New Kitten Rescues

Meet the lovely Zoey and her beautiful 2-week old kittens Carly (F), Sammy (F) and Freddy (M, black and white).

Things were looking pretty desperate for this homeless little feline family a few days ago, but thankfully a kind PFA foster family stepped up and now they are safe and sound, and will be listed for adoption once the kittens are ready to leave to their mama.

For more info on these little kitties, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Info on Feral Cats

The Humane Society of theUnited States has some interesting information on feral cats and the increasing need for Trap-Neuter-Release programs, like the one provided by PFA, to help improve the quality of life, and reduce overpopulation, of feral cats.

Click here to learn more. Be sure to check out the Caretaker's Guide if you are caring for feral cats.

-Alanna

Homeless Mama Cat with Kittens

PFA has been contacted about a one-year old female cat with three kittens, only 2 weeks old, that need fostering urgently.

The cat's owner has been evicted and does not have a place to live. She has to vacate her current rental asap, so she is desperately seeking a home for the little cat family.

We continue to be overloaded and we have no available space for these cats, even on a temporary basis. The only way we can assist is if we are able to find a new foster care provider.

If you might be able to provide a home for this mama and her babies, let us know at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

Let Me Out!!!

Meet Benson (also known as Doug), Sherry, and Spyke - 3 rescued cats currently caged up at a vet clinic and waiting for foster or adoptive homes.

Benson is a beautiful, blue-eyed Siamese cross who was already fixed and de-clawed when rescued. He had a tattoo number but no-one associated with the contact info on file would claim Benson.

Sherry (solid black) is one of many cats found frozen and hungry at feeding stations in the dead of winter. She is sweet, friendly and super-affectionate and the clinic staff adore her. She clearly belonged to someone recently, but abandonment of animals is all too common in Regina. This loving and charming girl deserved better.

Spyke (black and white) was a 2009 rescue who was adopted and had a great life for a while, but his former family suddenly decided to return him on very short notice, leaving us no choice but to board him as we are overwhelmed with other rescues.

These cats are physically safe and sound but miss being part of a family. If you are interested in fostering or adopting one of these wonderful felines, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

Foster Home for 2 Kittens Urgently Needed

Due to a family emergency, one of our foster homes needs to relocate two 6-month old male foster kittens, Jasper and Lewi as soon as possible.

We would really like these two boys to go together because one is quite a bit shier than the other, however, we will separate them as long as there are other cats for them to play with in a new foster home.

These little guys are going to the vet clinic for their neuters on Tuesday, January 25th and we would love to have a new spot for them to go to afterward. They are vaccinated and good with other cats.

If you can provide foster care for these two sweet little guys, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Update on Kitsi, our Sweet Himalayan Cross

Today I received an update on Kitsi, the handsome Himalayan cross who I wrote about several weeks ago. He was rescued in pretty rough shape - dirty, skinny and a covered in serious bite wounds and multiple abscesses.

Thanks to the vet care and TLC provided by his foster family, Kitsi is recovering nicely. His wounds finally healed enough to allow him to be bathed and he is gaining weight and feeling quite energetic!

He will be neutered and listed for adoption very soon. We are hoping that he wins the hearts of a loving adoptive family quickly. If you are interested in adopting this gorgeous guy, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals.ca

-Alanna

Good Night, Sweet Rider

Yesterday was a sad day as we lost yet another young foster cat, Rider, to Feline Leukemia (FLV), a fatal illness that is all too common for cats that live on the street.

Rider was a sweet and affectionate young female cat who was already spayed when we rescued her from the cold back in late November. She had clearly been someone's pet, but was abandoned and left out in the cold. Her little paws were so frozen that she cried in pain as they thawed while she was being transported to the vet clinic.

Rider was very happy and content in her foster home and enjoyed much love and attention during her short time there. We are so grateful she had the chance to be part of a family and know a warm lap and kind touch before she passed.

FLV is a common street disease and is prevalent in certain areas of Regina. The best way to keep your cat safe is to keep him/her inside and protected from hazards such as disease, traffic, and human cruelty!

-Alanna

More Hitch

Hitch (black cat) and his buddy Bugsy
Hitch eating breakfast with 4 of my 5 cats

I will resist the urge to turn this blog into a "Hitch blog", but I had to share two more photos of this sweet guy. While my own cats are certainly well used to foster cats coming and going, I have never had a large male accepted into the herd so quickly. Isn't he great?

-Sarah

Percy Found the Purrfect Home!

Percy is a two year old tomcat rescued just before Thanksgiving 2010, when a kind student who was feeding him under the deck of her apartment building took him in when the nights started getting cold.

Percy turned out to be a very sweet, gentle and loving cat who was thrilled to off the streets. He was adopted soon afterward by a friend of his foster mom, who sent us these pics of her adorable boy looking very content and happy.

-Alanna

Sweet Hitch is full of surprises

Hitch hanging out with everyone in the kitchen

Hitch and Bugsy

Hitch and my 9 month old son, Logan

When I took on loveable Hitch as my most recent foster cat for PFA, I had a number of worrisome assumptions about him. He has proved me wrong on all of them!

1. I expected that Hitch, rescued after living outside under a deck for over a year, would be timid. Instead he settled into my lap on our first meeting, rolled over and exposed his soft belly, and purred. Oh, and he chirps conversation to me every day.

2. As a grizzled older tomcat, I assumed that Hitch would try to dominate my own 5 cats, and likely clash with my Bugsy, another reformed tomcat from the streets. Instead he has proven to be extremely submissive with everyone, and has even decided to make Bugsy his best friend!

3. My son Logan is very loud, unpredictable and grabby, as most babies are. I presumed that Hitch would avoid Logan, as most of my own cats do. Nope. He loves him. Today he hung out with him, head butting and purring, and flopped over so Logan could more easily grab him!

4. I worried that Hitch would be aggressive with my excitable small dog, as many cats taken from the street have had negative experiences with dog attacks. While he doesn't love her, all Hitch does is avoid my dog. No swipes, or charging at her.

Doesn't he sound like the perfect cat? Hitch is amazing. What a resilient, loving, cuddly soul. He really is the kind of adaptable cat who has the ability to do well in almost every kind of home. Please consider him if you are looking for a new feline family member. Black cats so often get overlooked, and this guy is a true gem. Hitch's adoption ad can be seen by clicking HERE.

-Sarah

A Feral Cat Prayer

This prayer made it's way to us via our friends and fellow feral-cat caretakers at Little Cats Lost in Edmonton.

For PFA volunteers, our feral cats mean as much to us as our own pets - they all have their own names and personalities, and are all worthy of respect as fellow creatures on earth.

Many of these cats started out as someone's pet, and were then abandoned or lost, and connected with other lost and abandoned - and unsterilized cats, leading to reproduction and over-population.

It is so important to spay / neuter your pets! There would be far less stray and feral cats out there in the predicament described in this prayer if all pet owners sterilized.

-Alanna

Volunteer Needed for 2011 Pet Expo!

PFA will once again have a booth at the annual Pet Expo at the Conexus Arts Centre. This year, the event will be held Sunday, January 30th.

We are currently looking for volunteers to work 2-3 hours shifts (depending on how many volunteers we get) between 9:00 am and 5:00 p.m.

For information on the pet expo, please click herehttp://www.conexusartscentre.ca/sale.php?f_action=news_edit&news_id=17517

To volunteer, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

A Beautiful Blue-Eyed Boy!

This stunningly beautiful boy is Doug, a fixed and de-clawed cat who has been hanging out in the neighbourhood of a PFA volunteer for several months.

Doug was fortunate to have several members of the neighbourhood looking out for him, providing food and letting him in during the worst of the cold. But, when his luck suddenly changed and he was shelter bound, our volunteer intervened so PFA could help him find a happy home.

Doug is currently available for adoption. For more information, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

Town of Strays

This gorgeous group of cats are all rescued strays from the nearby town of Balgonie, where they were trying to survive the winter under the steps of local businesses, foraging for whatever scraps they could find.

Luckily, Balgonie has it's own team of cat rescuers, a local family that has rescued numerous strays over the years, and spent many hours working with timid cats to help them trust people again and find adoptive families.

It's not unusual for communities and acreages surrounding Regina to see a lot of strays. Sadly, many of them experience "animal dumping", a practice in which people dump pets outside when they are no longer wanted. Other strays may make their way into town from local farms looking for food when it's cold.

Whatever their origins, this little group of strays is lucky to be safe, warm and well-fed after struggling in the recent cold. They are in the process of being spayed / neutered and vaccinated will soon be available for adoption.

We are looking for a foster home or two to help care for some of these rescues until they are adopted as six rescues at one time is a lot! If you are interested, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

More Jeremiah

Here are some more pics of our sweet rescued boy, Jeremiah. It's clear his time on the street left his body quite ravaged, although thankfully not his spirit.

Jerry now has a fan club of admirers who are rooting for his recovery and we are so happy that PFA was able to get him off the street and set him on a road to a better life.

-Alanna

Update on Jeremiah

PFA would like to thank our kind supporters for keeping Jeremiah in their prayers and for the generous contributions towards his care. We have also received an offer to foster him as soon as he is able to leave the clinic. We really appreciate it, and so does Jerry!

The good news is that he is improving. He is still in isolation and receiving medication but he's eating well, looking brighter-eyed and totally soaking up the attention.

The week-end meant that a number of PFA volunteers stopped by the clinic today to meet Jeremiah, and he was quite pleased to receive visitors! He is a sweet, vocal and loving cat who adores treats and has already learned how to "work it" for more. He loves to nuzzle and head butt, and is none too pleased when you stick him back in the kennel to make your exit.

We have our fingers crossed that his next blood test, coming up in 4 days, will show that he has improved enough to go to his foster home.

We are so happy to see this deserving little guy get a chance to heal and find a caring home.

-Alanna

An Emergency Rescue to Start the New Year

This poor bedraggled and downtrodden fellow is Jeremiah, a young male cat who was rescued from a PFA feral feeding station on Monday. He is scrawny, dehydrated, and is missing one ear and huge patches of fur. He could barely drag himself along in the snow on his three working legs to get out from under the deck and into the trap where the much coveted food awaited!

Jeremiah was whisked off to the Victoria Veterinary Clinic, where we anticipated the news that he would need to be put down. However, he is negative for Feline Leukemia and Feline Aids, and while sick with an infection, he has been eating well and using the litter box, so we have high hopes for his recovery.

Jeremiah does have a heart murmur and if he is to survive long, he needs a caring home as he won't be strong enough to fend for himself on the street for very long.

For now, we are taking it day by day and hoping for the best for this little guy, who has already survived against the odds.

Jeremiah is the very epitome of a PFA rescue cat - homeless, hungry and hurt. This is the kind of cat that we work so very hard to help get a better life - like Monty, Archie, Sammy and many others who came to us extremely sick and injured, and went on to find loving homes.

Please keep your fingers crossed for our little Jeremiah. We are gratefully accepting donations towards his veterinary care through our website at www.people4animals.ca or via PFA at PO Box 33066, Regina, SK, S4T 7X2 (please make a notation that your donation is for Jeremiah).

A huge thank you goes to the feral team for rescuing Jeremiah, and for those that have contributed to his care so far!

-Alanna

Henry from Winsor Castle

This handsome grey guy is Henry, and sweet stray found injured and cold at one of our feral feeding stations (jokingly known as Winsor Castle) on Christmas Day.

He was suffering from bite and scratch wounds and a swollen leg from a cat fight, but thankfully tested negative for FIV/FLV.

And thankfully, we received a few responses to our late night Christmas plea for a foster home for Henry, so he can get lots of TLC while he recovers. Kindness like that means so much to the volunteers who are out on the street daily caring for many of the stray and homeless cats in our city.

Henry will be available for adoption shortly. For more information, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Pretty Kitty Phoebe Posing!

This is one happy girl, lounging and soaking up the love in her foster home!

Phoebe was abandoned and living outside when she was rescued in the fall, and she has been patiently waiting for the right person to come along and fall in love with her (and only her - she's not big on sharing attention!)

In the meantime, she is clearly enjoying life as a spoiled little foster cat!

For more information on Phoebe, contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

A Close Call for this Cutie!

Last week, a PFA volunteer received a late night phone call about a cat that had been attacked and injured by a mentally challenged resident of a local group home. Concerned for her safety, the staff asked for help in relocating her quickly.

This poor tiny girl was hit repeatedly, grabbed by her fur and jerked around by her tail, but thankfully suffered no severe or long-term injuries. She has been treated by a vet and is safe in an emergency foster home.

Her name is Cookie, she is about 18 months old and will be listed for adoption shortly. She is quite rattled by the experience and a bit of time to recover and rebuild trust of people.

We would like to find her a quiet foster or adoptive home where there are no young children or other animals, as she is easily agitated. She is fine, however, with adults and enjoys lap time and petting with her temporary foster mom.

If you are interested in learning more about Cookie, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna