Animal Rescue

REMEMBER ME THURSDAY® WITH POETRY

Remember Me Thursday® Awareness Movement

 Remember Me Thursday®

 

We are joining Remember Me Thursday® and have lit a candle at RememberMeThursday.org for our sweet Swizzle again this year. Swizzle is the kitty we continue to sponsor at PAWS of Connecticut. She’s been waiting for more than two years for her new forever home. We pray daily that this sweet and beautiful senior kitty will find the loving human and home she deserves.

The Remember Me Thursday® global awareness campaign encourages individuals to light a candle this day (literally or virtually) and to opt to adopt, reducing the millions of orphan pets euthanized each year.

Candles lit on this day (the fourth Thursday of September annually) across the world honor the pets who lose their lives without the opportunity to know the comforts of a loving home. These candles shine brightly on the millions of healthy pets who are still awaiting adoption—just like beautiful Swizzle.

Remember Me Thursday®

This being Sammy’s (onespoiledcat) Thoroughly Poetic Thursday and the prompt letter for the week being “O”, I have written a poem for orphan kitties.

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.
A human stopped in whose heart we would claim.
They took us home to keep us safe forever
With food, shelter and love as our caregiver.
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.

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 either battery operated or in an area your pets cannot access.

 

 

 

 

TO CATCH A CAT REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

To Catch a cat book jacket.Though I love cats and kittens, I never thought I could fall in love with a mother cat (Oona) and her three kittens sight unseen. But that is exactly what happened when I read Heather Green’s book, To Catch a Cat. The book interweaves the story of Heather’s and boyfriend Matt’s first foray into kitten rescue and socialization and Heather’s memoir. You learn the intimate details of Heather’s fears, foibles and perceived shortcomings all while meeting and falling head over paws for kittens, Zero, Two Spot and Number Three.

The story begins when Matt and Heather discover three tiny kittens living in Matt’s neighbor’s backyard in Union City, New Jersey. Manhattanite and workaholic Heather and laid-back architect Matt take on the task of rescuing these kittens. First Matt builds an outdoor shelter for mom and babies. Then the waiting for the right time to capture the kittens begins. Once the kittens become indoor residents, the socialization process starts and continues until just the right homes are found for the three. During this process, Matt and Heather learn about feral cats and trapping and Heather learns about herself.

This is a book you don’t want to miss. It is definitely for anyone who has ever loved or rescued a cat, but it is also for every animal (regardless of species) fan or caregiver. This uplifting story of  discovery, love, devotion and emotional growth will touch your heart.

My only complaint was the lack of photos in the book. But do not let that keep you from reading To Catch a Cat. Head over to @ToCatchaCat on Facebook to see photos and videos of these darlings as well as photos of other kitties saved by Heather and Matt.

To Catch a Cat

Heather Green and mom cat Oona

Heather Green is an award-winning journalist and free lance writer. For 12 years she covered the Internet and digital media for BusinessWeek and has appeared on CNN, CNBC and BBC. This is her first book.

The best part of this post comes in the way of a giveaway for this gem of a book. I have three copies to give to our readers. As I am doing the mailing, I will ship worldwide. That means, everyone can enter. To do so, please leave a comment on this post no later than 5 p.m. ET on Saturday, July 16. Winners will be selected using Random.org.

10:30 AM Update

I just received these adorable photos of the kittens and wanted to share with everyone.

Screen Shot 2016-07-11 at 10.11.13 AM To Catch a Cat

Clockwise from upper left: Zero, Two Spot, Number Three, Number Three, Two Spot.

 

FIONA’S PROFILE SELFIES

Sunday Selfies: Week #100

 

Screen Shot 2016-07-09 at 8.15.29 PM

 

Though I agreed to take some selfies for today, I didn’t agree to look at the camera. For those who don’t know, I am super shy. Nonetheless, I feel so fortunate to be here for the 100th Sunday Selfies post. When I was diagnosed with Stage 4 CKD at the end of December, I did’t expect to be here more than six months later.

I must admit that I am not doing as well as I had been. I haven’t been eating much lately, and Mom is worried about me. I am scheduled to see Dr.Neel on Tuesday for a check-up. Mom’s pretty certain I have lost weight, but she and Dad are hoping it isn’t too much. They are going to ask Dr. Neel if I can take my appetite stimulant more often.

I will be back on Thursday to give you an update on my condition. If you could purrlease continue your purrs and prayers on my behalf, I sure would appreciate it.

This is our Sunday Selfies Blog Hop. The link to add your selfie is below as is the code to add the hop to your blog. If you do the latter, can you purrlease display our badge and/or link back to The Cat on My Head. It would be great if you could also visit the blogs of some of the other pawticipants.

Cat4-001

Last Day to Help Steel Mill Kitties with Comment

If you haven’t had the opportunity to read our post about the kitties who need to be rescued from a steel mill, you can do so here. We are having a comment-a-thon, and Mom has pledged $1 for every comment on that post. The comment-a-thon ends today at 5 p.m. ET, so purrlease, if you haven’t already done so, pop on over to that post and comment.

Book Review & Giveaway Tomorrow

Have you been waiting for another great cat book to hit the market? To Catch a Cat by Heather Green is just that book. Mom will be reviewing it tomorrow, and we have three copies to give away to our readers. You definitely don’t want to miss the opportunity to win one of these books.

So…see y’all again tomorrow.

Purrs and paw-pats, Fiona



LILY OLIVIA: PEWTER PET ART

Caturday Art Blog Hop

 

Lily070916-001

 

Lily Olivia is entering Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art Blog Hop. Today’s entry was created by using posterize in Picasa and the Pewter filter from Dreamscope. The frame is from PhotoFaceFun.

IMG_4335-002As you can see, the original photo, taken in my suitcase, was super blurry. In this case, I believe that helped make the finished art more interesting. Lily O. hopes you like it.

This is our submission in Athena’s Blog Hop. To enter your own art and/or view the other submissions, click on Athena’s badge.

 

 

Helping Our Barn Cat Buddies Friends

GotMiceLogoA few days ago, I wrote about the plight of some kitties living at a steel mill. The TNR/Rescue group, Barn Cat Buddies, with which Tom and I volunteer are trying to rescue and find “homes” for these cats. To help out with funds, I am having a comment-a-thon to benefit the steel mill kitties. If you haven’t left a comment on my original post, you can do so by clicking here. I will be donating $1 for each comment made prior to 5 p.m. EST on Sunday, July 10.

If you can spare a few green papers, you can donate by visiting the Barn Cat Buddies web-site (link in header). If you cannot help monetarily, please share, share, share on social media. I really appreciate those of you who are already doing this. Thanks!

Cat4-001Sunday Selfies Blog Hop

Tomorrow will mark our 100th Sunday Selfie Blog Hop. Fiona will be your host. She has been rather puny lately. She has an appointment with our vet, Dr. Neel, on Tuesday. I am hoping to get the okay to give her the appetite stimulant more often. In addition to being here tomorrow, she’ll report on her vet visit and CKD on Thursday.

She hopes you’ll join her tomorrow.

 

PLEASE HELP OUR BARN CAT BUDDIES FRIENDS

This was not the post we planned for today, but some of our furry friends need your help. If you are regular followers, you know that Barn Cat Buddies is the alma mater of Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo. This is also the TNR/Rescue our humans support and for which they volunteer.

 

Barn Cat Buddies, Inc.
PO Box 111
Salem, Va  24101
540 344-8707  ext. 3

 

The Roanoke Steel Mill Cats…
We recently received a call from a very concerned young lady working at a Roanoke steel mill. Nine years ago this kind cat caretaker sterilized and vaccinated several adult cats living at the mill. In addition she found homes for over 60 kittens.
She did an amazing job but as it sometimes happens,
one pregnant cat eluded her & now there are
more cats and kittens residing at the mill !
Cat, one of our Barn Cat Buddies Co-Presidents,
was invited to tour the facility.
Imagine her surprise when she was required to suit up in steel toed shoes, safety glasses, and a hard hat !
    Nothing Prepared Her for What Came Next…
 
…She witnessed cats darting between massive, ‘heated’ steel plates, some racing to avoid
a huge industrial magnet that could come down
killing them instantly,
and living with ear splitting noise
from machines running 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
After witnessing the living conditions of these animals,
Cat knew B.C.B had to find a way to rescue
as many animals as possible.
But Here Lies Our Challenge:  
We have taken in so many ear tipped cats
from shelters this season that there is literally
” NO ROOM AT THE INN “
We DESPERATELY NEED the public’s help
in adopting the MILL CATS
to barns or other non-traditional homes.
Once we have a plan, we can start trapping.
Cat says: “This was an amazing experience…one
I hope never to repeat. The cats living in this active
steel mill are a resilient bunch deserving of a future.”
If you can take in a pair of Mill Cats, please go to barncatbuddies.org & fill out an application.
If you cannot help please share this email with others…
And as always, financial help would be
greatly appreciated.
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts…
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE!
Logo
Visit Our Website

Barn Cat Buddies

PO Box 111 Salem, VA 24153
(540) 344-8707  ext. 3

 

We know most of our readers do not live in our area, but even if you can’t help physically, any amount of green papers would help. You can visit the Barn Cat Buddies web-site to donate. Barn Cat Buddies is a 501(c)3 organization, and all donations are tax deductible.

In an attempt to help these furiends, we are going to make this a comment-a-thon. Our mom will donate $1 for every comment left on this post prior to Sunday, July 10, at 5 p.m. ET. So please tell everyone you know to leave a comment as she is not putting a cap on the amount.

Thank you, friends!

Purrs and paw-pats, Barn Cat Buddies alumnae, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

PLEASE HELP OUR FRIENDS AT PAWS

If you are a regular reader of our blog, you know we support PAWS of Connecticut. We have been sponsoring one of the residents, Swizzle, since July 2014. (You can see Swizzle on our sidebar beneath the Adoptable Cats heading.) We are supporting them now as they participate in Fairfield County’s Day of Giving. 

 

 
Today, March 10, PAWS IS PARTICPATING IN FAIRFIELD COUNTY’S GIVING DAY.
 
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Please visit our donation page today and donate at least $10.00
Hosted by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation,
Giving Day is a 24 hour online event to “Give Where
You Live” and celebrate our work, and the work of all
local nonprofits.
We invite you to be a part of this fun and exciting event!
Last year, over 13,000 people participated! Not only will
your gift help us reach our goal, but it may qualify us to win
additional grant prizes. Gifts of any size can make a HUGE difference.
(The minimum gift allowed is $10)
Follow us!
Like us on Facebook     Follow us on Twitter
 
to stay in the loop on Giving Day!
With your help we can continue to make a difference
in the lives of homeless pets in our community.
Don’t forget to follow all of the action with
#FairfieldCountyGives
PAWS was founded in 1962 and over the past 50 years we have rescued
and rehomed over 16,000 pets and helped thousands more with low cost
spay/neuter services, medical care, food donations for owners struggling
to keep their pets and more.
With your support we can help create a bright future for pets in need!

www.pawsct.org

 

 

If you can help with a donation of at least $10, that donation gives PAWS a chance to win cash prizes up to $25,000! Sure hope you can help out.

Meow Giveaway

meowThis 160-page book is filled with gorgeous kitty photos. Each is accompanied by a quote about cats. This really is a must have for anyone who loves cats and beautiful photography. We are giving away two copies. You can read my review and leave a comment here prior to 5 p.m. E.T. today for aa chance to win. Winners will be selected using Random.org and announced tomorrow.

Instagram

We are now on Instagram. Our user name is Kitties.Blue. We have added an Instagram button to our sidebar and you can reach us by clicking on it. I’d like to thank Carol Bryant (Fidose of Reality), BlogPaws Marketing & Social Media Manager, for her telephone tutorial on setting up and using Instagram. I won this session with her on the #BlogPawsChat on March 1. BlogPaws Chats take place on Tuesday evenings from 8 to 10 p.m. E.T. on Twitter. They cover a range of topics, and prizes are always given away. If you aren’t participating, you are missing out on an great opportunity.

dw-pmlexialwaysforeverheart3-9-16R.I.P. Lexi

It is with a heavy heart that we say farewell to Lexi from the blog Deziz World. Seventeen-year-old, tabby Lexi (with her gorgeous green eyes) was a service cat for Mom Audra. Deziz will be handling service duties on her own for the time being. If you haven’t already, please stop by and leave your condolences.

CHRISTMAS SHELTER PROJECT 2015

LL ChristmasShelterProject BADGE

 

We purrticipaed in Lola and Lexy‘s Christmas Shelter Project. Mom and Dad delivered goodies to our local no-kill shelter, Angels of Assisi in Roanoke, Virginia.

 

Santa Kitty Toy Hop

 

Mom and Dad dropped off food, litter, treats, lots of toys and the cat tree/scratcher we recently reviewed for Chewy.com. Astrid had decided that tree belonged to her, and we are pretty sure she’s upset that it’s gone. Mom will probably be ordering another one for her.

 

Christmas shelter project

 

Mom asked Dad to take some photos of some of the kitties, but for whatever reason, he did not. Maybe he didn’t hear her ask. (He doesn’t always wear his hearing aids!)

Mom says there are about 15 kitties waiting for their forever homes. Six of them are black, and Mom fell in love with every one of them. This little girl, Nod, a two-and-a-half-year-old Bombay mix is one of them. She is on Petfinder (Pet ID: 9517080) if you’d like to offer her a forever home.

Christmas shelter project

Allie (Friends Furever) and Mau (from the Cat Scouts New Year’s Eve party), the remainder of Kitties Blue and our Mom and Dad wish you a happy new year with thanks for being our friends and supporters. Each of you mean the world to us.

 

Purrs and paw-pats. Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty may, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

happy-new-year-0985-glitter

THE SUGAR SHIP PRODUCT REVIEW

The Sugar ShipThe Sugar Ship is a new company (started in 2015) with a unique product. They contacted us a couple of months ago and asked if we would like to sample and review their product on our blog. We jumped at the opportunity to try something new. We never know when we might find a new food, treat or toy that becomes a favorite.

We kitties, however, were not the only ones excited to try it. So was Mom. The reason: This is not just a product designed for cats or dogs but for humans as well.

So, what is The Sugar Ship’s product? It is a treat-filled, high quality, reusable, canvas tote bag measuring 18″w x 11″h x 3.8″d. The bag features a front pocket with either a cat or dog silhouette imprint. The tote is packed with people snacks and dog treats/dog toys or catnip/cat toys/treats. Totes also can be purchased with only cat or dog products.

This is the purrfect house warming, hostess or holiday gift for the family who shares their home with a furry friend. 

People snacks may include nuts, chocolates, hard candies, sweets, pretzels, bagel crisps or artisan snack chips. Many of the products are all natural and organic.

Kitty recipients will enjoy an assortment of brand name cat toys that may include feathers, balls, mice or stuffed birds, as well as edible cat treats and catnip. All cat treats are 100% natural and made in the U.S.A.

Doggies will receive brand name dog toys that may include rope toys, stuffed animals, rubber chew toys and tennis balls, as well as edible dog treats. All dog treats are healthy, natural and made in the U.S.A.

Totes with treats are priced between $25.99 for a pet only tote up to $49.99 with treats for both humans and pets. Shipping is free.

Here’s what the humans received in our tote:

 

The Sugar Ship

 

Our humans don’t eat a lot of sugary sweets, and they prefer dark chocolate so the two center items were gifted to our kitty sitter, Chris (to her delight). The rest of snacks didn’t last long. Mom really enjoyed the tea candy. She’d never had anything like it before and found it tasty and refreshing.

The kitty items in our tote were the bomb!

 

The Sugar Ship

 

We of course enjoyed the toys and catnip, but our very favorite thing was the Pure Bites 100 percent natural, freeze-dried, chicken breast cat treats. In fact, some kitty got their paws on the closed packet after we’d tried them, and helped her/himself by tearing the package apart. But we give all the items a gold star.

 

The Sugar Ship

 

Every purchase supports pet adoption.

All tote bags include information on the charity that has been supported through your purchase. The Sugar Ship donates five percent of proceeds from all tote bags to humane societies, no-kill animal shelters and rescues working to save lives through pet adoption and spay/neuter initiatives.

We encourage you to visit The Sugar Ship’s website to learn more about the company and try their products. You also will have the opportunity to meet their adorable, rescued pets/mascots: Pirate Pawpaw, Shipmate Shyly and Sailor Sweet.

Disclaimer: Kitties Blue were not monetarily compensated for this review. We did receive the products pictured above at no charge to us. The opinions expressed with regard to the product are ours alone. 

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

BLOG THE CHANGE FOR ANIMALS WITH BARN CAT BUDDIES

 

BLOGTHECHANGE

 

As part of Blog the Change, we are excited to share the following information with you from Barn Cat Buddies (Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo’s alma mater).

Thanks to a generous grant from the McCausland Foundation, Barn Cat Buddies announces The FREE Feline FIX! The goal is to spay/neuter/rabies vaccinate approximately 600 felines this winter totally FREE to cat/kitten owners AND caretakers of managed colonies. The mission is to hugely impact the number of litters that would be surrendered to local pounds and shelters this spring and summer.

Making this an incredible offering for cat owners/caretakers is the lack of restrictions to taking advantage of this opportunity.

1. No income requirement.
2. No zip code requirement
3. No limit to the number of cats per household and
4. Open to community (feral) cats as long as a caretaker is feeding and monitoring the cat or colony.

PLEASE NOTE: This grant ONLY covers the cost of a spay or neuter, rabies vaccine and ear tip for cats in traps. The surgeries will be performed at Angels of Assisi (our Santa Kitty Toy Hop recipients). If the Assisi medical staff determines a feline needs additional medical treatment, that is the responsibility of the pet owner. To apply simply call the Barn Cat Buddies hotline at 504-344-8707 ext. 3* do not leave your message on Assisi’s line please.

Please spread the word through social media!

 

 

THAT FACE, THAT FACE, THAT SWEET, ADORABLE FACE

 

swizzle collage-001

 

Once again, I am sharing the lovely and adoptable Swizzle, who I sponsor at PAWS. Her face “spoke” to me the moment I saw her photo. And she has become very special to me as meowmeowmans (Kevin Hatori), Animal Shelter Volunteer Life, continues to check on her for me and send photos and updates.

I know she is only one in a world filled with kitties longing to have a loving and forever home, but I feel as her sponsor that I have accepted the responsibility to assist her in finding that one special place and person to call her own. If she could tolerate a home with eight fursibs, I would hop in the car and bring her home to Virginia from Connecticut.

Swizzle was originally adopted from PAWS but returned as her pet parent could not take her along when moving to a no-pets-allowed home. She is six years old and loves to be brushed, petted and rubbed behind the ears. She will reward the giver of this attention with purrs. Please click here to read her complete profile. You just may not be able to resist that face and find the love of your life.

Once again I am participating in Athena and Maria’s Caturday Art Blog Hop. To create this photo, I started with Picasa and added the HDR-ish filter to the original photo. I then headed over to EnjoyPic and added that photo to the collage. I then reloaded it into Picasa and used the Comic Book filter. I am quite partial to anything with this soft and ethereal look and hope all of you like it as well. To participate or see the other submissions, click on the badge.

Tomorrow will be our Sunday Selfies Blog Hop. You do not have to be a cat to enter. All critters are welcome as are your humans. And I promise the kitties will do a better job of visiting and commenting on the blogs of all who enter. Their dad and I were out of town last weekend, and the kitties and I still haven’t gotten caught up with our visiting and commenting. Hope you can forgive us!