I was finally able to get some photos of the lost mother cat. Her name is Pee Wee although she does not have a collar. These aren't the greatest photos in the world but it gives you an idea of what she looks like. If you live or work anywhere near Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Northridge, or any other nearby areas and you see or find a cat that looks like her, Please let me know. You can reply to this post, email me here or call the number on the craigslist ad. CLICK HERE to read the ad.

Got yet another email about dogs that have been found and need homes. The two dogs in question are a poodle mix and a terrier mix. Check out their photos and read the story from the person that found them.

Aren't they cute?!

Jodi (I think) with the dogs.
Not sure where the dogs are but I know they are in the 626 area code. Regardless of where you live, if you're looking for a dog, here's another chance to adopt some really cute ones. Here is her email (some of it has been edited):

About 3 weeks ago my sister, Loretta, was at a Park and saw three little dogs running in a dump area looking for food. She said that bystanders had seen them there for a few days and were pretty sure that is where they lived knowing that they can find scraps of food there. Loretta told me that a couple said that they tried to get the dogs to come to them to no avail. So my sister Loretta parked her car near the dump, under a shady tree, opened all her car doors and waited them out 1 whole hour before they all sat around her car. One even jumped in the vehicle and was laying in there to rest.

They were so matted, dirty, and full of flees and ticks yet my sister found it in her heart to take them with her and call me to help. When she first arrived to my home she let them out of the car and we gave them food and water. All 3 seemed just so happy to have people around them and more then happy to just hang out with us. From this point we felt God sent us these 3 precious dogs and that it was our duty to help them. So, we first took them to the pound and let them keep them for 5 days in hopes that they would have a chance to be adopted. We were blessed. One of them had been adopted within that five days. As for the other two it was curtain call time, if you know what I mean so I adopted them out of the pound. The last 2 weeks have been an amazing transformation for these 2 loving dogs. From living in the park dump, matted/dirty and filled with flees and ticks they are now spayed, micro chipped, been given their shots and have even had a trip to the groomers with a nice hair cut and flee and tick dip bath and are in good spirits.

We believe that one is definitely a poodle mix of some sort and the other is terrier mix. The Poodle mix is a white male and the terrier mix is a girl. The doctor at the pound believes that they are both about 1 year of age and that the female terrier mix has had a litter of puppies in her short life already. Both are really sweet dogs. The are good around children and would be a great loving companion for someone who needs a pal 24/7 around the clock.

We need to give these two dogs a good life now. Both are very loving and kind. They love to be together and we would love to find a family willing to take them both in. But if not, we can find each of them a loving family. Their first year of life has not been so good so we ask that if anyone is interested in giving both or even just one of these dogs a home that you take into consideration the following:

You have the time for an animal (s)
That lots of love can be provided
We prefer to find homes that will allow them to be indoor family members and, if possible, have time for nice walks. We are willing to do test trials on a temporary basis if needed. We don't want anyone to feel obligated to keep them if it doesn't work out. We are more then happy to take them back and keep trying until we find the perfect homes. Besides, more then anything, we want you to be just as happy with your possible new doggie as we want them to be just as happy with their new possible owners.

If you or somebody you know might be interested or have any questions, please contact me, Joni, at 626-488-4238. This is my cell number. If I don't answer please leave your name, number and a good time to reach you and I will be happy to call you back as soon as I can. Thank you so much!
God Bless you all
Joni

Not the kitty I caught but this is what he/she looks like!
Yes I skipped a day of blogging because yesterday was extremely busy. I've got several things to write about including a dog that is looking for a home. But for now you'll just have to read more about my cat trapping experiences. I caught one kitty this morning that does not look like it's been fixed (i.e. the cat's ear was not tipped). So I moseyed on down to Devonshire Animal Hospital to drop said kitty off to get snipped! He/she will stay in my porch overnight and I'll release him/her in the morning.

That's what I call this woman. I'd really love to meet her someday and I'd give anything to be able to do something like this.

Visit her website HERE!

Besides babies and small furry animals, you can now travel easily with your bird...yes your bird. I know someone that would love something like this (he's got at least 15 birds). Now...just like your dog or the occasional cat (yes some cats like to go places), you can take your bird to the park or the veterinarian with ease. Now I'm not so sure if taking your bird to the park is a good idea. He/she might get upset because they'll completely envy all the wild birds out there that get to fly free. I can just picture a bird inside of this thing wishing he were up in the trees. But if you think your bird would like something like this, you can buy it for $29.99 at Doctors Foster & Smith.

Source: The Pet Blog

Although I'm still distraught over losing the momma kitty (I'm not giving up hope), it's a consolation to know that something good did happen from it. It turns out that this gal was declawed and possibly dumped in the complex by her previous owners. While it's protocol to post ads to find the owner, my volunteer friend said that we shouldn't be too adamant about finding the owner. People have called me about losing their cat but it wasn't the right kitty. I have reservations about giving a declawed cat back to an owner that lets it roam. First of all, cats should NOT BE DECLAWED! (yeah that's my two cents). Here are some FACTS ON DECLAWING. A declawed cat should never be let outside because it does not have its front claws to defend itself against other animals. If you don't want your cat scratching the furniture it's easy to train them to use a scratching post. My Marcie has almost never scratched the furniture (except when she was a kitten) and she uses her scratching post religiously!! And if you can't stop them from scratching your high-end couch, you can always use Soft Paws or Soft Claws. Or here's an even better idea: just don't allow them to go into the room where that particular furniture is in.

Anyway...back to the kitty at hand. She is deemed highly adoptable and will be put up for adoption soon since she's got a clean bill of health and she's already spayed. Oh, and by the way...Sandra decided to name HER Simone after me, the person that rescued her.

But please don't forget about the missing kitty. I found out yesterday that her name is Pee Wee. As soon as I can get a photo I will post it here.

Maggie with volunteer Jen.

New Leash On Life just posted another update on Maggie the mange-ridden dog. CLICK HERE for the full update.

As you can tell, Maggie is doing very well! :)

Initially, Maggie showed a bit of aggression from her crate towards other dogs, but has actually proven to be very friendly. She was introduced to one of our staff's dogs and actually loved having a buddy to meet. She did so well, in fact, that she has just been moved into a foster home with 2 other dogs. She is thriving!

Can't wait to see photos of her with the foster!!

This may be a funny photo but this is really no laughing matter!

I'm sure that Kitten Rescue isn't the only pet rescue nonprofit that's suffering from this horrible economy that we're in, but this message from a Kitten Rescue online group really hits hard. It's so difficult when more and more animals come in (like the kitties that I just rescued) with not enough funds to help them.

Here is the message from Sue Romaine, Kitten Rescue's Founder.

Hi all--

I don't want to scare anyone, but.... the recession has really hit us hard here at Kitten Rescue. Not only are our adoptions down by about 25%, but we've also seen a pretty big falloff in donations and fundraising. The bottom line is that our revenues are down about $30,000 from this time last year... which means we have a significant funding gap.

What's worse, we are already a lean mean rescue machine, so there is no fat to trim. Expenses are even with last year... that means our medical bills alone will total over $130,000 --- our total budget approaches $300k. Since I don't see any quick end to the recession, if we are going to be able to pay our bills and keep rescuing, we collectively need to "kick it up a notch" to help bring in money.

We do have Furball coming up soon, but we had originally hoped to earmark monies raised toward remodelling Casitas.... now it looks like we may have use our proceeds for operating costs....

I'd like to ask everyone to try to help us raise more money. Here are a few ideas for how you can help:

1. help sell tickets for the Furball. (remember, sell ten, get a freebie for yourself)... and if people you ask can't go, ask if they can make a donation of $10 or $25 or whatever... call or email your adopters, your friends, your ex's, your coworkers.

2. Rattle that donation jar at adoption events. Talk us up to even the looky loos who come in. Ask flat out for a donation. Tell everyone how great our need is and how many cats we save a year (over 1,000).

3. Ask at work if there is a company foundation or charitable giving program or volunteer support grants. If there is anything like that, apply on behalf of Kitten Rescue. I will help if you need it.

4. Remind all donors that many firms have matching programs for donations, and try to get them to submit their donations for matching funds (be sure they get receipts!!)

5. Help promote boarding at Casitas. Boarding is a good moneymaker for us, so if anyone asks you about catsitters or boarding, please, have them call Casitas.

There are lots of other ways we can all work together to help get through this financially challenging time. I'll be putting out more emails with more fundraising ideas. And if you've got any fundraising ideas, let me know, we need all the help we can get!!!!

First of all....WE GOT THE LAST KITTEN!! But that's for another post!!

I'm really learning allot about trap and spay procedures. And you know what? It's kind of fun in a strange sort of way. I still haven't caught the momma kitty that got out but I was able to catch another cat that's been roaming around.

Remember this dude? Well this dude is not a dude...SHE is a DUDETTE! hahahah!! And just so you know, I'm referring to this post.

For some reason I knew I would catch this kitty because he..uh..SHE hung around very close to where I set one of the traps. Sure enough this morning I found her sitting in the trap. She was scared but was actually pretty calm. I called Sandra to help (I'm helpless in these situations in the moment) because I had to get to the Petsmart to clean the adoption cages and the go to work. What do I do with this kitty sitting in a trap? She had told me to call her if that happens. She met me at Petsmart to see the kitty. That's when we determined that he is a she. She's actually very docile and friendly and may have been spayed already. I'm not sure if she's someone's pet so I'm going to post signs around my apartment complex to see. Plus we'll see if she's microchipped. I really don't think she belongs to anyone because I've seen her roam around for months now. Today she's getting checked and if she's healthy and no one claims her she's going to be up for adoption.

While I'm still sad about the momma kitty, I'm happy to help this kitty!! But please pray that I catch the momma kitty. As you know, she is not spayed and is my ultimate goal.

Hmmmm...just after I posted an event regarding a so-called "NO KILL" LA, I read this article at our lovely sister pet blog about how the city has not done much to educate the masses about the new upcoming "law." And I know first-hand through my mom's neighbors...but as you know that's another story.

All I have to say is... Good luck L.A.!!