Sweet little Yaya

Now that Yaya is healthy and doing great, she can now have her teeth cleaned and flash everyone her pretty smile. Okay - her smile is really more sticking out her little tongue, but the teeth she's not showing will be nice and clean and pearly white.   She has an appointment tomorrow (Friday, 12/31) to get them done. 

So after tomorrow, all four of the American Shorthairs will have completed their dental and so far only one tooth had to be pulled (let's hope it stays at just one and Yaya doesn't have to have any pulled). 

Now, we just need to look into kitty braces for sweet Fang.  Seriously - have you seen those "fangs"?!!

Update: Friday, 12/31/09 1:30PM: just talked to Dr. Jon and poor Yaya had to have three teeth pulled.  Two inciscors and one molar. 

Update from one of our adopters

I spoke with Wendy (adopter of Meena and Fairfax) today and they love the cats so much.  Meena is doing incredibly well - she makes the rounds and alternates who she sleeps with at night (family of four in the house).  She loves to have her belly rubbed and is super sweet. 

Fairfax has been renamed Otto and is doing better.  The family had a lot of company over the holidays so maybe it was a bit much for our shy boy, but he is doing better.  Fairfax has such a rough start in life and while we're always happy when one of our cats find a great forever home, it's sometimes more heart warming when the home takes a chance on adopting a super shy cat.   Fairfax (sorry Otto - I'll remember it soon!) no longer runs under the bed when he hears a loud noise, he runs towards the bed but doesn't run under it so that's a big step.  The family is accepting of the baby steps and is giving him the time, patience, understanding, and love he needs to blossom.

Meena and Otto love to wrestle and play together -- which is surprising because we thought Meena might do best in a house with no other pets.  But she's doing great with Otto and apparently not terrorizing the dogs! 

Thank you Wendy and family for adopting these great cats and especially for your patience and understanding with Otto. 

Prayers and warm thoughts needed for Tabitha

Prayers and warm thoughts needed for Tabitha (aka Tabby), our little tabby girl waiting for a barn home with her sister.

Our vet is keeping her overnight tonight while waiting for results of blood work and so he can watch her. She appears to have a neurological issue. Now that can be because she's in shock a little. Was doing great this weekend, whatever is wrong happened in such a short time.

Yaya and Fang

On November 29th, I posted pictures of Yaya a few days after her eye enucleation (removal) surgery. Well, Yaya is still in the same "recovery" foster home; instead of just recovering her, her foster mom and dad will keep her and her brother (Fang) until they are adopted. I saw Yaya and Fang on Christmas and they are doing great. Yaya has become grandpa's girl and Fang is grandma's boy. They both adore receiving love and attention, but Fang even more so.

However, I'm not sure my parents make good foster parents because they can't quite manage letting go -- as evidenced by the fact that they have adopted most of the cats they have fostered for us.  They're great special needs fosters, but not good at saying goodbye.  They adopted Mikey and Maddie - super shy cats caught as older feral kittens.  And then of course there is Spicey -the almost blind tortie.  They were only supposed to be fostering Spicey while she was recovering from being so sick but even though I had found a permanent home for her who knew how to handle blind cats, they couldn't say goodbye.  Spicey has no vision in one eye and appears to only be able to see shadows with the other eye.

The pictures aren't that great - they wouldn't stay still for photos and I only had my iPhone to take pix. I'll get better pictures soon. I promise.

Yaya's tongue does stick out most of the time from her little flat face, as does Fang's tongue. They have eyes as big as saucers. Yaya has the tiniest little nose and tongue - they really are about the size of a little kitten's nose and tongue. She's simply adorable.  She's a petite little lady.  Yaya is available for adoption now.  Fang's not quite ready yet. 

Fang has the personality of a little dog - he follows "his grandma" everywhere and loves to sit on her lap and chest when she's watching television. Mom's worried no one will want to adopt Fang because he's, ummmmm, very unique looking and has some issues. But mama loves that face (rescue mama and foster mama). He's got the "fangs" and heavily hooded eyes. His somewhat flat face and fangs make him a super messy eater. His hooded eyes water alot -- he's been thoroughly examed by our vet and he's fine, there are just some issues inherent in this breed. But he has such an incredibly sweet personality.

Please help fellow rescuers

We believe that all of us rescue groups must work together to optimize helping the animals. As such, we ask you to help our one of our fellow rescue groups – St. Francis Animal Rescue in Rock Hill, SC (http://www.stfrancisanimalrescue.org).

With the downturn in economy, their donations are down and they are facing eviction in January. This wonderful organization currently houses 100 cats in community rooms. Those cats will face the shelter and euthanasia if we can’t help raise the necessary $5,000.

You can make a donation through their home page or by clicking the "ChipIn" button below.

Another adoption today

Lizanne was adopted today.  Our cute little orange female tabby is front polydactyl and abolutely adorable.  This adoption has been in the works for a while -- at least the adoption process has in place for a few weeks while waiting for an orange female tabby. Lizanne's foster mom, Ellyn, took this picture -- I really like it because it shows off her cute paws and extra toes.

Three adoptions today

Adoptions 100, 101, and 102 (of the year, we've adopted out more than 100 since our founding) happened tonight. Urchin was 100, Udder Moomoo was 101, and Isaac (aka Gravy) was 102.

Urchin and Udder Moomoo have been in foster to adopt homes since they were 8-weeks old so they are young in these pictures.

Urchin 

Udder Moomoo

Isaac was adopted by a couple that adopted Justina (now Biscuit) a few months ago.  

Isaac

Special Foster Home Needed

Alley Cats and Angels is seeking a special foster home for one of older kittens that possibly has IBS or food allergies. We've gone through the gamut of fecal tests and every medication imagineable and worked with two different animal hospitals but poor Oscar is still having issues.

We need a home with no other cats or a house that has a room Oscar can stay in so we can try out some different food options (sensitive stomach, allergen free, grain free, low-residue, etc.). Oscar is an active boy and quite the big lovebug and does not do well in a cage so we really need a special foster home for him. It may take only a month to regulate Oscar's issues or it may take several as we try several food options.

The foster home must be able to administer medication as needed (if new medication is deemed appropriate by our vets).

Alley Cats and Angels will provide Oscar's food.

Oscar is one of the sweetest, most wonderful older kittens. He is truly delightful. We hope to resolve his issues soon so he can be available for adoption and we can find the perfect home for him. He has so much love to give someone and we hope he can share it with his forever family soon.

Two more adoptions today

Riza and Rada were adopted together today. Riza and Rada were Raja's babies and were brown tabby/Bengal mix kittens. We're excited that they now have a home of their own for Christmas.  These girls look so much alike that we had to put different color collars on them and then double check who was who by scanning and checking their microchip number! 

We have several litters with just one kitten renaming that still need good homes:

• Rippa of the R's
• Jazz of the J's
• Stroodle of the S's

And Carmen and Cleo (the twins) really want a home of their own for the New Year.

Three adoptions today

Jayden was adopted. She was the last older kitten at her foster home so I've been asked who they are getting next. :-)

Meena and Fairfax were adopted together. An ADULT adoption (Meena, our gorgeous split face calico). Fairfax was a Flame Point Siamese mix and quite shy but he and his adopter bounded when he touched her nose with his. Meena and Fairfax were not together before but we're sure they'll adapt fine, once Meena establishes that she's boss!

Today was our last adoption event for this year. The adoption counselors and event volunteers are taking a much needed rest until January 4th. We are still doing meet and greets and there will be more adoptions this year, just no more adoptathons.

Merry Christmas kitties, enjoy your new homes this Christmas.

Local low-cost spay/neuter clinics

For anyone in need of low cost spay/neuter clinics for cats (some of these do dogs also), attached is a link to a comprehensive list on our website: http://alleycatsandangels.org/links.html. There are multiple vets on this list that will spay/neuter feral cats. Remember, spaying and neutering saves lives.

One adoption today

We love it when someone falls in love with and adopts a black cat. Perhaps because of superstition, black cats don't adopt out as quickly as others even though they often have the best personalities. We love it even more when the family decides that the shy black kitten is the one for them. Zelda, our timid black kitten was adopted today.

Our babies are growing up - 5 little kittens

Our "V" crew is growing up. They will be 5 weeks old Tuesday. Hard to imagine we've had them 3 weeks. The V kitties all have names now:

• Vittles (tuxedo kitten)
• Violet (dark gray tabby - only female and right now it looks like she might be medium haired and not short haired like her brothers)
• Varjak Paw ("cow kitten")
• Velcro (brown tabby)
• Vodka (light gray tabby with white)

The babies are crawling in and out of the tub (with assistance of pet stairs) and having lots of fun playing. The bathtub in a closed bathroom makes a great place for itty bitty babies. It keeps them safe and confined while mama cat can get out of the tub and stretch her legs and get away from the little ones when she needs to.

See how adorable these little monkeys are in the attached video.

Qaylee adopted today

Ok, it wasn't last weekend's 8 (9 counting Isaac [aka Gravy]) adoptions, but we did have one adoption this weekend. Qaylee (kay-lee), our pretty little medium haired "tabbyco" (gray tabby with lots of calico markings also) was adopted today. There was also quite a bit of interest in Jayden and Fairfax.

Who doesn't love Biscuit and Gravy?

A wonderful couple adopted Justina a few months back and renamed her Biscuit. They emailed us last week asking about adding a second cat to their home and came and met several of our babies last weekend. Apparently Biscuit is quite a daddy's girl and they were hoping a male cat would be a mama's boy. After interacting with several cats, Kate and Justin decided to foster Isaac for a little while to see if he and Biscuit would get along. Well, they most certainly do - the below pictures attest to the fact that they've become best buds. And as Kate sent us one of the emails, Isaac (aka Gravy) was sitting on her lap. Total win-win! Needless to say, they will be adopting Isaac and he will be officially renamed Gravy.

How cute is that - Biscuit and Gravy?!!!

New adoption venue

Starting January 2010, Alley Cats and Angels will have space in the adoption center at the PetSmart on Capital Boulevard in Raleigh and will be holding adoption events there in addition to our other adoption venues.

We have the adoption center for the month of January on an every other month basis (SPCA will have cats in the center the months we are not there).

We would like to thank Zamantha and Chris, managers of the Capital Boulevard PetSmart for the invitation to be their newest adoption partner at this busy store.

Beautiful custom engraved crystal holiday ornaments

Searching for that last minute unique Christmas gift? Purchase a Custom Engraved Crystal Ornament / Suncatcher and help save a life! Alley Cats and Angels is pleased to offer these unique treasures. Just choose your favorite design and add your own. Personalization up to 40 characters including spaces.

Orders must be received before December 15th to ensure delivery in time for Christmas. All proceeds benefit Alley Cats and Angels and help us continue our work as “Advocates for Forgotten Felines”.

http://alleycatsandangels.org/AC&A_Ornaments.pdf

Wonderful weekend

We had an amazing adoption weekend. Which would not have been possible without our terrific adoption event volunteers this weekend - Jill Walters (pulled double duty between Santas helpers and ), Landis McEntee, Debbie Beam, Tara Munn, and JoAnne Paterniti. Thanks to our great team, we adopted out eight (yes EIGHT [8]) kittens this weekend and two more went home as foster to adopts.

The following were adopted:

• Tokyo Rose and India (together)
• Pebbles
• Remy
• Julius
• Ivan
• Earl Gray
• Swizzle
• Isaac -- foster to adopt
• Urchin - foster to adopt

I would like to also extend a big thanks to Maria B. for her continued support of Alley Cats and Angels - the donated food is very much appreciated.

Big thanks to our Santas and their helpers...

We would like to extend a big thanks to Mike Sayers, Dan Johnson, Joe Moore, and Jason Fern for being Santa Claus for our Santa Claws pet photos at PetSmart Knightdale and PetSmart Apex this weekend. We made about $240 for the kitties -- all of which goes to the kitties medical fun. Mike Sayers was our Apex Santa and Dan, Joe, and Jason rotated shifts in Knightdale.

Also big thanks to Jill Walters, Augusta Fern, and Marie Brewer for being Santa's helpers and taking and/or printing pictures.

Dan as Santa ans his helpers, Jill and Augusta

Mike Sayers as our Apex Santa

Jason Fern as Santa

Joe Moore as Santa wishing everyone peace (on earth and goodwill to men)

New foster homes

We are thankful for two new foster homes. We delivered two shy kittens to Ellyn last night to foster and will delivering kittens to Cass tonight/tomorrow.

YAY!

Our teeny tiny babies are growing up

They are just a little over three weeks old. There are 4 boys and 1 girl - the dark gray tabby is the female. Aren't they absolutely adorable?? They'll be named shortly - I think their foster parents are waiting to see their personalities first. However, there are only so many names you go with when all names have to start with the letter V. Right now I just call them by their description prefaced by "little", except I call the female Little Girl.

Little Tux - is that the cutest face or what? Possible a little Zoolander model in the making

Little Girl - this one's pretty cute too!

Little Cow Kitten (kinda!!) - oh no, another cute one.


Little Brown - seriously, I'm having a hard time picking the cutest one!!

Little Gray - a cutie too, but didn't want to pose for a picture like his siblings so not a supermodel kitty in the making

Thank you Secret Santa

For the three large bags of Purina One Chicken and Rice adult food you left at Petsmart for us today. We really appreciate it. If we knew who you were, we'd thank you in person (and give you a receipt for taxes!). But if you wish to be a secret santa, we're good with that and will just put our thanks out on the web in hopes that you'll see it.

Barn Cat Update

We received this wonderful email from one of our barn/garden cat owners. We relocated Bree and Gunnar to a beautiful farm near Hillsborough. Brie and Gunnar were extremely shy cats that had little hope of being adopted, in addition, they had spent all their life outdoors, it was where they are happiest. We relocated the two in March of this year. Brie and Gunnar are pictured below below (older pictures, cages no longer up, cats are free to roam the property).

Tia - Just got your newsletter and thought I would let you know how our 2 beauties are doing...

They have settled in wonderfully. Both of them feign indifference if you try to call them over, or reach down to pet them - in fact they seem skittish and run away - but I guess that is to be expected. On the other hand, Bree is always waiting at the back door in the morning when we go out to feed the cats and chickens. Both cats love to romp and play around us when we are outside working, and are in fact quite sociable. And they have done a wonderful job keeping away the varmints that were destroying our garden. Yay! Sometimes we find little presents on the door step!

Paul is much braver with the cats than I am - and has been slowly working on picking them up! They become more and more tolerant of that! They also both are comfortable with our lab, Evie, and usually say hello by rubbing noses with her! And you should see them with the guineas! There is one particular grey guinea who is a sort of loner and he has started playing with Bree. It's hilarious to watch them - Bree will chase the bird and then all of a sudden, the bird will turn around and start chasing Bree. And so it goes on. Back and forth. I can't tell you how much pleasure we have from these two special cats.

And how grateful we are to you and Allecats and Angels for bringing them to us.

Last weekend's adoptions

I forgot to post last weekend’s adoptions. Now for some much needed good news -- both Raja and Wilson were adopted and are doing well.

Raja was adopted by a family in Charlotte. She is doing well and apparently likes to party all night and sleep all day! Raja is doing well extremely well with the 6-year old son and is apparently quite a smart lady. The son is trying to teach her how to give a paw and she’s quite close. We’re so glad she’s doing well.

Wilson was also adopted by the sister-in-law (and family) of one of our previous adopters (O'Reilly's adopter). Wilson is very happy in his new home with three young boys and mom and dad to shower him with attention.

Hello kittens... and goodbye Tacoma

The kittens were 3-weeks old yesterday. These are the "V" kittens although I think Jill and Dan are waiting a bit to name them. They are doing well and their foster mom posted new pictures of them on her Facebook page. I saw the pictures today and they made me smile.

The pictures made me realize this "rescue stuff" is worth it even on the worst days -- with today and tomorrow being horrible days.

We took Tacoma, a 7-month old kitten, to one of our vets to have a full blood panel done. Tacoma is one of only two siblings remaining from a litter we rescued from a car repair shop this summer. Each of those kittens died soon after we got them and the necropsy results were inconclusive. Tacoma and Tanner were doing great (Tanner still is doing great, but we're getting full blood workup to be safe), but Tacoma just started rapidly losing weight. Tacoma's bloodwork shows renal disease among a list of other major health issues which are highly unusual in a young kitten. Our vet said it's possible it's heredity or congenital that's just now manifesting. After speaking with the vet, we've decided it's time to help Tacoma cross the rainbow bridge. It is unlikely we can save her even with aggressive medical treatment and part of rescue is knowing when it's time to let them go -- because it's the most humane thing to do for Tacoma. I'm sorry Tacoma, I wish we could do more. But you will be free from suffering and will soon be chasing mice in kitty heaven. We love you little Tacoma, rest in peace my sweet baby.

The American Shorthairs -- focus on Yaya

Yaya is a sweet purebred American Shorthair. She's a sweet girl and one of four American Shorthairs we took in from a bad situation. Yaya is supposed to be about 3-5 years old but she (and the other three American Shorthairs we took in) have the teeth of 8+ year old cats. Fang has already had his dental done and Yancy and Yates go in this week for their dental.

Three of the AS kitties are super sweet and loving - just want all love all the time. Yates is the most handsome of the cats but is shy and a little skittish but we're working on that. I'll post some picture of Fang soon and you'll know right away why his name is Fang!

Fang and Yaya do not have the typical American Shorthair faces, their little faces are flat with the tiniest of noses. Yaya's nose is about the size of a 3-week old kitten's nose - poor thing.

The cats were infested with fleas and earmites when we got them. Flea situation was easily resolved but we're still working on the ear mites - Ivermectin ear drops prescribed by are vet are given weekly with ear cleanings about 3 days following the drops -- the ears are getting much better.

Yaya had an old ulcer on her left eye and we were hoping to save her eye with aggressive medical treatment and twice weekly visits to the vet for eye debridment and treatment. When we went to her appointment Friday, her eye was worse and Dr. Jon said it was time to do an eye enucleation (remove the eye). He did the surgery that day and kept her overnight. Yaya is feeling better already - she's eating well (something she wasn't doing before). However, poor girl has to wear the e-collar so she won't scratch her eye and with her little flat face she can't eat or drink with the collar on (Wimbledon was able to). So tonight Yaya went to go stay with her "Grandpa and Grandma" (my parents as I'm her foster) until she no longer has to wear the collar. The collar will go on her at night but most of the time she won't have to wear it as she'll be on the sofa with my mom. Once she heals up and feels better, we'll be able to wash her dirty little face (drainage) - plus she gets her food everywhere!! Here are a few pictures of our little lady.

(pictures aren't the best - taken with an iPhone and she wouldn't hold still!)

Here she is all tuckered out after exploring Grandpa and Grandma's house. She's curled up on the bed with her little tongue sticking out. She's such an unbelievably sweet and affectionate lady. After she's fully recovered from her eye surgery, she'll need to have dental done also and then will be ready for adoption.

Pictures and videos of our two-week old kittens

Well, actually as of today, they are 16 days old. How adorable are they?!!

Poor mama is feral and scared. She will go to a nice barn once the babies are weaned, etc. The barn has a heated tack room so she won't be going from the nice warm inside to the cold outside.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/catastrophegirl/sets/72157622888310252/.

Two adoption event locations this weekend

PetSmart Knightdale and PetSmart Apex

Friday and Saturday
November27-28
1:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Come see the kitties!

We have the purrfect accessory to help keep you warm this winter!

You will need a furry friend to cuddle as the temperature drops this winter! There is nothing better than a four legged furball to keep you company. Here are a few very special cats who are hoping to have a warm lap to relax in this winter. If they don't tug at your heart, please look through the others we have for adoption. We have something for everyone!


Meena: Meena is extremely sweet and loving calico. She has the most beautiful orange and black face and the cutest black button nose. She can't get enough of head rubs and chin scratches. Grooming is not a problem as she loves being brushed down. Meena is very loyal and always shows her appreciation for your love by rubbing and standing up on your leg. Meena really shows off when she is the only kitty in the house. She is very good about using her scratching pad and playtime is a marathon when you bring out the laser pointer. Meena might be a little shy at first, but get ready; because when she comes out of her closet, you will be loving and playing with her for a long time to come. Meena was rescued from a high-kill shelter.

Tipper: My personality is really starting to shine through. I now ‘talk' to you to in a soft chatter to let you know that I want to be petted and have attention. I've also come to realize how nice it is to sit in your lap and get comfortable for a short catnap. While I live in a house with other cats, I am a good fit as an only cat or integrated into a home with other cats. I'm very friendly and I get along well with every cat I meet. My favorite pastimes are still to chase balls, play with feathers on a stick and pop in and out of my tent. I also love it when you shake the treat bag--I come running! I do have a grade 2 heart murmur which means you need to make the Vet aware in case I would ever need to go under anesthetic. On the outside you'd never know the murmur existed since I act normal and require no special care. I was found living in a storm drain near a local pizza restaurant and would dart between traffic to sit under cars as they parked so I could stay warm, so when I was rescued, the hair on my ears was singed but it's grown in beautifully.

Izzie: Izzie was rescued when we received a call to help the petite cat because it was so cold out; expecting a kitten, we found a beautiful adult instead - and that's quite ok (vet estimates Izzie is 5-6 years old). Izzie is a typical tortie, which means she has "tortie-tude". She can be wonderfully sweet and then sometimes be a bit persnickety. Izzie loves attention, wants to sit near you, sleep with you, and be your world. She’s actually quite a good snuggler. She has the cutest little short tail (not quite 2/3 the length of an average cat tail) – which is how she gained one of her nicknames (Isabella Stumpy Tail). But we mean it with love – it’s actually quite a cute stumpy tail. Izzie would be best suited to a house without young children. However, if you want unconditional love (98% unconditional love, 2% feigned indifference), then Izzie is your girl.

New catnip mice - perfect stocking stuffer for cat lovers

Because when the cat is happy, the owner is too! And what better way to make a cat happy than these adorable mice filled with organic catnip.

We have gorgeous 100% handmade catnip mice for sale. They are very cute and unusual mice that are filled with organic catnip. There is a wide selection of colors available - even available in team colors (Carolina blue, NCSU red and black, etc.). Does your kitty like to try to destroy and behead toys? Well, these mice are tightly constructed and will withstand the roughest of handling. They are approximately 4.5" long (they are larger than appear in photo).

Place your order today by emailing: info@alleycatsandangels.org. $5.00 each. We can also ship mice for out of area orders. 100% of the proceeds will go directly to our medical fund.

We also have other catnip toys (twists, squares, and kicker) made with organic catnip for sale also. Prices: twists, 3 for $1.00; squares $2.00; kickers $3.00. Twists, squares, and kickers not pictured.

Just when you thought kitten season might be over...

Another kitten pile. These adorable babies are 10 days old They were born on 11/17 to a feral mom who had been trapped for TNR. Mama gave birth before her appointment. Mama is taking good care of the babies and will go to the rescuer's farm as a barn cat once the babies are weaned and doing well on their own. There are five babies - appear to be all boys except the darkest tabby which is a girl.

Warm thoughts for Yaya

Yaya goes back to see Dr. Jon for an eye recheck Monday. We're still hoping the eye can be saved. Positive thoughts and prayers that it can be. Yaya's had a rough time of it in her est. 4 years of life.

Come get your pet's picture taken with Santa and Support Alley Cats & Angels

Santa Claws Program - Lend a Hand to Save a Paw!

Alley Cats and Angels is participating in the Santa Claws photos with Santa program at the Knightdale Petsmart. Come get get your picture taken with santa (pictures of pets with santa too). You'll receive one 4x6 printed digital phot in a holiday collector frame. The cost is $9.95 and Alley Cats and Angels will receive $5 from each purchased photo package.

We will be there Saturday and Sunday, December 5-6 from 11:00 AM to 4:00 p.m. Come out and support the cats. Thanks.

No more princess outfits for Wilson

Well, he won't be dressed up in princess outfits anymore because he's being adopted by a family with three boys. Wilson will be so happy that he no longer has to be in touch with him feminine side! :-)

Wilson will go to his forever home right after Thanksgiving.

Sweet Meena needs a forever home

Sweet Meena is about 1.5 to 2 years old. She really needs a home of her own. Adoption events are especially stressful for her and it takes her a while to relax and destress after each event. One our wonderful supporters has sponsored Meena's adoption fee. This means the approved adopter will not have to pay an adoption fee, it has already been paid (adoption process, application, interview, contract, etc. still apply).

More About Meena

• Meena is extremely sweet and loving calico. She has the most beautiful orange and black face and the cutest black button nose. She can't get enough of head rubs and chin scratches.
• Grooming is not a problem as she loves being brushed down.
• Meena is very loyal and always shows her appreciation for your love by rubbing and standing up on your leg. Meena really shows off when she is the only kitty in the house. She is very good about using her scratching pad and playtime is a marathon when you bring out the laser pointer.
• Meena might be a little shy at first, but get ready; because when she comes out of her shell, you will be loving and playing with her for a long time to come.
• Meena was rescued from a high-kill shelter along with her kitten

Much to be thankful for

First - we adopted out four cats this weekend:

• Blizz was adopted by a family that adopted Persephone in February
• Zappa was adopted by a great family in Charlotte (thanks to Jill, our web goddess and key volunteer). Zappa was adopted by good friends of hers and Jill did the transport for this adoption
• Electra was adopted. Sweet but shy girl. She went to a lovely home.
• Rascal - oh my Rascal. Rascal was my foster and quite the bed hog (I've blogged about his sleeping habits before), but I sure do miss him not hogging the bed and giving me hugs. I think it was love at first sight between Rascal and the adoptive family. The big ol' chunk of love went to a great home where he will be pampered. The mom is hoping Rascal will sleep with her since the other three cats sleep with her son.

Second, thanks to the generosity of Electra's adopter, Earl Gray (Electra's brother) now has a sponsored adoption fee. Earl Gray is a bit shy and doesn't "show well" at adoption events but is a wonderful older kitten. He'll make someone a great pet, he just needs someone who doesn't expect the "insta-cat", Earl will take a little time to acclimate to his new surroundings. We have quite a few shy cat success stories - they just require some time and patience to blossom but then you have a friend for life.

Next, we are thankful for the donation from the "I've always wanted to try that" meetup group. They held a raffle at their Halloween party and donated the proceeds to Alley Cats and angels. We are extremely grateful for the $400 donation. It will be used to help offset the growing medical bills for the American Shorthair cats.

And last but definitely not least, thanks to Augusta who is helping get some much needed administrative work done. She's already updated our adopter spreadsheet, is currently working on email mailing list for our e-newsletter, and then move on to check microchip registrations. We really appreciate all her assistance. Augusta is a two-time adopter of our rescue kitties.

Gentle Giant

Rascal is a big boy, weighing in at roughly 20 pounds. But he's 20 pounds of solid love. Rascal truly is a gentle giant full of love. He's so good with other cats, especially younger cats and gives them love and attention and gives them kitty baths and kisses.

Julius and Blizz were a bit disconcerted at yesterday's adoption event so I put Julius in with Rascal first and once Rascal started washing Julius' ears and head, Julius was in bliss. Put Blizz in with them after that and Rascal gave her kitty loves too.

Just in time for the holidays - sweet treats (fudge)

Just in time for the holidays -- Alley Cats and Angels is now taking orders for creamy marble slab fudge. Fudge is available in both half-pound bars ($6.00) and one-pound bars ($11.00) and there are nine delicious flavors to choose from.

• Chocolate
• Peanut Butter
• Rocky Road
• Maple Walnut
• Mint Chocolate Chip
• Chocolate Pecan
• Vanilla Pecan
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Orders due by Wednesday, December 2, 2009. Delivered in holiday appropriate boxes week of December 14, 2009

To order email info@alleycatsandangels.org. All proceeds from fudge sales go to the medical and spay/neuter fund.

For more info: http://alleycatsandangels.org/2009-HolidayFudgeFundraiser.pdf

Too funny....

Justina was adopted by a great couple a few months back. Justina was renamed Biscuit. Well, Biscuit wore a cow costume and was a "steak biscuit" for Halloween! Too funny.

Blizz and Julius - foster buds

Blizz and Julius shared one of the bottom "cages" at the adoption center this week. They are quite the buddies. Usually it was Julius washing his little "sister" (foster sister) but this time Blizz decided Julius needed a bath. Please excuse the shaky video - I took it using my iPhone and when I tried to go in for a close-up for different angle, it's a little shaky. But it's so sweet, especially when Blizz puts her paws on Julius' head to hold him for washing.

Weekend update

Wimbledon was adopted this weekend and we are very excited that our little one-eyed boy found a fantastic new two-legged mom in Dana. We know and love Dana and she is going to give his such a great home. Wimbledon was a favorite among many of the Petsmart Knightdale employees (and everyone else that met him). (Update - Dana said her cat not quite so keen in Wimbledon right but that's to be expected. However, her dog loves Wimbledon and was giving him a bath Saturday night!!). A big thanks to Maria B. for sponsoring Wimbledon's adoption.

The A's (Arnie, Angie, and Andy) attended their first adoption event. We name litters by the alphabet but we don't necessarily do it in alphabetical order. (We only have the V's and Y's left for this year). The A's are a bit shy but they did pretty good until one of the darn birds at Petsmart started screeching. It was an obnoxious noise that made me want to hide too! Here's a picture of Arnie in his Halloween bandana snuggling with a teddy bear in his cage.



It was a long week for the cats in the adoption center and they were glad to get back to their foster homes. They're not used to being in cages (only caged during quarantine). Of course everyone got playtime out of the adoption center cages each day and night but they were getting a little restless.

Big big thanks for the 11 bags of donated cat food, including food for the adoption program and food for the ferals. Saying we really appreciate it does not really convey how much we really appreciate it. We are very grateful for the donation.

And finally, we were notified last night that a meetup group had a raffle at their Halloween party this weekend and they are donating the proceeds of the raffle ($400) to Alley Cats and Angels. This means a lot to us. We have taken in some cats that have very bad dental problems and need teeth cleanings (cannot wait, it's bad - stage 4 periodontal disease) and some teeth removed. The raffle money will go to help pay for the dental work these guys needs (now that sounds like they need fillings and root canals, doesn't it?!). Again, huge thanks to Erin D., organizer of the meetup group, for choosing Alley Cats and Angels to be the recipient of the raffle proceeds.

Food donations greatly needed

We have over 60 cats in our care at this time. 60 cats eat a lot of food and go through a lot of litter every day. We provide food for several foster homes. These are fantastic foster homes but are on fixed incomes or disability so they are only able to foster if we can provide food.

But we've had quite a few unexpected medical bills recently with more to come over the next couple of weeks as we take care of severe dental problems for some American Shorthairs we took in. So buying all that food is quite a strain on the budget. So we really need donations of food. Again, we go through a lot of it - we go through at least three 18-pound bags of Purina One Healthy Kitten per week and two to three 18-pound bags of Purina One Chicken and Rice for adults per week.

We also need donations of other dry food to help local feral cat caretakers feed their ferals (preferrably Purina Cat Chow Complete Choice). We will be at Petsmart this weekend (October 31-November 1) from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM and can take donations at that time.

Donated food can also be dropped off at Consonus Technologies, 301 Gregson Drive, Cary, NC (attn: Tia), between the hours of 9 AM and 5:00 PM Monday through Friday.

The boys playing

Wimledon being super lazy while playing at the adoption center. Julius had more energy but only stayed in the shot a couple of seconds and Wilson jumped in at the end. But Wimbleon (who is sually very energetic and playful) took the easy route and played with the toy while laying down. I think he's ready to come back to his foster home - tired of the cages at the adoption center. I'm sorry sweetie, you will all be back at your different foster homes soon.

In memory and love of our departed cats...

The Rainbow Bridge

Just this side of Heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing: they each miss someone very special, someone who was left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; his eager body begins to quiver. Suddenly, he breaks from the group, flying over the green grass, faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into those trusting eyes, so long gone from your life, but never absent from your heart. Then you cross the Rainbow Bridge together...


Poems for Cats

And God asked the feline spirit "Are you ready to come home"? "Oh, yes, quite so", replied the precious soul "and, as a cat, you know I am most able to decide anything for myself".

Are you coming then? asked God. "Soon" replied the whiskered angel "but I must come slowly for my human friends are troubled. For you see, they need me, quite certainly."

"But don't they understand?", asked God,"that you'll never leave them? That your souls are intertwined. For all eternity? That nothing is created or destroyed? It just is....forever and ever and ever?"

"Eventually they will understand", replied the glorious cat. "For I will whisper into their hearts that I am always with them I just am....forever and ever and ever".

To the unknown authors of the above two poems, thank you.

Goodbye little Ursa Minor

Our vet took Ursa Minor home last night to keep an eye on her and tend to her throughout the night. Ursa seemed to have some fight in her; however, she did not make it. Ursa Minor died around 6:30 this morning. Our vet does not feel it is an infectious disease and is believes it was a portosystemic shunt and will check for that post-mortem.

Despite the best medical care and heroic efforts on the part of our vet, sometimes it's simply the animal's time to pass over the rainbow bridge. We would like to thank Dr. Kevin Monce (PetSound Animal Hospital) for all he did for Ursa Minor.

I'm so sorry we lost you little Ursa. So small, so sweet, so soon. There are now four more little feet in heaven. And many more tears here on earth.

Ursa Minor needs your thoughts/prayers

This wonderful little girl went to the vet yesterday as she was losing weight and was a bit lethargic. After being treated she came home last night and seemed to be doing better. Her foster mom rushed her to the vet today. Ursa was almost in a kitty coma and spent the day in an oxygen chamber. A radiograph/ultrasound was done to check for fluids to rule out FIP - fluid buildup was not found. She now weighs less than a pound. Our vet is taking her home with him this evening to keep watch on her. Right now, it's wait and see - time will tell. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Cats and Halloween Costumes

I think it's just wrong, but it sure is funny. And I'm giong to do it for the adoption event this weekend.

Rascal is my foster and he is the biggest bed hog. He's a big boy and is just plain sarcastic when it's bed time. He stretches out his front and back legs and take up as much bed as he can. Oh - and he likes to lay right smack in the middle of the bed. Therefore, I might get my revenge and dress him up like a mermaid - I saw a cute mermaid pet costume at Petsmart. It will help him get in touch with his feminine.

Think that will teach him what's boss or just make him gather the other foster cats and tell them to help hog the bed too?

Ok, so maybe not a mermaid - that would probably wound his masculine ego, but he's wearing something other than a Halloween bandana this weekend. And it will be for all the world to see (well, the part of the world that will be visiting the Petsmart Knightdale between 1-4P on Saturday!!).

Great adoption weekend

Carmen and Cleo (affectionately referred to as the twins) were adopted together this weekend by someone that met us and the cats last weekend. The twins are inseperable and we really wanted them to be adopted together. The twins had the best personalities, they were simply delightful.

Bumblemuffin was adopted yesterday - what a cute little munchkin he was. Stocky built little boy and super sweet.

And finally, Jacob was adopted this weekend. Jacob had a rough time for a while but started sleeping with his foster parent and coming up and asking for love. He's not big on being held, but the family is ok with that and understands he can be a bit shy at first but will blossom. The 15-year old daughter is absolutely in love with Jacob - and rightly so, he's a pretty great little guy.

The cats had a great adoption weekend.

Remember Wimbledon?

Here he is, fully recovered from his surgery and now available for adoption. He's currently in the adoption center at Petsmart with his buddy Jacob through November 1st.


Wimbledon
Est. DOB: 4/2008 Color: DSH Silver Grey Classic Tabby with some White Gender: M

If you want a real snuggle bunny lap cat – then Wimbledon is your “man”. It’s almost hard to put into words how wonderful Wimbledon is – he really is that incredible. Wimbie (as he’s affectionately called) is so loving. Loves to sit on your lap or be next to you. He loves to sleep with you but isn’t a kitty bed hog! He loves to give kitty kisses and get brushed and petted and kissed in return. He’s also very playful. He loves interactive play with feather toys and wands. His other favorite play items are the kitty tunnel and the track ball. Wimbie gets along great with other cats/kittens.

Wimbledon and his brother, Wilson were dumped in a neighborhood where someone fed him until a rescue could take the boys in. Wimbie had a severe case of herpes virus and his left eye was badly ulcerated and had to be removed. Wimbie is completely recovered; he does not have any special medical requirements – he is a healthy boy.

Full vetted: treated for intestinal parasites, treated with flea preventative, negative for FeLV/FIV, neutered, vaccinated (FVRCP+FeLV initial vaccination and booster, and rabies vaccination) and microchipped with Home Again microchips with shelter paid registration.

Abby settling in

Here are a few pictures of Abby settling in to her new home. In the first picture, Abby is all relaxed and content and is showing a little bit of pretty kitty tummy. In the second picture, Abby has made herself quite at home next to her new mommy's computer. At least she's not laying on the keyboard.

GREAT weekend

First, Abby was adopted this weekend. Sweet Abby-dabby-doo. Her adopter, Libbi, met us and Abby at Wag Pet Boutique on October 10th. Libbi came to see Abby again and meet Rascal this weekend and spent a lot of time getting to know both of them. It was a hard decision, both Rascal and Abby have very similar personalities, are both big chunky love kitties. It wasn't like trying to decide between two cats with different personalities. In the end, Libbi (a former animal shelter volunteer when she lived in another state), decided to adopt Abby. Both Abby and Rascal rolled over and showed her a lot of kitty belly, they both meowed at her, they both gave her kitty kisses, etc. But in the end the rescuer in Libbi took over and she opted for Abby, because Abby doesn't "show" as well at adoption events whereas Rascal hams-it-up and demands people's attention at adoption events thus making the chances of him being adopted soon much higher than Abby's when we are at adoption events. We are so happy for Abby. She has a fantastic new human mom and a sweet new feline brother.

On the yard sale front, we exceeded our goal of making $1500 for the cats. We made over $1600 and we still have some higher end jewelry and collectible items (Limoges collector plate and other limited edition numbered collector plates) that are going to an upscale consignment shop or on ebay. My deepest thanks to everyone that donated items and everyone that helped out with the yard sale. There's only one thing to say -- you all rock.

Yet another orphan

Meet Urp. He's going to join Uma and her babies (Usher, Ursa Minor, Udder Moomoo, and her other surrogate Urchin). Urp is about 4 weeks old and will nurse some but seems to like the Royal Canin Baby Kat food really well. We will post a better picture of Urp, but he wasn't cooperating last night.

Barn cat relocation yesterday

We relocated two more cats into a barn home yesterday (Sunday). And what a beautiful barn it is. The cats will love it there. Thanks Nancy for taking in these two "babies". We have another barn relo lined up for Sunday the 18th.

Adoption Event / Bake Sale

We had a great time at Wag Pet Boutique this past weekend. Wag is a great boutique, the people are super friendly. The cages were set up in the windows so the cats got lots of exposure. We had one adoption, one new foster home (home visit completed and approved yesterday), and interest in some of our adult cats. We also had a table set up outside with information about the rescue, low-cost spay/neuter information, and baked goodies for sale. Overall, it was a successful weekend. And Conrad captured someone's heart and was adopted.

We will be holding more adoption events at Wag after the first of the year.

4 Kittens

Urchin (who got a good eye cleaning after this picture was taken) has settled in with the other U kittens and their mama. The little black and white kitten is the cow kitten from a previous post. If we weren't on the U's, he'd be named MooMoo. They are all so cute, little cow kitty just stole my heart. Reminds me of Fred (from the Bedrock Crew -- a litter of four kittens rescued at 3 days old and bottle fed around the clock).

Now they have names:

• Mama cat: Uma
• Gray/brown fluffy tabby kitten: Ursa Minor
• Black fluffy kitten: Usher
• "Cow" kitten" Udder Moomoo

Adoptions

I've been remiss in blogging about adoptions - it's so much easier to update facebook or twitter about the adoptions. But Mittens, Speckles, and Othello have been adopted. Cider is being adopted by his foster family. And Bumblemuffin went to a foster-to-adopt home tonight (foster him until he is old enough to have second FVRCP+FeLV and rabies vaccinations and be neutered).

Meet Urchin

Found alone and very hungry. Eating well on his own so obviously older than originally thought. And cute as all get out!!! He's a very small little guy, the bowl isn't that big (and he has a small bowl of his own to eat out of now so no more "swimming" in the food).

Wimbledon Update

Wimbledon went to see Dr. Jon today to have the stitches from his eye surgery removed and is doing great.

What a wonderful kitten. A purr-machine full of lots of love to share with anyone who will let him. He should be available for adoption in about a month and whoever adopts this boy will be a very lucky person.

I'll post pictures later.

Fall yard sale fundraiser rescheduled due to forecasted rain

There is a 30% chance of rain (down from yesterday's 50% but it keeps fluctuating), therefore we are rescheduling our fall yard sale until next Saturday, October 10th. The yardsale will be from 7AM to noon on October 10th. Address will be posted closer to the date. We have many wonderful donated items for sale to help raise money for the cats.

Primarily, the money raised at the sale will go to the medical/spay-neuter fund. Below are just a few of the items we have for sale:

• Living room furniture (including matching sofa, arm chair and ottoman; Ethan Allen end tables, small oak cabinets)
• Dinette set
• Home improvement items (ceiling fan with light figure - modern/contemporary style; beautiful pendant light chandelier; several other chandeliers; recessed light kits)
• Great baby items (car seat; bouncey walker; portable high-chair; grocery cart cozie
• Lots of kids toys - many new in {unopened} boxes
• Beautiful area rugs in varying sizes
• Lots of holiday decor/items - Halloween and Christmas
• Downhill skis and poles
• Very nice handbags/purses
• Vintage suitcases
• Jewelry - some custume, some not
• Home decor items - new in box beautiful candle holders; wrought iron multiple candle holder; lots of wall art; knick-knacks/collectibles; Home Interior (brand) items
• New Webkinz stuffed animals with valid codes
• Huge box of new unwrapped items perfect for a tailgating party or to put up for a Super Bowl party - lots of football plates in varying sizes, cups, napkins, platters, etc. - all Hallmark brand
• Kids books
• Some clothes - mens, womens, childrens
• Over 500 DVDs

"Cow" kitten

One of three kittens that we had to bring into safety. Of the other two, one is black and one is a darker gray tabby. They are approximately 4-weeks old and so fuzzy and cute. I love the super symetrical markings on this one's face and the black patch under the chin.

A Day of Animal Awareness - October 24th

A Day of Animal Awareness
Saturday, October 24, 2009
10:00 AM to 6:00 PM

Chocolate Smiles Shopping Center
312 W. Chatham Street
Cary, NC

This is a multi-rescue group adoption and awareness event, sponsored by Cute Buttons and Bows, Michael's Memories, and Marley's Cat Tales. There will also be multiple speakers delivering information through a series of short seminars. There will also be question and answer sessions covering a range of issues from hints on training, TNR, leash training, how to make animal toys, what foods are best, etc.

Several area rescues will be onsite with adoptable animals.

Marley's Cat Tales will be tempting everyone with delicious baked goodies to help raise money for their rescue. They will have wonderful adoptable cats and dogs there also.

Alley Cats and Angels will be there with adorable cats/kittens for adoption and a variety of catnip toys for sale (all made with organic catnip).