The Value and Importance of Adopting Rescue Cats - Part 2

Sasha's story:

Sasha, rescued in the street from an on-rushing car

'Here is Sasha. He just loves everyone. He is 2 years old now, neutered and has all his shots up to-date. I call him my Christmas Surprise because I was on my way downtown 2 years ago when I heard a kitten screaming just ahead of me. To my horror I saw this tiny kitten, no more than 5 weeks old, in the middle of the street just as a car drove right over him. I quickly ran over to this terrified little kitten thinking that I better rush him to the vet when he gazed up at me with those big saucer eyes and seemed to say: I’m lost, please take me home?

As I looked him over to make sure he was ok I realized I had something of a problem. I already had Xena and I wasn’t looking to get another cat. But then again, Xena was just turning one year old at the time and she did seem quite lonely when I had to go out. There was no one in sight and it was getting dark and very cold. I had a choice to make. My heart wouldn’t let me just toss this helpless kitten aside in a snow bank where he would freeze to death or land back on the road and get squashed by a car for sure or a dog may get a hold of him or someone may find him and be cruel.

But as I was holding this tiny kitten in my arms he started to purr and crawl inside my coat where it was warm. Suddenly it came to me that it was Christmas Eve!! All my life, growing up as a child, I had always wished for my very own kitten in a basket with a big red bow, just for me! Never got it. I realized then that if I had not gone downtown that night, I would have never found this kitten and the outcome for Sasha would have terrible – he would not have survived and would have died a hideous death. But I brought him home and in a few days Xena accepted him and now they have bonded.

But all I can say is: an Angel must have been watching over this tiny, helpless kitten that night and brought me there to save him and bring him home on Christmas Eve --- of all nights! Sasha found a home that night.

Hey, who says: miracles never happen and a child’s wish was fulfilled!'

Next is Maya's story

Catspaw

 

!!! This Baby Needs A Home NOW !!!

Hi everyone, I have a story to tell:

Last November 2011, in the middle on an island winter, three kittens were abandoned here at the dairy, probably because they knew it was a cat colony. My husband manage to lure and catch two of them, one a grey and the other a multicolor. They were as close to ferals without actually being feral as a cat could get; they were here awhile before being caught. I kept them for a week, socializing them then phoned Cat Action once they'd calmed down and we could handle them better. After two weeks, I gave them to Cat Action; they already had placements for them thanks to a Kijiji Ad I had placed. 

She suddenly found herself all alone and having to fend for herself, by herself. 

Her two siblings were gone, caught by my husband and re-homed by me.

The title of this blog is that same title as my Kijiji Ad

But, there was a third kitten. One that refused all attempts to help her and resisted any food or shelter. She scavenged in the barn for mice and rats, eating the grain off the floor when really hungry. Being a interloper and unwelcome by the colony, the cats here bullied and chased her away constantly. Finally, she started following them to my patio door where I provided food, milk and shelter during the winter months. She would always run, though she'd come to eat whatever was left, I could not come near. This past Friday, June 15th, all that changed. I put some scraps out for them and she came just close enough for me to touch her, once she allowed that, I took a further chance and picked her up. 

Does she look 9 months to you?

Once inside the house she was pretty skiddish so we took turns holding her and talking to her so she'd calm and realize we weren't going to hurt her. My cats of course will tolerate her but they aren't always kind; she spent the first night as far behind the dryer in a closed porch as she could get and it took my hubby to coax her out the next morning. She hid a lot on Saturday because of my cats but we took her out and made her mind by putting her out on the sofa. She soon caught on that she didn't need to hide. I fed her a tin of tuna to help put some meat on her bones. She's in fairly good health but very malnourished for a 9 to 10 month old cat. Yes, that's what I said  ~ 9 to 10 months and for all that, she is tiny!  

 Very close to becoming feral, there was just enough 'tame' cat left in her to accept being re-socialized

She is extremely affectionate, follows me round the house like a puppy and wants to be on my lap whenever I sit down. She tries very hard to be accepted by my cats and will immediately run up to them, trying to bond, only to be nastily rebuffed by my three females. 

Winston by porch door

Only Winston shows her a kindness. So much so that at night, when she is in the porch for the night, he will lay beside the porch door as if staying near to keep her company and my females at bay. She'd very readily take to other animals and she'd be great around children. I am hoping my Kijiji Ad will get some attention for her and she will find a new home soon. 

If anyone is interested in her please use the email at the top right of my blog to contact me. 

Catspaw

Stray Cat Strut ~ Again.

Two skin and bone females have been discarded at the dairy or they have found their own way here. This one came in without hesitation yesterday evening so hungry she could barely eat! She could not decide what she wanted more, food or affection and I couldn't give her enough of both. 


My cats were not at all pleased to have her in 'their' house but they know its what happens around here and if they misbehave, outside they go to cool their paws for awhile. 

This morning there were two! The dark kitten brought her sibling, another female, light grey in color. In this pic, she got the flash in her eyes. Both are half starved and very wanting for affection and attention. Either they've been on their own for awhile or their former owners threw them out, denying even their basic needs of food and shelter and they have not been able to find another kind caregiver since. I can feel every bone in their little bodies, they are so thin!


If there is anyone out their interested in giving these two a home on Prince Edward Island, Canada, where I live, I'm posting an ad on Kijiji for them.


Catspaw

Winkin, Blinkin and Nod and their Amazing Rescue

The neighbors were just gaining their drive when a car sped past after heaving what looked like a duffel bag from the window, it landed with a dull thud and a weak, painful yowl. One of the kids though he heard a sound coming from the crumpled sack and ran to check. Carefully unzipping it, four tiny kittens lay shivering and traumatized. They were put inside the shed of a dairy with a cat colony and provided with food, water and shelter. A few days later one kitten was dead.

I learned about it and inquired of my neighbor if I could have them; she gratefully brought them over right away. An orange and two grey kittens were the worse for their usage. They were no more than four weeks old, wasted and ripped from their mother way too soon. They'd been ill-treated by whomever had chosen to 'rid themselves of them' instead of doing what you and I would consider humane and take them to a shelter. The first thing they got was a warm bath and wrapped in warmed towels then placed beside the register in the kitchen for extra warmth; they refused to go anywhere else. Here they slept, ate and kept warm but they treated it like it was the only source of warmth they had.

Winkin, Blinkin and Nod (she looks like a mouse)

Nod, Winkin & Blinkin

Of the three that had survived, the tiny all grey female caused the most concern. She was so diminutive in size that she fit in the palm of my hand, literally. She clung to me constantly so I was obliged to hold her all the time. The poor creature could not eat without being sick, although she was ravenous. When she ate solid food she brought it up again just as quickly so she stopped eating altogether. The other two fared better, with a tuna and milk diet they were recovering and starting to play together the following day.

Nod

I dropper fed Nod tuna juice for a few days until she started to come round. All she did was rest and watch Winkin and Blinkin play. I could tell by watching her reactions that she wanted to join them but she just couldn't, she was still too weak. Finally by the fourth day Nod could sit up on her own and I was able to put her down for brief periods; the fifth day saw her actually jumping down from the chair and attempting to join her siblings. She started eating on her own now and sought the company of Emerald as a mother; Em was not too enthusiastic at first but she tolerated Nod being near her, perhaps sensing her need.

Nod and Emmy

As their health improved their personalities began to blossom; orange Winkin was a gentle soul who was especially fond of ambushing Blinkin, the grey and white kitten. Blinkin was overtly curious about everything in his new environment and Nod seemed bewildered at her good fortune, that someone could be kind to her and my four cats were careful with all three of them.She would crouch on the floor and gaze up at me with a long, fixed stare until she started to doze off. Searching those wide grey eyes, she seemed to be pleading a thank you for her rescue.

I kept them for two months before I wrote and posted a single ad on a popular classified site over the Christmas of 2010. Within hours of acquainting the internet world of their plight, I was blessed with emails and phone calls from people offering their homes and their hearts to them. I personally met each new owner of each kitten and offered food to go with them. Then they were gone, entrusted to loving new owners and exciting new homes but the gift they gave to me and my husband will never be forgotten and will continue to enrich our lives.

Winkin   

Blinkin

Catspaw 

Coming February 2nd, the story of Winkin, Blinkin and Nod

Presenting Winkin, Blinkin and Nod. Three rescued, 4 week old, throwaway kittens that were tossed from a moving car one day just before Christmas 2010 and their story of heroic rescue.

Catspaw

Well Written Ads Successfully Find Homes for Cats and Kittens

You’ve raised the kittens and it’s time to leave the nest. You have rescued a stray and it’s time to find a good home; what should happen next? To find them a loving home advertising for free, is the quickest way to go, on the more popular classified search engine sites. 

First, find a website like Kijiji where you can advertise everything from selling toasters to giving away kitty’s to good households, read the guidelines and write a really great ad. When I had a litter from my unspayed females to find new residences for (they have since been spayed) and when I rescued three throwaways that were tossed from a car near the dairy we live on, I posted ads on Kijiji that got three hundred responses within the first two to three days and phone calls/emails inquiring about them the same day. Since then, I have successfully found homes for fourteen kittens, three of which were strays and one six month old fixed male cat. How did I do it? Read on. 

Knowing me for the writer I am, I like to include a bit of a story about them that catches people’s attention and I always include the cutest pictures I take from a bunch that I have. I like Kijiji because I can write more than on some of these sites and I can easily update my ad with changes. Here is an ad I wrote for a stray cat that came round one night – yes, of course I took him in. 

“3 weeks ago a 6 month old (my husband estimates his age as 6 months), Fixed, white multi colored cat was abandoned at the farm and has been wandering from house to house ever since looking for someone who will accept him. He is clearly an indoor cat and has been trying to live outside in the barn ever since. The other cats here do not accept him so he's been getting rough treatment from them. I was able to catch him and he's very grateful to be indoors again, as he's not used to the harsh cold outside. He's unusual with a large head and large paws, six toes on each paw! He is healthy. His temperament is VERY loving and gentle. Even after such terrible treatment, he's very responsive to human kindness and compassion.

Please, I know he's not a tiny kitten but he is still a kitten. At only 6 months old, he is as loving as one. He would adapt well to a home with no other animals or to one with younger animals. I believe he would be no trouble around children. He really needs a home and with the Christmas Season soon to be passed, sometimes human compassion passes as well. I would love to keep him but I already have 4 cats and they are not taking kindly to his presence. I have to keep him separated, in a cold porch, by himself, visiting him once in a while until someone claims him and calls him their own. He desperately needs a new home! Please, someone, give him one. He is litter box trained.

Please contact me by email or phone to see him. I will give cat food and kibble to the new owner of this homeless baby.”

Although this seems like a lot of text to include in an ad and I usually write a little less, I included this much because this cat is older and most people want kittens. It’s more the content than the length that got me the results I wanted for this older stray. I have found that telling a story about the animal helps people understand the urgency of finding a loving home for it. This extends to any animal be it cat, dog or bird. The time of year also seems to have a bearing on an ad’s success.  I wrote this one at Christmas last year when it was popular to give a kitten as a gift. If necessary I will keep the animal for a little longer until the new owner can collect it and I usually offer canned cat food or kibble when they come. Because it was the first cat for the new owner, I put together a small 'care kit', he couldn't believe I'd done that and was very appreciative. I have had an email since, the cat has had a vet visit and is doing very well. His new master is happy with him.

Catspaw