Thank you to the Ohio Pet Fund for a Generous $2000 grant
We want to take the time to thank the Ohio Pet Fund for supporting our efforts to spay and neuter area kitties with a generous $2,000 grant. Since we often find highly adoptable cats and kittens during our trapping efforts, the grant funds will allow us to spay and neuter the cats we offer for adoption in a year. We named this program, "From Hay Mown to Hearth: Bringing Adoptable Outside Kitties into Homes." The funding for the Ohio Pet Fund grants comes from the sale of the Ohio pet tags. The pet license plates are only $25 extra annually and all the money is used to support local groups working on finding homes for unwanted dogs and cats and decreasing the canine/feline overpopulation problem in Ohio. On March 30, a new "cat friendly" license plate will be available. Following that, there will also be one for dog lovers. To learn
more about purchasing these plates (and helping with grants that go to groups like ours), go to www.oplates.com Once there, click on "special plates," your vehicle type, then "Cats/Dogs (Pets)." To read more about the new plates (and see examples), go to www.petsohio.com
back to top  Give A Bowl with Purina
Purina has a really nice program that allows pet owners to get a coupon for Purina food and also help their favorite charity. If you go to www.giveabowl.com you can download a $4 coupon for any Purina pet food. Not only do you get food for your companion animal, you can also "Give a Bowl" of kitty food to Black and Orange Cat Foundation. After you download your coupon, select us to receive $1 worth of pet food coupons from Purina when you use your coupon. It's a winning situation for you and Black and Orange Cat Foundation. So hurry and get your coupon today!!!
back to top Happy Easter and Happy Spring
Spring brings with it many wonderful things, including the return of warm, sunny days to the cold and gray Ohio landscape. Spring also brings kitten season and sadly, we are already seeing many pregnant kitties. We are working toward a day when every cat and kitten is wanted and there are no kittens euthanized because there are too many. We are looking for a day when kittens will be a treat, like chocolates in a loaded Easter basket!! So help us to keep working toward that goal by encouraging everyone you know to adopt from their local rescues and shelters and to always spay and neuter.
back to top Joyful Life of Feral Cats
Many people think that feral cats lead sad lives, marred by hunger and illness. This photo, however, of my outside kitty, Tucker, proves differently. Tucker has his own cat house, built by a good friend, using blueprints from the Alley Cat Allies web site. His cat house keeps him warm and snug in the winter (my friend used insulation inside the walls--lucky kitty!!). But on warm spring days, Tucker enjoys a nap in the grass with dappled sunlight warming his body. We could all learn a lesson from the feral kitties in our lives!! Find info on building or providing your own feral cat house at the Alley Cat Allies web site, http://www.alleycat.org/NetCommunity/Page.aspx?pid=296
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This is one of our favorite web sites. If you go here each day and answer the trivia question, the site provides 10 pieces of kibble to Animal Shelters to feed hungry cats. You can do the same for dogs at www.freekibble.com This idea came from a 12 year old girl, Mimi Ausland, in Oregon who wanted to help feed animals in her local shelter. The site currently donates food to several shelters nationwide and hopes to add more in the future.
back to top Click to Give at the Animal Rescue Site
Another great web site is the Animal Rescue Site. If you go here each day and click on their purple button, sponsors will pay for food that goes to animal shelters nationwide. Just go to www.theanimalrescuesite/clickToGive.com each day and make a huge difference for animals while sitting at your computer!!
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This Easter, the Columbus House Rabbit Society and other rabbit rescue organizations, would like to encourage everyone to purchase a chocolate bunny or a stuffed toy one instead of the real thing. As the Society points out, rabbits are not low-maintenance pets, requiring spay or neuter surgery and routine vet care just like a dog or cat. Additionally, rabbits can live 8 to 10 years. They are also not the soft, cuddly live version of a toy, often becoming frightened when they are picked up and held. Setting a pet rabbit "free' to survive on its own in the wild is a death sentence, as these rabbits cannot live like their undomesticated cousins. Someone recently dumped a rabbit, Mr. Jackson Jefferson (aka Rabbit Foo Foo), off in my dad's front yard. We spent countless hours trying to catch the poor thing, finally using one of the humane traps I use for
Trap-Neuter-Return of feral cats. Jackson had an ear infection, he had to be litter box trained, and now he needs to be neutered. It has been no small investment of time or money. Having had no background with rabbits, this has all been a learning experience for me. I would definitely choose a chocolate rabbit for anyone not familiar with the needs of a living rabbit!!!
back to top Suzy and Winston: Our featured March kitties
Suzy and Winston are buddies, probably because they are both very laid back, mild-mannered cats who were picked on by dominate bully cats. Suzy came to us from a trailer park with a very pronounced head tilt that was due to a severe ear mite infection. Unfortunately, the infection was so bad that Suzy lost some of her hearing and still tilts her head. She is a bit shy, but quickly warms up to you and loves to be brushed. While she will never be a lap kitty, she does like to have her back scratched and will come sit with you if you quietly allow her to approach you. Winston, on the other hand, is a big kitty who used to eat when he was stressed. He would often try to avoid the bully cats by only eating after everyone else had finished. We called him the "clean up guy." He is a gentle soul who is also shy of new situations and people. But with
a bit of attention, he will become your buddy, running to see what you are doing and lying with you for a belly rub. Suzy is about 4 years old and Winston is about 5. Although they are shy, we still think they have a lot to offer someone who is not looking for that boisterous, outgoing cat. Both have been spayed/neutered, tested negative for feline leukemia, and are up-to-date on vaccines. If you are interested in giving this pair a home together (we don't want to split up the buddies now that they've found each other), please visit our web site and download an application from the Adopt page: www.bandocats.org You can also read more about Suzy and Winston on our Petfinder site, www.bandocats.petfinder.com
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