Shelter Blog

Great News!

2010-11-30T10:51:00.001-08:00

I have been really bad about writing any blogs about what is going on at the shelter lately, but we had so many great things happen in the last few days that I have to share:

1. Spay-ghetti & No Balls was a tremendous success! We don't have final numbers, but just our portion of the Craft Fair raised almost $1200. The dinner is looking to have raised at least $9,000 to be split between FCCR, Animal House, & Larimer Humane Society!

2. We received word from the Foundation for the Protection of Animals that we are receiving a $2500 grant for our P.A.L. Program!

3. We received word from the Animal Assistance Foundation that we are receiving a $5000 grant for General Operating Costs!

4. Scarlett, the beautiful gray & white kitty that has been at the shelter for a loooong time is being adopted by one of our wonderful volunteers. Thank you Lauren Atkins for finally giving this sweet girl the forever home she deserves!

October Issue of "Cat People, An Inside Look at FCCR Volunteers"

2010-10-17T12:37:00.000-07:00

Cat People is a monthly (mostly!) feature highlighting one of our awesome Fort Collins Cat Rescue Volunteers!

Katy Quinn with Moochie

How long have you been volunteering for FCCR?

My life was empty and meaningless until I discovered FCCR about three and a half years ago. Since then it has been sunshine and rainbows!

What type of volunteer work do you do?

Primarily I am a foster home, but I also assist with fundraising, events, and the vaccine clinics. You’re all coming to Meow-loween, right? I want to see great costumes again this year!

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering for FCCR?

Tape rolling cat hair off every surface in my apartment.

How many cats (or other companion animals) do you have?

Technically, four cats that are mine. I am also trying to re-home a timid but sweet adult kitty that is not a FCCR foster kitty. Anyone out there want a nice cat?

If you could make one wish for FCCR, what would it be?

The nicest and friendliest staff and volunteers in the whole world. Oh wait! We’ve got that! I guess we’re good.

Second choice: the Pentagon’s budget.

Kalinda - An amazing story!

2010-08-16T15:13:00.001-07:00

Kalinda

A veterinary technician called us from Eaton Animal Den on Friday, Aug. 13th because someone had walked in with a kitten and requested it be euthanized. The people found the kitten as a stray and it was in bad condition. The vet clinic agreed to perform this procedure and took the kitten into the back and set it up in a cage.
Well, although this little ball of fire was very ill, it definitely wasn't ready to cross the Rainbow Bridge. The kitten was crying repeatedly in the cage and the veterinarian couldn't bring herself to euthanize her when the kitten still had so much spunk left.
So they called FCCR and we agreed to take the kitten. Well, to say that we were shocked when the kitten arrived is an understatement. As you can see from the picture, one of her eyes was so horribly infected that you couldn't even tell that it was an eye any longer. Her other eye was being held shut due to an ulcer that made it so incredibly painful that she didn't want to open it. She was dehydrated, starving, had an upper respiratory infection, and was filthy.
My first thought was, "This kitten needs to be humanely euthanized!". However, after spending a little time cleaning her up and giving her fluids, I also recognized that she had a lot of life left in her. I called Dr.Gloria who was kind enough to come in on her day off and look at the kitten. We also called one of our amazing foster moms, Jane Seik, to see if she would be willing to take the kitten through the weekend to see how she did. Jane obliged and arrived around the same time as Dr.Gloria. The kitten turned out to be a girl and Jane quickly named her "Kalinda". We put together a treatment plan for over the weekend, took a deep breath, and crossed our fingers.
Amazingly, not only did Kalinda survive the weekend, but she is doing AWESOME!!! She gained half a pound (yes, half a pound!), both of her eyes look ten times better (although she will still be completely blind), she is eating like a champ, and she is even playing with toys. When she came in for a recheck today she purred the entire time I held her.
I have to say that she is truly a miracle kitty. It is absolutely amazing how resilient animals are!!
To get back to the point of my story though.......Kalinda is alive because of YOU! The generous donations that were more than Gandalf needed for his treatment, will now go towards all of Kalinda's treatments.
We cannot thank you enough for your support. You are truly saving lives!

I will continue to keep you updated on Kalinda's progress over the next few weeks. Thank you for supporting FCCR!

4th Birthday Party Pictures

2010-07-21T13:49:00.001-07:00

*Thank you Laura Portalupi for taking all of these great photos at our big bash!!!!*

June Edition of Cat People

2010-07-16T13:28:00.000-07:00

Our AWESOME volunteer Kaitlin Davis with her kitties!

How long have you been volunteering for FCCR?

I have been volunteering for FCCR since November of 2008.

What type of volunteer work do you do?

I was doing the cleaning shifts until this past October, but now I volunteer with Dr. Gloria and help her hold the cats, and pretty much just help out with everything I can. I have learned how to do fluids, implant microchips and draw blood!

I get to prepare fecal samples for Dr. Gloria as well, and we joke that it is my favorite thing to do :)

Volunteering with Dr. Gloria has taught me a lot about what goes into caring for the cats at FCCR, and I am grateful that I have this opportunity to learn and help the kitties at the same time.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering for FCCR?

When I am not volunteering, I enjoy camping, backpacking, traveling and eating!

How many cats (or other companion animals) do you have?

I have two cats, Mitchell (Mr.) and Tigger (Tiggery), both of which I adopted from FCCR!

I adopted Mitch last April. Mitch is 4 years old and has FIV which deterred potential adopters, seeing as he was at the shelter for almost a year! But he is the sweetest cat who loves to give "Mr. kisses" on my nose. He also sleeps on my chest, my back...and sometimes on my head. I don't think he knows he is a cat, because he is terrified of spiders! Tigger is a 10 year old cat I adopted from FCCR in October. I couldn't help but notice his huge eyes, and his cute little baby face! I knew Tigger had cataracts when I adopted him and that he was almost blind, but we recently found out that he now has Glaucoma and is completely blind. He just needs an eye drop once a day, along with his pets and kisses :) I love both my kitties and I don't even know how I lived without cats for so long!!!

If you could make one wish for FCCR, what would it be?

I know FCCR needs a bigger facility, but what I would wish for would be for more people to understand the importance of spaying/neutering their pets because then FCCR wouldn't NEED a bigger facility :)

Attention Readers!!

2010-05-17T11:59:00.000-07:00

Old Firehouse Books is donating 10% per book to Fort Collins Cat Rescue for every preordered copy of A Dog’s Purpose by Bruce Cameron ($22.99 in Hardcover) due out in early July. Attached is some information about the book. If anyone you know may be interested in this book please send them this information.

Old Firehouse Books
232 Walnut Street
Fort Collins, CO 80524
(970)484-7898
www.oldfirehousebooks.com

New York Times Bestselling Author

W. Bruce Cameron

A DOG’S PURPOSE

A Novel for Humans

“I was seized with an inexplicable question, a question of purpose. This didn’t seem like the sort of thing a dog should think about, but I found myself returning to the issue often, usually as I was just dozing off for an irresistible nap. Why? Why was I a puppy again? Why did I harbor a nagging feeling that as a dog, there was something I was supposed to do?”

—Bailey in A Dog’s Purpose

We spend countless hours with our beloved dogs—playing with them, training them, or just hanging out with them—and we probably spend just as many hours wondering what our canine companions are thinking about. Now, New York Times bestselling author of 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter which was turned into the hit ABC series (starring the late John Ritter) and award-winning humor columnist W. Bruce Cameron brings us into the minds of our furry friends with humor and warmth!

In his latest book he turns to fiction for the very first time and offers a dog’s-eye view of the world. A DOG’S PURPOSE: A Novel for Humans is the remarkable story of one endearing dog’s search for his purpose over the course of several lives and explores the universal quest for an answer to life’s most basic question: Why are we here?

Told from the charming perspective of a dog named Bailey, whose name and breed changes with each new life, A DOG’S PURPOSE will touch every person who reads it—whether they have a dog now, haven’t had one since childhood, or even if they’ve never had one at all. Cameron’s clever narrative convincingly conveys what really could be going on in a dog’s mind and his gentle wit will have readers both laughing and crying.

Early readers are raving about A DOG’S PURPOSE!

Dr. Marty Becker, resident veterinarian on Good Morning America and the Dr. Oz Show said, “Finally, a fictional dog who is a real dog! Anyone who has ever loved a dog needs to read this wise, touching, often hilarious book,” and New York Times bestselling author Iris R. Dart called it, “A beautiful, uplifting, tenderly told, frequently funny, and exquisitely moving story…I am awash in the tears of recognition every dog lover will shed when they read this remarkable book.” Even Bruce Cameron’s future mother-in-law, who is not a dog person, wrote to him after reading A DOG’S PURPOSE and told him, “Now I can see why people love these creatures so much.”

Heart-warming, insightful, and often laugh-out-loud funny, A DOG’S PURPOSE by W. Bruce Cameron is not only an emotional and hilarious telling of one dog's many lives, but also a loyal dog's-eye commentary on human relationships and the unbreakable bonds that hold us all together, man and man's best friend alike.

Cat People - April Edition

2010-04-30T12:22:00.001-07:00

Leslie Quitmeyer with Sam

How long have you been volunteering for FCCR?

Right at 3 years.

What type of volunteer work do you do?

I’m on the board of directors, coordinate and participate in events and outreach, do foster care, and help with fundraising. But equally if not more important, me and a coworker set low-income people up to get their pet fixed for very cheap (thanks to PUP). Sometimes we even transport the pet and we’ve done about 110 pets so far. We can set that up for anybody.

What do you enjoy doing when you're not volunteering for FCCR?

I love dancing, cleaning actually, some sports, and Survivor. (If you watch Survivor, email me, we can talk about it).

How many cats (or other companion animals) do you have?

I have 2 8-year old kitties who have both had broken tails. Sam is featured in the picture and she fetches. Tucker is the other, and I have 2 new sweet, step-miniature pinchers.

If you could make one wish for FCCR, what would it be?

It’s hard to pick one so I could sum up wishes in merge, grow, save, expand, educate, and end over population

Children from the Lab School for Creative Learning Visit FCCR

2010-04-06T10:01:00.000-07:00

On Thursday, March 25th FCCR had the pleasure of hosting an educational hour at the shelter for 30 students from the Lab School for Creative Learning. The kids were FANTASTIC and had a great time. They learned what our shelter was for, why animals end up in shelters, what it means to spay/neuter and why it is important, and what it means to be kind to animals.

The kids were so energized and excited to share stories about their own pets and how they have been kind to animals in the past. They were great with the kitties and got to help serve the shelter cats canned food, and also got to play with them.

Before coming to FCCR the children collected supplies like paper towels, litter, and even money to donate. They also made homemade cat toys.

Although we were initially a little nervous about having such a large group of kids in our tiny facility, things went off without a hitch. We had such a fabulous time that we are hoping that this is something we can offer to other student groups that might be interested in visiting.

We greatly appreciated the teachers, Susan & Karen, for thinking of bringing the kids to FCCR. It is so important that we educate our next generation about the pet overpopulaton problem.

Take A Chance To Win This Quilt!!!

2010-03-26T16:13:00.001-07:00

Tickets are available for a
suggested donation of $5 each, or 6 for $25.

You can purchase them at Fort Collins Cat Rescue,

or either of the Poudre Pet & Feed Supply stores.

100% of the money goes to support the mission of
Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Spay/Neuter Clinic.
The drawing will take place at
FCCR’s 4th Birthday Party, June 6th.

The quilt is made from a collection called," Cat's Meow"; comprised of cat words on white fabric and yellow cheese fabric with tiny mice running throughout the cheese. The large paws are appliqued on the quilt blocks using a very soft shaggy fabric called minke - much like velvet. The final border is a border fabric of leashes and tags that runs around the perimeter of the quilt. Finally, the quilt is machine quilted with a beautiful pattern using red thread. The machine stitching makes the quilt durable enough to be enjoyed and washed in a large capacity washing machine on gentle cycle. Dimensions 63.5" x 76.5"
This quilt was created and donated by Barb Lloyd.

Sad Kitty Stories, but Good News Too!

2010-03-08T17:32:00.000-08:00

Today was a rough day for us at the shelter. We started our morning with a gentleman bringing a 6-month old kitten that he found in his window well. The sad thing is that they had been on vacation for the week before finding it, and the kitten had clearly been in the window well for several days. She is soooo skinny. She is a beautiful, short-hair, brown tabby. We have filed a found report to see if someone might be missing her.

Then this afternoon a couple came in with a tiny carrier and what appeared to be an emaciated momma cat and an emaciated kitten. The 2 kitties had wandered into their garage over the weekend. When I actually pulled the kitties out I realized they were both adult, neutered males. One of the kitties was so skinny that he weighed in at only 3 pounds!!!!!! I have never seen a cat that skinny before, that was still living. The strange thing is that these 2 cats are beautiful, pure-bred siamese kitties. There is the possibility that they are just lost, but considering the economy and the number of foreclosures in the neighborhood they were found in, it is likely they were abandoned. I guess being pure-bred doesn't help when your owners lose their home. :( Luckily our wonderful volunteer, Kaitlin Davis, offered to foster these 2 kitties. Kaitlin plans to go to vet school in the future and the care of these kitties will be good practice for her. They will need fluids at least once daily for several days, and a close eye kept on them while we try to get them back to a healthy condition.

This 1 year old kitty weighs 3 pounds.

Now the good news.....(drum roll please)........Chat Amour III raised over $38,000!!!!!!! Can you believe it? I am still trying to absorb this. That is $13,000 more than last year. It seems that our community TRULY cares about what we are doing and recognizes our dedication to these animals. Thank you community!!!!!!! Because of this support we will be able to continue our good work saving kitties like the 3 that came in today.

2 Very Special Kitties are Searching for a Forever Home!!

2010-03-03T11:46:00.001-08:00

Sweet Violet

Handsome Henry

On Thursday, February 18th at 8:30am I received a call from one of my employees asking if I knew anything about the 2 cats left on our doorstep in humane cat traps. I told her I definitely didn't know anything abou that, and my heart sunk realizing that we had just had two more "drop offs".

The next day I went into the shelter to meet our 2 newest residents. My heart melted when I saw their sweet faces. Although they were both very frightened, they allowed me to pet them and I immediately fell in love. Although it is frustrating to have kitties abandoned on our doorstep, at least the previous owners were well intentioned enough to look for a no-kill facility. They had also put the kitties cushy beds in the traps (the traps had been taken from behind our facility) which tells me that they really did care about these kitties and probably felt they had no other option.

In the last 2 weeks the 2 kitties have blossomed, and also received names - Violet and Henry. Violet is a beautiful, long-hair, gray kitty. She is blind in both eyes, but does very well considering this handicap. She is about 8 years old and has the sweetest disposition. You really can't help but fall in love with her. Henry is a handsome, short-hair gray kitty. He is about 5 years old and is very healthy. He loves to be pet and would love to have a lap to call his own.

When the abandonment first happened, many of us were infuriated. However, a friend told us that although it hurts to have cats left like that, that really we are receiving a gift and get the opportunity to find these animals a wonderful home. She was right....Violet & Henry have been a gift. Now we just need to find that wonderful home.

Spay Day a Huge Success!!!

2010-02-23T13:23:00.000-08:00

On Sunday, Feb. 21st, we had our official Spay Day event. Community members brought their female and/or male cats to be spayed/neutered for only $15. Every person that helped that day was a volunteer, and we were able to spay 23 female cats and neuter 32 male cats!!!

It was incredible!

Thank you to all of our wonderful volunteers that helped with the event:

Dr. David Robinson

Dr. Cynthia Johnson

Dr. Gloria Matsushita

Shelly Cornutt

Cat Kuhlmann

Kristina Guldbrand

Sarah Swanty

Susan Faulkner

Nicole Kenote

Jessica Cromwell

Katy Quinn

Carey Mastriona

Jane Seik

Katy LaFary

Jean Haukaas

Mary Wolf

Tonja Musa

Also a big thanks to Carol & Len Mahoney for arranging for food

to feed all our hungry volunteers!

VOLUNTEERS ROCK!!

2010-02-09T16:25:00.000-08:00

We just had such an exciting moment at the shelter that I have to share. The Scratching Post shown in the picture was donated to our organization (in rough shape) a little over a month ago. Our fabulous volunteer, Donna Weyer, took it home and her and her husband fixed it up and re-carpeted it. Then they returned it to the shelter to be used as a drawing prize. Drawing tickets were available for a suggested donation of $2. We received $164 worth of donations

for drawing tickets.

Another of our fabulous volunteers, Jane Seik, bought a bunch of tickets in hopes she might win because it is the perfect size for her condo. Well, the drawing was tonight and she did win!!!!!!!!! We were all so happy about it!

Thank you Donna & Gene! Congratulations Jane & Larry!

I'm Not Trash - I'm a Very Important Person!!!

2010-02-02T15:30:00.000-08:00

This little sweetheart was found in a bag in a dumpster today in Evans. Hard to believe that in this day and age people still do sick things like that, right?

If you are as horrified as I hope you are, then you are wondering what you can do to stop these things from happening. Well, we have a few things coming up that will help homeless kitties so they don't end up in a dumpster like this precious baby:

1. Chat Amour III - This is our large, annual fundraiser that raises thousands of dollars for our organization. There is a live & silent auction, sit-down dinner, entertainment, and much more. Tickets are $50 and are available for purchase from our website or at the shelter. The event is coming up on Feb. 13th, and the deadline to get tickets is Feb. 5th.

2. Spay Day Events! - My previous blog is about these events, but I have an update.

The low-cost Spay Day through our organization is actually open to both female & male kitties. As of right now all of the female spots are taken up, but there is still room for some more males. If you know of anyone that has a cat that needs to be neutered, let them know about this!!! It is only $15. (We plan to spay/neuter 60+ kitties that day. Isn't that incredible?!?!?!?!)

Here is the update on the Library Talk:

"Dogs, Cats and Other Critters: Every Pet a Wanted Pet"

Tuesday, February 23, 7:00 p.m. Main Library

In celebration of National Spay Day, join the folks from Larimer HumaneSociety, Fort Collins Cat Rescue and Animal House as they discuss howtheir organizations help homeless pets and how YOU can help make every peta wanted pet. "Ambassador animals" from each organization will be present to meet with adults and kids. Come early as seating is limited.

Last but not least, don't forget about our Giving Tree! All donations are tax-deductible and go towards the cost of spaying/neutering feral kitties.

There are many ways that YOU can make a difference for homeless animals! After all, they aren't trash - they are very important people! And as for the kitten found in the dumpster, she already went on her way to one of our wonderful foster homes. She will be available for adoption in about 1 week, and we are sure she will find a great home!

The Giving Tree

2010-01-25T11:39:00.001-08:00

Next time you come into the shelter you may be surprised to see a large tree in the corner of the reception area. What is it you wonder? Let me explain:

The Giving Tree is part of our celebration and fundraising effort for Spay Day - which is coming up quickly in February. We are doing several things to celebrate Spay Day including a surgery day that will be just for female cats on February 21st, and the surgery will only cost $15. Also a talk at the library with Larimer Humane & Animal House where we will discuss why spaying animals is so important and what our organizations are doing to help make every pet a wanted pet. This talk will be open to the public, and more information will be available soon.

The Giving Tree is a fundraiser for feral kitties. You can purchase an ornament for The Giving Tree and write whatever you like on it. The money will go towards spay/neuter surgeries for feral cats - which contribute hugely to the pet overpopulation problem. We also have a Giving Tree in the clinic, and the hope is to have both trees covered in ornaments by the end of February!!!!

We hope you will consider making a donation for this fundraiser. Whether it is $1 or $100.

Missy found a home!!

2010-01-19T19:35:00.000-08:00

Those of you that frequent the shelter and know all of the kitties in the adoption room probably just did a double take. Read it again if you have to because it is true......Missy was adopted! Let's all do the happy dance and cross our fingers that it works out for our loved and often misunderstood kitty friend.

Thank you to Otto for giving Missy a chance! This fiesty little girl has been waiting for a home since August.

Just goes to show that there is a purr-fect home for every kitty if you are just patient enough to wait for it. :)

$2,000 grant from Animal Assistance Foundation!!!

2010-01-14T15:32:00.000-08:00

We just received a $2,000 grant from Animal Assistance Foundation to use for the purchase of surgery packs . The packs will specifically be used for feral cats that are altered through our trap-neuter-return program.

Thank you Animal Assistance Foundation for this fantastic opportunity and for helping us to help the homeless cats in our community!
To learn more about Animal Assistance Foundation, please click on the following link:

http://www.aaf-fd.org/

Hooray for new cages courtesy of Fort Collins Animal Hospital!!

2010-01-13T15:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday the office manager at VCA Fort Collins Animal Hospital called us because they were getting rid of a bank of cages and they wondered if we would want it. Of course we jumped all over it, and today our fabulous volunteer, Randy Spence, went and picked the cages up and delivered them to the shelter.

They are used, but they are soooooo much better than the dog crates that we have been using in isolation for the last 3.5 years.

Thank you VCA Fort Collins Animal Hospital for the great donation!

You guys are wonderful for thinking of us!!

End of Year Numbers

2010-01-06T08:50:00.000-08:00

I can't believe we are already in 2010. It is amazing how quickly time goes by. I spent a good part of the day yesterday figuring out our statistics in regards to the number of kitties in and out for 2009 as it is required for any PACFA registered shelter to report this information every year. Here are our numbers for 2009:

Intakes:
Strays & Owner Surrenders - 876
Transfers from other shelters - 41

Outcomes:
Adoptions - 854
Died/Euthanized - 29
Returned to Owner - 2

These numbers compared to last year tell me that we were able to take in an additional 219 kitties in 2009 versus 2008. This also tells me that we not only met, but surpassed our goal of increasing our intakes by 20% in 2009. Hooray!!! This is amazing considering the poor economy. I am so proud of our staff, volunteers, and supporters for making our goal achievable!

Working Together

2009-12-31T07:47:00.000-08:00

I failed to mention in my last blog about one of the MOST exciting things that happened this holiday season:

On Dec. 12th the Animal Assistance Foundation put together an all day meeting in Greeley for any animal welfare groups in Northern Colorado that wanted to start looking at how they could work together to help even more animals. This is a very exciting thing because although all of the rescues and shelters have the same goal in mind, many of us have different ideas about how to reach that goal, and this can cause conflict between groups. The meeting was a huge success. A lot of the day was just getting to know each other, sharing successes, talking about obstacles, and figuring out how to work together.

The groups that attended the meeting included:
Fort Collins Cat Rescue
Northern Colorado Friends of Ferals
Animal Rescue Connection
Larimer Humane Society
Humane Society of Weld County
Dalmation Rescue
Every Creature Counts
Denkai Sanctuary
K9 Bed & Biscuit
Animal House Rescue
Colorado Unwanted Horse Alliance
Four Paws Pet Center
Fort Morgan County Humane Society
Union Rescue
*Duncan's Place (located in Loveland) had wanted to attend but was unable due to sickness.*

The name of this coalition is Northern Colorado Animal Welfare Coalition.

As the groups figure out ways to work together to save more animals I will share that on the blog.

Since then, Duncan's Place received a HUGE donation from Merricks (a pet food company). They donated 9 pallets of canned food. Because founder, Cathy Campbell, knew she wouldn't be able to use that much food herself, she called the other rescues and shelters in the area and told them she wanted to share.
Anna & I drove the shelter van to Cathy's home on Dec. 23rd where we found a group of people organizing and helping to distribute the canned food. Cathy & volunteers literally FILLED the shelter van with canned food. This food will not only be used for our shelter kitties, but will also be given to caretakers of feral cat colonies and cat owners that are on hard times and need help feeding their cat(s).
Cathy's generosity is one of the first of what we hope will be many gestures of different rescues and shelters working together. Thank you Cathy!

So Much Great News!

2009-12-28T10:20:00.000-08:00

Many people are dying to know if we met our $3000 goal for the matching donation. The answer is YES! Not only did we match it, but went quite a ways over it. Hooray!! Thank you everyone for your generosity. FCCR is going to have a great start to 2010 thanks to our wonderful community that cares about these animals and FCCR's mission.

In addition, 2 of our wonderful supporters bought us a new washer and dryer. Both of our previous machines pooped out right before Christmas, and it is awfully hard to run an animal shelter without a functional washer and dryer. Thank you Len & Carol Mahoney for doing all of the research on new machines and donating them to us! Also a big thank you to staff member Mary Wolf for doing all of the laundry at her house for the week that we didn't have a functional washer and dryer! Now that is dedication!!

Last but not least, we received a BEAUTIFUL afghan from a group that calls themselves Afghans for Animals to use as a fundraiser. The afghan is 6 feet x 4 feet and has kitties on it. It was made by Lisa Craft who is the founder and coordinator for Afghans for Animals. We will be doing a drawing for the afghan. You can receive tickets to the drawing for a suggested $2 donation each. The drawing will take place on Jan. 31st. Pictures are below. :)

I LOVE this time of year!

2009-12-15T11:29:00.001-08:00

Kaitlyn the Kitty enjoying the new
cardboard scratcher that was donated today!

This is the best time of year to be the director of a non-profit because people are so generous. We just had 2 of the nicest women (Darcy & Tracy) come in and donate 1 or more of EVERYTHING on our wish list! Tracy had asked Darcy to make a donation to FCCR as her Christmas present, so the 2 of them went shopping for the kitties together.

They brought the donations in and then got to go into the adoption room to give the kitties their new cardboard scratchers and treats. It really made the kitties' day!

Thank you Darcy & Tracy for your kind hearts, and thank you to everyone else that is donating to FCCR for the holidays.

Great Opportunity for Making Your Year-End Donation Go REALLY Far!

2009-12-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

I just received word that one of our supporters has a challenge for the rest of our supporters: Donate at least $3000 by the end of the year, and her and her husband will top it off with a $1500 donation!!!!! Things have been extremely tight at the shelter lately with the economy, and this could really help out the kitties.
If you have been thinking of sending in a donation, now is a really good time to do it!!!!!

De-Clawing has been banned in San Fran!!!

2009-11-20T13:24:00.000-08:00

MSNBC.com
California cities scratch out declawing of cats
‘It's a form of animal cruelty’ says San Francisco supervisor Ross Mirkarimi
PeoplePets.com
updated 10:34 a.m. MT, Fri., Nov . 20, 2009
Don’t have your cat declawed in San Francisco, or West Hollywood, or you could face fines up to $1,000 and six months in jail. This month, the city by the bay became the first major metro area in California to outlaw the veterinary procedure, and was soon joined by Santa Monica, Berkeley and Beverly Hills. Los Angeles is expected to enact the ban next week.
"It’s a form of animal cruelty," San Francisco Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, a major supporter of the ban, tells PEOPLEPets.com. "It would be unconscionable to ignore that fact."
The San Francisco board of supervisors voted 9-2 to enact the ban, which would prohibit anyone in the city from declawing cats and penalize consenting pet owners. "It’s a form of amputation and would render the cat defenseless if it were attacked," says Mirkarimi, who has owned rescue animals in the past.
Instead, anti-declawing advocates encourage owners to provide scratching posts as an alternative to declawing their cats to protect their furniture or have a professional groomer dull the claws. West Hollywood has had a declawing ban on its books since 2003. The practice is banned in a slew of other countries, including the U.K. and Australia.
The recent flurry of local ordinances have been opposed by the California Veterinary Medical Association, which argues that pet owners and their vets should determine declawing.
"Veterinarians must be allowed to make qualified medical decisions in consultation with their clients and upon a proper exam and understanding of the pet’s home environment," the association said in a statement. "This is the only way to provide the best course of treatment and assist the owner in making the best decision for their family pet. That may include removing a cat’s claws in a humane manner with proper pain management to prevent that animal from being abandoned at a shelter, tossed out on the street or euthanized."
One of the dissenting Bay Area supervisors, Michela Alto-Pier, told the San Francisco Examiner that the board was overreaching its charge and should stray from such medical decisions.
But Mirkarimi says the law does have a medical necessity clause to protect the cat, adding that the California state legislature forced municipalities to act after the state passed a new statute to restrict cities from regulating veterinary medicine and medical procedures after Jan. 1, 2010. "They hijacked our authority and forced our hand," he says.
URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34063281/ns/today-today_pets_and_animals/

Discgivings Success

2009-11-13T15:18:00.001-08:00

The Discgivings Fundraiser that occurred on Saturday, Nov. 7th was a HUGE success.

Disc Golfers came out for a day of fun that ended up generating almost $4000 in donations for Fort Collins Cat Rescue & Animal House! It was absolutely incredible!

A huge thank you to Sue Lande for working her tail off, and all of the sponsors of the event!

FCCR got new kitten cages thanks to the Linnea Memorial Fund!!

2009-10-23T11:51:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, June 6th of 2009, a Pet Walk and Adopt-a-Thon occurred at Spring Canyon Community Park. It was put on by the Linnea Memorial Fund and was very successful. An incredible amount of money was raised for community shelters and rescues, and Fort Collins Cat rescue was one of the beneficiaries.

The money raised for us was used to purchase a nice bank of cages to display adoptable kittens in our reception area of the shelter. Before we were using wire cages that were hard to clean, difficult to maneuver, and looked ugly. Thanks to Linnea Dick we have saved time, money, and have more comfortable housing for our adoptable kittens. Here is some information from the Linnea Memorial website:

"In May of 2008 Linnea’s life was tragically and unexpectedly taken, but her spirit and passion for animals lives on through the Linnea Memorial Fund that cares for animals in need through donations to local animal charities. Although Linnea lost her life, she will still make her mark on this world. She is helping change the world through the Linnea Memorial Fund by making it a more positive place for animals and people. Linnea will not only be missed by family and friends, but by all of the animals in her short but very significant life. "

FCCR encourages you to visit the Linnea Memorial website to learn more about Linnea and how her memory continues to help animals in distress: http://www.linneamemorial.org/

2 Big THANK YOU'S!!

2009-10-08T15:27:00.000-07:00

First to Deb Valdez who works at the Distribution Center for Sam's Club and helped us to receive a $1,000 grant to go towards the replacement of the equipment destroyed in the fire.

Thank you Deb!!!!!!

Second to the Poudre River Public Library District for the $3000 donation!!! We were the group chosen this year for Readers to the Rescue, where kids read a certain number of hours to raise money for the shelter. The kids did an amazing job and were so dedicated. Hearing about their excitement towards helping homeless kitties gives us all the "warm fuzzies"!

Are you ready for.....Meow-loween?!?!?!?!

2009-10-06T12:35:00.000-07:00

Fort Collins Cat Rescue is having a FABULOUS Meow-loween party on Friday, Oct. 30th, and you are invited!!!! The party is taking place in the Agave Room at Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant located on Mountain St. in Fort Collins. The party is from 7pm - 11pm.

There will be LIVE MUSIC from Chatoic Serenity (an awesome band - http://www.myspace.com/chaoticserenitygirls), Costume Contests, dancing, a cash bar, door prizes, and more.

Tickets to the event are $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Food is included.

You can purchase your tickets online by going to www.blacktie-colorado.com/rsvp and entering event code: FCCR10/30.

This is your chance to party and have a great time while supporting

the Fort Collins Cat Rescue at the same time.

Meow-loween is being sponsored by our friends: Aspen Grove Veterinary Care!

Thank You for the T-Shirts!

2009-09-30T12:12:00.000-07:00

We just got a great surprise this morning. Go West T-Shirt Company dropped off some FCCR

t-shirts that they printed for us for FREE!!!!! There are a limited supply, so come and get yours today. They are available for an $8 donation. Above you can see Dr.Gloria modeling the new shirts. Just think, you could look as stylish as her if you come and get an FCCR shirt!

Want to find out more about Go West T-Shirt Company? You can visit their website at: http://www.justgowest.com/

The Calendar is in!!!!

2009-09-29T10:30:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful volunteer, Jan T., just dropped off the 2010 FCCR calendars,

and they turned out absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

The cost to own one of these beauties is only $20 -

ALL of which goes towards the homeless kitties in our community.

A HUGE thank you goes out to Nicole Habel of The Image Gallery: imagegalleryinc.com. Nicole is a professional photographer that does beautiful work, and graciously offered to put together the FCCR calendar for the second year in a row.

It took hours of her hard work to create such an impressive product!

We also owe a thanks to Friendship Hospital for Animals who helped to choose

the 12 winners for this year.

An extremely hard task when you have over 70 adorable pictures to choose from!

I also want to mention that earlier this month I lost my 3-year old kitty, Squishy, in a tragic and heart-breaking accident. Quite a while before the accident I had submitted a photo of him for the calendar. His picture was not chosen to represent one of the months, but a picture of Jan's kitty was. When Jan found out about my tragedy, she selflessly had the photo of her kitty, Margo, replaced with the picture of my Squish. I had no idea, and when the calendars arrived today and I turned to September, I burst into tears.

Thanks to my friend, Jan, I get to share Squishy's memory with anyone

that purchases one of our calendars.

I am deeply grateful.

There are only 100 calendars available for purchase, so get yours while they last!!

Frisbee Golf Anyone??

2009-09-26T14:45:00.000-07:00

Just recently got great news from Sue Lande (a proclaimed animal lover and awesome woman) that FCCR has been chosen as one of the recipients for this years discgivings! Our good friends , Animal House Rescue, are the other recipients.

Want to find out more?? Visit: www.discgivings.org

Regardless of what you like to do there is always an opportunity to do it while helping the kitties!!! Thanks Sue!

Meet Tiger!

2009-09-21T13:37:00.000-07:00

Everyone meet Tiger our latest addition to our shelter. Tiger is a male 6 month old domestic medium hair, male, grey tabby that was relinquished to us. He is extremely sweet and loves to snuggle with everyone. See the video of him loving on Judy....... this could be YOUR ear lobe!! Come meet Tiger today!!

Shred-a-Thon Success!

2009-09-18T09:00:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday we had a first Shred-a-Thon fundraiser which was organized by our fabulous volunteer, Claudia Arbaugh. The fundraiser was a huge success and raised an incredibl $1100 in just 4 hours!

Thank you to Apex Shredding (http://www.apexshreddinginc.com/events/) for providing this fundraising opportunity!

Also, thank you to King Soopers for allowing us to have this fundraiser in their parking lot.

And of course thank you to the volunteers that helped run the fundraiser, and to all of the individuals and businesses that came to shred some paper!

The kitties will benefit due to all of your generosity!!!!

Good News!!!

2009-09-01T16:54:00.000-07:00

We have been so busy these last few weeks that it has been hard to write any updates, but we have lots of good news!

We finally had a van donated to us thanks to the generosity of Jim Madl!!!! Brian K. is working on some FCCR decals for the van to spruce it up!

Cats in the Garden at Bath Garden Center and Nursery was a huge success! We just received a check for over $700!!

Also, we received a check for over $2000 from Natural Balance due to the diligence of the Poudre Pet & Feed staff. They cut the UPC's off of all of the bags of Natural Balance that they sell, and send them in. Natural Balance then makes a donation for each UPC.

Thank you, thank you!!

Calendar Contest!!

2009-08-07T12:44:00.001-07:00

Hey Everyone -

If you haven't heard yet, we are accepting pictures of your precious babies right now for Fort Collins Cat Rescue's 2010 calendar. It is $15/entry, and your kitty is guaranteed at least a thumbnail somewhere on the calendar. Of course all of the money goes to help the homeless kitties that come through out shelter (today we have already received a mom with 7 kittens, a single kitten with radial hyperplasia, and an adult cat from a homeless family).

Please get your pics in soon - the deadline is Aug. 15th. We are looking forward to seeing your little models! You cn find all of the information on our website at http://www.fortcollinscatrescue.org/

Sarah

This is the picture I submitted of one of my kitties (Squishy). Isn't he a doll?!?

Baseball Goes to the Cats!!

2009-07-30T15:36:00.000-07:00

On June 28th the General Manager/Owner of the Fort Collins Foxes, Kurt Collichio, invited us to have a booth and bring some adoptable kitties to their baseball game. It was also the Throwback Jersey Game where the players where special baseball jerseys which are auctioned off. All of the money raised would go to help the kitties at FCCR.

We set up a booth with all of our information, and also brought along an adult cat and a kitten: Jake & Chase.

Our wonderful volunteer, Chandra, came with me to help man the booth. Jake had a lot of fun hanging out on our table and being the center of attention! At one point he even gave the kitten a bath. We also loved seeing the Foxes players checking out the adoptable kitties notebook, and petting Jake & Chase.

We had lots of FTC Foxes fans come over to meet the kitties and learn more about our organization. The kids especially loved meeting the kitties - and Jake hammed it up for them!

We also got some donations!

Kurt Colicchio is a cat lover, and has been a huge supporter of FCCR.

He is a great guy and we really appreciated the opportunity to represent FCCR at the game.

In addition, the jersey auction raised $150 for the homeless kitties in our community.

Hooray!

Rising From the Ashes

2009-07-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

It has been just over 2 weeks since the tragic fire in our spay/neuter clinic ocurred on 7/11/2009. A malfunctioning autoclave had burned and combusted. The fire stayed contained in the autoclave, but the smoke ruined everything in its path. It is impossible to describe the damage that was done. A layer of soot coated every square inch of the clinic, and the smell of fire had seeped into everything. The worst loss of course was Strut, the clinic cat, because he is the one thing that cannot be replaced.

(Strut helping Carey work just days before the fire.)

The total losses come to over $25,000. We are waiting to hear what the insurance will cover, but at the absolute most we can expect $20,600.

Thanks to the community, we are slowly rising from the ashes. Wonderful volunteers spent a week cleaning and re-painting the entire clinic. (It is a miracle that we were able to re-open in a week!) We have had over $6,000 in donations at this point from people that support what we are doing. Businesses like VCA Fort Collins Animal Hospital, Petco, and Home to Heaven made generous donations to help out.

Thank you community!

The old Autoclave, Inside the Autoclave, The Soot that Covered Everything

Cat works hard Painting, Carey takes a break to smile, Thank you Bonnie!

Cleaning Machine Shelly, Cindy helps paint, Brittany also helps paint

The clinic with its new coat of paint. It looks so cheerful!

We Be Three!!!!

2009-06-06T09:01:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Birthday to Us, Happy Birthday FCCR...........

Happy Birthday to Us!!!!!

Sunday, May 31st we celebrated our 3rd birthdy, and it was a BLAST!

Thanks to our wonderful volunteer & board member Leslie's hard work (and the work of a lot of other volunteers), not only did everyone that attended have a great time but we also raised over $3,000 for the kitties.

The birthday party was family friendly and had great food prepared and donated by volunteers (Yum!), a 'Litterbox Prize Scoop' that the kids loved, fabulous party favors, the chance to win the most BEAUTIFUL quilt (made by our wonderful voluntter Barb Lloyd), pottery donated by the Potter's Guild (thank you Susan!!!!!!), a charity lemonade stand by Wyatt & Rylee, adoptable kittens & cats, and more!

All in all it left us with big smiles on our faces!

Thank you to everyone that helped make the birthday party such a success. I'm already looking forward to our 4th birthday party! :)

I'm glad the month of May is almost over.....

2009-05-29T13:51:00.000-07:00

This month has been a very hard month for us. We have taken in close to 100 homeless kittens - many of which came from bad situations and were sickly. I think we can officially say that kitten season is here.
We lost several kittens to disease. We will never forget the little ones: Blaze, Edison, Hawthorne & Jupiter. They were loved.
We also had 2 cats returned from different homes, but both had foreign body obstructions in their intestines. One of course was PFP with the 4 feet of sewing thread, and the other was Lucy who had a chunk of rubber stuck in her intestine.
With the bad economy we are getting more and more requests from people wanting to surrender their pets because the have lost their job, their home, or in some cases both.
We had yet another kitty, Mr. Kitty, left on our doorstep last week. I was quite surprised last Thursday when I returned to the shelter at 7pm to get my car after an event, and found a cat on the doorstep.

It's not all bad news though, and I need to take some time to focus on some of the positive things that have happened:

1. Arfy's Mercantile now has one of our adoptable kitties at their store in hopes that someone will come along and fall in love. Our first kitty we had there, Lilly, was adopted 2 weeks after arriving to Arfy's. Currently we have a wonderful, 7 year old orange tabby named Pauly that is hanging out at Arfy's waiting for his forever home to come along.
Thank you Robin for giving us this opportunity!!!!

2. Aspen Grove Vet Clinic has partnered with us for the month of June and will have adoptable kittens at their clinic throughout the month. They will be offering specials to the adopters of those kittens. On Tuesday we took Latte & Cocotte over there, and they have both already been adopted. We will be dropping a new litter off at their clinic tomorrow.
Thank you Robin, Jamie, & Dr.Bobby!!!!!!!!

3. We have raised over half of the money needed to pay for PFP's surgery. A big thanks to the recent donors: Mary W., Donna W., and Johanna M.
PFP had her staples out on Wednesday, and is back in the adoption room and up to her usual hijinks!

4. Our wonderful Jan L. renewed her Smitten with Kittens membership at the Top Cat level. Lela C. upgraded her Smitten with Kittens membership to the tabby level. Thank you Jan & Lela!

5. Our birthday party is Sunday! Of course we can't help but be excited about that. It's hard to believe we will be starting our 4th year in just a few days.

We hope to see you Sunday at our Birthday Party!

Our first onecause check came today!

2009-05-22T15:53:00.000-07:00

Thanks to those of you that have done your online shopping
through onecause.com. We got our first check today for $37.81.

Thank You!

2009-05-22T09:20:00.000-07:00

A Huge Thank You to Suzanne R., Chandra K., and Keri W. for their generous donations towards PFP's medical bills!!!!!

We are almost half way to our goal!

Here's a vidoe of Miss Fancy for your enjoyment!

PFP Update

2009-05-20T14:06:00.000-07:00

PFP is doing great today!

She is ready to run around and play,

and thanks to James C.'s generous donation

we have already raised

1/10th of the money needed for her medical bills!

Thank you James!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You're the best!

Watch your lunch everyone! Knockturn is hungry!

2009-05-20T13:44:00.000-07:00

Knockturn is a 7 week old kitten that came in last week with 15 other kittens, from the same home! The stress of a new house, new food, and being de-wormed made his stomach a little more than upset. His foster home brought him in yesterday because he wasn't feeling very well.
After treatment for a bacterial overgrowth and dehydration - and lots of TLC from his foster home, Knockturn was feeling much better today.
When he came in for a re-check today he tried to steal Judy's veggie chips. Then he discovered her burrito and decided he liked that MUCH better.
Don't worry though, we only let him have a bite and then it was back to boring old kitten food.
We all had a good laugh though, and thought you might too.

Check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lB9JMDnRGNk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bslRm6S1R0I

Princess Fancy Pants needs your help..

2009-05-18T11:50:00.000-07:00

Most of our volunteers, and many of our supporters may remember a precious little black & white kitty that was at our shelter for several months named Princess Fancy Pants.

After all, with that quirky personality and adorable face to go with it, who could forget her?

Well, PFP (as we call her for short), has had a rough time

lately and could use some help.

Here is PFP's story:

PFP was originally brought to FCCR in May of 2008. Her name was just Princess,

but we decided to add on the Fancy Pants part. At the time we

had no idea how well the name would fit.

PFP lost her home because of her previous owner's disability.

She was no longer able to care for this sweet little kitty.

PFP has a very unique personality. She is easily overstimulated, and doesn't like to be held.

She LOVES toys, especially fluffy balls, and loves being pet.

She is one of those special kitties that takes a

true cat-lover to appreciate. A.K.A.: FEISTY!

Because of her personality, PFP was at our shelter for several months

before being adopted. She was adopted just before Christmas,

and we were all THRILLED that she would be home for the holidays.

An update with her adopter 3 months later told us that PFP

was doing well in her new home.

Unfortunately, 6 months into her new home PFP got sick.

Not just a little sick, but REALLY sick. The veterinarian

wouldn't know what was wrong with her without taking radiographs

and doing other diagnostic work.

PFP's new adopter could not afford what PFP needed, and immediately called us for help.

At FCCR we are 100% committed to every kitty that comes through

our doors for life.

We immediately told the owner that we would be more than happy

to take PFP back and do whatever needed to be done.

Conveniently, the veterinary hospital that PFP was

already located at just happened to be one of the

veterinary hospitals that is highly supportive of what we do.

Fort Collins Animal Hospital!

Dr.Steyn told us that she would help us out with the medical costs for

what PFP needed.

Radiographs of PFP's abdomen showed that she had something obstructing her intestines. She would have to go to surgery.

4 HOURS later, Dr.Christie Long finished closing PFP up after removing

4 feet (yes, 4 feet) of sewing thread from PFP's small intestine.

This poor little girl's intestine had perforated (ripped) in 13 different places.

She had to have 26 inches of small intestine removed.

That night PFP was taken to the VCA Emergency Hospital for overnight care.

The following day PFP had to receive a blood transfusion.

The blood was grudgingly donated by one of Fort Collins Animal Hospital's

clinic kitties, Kitty Kitty.

To make a long story short-er, PFP had to have a massive

amount of medical care.

She is not out of the woods yet, and may have complications with digestion in the future.

We are incredibly grateful to Fort Collins Animal Hospital for saving this

precious life. They went above and beyond the call of duty, even though

they knew it was partially a charity case.

Now we need to ask our community's help with 2 things:

1. We need help paying for PFP's medical care. Although Fort Collins Animal Hopital gave us a more than generous discount, they do need to recoup some of the money spent. FCCR needs to raise $1,000 for our sweet girl. Trust me, her life is worth it!

2. PFP needs a forever home. A home with someone that can afford to take care of any veterinary needs, and that will love her for who she is.

Someone that doesn't sew would be an extra bonus. :) Just kidding, but you would need to put the sewing thread away when you were done using it.

If you are interested in donating to help Princess Fancy Pants, you can do so in several ways:

1. Online at http://www.fortcollinscatrescue.org/ Just click on the Donate Now button.

2. By mail - 2321 E. Mulberry St. #1 Fort Collins, C) 80524

3. In person! This way you can meet PFP, and we can thank you in person!