Belle

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

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!!

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.

Bumble Bee

Meet 7 week old baby Bumble, a fluffy little female kitten who is healthy and looking for love! She will be spayed in the next week and will be ready for a forever home. She is currently in foster care, so if you are interested in meeting her, let us know!

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.