Our dear friend and cat "cleaner" (she cleans the cages at PetSmart once a week) lost the love of her life today.  Kitty was so sweet and will be missed.  I know I enjoyed getting to take her picture and seeing Kitty's special dance.  Tonight our thoughts are with you and your family and everyone who loved Kitty.  Many will say you were lucky to have 19 years with her, but we all know that it wasn't nearly enough!  She was truly one of the lucky ones!

 

 

19 years ago my dad brought home a little kitten after finding her running around a golf course in Illinois.  She was maybe 7 weeks ago, and totally terrified.  I was 6 years old and I remember pulling her out from underneath the front seat where she was trying to hide and crying very loudly.  That night my parents put her in a carrier to sleep in and I remember laying in front of the cage, putting my fingers in to pet her and tell her it would be alright. 
Growing up, she was often my bestest friend, laid with me whenever I watched t.v., cuddled with me every night, tapped me on the arm whenever I was eating (very politely) and meowed for a piece of whatever I was having.  She loved everyone who came over, and would great you at the door with a meow, and practically beg for you to hold her and pet her.  Even after a couple of break ups, ex boyfriends would call me wondering how the cat was, never bothering to ask how I was doing.  She left an impression on almost everyone who met her. 

It is because of Kitty that I decided to volunteer with you all at Heartland Humane Society.  Growing up, I wanted to be an animal rights activist (but my love for red meat got in the way, haha).  It was because of her that I learned the unconditional love that comes with being a pet owner.  She was never mad at me, never talked back, and never disappointed me.  She was my best friend always.

Kitty passed away this morning at age 19.  I will miss her dearly, but because of her, I have met all of you great people who love animals just as much as I do.  No kitty will ever replace the spot she holds in my heart.  I'm very glad that some of you had the opportunity to meet her, and get to see her sweet demeanor.

I was thinking about how Angie says that sometimes being a foster mom, she is glad she cried tears over these animals who don't make it, and that each animals deserves someone to love them enough to cry for them.  Sweet Kitty had many tears shed over her today by quite a few people.  She was definitely one of the lucky ones who got to be loved by many people. 

 
Thank you all for all that you do for the animals Heartland helps out, and thank you for letting me be a part of such a wonderful organization.
R.I.P. Kitty
MaryBeth 

I want to thank Laurie for applying for a grant and for Build-A-Bear for granting it!  We have set up Kermit's Fund to help cover medical costs for extraordinary pets that need more than the basic vetting.  This would apply to Heartworm positive dogs, or pets needing extra surgeries like Kenya.  Unfortunately this fund will be depleted quickly because so many need our help!  In these hard economic times it's increasingly challenging to help the animals.  Please consider donating, you can even do it on line! - www.hhsrescue.org

Fostering-Saving one Pet at a Time

Thursday, July 16th
Tips and advice for animal rescue organizations and foster parents

Creve Coeur Community Center
300 N. New Ballas Road
Creve Coeur

Registration: 6:30pm, program begins at 7pm

Presentations until 8:15pm, refreshments, then a Q&A panel until 9pm

Free and open to the public

Visit www.opspot.org for more information and to download a flyer

Their new mom sent me this picture because it is hilarious, but I wanted to post it for another reason.  A lot of people asked me why I was so stubborn in keeping these guys together.  In all honesty, they probably would've found a home a lot faster if I let them go on their own.  Sunshine had a lot of people wanting her because of her siamese looks.  Shadow may have come out a bit more without his mom and singles are easier to place, and my gut told me to keep them as a pair. 

So here they are in their new home, with the whole house at their disposal, and they cram into the same bed anyway.  And in great news, the resident cat accepted them without any problems!  She was understandably worried that the 17-year-old wouldn't want company but she just couldn't get these two out of her head.  We worked out strategies for the introduction and contingency plans and for once we got a best-case-scenario!  The funny thing is that Sunshine was the shy one hiding under the bed and Shadow adjusted to the new home very fast. 

I like to think it's the little things like this that make good rescues stand out.  We've gotten flack for turning people away or for saying you can have this animal but not that one.  It is always our hope to get it right the first time.  Nobody's perfect and sometimes it just doesn't work out, but when we take a chance, it's real lives we're dealing with, both the pet and the family.  Most people return their pets as a last resort and so we don't want to put anyone through that.  If it means that a cat stays here in foster care a little longer while we work out a medical and/or personal issue or until I find a home I have a good feeling about, then that's what it'll take.  So if you're reading this and have adopted one of my cats, consider yourself honored!   

Yesterday I skipped adoptions and stayed home to clean in the basement.  I finally put together a shelf-kit that I've had for almost a year. The goal was to put the clean kitty linens behind closed doors so that they'd stay clean.  The cats love to lay on the freshly laundered ones, but that doesn't help new cats feel at home to be laying on another cat's scent. 

Ozzie was in his glory.  He's such a helpful cat.  He helped pounce on the garbage bags as I opened them, he's always a big help when I sweep and he supervised the whole construction project.  He'd often paw at a screw to let me know that I should use that one next.  And when I stood the unit up he was the first to cat-test the shelves.  He's such a handsome boy!

 Ozzie would love to go on a summer vacation to a new foster home!  Wouldn't you love to play with this beauty for a few weeks?  He can't go home with kids, he plays a bit too rough and he's got pain issues with his hips that can make him quick to nip when he's scared, but he's come so far and hardly ever does it anymore!  Ozzie would love a yearling-male who wants a wrestle buddy.  He tries to play hard with the other cats in foster care but they really don't want to play that hard.  He is a sweet boy who loves to be held and wants to be in the middle of everything! 

 

Newman was the next to investigate.  He would so love to have a summer vacation at someone's house.  Please consider being a short-term foster for him.  Newman has lived with dogs, but it's been over a year, so I'm not sure if he's still do well with them.  He is what I'd label an A+ personality.  I pulled him from a shelter based on his personality.  He's even trained to jump in into your arms on command (I had to put it on a command because otherwise he jumps up when you're not expecting it!)  He would do great with kids in a busy household.  He loves attention, but isn't usually demanding about it.  He adores being carried around and will gently paw you without using his claws to get attention.  The reason he hasn't been adopted is chronic urinary tract infections.  The good news is that he is great about using the litterbox, the only reason we even knew that he had a problem was that one of the foster moms noticed him standing really funny to pee when he was staying at PetSmart, so we did a urinalysis and found the problem.  He'd love the chance to live in a real home for awhile and be able to sleep in bed with you!  Please think about it, he's worth it!

This is Ole (pronounced O - lee, it's a Norwegian name).  He came to me as a 5-month-old feral.  We've come a long way, but this is how most people get to see him - not much.  He loves me and I have a feeling that he's not going to be adopted.  If someone was interested in doing a long-term foster for him I'd consider it.  A short-summer break wouldn't work for him because he'll take a long time to settle into a new home.  He's been here for four years and I don't have a problem letting him stay (my husband probably has other ideas about that though!)  He'd like a quiet house, no dogs but does great with other cats.  He likes getting petted when he's in the mood but will panic if you pick him up and is very hard to medicate.  Here he is laying in the box that the shelves came in.  I tried getting a little closer for a tighter shot and it made him run off.   

   

So remember how I said the purpose of the shelves with doors is to keep the cats off of the clean linen?  I got a phone call while I was loading the cabinet and came back to find this!  Actually Ole was on the bottom shelf, but the camera scared him off.

Titan enjoyed a comfy nap!  I'm amazed that he watched the construction project from a distance and didn't join in.  He actually sat up on a different shelf and guarded my soda while I worked. 

 

I'll leave you with one more shot of Ozzie - isn't he a doll?  I love that white tip on his tail!  He could be your helper! 

Dogs: Pip - beagle mix

Cats: Bandit - snowshoe mix kitten, River - gray on white adult, DeNiro - white with blue eyes kitten, Carbon - black kitten, Turmeric - tabby on white kitten, Pacino - white with blue eyes kitten, Frankie - tabby on white kitten, Lira - calico kitten, Sterling - black classic tabby/coon mix kitten, Duvall - snowshoe mix kitten, KitKat - buff kitten

Only one of mine got adopted this week - Kit Kat, one of Bluebelle's kittens.

River stayed here briefly.  Adoptions have been slow, that's the only reason I can see that kept him from finding a home sooner, he's just the sweetest boy and so amazingly friendly!

These are my two mama-kitties this summer.  They and their kittens are ready for adoption, just a matter of time to wait for someone to choose them!

 

Butterscotch came in as a pregnant kitten - she was only around six-months-old.  One of her babies didn't make it, but that's not a surprise.  Her two kittens were very small and we waited longer to spay them to make sure they were big and healthy enough.  Butters will be a small, petite cat.  She's around ten-months-old and weighs around five pounds.  A lot of the cats from where she came from are petite, so she'll stay that way.  Very sweet and loving and ready to stop being a mom and start being a kitten again.

 

Here's a new picture of Bluebelle, a bit more relaxed!  This is right before I took her to PetSmart where she's anything but relaxed, poor kid!  I'm actually on my way up there to visit her and check to see if she's eating.  I know she's so scared, but it's the best way for them to find a home!  Hopefully with those gorgeous blue eyes it won't take too long!

This beautiful boy was adopted out to a nice family when he was a 4-month-old puppy.  He recently got lost and it was his microchip that got him home quickly. 

We got a call from a local vet saying that someone had brought in a stray dog with a rabies tag, but the phone numbers registered on the tag were disconnected.  They were able to find his microchip which was registered to us and so being the sucker I am, I went and picked him up and drove him to his old foster mom's house.  He was an amazingly sweet boy!  Just a doll.  I wanted to keep him and briefly entertained the idea of 3 dogs (briefly).  His foster mom fell in love with him as an adult too!  She did all the right things and called local animal control to let them know that we had the dog in case anyone was looking.  Later that day, we got a call that his mom was looking for him and he got to go home!  The gate in his fenced-in-yard had gotten open and he slipped out.  She thinks he figured out how to open it!

This story has a happy ending, but it almost didn't!  She had moved and didn't update her information with us so we couldn't let her know we had her dog!  So put ID tags on your pets and keep the information current! 

The 4th of July is a scary time for a lot of pets and their fear of fireworks can make them run off.  Double check that your pet is wearing their collar with current tags and make sure that they are microchipped!  The Pet Adoption Center on MidRivers Mall Dr offers discounted microchipping. 

Also due to the 4th of July being on Saturday, we won't have dogs available for adoption this weekend.  It's just not a good night to send a dog to an unfamiliar place.  We will have plenty of cats and kittens at PetSmart, so please send your friends up to get a kitten!