Catladyland's Hearts 4 Paws supply and fund raiser for Feline Rescue, Inc. was a smashing success!! The initial goal of raising $300 was easily exceeded and we ended February with a solid $400 donation. In addition, local friends and family stepped up with lots of supplies for the no-kill cat shelter in St. Paul. We collected multiple bottles of bleach, rolls of paper towels, cozy beds, litter, plus lots of toys and treats!
Thank you again for your support -- whether you generously gave money/supplies or helped spread the word. And a special thank you to Kyla Duffy of Happy Tails Books for pitching in for the cause!
Volunteers Dawn and Jocelyn with me and, of course, kitties!
"Time spent with cats is never wasted." ~ Sigmund Freud
There are five days left in February, and we have already exceeded the donation goal in Catladyland's Hearts 4 Paws supply/fundraiser! This is exciting news for the kitties at Feline Rescue, Inc.!
Just because we've exceeded the set goal, doesn't mean the opportunities to help have ended. More monetary donations = more funding for Feline Rescue, Inc. to continue to do the good work of TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release) and low-cost spay/neuter programs. The funding also helps them maintain a safe, loving home for the feline residents until forever families are found. In addition to the monetary donations (click on the ChipIn widget below to donate via PayPal), there are other ways you can contribute:
Donate supplies (small cat beds, bleach, paper towels, toys) -- e-mail me for info (angie@catladyland.org)
Buy a book (paperback or e-book) from Happy Tails Books™ (designate Feline Rescue, Inc. as the organization to whom you'd like your donation to apply) and they will donate $5 for every books sold during February!
Happy Valentine's Day from Catladyland!! Love is such a big word....we can love our family, a spouse/partner, friends, and certainly our precious pets, but I believe love reaches beyond the boundaries of our inner circle. These people, places, and pets need love for happiness and survival -- just like those who are close to our hearts. Enter Hearts 4 Paws! In the month of February, Catladyland is featuring Feline Rescue, Inc., a no-kill shelter in St. Paul, MN. Feline Rescue, Inc. is indeed a place that needs love to grow and survive. Within that organization are cats that need that love as well. Thankfully, Feline Rescue, Inc. is the sort of place that showers their feline residents with attention and adoration. Most of the cats roam freely and enjoy daily hugs and snuggles; they are blessed to live in a peaceful place until they find even more love with a forever family. Feline Rescue, Inc. needs love in the form of volunteers, supplies, and funding so they can continue to provide a safe, warm environment for the residents.
We're halfway through February and have raised just over half of the $300 goal I set for donations. In addition, local readers are eager to donate supplies! This is all very exciting and I am looking forward to a successful fund/supply raiser and increased awareness of the fantastic work of Feline Rescue, Inc.!
photo courtesy of petfinder.com
Speaking of love...I want to tell you about a kitty that stole my heart on a recent visit to the shelter. His name is Galileo and he's a very handsome mancat! Just look at that face!! This sweet boy was found outside on a very cold day and I'm certain was pleased to land on a warm bed at Feline Rescue, Inc. Galileo was tested and found to be FIV-positive. FIV stands for Feline Immunodeficiency Virus and although it sounds scary, it is definitely not a death sentence.
Cats who go outdoors (usually males) are susceptible to this virus, (which attacks and weakens the immune system) and the main threat is secondary infection (bladder, upper respiratory, skin). With a high protein diet and attention to the treatment of secondary infections, these cats can enjoy a fairly normal life span. I've read stories of FIV-positive cats who lived 18-20 years! FIV is generally passed from saliva to blood (serious, deep bite wounds) and cannot be spread casually in litter box use or food/water dishes. On rare occasions it can be spread from a mother cat to her kittens.
meeting the handsome Galileo
Above all, these cats give and need the same life-sustaining love that everyone needs. When I looked in Galileo's sweet eyes, my heart swelled; I just knew some family would be lucky to welcome him into their home. So please don't discount him or any special-needs pet -- everyone needs and thrives on love.
You might be asking yourself, "How can I help Catladyland help Feline Rescue, Inc.?" I'm SO glad you asked! There are many ways to help!
Make a monetary donation of any amount via ChipIn (with PayPal) -- click on the graphic below or on the right column of this blog
Donate supplies (small cat beds, bleach, paper towels, toys) -- e-mail me for info (angie@catladyland.org)
Buy a book (paperback or e-book) from Happy Tails Books™ (designate Feline Rescue, Inc. as the organization to whom you'd like your donation to apply) and they will donate $5 for every books sold during February!
Help get the word out -- post a link to this blog on your blog, Facebook or Tweet it!
Every little bit counts and we can make a difference in the lives of pets. Celebrate this Valentine's Day by sharing your love with kitties in need. And don't forget to lay some major smooches on your own cats!
And hey -- guess what?? My good friends Caren and Cody interviewed me on Cat Chat with Caren and Cody today! Check it out -- Cody is a great interviewer...
Last week I introduced Hearts 4 Paws, Catladyland's supply/fund raiser featuring Feline Rescue, Inc. in St. Paul, MN. Feline Rescue, Inc. is a no-kill cat shelter whose outreach programs include a TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return) program as well as low-cost spay neuter programs. Our goal is to collect supplies (bleach, paper towels, small cat beds, wand toys/toy mice) and raise at least $300 toward their operating expenses and outreach programs. At publish-time, we have raised $140 -- nearly halfway there! I am confident we can meet AND exceed that goal!
A little blurry, but this is Raja and me!
I recently visited Feline Rescue Inc. and met many special kitties -- heck, all of them are special, but one lady held a particularly special place in my heart. Some of you may remember back in September when I blogged about an older woman named Raja. I was perusing Petfinder.com and, for whatever reason, Raja's sweet face kept popping up on the screen. She is a senior kit-izen at Feline Rescue Inc. and I was immediately smitten.
Guess what...I got to meet Raja on my recent visit! As I mentioned in my previous post, she doesn't enjoy the company of other cats, but likes people and will be best in a home where she is the only feline. Currently, she's the office cat at the shelter and loves to lounge on office equipment and warm the laps of working volunteers!
Raja!
People are sometimes hesitant to adopt a senior pet; however, remember that these seasoned felines have grown out of that naughty kitten stage and their personality is already formed -- what you see is what you get. One of the aspects I like best about Feline Rescue, Inc. is that most of the cats are allowed to roam freely. They, in turn, feel more comfortable and perspective families can obtain a more accurate sense of the cat's personality. Lovely Raja is still available for adoption -- check out her full profile on Petfinder.com. I just know you will be equally as smitten by this beautiful older woman!
Speaking of rescue-cats, I recently had the joy of reading Lost Souls: Found! Inspiring Stories About Cats. This is the first short story compilation about cats from Happy Tails Books™, best known for their heartfelt compilations about adopted dogs. These books entertain as well as inform readers about how pet adoptions changes lives.
From Sue, the deformed kitten saved from euthanasia to Shadow, the FIV-positive cat who won over a family and lived 11 happy years to Cesar, who was rescued (along with his family) from an icy dumpster -- these stories touched my heart and inspired a strong sense of hope for our homeless feline friends. I sat with a smile on my face and a tear in my eye the entire time I read this book. These addicting stories are quick reads -- when I finished one, I couldn't wait to read the next one. This book is like fuel for the soul.
I definitely recommend you check out Lost Souls: Found Inspiring Stories About Cats. If you buy this book or any of their books during the month of February (e-book and paperback versions are available), Kyla Duffy of Happy Tails Books™ has sweetened the deal! At check out, designate Feline Rescue, Inc. as the organization to which you'd like the donation applied, and at the end of the month, Happy Tails Books™ will donate $5 to Hearts 4 Paws (benefiting Feline Rescue, Inc.) for each book sold! You'll be helping the Hearts 4 Paws cause, you'll support Happy Tails Book™'s efforts to create awareness around pet adoption, AND you'll own a fantastic new read. This is a win-win-win-win-win!!!!!
So again, you can help Catladyland help Feline Rescue, Inc. in several ways:
Help get the word out via blogging, posting on Facebook, Tweeting, smoke signals, airplane banner...
Open your heart this Valentine's season and help kitties in need! Thank you in advance for any support you will lend.
After checking out Happy Tails Book™'s, head over to Up for Pups to learn about Kyla Duffy's creative efforts to improve the lives of mistreated domestic animals.
It's February, the month of love! What better way to express our love than to open our hearts to kitties in need? For the entire month of February, Catladyland is featuring Feline Rescue, Inc. , a no-kill shelter in St. Paul, Minnesota. Throughout the month I'll share information about Feline Rescue, Inc. and feature some of the wonderful kitties who are available for adoption.
I recently visited Feline Rescue, Inc. and learned a little more about their organization. Jocelyn LeBerge, a longtime volunteer, was kind enough to lead me on a tour of the facility and answer all my questions. Here are some facts I learned about this very special organization.
It was founded in 1997 and five years ago they moved to a larger location.
Their mission is to provide safe shelter, veterinary care, and socialization for stray, abandoned, or abused cats until good permanent homes can be found for them.
Up to 70 cats are housed at the adoption center with 150 adoptable kittens, nursing mothers, and special-needs cats living in the extended foster network.
Most of the cats are free-roaming and never kenneled. The only reasons cats are kenneled are due to introduction to a new space, medical necessity, or during behavioral rehabilitation.
Their outreach program focuses on feral colony management, TNR, and low-cost spay/neuter programs.
Volunteers, Dawn and Jocelyn
I was especially impressed with the efforts of the volunteers to ensure the cats are placed in the right spot in the shelter. In addition to the free-roaming areas and kennels, they offer special rooms for FIV-positive cats and shy cats (who are a little on the skittish side with humans). One very sweet kitty named Sammy even has a bachelor pad of his very own because some of the other cats bully him when he roams freely. In general, Feline Rescue, Inc. has a very peaceful and loving atmosphere -- the kitties get to listen to classical music and volunteers built tall perching towers and crouching cubbies for the residents to enjoy.
Cozy beds and lookout spots!
As I previously mentioned, Catladyland will feature Feline Rescue, Inc. throughout the month of February. How can you help? There are many ways!
Make a monetary donation with PayPal via the ChipIn widget on the bottom of this post or on the right-hand sidebar of this blog -- any amount helps! The goal is to raise $300 by the end of the month. I know we can do this!
Minneapolis/St. Paul area people can donate supplies -- I will even drive to you and pick them up! There is a standing need for paper towels (the inexpensive kind are fine) and bleach. They also would love to have small donut-style beds (not the expensive bigger ones), dish soap, wand toys, and simple furry mice.
Local people can also volunteer! Check out volunteer opportunities on their website.
A fantastic way to help is to adopt a kitty from Feline Rescue Inc....or any rescue organization! Petfinder is a great place to begin your search!
Re-post this post on your blog and/or share on Facebook/Twitter. It would be WONDERFUL if you'd place the ChipIn widget on your blog! The more we get the word out, the more we HELP!
Kitties in the "shy room."
Thank you in advance for participating in any way in Catladyland's Hearts 4 Paws drive and stay tuned for regular posts about this compassionate, dedicated organization and the cats that are looking for families. Open your heart this Valentine's season to the kitties at Feline Rescue, Inc!
