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​Hi Everyone,

We have a few newsworthy items to inform you of.

First off, without any fireworks going off or drum rolls or anything, we quietly passed the 400+ mark in cats rescued since our non profit started in late 2011. That is the number of cats we have taken off the streets of the tri-city area. While it doesn't seem like nearly enough just let your imagination take you to the tri-city area with those 400+ cats still out there! You have helped us spare that many cats and kittens the untold suffering of lives on the street they would have experienced without us.

We have 28 kittens at the present time along with mothers and others who have either joined the Catty Shack or are being held in foster until they can. We, like everyone else, can use more fosters so if you know of anyone who could foster put them in touch with us. We need fosters for kittens but also for single cats we are bringing in as strays to be adopted. They are friendly, tired, hungry and needing a place to decompress and remember what life could be like before they were abandoned, dumped or run off.

I wish I could convey to you what heroes our fosters are. We absolutely could not continue without them. They fill in the needed gaps in care, round the clock feeding, medical care, vet visits, socializing and so much more. They are the ones who say YES every time and even volunteer themselves without me asking them. It is amazing and awe inspiring how much they give of themselves with no expected reward but to say good bye to the little ones they have raised so carefully with so much concern. They are the best!

Today we adopted little Lilly to a new home and wish her every happiness. What a sweet little girl from a mom found as a stray in Williamson Valley. We lost her little brother in post op for his neuter surgery, something new to us, and she had to adapt to being a lone sibling. But the two fosters who had her then took in 5 more kittens so Lilly would have siblings. She never saw a stranger, whether cat or human. Good luck little Lilly. We are a little lonely without you.

We have welcomed several new volunteers to the Catty Shack and have some exciting things in store for the future which we will be sharing with you.

Don't forget to visit our Facebook, Instagram, GoFundMe and website catthyshackrescue.org for quick news flashes and kitty fixes.

Thank you for being part of the Catty Shack Family and for your support and caring. We couldn't do ANY of it without ALL of you!

Susan and the Kitties

​Hi Everyone,

This weekend we very quietly, with no fanfare, slipped over the 400 mark of cats taken off the street since 2011 when I registered as a non profit under the name Community Cats. We actually are at 405 and counting.

If you are receiving this email, you had a direct hand in making that possible by the countless volunteer, hours, miles and resources you have donated for this to happen.

I have no words to express the depth of feelings this brings up for me as we continue to make this dream of reality happen together. Thank you for feeling the same way I do about these lives and their value in the world.

And I know I speak for the ones we care for when I say Thank You for saving our lives.       

Susan

[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

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!

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

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