About The Nova Scotia Kitty...

My contact for this cat was in Nova Scotia over the weekend visiting her friend that has been helping this cat, but like any feline worthy of the name of Cat, he was nowhere to be found. So she couldn't bring him back with her to the island to his new home. Well, maybe next weekend!

Honestly, you'd think he suspected something...











His new owner, on PEI, phoned Saturday wondering about him. Seems the family is anxious to have him join their little farm. My contacts friend will keep a lookout for him and when they visit again next weekend, hopefully he will be around and ready to be re-homed.

All is well.

Catspaw

Update For ~ Kijiji Ad # 392154507

I really must celebrate my readers and visitors!!

This sad looking fella, who hails from Nova Scotia, has a NEW HOME on Prince Edward Island thanks to a Blog, a Kijiji Ad, three people who care and a family who wants him!

******************************************************************************

Can you believe, I was out shopping but my husband answered the phone for a brand new home for this cat!!!

As of Sunday, July 1st ~ he has a FOREVER HOME.

Thank you, to absolutely everyone, who took the time to read the Kijiji Ad and/or my Blog about him.

I and my contact in Nova Scotia, are EXTREMELY GRATEFUL to all of you. My contact and her friend will be on the lookout for him to bring him to the island and to his new home.

Most especially, a SPECIAL THANK YOU to the happy family who has adopted him and offered him a loving home.

Catspaw

Kijiji Ad # 392154507

Good Morning

I have a very unhappy story to share with you today.

This cat lives in Nova Scotia. I doubt very much the place he lives is a cat colony, most of them are registered. He lives on a property that has too many cats and that number is constantly growing because the females are constantly pregnant. A couple of the kittens have been rescued and some of the cats the neighbors have either taken in or at the least, offer food, shelter, a place to heal from their wounds and some love and attention. That is the case with this young adult male. He lives his life alone, wandering from neighbor to neighbor. When he's at the house where he was born he is picked on and abused by the other cats so he is low on the scrapping ladder because he is not a fighter. He will make noises to try and scare other cats away but usually he is the one who gets hurt and driven off. He's had a very hard life and has been injured many times; the neighbor who offers help to him can't afford to take him to a vet, so instead offers him a place to rest and heal as best he can each time he's hurt. He's been an outdoor cat all his life but again, this neighbor brings him inside as often as she can to try and get him used to it. I have had cats exactly like that on the cat colony where I live and have tamed them to the point that they adapt well to being indoors. Abandoned to live out of doors year round, he is driven by loneliness and pain when he's hurt, to visit this neighbor for the only kindness he's ever known.

In spite of the cruel hardship and the abuse from the other cats he gets along with kids and adults; he tries to please so he won't be hurt. He tends to be very timid but warms to people kindness and loves any attention humans can spare for him. He's very affectionate with a gentle personality and although he tries to get along with other cats; he won't fight. He seems to get on well with dogs but will hiss at them if a dog gets too close for comfort.  He has a gorgeous coat and seems to be in good health, he'd adapt well to being an indoor/outdoor cat since he's been an outdoors all his life. One of his known injuries was he had a claw or something stuck around his tail area that must have festered and ruptured. By the time he got to the neighbors, he had a hole about the size of a nickel by his tail. She couldn't afford the vet so gave him children's aspirin for the acute pain he was in and put healing cream on the injury and it finally healed.  He has never been to a vet and has had no vaccinations, nor is he neutered but he looks healthy.  He likely suffers the added torment of ear mites as most of these unwanted, abandoned throw-aways do and he digs, painfully, at his ears. 

I first learned about this cat with the last Kijiji ad I placed to re-home a kitten that had started coming round again since last winter. Since then my contact and I have been emailing back and forth about this abandoned and thrown away animal. She tells me that ' He is just an awesome cat, plain and simple, who deserves to take it easier from now and be loved.  That's all I want to see for him.  If you ever met him, I am confident you or anyone would fall for him. He's never been hit as far as I know, just left alone and without 'the neighbor', he would be completely alone.'

 

My contact lives on PEI and visits friends in Nova Scotia, she says 'I can bring him home (to PEI) anytime I come back from Nova Scotia as long as he's there. Because the cat is not used to being indoors I really do not want to bring him here unless it is to go to his forever home. It would likely be too much for him going from home to home and trying to adapt to being an indoor cat for the first time in his life.'

 

In the place he stays now there is very little chance of finding enough food to sustain his life for much longer. The person only feeds the multitude of cats there by dumping some leftovers and some dry cat food but very likely there is not nearly enough for all of them; the cats that don't fight for dominance and control over the territory and food get pushed out along with the kittens. As is the case with this cat. My contact adds the following, 'He's super sweet, loving, very gentle and loves attention. He's been picked on by many other cats but he doesn't want to fight himself. His fur is super soft and thick; he's an average size.'

Together we decided to place an ad on Kijiji to try and re-home him from Nova Scotia to PEI. I placed an ad for him early this morning: Kijiji Ad # 392154507

'I told my friend about the possibly of finding this cat a home and like me, she's over the moon happy. We put up fliers before but no one wanted a full grown male cat it seemed, especially one who he isn't fixed. Maybe we could put an ad on Kijiji explaining things and if or when we got someone who wanted him, I could go get him within a week or two.' 

Well dear readers, what can I tell you. Between the two of us we are desperately trying to find a 'forever' home for this lost and hurting cat; the only people now who hold his fate in their hands is you. This is what my blog is really all about ~ to get the word out and to help the unwanted and cast aside in our society. The Forgotten. Will someone of you answer my ad and give this animal a new home and a new start in life? Really, is it asking that much to make room in someone's life for him?

I sure hope not. I would take him in a heartbeat but I already have four and live on a registered cat colony. My contact has cats and a dog of her own...  So, we are asking you to give this unfortunate a forever home. 

P~L~E~A~S~E --- go read the ad at Kijiji Ad # 392154507 and contact me, either through Kijiji or through the email address on the upper right of my blog; here it is again:

catspaw04@gmail.com

Catspaw

I have checked the status of the ad, it has been delayed but I am contacting Kijiji concerning it.

How To Write A Kijiji Ad That Gets Immediate Results

Since I write ads to re-home cats and kittens; since 2010 I have re-homed at least 50 animals. Some were my own before my three females were spayed, some were colony cats that I had tamed and socialized, some were strays that were found while others were abandoned here so I tell a mini story about how the animal came to be in my company and sharing our home. I even had Cat Action pick up at least two for re-homing. I always start with an Urgent Title that gets attention!  

 !!! This Baby Needs A Home NOW !!!

I go on to give a mini history of the cat or kitten, then I inform my ad's readers about aspects they would be interested in like temperament, how the animal eats and uses a litter box, if said cat/kitten would be a good match with other animals (dog or cat) and with children and whether its displays signs of becoming a 'one person' cat. I explain about its overall health and age; whether its fixed or not and any cute quirks he/she may possess; for instance, I had one little kitten that was a 'shoulder' cat, that was the place he most wanted to be. 

I should note here that I do not spare the readers of my ads the details when it comes to strays, throw-aways and barn or colony cats. I tell them about the life the animal has had and why they need someone like YOU to email or phone me to adopt, immediately. I give them the reasons then tell them to contact me. Here's an example of the current Kijiji Ad I have up for the little one that, after months of being alone and on her own, finally came in from the cold. 

"Last Winter I posted an ad for two of these kittens, they were this ones siblings. A group of three abandoned, dumped kittens had almost gone feral when my husband managed to catch two last November and I re-homed them, thanks to Cat Action and you. The third, this one, refused all attempts at helping her until just two days ago, she was so desperate that she allowed me to pick her up and bring her indoors and I've had her in since.

She is very small and malnourished for her age, which we put at possibly 9 months and easily startled by loud noises like the tv though she is adjusting well to her change in circumstance. She uses the box, eats well and is very friendly to any other cats, she tries hard to make friends but my cats won't have it so I have to put her, alone, in the porch each night.

She would get along very well with other animals and children as she is timid and has a mild temperament. She is the most affectionate kitten I've had in a while but she's in serious need of nurturing by someone who wants to give her the loving home she deserves and I am hoping to hear from someone out there soon, who is interested in her.

I will be posting pictures of her on my blog later today, so visit and read her story at  http://catsandtheirmews.blogspot.ca/"

I always blog about the animal then I hit them with the pictures!  I always have at least three shots of the animal(s). They are always 'free' to a good home and if I have some to spare, I give a can of wet food. 

The ad above was posted June 16th, there has been 95 views since yesterday and I got a positive response the same day! I like to meet the people taking the animal so I can judge for myself what kind of owners they will be and I have never been disappointed ~ all the people have been cat lovers and sincere about giving them loving homes. I didn't start out with the intention for being a rescue person but I could not leave the situation as it was either. Food for thought if you have animals in your neighborhood that need help.

Something to consider with your next Kijiji Ad whether its about animals or items, it can be written in the same format.

Catspaw

PS:  I re-homed the cat yesterday.

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.

~~ GRRREAT NEWS on the Stray Homefront ~~ You Heard It Here First!

Something remarkable happened over the weekend!


Cat Action saw my Ad on Kijiji. Cat Action PEI has offered to take the remaining kittens; spay them, give them their shots and tats, then foster them until someone wants to adopt them. This is BIG NEWS ~~!!


I have had only three emails showing interest in them and have only heard from these people the one time. No one has called to come see them or shown any more interest than the emails. I realize these people might well be interested in adopting them but I still have heard no word from them.

In light of this Grand News and as of 1 pm today, the kittens ~ whom I now call Mutt and Jeff ~ will be in the hands of Cat Action! I will miss the little tikes. They've attached themselves to me and follow me around the house like puppies now. They can be sleeping soundly on their favorite chair but the minute I move from the computer, they are up and following me wherever I go. Should I sit on the sofa, they are up and into my lap, curl up and go to sleep with me petting them. In the mornings, they are up on the bed to greet us. Something our four are decidedly against as that coveted spot belongs exclusively to THEM! 

Going to Cat Action Today at 1 pm

Say Goodbye to them here! 

Today they go to a better place where they will be given more care than just the food and shelter I can provide. 

Merrill and I are very happy things have worked out this way. I will keep the Kijiji Ad up until Cat Action comes to collect them at 1 pm today, then I will change it to reflect what has happened and where people interested in adopting them can find them.

The one underneath found a home March 31st

Thanks for your comments, emails and phone calls regarding the kittens. 


Catspaw

Good News on the Stray Home Front!

This little girl found a home yesterday, March 31st. Actually, she 'chose' them! These kittens are not the most trusting animals and they don't take to just anyone, but she got on well with the couple to adopted her. So, she is off to the loving home she deserves to have. Now I have just these two left.

I have had two emails from people interested, but have heard nothing from them since so they are still available. 


I received an email from Cat Action yesterday. These wonderful people are looking to see if they can arrange for their transport, vetting and foster care in Charlottetown. There are those who care out there and these little ones are very lucky to have people like you and me who will take action and do something to help when someone has thrown them away just because they are female and they either, can't afford or don't want, the the vet bill. There are other ways of dealing with such situations than throwing them from a car! 


I sincerely hope that my readers realize there are other ways and means by which the 'unwanted or no longer wanted' pet can be handled. Trying to survive by eating leftover barley in a cold barn is NOT one of them. 


Thank you to all who have taken the time to read my blogs concerning them and for checking out my ad on Kijiji. To the couple who adopted the kitten, please 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 

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

As It Happened,

As it happened, Boo’s death coincided with Sassy’s birth of a single calico kitten. We christened her Emerald because we were moving to a hamlet of that name within a few weeks. Molly seemed lost without Boo, she’d wander the house and basement calling for him; she searched outside and Sassy would join her going to all the places Boo usually went. My husband and I weren’t the only ones mourning the loss of our dear friend. It was part of the reason we decided to keep Sassy’s baby, as a balm for all of us and in remembrance of Boo. 

Now older and wiser, Emerald lives in a world of her own where she, exclusively, rules and everyone else is her servant! A beautiful creature with semi long fur in calico colors, she spends her time preening and demanding treats. Highly competitive, she has to get her treats first because she will steal them from the others. Every morning begins the same with Emmy up on her hind legs, almost dancing to grab the treat bag out of my hands with her paws. Like Molly, she is very clever at getting what she wants. She uses her paws, usually with claws out, to steal food from dishes, hands and to gingerly pull treats away from the others.

Since the move she’s gotten used to going outside but demands re-entrance by getting up on her hind legs and in Grand fashion, furiously paws the outside of the patio door. She’s aggressive when she plays and is always the first to do everything. Though she doesn’t like to be picked up and cuddled unless it’s her choosing, the morning or evening crazies find her terrorizing the entire household while everyone tries to stay out of her way. Frequently she has almost successfully gone for a headlong nosedive down the narrow basement stairs. I swear there are invisible brakes on that cat!

Catspaw