Save the date! We will be offering visits on Friday, March 4th from 6-7pm so you can kick-off your weekend with cats! They’re usually playful and active after dinner, and the lounge has a different feel after dark. Come on by and enjoy a different experience from the daytime lounge. =^..^=
We can take up to 5 visitors in each of the half-hour time slots. If you’d like to stay for a full hour be sure to book both half-hour time slots.
January seemed to fly by! Here we are in mid-February already. The new year is off to a good start for the lounge. We had 10 adoptions in January alone! Congratulations go out to Snickers and Twix, Blaze and Kindle, Tonks and Fleur, Dear Heart and Sweet Heart, Hedwig, and Hershal. Snickers and Twix had been with us since mid-June 2021 and we were particularly thrilled to see them go to a wonderful home! This month we have had three adoptions so far: Jacob and Sadie, and Brave Heart. To see Jacob and Sadie adopted was beyond gratifying. They, too, had been here since last June, and at their ages (11 and 13) we know it would be harder to find them a new home. We are glad they could stay with us while they waited for their people to find them. Congratulations to all of the kitties who found homes over the last 6 weeks!
We’re currently housing 11 other cats and kittens: Michael, Missy, Rachel, Coral, Cindy, Simba, Kiki, Bambi, Oliver, Ivy, and Jasmine. Of these 11, Michael and Missy have been with us the longest, arriving in May 2021. Rachel has been with us for nearly 6 months now. They each have their own quirks and because they’re also slightly older (4-6 years old) they’ve been harder to place. But we know their purrfect people are out there somewhere! In the meantime, they’re happy and safe in the lounge.
We have a couple of particularly shy cats right now: Coral and Ivy. Coral has accepted full-body pets from a few volunteers so we know she has it in her to warm up and be a sweet little companion. She likes to sidle up to Michael and he seems to let her, and she also likes the company of her sister Cindy. Ivy will let the volunteers pet her but she does not like to come out of her bed while lots of people are in the lounge. She is bonded with her brother, Oliver, who is very friendly and fairly confident. These are not going to be our easiest adoptions but we have faith that we will get them into their purrfect homes eventually.
Bambi is currently our youngest cat. He’s about 5 months old and high energy! We’ve nicknamed him Bam Bam. He had terrible eye infections before he was rescued and while that has led to some scarring and perhaps a slight loss of vision, he acts 100% like a normal kitten. We’ve had him on a medical hold while we sort out some soft stools but fingers crossed he appears to be finally rounding that bend!
Our newest cat is Jasmine who’s at least part Siamese. She’s about 2-3 years old and is very friendly and playful! She had a traumatic birthing experience (thankfully she was safely in rescue by that point) but now that she’s spayed and indoors she’ll never have to go through that again. She has a naturally short tail that was also broken at some point in her life so for the most part it hangs down but so far we haven’t noticed it affecting her in any way.
Kiki and Simba are a sibling pair (not bonded) of sleek black house panthers! They are friendly and playful and would basically create an instant feline family for anyone lucky enough to adopt them. This is an early video of them; they now roam freely around the lounge and love getting attention!
Our feline Valentine fundraiser was a big success! We sold 91 Valentines at $5 each, and it’s been a treat to see so many beloved kitties honored in our front window. We’re already looking forward to offering this opportunity next year.
Speaking of fundraising: We have a couple of ideas already brewing for later in the year. We’d like to try a silent auction, and we’d like to expand our holiday market. It’s too early to move forward on either of those ideas just yet but tuck them away for the future!
We have been tracking food and litter donations more closely this year as well as volunteer hours. In January we received nearly $600 in food and litter donations, and volunteers other than Jennifer contributed roughly 100 hours of socializing cats, helping with cleaning, and assisting guests. We held an orientation for new volunteers in January and will have another coming up in the next few weeks.
If you’ve made it this far, thank you! We truly appreciate all of the support we get from our followers and couldn’t do what we do without your moral, financial, and in-kind support. If you’d like to see our current wish lists we have Amazon and Chewy wishlists. We’ve also started a foster kitten wishlist in anticipation of helping out once kitten season gets going.
Our annual report for 2021 is now available.
We will be holding a volunteer orientation for interested people on Sunday, January 23rd, from 11 – 11:30 a.m. Come learn more about helping out at the lounge! Please see the event below for more information and to sign up. If you haven’t already, be sure to fill out the volunteer application, too.
We believe cats should be indoor cats. Not indoor-outdoor, not outdoor. Indoor only. Cats can jump over fences and squeeze through small spaces. It only takes a moment for a cat to get spooked by something and run off. In our area, coyotes are being seen during the day, not to mention other predators as well as cars. Indoor cats live longer, healthier lives.
That said, there are ways cats can enjoy some fresh air and the sights, sounds, and smells of the outdoors in safe ways. We’ll share a few favorite ways here.
Catios: A “catio” is a patio for your cat! These are screened-in enclosures that allow your cat to be on a patio, deck, balcony, etc. while remaining safe from falls, predators, and other mishaps. A search online for “DIY catio” or “catio kits” will turn up all kinds of options. Catioworld.com and Catiospaces.com are two great places to learn more.
Harness and Leash: Cats can be trained to wear a harness and use a leash! When selecting a harness, be sure it fits securely so that your cat cannot wriggle out of it. This site posts reviews of several models of harnesses to choose from. Once your cat is used to wearing a harness you can add a leash and start venturing outside. Don’t be surprised if it takes some time for your kitty to feel comfortable, and don’t expect him or her to do more than sniff around at first. We’ve heard of some families using a harness and long lead so that they can bring their cats outside while they enjoy coffee in the morning.
Backpacks: There are special packs made just for pets so that you can take your cat on a walk or hike! Some feature a “bubble” for your cat to have a window on the world. Most feature some mesh for airflow. Search online for “backpacks for cats” to see the many options available.