Saturday, February 28, 2009

Come and feast with us!

People for Animals Fundraising Vegetarian Potluck

Date: Sat March 7th
Time: 6pm to 8pm
Admission: $10
Location: Glencairn Neighborhood Recreation Center, 2626 Dewdney Ave. E

Please bring one vegetarian dish to share. Also, if possible please bring your own plate, glass and cutlery to cut down on use of disposables.

Silent Auction! Update on PFA's pet rescue and feral team activities! Check out our new BPA Free Water Bottles for sale! Catnip toys!

This is also a great opportunity to purchase or renew PFA memberships before our AGM on March 14th.

Please email Sarah at badbunnygirl@hotmail.com with any questions.

Thank you, and hope to see you there.

People for Animals of Saskatchewan Inc.
http://www.people4animals.ca/

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

It's a year for Manx kittens!


Mally and Daisy were two kittens born to a female cat that was rescued with her litter in the fall. Star (the momma cat) didn't just nurse her own kittens - she adopted a litter of orphaned kittens that we had rescued as well! In total, Star nursed 9 kittens. Star has now been adopted, and all of the kittens that she raised have found good homes as well. Mally and Daisy were adopted together by a family member of their foster family, and they have thrived. Both girls only have little stubs for tails.
-Sarah

Annie update

Our little rescued kitten Annie has been placed in a foster home and is thriving!
Her foster mom Roxanne emailed me with this photo and the following comments:
"Just wanted to let you know things with Annie are going really well. I can't get over what a sweetheart she is!!!! I don't think she's stopped purring since you dropped her off....even while eating her food, lol. She's just thrilled to pieces she has someone to love and cuddle her. In fact I'm having difficulty typing this email right now because she keeps trying to lay across my hands haha.
I've attached a pic...this was taken right after she devoured a can of wet food. So her face is covered in food."
-Sarah

Solutions for spraying cats

Are you having issues with a male cat urinating outside of the litter box?
This VIDEO might help.
-Sarah

Friday, February 20, 2009

Goodbye, Socks

Socks, the cat who once lived in the White House, died today.
To read more, click HERE

Simba the brave





A few days ago, we received an email from a community resident who had recently begun feeding an older stray male cat. She had won his trust so much so that he began coming into her home and making himself comfortable. This sweet boy is good with the other two cats who were already residents in the home, and he has a wonderful personality. His rescuer named him Simba, and was happy to foster him until he found a home, but didn't have the resources to have him fixed, or to have the skin irritation and bleeding on his head taken care of by a vet. So, she contacted us. We are sharing the costs of his neuter with his rescuer. Today, Simba went to the vet where it was found that he had one of the worst cases of ear mites ever, and that was causing all of the irritation in his ears and on his head. He was treated for it, and given an antibiotic shot to speed the healing. He was also neutered. Once Simba has had some time to recover, we will list him for adoption. It is so gratifying to work with members of the community who are willing to pitch in to save the lives of cats in distress!
-Sarah

Caramel at home

Caramel is the sweet dilute calico kitty on the right - she is sitting with her adopted brother Rocky at her new home! We love to see our rescued cats so happy.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Annie git yer gun


Here is Annie, the 12 week old kitten that Pat and Dona on our feral cat team found at "Dodge City" (a collection of old trucks under which homeless cats shelter) yesterday. We had talked about calling her Miss Kitty, but she is too itty to be a Miss anything, so I settled on Annie (as in Annie get your gun).She is a happy, friendly little girl who LOVES being warm and fed. She is VERY dirty and stinky - and wormy. I dewormed her last night. If it wasn't for her swollen belly there wouldn't be much to her. She is very skinny otherwise, with delicate little paws. She is eating and using the litter box and drinking. I don't think it'll take long to find her a home once she's ready - kittens are few and far between right now. And she's a sweetie. Anyways, for now she's in my bathroom, and I am hopeful that some foster room will appear soon, as I am overloaded!!! However, very glad that Pat and Dona found her.

-Sarah

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Cat hoarding in Regina

Merlin - in foster care continuing to recover
Sammi Six toes - to see her adoption ad click HERE

Mitzy - to see her adoption ad click HERE

One of Mitzy's siblings and his buddy - both still in foster care, recovering

Polly - to see her adoption ad click HERE
This past year, People for Animals became aware of a deeply troubling cat hoarding situation here in Regina. An elderly woman and her son lived in a run down old house with countless cats. The house was dirty, small, and smelled so strongly that neighbours complained that they could smell it in the summer if the breeze was blowing the wrong way. A few years prior, another animal rescue group had tried to assist them, and had paid for 19 of their cats to be sterilized. However, they continued to collect cats, and the new ones were not spayed or neutered.
The woman was very elderly, and the son struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Neighbours frequently heard shouting coming from the house, and the old lady never went outside.
One day, the lady called a People for Animals board member, and asked for help, as she had a cat that her son "didn't like". Our concerns raised, we took the cat into foster care - the first of many. Her name is Mitzy and she is pictured above. Only now that Mitzy has recovered from whatever she experienced in that house do we truly understand what likely happened to her.
Despite several calls to the local humane society, the Animal Protection officers were unable to do anything about the situation, as the basic needs of the cats were being met, and there were no witnesses to any other abuse who would provide a statement to that effect. They encouraged PFA to continue to take cats from this house, if they were willing to give them up, as there was nothing else that could be done.
In late fall, we received a call from the lady's daughter, who told us that her mother was in the hospital, and that she was not likely to ever go home again. She asked us to take as many of the cats into care as we could, if we could talk her brother into it.
It took a great deal of diplomacy, and patience, but we finally succeeded in rescuing 9 of these cats in total. The son would not part with any other ones. We remain hopeful that at some point he will.
These cats have needed an incredible amount of love and care. None of them have ever been socialized in a stable environment. When we went to get them they didn't even have cat litter available to them. Several of them are still very scared, and one (not pictured) will still not let her foster mother touch her. We will work with these cats as long as it takes, and we are determined to find them loving homes where they will never again know such suffering.
Placing them will prove difficult, as some are still quite timid, and they are all between the ages of 4 and 6 years old. If you are considering adding to your pet family, please consider one of these wonderful cats. They will reward you with a lifetime of gratitude.
To read more about what animal hoarding is, please click HERE
-Sarah

Chuck has a very cute pink nose


This is Chuck. He was brought to us today from a family in McLean (just outside of Regina) who found him yesterday on the side of the road, in very rough shape. He was dehydrated, VERY skinny, cold, and has the worse case of ear mites I have ever seen. And he is filthy - my hands were black after petting him. He's been living rough in the country for quite a while, but is so tame! He has already been up on my lap, and is very lovey. Very vocal too. Of course, we don't have anywhere for him, so he is in my basement room for now. I've already treated his ear mites and will deworm him tomorrow and clean his ears again. We'll try to get him in for a neuter mid week since he really needs it! Maybe by then we'll have an opening in foster care... I think he's about a year and a half.
He is a happy boy now. Already scarfed down a whole can of Fancy Feast.
-Sarah

Friday, February 13, 2009

Valentine Wishes for pets too!

Click HERE for some tips to help make this weekend safe and fun for everyone, including the furry members of your family.

Missy is finally safe from the cold





Little Missy was reported to PFA after the first cold snap of the winter, before Christmas. She was living in the Westhill area of Regina, sheltering under decks in the area, and eating whatever she could find. Residents also reported seeing a kitten with her at the time. Our feral team went out to locate her, and attempted to trap Missy and her kitten, with no success. In the interim, they set up a shelter for them, and put signs up around the area asking if anyone knew more about them.
This month, we were contacted by a kind couple in the neighborhood who had found Missy sheltering in their garage. They began feeding her and taking care of her, eventually winning her trust enough that she came into their house. As you can see in the photos above, Missy made herself very much at home, given some time and some love.
Today, Missy is at the vet clinic, being spayed. Tonight she will be headed to a PFA foster home for more rehabilitation, and she will be listed for adoption soon.
We are still hopeful that we will be able to locate her kitten soon, although there have been no recent sightings. The cold is hard on homeless cats.
-Sarah

Monday, February 9, 2009

Animal Rescue knows no borders


One of PFA's great friends in Regina, Alexandra, has been intimately involved in dog rescue in her home country of Venezuela for many years. When she isn't volunteering with PFA and the Regina Humane Society, Alexandra is trying to save the lives of dogs back home, and prevent more births of strays. She is organizing more spay and neuter clinics to happen in the streets of Venezuela this spring, and she is also hoping to bring some of the homeless dogs back home with her.

If you would like to read about Venezuelan Dog Rescue Canada, please click HERE. Make sure to scroll to the older posts to read about the dogs who will be coming to Canada!

Georgina has taken over!

Georgina is a lovely 5 year old female cat who was found sheltering under a deck on one of the coldest days of the year. She had a bad respiratory infection, and suffered from exposure and frostbite. She was also very dehydrated. Without her rescue at the hands of one of our feral cat team volunteers, Georgina would have likely died.
Georgina was taken in for fostering by Barb and Lindy, and they quickly realized that they would not be able to part with her. They adopted her, and Georgina has quickly made herself at home, as you can see by the photo above.
-Sarah

Saturday, February 7, 2009

Peaches



This lovely little girl has had a string of good luck in the last few weeks! Homeless, cold and hungry, she just happened to be around when a kind lady was doing some yard work a few weeks ago and had her garage door open. Her heated, insulated garage. Peaches snuck in there for some shelter, and got locked in accidentally. Things might have not ended very well for her, but the kind lady decided to run back out to the garage the next day, and she discovered Peaches!! This lady is VERY allergic to cats, but she made a very comfortable home for Peaches in her garage, and provided her with litter, food and water, along with a lot of love. This delightful little cat quickly won her heart. She placed newspaper ads and reported her to the Humane Society, but no one was looking for Peaches. Finally, she called us for help.
This week, we had Peaches spayed, and gave her a vaccination. She is now in foster care with Sabrina, and doing very well. This little girl is only about ten months old, but she has already experienced a great deal of hardship. She will eventually lose the tip of one of her ears from frostbite. However, she is friendly, sweet and so cuddly, and will make someone a wonderful pet.
To see Peaches' adoption ad, please click HERE
-Sarah

Thursday, February 5, 2009

We are growing so much, that we need even more volunteers!

We have had an exciting growth spurt lately and have reached an unprecedented number of foster homes! Yay! What we need now is a group of people who would be willing to work with our foster homes, as we have way too many for one person to continue managing alone.


We are looking for about 5 or 6 volunteers, who will each be responsible for 5 – 10 foster homes. We will have one person to manage and oversee all foster home work, (Sarah). What we would like to have our 5 – 6 foster home coordinators do is listed below.


Tasks:
Each volunteer will be responsible for a number of foster homes, (maximum of 10). We will try to arrange them geographically so that when you make visits, you can hopefully stay in one area of the city;

Ensure that foster homes have all the necessary paperwork, (adoption forms/packages, foster homes contracts filled out);
Ensure that foster homes have supplies if needed, (donations can be obtained from Sarah);
Take photos of new intake animals and send them to Sarah for posting;
Take history/behavioural notes on new foster animals and send them to Sarah for ads;
Vaccinate as needed;
Work with Alanna and Brittany, (adoption screeners), to ensure that good communication happens about potential adoptions;
Be the contact person for the foster home if they have any issues or concerns and questions;
Check in with the foster homes regularly to ensure that they are managing well - do visits as needed, perhaps once a week but less frequently if not needed.


As the foster home manager, Sarah will continue to: determine where new rescues go, authorize vet visits, store donated supplies, maintain adoption and vaccination lists and of course be a resource person for you if you have questions or concerns at any time. We will also provide all the training you will need, (ie – to administer vaccinations, etc.)


We are very excited about the growth we have seen in the past months and we hope it continues! We can’t keep making differences in animals’ lives without your help. Please consider becoming a foster home coordinator, and contact me at jodyfrancais@hotmail.com if you can help.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Water bottles can help kitties too

Here is a photo of our brand spankin' new water bottles that we are selling as a fundraiser. They are 25 oz. BPA Free Eco-Fresh Water Bottles. We are selling them for $10 each and there are two colours - green and smoke. All proceeds go directly to helping our feral cats and stray cats that we are rescuing and caring for. They are available in Regina only.
Would you like to buy one, or two, or three?
Please email Sarah at badbunnygirl at hotmail.com
Thanks!

Monday, February 2, 2009

A cat enjoying the snow!