Four Fresh Feline Faces!!!

Here are the four new arrivals!  They will be brought to the store tomorrow (Thursday) afternoon.

Felix is a big cat!!  He weighed in yesterday at 20 pounds.  He came into the Shelter in May of last year when his owner was incarcerated. He is about three years old. He was adopted out in August of last year only to be brought back the very next day. Yep...the very next day! The adopters stated that "he charged the dog repeatedly." Well, maybe if he had not been put in that situation immediately upon arriving at his new home it would not have happened!!  He is a bit of a bully and likes to be "top cat." He seems to get along with other cats here at the Shelter - just is big and has a presence!  He will be fine with kids.  As far as a home with dogs - if a potential adopter is made aware of what occurred last time and understands the importance of a slow introduction we can look at that application.

Felix

Maxwell is under a year old and is one of a litter that was all named after coffee.  He can be a tad shy but will warm up quickly. He is typical of a cat in that he is not crazy about being held - but how many really are?? He will do fine in a home with kids, other cats and dogs. 

Maxwell

Felicity is a little over a year old and was trapped as a stray.  Initially she was being fed by the home owner, however they did not want to continue doing so and felt the harshness of the winter was too much for her.  She is a bit of a snuggle bunny and does not mind being held. She enjoys a good belly rub!!  She will do fine in a house with cats, kids and dogs.

Felicity

Jinx is older - maybe nine years old.  He is really really sweet and friendly! He will come to the front of the cage and say hi when you arrive.  You can pick him up with no problem. He was neutered when he came to us.  His owner surrendered him to the Shelter because he scratched their one year old child.  They also claimed they "found" him a year ago. 

Jinx

So...there they all are!!  We are putting Felix in the big cage by himself.  He can not fit through the holes between cages and is much too big for a small cubicle.  The other three will be put into single cages until they acclimate.  REMEMBER...do NOT force the new cats to socialize freely with other cats.  It is not what they are accustomed to and can cause stress if rushed into an unfamiliar situation. A stressed out cat inevitably turns into a sick cat as their immune system weakens.  Just as we warn new adopters to do a slow introduction we, too, must do a slow introduction at PetSmart.

Great Week!!! Meow Madness!!

What a great week we have had!!  Spencer went home with his new family and will be the only pet in the house.  They were so excited to get him!  They really wanted to get him earlier but unfortunately I could not arrange it. Snoopy went home to his family as well and will be the only pet in the house.  I spoke at length to the new mom about how to take her time acclimating him to his new home.  Big Snoopy has been in a cage since January of 2013.  As we all know, those cages become a source of comfort for our cats and the new home and open spaces scare them.  Sounds like she totally understood and will do a slow introduction into the household.

Baroness is being picked up Wednesday night.  She is going to live with a multi-generational family including grandmom, mom and dad, and three teens.  She will be the only pet in the house.

Peaches and Sandy are being adopted into a home together and will be picked up at the Shelter. They are going to be joining a seven year old cat and running willy nilly around the house!!  Their new mom is nineteen years old and lives with her parents.  (PetSmart called and said Peaches has a gunky eye so we picked up both cats and brought them to the Shelter.  We can start her on antibiotics and send her home with meds.)

So...looks like five new arrivals are coming your way! The cleaning tonight and tomorrow morning will be a breeze!! (Rikki is doing both.  How about that for good karma?  Rikki jumped in yesterday and cleaned in the morning during the snowstorm and then volunteered to come in and do tonight!  Wednesday is her usual day. Thanks for doing extra this week, Rikki!!) I am going to try to get a blog update out tomorrow introducing the guys.

Remember that vacation I had scheduled in February  that was canceled due to snow? Well, that was rescheduled for this week.  I fly out Thursday morning (March 20) and return Tuesday night (March 25).  The schedule is complete for the rest of this month and hopefully there will not be any cancellations. Should you need to cancel please call the Shelter at 465-8923 and staff will make arrangements to cover.  Remember - any issues email animalshelter@cmcsheriff.net and cc me at daviesdunhour@comcast.net. This will keep me in the loop so I know what happened while away.

Chives was adopted from Pet Pros in Somers Point to a wonderful home!  We have one cage at that pet store and Leslie brings the cat (or cats) back and forth every day.

Judy Mc will be taking some time off from every other Monday night starting April 7.  She plans on being back in June.  I'll be asking for fill ins until she is back on the schedule.  (Speedy recovery, Judy!!  I know you'll miss the cats and plan on getting back as soon as you can.)

Spring is less than 48 hours away!!!!  

Goodbye to the Boys!!

Dusty, Adam and Alex all left this week.  Dusty went to a family where he will be the only pet...complete with kids, mom and dad.  One of our staff attendants who knows the family reported that Dusty is doing really well and acclimated quickly.  The two human siblings love him already!! 

Adam and Alex went to a home with a couple who have adopted from us in the past.  They seem to have cats that live forever!! They recently had to say goodbye to one that was 20 years old.  The couple has always had several cats.  At this time Alex and Adam will be the only cats in the house and will be spoiled rotten!! (We did have another application on Alex and Adam however the applicant did not follow through with landlord approval.) Some of you may remember Sonny...a 26 pound orange male that was at PetSmart in may of 2008.  This same couple had adopted him.

So,  three new guys arrived yesterday: Baroness, Peaches and Sandy.  Baroness came from a bad situation along with eighteen other cats...that's right...eighteen.  She is young, under a year old, and a beautiful brown torti.  She loves to play and would do well in a home with other cats, kids and dogs.

Baroness

Peaches, a female,  and Sandy, a male, are littermates and are also under a year old. Their story is one we have heard many times before.  Their mom showed up on someone's back deck one day and the kind homeowner fed her. After a couple of months of continued feeding and hanging around the cat had kittens under the porch.  The kittens were brought into the house and played with for a couple of months and socialized.  Once they were bigger they were all brought to the Shelter as the homeowner did not want to care for all of these cats.  (We can not stress enough how important it is to spay/neuter these cats that are being fed by kind people!! The next step needs to be taken! ) The homeowner did keep one of the kittens and the mother who has since been spayed.  Peaches and Sandy are very friendly and well socialized.  They would do well in a home with other cats, dogs and kids.  Although they are litter mates it is fine if they are adopted to separate homes...though of course ideally they would be adopted together!

Peaches

Sandy

Sadly Cristine and Katie need to take a hiatus from every other Thursday night.  When their circumstances change hopefully they can come back.  I am fairly certain the time slot has been filled and will let everyone know should it become available. In the mean time...Cristine and Katie...please jump in whenever you can!

We are starting a new promotion today called Meow Madness!!  Those of you who are basketball fans will get it!  I am going to email you all the below as a flyer that can be emailed, printed out and distributed.  

There is a couple of openings this month listed below.  Please let me know if you are available to cover any of them. 

Tuesday, March 18, PM Cleaning
Thursday, March 20, PM Cleaning
Friday, March 21, AM Cleaning
Sunday, March 23, AM Cleaning

As always...thanks for your continued dedication to this program!!