Neighborhood Cat Lady

01/12/2025

We are finally recovering from the craziness of snow days, AMI (remote learning) days, and all the normal busyness of our house.

On Thursday we welcomed a short term foster, Elfi. Her story will sound very familiar. She is a tortie girl who came into the shelter with a severe upper respiratory infection. She is fully recovered, but does have some scaring on her left eye. Elfie loves people, but took some time to come around to the other foster kittens. By this morning when she left, she was doing lots better with them.

Friday the little kittens were due for their next round of vaccines, but with the snow that didn’t happen.

Yesterday I packed up the island boys, Genesis and Creed & Jade to go to the shelter. I got lots of exercise getting 3 carriers loaded and got quite the symphony on the drive to the shelter.

Besides vaccines, Genesis and the island boys had meet and greets with 2 different families. Genesis and Bali both went home with their forever families! Both families have kids and all were so excited to welcome these kittens into their homes ❤️.

Fiji & Tahiti and Creed & Jade then spent the day at the shelter ready to meet potential adopters. Fiji now has an adopter waiting once he has his neuter surgery. Creed & Jade almost had an adopter for both, but it didn’t quite work out. Hopefully those 2 will have some luck very soon, as they are so ready to be adopted.

Hope you all have also recovered from all the snow and have had a lovely weekend!

(Photo is Elfie - our temp foster for a few days. Her tortie coat has black, chocolate brown and tan markings. So pretty!)

01/10/2025

Gypsy wins the award for the biggest blep 😛!

01/07/2025

Guess who are taking applications? Samoa, the island boys and Genesis! Here is the link to their bios. https://www.petfinder.com/search/pets-for-adoption/?shelter_id%5B0%5D=MO424&sort%5B0%5D=recently_added
If interested in submitting an application please contact the shelter at 636-255-6400.

Each of these sweeties will be foster to adopt, as they have not been fixed yet. That means you get to take them home as a foster pet and will then finalize their adoption once they have their surgery. All kittens and cats are up to date on vaccinations, microchipped, and tested for Felone Leukemia & FIV.

01/06/2025

It’s the purrfect day to make a cuddle puddle!

01/06/2025

01/05/2025

How our little fosters are spending their snow day ❄️.

01/05/2025

01/04/2025

This advice isn’t just for cats, it applies to dogs and livestock as well.

01/03/2025

I happened to see this posted today. This has great ideas to keep drinking water for outside wildlife/feral cats from freezing.

01/02/2025

HOW TO HELP OUTDOOR ANIMALS DURING WINTER WEATHER:

Our area is forecasted to receive intense winter weather in a few days. Now is the time to develop a plan to help animals around your home and/or business. Below are sample instructions to make a feral cat shelter. There are lots of online tutorials to make these shelters using varying supplies. Feral cat shelters are an amazing way to help ferals, strays and small wildlife stay warm in winter weather. If you plan to use straw to insulate your shelter, you can find that at your local farm & home supply.

When making your shelter DO NOT put in towels, blankets or anything made of cloth in the shelter. If a wet animals comes into the shelter the fabric will absorb the moisture, then freeze. Straw will draw moisture away from the animals and help them use their body heat to stay warm.

If you’re able to put out dry cat food, it’s best to use dry kitten food to give them extra calories when they make it out to eat. For water, you can purchase a heated water bowl (I have one similar to this https://a.co/d/7NE78ag). Or if you have a block of styrofoam, you can hollow out room for a regular water bowl and inset it into the styrofoam. With this method the water may freeze over time, so you would just want to check it several times a day.

Once you have your shelter and food/water ready, placement is important. If you have a raised porch or deck, it’s great to place the shelter underneath where it is out of the elements. If that isn’t an option, other places can be tucked under evergreen trees or shrubs or even on a porch. Try to position the entrance hole in a way that the wind and rain/sleet/snow won’t blow into the shelter. For food and water, also try to set where they are shielded from the elements. Consider if you will be able to refill easily in that location as well.

If we get a lot of snow, you may need to shovel out a spot for animals to access the shelter. We do that and clear a path to the food & water, so as to limit the animals exposure to the deep snow.

Thx to all who worry about outdoor animals! And if you can’t do all these things, even keeping fresh water is appreciated by wildlife. We see many different animals come just for water in freezing temperatures. Take care and stay warm!

01/01/2025

Are you feeling like Creed today?

12/31/2024

Here are all our incredible fosters for 2024. Although we've had fewer arrivals than in previous years, Creed, Carl, Jade, Gypsy, and Tripp joined us in July, and three are still with us, thriving. Our total foster count has now risen to an amazing 121. ❤️ Here's to making a meaningful difference in the lives of many more little ones in need in 2025.

12/30/2024

Just a few snapshots from sleepy kitties today.

The little ones are doing ok without Samoa. Fiji, the longer haired kitten, seems to be missing her the most. Giving them all lots of love, distracting with toys and adding a stuffed cat for them to snuggle with tonight.

12/30/2024

This is very important when it comes to cats. Our Luna got ahold of a piece of fishing line several years ago. I rushed her the emergency vet. They were able to remove it thankfully. They were glad I didn’t pull on it, as it was wrapped around the underside of her tongue and would have caused her pain and injury. BTW - all fishing poles and lures are done out in the garage after that. So scary!

String, ribbon, yarn, tinsel (or icicles), dental floss, thread . . . all can cause problems for your pets.

12/29/2024

The past few days have been busy. Yesterday the 3 island boys had a trip to the shelter to get their first round of vaccines. I planned to take Genesis too, but she hid under the vanity. I also planned to take Samoa, but she too ended up hiding.

Today I was able to get both Genesis and Samoa, so they tagged along when I dropped Creed, Gypsy & Jade off for the day. It was strange that 4 carriers and 5 cats it was a quiet ride.

Genesis got her vaccines. Samoa stayed at the shelter, as she and the kittens are ready to be apart. I don’t foster many moms, and it’s moments like this that I hate. I just hope she understands she is loved and I had to give them all the chance to move forward.

Samoa will be available for adoption very soon. She needs a few days to acclimate to being alone and to the environment of the shelter. She is a sweet girl who will need some time to come out of her shell in her new home. Once you win her trust, she will let you pet her forever and reward you with lots of purrs.

Gypsy does have an adopter! I will be keeping her short term until she is spayed and her adopter is ready for her. Creed & Jade are still looking for their forever families.

Tonight we are giving extra love to the kittens. They are doing ok, but definitely are missing their mom.

12/27/2024

Sometimes you don’t need new toys to have fun. Let’s face it, fidget spinners aren’t very popular anymore. But to kittens it’s a fun new experience. All 4 were very intrigued and even delayed dinner to play. 😺

12/24/2024

Quick update for you all. Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, Gypsy and Jade came back to us today. The people that took them loved them both and gave me great feedback on how the girls had settled in during their time there. As expected, they both were at home with them pretty quickly. Wherever these girls finally end up, they are sure to bring lots of love, fun and cuddles.

Of course, Creed is happy to have his sisters back! I was worried about our schedule for the holidays and him being alone a good part of the day. Now he will have them for company.

(Photo is Gypsy napping by me tonight. I was able to just lean the hat on her head. I have tried for a week and nobody was cool with wearing it. 🎅🏼)