Friday, June 29

Our little McLovin' did just great with his surgery yesterday. His front right leg was removed (the nerve was 100% severed). He's already been playing with his pen buddy--Graciella. His right eye is also a little droopy from nerve problems, but hopefully will improve. His rear right leg seems to have recovered 100% already. Now, about his chin injury from being tossed from the car. This was one of the most severe chin injuries I've seen (where lip and chin is torn away from gum line). The skin was dry upon arrival, which makes it sometimes impossible to repair. Dr. Amanda worked and worked and worked on it yesterday and did a phenomenal job on it. He has a little button right now on it to keep everything in place, but should have a decent looking and workable chin/lip when healed! I was so happy about that.

Graciella is a tiny torti girl that was brought in the same day as McLovin'. She was found in our local cemetery and was crying and crying. A person saw her, but didn't want to pick her up for fear that her mama was still there. But, after following them quite a ways, she was picked up and brought here. Unbelievable the distance she followed them on those tiny legs. I could not do a leukemia/FIV test on her until yesteday as she was dehydrated. But, that test is now done and is negative. She loves to cuddle with McLovin'.

Azar has been moved to Thumper's Room. But, that door is open, which gives him access to the front Welcome Room office. The reason for this decision was that he was mighty rough on the kittens and adult cats yesterday. He's a loverbug to people, but super hard on the cats. Because of the fear of actual bodily harm happening, he was put in these two rooms. He's perfectly happy there and is enjoying the people.

We had a package last night from Amsprinkle. It was quite a few of those neck coolers. She made these and they're awesome. Just soak in water, the little beads inside swell up, then freeze them. Put around the neck and they help keep you cool. It was 106 degrees yesterday. Other than last week's 1/2 hour rain, we haven't had rain for over 2 months. It's soooo hot here. This week will continue to be in the mid to upper 90's, with no rain. Thanks to these and the sunscreen that was sent to us and a new fan being sent for the Cat's Cove cats, we should be good! Thanks to all for caring.

The second order of t-shirts have arrived. Within a few days, we should have all the backorders of shirts sent out. Be patient--we'll get them out! I already have a 3rd order placed as of 10 days ago.

Zavatar enjoying the outdoor porch enclosure. Such a great cat.

Thursday, June 28

We're getting it done! 95% of the boxing up and mailing out is done from the Catathon. I'm still floating and cannot wait to go in and pay that Parking Lot bill in full. That will be a very good feeling. I also got an invoice from the company that did our T-shirts. It sounds like that shipment may possibly be here today or tomorrow. We're also ready to send those shirt out--the envelopes are already addressed, just waiting to be filled and mailed!

We took in another kitten. His name is McLovin'. He's orange/white, long hair, about 10 weeks old. He has the typical signs of being thrown out of a car. Kittens don't generally put their legs out on a fall, but land on their face. McLovin's lower lip is down to his chin. Unfortunately, this cannot be repaired, as the skin is already dry. He also sustained a severed nerve to a front leg--resulting in the need for an amputation so he doesn't drag that leg around for life. His surgery is scheduled for today. He's an awesome kitten--a real sweetie and purrbox. Sigrid is taking him to the vets this morning.

Mariska is doing awesome. She can climb up the poles that are covered in hemp rope--right up she goes--I never tire of watching her. Badu has now spent 2 nights in Kitty Kastle, with Nikka and has done beautifully!

Azar has been returned to the rescue center. He is out and about in the main area. The family that adopted him has worked on adjustment issues in regards to their resident cat, but in the end made the difficult decision to return Azar. Remember, he was an outside cat, that we're trying to convert to an inside cat. We'll see how this goes.

Sumer had her surgery yesterday. She and Buttons are still with the family that was keeping these 2 cats during the Catathon. Sumer--we were having major issues trying to keep her inside (she had been found as an outside cat). Buttons went to visit Sumer during the busy time of the Catathon, because of a newly developed pottying issue. She is doing well there. We should get both back after Sumer is recovered from her surgery.

We had BOXES last night! It was fun, and it's oh so good to have that food cabinet looking stocked again!
Greg & Tiffany--5 cases of Royal Canin Kitten canned food, 5 cases of Friskies bits, 5 cases of Friskies Poultry, 5 cases of Friskies Seafood, 3 large bags of Royal Canin Dry Kitten food. So very grateful for this.
Lillian--2 cases of Friskies canned food--our food cabinet is looking good.
Rebecca and Willow from UK--sent 9 boxes of Webbox Lick-e-Lix yogurt food for Bondi and Putter. They also thank you for finding this special food for them.
Midwestern Girl--a butterfly card, taken from her own garden and 3 hand painted decorated rocks for FFRC. They are awesome and have been placed outside the front office door. 1 rock with her chat name & state, one with her daughter's chat name & state, and the bigger rock with FFRC logo and establishment date.
The Bubbas--6 pillow cases, q-tips, bird treats and perch covers for Einie, Fancy Feast Appetizers, Trailmix & ashews for volunteers, recipe journal, kitty toys, Appetizers, and dog treats and lots of books for the volunteers
TippyNTraylor from FL--for Jacci!--family stickers for truck, bottle of wine, neg bag of seashells, cans of sardines, sea shell windchimes, "shell collector" sign
FFRC Supporters--sleep shirt for Jacci (Pawsitively Exhausted)--very sweet
Paula B and Calli from GA--pop-tabs for Kellen and cat toys
Mimi from Fl--pop tabs for Kellen
Sandra E--2 cases of Fancy Feast canned kitten food
Octavia and her Anonymous human helper--a letter with a story entitled "THe Ying and Yang of Life", a story that memorializes Ginny and Twinkle. The box: many small & big paper plates, a case of Friskies canned, 5 cans of canned chicken, 20 cans of tuna, 2 cans of Easy Cheese, 50 cans of sardines, a box of Turtle Candies, and many kinds of volunteer treats
AbbyTabbysMama--a PayPal donation, in memory of her Bailey's birthday, who lost her battle against a rare feline intestinal cancer in 2003, at age 10 months and left a huge hole in her mama's heart.

Bravo has an appointment next week on Tuesday, at 10:00 for a consultation regarding his rear legs. Daymo and Sugar Plum are on hold together--to go to the same family. Remember, Queenie is also still on hold. Alfie and Meggie are doing good. They both love their heads to be rubbed and a good back scratching. They are both now in June's Room and seem to be comfortable there. The next step for them is when we open their door to have access to the main area. Spruce, Purrdue and Purkins, all 3 brown tigers, have been playing for a full 10 minutes with pushing a ball around the Track Ball Toy. The 4 little blacks--Raymond, Raymondo, Faleen and Faleena all have fuzzy fur. Their fur seems to be getting to the medium length.

A goal of mine soon, is to get PetFinders caught up. Now that the Catathon is over and the mailing almost complete, it's time to get that done.

Martha Ann is a friend to all the kittens and cats, and of course to us 2-legged friends too!

Purrby and Shirley share a moment of quiet.

Tuesday, June 26

The cats are wonderful. Zelda Belda continues her desk statue act. She's my paperweight. Unfortunately, the kittens love it here too. They are not paperweights, but whirlwinds, stirring up all the other paper. And they LOVE taking my pens. I'm forever fishing the pens out from under the desk. I keep saying to PLEASE let papers and pens alone, but it falls on deaf ears. Oh well....I secretly love it!

Bella has had two bouts of super speed this morning. She loves scooting on this floor--she can get going pretty fast--ears even laid back. I swear she smiles doing this! Little Bravo must be taking lessons. He's doing pretty good scooting around too. Bless his heart--he's got the smaller litterboxes figured out. He can hoist himself into them. His front legs are so strong. Next week, I'd like to get him to our vets for consulations. That right back leg, from knee down is unusable. He gets it under his tummy and pulls it along. His left rear leg, the one that is stiff, straight out, has been turning also under his tummy, coming out on the other side. So, I want to keep watching him and figuring out what would be best for him. His spirit is strong--he's a toughie. He still collects toys, litter, dust bunnies in his "tummy tray".

The cats spent many hours yesterday on the outdoor enclosure. It was a beautiful day. Tomorrow it's suppose to be 103. Wow--now, that's hot! I love how the kittens and cats find the sunshine coming in the various windows.

We had a very busy day yesterday. Spent many hours, by many people, packing up the orders from the Catathon! This will go on for this whole week yet, I'm sure. I get so excited to see where all these items are going!

We prefer to keep names anonymous on the winning bids, but I would like to mention some extra thanks: The bunkbeds were donated back to the kitties and they love it. Bella likes the lower bunk! The kitty basket was donated back, to give to the next adoptive family. The ruby/diamond jewelry was donated back, to be given to 2 volunteers by a drawing. The Betty Jane Carter doll was donated back, to be used for the Catstock Event. The Alaskan basket was donated back to be dispersed between volunteers and my mom. The cat wheel too was redonated to FFRC! So, one will go to Cat's Cove, the other here in the main area. A box of awesome items was sent to FFRC, to be put in for a drawing for the volunteers also--we'll be doing that this week. We're so grateful!

We love snacks & food here, so we need to also thank those wonderful people who made sure we had kinishes, pizza, pizza bread, chicken wings, cookies, fresh doughnuts and muffins, and tasty breads. We loved all that extra attention!

I would like to ask for your patience as these many items that are being sent are received. We literally have over a thousand papers to sort. We have the original PayPal forms, checks to match up with orders, PayPal sometimes sends a reminder that a payment was sent, e-mails from 2 accounts, etc. All in all, it's a lot of paper! We are trying very hard to match everything up. If you by chance get a duplicated order, if you want to send it back, I will gladly reimburse you for the postage! Just let me know. If there is an error in your order and you didn't receive what you should've, just let me know.

We are still adding names for Sponsor a Cat and the Name that Cat to Canton's website at catandninetails.com There will be quite a few names added this evening, but then, if you notice your info is missing, please let me know.

We had BOXES last night! It was fun and we loved the donations.
AD/Ann & Shari/sillysticks--4 cases of Fancy Feast Kitten, 2 pkgs of styrofoam plates, bleach, treats, tabs for Kellen, file tabs for the health book
Geoffrey M--donation thru PayPal for FFRC
Mudjie--a donation for the yummy treats for all FFRC cats
Nancy & Tom--visitors for the Catathon--stamps, poptabs for Kellen, 3 rugs, Fancy Feast Kitten, snacks, trash bags, Fancy Feast Medleys, clorox wipes, Mr. Clean erasers, Appetizers, lots of can food for adults and kittens
Anonymous-case of appetizers
Catlady--red tunnel toy, yellow and pink flower beds
D'Lee--CatSure for the oldsters
Mary R/prisotis--6 tubes of sunscreen--such a nice thing to send!
Joanne H from WA--a big red bed for Bella--which she has already approved of.

Farrah wanted you to know that she's doing great on her lower reduced dose of meds!

Daymo is sooooooo tired after the Catathon.

Monday June 25

Wow! What a totally awesome, fantastic and joyous day the Catathon was. Can you believe it? It's over and I'm an extremely happy and grateful person. I am continually thankful at what you webcammers and supporters do for this Rescue Center.

It was a very busy morning yesterday with getting the final things arranged. Lots and lots of last minute things to put into place. We were all so excited about the upcoming day though.

A couple little glitches--Tom, who was helping me emcee, had a family medical emergency and couldn't come. So.....you had to bear with just me! And on the first basket, we had the wrong mic turned on, so the sound was muffled. But, presto, that was taken care of and was no longer a problem. Everything else went good.

Bids came in from all over. We at one time had close to 900 viewers on! The logs for the Chat were over 1000 pages! We all had so much fun. Lots of people arrived. Catman offered several "Match the Bid"--2 on many of the rounds--those were fun to do. I wasn't expecting that--added to the excitement! Thanks Catman!

We also had our famous 2 visitors arrive, once we made $15,000! It was HOOPS and YoYo--in the living flesh!! They had a thank you message to give. We were so privileged to have them arrive....just for you and FFRC!

We also had a chicken dance--yes, that's right. Connie was awesome and agreed to do the chicken dance. Jodi and I joined in (all complete with chicken heads!) and we all had a great time with it. More than $1,000 was donated for Connie's willingness to do this!

The goal of this year's Catathon was to help put a payment on the new Parking Lot. The total cost was $30,000. I had originally said $29,000, but to add the drainage pipe under the road to the river was $1,000. I was hoping to make a good chunk to use as partial payment on this bill. IT IS PAID IN FULL!! Yes, in full. We made over $8,000 in pre-sales, which was astounding. Every Basket and every Big Ticket Item and every Giant Ticket Item was sold. Then we added in the food money and the Table Sales money. We also sold many many items from the Table Sales--anything left was boxed up to use for our carnival/concert in September.

Now for the BIG news! We made.............are you ready for this?? It was $38,523!!! I am still in awe of this. My arms and legs were quivering, even at bedtime last night. The excitement kept building for me yesterday, and then when these totals were coming in, I could hardly write--my hand was shaking! It's hard to say how grateful I am. I feel like I'm surrounded by caring and loving friends, volunteers and webcam viewers. It's a wonderful thing. This Catathon has involved a huge network of people to make this so successful. I am deeply grateful.

I'd like to say an extra thanks to Steve--he's been an angel thru all of this for me. So super supportive and helpful. His patience is endless. And to my family....instead of just realizing how busy I've been this month, they've pitched in to help--even some of the granddaughters! Families are a wonderful thing.

So, now we will be using this week to pack up and mail out all the winning items. This will take us some time to do, but hopefully will be done by the end of the week, if not, the beginning of next. Our 2nd load of t-shirts should also be coming in. As soon as they arrive, we'll also be sending them out.

If you have noticed that we've missed something (Name that Cat, Sponsor a Cat, your order that you've received is incorrect, etc.,) please let me know. We try very hard to make things right.

Again, I'm so grateful for the support, the donations, the votes, the boxes, the clicks of the ads, the visits--all of the various ways of support. It means the world to me. You are all indeed Friends of the Friends of Felines Rescue Center.

Saturday, June 23

One more day to go! The Catathon is tomorrow! And we are ready, excited and grateful for this coming day. The tent went up yesterday and the Porta-Potts arrived. The yard has been mowed, trimmed, picnic tables out, chairs placed--we're ready for visitors! Because it will be impossible for visitors to get into the far side of the rescue center (where the actual catathon takes place), we will have several laptops out and about for people to view.

Today we will be moving all the cat furniture out to make room for all the hub-bub of tomorrow. The kittens will, I'm sure, love the wide open space they'll have for this evening and night time. Tomorrow the kittens go in 2 rooms and a few of the adults will go into Thumper's Room. Most of the adults, I imagine, will hang out in the front office and their outdoor enclosure, watching all the people.

Today, soon after the 1pm cut-off to the pre-registration, we will have a drawing to see who wins the special Cat-Doll. We'll keep you posted on this. We will also have a volunteer keep CantonCat up to date tomorrow on the Name that Cat and the Sponsored Cats. She will also occasionally post the amount of the totals for the Catathon. That website is catandninetails.com

Please, again, remember, if you have trouble getting thru the phone, keep trying. This year, we have ONE number to dial, but 8-9 phone volunteers taking calls. Each incoming call will roll over to the next phone if busy. And if your chat/video has problems, please know that sometimes Ustram itself has troubles. Those kind of things we cannot fix here on our end. Try to reboot, refresh. The phone number for tomorrow is 419-393-2400.

Our local Crestent-News paper did a front page, colored article on FFRC and the Catathon! So nice of them to do this.

I would like to repeat this from yesterday:
Chat will be in 60 second delay for the entire catathon
Chat will be limited to discussions of the catathon and ffrc cats only (private conversations should take place in pm’s.)
Please be patient with Ustream or cam issues
If by chance the cam goes down, be patient, we'll get it right back up!
Please reference website for questions before asking in chat
Lets keep chat positive and fun!!!!!
Be patient & polite to our volunteer phone people here at FFRC who are taking
the bids over the phone. Please be patient if you keep getting a busy tone--we'll try our best to meet all needs.

We are super excited about this event. It will be fun day! Remember, if there's a few little problems along the way, don't worry! We'll take care of it. Just enjoy!

We had BOXES last night. Thank you so much for your support and gifts.
Donna M/Knoxcat--cute kitty card
Billie K from Texas--fancy feast dry cat and 4 cases of Fancy Feast can
Livy's Aunt--For the Catathon: 2 metal kitty Planters and a cat watering cat--all with bobble heads--very nice items
Patricia from IL--Mrs. Fields basket of cookie goodies for the volunteers

I'd like to thank all involved with providing food/yummies for the Catathon. We have pizza/pizza bread/chicken wings coming at 5:15 tomorrow to share with all that are here. We've also been gifted with yummy treats for today and tomorrow--thanks to all that sent these--we sure appreciate it.

On to the Catathon................! We are ready!

Friday, June 22

It is now 2 days to the Catathon. Excitement is building even more....if that's possible! Final details of things have to happen today. Tomorrow we rearrange the entire place! We also sent out a lot of items that have been sold already for the Pre-Catathon sale of the $22 and under items. We did this early to, hopefully, keep the phones from becoming "plugged up".

For your information--for the chat on the day of the Catathon:
Chat will be in 60 second delay for the entire catathon
Chat will be limited to discussions of the catathon and ffrc cats only (private conversations should take place in pm’s.)
Please be patient with Ustream or cam issues
If by chance the cam goes down, be patient, we'll get it right back up!
Please reference website for questions before asking in chat
Lets keep chat positive and fun!!!!!
Be patient & polite to our volunteer phone people here at FFRC who are taking
the bids over the phone. Please be patient if you keep getting a busy tone--we'll try our best to meet all needs.

What a wonderful evening we had--it RAINED! Such a welcomed thing. It's the first real rain in almost 2 months. Paul and I went out on the parking lot to finally check the drains and Kitty City.Kitty City stayed dry and the drains were gushing with water, heading to the river--exactly as we had hoped!

All is fine here cat-wise. Kittens are healthy, newbies are settling in. Little Mariska gets her sutures out today. Bravo continues to pull himelf around on the floor while collecting toys under his tummy. He's learning to flip-flop those useless legs into, around and on things. What a brave heart he is. This slick floor is perfect for him. In a week or so, he and I will be visiting our vets for a talk about him. Sizzle is doing great too and making new friends.

We had BOXES last night! What a great thing!
D'Lee-6 cans of CatSure (oldsters love this)
Hannah & Jennifer--10 hars of baby food (Hannah loves Putter & the Paddys)
Leenie--sent 2 cases of Friskies (to replace the damaged ones from last week)
Anonymous Friend--4 cases of Kitten Fancy Feast
Jeanette C from IL--note, meowy Christmas tea towel, Bag of ping pong balls with feathers (for FFRC & adoption bags), wonderful pictures of her 2 cats, catnip toy (which Badu immediately took). For the Catathon: a neat box of 4 cat mugs, plates, forks and spoons
Pat M--now, 2 boxes of Cheryl & Company's cookies and goodies for us to have during this upcoming weekend. You know, we have to keep up our strength!!
Colleen P from CA--coupons
Judy M--Emaline's note cards to add to the Resident cat note cards
Billy K--Cheryl cookies for help us thru this upcoming great weekend!

Little Bravo and Bella sharing a moment.

June 21 Thursday

$5,000 -- $5,000 -- $5,000--We did it! It's ever so wonderful. You know, we THOUGHT we had it, but I was still holding my breath till I saw it on The Animal Rescue Site. What a wonderful, awesome win for us. This will go straight into the general fund which has been lacking. But, not anymore! We have $5,000 to add to it! Thank you to each and every single one of you, for each and every single vote you gave. This win is because of YOU! We have the Finger Power!!! I am grateful. (Please remember to keep daily clicking the food button at The Animal Rescue Site to help feed shelter dogs and cats.)

Three more days to the Catathon! Another wonderful event coming up! We're so excited about the Catathon. It's been a lot of work, we still have details to attend to, but it's all falling together. Do you realize that 100% of ALL items in the Catathon have been donated by YOU, our supporters. I am in awe of this. I want to stress again, that if you do not see your item on the Giant Ticket Item, the Big TIcket Item or in the Baskets, it's because it's on the Table Sales. 100% of everything is "out there" for the Catathon and I am again, so grateful.

Tomorrow the porta pots arrive along with the tent(s). Saturday will see a big transformation inside the Rescue Center--we'll be moving most of the furniture out.
Please check Canton's website at: catandninetails.com Canton has listed the suggested Name the Cat and the cats that are sponsored. Each person that sponsors a cat will receive a picture of the resident, covie or porchie ca. And yes, they are pawographed with their pawprint. We have used up quite abit of tempered paints doing this project! But it's fun, only takes a second and it washes right off.

We took in a new kitten on Tuesday. Someone had put this nice little kitten in this man's van, in the heat of the day and shut him in it. It's truly a wonder that he did not die in the heat. He was found in the van later that evening. He's a cute white and black kitten, about 10 weeks old, with a triangular nose. His name is Sizzle.

We had BOXES last night! A big thank you.
AuntiFi--a case of Medley Fancy Feast (Putter & Bondi likes this)
Teresa C--a case of KMR and a bag of mousie toys
Anonymous--pop tabs for Kellen
Maggie/Magspaw--cat profile pages for me to mark physical features on
Jenny/Blackwingy--a box of treats from Cheryl & Co (cookies, cakes, breads--very good snacks!) I also understand that Blackwingy is quite an artist.
LadyDoc--sent phones to be used at the Catathon
Livy (volunteer) and family--a Tweety Treat bird basket for the Catathon
TippyNTraylor--delicious snacks to be enjoyed during the Catathon prep or after. They are Knashes--a wonderful snack. There are 5 packages. We may just have to enjoy these on Saturday while we are setting up! Thanks so much.

Again, if I ever neglect to add something or have an error, please e-mail me so I can correct it.


Cat-Go-Around Wheel A Giant Ticket Item for auction from 1:15 to end of 5th round

A water painting of Putter--A Giant Ticket Item from 1:15 to end of Round 5

Paddy Cakes--a water painting--Giant Ticket Item from 1:15 to end of Round 5
Watercolor #3 Paddy Purr by FoFRCphoto, on Flickr">
Paddy Purr--a water painting--Giant TIcket Item from 1:15 to end of Round 5

Tuesday, June 19

One more day to go util we find out if we for sure won the Animal Rescue Site Challenge! I'm so excited just thinking about it! And 5 more days to go until the Catathon. What a week of anticipation and thankfulness!

We had an adoption yesterday. Our sweet boy Larrymore was adopted to a man that has a lot of time to give this little boy. I believe Larrymore and his new owner were happy campers when they left! After the Catathon, we'll be going full speed ahead again in adoptions.

We also took in a new kitten yesterday that has some physical disabilities. Remember how I always say cats don't think of themselves as being disabled? Well, this kitten has proved this again! He is a little 7 week old black boy kitten with both rear legs severely deformed, probably from pre-birth development. This little guy is a fighter, sweetie and a purrer. He's figured out how to get around, little bit by little bit. Since he is so tiny, we are not on a major time schedule in deciding what his best medical course of action is. After the Catathon and we get all the things mailed out, I will set up an appointment with our vets for a conference regarding what to do, if anything. His name will be decided today.

There are 17 kittens here in the office. I'm not sure what has happened, but they are all on super hyped up speedy action. In other words, they are all nuts! The running, jumping, pouncing, climbing is intense and pure fun and joy to watch. And all the while, Zelda just sleeps away on the desk! Emaline is also here nearby. Her skin took another turn for the worse, so it was "shot time"--her injection that helps her alot but we have to give this sparingly. She is much better today. Octavia is sitting at the window, probably in hopes of going out to their porch and lick up the spider webs.

Putter has definitely discovered the house-side-of-living again. One day last week, he got into the house (no big surprise!) and loves it. He's in there more than he's not now. He is so very comfortable and it's obvious that this is not a new way of life to him. He still maintains his sheriff duties though--he'll sit on the kitchen floor and look at my cats with disgust!! I will not forget the first time one of my "Z"s ran into him. It was Zap--he ran up to Putter, took one look, ears went straight up, eyes got big and off he ran. He had never seen a long hair cat before!

We had BOXES last night! Many thanks to you all. Your support is so much appreciated.
Liz/speedy--came for a visit yesterday bearing gifts! Cat toys, Iams dry kitten food, lysol, Fancy Feast, q-tips, plates, paper towels, volunteer treats, laundry soap, can food and vinegar
D'Lee--case of giant Friskies party treats, a case of Temptation Dairy Treats (for Bondi) and 2 cases of baby food
Patty P from OH--get well card for Mariska, Ginger Cat cookies, apple cider K cups, Mrs. Fields chocolate cookies (extra yummy), kitty face wipes, oyster shells for the chickens, tuna, thistle seed socks and kitty treats (the chickens say thanks too!)
Nan K from Scotland--2 beautiful hand made scarves for the Catathon
Sonja from Ontario--poly pockets for paper work for the Catathon and a picture of her Gandalf
Azuremeow from FL--Beanie Babies (and YES, their names WERE under their tails!!) for the Catathon
Judy L--more resident cat note card sets for the Catathon
Lannml--3 phones for the phone volunteers to use for the Catathon
Conii from FL and her cats Elliott and Madissyn--all for FFRC--5 cats beds (super soft and cushie), new soft blankies, scratcher refills, lots of neat cat toys, 2 cube condos, rocking roller toy, scratching furniture for kittens and 3 cat bag clips. Also a beautiful card.
Alan C from Utah--donation to FFRC
Mary and Ron--for the Catathon: 3 absolutely gorgeous artist made watercolor paintings of Putter, Paddy Purr and Paddy Cakes
Caroline L from MA--a donation thru PayPal
Judy M--a donation thru PayPal in memory of Ginny
Joshua H from VA--a donation thru PayPal

I have a special request. We are sending things out of here right and left. Between t-shirts, cookbooks, all the items for the Catathon (next week will be even more!), please, if there are any mistakes, we apologize. We also will be quick to correct any problems. Just let us know. We're always willing to get things right! Also, if you notice your name is missing from any lists, please don't hesitate to e-mail me and let me know.

Dolan says: "Come see us--we love visitors!"

Purrdue loves his tummy to be rubbed.

Monday, June 16

Busy weekend. It's now torpedo speed ahead for the Catathon! Hard to believe it's this Sunday already! The door is open now for people who want to do the NAME THAT CAT and to SPONSOR/GET A PAWOGRAPHED PICTURE of a resident/covie/porchie cat. Check out the website fofrescue.org for information. We are doing this so that the phones don't get so "plugged up" during the catathon. By doing this early, it will help those that are calling in to bid on the Big Ticket Items and/or the Baskets.

You can also check out Canton's website at catandninetails.com
In this website, she has listed the names of the cats that are being sponsored and their sponsorees. Each person who sponsors a cat, will receive a pawographed picture and a sponsorship paper.

Today the phone company comes again to putin the last 3 phone lines. We will also be verifying the arrival of the big tents and porta-pots for Friday. We already have plans to decorate the porta-pots! We like to have fun!

The remaining cookbooks will be in the mail today. If you had pre-ordered, give it a few days and all should have them. We are still waiting for the second shipment of shirts. They should arrive any day. We will also get those in the mail as soon as we can. I had no idea we would run out of shirts the very first hours of ordering--a good problem to have!

The cats are doing good. The kittens have developed springs on their feet. Incredible energy levels. Mariska is out and about more now and is doing great. Still have a slight a mount of soreness meds. Frogger had a bit of a set back with tummy troubles, but is doing better today.

I would like to pass some thank yous on.
Jennifer M from TX--donation to FFRC thru PayPal
Anonymous Friend--donation to help cover Mariska's medical needs
Theresa H from PA--donation for FFRC thru PayPal
Renee C/jakesmeowmy--donation to FFRC thru PayPal
Shirley H/swanway from TN--a donation to help with Judy's cat Alphie & Meggie
Chiel74 from Netherlands--a donation thru FFRC for Mariska's medical needs

I have some very sad news to pass on. Our Ginny has passed away this morning. This was an unexpected thing. Ginny was found outside about 2 months ago and brought here. All has been well with her until the last few days, but nothing really stood out, other than her appetite was decreased and her activity level diminished. We have held her, loved on her and she has purred. I checked her on Saturday and did not notice anything amiss, other than her general appearance wasn't as good as before. She has had a vet physical since being here also. But this morning, all was not right. She was completely jaundiced, including her upper/lower pallet. This morning she also started vomiting. She obviously was in the last stages of kidney failure. Urine was also burnt orange color. You may ask why and how could this have happened. I have no answers for you. These are the very things that make rescue work so depleting and hard. It use to be when I dealt with death, I had to deal with it myself and of course, the volunteers. Now, we have a whole world of people to tell. And that is so hard. Not everything has a happy ending here, but it goes with the rescue territory. So, we mourn her loss, then we get right back on track and continue our mission. Ginny was held during her passing and she purred the entire way.

Saturday, June 16th

I can't believe today is Saturday already. Wow--what a crazy, busy week and an even crazier week coming up! Time really does fly when we're having fun!!

Yesterday, the telephone company was here. They brought in a line to hold 4 corded/cordless phones. On Monday, they will bring another line to hold 3 more. It's been decided to go with these types of phones, instead of cell phones so we don't have to worry about recharging. Then, we asked the webcam viewers to start calling the 419-393-2400 number to test the lines. Phones were ringing galore! Had a couple kinks, but all was well when they left. Monday afternoon they'll be back.

Steve, Judy S and Deb started working on stuffing cookbook envelopes yesterday. We sent out about 150 already. My house is FULL of t-shirt things, cookbooks, mailing boxes, envelopes and stuff for the Catathon! It's very interesting, and my cats love it. Today we will be working on stuffing more envelopes for the cookbooks. Also, as soon as that second order of t-shirts arrives, we'll be working on those also. Maybe it's time to teach those cats and kittens how to do this?!

Today is our practice run for the Catathon. The computer guy, Dean, will be here around noon. Others will arrive so we can run thru the catathon procedures at 1:00. Busy, busy. This will give us time to work out any kinks that we may have.

Mariska is awesome and is right now walking about the office. She is doing great and appears to be very happy. What a brave little spirit she has. I think she's finally getting her belly full. She spent most of yesterday in a very comfortable sleep. But today she's ready to stretch her legs and do a walk about.

We took in 2 very special cats today for a new friend, Judy. Judy has some medical issues herself and wanted to be sure her cats would always be taken care of. I have such respect for someone who thinks like this and feel such a responsibility to be sure her pets are happy and looked after. Their names are Meggie and Alphie. Meggie is a white calico and Alphie is a long hair black cat. They are siblings. This morning both purred when petted. They will stay in Thumper's Room until they show they're ready to move on. Then we will set them up in June's Room. When they're ready to move on again, we'll simply open their door to the main area! Very sweet adult cats.

The last day to vote is June 17th, Sunday. We will then find out on the 20th, Wednesday if we won from The Animal Rescue Site. Please keep voting! Thank you.

That Weber is an ornery little guy. He is tough. Weber thinks nothing of going up to the "big guys" and tussling with them. What a brave little fella. He needed a break last night (or I should say, the kittens needed a break from him!) and so he slept in Patience's Pen. But, he's out and about again this morning, having the time of his life. The other new kitten, Frogger, is doing great as well. Happy boy. Sure glad he's not out dodging cars any more. He's an investigator type of kitten.

We had BOXES last night. I thank you for your support. It's awesome and greatly appreciated.
Cachemain/Cameo--For the Catathon--boxes of tissues! (I got such a chuckle out of this. Cameo watched the DVD from last years Catathon and saw how much I needed those tissues!!)
Beth W from Ohio--soap to help with my poison ivy (a special thanks)
Gail R/tuxkitty & Sandy R/elviskat, (sisters) from Louisianna--2 awesome tote bags that say "We love friends of Felines Rescue Center" and 6 t-shirts with various cat designs, all that say "I love Friends of Felines Rescue Center". Thanks ever so much--these are truly wonderful.
Judy--boxes for the note cards being sold during the Catathon
Amy D from Pennsylvania---coupons
Vickie B from NewYork--donation for FFRC
Ronald C/ThunderRunner--some really cool round stickers that say "FFRC Jr. Volunteer" on them. Kids will LOVE to have these. They also have the logo on them.

Magpie Studio--donation in gratitude for helping Judy with her 2 cats
Barbara S--donation "in honor of Judy to help with the care for her cats"
Thomas A from UK--a donation
Roberta R from Nevada-a donation to help with Judy's cats
Gusti--a donation to help with Mariska's surgery
Catman--a donation in honor of Judy and to help in the care of her cats
Rhonda S from Illinois--a donation to help with Judy's (gnuby) cats
Cathy S from PA--a general fund donation
Mechele--donation for extra food for Filbert and the other FFRC cats in honor of Binky's Birthday. Happy Birthday, Binky!
Neil & Jean--donation for the general fund
Cathi B--a donation to FFRC/Catathon donation
Gitte from Denmark--donation to help with Emalines food and meds

Friday, June 15

Our little baby Mariska had her amputation surgery yesterday. Thanks to Dr. Amanda for doing such a great job. Mariska's front right leg was useless, so this was a needed surgery. I spoke to Dr. Amanda after the surgery and she said she found a great deal of injury and bruising to that shoulder area. A probable hit by car which severed the nerve to that leg. Mariska will be much more mobile now. She had a bit of a rough afternoon--you all know, how medicines make us all feel weird after surgery--same for cats. But, she had a good night. She was so very hungry after her surgery and gobbled up the baby food given to her. She'll be on soreness meds for a few days. She's sleeping peacefully right now and will probably be out a little bit to stretch today.

We also acquired a new kitten yesterday. When Mariska came back from the vet clinic, they sent along another little baby. He's an orange tiger, about 6 weeks old, was found on their busy main road near the clinic, dodging cars as much as he could. So....they promptly named him Frogger. He's a sweetheart, a purrer and ready to rock and roll. He will also be out soon, since he actually did some "quarantine time" at the clinic.

Weber is a hoot. That tiny little kitten can keep up with the rest of the gang and insists upon it. He's no shy guy! He's everybody's friend.

Please visit our website (fofrescue.org) and see all the latest on the Catathon. Just click on the Catathon tag and you'll be able to view all the Baskets, Big Ticket Items, Sale Table Items and the individual things that can be bought without bidding (all are under $22). Many thanks to Lenz for working so hard on this Catathon page for us--it's fabulous. Again, thanks to Angie, Bill and Jenni for their many hours of help.

Today the telephone company will be here around 2:00 to put the final details on installing the 8 lines we'll be using for the Catathon. We'll try them out and make sure all are working properly. They've been a lot of help. Today we'll also verify our order for Porta-Pots and 2 big tents. Those will be put up next Friday. We did a mini-rehearsal for Round #1 yesterday and was pleased with the results. This Saturday is our big rehearsal starting at 1:00.

The mailing labels and envelopes have arrived for the cookbooks! That means, we'll get busy on that project and get them sent out as fast as we can. You will love them.
There has been 22 cookbooks that have been donated by Anonymous, to be put with some of the baskets--what a nice gesture!

All is well here. Kittens are growing. Unfortunately, I haven't had time yet to get the kittens that have recently been neutered/spayed in PetFinders. But, that will happen as soon as I can get the time.

Please continue to vote for FFRC at The Animal Rescue Site. Voting ends June 17th. If we maintain our lead, we will receive $5,000. This money is desperately needed to help us with our general fund. It will be a welcome relief. The Fiver Friday we had a while ago was 100% applied to medical bills, which we've been so grateful for. We've had many many spays/neuters done with that money, lots of meds and test kits bought, vaccinations paid for. It has also helped us with these specialty surgeries--dentals, amputations, eye enucleation. I'm deeply grateful for this.

Thursday, June 14

10 days to the Catathon! We had another meeting yesterday--plans and organizing are at full speed. TODAY IS THE DAY that the pictures of the baskets, big ticket items and sale table items will be made public. When that happens, I'll let you know via the cam and FB that it's there for all to see! A thousand thanks to Angie, Jenni and Lenz for making this happen!

Our new kitten, Weber is a brave little soul. He's already been cruising about a little, but he's so small, that we encourage naps in a pen. We also took in another new kitten yesterday, called Mariska. She arrived after being found at a local school--probably dumped off, and with a major leg injury. Her front right leg , including the shoulder, is completely useless. We're not sure what happened to her, but what we do know is that this leg is not a functional leg and definitely impedes her mobility. So, today is surgery day for her to have it removed. Once that happens, this little girl will find it so much easier to move around. Her and Weber are becoming friends and even spent the night together, probably sharing stories.

That foursome group of kittens--the black crew (Faleen, Faleena, Raymond and Raymondo) are the cutest little babes. They purr the second you even think about touching them! Such loverbugs. So is the other one of that litter--Floria. They will be spayed/neutered on the next big surgery date. Buckeye, Obadiah and Purrby had dried leaves trapped out on the outdoor enclosure yesterday. I think they thought they were alive--they acted like they had made a great "catch"!

I have to apologize for an error (yes, another error!) that I made yesterday. The cookbooks that were donated to the volunteers were from Betz, Mary E and Anonymous. Thank you ever so much and I'm very sorry for the mistake. The volunteers have been so appreciative of this kind deed!

We had BOXES last night! Many, many thanks to you!
Gitte--For Emaline: case of Whiskas chicken Temptation treats. For Cutie: tuna fancy feast and a case of Tuna/Egg Friskies. Emi and Cutie both also say thanks!
CherylAnn275--many bottles of various scents of Bath & Body Works antibacterial soaps (moisturizing, foam and regular) We LOVE it.
MKMouse--3 big boxes of 10x13 brown envelopes for sending out t-shirts and Catathon items--very thoughtful
Sandra E--24 cans of Friskies bits
Becca/runbeccarun--3 pack of Q-tips, 13 gallon Glad trash bags, case of bounty paper towels
Val & Lois--a mirror framed picture of Garth Brook for the Catathon
Kismet2011--For the Catathon: 5 handmade hot pads and 2 liberty stuffed bears with red, white, blue clothes (now known as Kismet Bears!)
Jatcat--box of 8.5 x 11 laminating sheets
Mr. & Mrs. John--Chief coupons (we turn these in for cash)
Sophiaandlucysdad--coupons
Msawo from Orgeon--a Powels gift card for online purchase. For the Catathon: Seaside Cottage printand 3 photos from the 1950's of the Snow White animated character with photos of the lady who was the voice of Snow White--great pictures! She also included a donation for FFRC.


Block 6, Kitty Condo

Block 7, Elton John Basket

For under the big ten--Sale Table Items

Big Ticket Item, Round 1 Stuffed Lion

Weds., June 13

We took in another new kitten yesterday. Believe it or not, it's another polydactyl. He's a little fella, gold tiger/white, with front extra toes. He's only about 6 weeks old, still has semi-blue eyes, but playing and eating real well. He was found in a cinder block, all covered in cob webs. His name is Weber.

We also have a NEW resident cat. A resident cat means they are permanently placed here for the remainder of their lives. We already have Paddy Cake, Paddy Purr, Asha, Magentta, Ada Jane, Putter, Cutie, Bella. The newest resident is EMALINE. After another flare up of her medical issues, it is realized that she is never going to be free of these continual breakouts. We watch and work on her daily. It's a rare time frame (maybe a week) that she is symptom free. If she were to be adopted, I know we would all have continued worry about her issues and if she's being properly treated. So, we are devoted to caring for her for always. We never make this decision lightly, as our real goal is to place these cats in their own permanent homes. However, some cases are such that we feel this is the correct decision. So.....welcome home, Emaline!

Raza, County and Preakness are sharing the window ledge, watching the birds. Bella has a new favorite poof bed--it's a big brown one, which she blends in so beautifully! Tweets, a newbie, is doing great--such a lovebug. A constant purring kitten. Cutie has been eating better this week. We're trying to encourage her to eat more.

Purrby, Purrdue, Buckeye and Miler are chasing a fly here in the office. They are clumsy chasers--colliding with each other in their desire to get this bug! No worries in the world for them! Queenie, Angel Kisses and Jaina are frequently found in Kitty Campus Room together, sunning themselves, side by side, with their eyes half open. Love seeing comfortable cats!

The COOKBOOKS HAVE ARRIVED and they are awesome. It is overwhelming to me to look at this book, and know it is entirely done with love and support of volunteers, viewers/cammers and friends. It is just wonderful. As soon as we get the envelopes and mailing labels, they will be shipped out. You will love them! A thousand thanks to Leenie for all the time, love and work she put into this project. I'm deeply grateful. Thanks too to the 3 people (Aunty Fi, Anna Marie & Anonymous) who made donations so that each and every volunteer can receive a free cookbook. The smiles this brings is very sweet.

The Catathon plans are progressing. We have another meeting this morning for it. This Friday, the phone company will be laying the phone lines so we can have 8 phones working on that day, all with the same number (419-393-2400). Saturday is our practice session at 1:00, with a computer guy coming in at noon to check things out. Keep checking the website and flickr. The Catathon pictures of the Baskets, Big Ticket Items and the Table Sale Items will be ready for all to see either today or tomorrow. This is a huge event for us, lots of work and so much fun and excitement!

Stainglass Window Catcher, a Big Ticket Item, first hour


Some of the jewelry for the Sale Table

Sale Table Items--misc.

Tuesday, June 12

Poor Zelda has a very sore front leg. Dr. Bill looked at it last night. She is also on soreness meds. Her initial injury (when she was stuck between the store wall and a cement wall), not only injured her hips, but her elbow. Poor baby. Now, she needs even more petting!

We had TWO adoptions yesterday. The couple that had adopted Maxironi also had Emma Lou on hold for quite some time--waiting for her spay to be done. When they came yesterday to adopt Emma Lou, they could not leave Ida Lou behind, so they adopted both! They also brought Maxironi with them--he's doing great and received his last vaccinations and second leukemia/FIV test (which was negative).

We are working full speed ahead on the Catathon. We have all the pictures taken now of the Baskets and Big Ticket Items. Last night, we took a lot of pictures of items that will be on the Sale Tables. When these get on Flickr, we will then make "public" that site. Look for that to happen on Thursday! How exciting to see everything!

The new cat, Zavatar continues to do wonderful--he's a friendly cat and seems to enjoy watching the kittens. Shirley, Purrdita and Raymond are running crazy here in the office--all after a ball that jingles! Asha is great--such a cuddler.

Penn, Teller and Farrah have been zooming around the top kitty walks. They look like white blurs up there. They sure know how to have fun. Nemo is now out of her pen 100% of the time--she is so much braver. A sweetie cat. Her fur is growing back on her jaw now. Asha is taking a nap with Linden and Dennison curled up with her. Jaina is at the window shelf most of each morning--she loves the bird feeders.

We've heard from Bomber's mom/dad. All is well and happy! Our vet was pretty impressed with all his toes. I called the gentleman that has Shaling and Patiska yesterday to check on them. It's official now--they are BOTH staying and doing much better. Both are calmer now that the kittens are not around them and they have even been napping on the rocking chair together!

The Sunporch cats and Cat's Cove cats are all doing great. Big Al's ear continues to look good. Cliff is feeling back to normal. Today will be a great day for the Covies to run the farmyard!

We had BOXES last night. What fun and we are always so grateful. Much thanks to Sigrid for helping.
Medic101--a case of Fancy Feast
Andrea/Amsprinkle and her cats--40 large cans and 12 small cans of food, Pop tabs for Kellen, Paw Prints from Fresh Step, treats for the volunteers
Gina/catlvr14--2 dozen cats treats. For the Catathon: coffee mug and puzzle with the Resident cats on each!
Leenie--4 cases of Friskies
Bantry from MA--For the Catathon: 2 wood cut prints, 1 called Flocked and the other Dog Days. Each are unique and a one of a kind
Karen D/butterflyksd--For the Catathon: a gorgeous hand made heirloom red/white rug (oval shaped)
Karen H (and delivered by volunteer Diane M)--3 mewbie crocheted blankies for the cats
Pat and John, visitors, on their way to GA--bird seed, bird bath, suet, 2 bird books and gardening gloves
Pat S from Paulding--dry and canned cat food
Missymjj/Temykitty12 & Christy Marie--birthday card for Sheriff
Carol O from CA--coupons
Rose/rosesf6cats--birthday card for Putter

To show appreciation to the World's Best Volunteers (our very own FFRC volunteers!), the rescue center purchased a special t-shirt for each of them. It's a light blue, with the logo on the front. On the back, it says FFRC and Volunteer. We are so happy to have been able to get these for the volunteers. They can wear them at the Catathon and Concern/Carnival or whenever!


For the Catathon: Basket 3, in Round 1 Calico kitten set and shelves

For the Catathon: Basket 9, in Round 2 Doggie basket

Sunday, June 10

Two weeks from today is the Catathon--unbelievable that it's coming so fast. We have lots to do yet and will keep you posted on the happenings!

Our Surgery day from yesterday went great. We did 26 surgeries in 5 1/2 hours, including a physical on each one! All are doing great, fully recovered and out and about already. Simply amazing! The kitties and cats that were done:
Neutered/castrated
Larrymore
Bomber
Miler
Zavatar
Purrdue
Purrkins
Purrgeron
Purrby
Obadiah
Dolan
Dennison
Durell
Daymo
Linden
Buckeye
Cypress
Spruce
Ginseng

Spayed: Martha Ann, Nemo, Purrdita, Shirley, Mercy, Darily, Emma Lou & Ida Lou

A very busy day, but a very productive day. Thanks to all who made this possible. And thanks to Di (TippynTraylor) for the pizza lunch--it was delicious!

We also had an adoption yesterday! Azar went to his new home. We've already heard from the new family and it sounds like all is well and happy!

This morning, we also had an adoption. Dorrianna is on her way to Minnesota with her new mama Deb. Three of our weekend guests have already left, with Dorrianna in stow. We have certainly enjoyed their visit. We showed them the house cats, Einstein, the farmyard and Cat's Cove. They also got a sneak preview of some of the baskets! Nikkaross is still with us and is staying till this afternoon to visit the cats.

The new cat, Zavatar, male, about 9 months old, white and grey tiger (looks alot like Azar) is now out and about and is doing great. A super sweet big boy.

Thanks to Betz for your donation to FFRC, for Cutie and friends to have special food. We made $825.88 from Google AdSense for the month of May--I'm astounded. This is simply by clicking on the ads that might interest you, on the webcam site. Thank you!


A sneak preview of the Kitty Basket for the Catathon.

A preview of one of the Laurel Burch baskets for the Catathon.

Saturday, June 9

Happy Surgery Day today! A very very busy morning--lots of females and even more males to do today. Bonnie, Sue, Lynnette, Dr. Darci will be here for this event. Boys will be done first, then the girls.

We have four visitors for the weekend and all are staying in Kitty Kastle. We certainly enjoy having visitors here. Nikka arrived first and has already taken lots of pictures. Then Deb11111 (who is adopting Dollianna), Connie (warped in MN, who is the rug maker) and Linda/Goss (who does a lot of the video recording for ffrc) arrived. They will be staying again tonight!

We had BOXES last night. Ever so grateful for the supplies and for helping us get the food cabinets full again!
Goss/Linda--big brown marshmallow bed and big bag of assorted chips for volunteers
Deb11111--3 bottles of Tide HE laundry soap, cat toy cube, 4 bottles of Mr. Clean, bonito flakes, Dawn liquid dish soap and a big bag of chips for the volunteers
Connie/warpedinmn--recyclable bags,3 beautiful washcloths/2 hand towels & 4 big bath towels, HUGE paper clips, coupons, mouse toys, 8 pillowcases, 2 big cases of Friskies and an S shaped cat scratcher. Also real catnip to plant! Connie also brought a big container of fresh fruit and 2 cakes for the volunteers!
Abbytabbysmom/Cheryl--pretty kitty towels, baby food, sardines, collectible pewter frame (for the Catathon) and 8 pillowcases
D'Lee--VitaGravy pouches
Laura H/Medic--a case of Fancy Feast
Anonymous--3 bottles of Mr. Clean & 4 Mr. Clean Magic Erasers
CacheMaine/CameoD--2 litter locker II Hygenic litter disposal systems for the next 2 families that adopt kitties. So nice!
Pat L--pop tabs for Kellen, cat dancer toy, crocheted blankies for kitty beds for ffrc
Anonymous--a case of Friskies Shreds
Sandra E--2 BIG cases of Friskies Variety packs
Anonymous--case of canned kitten Fancy Feast cans, case of Canned baby cat Royal Canin, 2 cases of Appetizers and a case of 32 cans of Friskies
Deirdre M from CA--a PayPal gift in lieu of a Catathon purchase

If I ever make an error, please don't hesitate to e-mail me about it. OR if a gift received says anonymous, and you sent it, would love to have an e-mail from you so we can acknowledge who the gift was from!

All is well here! On to surgery day...........


A sneak preview of one of the "baskets", called Laurel Birch Indigo Cat

Another sneak preview, this one called Kid's Summer Fun and Kid's Avon products

Friday, June 8

Tomorrow is our big surgery day here at FFRC. A tentative count is 20. That will keep us hopping busy. But, we all enjoy it, work good as a team and then these kittens can go up for adoption.

Putter had a very nice birthday yesterday. We opened his birthday cards at BOX time last night. Thru out the day, he got his Temptation Treats whenever he wanted (although that's not much different than any other day! What Putter wants...Putter gets!) He did have lots of extra extra pettings though!

We have the health papers all ready for our soon to be adopted cats--Bomber, Dollianna and Azar. Today we are expecting our 4 guests for the weekend. So glad to these visits!

Silas is doing great--he's fitting right in with the rest of the cats. Sumer is having a bit of a difficult journey in slipping into the ffrc routine, but we're being patient with him. Little Tweet is doing great. He spent some of the day out of his pen yesterday, slept inside his pen but is now out and about again. We're hoping he'll make some kitty friends real soon.

This weekend is a big event for FFRC. Our dance studio gives a performance for the town every June. It's a big event. We are in charge of the concession stand. This is a fundraiser for us and an opportunity to pass out our Catathon flyers. Jodi, our volunteer, has headed this event every year. It's a big job and I'm grateful for her doing this.

FiFi has become an expert Cat Go Round Wheel participant. She can sure make that wheel spin. It seems like all the kittens have a go at it. I saw 3 again try to make it go at one time yesterday--doesn't work quite like that! Teamwork is a must! They sure enjoy this "toy".

We had BOXES last night. I am constantly in awe at your support. Thank you.
Volunteer Pat--for the the Catathon--small mewbie blankie and a large crocheted afghan in sea colors--it's beautiful
Anonymous from Wisconsin--a Hoops & YoYo congrats card for winning the Worlds Best Litter!, 2 Einstein treats, face wipes for kitties, Cookies for the volunteers, Sticky Buddy lint roler, 6 cans of Fancy Feast, Dry Kitten food
D'Lee--5 packages of Vita Gravy and 4 cases of Indoor Friskies
Susan C/schinn81 from Maine--2 cases of Friskies bits
CathiB12--3 cases of Fancy Feast
Lillian from Illionois--For the Catathon: Photo of Jessica Simpson & Willie Nelson with certificate of Authenticity of their autographs. Birthday card for Putter.
Betz from PA--for the Catathon: Watch set with 8 bands & 8 watch faces, Set of 12 Victorian Ornament sets in a satin box. For grandkids: pet magnets!
CherylAnn275 from WA--For the Catathn: 17 handmade flannel pillowcases, 10 cotton pillow cases (in sets of 2), 2 large Kitty blankies, 7 sun catchers with suction cups. For FFRC: small paper plates, 6 kitty pink & white bed pads, 2 boxes of bandages for Diane, 2 boxes of "guy kind" bandages for volunteers, coupons, kitty cutouts from Iris folding cards
AbbyTabbysmama--3 cases of Fancy Feast, 2 large packages of toilet paper!, 1 large package of paper towels, dry cat food, 1 case of Friskie can food
Bonnie, Dve & Michael--large Temptation Treats for Badu
NukiMaster--Temptation treats, 3 boxes of Feliway Sprays & 6 boxes of Feliway Diffusers and the most delightful letter from NukiMaster telling of personal experiences and testimonial stories with "issues"! Thanks NukiMaster!
Solid Foundation Real Estate in Defiance--sent a donation
Aunty Julie--a card for Magentta with gift certicate to buy her treats. Postal stamps
Nancy D from Ohio--donation for FFRC
JillR--5 boxes of Friskies--all flavors!
For Putter's Birthday: cards from OhMyGuiness & Henry R Peeps, UncleKat, Bill B (with a Putter donation), Lillian (with a birthday and hug tokens), Dave and Carol O (with a donation for the parking lot)
Gusti from Germany--a Happy Birthday wish for Putter and a PayPal donation
Vaunita S from PA--a Happy Birthday wish for Putter and a PayPal donation

We have been using the World's Best Litter and finding is great to use! Thanks again for all your votes that brought us 11,000 pounds of this litter. Some of you will begin to receive your new FFRC t-shirts! We have sent out all the T-shirts that we had, but have no fear! We have 250 more shirts ordered and on it's way.

Remember to check in at our Causes site at: causes.com/causes/660495-friends-of-felines-rescue-center Big thanks to Jodie/aslanim for taking care of this site for FFRC. I wanted to also thank again Marsha R for those wonderful Home Depo Cannister vacuums that she sent--they are awesome sweepers. We are currently using one in Kitty Kastle and one in Cat's Cove.

Please remember to continue voting for FFRC at The Animal Rescue Site. We are still in #1 position, but must maintain this lead until voting stops on July 17th. We would love to be the winner of that $5,000--would be so very helpful. Thanks for all the votes!

FiFi--a top contender for the World's Best Cat-Go-Round wheel runner! You can see her eyes in this picture. It's wonderful that she can see now!

Thursday, June 7

Today is Putter's Birthday! He is now 15 and has been with us for 2 years. Putter arrived after having been found on a golf course, in a pitiful condition. He was bone thin, fur so matted tight, that it took forever to shave him. His poor back legs were buckled underneath him. I remember truly being concerned if he was going to survive those first few days here. But, he's a toughie, a sweetie, an ultra-snugglebum and we're so thankful to have him. He's an oldster and will enjoy the rest of his life here as a permanent resident.

Shaling and Patiska have officially been adopted! They have went together to an elderly gentleman who likes calicos and tortis. He originally had planned on taking Shaling. We put Shaling and Patiska in Kitty City to make sure they were compatible...and they are. I believe the constant "kittyiness" here inside the rescue center is what caused these 2 girls to be cranky. They settled in nicely. We will continue to monitor this adoption for a couple weeks to make sure all are happy.

Tomorrow we will start preparing for our big surgery day on Saturday. Then, we'll be placing these kittens up for adoption and getting them in Petfinders. Lots more homes to fine, but we'll do it!

Yesterday was another full day of working on the Catathon. Things are coming along and goals are being reached. Next week, we'll turn "public" the fickr page where we are entering all the Basket and Big Ticket Items.

T-shirt and ffrc cookbook orders are still coming in. We just mailed out over 150 shirts yesterday. Another 250 shirts have already been ordered. As soon as they arrive, they will be sent out on their way too! As soon as the cookbooks arrive, we will do a mass "stuffing and mailing" and get those to you also.

Dollianna loves the clear plastic jugs to lay in! So cute to see that head of hers sticking out! Nemo is at the window watching the birds. Zelda's leg has been bothering her more lately--remember she injured it in her accident before she arrived here. Linden, Buckeye, Fayth and Faleen were running like a bunch of crazy kittens today, all chasing the same ball. This is when we really have to do the "kitten shuffle" here so we don't step on any tails or toes.

We had BOXES last night. The gratitude I have for this support is huge. I thank you.
Kimkost--1 case of Fancy Feast, 3 cases of Friskies
Michlyn--4 cases of Friskies, dog toy, treats for Einstein and donuts for the volunteers. For the Catathon: a Catopoly game
D'Ette--For the Catathon: beautiful Laurel Burch items--butterfly scarf, Purple Cat t-shirt, grey cat large t-shirt, pink sleep shirt, crossbody bag beach design, 1 light blue cat shirt, purse, indigo pin, overnight bag, 2 windchimes (1 a hummingbird, 1 a butterly). We now have a indigo blue laurel burch basket
Sonjamac--2 cases of Appetizers, 1 case of gravy sensation packets
Di, TippynTraylor and Ashley--3 bags of bubblegum for volunteers
Javajoe--For the Catathon:a book called "The World is your Litterbox" and a box of Cat-Butt magnets
Amy D--coupons For the Catathon:avon products for Mens and a pair of slippers, women misc Avon items and 2 bags of Avon items just for kids
Judeanlee--4 large pooper scoopers (tan, gray, pink and purple)
Bev M--6 cases of baby food (Bella and all say a thanks too)
Donna R/cat-toys from TX--For the Catathon: Texas Longhorn blanket, handcrafted silver bracelet with Safari animals on it, 8 boxes of 5 cat angel ornaments in each-all handmade, beautiful, cat shaped glass candle holder, a onesie and bib with Texas Longhorn theme
BradlyS from WA--for Filbert and friends--2 cases of KMR
Maria/Queenofkings--For the Catathon: 4 hand crafted wooden cat box-toys, made by her husband, with the ffrc logo in it (can put balls in it for cats to swish around)
Shelly and Val H--For the Catathon: mouse pads with the resident cats on it
Renee C--For the Catathon--Stuffed Canadian Bear For FFRC--mouse toys and balls, microfiber towel and 6 cans of friskies
Sandra E--2 cases of Friskies
Binky & Betz--For the Catathon: many Dave Mortensen Sneaker ceramic figurines (really nice), Where's Waldo book, Maze Book, BIG set of Legos
Priscilla G--4 cases of Baby Food (Putter says thanks too!)
D'Lee--2 cases of baby food (Bondi also loves this)
Colleen P--coupons for the volunteers
William B from PA--birthday card for Putter
From Flair--a card and letter (who by the way, is doing good)
Gregg G, volunteer--2 certificates for the Catathon, that is good for a ride in his Classic 1971 Pontiac Trans Am and a round of 18 holes of golf, with using a golf cart.
Andrea J--a PayPal donation for ffrc
David, Bonnie & Michael--a donation for ffrc, for Badu's care
CaSandra/hencass--a donation for ffrc, thru PayPal

We took in a new kitten. One of our volunteers, Mary E helped rescue it from inside a car motor. It's a little black/white kitten about 6 weeks old, as cute as can be. She's a female and is a real friendly little thing. Her name is Tweets. She's still in Thumper's Room but will be playing with the others soon enough.

A real whisker display by Ida Lou.

Happy Birthday, Putter!

Weds, June 6

Yesterday I took a morning and afternoon off! Went to a huge flea market with my daughter Dawn. Had a very nice time! This morning we have another Catathon meeting at 9:45.

This weekend, we are expecting FOUR webcam viewers to visit--this will be wonderful. We already know that this weekend we will have 2 adoptions--Azar and Dollianna.

BOXES will be at 6:00 tonight, as we'll have 2 days worth of BOXES to do, since I didn't do them yesterday. Fun! See you then. More updates tomorrow.

Tuesday, June 5

We have our sweet Bomber on hold. He'll be going to Mary and Ron's home after he is neutered. We also have Queenie, Emma Lou and Dollianna on hold. I'm so happy for all of them.

Saturday is our spay/neuter day. We weighed all the kittens yesterday. All have had good weight gains. We'll have approximately 17 surgeries to do this coming Saturday. Give us a half hour and we can turn the front office into a great surgery room, including 2 surgery lights and all the needed equipment!

Plans are going full force with the Catathon. Many baskets are complete, pictures being taken which will soon be on Flickr, schedules being made, big tent is ordered along with porta-pots. Lots of activity going on.

We also have our t-shirts up for sale now that the volunteers have received theirs. You can go to the website fofrescue.org There is a tab, just click and order! So easy, thanks to Lenz. Steve worked 5 hours last night, filling t-shirt orders. We purchased 200 to start with and have used them all. We already have another 250 shirts ordered. As soon as they are in, they will also be shipped out to you. So, don't be discouraged--more shirts are on their way! Thanks for such the successfull t-shirt orders.

We also have extra FFRC cookbooks. The manufacture is sending quite a few extra cookbooks, to help cover the initial shipping costs. So, if you didn't get a chance to order an FFRC cookbook, go to our website and click on the cookbook link.

Penn and Teller truly are twins. What one does, the other does. When one gets into trouble (just kitty orniness!), the other one is right there too. Finally, Nemo is starting to emerge from her pen more. We like to let them decide when they want to do this. I believe, in her case, she's opted to stay in Dodger's Pen for so long because she loves that hammock!

The new older kitten, Sumer is now in Patience's Pen--we've moved him up from Thumper's Room. This morning we opened his pen door and he is starting to venture out. He's a little unsure about it, but in 24 hours, I believe, he will be more adjusted. He loves people and really enjoys a chin rub. We sure like his extra toes.

Daymo, Ginseng and Spruce are quite the clowns--these are a fun 3-some. It's so interesting to watch the interactions of cats. Then when you mix in Larrymore and Martha Ann to that 3--it's a circus. These are professional toy players. Dollianna just made her entrance into the office--at full speed, and headed for the toys! Love to watch her play.

We had BOXES last night. Sooooooooo very grateful for the donations.
JillR--32 cans of Friskies
Anonymous--Many Boyd Bear figurine collection set--really nice. Please, whoever sent this, let me know, if you would.
Linda C and Keith & Maise from UK--hand crocheted baby blanket, baby bonnet, yellow hat and sweater, crocheted by her mom, for the Catathon. Also a Hello Kitty toy in UK attire, for the kitties
Faith M from Maine--For the Catathon: 3 awesome handmade, personalized pillows for the Catathon. For the volunteers: goodies!
From Octavia & an anonymous helper--a wonderful letter, Sham wows, treats for the volunteers, 2 "cheese heads", twenty 50 cent coins, toys (have to watch this girl--she's getting pretty tricky!)
From our sweet Hannah--birthday card for Putter, package of snackers for Putter and a box of gravy sensation pouches also for Putter. He enjoyed his treats during boxes.
Gail R/tuxkitty from New Orlands--For the Catathon: many many wonderful, varied items from New Orleans, including a gift certificate for Central Grocery, gift certificate for the Cafe French Market and from the Chateau French Quarters resort a 3 day, 2 night stay ($500 value, expires May 31st 2013)
Susan F--For the Catathon: 3 awesome painted tile framed pictures, calico throw, cat shaped rug, cat hats, a really cool story cat frame, kitty cube note pad, Christmas ornament, 2 kitty keepsake boxes, posti notes, cat toys and treats. For FFRC: 4 colorful puffs, orange stuffed kitties and a card for Putter
Jeanette/Furrhaven kitties & sister Annette--For the Catathon: 9 awesome handmade photo alums. These are top-notch photo books, a real prize. Thanks--I got to keep one!
Judy, Stephanie & Heather--were visitors on Saturday: fancy feast, volunteer trets, paper plates, paper cups, necklace from the Animal Rescue Site, TP
Selkie & Blue--my siamese friends--a real nice letter, letting me know they now have a new sister--adjustments are hard, but they are trying! Misty's the new family member.

Ida Lou is NOT going to share her mouse!


Olaf knows how to pose--what a handsome boy he is.

Sunday, June 3

Three weeks from today is the Catathon! Wow--getting closer. You can now pre-register on the website fofrescue.org Go to the Catathon button, look for Pre-Registration form.
HOW TO BID
In order to bid we would like you to sign up using our pre-registration form. This will allow our volunteer phone operators to take your bid information more quickly. Pre-registration will end 24 hours prior to the Catathon on June 23rd at 1pm.
If you did not pre-register we will still take your bid, but we will need all of this information given to the phone operators each time you call in with a bid.

The birds are singing and the birdfeeders are busy out the windows. The cats are being very entertained by watching them! Ida Lou, Purrdue and Purrkins are wrestling right beside me. They think they are powerful kittens! Ginny is also here by me--such a beauty. She is blossoming every day into a wonderful, sweet girl. Penn and Teller are constant kitten friends. They love playing with them. Sometimes it gets a bit rough, but when the kittens squeak, I've seen P & T, sit up, look at them, like--did I do that? Then it's all back to play time again.

Jaina continues to do great. No signs of any heart problems, shortness of breath and her color remains good. Farrah also continues to do good on her reduced PB seizure meds. We'll keep an eye on her activity level. Remo's wound on her jaw from the fish hook is healing with no problems. Bondi has had a few episodes of vomiting, but continues to eat. We have to always remember and watch her--we know that her kidneys are not working 100%. So, we'll love on her all she'll let us and enjoy each day with her. She loves her pen--door is always open except at night--and so enjoys her cushie bed.

Purrby just knocked himself silly--was chasing Daymo and wasn't watching where he was going. Bong--right into my desk chair. Shirley and Goodness are such sweet sisters--always ready for a hug. The new older kitten, Sumer is doing good. No signs of illness and loves to have her head rubbed. Purrby is already playing with Buckeye now.

We had BOXES last night--sure enjoyed that. Many thanks to you for your donations and support.
Nancy & Tom, webcam viewers that came for a visit--case of Friskies, 36 cans of Fancy Feast, Appetizers, Wellness cat packets, Einstein treat, dog toy, kitty note pad, pop tabs for Kellen, 2 bags of dry food (kitten & adult), Hello Kitty bin, kitty toy. She also donated for the Catathon: an absolutely beautiful handmade bead necklace, with over 3,000 tiny beads in it. The face is a cat--it's so very pretty
Barbara C--For the Catathon: Items from the Animal Rescue Site; purple mug, 2 purple tee shirts, purple glove and scarf
William M/UncleKat from Oregon--2 pouches of Treats for Putter's birthday--June 7
Joanne P/joey3100 from FL--2 boxes of Frontline for dogs (extra thanks!), and a card/gift card for our dear Sigrid in appreciation of her coming in to help with Boxes!
Michelle L/crittercat--For the Catathon: 4 handmade cat nip mouse toys, handmade bead key chain, sterling silver cat earrings
Lori W/lewbeth from MA--giant straws for toys, pingpong balls for toys. For the Catathon: Air Hogs Victron Waver toy, Glow Explosion toy, cat in the bag toy and a big Monkey cat bed
Di/TippyNTraylor and Ashley--2 packages of styrofoam plates For the Catathon: 2 giant rolls of bubble wrap!
Carrie M--toys for the kids basket for the Catathon For FFRC: tea boxes and snack meals for Kitty Kastle
Nigel W from UK--a donation to FFRC thru PayPal

If I make an error on the Boxes or neglect to mention someone, please do not hesitate to e-mail me--it's fine to let me know!

Diane M, a volunteer had an awesome surprise yesterday. A viewer knew she was without a sewing machine, so sent her a real nice portable one! How wonderful and caring. Diane loves to sew and this will let her continue on with her projects.
Gregg also received a really neat ball cap from a webcam viewer--he was wearing it with pride.


Please remember to vote for FFRC at The Animal Rescue Site. The site is: tinyurl.com/ffrcvote We are still in #1, but have slipped a bit. We need to hold our lead until it's over (June 17) to win the $5,000. Please vote for us! I appreciate it.

Special thanks to Aunty Fi, AnnaMarie and an anonymous donor who has made it possible for all of our volunteers to receive a new FFRC shirt, free of charge. This not only has brought huge smiles from the volunteers, but from me as well. I am appreciative that you care for the volunteers--they are indeed a huge part of this Rescue Center.

Our sweet Cutie, a resident.

Another resident, Ada Jane. She is so gentle.

Saturday, June 2nd

The toucan ship is taking a beating this morning--there are 4 kittens playing on it, showing no mercy to it! What fun they are having! Nemo (black cat that had the fish hook in jaw) is doing great. What a little loverbug she is. She dearly loves her hammock and is so enjoy staying cuddled up on it. Today we will work on encouraging her to leave her pen more.

We have a new cat here, name is Silas. He's a big black and white boy. He came from the Rescue Center, but was tossed outside, after having been there for 3 years. After gathering information, we were able to get him back. Unfortunately, the friend of Silas (also from FFRC) is still missing. We have an ad in the paper with a reward, along with people looking for him going on right now. I so hope we find the 2nd cat. This should never ever have happened. Part of the contract with FFRC, is that ANY cat at ANY time can come back here if no longer unable to be cared for. This door is ALWAYS open to returnees.

The litter has arrived! Wow--what a huge, gigantic amount of litter--all thanks to YOUR votes. We received 11,000 pounds of litter, all in 16 pound heavy plastic bags. Very nice! We've already got the Cat's Cove litter-pools with some of this litter in it! I'm very grateful for this. We were beginning to think it wasn't coming yesterday. It was scheduled to be here between 1 and 3:00, but didn't arrive until 6:40 pm. But, it's here now and we're happy. Thanks to all the people that helped us unload. Some is stored in Kitty City, some is stored in the stall in the big red barn.

We took in another young cat yesterday. Connie D was showing some visitors Cat's Cove and the farmyard, when she spotted a black/white cat. The cat immediately went up to Connie, and lo and behold, this one also has extra mittens. Such a sweet girl. Absolutely loves people. She's dirty and was so hungry. Her bath will happen this morning and her tummy is now full, so she's a happy girl. Her name is Sumer, prounced Soo-mer, which means light!

We had BOXES last night! We did them early (6:00) and a rush job, because we found out the litter delivery was going to happen soon. Thanks to you for your support!
Cathi B--2 cases of babyfood (big thanks--we were low, and Bella was worried!)
Hencass--for the Catathon: From the Amishmart--gourmet pancake mix, grape jelly, apple jelly, chicken noodle soup, 5 bags of homemade noodles, an awesome cookbook, country popcorn and oil
Lois L--2 cases of friskies & 2 boxes of Friskie packets (gravy style)
Cindy A--For the Catathon: lots of very beautiful homemade jewelry, crocheted neclaces by her mom Judy B, 5 alligator shaped luggage tags, a very nice wallet (such talent!)
Deb--a visitor. Deb also helped unload the litter! A sterling silver charm bracelet with the clasp being a cat!
Carol, Corky and Tammy from CA--5 Beatles CD's--an awesome collection
Kim W/violetsmom--for FFRC: lysol wipes, small paper plates, lots of kitty treats, cat toys, kitty face wipes. For the Catathon: a stunning cat wind chimes
Mechelle (a webcam visitor)--for the Catathon: a nascar basket that included Dale Earnhart beach towel, XL T-shirt, match box Nascar cars, beer mug wrap, Christmas ornaments with Rusty Wallace, Tony Stewart and Dale Earnhart, trading cards, a Dale Jr. parking sign, nascar collectable metal sign & a Terry labonte semi truck toy. Also a really neat clear glass cat figurine with a gold fish in the tummy! She also sent an Indian doll, 22 inch, called Rain Blossom--just gorgeous! Mechelle also helped unload litter.
Trudy S from Bryan OH--a donation to FFRC
Barbara B/bjbx--For the Catathon: A "San Francisco Basket", bull of local items--origami shirt shaped like California, SF piggie bank, mug, 49ers, 2 hats, Alcatraz cooking apron, Painted lady book, metal SF sign, SF Giradellis candy in a tin, Steve McQueen as Bullet, Clark Gable in SF, Wild parrots of Telegraph Hill book. A really nice basket!
Pam W--For the Catathon: travel alarm & pocket pedometer, 4 tote bags, several cat frames and dog frames, beautiful Laurel Burch plates, 4 sparkley "sunglass cats" t-shirts, 2 Regina Medley Artist design pillows
Carla C/beachkatz--For the Catathon: "feather" cat pottery, royal winter fest Kitty, wood fishing cats with poles that they hold (these are very nice wood designed cats). Plus BIG straws for the cats to play with. Cards for Cliff and Simone's birthdays!

Zelda is sleeping here on the desk with me, Jaina is sleeping on my chair. Asha is also close by, peeking a look at me now and then (it means, pet me again!), and Emaline is up high napping. Her face is doing god these days. All is well. Cutie loves going inside Dodger's Pen, where Nemo is.

We have a visitor coming in the next couple days, very interested in 1 or 2 short hair females cats. He has lost his cats over the past couple years--both were geriatrics. He's ready now to adopt.

Durell--what a handsome little kitten he is and such a purr boy too.

Purrgeron--a kitty of Purresa.