You Rock!

©2010 Betsy Merchant.

Yesterday, I got a plea from Betsy at Henry County Care & Control. One of the other cats hoping to get rescued is a sweet little girl who is, well, is a bit of a “fixer-upper.” I took one look at the photos and tried not to cry. I decided I had to do whatever I could to help her find a rescue.

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Her right front leg bends at an odd angle. Her jaw appears to be broken, too.

This little dear, gets along fine, thank you, even “hauls around”, according to Betsy, even though it's clear, something quite serious happened to her. Most likely she was hit by a car, but we don't know when. We know that no one bothered to provide her with any medical care. How they could look at her and not see that she needed HELP shocks me. To make things worse, now she finds herself waiting to die at a Kill Shelter. What kind of world is this?

©2010 Betsy Merchant.

She not a cute itty-bitty kitty. She may require thousands in Vet care to correct her facial deformity and to possibly amputate her leg. Although she can eat, she does drool. Although she can walk, is she in pain? She doesn't deserve this life she's had, she deserves so much better. The thing is...how can I get that to happen for her?

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Not in pain, this little girl can still move around quite freely.

I guess it's like everything else. You just put the word out and hope the perfect person sees her photo and falls in love. This little cat's body may be broken, but her heart is still full of love. She's a sweet natured cat, even after all she has suffered. I know someone can help her. I just have to find them.

©2010 Betsy Merchant.

I sent out some emails last night, to my “gals,” Connie and Jennifer. I asked them for suggestions on how we can be creative, get this cat to Connecticut and get her help. I would do a fundraiser. I would help get a foster. I would do just about everything I could think of, but I just couldn't adopt her.

©2010 Betsy Merchant. What a FACE!

I didn't have to. Connie, who already adopted Big O-a complete wreck of a beast from a horrible situation in GA and who adopted Little Maria, who had an untreated broken leg, stepped up and suggested that SHE adopt this cat! I balked at first, but Connie prefers to help cats that are in dire straights-the ones that are hard to place-the ones that need a little work (or a lot!). One thing I know about Connie is that when she makes a commitment to a cat, that cat won't have anything to worry about ever again. Connie is a magnificent cat-mama. If she was willing to open her home to this poor creature, then I could make it happen.

©2010 Betsy Merchant.

So as I sat in the car while Sam drove us to New York City to attend The Chocolate Show, I made phone calls. Things began to fall into place. As of this moment, this cat is FREE. She is busted out of Henry County. She's at the Vet being checked out. With any luck, fairly soon she will be at her foster mama's home and in a few weeks, she should be ready to fly to Connecticut-right around Thanksgiving—a perfect time to truly appreciate the miracle that happened for this girl. This girl, former ID# 11/10-4781, now has a home to look forward to and a proper name.

©2010 Betsy Merchant.

Introducing, Precious.

Oh yeah, and the Chocolate Show was awesome, too!

.

These kitties were just rescued from Henry Co about an hour ago. Thankfully they were not there very long. Hopefully they won't be getting sick! Let's just take a moment to enjoy this feeling...ahhh...whew!

©2010 Betsy Merchant. HOW DO YOU FEEL? YOU JUST GOT RESCUED!

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Wait a minute..you're not blue..who are you?

©2010 Betsy Merchant. Congratulations Mama & Family!

Oh yeah, and Betsy rescued ONE MORE KITTY..a white one. No details yet...but woah it has been a GREAT day for the cats of Henry County!

This morning I woke up, checked my email. It was bad news. No one was able to save the Little Blue Babies from Henry Co. I really thought all hope was lost unless I could find a Vet Tech or a VERY experienced foster mom to take the Blue Babies into foster care. They were getting sick, thin, not sure why, maybe just a simple thing, maybe something bad. Whatever the reason, they would NOT make it beyond tomorrow morning, that is clear. Henry is closed today, but tomorrow they are back in the business of putting down the animals who fall ill.

I stood in my bathroom, brushing my teeth, crying. I cried a lot. I went back to working the email and phones. I actually found a GREAT possible foster Mama with lots of experience with kitties. I had a Rescue step up to offer to give them a home after their quarantine time in Georgia was done.

The post that will never come to be...

Then the emails started coming in. Barb Lowe, who must have a very powerful magic wand and the steely guts of a warrior, did what I could not do. She found a way to get the pieces put together to rescue the little blue kittens-even though we KNOW they are NOT WELL and we are NOT SURE why they have become thin. I'm sure Barb's team will get that sorted out. I just sit on the sidelines and offer to help. She just picks up the phones and makes it all happen in ways I only hope to be able to do one day.

So it IS confirmed from Betsy at Henry Co. Just as the kittens had less than ONE DAY LEFT TO LIVE...they are OUT OF THERE FOR GOOD and ON THE ROAD to THE BEST CHANCE THEY HAVE TO LIVE A WONDERFUL LIFE!!!!

I AM SOFA-KING HAPPY (as they say in "france")!!! I think everyone who does rescue in Georgia knows about these kittens in need. Hopefully all of them will find out that they are SAFE!!!

Oh yeah and no big deal but Betsy told us a beautiful Mama and 4 kittens just arrived-all Blue, too. Could we save them? I guess Barb has a huge heart and a warehouse of foster homes or something because THIS MAMA and the babies are ALREADY OUT AND SAFE, TOO! OUT BEFORE THEY CAN ALL GET SICK!!!!!

Way to go, Barb and WCR. You never cease to blow our minds with what you can do.

If you feel as happy and grateful as I do, why not pop over to WCR and make a donation to any of her kitty fundraiser widgets? It's the least we can do to honor someone with magical powers. Maybe she will let me borrow them one day?

Thank you to everyone for their support and good wishes and offers to help. At last, the one thing that is NOT blue after all of this is us. I'd say we must be in the pink!

One thing I really love about writing this Blog is all the great people I get to meet. Some are pen pals from across “the pond” and others I've had the pleasure of meeting in person. These folks have a varied background. Some times their jobs flat out surprise me and leave me in awe.

While I am sworn to secrecy over this person's identity, I can tell you she is a Forensic Graphologist, otherwise known as a Handwriting Analysis Expert. She contacted me last year about analyzing a handwritten note I'd posted on my blog. That lead to me sending her some “exemplars”-samples of handwriting for her to use to practice her craft. She likes to keep fresh and seeing the samples is also fun for her. I sent her mine, Sam's, some friends and family. She told me things that surprised me and shocked me. She was even able to tell me one person I know is “closeted” gay. When I talked to that person, that person indicated she was correct! I had NO idea! And no, I didn't care if the person was gay or not. Sheesh! It was that I had NO idea and the person's handwriting said it all! That was what was so interesting!

To think that the loops and shapes of our letters tell a story all their own is fascinating. With that in mind, months ago, I asked this person to look at the writing samples from a post (rant) I'd written about Koko the cat, who was dumped by her owner. My email fell into her Spam folder and she just found it yesterday! She wrote up her analysis, which I'll share with you, below.

These notes were regarding THIS post.

The gal who wrote the first note is youngish, I would guess early 20s.

I'm sorry to say that I think the writing is a kid's and here's why:

1. I don't think an adult could imitate the weird spacing, which is common for kids who don't have a lifetime of experience writing notes.

2. The "10 mins" he wrote looks childlike--I don't think an adult would know to make the numerals different sizes, like kids do.

3. The word "gob" for "job" isn't a misspelling an adult would use to throw someone off the track. Adults who misspell purposefully wouldn't use a real word in place of another word (homonyms excluded, of course)--they would just switch around a few letters.

4. The placement of the ":" between "from" and "Korey" is also an indication of someone youthful.

[Robin's note: this was the KICKER to me!!!]

The third note writer is definitely aware that they're behaving like an asshole, at least. No connections between letters within words, the personal pronoun "I" is demented and the "f" has a weird, duplicitous loop at the top.

What is wrong with people!!!!!!!!!!!

------------------------------------------

The good news is that within a day of my post going live, Elke, one of our readers CALLED ME and offered to adopted KoKo. The next morning, our beloved Bobby, drove Koko to her new home-a few HOURS away

!

Elke reports that Sophie (no more KoKo), is doing very well integrating into her home. There have been NO litterbox accidents..no peeing or pooping other than in her pan. Is Sophie sick? Heck no. She's fine. Not only is she fine, she is well loved and cared for and living a wonderful life with Elke and her family. What started out as a tragedy-in-the-making, turned out to be quite a happy tail and one that I was proud to be part of.

If Sophie could write, I just know her handwriting would certainly indicate that she is happy, confident, friendly...and relived her nightmare is over. I bet she'd dot her “i's” with smiley faces or hearts, too.

A few days ago there were 16 cats in my home. Adoptions were just non-existant. My first litter of kittens in our Kitten Associates program were STILL not all adopted and they'd been here since early AUGUST. I had to turn down MANY potential adopters for one reason or another. I kept waiting. I tried to have faith it would work out. I decided if I never got an application on Yodel, I wouldn't mind it so much. I've been promising myself one more cat-a long haired tuxedo, one of these days. It wasn't the perfect time, but so what?

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Candy Corn.

Then reality set in. I would be INSANE to keep ANY more cats at this point. My cats are pooping and peeing all over the house. They're furious. There are too many fosters cats running lose. Pattycake and Moonpie can't find an adopter. They're just too big. I can't confine them to a small bathroom. It was driving them mad. Yodel and Honey B. can't be in their old room because The Halloween Express of four kittens are a bit sniffly. The two groups can't be combined.

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Candy Corn actin' sassy.

I was just about to pack my bags and run off when a curious thing happened...I got a promising application. I did a Vet check. It was not great. They had taken great care of their dog, but the cat hadn't been vetted since 2008. I was about to write them, off, but I realized I needed to ask why, first. Turns out the adopter had traveled to Europe for business for a long period of time and had asked his father to care for his cat while he was gone. Dad fell in love with the cat and the son felt guilty taking his cat back. This answered the question as to why no Vet reference for the cat.

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Skittles. Really! I can tell them apart.

We had a good chat. He was VERY interested in feeding his cats a raw diet! He also talked about letting his cats outside, but after a few minutes he realized it was not necessary and he assured me no cat he adopted would be going outside. Yes, he could be giving me lip service, but I felt he was being honest.

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Three little maniacs all in a row (Skittles is probably crawling up my leg, so he missed being in the shot).

His girlfriend liked Patty and Moonpie and wanted to meet them. They have no animals currently and hope to have a few cats and a dog, eventually. I jumped at the chance to have them meet the crazy cow cats, but he also said he was very interested in the orange tabby cats-Skittles and Candy Corn. I knew Patty and Moonie didn't stand a chance against the 12-week old kittens.

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Treat.

Yesterday, the couple came over to meet the kitties. They both told me about how they'd had cats for most of their lives. I really had a good feeling about them. They were great with Moonie and Patty but the two cats were "off" and didn't show that well.

Then I opened the door to the foster room and the entire Halloween Express ran towards us. The second the couple entered the room, they were covered with kittens who were purring, pawing for attention, standing on their hind legs and patting one of them on the nose. They wanted to be held, touched, loved. Not one of them was shy. Who wouldn't fall in love with these happy-go-lucky kittens?

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. Trick.

I tried to remind them that any of these kittens would need more attention and care. That Patty and Moonie were ready to go and these kittens still needed more shots (eventually), more de-worming and were still a tiny bit sniffly! They just looked at the kittens and nodded. Whatever I said was going right through them. They were smitten.

I realized it would be wise to give them some time to talk, so I left them with the kittens and went to visit Patty and Moonie. I told them they weren't going to be adopted, but that it was going to be okay. They sat on my bed and looked up at me. It made my heart melt.

As I stood to leave the room, the door opened to the foster room. The couple came out and I asked if they had made a decision. They had. Which two did you want? I figured they would say the orange tabbies, but they surprised me.

They said they would take them ALL.

ALL?

Yes. ALL!

I blurted out; “You're shittin' me!” before I could stop myself. And they said they couldn't imagine being able to chose two of the four and that they were all too lovely and they had the room for four and wanted to give them all a home.

I just stood there with my mouth open.

©2010 Robin A.F Olson. The happy family before they leave for their new home.

They asked me to hold the cats until Monday, when I'll have finished treating them for ear mites (which they don't have but Dr Larry found ONE dead mite in Skittle's ear so we're being careful). I'll bring them to their new home tomorrow. I barely can tell these kittens apart! They've been here just over ONE WEEK and they're ALL ADOPTED!!

I just can't believe it! The Halloween Express zoomed in the door and right back out! Amazing! And to think...they were a few minutes away from being EUTHANIZED for their sniffles! I shudder to imagine...

I've adopted out a mama (Huggy Mama) and her two offspring together, but that was it. I've never adopted four kittens to one family before, but they've both had over 8 cats so I think it will be all right.

We sat down and did the paperwork. My head was spinning. If these kittens were gone in a day, then it would take a big load off me. I started to see a light at the end of the tunnel. Maybe I would have time to get some work done? Maybe I'd STOP flying off the handle every two seconds? Okay, maybe a pig would fly out of my butt, too...hey, I tried.

But an hour later, the adoptions continued. More kitties found a home...part two coming soon!

Two weeks ago four little tabby kittens were going to be euthanized. They were showing signs of developing an upper respiratory infection— sneezing and runny eyes. At the time it wasn't severe. In fact, it could have passed in a few days. The problem was, at Henry County, every sick cat gets euthanized-even IF it could have easily recovered...even if it didn't need to be treated by a Vet. That's the rules. There are too many animals in a facility that does not have quarantine rooms and if they did, they would be “full up” since the animals are exposed to each other and the stress of being in a shelter can make them “break” with a URI, too. Cats are really fragile creatures. I've come to learn that after last year's fiasco with “Santa's Team.” Dogs can take more stress, where cats seem to fall apart. To be crass, it just sucks. It's not fair. It's a senseless death for these animals.

Instead of waiting or emailing, I knew I had to call if I was going to save these cats and call I did. I called everyone at HCCAC and made SURE they were NOT going to euthanize the cats. As some of you know, the cats had 30 minutes-or less to live. A sobering thought, to say the least.

But we don't have to cry over these cats. They're not only safe, but yesterday afternoon, they said farewell to their beyond-fantastic-foster-mama, Maria and began their journey to Connecticut and to become Kitten Associates latest foster kittens.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. From left to right: How do I know? The orange cats are Skittles and Candy Corn and the silver tabbies are Treat & Treat.

Maria made sure to get everyone to pose nicely for the camera before she had to pack them into their cat carriers. For once they stopped moving long enough to get a few cute photos.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. I think this is Skittles? Maria? Who is it?

We cannot forget a special someone who will also be part of the Express to Connecticut-our Rocco! Rocco has been hanging out at Maria's, getting belly rubs, getting some good food. All he's doing is waiting for his ride. With that big belly and sweet face, I just KNOW we will find him a great home soon. Of all the cats, I'm most excited to meet Rocco. Knowing he was abandoned by his family, that he's an adult who's already lived half of his life, well, he should have all the love and comforts we can provide to him. Through everything, he remains a sweet, friendly beast. I just love him already.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. Rocco! You are so CUTE!

Adoptions have been very slow for me. I still have four foster cats. Soon I'll have eight. I keep hoping I'll get some adopters-espeically for Moonie & Patty. They're asleep in a cat bed right next to my desk. They seem to belong here, but I can't afford ten cats of my own. I'm glad they fit in well since I'm guessing it will be awhile longer before I find them a forever home. At least they don't have to be locked up in my tiny bathroom any more. I think my cats are starting to calm down about having them here, too and the fountains of cat pee are slowly diminishing.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. Hold still? for the camera?

Since Izzy and Mark aren't taking another trip down south (really, they DO have a life, you know!), thanks to Judith Hougaz and Deb Parry, the kitties are riding on a PETS, LLC transport. Sound familiar? If you watch “Last Chance Highway” on Animal Planet, it will all make sense. Kyle Petersen, the owner of PETS, also runs dogs (dogs!) to the northeast, some for a rescue group run by a very perky dog lover named, Shelley Brookwalter. Shelley and Kyle's friendship and partnershp to save animals is a highlight of the program. It's a heartwarming show, but it does irk me that cats are rarely ever transported and certainly never part of the show.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. All aboard!

These are the accommodations. Keep in mind, they would be the same in anyone's car, as well. Of course the difference is there are also no barking dogs and more attention on a private transport. It's tough. Most transports are just like this or worse. The hope is they will get going FAST and get it over with SOON. I trust that Kyle runs a tight ship. I used them last year and all was well. Hopefully that will be the case with this run, too.

©2010 Maria Sandoval. This is Steve. Maria gave him the third degree! He better take good care of those cats-OR ELSE!

If there was only some way to tell the cats that!

©2010 Maria Sandoval. WE WANT OUT!

Poor Skittles and Candy Corn are just not havin' it!

©2010 Maria Sandoval. REALLY! LET US OUT!

I feel worse for Rocco. He is old enough for this to really hit him hard. If only we could tell him what waits for him. I think he'd be happy to wait a bit longer and endure the noise and stress of the trip. Hang in there, buddy!

©2010 Maria Sandoval. Awww...Rocco! Don't be scared. This is the worst part of your life. I promise it will get better really soon.

I have to agree with something Maria said to me today...it can't be 9am Saturday soon enough. That's when I'm scheduled to pick the cats up. Connie will be there with me to get Rocco. He'll be going to Animals in Distress just in time for an adoption event. My guys will be meeting Honey B. and Yodel. I sure hope they get along or I'm gonna be in trouble because they'll have to stay in the same room! I also hope the new crew DOES NOT GET SICK...OH GOD...NOT THAT AGAIN!

©2010 Maria Sandoval. Skittles and Candy Corn. I sure hope to adopt them out together!

It's Friday afternoon. Moonie has his paws on my leg while Patty spoons him. It's quiet. The cats are all napping. The sky is overcast and the golden autumn leaves seem to glow. I can't help but know it's the calm before the storm, but I'll deal with it, whatever comes to pass. It's just that caring for and loving sixteen cats is a bit much-even for me.

Deep breath. Knock wood. It's going to be okay.

I don't think anyone could possibly chronicle with any detail how DIFFICULT, how many e-mails, how many questions, how many late hours, it took to rescue what started out as Four Maine Coon Mix kittens from Clayton Co. Animal Control in Jonesboro, GA.

I've never pulled cats from Clayton. I don't have anyone with a GA license who can help. There was a big team of people networking to find the one person who could help get the kittens OUT before it was too late.

©2010 Clayton County Animal Control. The clock is ticking. Can we get these cuties out ALIVE?

Yesterday, I spent most of the day and well into the night trying to find that one person. Along the way I found out about other people who pull from GA shelters, other rescue groups, ONE IS IN AUSTRALIA!!! Everyone was trying to help, but the GA License is tough to get and once you have it, you can't just let anyone else use it. So we were left with either trying to get someone local to adopt the cats or finding a local rescue group to take them in-when all are “full up.”

In the end, it was our Maria who totally kicked ass. She had taken the day off to get Vet care for the other kittens she is fostering for me and for another rescue group. Since the Vet appointment was changed, she still had the day off so she decided to go to Clayton and find out what was going on with the kittens. She managed to find out that there were five kittens originally. Three were adopted over the past few days. Two were left. We didn't want to chance leaving them, in the hope they, too, we be adopted. Two kittens are a lot easier to find a rescue for then four, anyway.

We were still scrambling, looking for a rescue to pull the cats on our behalf. Samantha Shelton, the Executive Director/Founder of FurKids contacted me and offered to help pull the cats for us. They have 500 animals in their facility and they rent a HOUSE for cats who have FIV+. Do I love them, already? YES. I do.

At the same time, the group Maria works with, RescueCats, offered to take the kittens, use their GA license and find the kittens homes in Georgia. I would not be transporting them here as I had been planning for the past few days. I was sad about that, but so GLAD they were safe.

A few minutes ago, Maria called me. She told me she got to Clayton and it was CLOSED. They were closed for an employee meeting at 2pm! Maria held her ground and saw a guy near the door. She sweetly managed to convince him to, at least, ask someone to help her even though they were closed. As you see, below, no one says NO to Maria!

©2010 Maria Sandoval. WOOOHOO!!!! AT LAST!!!!

So all is well.

To me, though, the biggest miracle of all was the e-mail I just got from Betsy at Henry. It simply said:

“Safe, just went to local licenses rescue! YAY!”

Her e-mail was referring to the Big Chicky-Baby Kitties I told you about last week. I found out on Monday that Henry is so overcrowded they put down eight cats. I didn't want to know which ones. I feared the worst. For these big sweethearts, their fate was not another sad ending. They are safe and sound and one day will find their perfect forever homes. Until then they will be out of the cage and into a foster home.

I get choked up every time I look at their photos and think about what a big of a miracle it was for these girls to get out ALIVE.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. Fran is saved!!!

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. Cami is saved!!!

Once in awhile, we win one, or two or in this case FIVE. In the middle of all this craziness I found a little siamese kitten at Floyd County-another Kill Shelter. I told a group in New York about her, and she got rescued, too.

©2010 Floyd County Animal Control. This little baby is going to New York!

I AM SO HAPPY!!!!

Last week, I learned a painful lesson. I waited a few hours too long to say, “YES” to rescuing some kittens from Henry County Care & Control. By the time I called, they had been euthanized. Some of them started to show signs of upper respiratory-something we could have easily managed in foster care, but the rules of the shelter are not forgiving.

I cried a lot that day and the images of those kittens are etched in my heart, forever. Though guilt weighs heavily upon me, it does not stop my need to try again.

Over the weekend, I found out about the kittens you see, below. There are two sets of two-really one litter of four in two cages. Each one sweeter than the last. I knew it would be tricky for me to take them since my fosters haven't all be adopted yet, but I was set on doing just that. I started the work trying to put all the puzzle pieces together. Could Maria foster? Yes. Could Bobby transport them to the Vet and get them from HCCAC for me? Yes. How much would this cost? I need to do a fundraiser.

©2010 Henry Care & Control.

Then, another rescue group in New York stepped up to offer to take two of the kittens-the cute lynx point/siamese mixes. Another group said they would take the other two. Fundraising didn't need to be done, but they didn't have a foster home or a way to get the kittens out of HCCAC. So I contacted Betsy at HCCAC and told her about my weird plan. My group pulls the cats, they get funded by another, they get transported to New York and ultimately get fostered and homed by another group! It's nutty, but who cares? Will I miss having them here, YES, but...they will be alive. That's what counts.

Crazy little details sorted. Directions, confirmations and approvals given, I made the call yesterday morning to confirm rescuing the kittens. My heart was racing. I hoped I hadn't waited too long (again). Betsy was out and they asked me to leave a message. I started to panic. I gave them the ID numbers of the kittens and said that I would be happy to take them and to NOT PUT THEM DOWN. I waited.

©2010 Henry Care & Control.

I waited an hour. I didn't want to be a pest. I hate to be annoying, but I was freaking out! I emailed Betsy. I waited. I finally called HCCAC again and she was still out so I asked if there was someone else I could speak with and a gentleman got on the phone and told me they cats were still "available" and that not to worry. Betsy would call back.

©2010 Henry Care & Control.

So. I worried.

A little while later my phone rang. It was Gerri Yoder, the Director at Henry County Care & Control. She told me that Betsy had contacted her and asked her to call me! That not-to-worry, the kittens were safe and they would hold them until we could pick them up the next day. She gave me her direct phone number at the shelter AND her cellphone number. I never have to worry that I can't reach someone who can help me help the kittens.

I stopped worrying. As soon as I started to relax, Gerri told me it was a good thing the kittens were getting a rescue. They had starting to sneeze-showing signs of getting URIs. Then, it hit me. If I had waited another second, they would have been put down. It was by a whisker that these kittens were saved. I wanted to throw up.

A little over an hour ago, these little babies were not only busted out and rescued, but they have already been to the vet and are on their way to Maria's house to be fostered for the next two weeks. They are just six weeks old.

©2010 Henry Care & Control.

Two have the sniffles, but nothing too bad just now. Bed rest and good food will help them feel better soon. They are out, just in the nick of time...and now they have their whole lives ahead of them, instead of few hours left to live.

©2010 Henry Care & Control.

Welcome to life outside death row, babies. Welcome! Oh and we have a few more kitties to welcome, too. When you rescue four, you just can't stop there, can you? Heck no!

It's been a few months since I first wrote about Bobbi, a Manx/Maine Coon mix whose owners felt it was ok to declaw her on ALL FOUR PAWS and whose Vet felt it was OK to do this and NOT EVEN SPAY HER!!!! If you want to read my blue-worded-rant, you can go HERE and if you want to read about how I came to rescue her, you can go HERE and HERE.

©2010 Henry County Care & Control. Thanks to Robin, the Kennel Master and Betsy Merchant, I learned about Bobbi being in dire need of rescue. Luckily, the timing was perfect and I could help her out with the efforts of my team: Maria, Bobby (who Bobbi is named after), Connie & Carole.

After Bobbi's long trip from a Kill Shelter in Georgia to a little break at Connie's house in Connecticut, to living at Animals in Distress, Bobbi got adopted by a family with another cat. Sadly, Bobbi didn't seem to like other cats, but she wasn't SPAYED (which we didn't realize at the time), so that might have been the reason why.

Bobbi got returned after a week. She got spayed a few days later. She got along fine with all the cats at Animals in Distress, which is an open shelter with no cages. We all felt bad for her. She'd come so far, yet we wondered if we could find a home for her without other cats. Maybe that was best?

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Who is lovin' life right now?

On Saturday, during the adoption event, a family came in to visit Bobbi. I had just taken photos of her for her Petfinder listing. Apparently, the Mom of the family had been there a few days before and had taken photos of Bobbi to share with her husband and adult daughter. They'd recently lost their 16 year old kitty and wanted to rescue a cat in need.

They had returned, together, to see if Bobbi was the right cat for them. They took turns petting her, then holding her. She sat comfortably in their arms. I swore she was smiling. After a day spent being surrounded by other families, kids and cats, Bobbi was non-plused. She was just happy to be safe, with a fully belly and a nice place to sleep. She glowed from all the attention.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Oh yeah, she's got them wrapped around her little declawed toe!

It wasn't a tough decision for the family to make. They filled out an application, got a great Vet reference and were greenlighted to adopt Bobbi. I chatted with them a bit and found out they live near my house, I know of their Vet and that he is a proponent of feeding raw to cats. They wanted to know about feeding a better diet to Bobbi so I gave them some handouts, as well as anything else I could come up with to help her transition off dry food. These people are genuinely warm, kind and loving. I could tell they wanted the best...for THEIR cat...this little, loving wonder who somehow survived Death Row and a VERY long journey to find that her perfect home was waiting for her all along.

©2010 The Murdoch Family. Used with Permission. Bobbi at home with her new Sister.

This is what I live for. This moment. This feeling that lifts my heart above the clouds. Knowing that this one cat, who didn't stand a chance, got plucked out of Hell and placed into the loving arms of a family that will NEVER put her outside to slowly starve to death...that will NEVER dismiss her or give up on her. She will finally know what she should have known all along-that her family will always look out for her and love her for the rest of her life.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Bobbi showin' off her "stuff."

And to think, they wrote to me to thank ME for what I do, but it's really them. Bobbi could have languished at the shelter for months or years without them being willing to give her a home. I feel a sense of peace and joy, knowing this journey has come to happy end.

...but that wasn't the only adoption I have to tell you about...there is still ONE MORE to go.

THIS JUST IN...IN LESS THAN 24 HOURS...

One of our dear readers, saw the plea-a-thon I started for CHEESE yesterday everywhere she looked. She took it as a sign that she needed to help out this kitty and his dear mama, Kathleen.

CHEESE will now be luxuriating at the home of an Associate Dean at the College of William & Mary!

WOOHOO AND THANK YOU for helping out a kitty (and nice Mama) in need! Way to go!

And now...back to our regularly scheduled programming...GO CHEESE!