Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Lionel and Mistletoe

Tomorrow is our last day at the Petsmart adoption center until February 1. We've had a *very* busy month and a lot of adoptions! I'm pretty sure all of the volunteers are ready for a break and the cats will enjoy going back into their foster homes where they'll have more room to run around. Cats can still be adopted from their foster homes during the months we are not at Petsmart.

As we've had quite a few adoptions this month, we've been able intake quite a few new cats that were in need of our help. Meet Mistletoe (dilute tortie) and Lionel (buff boy) who are about 16 weeks old. They are the nicest kittens and demand love and attention.


Also, thank you to all the volunteers who worked long hours during our 'Pictures with Santa' event last week. We received both monetary and food donations and helped get the word out about our program.

Thursday, December 17, 2009

Pictures With Santa

We'll be at Petsmart this Saturday from 11-4 for 'Pictures with Santa.' We'll also have a few volunteers at the front of the store accepting donations for the cats (food, litter, toys, etc).

Hope everyone braves the pre-Christmas traffic and comes out to help us raise some money for the cats!

This is one of my favorite pictures. This is foster dad and all-around awesome guy Jack, who sat in the Santa suit all day last year to take pictures with the animals and didn't complain once! Some of you may remember little Leo, who was the sneeziest kitten ever.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Mischief

Poor Mischief...she found her way to us with a severely broken right rear leg. She won't tell us what happened either.

She went to the U of I Vet School and had the leg surgically repaired. She is only about 8 months old and should completely recover and the have full use of her leg. Her pins will be removed around Christmas and she'll be as good as new!


Saturday, December 5, 2009

Kali is Home!

CATsNAP rescued itty bitty Kali several weeks ago and she is in her new home! Kali was found abandoned under a bush when she was only a few weeks old.

She has wonderful new parents, lots of toys and is adjusting well. She is the fluffiest, sweetest kitten and we're so happy that she has such a happy ending.



Thursday, December 3, 2009

We're back at Petsmart!

I don't know where the days are going - I swear, I blinked and November was gone! So here's a few of the highlights from November:

*Special-needs cats Lila and Gypsy have both been adopted by CATsNAP volunteers!

*We raised about $400 dollars at 2 Bergner's events for our food and litter program.

We're back in the Petsmart adoption center for the month of December. The new PVC beds are in all the cages, and they are amazing. One volunteer worked all month long and made all the fleece beds for us. They keep the cages cleaner, and give the cats a place to sleep and hide that's not their litter box. I can't even tell you how excited I am for these beds!



If you're looking to adopt a wonderful cat, please go to Petsmart and take a look at Chelsea. She's about 3 years old and is a sweet (yet shy) cat. She's now looking for her THIRD (and final!) home. Her last people simply decided that they were "no longer cat people" and she came back to us. She is a bit on the quiet side and will take some time to adjust once she does get into a home. She also seems to bond a bit more quickly to women than men. She would thrive in a quiet home where she can just be herself.

Also, we'll hosting "Pictures with Santa" on December 19 at Petsmart. See you there!

Friday, November 27, 2009

Welcome Jonesie


Meet large and in-charge Jonesie, a 5 to 6 year old neutered and front declawed male left homeless after his owner passed away. Yes, Jonesie is on a diet. He was 20.6lb and is down to 18.8lb. He is a nice cat and can move quickly (believe it or not) when he feels like it. He is looking for a loving home that will help get his weight down a little more. He likes other cats and does not seem at all bothered by dogs.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

More Kittens!

It's seems like we've been especially flooded with cats over the last few days! One of our feral cat trappers caught another 6 cats this morning and there appears to be 8 more cats in this particular colony that still need to be trapped and fixed. Let's hope she gets the rest before the cold really hits us!

One of our foster moms took in these 5 the other day. We've just pulled them out from a high-kill shelter and they will be ready for adoption within the next few weeks!

Jake

Benjamin
Amelia
Ava
Hannah



Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Belle

Don't even try to tell her she's not the cutest kitten in the world. She'll have none of that...

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Kittens!!!

Even though the weather is getting cooler, we're still getting lots of kittens in. If this year will be anything like last year, we'll have them all winter long. We just got in a group of 5 fluffy kittens yesterday. I have one litter of four (5 weeks old) - two grey boys, 1 tabby boy and a long hair tortie. CATsNAP took in a tiny 4-week old grey tabby girl yesterday and we've decided to put her in with this group as she was very lonely.

I recruited some volunteer help to wash the kittens (I think she enjoyed the bathing process more than they did). These kittens were filthy, particularly the tabby girl. It took about an hour and a half to bathe all 5 kittens.

We have 2 names so far for the kittens (I'm taking suggestions!) The tabby boy is Arthur. His tortie sister, who you will meet tomorrow, is Belle.
This is the 4-week old girl. She was found outside and was covered in poop, mud and canned cat food. You can't even imagine how bad she smelled...

A lot of the kittens we take in are either feral and angry or completely terrified. This group is completely different. They are playful, social and all-around awesome. After they were dried and ate dinner, they romped around their foster room and didn't stop playing until bedtime.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Updates

Scarlet and Reggie went to their forever home this week! I'm so happy that they have been adopted together and went to a great home with a very loving mom.

Cute little Chester went to his forever home this week as well. We still have a great group of cats in the Petsmart adoption center until the end of the month.


We've also started building elevated pvc cat beds for the cats in the adoption center. We're hoping this will reduce some of the messiness of the cages while giving the cats more playroom and giving them a comfortable place to sleep. The goal is for all the cats to have one pvc bed in each cage by December 1. Our fantastic volunteers have already offered to build the beds, but I am looking for people willing to donate their time to help me sew the beds. It should be a fairly simple project. Please let me know if you are interested in helping. I think the cats will really enjoy the elevated beds.



Finally - please keep Gypsy in your thoughts. The tumor that was removed last week, did in fact turn out to be cancerous. The vet believed the cancer had not spread, but her foster mom found 2 more lumps this evening. Let's hope for the best and that these lumps are not cancerous as well. It's been an emotional roller coaster with this cat. Just when we think we're getting a bit ahead with her progress, something happens. She will be back at the vet on Monday for more testing. Until then, her foster mom continues to take amazing care of her. Gypsy has been better fed and more loved in the last 2 weeks then in the last 6 months, if not her entire life.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Better Every Day

Thank you so much to everyone who braved the cold and donated food to Gypsy last Saturday at the Farmer's Market. We received 110 cans of cat food and 14 lbs of dry food for her. We also took in several donations this week and at last count, we have over 160 cans! I think we'll be well over 200 cans of donated food by the end of the week! Thank you everyone! It's not too late to donate food, we'll always accept food/supply donations.

Here's the most recent pictures of our poor girl -

Gypsy is being very well cared for by one of our foster parents and is getting healthier everyday. She went to the vet yesterday and just weighs over 5 lbs (and this is after a week of 3 cans of cat food a day). The vet estimated her age at closer to 8 years and not the 1-2 years we originally thought. The head wound was not an infected bite wound, but rather a tumor, which was also removed yesterday (click on photo to see stitches). The vet doesn't think it's cancerous, but it has been sent to the lab for testing just to be on the safe side.

While she looks in pretty rough shape, her blood work was good she shouldn't have any long-term damage or illness and should make a full recovery.

Rest, food and lots of love should make her whole again and we are expecting her to have a wonderful, long life ahead of her.

Friday, October 16, 2009

More On Gypsy

Gypsy is settling in nicely to life indoors. She's been spending her days eating multiple cans of cat food, sleeping and bossing around the 17-lb cat she lives with. She loves purring and snuggling with her foster mom and will be a wonderful cat to the family that adopts her. If you click on the picture, you can see the wound on her head is starting to heal.

Interestingly, I've also been informed that poor Gypsy is 'sun bleached' and will return to an all-black coat in time. Poor girl, life must've been miserable for her outside.

We've decided to have a small 'Cat Food Drive' tomorrow from 8 am-12 noon at the Farmer's Market (rain or shine) to help fatten her up. If you have any food or items you would like to donate to Gypsy, we'd love to have it. Please pass the word around, and let's get Gypsy healthy!

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

First Pictures of Gypsy

This is little Gypsy. I was in Urbana this morning and saw this cute girl sitting next to my car as I was walking back to the parking lot. Stray cats will usually run away as soon as they see someone, but not Gypsy. As I opened my car door to see if I had a carrier (which I did not... this made for an interesting car ride) she jumped right in and made herself at home. She's been outside for at least several months. She's only about 7 lbs and is covered in fleas, mats and scabs.

She was in the right place at the right time. She's now warm and eating lots of canned food. She'll be moved into one of our foster homes for evaluation and then put up for adoption once she is spayed and gets the all-clear from the vet and her foster mom.

*Update* Gypsy just got a bath and some antibiotics for her head injury. Turns out, she is also declawed. Declawed cats should NEVER be allowed outside (or clawed cats). They just don't have the ability to defend themselves from attacks.


She seems to be missing part of her tail...
Also, we'll be at the Urbana Farmer's Market this Saturday for the last time this year. We'll have t-shirts for sale and will be happy to answer any of your adoption and spay/neuter questions. And of course, if you happen to have any spare canned/dry food that you like to donate for Gypsy's rehabilitation, we won't turn it away!!

Friday, October 9, 2009

Up at Petsmart Now - Mochachino and Blackie

Meet 16- week old Mochachino, a neutered male kitten who is ready for a home of his own. He came in with mom Mocha, who is just a larger version of him, plus his sister Latte (already adopted). Mochachino is up at Petsmart right now with Blackie who was raised with them, even though they are not technically siblings. If you are looking for a fun-loving pair, please stop by Petsmart and see them.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

October is Here!


CATsNAP volunteers spend last night bleaching and cleaning the Petsmart Adoption Center and the cats will start arriving today!  We have a fantastic group this month including Chloe, a 1-yr old, front declawed girl whose former people decided it was easier to give her to CATsNAP than to take her with them when they moved.  She deserves a stable, forever home where no one will leave her again.  She is super friendly and loves cats and dogs.  

We will be at the Urbana Farmer's Market on October 17 for the last time this season.  

CATsNAP is also on Facebook!  If you use Facebook, join our group and add your pictures of the cats you've adopted from us.  


Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Bad Kitty!!

As much as I try to kitten-proof the house, on occasion, I forget the obvious...

Yep. Little Scarlet is actually INSIDE the toilet.  Cute and adorable, yet totally gross.  

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Scarlet, Reggie and Volunteer T-Shirts

We've had Scarlet and Reggie for just over a week, and I'm happy to report that both of them are doing really well and will be adoptable in no time.  Feral kittens tend to tame pretty quickly once they are in a home environment.  In my experience, the best way to socialize kittens is to wrap them in a towel and give them as much attention as possible.  The socializing process can take anywhere from a few hours to several weeks.  Scarlet was fully tame by day 3.  She is a spitfire and spends most of her day chasing her foster sister Lila up the stairs. 

Here's Scarlet on day 2.  Isn't she the most beautiful kitten in the world?


We have a small cat bed/dome in their foster room that she just loves.  However, if she's on top of it....
...you can pretty much bet that little Reggie is buried inside and she isn't about to let him out!
ROAR!!!
Reggie is getting a little braver about exploring the house and playing with the other cats (and inspecting the camera).  He's still on the timid side, but I think he'll be just perfect in a few weeks.  He'll have what remains of his mangled back leg removed once he gets a bit bigger, and can go to his forever home once he heals.  

Both of them are available for adoption and Scarlet will be making an appearance at Petsmart in the month of October after she is spayed.  



Also, CATsNAP t-shirts are finally here!!  We had these fantastic shirts made at te' shurt' (711 S. Wright St) on campus, and the staff was great with us and made us a high-quality, comfortable shirt that we can work in.  Show your support for no-kill animal rescue!  If you're interested in purchasing one, send me an email.  

Monday, September 21, 2009

Scarlet and Reggie

Meet 5-week old Sir Reginald Dashingham (aka Reggie). Reggie was caught on 9/20/09 and was living at a recycling center with his sister Scarlet. Reggie is missing his back right paw. As CATsNAP has just taken him in, we don't know yet if he was born this way or suffered a trauma when he was a baby. He is also very thin, but his foster mom is working hard to fix that with numerous cans of Fancy Feast. Once he reaches a healthy weight, he will be neutered and will undergo surgery to remove what remains of his back leg to prevent further injury/infection.


Scarlet is a stunning dilute calico and is full of sugar and spice (and everything nice). She will be ready to go to her forever home by 10/1/09 after she has finished recovering from her spay surgery.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Petsmart Adopt-A-Thon

CATsNAP volunteers were out this weekend to with help with Petsmart's 'National Adoption Weekend' event.  We had several cats to show and Josie the dog.  We had a successful weekend and adopted out several cats and have an adoption pending on Josie. 

We're still in kitten season!  We have kittens of all ages in the program right now.  If you're looking for a kitten, they are all listed on Petfinder and we will be back in the Petsmart adoption center in September.  
Josie the Wonder Dog would much rather sit on her foster dad's lap than hang out with the cats.  She is the best dog ever and just loves everyone she meets (especially squirrels).  
CATsNAP rescued Gizmo, who was on the euthanasia list at a high-kill shelter.  He found his forever home this weekend, along with his buddy Sophie.  He has the most beautiful eyes and loving personality.   Check out those whiskers!
It was a hot and sticky weekend!  Even though we had the shade of a tent, the kittens were all getting hot and grumpy after a few hours.  One of our fantastic volunteers put the kittens in her car one at a time, to enjoy some quiet snuggling and cool air conditioning.  

Thank you to all the great volunteers who worked so hard this weekend and did such a great job finding homes for our cats!

We'll be at the Urbana Farmer's Market this Saturday from 8am-12noon.  Stop by and see us!