Last Day To Save A Cat!

Hello Feral Friends-

Today is the last day to call the Critter Cottage and order a bag of cat food, prompting Vicky to save yet another cat from the Animal Shelter. Teddy was mine.....who will be yours????

Call today, buy a bag of cat food AND SAVE A LIFE!!!

Besides saving a life, you will also be entered in the drawing for the $100 Gillmore Collection gift certificate! And you can have the satisfaction of knowing that you are driving Vicky absolutely out of her mind! She never expected such a response to her Cat Saving Offer! But she loves it and is having a blast!

Nancy would like to see the cats win. So buying a bag of food pleases her no end. The last totals had dogs beating the cats by about 5 lbs. We are all equal opportunity species of animal lovers....but we must see the cats win this one!!!!

: ) C

Critter Cottage UPDDATE - kinda like mine but better!

The Vicky's Pet Connection food drive for March is almost over. Competition is getting fierce. The cats started off slow. But the last half of the month cat supporters sprung into action. Cat food donations have not only caught up to what has been donated for dogs but they've taken a slight lead. And slight it is.

The total number of pounds donated for cats is 414. And the total number of pounds of food donated for dogs is 403!!! It has turned into a close race with a huge upset in the making. You have until 6PM on Monday to either stop by the Critter Cottage or call (676-1200) with a Visa or MasterCard number to make your cat or dog food donation. Will the dogs prevail? Or will the cats sneak in with a win?

To make the competition even more interesting Vicky will be rescuing a cat from the Kent County Animal Shelter for every large bag of cat food that is purchased and donated after March 15. She said she's up for the challenge. Cats that she will rescue will take up residence in the dog kennel. This is a chance for cat lovers to turn part of the kennel into a cattery!

So far Vicky has rescued one cat. Teddy is a pan leuk survivor. Vicky says that he's very sweet and loves attention. She's training him to be a "ca-dog" as he gets to play with the puppies in the kennel. Here Vicky tries to give Teddy a treat. :D

Don't forget that one person will be given a $100 gift card to the Gilmore Collection restaurants. You can increase you chances of winning the gift certificate by purchasing more pounds and bigger bags of food!

Dog Food

Small bag - $6.99 (1 entry)

Medium bag - $17.99 (2 entries)
Large bag - $27.99 (3 entries)

Cat Food
Small bag - $6.99 (1 entry)
Large bag - $19.99 (2 entries)

Thanks to all of those who have already made a donation. Your generous donations along with the food that has been matched by Sleepy Hollow Pet Cemetery will feed many hungry mouths.

Watch next week for April's edition of Tails from the Critter Cottage where it will be announced whether the cats or dogs can claim bragging rights for raising the most food this month. Also, the winner of the $100 gift card to the Gilmore Collection restaurants will also be notified.

Candle Party with some proceeds to benefit Carol's Ferals!!

From Jolyn Clark: You are invited to my PartyLite Party! It's a party where you can purchase lovely candles and accessories for your home from my Mom who sells PartyLite products while also strutting your cat-wear with other cat lovers. Yup - wear something related cats, dress up like a cat, pretend your a cat, whatever you want! AND not only that! I will be having a raffle with ALL PROCEEDS going to Carol's Ferals!!! There are 50+ squares to buy for $2 a piece - so tell me how many you want to buy when you reply to this evite, ok?? If you can not attend the party, then don't bother calling me ever again!! Just kidding! I mean... then just buy some squares - you may win something really cool and be able to help a local kick-ass cat rescue! And we can also take PartyLite orders if you are not there, just let me know when you reply that you would like to receive a book. But... trust me - you want to attend - this party is going to be the talk of the feral community!!! Bring a Cat Loving Friend too!! Saturday, March 29, 3:00PM contact Jolyn at: jolynlovescats@yahoo.com

Vicky's Pet Connection Dog/Cat Competition Update!!!

OH boy! You people are FABULOUS!!! Since blogging that Vicky will save a cat with every large bag of cat food purchased, you have collectively bought 13 bags of food. Once the month is up, I'll detail the names of the "cat savers". But so far, Vicky has got 13 so far that she's pledged to save! I don't think she ever expected there such a great response.

And because of this!!! Cats are winning the contest! Which I'm sure makes Nancy very happy!!!

Dogs: 403 lbs CATS: 414 lbs.

But I hear a niece of one of Vicky's volunteers collected money at her 16th birthday party to buy dog food. She has enough funds for 100 lbs...so we cat people can't rest on our laurels.....we need the cats to win!!!

Thank you Jim Schalk & Becky Gainey who recently made purchases. I don't have everyone's name yet, but I promise, as Vicky pulls cats from the shelter to inhabit her kennel, you will all know which cat you saved. I'll be posting pictures with your name attached as I get them. Jim Schalk....you just saved a whole litter of kittens!!!!

How flippin' cool is THAT? If I haven't said it in 30 seconds.......I love you Vicky and Nancy! Thank you to Amanda who tends to all this business while running the Critter Cottage. And thanks to all of you who have purchased bags of cat and dog food to help benefit VPC!

Teddy Update: Teddy is still hanging in there. He's currently staying in Vicky's kennel so he can be separate from the other cats in Nancy's cattery. With pan-leuk, you can't take any chances. Distemper....it's a bad thing! Keep Teddy in your prayers!

Thank you all for participating in this food drive! Thank you for saving lives! Thank you for being you!
: ) C

Sad news

Today my blog entries go from happy, to mad, to happy, to sad.

I just got word from Amanda that Twinky didn't make it. We all send our sympathy to Nancy and Vicky.

Nancy does all she can for the cats that she rescues from the animal shelter. She's amazing. I have known her to put lots of money, time, blood, sweat and tears into saving a cat. When I first visited them at the cattery, Nancy was giving a kitten an enema for goodness sake!

Lucky is any cat that Nancy touches. She and Vicky are a tribute to what good Rescue folk are to do for the animals. They have my love, respect and now, unfortunately sympathy.

Rest peacefully little Twinky.

May your spirit be eternal.

Nubbins got herself adopted!

Last Saturday a girl called me to adopt a boy kitty. She liked Stinky Mingus and Lanky Muttonchop! But when she arrived, Stinky was being cool and aloof. I think he actually likes the kitten room and wants to stay there forever. He's fun and friendly around me, but if a potential adopter comes over, he runs and hides. So I might just have him FOREVER! Still, I've made him my featured pet on petfinder and renamed him Pistachio. He's been Stosh, Rudolph, Stinky Mingus and now I've named him after a nut! Maybe he has some sort of an identity disorder! YA THINK?

I try to leave the room and give the mom to be time to bond with a cat without my interfering. When I returned, I found Jenni in love with TWO cats. Lanky AND Nubbins. I told her there was a two for one deal on kitties. She was like "what does that mean?" I said, well, you pay for one, and you get the second one at no extra charge. I do this because if I find a nice home for a cat, I'm pleased as punch and want that good person to take two! So this makes it possible. I am careful not to thrust too many cats on a person if they don't have financial means, but Jenni has a good job and lots of love to give, so I made the offer. And she took them both!!

Originally wanting a boy cuz they are more loving, Jenni found it was the little girl Nubbins who was first to join her in bed the night she brought them home. All seems well in the new household and the family is doing fine!!

Thought you all might like to know!
I was a bubble head and forgot to take a photo!
But know that Jenni is a lovely person and will be a super mommy!!!

As usual, names are changed (can't imagine why). This is from Jenni:

well the little girl, I decided to name her Tequila is doing really well..she's really curious and loves just watching my bird, she also sleeps and cuddles with me at night. Acheron, or Ash is taking a little longer to adjust but he's starting to get curious...he's been chilling in my spare bathroom tub...but last night i could hear him moving around my bedroom and he cuddled with tequila and me for awhile in the middle of the night! so we're getting used to each other!! :-)


: ) C

The reason we won't be having any spay/neuter clinics in West Michigan for a while!

A devastating blow to the animals of West Michigan!! I'm sickened and saddened! ~ C

An open letter to the Animal Rescue Community of West Michigan from Dr. Bruce Langlois.

Remote Area Medical Veterinary Volunteers,

I am sure many of you have heard various rumors regarding why no RAM spay/neuter clinics have been scheduled this year. I want to inform you of exactly what is happening, as many of the rumors that have come to my attention are false. I want to be open and let you know about the current situation and why, at this point, I cannot schedule any more clinics until certain issues are resolved.

This is what is currently happening:

There has been a complaint (or complaints) filed against me regarding the RAM spay/neuter clinics in Michigan. I am now under investigation by the State Of Michigan, the Department of Community Health, and the Bureau of Health Professions.

Upon meeting with a Regulation Agent for the Bureau this week, I have learned that the charges filed against me are as follows:

Patients were not fasted prior to surgery

Patients were not screened for heartworm infection

Record keeping was not adequate

The surgical facility was not up to adequate standards

First of all, I would like to address each of these concerns individually, as I did yesterday with the agent:

Fasting: Clients were told to fast their animals when they called to make an appointment. They were told no food after their pet’s evening meal. Unfortunately, not all clients were compliant with this, and a few animals ate after that and vomited when given the xylazine anesthetic injection.

Heartworm screening: I admitted to the agent that the animals were not tested for heartworms. But I also pointed out that they were not screened for a variety of conditions prior to the surgery, including the ability for their blood to clot properly, abnormal blood counts or blood chemistries, a screening ECG to assess their heart, etc. It is perplexing why heartworm screening has been singled out as an “essential” pre-anesthetic screening test, compared to some other tests that could be performed. The question I want answered regarding this complaint, is where do you draw the line on testing? In fact, many veterinary clinics would not run any of these tests on an apparently healthy animal prior to a spay or neuter. It seems illogical to enforce a higher standard of care on the spay/neuter clinics than a for-profit veterinary clinic. I am currently checking into any laws that may exist regarding heartworm screening.

Records: All clients filled out forms with owner and patient information, all animals received identification to track them, and records were kept as to the types of drugs, dosages, and times that the animals received them.

Surgical facility: I admitted that the fire barn did not afford perfect conditions for surgery, but I felt that the use of this facility did not in any way pose a danger to the animals, or compromise the care that they received.

So what happens now? The agent will prepare his report which will be sent to the Veterinary Board of Examiners. The board will then have to decide if the way I manage the clinic represents an inadequate ‘standard of care’. The board then renders a decision as to the penalty they will impose. If I am not in agreement with their decision, I can request a trial and have a judge make the decision. The board also has the option of referring the case to the Attorney General who can, at his discretion, impose criminal charges. This process can take up to and well over a year. The agent has told me that I should not hold any more clinics until this is resolved. This is why, at this time, I have been forced to suspend any further clinics as I take this review process under careful consideration. Fortunately this only applies to Michigan, and does not affect RAM Veterinary events in other states or countries.

Given the nature and specifics of the charges filed, I think it is obvious that this complaint was made by either a veterinarian or someone in the veterinary field. This does not sound like a complaint that a client would make. I find this very disappointing. In general, I think that veterinarians, and other people that work in the veterinary or animal rescue community, are fantastic people. I have worked with veterinarians from across the country and the world. I find them to be some of the most compassionate people I have ever met, and those that volunteer always have the best interest of the animals at heart.

That being said, it is apparent that there is someone in the veterinary field in our local area that is not looking out for the best interest of the animals. Prior to running our clinics, we always contact all the local veterinarians, let them know what we are doing, offer them the opportunity to be involved, and hopefully get their blessing. We also do our best to screen the clients to ensure they are low income people who cannot afford regular veterinary services. It is not my intent to take business away from private veterinarians, and I make them aware of this fact. I am doing these clinics to help reduce the euthanasia of healthy adoptable animals that cannot find homes. I am doing these clinics for the animals. In my opinion, the person or persons who made this complaint is not in practice to help animals, but has put what they perceive as their own personal “needs” ahead of the animals.

Regardless of the outcome of this complaint, at this point the person or persons who made this complaint have succeeded in their goal. They have been able to stop clinics for the next several months or years. Because of them, many many more animals will die needlessly each year. I am sickened by this and I hope you are too. At this point, I am considering my options as to how to proceed, because in my eyes, it is unacceptable to just allow this person or persons to “win”. I am considering seeking legal advice about running the clinics at my hospital, or possibly transporting animals out of state or off shore to do clinics. I will let you know as my plans progress, and keep you informed as I receive more information from the state. I encourage you to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have or have had regarding the clinics or anything else. I feel it is critical to keep the lines of communication open between all of us, and to not lose sight of our ultimate goal of reducing pet overpopulation and relieving animal suffering. If you feel this information would be useful to anyone you know, please feel free to pass this letter along to them.

Sincerely
Bruce

Something Sweet!!

The fur on this kitten, born Sunday in Sacramento, California,
seems to spell out "I (heart) (dot)."
That's especially cute because the kitten's mother is named Dottie.

Thanks Dr. Langlois for sending this on! Still, the question remains......why didn't they fix Dottie???? Good grief....have I become this calloused? I can't appreciate the sweet message in a kitten's fur? Looks like it!!! God help me!

I WANT YOU in a trap at the Pet Expo!!!

Pet Expo at the Delta Plex is just around the corner. This extravaganza will be held on Saturday, April 5th from 10-7 and Sunday, April 6th from 11-5. I WANT YOU in my trap!!!

In these tough economic times, it's hard to hand your hard earned bucks over to a Rescue, even if you really believe in what they do. So here's your chance to put your BODY where you MOUTH is! Rather than handing your own money over, why not be my "trapped human" and sit in a humungous dog trap for an hour or two and let me "bark" for donations from the public to benefit Carol's Ferals!!!

We can have a little volunteer competition...see who can raise the most money while they are in the trap!!! Bring your family. Throw your husband in there for 30 minutes while you run off to pet puppies and buy stuff from the vendors! He won't be able to stop you! Put your kids in the trap. Two can fit nicely. Have your friends and family come witness the fun!

Your photo will appear on the blog in my GOOD SPORT section!

This will be a blast. If you sit in the trap, you can get into the event for free as one of my volunteers too!

So, what do you say???? Come sit in my trap! I promise, I won't neuter you!

: ) Carol

PS Email me at dollmouse@aol.com and tell me which time slot you would like! Hurry, spots will go fast!!!

This can be YOU!!!!

Microchipping at C-SNIP - April 19th!!!!

C-SNIP is having a micro-chipping clinic open to the public on Saturday, April 19, 2008! For only $10.00, dogs, cats, puppies or kittens can be micro-chipped through “24 PetWatch”. This is a great opportunity for everyone to have their animals chipped. The clinic starts at 9 AM and runs until noon. In addition to micro-chipping, we will have three demonstrations:

10:00 AM: How to Trim Your Cats Nails

10:15 AM: How to Apply Soft Paws ™

11:00 AM: How to Trim Your Dogs Nails

1. All cats/kittens must be in a secure pet carrier.
2. All dogs/puppies must be on a leash and collar, even if they are being carried.
3. No appointments are necessary for the micro chipping.
4. No pre-registration is required for the demonstrations.

Please get the word out to everyone you know – all are welcome!!!

C-SNIP is located at: 1675 Viewpond SE, Kentwood. MI 49508

www.csnip.org for more information

Twinky/Teddy UPDATE!

Just got word from Amanda at Critter Cottage. Twinky saw Dr. Langlois and DOES NOT have pan-leuk! Thank God! She's not completely out of the woods as she has some sort of a stomach infection. But thankfully, it's not as grave a diagnosis as pan-leuk.

Teddy will be staying in Vicky's dog kennel and Vicky is already fretting about how she's going to care for a cat....being the dog person that she is. Vicky...I understand completely. I don't know how to properly walk a dog EVEN! I get pulled around like a rag doll.

Vicky says that Teddy's a lover and a really cool "ca-dog" as she's calling him. She says he's friendly and doesn't seem to mind being surrounded by dogs.

So let's keep both Twinky and Teddy in our prayers/good thoughts.

I'll keep you all posted!

: ) Carol

Oh my god....is she giving him a dog biscuit????
Too funny!!

Jolyn is having a party! And you're invited!!!

My friend Jolyn is having a party on Saturday! It's a PartyLite Party...you know....the candle party people!

I'm usually not into this type of a party since I'm cheap and I don't bother decorating my house anymore! But HER party promises to be great fun, so I decided to say YES!

Then I realized that the party was in part to benefit Carol's Ferals. So, I'm definitely THERE!

She's selling squares for $2 each. If your square is chosen, there will be cool PartyLite prizes for you! You need not be present to win!!!

The party is at Jolyn's home this Saturday at 3pm.

She's having wine and snacks!! That's good enough reason for me!!!

Contact Jolyn if you'd like to come or purchase a square or two: jolynlovescats@yahoo.com.

She will send you an e-vite with details and directions!!!

VPC Dogs vs Cats UPDATE!

Just got an update from Amanda at Critter Cottage! The dogs are winning....which means that Vicky is annoying the living hell out of Nancy right now. Dogs have had 357 lbs of food purchased while cats are just scrapping by with 234 lbs.

But that wonderful dog gal, Vicky is keeping her promise to save a cat for every large bag of cat food that's purchased during the month of March....so if you want to have her use one of her dog kennels to save a cat.....call Critter Cottage and buy a bag of cat food TODAY!!! 616 676-1200.

Here are Teddy and Twinky. Right now, they are battling panleukopenia (aka DISTEMPER). Teddy seems to be looking as if he's going to pull through. Twinky is at Dr. Langlois' fighting for her life. Bruce has done wonders with distemper when it's caught early enough. Let's say a prayer for these two. Since pan leuk is so easily transmittable and deadly, Vicky's kennel will be used to house these two while they are recovering (keeping them separate from the other cats). Once the kennel is no longer being used to house these two orange tabbies, Nancy will start to pull from the shelter and fill the kennel with cats we saved with our large bag purchases!!!

Keep Teddy and Twinky in your prayers!!!

TWINKY

TEDDY

I saved a cat from the shelter....so did RC! YOU CAN TOO!

Stopped at the Critter Cottage on Thursday. Vicky was there. I purchased a large bag of cat food which forced her to call Nancy and tell her "Pick up another cat from the shelter on Monday. Carol Manos just bought a big bag of food. You can use one of my kennels."

That's the best $22 I ever spent! Not only did buying the bag bring about a matching bag from Sleepy Hollow to benefit VPC's Food Drive, but it entered me in the drawing to win that $100 gift certificate from the Gillmore Collection! And it's saving a cat!!!! AWESOME!

My dear, darling RC Kula caught wind of this and gave me a check to buy a large bag too! He told me to put it under my name and enter myself in the drawing...but I'm going to enter in his name and make him take me out to dinner if he wins instead!!!

So, TWO cats will be taken into Vicky's dog kennel saving them from an untimely fate at the Animal Shelter!

You can save a cat too! Just call Critter Cottage and purchase a large bag of food. I'll post pix of the saved cats once they are brought into the VPC adoption program!

: ) C

CALL SOON......VICKY'S OFFER IS UP AT THE END OF THE MONTH!

Take a stand for animals in Iraq!!!

Vic Cabot is my good friend, an amazing volunteer and above all else, a very compassionate animal lover!

Her son Aaron is in Iraq. For Aaron, another animal lover, I appeal to you all to support this Humane Society plea to the Department of Defense.

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/FED_2007_Iraq_animals?rk=k1NTtSM1sGAkW

Spooky, Nadia & PEPPER!!!!

For those of you who have been following the Nadia saga over at the Eastwood Feral Cat Compound, you are aware that Nadia and Spooky are getting along well.

Some background: In April 2007, Gina Marvin brought two very lucky feral cats to live in the backyard of Melissa and Dave Eastwood. Dave spent a small fortune and invested a great amount of time in building the most amazing shelters EVER! Spooky and Pepper were kept inside one of the shelters for the recommended two week re-homing period. The minute Melissa opened the shelter, Pepper took off and was only seen once (a week later) then never seen again.

Knowing this, in August of last year, Gina approached Melissa and Dave to take Nadia (one of the cats rescued along with the Great Eight!) Nadia stayed and Spooky had a friend once again! The two get along fine and share the ultra deluxe accommodations afforded them by the Eastwoods.

WELL....In early February (9 months since she was last spied) Pepper showed up again! Melissa and Dave had to observe her carefully and alas, it was her....she had her signature left ear tip!!! Since then, Spooky and Pepper have been the close pals they once were. And Nadia has stayed too!

We will never know where Pepper went for 9 months....but after a long time, she returned to the greatest feral digs in all of Kent County...if not the world!!!!

: ) C

Spooky on the prowl, Fall 2007.

Nadia, Winter 2008.



Pepper, under cover of night, recently.

Why can't we all just get along????

It takes all kinds of people to make the world go round. Still, I know I'm perfect and if only the rest of the inhabitants of this planet could be more like me.......JUST KIDDING! Truly, it does take all kinds, and being what I consider an empathetic person, I can see many sides to a story. With exception to two things: 1) not getting your animals fixed and 2) breeding. Other than that, the world consists of shades of gray. I'm not very black and white about anything beyond examples 1&2 above.

Cyndi Caponi shared this little youtube video with me today!

http://www.slide.com/r/hD6DvyAOxD9ClUhvUpVcUMABW9QzpGnQ

Her comments: I think we should show it in Iraq... surely if these two species can get along... one would think humans could find a way. I loved it. cc

Thanks Cyndi, I love it too!

Here are some pix of other unlikely friends:

OK, I'm just going to put it out there....

I need some help with a project.

The Kent County Humane Society has donated a two piece large cage thingy that doesn't fit in my feral chariot. It's made of chrome wire and it folds flat, but it is just a smidgeon to wide to fit! Drats! I managed to get the smaller pieces and cage trays to Brooknelle, but these wire things are bigger than I can handle.

Each piece is about 6 feet tall, and 6" wider than my mini-van.

I need the two of these things brought to Brooknelle. But first, they need to be power washed. They have a lot of sticky debris on them.

So, if you have a truck and are game, I can use your help. I can come along for the ride or if you feel you can handle it on your own or with a friend (and you would prefer not to have me yammering in your ear the whole time), then you can do it without me.

I don't know who might want to help with such a task, but I'm just putting it out to the universe (my blog readers....who ARE MY UNIVERSE) and letting whomever wants to help me, help me!

Thanks in advance!
Carol

Vicky's Pet Connection Food Drive Update

Competition Update

With a little more than half of the month gone the food drive for Vicky's Pet Connection is heating up. Early in the month the dogs were wagging their tails. They had a lot to celebrate because the cats couldn't keep up. After the first week the dogs had 123 pounds of food donated compared to the 36 pounds donated for the cats. Puppies like this litter have been putting the donated food to good use.

While down, the cat lovers were not out. They've donated another 66 pounds of food in just a few days. The cats in the program can now start to strut their stuff. They knew that their supporters were out there somewhere and wouldn't let them down.

Current totals for pounds of food donated are dogs 213 and cats 102, not including the food which will be matched by Sleepy Hollow Pet Cemetery. The cats aren't too far behind. With half of the month left they can still pull off an upset. Or the dog lovers out there could continue to pull ahead. It's all up to you!!!

There is also some extra incentive for both sides to generously donate food for the cats and / or dogs. One person will win a $100 gift certificate for the Gilmore Collection restaurants. It can be used at one of many Gilmore Collection restaurants in the Grand Rapids area. You can help feed the animals rescued by VPC and feed yourself! [Those who have already purchased food will have entries added.] The winner will be contacted the first week of April.

You can increase you chances of winning the gift certificate by purchasing more pounds and bigger bags of food!

Cat Food
Small bag - $6.99 (1 entry)
Large bag - $19.99 (2 entries)

Dog Food
Small bag - $6.99 (1 entry)
Medium bag - $17.99 (2 entries)
Large bag - $27.99 (3 entries)

There's still time to stop by the Critter Cottage and purchase food to donate to the animals of Vicky's Pet Connection. You can also call the Critter Cottage at 676-1200 with a credit card (Visa or MasterCard) and purchase your food over the phone.

Please pass this along to all of your animal lover friends. The more people who chip and and donate even a small bag of food will make a difference. The animals and those involved with VPC appreciate all of the support and interest in this month's event.

A special thanks to Sleep Hollow Pet Cemetery for sponsoring this month's food drive and to Doubledog Design for donating the $100 gift certificate.


********In addition to this: Vicky read an article in the Detroit Free Press stating that while just a measly 30% of dogs that are taken to shelters are reclaimed by their owners.....ONLY 5% of cats are so lucky. This disturbed her to the point that she has added this little incentive to the contest....even though it benefits cats and she's the dog person.....kindhearted equal-species opportunity minded Vicky has pledged to do something she has never done. She has agreed to let Nancy use one of her dog kennels to foster a cat rescued from the Kent County Animal Shelter. So, if you purchase a LARGE bag of cat food during the month of March, Vicky will save a cat! Not only will you be helping to feed cats.....your purchase of a LARGE bag of cat food will actually SAVE A LIFE!

As if these girls aren't already doing all that they can...they up the ante'. You gotta love them!

So, buy a large bag of cat food to help Nancy's cats and get another cat out of the shelter!!!!

Horton Hears Vicky's Pet Connection

I was already planning on going to see Horton Hears A Who yesterday when I got word from Vicky that she would be at my Celebration Cinema (mine, cuz it's near my house) with puppies and a cat promoting VPC as part of the Seussian Celebration! I'm a Seuss Fanatic. I even have a Cat In The Hat tattoo! So I was excited for the release of this movie. Mostly because, it wasn't bastardized by humans in costumes and was actually animated! So with popcorn bucket in hand, I strolled into the theater lobby and found this!


How fun! I had over an hour to kill hanging out with Vicky, her volunteers and some animals! What better way to spend my Saturday afternoon off! This is Bently. He's one of Nancy's cats. He's a very handsome boy who apparently likes popcorn. Don't tell Nancy, but I did let him have some. I made sure there were no husks though!


These are the puppies that Vicky brought for adoption. I didn't realize that dogs breed year round. And dogs can have anywhere from 8-12 puppies in ONE litter! Thank God that cats in Michigan take the winters off and only have litters of 4-6 usually! Someone asked if we drugged the puppies because they were so calm. We explained that we keep the drugs for OURSELVES! The puppies were just tired from all of the hullabaloo!


The high point of the visit was meeting Zach and Laura, movie producers who will be making a documentary about Vicky's Pet Connection! Cool, hip, animal lovers! What more can you ask for? Expect to see great things from these two. Keep your eyes open for Johnson & Kody Productions. I'm telling you here and now ...they are going to accomplish great things!!!!


As you know, the month of March is Vicky's Pet Connection's food drive sponsored by Sleep Hollow Pet Cemetery. Dog food and cat food was being sold with each bag being matched by Sleepy Hollow. I'm sure you are aware of the fight between Vicky and Nancy as to who can get more food.....the dogs or the cats!

Just to mess with Nancy....I bought a bag of dog food. Here's a picture of Vicky holding the Carol's Ferals dog bone and gloating! I got a call from Nancy a few hours later telling me that she was cutting off my feral funding! HA!!!


So, I bid adieu to Bently, the pups, Vicky, Zach and Laura and headed into the 2:40 Horton movie. I scanned the full theater and realized that I'm the only person in there without at least one child. Many adults had 3-6 kids each! I found a spot between two families that was big enough for me to sit comfortably without being in too much danger of contracting some dread childhood disease like the flu, boogers or seat kicking (however I did have my seat kicked numerous times after I moved one seat over to accommodate......

Vic Cabot! I'm sitting watching the previews and I see the only other single adult person without kids walking up the side isle looking at me. She looks familiar but I'm not 100% sure cuz it's dark. Alas, bumping her way down the row is my Vic! OK....she's stalking me for sure! First the Astro Mini-Van thing on Thursday, now this!

Apparently Vic was at the theater watching a movie with her hubby and saw the VPC set up, and the Carol's Feral's dog bone and inquired about me. Vicky told her where I was and she sought me out! So she stayed and watched the movie with me. We had dinner then I dropped her at Brooknelle to hang out with Astro while I let Kim and Joel's dog out for a potty run. Yeah....I do dogs too! I returned to Brooknelle, picked up Vic, took her back to my house and proceeded to get the ass whipping of my life in scrabble. She also beat me at Yahtzee! No more playing games with Vic Cabot!!

It turned out to be a great day! And to top it all off, I did an early afternoon adoption of one of my tweener kittens and get this>>>>>>> Miss Tilly found herself a forever home at Focus on Ferals' special adoption event for the Foxxy Five! Thank you Cyndi and Michelle for manning the event!

Congratulations Tilly! Now, we will now call the crew.....The Fantastic Four!

What's Missing?

Well, Nubbins may be missing a tail, but what she's not missing are compassionate friends!

It's clear that Marcia Bloemers, Melissa & Dave Eastwood, and one generous anonymous doner all love her and wish her well.

These fine folks made donations to Carol's Ferals to help pay for her tail amputation surgery and after surgery medication.

I'm happy to report that Nubbins McGillicutti is doing great! At first she hissed at all the boys in the kitten room at casa Manos. But now, she's getting along well and tolerates their attention with way fewer hisses and swats. Her fur is starting to grow in (slowly but surely) and soon she will be FLUFFY NUBBINS MCGILLICUTTI.

I'm also happy to report that her bills have been paid! Thank you for extending your hearts and wallets to a sweet little girl with a backside that (for the moment) looks a little strange!

Have a groovy weekend!
: ) C

A good old fashioned cat fight!

There's a fight going on at Vicky's Pet Connection. Vicky (the dog person) is wagging her tail and scampering around GLOATING over the fact that more DOG FOOD has been donated to their March Food Drive than CAT FOOD. Nancy (the cat person) is sitting atop a cat tree hissing at the joyousness exhibited by Vicky.

Like Gina and I, VPC needs food donations too! They have countless cats and dogs in their foster program and help other Rescues too. They are hoping that YOU generous folks will reach out and help them as well.

Currently, the dogs have had 70% of the total food purchased for THEM! This makes Vicky very happy but has Nancy all "just a swattin' and a spittin'.

I'm appealing to you to help end this cat fight and purchase some food for Nancy's cats so that she doesn't scratch Vicky's eyes out!

On the other hand, if imaging these two going at it is kinda fun, and if you want to keep the adrenaline flowing.....by all means....purchase a bag of dog food!

Here are the details:

During the month of March Vicky's Pet Connection is having a food drive. This month's event is being sponsored by Sleepy Hollow Pet Cemetery. They will be matching bags of cat and dog food purchased throughout the month. You can either stop by the Critter Cottage or call (676-1200) with a credit card number to purchase your bags of Premium Edge cat and/or dog food to be donated to VPC.

Prices for bags of food are as follows:
Dog Food
Small (6 lbs) - $6.99 plus tax
Medium (18 lbs) - $17.99 plus tax
Large (35 lbs) - $27.99 plus tax

Cat Food
Small (6 lbs) - $6.99 plus tax
Large (18 lbs) - $19.99 plus tax

Go ahead, buy a bag and watch the fur fly!!!
: ) C

Astro 44

Yesterday I was at Brooknelle juggling some cats. I got a call on my cell. Didn't recognize the number. A call from an unidentified number usually means one thing......a 20 minute conversation about TNR, the merits of TNR, how I do my TNR, arguing with people who want to just "get rid" of the cats, etc. So whenever a call comes through, I sigh, take a deep breath and answer it cuz if I don't, the calls will pile up and leave me to a day full of tracking down people. Or worse, they will hang up and not call back at all, and I will have missed an opportunity to help a cat in need.

I almost didn't answer because I was in the middle of something important and I didn't want to be derailed. But alas, I did.

Woman on phone: Can you help me get a cat out of a mini-van? It's trapped inside the fan compartment and it's scared shitless.
Me: Yes, where are you?
Woman on phone: In front of the Papa Murphys on Northland Drive...next to Blockbuster?
Me: OK, I'm on my way.
Woman on phone: How long before you get here?
Me: 15 minutes!

I didn't get the womans name. Nor did I ask her anything about the cat. So I took trap, carrier, towels, blanket, gloves, squirt bottle, and food. When I arrived at the scene, I found a Astro mini-van with the hood raised. I knew this was my mini-van. When pulling up beside the Astro, I found Vic Cabot. I'm like "What the $%&@ are you doing here? I was blown away. She's like "I'm the one that called you, silly!" Whenever the phone rings and the number isn't recognizable, my brain says STRANGER! So my brain didn't register that I recognized her voice.

So, I got out, assessed the situation: Black cat stuck in the fan compartment of the vehicle. Seth, the manager in charge at Papa Murphys and owner of the mini-van began taking it apart so we could get at the cat. Seth....very nice guy!

Back story: Vic saw cat when she was at a doctor's appointment behind the Blockbuster strip mall. She followed it and saw it go under the Astro and climb up under the hood. Cat was scared and crying. Vic tried to lure the cat out with no luck.

Having no luck trying to fish the cat out from underneath the car, after about an hour, we were able to get the boy calm enough and lift him through a small area that Seth cleared by dismantling his mini-van's innards. Thank god he wasn't feral!!

The boy was a strapping black dlh male. In other words, a long haired black boy cat who still had his testicles. Well that was yesterday!!!! Now (at time of this blog entry upload) he's a black dlh male without any balls!!!

Vic decided to name him Astro. He's a friendly cat and I can't release him to do another stupid thing like crawl up into someone's fan compartment. So I'll hang onto him till I can figure out what to do with him. Astro is a very lucky boy. Had he not caught Vic's eye (which is as keen as an eagle's when it comes to animals in need) he would have likely stayed in that car and when started at the end of Seth's shift would have likely resulted in great injury or death. As Vic always says....and is so very appropriate here "It was a GOD THING!"

Why is this blog titled Astro 44? Because Mr. Astro Lucky Pants was my 44th cat to be fixed this week! This is a record week for me. My biggest number week last year was 42. Wow, I never thought I'd break my record this early in the season! This was largely due to a woman named Alice Harris who called me a few weeks back telling me about the massive number of cats her mother was feeding. When she called me back last week, she told me the details and I knew I had to help her pronto. Her mother was tending to 15-20 cats. Her house right on the way from Brooknelle to The Animal Hospital of Lowell so it would be an easy pick up for me. I assessed the situation on Sunday night and started picking up cats on Monday. Monday netted us 13 indoor/outdoor cats (mostly 6 month olds) and 2 trapped ferals. On Tuesday I picked up 4 more girls and a boy. Wednesday's pick up included 3 more cats. And by Thursday we were done! All but three of the girls were pregnant. Had Alice not gotten in touch with me, there would have easily been 50 more cats on that property in less than 6 weeks! I think 10 girls were PG.

Lucky for me, Alice's mother Cora was willing to rehab the indoor/outdoor adolescents inside her home and agreed not to let them outside for a week, so I was able to get all the cats done and not have to use cage space at Brooknelle which would have made 45 cats impossible otherwise. Right now, every singe cage at Brooknelle is full to capacity. Most are singles, but two have a pair of cats and one cage has three bunking together. Which is funny cuz three ferals squeeze to the back of one carrier inside the cage and you wouldn't think there was even ONE cat inside. The minute they hear me opening the door to my rehab space, they scurry in for cover and form a furry wallpaper along the back side of their carrier/bed. It's CRAZY!!

So, it was a very good week. I extended my week of running cats to include Thursday night. Usually reserved for Survivor with Kim and Joel, Thursday nights are not for taking cats for next day surgery, but a call from Elaine and Jack Kentala changed all that.

Elaine and Jack sent me an email last week explaining their plight. They live in Royal Oak (my old East side of the state stomping grounds) and have been feeding 5 feral cats. But the neighbors have HAD ENOUGH and have called in critter control. As you know, critter control outfits take feral cats to the county shelter where they are euthanized. Elaine and Jack didn't want to see this happen so they contacted a local kitty catcher (I guess someone who does what I do). But unable to catch a single cat, they reached desperation looked outside of the county, and found me somehow.

Supporters of Alley Cat Allies, they understand that TNR works already fixed and released one of the cats and took in last year's litter and kept two and are socializing the other two and working to find them homes. I knew they knew what they were talking about when they said...."these cats can't be returned here". So I told them to trap them up and bring them to me. These fine people listened to everything I said, followed my direction to the letter and brought me 3 of the 5 cats yesterday! I sent them home with the drop trap to get the other two this weekend. I will be looking for barn homes for these cats, so if you know anyone who wants some ferals to mouse for them, let me know!!!!

So, with a Thursday run, I was able to get 44 cats fixed this week. This blog entry was originally titled Astro 45, but after picking up my cats from the clinic, I realized that one had already been neutered, so it's now Astro 44. Thank you to all the staff at Dr. Langlois' clinic for working extra hard to handle this many cats (Gina also had at least 25 this week). And a special thank you to Vicky's Pet Connection who paid for most all the surgeries that we had done. How lucky are we to have Bruce, his team and VPC helping us out!!!

Now you know why I haven't blogged all week!
: ) C

Vic (the savior) Seth (the kind van owner)
and Astro (a very lucky cat)

My voice was heard

Just like Horton hears a who.....when you speak, people listen!!! Sometimes though, we feel very small and insignificant....like a "WHO". But if we speak loudly and passionately, someone will respond. It might not be a big Seussian elephant, but it may be a state representative! Which wouldn't be as cool and surreal, but definitely a step in the right direction as a state representative can effect change in this world.....hopefully!!!

Dear Ms. Manos,

Thank you for your recent e-mails. I appreciate you taking the time to contact me regarding your support of House Bill 5263.

HB 5263 was introduced on September 25, 2007 and is now currently awaiting consideration in the House Committee on Regulatory Reform. You make some very good points in your e-mail and I will certainly keep your thoughts in mind as this bill moves through the legislative process.

Thank you again for your e-mail. It is a pleasure to represent you in the Michigan House of Representatives. Please do not hesitate to contact me with any additional concerns or questions you may have.

Sincerely,

Dave Hildenbrand

Republican Floor Leader

District 86

Here's the direct URL to send a message to Dave Hildenbrand.

Just type over the name that's in the fields......for some reason a Julie Baker's name is stuck there.

https://community.hsus.org/campaign/MI_2008_pound_seizure

BE HEARD!!!!!!!!!!!!
It only takes two minutes (REALLY), and be sure to write your own note in addition to the stock note....let him know HOW YOU FEEL about this!!!

Thank you!
C

Hardcore Cat Stats ~ 2007

Every cat I fix gets a 1/2 sheet of paper attached to its carrier/trap. This is what I call a "cage card". It's a great way to track my cats. Today I went through every cage card from 2007. About halfway through, I started to panic. I didn't see the numbers entered in the spreadsheet coming close to 700. What if I misrepresented my numbers? Oh God!

But once I finished, they turned out to be higher than I had originally reported. This is due to incomplete reports to Vicky's Pet Connection. I didn't start documenting cats I paid for on the weekly sheets till a few months into the year, therefore, I had shorted some on my first count.

Here are the hardcore totals for 2007

Adult Females Spayed 252
Female Kittens Spayed 180
Adult Males Neutered 200
Male Kittens Neutered 136

Cats already fixed 13

Died during or post surgery 6
Died in my care 7 (5 distemper/2 colici - kittens)
Euthanized 3
Tested Positive 3 for FIV 2 for FELV

Returned 611
Adopted to homes 62
Ferals re-homed 17
Transfered to other rescues 36

I realize that these numbers when scrutinized don't match up. The number I had fixed doesn't jive with the number returned/etc, but some of them were directly transfered to other rescues without my fixing them and there were other circumstances here and there not worth mentioning.

The number I will celebrate is the actual number of cats that I was able to fix in 2007. That number is 768.

I also figured my expenditures for the Rescue in 2007. When you tally up food, litter, surgical and other procedures, meds, tests, vaccines, medical supplies, cleaning/household supplies, equipment, Brooknelle rent, telephone and mileage, the rescue spent $37,933.

Add to this the amount Vicky's Pet Connection laid out ($25K between Gina and I), you can see how this needs to be looked at seriously.

FYI....this $38K was not completely out of my pocket. Some supplies were shared with and paid for by Gina at Focus on Ferals. Many of the surgeries performed on cats out of county were paid for by caring individuals like John Koreja & Jim Schalk. I was reimbursed for all 43 Saugatuck spay/neuters. I received generous donations and collected adoption fees. I'm not sure what my out of pocket expenses were, but once I get that 501c3 paperwork sent in, I hope to see more money donated and less of my personal savings taking care of the Rescue bills.

This year, I plan to branch out and do more toward education and making TNR a household word (or acronym as it were). I plan to have a TNR Resource Center where people can bring cats to be fixed, get information on how to maintain a healthy feral colony and supply resources to those in need of assistance helping cats in their neighborhoods.

There WILL be a day when we have no more homeless pets. And I WILL do everything in my power to make that happen!

: ) C

PS While my eyes feel as though they are going to start to bleed from all the looking here and typing there.....this has been a very affirming exercise!

Great News for Montcalm County Animals

Hello Feral Friends-

A few days I wrote about my good friend Martha. We got together last week, hung out and while I thought I'd best not bore her to death talking about Rescue, all we did was talk about RESCUE! This is because she's as into it as I am!

Martha made me aware of the state of affairs at the Montcalm Animal Shelter. Several good people were trying to affect positive change there but with an unscrupulous Director, the shelter wasn't serving the animals to their betterment.

Some background: Safe Haven Humane Society (SHHS) in Ionia has effected great change at the Ionia County Animal Shelter by changing the means of euthanization from horrific gas chamber killing to a far more humane injection. They also were at the helm of stopping the truly reprehensible practice of selling animals for research. Montcalm County still engages in both disgusting practices. Hats off to Safe Haven Humane Society for working tirelessly on behalf of the animals to enact these very important changes in animal handling. If only the merciless Director wasn't in charge at The Montcalm Animal Shelter.....good people would be able to make moves toward better animal care as was done in Ionia County through the dedication of caring individuals at SHHS.

My good friend Martha sent me these email links the other day. We will celebrate with champagne when we get together next Friday for our 2nd Rescue Gab Fest!

Read the good news!!!

http://www.thedailynews.cc/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubsectionID=2&ArticleID=18780&TM=60768.3

http://www.thedailynews.cc/main.asp?SectionID=2&SubsectionID=11&ArticleID=18779&TM=60822.92

http://www.woodtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=7971670&nav=menu44_2

While everything isn't immediately fixed, it's a step in the right direction.

I've been aware of R&R Research in Howard City for some time. I have heard horror stories. Hopefully with more exposure and public awareness, places like this will cease to exist.

For more about R& R Research and other Class B Animal Dealers:

http://www.jethrosplace.org/classbdealers.htm

I hate to blog about horrendous stuff like this. But I know you all care about animal welfare. And if you are interested in putting a stop to animal suffering, here is how you can do it! Thank you Martha for sharing this information with me, so I can share it with all you feral friends!

Michigan: Ban Pound Seizure - HB 5263

Class B dealers obtain the animals they provide to research facilities through a variety of unorthodox methods, including from middlemen or "bunchers" who have been known to fraudulently respond to "free to good home ads" in local newspapers, "adopt" from local animal shelters, and in some cases steal companion animals from their owner. Too often, dogs and cats are subjected to abusive handling and exposure to the elements while kept at the premises of Class B dealers.

Pound seizure is the practice of releasing or selling unclaimed cats and dogs from animal shelters for use in biomedical research, product development and safety testing, and educational demonstrations.

You can help protect shelter animals and pets in Michigan. A bill (H.B. 5263) has been introduced in the state legislature to ban pound seizure and Class B dealers.

TAKE ACTION

Please call your state representative and urge support for H.B. 5263 to protect shelter animals and pets. Remember to be polite and professional, and leave your name and address so it is clear that you are a constituent. Click here to look up your representative and the phone number.

After you make your calls, fill in and submit the form at the right to automatically send an email to your state representative in support of H.B. 5263 to protect shelter animals and pets. Your legislators receive a lot of email, so it's important to personalize the email message below so that your message will stand out and have a greater impact.

» Tell A Friend | » Tell Me More

Finally, please tell your friends and family in Michigan how they can take action. Forward this email or click on the link.

Thank you for all you do for the animals!

Tails From The Cottage - March Edition

Thank you to those who made the month of February a success in many ways. While 2 Feet 4 Paws and Vicky's Pet Connection have created a working partnership we both know that without people like you to support a local store and adoption efforts our success would not be as great.

2 Feet 4 Paws Website Open

The 2 Feet 4 Paws website is now open. There will be continued additions and improvements but the site is functional. You can visit the site to see the products we sell in the store (including online purchases with store pick up as an option), information about upcoming events, and more about the 2 Feet 4 Paws vision.

Our Grand (Re)Opening was a success. Seeing familiar faces in addition to meeting some hopefully new regular customers made the two day event a lot of fun. Thank you for supporting us!

Currently all Hamilton leashes, collars, and harnesses are on clearance at 50% off!!!

Food Drive Success

February's Feral Food Drive exceeded expectations in many ways. Over a ton and a half of food was donated to Carol's Ferals and Focus on Ferals!!!!! The feral communities in the area will not have to worry about food for months. A huge thanks to Invisible Fence for sponsoring the event as well as to Dr. Bruce Langlois of the Animal Hospital of Lowell for donating $5 for every bag of food that was purchased. And of course the results would not have been so overwhelming without the generous donations from people like you.

VPC Food Drive

While one food drive has ended, another is just beginning. During the month of March Vicky's Pet Connection is having a food drive. This month's event is being sponsored by Sleepy Hollow Pet Cemetery. They will be matching bags of cat and dog food purchased throughout the month. You can either stop by the Critter Cottage or call (676-1200) with a credit card number to purchase your bags of Premium Edge cat and/or dog food to be donated to VPC.

Prices for bags of food are as follows:
Dog Food
Small (6 lbs) - $6.99 plus tax
Medium (18 lbs) - $17.99 plus tax
Large (35 lbs) - $27.99 plus tax

Cat Food
Small (6 lbs) - $6.99 plus tax
Large (18 lbs) - $19.99 plus tax

Remember Pearl? Her puppies are growing fast and getting bigger. They're part of the 42 puppies and over 50 cats that VPC is looking to feed these days. With mounting vet bills, taking in food donations will help offset costs.

There will be a friendly competition throughout the month to see whether more cat or dog food is raised. This is one instance where gaining weight is a good thing. Updates on who is winning can be found on the events page of Vicky's Pet Connection's website. Fish and bones with names of those who have donated food will be hanging in the store throughout the month.

Camp Bow Wow in Kentwood has also been helping purchase food for VPC. Rather than having a tip jar for their camp counselors they collect money which is used to buy bags of food for cats and dogs in need. Camp Bow Wow has been a huge supporter since they opened. If you're looking to help out VPC and have a place for your dog to meet friends and come home worn out visit them near the airport on 44th Street.

VPC Adoption Achievements

Toni, the cat with the title of being in the program the longest has been adopted!!! She has been in her new home for a couple of weeks. She is doing well as she adjusts to her new life. Her new family adores her and can't imagine life without her. Everyone who knows Toni is happy for her.

Alice in VPC Land

There's always a least one more story that will pull at heartstrings waiting to be told when you're involved in rescue. This one is about Alice. She was rescued the end of February.

Alice came into the program with two cherry eyes. She has since had surgery to correct the problem and is doing well recovering. She is expected to heal without any issues. She is spunky and full of life. She loves hanging out with other dogs, cats, and people. If you know of anyone who might be interested in adopting Alice or sponsoring all or part of her eye surgery please contact Vicky's Pet Connection.

Kent County Dog Licenses

Effective immediately, Kent County dog licenses will be available at the Critter Cottage. You can bring in renewal paperwork or get a new tag for your dog. You must bring in proof of rabies vaccination and spay/neuter (in order to receive the discounted price).

Good Grief!!!

It's 1am. I haven't left my house all day. I haven't answered the phone. I haven't gotten out of my pajamas. I rescheduled a photo session of fosters at Pat Baxter's house. I was unable to pick up my donated food from Critter Cottage....putting it off till Monday. I didn't even go to Kim and Joel's for Survivor.

I've been crunching numbers all day. I figured out how much money was spent on my Rescue in 2007 and found it to be more than I made at my most highest paying year of my career job when I worked for "The Man". Yikes!

I'm putting together my hardcore cat stats for last year too. By the end of the day tomorrow, I will be able to report how many cats were fixed by category of male, female, adult and kitten. I'll report to you how many cats were returned, re-homed in barns, transfered to other Rescues or were found loving, forever homes. I'll know exactly how many cats were fixed in every county I've been able to work in. 700 was a rough number that I figured from my weekly reports to Vicky's Pet Connection. We'll see how accurate that number was. I think it's going to be a bit higher.

It's 1am and I'm going to watch Survivor on Tivo and get to bed.

Tonight Pat Baxter found a home for one of the kittens that she has fostered for a really long time. FeeBee is part of the F-Troop. These were kittens that I took because someone's husband threatened to drown them in the river if they were in the house when he got out of jail. NICE! Stephanie Meaney painstakingly treated the kittens for a horrible case of ringworm. They were very labor intensive babies, but she loved them with all her heart. She passed them on to Pat who has loved and cared for them ever since. And now one is in her new forever home! Let's hope this adoption gets the ball rolling. I have 9 others who need to find new digs before the kittens start rolling in.

Say a little prayer that I fall in love with the girl who's coming for Herbie tomorrow afternoon. If I don't get that 100% groovy feeling about the person....they walk out without a kitten! And I sleep at night! So send the positive thoughts our way!!! Stinky Mingus, Ish Kabibble, Nubbins McGillicutti, Lanky Muttonchop, Frodo, Felicity and Flynn all need to find themselves homes before the spring kittens arrive!!!!

: ) C

Nubbins Financial Update

Thanks to Dave and Melissa Eastwood, I only now need $50 to pay off Nubbins tail amputation surgery.

You all know Dave and Melissa. They have three ferals who live in the nicest feral digs in all of Michigan...heck, I'd go as far as to say the COUNTRY!

Did you know you can search the blog for key words to find entries that have become lost in the shuffle?

There's a box at the top left. Just type in the key words from the blog enty and VIOLA! The entry will pop up.

To see Melissa and Dave's backyard shelters and feeding station, type in EASTWOOD!

Thank you, you beautiful, wonderful people YOU!
: ) Carol & Nubbins!

The Foxxy Five are Back at Brooknelle - - Need your help!!!!

Well gang! The Foxxy Five are back at Brooknelle. The girls are back without Sox who found a home last month thanks to the diligence of Cyndi Caponi and Michelle Hills.

We need to find homes for the remaining kitties.

Please consider printing off the updated PDF flier and posting it wherever you can! This new flier tells a little more about the hoarding situation that they came from. Hopefully it will pull at some heartstrings.

Here are some new pix of the girls!

Tilly

Flicka

Pearl

Midget

Honey

Here's the PDF to download and post:

http://carolsferals.com/Documents/Foxxy_Five%5B1%5D.pdf


Also, we need some caregivers to help tend the Foxxy Five. If you are willing to devote one hour or so once a week, please contact me. These girls are very loving and really enjoy having attention lavished upon them!

Carol: dollmouse@aol.com 616 560-0555

Watch the video of Tilly and Flicka at bathtime.
All that's missing is a rubber ducky!

THAT SUCKS!!! But in a GOOD way!!!

A few days ago, my beloved $350 Hoover Wind Tunnel Vacuum bit the dust....literally! I had it for five years. I didn't maintain it at all, and never changed out the filter. Just now learning from the vac repair guy that the filter should be changed every 6 months. Oops!

This marks the second vacuum of mine to die in less than 8 months. My older Panasonic mid-range price level vac was murdered by RC Kula when he unknowingly plugged it into an improperly voltaged (i know this isn't the proper word) outlet at the site of my rummage sale last summer. RIP Wind Tunnel, RIP Panasonic.

Today my friend/neighbor Jonelle and I went to the Bissell factory store to check out the Pet Hair Eraser Vacuum. Yes, I'm showing my good sportsmanship here by actually buying the vacuum that Monkey should have been awarded if not for the contest being rigged giving that ridiculous little chihuahua the prize of the vacuum that I had to spend $149.99 to purchase!!! OK, I'm still a little bitter. The woman behind the counter didn't just give it to me like I suggested she do. Apparently I had her confused when I said my Monkey should have won. She said, I thought you had a cat! Oy Vey!

So I did buy the thing and a set of filters for replacement in exactly 6 months. Hopefully this will keep the motor in working order (which was the death of the Hoover). So I brought it home and started in on my house. I have more cat hair than anyone! I say that NOT because I have sooooo many cats. I say that because I'm an awful housekeeper and I let the place get really hairy before I vacuum.

I must say, it has amazing suction power. I'm very pleased with it. There are two special attachments that come with it. The one I think is stellar is the one on the right (see bottom photo). It has a flexible rubbery head on it and it grabs cat hair off stairs and upholstery like nobody's business! I tried the model vacuum out in the store and noticed it pulled itself along the carpet. I was happy to see it was self propelled. But it's not! It's the suction that pulls it along. You have to be careful that it doesn't get away from you. It's like walking a much to large dog when you are accustomed to walking a little ankle nipper like that chihuahua that beat Monkey in the contest where I should have won this vacuum but didn't because IT WAS RIGGED! - - - I promise I'll get over it, but it's too soon yet! It still stings!





It's got a nice hose that detaches from a holster at a nice level so you can use the crevice tool or attachments easily. The hose is good quality and long enough to make it from the base of my stairs to the halfway point without much problem except for this first time, I had it too far away from the bottom step and I pulled the vac down onto the arch of my left foot. Ouch!

There is a fold down piece along the front that has that old fashioned lint brush fabric on it. I guess that's supposed to attract the hair. You know that maroon velvety stuff that was on the paddle brushes from the 70's. Now we use those tape roller deals. I think it's useless, but what do I know.

So, I'm pleased with my new vacuum. Arlene just arrived and I'll get the skinny from her once she does the kitten room.

My only gripe is that the space between cord winders is really short, so you have to wind it over and over and OVER again. And the dust cup is kinda small and you have to basically empty it between every two rooms (if you are filthy like me and haven't vacuumed in a long time).

If you already have a good vacuum and just want the

Pet Hair Eraser attachments, they sell the pair for $30.
The one on the right is really great on draperies and upholstery!

I had Gabby check the prices online and $150 was a good deal. So now I have a new vacuum. It SUCKS! But in a GOOD way!

: ) C

***** OK, the verdict is in. Arlene just finished the kitten room. She likes the vacuum very much. Had to empty the dirt cup twice. But she hadn't been able to vacuum for a week since Hoover was in the hospital dying.