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!

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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.

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