I didn't even tell you about Frisky

I've been so busy lately and not blogged for so long that I ALMOST forgot to tell you about Frisky.

I got a call on April 8th from one of the board members from C-SNIP. Now I can't even remember her name. Sorry. She had heard of a cat that was abandoned in an home on the NW side of Grand Rapids. From what I know the woman who lived in the house had 8 cats. She took 6 with her and left two behind. The two that were left behind were difficult to catch, so a neighbor who loves cats went into the house daily to feed them. Melissa was tending to these cats for a whole month. One cat was finally captured and taken to the shelter. Then the BASTARD landlord locked up the house and trapped the remaining cat inside for 11 days. Had I been contacted earlier, I'd have set traps in the house and captured the cat. But news of her plight didn't reach me till much later.

Melissa (worried sick about the cat) shoved individual pieces of kibble under the door every day so Frisky (a medium haired tortie girl) would have food to sustain her. Bless Melissa!

Finally the idiot landlord let Melissa come into the house and she retrieved the very scared girl. I was asked to take the cat to get medical attention. Arrangements were made with Jeanine at Reuben's Room to take the cat once she was tested and vaccinated and given a health report by Dr. Langlois.

I was pleased to see that Frisky was in good shape when I arrived at Melissa's house. Because of Melissa's dedication to helping this kitty, and what I must imagine was either a dripping sink or an open toilet, Frisky was in wonderful shape. And after shaving her belly, it was determined that she had been previously fixed at C-SNIP (due to the tell tale green incision tattoo).

Jeanine picked Frisky up that night and now she's getting used to her surroundings at Reuben's Room which is basically heaven on earth for cats lucky enough to find themselves under the care of Jeanine Buckner and her wonderful volunteers. Patti Shalk (Jim Shalk's sister is one of them).

Two generous people, Allie Phillips and Maria Comninou generously donated funds to cover Frisky's medical expenses and surrender fee to Reuben's Room.

It takes a village to save a cat. Thanks to Melissa Rosenberg, Allie, Maria, Dr. Langlois, Jeanine Buckner and the board member at C-SNIP who I only spoke to once (but am indebted to for her part in all of this), Frisky has been rescued!

A Taste of Greece Dinner - Thursday, May 8th

My church is having their annual Taste of Greece Dinner this coming Thursday, May 8th.

The difference this year is that there WILL NOT BE a sit down served meal. All food will be take-out. I've always enjoyed working these dinners and serving people, but when I think about having a Thursday evening free to just do my own thing....I like this new Take-Out ONLY deal much better.

Here are the details. I probably won't be there working, but I'm sure gonna get myself some to eat!

A TASTE OF GREECE

Thursday, May 8th
Take-Out ~ 4:30 - 7:30 pm

Seasoned pork tenderloin, seasoned chicken breast,
spanikoita (spinach pie), rice, Greek salad,
sweet bread (tsoureki) and baklava.

Drive-thru available

$12 donation

Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
330 Lakeside Drive NE ~ Across from Romence Gardens

454-6563


EAT UP!!!

The Beruit Cats are HERE!

A couple of weeks ago, I told you that Dr. Langois was bringing some Lebanese Refugee Cats to West Michigan! Well, they're here! This is the press release and photos of each cat. If you know anyone interested in adopting a Lebanese Refugee Cat, send them to my petfinder site for bios and more details: www.carolsferals.petfinder.com.

++++++++++++++++

Adopt a Lebanese Refugee Cat
Animals - Unseen Collateral Damage

War devastates. We grieve for soldiers lost and the involuntary destruction of civilian life. But headlines rarely publicize war's other collateral damage.

Animals, crimeless and naive, dodge mortars, grenades, and armored combat vehicles. Their lives explode in a flurry of desertion, starvation, injury and death.

At the onset of conflict in Lebanon , citizens and foreigners fled. Canadian, British and American evacuation protocols banned companion animals. In the chaos, evacuees released animals into the streets or confined them in buildings. The only animal rescue organization, Animals Lebanon believes thousands of companion animals were discarded.

Animals Lebanon has been working day and night to help these refugees. Shelters have been set up for both dogs and cats. A Spay and Neuter program has been initiated. In February Animals Lebanon contacted Dr. Bruce Langlois, veterinary director of Remote Area Medical. BETA requested that Dr. Langlois come to Beirut to access their shelters and give them guidance in their spay/neuter program.

Dr. Langlois flew to Beirut on February 10th, and spent a week doing surgery and training 3 local veterinarians to improve their surgical techniques. The project was a great success.

Now Animals Lebanon needs some more help. They will be sending 2 of their volunteers to Michigan to train with local rescue groups and learn how to implement a Trap Neuter and Return program. They will also be bringing some refugees with them. 14 cats and 1 dog, all need a home. If you or anyone you knows has an interest in a Lebanese pet, please contact Dr. Langlois at brucelangloisdvm@yahoo.com or by phoning his office at 616 897-8484.

+++++++++++++++++++



TumTum

Taboosh

Sweetie

Star

Sparkle

Mombey

Leann

Joan

Fudge

Celia

Azure

Coexistence!

Coexistence is possible!
Now, if I could just get my neighbors to accept my ferals.

Thanks Jim Schalk!

Critter Cottage Food Drive Adoptive Cats

I get calls daily from Vicky all excited about all the cats she's saving from the shelter! The dog loving devotee, has turned feline frantic! It's a hoot! She is loving it!

Thanks to all of you who purchased large bags of cat food during their food drive last month, Vicky will be saving 30 some cats.

You know, Teddy was mine! He was adopted at the Pet Expo earlier this month. Chuck was cat number two, saved by Nancy Adams. Chuck was also adopted at the Pet Expo.

THEN......Vicky went to the shelter and found 10 kittens from 3 different litters. It was perfect to assign them to Jim Schalk and his sister Patti. They each purchased 5 large bags of cat food to enable Vicky to save these kittens. So Vicky was naming one Female Patti and one male Jim and then selecting P and J names for the rest of them! At this time, three of the 10 have already been adopted. Sorry, I'm so lame about blogging these days!

Vicky, at the shelter, picking up the Shalk 10.
This is precisely the look I have on my face when someone hands
ME a HUMAN BABY! It's one of horror!
Out of her element handling kittens,
Vicky wonders when everything that had
"gone to the dogs" suddenly went the way of the feline!

A little more relaxed in her dog kennel (cuz she can smell puppies probably),
Vicky can crack a smile and cuddle some of the Shalk 10.

Two of the Shalk 10.

And yet another!

+++++++++++++++

Earlier this week, Vicky took another cat from the shelter. This is Tim. He is cat #13. The purchasers of the bag that saved Tim are Gretel & Merlin (whom I'm assuming are the pets of the human who actually paid for the food). Thank you Gretel and Merlin's human. Not sure why Vicky is so drawn to the big male cats! But besides the Shalk kittens, she's curiously going for the boys!!!

Flicka and Honey Adopted!

Great News! Flicka, one of the cats Gina and I've had at Brooknelle since last summer was adopted last Saturday by a couple who were at Gina's adoption event and wanted GET THIS......something OTHER than a kitten! Derek and his wife fell for Flicka when Michelle Hills took them over to meet the special kitties!

On Wednesday, Derek called me stating that "WE WANT HONEY TOO". Yeah!!! Honey will be picked up and taken to live with Flicka on Sunday!

Wonderful news for our girls. Now all we have are Midget and Pearl to find forever homes! Duties over at Brooknelle are getting easier and easier for volunteers! Yeah!!!

Hi, it's me, Flicka! I'm enjoying my new home.
But I'm lonely and pestering my new humans
so they are going to bring Honey to live with us
and keep me company!
I've missed that big old gal!

Hi, It's me, Honey! Flicka and I had it planned a long way back.
We had an alliance. If one of us got adopted,
she would cry at night prompting the adoptive parents
to get another nocturnal pet.
Since we match, it would be a no-brainer!
So Flicka did her bit and now, I'm going to go and live with her!
Pearl and Midget must have their own thing going.

Pearl: What am I? Chopped liver?
Why did those two get adopted before me?
Oh yeah, I'm a little bitchy sometimes and not into sharing attention.
Midget has recently approached me to see if I'd work with her
to get us both adopted together.
I'm considering it, but I get really jealous when someone is petting me
and they stop to pet HER!
We'll have to see!

Midget here! I don't know what Pearl is talking about.
I was in an alliance with Sox way back when...but since then,
I've been flying solo. I'd not mind going with Pearl,
but she is a little grouchy sometimes when it comes to sharing
the attentions of the kind volunteers who come to see us daily.
I think you should push for me to be adopted first.
Carol's all smitten with Pearl for some reason.
Must be her vast experience dealing with bitchy people.

Mismanaged time

Where is Carol?? Why hasn't she been blogging lately?

Well, all I can say folks, is that I've been allowing myself to be easily derailed these past few weeks. I have decided to make today a catch up day. Soon I'll be blogging a bunch and it will take you a few days to catch up with me. I've got a whole list of things to tell you. Keep posted!

: ) Carol

Wish List

I have to put this out to the universe! Maybe something will happen if I do.

I'm going to be needing a piece of property to have my own feral sanctuary. I need to have a place to take all the feral cats that can't be returned to their original location for various reasons (including but not limited to IDIOT NEIGHBORS). Till now, I've depended on finding kind people with barns to allow my cats to "mouse" in exchange for food/water/shelter. But it's my dream to have my own sanctuary to allow my ferals to roam safely under my own care. It probably won't be long from now that I'll be needing to relocate my condo cats. Ideally I'd like to have a parcel of land donated. Something preferably in Kent County. My 501c3 application was mailed out last week. Hopefully within a few months, I'll be approved and such a gift of property will be tax deductible. If I have to, I'll purchase a parcel of land and likely build a home and tend my ferals myself. It will be nice when I don't have to see my horrible neighbors and I can stop having the fantasies that involve them with either broken hips or colitis.

But I'm not giving up by any means. I'm going to contact a lawyer and if I am not allowed to feed my cats on my condo property, then nobody will be feeding other wildlife such as birds and squirrels. Once I get all the bird lovers behind me, then I'm hoping this will be laid to rest!

OK, now to the second item on my wish list. It's not for me. It's for my dear friend Erica Carranco who I maintain IS THE GREATEST THING TO COME OUT OF CAT RESCUE for me. I've made some wonderful friends since getting into this crazy cat business, and Erica who I met two years ago is one of those fine people who love and support me and I just can't live without. Her car died last night and she's looking for a decent vehicle in the $5,000 range, preferably with an automatic transmission. If you know of such a car looking to be adopted in that price range, contact Erica at: edelynn@comcast.net

As for me, I'm trying to keep my head on straight and not commit homicide!
Thank you Marcia Bloemers (mother of Cheyenne and Dennis) who donated to my legal defense fund.
I'm assuming you meant for me to get legal council for my ferals and not for my own personal lawyer to defend me in case I am INDEED unable to keep my head on straight!

C

Please pray for me

Dear Feral Friends-

I need your loving support. A few weeks ago my next door neighbors started to harass me about the feral cats I feed on my porch. They have contacted the condo association and yesterday I received a letter from a law firm stating that I had to remove my shelter and feeding station and that I could be subjected to having my home inspected at any time without my permission to assure compliance of condo bylaws.

I'm going to be working with a lawyer to remedy this problem. If need be, I'll petition my neighbors for support. Recently I wrote a letter to all condo owners in my complex explaining how these cats were born here and are fixed and not causing any trouble. Still, I'm finding myself in quite a pickle.

I want to fight for these cats. For all ferals! I have never had a "cause" before. TNR is my life's work and I am not going to back down. But as you all know, spare time isn't something that I have a lot of so this is going to put a major crimp in my life/work.

I'm sickened and saddened that people can be so cruel as to try to force me to starve the cats I've tended every single day for two years. But alas, there are horrible people out there. And these particular people call themselves Christians! It's a sad state of affairs!

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers as I fight for the 4 cats I care for here in my condo community!

Feel free to leave some comments of support cuz I'm about to break down and cry!

Thanks
C

Got 6 minutes to waste???

In all your spare time, I'm sure you can find 6 minutes to watch this video! Today was a very stressful, fast paced, crazy day for me. And I found time to watch it!!!

Thanks Ed Jahn (my neighbor, father to one of my best friends from college, and bull dog lover).

http://www.komando.com/videos/4-16.asp

Cupcake! The first kitten of spring!

OK, Cupcake might not be the FIRST kitten of spring, but she's MY FIRST kitten of spring!

Got a call from Kathy at C-SNIP. Woman named Sharon called. Mamma cat had 6 kittens 4 weeks ago. All have died but this one and mama Molly wasn't feeding her.

Just picked up Molly and her baby Cupcake. Stephanie Meaney (kitten mama in human form) will take her and make sure she has a good start to life. Currently little miss Cupcake has gooped up eyes and nose from a URI and hadn't eaten much for a while.

She ate well for me and now she's sleeping in a carrier next to a bottle of hot water. Mamma Molly is going to be spayed tomorrow and returned to Sharon who loves her. Seems Molly was discarded when the neighbor moved out.

Another sad commentary on how unvalued and disposable animals are in our country. And we are more progressive than MOST! God help us!!

Here's Miss Cupcake!!!
Her one eye is still a little gooped up. I will leave it to Mama Stephanie to remedy!

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

Very Quick Updates

Gotta do my taxes. No time to blog. But while turbotax is installing....

The gal who rescued Squeeks (who we call "Sylvia") took the little kitty home to live with her. There's a happy ending for you! AND SQUEEKS!!!

I never watched the Oprah show about the Puppy Mills. My Arlene watched it and cried. I don't want to cry. I know the places are awful. I'm more or less protecting myself. I hear of enough misery. I blogged about it so you could pass the info on to people you know. Sorry to shove something in your faces that I myself won't be watching. But I'm proud of Oprah for bringing this horror to the mainstream public who might not know the peril of dogs in those hell holes.

If you are interested in taking a stand and making a difference regarding this tragedy, here's where to go:

https://community.hsus.org/humane/notice-description.tcl?newsletter_id=22214754

Finally, some very exciting news!!! You all know Dr. Bruce Langlois recently returned from Beruit where he worked with an animal welfare group to teach mass spay/neuter and other medical treatment practices. Well, after getting to know the cat girls (Lebenese carbon copies of Gina and I) who run the rescue, he has arranged for them to come to West Michigan to train with us on how to do TNR. The girls will be arriving in a couple of weeks. And with them will be 12 cats from war-torn Beruit. These cats will be featured on the blog as soon as I can get my head above water (and tax paperwork). The area rescues support Bruce in bringing these deserving cats to West Michigan where they can again know what it's like to live in a loving home. Once you read the press release, you will understand why Bruce is doing this. Our very compassionate vet has found himself wanting to help a rescue group abroad. And he has our full support.

Finally......Dr. Langlois devoted time last week to helping Gina and I finish up our 501c3 applications. All we have to do now is fill them in clearly on PDF, print them off and mail them in. Gina and I will be working on this tomorrow. You will be able to claim your donations to us on your 2008 tax returns!!! Yippee!!!

More to come...I think turbotax is installed finally!!
C

Pet Expo 2008

What a fun weekend!!! Vicky told me it would be a good time, but I had no idea!

It's up to everyone to bring their own joy! And when you are upbeat and put good energy out to a crowd of people, you get it back. Such is how I feel regarding the Pet Expo this past weekend. I've been in unusually high spirits lately. It's spring! Pretty things are coming up from the ground. Trees are turning green. Happiness is out there if you look for it. Winter is over, so is misery!

The Expo was an excellent vehicle to promote TNR. While the Carol's Ferals/Focus on Ferals booth kinda god squished into a relatively small area, we managed to draw a lot of people into our space. I had my set up with feeding station, shelter and trap to illustrate "how you can help feral and stray cats in your neighborhood". And my bags of kibble which hammered home the point....."how many cats you will have if you do nothing about that single cat in your yard". Basically 6 bags of kibble. The first bag has two pieces....the 6th bag has 11,000 which is the breeding potential of one intact female and her mate over the course of 5 years. That really made people sit up and take notice!!


My darling Vic Cabot showed up bright and early to sit in the trap. Dressed as a black cat and joined by Flicka (one of the Fantastic Four) she manged to bring in $57 in less than two hours! See, Vic was a feral cat that needed to be spayed. She was going to sit in the trap until $100 was raised to pay for her "spay" surgery. So I stood outside of the trap and barked till people put money in my little bucket.


But Vic had to be released early due to another obligation, so she left her ears and tail and Natalie (a sweet volunteer from the Humane Society) came to sit in the trap in her place. Natalie raised the remainder of the $100.


Then Katie and her family were walking around and noticed the empty trap, so she got in! Resigned not to leave until she earned her $100, Katie-Kat refused to leave even to use the litter box. And I was pumping her up with soda pop! She was a real trooper and raised $100 for her spay surgery in a little over 2 hours!


I need to mention a funny thing that happened while Katie was in the trap. She had made a sign reading "help me earn $100 for my surgery". A very hormonal pregnant woman walked by, saw the sign and entered my booth very upset. She said "I just gave $5 to an animal charity in the other booth and I see this little girl needs surgery. Doe she have Leukemia?" I just about peed my pants. I explained that the little girl was a feral cat from Rockford and she needed SPAY surgery....she's a healthy young lady otherwise. The PG woman laughed. She returned the next day and we shared another laugh. Too funny!!!


Here are photos of Katie-Kat's release....




After Katie was released back into the wild (to her parents), Paul (a volunteer from Harbor Humane Society), was joined by brother and sister; Armon & Kendal in the trap. A litter of feral kittens! And not unlike feral kittens.... they have different fathers! Did you know that? A female cat can couple with multiple partners resulting in a litter of kittens that have different daddies.


They stayed in for a while, but Armon and Kendal's human parents came and got them and Paul went back to work with the puppies at HHS so the trap was left empty. Then ......

My darling Jeanine Buckner from Reuben's Room Cat Rescue walked by, spied the comfyness (not a word, but it works) of the trap and crawled in. I didn't even have to bait the thing! Her friends and volunteers were quick to help her raise her $100 and she was released. Dr. Langlois assisted in this process.....

Like all feral cats, Jeanine was difficult to handle.

After Jeanine's release, Brother and Sister team Brianna and Collin had their mom's permission to get in the trap. Together these two raised $100. I asked mom if she minded me telling everyone that I was going to get her son neutered. She said "no problem". It was a hoot!

Brianna

Collin

When Brianna re-entered the trap to relieve her brother, she was able to get pretty close to the $100 mark. With $11 to go, Paul (from HHS who sat in trap the day prior) begged the funds off his mother to spring her!


Then he got into the trap himself! How funny is that???? He got her out to allow himself in! He hung out in the trap for the remainder of the expo!

Other great things happened. Vicky adopted both kitties that she rescued from the shelter as part of her Food Drive promise! My cat Teddy was adopted by a family who tried to pose with him for the photo, but little Lex had other plans....like having a crying fit......

Teddy is a lucky boy indeed. He is going to live with a really nice family. Here's a photo of him all chill relaxed in his cage. With a young child in his midst now, I'm sure it's the LAST time for him!


Chuck was cat number two rescued from the shelter by Vicky. Nancy Adams and Pumpkin Kat purchased bag #2. Chuck was adopted by Don! I just love it when big burly tattooed men adopt kitties. But Chuck is a big burly ex-tom, so it's suiting he would go home with a guy like Don! Chuck has three human guardian angels. Nancy Adams, Vicky and Don! Lucky boy!!!!!

Chuck

Chuck and Don

The day was a great success. The Trap-In earned Carol's Ferals just over $400. I think I've found my gimmick! Some kid's father paid $5 to take a photo of him in the trap. I might make "Get a picture of your kid, mother in law etc...in the trap for a donation" my next fun raiser! I will be making a donation to HS for allowing me to use the giant dog trap for my own money making purposes! Thanks to all you wonderful trap sitters for helping me raise money and awareness for feral cats of West Michigan!

As if the day wasn't great enough. I won the giant cat tree that Reuben's Room was raffling as part of a fund raiser for the RRCR cats! This amazing, one of a kind Cat Mountain Cat Tree is crafted by James DeVormer. If you want one, give him a call at 616 863-8185. My cat mountain will be delivered this week! Monkey, Morgan, Toby and Buzzby are thrilled about it! Will post photos of them on it soon!

This is Jenny, a RRCR volunteer's daughter.....she pulled the winning ticket!!

Look at the size of the thing! Jenny is a little girl, but she's comfy on it....imagine how my cats will feel....like kings and queens of the mountain!

It was a great weekend for sure!!!

: ) C

PS Janet, sorry you didn't win the cat tree! My stuffing the ticket jar paid off. Thanks Stu for boosting the ticket ratio in my favor!

Oprah takes on the puppy mills!!!

	Oprah Winfrey Highlights Horrors of Puppy Mills Tune in Tomorrow Dear Feral Friends, I invite you to watch an extraordinary hour of television tomorrow (Friday, April 4): "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is scheduled to air a special episode highlighting the cruel realities of puppy mills. Millions of "Oprah" show viewers will be shocked when they learn of the underhanded tactics and deplorable practices used to mass produce purebred puppies and designer dogs, as seen in an investigative report by Lisa Ling. Animal lovers nationwide will also see what impact these “factories” have on pet overpopulation. I’ll be a guest on the show, sharing the expertise of The HSUS and our campaigns to stop puppy mills and end pet overpopulation. Check here to find out when "The Oprah Winfrey Show" is on in your area. Then sign our pledge to stop puppy mills today. Thank you for all that you do for animals. Sincerely, Wayne Pacelle President & CEO The Humane Society of the United States