Brothers: Frank and Louis Need A Home

Hello Feral Friends-

So, I leave Grand Rapids to work in Detroit for a
month in an attempt to make a little money.  But
you must have seen it coming....I find cat work to
do while I'm away.

I'm working at the Fisher Theater selling merchandise
for the Broadway Smash-Hit Musical SPAMALOT.  And
then we see it, a desperate call for help on the
bulletin board backstage.

One of the actresses is in desperate need of a kind
and loving home for her two beautiful cats, Frank
and Louis.

Do you know of anyone who might be willing to open
their hearts and home to these two very bonded
brothers?

If so, please contact Naomi as soon as possible.
The show will be in Detroit till January 7th.

Please forward this to anyone you think that might
be able to help, even with fostering.

The following information is from Naomi:

I got Frank and Louis from a shelter six years
ago with an ex-boyfriend who was home all the time
to take care of them.  As an actors, my now fiance'
and I are constantly away from home.  This has
taken a toll on the boys who want constant
companionship.  Although we have many wonderful
friends that have helped us with baby-sitting,
it’s obvious that our two little boys need a more
stable home with consistent parents.  Our situation
with work is not going to change for many, many
years and we have come to the difficult decision
that they need a new home so they can have a
better life.

--Frank (aka Big Fatty) and Louis (aka Little Fatty):
both boys.  They are brothers and must stay together.
Six years old.

--They have no special medical needs, are current
with their shots.  They are, however overweight: 
the vet has told us that they could stand to loose
a few pounds each, but are just naturally very big
boys (18 and 26 lbs!)

--They are front paw declawed:  they are completely
indoor cats.  They are great with the litter and have
never had an accident.

--Generally, they are the most friendly, gentle,
coolest cats I have ever known.  They are like dogs in
their loyalty but cuddle like kittens.  They love to
meet new people and are famous among my friends for
their humor.  They want nothing more than to be loved
and sit on your lap while you watch tv!

Contact Naomi:  naomikakuk@yahoo.com

I think the boys are watching an exercise video in this photo.
They are obviously doing lying down side kicks!
See, they ARE trying to lose some of their holiday weight.

After all that exercise, a boy needs a little rest!

Then a bath would be in order!
Gotta keep nice and clean!!!

Ok, now that I've exercised, rested and cleaned up,
I'm going to tell you what I want....
some of the kibble in this bin I'm sitting on!

The Story of Pippen - Why it's Trap-Neuter-RETURN and not simply Release

Hello Feral Friends-

When I first met Gina Marvin of Focus on Ferals, I was enthusiastic. I said, "Oh, I think it's great that you do Trap-Neuter-Release". She didn't hesitate a second before correcting me. "It's RETURN...NOT RELEASE". She explained why and I got the point. I never made the mistake of calling it RELEASE again.

It's vitally important to RETURN the cat to the area where it's trapped. Just releasing the cat in another area only serves to put it in grave danger. Cats will travel miles and miles to reach their original home. This is why its so hard to relocate ferals. If they can't be returned to their homes due to unsafe circumstances, then they have to be "homed" in a new location for nearly a month to allow them to make the new place their new home and stop their instinctive behavior of returning to the old. This is not an easy task and requires the cats to be caged in the new setting. It takes lots of commitment on the part of the people involved. Take the folks at The Double JJ Ranch for instance. They took the Hell House cats and "homed" them in barns on their property. It was done correctly and as far as we can tell, all 12 cats have remained there.

But cats who are just dumped at farms or not homed long enough WILL often times try to get back home and wind up getting killed in the process.

Then again, some actually do make it home safely. I've heard many such stories where cats traveled for miles to return home. Just like in The Incredible Journey. But I never was as close to a story as this one.

A couple months ago I got a call from C-SNIP requesting to borrow some traps to catch a kitty named Pippen that had escaped before surgery. The owner's young daughter opened the carrier outside to say goodbye and the cat took off like a shot.

Despite posting signs about the missing kitty and several traps being set behind C-SNIP day after day, no Pippen! They did catch and neuter another neighborhood stray however, so that was a good thing! But it was a small comfort considering that Pippen was gone for good (or bad actually).

THEN.....on November 21st, C-SNIP got word from Pippen's family. He had returned home!!!
One month later!!! The owner lives on Ethel SE -near Lake Drive and Giddings - so Pippen had to travel across many dangerous roads to make it home from C-SNIP which is located on 44th and Kalamazoo. Pippen was also front declawed. An amazing return for this 1 1/2 years old boy. The owner has rescheduled Pippen for neutering. Let's hope he didn't meet up with too many fertile females on his quest to reach home.

This story had a happy ending! We can all rejoice that Pippen is home safe. But imagine how many cats that are dumped or lost outside don't make it safely back. It sure put the RETURN in T-N-R for me!!!!

Schnoodles McSchnoogery AKA Sweet Potato

So, last week, I'm trapping like a mad woman at Dorine Steven's house. One of the first cats I trap is this orange and white girl. Dorine tells me that her ear has been bad for a really long time but she won't let her touch her so she hasn't been able to do anything about it. I figure....good, I'll have Dr. Langlois look at her while she is "under" and we can decide what to do.

Well, I get her back after being fixed and am told to give her anti-biotics for a week and decide what I want to do about her ear tumor. Of course I'm worried sick because I don't want to release a feral who has just had a tumor removed. And I don't want to worry myself silly for the rest of time wondering if she got another one or not. So....basically....I'm stressed as hell over this cat and the 5 others that are coming in wheezing, sneezing and with their eyes ulcerated and glued shut with gunk and mucus. It wasn't a good week for me. 25 cats trapped and many were a real mess.

Then....something good happened!

I realized that Schnoodles was a FRIENDLY not a FERAL!

So I pet her on the head and tried to coax her out of her carrier.

Come on out Schnoodles!

See, it's way nicer out here!

So with Schnoodles being a FRIENDLY, I'm relieved because I can get surgery done on her and find her a home. I was even entertaining the idea of letting her live with me. Which I am happy to report I didn't have to do BECAUSE......

While at Crash's Landing's "Rock for Crash's" Benefit last Saturday night, Jen heard about Schnoodles McSchnoogery and said "Oh, it's probably a polyp. I just had a boy with a polyp in each ear. They look like potatoes when they are removed so I named him Russet. I'll take her! It's a simple surgery. Can you bring her to the clinic on Monday morning?". I said "HELL YEAH!"

So, Monday morning, Schnoodles went in for surgery. And came out with polyp removed and a new name.....Sweet Potato. Which fits the whole potato theme Jen has going and goes nicely with her coloring.

Icky Polyp Potato still inside Schnoodle's ear.

Come out polyp!

Polyp no longer in ear! Ick! But what a relief for Sweet Potato.
She will likely always have a head tilt,
but she won't have that darned potato in her ear!
She will be cute next to Chamberlain who I rescued from
Cedar Springs who has a tilt too!

Recent Adoptions

Hello Feral Friends-

I'm happy to report that 6 kittens have been adopted in the past two weeks! First of all, Kyle, one of the Cedar Springs kittens from Dee Bandos' brood was adopted through Kitten Foster Mama Extraordinaire' Pat Baxter.

Kyle with (still available for adoption) brother Lyle.

Then a few days later, Jen, a friend of Kelly (who gave me the alopecia kittens) took home Nuzzles and Zoey Zoidberg. She would have taken some of the alopecia kittens but fell for Nuzzles and when her other friend told her that it's good to adopt kittens in pairs, Zoey Zoidberg was a perfect second kitten since they shared a cage together in the garage while they were getting over their mutual (but not caused by one another) URIs.

Zoey Zoidberg (Rescued by Michelle of Clyde Park Vet).

Nuzzles Noisy (Rescued from Cedar Springs by Renee).

I was wondering when the alopecia kittens would find homes, then the calls started coming in. Crystal surprised her daughter Jessica with her pick of the litter for Christmas. Jessica picked Alex.

Alex, just waking up from a nap!

Jessica with her new baby, Alex.
Jessica had no idea why her parents were bringing her into my condo.
She asked if I had children. I said "yes, 4 girls and a boy...wanna meet them?"

Then today, Shannon called and wanted to bring her daughter Alex (what a coincidence) to meet Allison because she had fallen in love with her petfinder photo. So she did. And guess what....Shannon fell in love with Alicia. So both Allison and Alicia found a home today.

Allison climbing the condo (which is better than Allison climbing the shower curtain).

Alicia looking lovely on the condo!

Alex with Allison and Alicia.

This leaves Allen. But he won't be alone for long because I'm taking him to be with Lyle and Myles the remaining Bandos kittens at Pat's house before I leave for Detroit on Monday.

I also just got a call from a woman who wanted to give her heart and home to an adult cat. Viola! A home for Pauley the polydactyl who I've been nursing for a week and a half for his own really bad URI. Now I won't have to release him back to Dorine Steven's Colony. He can have a nice home with Charlene in Lowell. Thanks Team Animal Hospital of Lowell for giving Charlene my number.

It's a good day! Tomorrow I have to test some cat poop to be sure everyone is clear of all worms and ickiness, then I'll run Pauley out to Charlene, pick up some homeopathic remedies from my dear Juliet, hit the tanner, pack like a mad woman and get ready to get my behind to Detroit in time to make some money working SPAMALOT at the Fisher Theater for a few weeks. I'll leave rescue for a bit, then return with some money, hopefully some restored sanity, and ready to roll into heavy spring kitten season!

Thanks for keeping up with me!
Happy Holidays to you all!
Carol