SHELTER NEWSLETTER Winter 2017 Amazing Rescues Sol Meredith Renee & Rosie Tiger and Kevin

Transcription

1 SHELTER NEWSLETTER Winter 2017 Forgotten Felines had an extremely busy 2016 with 263 incoming cats who needed our help. Most of them were placed in loving homes while a few were unadoptable and became permanent residents. A few succumbed to their health issues and we grieve for every one of them. We adopted them as young as 8 weeks and as old as 13 years. For those of you who have rescued, implemented TNR or adopted, you know it is a wonderful feeling to be able to give an animal a second chance. We see that 2017 will be no different and we appreciate all of our volunteers who make it happen. Amazing Rescues We took in Sol and his sister Meredith who belonged to someone who was not allowed cats and had amassed a colony that was sick and in desperate need. A virus destroyed an eye on both cats and our vet, Dr. Jeanette, had to clean out and suture the area. These youngsters are so sweet and loving! This is an ongoing project, and since the owners are moving, we will be needing foster homes to be able to help the rest. Many young scared kittens come in during TNR (trap-neuter-release) and we find ourselves not doing the release part of the equation! When a youngster under 3 months old is given a cage and a lot of handling, they can be transitioned from being scared or wild, to being a loving pet. It takes time and patience, but it is a once in a lifetime chance for that animal to find a true home. Renee & Rosie came from a colony where their caretaker passed away. As neighbors were finishing his TNR work, these two young sisters were going to be rehomed to a farm after spaying. They were very sick and skinny and had not fared well as outside kittens. With the help of our foster home, they have blossomed into healthy friendly youngsters, who you would never know were once wild babies born outside. We had a heartbreaking situation where an owner could no longer keep her cats and all 9 were taken away by the Humane Society. However, we were able to work with the agency, and we took 4 of the older ones, including two who were adopted from us. Happily, they were all readopted into wonderful homes including our boys Tiger and Kevin, who had been with their owner for almost all of their 10 yrs. Thank you for all of your support, which enables us to continue these amazing rescues. Your membership and donations provide medical care, food and a roof over their heads! In addition, it enables us to continue our low cost spay/neuter services and financial aid to those who need it.

2 All of our adoptable cats are spayed or neutered, up to date on rabies and distemper shots, dewormed, deflead, FeLV tested neg, ears checked and microchipped. Please share this page and post it at work, veterinarian's office, with family and friends. We can all make a difference for the animals. Francesca & Bunny were likely pets abandoned when their owners moved. They love attention almost as much as they love each other. We are hoping to find them a home together. They are very sweet girls who love to play and investigate. Mitey is a sleek and perfect tuxedo boy. He is 4 years old, playful, and very affectionate. Mitey lost his home when both of his owners entered a nursing home. He is active and would love to be the only cat getting all the attention! Oliver is an 8-9 yr old gentle boy who could no longer be cared for by his owner. We had a tough time with his transition after he lost his home. Over the past year he has thrived and is ready to find his forever home. A quiet home with a lot of attention is what this boy needs. He eats Hills C/D prescription food which his adopter can purchase at the shelter. Ginny was given up when her owner would no longer feed her the required Hills C/D prescription food. This 7 year old calico has been here for at least 3 yrs. She loves attention and is a real couch potato, but sadly she is being bullied by her kitty roommates. Life is not roses for her right now. One bag of Hills C/D food will last her at least 3 months so please consider inquiring about Ginny! Juliette is almost 3 yrs old and has spent nearly half of her life here waiting for a home. She is sweet, gentle and quiet and does well with other cats. An adult home would suit her best. Muriel is about 4-5 months old. Found in a feral colony, she was way too friendly to have been born there. We think she was dropped off. She is spayed and up to date on shots. She is very social and playful. Naomi is a young girl with beautiful swirl tabby markings. She had a tough start at such an early age, and would be happier in an adult home. Shortstop is an energetic and playful kitten found in a feral colony. He is a sweet little boy who wants to play with other cats. He is up to date on shots and FelV negative. For Adoption Information and scheduling an adoption appointment: please contact our Adoption Team: OR fffadoption@verizon.net Applications are available on our website

3 Happy Endings When first seen, KitCat, was an orange blur that came up on our patio to inhale the food that we left for him. After not showing up for 2 days he finally came to eat, but had a very swollen back leg that had bite marks and he couldn t walk on it. I contacted FF&F and they lent me a trap that looked like a wooden box but it had a sliding door that would fall down to trap the cat. We put it out and put straw and tuna in it, then waited and waited. He finally showed up and his hunger forced him to enter the trap to eat. I pulled the cord holding up the door and down it came. He was caught. The only ones we could get to help us with a feral injured cat was FF&F. They wormed him, vaccinated, medicated, cleaned him up, tested and neutered him. Unfortunately he was FIV positive, which he probably acquired when he was bitten. It s been 2 years and his name is now KitCat, he lives in our escape proof cat enclosure with a harem of 4 lovely cats who have accepted him as family. He still can t be picked up, but loves to stand on his hind legs to be petted and purrs contently. Thank you FF&F for saving the life of this cat who is perhaps not suitable for a traditional home, but he is perfect just as he is. On a gorgeous Friday afternoon a lovely couple stopped by the shelter with a pet carrier in hand. They had received a truly "special delivery". Left inside their mailbox was a beautiful long haired grey kitten! With this face how could you turn her away? This is one lucky kitty because they decided they are going to add her to their family. Her name is Moppet. Daphne showed up at the shelter with a broken leg. X-rays showed the femur was split in half. Thank you to Dr Visintainer at Country Doctor for her surgery that allowed her to keep her leg! She is a spirited little girl who never stops moving! Hello everyone, Sir Alexander here, I m taking a much needed rest from a very busy holiday season. I ll be talking with you in the spring. Don t forget Vendor Bingo on March 5 at the Emmaus Fire Co #1,50 South 6th Street,Emmaus, PA from 12:00 pm - 4:00 pm. Admission: $5.00 and Bingo sheets are a $1.00 for one or $2.00 for three. Mention at the door you are there to support Forgotten Felines and Fidos, Inc. and your $5.00 admission goes right to FFF! For now I m curling up and waiting out the winter in my sunny window. =^.^= WIne Tasting Fundraiser On September 24, 2016, Forgotten Felines and Fidos,Inc. hosted its first Wine Tasting Fundraiser. Blue Mountain Vineyards in New Tripoli provided the wine. This event was the first for the shelter and was a great success, attended by over 100 people on a gorgeous day. A Silent Auction was held which also was very successful. Musical entertainment was provided by The Flutations and various food tastings were available to our guests.the event raised needed funds for the shelter but also gave people the chance to tour our facilities and visit with our furry friends. We thank all the volunteers and attendees who made this event such a success. We appreciate the many wonderful comments we received about the event, the shelter, and our many cats and kittens.

4 Volunteers We have been working with a Penn State student on a class project and had a few young women come to volunteer at the shelter. These ladies came through the shelter like a whirlwind. Literal cleaning machines - scrubbing floors and walls, vacuuming, folding and putting away laundry. We got so much accomplished. Another one of the students who was not able to come along, worked on a research project to help kick-off a possible new program. Maddy and her teammates at the Parkland Dance Team came with donations for the shelter recently. Thank you so much for the paper towels, towels, blankets, laundry supplies & cat food. We Love Volunteers Join Us! fffvolunteer@verizon.net or (610) In lieu of their regular meeting on October 18, 2016 Brownie Troop #643 Slatington came to visit the shelter. They came bearing donations of bleach, paper towels, cleaning supplies and cat food. The little ladies made some fine "donuts" that almost looked good enough to eat, but were actually cat toys made from socks and pieces of felt. We had a little fun piling them on a platter before they were distributed for the cats. They toured our facility and talked about the importance of spay/neuter and the commitment of pet ownership. The cats loved the company and there was plenty of time for play. Then it was time for a few refreshments. Before they left, one of the girls threw her arms around P ictured - Elizabeth, Arianna, Savanna, Skylar, Natalie. Leaders not pictured - her mom and said, "this was the best field trip ever". There may be Kristen, Donna and Angela. some possible volunteer projects in their future. On December 5, 2016 a group of Target Associates joined us to help make the shelter festive for the holidays. The trees were decorated and the hallway was also all decked out in holiday decor. The cats enjoyed the trees, the ornaments, the lights and most of all the company. A big Thank-you to Tony, Annie, Lindsey, Carrie and Trish for spending their time to get us ready for the holidays and also for their generous donation. When we were turning off the lights and leaving the barn for the night, we could hear the tinkle of little bells as the cats were playing with the ornaments on the trees. For all it was a good night...

5 Adoption Stories Xavier & Wilson, along with their sister Victoria, were 3 of close to 80 cats and kittens rescued and TNR'd (trap-neuter-return) at a local industrial site. One day this summer two of our dedicated volunteers, who monitor the site, were on the property searching the shelters and hiding spots for kittens. These 3 were initially discovered in one of the shelter totes. Our volunteers checked these plastic containers frequently during kitten season. The mother cat had moved the kittens and our volunteers were looking for them everywhere. Kristin trampled through dense vegetation and found them underneath plywood burrowed in filthy, old carpet padding. The boys were in bad shape. Prompt medical care and fostering by FF&F surely saved them from death. The feral mom cat was trapped, spayed and returned. The feral cats are being fed by the people who work at this industrial site. Their sister Victoria was adopted soon after they were of age. Putting the boys up for adoption was delayed because Xavier's eye never returned to normal and in fact kept getting worse so it had to be removed. Finally in the first week of November a family came that wanted to adopt both boys. The rest is history. Send Your Adoption Story to: forgottenfelines1@verizon.net We would love to hear from you! A gentleman came to the shelter one day and said there was a sick kitten in his yard and he wanted to trap him. FF&F lent him a kitten trap and shortly thereafter he returned with this little sick kitten in the trap. We could not believe the condition of this kitten s eyes. Karen S. agreed to take him home after initial treatment and continued his medication. He was named Bentley and now he looks perfect! And most important, he found his forever home with Karen! Over the past year we have grown in a few areas and we are excited about the changes and about our potential. It takes teamwork and dedication and we are happy to welcome new volunteers who have added so much to our team. Some of our accomplishments: We have hit over 6,000 in adoptions since 1994, with a return rate of less than 3%. Working solely from the shelter we adopted out over 220 cats in 2016, almost breaking the record in any other given year. We welcomed Dr. Jeanette Maucher as our new shelter veterinarian and have implemented new standards of care for our resident cats. We continue to maintain our weekly spay/neuter clinic, which involves the work of many volunteers over the course of three days. We have provided $15,000 in financial assistance to those who could not afford to spay/neuter just in We have a Senior for Seniors Adoption Program. Many shelter improvements were completed including new flooring, painting, smoke/carbon monoxide detectors installed, and an air purification system installed. We now have a Courtesy Facebook page to help private individuals promote their cats for adoption and a Volunteer Facebook page to help keep our volunteers informed and up to date.

6 P O Box 62 Germansville, Pa forgottenfelinesfidos@gmail.co m Adoption Center 6022 Mountain Road Germansville, Pa Open Saturday from 12-4PM Other times available by appointment only. Please call Therese: to set up an appointment to adopt one of our special cats or kittens Board Of Directors Dena Hankee Carm Biery Karen Sweeney Dick Bowman Sue Bowman Therese Podoyak Mary Ann Schaeffer Deb Angst Sheila Youst Jeanette Maucher Return Service Requested Thank you Whether I look back into 2016 or look forward to what 2017 has in store for FF&F, I am very grateful for our Board of Directors, volunteers, foster homes, and supporters because each of you give this organization life by helping in whatever capacity you can. Collectively everyone s efforts help ensure the animals at the shelter receive love and support daily until they find a forever home! I am looking forward to working together in the year ahead to continue to make a positive difference in the lives of animals whose voices need our help to be heard! Happy New Year! Dena Hankee President Board of Directors With Your Help In 2016 we were able to: Spay/Neuter 1,413 animals Place 220 cats and kittens in their furrever homes Intake 263 cats and kittens Contact Us fffvolunteer@verizon.net fffadoption@verizon.net ffffundraising@verizon.net 6