Shadow Cats

A dollar here, a dollar there. It all adds up. Can you please help, even just a little, so these cats who are a victim of hoarding, can get a fresh start in life?
Let's remember that hoarding starts off as not being hoarded at all. This person, as many others do, starts with good intentions. I'm sure the phrase "What's one more?" came out of the mouth from their owner many, many times.
Try not to judge and be happy the cats will now be taken care of properly.

Here is the link to help

Another year under our belts. Welcome 2014!

2013 was a busy and stressful year. But we were able to save a lot of lives. And though it's only January, we need to look forward to Spring. Many cats who will go into heat and have babies will do so around March or April. Then the same mother will go into heat around the end of June with babies being born in September.
Many, many unwanted kittens will be born. A lot of kittens will die from hypothermia. The one's who survive will be trapped and brought into animal control. Most will be sick and immediately killed. If a female is pregnant, a few rescue groups will pull them.
And the biggest heartbreak of them all, a shit head will bring in their 'pet' of ten years because they are moving and can't take it with them. I detest these individual's!
A few of us are still either fostering cats & kittens or have some in boarding from last summer. We depend on gifts and donations from you. Without YOU, the rescuing of these cats & kittens would not take place. It's the generosity from you that allows us to purchase food & litter, cover any medical cost and provide transportation to other rescue groups up and down the East coast. I personally want to thank each and every one of you. And I'll be the voice for them, "You have no idea how much we appreciate you!"

Christmas holiday season & funds needed for foster kittens

I'd like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a very merry Christmas!

I would also like to remind everyone this is a crucial time of year. Yes, we get tons of kittens during the spring and summer months. What makes this time so important is all the kittens from earlier in the year that didn't find a home are now at the age and size where the 'cuteness' factor may be on the decline or people just don't want an older kitten because they miss out on the growing personality of the cat.
I'm not above begging for help. I wish more people would beg for help so they could possibly keep their pet and get food through their local animal shelter long enough to get them through a rough patch.
I have a friend who I've been working with for several years now. She has paid thousands of dollars of her own money rescuing cats and kittens. She recently changed jobs and she took a pay cut. I don't have to tell you what that means. But I will anyway. It means less cats & kittens are going to be rescued.
Without funds, gifts & donations, we can not save as many as we'd like. There is a handful of us who work the East coast. We try to rescue as many cats & kittens as we can from high kill shelters here in NC. We also work with other rescue groups all the way up to New York. We also will do what we can in helping other rescues in nearby states transport all kinds of animals to places they will be safe.

Let me get back to the kittens we've not found homes for yet. They are now aged 6 - 9+ months old. At this point, we will have to find and rely on cat sanctuaries to take them in. That is if they have room.
And we have foster families who have room to home a few until a permanent forever home is found but these foster families need help with purchasing food, litter & medical expenses.

I personally have ended up keeping 8 older kittens the past few years because homes couldn't be found. Not only is it hard to find people to foster cats/kittens, if the few fosters we have end up keeping a quarter to half of all their fosters, they no longer have room to foster more that we could save.

So I am asking, no, begging for your donations this holiday season. You wouldn't think it would be hard to raise enough money to care for the cats. I look at how many so called Facebook friends I have and I can't get each of them to donate $1 a month. If I could get that from my friends and if my post is shared and someone else posts it and they have say 879 friends who also give just $1 a month, we could save just about every cat and kitten that gets brought into animal control. We're not asking for a dollar a day. Just one dollar a month.

This will be my last post until the new year. I have zero shame when it comes to saving cats and kittens and asking for help. Begging for help even.
I still have one foster that I need to get neutered and current on his shots. And I still have four total that I've had for months. We also have kittens that have been in boarding for months and if we are able to find another rescue, we will need funds to get them a medical certificate and pay for transportation cost.

So if you can, please share this with your own group of friends and ask them to share with their friends and so on and so forth. Just one dollar a month from 400 or 800 or 1300 or more people would change the lives of so many.
Gift cards to Wal Mart are also needed as they have the best price on food & litter. You can send an email for the address.

God bless you & yours this holiday season and God bless our four legged best friends.

I know it's been quite sometime since my last post. That's what happens when your back goes out on ya. I've spent a majority of my time in bed. My back is feeling a bit better. Well enough to sit here and update everyone. We are in dire need of donations for the cats and kittens.
I understand it's the holiday season but the rescued animals don't know that. They are just happy being in a comfortable setting. No cage bars to look at. Room to run and play.
Maybe I should do a drive like the Salvation Army or Toys for Tots. I see no difference in the plight to get toys for kids and getting funds to purchase food & litter for the foster kitties.
My fosters are content to play with empty bags of M&M's or a rolled up ball of tin foil. They don't know how much I stress over whether or not I'm going to have money to feed them or take them to the vet for check ups. And the biggest expense of medical certificates and transportation cost.
Please don't forget those of us who rescue these babies. Some rescuers never actually foster. The cats/kittens are sent to a vet directly from animal control and then taken to a boarding facility where they sit once again in a cage until they are adopted out or sent to another rescue. It's these babies who need your help the most.

I have never charged a fee to care for these fosters. They have a visit with my vet (Dr. Robinson) and then I open my home to them where they roam freely about the house until transportation is scheduled to pick them up.
I can't always foster due to my health. I also can not foster without the assurance someone is going to fund the foster's until they get on transportation as I have no way financially to care for them.
Please, during this holiday season, set aside a few dollars to help with the cost of rescuing.
Thank you and God bless.

Well, it's finally happened. While scooping litter for the foster's, my back went out. I'm going to need someone to step up and foster them.
I simply can not continue the bending and lifting of that much litter. The fate of my 6 fosters are going to rely on the folks who read this blog or see my links on Facebook.
My health is the reason why I stopped fostering a few yrs ago. But I continued to video and write about the cats and kittens at Gaston Animal Control.

I'm sorry. I never should have put myself in this predicament. And I hate it for the fosters. It was just supposed to be for a week or so.
And after nearly 7 months of bending & lifting, my back has had enough.

I'm in a real pickle folks. I've had these 6 foster cat's for over 7 months now. This was supposed to be a temporary situation.

I'm also having to beg here and on Facebook for donations or pledges to feed them and purchase litter for them. Let alone if another rescue can step up and take them, there are no funds for medical certs or transportation cost. And fleas were a big problem this year just like last year. As you know, flea medication is not cheap.
And all were sick when I was asked to take them in. It was expensive first for treating them for severe malnourishment, then ringworm and finally distemper.
What am I to do? What are the cats to do? Unfortunately, I've had them so long, they are now between 8 months to a year old. Well past the cuteness stage when they have the best chance of getting adopted.
All but one has been spayed/neutered. And he has a medical problem with his eyes which will make it more difficult to be adopted.

This blog was started to help give the cats & kittens jailed at Gaston Animal Control, Gastonia NC, a better chance of finding their forever homes. But I've had no time the past six months to go there, take video of them and then upload the videos to YouTube and tell their story here.
Don't get me wrong. I'm very happy the six I have were spared from dying. But winter is upon us and my own cats need their space back to stay warm and out of the cold.

Please, if you can spare a little, the donation button is to the right. If you would prefer to send a gift card, Wal Mart is the cheapest and I can get more for the money there. Email me, button to the right, and I will give you the address to send the card. If you would prefer to purchase the items, I feed them KitnKaboodle and I use Wal Marts brand of scoopable litter. There is only one Wal Mart in Lincolnton. You can purchase the items and give my name to pick up the items (Michelle Wright).
Most importantly, if you know of anyone who would love to give one of these babies a forever home, contact me. Or if anyone can take over fostering them, contact me.

And a huge THANK YOU to a few ladies who stepped up last month to help with food & litter. I pray for you because your pledges helped out greatly!

How long in limbo?

I know it's not anyone's fault. But I'm feeling defeated when it comes to the 6 fosters I have. In a previous post I described why I stopped fostering and chose to work more at the Gaston Shelter.
It seems like for every step I take, I get knocked back two. I did not intend to have these fosters this long (6 months). It has become increasingly difficult to care for them.
I didn't allow myself to get attached to these last 6. I've had one break, a mini vacation, back in May. But it's hard to make plans or travel about when I have these fosters. It's one thing to ask a friend or neighbor to come and put food out for my own cats. But no one wants to do two large litter boxes, enough that will fill a plastic bag in three days.

So I am asking, if not begging, for pledges/donations not only for their everyday care, but for future travel expenses. And if anyone who reads this blog, if you are interested in adopting one of these angels, my email contact is on the right. The donation button is also on the right.

This baby boy is named Paintball. He is very, very loving. A purrrrfect lap cat.

This is Lola. The vet believes she's near one year old. Very loving and she has been spayed.

This is Spiderman. He is about 10 months old, is a great cuddle buddy and has been neutered. Spidey needs to be an indoor pet. Just like his brother Sleepy, his eyes are also sensitive to sunlight. And white cats have almost a 100% chance of getting their ears sunburned and then diagnosed with cancer. The only way to get rid of it is cut the ears off. They do make a sunscreen for cats. But indoors is really the best.

This is Sleepy. He is blind in one eye. He's completely healthy but his eyes are very sensitive to sunlight. He will mostly do this himself, but if he doesn't get around to doing it, his eyes will need to be wiped once a day. He needs to be an indoor pet only. I can not stress this enough. INDOOR only pet. He is also around 10 months old.

This is Hootie. He is brothers with Spidey & Sleepy and approx 10 months old. Hootie is a big love bug. He is also neutered.

This is Egypt. Full of life and very playful. And when she's done, she wants to cuddle up with you. Egypt is approx.6 months old. And she is spayed.

These are precious babies. They deserve a permanent and loving home. I've had them for 6 months now. If you can't give them a home, can you donate a little to help with food/litter, medical certs. & transportation when a spot opens up? Gift cards to Wal-Mart are also welcomed. A 16 lb bag of KitnKaboodle is $9.98 and Wal-Marts brand of scoopable litter is $7.48 for 28 lbs. Thank you so much :) Meow!

I love my little Thomas. And he loves the cat bed that was donated by Mary. He won't sleep in it unless it's upside down. And the bottom shows the wear and tear.