Adoption

REMEMBER ME THURSDAY 2022

#SeeTheLight

Did you know that 100 percent of Kitties Blue were stray/feral/abandoned, born to a stray mom or adopted from a rescue? Not all kitties (and other companion animals) are as fortunate as Kitties Blue. Last year we shared the history of how each of our cats, except, of course, newbies, Audrey and Raleigh, became a member of the Kitties Blue crew. You can read about those histories on the post, “Kitties Blue: Remembering to #SeeTheLight.

Today is Remember Me Thursday, a world-wide event sponsored by the Helen Woodward Animal Center. Its mission is to help everyone #SeeTheLight about pet adoption by remembering and honoring pets awaiting forever homes as well as those who lost their lives waiting to be adopted. It’s also intended to encourage individuals to spay and neuter their pets and to adopt pets waiting in shelters for forever homes. 

 

#SeeTheLight: Large ginger cat holds a sign for #SeeTheLight for pet adoption.

 

Disclaimer: Items with the Remember Me Thursday logo appearing in this post were provided to me free of charge to promote Remember Me Thursday on my social media accounts: The Cat on My Head blog and Instgram at Kitties.Blue.

Here are some facts from the Remember Me Thursday website.

More than 50 percent of U.S. households have at least one pet. Even so, 6,000,000 cats and dogs enter animal shelters in the United States each year. While many pets are fortunate to find a loving, forever home due to the efforts of rescue organizations, each year over 900,000 cats spend the final moments of their lives in a shelter.

How to Help

According to the site, Pet Pedia, 625,000 pets were euthanized in 2019. That is a staggering number, but according to the Helen Woodward Animal Center, orphan pets could avoid this fate with more help from us. You can help by adopting from your local shelter or rescue and encouraging your friends to do the same. And if you can’t adopt, please consider fostering or sponsoring.

To learn more about what you can do, visit, “Information to Inspire” on the Remember Me Thursday site.

You also can help your local shelter or rescue by entering your rescue pet’s story in the Remembering Me Thursday Contest. Here’s what you need to do to enter:

  • Submit your pet’s photo and story directly to the contest page.
  • Or, post a picture of your best friend on social media using both the hashtags #RememberMeThursday and #SeeTheLight.

Deadline for entry is September 30.

You can check out all the great prizes on the website.

In 2020, we shared this poem and wanted to share it again. We will share our Thoroughly Poetic Thursday poem tomorrow.

OPT TO ADOPT ORPHAN CATS

Most of us were orphans at one time,
Whether roaming the streets or shelter confined.
But then one day our luck suddenly changed.
Two humans’ hearts we would claim.
They took us home to keep us safe forever
With food, shelter and love as our caregivers.
So today, will you please a candle light
And pray for the orphans to not give up the fight,
As they wait and long for their special human
To find them and become their number one fan.
And tell your friends to promote Remember Me Thursday,
So kitties worldwide can have their special gotcha day!

© Janet Buickerood Blue – 09/24/2020

Tomorrow at noon, we will be participating in Remember Me Thursday on Zoom. Kitties Blue and I hope you’ll join us there. Registration is required at the Remember Me Thursday site.

We also will be lighting a candle here at home to remember all our Kitties Blue, including angels, Giulietta and Fiona, whose mom was a stray cat.

 

#SeeTheLight: Two grey cats with a candle and a ceramic angel cat.

Thankful Thursday

Dad Tom are thankful that we have been able to give a home to 22 cats.

Sawyer, Dad Tom and I are thankful he hasn’t had a seizure in 29 days. He needs some POTP, however, has he has been particularly bad about eating lately. That is usually the precursor to a seizure.

Cooper Murphy is thankful that Helen Woodward Animal Center included some toys with the Remember Me Thursday supplies.

 

#SeeTheLight:Large ginger cat with toys for Remembering Thursday.

 

Kitties Blue and I are thankful for your support, following and friendship.

Thankful Thursday is a blog hop hosted by Brian. To participate enter the URL for Brian’s blog in your browser.

Comment-a-thon

You have until midnight tonight to leave a comment on Misty May and Angel Mau’s birthday post, “18th Birthday Celebration Comment-a-thon,” for the opportunity to win a donation for your favorite pet rescue, shelter or charity. I will be donating $1 for every comment (one per person please). If you haven’t commented yet, please do and invite your friends to do the same.  Thank you.

Note: All photos on this page were taken by the author, Janet Blue.

IT’S OFFICIAL: INTRODUCING AUDREY & RALEIGH

Formal Introduction

If you follow Dad Tom on Facebook, you already know the news: Kitties Blue have grown from seven to nine members. And if you’re a regular follower and reader of this blog, you know we took in two orphans Tuesday night. As many of you anticipated, I fell in love and convinced Dad Tom we had room for two more at the inn.

 

 

As you can see, very little persuasion was necessary.

Names

I know some of you will be curious as to how their names were selected. Audrey has been on our list of names for girl kitties for many years. It is the first name of one of our previous vets, who we dearly loved. She took wonderful care of many of the past Kitties Blue.

Raleigh is a derivation of my mother’s maiden name, which was Rowley.

Caturday Art

I used the photo from yesterday’s post to create this week’s art. If you missed seeing the original photo, click on the link at the bottom of this post.

 

it's official: new kittens are given names and shared in an artsy rendition of their previous day's photo

 

I actually made two artsy versions of this photo but decided to share just this one and save the other for a future post. Of course, I used Painnt to create my art. This is the Deciduous Dream effect with the “multiply” filter. And the frame is another from the favpng app.

I did create a puzzle for all the jigsaw fans.

preview120pieceEthereal Kittens
The newest Kitties Blue are joining the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the lovely Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty. You can participate as well by clicking on her badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

Another week has flown by, and it’s time to dust off your camera or phone and snap a selfie of yourself for our blog hop. As usual, I have no idea which of the Kitties Blue will take on hosting duties tomorrow. I am fairly certain I will give the kittens a rest. I don’t want any of the rest of the gang to feel they are being pushed aside. Each one of the Kitties Blue is important and loved. That means you’ll need to stop in tomorrow to see who shows up.

As we tell you every week, Kitties Blue and all your friends look forward to seeing your adorable faces every Sunday. So, please stop in and share. And if you have any friends you think might wish to show off their cuteness, please invite them along.

Hope to see you tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

ASTRID ENJOYS CATIO TIME & HELPS WITH FILL-INS

Feline/Friendship Friday

 

Astrid catio time in cat tree

 

Astrid was enjoying a nice day on the catio last week. Springtime temperatures are iffy and getting time on the catio can be sporadic.

Astrid is participating in the Feline Friday (Comedy Plus) and Friendship Friday (Create With Joy) blog hops.

 

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #303

Astrid, as well as Lisbeth, helped me with the fill-ins this week. I wish I could find a way for Kitties Blue to do all of them each week. Unfortunately, sometimes the sentences aren’t really cat specific. The three of us used the usual teal italics for our fill-ins.

1. Lisbeth: I rarely spend time downstairs with the rest of the family. I hang out upstairs on the radiator in the old master bedroom instead.

2. My spring to do list includes continuing to clean up my flowerbeds and the yard and continuing to work on The Cat on My Head to improve it.

3. Astrid: If I were invisible for a day, I would sneak up behind Misty May and frighten her for all the times she has terrorized me and sent me running and screaming.

4. When I was young, I was very shy because my mom was a bully, and I had low self esteem.

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs). Each Thursday they provide the four sentences with blanks for your responses.  To participate, click on the Fill-Ins badge.

 

I’M SO HANDSOME (MODEST TOO)!

Feline/Friendship Friday

 

handsome and modest orange (ginger) tabby cat displaying leg dangle

 

Cooper Murphy really is an exceptionally handsome ginger, tabby cat, but I actually think all gingers are fine looking. And each one I’ve known has had a terrific personality as well. Cooper does have his moments of peevishness. After all he is a cat.

If you don’t know, Cooper Murphy is not our first ginger cat. That was MacKenzie. He was a real momma’s boy and rarely let me out of his site. If you’d like to know more about him, you can find him on our “The Felines” page.

So, Cooper Murphy is joining the Feline Friday blog hop at Comedy Plus and the Friendship Friday blog hop at Create With Joy. Click on the appropriate link(s) to do the same.

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #301

In addition to Felines and Friendship, we also enjoy some Fill-Ins on Fridays. Kitties Blue left me on my own this week. I used teal italics for my filling in. Additional or explanatory information is in parentheses.

1. I would rather smell a skunk than smell _______________________. (Sorry, I cannot think of anything worse. Skunks live in our neighborhood and hit our house frequently. It is unbelievably awful and lingers for an excruciatingly long time.)

2. Every March I look forward to the daffodils, tulips and new kittens “blooming.”

3. I knew we needed to adopt Kizmet the moment I saw her on PetFinder.

4. That Sawyer is home with his family where he belongs is currently my silver lining. (I suspect this will be my forever silver lining. No matter how bad a situation, I always look for the silver lining, and only rarely do I not find one. Here’s a little TMI for you: Because of my neuromuscular disease, I have not had to shave my legs in at least a quarter of a century. Just think about all the time and money I have saved. That’s given me plenty of time to write this blog about Kitties Blue for the past ten years and raise all these felines!)

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs). Each Thursday they provide the four sentences with blanks for your responses. To participate, click on the Fill-Ins badge.

We’ll be back tomorrow for some Caturday Art and again on Sunday with our selfies hop. Hope to see you for those posts as well.

 

 

KITTIES BLUE: REMEMBERING TO #SEETHELIGHT

Remember Me Thursday® with Kitties Blue

 

Kitties Blue are participating in Remember Me Thursday®, the creation of Mike Arms, President and CEO of Helen Woodward Animal Center. “Over a million beautiful, adoptable pets will lose their lives in 2021,” according to Arms. He adds, “I believe lighting a candle for the orphan pets will be a way for people to let the world know how much they love them. The awareness can help in increasing adoptions and decreasing euthanasia.”

The goal of the campaign is to unite individuals and pet adoption organizations around the world to be a voice for orphan pets in need of forever homes. In years past over 190 countries have supported the movement. Seven hundred separate animal welfare organizations around the world have held candle-lighting ceremonies. Hundreds of thousands of individuals have done the same, including Kitties Blue. And we will light our candles again today.

According to Arms, “We all come from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds, but together, we can raise our voices and share one life-saving message and literally save millions of pets on this one day.”

I asked our latest adoptee, Kizmet, to help me share that message today.

 

Kitties Blue, Remember Me Thursday

 

She wasn’t as cooperative as usual; she hid the Remember Me Thursday logos on her bandana and my shirt.

Our Adoption Stories

Dad Tom and I believe in saving homeless animals. As proof, Kitties Blue share a tiny bit of their adoption stories today.

We adopted several of our 20 furkids from individuals who kindly took in stray, pregnant cats. Those kitties are Skooter, Steamer, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta and Fiona. With TNR (Trap/Neuter/Return) gaining in popularity and use fewer neighborhood cats find themselves in this situation. We adopted MacKenzie from a veterinarian. I no longer remember the story of how he ended up there.

A number of Kitties Blue adopted us by showing up at our door or being left with their littermates by a neighborhood stray. Those cats are Daphne, Thelma, Louise, Twinkle, Madison and Chloe. We always found homes for the littermates with friends, co-workers, neighbors or friends of friends. We never delivered any cat to a shelter, and none were ever euthanized! Several others tried to adopt us when we already had a full house. We found loving homes for each one.

We rescued Lily Olivia and her littermates from the street. Friends adopted her three brothers, Parker, Winston and Sebastian. As you know, Cooper Murphy and Sawyer appeared in the neighborhood. Cooper was obviously dumped during a snowstorm. We have no idea how Sawyer ended up at the abandoned house next door as such a tiny kitten. But all were welcomed with loving hearts and open arms.

We formally adopted the remainder of the Kitties Blue from rescue agencies. Astrid (found on a roof with her brother, Bobby) and Calista Jo came from Barn Cat Buddies and Lisbeth and Kizmet from Angels of Assisi.

Be Part of Remember Me Thursday Awareness

Today is our opportunity and yours to share the story of pet adoption and let others know how wonderful it is to share your home with an animal and save a life. You can spread awareness by sharing your pet’s story on social media with the hashtags, #RememberMeThursday and #SeeTheLight. Also visit the Remember Me Thursday website and light a virtual candle. Changing just one mind can save a life.

You also can participate in the blog hop hosted by Dawn at Lola the Rescued Cat. Click on the badge on our sidebar to go there and enter the link to your post.

Thankful Thursday

Dad Tom and I are thankful for each of the Kitties Blue who have been and are currently part of our lives. Though some have brought us much consternation, each has brought joy into our lives.

All the Kitties Blue and I are joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Brian’s Home. You can do the same by clicking on his badge.

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

I will be posting our poem for Angel Sammy & Teddy’s poetry challenge tomorrow along with our Friendly Fill-Ins.

 

HAPPY TO #SEETHELIGHT

Happy Tuesday

 

I’m a happy cat because I was adopted, just like all by fursibs who were either directly rescued or adopted. And I am here today to remind you to join us for Helen Woodward Animal Center’s annual Remember Me Thursday®. This year’s campaign is #SeeTheLight. You can participate by entering your rescue pet’s story to win pet food and money for your favorite shelter or rescue. You also can light a candle and share a photo and some sentiments about your rescued pet to shine a virtual light on orphan pets who never found families. We lit a candle for Sawyer, who we consider twice rescued. To go to the #RememberMeThursday website, click on the badge on our sidebar (opposite Kizmet’s photo).

All the Kitties Blue are thankful to be participating again this year in Remember Me Thursday® and #SeeTheLight. On Thursday, we will remind you of some of our rescue and adoption stories.

I also am going to pop over to Comedy Plus to join the Happy Tuesday blog hop. You can do the same by clicking on the badge below.

 

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

Today you can find our adorable grey tabbies over at Friends Furever enjoying another one of their fun adventures. If you haven’t checked it out yet, click on their graphic to pop on over and say, “hi.”

Purrs & paw-pats, Kizmet

 

FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS

Sparks

 

dreams

 

I selected today’s Spark, as I think it is a good reminder for all of us and as a lead in to some news from my state, Virginia, which I want to share.

The General Assembly recently passed a bill introduced by State Senator Bill Stanley. This bill gives cats and dogs used in testing situations the opportunity to be released to an adoption agency and find their very own loving homes. Stanley said, “We should reward those dogs and cats with a forever home and not discard them when they are considered no longer useful.” These dogs and cats are normally euthanized.

I don’t agree with animal testing, but I am delighted these animals will be given a second chance.

Sparks is the creation of Annie from McGuffy’s Reader. Sparks began as a blog hop, created by our friend. Annie stated when she began Sparks,“I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world.”

Awww Mondays

On February 12, I shared the “Cat Train” with you. That train consisted of only the engine and caboose (Calista Jo and Sawyer) of this train. Today’s train has a sleeping car cat (Kizmet).

 

 

The three cat train is participating in the Awww Mondays blog hop at Comedy Plus. To join them, click on the badge below.

 

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

 

Your favorite, fun-loving tabbies will be sharing another of their adventures tomorrow. Stinky and Periwinkle will be celebrating the birthday of Dr. Seuss with a very special adventure. His birthday is celebrated as Read Across America Day, which is a big deal in the blogosphere. Stinky and Periwinkle also will join Timmy, Ranger and Emmy (who are hosting this year’s event).

 

KIZMET IS THANKFUL FOR NEW HOME

Thankful Thursday

Kizmet is here today to tell you her thankful and a little more about herself. 

 

thankful

 

I suspect most of you will have already guessed my thankful: I have a real furever home and no longer live in a cage. It is an amazing home, filled with playmates, cat trees, toys, lots and lots of windows and the best humans. I heard there is a cool thing called a catio, but I haven’t seen it yet. So that will be something for which I can be thankful in the future after I get to explore it.

Mom promised I would tell you a bit more about myself today. Here’s what I know. The six-month anniversary of my birth was yesterday. I was born on June 23 and had two litter mates, Jackie and Chris. Chris found a home prior to me, and Mom says Jackie is no longer on PetFinder, so that means we all three now have forever homes! What a great Christmas gift for all of us.

My fursibs and I were transferred from the regional animal control center to the no-kill shelter, Angels of Assisi, in November. My intake form said I was overweight. I already weighed seven pounds in November. That’s what happens when one is stuck in a cage and cannot exercise. My new Mom and Dad think I’ll drop that extra weight easily, as I have been charging around and playing like crazy since I got here on Saturday. My favorite toy is a mouse that hangs from the door frame on an elastic cord. There are two here, and I have been giving them both some major whaps several times each day. It is really great exercise!

As you can see, I have gorgeous gray fur. I also have a white spot about the size of a nickel on my neck. (You can’t see it in this photo.) My eyes are still in transition, so we do not know what their final color will be. I do have a small freckle on the inner edge of the pupil of my right eye. 

Mom says I am the most socialized of any kitten she and Dad have ever had. I walked right in as if I had always lived here. Mom and Dad sequestered me for only 24 hours. In fact I have been sleeping on the big bed with Mom and Dad and three or four of my new fursibs every night except the very fist one. For the most part, they seem to be okay with it and me.

I am delighted with my new home, my new humans and my new housemates, and I show it by purring often and loudly. And I look forward to getting to know all of you who visit and support Kitties Blue. 

Purrs and paw-pats, Kizmet

Kizmet is joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Brian’s Home. If you’d like to do the same, post on your blog for what you are thankful, and then click on the badge below.

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Usually I would share a poem with you today as part of the poetry challenge hosted by Teddy and Angel Sammy from Two Spoiled Cats. However, I promised this post to Kizmet. And the inspiration photo will make for a perfect Christmas-themed poem for tomorrow. See you all again then.

 

 

MY FIRST SELFIE

Sunday Selfies: Week #332

 

my first selfie

 

This really is my very first selfie. Who knew I would be so good at this?

Not only is this my very fist selfie, but it also is going to be my very first Christmas. If those two things aren’t exciting enough, yesterday was my Gotcha Day!

My name is Kizmet, and I am the newest member of the Kitties Blue family. I do not recognize my name yet, as I just received it yesterday. My original name was Janet. It seems that is also my new mom’s name. When she saw me on PetFinder, she said it was kismet; thus, my new name but with an unusual spelling.

There’s lots more to know about me, but I will save that for Thankful Thursday. My mom said I can tell you all about myself then.

These are two photos my new dad took just prior to my release.

 

Time to Hop

Mom says I am the host of this blog hop. I am not certain what a blog hop is. I am certain she’ll eventually explain it to me. Whatever it is, she told me to tell you that you don’t have to post today, and you can join us anytime through Thursday. Sounds good to me.

I am looking forward to getting to know all of you.

Purrs and paw-pats, Kizmet (formerly known as Janet)

 



REMEMBER ME THURSDAY® 2020

Uniting the World for Orphan Pets

About 6.5 million animals enter animal shelters across the United States annually. In 2019, 733,000 of those were euthanized.

Remember Me Thursday® (in its eighth year) is a global awareness campaign encouraging individuals to light a candle (literally or virtually) and opt to adopt orphan pets waiting in shelters and rescues.

We are joining Remember Me Thursday® and have lit a candle at RememberMeTursday.org in remembrance of Angels Mau and Allie (Friends Furever).

Candles lit on this day (the fourth Thursday of September annually) across the world honor the pets who lose their lives without knowing the comforts of a loving home. Of course, both Allie and Mau had wonderful homes,

These candles shine brightly on the millions of healthy pets who are still awaiting adoption. We pray all those pets will be as lucky as Mau and Allie were.

Our Youngest Rescues

Cooper Murphy and Sawyer were fortunate to become members of the Kitties Blue household. Neither made it as far as a shelter. Cooper was abandoned during a snow storm. Sawyer appeared at the vacant house next door to ours on Thanksgiving. Had Cooper Murphy been dropped off at a shelter, he probably would have found a home. Instead he was left to fend for himself alone outdoors. Sawyer on the other paw, with his seizure disorder, likely would not have been so lucky had he been taken to a shelter.

They are here today promoting Remember Me Thursday® to remind everyone that all pets deserve a warm and loving home.

 

Remember Me Thursday®

 

A few years ago, I wrote a poem about Kitties Blue to promote pet adoption and am sharing an updated version this year.

OPT TO ADOPT ORPHAN CATS

Most of us were orphans at one time,
Whether roaming the streets or shelter confined.
But then one day our luck suddenly changed.
Two humans’ hearts we would claim.
They took us home to keep us safe forever
With food, shelter and love as our caregivers.
So today, will you please a candle light
And pray for the orphans to not give up the fight,
As they wait and long for their special human
To find them and become their number one fan.
And tell your friends to promote Remember Me Thursday®,
So kitties worldwide can have their special gotcha day!

© Janet Buickerood Blue – 09/24/2020

How to Participate

Please join me, other pet-lovers and advocates and animal welfare organizations around the world in lighting your own candle. Visit the link listed in the first paragraph to light your candle and learn more about Remember Me Thursday®. Or light your own candle at home. Just make certain it is battery operated or in an area your pets cannot access.

In addition, sign-up to participate in this year’s Zoom call. Pet adoption advocates from around the world will unite virtually via video chat to light up the world for orphan pets.

To #SeeTheLight about pet adoption, click on the link below to fill out a participation request form and receive details on how to join today virtually for the Global Candle Lighting at 9:00 AM PST/12 PM EST via Zoom.

RememberMeThursdayVirtualGlobalCandleLightingRegistrationForm

2020 Contest

To win a monetary prize and pet food for your favorite rescue or shelter, enter your pet’s rescue story. (We entered Sawyer’s story last year. He didn’t win, but placed in the top 50.)

These are the prizes:

1st place – $5,000, 1,000 pounds of Blue Buffalo pet food and 100 Kong toys

2nd Place – $2,500, 1,000 pounds of Blue Buffalo pet food and 100 Kong toys

3rd place – $1,000, 1,000 pounds of Blue Buffalo pet food and 100 Kong toys

Prizes are sponsored by Blue Buffalo, Naturally Fresh and Save This Life!

To enter, click on the link in the first paragraph and then click on “Remember Me Thursday Contest” on the sidebar.

Blog Hop

Lola the Rescued Cat is hosting this year’s Remember Me Thursday® blog hop. Click on the badge below to participate.

Remember Me Thursday®

Thankful Thursday

This is Thankful Thursday over at Brian’s Home blog. Kitties Blue and I are thankful everyday for pet guardians, advocates, rescues, shelters and adopters worldwide. This is a blog hop. Click on Brian’s badge to participate.