Tattoo your cat?

You are an IDIOT.

Risk your cat's life by allowing it to be anesthetized for THREE HOURS, endure the PAIN of a ridiculous and UGLY tattoo just to say you did it first. You're a SICK SICK jerk and I feel sorry for your cat. I hope someone removes it from your home.

JERK!

Pic: Balkanpix.com

I have a great idea. I'm going to dye my white cat, blue so I can be, cool, too!

Not!

Yes, and this person is allowed to own a cat. Great.

(thanks to Super-Deb for the link)

Chip made it to R.O.A.R.'s web site and his adoption ad went live this morning. He looks like he finally got that bath he desperately needed, but he does look sad. I hope his Petfinder photo gets updated soon, so folks can see how sweet this boy really is!

Chip photo by R.O.A.R. staff member

Chip had a VERY busy week, being trapped, neutered, tested, FED, loved and moved on to a Shelter to find his new, loving family. I hope Chip finds his home SOON.

See Chip's adoption information HERE

I've been crying today. I took my 7 foster cats - Mom and her 6 babies, who were born on my watch - to the shelter to have their spay and neuter surgeries today. Val and Mack will go to their new home tonight and the other 5 are back home with me to recuperate.

I haven't been crying because Val and Mack don't live with me any longer. I really couldn't be happier about their new family; they are wonderful, loving people who took exceptional care of the cat they had before.

I haven't ben crying over the general idea of fostering cats to eventually go into other homes. It's a lot of work, but it's worth it.

Poor Chip. Not only did he have a bad case of worms, but he did have some boo-boo's, no doubt from altercations with other cats. We don't know how long he was on his own, but due to his poor coat condition and low weight, it's probably been awhile. Perhaps he's been on his own for the entire winter?

It's been a tough one this year, for certain. Lots of snow, frigid temperatures and even a few ice storms. I honestly don't know how ANY of these cats survive. It's one of the things I HATE about winter. I wish I could protect all the free-roaming cats from having to struggle to survive in harsh conditions. They need to be in a nice, warm home with a full belly and lots of love.

photo by Trapper Jeanne

The good news for Chip is that Jeanne was able to find a placement for him at ROAR and he didn't even have to get onto a waiting list (usually NOT the case!). I don't know much about this Shelter, but everything I do hear is VERY VERY positive. If I had to choose a place for Chip, other than my own home, I'd aim for ROAR, first.

photo by Trapper Jeanne

A few days ago, Chip was placed at ROAR. I haven't seen his adoption listing come up yet, but as soon as it's live, I'll post it here. If anyone in the area of Northern Fairfield County, Connecticut is looking for a sweet, golden-eyed friend, please contact ROAR (and let us know if you've adopted him, of course!).

We send our best wishes to Chip and hope he will find his forever family very soon. This lucky boy, who was found starving behind a hardware store, is now safe, warm and on the road to purr-fect health. May all his worst days be behind him now.

Way to Go, Trapper Jeanne!

Clockwise from Top Right: Nicky, Nora, Spencer, Bob Dole (rear end view)

This is why I love having lots of cats. The only time it stops being so great is when they all decide they need to sleep on my Queen sized bed and then it gets a bit dicey. It also explains why I have chromic back pain!

One of our new Members, Anita, is a Doctor who lives in Spain. She agrees that feeding grained foods is not a good idea for her cats—and she added that grain is not so great for humans, either.

Anita's dilemma is that she's having a tough time FINDING grain-free cat food in Spain. I haven't been able to find a US-based cat food supplier that will ship overseas. This issue also came up with a friend of mine who lives in the UK. Again, the Grain-Free Revolution hasn't really hit our European neighbors.

After a few hours of research, I was able to locate something close to grain-free in the UK for my friend, but what can Anita do?

I checked Dr. Pierson's web site-the Holy Grail of Grain-Free Nutrition Information for Cats (along with other helpful topics, such as Litter Box problems/solutions and Diabetes Management). I found a link I'd like to share that talks about how to MAKE your OWN Cat Food! Now this is not for everyone, but if you live somewhere where you can't get grain-free food, then go ahead and make your own.

My caveat, and Dr. Pierson's is to be CAREFUL about handling raw meat. I fed RAW to my cats and they did great and loved it, but it's possible that my OLD kitty, Bob, who has FIV, may have gotten sickened by my mishandling of his raw food. We'll never know for sure, but I decided to feed canned, grain-free, over RAW, for now. If your cat is older and immune compromised, then DO be careful.

If anyone else has suggestions on where to find Grain Free Cat Food in Spain, let's here it! Post a comment or if you're a Member, you can also post a BLOG article!

Make Your Own Cat Food

Grain-Free is the Only Way to Feed!

photo by Trapper Jeanne

This is Chip.

Looks like Chip is a free-roaming kitty (stray). It's pretty obvious from the photos, he's NOT feral. He had a home and love from people and he hasn't been separated from humans long enough to have forgotten that love. He has, however, been away from people long enough to become a very dirty kitty! Voted number One in his class for Dirtiest Kitty in CT!

photo by Trapper Jeanne

Regardless of his dirty coat, Chip needed to be neutered and tested for disease. The tests always give me a stomach ache and sleepless nights. I never want to hear bad news. I hoped Chip would get a clean bill of health.

Trapper Jeanne moves at light speed. Just another day passed and I heard from Jeanne again-Good News! Chip didn't have anything that couldn't be treated. He had a very bad infestation of worms, which apparently, made a "run for the border" (sorry, gross, I know!), after Chip got his first de-worming treatment. Chip was neutered and ready for a new home.

Now the problem was...how to get Chip into a shelter where folks could FIND him! Jeanne doesn't have a shelter, she generously donates space in her own home to help rescued cats. We know from first-hand experience that the odds of adopting out an adult cat from a foster home is very low. Adults do much better in a shelter, where they can be seen by more potential adopters in a shorter amount of time.

This cat is a love-bug. He deserves a shot at a great home. How can we get him into a good shelter, where he'll be safe until he finds his forever home?

We've all seen kitties that have had a rough life and perhaps don't look as lovely or glamourous as a Show Cat, but this really takes the cake. Great story and video, below.

Bat Boy

Last weekend, Trapper Jeanne, as we call her, called to tell me some news about a feral cat we've been feeding. While we were chatting, she told me she was behind her family's Hardware Store, putting out food for yet more feral cats. Suddenly Jeanne got quiet, then she whispered:

"I see a new cat. i think he's feral. He looks pretty rough. I'm gonna put out a trap."

"No way! You're kidding!"

" Serious. Hang on a sec."

Jeanne's got talent. She also just digs in and isn't afraid of getting involved with any free roaming cat she comes across. I don't know how many kittys Jeanne's saved, but I know it's a lot.

Then Jeanne began to describe him to me.

"He's mostly white...wait...Oh my God...I think he's...YES! He's going into the trap!!! The door isn't closing behind him! Shit! Wait a second..."

I could hear some muffled sounds, then suddenly a LOUD, plaintive MEOW! Trapper Jeanne lived up to her name. She caught the cat!

Jeanne got back on the phone with me, her voice high with excitement.

"I got him! Can you hear him meowing?! He CAN'T be feral!"

A deaf person could hear him MEOW it was so LOUD. He sounded a bit like a Siamese. Jeanne told me he was really skinny and dirty and we both knew that if he meowed like that, it meant he was probably not feral, but perhaps lost his family and he sure needed some help.

So Jeanne put him in her car and took him home for evaluation and to get him some food. Thankfully, Jeanne works for a Vet, so she has a great deal of knowledge and connections! Go Jeanne!

I told her to get going and begged her to update me when she could and to send me some photos. I wanted to help, too, but didn't know if she'd need my help. I am SO jonesing for foster kitty!

I started to hope that this kitty wasn't feral so we could get him a new home. How could this cat basically just show up when one of the few people in the area who could have helped him was there? For those of you who work with ferals, you KNOW, they often don't just go into the trap. He must have been very hungry and possibly used to being around humans to go after food while Jeanne was there watching.

Chip's story continues with a few photos and more news....stay tuned.