What a strange thing to say.  Happy UN-Mother’s Day.  Guess you gotta be in this animal rescue field for a bit before you can understand the magnitude of dislike one can have for the idea of cats and dogs having babies.  Knowing all that will be killed this year alone just in our state of Michigan.  Imagine multiplying that by 50.  The average number of cats (I don’t even have the dog statistics) killed in the United States is astronomical.  Want numbers?  In 2010, Michigan shelters reported the euthanization of 50,549 cats and kittens.  And that’s ONLY the shelters that REPORTED their statistics.   And again, that’s just MICHIGAN.

It’s disheartening really.  To think of all those mothers, who went through birthing of kittens only to have them killed in shelters.  I know the nice term is to be PTS (Put To Sleep) or euthanized.  But that’s not what it is.  It’s KILLING.  Euthanizing is for sick and suffering animals.  It’s humanely ending the life of an animal in desperate circumstances.  We don’t have to KILL cats or any other animals.  We need to be proactive and make strides toward a solution that is NOT SIMPLY SNUFFING OUT LIVES!

So I say Happy UN-Mother’s Day because I long for the day when there are no kitty mamas out there risking life and limb to protect their litters born in sheds, under wood piles, in boxes of rubbish and in abandoned cars across this country.  I long for the day that a litter of newborn kittens isn’t in eminent peril because Mom was just hit by a car foraging for food to support her delicate system so that she can provide adequate nutrition for her offspring.  I’d like for no cats to be mothers for some time.

Can you imagine the joy of a cat having a litter of kittens when none are being killed needlessly in shelters?  Can you imagine a day when cats are prized for being the amazing creatures of God that they are and not discounted as vermin simply because there are too many of them?  Can you imagine the day when people aren’t “solving the problem” by giving FREE KITTENS away to anyone who wants them?   I CAN imagine this day.  I can imagine a day when I’m not thinking UN-Mother’s day, but HAPPY DAY!

But we’re not near there yet.  We have a long way to go.  A long way till my dreams of county animal control officers across America sitting at their desks with feet up like the Maytag Repair Man.  Bored because there are no animal cruelty calls and no dogs to catch or animal hoarding situations to uncover.

If you long for this day too, please do what you can to help us realize the day when kittens are born, it is joyous.  Do your part to stop people from giving away FREE KITTENS, discounting them as if they were the junk left over from a garage sale, discarded on the side of the road.

Encourage your friends and family to fix their intact animals.  Demand it actually!

Educate those who don’t understand the need for TNR and the benefits to both animals and humans by adopting humane feline population control.

Take time to advocate for those without a voice.

Please do what you can so that one day, we might be able to celebrate a Happy Mother’s Day.

For those of you Mamas who love your furry children as you do or would your own flesh and blood, I wish you a beautiful, blessed day.

~Carol

Carol gets all kinds of calls from people all over Michigan that are seeking her time, her resources, and her knowledge to fix problems they have regarding ferals and friendlies alike.  Many of them are run-of-the-mill ‘Can you take my pet’ or ‘I don’t want these ferals, will you get rid of them for me’ types of calls.  Others call to utilize our Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) services and some others even call for advice on general cat issues.  Every once in a great while, Carol gets a call of urgency that requires more than just her words over the phone; Carol will take the time to make a trip in a special circumstance if at all possible.

One of those occasions happened to be about two months ago when Carol received a call from some frantic people in town.  They found a cat in their basement, a feral one at that, and had no idea what to do to get it out.  They had tried numerous attempts at trapping but the cat was having none of it and was growing more and more stressed as time went on.  At their wits end, they called Animal Control for help.  Luckily, they also called Carol.  Carol, knowing the fate of a cat in the hands of Animal Control was not good, went to their home and assisted in the capture of the cat, then brought him to the facility to get him fattened up and ready for relocation to a barn home.  She named him Rooney after the movie ‘The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” (a movie she was actually going to see that day) because she liked the name.

Kendra can't resist giving Rooney a smooch.

For a long time, Rooney was one of the most bitter, angry cats we had in the rehab room.  Grouchy and not interested in being pet at all, we figured he was your typical feral and we’d find him a barn home to go to in no time.  He wouldn’t come out of his carrier and would sit and glare from his ‘cave’; no one got a good look at this guy’s entire body due to that so we didn’t even know what he looked like aside from having the most gorgeous gold eyes ever set in a beautifully-marked face.  We got a barn home arranged since the situation hadn’t changed for a full month so it seemed we had it settled.  However, it was then that rumors started spreading that Rooney was becoming quite the friendly boy.  It was only with certain people at first, but he very quickly started accepting love from anyone willing to give it.  He started coming out of his carrier to accept affection too, and that’s when we noticed a major problem for this sweet boy.  It appeared that Rooney had sustained a massive injury at some point because we noticed a lack of movement in the joints of his hind legs.  He could walk on them, but the gait was off and he couldn’t bend his legs properly to sit, so one leg would stick way out instead of folding up neatly under his hind end.

Rooney shows off just how handsome he is. Note the extended hind leg on the left.

Imagine our shock when we were told by our vet that Rooney’s legs and hips showed fractures from a time before we got him, and they were well on their way to being healed over completely.  We had no idea he was injured because he would never come out, so we could never see that he had a problem.  Also, when he was trapped, he showed no trauma aside from being scared out of his mind.  Looking back, his demeanor made perfect sense…No WONDER he was so grumpy, right?

Rooney is going to need a lot of surgery to get him feeling good.  So far he has had a surgery called ‘Femoral Head Ostectomy‘ on his better leg, which has already helped him immensely.  He is in the rehab room in one of our biggest cages now to encourage him to stretch his legs and move around, as a lack of movement after this surgery can actually cause the leg to return to being painful and semi-useless.  Rooney even has a heated pad to lay on to help his muscles say loose; I’d say he’s already a very spoiled cat and he knows it.  However, he unfortunately still needs extensive work done on his other leg (the one that sticks way out) and may actually need a full amputation as he is still in a great deal of pain from the improper fracture healing.  The bonus is that cats rebound easily from a full amputation and he’ll probably get around even better without the leg than he is right now with it.  Once the FHO heals, we will be able to decide the best course of action at that time.

Rooney shows off his surgical incision. Chicks digs scars, right?

Taking in cats like Rooney and helping them recover from horrible medical issues is just one of the things we do at Carol’s Ferals, and we couldn’t do it without the help and support of our donators and supporters.  Right now we have several cats in the middle of recovery from injuries and severe neglect/malnutrition and unfortunately, it’s expensive work to be done.  Help us help others like Rooney by donating to our cause so we can spread the wealth to other neglected and mistreated cats that come through our doors.  Remember, your donation is tax deductible and you can see your donation at work by visiting our facility on our adoption hours on Sundays (2pm-5pm) and Wednesdays (6pm-8pm) to see how happy, healthy, and loved our kitties are.

This week’s featured cat is one of our adoption program is Giddings, a spunky little girl that has been with us about the longest out of anyone at the facility right now.  She was found on Giddings Ave through a neighborhood TNR operation, thus her name became Giddings (Carol has a thing about naming cats off the street they were found).  She was front-paw declawed prior to her discovery and subsequent placement into our adoption program, which is a clear indication to us that she had been previously owned.  Unfortunately, her owners couldn’t be located so we took her in because she was too friendly to be outside AND she was compromised not having front claws.

Giddings was born in approximately 2008, so she is a full adult, but she is on the smaller size scale than most of our cats.  Don’t let her petite size fool you though; this cat has some attitude.  Giddings loves human attention and is one of the first kitties to greet you when you walk in the door and into our ‘kitchen’.  If you turn the faucet on to a small trickle, she will gladly hop in the sink and take a long drink, then demand attention from you afterward.  Giddings likes all the attention if at all possible but mostly to the point of scratches, pets, and play; she does not enjoy being picked up and carried around.  She can be a very sweet girl, but she also be a little nippy due to her front paw declaw.  Unfortunately, when you declaw a cat, you are not only physically altering their bodies, but you can also alter their personality.  Because she no longer has her front claws to communicate, she will use her teeth instead.  She is not biting to cause major harm, but it can be a little unsettling for someone unaccustomed to her personality.  Despite this quirk, she is still a fun, energetic ball of fur and is perfect for a houseful that does not have small children who might not understand her attitude.  If you have a laser pointer for her to play with, she will crack you up until your sides ache; her antics with a laser pointer often send her sliding across the floors at the facility because she is SO drawn to that little red dot.  She likes other toys too, but the laser pointer is, in my opinion, the best.

Giddings prefers to be in a single-cat household but might be okay with a very laid back, non-confrontational housemate.  We are really eager to find this girl a home because she does not always enjoy being with so many cats and we know someone out there will fall in love with her, attitude and all.

Had Giddings never been declawed, we think she’d have found a home much faster because she’d be less nippy.  This is part of the reason why we advocate the end of declawing and urge everyone to learn what a declaw surgery actually is; it is not the removal of just the claw like one might think.  It is removal of the the entire third bone in the cat’s foot, which is analogous to someone cutting off the entire third bone on your fingers, and is done with nail trimmers, a scalpel, or a laser at the joint between bones before the fragment is ripped out of the foot.  Now imagine if you had to walk around on that painful, maimed part of your hand whenever you wanted to get somewhere, the full weight of your body pressing that sharp bone into the flesh on your palm (their paw pad).  That is what a cat has to endure after declaw.  There are so many issues that declawing can cause that it’s really not worth the risk.  To learn more why this unnecessary, inhumane surgery is quickly becoming outlawed overseas and is also slowly being phased out in the US by many shelters and rescues, please read this information.

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Her picture lead to her Petfinder, so please click on her image to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

This week, we are featuring only one cat, and she is kind of a special needs cat at that.  However, she is no less deserving of a furrever home and we hope that maybe one of you out there has room in your home and heart for her.  Meet our magnificent Mimi!

Mimi was born in September of 2009 by our best estimation so she’s a relatively young adult.  She was found wandering outside when she was a few months old, dirty and ragged due to neglect. Carol brought Mimi into the program even though she wasn’t very socialized and had a hard time adjusting; Carol saw how gorgeous Mimi was and hoped she could tame Mimi down enough to find a home.  She has made a lot of progress since then and now, but she is still a little stand-offish.  Carol likes to call it your ‘typical crabby calico’ kind of attitude.  Mimi does not like to be cuddled much or carried around, nor to be poked and prodded constantly.  She enjoys being pet and scratched though and will generally accept that sort of interaction without much complaint.  However, the home she needs is one where the family understands that she is more of a ‘look but don’t touch (much)’ kind of cat.  She is content to have a comfortable bed in a window and a roof over her head and doesn’t need much more than that to be happy.

The ideal family situation for Mimi is a family without small children as she can be nippy or get upset if she is bothered constantly, which a small child might not understand.  Mimi also is terrified of dogs and would not adjust easily in a home with one.  She does not mind other cats as long as they do not bother her; it is unlikely she will want to interact much with an existing cat, but that could change if she’s in a quieter home.  She really needs an understanding family to give her a home…with time, she might end up being much more friendly if she has personalized, focused attention.

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Her picture lead to her Petfinder, so please click on her image to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

With the start of 2012, we find ourselves in an unusual predicament for a winter in Michigan.  Normally at this time of the year, we find ourselves knee-deep in fresh snow, our noses and ears tingling with the sting of the bitter cold of January and February.  It’s this cold weather that usually brings a lull in breeding activity amongst the intact cats wandering your community; natural instinct in the cats causes them to largely forgo breeding with less favorable weather, instead focusing on finding food and staying warm until warmer weather rolls in.  Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) during the winter is easier when there’s a bigger likelihood that the female you brought in isn’t nursing a litter somewhere and kittens born in the harsh winter months rarely survive long unless born in a warm, stable shelter.  Overall, winter is generally a calmer, less kitten-heavy time of the year.  However, this winter is turning out to be anything but light on kittens right now.

How could anyone dump a face like this on the side of the road?

This past week, we were alerted to a discovery of a litter of kittens found alongside 10 Mile.  A family was driving along 10 Mile just before our last recent major snow fall and saw a large cardboard box on the side of the road.  Relatively harmless, right?  Now imagine their horror when a tiny four week old kitten scaled the top of the box and tumbled to the ground, dangerously close to certain death on the street.  They stopped and picked the box (and the wayward kitten) off the street immediately; within the box were four more kittens of the same age.  These kittens were too young to be fully weaned and had no business being outside, let alone on the side of the road with no protection from the elements other than a flimsy box.  After discussion amongst the family and friends, we were contacted as being the best chance these guys had for survival.

Kendra, our vet tech, enjoys an armful of snuggly kitten goodness.

These tiny little ones came to us last Sunday and were in surprisingly good health minus the mess of fleas they carried.  Thankfully, all five were up to eating solid food exclusively so we didn’t have to worry about bottle-feeding and they were energetically darting about the minute you let them have their paws on solid ground.  Within a few hours, we had a foster situation arranged with Beth (one of our most experienced fosters) and she picked them up and got them settled in their new ‘home’.  They’ll be with her for the next four to six weeks as they gain weight, get healthy, and learn to be good, adoptable kittens before we find them homes.  They have been dubbed the ‘Dexter Litter’, named after Carol and I’s love for the TV show ‘Dexter’ (no Dexter in this litter though, as we had a Dexter last year who found a home).  The two orange boys have been named Harrison and Batista; the girls have been named Quinn, Maria, and Debra.

Harrison catches some Z's in his foster mommy's lap.

This isn’t the first litter to come to our doorstep this year.  Another litter of five came to us through regular TNR hours at the age of about four months old, born under a porch and left outside exclusively; if this had been any regular snowy winter, the odds of survival for this brood would be slim to none.  These kittens were all very small for their age, malnourished, and full of intestinal parasites (including coccidia, which can kill if left untreated in young kittens).  We have also had reports of other litters come in from around Grand Rapids and other surrounding areas, all very young kittens born in the recent ‘off-season’ winter months.

If you have ferals and strays in your neighborhood, now is the time to contact us about borrowing equipment to trap them and get them spayed or neutered.  The warmer weather is throwing off our usual cycle of less litters at the start of  the year and is allowing kittens to be born during an unpredictable time when a sudden major blizzard can come through and kill fragile, tiny kittens with the misfortune of being caught outside in the elements.  Those kittens that survive to breeding age will be sexually mature this year and will produce litters of their own.  Help us stop the overpopulation of strays and ferals by engaging in TNR within your neighborhood and getting your own household pets spayed or neutered through low-cost options like C-Snip or Spay-Neuter Express.

From top, clockwise: Batista, Harrison, Maria, Quinn, and Debra.

Our organization is funded by the generosity of our supporters.  If you would like to help us with continuing our mission of controlling the population of strays and ferals and finding homes for cats that shouldn’t be on the street, please donate.  Your generous gift will go towards situations like the 10 Mile kittens, all of which need deworming, shots, and their spays/neuters. Any amount will help us continue our lifesaving work. Thank you.

This week, we are featuring two out of our many beautiful black cats.  Black cats are one of the most misunderstood colors of cat in the US, due to superstition and folklore from the past; we can assure you that these cats are some of the most loving, playful cats you could ever adopt.  In fact, you would be LUCKY to adopt one of these stunning cats.  Just ask someone overseas, where black cats are largely regarded as a good luck charm!

Tracy is a petite girl with a little bit of shy streak but big on love.  She adores human affection and will practically melt in your arms if you hold or pet her because she loves it so much.  If you have a minute to spend with her, you will realize that she is a major lover and appreciates every scratch or pet you give her.  Otherwise, give her a good window seat and she’s content to relax.  She enjoys playing with toys and laser pointers as long as the other cats don’t overwhelm her because she is easily intimidated when things get a little too noisy and crazy.  Other cats are fine as long as they aren’t aggressive and quiet, older children are fine too.  In her little bit of experience with dogs, she hasn’t done very well (she is too intimidated).  This might be different with a smaller or more reserved dog but we’re certain.  A quiet house without too much activity is ideal for her.

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Chipotle, on the other hand, is full of attitude and mischief.  He is an outgoing boy who demands attention, both because of his looks and because of his persistence.  He is a big, solid DMH male (black with white accent on the toes and chest) with a fluffy plume of a tail and bright white whiskers.  It’s hard to miss him when you walk in the door because 9 times out of 10, he is right there, wanting you to pet him or play with him.  He loves to steal things, as our volunteers have discovered; he apparently has an affinity for stealing the dish sponge when volunteers are trying to clean water  bowls.  Similarly, when our volunteer professional photographer came in for the first time, he made it a point to be present the entire time and help her ‘adjust’ her studio lights that were easily twice his size.  He wants to know what’s going on at all times and won’t let you forget it.  Overall, he is one of our most outgoing, attention-hog cats.  Chipotle also loves laser pointers and catnip so if you want a playful cat, he fits the bill.  He tolerates other cats but can sometimes be a little overbearing so would be best in a no-cat  cat household OR a household with laid-back, easy going cats.  He enjoys the company of older kids but might be disinterested in a younger, louder child.  Overall, he’s a very confident cat who is perfect for just about any house.

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Their pictures lead to their Petfinder, so please click on their images to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

This week, we’re featuring two polar opposites: a laid-back male and an attention-demanding female!

Griffen, a big polydactyl black and gray tabby with white, is a cool and collected boy who spends a lot of his time nestled in a comfy bed where he can watch the world, content to mind his business and do his own thing.  However, he doesn’t just sleep all day and it doesn’t take much to get him in a playful mood; this cat loves to play with laser pointers and wand toys.  Griff came to us in October of 2011 from a very nice lady who was managing a feral colony in Northern Michigan.  She’d come across Griff (and a litter of smaller kittens) when they just tiny babies and knew that she needed to find us homes so she contacted Carol’s Ferals for help.  After paying for their spays/neuters, vaccines and tests, she tried to find homes but had no luck.  Thankfully, she and Carol worked out an agreement for them to come into the adoption program.  All the kittens found homes but Griff was a bit older than them, so has had a harder time finding his furrever home.  He’s still a young cat at the approximate age of 14 months though so we think that his time will come soon.  Not much phases this cat: he handles small children with flying colors and loud noise like it’s not even there.  Other cats are a-okay too!  He’d be perfect for just about any household and we can’t wait for someone to take him home.

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Averill, a small grey tabby, is very much an attention hog in every sense.  When you first walk into our facility, odds are that she will be one of the first cats to greet you, usually with a loud meow and persistent stalking until you give her the attention she wants.  She was obtained through TNR, as you can see with her very clearly tipped left ear.  Initially, she was to be returned outside, but she ended up being too friendly to let go, so Carol took her into the program.  She’s been featured in Grand Rapids Magazine so she’s one of our ‘famous’ kitties, yet she’s been with us for awhile now (she’s about 3 or 4 years old and has been here for well over a year now).  Averill can be a little nippy when overstimulated and isn’t super fond of other cats, but she adores human attention and would do anything to jump in your lap and just snuggle with you; if you want a lap cat, she is definitely a good cat to adopt.  She would be a great in a no cat household, but she would also do well in a household with other cats that are not aggressive or super possessive.  Small children make her a little anxious but older, respectful children are great.  If you want a playful cat, she is also great with toys.

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Their pictures lead to their Petfinder, so please click on their images to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

This week, we are featuring two of our stunning adult cats featuring pointed coat patterns.

First we have lovely little Milu, who we believe is a Birman-mix.  This gorgeous girl was found outside of a Goodwill one day with two kittens in tow.  Oddly enough, the store had also received a very generous donation of cat related items that day…perhaps a coincidence, but we think not.  They were discovered by the employees and spent several days befriending the kittens and mom before one employee contacted a casual volunteer at Carol’s Ferals for help.  With a little time and patience, Milu was trapped and brought into the facility for a physical.  Her kittens found homes shortly after that with the very employees that found them because they were young, cute, and friendly.  Milu herself was pretty friendly, but shy after her stint outdoors.  She also had a lot of plant burrs stuck in her fur so we had to do some clipping to get her coat clean and shiny again.  After some time at the facility, Milu has gained a little weight, has grown out her fur, and looks every bit like the regal princess she is.

Milu is less shy than she used to be and loves to have affection rained down on her, but she is very much her ‘own’ cat.  She is perfectly content to have a nice comfy bed to rest on and to watch everyone in the room when she’s not seeking some physical affection.  Even though she is long-haired, she is relatively low maintenance and requires only periodic brushing to keep her coat looking it’s best.  We think Milu would be perfect in a household with or without other cats.  She tolerates older children without much of a problem but very young children might want more attention from her than she is willing to give.  We estimate she was born in 2006, so she is still definitely an adult cat, but still playful at heart.

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We also have Cody, a handsome Siamese-mix.  He came to us as a medical mess: his tail was practically rotting from a large wound over the majority of the last few inches of tail and his throat was swollen and bloody with a terrible abscess.  We weren’t sure at first if he was going to make it, but he started to turn a corner a week or so after surgery.  The infection of his tail was so bad, they had to amputate most of it and the abscess cleared, or so we though.  The abscess returned one more time before we finally had it cleared up, but by then, he was already so much better than he had been when he first arrived. It’s been several months since the last occurrence, so we are sure that he is back on the track to great health and is looking for the next step in recovery: a new home.

Cody is a very people-friendly cat and adores attention.  He will sit in your lap and soak up all the pets and scratches you have to offer and doesn’t mind being picked up too much.  Cody often comes out to greet volunteers when they arrive and doesn’t mind being out and about with strangers either.    He is a very calm cat overall and very well mannered.  Cody has been through a lot in his short life, but don’t let that scare you as his needs are very minimal: his tail just needs to be treated with care.  He was estimated to have been born in 2007 and is a well-trained cat, perfect for almost any household.  He tolerates other cats wonderfully and kids of all ages don’t seem to bother him.  We would love to see him find a family that can give him all that he needs.

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Their pictures lead to their Petfinder, so please click on their images to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

With the start of a bright, shiny, new year, we thought it was best to start it off with featuring some of our brightest colored kitties looking for their forever home.

Sugar and Spice are two sisters that came to us as kittens.  Originally, they were to be spayed and sent to a barn to live an outdoor life as barn cats, but Carol realized that they were sweet and friendly…perfect for the adoption program!  They found a home quickly, but their new owners realized that they just weren’t ready to be pet owners right then.  They came back to Carol’s Ferals because we stand behind our cats if they need a place to go, but we put them in foster because they needed a little more socialization.  Sooner after, they returned to the facility so they could get the exposure to adopters that they needed.  All the juggling from home to home made life difficult for these two girls and they had problems adjusting at first.  Now the two girls have had time to relax, their personalities shine as bright as their golden eyes.  Sugar is a true cuddle-bug and one of the most people-needy cats we have.  She adores being held and will put her paws on your shoulders, her face against your neck, and will purr like crazy the entire time.  If you let her, she will also perch on your shoulders whether you are sitting or walking around the adult cat room.  Sugar is not very fond of others cats, including her sister, and would do best in a home with only no cats or 1 laid-back cat and no small children (under the age of five).  A quieter home is ideal for her.  Spice is less needy in terms of wanting to be held, but she still comes up for pets and lap-time whenever possible.  Her favorite thing is a laser pointer or a string wand toy; she will bounce off the walls for it!  Spice gets along fine with other cats and will even sit down and groom them whether they like it or not!  She should be okay with small children and would be a great addition to a semi-busy household.

Oliver, one of our newest cats, came to us through our weekly TNR openings.  He came in to be neutered and returned outside, but this gorgeous red-orange tabby boy purred himself right into Carol’s heart and, unsurprisingly, into the adoption program.  We’re still learning a bit about his personality but he’s already proven to be very friendly to people.  Other cats don’t seem to bother him much and even with the noise that comes along with adoption days, he stays out and about to watch.  He is not a super-needy cat but doesn’t mind being pet and brushed.  Sometimes he’ll even talk to you once he gets to know you.  We’d think he’d be great with just about any home situation and should ease into new home life without too much of a problem.

Willard is one of Carol’s personal saves.  He hung around the home of one of Carol’s friends for several days before she was able to meet him personally.  The poor guy was scrawny, flea-ridden, dirty, and absolutely starving.  Luckily for him, he was also extremely friendly and let Carol pick him up.  Carol immediately brought him to the facility and got him started on fast-track to good health.  Willard has proved to be a laid-back, low-maintenance cat; give him a soft bed to lay in so he can look out a window and he’ll be content.  He is very tolerant of physical contact from kids of all ages and doesn’t mind other cats so much.  A busy house should be no problem for him.

Last, but not least is Wayne.  This boy was rescued from outside of a restaurant called Mangiamo where the traffic was a real danger.  After several days of dumpster-diving, Kolene rescued him and brought him in to us.  At first, we weren’t sure if he was going to work out as an adoptable cat because he was scared and people-shy, but he’s come out of his shell and have actually turned out to love attention.  He’s not big on being picked up and carried around, but if you have a seat and let him come to you, he’ll be happy to warm your lap.  Otherwise it’s not uncommon to see him tailing people as they wander through the adult cat room, hoping you’ll look down and see him begging for some attention.  We think Wayne would be best in a no cat or single cat household with no small children.

Their pictures lead to their Petfinder, so please click on their images to find out more information and to find links for an application.

Adoption fees are $75 for one cat or $100 for a pair. This helps offset our costs which include: spay/neuter, first round of shots, flea treatment, deworming, and negative test results for feline leukemia and FIV.  Our adoption contract specifies all adoptables are to be indoor-only cats and are not to be declawed.  To see any of the other wonderful cats and kittens we have available for adoption, check our Petfinder page!

Urban Pharm is a property management company in Grand Rapids. If you follow their Facebook page, they post too often about animals left behind when tenants move out. In fact, they have gotten pretty good at taking in abandoned dogs and friendly cats, and rehoming them themselves whenever they can.

They contacted us a week ago when they visited an empty house on the Southeast side of Grand Rapids after a tenant moved out, and found the lid to a dog kennel on the ground with a pile of cat food dumped next to it. It was obvious someone had to leave at least one cat behind when they left quickly. Urban Pharm saw one skittish cat lurking about and called us for help.

3 skittish kittens left behind

We stopped by a few times but never saw a cat. Then 2 nights ago, Carol went out herself and found three 6-8 month old kittens. Too scared to be picked up, but not entirely feral either, she returned yesterday with a team of volunteers and traps. Scared about the upcoming storm that was to hit within hours, they hoped they could get all three in time.

Fortunately all 3 cats were caught quickly, just as the first snow flakes of the storm began to fall. We will get them in to see our vet so they can be fixed and vaccinated. In a few days, we’ll start working on their social skills and try to get these cats used to living indoors so that they can be put up for adoption and found a home where they never have to worry about being abandoned again.

Many thanks to Urban Pharm for caring enough to contact us for help! If you need housing, they have a lot of rental listings on their website – they are great landlords! Not only do they care about cats, but they are a wonderful local business who loves Grand Rapids and being a part of the community.

Check out few more pictures from last night.

This white cutie pie will be available for adoption soon.
All three cats out of harms way. One white, one black, and a cute little tortie in the back.

We are able to help these 3 cats because of the generous support from our community. Please consider giving a donation today to support out work. A gift of just $25 will neuter one male cat. $40 will fix a female. Thank you!