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.

Do You Have Feral Cats Where You Live?

Believe it or not, cats are not native to all parts of the world and in many parts of the world, feral cats are the descendants of domestic cats that have been left behind or simply abandoned by travelers and visitors to a particular country. As a result, these feral cats can and probably do cause harm to foreign environments by preying on local species in the same way as they do in our back yards. This may be especially true on isolated islands where ferals have sometimes had a substantial and deleterious effect on the local fauna such as damaging trees and other plants that the native species use.

A clowder of feral cats and kittens

"Feral" is the word we use to refer to an animal that is not friendly when approached by us but it can also be applied to any domesticated animal that has been without human contact for anywhere from a long period of time to its lifetime. Hissing and growling are their self-defensive behaviors which, over time may change as the animal, whether "feral" or "stray", begins their journey towards a mutual trust between the humans that choose to provide food, water and care and the feral cat(s). 


Feral cats and strays differ only slightly in their behaviors especially if the stray cat has not been completely cut off from human interaction. Feral cats, born and living outdoors without any contact or care by people have been tamed to the point of being adoptable provided they are completely removed from their wild environment before their truly feral behaviors have been established and set into their personalities. Such behaviors are set while the kittens are still being raised by their mother as she teaches them to avoid human contact and that people are something to fear.

Feral cats display defensive behaviors and postures towards any person who ventures to come too close to them, then they run and hide.

Feral kitten eating a rabbit

Lifespans of ferals are difficult to determine with any kind of accuracy. One study states a median age of 4.7 years with a possible range somewhere between 0 to 8.3 years; yet other sources claim a mean lifespan of a meager 2 to 8 years before death, rarely from natural causes. For contrast a people raised cat, at birth, has an average life expectancy of 12 to 14 years for a male indoor cat with females living usually, a year maybe two longer. Some domesticated cats have lived until the grand old age of 25 years being well cared for by their human companions.

Ferals take their toll on native Australian Cockatoos

Throughout the Age of Discovery passing ships released a few rabbits onto islands with the idea of a future food source for other travelers that stopped there. Very generous but ill conceived as over time they multiplied out of control by eating through their habitats so cats were introduced to keep their numbers down along with the mice and rats. The cats tended to favor local species over the rabbits; they were both ecologically naive to the islands and much easier to hunt. Then their numbers began to increase dramatically and they colonized the islands themselves; the very people who introduced both rabbit and cat saw them as pests to be exterminated. A completely human caused problem with the animals losing on all sides! Do we not have the sense not to create situations like this? Or to resolve them without the usual cruelty that we inflict.


Our historical records date the arrival of ferals in Australia to be somewhere around 1824. In spite of this its been suggested that they have been in Australia long before the Europeans settled it; they may have arrived as a result of Dutch shipwrecks back in the 17 hundreds or years before that arriving from present day Indonesia on Macassan fisher ships and trepangers who frequented Australia's shores during the past century. However they arrived, anywhere in the world, feral cats have not lead a charmed life. Rather, its been a very difficult life with nothing but hardships and unkindness from their environments and, most often from human contact. 

They deserve better and its up to us, who claim we care, to rescue and tame them, to provide medical care and a safe home for these 'lost' cats to live out what is left of their lives in relative safety and comfort. Even the wildest feral can be tamed with enough time and commitment - I have managed, these years since, to tame a few; some of the barn cats on the farms and diaries I have lived on had feral cats that eventually came around to my gentle care of them. I have even managed to find homes for a few that finally realized they could have the life of a domesticated cat. Its worth pondering on the next time you see a cat in need, whether a feral, a stray or just lost and frightened. Remember, the responsibility is yours.

This feral won't go hungry today but what about tomorrow?

Catspaw

!!! Scaredy Cat !!!

So far today ~ its only 9:23 am ~ I haven't heard anything but I thought I'd post anyway. 

The computer I'm using has very little ram so I can't download my Picture program or the pics I have on my camera but I can tell you about this one silly barn cat.

Black cat on fence post

This is not Scaredy! This cat looks far too sure of himself.

We call him Scaredy and for good reason. He's a black, half wild and half wanting to be babied barn cat who, the first time I had him in, freaked when I closed the door and went on a rampage running pellmell from living room window to patio door smashing his nose into a bloody pulp in the process as panic set in. He's quite recovered now, I'm happy to say and comes in only if I drag him in, then he's happy to be in. Right now he's sitting on the top part of the sofa where Sassy usually is ~ the second I move from my chair at the computer he's down and running toward me. He'll stay put as long as I don't move! 

I think he's been picked on by the other barn cats since he was a kitten because he's scared of them and my cats and very insecure about being round them if I'm not close by, but he has improved in that since I've been having him in. Used to be all he'd do is hide under the couch and never budge to come out, now he's on the sofa in plain view so he's improved that way. 

Handsome Cat!

On miserable weather days I have the barn cats in, those who want in, like today. He does have one sibling, a brother who is kind to him so he isn't completely bereft of friends. Emerald is doing her bit to keep the barn cats in line and reminding them just who's house this Really is! Her growing can be heard behind every stick of furniture I own!! 






Here is to getting that bloody computer back a second time and having it work for the rest of the year!

Catspaw

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

Cat Action Team of PEI

Thought I'd give you the web address of Cat Action Team PEI so anyone who has questions or perhaps has cats that need help, can go to the site to see where they can get the aid they need.


http://www.cats-pei.ca/  Click on Cat Action Team of PEI if the actual site doesn't come up immediately.


If we all work together, we can help all the destitute cats on the island. I have looked and I am sure there is one for dogs also but I haven't found it yet.


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.

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.

The little dark tabby kitten who came in on the 29th out of hunger and desperation.

I posted an ad on Kijiji for the kittens; 174 visits and one call came so far. Not everyone is looking for kittens! My hubby found a third kitten in the barn hayloft very early this morning and brought her to me. She is light grey like the other. I should mention here that these are no ordinary cats. They have unusually long legs and very large ears. In fact they almost look part jack-rabbit. They are not deformed in any way and look perfectly normal for cats but they are quite unusual. So much so, that I am having difficulty finding a breed like them on the web and both my husband and I have searched. I am going  to edit my Kijiji ad and add this information into it. 

The sibling the dark tabby brought over yesterday. She is not ready to trust people so easily and runs for shelter whenever I move.

They have successfully survived the winter but only just without human intervention. Even the colony cats have to be fed in winter as there is no prey for them to hunt. They are just beginning to come around and trust me but their hesitancy shows they've been hurt and abused. The barn cats, in staking their own territories out, do not want them around and although there is food for the colony cats, they don't share it with these strays. So these three have suffered abuse from there as well. The fact that I can 'feel' their rib cages, back bone and tail bone testifies to that. 

These kittens need homes and they need them now. If you live on Prince Edward Island, Canada and are interested in them, Please contact me by leaving a comment in the box and I will get right back to you. 

Updated today. The grey kitten on the far right is the sibling my husband brought in this morning. She was hidden in the barn hay loft for warmth. He had to crawl in to get her. All three are pictured here.

Don't let their fur fool you, they are skin and bones. Please take a look at my Kijiji Ad using the ID # 367392593.


Catspaw

PS: Merrill just told me the only reason she was found in the hayloft is because she was crying so loudly! Her siblings were gone and she was alone. If they have been eating anything, its to sneak down from the loft and eat barley that that they find on the floor of the barn.

Barn ~ Cat ~ Hunt

Ever wonder what they are thinking when they do this?

I thing that say it all, don u.


Catspaw

Barn Cats And a Yellow Lab

I might have told you this before but we live on a small dairy that is also a registered cat colony and there is one dog, a yellow lab who also calls it home. Its not immediately obvious that its a cat colony because most of the cats wander across the road into the bush and the dairy itself is fairly large. Many of the cats have been spayed and neutered but there are a few who refuse to be caught, so every spring a certain amount of kittens are to be expected. For those females who will allow it, the owner's wife takes care of her and the litter but there are some that are feral and are content, it seems, to remain that way. Its a job to even find the little ones when they are of age to be fixed and traps have to be set for them as they are not all people-friendly.

One of Rory's buddies

The barn cats follow him everywhere

Rory, the yellow lab doesn't like anyone to notice the fact that he likes the cats. They are always around his feet and follow him wherever he goes. He gets very embarrassed when its he's being watched with his little buddies. Its funny to watch him almost trip over them when the larger kittens are walking in and through his legs because he's so careful not to step on them. 


Rory is a big lovable mooch but he's also terrified of thunder and will mow you down if you're in the room with him; strangely, he won't hurt the cats.


Catspaw

Mr Sneakers, the Newfoundland Mouse, meets Moggy

Mr Sneakers had free run of the house when the human wasn't looking of course. He'd been silly enough to be seen the last time when he had paused from his mad dash about the place to clean his paws and she spotted him, commenting to her friend that he was cute she dubbed him: Mr Sneakers.
Miss Z’s confidant warned that where there was one, others would follow. How do they know these things? After that the conversation turned frightful; the companion suggested a CAT and knew a neighbor who had one to spare. ‘No’ came the answer, then she'd have to look after kitty!
When Mrs X visited again a week later, she found Miss Z hiding little traps all over the house. A few in the basement, a couple upstairs, several in the attic. Mr Sneaker found them all and cautioned is mates to avoid them.

“What on earth...” stammered Mrs X.

A troupe of mice were rampaging full tilt across the attic floor.

“Oh, state the obvious.” Miss Z remarked at the doleful expression of her cohort. “The traps are humane and I’m sure to collect them all and put them back outside where they belong very soon now.”

Looking doubtful, Mrs X suggested again that a small furred animal was the answer to the herd now amassing in the attic and mumbled again, ‘Where there was one...’

A loud knock came to the door and Miss Z responded. ‘Hello to the neighbor’, at least it would have been if he hadn’t brought Moggy with him. As it was cold outside and he couldn’t very well stand in the doorway allowing a draft to invade so she shooed him in.

“I heard you had mice so I brought Mog over to help out, he’s an awful good mouser.”

Ears attentive to the small scuttling coming from overhead, Moggy hit the floor and bounded straight up the stairs in a flash. Silence ensued. The three in the living room followed the sound of the creaking floor boards as the rodents were hunted. The wait seemed interminable until that wily tabby came slinking down into the room again as if nothing had happened. Indeed, there was some confusion as to whether anything was amiss in the attic so Mr. Neighbor volunteered to take a peek for the sake of the ladies wits. Cautiously he crept the narrow stairwell that led to the dimly lit chamber above and hesitated at the top. In the distance, toward the back of the alcove, an army of dormice were gathered. There seemed to be at least ten. Mr Neighbor duly informed the ladies.

Mr Neighbor positively insisted to Miss Z that it was absolutely no trouble at all for him to part with Moggy, then he was gone. Mrs X smiled in satisfaction.

After that Moggy was always about the house hunting Mr Sneaker and his accomplices; the tabby had a habit of lurking that would startle Miss Z every time she walked into a room. It was a deadly game of old fashioned cat and mouse but Mr Sneakers was clever; when the cat was searching the attic, he would led them into the basement and when Mog padded into the furnace room, the gang would sprint to the upper story. This continued, to the discomfiture of Miss Z, for over a week until she could not tell where the two parties actually were and at times both mice and cat seemed very confused themselves. Then one afternoon a series of wild little squeaks resounded from the cellar.

Miss Z took an awful start at the unexpected sound, hurried to the stair and snapped on the light. As she carefully descended Mog was right behind her tiptoeing all the way. There, in the corner, where she had left two open traps were the mice. Five in each humane trap, very agitated and jumping at the sides. They quieted at the stealthy approach of Moggy.

Miss Z stooped and raising the cages remarked, “Well, that’s that then. Outside you go.” And outside they went.

That very day Miss Z proudly announced to both Mr Neighbor and Mrs X when they came by to check on the situation, that the little rodents were decamped from her home. Moggy boastfully entwined all their legs as they listened intently to Miss Z’s telling of her story. She gave the impression that both factions had become baffled concerning who was where in the house in their efforts to either avoid altogether or to catch and eat; Miss Z summed up her tail expressing her sentiment that Mr Sneaker had become so confused that he led the rest to enter the traps by mistake to the happy conclusion of the whole episode.

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