A day in the life of Dexter...

Dexter at work:

Dexter at play:

Dexter at rest:

Dexter is a very laid back cat! All he really wants is to be near his family so he can lay down and relax. He's a love bug and an occasional pet is welcomed, but he is more concerned with seeing you and being in the room where you are. So if you have room in your home (or on your kitchen table) and your heart for a big lazy cat that just wants to lounge, check out Dexter!

Considering Bonnie

I'm sure you've heard about her by now. If you haven't, you should know there is a storm in the Gulf. Bonnie doesn't seem to be very noteworthy, but she has given me the opportunity to remind everyone how important it is to include your pets in your emergency planning. Here are some links with lot's of information. If you have a pet please use this information and feel free to comment here with anything you'd like to add.


http://la-spca.org/Page.aspx?pid=263
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/pet_plan.shtml
http://www.ehow.com/how_2053739_keep-pets-safe-during-hurricane.html

Penelope's New Trick

The big cats (Sube and Dexter) are always on the table and Penelope is always looking up at them like "Wow, I wish I could jump up there too!" Well, over the last few days she has found her way up to the top of the table...she's hangin' with the big kitties.

We have a pet fish, her name is Sparkles, and she lives on the kitchen table. The cats never really bothered her until Penelope came along. Don't worry she won't eat the fish, she just likes eating the fish's food. Every time I drop some into the bowl Penelope comes running and begins bobbing for fish food.

So here's what we know...Penelope will do great in a home with dogs, other cats, children and fish. That should improve her adoptability, huh?

C'est la Vie

Ellen was returned to Meow Town this morning. She simply couldn't bring herself to get along with the rest of the animals at my house. When I placed her back in her cage this morning she almost seemed happy to be there. She went straight for the food bowl and ate happily. In her history she has been exposed to a dog and other cats and didn't have issues. I can't really explain why my home didn't work for her, but such is life....what isn't right for some is purrrfect for others.

Dexter is Ellen's replacement. I put him in the spare room this morning behind a baby gate and he would have nothing of it. No baby gate can hold him back! Currently he is roaming the house like he's lived here forever and so far he has had no issues with the other cats or dogs....not even a single little hiss. This works out quite well for Dexter, considering he has been at Meow Town since May 1. This also opens up some space at Meow Town so FJAS can place kittens there making a little more room in foster homes so another cat can be saved from the shelter. And so the cycle continues....

Goodbye and Hello

Even though the day seemed a bit slow, it was Molly's lucky day. She was adopted into a quiet home with one other cat. Molly was always a shy one and she didn't cope well with the dogs so despite my heartstrings, I was happy to see her go to a loving, quiet home.

With one kitten gone now, I felt like I had an "opening", lol. With so many pets in shelters, how could I not fill Molly's place with yet another needy cat? Please join me in welcoming "Ellen".

Ellen has been a resident at Meow Town at Jefferson Feed & Garden Center for far too long and needed a break. I brought her home for a trial run. So far she is a sweetie who loves to lounge and get pets. Tomorrow she will meet the rest of the crew....to be continued.....

Do you see that bird? I see a bird.... Do you see the bird?

There is a morning dove who had built her nest under our patio last year. At first I thought, "awww, how sweet." Then she laid eggs, then she had baby birds, then they pooed all over everything and kept my dog in a permanent state of looking up and panting. The birds are back again this year.....at least someone is enjoying it......

Milk and a Movie

So my son has a TV in his room and every night at bedtime he gets a sippy cup of milk and a movie to watch in bed. Well, Peaty has expressed an interest in watching cartoons himself, so I don't know why I was surprised at what I found last night. Marshy had finished his milk and let his sippy cup roll to the side, Peaty found his way onto the bed and was "holding" the sippy cup while he was curled up next to my son watching Toy Story 2. Of course by the time I got back to the room with my camera the moment was gone :( I really hope that Peaty gets adopted by someone with a young child. He really seems to enjoy the presence of children and he is very tolerant and well behaved with them.

On another note: Tomorrow is the big "Hot Kitty in the City" adoption Event at Jefferson Feed. Come on down and let a purrrfect little kitten steal your heart away!

Sadie Goes Home!

This is Sadie. She was a shelter dog who came and lived with us for about a week. She was adopted from the shelter as a puppy and after more than 2 years she was returned. She had been left outside alone and as a result she got bored and began to develop the habit of escaping. She was stealth, and she could run faster than any dog I've ever seen. Beyond her escaping habit she was a great dog both indoors and out.

After our attempt to foster her proved too much to handle in our busy home, Lynn of Jefferson Feed and Garden Center took her into the store and fostered her there. I felt terrible that she couldn't stay with us, but I knew with her escaping habits she would be safer at the feed store. Last Saturday I attended the "Adopt-a-thon" event at Clearview mall with Sadie in tow. She generated a lot of interest and I felt confident it wouldn't be long.

This morning I received an email from Lynn letting me know that Sadie had gone for an overnight visit to meet her potential new pack members. Everything went well and Sadie's adoption was completed today!

Congratulations Sadie!

It turns out the "Adopt-a-thon" was a huge success as well, resulting in 46 total adoptions!
Saturday Adoptions16 Puppies/Dogs7 Kittens/Cats
Sunday Adoptions15 Puppies/Dogs8 Kittens/Cats

Meow!

Why Foster?

It is my opinion that foster homes are one of the best things a shelter animal can get short of a forever home. Animals in the shelter don't usually thrive in that environment and it can also be difficult to learn about the pet's personality which can contribute greatly to the animal's adoptability. When they come into foster care, the foster parents can assess their personality in a home environment, we can work on training and exercise and keeping the pets overall healthy both physically and mentally.

Fostering also helps the shelter and other pets there. By taking in one foster you are freeing up space at already over crowded shelters, giving many pets another chance at life that may have otherwise been euthanized due to lack of space.

Fostering is demanding, frustrating, exhausting and rewarding beyond words.

Many years ago I fostered a lot of different dogs, but after spending the last few years focused on family, I've kind of gotten out of the mix. Recently I sent in my volunteer application to Friends of Jefferson Animal Shelter and in less than a week I was driving to the shelter to pick up 3 orphaned kittens: Peaty, Penelope, and Molly.

Peaty and Penelope came from the same litter and Molly was an orphaned kitten found alone. She needed other kittens so we brought her into our litter. This is my first time fostering cats and it has been quite an adventure so far. You can see the kittens at play if you look at the web cam during the right times (hopefully you won't just see a big red dog's rump, lol)