Shop for Homeless Cats, and Help Trooper Find a Home
Help homeless cats come in off the streets, get veterinary care, shelter and food—make a donation that helps people help cats, and I will give you a $10 gift certificate to my shop, now through the end of 2013. You can read about that below, but for now, let’s talk about Trooper.
Trooper still needs a home
Perhaps it’s his shaggy longish hair, and perhaps it’s his angular face with the somewhat deep-set eyes but from the first time I saw photos of Trooper he has reminded me of Emeraude, and I have a distinct soft spot for the girl, especially right now. I featured Trooper last month with several other senior cats, and while it seemed he had an adoptive home, that opportunity fell through and he is again up for adoption.
Trooper was rescued by several people and taken to Kopy Kat Sanctuary, which is a small home-based sanctuary for cats, and in a rescue that small his presence is preventing them from rescuing other cats. Besides that, he’s more than ready for a new and loving home after his experiences!
This description of Trooper and his plight was written by Samantha Ginsburg and I see no reason to rewrite it.
Please meet Trooper our awesome experienced kitty of the week looking for his new forever home. His story is sad but his future is bright, thanks to all of those who opened their hearts for this little senior kitty. Our sanctuary is full and we could not do it without a team effort.
All skin and bones, he was seen wandering in his neighborhood for about two months. During this time some of the neighbors were feeding him and gave him the occasional warm place to sleep. But when someone noticed an open wound on his side due to all his matted fur, they tried to talk with his neglectful owner. They explained that he was a dirty, matted, neglected mess and was old and needed to go to the vet immediately. Clearly the owner did not care – even after all their years together. KKS told the woman who contacted us for help that we could step in BUT we needed a foster. Lisa, a seasoned cat/kitten caregiver stepped up to the plate. With the group efforts of the kind neighbors and the awesome Lisa, Trooper made it to see Shrader Veterinary Hospital. This neglected cat came out of the carrier purring and rubbing like he knew he was being saved. He was severely dehydrated, flea ridden, ripped and matted all over. They kept Trooper for the day to monitor, test, clean him and give him fluids.
Shrader Veterinary Hospital guesstimates that he is 10+ years old and that he is part Maine Coon. He is fully vetted and FIV/FeLV negative. He sweet, loving, calm, gentle, and loves to snuggle. Trooper loves other cats and would do well with a calm dog and/or gentle kids. Despite his past he is a trusting loving kitty.
This story should be an inspiration and reminder to us all. Those involved took their time to help one needy kitty on the street and provided us with an important lesson in compassion. Saving Trooper was a process and he would have never survived this winter without human intervention. We must partner together to help make a difference. There are so many animals out there in need and we cannot do this alone. KKS is always looking for fosters, volunteers, food, supplies and donations. Without you we cannot continue to save all these cats in need. Sometimes we may need to take a step outside of our comfort zone, but the difference that it can make is well worth it. There are tens of thousands of animals like Trooper out there. Please consider volunteering your time, making a donation, providing space in your home, or even just sharing info about Trooper and rescues like him through your social media connections. Together we can make a difference!
He is currently in a wonderful foster home and finally feeling what it is to be loved. In this case, Kopy Cat Sanctuary based in Delmont, PA, east of Pittsburgh, stepped up to take him in but they are very small—a donation-based one woman rescue. His vet bills have already taken her fundraiser money for the year and the bills are not even covered with that amount, but thanks to those generous Creative Cat readers who donated to help cover his care—you know who you are, including those who didn’t even want your “thank you” gift.
How you can help homeless cats and their caretakers
Just this past weekend a dozen or more people spent Friday and Saturday trapping cats—one person trapped as many as ten, others seven or eight each, kittens, adults—for the no-charge spay/neuter clinic for feral cats on Sunday. Over 100 cats were registered, four veterinarians volunteered their time for a very long day in surgery and shifts of volunteers prepped cats for surgery and cleaned them up afterward, watching them in recovery and packing them up to leave.
That’s 100 cats who will never produce another kitten. Imagine the impact on feline populations just this one clinic has! Then think of the fact that free or low-cost clinics are held about every three weeks all through the year, the kittens pulled from the streets and fostered to find forever homes, the friendly adults fostered and rehomed if possible, and the impact all this work has on feline populations.
From the rescues taken in to find another home to the cats who end up living outdoors because there is no home for them dedicated individuals volunteer their time, expertise and money to feed and provide shelter for all these cats, in all seasons, every day of the year. Right now we are headed for the often deadly winter months where sturdy straw-filled shelters are needed to be built and maintained for cats living outdoors, and often critical emergency veterinary care is needed for kittens born in the cold, and cats suffering injuries caused by or made worse by wintery weather along with the usual street injuries and, unfortunately, abuse.
We may call this Trap-Neuter-Return or TNR or simply rescue. It’s far more than just grabbing homeless cats and spaying or neutering them, returning them to their outdoor home, and as long as people continue abandoning cats the need for all this work will continue as well. Often there’s a network of assistance behind what rescuers do to help them with this rescue and care for outdoor cats, offering food and materials if they can’t afford it on their own and low-cost veterinary care for a cat they’ve rescued or a foster or outdoor cat they are caring for.
The Homeless Cat Management Team (HCMT) and Frankie’s Friends provide that network of care to rescuers in the Pittsburgh area, loaning out traps, networking rescuers, providing low-cost or free spay/neuter clinics at least monthly and making low-cost emergency veterinary care available to rescuers as well as distributing food and even shelters to those who are caring for rescues in their homes or community cats living outdoors.
Here’s where you come in
There are two ways you can help this effort by making even a small tax-deductible donation to Frankie’s Friends for HCMT and their network of rescuers and caretakers through a donated gift card or with cash, and I’ll give you a $10 gift certificate to my Etsy shop for you to use for your holiday shopping, to give as a gift, or keep for later, good for $10.00 off your order of $25.00 or more. And don’t forget that both cash and gift cards are fully tax-deductible as charitable contributions unless you are receiving a gift from the organization you are donating to—but you’re not receiving a gift from Frankie’s Friends, that comes from me, and I’m doing this of my own free will and get no benefit from Homeless Cat Management Team or Frankie’s Friends for it.
Donate gift cards electronically
Help HCMT and Frankie’s Friends continue to provide much-needed food and supplies to rescuers and caretakers by donating a gift card for pet supplies and they can purchase food and supplies tailored for the animals they are caring for. Petco, PetSmart and WalMart are each convenient to the HCMT clinic in Tarentum where the TNR clinics are held and the veterinary care happens, and where the materials are collected and distributed, so gift cards from these three would be most appreciated.
Here’s what you do:
1. Go to the Petco, PetSmart or WalMart website and purchase an electronic gift card for at least $10.00.
2. Designate it as a gift to “Frankie’s Friends”.
3. In their “notes” section (most have one for gifts), note that this is through “The Creative Cat Holiday Cheer for Homeless Cats”, or just “The Creative Cat” so Frankie’s Friends knows where it came from.
4. To complete the gift card, here is their contact information:
Mailing Address: Frankie’s Friends Cat Rescue, P.O. Box 161, Tarentum, PA 15084
Email: [email protected]
Phone Number: 724-889-7011
5. Email your confirmation to me, or simply email me that you donated a gift card through the Holiday Cheer program. Please let me know if you’d like to be acknowledged publicly at the end of the campaign with just your name, no donation amount. Your name will not be used without your permission to publish it.
6. Frankie’s Friends will email me to confirm your donation.
7. I will reply to your email with your numbered gift certificate attached.
If you’re not comfortable purchasing it on the internet, you can purchase it in person and mail it to them using the address above. Simply include a note that it’s part of “The Creative Cat Holiday Cheer for Homeless Cats”, or just “The Creative Cat”, and make sure you include your email address. They will contact me when they receive it and I will send your gift certificate.
Make a donation
A cash donation will help support the low-cost veterinary care that has saved many lives and, most importantly, prevented the births of many kittens. And Frankie’s Friends also treats dogs in many of their low-cost clinics in Tarentum and in the mobile van, so you are helping prevent puppies as well, and also helping rescued dogs with low-cost veterinary care.
Here’s what you do:
1. Go to the Frankie’s Friends website and make a donation of at least $10.00.
2. The donation is made through PayPal which has a “notes” section. Note that this is through “The Creative Cat Holiday Cheer for Homeless Cats”, or just “The Creative Cat”.
3. Email your confirmation to me, or simply email me that you donated cash through the Holiday Cheer program. Please let me know if you’d like to be acknowledged publicly at the end of the campaign with just your name, no donation amount. Your name will not be used without your permission to publish it.
4. Frankie’s Friends will email me to confirm your donation.
5. I will reply to your email with your numbered gift certificate attached.
How to use your gift certificate
Your gift certificate will have a code that will be active for use in my Etsy shop until December 31, 2013. This code is entered at checkout for your $10.00 discount. But if you are shopping elsewhere on one of my pages or you’d like to use the discount toward a commissioned portrait or in person, you’ll just need to give me your name and the certificate number and I’ll either manually discount your order or refund $10.00 to you.
Feel free to use your certificate for your holiday shopping, for your post-holiday shopping, or to give as a gift. For my own accounting purposes, I’d like to keep all the transactions within this calendar year.
I will have a link to this post in the right-hand sidebar of my home page until December 31, 2013 and I will also have a link to it in the footer of at least one post each day.
Happy shopping!
You can visit my Etsy shop to browse what’s there right now, and keep in mind that I add new products regularly, especially one-of-a-kind handmade items. Also visit my page here on The Creative Cat that explains about “Ordering Custom Artwork” where you can have a custom print made of a sketch, painting or photograph you like.
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Thanks to everyone who has donated so far this year through other donation opportunities on The Creative Cat! All together, donors gave a total of $350 to help with Finn, Tommy and Trooper, and others who donated the purchase price of artwork they bought from me through the year gave a total of $400. Now let’s give these cats, their rescuers and Frankie’s Friends a holiday to celebrate.
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And thanks also to those of you who are out there rescuing, including the people who saved the kitten found on craigslist to have a gumband around his private parts for a homemade neuter…who knows what may have happened to him if one person hadn’t seen the conversation and a chain of people hadn’t responded. These cats are in good hands!
Browse some rescued cats and kittens!
All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop or Fine Art America profile to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
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trooper…we putted ina ree quest ta R pal Frank that him helpz get ewe ta ya for evers home in time for pie
next thurzday…best fishes two ya dood !!~~~
You keep telling your buddy Frank, and let’s hope Trooper has a home for Thanksgiving!
Tabbies, looks like your buddy Frank was looking out for him!