Mew-Mew House at Second Guess Farm ≡ Cat Retirement and Hospice

11/14/2025

Mew-Mew House is a forever home for cats who are elderly, ill, or overlooked. We give each cat a place to rest, heal, and be loved. Our mission is to ensure every cat’s final days are filled with comfort, care, and peace.

This Giving Tuesday, give the gift of comfort to a cat in need.

🌟 Mew-Mew House: a sanctuary for senior and special-needs cats — because every life deserves comfort and care. 🌟This Giving Tuesday, help give comfort and love to cats who need it most. 🐾Mew-Mew House is a retirement and hospice home where elderly, special-needs, and unadoptable cats can ...

10/14/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Good news Friends!

With your help, we've met the fundraising goal for this fundraiser.
I also finally have reached an agreement with the trustee and should be able to save the house for myself and the cats!

Your donations have topped off the need to cover the excess equity. Phew!

I have to write a big fat check this week, and then a bigger, fatter check in November. There will be a final payment due in January and then it's over.

I've already got the money for this week's check.

YESSSS!

I'm still a little nervous, however, because I'm not 100% certain that I'll see the money I'm expecting in November. There's no reason that it shouldn't show up as expected, but so many times I've been hit with surprizes, that I'll believe it when I see it.

I also have a few more thousand to raise for that final payment in January, but am confident that I can earn that myself through contract hours.

For the moment, I'm leaving this fundraiser open and I've bumped up the goal just for giggles. Whatever I wind up not needing will go straight to the cats, so it's a feline win-win no matter what happens.

Thank you so much, everyone, for your continued support. I am feeling so very, very relieved.

And it's all because of your kindness!

Here's a photo of Patches for cat tax. She's very happy. And quite demure.

10/10/2025

Good thing I took the day off from work. I'm trapped under two cats

10/08/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e
Yesterday, I lost my beloved Big Red. I had an update about him earlier in this campaign.
I'm so grateful I was able to give him a safe landing place and a peaceful end-of-life for his remaining years. The shelter was no place for him, but traditional adoption would not work.
My house, the one I've been fighting so hard for, is the safe haven that he, and other cats like him, need so desperately.
While this news is a bit of a downer, I do have good news to report.
Unless the court asks for something different, it appears that I will be able to satisfy their requirements and keep the house. It will still be financially challenging for a while, but your donations appear to have done the trick.
I have a court hearing in a week, during which I will learn whether or not what I have officially met their requirements. I'll keep you posted.
Meanwhile, I appreciate your continued support. If any money raised here is left over, it will be paid into Mew-Mew House's operating fund, so don't be afraid to continue to donate or share. It's always a win-win for the cats.
Thank you!

10/07/2025

Last night we lost Big Red.

He was already on hospice, so this was not a surprize, but it still hurts.

Run free big guy.

10/01/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Zeus got his happy ending when he landed at Mew-Mew House. He was a city cat who would not be contained, and that got him in trouble. He'd (most likely) been hit by a car, paralyzing his tail. It has since been amputated.

He still will not be contained, but he is much happier at Mew-Mew House where he has acres to roam, barns to visit, and far, far less traffic.

Cats like him have a short life expectancy in the city. There are just too many risks for a cat that is nearly impossible to keep inside. Plus, he has an aggressive streak that leads him to be kind of a menace to people and other pets.

At Mew-Mew House, he has space to roam and just be himself. He is a cuddler (when he wants to be) and seems to enjoy the company of Comet the dog.

Without this house, he would be in danger constantly. A typical urban home would put him in harms way, between unpleasant human interactions and run-ins with cars. His endless growls would cause people to fear him and take steps to 'get rid of him.'

This house is where he needs to be. But he can't stay if I lose this safe haven.

I pride myself in providing a safe landing place for cats with behavior challenges, and Zeus is one of those.

Please help me continue this mission. I need to keep the house.

Recent happenings suggest that I may yet be $4000 behind, even after what we've raised with this fundraiser so far.

Please keep sharing and donating. I'm determined to save my home - not just for me, but for these cats!

It takes a community. You're part of my community now.

Thank you!

09/29/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Big Red came to Mew-Mew House at the end of 2021. He's a perfect example of what I do for cats and why it's important to keep this house.

Big Red was part of a TNR (Trap-Neuter-Release) program in Yates County. After being trapped, he was discovered to be FIV+, that is, he has feline AIDS. Cats like this can't be returned.

Luckily, he was friendly, so the Yates County Humane Society put him up for adoption.

But at the shelter, he shut down. Worse, he developed a tumor on his neck. He was not going to be adoptable. My home was the perfect landing place.

The tumor was surgically removed a few months after his arrival at Mew-Mew House and he's lived her happily ever since. He's grown fond of me and asks for skritches and head bunts all the time.

Sadly, FIV has taken its toll and he's not doing so well any more. I consider him hospice now, and watch him every day for signs that he's ready to leave. For now, he still is happy and asking for attention every day.

Keeping my home, means keeping Mew-Mew House running, which means a happily ever after for cats like Big Red.

Let's keep going to build up this fund! We've already surpassed my initial goal, which astounds me. That initial goal was only part of what I need to keep the home, so let's keep going!

If we are able to meet and beat the real need (which would be another $4000), any excess will be donated directly back to Mew-Mew House.

No matter what you donate, the cats win!

Thank you all from the very bottom of my heart!

09/24/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Thank you everyone for all your support with this fundraiser. I can't stress enough how much my spirit has been lifted by your support.

When I started this fundraiser, I chose a modest goal thinking "there's no way I can raise that much money." You've all proven me wrong.

Truth be told, $2600 is only part way to my true goal. To reach the full amount needed, I'm cashing out me retirement accounts and directing paychecks from my second and third jobs to a larger pile of dollars. By the end of this week (or early next week), I have to provide the Trustee with a guarantee that I can pay whole required sum to keep my house.

I'm feeling optimistic, but I'm still scared.

I'm frustrated because this whole problem occurred not because of anything I did or didn't do, but because the housing market is weird.

I've decided to bump the goal up a little, because I'm still in danger, and some parts of my retirement withdrawal are not clear as yet. These are stressful times. Your support has made me feel brave enough to continue to ask for help.

To say thanks for your support, I have another story to tell. This is of Boots, pictured here.

Boots came from the Erie SPCA in Buffalo. You see, most animal shelters don't have the capability to deal with cats needing long-term health management. The Erie SPCA is no different and Boots is diabetic.

He's lived with me for several years now. He is happy to wear a harness and make appearances as Spokescat for Mew-Mew House. He tolerates twice-daily insulin injections and the little pin pricks needed to check his blood glucose.

His diabetes is under control and he is a friendly, happy kitty.

I have achieved a reputation for willingness to care for diabetic cats. Other rescues send me cats or refer people and pets in need to Mew-Mew House. At the moment there are three diabetic kitties in my house, all of whom need insuln injections twice a day and glucose curve measurements every couple of months.

Their lives are stress-free, which is important with diabetes. In fact, the stress is so low in the house that I am able to give the other cats subcutaneous injections or fluids if needed and the occasional prick for glucose measurement. The cats are all so comfortable that they just figure that's part of life as a cat.

Having this big home, and having space for cats to be cats without undue stress is an important part of my mission. Losing the house would mean losing the ability to care for cats like Boots, or other cats that would come later.

Thank you all so much for helping keep this dream alive.

And please keep sharing far and wide. Every little bit helps!

09/23/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Thank you everyone for all your financial support so far! Things are looking positive at the moment, assuming some critical, external pieces come together as I hope.

I have about one week to be able to assert that I will have the money required by the court to keep my house. I'm so close, but not quite there.

Please keep donating and sharing.

Story time:

One of the things I love about my house is that it's big. Big enough for cats that don't like each other (or being around other cats, even) to have space and peace.

When cats land here, they become cherished members of the family. There's no cages or closed doors. They just get to be house cats. Cats get a permanent, cozy home for the rest of their lives.

Speaking of cozy, pictured here are Arlen and Spike. I could never separate them or even consider adopting them away. Here's why:

Before Mew-Mew House was a thing, just as people were noticing what I was doing, I got a call from a lovely woman. She explained to me that she had terminal cancer and would I please take in some of her cats.

She sent Arlen and Spike to me knowing they were bonded and grateful for my promise that they would never be separated.

A month or so after they moved in, I received notice that she had passed. I held the two cats and cried for a person I had only spoken to once on the telephone.

This house is their home until they pass.

Please help me make sure that the above sentence is the truth.

I appreciate you all.

09/22/2025

https://gofund.me/c6930ce3e

Pictured in Ginger. She loves me. She loves me so aggressively that sometimes she bites.

That's why she is a resident of Mew-Mew House.

In 2020 a plea went out to please help this cat who was in danger of euthanasia. This cat was too aggressive and was attacking her person.

I of course, stepped in.

Ginger shredded me that first day. I've never been quite so injured by a cat. I wondered if I'd made a mistake.

It was not a mistake. She is a very loving cat. Great at the vet. Great with people. She just gets a bit nibbly when excited - which is why she could never be adopted out. No one is going to tolerate a bitey cat.

She is one of 34 reasons why I need to keep this house.

What I've asked for in this GoFundMe campaign is only part of the total that I need to raise to keep my house. I think I can come up with the rest, but if I didn't have to, that would be wonderful.

Rest assured, if this fundraiser beats its goal - if I raise more than I need - the excess would go straight to Mew-Mew House to cover the cost of vet care, special diets, enrichment, and end-of-life care for these cats.

I'm so grateful to everyone who's donated so far. You've given me the courage to be optimistic. I haven't felt this way in a very long time.

Thank you!