Pets Celebrate New Years

Check out this link to People Pets for some cute pics of cats and dogs ringing in the new year!

-Alanna

A Change of Luck for a Down and Out Boy

This handsome little Himalayan cross has been hanging and sleeping under the deck at the home of a kind and generous PFA volunteer, Katherine, for several months. He didn't seem to want to use the shelter she made for him, so - concerned for his well-being in this extreme cold - she took action and brought him inside today.

Katherine also took him to the vet and had him treated for SIX severe abscess wounds, and also for worms and mites. Thankfully, this little guy also tested negative for FLV/FIV, despite his numerous scabs and scars.

He is a two year old male Himalayan cross. He is skinny, dirty and beat-up but his luck has changed for the better and he is on his way to the good life.

One he's had a chance to heal up, we will get him neutered and list him for adoption. In the meantime, we are so grateful to kind people like Katherine who look out for strays like this guy.

-Alanna

Young Kittens Beat the Odds

Normally, young kittens are few and far between at this time of year, but the extended fall weather led to a number of late season litters and thus kittens that are struggling to survive in the cold.

This is one lucky little litter of seven that were rescued and are being cared for by the family of a PFA volunteer.

These little tabby guys were born to an abandoned farm cat who made her home in a couple's garage. After phoning the farm that she came from and determining that farmers weren't giving her adequate food or shelter, they decided to feed her and give her a warm place to sleep in the garage. Soon afterward they noticed that the cat, Casey, was getting unusually fat, and she soon gave birth to seven kittens. All the kittens are healthy and active and will be ready for adoption in early January when they are 8 weeks of age. They are used to lots of handling as they've had supplemental bottle feedings - Casey is very tiny and can't handle feeding all seven kittens at once!

Casey will be spayed and placed up for adoption herself once the kittens are adopted.

If you are interested in adopting one of these little sweeties for your very own, contact us at saskpeopleforanimals@gmail.com

-Alanna

Merry Christmas to All - And Thank You!

It isn't easy to operate a busy animal rescue group that looks after over 200 street cats per year - sterilizing feral cats to reduce overpopulation, maintaining feeding stations, rescuing dozens and dozens of stray cats and kittens and finding them homes. Not to mention finding the money (and volunteers) to get it all done.

PFA is very fortunate to have many loyal and dedicated members, supporters and volunteers who help make it all possible. We have many people to thank:

• Our kind and caring foster homes who take in rescued animals and care for them until they find permanent homes;
• The dedicated feral team volunteers who make sure the cats at PFA colonies and feeding stations have food and water every day of the year, rain or shine (or blizzard!);
• Our hardworking bingo coordinator and the many dedicated bingo volunteers who work very hard - not to mention some crazy hours, at our most important fundraising mechanism;
• Numerous volunteers who help out at other fundraising events from hot dog sales to garage sales to steak nights and catalogue sales - anything that will generate a few bucks to help our cats;
• Partners such as our friends at Prairie Animal Assistance who care for special needs or very timid cats;
• The vet clinics (Victoria Veterinary Clinic, Animal Clinic, 24 hours clinic) who support our rescue work and give our cats the best vet care possible;
• The volunteers who maintain our website and Facebook page;
• The volunteers who make cat toys or make or donate other merchandise for sale at PFA fundraisers;
• The financial, food and litter donors;
• The PetSmart volunteers;
• The businesses who host our donation cans;
• Various groups and organizations who fundraise and collect donations for us; and,
• The adoptive families who give our rescued cats their furr-ever homes.

I hope I didn't miss anyone - but if I did, rest assured that PFA treasures everyone of our volunteers and supporters that make it possible to make a difference to so many cats.

Happy Holidays to all!

Delightful Donny

This gorgeous boy is Donny, a young male cat who has been hanging out at a PFA feeding station for months now. He is quite sweet and a bit shy, but tame. We suspect he was abandoned, like so many other cats we rescue.

We hope that we will be able to get Donny into foster care soon. For now, he has a warm shelter box to help him bear the cold and he can look forward to regular meals, thanks to the dedicated PFA feral team who are out feeding at our colonies 7 days per week, 365 days per year - even Christmas!

Cheers to the feral team for making sure that the outdoor cats are looked after every day of the year, no matter the occasion or the weather conditions.

-Alanna

Christmas Tree Cat!

This cute little cat peeking out from the x-mas tree is a former PFA rescue, Rider, all set to enjoy a fun Christmas with her family.

What makes this remarkable is that Rider started out as a totally feral kitten, and it is only through much dedication and patience on behalf of her adoptive that she has become a happy and friendly family pet.

Rider was trapped in the fall of 2009. It took three months of handling (using gloves, towels and blankets for protection) before Rider could be touched with bare hands! Now, after a year, she is a very tame and affectionate little cat who clearly loves being part of a human family.

What a wonderful success story!

-Alanna

Upcoming Documentary - Cat Craze

Animal lovers may be interested in an upcoming documentary called CAT CRAZED, airing January 6th, 2011 on CBC's Doc Zone.

A brief synopsis from the filmaker is below:

CAT CRAZED (Bountiful Films): For Canada's animal shelters, this is definitely not the 'most wonderful time of the year'. They know Santa will stuff a cute andcuddly kitten into thousands of Christmas stockings. But by New Year'sDay, that little ball of fur might be dropped off at the shelter; or worse, dumped on the side of a rural road, left to fend for itself. Why are millions of cats living quite literally in the lap of luxury,while millions more are abandoned to lead short, miserable lives? And what is the impact of all these cats on the environment (especially birds)?

CAT CRAZED blends serious journalism and humour, along with animation by the man behind The Cat Came Back (Cordell Barker) to explore how our complicated relationship with felines is at the very root of thec at overpopulation crisis - and the raging cat-bird war that's being battled across North America.

The trailer will be up on the website at www.bountiful.ca

-Alanna