Blog Posts - Catty Shack Rescue

Volunteer Appreciation Week

5/6/2017

[Originally sent April 28, 2017]

Hi Volunteers,

It's Volunteer Appreciation Week! I wish I could give you all a fancy, all expenses paid vacation...wait, no I don't. Who would take care of the Catty Shack?

Seriously, I can't thank you all enough for all you have done and continue to do to make the Catty Shack a success and a great place for kitties to be safe and comfortable until they are adopted. Hardly a day goes by that I don't see or hear of an issue with a cat or kitten that could have been avoided or changed by caring people stepping in to support the cat until safe. Instead the cat suffers the consequences of the lack of concern and compassion. They become unadoptable, sick, give birth or ultimately die for lack of support and concern.

You are changing all of that through the unselfish giving of your valuable time and energy. Everyone who volunteers at the Shack makes life safe, secure and enriched for all those in our care. The cats are always learning from us as well as we from them.

On another note, you may notice two familiar faces at the Shack. Tiger Lily and Ava were returned to us yesterday. Through no fault of their own. Just a decision by their adopter that he was too busy to care for them. Ava seems unfazed. Tiger Lilly is tense and nervous. Just give them a little time to remember and feel safe and they will be as good as new. I think we should discourage an adoption for either of them until they have a little time to recover.

I worked on getting 19 cats and kittens placed yesterday! Extreme even for us! Everyone has a safe shelter except one group of kittens that we are leaving with mom as long as we can as she is feral and won't be able to come with them. Then I will find a foster for them hopefully.

Thank you again for all you do and the lengths you are willing to go to for the kitties in our care. You really are a great group of individuals who work hard to make everything as it should be. I am proud to be included in our group with you. It's better than I dreamed it could be.

Susan

Lotsa stuff from The Catty Shack

4/18/2017

Hello Catty Shack Supporters,

We have been busy with so many things at the Shack lately! I will try to keep this as brief as possible while conveying all that is going on.

Our GoFundMe campaign is in full swing and we are looking for ways of spreading the word. Any ideas can be emailed back to me. We are also on Facebook and Instagram so you can check on us at any of these places to see how we are doing. Our website is also under new management. So website is cattyshackrescue.org, Facebook and Instagram are cattyshackrescue, and GoFundMe is @ we-need-a-new-Shack.

Onto the best part! We have had several adoptions. Our kittens Lynx and Gizmo went to a new home together and get to be the only brother and sister duo in their new home. They were Victoria's kittens who is still with us. Also Sophie went home this week with a new family where we she will be treasured for the sweet girl that she is. And Margo was adopted yesterday. A pull at the heartstrings with that sweet baby. I won't go into detail about each kitty's story as you can find them on the website or Facebook.

We have taken 7 kittens in so far this kitten season. Sadly we lost one boy who didn't make it thru his neuter, a first for us. His foster took his body home to rest on her property. His sister had a bad reaction too but has pulled thru. Her name is Lilly and you will be seeing more of her as she grows up. She has now become big sister to 5 babies so she won't have to grow up alone.

We took in Blue, a 17 lb Russian Blue who has been on the street for years. He is learning about being in a home again. He was actually neutered and microchipped when found but from many years ago.

We have new volunteers and lots of plans at the Catty Shack so come by, comment online, shoot us an email, let us know any ideas or thoughts you might have. Your input is important.

As always, we couldn't do it without everyone of you and all the energy you put toward our success. We feel very fortunate to have all your resources behind us.

Best from Susan and Everyone at the Catty Shack

P.S. ... I guess I should mention that we did our first dog rescue last week! We took in a mom whose story would take a separate email, who presented us with 11 puppies 2 days later! Don't worry, they won't be at the Shack. They will be going into foster and mom is already spoken for!

Sunshine ... & Shadow

4/7/2017

Hi Everyone,

I have the sad job left to me to tell you that we lost our youngest kitten boy rescue today.

Shadow, a kitten who has been in foster, didn't make it through his neuter surgery. We can only speculate that he had an allergic reaction to the gas inhalant or his blood sugar was low from fasting. Dr. Smith wasn't sure what had happened but even though it is rare, it can happen. His sister Lilly is in a fragile state as she also had a reaction that was unexpected.

Michelle, who is fostering them, took his body to be buried at her home where he will be in a familiar place.

Rest well, little man. You brought love and light into the world.

-Susan and the Catty Shack Crew

Catty Shack Doins

3/28/2017

Hi Everyone,

We have news on several fronts and because you are all supporters in one way or another of Community Cats at the Catty Shack, you get to be included!

Tiger Lily and Ava, now Salem, were adopted yesterday! They were rescued as tiny kittens in a group of 11 kittens we pulled from an unhealthy situation last Spring. It takes awhile for some to find the right home but we feel that these girls have landed in a sweet spot for them. And they got to go together.

Also, Lightning, now Walter, was adopted and has a wonderful loving home with a dog friend. We took Walter and his siblings as young kittens from another rescue who deemed them to be too feral to handle. We are still working with sister, Tess, as she is shyer but brother JoJo is just fine. Never give up and never write any one off. I firmly believe there is a place for every kitty and you just have to hang on until it's found.

We have a GoFundMe campaign to raise enough money for a down payment for a facility of our own. It is under we-need-a-new-Shack at the GoFundMe site. We are trying for 50,000. so you can see we have our work cut out for us. Tell anyone you think might be interested. The interesting thing with crowd funding is even small amounts add up and make it possible to reach the goal.

We are also on Instagram now so follow us if that is your sort of thing. Along with Facebook it is a way to connect with people who wouldn't know about us otherwise. We even have followers from Japan!

Our website has had a change of web masters as Sean has gotten too busy to keep up with all our postings so we are now being handled by Nick DeMarino who publishes the 5enses magazine here in Prescott. He also happens to be my son in law and his wife and daughter volunteer at the Catty Shack!

We are also working on a YouTube channel and have some videos of our current foster kittens posted there. That should be a fun addition.

We have new volunteers and new kitties coming into the Shack. Come by to meet them both! And as always, thank you to our volunteers who make it possible for us to rescue. You are so valuable to us all.

As always, I thank all of you and will finish with pictures of our last adoptions.

Susan and Everyone at the Shack

Volunteers and fosters needed...desperately!

10/30/2016

Hi Everyone,

I am sending this email out for a couple of reasons.

First, we had 2 adoptions yesterday...Chips Ahoy and Ginger Snap found a home together with a couple who seemed genuinely excited to get them. They are Cookies kids. We have 1 left from that litter, Fortune. Also, Buttercup will be going to her new home early next week and we hope they will love her sweet little self as much as we do.

Many of you know, but maybe not all, that we are losing one of our star volunteers, Rosemarie Hoffman. She is going back to Germany to live and while we wish her much happiness and good fortune in her new life, we are sorry to lose her. Her departure leaves us with 2 full days to cover at the Catty Shack and a whole lot of paperwork that she took care of.

If you have ever thought about volunteering, taking an adoption shift or helping in any way, now would be the time to step forward. We need to stay open 5 days a week so that people can meet all our wonderful kids. The shifts are only 2 hours long and surely some of you can spare 2 hours a week to spend at the Shack talking to people? There is no pressure to do adoptions as we never adopt on the spot. The people have to be screened and their application reviewed before we contact them to let them know if they are approved for the adoption. The screening process is straight forward and simple yet thorough.

Or if you know of anyone who is an animal lover and cares about what happens to these cats who find themselves on the street through no fault of their own, completely dependent on the kindness of strangers, tell them they are needed as fosters and volunteers.

The other rescues are full and hardly any cats are being taken in right now. If we are to keep doing the good work we have been doing and rescuing these guys as they come up in need, we will have to increase our volunteer and foster numbers.

And it is really actually fun to get to know each individual with their own little personality and funny ways and then to match them with the perfect home and family. It's a great feeling to know you had a hand in giving them a new life where they are restored to their rightful place in our society.

So please think it over, pass this on to any interested animal lovers that you know and help us continue to address the many calls for help we get every day and rescue them.

Thank you for all you do, Susan and the kitties

Goodbyes....

10/10/2016

Hi Everyone,

It has been awhile since you heard from me with news. We have had a lot going on and little spare time. So I won't go into too great of detail but want to fill you in on what has been happening.

Charlie and Claire were both adopted last month toward the end of the month. We were happy with the homes that took them and felt they would give them good lives.

Gareth was brought back to us from an abuse situation. If you don't remember, Gareth was one of Pearl's tiny babies. Well, he is a big boy now and beautiful. He just needs a bit more room to move around in!

We have begun plans for a few more enclosures to put newbies in when they come in so they can decompress without feeling crowded or unsafe. We are at maximum capacity right now with 13 kittens and 13 adults at the Shack and quite a few more in foster.

You may remember the mom who was dumped with her baby who became Alice? We never could get her again but several weeks ago she started showing up daily for food and finally babies! We were able to trap the babies and bring her in to foster. She is a friendly dilute tortie gal with a spay appointment! And, of course, her babies are adorable!

The babies found in Paulden with no mother are getting spayed and neutered this week. Time has flown by. They were 6 ozs when they were found on the Alpaca ranch and now they are tubby little kids.

2 boys who were abandoned when their owners house was foreclosed on are in foster but outdoors. We were hoping to find a foster who could bring them in but so far no luck. If anyone has room or the desire to help with them let me know. They are nice boys who got a bad break being left behind with nonfood and no care. One is an orange male and the other a black long hair who was anemic by the time they were found. He is much better now.

We have rescued multiple mothers with kittens of all ages who are still young enough to need mom.

We lost our little Himalayan girl on Friday. She weighed 4 lbs when we got her and had bad teeth and thyroid. She was given thyroid medication until her thyroid was normalized which did happen. Friday her foster noticed there was pinkish tinged liquid here and there in her house so took her in to MileHi. They found she had fluid in her lungs and abdomen and Dr. Smith diagnosed her with cancer. We felt it was best to euthanize her as she would suffer from the illness and her teeth. Her foster went to be with her and sat to visit with her. She comforted her and talked for 20 minutes until Dr. Smith walked in the room, then little Frannie quietly left her body without any help. She was such a precious girl and had such adorable moves and attitude. I am so disappointed that you didn't get to meet her.

AND, we said good bye to "Little" Louie the same day. He went to an adoptive home where he will be the big deal only cat. If you are familiar with the Catty Shack you will know that we have had Louie since early 2015 when he was found under a trailer at the age of 4 weeks. He had issues that kept him from showing well for adoption until his person finally arrived and they had an instant connection. Congratulations Louie. Here's hoping that you have smooth sailing and many happy times in your new home.

Well, I know I said I wouldn't go into detail and believe me, I haven't. There is a lot more to tell but I will leave it at this for now.

As always, I am so grateful for your support and everything you do to make this all possible. We are so lucky to have you all and that you think our work is important enough to stand behind.

Best to you from the Catty Shack Kitties!

Surprise...Mom!

8/29/2016

Hi All,

In a stunning turn of events...or maybe not as we are talking cats here and nothing should surprise...the mom cat and the tiny babies were reunited yesterday after nearly 3 days separation!

It turns out a neighbor saw her, thought she was a stray, which she is, and brought her into her house on Friday. So the little babies were not only alone but they weathered Friday night's rain storm alone.

You can't imagine the amount of agonizing we did about taking them from the spot they were in. Wouldn't mom be back for them? Or if something happened to her how would we know? If she was feral, would she be too afraid to come back as there were now people in the house? It was actually close to midnight when the decision was made to take them after no mom turned up. And it's a good thing they were taken and fed as mom couldn't turn up. She was safely ensconced in a neighbor's house.

The neighbor realized Saturday night or Sunday morning that she had a nursing mother and let her out. She followed her and sure enough mom led her straight to the spot where the kittens had been. Mom turned out to be a friendly girl and was taken to be reunited with her babies. We are hoping they will all come safely through their exposure symptoms and thrive.

So another story to add to the Crazy Book of Cat Rescue! I thought you would like to know.

Susan

Yesterday in Rescue

8/29/2016

Hi All,

Yesterday was one of those days in rescue. We had a call from a woman who noticed that a cat had been left behind when the neighbors house was foreclosed on. She called to tell us that there was an orange cat hanging out next door that she recognized as the former neighbor's and he was hungry. We were able to get him with little trouble as he was VERY hungry and grateful to be picked up, put in a carrier and fed. He is being held pending testing and a place to out him.

Next we were contacted by a woman who had taken in a 7 yr old declawed female kitty, partially deaf and also VERY hungry from an area you wouldn't expect a declawed kitty to survive in. This kitty looks to be a Himalayan or Maine Coon. I haven't seen her "in person" yet but one of our volunteers is fostering her until we can see what shape she is in. The woman came in covered with red rash all over from her allergy to the kitty who she was actually wishing she could keep.

Then, as I was working at NOAH, I saw the woman rapidly walking away from the Shack looking upset and worried. I stopped her to ask what was wrong and she told me the story of coming up to their weekend home and finding 6 10-14 day old kittens but no sign of a mom. They had been out in that rain storm the night before and huddled very close to a wash. She had no idea what to do as she isn't an animal person but cared enough to try to find help for them. I went to her house after work and saw the tiny babies crying and looking for food and comfort. Since we have no one that really does neonates and there were 6 of them which is pretty much hourly round the clock work, I didn't know what to do. I made a couple of calls and was able to find someone to take them in just for the weekend to keep them from starving or dying from exposure. An angel of mercy really and someone who cares deeply for the welfare of all animals and sacrifices greatly to save them and give them the lives they deserve. I am profoundly grateful that their lives were spared because someone was willing to extend themselves past their comfort zone.

I am writing all this to say if there is anyone who can help with this little group who has experience with neonates, it would be so appreciated. They are 6 little gray tabbies that you will immediately fall in love with. I have a couple of numbers to call for people who sometimes take the tinies but if any of you have any ideas, please let me know.

Or if you have any way to help with any of these issues it is greatly appreciated and we will put your energy to good use...for sure!

Thank you to all these people who cared enough and took the time to pick up the phone to help animals in distress. And thank you to all of you who take the time to help at the other end with food,shelter, gifts and money. Together we are making a difference.

News and Happenings

8/23/2016

Hi Everyone,

I want to touch base with you and let you know some of the recent happenings at The Catty Shack.

Our little rescue, Mable, had her eye surgery today. She is spending the night at MileHi so she can be observed after her surgery. She is being fostered by foster mom Christine and being well looked after. She was spayed 3 weeks ago so this has been a long haul for everyone involved. We wish she could have kept her eye but she is beautiful to us no matter what. She is a very sweet girl and we are hoping for the best for her.

Hope, our kitty we took in from a local vet where she had been dumped, is also at MileHi tonight being observed. She has been refusing all food and I have had to syringe feed her for the last couple of days. Dr. Smith took her in today for observation and decided to keep her over night as we go thru the process of elimination of what could be wrong with her. We are, of course, hoping for the best for her and will be relieved when we find out what is wrong.

We had another lovely donation from our Amazon Wish List. We so appreciate the thoughtfulness and generosity behind these gifts. They make life so much better as they bridge the gaps that we find ourselves having in food and supplies. They help us conserve our money for things like two girls spending the night at the vet and all the cost that entails. Thank you for helping us take care of the kitties.

If anyone knits or crochets or works in any other appropriate medium and would like to help us keep blankets in stock for the adopted kitties to take to their new homes, contact me and I will give you dimensions. We send each one of our kitties home with something homemade from us so our love will go with them out into the world.

We have exciting news to come which I won't leak until it is a done deal, tomorrow, so I will say good bye for now and as always, thank you for what you do by helping us help them.

Susan and the Catty Shack crew

HAPPENINGS: MY EMAIL IS WELL!

8/4/2016

Hi Everyone,

First let me apologize if any of you got strange email from me yesterday. My yahoo account was hacked. No damage that I can see but those sneaky people did it under a Kitty heading that they must have known I would open. They actually used the name of a local rescue, that is how accurate they are getting. All fixed now.

I want to thank everyone who sent items through our Amazon Wish List. We have received 2 large boxes of paper towels, cases of wipes, both grooming and cleaning types, several bags of dry food, several self heating beds, cases of baby food, scratchers, litter and canned food. What a generous outpouring from the hearts of you all. It's so nice to know that we have goods stashed to fall back on instead of always trying to count the pennies to see what we can afford.

Because as I was walking this morning, I started ticking off the number of cats we are currently responsible for and I came up with the number 55! I came home and checked my math and yes, it is 55 cats and kittens we are currently housing, trying to place or getting them grown up to the place where we can place them! They are either in foster at this time or at the Shack. I was wondering if there were 55 people left in Prescott who don't have cats? Then I reassured myself that we could adopt them in twos and it would only be 27 people! HA!

Anyway, now is the time if you are thinking of volunteering. We can use adoption time people, house cleaners, socializers and fosters, newspaper kitty post people or someone to remind me to do it (!), or anything else you can think of that I may be missing. It is quite a job to keep all the plates spinning at once and we can use any help you can think to offer.

Again thank you for all you have done and continue to do to enrich our kitties' lives. We could never have the confidence to say yes to so many without your willingness to help and support us. It means more, to more, than you may ever know.

Susan and the Catty Shack Rescue gang