Blog Posts - Catty Shack Rescue

Elizabeth and more...

6/5/2016

Hi Everyone,

Sometimes I have to wait a few days after an adoption to write about it as it is a poignant and touching process. Of course, we rescue all our kitties with the expectation that they will find good homes with other people and all be mutually benefitted by our work. Otherwise we would be a sanctuary and there are times I wish we were! This is one of those times. I'm feeling the tug of heart strings.

Elizabeth was adopted yesterday and we said good bye as she went to start her life without us but in a loving home. Elizabeth and her brother were found at around 5 weeks of age. We took them in and they became siblings to Fergus. Elizabeth got along with everyone and lately had become nanny to the kittens coming into the Shack. She is a lovely cat and we are hoping her person realizes what a treasure she has.

On another front, or maybe it's the same front, we have 32 kittens at The Shack and in foster. They range in age from 4-12 weeks. The newest 3 are just 4 weeks old and were abandoned in Mayer. They are really little and just trying to figure out what it's all about. They have a gray sister who is camera shy. This is Marci and Millie. Not pictured, their gray sister Meg.

And in a few months, I will be writing to you saying the girls were adopted and how hard it is to let go of them!

Everyone of them is special in their own way and we are fortunate to have them in our care if just for a short time. We are lucky to really get to know them from babyhood on and to observe their strengths and weaknesses.

We are still looking for volunteers and fosters if any of you know anyone wanting to interact with kitties. Sundays and Mondays are long days for the kitties as no one is there doing adoptions. This would be a perfect chance for anyone interested in being with kitties, but not the public, to come and interact with all of our kitties.

Thank you again for all of hour support and generosity,
Susan

New kittens and new doin's at the Catty Shack!

3/23/2016

Hi Everyone,

As promised, here is a picture, albeit dim and grainy, of Tina and her babies. All are doing well.

And here is the progress on the Catio. It is quite nice, well built, attractive, sturdy, strong and the designers and builders pretty much thought of everything. Not completely finished but close.

This is one awesome group of volunteers. We are so fortunate to have caring people volunteer who want to change the plight of animals who have been forgotten or tossed away. Amazing what a small group of determined, dedicated people can do. We are going to have a great summer! And maybe some of those 2 day old babies in the top photo will be exploring that Catio some day!
Thanks to you all for seeing the possibilities and helping us to carry them out.

Susan

What...Again?

2/24/2016

Hi Everyone,

I am thrilled to report that we have had even more adoptions!

Billy was adopted last week as well as Lenox! And we have a family deciding between Sputnik and his mom Sweetie! Billy will be leaving on the 20th as his new family has company coming and didn't want him to have to suffer through that as well as trying to adjust to a new home. He will be sharing his new home with a cat friendly dog and an older cat.

Lenox is going to his new home on Tues the 15th. His new family also has a cat friendly dog and a 1 year old cat. His new dad is busily engineering a play area and a tub litter box like we use at the Catty Shack.

If the people who are deciding between Sputnik and Sweetie had decided who they wanted, we would have adopted 7 cats in 7 days! That would have been a new record for us but we can always set it as a goal to reach.

Thank you all for all the work, caring, feeding, cleaning, socializing, advertising, etc. etc. that you have done to make it possible for these kitties to be rescued and sent to homes where they are loved and appreciated.

Susan AND...

Billy

AND...

Lenox and Sputnik

Emily finds her forever home!

2/24/2016

Hi Everyone,

I am excited to report that I got a home today...with a real dad and everything! My sister and I came to The Catty Shack after someone spotted us trying to live in a drainpipe as kittens. My sister, Edith, was adopted awhile back but I have been waiting for just the right person...and today he came .
Thank you all for helping to take care of me and for feeding me and socializing me these past months. I am looking forward to my new life with a person all of my own.

Love, Emily

Patches

12/17/2015

Patches

Patches, waiting to go through the
door into her unknown future.

Hi Everyone,

This is the email I never wanted to send...and always knew I would.

Our little Patches, who is in foster with her young kittens, has tested positive for FELV. She has been in an excellent foster home since her kittens were less than 2 weeks old and they are now almost 6 weeks. Patches is around 7-8 months old really just a kitten herself. Patches is the poster child for why we don't let kitties out and why we have them spayed. And because these 2 safety measures weren't extended to her, Patches faces an uncertain future as do her babies.

FELV is feline leukemia which is air-borne and so is a danger to any healthy cats and usually carries a death sentence with it as far as adoptions go. Many shelters euthanize as soon as the test comes up positive as they can't house them with healthy cats and possibly would never have an adopter come forward.

We have been contacted by someone who knows of someone who has an FELV cat and could possibly take Patches. We haven't heard back yet if this is a possibility. Also, the kittens won't be tested until they are 8 weeks old but are highly likely to have it too.

You can imagine how we feel. So I want to send this out, not to make you feel bad, too, but in the off chance that someone will mention this to someone who knows someone who could take a cat or a kitten or kittens and give them a chance to have a real life with a loving environment and the normal to and fro of daily life in a household who values them for who they are.

Thank you all for caring and for all you have done for us and are continuing to do. It means the world to our kitties and makes it possible to care for them in the interim waiting period before adoption.

Things a-happenin' at the Shack!

11/16/2015

Lovely Annie

Hi Everyone,

It has been awhile since I have posted. Not for lack of news but for lack of time!

I thought I would report in on some of the new happenings since we adopted our last kitties, Gallagher, Ruby and Gareth. Everyone is doing fine in their new homes and we have had some nice reports from earlier adoptions also. Our kitties benefit from all of you spending your time with them and helping them navigate the human world of expectations and belonging.

Dylan and Caru, 2 kittens from a feral colony, are at the Shack now after being fostered for the last couple of months. They are getting used to all the antics of the other kitties at the Shack and of the humans too!

Yesterday we took in a guy who was found wandering the streets. We were able to get him tested, neutered and shots quickly and he is at the Shack. He is around 2 years old they think and VERY loving and friendly. He is a gray tabby and will be nice sized when he gets a few meals in him! We have yet to name him.

We also have taken in 2 orange kittens who appeared out of nowhere and needed to come off the street asap. They are a brother and sister and very cute and sweet. They have obviously been with people as they purr in unison when they see you. They were around 8 weeks old when we got them. Long haired sister and short haired brother! Benjamin and Elizabeth or Benji and Betty.

Two days ago we took in a 6-7 month old calico girl with her 1 week old kittens! This makes you want to gnash your teeth! But now they will all have a chance to grow up, including mom!, and be spayed and neutered.

We also have a mom and 3 kittens and a mom and 2 kittens still in foster.

We couldn't have done any of this without the help of all of you, from fostering the ones who need to come off the street immediately, to transport, vet appointments, hours of socializing, feeding, cleaning, supporting us with donations, website maintenance, facebook postings, newspaper listings, photography, office skills, book keeping, printing all the paperwork for each cat and having a folder ready for them with their history, talking to guests who come to see our kitties, donating food and supplies, answering phone calls from people with kitties in distress, and really just the endless list of what it takes to run a rescue.

Thank you all so much. Everyone brings something invaluable to the table and shares their bounty with us all. As we near our time of Thanksgiving please keep in mind how much good there is in the world and how much we are all benefitting from each other's love and caring. And the kitties make it possible for us to be involved with each other and them. Aren't they brilliant?

With great respect and regard, Susan

Mostly Nikki

10/10/2015

Hi Everyone,

Our little Nikki, who was featured in the Courier this week, got adopted today. His new owners have a small, black, female cat and they wanted a friend for her so they came and visited Nikki yesterday. We had a powwow over the paperwork and decided they were good cat people so they came today and took him home. He was just a little, lone kitten found on the street by someone who cared enough to take him in and work with him. Now he has 2 people and a kitty friend to spend his life with. A very different version could have transpired. He could have been ignored, driven away and learned that the world was a cold place to try and survive in. We thank the person who cared enough to put herself out by taking him in, working to socialize him and then contacting us to take him.

On another note, we had a call from Sweet Pea's owner. You remember Sweet Pea? The Catty Shack is named in honor of her...Sweet Pea's Haven for Abandoned Cats and Kittens. It seems that Sweet Pea had a large lump on the left side of her face and under her chin. The Catty Shack paid for a trip to the vet and they found that one of her teeth had cracked and abscessed so we also paid for an extraction and a complete cleaning. She is good as new but our bank account suffered to the tune of 400.00+ dollars. If anyone has a penny jar, would you roll some up and send them our way?

We also had our window that was shot replaced this week along with the two front screens. We are going to slowly replace the existing screens with heavy gauge wire so we can have the windows open when we are there to get some fresh air for the kitties.

Several people have come in inquiring about volunteering which delights us no end! Hopefully we can welcome some of them on board.

And did you know that Rosemarie, who volunteers on two adoption days a week, never lets a kitty be adopted without a blanket of his/her own to take home that she has knitted for them? They have something of their own made with them in mind. I adopted a kitty 6 years ago from Rosemarie and she still uses her blanket made for her by Rosemarie. So thoughtful and such a good feeling to send something with them when they take their leave, besides our hearts.

And I guess I lied...this isn't mostly about Nikki!

Thank you for making this all possible by your support on so many levels. You all make it possible for this work to continue and I thank you for it.

Susan

Adoptions, adoptions!

9/4/2015

Hi Everyone,

We had 2 adoptions today at the Catty Shack.

The first one was Tom, also known as Jacob. He was in the first litter of kittens with their mom, Rachel, that came to the Catty Shack. He was also our first adoption. Then his adopter adopted his mom, Rachel. A couple of months ago she returned Tom saying that she was allowed to only have one cat in her apartment. Tom had been with her a year and she had renamed him Jacob. He was a fine boy and adjusted to being back at The Shack easily. Today he was adopted by a family of cat people to be a companion for their female kitty. We are very happy for him and wish him well in his new home.

Our second adoption was Vanessa which is really touching for all of us who volunteer at the Shack. Vanessa had been with us as long as Tom except she never left. She came to the Shack with her mom, Piper and her sister Tortellini, Leslie and Ashley at around 6-8 weeks of age. We had 2 groups of kittens in the back room, one group having a feral mom who went as a barn cat and one having a friendly mom, Piper, who went to foster and was adopted. Vanessa has had 3 occasions where she became unable to use her back legs and was under a Dr.'s care as well as having Bowen work, acupuncture, laser, manipulation and Chinese herbs. Her adopters are aware of her issues and wanted her anyway. They also have a cat they were looking for a companion for. This is a case of having many choices but having your heart set on one even if there are issues. The kind of adoption that we all hope for with all our kitties. Someone to see them for who they are.

I am thinking of Vanessa tonight experiencing her first time in a real home with people that she belongs to. All the sights, sounds and new experiences she is having. May her gentle soul unfold in loving surroundings and may she blossom in love.

All the best to our kitties as they journey from us and all the best to all of you who have worked so diligently and with such dedication to keep everyone happy and healthy until they embark on their life's purpose.

Many thanks, Susan

New signs and other goings-on!

8/18/2015

Hi Everyone,

I am very pleased to announce that we finally have the signs with our artwork on them! They are beautiful and were a long time coming. They will go on the corners of Montezuma and White Spar along with a sign at NOAH's and the signs in the yard. So we should be able to be found! They are really beautiful and are a gift from Keli Freiwald, one of our main volunteers. Thank you Keli. What a help!

And what has been happening on the kitty front? A lot as usual.

We took care of a spay for a little stray kitty that the finders named Angel. They originally contacted us to take her as she didn't get along with their other 2 cats. But we talked about how she might change once she was spayed. So they decided to keep her, which was what they really had wanted all along. Now she is tested and spayed with shots.

We also got a call from a man whose cat had 8 kittens and he was wanting help with her spay. He found homes for all but the last 2 tiny little tuxedos. They were smaller than the rest and are maybe 6 weeks old although they look about 4. We have an appointment for him to take her in on the 25th for spay. We took a case of kitten food over to him as the mom and babies had only had dry food all this time. Giving birth to 8 kittens is a physically demanding proposition and we thought the mom could use strengthening before surgery. And of course, the babies lapped it right up too. We are hoping he will take the cue and buy it for them.

I got another call from a woman who was wanting help with a white cat whose owners had moved away and left him. He was getting beaten up and she was concerned for him. By the time she contacted us, he had 2 huge bites on the top of his head, an abscess on the side of his face, a wound in his side and a wound on his flank. It's not only dangerous for a white cat to get left outside but especially one who probably knew nothing about fighting. We took him to Dr. Smith yesterday who observed him for the day, gave him an antibiotics shot, cleaned his wounds, and gave him worm medicine. He has a few sticktite fleas but that is minor compared to the rest. He is now decompressing in one of my bathrooms and sleeping and eating and being petted. He is a very sweet, friendly cat, probably 3-4 years old. He looks like a grown up Hugo! He is extremely thin and needs a few pounds on him which we are working on.

There are some other things in the works and kitties waiting to be rescued but that is what we did this week. So even if we aren't having adoptions we are still hard at work figuring out how to take kitties off the street.

And Annie and Billy finally arrived at The Shack. If you remember, they were Little Guy's siblings. They are adorable mackerel tabbies. So precious and sweet. They were fostered by Cymbre, one of our main volunteers and she did a beautiful job with them. Darlings!

So that's the news for now. Hope all is well for each of you and I hope you know that all this was made possible because of your work and generous donations of time, money and caring.

Thank you for helping us help them.

Susan

What's happening at the Shack?

8/8/2015

Hi Everyone,

Hugo went to his new home yesterday where he will have 2 cats and a dog friend to play with. He is the little flame point from Pearl's litter. We wish him the best but his new mom said if it doesn't work out she will come back and get Gareth so he will have a buddy!

We also took Milo and Nikki to Mile Hi for neutering and a little calliby girl named Angel in for testing. She will be spayed next week and go to foster. She was found by a kind person who couldn't bear to see her on the street.

If anyone knows of someone who is wanting to get rid of a tall cat tree or has a spare they don't
need, please send them our way. We could use one more and two would be even better. We have 22 kitties at the Shack and 8 in foster that will be coming. It really helps for them to have a place to play and sit that is their own.

Our sandwich board signs are with the person who is doing the printing on them so they will be in use soon!

Thanks for everything you are all doing to make rescue possible. The kitties are thankful you are there.

Susan