Our Own Little Wyatt Earp

This is little Wyatt Earp, a 5-month old kitten rescued from the bitter cold on the Family Day long week-end. He was found in an empty apartment block by maintenance workers.

He was very cold, and his ears very red and tender, but the vet says he is fine and didn't suffer severe enough frostbite to lose his ears. He is a very sweet and snuggly boy, and so happy to be safe, warm and to receive cuddles from his foster mom.

Wyatt Earp will be listed for adoption shortly.

-Alanna

It's Love Your Pet Day!

Of course, every day is love your pet day, but Purina has declared February 20th the official love your pet day!

Click here to learn more, and for links info on pet health and wellness and other pet care advice.

-Alanna

Petey, the Backyard Boy

Petey showed up in my back yard in late April last year, hungry and showing the effects of being outside all winter. Since I kept a food dish full, he kept coming around and eventually would wait for me to get home from work each evening so he could have his supper.

As the summer passed, Petey spent time with me as I worked in my garden. I couldn't approach him, but he was clearly happy to have some company. In early September, I managed to trap him to be neutered and treated for an injury the vet thought had been caused by Petey being dragged by a car.

As the cold weather approached, I worried about him surviving yet another winter outside. So, I set up some comfy beds in my garage. He did settle in for a while, but once the really cold weather hit last November, he finally decided that being indoors was best. After I held the front door open for about 10 minutes, he cautiously came inside.

Although he was shy at first and remains so around other people, Petey has become part of the feline clan in my home. His manners are excellent and he has never been part of any fights with the other boys. Slowly but surely, Petey is remembering how to be a pet again. He sleeps with the other cats on my bed and jumps up on my lap for cuddles.

He is just one of many cats that have been abandoned or gotten lost outdoors. His story, however, has a happy ending, unlike so many others.

Sandy

Rough Week for Rescues

PFA volunteers had another busy week, including 2 emergency rescues that involved cats in dire situations.

On Wednesday, our sweet Miss Sadie (black) was literally plucked from a snowdrift where she was trying to escape the advances of an amorous tomcat! Little more than a kitten herself at 8 months old, she is in the early stages of heat and also has a back-end injury that a vet determined was likely caused by a vehicle.

Luckily, she is recovering well and is happy to be warm and safe in her foster home. We are very happy that this little cat will now have a chance at finding a loving forever home.

Poor little Moses (black and white) wasn't so lucky. He showed up at a feeding station earlier this week and was clearly tame - and very, very hungry. Initially put on the wait-list for foster care, we were worried that he might be quite sick, so two feral team members picked him up and took him to the vet yesterday.

Moses was positive for both Feline Leukemia and Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (similar to aids), both serious and fatal illnesses. Despite his ailments, he was a sweet and spunky cat who loved to purr and head butt. He was very happy to get out of the cold and have a full belly, and he received wonderful care at the Victoria Veterinary Clinic in his last day on earth.

Moses was euthanized today with a kind and dedicated PFA volunteer by his side, holding his little paw and letting him know he was loved. We are sad that yet another young cat has been lost to FLV/FIV, but grateful that he knew kindness and love in his last few days.

-Alanna

For the Guys

Catster.com, a fun website for feline fanatics, dedicated an entire week to guys that love cats!

Click here to view cute videos of guys who love their cats, like a tough and tattooed biker, a golfer and a boxer.

-Alanna

Gorgeous Guy, Gus, Needs a Home!

This cutie-guy is Gus. He's a five year old male who has been living as a stray for almost 4 years now, relying on kind citizens for food hand-outs. People say he resembles a horned owl with his big eyes and turned up ears!

Here is his story:

A kind PFA volunteer rescued Gus after caring for him year-round for the last 4 years. Gus has been wary about letting people get too close, but a few people were leaving food out for him. They knew when he would arrive, and were sure to leave him the soft food treats that he adores.

Our volunteer, Connie, has worried about him for a very long time, not only because he was clearly homeless, but because he was wearing a collar which seemed to be very tight around his neck. She trapped him on the bitterly cold night of January 30.

Gus was neutered and vaccinated on January 31, and the vet did find his collar to be terribly tight. It was cut off but you can now see where it had been digging into his neck. The tips of his ears have been touched with frost as well.

We believe that this collar was put on Gus when he was just a kitten and that he was abandoned to the street wearing it. It then became very restricting and tight as he grew.

Gus is still learning to trust people but he has, in the last 10 days, come a long way and he loves to be stroked and scratched, he drools over his catnip toys, and purrs and rolls on his back.

We originally planned to put him back on the street, as we had no place for him, but when he was about to be released, things went awry.

Apparently our Gus was enjoying life out of the cold. We had set up a warm shelter for him in his former haunt and thought he'd be happy to escape confinement. But, he followed Connie back to her house and cried at the door to get in. Naturally, she relented and for now he is living in a very tiny basement laundry room while he waits for a foster or adoptive forever home.

Gus is a healthy teddy bear of a cat with a gorgeous, thick, silver-tabby coat and big yellow owl eyes. He has a gentle, loving nature. He is still a bit timid but is already showing signs of becoming a big mush-ball. He just needs a chance and a foster or adoptive home where he can relax and learn to enjoy being a pet cat again.

If you are interested in either fostering or adopting Gus, please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Update on Cookie

Cookie was an emergency rescue that PFA took in just after Christmas as she had been attacked and injured by a mentally challenged resident in a group home.

She was rattled by the whole experience, but quickly settled in to her foster home and is a very loving little cat who likes to talk and adores her treats.

Cookie and her foster sister Charm will be at the PetSmart adoption promotion on Saturday, February 12th from 1-3. Drop by to say hello - she will be pleased to meet you!

-Alanna

An Update on Jeremiah

Back in January, I wrote about a scrawny, beat-up male cat called Jeremiah who was rescued from the bitter cold so weak that he could hardly crawl across the snow and into the trap where food awaited.

Jeremiah was taken for veterinary care and quickly determined to be very tame and sweet, although in need of some medication and lot of TLC.

Jeremiah was placed into foster care and is now doing fantastic! He has put on weight, his coat has gained lustre and his wounds are healing. Above all, he is incredibly affectionate. One of our volunteers dropped by his foster home recently and provided this update (and some new pics of Jeremiah looking fabulous):

He has, indeed, come quite far. His fur is starting to come in, the coat he did have is even showing a bit of lustre. He looks to have filled out quite a bit, though you can still feel his backbone. His eyes are bright and he is alert, active, playful and affectionate. He is just a doll. He head-butts so hard he nearly knocks you over. He’s a very grateful, affectionate cat who will make a great pet for someone who can look past his funny ears. He’s a very loving cat and I think he has a lot of character.

He's sure come a long way since he was rescued (bottom photo)! He's not ready for adoption yet, but we know that when he is, whoever chooses him to be their cat companion will be very fortunate to adopt this wonderful cat.

-Alanna

Pretty Kitty Brigitta!

This super adorable kitten is Brigitta, a recent rescue who was rescued late last week by a kind PFA supporter.

Not only was poor little Brigitta cold, hungry and crying to get inside when she was rescued, she was also already pregnant, despite being a kitten herself! Her owners kicked her out into the cold when she went into heat, and have confirmed that they do not want her back and surrendered her to PFA.

Brigitta is safe and warm now, and has been spayed and vaccinated. All she needs is a loving forever family. She will be listed for adoption shortly.

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

-Alanna

PFA Success Story: Howie (now Ty)

Here is an awesome update about a very special little cat who survived a distemper scare. His former foster mom, Sabrina, caught up with his adopters and wanted to share this sweet success story. You can see how much he's grown since his days in foster care (bottom pic) and how content he is in his furr-ever home.

Howie was the shiest of the group of nine kittens we rescued back in the summer of 2009. Shortly after we moved them into foster homes, one of the kittens got very sick. He was diagnosed with distemper and, sadly, passed away. Distemper is deadly for kittens, so we rushed the rest of the litter to the vet. Miraculously, they all survived, and Howie was one of the lucky ones.

Howie wasn't just shy - he was terrified of people and other animals. He hid all the time, until my black cat, a PFA rescue named Levi,"adopted" him. Howie decided that Levi was his mom and actually started suckling on his chest! After about two months in foster care with his "mom" Levi, Howie was adopted by a really nice couple who were looking for a companion for their cat, who was very lonely after their other cat passed away. They changed Howie's name to Ty. While he was shy with people at first, Ty immediately cuddled up to his new cat buddy, Bear, another black cat. Ty even started suckling on Bear's chest, making him his new "mom"! He warmed up to his new family and became a cuddler, though he still is not a big fan of visitors!

Of all the cats and kittens I've fostered, I still think about Howie/Ty the most. He's a very special guy. When you nurse a kitten back to health after he almost died and then watch him be socialized by a male cat "mom" - well, you never forget that. So, I had to find out how he's doing - I emailed his new mom to find out.

This is what she wrote - and she sent pictures of Ty and his buddy Bear, too!

"Ty is really coming out of his shell with his family - visitors, not so much! Ty has his moments of total love and devotion and yes once every blue moon, he will suck on Bear's chest, however, it is more and more rare these days. I guess, he is growing up. Ty is a very funny little boy - he sits on the floor registers to warm up or sits in front of the fireplace, so I have been thinking of buying him some clothes. He is active and healthy and eats like a little piglet. Ty is an indoor cat and loves his toys and cat condo (my dad makes them) -all and all he is a spoiled baby but, that's who we are - we love our four legged babies very much!"

-Sabrina

February Fundraiser

PFA is pleased to be partnering with a local Scentsy rep to raise funds for our rescue operations.

Scentsy offers a safe alternative to candles with beautiful pod-warmers and a fantastic variety of scents to warm in them.

It's easy too - just visit www.kfriebel.scentsy.ca and select the People for Animals party to order by February 25th.

For more info or to get a catalogue, contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com.

-Alanna

Common Pet Toxins

The ASPCA has developed a list of the ten most common household poisons ingested by pets in 2010.

Please click here to check out the list, and also note the list of plants that are toxic to animals as well.

-Alanna

PetSmart Adoption Days - Feb 11-13

PFA is pleased to be participating in another PetSmart adoption days promotion from February 11-13th.

This is a great event for PFA - not only do we get to show off our wonderful adoptable cats, but we also receive grant money for each adoption through the PetSmart satellite adoption centre!

And, we get to meet lots of great animal lovers and let people know about our programs.

We need volunteers to work 2 hour shifts (11-1,1-3, and 3-5) on all three days. Please contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com if you would like to help!

-Alanna

Sunshine and Onyx

Please check out this blog post from one of our awesome foster moms, Alana, who is currently fostering Sunshine and Onyx, two sweet and loving black female cats.

As we've noted many times on this blog, it takes black cats the longest to find homes, and Sunshine has been in foster care for 2 years (and 3 foster homes) and is still waiting.

We are hoping that we can get both these amazing girls permanent homes before Alana and her roomates have to move to their new, non-pet friendly rental at the end of the month.

http://nerd-bait.blogspot.com/2011/01/sunshine-onyx.html

For more information on these sweet girls, contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna