Sailor Story In Chapter Two Phase

This is to let my readers and guests who have been faithfully following Sailor through his adventures know, that the story I began on February 24th, 2012 is now in the Chapter Two phase and events in the story are speeding toward some very interesting turns which will begin leading to a bizarre twist.

I had begun this story as a short term project but now the story is developing in a different direction then anticipated and taking on a life of its own. I am just following it but to what conclusion, I don't know. Nor do I know whether the story will end with the second chapter. There are still a few paragraphs in Chapter One that I will publish in the coming days while I begin developing Chapter Two.

I hope you will become a fan of Sailor and read all of his adventures. Turns out, he's not the cat you, or I, thought he was!!

In the meantime...  I will work on continuing his story and he will let me know what will come next. For those interested in reading his story from the beginning, it starts in my February 26th post. 

Catspaw

Kittens GONE!

I am happy to report that a lady from Cat Action PEI came at 1 pm and picked up the two kittens from my Kijiji Ad. She said they'd be dewormed and vet checked but they were too young and malnourished to be spayed yet. If people are still interested in them, they can phone Cat Action or email the lady who picked them up. Please contact me for this information by leaving a comment in the box or email me from my Kijiji Ad, that I have already updated.


As to availability, an interested party already contacted them so I don't know if a kitten has a new home already, but one or both still need homes. They are available for immediate adoption now and their new owners can have them spayed themselves when the time comes or Cat Action will do them. They are still strays until they are adopted, then they become house pets. You will need to talk to Cat Action about that if you have questions regarding spaying and shots. 


Living on a registered cat colony, animals are always being dumped at the farm, I and my husband always take them in and eventually they end up on Kijiji. Check back often as anything that happens, you will learn about it on my blog first.


Catspaw

PS: This just in, one lady phoned Cat Action and got to talk to someone. Interested parties will need to contact the lady who picked up the kittens directly. Please contact me for her email address if interested.

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