EVENING SOCIAL

Wilbur is doing amazing since coming back to stay with us after his neuter surgery and vet check earlier in the week. His URI is all but gone, he has a fantstic appetite, and his disposition is not only super sweet, but super adorable as well!



Unfortunately however he is FIV+. It's not really that surprising, at approximately 3 years of age, and with the number of old healed battle wounds on both ears, not to mention the fact that he was unneutered, being a male and living outside grossly increases the odds for contracting the virus. The terrific news is that he is currently in excellent health and is just one all around, lovable little guy with the cutest little meow.

Tonight we took the deep dive and decided it was time for him to have access to the rest of the house (and you guessed it), a meet n' greet with the kids! So far it's gone amazingly well; just as I suspected, Wilbur is very easy going and laid back in nature, and has already tried to even kiss our little Flossy Girl!!

The plan is to move him to another foster home since ours is a temporary emergency space for him to stay so that he could be rescued, and the new foster home will most likely have to be more long term since FIV+ kitties just aren't that popular with the majority of interested adopters. Until that happens however, he's very welcome here and he's already tugged on our heart strings - not hard to do of course when your as handsome and gentle as Wilbur is..........



PS: If your wondering about this photo directly above, that's Wilbur who just decided to hop up on the sofa beside hubby and is obviously loving all the attention.

A DREAM COME TRUE

One of my neighbours called me earlier this week about a gorgeous male cat that her sister has been feeding at her home just outside Toronto. Her sister was unable to give this boy a home herself, but she was desperately trying to find a rescue that might have space to take him. He was evidently very friendly (she could pick him up), and he had been huddled on her front porch more than once during the course of the nights in recent weeks.

I named him Wilbur sight unseen, and he was brought to the Safe Haven Hotel earlier this evening for an overnight stay until he heads off to the vet tomorrow for his neuter surgery, vaccinations and checkup. He's taken over the "foster room" (sorry Flossy), and he'll return to stay with us probably on Tuesday or thereabouts, at least temporairily, until the rescue has another foster space open up to move him to.

Yeah I know, so much for the golden rule about one foster at a time but I just couldn't stand the thought of this sweet boy outside obviously wanting to come in; and our part in this wouldn't even have been possible had it not been once again for an amazing rescue that's willing to help us, help him.

This story wouldn't be complete without a snapshot - taken just moments ago. He is VERY friendly and is already purring and kneading his paws as I stroke him. His nights of trying to stay warm outside in the dead of winter are now over..........and I think he knows it.

THE GOOD AND DECENT STUFF

As you can see, Flossy is continuing to do wonderfully! Just yesterday she got up on the loveseat between Silly and I and curled up in the tighest little ball - all you could hear was the hum of her purr in contentment as she drifted off to sleep. Her stomach issues continue to be a problem but at least with they hypo allergenic food her softer stool is controlled and not explosive in nature (sorry if that's too much information for anyone). :))

Added to this is the additional good news I received yesterday from a fellow cat rescue volunteer that Archie & Alice (the duo featured in my previous post enttiled "Double Darlings") - have been ADOPTED!! I'm so happy for them and bless the person/persons who offered them their forever home.

I personally really relish in the good things happening rescue wise right now since I have some other things happening in other areas of my life that aren't good and I'm struggling to stay positive and upbeat at present............

DOUBLE DARLINGS

Tonight I'm posting a plea for Archie & Alice, two beautiful, sweet and lovable kitties who have been left homeless after their elderly parent suddenly passed away. The family of their deceased owner decided that they should be euthanized, but thank goodness the vet that they took Archie & Alice to, disagreed, and instead approached Toronto Cat Rescue in the hopes that they could help to find them a home.

Please visit the website below and which will take you directly to TCR's website and also to the profile plea for Archie & Alice that they have posted.

www.torontocatrescue.ca

This is a great rescue of wonderful and dedicated volunteers who do great work (we know because we've volunteered with them in the past!), and another example of caring people coming together to aide those who cannot aide themselves. Archie & Alice are currently being housed at the vet office but really deserve and desire a loving forever home..........if you can help or know someone else that can, please don't delay in reaching out to TCR directly to let them know.

Archie & Alice will be forever thankful

WHAT LOVE'S GOT TO DO WITH IT

I made mention briefly in my last post of the woman who had given Rufus a safe place to stay overnight in her apartment until we could pick him up on Saturday morning for transport to the vet clinic.

What I didn't add to that story, was what an absolutely gorgeous cat it was that greeted me when I entered her apartment. "CJ" as he's affectionately known, is a 5 year old STUNNING all white male whose large stature (and by large I mean Maine Coon like large), beautiful plush coat, massive paws (with tuffs between the toes), and his captivating eyes (one green, one blue), are all enough to literally take your breath away when you first set eyes on him. He really is like a gentle giant, and he's also FIV+. CJ was found outside, abandoned, alone and fighting off the other cats in his neighbourhood when two volunteers with our rescue came upon him. One thing led to another, and the next thing CJ knew, he was introduced to "K" who went on to become his Mommy - that was last August. Now, this sweet boy lives in the lap of luxury, King of His Castle, lapping up every last ounce of all the love and kindness and in turn, he's completely captivated his Mommy's heart!

I'll let the pictures of CJ below - "before" and "after" give everyone a glimpse into what just a little bit of love and a safe place to lay their head at night, can do for these incredible creatures. God Bless "K" and the countless others just like her who care so very much!

ANSWERING THE HELP CALL

Being that I'm also involved with the rescue on a volunteer front (aside from fostering), I handle all of the transportation or "drive" requests that come in. Last night there was a request for a driver to pickup a kitty that had been abandoned in an apartment building and had been left to wander the hallways for the past few days. It wasn't far from our home, so I decided to take this one myself versus trying to find another driver that could assist.

A tenant of the bulding placed the cat in their bathroom overnight and hubby and I went first thing this morning to pick him/her up. We were greeted with a small little dark mackrel looking kitty that was obviously male and obviously very young. As total luck would have it, upon opening the bathroom door, he walked right into the waiting carrier! - thank goodness for perfect timing. :))

We've named him Rufus and he's now safely at the vets office awaiting a physical exam, some vaccinations, and will then be boarded until a decision is reached on the possibility of his coming into foster care.

Kudos to the rescue for answering this call for help - and we're also grateful that we got the chance to be apart of rescuing this little guy. It's a good feeling to know that Rufus's future today looks alot brighter than it did this time yesterday...........

SOME FRIDAY FUN

I know that I've provided update photos of Flossy as we've gone along since her arriving to stay with us; but no matter how many shots I take in a day or in a week (and believe me there are quite afew!), I never seem to be completely happy with the end result. The ironic thing is that I've caught her in hundreds of countless poses that she looks great in throughout her time here - especially in recent weeks as she's really begun to feel loads better, but it seems without fail that every time I pick up the camera and start shooting, she plays difficult and I'm left with nothing in photographs that I see up close and live!

Sooooooo I'm at it once again today with the ones here. She has become so playful and is really personality plus *a typical little female*, and her confidence is growing by leaps and bounds. The cutest thing about her is her pitiful meow, I have never heard a cat who sounds as though they have laringitis. We conclude that her sound (or lack of one as the case may be), is most likely the result of the infection from her mouth that seeped down her throat and must have affected her vocal cords, because it's nothing but a very strained whisper when she does make it.

I've brushed her in these latest ones - something she absolutely goes crazy for. Now with camera in hand, I head back into Flossy Land to get that "perfect shot" - wish me luck :))

THE FOCUS

I'm not sure if yesterday's post conveyed just how upset I was about the Petsmart/rescue experience I had had. Quite simply, it ruined my day and had me feeling really low about rescue work, about all the "Gary's" out there and my inability to save them all or to at least make a serious dent in this problem.

Then later on last night, I was working away on rescue stuff and these pictures of Red (who is now the poster boy for the main page of my blog in case anyone is wondering who that gorgeous orange boy is!) came in from his parents.





Some would say I'm sure that my receiving these last night was just a coincidence - and that's fine; but I personally don't believe in coincidences, I believe everything happens for a reason. To me, these photos were Heavenly Father's way of bringing me back to the good in rescue and the good work that is being done by countless volunteers the world over, who every day make a huge difference in the lives of cats just like our Red. This was His way of bringing my eye back to the ball if you will, reminding me of what's most important, and I so needed that.

Not every abandoned cat is going to be as lucky as our Red, that's the sad and brutal truth of it. But I have to continue to try and help and to remember that I'm not in this alone - there's a huge army of others who worry and care and try to do their part to help as much as possible, and there's all the animals who ARE being saved - that's the most important part.

FOR GARY

While out and about today continuing to enjoy our vacation, we needed to stop at Petsmart to pick up afew items for the kids. Normally, I don't go into Petsmart, just like I don't go into any pet store where I know there could be cats, kittens and or dogs in cages. It's the same reason that I don't do shelter runs, visit rescues/shelters on the internet that I know house their rescues in cages, and why I avoid even the THS (except for the lobby and the kitty cat lounge) like the plague. I know it's going to sound ridiculous to many, but as involved as I am in rescue work and in fostering, I cannot stand to see an animal in a cage - even when I know that I'm looking at a rescued animal who is now warm, and safe. It's my weak link if you will, my "I can't do this" hang up, my lack of guts.

Today I made the mistake of going against my rule and I went in and you guessed it, made straight for the area with the big sign that read CATS - my inner voice was being drowned out by the sound of meows.

There were only a few kitties there, a couple slumbering and one big gorgeous male who looked incredibly depressed and unhappy. While I stood there wishing I could pet and reassure him, two ladies arrived with at least 6-8 carriers of kitties that were joining, and making plans to take the ones currently there back to their foster homes. The name of the rescue that these woman were affiliated with shall remain nameless, but in standing there and greeting both of them and their little travelling companions, I learned that one of these woman was infact the President of this rescue - and that is probably the nicest thing I could say about her.

Not only was her manner gruff, sharp and downright rude, it was her handling of the kitties that made me nothing short of sick. As she opened cages and carriers, she simply picked up these little darlings by the scruff of their necks and literally tossed them into these cages - no exaggeration, no mistaking. There was no kindness, no empathy, no caring, and absolutely no reassurance on her part to these cats who obviously had no idea what to make of this sudden thrust into these strange surroundings.

My immediate reaction? - was an overwhelming urge to shove her out of the way, gather all these babies up and tell hubby to make room in the back of the car because we had a few more houseguests coming to stay! What did I end up doing? - I said my goodbyes to the other lady from the rescue who was obviously deeply embarrassed by what we were witnessing, and prayed that the store and any passerby's that might be cat friendly, would somehow be able to make up for this **** of a woman that this individual was!

There was one kitty there that was SO FRIENDLY - Gary. A handsome, VERY AFFECTIONATE, black & white male who had a smudge across his nose like my Silly. I almost started to cry as I watched her yank him from his carrier, and felt even worse when I saw that he continued to rub against the bars of his new home; this cage, in the hopes that someone would pay attention to him. How I pray that a forever home comes for him soon.

I know how stressful rescue work is and I know that we all have bad days and that in store care for rescued cats is alot of work. But this woman was the epitomy of everything rotten in rescue............and if I had been someone considering becoming involved in rescue work, her behaviour would have surely made me think twice. I visited their website today when I got home and sure enough she is the President and the main contact for adoptions. I couldn't find Gary listed on their website so the picture below is of a kitty that looks similar that I found on the intranet.

As I sit here thinking about these cats, I keep telling myself that inside and warm is better than outside and cold...............or in this case, is it just trading one evil for another? I cannot stand anyone that is mean or rough with an animal; it's right up there with being mean or rough with a child - both in my books are COMPLETELY INEXCUSABLE!!!!!!!!