a vision,

But today well lived,

makes every yesterday a 

dream of happiness

And tomorrow a vision of hope.

Look well, therefore to this day!

Such is the salutation to the dawn."

Another Rescue! Holy Moly!

Well, I did it again.  I drove up to my first spot this morning, in the dark, on Parsells, to feed the usual kitties waiting across the street from Brenda's house, and sure enough, there was the baby black kitten I had first seen yesterday and felt sick over my stomach about after driving away.  It took off around the back of the house next door, frightened, but was obviously hungry enough, and brave enough, to come up on the porch as I poured the food for the other adult cats, and worked his little head in and began to chow.  I used two fingers to scrunch him up by the neck, and carried him to the waiting carrier, and his lucky new life!  Here he or she is, and I could care less of its sex right now because of how cute it is!  :)  Meet Moonbeam!  I know some of you won't like that name - and yes, I need to keep thinking about it.  I have no clue what I will do with him, but for now, he is safe and comfortable.

I have a co-worker, Rebecca, who has taught her young son, Colton, about love, compassion, and kindness.  For his 10th birthday party last year, he asked his friends to make a donation to me, in lieu of presents for him.  They did, and it meant the world to me.  Yesterday, Rebecca wrote me this funny little story about her son, and their cat, and I thought I would share with you.  I am on vacation today, and loving it.  I will also leave you with some other statistics you might find interesting.  I hope you enjoy this little story, and spread the word about Moonbeam, Brady, George, and of course sweet Fraser!

Here is Rebecca's story:

Moey, the cat that picked Colton when he was a little guy loves him to pieces and follows him everywhere. Everywhere Colton goes, Moey has to too. He waits in the upstairs bedroom window, watching for Colton to come home from school. If Colton take a bath, Moey sits on the side of the tub. If Colton sleeps, Moey does too.

You get the drift.

Colton and Moey were sitting on the floor in the living room. Colton says to his shadow (Moey) “I just love you Moey” and hugs him. Colton pulls back and Moey, as if to say the same thing, reached out  his paw, batted at colton, then moved close as he could and wrapped his paw around Colton’s back.

It was amazingly sweet!

Rebecca

Most Popular US Cat Breeds
Domestic Shorthair	61,046
American Shorthair	37,545
Domestic Medium Hair	16,776
Domestic Long Hair	15,049
Siamese	14,582
Maine Coon	10,852
Persian	6,717
Russian Blue	3,864
Himalayan	3,701
Ragdoll	3,567
Bengal	3,118
Manx	2,349
British Shorthair	2,171
Norwegian Forest Cat	1,827
Bombay	1,580

Most Popular Female Cat Names		Most Popular Male Cat Names
Chloe	1,160	Max	1,095
Bella	1,073	Tigger	1,094
Lucy	1,025	Tiger	959
Kitty	921	Smokey	921
Princess	877	Oliver	890
Molly	810	Charlie	784
Sophie	783	Jack	772
Lily	758	Buddy	771
Angel	739	Simba	714
Sassy	695	Shadow	702

Top States with Most Registered Cats
California	18,908
New York	10,063
Texas	9,665
Florida	8,818
Pennsylvania	7,859
Ohio	6,577
Illinois	5,460
Michigan	5,393
Washington	5,201
Ontario	4,336
Georgia	4,229
Massachusetts	4,122
New Jersey	4,110
North Carolina	4,048
Virginia	3,909

Top Ten Countries with Highest Cat Population (estimate)
1	USA	76,430,000
2	China	53,100,000
3	Russia	12,700,000
4	Brazil	12,466,000
5	France	9,600,000
6	Italy	9,400,000
7	UK	7,700,000
8	Ukraine	7,350,000
9	Japan	7,300,000
10	Germany	7,000,000

General Cat Statistics
Number of feral cats living on the streets in the USA today.	60,000,000
Average time in a day a cat spends sleeping	16 hours
Number of tastebuds on a cat tongue	473
Percent of owned cats in the USA that are spayed or neutered.	84 %

Wam Bam Thank You Ma'am!

No thank you, no nothing. That’s what I get for getting these cats spayed and neutered, and then letting them back out into the world after having their shots, and the promise of returning them to where they came from.  Hector, the tabby from Hayward, spent a very quiet night in the trap on my porch, filled with food and water, which I found upside down this morning, but that was ok.  I got it out, refilled everything, put it back.  Billy from Baldwin was a better houseguest.  He is such a nice kitty.  It was very hard to let him go this morning, but out he went, walking over to the sidelines while I filled the food bowls there.  Most will run and hide when they are released, but Billy just sat over to the side, watching.  He was probably wondering what happened to him in the past 24 hours!  J

Nothing too unusual this morning.  I have not seen mama kitty or her calico kitten on Second, two days in a row now.  I did, however, see two little itty bitty things run from the shelter on 7^th as I walked up and turned the board covering the entrance over.  I barely saw them, but they were little.  I have borrowed two kitten traps from a friend who does the same thing as I do in Livonia, with many more obstacles than I have if you can believe it, and I will use them tomorrow morning.  I am hoping that the offer still stands from a woman and her daughter who offered to take the other kitten if I could get it.  I will continue each day until….  Another sad thing is the black kitten that I believe is/was pregnant on Short Street.  She couldn’t be any older than 6 months.  I have not seen her in four days now.  Sickening – to think of where these babies disappear to.

I am sharing some interesting (alarming) stuff I came upon, thought you might find it of interest also.

• Feral cats have an average of 1.4 litters per year, with an average 3.5 live births in each litter. That equals 4.9 kittens per year, per female feral cat. Indeed, a pair of breeding cats and their offspring can produce 420,000 kittens over a seven-year period.
• Of the approximately 146 million cats in the United States, about half are feral/unowned.
• In California, more than $50 million per year (coming largely from taxes) is spent by animal control agencies and shelters for cat-related expenses.
• Every day, 10,000 humans are born in the United States, while 70,000 kittens and puppies are born. As long as these birth rates exist, there will never be enough homes for all of the animals, resulting in the euthanization of many of them.
• Each year, almost 9 million dogs and cats are euthanized in shelters in the U.S. because there are not enough homes. In California alone, 750,000 to one million animals are euthanized for this reason. Indeed, more than 60% of the animals impounded in California shelters die there.
• Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) is more cost-effective than trapping and killing feral cats. Altering a cat costs about $50, while euthanizing a cat costs more than $100.
• An established TNR program can effectively reduce the feral cat population in both the short and long term.

No neuter/spay law can regulate the breeding of feral cats. No city or county agency is structured to humanely reduce the feral cat population. (this is a crime in my opinion - especially due to the statistics above!!!). The Solano Feral Cat/TNR Task Force i California seeks to replicate the extremely successful programs in the city of Berkeley and San Diego County. As those programs have demonstrated, the only effective way to address the overpopulation problem is through an aggressive TNR program.

TNR programs benefit all cats, including domestic cats. Animal control resources that now must be directed toward feral cats could be used to provide shelter and services for adoptable domestic cats. As detailed below, the city of Berkeley and San Diego County have reduced the euthanasia rates for all cats brought to their shelters by about 50% since free spay/neuter clinics for ferals have started in those areas.

Stuff to think about, eh?

Have a great day everyone!

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world: indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.”