Florida has a special spay/neuter license plate that you can purchase to support the cause of spay/neuter throughout the state. The organization that spearheaded the passing of the license plate initiative several years ago is called Florida Animal Friends. This organization receives funds from the sale of the license plate. The funds are awarded as grants to rescue groups for projects relating to spay/neuter. For the Love of Cats was one of the few lucky ones last year to be awarded a $10,000 grant for feral cat spay/neuter for Collier County. We received the funds in August and by November, most of the funds had been used. It seems like a lot of money but at an average of $40 or so per cat, we were only able to fix 240 cats. However, that relates to as many as 1488 kittens that were not born just this year alone. We found that many people feeding small groups of feral cats are doing so right in their backyard and many are on small fixed incomes and not able to either trap them or get them fixed to stop the breeding. The grant funds went to good use here in Collier County. We encourage all of you to purchase the Florida Animal Friends Spay Neuter license plate so funds will continue to be available for organizations like ours so that we may some day be a “no more homeless pet” state. Please go to their website at http://www.floridaanimalfriend.org

Oh my goodness, Betty, our 8 year old mom cat who has had so many litters now has a new home of her own! After her last litter was adopted, Betty wandered around our shelter looking for her babies and checking out all the other moms and kittens to see if hers was among them. She has had so many litters, that it was her whole life and I don’t think she could think that there would be anything else for her to do. She was a bit depressed but we kept her busy with lots of attention and interaction and she really responded as if she knew that there was more to life than having babies! A wonderful family with 3 other cats has adopted her. She loves other cats and dogs and is so easy going, she will be right at home with her ready purr and cute face with her tongue hanging out because she has only 1 tooth left. What a happy story for Betty after so many years of negect and abuse. We are looking forward to getting photos of her in her new home so stay tuned!

When Kitt came to our shelter in June, he barely weighed 7 lbs. He was just skin and bones. His body had been ravaged from years of untreated diabetes. He was a shaggy shell of a cat at 16 years old +/-. He had a sad meow, one of dispair and discomfort because his neuropathy from the diabetes made every bone in his body ache. He has responded well to the change to “DM” food for diabetic cats. We have very conservatively started him on insulin and he is still a work in progress because he has gained almost 3 lbs over the last 3 months so getting to the right dose has been illusive so far. However, he feels and looks so much better and from time to time, we catch him playing with a mouse so we know his quality of life is very good. He, of couse, eats like a horse, and we won’t even talk about the volume in the litter box! We are just glad he has come to be with us and he will probably be a permanent resident that we will continue to cherish and care for until his days are over. His dad lost his house, his job and his relationship with his family so Kitt is really the lucky one.

This is a note I received from John. He is a wonderfully compassionate man who is trying to do the right thing for these cats. The mom cat and the young male would be great barn or outdoor cats once they were acclimated to their new surroundings. The little tortoiseshell female is a love and wants to be an indoor lap cat. The kittens are about 14 weeks old and the mom is barely a year old. If you know anyone who has room in their life and hearts, please call him. He was supposed to leave for up north and has been staying behind to try to help these cats. The people on the association board hate cats and want them gone. He is afraid they will poison them if he leaves.

Thinking I was alone grilling one night a kitten came up beside me and let out a starving yowel! We both jumped about a foot in the air. So I feed her.The next night returning home she was sitting in the driveway as to say were have you been.While trying to find her a home I did not know that she was going to have kittens there were four.Asking around to find them a home I asked Michell at Everglades Motorcycles of Naples. She said try For the Love of Cats. This name came up again! So I talked to them. They said they were full. But they helped me get them fixed and shots. While telling Jan and Jim what I was trying to do to find them homes. Angie and Chloe Pine of Naples were listening and took the two white ones.There are still a male striker black.gray and white just like the mother and a female Black,Gold and white.I live in a no pet area! Free To A Good Home! Please if possible get your animales fixed! Because they all deserve a Good Home! Not to be left to the Elementes and just keep on breeding. East Naples Cell 978-851-2305 John

The Giving Effect is a website that links non-profit organizations to everyone that has goods to donate . Cut and paste this link into your browser to learn more about our needs.

http://for-the-love-of-cats-shelter-marco-island-fl.thegivingeffect.com/

There are days when I wish the cats could talk and tell me their story. Herbie “arrived” in a neighborhood on Marco Island about 3 weeks ago. He was very skinny, very hungry and dirty. He was living in a concrete culvert that runs under a busy road. A wonderful woman started to feed him and he began to look a little bit better and she called us to let us know that she canvassed the area and no one knew who he belonged to. When I got there, Herbie came right up to me and rubbed all over and gave me “head butts” of affection. He has discovered that canned food is pretty good and has been busy cleaning his plate and cleaning himself up here at the shelter. He was already neutered but not microchipped and from all indications, he is about 2-3 years old. I just wonder what awful circumstances surrounded his former family that they chose to abandon this adorable cat. Herbie will be microchipped and ready for adoption this weekend at Petsmart on Pine Ridge Road.

Our cute little bobtail tortoiseshell girl, Carlita, has a new home! She really hated to go to Petsmart every weekend and curled up in her cage and hid from the loud noises, barking dogs and bright lights. We made a video of her playing and showing what a great cat she is and loaded it into a digital photo frame and mounted it on her cage to play all day. It was fun to watch. A family met her several weekends ago and came back last weekend to see if she was still there and Carlita was waiting for them. She is very happy in her new home and they love her! After being dumped behind a motel- she has a new life now and we could not be happier for her!

Bad things happen to people in this economy and worse things happen to their cats. Pheobe was abandoned in the middle of the night with her friend, a black cat. Both females and both pregnant. Phoebe and her friend went down the street to a house where another cat lives and begged for food. A nice neighbor started feeding them and then called us for help. Pheobe was sleeping on her front porch looking for all the world like she had swallowed a basketball. Her friend had gone off to have her kittens and we are still looking for her. Pheobe is just a teenager herself and had her kittens last Thursday. She is a good first time mom and trying really hard to keep up with the care and feeding of 4 little ones. Pheobe is the most adorably sweet and affectionate little girl- her kittens will be just like her.

Sometimes you just wish that cats could talk so you would know what happened to them. Carlita is a purrfectly sweet and fun 4 year old tortoiseshell female with the most adorable bobtail that she wags vigorously when she is playing- just so cute, it makes you laugh. A recent survey on cat ownership indicated that the reason most people own cats is that cats make them smile. Carlita will have you grinning from ear to ear. She is spunky, like all tortoiseshell cats, and full of energy and fun. She does not like to be picked up but will jump up and stand on your lap for attention when she wants it-especially if you are trying to work on your computer and she is annoyed that you are not paying enough attention to her. She was found abandoned and starving behind a motel in Naples. She had already been spayed and we just can’t imagine why she was thrown away like that. Carlita is good with other cats but does not take any gruff from them- a tough, stocky girl (read well fed now). She is spayed, tested, treated, up to date on vaccinations and microchipped. She shows poorly at Petsmart- she is terrified of dogs and she huddles in her litter box to try to escape all the barking. Her beautiful dark gold eyes perfectly match her black and gold coloring. Every morning, she sits by the door in the shelter that leads to the house and cries to come in. She was a housecat once and wants so badly to be one again.

We all tend to wait until the “big one” starts heading for SW Florida before we start preparing for either evacuation or “hunkering down” to ride it out. You cat needs your help too so that in case of an emergency, you are prepared with documents and information. Food, water and medicines are just the beginning of what you need to help keep your pet safe. We have compiled a great checklist from several resources that we think you find very usefull. Check it out at http://www.floridacatrescue.com/hurricane/html

A tale of two kitties! Lynard came to the shelter as a kitten with his sister. Lynard was always a friendly, outgoing guy. His sister was adopted seperately into a home with other cats. Skinnard came to us on his last paw- he was rescued during a summer rainstorm at a pizza restaurant in North Naples. Half of his tail was infected, he was badly dehydrated and had an upper respiratory infection. He had not been handled by people before he was rescued. After several months with lots of TLC, his tail (what was left of it) was healed and he had become a very loving but still a bit shy little boy. He was adopted along with Lynard almost a year ago. They have come back to the shelter because their mom developed severe allergies. She says Lynard is “Mr. Social” and is more like a dog than a cat and Skinnard is her little lovebug and cuddles with her at night for loving but is shy with strangers. Both boys are just the best kitties and they like other cats. They need a new home now. They don’t have to go together but it sure would be nice for them.

This little bunch is going to be fun to watch grow up. There are 4 of them, all brown tabbies. Three girls and one boy. They all look identical. We had to put name collars on them right away so we could tell them apart. I don’t think any of them are twins, though they are very similar in their stripes and other markings. Just the cutest little group and their foster mom says they are the messiest little bunch- full of energy and mischief. I don’t have any photos yet but I will post some soon. We also took in 3 little two week old kittens. There were 4 of them but with the rains, one died in a puddle before they were rescued. The survivors are very sick with upper respiratory infection and we are having to tube feed them until they feel good enough to take a bottle. They are improving even though we have only had them for 48 hours. We will keep you up to date on them. The mom cat is somewhere near the Player’s Club in Lely so if anyone lives in that area, please look for her and start feeding her so we can loan you a trap and get her fixed. This was probably her first litter and I suspect that she is either a tabby, black or tortoiseshell color.

[caption id="attachment_67" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Grayson, so handsome"][/caption]Kitten Season is in full swing and we have 3 more lovey little ones here at the shelter. These kitties were rescued when they were 4 weeks old and they just love people. They purr the second you touch them and they love to be held and cuddled. Little Teo is the big lovebug of the group. Yoda is the fluffly female and she is just adorable and Grayson is so handsome and a quiet love. The person who rescued them trapped and spayed the feral mom cat- yeah! It is wonderful to rescue the kittens but an equally important task is to trap and spay the mom cat so we don’t have more kittens. This time of year, Domestic Animal Services kills more than 100 cats and kittens every week- a horrible number. It is not their fault. They have an “open door” policy so anyone can bring in any animal and they do not say “no” but that means that an animal already there has to die to make room for the new. It is the result of irresponsible pet ownership. Please tell anyone who has pets that are not fixed to bring them to the Collier Spay/Neuter Clinic on Immokolee Rd. in Naples. The cost is so minimal.

Our annual “Hairball” Fundraising Dinner and Silent Auction is Sunday, November 14th, 2010 at the Island Country Club located at 500 Nassau Rd., Marco Island from 5 pm to 8 pm. Enjoy an excellent sit down dinner while participating in a fun, entertaining and exciting evening filled with an incredible but affordable silent auction, a reverse auction for great electronics and a Purrfect Putt game to win prizes. As an all-volunteer rescue and shelter group, all proceeds go directly to benefit the orphaned cats and kittens that are being nurtured at our shelter. This year, we are thrilled to have a wonderful guest speaker, Bill Wood, from Fox 4 News. He is an emmy award-winning reporter and an avid animal lover. Reservations are $90 pp by calling Jan at 239-642-8674. More information will be available on our website very soon- so please check in often. Mark your calendars today! The kitties need your help!

Kit
Foreclosure and job loss sometimes just seems like a “sound bit” in the news today but we see the after effects of it everyday. Two such victims are Kit and Ditto. Kit is over 15 years old and a beautiful Maine Coone. He was diagnosed with diabetes over a year ago but his owner could not afford treatment. Luckily, Kit has no other issues, after extensive blood tests, and is being treated now at our shelter and responding very well. He has a slipped disk and does not walk very well, but glocosomine in his food is making a big difference in his comfort level and he loves to be brushed every morning after his insulin injection. Ditto is an 8 year old beautiful gray Hemmingway boy who has been living in the closet most of his life without the interaction from humans. He is very reserved but is learning to play and likes more attention every day. He may not ever be adoptable but we love him and he adores his buddy Kit. They are both good boys who have fallen on hard times and we hope to make them fell at home as much as possible. We are starting a sponsor program for them because we think they will be with us a long time- probably until the end of their days. Please help us take care of them if you can.

After all she has been through- Merlot has a new home- a wonderful new loving home! She is adapting very well and is already taking charge of the house. We are so very happy for her and will be keeping very close tabs to be sure that she continues to mesh with her new mom and her household. Thanks again to all of the people who made her return to us possible- you are just simply the very best!

New Coupons From CommonKindness

It has been estimated that there are over 50,000 stray and feral cats in Collier County. You probably have some in your neighborhood. When they are fixed and fed, they make wonderful community citizens who keep the palm rats, lizards and snakes out of your area. They don’t spray, yowl, reproduce or spread disease anymore and you hardly know that they are there except when it is their dinnertime. If you have stray or feral cats in your area, we encourage you to start feeding them so they can be trapped and fixed. Domestic Animal Services kills over 100 cats (mostly little kittens) every week this time of year. Each of you could make a difference with just a little effort. We have traps available for loan (we ask a $50 refundable deposit) and we can teach you how to use it and where to take the cat once you have it to get it fixed at a reasonable cost ($40-50). A low cost investment for community pest control! As most of you know, we are at Petsmart on Pine Ridge Road in Naples on Saturdays 10-3 and Sundays 11-3 if you would like to help the cats in your area or you can call Jim at 239-248-4166.