IT S A JUNGLE OUT THERE, GEORGE. George s story

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1 CAT TALES Fall/Winter 2010 Newsletter Mission Statement: C.A.R.E.S. mission is to rescue, shelter and find loving homes for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats. Phone: George s story IT S A JUNGLE OUT THERE, GEORGE In February 2010, CARES received a call from a concerned Aldergrove resident who had been feeding a neighbor s cat for a few months since they moved and abandoned him. Corrine explained that she had known George and his owners for many years. She described how it always broke her heart when she would see George constantly being left neglected outside. Feeling sorry for him, Corrine would often leave food and treats out for him. Then, in the latter months of 2009, Corrine noticed that George was hanging around her back door more than usual, and he was even asking to come in. It was then that she realized that George s owners had actually moved and just left him behind! As Corinne had a few cats of her own who did not take kindly to feline house guests, she was unfortunately not able to grant George s requests for asylum in her home. But when the real cold weather hit, Corrine allowed George to come in and live in her laundry room. She couldn t keep him there for very long and sadly released him back outside. She just hated to do it but felt she had no other choice. After she let him back out Corrine did not see George for several days. Then one day he returned and what she saw made her want to cry. George was badly injured on his head. He was going to need veterinary help right away; help which she could not afford to give him. Fortunately Corrine knew of a family friend, Doreen Kozak, who volunteered for a cat shelter. Corrine called Doreen who put her in touch with CARES. I took her call and upon hearing poor George s story and the shape that he was in, I told her that CARES would take in George and to drop him at the our vet s office as soon as possible! Corrine rushed George there that very night.

2 IT S A JUNGLE OUT THERE, GEORGE continued I went to see our new arrival the next day and the poor fellow indeed looked in rough shape. Dr. Bath had to shave, clean and stitch the many wounds George had sustained on his head. There were also drainage tubes sticking out of his face and nose. It was assumed that George had most likely come in contact with another critter such as a raccoon. George was lucky he survived..so many cats aren t. George spent the first several days recouping at the vet s office. Finally, he was able to come back to the shelter where a nice big cozy cubby with his own bed, food, toys and scratchy post awaited him. He could spend his days resting and healing with no more worries of nasty critters and where his next meals would come from. Over the span of a few weeks, George was taken back to Dr. Bath to have his drains removed and also to get neutered. Sadly, in all the eight years that his owners had him, they never bothered to get George neutered. Unfortunately this is an all too common occurrence where the same irresponsible owners who don t spay or neuter their pets, are often the same people who leave those pets abandoned outdoors. With the passing of the weeks, the wounds slowly healed and George s fur began to grow over the ugly scars left behind by stitches and drains. He is now a very handsome looking fellow who has that cute Panda bear look about him! George now has free run of the shelter s hospital area along with 15 year old Mahtze (see Aug 2010 Newsletter for her story). He has a nice big bed in his favourite spot on top of the clothes dryer. He loves to come and lay across the desk whenever you are trying to do any paperwork. That seems to be his main cue for being affectionate with you. Trying to write anything with him there is very challenging as he rubs his head all over your writing hand..silly old George! The shelter s hospital area is serving as temporary digs for George while he patiently waits for his new forever home. Oh how George deserves a good home since his first one definitely was not! Lauralee Porter - Shelter Manager

3 FUNDRAISING & EVENTS WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO The fundraising committee is comprised of eight people who work tirelessly at raising the needed funds to fulfill the C.A.R.E.S. mission, which is to rescue, shelter and find loving homes for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats. C.A.R.E.S. is a non-profit society funded primarily by public donations. Your financial support ensures we can continue to help the animals in our community. For as little as $ per month, you can assist us in providing care and protection for the homeless cats in our community. If you wish to support a cat at the shelter, please contact Carol Briner or her at ccbriner@shaw.ca. Bella is waiting for her Forever Home WHAT WE HAVE BEEN DOING WALK-A-THON: Our largest fund raising event continues to be the annual Walk-a-thon. On September 19 th, over 30 volunteers and friends braved the rain and attended the 7 th annual Cat Walk at Derby Reach. This year we outdid ourselves with over $ 14, collected in pledges! All participants received thank you gifts and special prizes were awarded to the persons who collected the most pledges: Lauralee Porter: $ 4, Anne Salomon: $ 3, Lawana Quest: $ 2, The biggest winners are always the cats, as all the proceeds go entirely to the care of the animals at the shelter. Our heartfelt thanks go out to all the walkers, the pledgers and helpers who made this event a success. MEAT DRAWS: Each week, we continue to hold meat draws at the following pubs. West Country Inn, Langley - Fridays 4:30 pm to 6:30pm Jimy Mac s Pub, Port Kells - Saturdays 2:30 pm to 4:30pm Fort Pub, Fort Langley - Sundays 12:30 pm to 2:30pm We wish to thank our draw coordinator, Donna Healey-Ogden, and all of her volunteers who work the draws. We also thank the pubs and ask each of you to support them and us. If you would like to have fun, meet people and help the cats by participating in these draws, call Donna at

4 FUNDRAISING & EVENTS continued WHAT S COMING UP? PETSMART ADOPT-A-THON: We will have a special display at PetSmart on Saturday and Sunday November 13 and 14. This is one of PetSmart s annual Adopt-a-pet weekends. This event is held across North America and shelters that are partners with PetSmart and PetSmart Charities are invited to have a special display and promote adoptions. We have been the adoption partner at the Langley PetSmart Store since it opened in PetSmart donates space in the store to allow us to showcase our rescued animals. The management and staff are wonderfully supportive and help whenever needed. Did you know that in addition to donating space in their store, PetSmart Charities also donates $15.00 to C.A.R.E.S. for every adoption made? Thank you PetSmart and PetSmart Charities for making a difference in the lives of homeless pets! PET PHOTOS WITH SANTA: During the first 3 weekends in December, we will be taking pet photos with Santa at the Langley PetSmart Store, between 11:00 am and 4:00 pm. Bring your favourite pet (cat, dog, bunny, mouse, fish or?) and have its photo taken with Santa. For only $9.95 you get a digital photo with a decorative frame. This fundraiser is a lot of fun and half the proceeds go to help the cats at C.A.R.E.S. Thank you PetSmart for holding this annual event and for supporting our adoption centre! Santa with Chloe ANNUAL BOWLING NIGHT: We will be holding our annual FUN BOWLING NIGHT on February 26, 2011 at Clover Lanes in Cloverdale. No bowling experience is necessary as this is a fun bowl. Bring a few friends, have some laughs, win some prizes and eat some goodies all while supporting our cats! There will be a 50/50 draw and lots of great silent auction items to bid on and buy. Get your tickets ASAP, as this usually is a sold out event. The cost of tickets is only $ 20.00, which includes 3 games of bowling, shoe rental, goodies to eat and lots of door prizes Bowling Winners If you would like to contribute items for the silent auction or buy tickets for this great event, please call Carol Briner at or Lauralee Porter at By Carol Briner, Chair - Fundraising Committee

5 SHELTER WISH LIST CAN YOU HELP? Bosley is waiting for his Forever Home Maddie is waiting for her Forever Home Our Shelter is overflowing with beautiful cats and kittens waiting to be adopted. In the mean time, we go through a lot of supplies which is taxing our budget. Next time you go shopping for your family, we would be grateful if you can pick up some of the following supplies as a donation to the Shelter. The kitties will be extra grateful! CLEANING SUPPLIES: Dish soap, laundry soap, dishwasher detergent, paper towels, large heavy duty garbage bags, rubber gloves, scrubber brushes, soft Brooms. OTHER ITEMS: Temptation Treats, kitty beds (not too big!) and hidey holes, scratch posts (various sizes). Canadian Tire money. GIFT CARDS: PetSmart, Costco, Staples, Canadian Tire, Home Depot or any other supply store. If you volunteer at the Shelter, please drop the items in the basket marked Wish List. Otherwise, please call Lauralee at for a good time to drop off the items at the shelter. Thank you very much! OTHER DONATIONS: Another way you can help is by donating listed shares. Currently, donations of listed shares to a registered charity are exempt from capital gains tax. In addition, you will receive a charitable tax receipt for the full market value of the donated securities. If you own securities that have appreciated significantly in value since they were purchased, transferring the securities directly to a registered charity like C.A.R.E.S rather them selling them and donating the cash, is a tax effective way to give. To obtain the appropriate forms to execute the transfer or for more information, please contact C.A.R.E.S. Treasurer, Carol Briner, C.A. at or her at donations@carescatshelter.com If available by your employer, you can donate though payroll deductions via United Way and designating us as your charity of choice, Canadian Animal Rescue and Extended Shelter Society. You can also give a one-time donation or a monthly donation, using our safe and secure site, CanadaHelps.org. This can be accessed by going to our web site,

6 MY VOLUNTEER STORY BY LYNN HEWITT Dedicated to the memory of Freckles In the spring of 2008, I had to say goodbye to a very dear feline friend named Freckles. She was an orange and white fluffy girl with orange markings on her face that looked like freckles. Always very talkative and outgoing, she loved people but not other cats. Despite many medical issues in her senior years, Freckles was a feisty old girl! Every trip to the vet was a challenge, with Freckles voicing her displeasure loudly. In the latter part of her life, she came to live in Burnaby with me and my husband, Cliff. She had been living with my Mom in Langley for many years, but when Mom had to go into intermediate care, she could not take Freckles with her. This was a difficult adjustment for Freckles moving from the constant companionship of a senior lady to a place where we were away at work all day. She found overnight the hardest and became very restless, meowing loudly and scratching at our bedroom door. After she had been with us for about 18 months, she became very ill. I feared the worst but hoped her illness would be something treatable as it had been in the past. An X-ray revealed a mass, most likely cancer, which was the cause of her weight loss over the past few months. She had become quite frail and I made the painful decision to end her life. Cliff and I drove out to the Abbotsford vet to say goodbye to Freckles. It was a very sad day indeed and one I will never forget. In happier times, when Freckles lived with my Mom, I visited the Langley PetSmart store often to buy food, toys, catnip, etc., and, while there, always stopped to look through the window of the adoption centre. After the loss of Freckles, I picked up a brochure and decided to contact C.A.R.E.S. In July of 2008, I was given a tour of the cat shelter by Carol Briner, one of the many dedicated volunteers of C.A.R.E.S. I was so impressed with the facility and all the beautiful cats that lived there. I knew I had made the right choice in contacting C.A.R.E.S. and, a couple of weeks later, I started training to work at the adoption centre in the Langley PetSmart. It has been such a wonderful experience and I have met so many Lynn and Bongo dedicated and knowledgeable people who have such a great love for cats. I m in awe of you ladies Lauralee, Lisa, Carol, Marietta - to name just a few! I have learned so much from all of you. I always look forward to my Saturday shift - it s so rewarding to help find loving homes for all the deserving cats and kittens. And guess what? In the fall of 2009, I met another orange and white fluffy female cat named Abbey. She did remind me of Freckles at first, but Abbey had her own distinct personality. One common trait was her intolerance of other cats. For that reason, Abbey was only at the adoption centre for one weekend that I can recall and then went back to the shelter. But I remembered her and kept checking C.A.R.E.S. website to see if her picture was still at the top of the page in the Adoption Centre. In June of 2010, my husband came out to tour the shelter with me because we were considering fostering a cat. The first one we met that day was Abbey, and she put on quite a show, rubbing up against us and

7 MY VOLUNTEER STORY BY LYNN HEWITT continued purring. What a charmer! I was hopeful that Cliff would agree to give her a chance - he had memories of Freckles nocturnal meowing and was reluctant to have another female cat. We talked it over and Cliff agreed I could bring her home, which I did on June 12 (ironically it was June 12, 2008 that I said goodbye to my dear Freckles). Almost from the first day, Abbey settled in. She s a very sweet cat and loves being the only cat in our home. While we re watching TV, she likes to visit and sit on one of our laps. She s very quiet during the night and lets her humans sleep. She even lets us sleep in a bit on the weekends! I m happy to say that we officially adopted Abbey in September. Thank you to my dear Cliff for giving Abbey a chance. And again, a big thank you to C.A.R.E.S. for the hard work that you do to help cats like Abbey find a new home. I look forward to many more Saturday shifts at the adoption centre, finding homes for cats that deserve another chance. It s not work, it s my favorite day of the week! Sincerely, Lynn Hewitt, C.A.R.E.S. Volunteer Abbey HAVE TIME? LOVE CATS? Call our Shelter line at or send us an at volunteers@carescatshelter.com C.A.R.E.S. is on FACEBOOK! Join us by becoming a member today. DID YOU KNOW? A MESSAGE FROM YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS Dear Friends, Volunteers and Supporters. As the Holidays and the New Year are approaching, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support, commitment and dedication to C.A.R.E.S. It is greatly appreciated by the Board of Directors and most importantly - by the cats. We are looking forward to a new and exciting year where we, with your help, can help many more cats in need. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY C.A.R.E.S. Board of Directors: Marietta Ashton, President Donna Healey-Ogden, Vice President Carol Briner, Treasurer Marian Haney, Past President Lisa MacDonald, Foster Coordinator Anne Salomon, Director Marlene Smith, Membership Secretary Susan Kushner, Director

8 THANKS TO OUR SUPPORTERS As the Treasurer of C.A.R.E.S., I would like to take this opportunity to thank all or our donors who help us help the animals. Here are some stories about those individuals and corporations: Recently, volunteer Mel Hennessy, applied for a $500 grant from her employer, Royal Bank. RBC has a program that recognizes employees who actively volunteer at an organization. Upon the employee s successful completion of 40 volunteer hours per year, the bank contributes a donation of up to $ 500. Thank you Mel for seeking this out and for being a GREAT VOLUNTEER! Other volunteers who have used such programs to obtain donations for the shelter are: Muriel Chimiuk (Canadian Superstore) and Donna Healey-Ogden (Best Buy Canada). Numerous companies have such plans, often referred to as Dollars for Doers. You too can help the shelter, by checking with your employer to see if they have such a plan. Should you need assistance in filling out forms or obtaining information, please contact Carol at or ccbriner@shaw.ca RUTH AND RAY WESENBERG: In 2009, Ray and Ruth Wesenberg donated funds to finish our back enclosure at the shelter. It is now a large sunroom that the cats sit, relax, catnap and watch the outdoors in they love it! Ray & Ruth Wesenberg Ruth, Ray and friends visited us again in 2010 and toured the shelter. They were pleased with the work we are doing and gave another generous donation to assist in the operations of the shelter and to replace flooring in two rooms. Thank you again Ray and Ruth. Christmas came early at C.A.R.E.S! By Carol Briner, CA Treasurer We would also like to thank the following individuals and corporations for their kindness and generosity: The sunroom at the shelter Luise Hartstock Jean Almgren Barb Sewell Anne and Steen Salomon Barbara Healey-Ogden Lauralee Porter Lew Shrubsole Wendy McPhee Ron Roddick Dalton and Rena Dow Cheryl Larson Sylvia Grey Marian Haney Dorlies Geh Ann Plunkett-Rumley Marlene & Alec MacKenzie Carol Codron Mandy Rusk Lisa MacDonald Royal Bank of Canada Canadian Superstore Eurotech Electric and Johnny & Suzanne Jensen W & M Pet Supplies and Tricia Williams Eventide Luxury Yacht Tours Ltd & Wayne Grondahl Provincial Employee s Community Services Fund

9 TRAP NEUTER RETURN or TNR Feral cat family Sadly, thousands of healthy cats are euthanized annually due to the large number of feral, stray, abandoned and unwanted cats and kittens. Under a TNR program, feral cats are trapped and taken to a veterinarian. There they are spayed or neutered, vaccinated and given a general health evaluation. During their short recovery period, they are assessed as to their feral status. Any cats that are deemed tame will go thru the adoption process and any cats that are assessed as feral will be returned to where they were found or released to an area where food and water will be provided. These colonies are being fed by caring individuals but unless the cats are spayed and neutered, the colonies will grow very fast. Here is why: ONE FEMALE CAT CAN PRODUCE UP TO 5 LITTERS PER YEAR WITH 6 KITTENS PER LITTER. THAT IS OVER 20,000 DESCENDANTS IN ONE YEAR S TIME! Various long term studies have shown that TNR is effective in stopping the breeding of cats in the wild and reducing the population over time. In addition to reducing the cat population, spaying and neutering a cat will also promote better health in both male and female cats by eliminating numerous medical problems and many cats will not unnecessarily be euthanized. C.A.R.E.S. has identified areas in our community where cat colonies exist and where there is a great need for a TNR program. We have dedicated volunteers standing by - ready with traps to collect these cats. Our problem is lack of funding for such an undertaking. We are however, very pleased to announce that we have applied and just been approved for a TNR grant of $3495 from the International Humane Society Canada. This grant is providing funding for trapping and spaying and neutering of approximately 50 cats. Here is an excerpt of the letter that followed the grant approval from HSI Canada: Your wonderful work with the stray and abandoned cats of your area is truly impressive. We feel your efforts are both deeply sincere and highly effective in helping the animals in your care, and in setting an example of compassion in the wider community. We are honored to be able to facilitate more of this fantastic work. It is shelters and sanctuaries like yours that are making a difference in the daily lives of animals in communities across Canada. Thank you very much HSI, for recognizing our organization with this important grant. We can t wait to get started helping more cats in our community! For more information on HSI Canada, please go to A special thank you goes to Marlene Smith for sourcing this opportunity and to Carol Briner for completing the application and for providing all the necessary information to HSI Canada. Well done! If you would like to help C.A.R.E.S. fund and organize more spay and neuter programs in our community, please go to our website and click on Donate Now. By Anne Salomon - Director

10 CHATTY CATTY S CORNER All I want for Christmas is.. Hi everyone - Sassy here. Well it s been just over a year now since I came to the CARES shelter after being abandoned by my owners. I ve been thinking lately that Christmas is coming soon and I sure would like to have a new home! It s been pretty tough for a lot of us adult cats getting homes this year. There have been so many kittens all year (still some 70 in foster care at the moment) that me and about 90 other adults here just have to wait longer for our turn. It s sad because there are just too many of us and not enough homes for us all. So I was wondering..can you help by adopting me or one of my fellow roommates? Can you offer a long term, loving home? If so, we would be forever grateful and we would return your kindness with cuddles and purrs! You can arrange to see Sassy us by calling our shelter line or by clicking on the Adoption Link via Contact Us on our website You can also visit our Adoption Centre located in the Langley PetSmart Store on the Langley Bypass, Monday to Friday 7.00 PM 9.00 PM, Saturday & Sunday noon PM. From our shelter to yours, we hope you and your families have a purrfectly wonderful Christmas! Until later, love from Sassy. HELPING THE CATS AT THE SHELTER AND IN OUR COMMUNITY There are so many ways you can help - you can volunteer a few hours a week at the shelter or at fundraising events, you can become a Foster Parent to kittens or special needs cats or if you have fundraising experience we need you! For more information about Volunteer Opportunities, please go to our website If you cannot volunteer you can help the cats by making a donation. Any amount is greatly appreciated and a tax receipt will be issued for donations of $10 or more Yes! I want to help C.A.R.E.S. continue its mission of rescuing, sheltering and finding loving homes for stray, abandoned and unwanted cats. Here is my gift of: $10 $25 $50 $75 $ (other) Enclosed is a cheque made payable to C.A.R.E.S. I authorize C.A.R.E.S to debit my chequing account for $ /month and have enclosed a blank cheque marked VOID. Or use your credit card to make a donation online! Just go to the C.A.R.E.S website and click on DONATE NOW through CanadaHelps.org button. THANK YOU! Mailing address: 505, Street, Suite 290, Langley, B.C. V1M 2Y2 Ph: info@carescatshelter.com