Rico’s Refuge Cat Rescue

12/02/2024

Happy Monday 🥳
Seven kids saw the vet today! We had one enucleation, two ears infected, and a mouth full of severe gingivitis (does this sound like a remixed Christmas jingle to anyone else lol). Can you guess who is very excited to medicate some spicy cats for the next three weeks? 😂
We are wrapping up our final colony of the year before taking a much needed break to focus on the cats in care. This has been an emotionally taxing colony, with more cats and surprises than anticipated.

A huge thank you and shoutout to the wonderful couple caring for these cats. They are dedicated to the safety and well-being of sooo many stray and unsocialized cats, and go above and beyond ensuring the cats have the finest accommodations, daily meals, love, and vetting. There are so many cats out there, and ignoring them doesn’t make the problem go away. Rescue can be straight-up depressing 😂 but we have had the privilege of meeting some truly kind, compassionate people on this journey, so thank you! ❤️
As always: please spay and neuter, and don’t ignore those without the luxury of a home!

11/27/2024

It is with great sadness I share that Riley gained his wings today. He was a sweet boy, who knew love and kindness in his final days.
Our page will remain silent for 24 hours to honour Riley’s memory. We will not respond to messages during this time.

11/25/2024

Another urgent intake. Please spay and neuter your pets, and those without homes, to help break the cycle and end the suffering 💔 We can all make a difference.

11/24/2024

🐾Help Needed🐾

6-month-old Elliott has FIP. Foster Mom came home and found him in this state after otherwise being health. He cannot see, has begun bumping into walls, and the discharge and swelling/hair loss around his eyes has gotten worse. Neurological/ocular FIP can progress very quickly, meaning treatment has to be started ASAP. Unfortunately, his sister is currently being treated for same, so the suggested diagnosis didn’t come as a surprise.
The first month of Elliott’s treatment has cost us $612. Elliott requires three months of treatment, and monthly bloodwork, which will cost us roughly $2400 when it’s all said and done.

These unexpected costs mean a substantial delay in providing vetting to colonies. I know it’s a crazy time of year, and honestly just a crazy time to be alive, but we could really use all the help we can get.
Donations can be sent to [email protected], and we would be very grateful for donations of alcohol empties. We’re also more than happy to pick-up donations as well! Every dollar makes a huge difference for us. Please share for little Elliott!

11/17/2024

Thank you so much to Angie and the whole Kibble 4 Paws team for everything they do for so many animals and organizations ❤️

11/13/2024

Happening tomorrow at 6pm at Diversity/Diversité Cornwall!

Tomorrow is our final youth yoga session and we will have KITTENS! This event will be open to 2SLGBTQ+ youth ages 8+. It is free to attend and registration is not required.

Thanks to Keep The Faith Cat Rescue for bringing the kittens for tomorrow’s yoga session, to Farhana for leading us in gentle yoga, and to MLSE Foundation for their generous support of Diversity/Diversité Cornwall youth fitness programming. We are so excited to see you tomorrow!

11/10/2024

✨Taking Applications✨

Iris is looking for her people! This confident cutie patootie is super sweet! She loves to play with her respectful dog and cat foster siblings, and enjoys a good cuddle session. Iris has a lot of energy, true to her young age, and needs lots of love and attention! She loves her toy mice, springs, and interactive butterfly toy.
Iris also has great litter habits.

Her adoption includes spay, age-appropriate vaccines, microchip, flea/tick/earmite treatment, and nail trim! Reach out via direct message, or send us an email ([email protected]), for more information!

11/07/2024

Five cats saw the vet today, including the “Winners Cat” and some colony kids. Kudos to Carrol who raised money to cover some of Winners Kitty’s vetting.
I really don’t like to ask, but need to get better at it as it all primarily comes out of my pocket, and it just isn’t sustainable anymore; we would be very grateful for any donations to help offset some of the costs we’ve accrued. We’re operating in the red, and could really use all the help we can get so we can continue supporting community cats!
E-transfer: [email protected]
Every dollar truly makes a huge difference ❤️ Thank you for sticking around with us on this journey!

11/05/2024

Two more kids off to the vet this morning!

11/02/2024

🙌✨RAISE THE WOOF✨🙌

🐾 Thank You for 15 Paw-some Years! 🐾

We’re wagging our tails with joy as we celebrate 15 incredible years of serving our fur-tastic customers! 🐶🐱 Whether you’ve been with us since our first bark or you’re a new face in the pack, we couldn’t have done it without your loyal paw-ticipation! 🐾🎉 As a local family owned small business there are always challenges to face. We could not be more grateful and appreciative of each and every one of you who have chosen to support us and make our journey as a small business a little bit easier! 🐾🥰

To show our appreciation, Starting November 1st we are going to have 15% OFF the entire store for 15 DAYS! During that time you will also receive a ballot with your purchase to enter in one of many giveaway baskets which have been graciously donated from our amazing reps and distributors!🐾✨😍

Here’s to many more years of tail wags, purrs, and paw-sitive moments together! Thank you for being part of our pack! ❤️🐾

11/02/2024

✨ Nala was adopted ✨

Nala found her family this week, and I know she’ll be spoiled for the rest of her days 🥰
We love happy endings!!!

10/31/2024

Stopped giving updates as I’m too busy, but I’m going to try to get back into it…

Four cats off to the vet today for spay/neuter!

10/28/2024

Some happy news to share 🥳

MooMoo and Meadow have been adopted! Their foster mom just couldn’t part with them; they stole each other’s hearts 🥰
These two will be absolutely spoiled, and showered with love for the rest of their days ❤️ Thank you, Monika, for opening your home and heart to foster and adopt. I couldn’t be happier for these two, their cat sibling, and Mom, to have such a beautiful life together!

10/25/2024

Nala is about 6 months old. She is the sweetest little lady, and very affectionate! She loves to play with her ball tower, springs, and honestly just all the toys!! Nala is very cuddly, and loves her people so much. She is gentle and sweet, and will make any family very lucky to have her around for her cuddles and shenanigans 🥰

Nala does wonderfully with cats and dogs, and is ready to find her home!
Her adoption includes spay, vaccines, microchip, nail trim, flea/tick/earmite treatment.

Send us a message, or email [email protected], to learn more about this beautiful little lady!

10/23/2024

✨Taking Applications✨

Peach is about 1 year old. She can be shy at first, and takes time learning to trust her people. Peach would thrive in a patient home, where her people understand she needs time to feel comfortable and show you how affectionate and loving she is. I promise it is soooo worth it when you earn her love and trust!!
Peach will come around to her people quickly with lickable treats and quality time. She loves butt and back scratches, and enjoys playing with wand toys with her person! She is a quiet lady, who enjoys the simple pleasures life has to offer, like watching the nature go by, playing with her many toys (she loves springs and soft toys), or napping at the top of the cat tree.
Peach is also super goofy, works overtime at the biscuit factory, and has a suuuuper soft coat!! She has the quietest little baby meow; it’s adorable 🥹

Fun Peach Fact: She sticks her tongue out while waiting for wet food, or when playing with her favourite toys.

Peach does well with cats and dogs, and has lovely litter habits. Reach out if you would like to learn more about this cutie patootie 🥰

10/20/2024

A brief recap of some of this week’s ventures, and a reminder to be kind…

I know this is a bit long, so if you take anything away from this, I hope it is to be kind and understanding, not only with rescues, but everyone around you. We’re all in this crazy world together, and a little kindness goes a long way ❤️ (oh, and please spay and neuter your pets!)

🐾 On top of what’s pictured, we did things like: TNR planning for multiple colonies, had cats go in for spay/neuter, removed deceased cats from the street, had an urgent vet visit, and collaborated with other rescues to get stuff done (thank you, keep Faith Cat Rescue and Heidi's Kitty Haven).

🐾 We are all volunteers trying our best, however, there is a lot going on in the background, on top of working multiple jobs to try and reduce the financial load of this crazy community endeavour 😂 All I ask is for a little patience and understanding when interacting with any rescue.

🐾 We run into several instances each week where people are upset about things such as:
- Responding too slowly to a message;
- Not having open availability 24/7, or having to reschedule (after bending over backward trying to accommodate in some instances) when scheduling meetings, interviews, or adoption days (we don’t reschedule just for funsies)
- One of my personal favourites: Being closed for non-emergency intakes, which, often times results in people threatening to throw cats outside, or leave them to starve, and indicating it is our fault. Thank you for adding to the guilt we already feel 😂

🐾 Please research the rates of su***de and burnout in those who work in animal welfare and rescue. They do their best to accommodate people, and help as many animals as they can, but also ALWAYS have a thousand things to do. While you’re at home, cozying up on the couch after work or on weekends, or spending time with your family, they are heading to colonies, medicating and caring for who knows how many animals, running to second or third jobs, orchestrating vet days and foster placements, and constantly worrying about doing more.

Be kind. That is all it takes.
As always, please spay and neuter your pets ❤️

10/19/2024

💕 Here’s a little update about adoptable cutie Coconutty from her wonderful foster parents (may we also just take a moment to appreciate the beautiful photography skills of her foster mom!!)💕

“Ms. Coconut is settling in well after a couple of weeks with us! She is a sweet and gentle soul: Shy, but curious… Quiet, but silly. Her two favourite places in the world are the bathroom and windowsill. She took to her litter habits right away! She is still learning to be less scared of her foster dad, but when he sits to greet her, she enjoys rubbing for pets. She's great with her foster mom, and is slowly learning that she can be pet with two hands - not just one! - and that it's not scary.

With a slow introduction, she has gotten more comfortable with her two foster siblings. She loves to play with her foster brother, but, her foster sister's attitude, she is still trying to maneuver (don't worry, girl, so are we 😆).

After a few weeks, Coconut is finally joining everyone for movie nights in the livingroom, sleeping on the couch during the day in the presence of her foster siblings, and watching birds from the back of the couch in the afternoon.

Coconut is an active cuddler! She gets so excited for pets that her little body can't handle sitting still! 🥹❤️

She would do well with a family who understands that some cats are super affectionate without hanging around on your lap all day. She would do well with cats - especially active cats who like to play! - with a slow and guided introduction/household transition.”

10/06/2024

Guess who??? 🙈😂