Geoff and Gina need food

 Geoff and Gina are doing very well without Gabby. There was a small incident where Gina started losing weight and wasn't eating well, but we got her through that with some simple supportive care and they are currently at weight waiting for a spot on the schedule to be neutered. 

Sadly, we have a little bit of a problem.. 

Yup, we are running really low on food.  I drove down to the shelter (111 miles round trip) and all they had was shredded food.  They were originally eating that so I was hopeful that would be okay, but they are not fans of it.

I have done fundraising here before offering up my Amazon wish list but I have been having real issues with Amazon - both personally (not a fan of some of the stories of the working conditions I have heard) - and physically - as I don't have mail service to my house and my Post Office is currently having some real issues getting mail to people in the community (me included). I toyed with the idea of asking for gift cards to Petsmart but that seemed like too much of a stretch. 

I reached out to an independent pet store I adore.  Cats Kingdom in Manchester NH is a catcentric pet store. Cathy has a great selection of food as well as things like cat trees, water fountains, and toys. I make the trek down every couple of months to buy things as I really want to support them and I thought this fundraiser might be a good way to support several causes I care about at once.

Cathy is entirely willing to work with me, and you, on this. If you would like to purchase something online, you can do that here.  If you would like to buy a gift card or anything else by phone, you can reach them at 603-935-8321 and she will store it for me there and I will drive down to get it.  Cathy said in an email:

Your friends can call to get a gift card, they are not connected to my online store. If you let me know what you want to accomplish, I can make anything happen on my end. Also please note, that all sale items are in-store only. While the online store is a great tool and can be ordered off of, 99% of my business is in-store.

Emailed invoices are also an option. A gift card bought via phone or emailed invoice can then be mailed out /saved in-store.... If you see a sale item, I can send you an invoice, it can be paid and then held at the store. 

Cathy is currently having some cool sales at the store.  You can see them on her Facebook Page. She also runs an Instagram page. Geoff and Gina have a strong preference for pate food in poultry flavors, but any other flavors will be saved for future kittens, which I am sure to have. Cathy often has my favorite cat toy in stock, and I could use a few more of those as well.

If you would like to support me by sending a gift card for cat litter, that would be great as well. It is amazing how much of it they go through.. lol  

I often say that my followers are vital to the success of the kittens I foster because it is your support and encouragement that help get me through some difficult times.  Being reminded that there are "cat people" out there who value the lives of kittens and unhomed kitties lets me send out my fosters out into the world trusting they will land with good people. Thank you for spending part of your day with me, and for even considering helping out

@AWSKennebunk had a 50th birthday carnival

The Animal Welfare Society in Maine recently had a 50th-anniversary celebration and they invited the community to join them in celebrating their 50th birthday. I found out about via their Facebook announcement and thought it would be fun to stop by and see what was going on. I know they are doing a major renovation to the shelter and was looking forward to seeing how far it had progressed.

They set up a little fair in the field by the Boston House and had a number of blow up bounce houses and slides for the kids. A few food stands and "The Snake Guy" who bought some snakes and some small wildlife skeletons to educate the kids about local wildlife. They even had a local DJ playing music.

It was an absolutely beautiful day for it and it looks like it was quite a hit.

This was new for me. I didn't realize they had a credit card reader donation thingy. How freakin cool is that. According to the sign if you insert your credit card it automatically charges your card $10.

They also had a birthday party going on in another part of the shelter. Talk about a twofer for that party

Because of the construction on the front of the building they were routing visitors to the side of the building. They had a volunteer standing at the door opening it for people and directing them to what they were looking for. Unfortunately for me, the cat rooms were locked due to the events going on. It was for the protection of the kitties which is totally understandable but it made for very poor photos. I didn't want to get in the way just to take a few photos, so we ended up leaving. It is good that they have enough staff and volunteers that they haven't needed to call me in over a year, but I do miss being close to the shelter that I'm fostering for.

Name a TFK kitty in honor of Chandler

I knew this day was coming. I was pretty sure when Schindler/Chandler/Albert was returned to the shelter after being adopted by a family with other pets and small kids that he was never getting out. I learned yesterday that, sadly, I was right.

This poor boy had so much going against him, but despite all of that he had a personality larger than life. I took one look at him last year and fell head over heals for him. He was sitting in a cage with a bum leg and a huge notice of diabetes, and I knew immediately I had to bring him home if only for a short time.

I could not adopt him. I know my house limits and my first responsibility is to the cats that I have vowed to take care of. I considered it anyway, I tried bargaining with Jack, but he said that unless I could spend even more time with him it wasn't going to work out and short of quitting my job that wasn't going to happen. Yes, I have adopted some of the world's neediest cats.. and I love them beyond measure.

I brought him home with Abby - another diabetic cat who was also surrendered because of her condition - and he proceeded to pee on several items around the room, including the door... and still I loved him. I know he was just 'moving in' and trying to make himself feel at home. He only did it that first day; I might have felt a bit differently if he had kept it up.

He took to Abby like he was an old man sitting on a bench feeding the ducks and she happened to stop by. She was so fearful and I know he was a good influence on her.

I matted up some fur I combed off Chandler 

He loved being brushed, and he needed it. Diabetic cats who aren't well regulated often have poor coat conditions. His leg healed from apparently being shot with buck shot, something I only learned about a year later when he came back and they took some x-rays of him, but he continued to limp. His coat started to molt, especially around that leg and it was assumed that he was developing arthritis making it harder for him to take care of himself, so I would make a point to go in when I could and brush him. I pointed out the gobs of fur I got off him to the staff and they made it a point to ask volunteers to comb him as well which helped him. There were times that I would stop by and see him but he was 'busy' with some of his fans.. there were often people patting him and cuddling him.

Despite the attention he was still living in a cage. I did my best to give him time out of it, but I couldn't get in there as often as I would like. Others fell in love with him and did the same. Despite the attention he still seemed to be in decline. I mentioned it to the staff and he went for a check up. At one of those check ups it was determined he needed some digestive enzymes..

When that happened, I pretty much knew. He was diabetic which is a huge hurdle for anyone to get over. He needed supplementation for arthritis, and now digestive enzymes.. but his personality.. oh his personality.. he won so many people over.. everyone who met him loved him.. sadly none of us had a spot in our home for a boy with so many needs.. There was one woman who was a nursing student.. she would have been perfect for him, but she went to school in a different state and she felt there was too much travel to safely adopt him, never being sure where she was going to be when his insulin dose would come due..

Still I loved him, and still I hoped..

trying to catch the butterfly wing shape on his back

If only love were enough.

When I stopped in last Friday I was told that he had a seizure. The thought that it was time was bantered about, and my head agreed that it was most likely time (not that it was my decision) but my heart ached. I went and spent time with him. I held him, I kissed him. I gave him treats he shouldn't have had because of his diabetes but that he loved. I had hoped to be able to take him home for a few days once the decision had been made, and had made that known in the past, but apparently he went down hill so quickly that they decided it was best to just let him go on Monday.

I know that it is for the best, but that doesn't mean my heart doesn't ache. I wish I could have brought him home to sleep in my bed and fed him some real live dead chicken and let him gobble up those treats he loved so much before saying goodbye..

I wish I had known his full life story. I wish the people who let him go would know how his life ended, although I'm not sure they will care. I wish I had been there for him in the end..

But he was loved, his life and his spirit celebrated. There will be tears shed for his parting.

Dude.. I loved you.

The last photo of him

Some might say that no one cared enough to save him, and I think that is a mean horrid thing to say.. there were a number of people who cared so much it hurt, but there was nothing they could do.. there are just too many homeless pets, and pets surrendered later in life for medical issues are so far behind the eight ball that they seriously don't stand a chance. Statically an animal surrendered into the shelter system in the US has a 50/50 chance of getting out... anything that tips the scale, even a little, makes that statistic even more dreadful.

I have been trying to come up with a way to raise money for myself and some upcoming vet bills recently and asked my Facebook friends if they might be interested in naming a kitten for $20. There was much interest, but I wasn't sure if that might seem to be too much of a money grab. Well I've decided to do it and donate to the DCIN fund. The DCIN helps owners of diabetic cats with funds so they can keep their cats. Owners are far too often overwhelmed not only with the idea of diabetes, but the financial burden that comes with it. DCIN (Diabetic Cats in Need) can help with those costs. Right now they have a challenge going on for anyone who signs up for a monthly pledge for a year, it will be matched fifty cents on the dollar, so any contribution made will be increased.

It was suggested that maybe I should have an auction for the naming rights, but I'm going to go with the first six pledges (mom needs a name too). The minimum is $20 - but I'm not going to stop you if you want to send more *smile* - and once the total is in I will set up a monthly pledge with DCIN.

To name a kitten, send a gift via Paypal to Connie @ kittyblog.net. In the comments please note the name and the specific kitten if you care. I will attempt to be fair and do first come first served, but I fear everyone is going to want to name our winged boy and no one is going to want to name the mom, so if you could provide a second choice, I would appreciate it. If you don't care, please let me know that, so I can send you the photo of the kitty in need of a name and then you can pick. My only requests is that the name be family friendly and that it isn't impossible to spell/pronounce. If you don't have paypal, email me we can work something out.

I have often said, and I will continue to say, that diabetes is a disease I would never wish on any cat, but if you receive that diagnosis I want you to know two things. First, the learning curve is steep, but it is short! If you jump in with both feet you will be amazed at how quickly you realize that it wasn't nearly as daunting as you thought it was. Second, you will probably never have a closer bond with a cat. Caring for Em was something I will always treasure. I'll probably never convince anyone to go out and adopt a diabetic cat, but that will never stop me from trying... The need is so great.

So hopefully with this tribute to Chandler, we can prevent another kitty from being given up.

The Auction's End.

Well, that was fun! :) I spent a couple of hours this morning totaling everything up and since Alana's portrait isn't yet over (I extended that a few days and will end tomorrow) at THIS point I have bids for about $850!!  I need to collect from everyone and there are a few people I need to connect a name (that they bid with) with a person (so I can get them a total).

So if you are, or know please contact me and let me know:

"Susan"
"busserra"

I do have a bunch of other items that I'm looking to list later, most likely the middlish of November. I hope you won't mind my hawking away again.. If you have any suggestions or comments on things I could do differently, I am totally open to them.

And I honestly can not say this enough, thank you all so much for supporting me, and my boy..

Last few hours for the TFKblog fundraiser

Sadly I have had quite a few stumbling blocks on my first auction/fundraiser.  A lot of the posts weren't coming up even for me after I went to view the blog on Monday, so I went into the back end and tried to change the settings so more posts showed up on the front page (I set it to 100, so there is no reason for it to need an additional page, but yet there it is) and I removed the word verification on the comments (why on earth do they default to those being on, everyone hates those) and allowed anonymous comments for those people who might want to use that option.  Even still I kept getting people commenting on the posts I shared on Facebook that people hadn't seen the particular items up for auction and some had trouble commenting.  *sigh*   I can understand why people do this directly on Facebook, and I am very tempted to try that when I list the next batch of items I have.

There are still some items with no bids at all. A few with just one.   I am okay with this, I am happy to part with these for what ever I can get for them because every dollar counts. As a woman who picks pennies up off the ground, I know full well that every little bit helps.

What moves me the most has been the help I have received from my fellow bloggers and friends. My fundraiser has been shared on blog posts, on Twitter, and on Facebook by so many of you, and that means so much to me. I have also had a few people reach out to me to donate items to help, and for that means a lot.  Thank you Alana, Sukiroo and Emily.. Thank you seems a little inadequate.. but it comes from the bottom of my heart.

Fundraising Auction / Sale

Okay, I've done it. I have created a new temporary blog http://tfkfundraiser.blogspot.com/ and listed a number of items I have around the house that I thought might sell.

With Jack's upcoming nearly $2000 I131 treatment in Boston and his $1300 emergency room visit, along with the $1000 in dentals (oh my goodness when I list it all out it is daunting) (and this is just in Sept/Oct) I thought it about high time I start to try to raise some funds to help pay for it all.

To be honest, I have the funds to take care of this, and be semi comfortable that I can handle another emergency, so please do not worry about that... but The Crew's reserve fund is getting low, and it concerns me. I have these items gathering dust around my house and I thought why not try to sell them and have a few less things to worry about and a few extra green papers to ease my worries .

I did end up listing more than half of the items I am looking to rehome, but I felt it was getting a little overwhelming with everything going on here in the next three weeks, so I thought if this was a success I'd try it again after coming home from BarkWorld sometime early in November.

This round is set to go live at 12 AM (now) and I will run it through until the 12th (I'll close it on the 13th when I wake up)

Another Fund-Free Fundraiser

well now this is fun..

In conjunction with BarkWorld, the Social Media Conference for Pet Bloggers and Industry,Petco is donating $1.00 to selected pet rescues and shelters for every Tweet or Post that helps spread the word of Be the Change for Animals from October 22-27, 2012.


So for every tweet and blog post feathring the #BTC4A hashtag during this time, Petco is donating a dollar!! I can tweet.. :)

I checked out the blog hop, and all of them were doggies - which kinda makes sense since this is happening at BarkWorld, but I felt the need to stick my kitty nose blog in there and help! :)

See the blog hop here 

or tweet this..

Rescue pets receive $1 from @Petco at @BarkWorldExpo for each#BTC4A tweet from Oct 22-27! http://ht.ly/eEls7 

2002 - 2012 and beyond

10 years ago VCRs were still cool, cameras were still using film, US planned to invade Iraq, the Washington Sniper hadn't been caught, Martha Stewart was about to be sent to jail, Run-DMC was killed.  Anticipation for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets was building and Avril Lavigne was "Complicated"

and one slightly off center woman decided her personal blog was getting overrun with stories of kittens and so she created "Tails from the Foster Kittens"

Yup.  I am celebrating my 10 year blogoversary (blogiversary?  blogaversary?) with this blog.. I was actually blogging for quite some time before I started fostering in May 2002, so I've been blogging way longer than that, but this little corner of the internet is now 10 years old.

It is also that time of year when I generally like to make a donation of canned cat food to the shelter as well.  Things really drop off once the summer ends, but kitties still go into heat and kittens are still coming in.  Fall kittens also seem to have it worse than the first batch of spring kittens because mom is nutritionally depleted and people are looking for kittens in the spring so those 'free to a good home" kittens are snapped up right quick but the fall kittens languish and people decide to bring them to the shelter instead.

This year I thought I would tie my donation in with a fundraising / promotion of my blog.  I figure I would make a donation for each comment made and use that to buy food with.  I thought about partnering with Mr. Chewy, but while they were completely happy to let me buy food from them, they were all "meh" about the promotional side of it.  Then I got to thinking.  It would be cool if I could offer you guys a way to chip in, but again Mr. Chewy was "meh" about the whole thing, and they don't offer gift certificates.  But Amazon does.

update 10/31/12 : Javi over at TeamChewy heard about my blog and my impressions when dealing with them regarding this comment-a-thon and offered to send the shelter some cat food on my behalf!  Wasn't that nice of them!

But then I got to thinking I'm not a big fan of asking others to help out financially as there are a lot of groups out there who are in need.  I think this would be much more fun if there were no outside money involved at all.  Then HollyAnne posted on facebook and reminded me of Swagbucks!  Swagbucks is pretty interesting in that they randomly reward you with .. swagbucks.. for searching with them. You can also earn swagbucks with games, promotional sign ups, watching videos, and watching their twitter and facebook feeds for free codes.  When you get enough bucks you can turn them in for prizes including paypal payments and gift certificates to Amazon.com.  I've actually been with them for quite some time and gotten quite a few $5.00 certificates to Amazon.  By signing up through my referral link I get reward when you do.. and if you happen to earn enough for a gift certificate to Amazon and want to donate it to help buy food it is so easy to do... not that you have to nor am I even asking you do that.. but the referrals will help me earn more and I can donate more..

So anyway.. here is the fun part of the fundraiser I wanted to do.  I figure I will donate a quarter for every comment on this post for the first 400 comments then a dime for every comment after that.  All you have to do is comment away... I only ask that you try not to comment more then one comment in a row.  I plan on running this post for a month so there is time to get the donation to the shelter in time for Thanksgiving.

So share away.. tell your friends, tell your fellow cat lovers, tell really chatty people you know.

Have fun