Nothing to do with cats....everything to do with music

Hello Friends

My Gabby just turned me on to something fabulous. Got to pandora.com and type in the name of any recording artist or song. A custom created radio station will be made for you immediately. The music streaming to your computer will be comprised of that artist and others in the same musical vein. Very cool!

You can thank me later!
C

Numbers

I'm not finished going through all the cage cards from the cats fixed in 2007. But I have to comment on some mind blowing numbers that I'm coming across.

John Koreja trapped and paid for the fixing of 32 cats in his backyard. Many of them were really sick with URIs and he paid to have them all medicated. He also had to haul all of these cats to GR from his home in Ottawa County. John Koreja is a Saint among men.

Another such saint is Jim Schalk. This amazing man didn't have cats on his property so he went about looking for trouble and fixed 21 cats living in his neighbor's barn. For each kitten that Gina and I took into our adoption programs, he gave us a generous donation. And then he knocked our socks off with the most generous donation to both our Rescues this Christmas. Jim had to bring these cats all the way from another county and being that they are not Kent County cats, he paid for all the surgeries out of his own pocket.

Steve Williford my dear friend from Saugatuck had the cat problem more or less thrust upon him. At first he was willing to HELP with the project. But as things went, he wound up being the soul trapping and transport guy. 43 cats and kittens in the downtown Saugatuck business district were fixed with his HELP! He also found himself more work by assisting a couple other Saugatuck residents in getting their backyard cats fixed. Hats off to you Steve! I love ya!

Bruce Kamps got a handle on his backyard craziness by bringing me 15 of his backyard denziens.

Lisa Barnette really gets a boat load of credit for her part in fixing 25 cats. The surgeries for these cats were paid for by VPC, but she footed the bill for the testing and vaccinations given to the kittens for whom she has worked diligently to find good and loving homes.

The biggest number of cats fixed this year were from Cedar Springs Mobile Estates. Between TNR and the fixing of "owned" cats, the total in 2007 came to 62. This number doesn't include the friendly kittens that were able to find forever homes.

In addition:
Heidi Andree fixed 8.
Vic Cabot fixed 17.
Mary Eteo fixed 5.
Angie Brooks fixed 14.
Laura Wertenberger fixed 13.
And my darling Patty Walczak nearly landed herself in the loony bin while fixing 9.

Numbers are impressive, but they don't mean everything! Sometimes just getting one very hard to catch kitty jangles even nerves of steel. One woman brought me a cat who had pumped out 3 litters each kitten season for nearly 11 years.

The dedication to these people and all the others who have trapped/captured and brought me these cats is immense. Trapping especially is difficult at first. These people have become pros! They should be commended for what they have accomplished.

So far, the total cats fixed through Carol's Ferals in 2007 is 701. Vicky's Pet Connection paid for at least 2/3 of these surgeries. Dr. Bruce Langlois performed the surgeries on all but maybe 30 of these cats.

Wow, 701....this is something to be very proud of. If the nationally recognized numbers are true, and each cat fixed circumvents the unwanted births of 11,000 kittens over 5 years, then by 2012, we will have 7.7 million fewer cats born to the streets and farms of West Michigan.

Was it worth all the headache and heartache? You betcha!

Here's to 800 in 2008!!!
C

Lots of stuff to help with kitty poop! Thanks Becky and Richard!

The other day I got an email from my dear friends Becky and Richard Gainey. I met Becky in Baton Rouge at the temporary shelter that housed over 1,000 displaced Katrina animals. Since that time, Becky and her husband, Richard have made the trek from their home in Ada, Ohio to Grand Rapids to see me three times. I don't see my family as often!!! The first time was for dinner with Gabby and I. This past summer, they surprised me at the Rummage Sale. Then they had me wanting to jump for joy when they showed up at The Trap In (but I couldn't cuz I WAS IN A TRAP!!) Today I knew they were coming to bring me a carload of litter boxes that they have amassed over the years but no longer use. And I need them badly!

I was excited to see my friends. Just hanging out with them is good enough. But they took me out to lunch to Macaroni Grill AND THEN took me to Sam's Club to spend a bunch of money on anything I needed! I choose what every girl in cat rescue prizes above all else.....good quality scoopable kitty litter!

I scored 240 lbs of kitty litter, 48 cans of Friskies cat food AND some odor neutralizing thing-a-ma-gigs that will help take care of some of the stinkiness at Brooknelle. Mr. 700, despite having his bath still smells somewhere between Hell House and my mini van on a bad summer's day.

The goodies are most welcome and best of all, they loaded the litter into my garage for me!

Thank you Becky and Richard for contributing to my cause. You are two very giving supporters and even if you didn't give me stuff to help me with kitty poop, I really dig hanging out with you.

Next time you come though, be sure you have caught up on Dexter so we can talk about it!

: ) C

PS Richard, the bill for my broken nose will be in the mail!!! : )

700

700 was a goal I set for myself when last month I noticed I was at 623 cats fixed so far in 2007. I figured, I can make it 700, no problem.

Everything was humming along nicely. Then it got cold. Then there was Christmas and it was looking as if I might not make my goal. I started to fret over this. Vic Cabot started calling people to bring cats in. Jolyn Clark brought me a cat earlier in the week to help me make my goal.

As of yesterday morning, I was at 699. Then I called The Double JJ Ranch where I left two traps last week when I dropped off Murroni, Black Nightie and Suspicion from Muskegeon. Linda Hicks said that they had trapped a cat on Sunday. This was Thursday and I was like WTF!!! Why didn't anyone call me or bring him to me? Good Grief! I guess most people don't put cats in the forefront of every singe waking moment, so the captured cat kinda fell by the wayside.

Linda who is the Equine Manager was gone for the past several days but got right on the situation when she arrived at the ranch yesterday morning. The friendly black tomcat captured on Sunday was put into a larger cage so he thankfully didn't spend 4 days in a trap! Whew! But he wasn't supplied a litter box and when he came to me yesterday, he was covered in very pungent tomcat urine.

This stinky boy is my 700th cat to be fixed in 2007. I took him to the clinic last night and begged for him to be bathed upon his neuter. I just got word from Bonnie at the animal hospital that he was neutered and bathed.

So while he looks a little miserable in this photo, 700 is now clean and fresh as a daisy...or as fresh as a tomcat can be at least!

Here he is! Mr 700!

PS Jolyn Clark brought me another cat as well,
making the toll for 2007.....701. Yeah!!

Spicolli

Buggy Ding Dong's Daddy seems bored to death in his cage. Despite the company of the gray plush kitty supplied by Mary Eteo, he isn't fond of being in a cage. I keep telling him that soon, he will go to a loving home with his son who he has yet to meet, but he is not interested. He just looks at me as if to say "get me out of here".

So last night I gave him one of the fortune cookie cat-nip toys made by Fuzzy Stella's Mama, Kim Grant. He went ape shit over the thing. Tossing it around, licking it till soaking, then attacking the plush kitty, he got so high that this was the result!

At this point he is no longer BD3, but now can be called "Spicolli". Sean Penn never could pull off such a chronic case as this boy!

Enjoy this photo as much as he enjoyed his ganja cat-nip! Thanks Kim for the buzz!

More gifts lavished on me and the kitties

The kitties (and even I) have been getting lots of wonderful gifts for Christmas!

Every year I send out an Annual Holiday Letter. If I have your email, you get one....like it or not.

I sent the letter Jen and Loryn, a sweet couple who adopted Dell who is now named Emmett) in the summer. They sent me a substantial paypal donation with a very nice note accompanying the funds transfer. What lovely girls! Thank you both for loving Emmett and helping me further my cause!

Then yesterday, I got two wonderful gifts from Stephanie Meaney and Tiffany Traxler. As you all know, Stephanie Meaney is one of my kitten fosters. Stephanie is the one who loves to give up 4 weeks of night's slep to bottle feed kittens. She never complains when having to care for kittens covered in ringworm. She doesn't bat an eyelash when I ask her to come across town to get food, or meds or more kittens when I'm in over my head! Stephanie Meaney is amazing and lots of kittens have good lives now because of her. I'd have to say no to kittens if she weren't available to do the special needs work that many of them need. She was the first on the scene to help me with the Suckling Kittens (coincidentally, the litter where Dell...mentioned above came from). Gosh, those kittens were a mess. Steph knew exactly how to handle the situation. God I love that girl. Well yesterday I look out on my porch and find two cases of tall cans of soft Friskies (in just the flavors I like). Actually, I don't like the flavors....but the kitties do. And besides the massive amount of cat food, there is a gift for me. Tea and chocolate and trinkets and wonderful stuff. Thank you Stephanie for all that you do and all that you give....especially the LOVE!

Then later in the day....which was the day from hell emotionally (but I'm not going to go there cuz I'm really trying to put it behind me), I got a visit from Tiffany Traxler while I was at Brooknelle. Tiffany took over my job at Jandy's when I left so that I could put my efforts into my own TNR work. Tiffany is no longer working with any rescue, but has helped in many ways to support mine. She turned up with two huge bins of gifts and useful items for my Rescue. One bin was for me, the other for Gina and Focus on Ferals. What a darling girl Tiffany is. We hung out for a while and loved on all the kitties that would allow such fussing. She would have liked to love on the three ferals too, but they made it pretty apparent by squishing into the back of their carrier that the wanted "none of it". Thank you Tiffany for all the goodies! You Rock!

If I have left out anyone who has given gifts to Carol's Ferals this holiday season, I personally invite you to come to my New Years Eve Party for Stray's and kick my behind!

: ) C

Tigger Needs Your Help

This is Tigger. Tom and Rebecca Russell brought him to me on Christmas Eve. They were going to do what I call an "outside adoption" and take him into their home providing he were fixed, tested and vaccinated. Tigger is a young boy so when I circled "FELV/FIV Test" on his cage card along with "neuter" and all the vaccines, I never expected a call from Langlois' office asking what to do if he were positive. Well, yesterday morning, I got that call. Tigger tested positive for Feline Leukemia. Then the dreaded question: Do you want us to euthanize him?

I hate these calls. Especially when I'm not expecting them. I called Jen and Rochelle at Crash's Landing to see if he could be accepted into Big Sid's Sanctuary (the sanctuary run by Jen Petrovich that homes FELV and FIV positive cats. I didn't get through to either number, so rather than react hastily, I told Bruce's office to go ahead and neuter him. I was feeling pretty sure that I'd be able to get him into Sid's.

Jen has told us other rescues for some time now, not to contact her with FELV positive cats. I know this, but I guess I just haven't been able to wrap my mind around this. There is no place else for them to go. Crash's Landing and Big Sid's has been a resource for me since I started doing rescue and I think the mere idea that I wouldn't be able to use them any longer went into the place in my head where other information I don't want to deal with or accept goes. I call it "unacceptance land".

Tigger was turned down. There is no room at the inn. Why should I expect this cat to get into the one and only no kill shelter for Feluks? Even the unborn baby Jesus was turned down for goodness sake! Guess I have to get a grip on that one!

So in my "I still can't accept this mindset" I tried to bribe Jen to take this cat with money and offers of taking kittens from her in the Spring. This was a futile attempt, but I was hopeful. This didn't work either. I guess I have to give Jen some credit for maintaining her integrity and words spoken to us Rescues several months ago. Still, I wish she were a little more unscrupulous and would take this boy in with a nice donation!

Alas, still...no room at the inn.

So, Tigger is with me. He's in a comfortable cage at Brooknelle. And this is where he will stay until I can either find him a home, or he gets sick, or I just have to do what I don't want to do which is have him euthanized! F&%$ing Bummer!

My appeal to you faithful blog readers is this. Help me find Tigger a home. If family cats are vaccinated against FELV there is minimal chance of risk of transmission. But still, I can see that it would be difficult to expect anyone to bring a cat with this disease into a home of healthy cats. I'm hoping someone knows somebody who will take mercy on this boy and give him a home as an only cat. Maybe someone's cat has passed and they are catless and would entertain the notion of taking him in. He can live a decent life till he becomes ill. At that point, he can be euthanized if treatment is not an option.

If he were feral, this would be a no-brainer. There is no possible place for a FELV+ feral to go, but a FRIENDLY.....there has to be somewhere.

Please help if you can. Anyone interested can call me day or night! 616 560-0555.

Sorry to put this on all of you! But hopefully one of you out there can help save Tigger!

Please!
C

PS Jen P would like me to mention that she has asked me in the past not to call her with FELV cats as they are limited in space at Big Sids and now only taking cats with FELV that come directly through the Clyde Park Vet doors. So in fairness, I'm posting her wishes that I can't seem to honor.

Strays Welcome at Carol's Cat House for New Year's Eve

Stray people are welcome to come to my house to ring in 2008!

If you are partyless and don't want to stay home, you can hang out with me and my cats and others who aren't into anything too fancy.

Stray cats don't have huge expectations....so either should any stray people!

I'm not decorating or getting a bunch of noisemakers and party hats. If you are into that, bring your own!

Who's invited: Stray people who read my blog.

What will we do: Play with balls and string toys (or maybe poker, euchre or some goofy group participatory games like charades or something updated that I'll figure out this week).

What we will eat: Tuna and mackeral (or maybe better yet, cheese, crackers, chips and dips....whatever you want to bring along).

What will we drink: Milk (OK, we won't be drinking milk. We will be drinking alcohol, and lots of it, or soda or whatever you would like to tote with you. I'll supply champagne to ring in the New Year!)

When we will gather: When the ferals come up to my porch to eat (Usually around 7pm - 8pm ish...but come whenever you like. If you have another party, hit it first or come for a bit and go as you like. Strays do as they please....and so can you!)

What not to worry about: Boys, I won't be loping off your testicles so you need not worry about that! Also, we will be ultra casual, so you don't need to wear anything fancy. Strays don't have huge incomes for wardrobes so jeans and sweatshirts are purrfect!

Slink over and join me while I let my fur down!
: ) C

Thank You Fabulous Christmas Gift Givers!

As you all know, I'm always very pleasantly surprised when I receive gifts of money for my rescue kitties. This past week, I've gotten some very nice donations to put toward my rescue efforts.

Thank you to the following people!

Victoria
Melissa and Dave Eastwood
Joan Ryskamp
Lisa Dinowski
and Bill Gabbard

Your donations are well spent. If it's not kitty litter, it's food. If not that, it goes toward Brooknelle rent or paying for the services provided by Dr. Langlois.

Also, a special Thank You to C-SNIP for taking care of my H litter. And thank you Pat Baxter for handling everything from weaning those kittens to adopting them to their forever homes!

Bless you all!
C

Meowy Christmas

A great photo sent to me by my favorite person to weigh cats with! Pam Cowling! A groovy gal that worked with me to weigh every single cat and dog that came to the last Ionia Spay/Neuter Clinc!

Carol's Annual Holiday Newsie - 2007 Edition

Meowy Christmas Friends and Family!

This year, I'm writing my annual holiday newsie on Christmas Day! Up until two days ago, I was pretty much devoid of Christmas spirit. Unsure of where it went, I began to ponder the last few years and came up with this: It's not that I am bah humbug exactly. And it's not that I've been so overwhelmed with Retail Christmas's Past that I now just can't cope with the holiday. I'm simply OUT OF PRACTICE especially with regard to decking the halls.

Looking back a the last several years I found this: In 2001, Mom was diagnosed with cancer. With the folks unable to make the trip to GR, I went to Warren to be with them. Not having company and not being too much in the "spirit of things" being the "news", I didn't decorate my house making the holiday kinda a bummer. In 2002, I was out of my home (caring for Mom at her house) at that point for nearly a year already. I didn't decorate much except for Mom's room. The following year, Gabby and I were on tour with Mama Mia and living in our RV. In 2004, we were holed up in the RV in Allendale, so I wasn't at home to set up a tree. In 2005, I was busy taking care of Dad who was actively dying, so decorating was not on the top of my "things to do" list. Last year, Gabby and I were in Detroit working SPAMALOT, so I didn't have a place to decorate. This year, I was really busy and didn't feel like decorating and couldn't figure out why. Now I realize, I'm just out of practice! Wow! I was thinking I was depressed.

Not the case. I'm actually very happy and fulfilled. I'm doing my Cat Rescue full time now. I have revamped the way I do things and now have streamlined my TNR to maximize my time so that I can get more cats fixed. Year to date, I've fixed 693 cats. I have 4 to take in tonight for surgery tomorrow. Three more cats will make my year goal of 700!!!!

In the summer, I rented a garage space from my veterinarian who runs a dog boarding kennel about 2 miles from my home. Four nights a week, I wait at my "rehab facility" to accept cats that have been trapped. During those few hours each night, I tend to the cats that are recovering from surgery, set up cats that had surgery that day in cages for recovery, clean up after the fosters that I have in the neighboring unit and accept the trapped ferals and strays that people bring me from all over West Michigan.

With Vicky's Pet Connection, a local rescue organization picking up the tab for surgeries of cats in Kent County, I'm able to reach out to a lot of people who want to get their neighborhood cats fixed and help reduce the overpopulation of cats. I've been able to help over 100 people this year! It's very rewarding.

I continue to focus my energies on a trailer park in Cedar Springs and to date have worked to get about 180 cats spayed/neutered. Beyond that, I'm no longer running around and setting traps myself. I'm working smarter vs harder and lots more cats are being sterilized.

With the help of two awesome foster mothers, I've been able to find homes for 48 cats and kittens this year. Another 14 feral cats that had no other place to go were relocated to barn homes.

It's been a really busy year! I've felt like I was going to lose my mind on several occasions but was talked off the ledge by some really amazing cat friends who help to preserve my sanity by reaching out to me in my times of need. Gina Marvin of Focus on Ferals, my mentor has become one of my closest friends. Without her, I'd not be able to do the work I do. Thank you G!

Currently, my life revolves around the Cat Rescue. Doll and toy sales are on hold. The Angelic Cross is on hold. I figure when I'm old and can't get around so well anymore, I'll work on these projects. While I have my youth (yes, I'm still youthful at 42), I'll focus my energies on my cat rescue work.

I have a website now, thanks to my very good friend, Erica. Visit www.carolsferals.com to learn more about what I do. And to keep up on my daily cat antics, you can view my blog at www.carolsferals.blogspot.com.

Gabby is still on tour with SPAMALOT and likely will be for the next couple of years. It's a blockbuster show! Very funny! If you are a Monty Python fan, it's a "Must See". If not, you should still check it out, cuz it's quite entertaining. The production will come to Grand Rapids in May. Check it out!

I didn't leave my house for even one night until late October when I joined my wonderful neighbors Jonelle and John at their condo in Florida. They showed me an amazing time. While I was gone, several of my fabulous volunteers held down the cat forts both at home at at Brooknelle (where I have my rehab facility).

I'm truly blessed to have wonderful people who believe in what I do and who are willing to help me continue my cat rescue work by giving either of their time or their finances or BOTH!

My friends and family have had to adjust to my cat focused lifestyle. I'm amazed that any of them even speak to me. Those who have tried this past year, may have met with a frantic girl on the other end of the phone, or gotten only short email responses to their check ins. I hope that you all understand my situation and know that I love you all dearly still. I'm just focused on my mission and it takes a lot out of a person to live this sort of lifestyle. Thank you all who continue to be patient with me.

How am I doing? In relation to the loss of my parents. I'm doing pretty well most of the time. I don't have any obligations to anyone so I'm able to help a lot of cats. I'm free to do as I like, which is good cuz God help me should I have to actually have to have some balance in my life. Not so good with that yet. Working on it though! Starting to take the weekends off of tending Brooknelle now so that I can "have a life".

I get a lot of satisfaction from the work I do. It's very "all consuming" but it's so worth it. My friend Shelly wrote me an email the other day that said something to the effect: "It must be hard this time of year not having your parents to tell you how proud they are of you." I hadn't thought of that. It made me cry. Which was probably cathartic. I know Susan and Paris are watching me from above and knowing that I'm doing good work. Well, Mom is. Dad is probably saying something like, "Why are you spending so much of your money on all those damn cats?" It's probably good that I waited till he was gone to start with my mission.

I hope this letter/email/post finds you all in good health and happy. My cats are healthy and with the exception of some crazed anxiety, I'm healthy too! And I'm happy!

With much love!
: ) Carol

Me and Buggy Ding Dong's Daddy.

Father of the kitten: Buggy Ding Dong.
He and Buggy were rescued from Cedar Springs
on two very separate occasions.
But look at the kitten and look at him.
Father and son? You decide!



Buggy Ding Dong....Who's your daddy??
They guy above....obviously!
Both Buggy and Daddy are set
to be adopted together in January!

Me and Tonto Sanchez.

Rescued from a pretty crappy neighborhood
in Grand Rapids.
He now has a happy life living with a man named
Jay who says that they were meant to be together!

Me with John Riley, another boy rescued from Cedar Springs.
He was declawed, had a flea allergy and had
no business living outside especially since
at the time I found him, he still had his testicles!
John Riley no longer has his balls,
but he has found a loving family who adores him.

A Win/Win Situation!

Would you like to help feral cats?
Would you like to support Vicky's Pet Connection and The Critter Cottage?
Are you community minded?
Would you like to help cats and not have to leave your house?
Do you have a credit card?

If so, then you can make a quick call to The Critter Cottage and order food to help me feed the ferals.

Strays and ferals are everywhere!! But where they are most plentiful are in trailer parks and economically depressed areas. Who feeds these cats? Mostly elderly folks on fixed incomes. Or NOBODY, as in the case of Cedar Springs Mobile Estates. If I didn't supply food there would be strays and ferals eating nothing but garbage out of the dumpsters. Gina and I get donations from the Humane Society. But that doesn't cover the need. Pressed to help these cats, we buy food on our own. Which is fine, but maybe you would like to help too!

If you would like to help me feed feral cats where folks can't afford to pay for the food, you can make a simple call to The Critter Cottage and let them know what you would like to have set aside for my ferals.

I'll pick up the food and deliver it to needy cats in the hoods and trailer parks where people can't provide for them.

This not only helps the feral and stray cats that I run into, but also supports Vicky's Pet Connection. Since opening The Critter Cottage, they have been able to adopt out many more cats and raise awareness to the plight of cats and dogs in Kent County. Vicky's Pet Connection pays for the spay/neuter surgeries on most all of my ferals, so by supporting them, you are supporting my rescue work.

Small bags (6#) are $6.99 and large bags (18#) are $19.99. But they are willing to take a dollar off the small bags and two dollars off the big bags if you call or come in and mention that you are donating food to Carol's Ferals.

The number to the Critter Cottage is 676-1200. Or you can email 2feet4paws@gmail.com if you have questions.

Thanks for being community minded and supporting VPC, The Critter Cottage and Carol's Ferals.

: ) C

For more information about The Critter Cottage, visit: http://www.vickyspetconnection.com/crittercottage.html

Christmas is for giving!

These words came from RC Kula when he called me yesterday morning.

For those of you who have been following the blog for a while, know about Operation Agnes and the 20 cats that were rescued from her farmhouse and property after she passed away. I had the cats for nearly 6 months, until the last (most unsocial) ones were found barn homes. The first cat to be adopted however was a lovely young lilac point siamese that I named Lila.

Lila went to live with Lindy and her family.

I got a call from Lindy a few weeks ago asking if I would hold onto Lila for awhile until she could raise the money to pay a pet security deposit now being required by her apartment management company. I said sure. But then, I didn't hear back from her so I figured she raised the money or found someone else to foster Lila.

Not so. She called me on Thursday desperate. She had to get Lila out of the apartment that day or face eviction. I had her bring Lila over. I set her up at Brooknelle that morning. Having lived the "good life" and being loved and able to roam her home, she didn't take well to being in a cage. And being a vocal siamese, she didn't allow anyone walking into my unit at Brooknelle to be unaware of her displeasure with her circumstances.

Her cries caught the ear of RC Kula who tends Gina's kittens several days a week and the Great 8 (formerly known as the FIP - Fretting in Paranoia Cats). On route from Gina's adoption center to the Pussy Palace, RC has to cut through my rehab facility. And Lila was screaming "Get me the heck out of here!".

He happened onto a screeching Lila and my note explaining why she was at Brooknelle. I knew she would garner attention from passers-by and I wanted folks to know that I wasn't going to be TNRing THIS cat!

The call from RC yesterday morning said: Carol, this is RC. If Lila's owner can pay me back $10 per month, I'll loan her the money for her pet deposit. That cat should be home with her family for Christmas!

I called Lindy and told her the good news. As soon as I was home yesterday evening, she was at my door with a carrier to take Lila home!

Here is a photo of Lindy and her children with Lila who looks like she wants to get away, but really is happy to be in the arms of her mama. When I was a little girl, I considered my cat Pyewackette to be my daughter. Lindy is Lila's grandmother and the little boy is her uncle. How adorable is that.

According to Lindy, her daughter was so upset at school on Friday, that the teacher called her to see what was that matter at home. When the little girl returned home from school and learned that she would have Lila back that evening, she light up like a Christmas tree!

RC, you are an angel. Not only do you spend every single day of your life running to Brooknelle to tend cats, you donate to our causes, you meet me at Costco and help me load 800 lbs of cat litter, and you make the dreams of little girls come true!

God bless you and your dear wife Jan who used her unemployment check to cover this kind deed!

I adore you!
: ) C

PS Thanks for the Christmas presents!

Lila and her family.
They will be together for the holidays!
Thank you Angel RC.

In Loving Memory of Mr. Perfect

This fall, a lovely woman named Heidi Andree called about cats in her backyard that she wanted to help. We discussed TNR and within a day, Heidi was at my house picking up traps. After loading the traps into her car, she pulled out snapshots of her cats to share with me. I knew at that moment that I'd met a kindred spirit.

One of the photos was of her beloved boy, Mr. Perfect. When she told me about him, I could tell that he was very special to her. She explained to me how she felt about him and how he made her feel. I understood completely.

Mr. P has been fighting a battle with illness these past few months. Heidi and her husband Jerry have devoted themselves to his care. Heidi has taken days off work to be with her boy and make sure he was getting all the loving attention he needed and deserved.

As of last week, he was doing quite well.

Then last night, December 21st, he threw a blood clot that left him paralyzed. There is nothing that can be done for cats when this happens. The only humane solution is to have the kitty put to sleep. Heidi and Jerry made the difficult decision to let their boy cross over.

My heart goes out to Heidi and Jerry. If you read this blog in order of posting, then you have read the post titled "Threads". And if you have.....being a cat lover and likely someone who has lost a beloved pet connect to the loss of Heidi and Jerry with the compassionate thread that binds us all together.

There are really no words that comfort at this time. But I hope that Heidi and Jerry, by knowing that others share their loss in their own way, feel connected to those of us who understand.

Mr. Perfect. May your spirit be eternal.

Threads

This is not a blog entry warning of the hazards that thread, string, yarn and ribbon pose to your feline friends! Though since I mentioned it......be extra careful this time of year with curling ribbon because if a cat starts to chew it, they can get it in their intestines and result in death (or at least a very expensive trip to the vet). And the answer to your question is NO! She can't just turn off her "cat bugging". ***see footnote at bottom of blog for more on this subject.

But what I'm writing about today are the threads that connect our emotions to events of the past. I haven't had a lot of extensive psychotherapy, though many of you who know me well, think I should. But what I have come to know and only recognize when I'm "clear".... which is hardly ever (but happens to be this morning) is this: we humans tend to react to a comment or an event in ways that sometimes seem...how do you say....irrational. This was my experience last night.

Someone made a comment to me that threw me into a tailspin. I didn't react like a normal person would or in a manner that was warranted by the comment. I flipped out and had to "get the hell out of that area". I sped off in my car and was "spinning" about it for the whole ride to my destination. This was not a normal reaction at all. Upon introspection this morning, I still can't figure out exactly WHY this person pushed my buttons, but they did. And they didn't mean to. I know there are people who try (for whatever reason, be it known to them or not) to push buttons, but this is not the case with this person....I know them too well. In fact after talking to them about it later this morning, I realize that it was me who pushed a button to provoke their reaction, which pushed my button back! God help us human beings!

But back to threads. Sometimes the thread leads back to an experience that's positive. Like when you smell Coppertone sun tan lotion and you remember being on your dad's boat when you were a kid. But often not so positive, like me, when I get a whiff of an artificial peach smell as in a bubble bath or lotion, I go back to the time when my cat Baby was laid out at Noah's Garden before burial and they had used a peach air freshener in the place. So when I smell artificial peach, I get all sad about my cat Baby.

Threads seem to bind us together too. Today, I received an email from a dear friend. She had to have her cat put to sleep last night. At that same time last night, I was feeling really out of sorts. It might be coincidence, but then again, maybe I was somehow feeling her pain. This morning when I learned about her beloved cats passing, I was connected emotionally to her situation because her cat threw a blood clot that paralyzed him. This same exact thing happened to my Spooky back in 2004 while Gabby and I were on tour with Mama Mia. I raced to LA (where he was) from a side trip to Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah so that I could be with him when he was euthanized. Hearing Heidi's story this morning made me remember my darling boy Spooky and with the thread connecting me to Heidi I wept for our shared losses.

I sometimes wish I didn't have threads. I sometimes wish I could just turn off my emotions. Life would be so much easier. But the company that makes Puffs would go out of business!

: ) C

***Talk about connections and threads. It was Heidi (who lost her cat Mr. P last night) who brought me Cookie the cat. Cookie is a black and white stray kitty that Heidi had brought me along with several others from her neighborhood colony. I had Cookie fixed and returned her to Heidi for release in her awesome backyard of decorative coolers filled with straw. (See October 11th blog entry where they are featured). Heidi came back with Cookie two days later when she noticed a piece of thick string coming out of her backside. Oh God! This is almost always really bad news. I asked Heidi and her husband Jerry what they would be willing to do for Cookie. They were fully ready to pay whatever necessary to get Cookie surgery to have the string removed if necessary. Luckily though, we held Cookie in a cage overnight and she passed the string in her stool! Thank goodness! I decided to keep Cookie and find her a home. Currently she's in foster care with a lovely girl named Kira Ellens who will let her stay at her place till she finds a home. She's listed on petfinder if anyone is interested in adopting a lovely tuxedo girl! Cookie that is....not Kira!

Murroni Update

Remember Murroni? He's the black tabby that I pulled from a critter control trap over two months ago. A kind woman named Sheryl O, noticed the eatery next door to her place of employment had contacted the "paid to capture and kill" critter control to take this cat off the property. I guess his eating out of the dumpsters was really a problem for them. BASTARDS!

In any case, I transfered him out of the trap and took him to Brooknelle where he has been ever since. Vic Cabot, my wonderful volunteer took it upon herself to find him a place to be relocated. Despite my attempts to find him a barn home with listings on cragislist, I kept coming up empty! Vic thought of The Double JJ Ranch just North of Muskegon.

What a bubble head. I didn't think of them myself! I relocated 12 of the Hell House cats there last fall! 7 of the 12 remain there. I took Murroni there yesterday along with two cats that were rescued from that horrible situation in Muskegon last summer where the city (or some group) tore down a house that was full of cats. The police threatened anyone who crossed the line with arrest, so nobody was able to go into the house to rescue the 40+ cats inside. But Dr. Sandra Strandberg and her husband stepped in after the fact and found homes for all of the cats they could save except for two, Suspicion (a female black tabby) and Black Nightie (a dsh black girl).

The girls are in a homing cage next to Murroini's cage in one of the smaller barns on the Double JJ Ranch property. In two weeks, the doors to the cages will be opened and they will be able to go in and out at will. In two more weeks, the cages will be removed and they will make the barn their new home! I know Murroni will love his new surroundings. There are a lot of old cars and buses parked on the lot beside the barn, so there are a lot of places to hid out and stalk mice! I think the girls are smitten with Murroni. With Gina's advice, last week, I put Murroni and the Muskegon Girls in cages next to one another and took out the divider. The girls kept moving their food bowls. It looks to me as if they moved the bowls so that they could get a closer look at Murroni when he was eating at his food station. He's a very handsome boy and I can see why they would be attracted to him. He's a big Tom! (Well....he WAS a big Tom, now well, not so much). But they still can admire his physique right?

At The Double JJ Ranch I saw two of my Hell House cats and presented them with stinky bits to eat. Stumpy Joe and Houdini were all to happy to gobble my gift! Stumpy Joe even let me pet him. As you might recall, if you were following this blog in the Spring of 2006, Stumpy Joe was pulled from the Hell House with a bloody stick for a tail...(which Bruce amputated for me) and Houdini escaped his cage in my garage twice before going to live with Roxanne and Randy prior to relocation at the ranch!

It was good seeing the boys! I'm sure Murroni and his girls will enjoy their new digs!

Thank you Stephanie, Linda and the ranch hands at Double JJ Ranch for welcoming these homeless vagabonds. And thanks Vic Cabot for making it happen!

: ) C

And Gina and I are left scratching our heads....

Occasionally, Gina and I work together on cat missions. A few weeks ago, G got a call from a woman at a condo association nearby Kraft and 28th Street. Seems two black and white kittens were upsetting one of the condo owners. One of the kittens was trying to get into the units by climbing the screens on the back slider doors, thusly upsetting her dog and making it bark a lot.

Gina called the complaining condo owner. This woman was really horrible on the phone so Gina told Cheryl, (the gal who works at the property management company) that she would like to help but that she couldn't deal with the complainant.

Nothing got done for a week and Gina began to worry that someone would call critter control on the kittens (and then.....you know what!). So she asked me to contact this horrible woman and see if I could go and trap the kittens. Being my people lovin' self, I figured THIS WILL BE A PIECE OF CAKE! I'm a people person! People like me. I can get through to most anyone! I told Gina, I'd handle it.

Gina has helped me with way more rescues that I've helped her. The only TNR I've taken from her was a woman on the SW side. She has escorted me to Anges' Farmhouse, The Bamford Farm and Cedar Springs! So I felt this was the least I could do for her.

I called the complaining woman figuring I'd have her melting in my hands, but NOT SO! She was a horrible person to deal with and I had to end the conversation. But beforehand, I did get her to give me her neighbor's number.

I called the neighbor, a lovely woman (what a sharp contrast to the other) and she invited me over right away to catch the kittens. They were sitting on her back deck at the time I called. I ran right over. I was already on that side of town and I even had a trap and a carrier in my van.

As soon as I opened the slider, the first kitten (the one who climbs the screens) ran straight into the house. But to it's surprise, it ran straight into a trap positioned at the opening of the sliding door.

I transfered that cat into a carrier and set the trap outside to catch the second kitten. This one was not so easy to get. It didn't want to go in....not even for stinky soft food. Then I put the sibling in the carrier outside of the trap to entice him/her. Still nothing. Then I covered the carrier and the trap with a sheet and once the scaredy sibling noticed the only way to get to the captured kitty was by going into the trap....it did!

Within 15 minutes I had both cats and left for Brooknelle. I set them up in a cage and they spent the night till the following day when I transfered them into traps and took them to Bruce to be fixed.

The plan was to hold the kittens till we could find a place to relocate them. It was obvious to Gina that if she didn't take these kittens off the property, they might call in critter control and the kittens being semi feral would be killed.

Yesterday I picked them up from the clinic. On their cage cards (the slips of paper where I write what needs to be done with each cat), written in black sharpie marker was "ALREADY FIXED, ALREADY EAR TIPPED).

I'm like "WHAT THE HELL?". I didn't notice an ear tip nor did I even check because they were both so young....and the people feeding them didn't get them fixed so they must be intact. WRONG! At closer inspection, I noticed that they were indeed already ear tipped.

This has Gina and I just scratching our heads. Who fixed these kittens? She hasn't ever set traps at Chatham Woods Condominiums. I may have fixed these cats but I surely don't remember every cat I have fixed. I'm nearly at 700 for the year! And I don't keep location records....just the name of the person bringing me the cats!

So Gina and I are not sure who had these cats fixed, but someone did. They may have been taken into C-SNIP by some caring neighbor. We are thankful that people are out there doing the work we do, but we are just amazed that these kittens could end up at another condo, spending so much time there, and once captured, we find them to be already fixed and tipped! CRAZY!

Currently we are looking for a place to relocate these kittens. If you know anyone who would like two barn kittens (one being very friendly...the other NOT), then give us a call!

: ) C

Tux

Ceedo

Blown Away!

I'm completely blown away by the kindness of people. I know I'm doing good cat work. And I know people recognize this by supporting me and my efforts in a variety of ways. But lately, it's off the hook!

I received a donation from a couple in Lowell who read about what I do in the GR Press. My name was mentioned in the article about the Saugatuck Cats, but there was no way to get a hold of me. These people tracked me down through Dr. Langlois and sent me a very nice check to help me with my Rescue work. Thank you so much Karen Ward and Ronald Janowski. You totally made my day!

In addition to this, Cheyenne's Mamma, Marcia sent me another very generous paypal donation yesterday and told me that I had to spend it on myself...and not cats! I explained that I don't track money all that well, but all the cats needs are met and any that aren't met through donation are paid for by me....naturally, more comes out of my pocket than through donation and it will be that way till I get my butt in gear and get my 501c3 paperwork done and can be considered an official non-profit. Till then, spending my own money is fine and I think it will always be that way, so I'm good with it. But I did promise Marcia that I would earmark some of her donation to pay for my self indulgent Christmas day's Chinese food and DVD rentals! The rest can go to cats!

Yesterday I was brought to tears when Jim Schalk came to Brooknelle to present Gina and I with a sum of gift cards to Walmart, Costco, Meijer, and Pet Supplies Plus that put him in the MOST HUMONGOUS DONATION EVER GIVEN CATEGORY! We were both overwhelmed by the generosity of this man. For those of you who may have missed my talking about Jim Schalk, let me remind you. This lovely man brought me about 20 cats that he trapped at a neighbor's farm and their neighbor's across the street. He paid out of his own pocket to have every one of those cats fixed, as he is out of Kent County and VPC's funding doesn't cover cats outside of county limits. He spent a lot of money fixing cats that weren't even on his property. Talk about taking RESPONSIBILITY! Lots of folks I talk to say "Well, they aren't my cats...I shouldn't have to be responsible....." This is not Jim's thought! He is a saint and not only did he pay for the surgeries of those cats, but when Gina and I stepped forward to take some of the kittens and find them homes, he gave us generous donations for each one! Then he comes forward with this most generous of all donations! We still can't believe it. I was wondering why he was asking so specifically which places we most need gift cards to....now it's apparent. This darling man also gave us a sizable gift card to Outback Steakhouse so we could enjoy a nice meal together! We hope to do that soon! Jim, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your kindness toward animals and your beautiful, generous giving spirit!

Bless you all, this holiday season and in the coming year!
: ) Carol

PS For those of you who read this blog and can't afford to make monetary donations, please know that your support matters in other ways as well. I know I have lots of people out there who send me good energy and keep me in their prayers. Those things matter just as much! So thank you all who keep me and my kitties in your good thoughts!

Thanx

I'm blown away that people are giving me gifts for Christmas! I have got to thank the following people for their generous gifts this season!

Betty Wood is an amazing lady who sits with the Great 8 each week and keeps the place in tip top shape. God knows I don't clean it EVER! Yesterday I found a Christmas card with a donation inside. Thank you Betty for supporting my Rescue work!

My dear, darling Kim Grant (who adopted Fuzzy Tripod....now Fuzzy Stella) left a box filled with laundry detergent, bleach, cat food, sheets, baked goods for me and the most adorable fortune cookie catnip toys elegantly packaged in decorative Chinese food containers. The cats love 'em. And whatever that bread stuff you gave me was...it was delicious with egg nog the last two nights! Thanks so much Kim! Not only did you give Stella a home, you continue to support my work and bring joy to my Rescue kitties!

Kathy Letourneau does so much for cats on her own that I was nearly brought to tears when she came to my door with a big orange tom cat to fix and a gift and card with a monetary donation. The gift was an adorable decorative wall hanging that says "We welcome strays". This will grace my front porch where my ferals eat and are offered shelter.

I continue to get monthly donations from the usual suspects, Mary Eteo, RC Kula and Cheyenne's Mama Marcia.

I'm so blessed to have loving people who care about my cats and remember us at this time of year. I don't do much for the holidays any longer. Friends take me under their wings now that I'm flying solo since my father passed two years ago. Before that though, they took us both in. This year, I plan to play the day low key and rent some movies and go back and forth between the upstairs kitties and the downstairs kitties, drink tea and just be at peace in my completely undecorated house. I do however have my Grinch plush doll with the light up heart seated in my living room! If this sounds pathetic, it's not meant to be. I worked in retail for years and kinda lost urge to overdose on Christmas spirit somewhere in the parking lot of Woodland Mall back in 1996. I like not to make too much of a fuss and try to remember the holiday for what it's meant to be. So I will at least go to church on Christmas Eve and cry when the congregation sings Silent Night. Other than that, I'm looking forward to spending New Years with anyone who doesn't have anything better to do. You are welcome to come to my house and hang out with me and some friends. Nothing fancy. Jeans, sweatshirts, champagne and maybe some card games, laughing, joking and snacks. More details to come later!

: ) C

Nadia/Spooky Eastwood Update

Hello Feral Friends:

Words from Melissa Eastwood about Nadia and Spooky!

we had kind of a breakthrough yesterday morning. I went out to feed them and when I got back in the house I looked out the window and they were both on nadia's porch together!! this is the first time that I have seen that they were that close. he was getting a drink out of the heated dog bowl that we use in the winter and she was just sitting there watching him. she also stopped running away when I called her and just sat and listened to me talk to her for a minute, which was a first. they are both getting kind of chubby with all the good food and their Winter fur. Love them!!

Groovy HUH!
: ) c

Me and Butler the Saugatuck Celebrity Kitty

Last Friday I took a little trip to Saugatuck to return the 11 cats that my dear friend Steve Williford trapped in and around the area. Afterward, I met my another couple of dear cat trapping friends for dinner. Then it was off to see Steve perform in the community theater version of A Christmas Carol. Steve is the nicest guy in the world, but despite his gentle demeanor, he makes a great Scrooge! HUMBUG!

But after dropping off cats and before dinner with Patty and Hank Walczak, I had time to bop over to The Santa Fe Trading Company and pay a visit to Butler, the feral kitty who after being TNR'd is living the life of Riley as the official shop cat and "From Wild to Mild" Spokescat!

Here is a photo of me and the famous Mr. Butler. Below the jewelry counter where he perches on a pillow, are three bowls. One with fresh water. Another with kitty food. And a third with rotisserie chicken! Lucky Butler! LUCKY ME!

In loving memory of Marshmallow

Marshmallow was the very much loved cat of my God Children, Madeline, Nick and Luke. Their mother (one of my dearest friends, Shelley and her adorable husband Matt took in this cat that was found as a kitten in the parking lot of someone's workplace.

I was in Los Angeles (where they lived at the time) touring with Mama Mia and visited them. They tried to give me Marshmallow to fill the void left behind by my beloved Spooky who passed away a couple weeks earlier. It was only because Marshmallow didn't lick my ears like Spooky that I passed him up. He was black...but long haired and he didn't seem to like me too much anyway so it wasn't hard to say....why don't you just keep him...the kids sure seem to love him!

As fate would have it, Marshmallow had a whole slew of medical issues with the most troubling to him (and the bank account of Shelly and Matt) being a urinary tract problem. The vet suggested that Marshmallow have a sex change. Yes! You read that correctly. Shelly and Matt decided against the surgery but managed to spend over 10K on the cat over the coming few years.

A lucky boy indeed to have such kind and caring parents to spend that kind of money on a cat! Many of us would say that we would do the same...spend anything necessary to keep our pets healthy, but when put to the test, Shelly and Matt did just that. They only held out on the sex change because they couldn't be assured that he would not have the same problems when HE became a SHE! Mind you....he was neutered! So a sex change seemed a moot point, but apparently not.

In any case, Marshmallow lived a nice life. He traveled from LA to Colorado with my god children and their family. He was loved and well cared for.

Recently he became very ill and Shelley had to do the merciful thing and have Marshmallow put to sleep. The long haired black boy joined my Spooky in kitty heaven. Are you getting the joke of his name? He's a BLACK cat! And they named him MARSHMALLOW! And Jen Petrovich gives me the business for naming my black cat SPOOKY! Anyway...I digress.

With Marshmallow cremated, a headstone ordered and a memorial service planned, The Brill Family made a generous donation to my Rescue in his memory.

The memorial service and interment of his ashes will be attended by neighborhood children who will learn how valuable pets are. This is a good lesson to teach children and I'm proud of The Brill Family for using the memory of Marshmallow to remind us all that pets are a special part of the family and should be held in high regard.

Thank you for the donation and for making Marshmallow's life beautiful and his memory eternal!

With much LOVE & RESPECT,
C

Nadia

Hello Feral Friends-

You have heard a lot of talk about the Great Eight. The cats rescued from the Rescue that went horribly wrong this past summer. They have new digs thanks to Michelle, Fran and Cyndi. They are lovingly tended each and every day by RC Kula. And once a week, Betty Wood comes and loves on them and cleans up the Pussy Palace.

But you might not know about Nadia. This sweet little gray and white feral cat somehow fell into the hands of Mary before she was closed down. Gina and I were like......God....what is this woman doing with a feral? Lucky for Nadia, we took her in with the others and hoped for a place to release her. She stayed in a cage at Brooknelle for two months before her life was changed for the GREATEST!

Melissa and Dave Eastwood are two very caring people who have taken a couple of ferals from Gina in the past. Spooky stayed, but the other kitty ran off despite their wonderful shelter and food provided by these two amazing people. Their Feral Mansion has been featured on the blog in the past.

Learning of Nadia's plight after a call from Gina, Melissa and Dave stepped forward and offered to take Nadia to their feral haven of a back yard.

Dave modified the feral shelter so that Spooky could have shelter but allow Nadia her own space to get used to the area before she was allowed to roam freely. This two week period had Spooky a little confused, but he's a sweet boy (for a feral) and didn't seem to mind being only allowed on the enclosed porch.

Melissa and Dave noticed that Nadia would come and go. This concerned them so Dave built Nadia a home of her own just in case she didn't want to share accommodations with Spook!

The result is now a FERAL COMPOUND! Check out the photos! Dave is a master carpenter. Well, I'm not sure if he has anything to show this in a court of law, but he sure knows how to build a feral cat shelter.

Check out the elevated "coon/opossum proof" feeding station!

These people exemplify kindness toward ferals. Thank you Melissa and Dave for taking Nadia and allowing her the freedom she deserves along with safe shelter and great grub!

Bless you both!
C

Can you believe this shelter?
My ferals have an old dog house filled with straw to live in on my porch.
It's the difference between The Hilton and Motel 6.

Nadia has an open porch.

Spooky's house (left) has an enclosed porch
which is used for re-homing ferals.
Cats need to be kept inside a cage or Mansion (in this case)
for a minimum of two weeks so that they consider the new place
their home which cuts down their urge to leave to
find their old home.



Nadia off in the distance beyond the feeding station,
under the pine tree!

Ionia Spay/Neuter Clinic.....A HUGE Success!

Hello Feral Friends-

I'm very pleased to report that nearly 200 cats and dogs were fixed at the Spay/Neuter Clinic this past Saturday in Ionia. Lots of new people showed up to volunteer which was great because as you know...it takes a lot of work to pull one of these off. Here are words of thanks from Dr. Bruce Langlois who runs the big day all-the-while cutting off testicles and removing female reproductive organs!

Wow,

What a day. With the combined efforts of all involved we were able to spay and neuter 196 animals, who otherwise would have been busy having litters come spring. I want to thank everybody for their great efforts. It was very impressive to say the least. I was impressed with the hard work that everybody put into their jobs. I hope you found it satisfying and will be ready when RAM comes to town again for another clinic.

I would like to ask everybody involved for a favor. If you could take just a minute, and email me with any suggestions that you may have that would improve what you did at the clinic. If you have a suggestion, that would improve the animal care, or have an idea to improve the efficiency, I would love to hear it. I have done these clinics all over the world, and at every clinic, I try to learn and see what I can do to make the next one better. So if you could take a minute and help me out, I would appreciate it.

Next year, I will have RAM trips to Guyana, Latin America, Tennesse and other places. If you want to see all we are doing with RAM, please send me an email, and I will add you to the RAM Veterinary Yahoo group. This is where we keep all the RAM information posted.

Again, thanks for your help, and I hope to be working with you again soon.

Sincerely

Bruce P. Langlois DVM

Oh ya, one other crazy idea. Next year sometime, most likely in the fall, I would like to set a world record for the Guinness Book of World Records. I am in the planning stages to set up a clinic, and do at least 150 cat spays in a 24 hour period. I think I can do more like 160 or 170, but we will see. I would like to do this as a fund raiser, not only for RAM for many of the local animal rescue groups I work with. I would also like to use it to draw media attention to the plight of animals that have to be euthanized do to the lack of a home. If you have any thoughts on this event, or if you would like to be involved, please let me know. It will certainly be a group effort.

Hospital Director
Animal Hospital of Lowell
11610 East Fulton Street
Lowell, MI 49331
616-897-8484
www.lowellvet.com

Veterinary Director
Remote Area Medical
www.ramusa.org

The Great Eight & Their New Posts

Hello Feral Friends-

As you know, Michelle, Fran and Cyndi spent all day Friday redecorating the Pussy Palace! But their love and devotion to the Great Eight extends to trying to get them adopted!

Michelle found this cool site that specializes in finding homes for FELV/FIV and FIP positive cats. Even though most of The Great Eight have tested "negative" for the Corona Virus, I believe that their long term exposure to each other would probably find them to retest "positive". So I've just gotten them all listed on this new site!

Check it out!

http://www.bemikitties.com/felv/cgi-bin/suite/classifieds/classifieds.cgi

Thank you Michelle for all you have done for The Great Eight!

: ) C

Saugatuck Benefit....A Success!

Hello Feral Friends-

The benefit to raise money for the Saugatuck cats held a week ago Sunday was a great success! $2,000 was raised to build a fund to spay/neuter the feral/stray cats of Saugatuck.

There was an article in the GR Press about the Saugatuck cats. Thanks Bruce for sending me the link to it online. The photos of Butler the cat are not shown, unfortunately. Seems Mlive just posts the articles and not the pix. He's a very handsome black tabby for those of you who haven't been to Saugatuck's Santa Fe Trading Company yet to meet him!

The article is not completely accurate. To my dismay, TNR was touted as Trap-Neuter-RELEASE! And we all know it's Trap-Neuter-RETURN. God knows I got my head chewed off the first time I misused the terminology back when I didn't know a trap from a hole in the ground! Also, the total number of cats is a little off. Gina and I estimate that we have fixed 1,300 cats to date, not just this calendar year!

There is no link to my website which I was hoping for to aid people in finding me for TNR help. But as it turns out, people are resourceful and are finding me anyway. Just this morning, someone called me wanting to know where to send a donation! That's the kind of calls I like first thing on a Monday morning!

Here's the link to the GR Press article:

http://www.mlive.com/news/grpress/index.ssf?/base/news-39/1195975344295360.xml&coll=6


Have a groovy day!
C

Thank you!!!

Folks, I need to say it here now! I don't send personal thank you notes! I think they are nice and I know a lot of people think they are very important. But I don't have the time to send them out. I know that giving is from the heart for a lot of people and thank you notes aren't necessary....but for others they are. I wish I could find the time to write and show my appreciation to everyone who gives, but I can't. Any time that I devote to anything other than cats is taking away from cats. And if I'm going to take time away from cats, I'm going to do something selfish with my time so that I can sustain myself and keep my sanity.

I know you understand this. I also know that monetary gifts are to the cats....not me. And you all know that cats are smart, but they can't write thank you notes (at least as far as I've been able to see). They are really good at escaping completely enclosed cages and giving RC and other volunteers a run for their money in my stall at Brooknelle, but they haven't mastered penmanship yet! Thanks RC and Michelle for helping me capture those two crazy ferals!

So, I'm telling you this now. If you send me money, or give me money, or donate food or supplies, I'll do my best to make a public thank you here on the blog. But if it's a thank you note that you are looking for....you're probably going to be disappointed with me! Please forgive!

With this in mind. I have to thank the following people who have made donations both monetary and supply orientated in the past month or so!!!

Pam Olsen of C-SNIP
Tiffany Traxler
Marcia Bloemers (Cheyenne's Mama)
RC and Jan Kula
Amy Nice
Stephanie Meaney (My kitten foster mama extraordinaire')
Amy Venlos

Thank you folks for helping me help the cats!
We are all thankful. We just can't or don't have the time to write a personal note!

: ) C

More Help Needed for Dec 8th Spay/Neuter Clinic

If you can help, contact Dr. Bruce Langlois!

Hello Feral Friends

If you haven't been part of a mass spay/neuter clinic in the past, here is your chance to really make a difference to the pet overpopulation problem. If you have volunteered already once or twice and want to again....we need you.

Dr. Bruce Langlois and Safe Haven Humane Society in Ionia will be going for "round two" and attempting to fix 250 cats and dogs.

At last request, Dr. Langlois is still looking for more volunteers.

If you are interested in helping with this landmark event (surely the most animals fixed at one time) in this area, then contact him at: brucelangloisdvm@yahoo.com

He is in Peru doing spay/neuter and teaching vets there how to do massive s/n clinics so don't expect an answer to your email till after thanksgiving.

But do, get in touch with him and let him know that you would like to be a part of helping reduce the number of unwanted, homeless animals in West Michigan!

: ) Have a groovy day
C

FROM DRAB TO FAB!!! The FIP Room Gets an Extreme Room Makeover

You all know about Chloe, Madison, Honey, Flicka, Midget, Tilly, Pearl and Socks, RIGHT? You haven't heard me mention much about them lately because they've kinda been in a holding pattern. They have been staying in the extra room that Gina and I share at Brooknelle. RC Kula visits them every single day. And Betty Wood (one of Gina's volunteers) comes over weekly to do cuddling and cleaning. They are all listed on petfinder, but nobody has taken any real interest in them. Gina and I run around like crazy people chasing down ferals so we have just been allowing them a place to stay till we can figure out what to do with them. I've stopped obsessing over these guys and decided to put it in god's hands cuz I was really fretting for a while. As usual, Gina says..."Honey, don't worry, something will work out.....it always does!"

Yesterday three angels descended upon the FIP Room. Please keep in mind that FIP stands for Fretting in Paranoia! You know how I feel about the FIP craziness! In any case. Michelle Hills, her mother Fran Hills and Cyndi Caponi took the bull by the horns and turned that mess of a room into a paradise. In fact I think we will start calling the room The Pussy Palace from now on!

Now the Great Eight (as they have been termed by these amazing girls) are living the high life in the coziest garage in all of GR! The Great Eight are having a ball in their newly appointed digs!

Here are pix!

Before: Basically a storage room with a sink and a bunch of crap in it!

Before: Not much to sit on except a few cat beds and the backseat of a mini-van.

Before: Ugly sink room!

After: Till we can get a loveseat, the mini-van seat will have to do!

Chloe and Madison get loved on by Fran (who might adopt them).

After: Yeah!!! A comfy warm floor! And it's fun and colorful too!

After: Yippee! More places to hang and look out the window!

After: Much better!!!

After: A foam pad atop the mambo cage allows for yet one more
soft place to land.
Also, storage space galore!
Thanks Jolyn for the radio!
The cats really like the 8O's CD!

As you all know, these cats are in need of homes! If you know anyone who wants a wonderful, loving, adult cat, please send them to their listings on petfinder. www.carolsferals.petfinder.com

Thanks Michelle, Fran and Cyndi for giving up your day to insulate, floor and cozy up The Pussy Palace!!!
The cats are blessed to have angels like you who care so much!!!
: ) C