The cages are ready!

The adoption cages at Petsmart are cleaned, bleached and ready for our cats to arrive tomorrow!  We'll have lots of special cats throughout the month.  The first round of cats will include-

Vinnie

Bessie

Charlie 

TT 

Sadie and Sunshine

Puffball

Charcoal

Miss Kitty

Bear and Fiona

We hope to see you there!

Memorial Day Weekend

Over the past three and half years of cat trapping, I have found that feral cats frequent many different types of places. Among the most popular in my area are dumpsters and the many sheds that surround my house. Saturday morning I did my usual looking out the window to see if any cats or kittens were peeking their heads out from under one of the three sheds around the perimeter of my house. It was around 8am that I spotted the three kittens playing on the side of my neighbor's shed. The rest of the weekend was dedicated to trapping all four of these cats. I took note of when the cats came out from under the shed (periodically from 5-8am, 3:30pm, and 8pm), I kept the food fresh and extra stinky, and I sometimes kept the trap forced open when I could not watch it so the kittens might get used to going in and out of the trap. One night, I even persuaded my husband to put off mowing since the noise would prolong the kittens from coming out from under the shed. By Tuesday at 7pm all three of the kittens were in the care of foster homes and the mom cat had already been spayed and returned to the shed. It was quite a busy weekend but very rewarding to know one less feral cat would have more litters and three kittens would not only survive but soon be adopted and spoiled as all kittens deserve to be.

Belly Rubs Anyone?

Meet Vin or Vinnie as his foster mom calls him, he is just a down right sweet cat who would fit into any home. He has tons of love to give to anyone who will let him. He gets along well with other cats and would probably do ok with a calm dog. He is kid friendly but will be timid with loud noises and fast movements.

What he really wants is to be loved and played with. He loves to lie on the floor and have his belly, back and chin rubbed for as long as he can keep your attention. He is not quite sure if he is a lap cat yet but with a permanent home he will probably discover how great laps are.

Vin is a very sleek, long, all black cat who chirps at things that interest him or when he wants your attention. He is not a meower, but lets out a curious little chirp to let you know he is there. He is very neat in the litter box and just wants a family to call his own.

Nose Kisses Forever

This is Bessie, she is a very sweet cat who had a terrible start to life - she was left in an apartment with her kittens when the owners moved out.

Bessie is 2 years old and ready for her permanent home. Bessie would do best as the only pet in the home but could do ok with a docile male cat. She is really playful and can entertain herself with milk rings,string toys and balls. She is very loveable and will sit on your lap and purr and let you scratch her head for a long time.

She is really curious and likes to give nose kisses when you are petting her. Here is a picture of her giving her foster mom a kiss while she is getting some attention. Bessie is a very healthy cat who just wants a family to love her.

Can you give her the home she deserves?

A Job Well Done

Thanks to everyone who helped with the garage sale today!  The morning started off wet and dreary, but we picked up business after about 10am and stayed busy until around 1:30.  In total, we raised over $550 for our new food and litter program.  The money we raised today will keep our ferals and foster cats well fed all summer long.  Several people stopped by to donate canned food and a few people just came to donate money...  thank you.  

One of our volunteers tirelessly and cheerfully stood on the corner of Springfield and Prospect for most of the day dressed as Hello Kitty and brought in traffic.  

I've always said CATsNAP has the best volunteers in town - everyone was at the garage sale bright and early and worked the entire day to raise money for homeless cats.  

The sale was such a huge success, we may have another in August to continue to build on the new food program.  I'll keep everyone posted when we decide on a date.  

Garage Sale THIS Saturday!!

Just a reminder - we're having our 'food drive' garage sale THIS Saturday in Champaign!  It will be at 1018 W. White (corner of White and McKinley) from 8 -1.  All the money will go to our food and litter program.  Our foster moms are in need of supplies, so we're hoping to raise enough funds to keep our cats fed through the summer. 

We'll also be taking food donations at the sale.  If you have any extra canned or dry food (any brand), please consider donating it.  

We've had lots of people donate clothes, shoes and all sorts of household items.  

We'll be there rain or shine, so please stop by!

Completely unrelated - I've had several people ask how Bear and Fiona are doing.  These are two of the friendliest cats I've ever met.  They are so loving, and want as much attention from people as they can get.  They love other cats and will be a perfect fit into any home.  

Westminster Fibers

For the last several months, CATsNAP volunteers have been busy at work on the 'knitting for kittens' project.  We've had several people donate their time and skills to make beds for the cats that are in foster care and in the cages at Petsmart.   Having warm, fluffy, homemade beds gives Petsmart a more inviting feel.  Those cold, stainless steel cages get really depressing to look at and must be uncomfortable for the cats.  I think it also lets potential parents who are visiting the center know that the animals are being taken care of when a volunteer isn't there.   

Imagine my surprise when the UPS guy dropped off a HUGE box courtesy of Westminster Fiber.  Westminster makes high quality yarns such as Rowan, Nashua and Shepherd.  

Here's the first bag - They were all nicely wrapped and came in wonderful, vibrant colors-

The donation included lots of wonderful wool yarns.  I'm thinking felted cat beds?

The ever-inquisitive Bear (who is still looking for a home) was the first to investigate.  

 I think he approves.  There's about 80 skeins of yarn donated to us.  This should keeps us busy for months.  If anyone is interested in picking some up, let me know and I'll get it to you.   

Thank you Westminster Fibers!

Weekend Events

Spring is in full swing, and we are busy as ever.  We are back at the Urbana Farmer's Market and kicked off the weekend there!  We had a small table set up near the main entrance with cat mint and crochet cat beds to sell that have been made for us by a wonderful woman in Mansfield, IL.  

We had several people approach us needing information on how to get their cats fixed and a few people expressed interest in volunteering! 

The weather was wonderful and the music was great. 

Meanwhile, foster mom Sue and company held down the fort at the Petsmart Adoption Drive which continues through Sunday.  
We had the dashing Boo who is just about as handsome as a cat can get.  He's around 2 years old and is just a joy to be around.  
Benji did really well at Petsmart.  He's a special guy looking for a special family.  
I can't forget Farley.  He looks sad in this picture, but he's actually just really sleepy from his canned food.  If you haven't met Farley yet, you must stop by Petsmart tomorrow between 1pm and 3pm.   He is 4-paw declawed and his former 'owners' tossed him outside to fend for himself in the winter.  He lost part of his ear and tail to frostbite.  Gentle Farley doesn't hold any grudges, he's still willing to give people another chance as long as they promise to keep him warm and indoors and never throw him away.  

Huge 'thank you' and kitten kisses to the generous person who donated 2 large bags of towels to us.  They came just at the right time.  

We'll be at Petsmart again next weekend Saturday 11am-2pm and Sunday 1pm-3pm.  We have two litters of kittens in the program right now that will be ready to be adopted by May 15.  If I can convince their foster moms to let me steal them for a few hours, we'll be showing kittens in addition our fantastic adoptable adults.