Caturday: Sneakers pt 2

I know I went into some details about Sneakers last week, but let me add on some more. They'll seem random, but they do piece together, I promise - My great uncle John (my mom's uncle) has not had a pet since he was a small child and it was a dog. My great uncle (Unk) has also lived in the same house, the first home he bought with his wife (my great Aunt Anne), since the 1950's. Unk and Aunt Anne had no children and no plans other than to travel when they were older - unfortunately my great Aunt Anne got cancer and passed before they could do that. She has been gone for a dozen+ years now (I just remember being young) and yet my uncle still has all the poster boards with her photos from her viewing set up in his bedroom, has never dated since, still sleeps on "his" side of the bed and often made the trip to her grave site on a weekly basis even if that required walking the mile or so to the cemetery.

Then came Sneakers ... Sneakers who Unk referred to as "the boss". Sneakers who Unk said was his "best bud", his "reason for getting up in the morning". Sneakers who ate whatever he wanted (for example, Sneakers liked gravy, so not only did he get gravy cat food, Unk would often add gravy to it). Sneakers who got his name in holiday cards ("Love, Unk & Sneakers, the boss"). Sneakers who slept on my aunt's side of the bed. Sneakers and my great Uncle John have been the most important thing in each others lives for years now... but now they can no longer be together.

Sneakers, who can no longer be cared for by my great uncle due to Unk's dementia, went to the "Disney World" for cats, as my Aunt Sally referred to it: Tabby's Place.

Friday morning, my aunt and I loaded up her SUV with donations, leaving enough room for Sneaker's crate. We picked him up from West Deptford Animal Hospital, who has done wonders for Sneakers - feeding him, brushing him, loving on him. They've just been so kind! We thanked everyone there and then headed up to Tabby's Place where Sneakers was warmly welcomed with pets, snuggles and kind words. After a couple weeks in quarantine (with the entertainment of several kitties saved from Hunterdon Humane), Sneakers will be out, living the life in the cage-free sanctuary with his every need taken care of. If we could all be so lucky...

Today I am thankful - I am thankful there is a place like Tabby's Place and I am thankful to be a part of that family - it is overwhelming to be a part of a circle of people like that. Truly, I don't know of kinder, more loving people and knowing Sneakers will forever have the best of care thanks to Tabby's Place is just about the only bright spot in this very sad situation for the bond broken between my great uncle and his cat.

Caturday: Sneakers

Some of you might have seen my super thankful post last week:

Post by Jen Wesh.

Well here's what it was in reference too - Sneakers.

Sneakers is my great uncle's kitty cat and has been for roughly 10 years now. Uncle John (Unk) fed a stray or two on and off through the years, but one must have really caught his heart because Unk spent weeks - maybe even close to a couple months - with his door open trying to convince Sneakers ("Sneaks") that the inside-life was the life to lead. Unk was eventually successful and since then, he's referred to Sneaks as "his boy" and "his reason to get up in the morning." Though the fat cat (he used to be huge) often hid from company, Unk talked about a kitty who liked pets, sat on his lap and curled up on the long-empty side of the bed that had belonged to Aunt Anne when she was still alive.

Unfortunately, before Christmas, Unk was hospitalized and ended up not going home. A neighbor was kind enough to check on Sneakers and put food and fresh water out for him, but with a change in weather (and, I truly believe, depression with Unk gone), Sneakers became over-run with fleas, lost a great deal of weight and stopped using the litter box. After living alone for about a month and hearing how poorly he was doing, I headed over with Advantage and a hope I'd find the fairly elusive kitty... and he was bad! Buried under a bunch of my great uncle's stuff, Sneakers was much thinner than I'd even seen him, covered in scabs (from scratching at flea bites) and smelled awful from pretty much never leaving the room he was in (and not using a litter box). The house was also warm, making the smell that much more awful. My oh so wonderful vet tech buddy not only answered the phone when I dialed her number, but she answered all my random questions and she inspired that wonderful post above - I've been so lucky to meet some wonderful, sweet, truly self-less people who answer my random calls.

Not only did I get Advantage on Sneakers, but I got him into a crate to be on his way to the vet too. Thank you, West Deptford Animal Hospital for taking him in ans loving this stinky, scabby boy - he's already doing so much better!

Caturday: Mea

2011 - a new year! A chance to start over, change, evolve... and 2011 is going to include an introduction to my cats for Caturday posts on this blog. Although I could certainly list these munchkins by age since I've had almost all of them since they were a kitten, they've come into my life at different points, so that's why they're in this order ... and that means that we're starting with Mea!

When working at the veterinary clinic in high school, there was a kitten that was injured when her foot got stuck in her cage door. She pulled and pulled on it all night long, so when she was found and freed, the little kitten was dragging her previously stuck paw around. Amputation was of course considered, but there was an opportunity for me here ... a small, adorable animal in need of some extra care!

I quickly called up my mom and said there was a kitten in need and, since it was a Sunday, there was no one working who could help her unless I did with her okay. After getting my mom's approval to foster the kitten for a few weeks, we could give her leg some extra effort - a hot pink soft splint was put on the damaged leg and she went into foster care with me. It didn't take my family long to fall head over heels in love with this kitten with a hot pink splint who ran all over the place and played with our Golden Retriever, Honey Dew.

Two weeks past, the splint was removed ... and the kitten was using her foot again! As we had hoped, the nerves in that foot had not been dead, but severely injured and the soft splint had allowed her to get used to using her leg again properly. For the next week or so after the splint came off, we still had to flip the kitten's toes out from under her paw, she was still dragging them a bit, but she seemed to be completely recovered! The kitten wasn't going anywhere either, we adopted her and so began our little kitty crowd. An appropriate name for the kitten now staying? "Mea" which is latin for "mine" in English.

She has green eyes, four white paws, three yellow/orange tabby legs and one leg (the leg she was supposed to use) that is orange tabby on the back and black on the front half. Coincidentally, I found out two more kittens were found where Mea was (in the woods somewhere local) and they were adopted together. The woman who adopted them sent me a picture when they were about a year old ... the one looked just like Mea only she was dilute (lighter colors - gray where Mea's black was) and the other looked like a mirror imagine of Mea, the other cat having the opposite black leg than Mea. It was too weird ... undeniable they are sisters in my opinion!

It has been more than a decade since Mea joined our family and she continues to thrive in our home with all four legs. She is known for her antics like begging for attention and then quickly changing her mind, smacking you and running away. Mea also likes to torment the dogs by, say, sitting on the table and smacking them as they walk by or sitting on a chair and sticking her paws through the back of the chair, so she's protected, and smacking the dogs from there. Look at the picture below and you'll see another common Mea trick ... she'll find an empty seat at the table and peak her little eyes up to survey the options. Should you leave a piece of food for her at the edge of the table, Mea will peak her eyes up, sink back down and then a paw will come up to slowly sweep the food on to the chair with her. Bad, bad, bad ... but soooo cute!

As my first saved and kept kitty, Mea's one of the paw prints I have tattooed on my foot to forever remember her and how much I love the good work I've done. I joke all the time that the squished up, apprehensive, little, bitchy (she was hissing and trying to fight me the whole time I got her inked prints) paw print on my foot is that of the inked paw of my inside, "friendly" cat Mea. The other print is big, relaxed, friendly, laid back ... my "feral" garage cat Buddy.

I can't imagine not having her...

Caturday: Halloween

Not that Halloween ... no, this Halloween!!

For the life of me, I don't understand why she's still here: she's affectionate, adorable and highly adoptable. FIV+ cats not living with negative cats is all pish-posh too. So not true! Halloween (affectionately known as "Weenie") is spayed and very friendly. She lived with other cats before and seems to have no problem interacting with my kitties through the window, so she wouldn't be starting fights with a proper introduction.

Honestly, I'm feeling horrible that she's here still as well. It's getting so cold outside (there was frost outside in the morning this week!) and she's on the porch, which has no insulation or heat. I refuse to bring Weenie in though because then she's going to be our cat forever for sure, which means I'll get blamed for another cat ... even though she's my sister's friend's former cat. I can't just toss her outside either though because she's so sweet & FIV+ - she deserves and needs a safe, inside home that'll spoil her and keep her as healthy as possible for as long as possible.

You see the tough spot I'm in? She needs a home! In the mean time, she'll continue to be on the enclosed front porch and I'll spoil her as much as possible - good food, toys, snuggly blankets, beds and, soon enough, a heat lamp set up for the winter nights that are just around the corner.

Did I mention she needs a home? Anyone interested in this doll baby???

Caturday: Striper

I'm not sure my aunt loves any hobby more than fishing ... and for this reason, she has her own boat to go out in to fish. But this Caturday post isn't about fish - no, it's about a cat.

A cat who likes to rub up against my aunt ... and apparently, play in my aunt's boat. For this reason, I'm calling him Striper! Seems appropriate for an orange cat too. This boy sounds like an absolute sweetheart who not only has a lot of love to give, but also just can't get enough attention and love either! Why such a nice boy is still outside in this cold, well, that's out of my hands.

I mean, there are enough feral cats out there that we should feel bad for, right? And they don't like people, so it's not like they could happily live inside and be spoiled like this boy could. Not to mention, my aunt has three crazy Brittanys, so all she can really offer is food, fresh water and some beautiful (extra spacious) shelter from the weather (as is the job of an excellent feral cat caregiver), not the lap of luxury of an inside cat safe from disease, cars, bad weather and with things like windows to sun bathe in and beds to curl up on with you. Again, why such a nice boy is still outside in this cold...

Perhaps we should consider this Caturday post a guilt trip? :)

National Feral Cat Days

Not only is it Caturday, but today is National Feral Cat Day! Every year on October 16th I celebrate this day whether it is by being out at an event or just keeping the special day in the back of my mind.

11,000 animals (like Cooper on your couch and Oscar on your window sill) are put to sleep every day in shelter. There are simply not enough homes for all of them, let alone the countless others born outside and raised as ferals.

Leaps and bounds have been made over the years to help feral cats and the cat over-population problem. These cats have learned to be afraid of people, so they cannot simply be brought to shelters and adopted out. Removing them to be euthanized is not an option either because cats are there for a reason: warmth, a food sources, other cats to mate with, etc.

TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) is the only method proven to be humane and effective at controlling feral cat population growth.

Even Disneyland embraces TNR!


More information and facts on TNR can be picked up on these websites for those of you that love cats (or hate them) and want to know how to better manage them to prevent more

- Alley Cat Allies
- Feral Cat Coalition
- Neighborhood Cats

Here are two great events to keep in mind to help celebrate this day:

What: STAF's 13th Annual Paws in the Park
When: Saturday, October 16th, 2010. Registration Time is at 10:00 AM
Where: Fasola Park, Delsea Drive, Deptford, NJ
Why: A great event for a wonderful organization and cause. Also, Joa's Arc's Nennee and Minenn will be there with some of our best volunteers!

What: TNR Workshop
When: Wednesday, October 20th, 2010, at 7 PM.
Where: the Cherry Hill Library in Cherry Hill, NJ.
Why: A wonderful opportunity to learn about TNR from some of the best feral, TNR, spay/neuter clinic experts and volunteers in the South Jersey area.

Have a wonderful day, friends, however you might be celebrating!

"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed."
- Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

Caturday: Too cute photo

Caturday: 3 Cats & A Funeral

My sister has been making arrangements to take her friend's dad's outside cats because he is moving away. She got my mom's ok to add them as barn cats and my sister also asked me to go with her to meet the three cats - all boys she tells me and the one might be declawed (and outside?!).

I go with her and the first cat we see is "Weenie" (aka Halloween)... "Ugh," I say to my sister, "Are you sure all the cats are boys?? Because never in my life have I seen a calico boy! It's like 1 in a million!" (calico cats) Hmm, definitely a girl! (I checked) And an affectionate one too! Weenie is so friendly, that after rubbing up against my sister while she pet her, Ween then jumped down and followed my sister over to where I was ... checking out "the boys" - the other two cats, who were in fact male. :)

Boy #1 was Chloe - yes, Chloe is a boy cat. He also happens to be declawed - I checked that as well. I picked him up and touched his tiny paws - yup, definitely maimed (declawing info here). A nice boy though! I mean, he let me pick him up and everything. Apparently, an ex left him behind when the relationship ended and so the family put Chloe out so he'd have the company of the other cats. I don't know how long he'd been out, but obviously, he was my top concern and priority. I didn't feel comfortable bringing him to our place to be a barn cat when he had no claws. I mean, what would happen if whatever killed the ducks came back?? Or if the rumor is true about coyotes in our area now?! Ugh, no! I worry about my tough guy ferals enough as it is, this nice, declawed guy I had to find an inside home for!

And then there was Joey - a big white with orange spots guy who was buddies with Chloe. Could I find them a home together? Well, it was hard to evaluate him on a friendly scale since he didn't really let me touch him. He ran off at one point, but only a few feet... I could get close, but I wasn't able to touch him.

After agreeing to take them, the grandmother in this family was quick to call Michelle and essentially demand she remove the cats on Friday ... while my sister would be away. Coincidentally , Friday also happened to be the services and funeral of my Aunt Mar's uncle, Edward P. Henry, which we planned to attend to support my Aunt Mar and her family who my family has known for so long. This was obviously going to be a very hectic day...

My mom and I attended the services Friday morning to support my Aunt Mat, giving our condolences and staying at the church until my Aunt Mar's husband showed up. Then, my mom and I headed out to catch the cats...

Attire for this event: dress pants, a nice shirt with a t-shirt thrown over it and I remembered to change out of my heels
Tools: 3 carriers of various sizes, a trap, some newspaper and 2 cans of smelly, yummy cat food
Then plan: get Weenie & Chloe who we could probably pick up and I had places arranged for, attempt to get Joey and set trap for him if necessary
Arrangements: Weenie to a woman who a volunteer I'm friends with knows, Chloe possibly to a person looking for a declawed cat who knows a rescuer who knows a friend of mine (or the local shelter where I know someone who will keep him safe and said he'd quickly be adopted out) and Joey to our back barn.

What actually happened??
- Chloe was caught easily. Weenie, the same. She was sprawled out in a sunny spot and let us pick her up. Joey we did have to set a trap and leave him for. His adoption got re-arranged, but they couldn't pick him up for a day or two, so he stayed in our bathroom for that time period.
- Weenie went to her foster home, get vaccinated, tested and ended up having FIV :( Her foster home knew all the facts, but had two immune compromised cats and didn't want to risk anything
- Joey was trapped fairly quickly and he came back to spend some quality, goodbye time with his buddy, Chloe, in the house where Joey definitely proved to be more feral than friendly - shying away and hiding, which consisted of smushing himself under our towel cabinet at one point. He's huge!! I have no idea how he fit himself under there...

Caturday: Valentine

I'm not sure there's a more appropriate kitty to post this Saturday than the cat all over the news ... and the cat that's part of Joa's Arc (the awesome group I volunteer for): Valentine!

Valentine is recovering well and getting lots of well wishes sent her way too. Thank you to the media and all those who cared enough to get the message out about her. Hopefully with the newly increased reward (now at $1,000 from the NJSPCA) and all the attention she's gotten, we'll finally have some justice for the awful act done to her.


Popular perhaps? Check out some of these articles and media clips on Valentine from just this week:
- KYW: Reward Offered for Villain Who Shot Cat With Blow Dart in NJ
- My Fox Philly: 'Valentine' Hit By Dart, Reward Offered
- Gloucester County Times: Authorities probe case of cat found in Gloucester County with dart stuck in eye
- 6 ABC Action News: Suspect sought after cat shot in the eye
- NBC Philadelphia: Cat Shot In Eye With Dart
- Examiner.Com: Valentine, a cat shot in the head with a dart
- People Magazine's Pet Page: Cat Shot with Dart 'Has a Will to Live'
- Love Meow: Cat Shot with a Dart Recovering
- Examiner.Com: NJSPCA increases reward to $1000 for info on Valentine, cat shot through eye with blow dart

Again thank you, thank you, thank you!

Caturday: Annie Bonny

Don't be disturbed by his distinguishing facial features, this kitty is just extra special. Special needs and all, I think Annie Bonny is absolutely adorable. She's a real survivor and deserves a person (or family) to call her own. She's available for adoption through North Shore Animal League and you can find more info on her here...

Adoption #: D46312
Gender: Female
Age: Adult

Anne Bonny is a sweet little kitty who has a special trait. Anne Bonny has cleft palate which is a lip condition she was born with. Kittens rarely survive cleft palate because they are unable to suckle properly, so it makes Anne Bonny a very special cat. She is a survivor. Other than a diet of soft food, Anne Bonny is like any other cat. She loves to cuddle and get a good head-scratch. She is extremely friendly and has a bubbly personality as big and beautiful as her gorgeous eyes. Anne Bonny would love to be a cherished member of your family. Won’t you come down to the Animal League today and pay her a little visit? She’s patiently waiting for you.

If you are interested in adopting Annie Bonny, contact christinat@animalleague.org

Wishing you luck and love this Caturday, Annie Bonny. Hopefully you find your purrrfect home soon!

Caturday: Lucy

There's something about Lucy's photo that I just loved. Maybe it's those big, beautiful eyes. Lucy is available for adoption through North Shore Animal League. Here's the info on her...


Adoption #: R92274
Gender: Female
Age: Adult

Lucy is a sweet older cat who loves to just cuddle. She looks for people to make friends with and would love to be in a nice quiet home where she could curl up on the couch with someone. Her pretty face and mesmerizing eyes call out for the perfect home. So if you want a kitty with personality plus lots of love to give, come to the Animal League and adopt Lucy today.

If you are interested in adopting Lucy, contact ChristinaT@AnimalLeague.org

I hope you find love this Valentine's Day, Lucy, and a forever home very soon too.

Caturday: Munson

Ohh, Caturday, welcome once more.

Meet this handsome, handsome guy, Munson. His gorgeous face (and markings) caught my attention. He's for adoption through Paws For Life Coalition, a wonderful, local rescue doing all it can to help the animals.

Munson was abandoned in a rusty old trap along with his brother, in front of a shelter. He is super sweet, talkivtive and a purring machine.
He is neutered, up to date on his shots, negative for FIV/FeLv, wormed, flea treated, and microchipped. He is about 9 months old.

No small children under 12 please.
Vet refs required
All cats and kittens in private home foster care require an approved application in order to show them.
We do not adopt our cats out beyond a 4 county area from Camden County. We also cannot return out of area phone calls. Thank you for your understanding!
Please email pawsforlife1@aol.com for more info!

Caturday: Buster

This handsome man is Buster out at Best Friends in Utah.

Breed: Domestic short hair
Gender: Male
Age: Mature
Size: Large

When he sees you coming, Buster will meet you half way, all the way, any way you want --- if you'll agree to spend some time talking to him and petting him. It doesn't matter what you talk about as long as you're talking and petting at the same time. Life is good when people are around!

Buster has certainly had his share of ups and downs. A woman found him as a stray, lounging outside her house. When she took him to the vet, she learned he was FIV positive. Normally, this would be no big deal, but Buster occasionally fought with her other cats. And if things got too rough, well, there was the possibility that Buster could infect the other cats if he broke through their skin.

So Buster lived outside of the woman's house in a feral cat colony. He started getting kind of weak, so the woman thought he'd be better off at Best Friends.

And he is! He's feeling great again, playing with his kitty friends and getting in some good loving with people when they come around. So life is on the upswing again for Buster.

But you know what would make his life totally over-the-top great? A forever home with loving people and maybe other loving cats, too.

Enjoy your Caturday, folks! Let's hope there are lots of adoptions in this new year ... hopefully one for Buster too :)

Caturday: Jade

This gorgeous girl is Jade. She was just done with quarantine and being socialized a bit more when I left Tabby's Place earlier in 2009. Since spotlighted this week, read on about her a bit more:

Gender: Female
Age: 11 years
Breed: domestic shorthair
Color & markings: black/brown tabby
Personality: friendly, timid

Jade is a pretty brown tabby, about ten years of age (as of 1/2009). She has an old spinal injury that causes her to have an awkward gait. Right now, she's clearly not bothered by it, so we don't plan on pursuing further diagnostic testing unless she becomes uncomfortable or we see the condition worsening.

Jade is a little nervous at times, and she doesn't like quick hand movements going toward her. Personality-wise, she's a funny little thing. She gets along very nicely with most people and can be quite affectionate, but she doesn't like our Executive Director at all. It may be that she doesn't care for men, but we can't say that for sure; it's also possible that she doesn't care for the fact that Jonathan gives her medication (she's on an appetite stimulant right now). Meantime, because she is on the skittish side, we think she'd do better in a home without small children.

Jade really is a lovely girl, and we hope you'll soon come in to meet her.

I can't say what it was about this girl, but this poor girl always had my heart. She came in with a few others, but it was always Jade that I pushed with a bit more while socializing with her. I hope she finds her place.

PS: Almost my birthday. Almost my birthday!

Caturday: Topaz

Meet Topaz. I'll be honest, it was this girl's eyes that caught me while I was browsing through Best Friends's adoptable kitties.

Breed: Domestic short hair
Gender: Female
Age: Mature
Size: Medium

She'll stick out her paw to shake "hello" with you!

Topaz is a neat cat. She really uses her paws all the time to communicate. She's snuggly and purry, and just precious.

She had a home once, but when a new roommate moved in (and Topaz was NOT consulted ahead of time!) Topaz didn't like the new person and stopped using her litter box, out of spite.

So Topaz was returned to Best Friends. Poor little thing. She looks at everyone now like, "Please take me home! I promise I won't pull any tricks this time. I learned my lesson!"

Topaz still has some minor litter box issues but with the right people and a little time, we think those issues will go away.

All she wants is another chance to be part of a loving family...

Caturday: Bellis

I love, love, love Bellis! Love her!

She first came in while I was still working at Tabby's Place and apparently came back after I left. Here's a cute picture of her from the site and her information should you be looking for one very special girl to add to your family...

Gender: Female
Age: 3 years
Breed: domestic shorthair
Color & markings: orange/white tabby
Personality: friendly

Kitties don't come much more unique or incredible than our sweet Bellis. Prior to arriving at Tabby's Place Bellis was living as a stray, a hard life for any cat, but a near impossible life for Bellis who had two non-functional eyes. Thankfully, Bellis was found by an animal control officer and taken to a local shelter. Though very affectionate, Bellis was continually passed over by adopters at the shelter and the staff eventually deemed her unadoptable. Her fate would have been a grim one had her shelter not just come up on our waiting list.

Bellis arrived at Tabby's Place in April of 2008. Her non-functional eyes were terribly infected and uncomfortable, so she had surgery to have them removed. Yes, she looks a little different now, but she's beautiful all the same. Due to her blindness we try to limit the changes to environment, but incredibly she gets around just as well as any visual cat. She plays with toys, of course, the noisy ones are her favorites. She climbs and jumps and wrestles with the other cats. Bellis doesn't seem phased at all by her disability. This is likely the only life she's ever known and she's very happy with it.

Unfortunately, Bellis has developed the very inconvenient habit of inappropriate urination, as in she doesn't always use the litter box. We've determined that this is due to the fact that even though she has been spayed, she still experiences heat cycles. This is likely being caused by a small piece of uterine tissue that remains in her abdomen. Bellis is scheduled for surgery so that this tissue may be removed; however, even if the surgery is successful, we may not be able to break Bellis of this habit.

Undoubtedly, Bellis requires a special type of owner with a big heart and lots of patience. But, Bellis is well worth it. She has lots of love to give and will amaze you every day with her brave and carefree spirit.

Good luck finding a new home in the new year, Bellis! Lots of love, little miss.

Caturday: Eastwood

Hello, hello, little lady! This Caturday is back again and this week, I've selected this special girl, Eastwood, at Best Friends to spotlight.

Breed: Domestic short hair
Gender: Female
Age: Mature
Size: Large

Eastwood lived in prison for two years. Her only crime? Living the life of a stray cat. At the age of three, Eastwood was roaming around Texas, minding her own business when a mean person caught her, and kept her in a cage for two years.

Thank goodness she was saved and came to Best Friends. Eastwood is a comical looking girl, with a big body and small head. One eye is lemon yellow, while the other is a beautiful gold. But her disposition is rather somber, even sad. Sometimes she bows her head in the sunlight, as though in prayer, and you get the feeling life has been really painful.

Eastwood is still pretty shy around people, but there's a good way to help build her trust: Have treat in hand! Eastwood responds well to the promise of food. After she gently takes the treat from your hand, she'll let you pet her for a little while. We believe that Eastwood is just waiting for the right person to take her home so she can learn to trust, and learn what it means to feel safe and experience forever love for the first time.

She might be scared of kids or dogs, but other cats should be just fine. (In fact, if you're looking for more than one, Eastwood has some friends she could recommend!)

Much luck, Eastwood, to you ... and your kitty friends :)

Caturday: Max

Max here and he's looking for a home of his own. He's adorable and currently waiting at Tabby's Place in New Jersey.

Gender: Male
Age: 8 yrs
Breed: domestic shorthair
Color & markings: black/brown tabby
Personality: friendly, temperamental

Hmmm, how do I tell you about our Max? He's an extra-large boy (not fat, just quite big) with extra good looks; he's a brown tabby with white whiskers, as well as white on all four paws, his chest, throat, and tummy. Max is about 7 years of age (as of 11/2009), according to our best guess. He can be quite vocal, and he isn't shy about asking for attention. He enjoys head-butting people and will often sit in laps.
We believe that Max has Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome. He becomes overstimulated very easily; when this happens, he can become quite aggressive, although he has never hurt anyone but himself. When he first came to us, his symptoms were very severe. Over time, with a lot of patient attention and some medication, he has improved greatly. Currently, he's on oral phenobarbitol. Contrary to what you might expect, he's easy to pill, and we do not know if he would continue to require medication in a home environment.

Much of the time, Max is really a great boy---happy and purry and affectionate. However, due to his medical issue, we feel he would do best in a quiet home without small children or other pets. Other than FHS, Max has no medical issues.

If you think you might be able to provide a good home for our Max, we encourage you to come in meet this handsome guy.

Good luck finding a home, Max. I know you're in good hands

Caturday: Sonny

Meet Sonny. This handsome boy is in New Jersey at Tabby's Place. Read more about him below...

Gender: Male
Age: 5 years
Breed: domestic medium hair
Color & markings: black/brown tabby
Personality: friendly, playful

Sonny is a good-looking grey tabby with medium-length fur. He is, um, not small, but of course his fur makes him look larger than he really is. Sonny was adopted from us about three years ago, but he had to be returned when his owners suffered serious financial setbacks because of the current recession. We know he's about 4-1/2 now, and that he was very well looked after in his previous home.
Sonny has always been on the submissive side. He can live with other cats (in fact, he lived with two others in his previous home), as long as they're not too domineering. Because he can be skittish, he should not go to a home with small children, especially as we know that he greatly dislikes being held. His previous owner has told us that Sonny rarely used his scratching post and would scratch furniture, something to note if you have a home full of antiques.

Despite his skittishness, Sonny can be very friendly. If you do something he doesn't like, he'll let you know right away---but with sheathed claws. We know that Sonny can be a wonderful friend for the right person or persons; won't you come in to see our fluffy boy today?

Sonny, of course, is extra special to me since he's a Tabby's Place cat. He's very lucky to be there, but would be even luckier if he had a home of his own to spoil and love him.

Caturday: Skyee & Garage Cats

This gorgeous girl is Skyee out at Best Friends Society in Utah.

Breed: Siamese
Gender: Female
Age: Mature
Size: Medium

"Don't hate me because I'm beautiful."

Skyee can't help it! She's an old girl, but it hasn't toned down her beauty one bit. And she enjoys being gorgeous, because she loves chatting with people "meow, meow", and even gently playing.

Skyee used to be terribly standoffish, but age has made her much more friendly. And she's ready, at her ripe age, to find the home that's eluded her for so long. (She came to Best Friends long ago from a shelter in California that was closing down, and she's never been adopted!)

Skyee gets along beautifully with other cats. Children should be older just because she used to be so skittish - we wouldn't want those tendencies to return!

She's a lovely cat with a lovely personality. And it would be wonderful if she could find a happy ending at last in these golden years.

Wishing you luck and love this holiday season, Skyee.

~*~


I was going to post the simple fact I had finally set up the porch for the garage cats for the winter, but then I figured - why be simple? :) So, here's a little introduction to the garage kitties.

We have 6 cats that I know of on the farm who have hung around or shown up. The garage 3 are the more social group of cats we have here on the farm. Spring, summer and into the fall, they mostly live in the Conestoga building we have right by the house which has a lot furniture from our old home (the cat particularly like curling up in the upside down chairs), my dad's tools and some of my rescue stuff - a few cages and a trap or two. However, for the winter, I set up the side porch (which has a hole cut into the screen for them to come in through) with a heat lamp, some soft blankets and a bed that warms up a bit too. The screen door and window also get covered up with plexi-glass so the kitties can still see out, but there's no real breeze in there. This year, they'll have to deal with the unplugged, no longer being used refrigerator, but I think they'll manage - less room, which means more snuggling :)

Here's who will be on the porch this winter, the garage kitties one by one...

Meet Norman - a huge beast of a cat who also happens to be FIV+ and a real love bug - no fighting from him so far. Norman I brought on in a desperate attempt to get Wilson to eat - I'd had him for about 2 weeks and he rarely ate a thing I left for him. Thinking he was lonely, I brought Norman in ... this is how he got his name. Although Wilson was named for the volleyball in Castaway, I always thought of the neighbor from Home Improvement - "howdy ho, neighbor", which is also the cute phrase the old man, Norm, I grew up next to used to greet us all the time. So, Wilson and Norman, the cheery older neighbors. Norman remains pretty evasive, though sometimes he'll let me pet him. I don't think he'll ever be as affectionate as he was when his best friend for life was still around, Buddy. Looking at Norman makes me still ache for Buddy and the pals they were together. He's also the biggest wanderer out of the garage cats. I've seen him everywhere from back by the back barn (trying to steal food for the kitties back there) to in the woods to down near the front of the lake ... I promptly hollered at him for that - once passed the lake, it's only another say, 50 feet to the road.

This little lady is simply known as "Momma" or "Irish Momma". She came to me from my great uncle who was feeding a cat outside his home and one day she brought him kittens. I sat outside for hours until I caught them all - the whole litter consisted of 4 female kittens. I hate to think how many kittens there would have been if I hadn't caught them!!! All the little girls were given Irish names (my great uncle is VERY Irish) and adopted out in pairs. Irish Momma wasn't a friendly house cat though, so I set her up in the garage where she has never left. I pet her for the first time in, wow, maybe the 4 years I've had her just the other day while she was eating. She's always around, but won't let me approach her. She's endeared herself to me with how adorable she is though. Her favorite spot? The stairs leading up into the hot tub or on top of the cover. She's a smart girl! :) I don't know if it's because she came from a small town with busy roads, but she's the least likely to wander. She's always pretty much in the garage, by the hot tub or in the garden between the garage and the house, though sometimes she'll wander up to the front porch ... so, as far as I know, her life consists of mainly a, max, 75 foot radius.

The most recent addition to the garage crew is Champ. I had just lost Buddy recently when a new cat was coming into work. The business behind us, Champion Tire, was nice enough to feed and love up some ferals (all fixed), but someone had dropped off a cat recently and they were just maxed out. Work agreed to take the cat in and try to adopt it out ... however, while doing our intake exam, we found out the poor guy was FIV+ and our FIV Suite was already full. Fresh from the loss of Buddy and looking at this poor kitty who was FIV+ like Norman and now with an unknown future (the tire place didn't want him, that's why he came to us and we couldn't keep him because we were already too full), I took it all as a sign and agreed to take him. "Champ" came home with me and though he's not wrapped up with Norman like Buddy used to be, the two seem to hang out a bit and he's a nice addition. I'm not sure if you can tell from the photo, but he's a real beast of a cat - huge! Long legs and a stomach that looks like he's swallowed a basket ball.

To say the kids were excited the side porch was set up is an understatement. As soon as I was out there, Irish Momma was walking in and out of the hole in the door, Norman was sitting at the bottom of the steps and even Champ wandered by as I set everything up for them. Below is a photo of the garage cats already settling into the side porch: Champ curled up under the heat lamp and Irish Momma eating. Norman's either off wandering or maybe tucked behind Champ. Nothing was more adorable than when Norman and Buddy used to both curl up in the heated bed together! Sometimes the only sign they were both in there was what looked like a fifth white paw on Norman - Buddy would be buried under him asleep with just his little foot sticking out from under Norm.