adopting a cat adopting a kitten cats for adoption

Sweet Valentine, Left in a Box, is Looking for You!

February 18, 2013 Bernadette

long-haired black cat — Long-haired black cat left at kennel who I’m calling “Valentine”!

If you need a black kitty to fill your life, who better than a kitty rescued on Valentine’s Day?!

This lovely kitty was sealed in a box and left at a kennel near Pittsburgh! I’ve named her Valentine for now.

She’s young and “soooooooo friendly” as her rescuers describe her, but she’s a little confused. Who would do that to a sweet friendly kitty?

They will pay for her spay (if necessary) and her shots, but they already have a cat in the house who does not like other cats and three cats in the barn, which is their kennel.

They would love to find a foster or a permanent home for her. Can you help this kitty? Let me know and I’ll put you in touch with her rescuers.

Forbes Just Gets Better Every Day

From what I hear, Forbes is an absolutely perfect cat—he is very friendly, walks on a leash, stands in the washtub for his bath—and he needs a home! He was trapped as a stray/feral to be neutered as part of the Homeless Cat Management Team’s TNR program, but was discovered to be so friendly his rescuer decided to try to find a home for him instead of putting him back outside where he was found. Here is what she says after fostering him at home for a few weeks:

Forbes is a rescue and came to HCMT as a feral cat, therefore he has an ear tip. When he stayed in my “feral cat hotel”, it became increasingly obvious that he is actually very friendly. We do not know what he went through before he came to HCMT.

Forbes is a large orange male, the vet estimates his age as 6-7 years. He is neutered and tested FIV-/FeLV-. His litterbox habits are perfect. I often think of him as Golden Lab puppy in a cat body. He is very friendly and loves to cuddle, he immediately rolls around the floor when I let him out of his crate. It is hard to resist his charm! He follows me around, just like a dog would. We are still in an early phase of our friendship, yet he allows me to rub his belly, which makes me believe he is a very trusting animal. When I pet him in ways that he is uncomfortable with, he retreats and flicks his tail to indicate that I am supposed to stop, but if I ignore him, he will let me know more clearly. He will do great with a human who speaks “cat.” He can be nervous and scared, and wants to be left alone in those moments; when I allow him to calm down, he will come back quickly for cuddles and purrs.

We’d like to think Forbes may be of noble and monied lineage, but he was actually found on Forbes Avenue in Pittsburgh. He is being fostered in Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh. If Forbes needs to join your household, contact [email protected] or call 412 689 7737.

Update on Fred and Barney

tabby and black and white cat — Fred and Barney just need a little socializing to come out of the stone age.

These two little guys have moved to another foster home and have been acting much less frightened, and much more playful and friendly. Lots of gentle, loving hands-on treatment at both foster homes have really paid off for these two guys, and their sweet kitten natures are showing through their hesitation, and they’ll be ready for adoption soon!

If you’ve ever wondered if fostering kittens or adult cats for a shelter or rescue does any good for them at all, Fred and Barney, and many others, are perfect examples.

These two kittens were picked up by animal control and were going to be euthanized as feral cats because they could not be handled by anyone at the shelter, but an individual in the animal rescue community heard about them and determined they were only really scared four-month-olds and deserved a chance to live. She put out a plea asking for a foster home and they were taken in by a dedicated fostering volunteer.

They were neutered and ear tipped and were going to be put back out with a stray/feral colony, but they were so young and most of the time kittens who are removed from the outdoors are not put back outside, but are socialized as best as possible and a home is found for them. These two had some socialization time in home, but when the time came to take them to a shelter where they could be adopted they acted out again, still frightened at all that was happening and perhaps memories of their first encounter. So back to the foster home they went.

A friend of mine was looking for kittens to foster after losing a precious 12-year-old cat, and I suggested these two, among others. They are basking in the glow of all her attention, getting to know two other kitties and a d-o-g, and two new people. We’ll call this “kitty finishing school”, and the two have been playing, sitting on laps and being cuddled, a little more each day.

These two are very closely bonded, so it would be best to adopt them together. If you’d be interested in welcoming Fred and Barney into your home, let me know, and I’ll put you in touch with the foster family.

And don’t forget about the Shelter+ Challenge

tabby kitten — Kira, rescued from a duct-taped box in sub-freezing temperatures.

“Kira was left duct taped inside a cardboard box on one of the coldest nights of the year basically to die,” Mary Anne Miller told me of a kitten she’d rescued in her small rural town of Sweet Home, Oregon. “Because of neglect and malnutrition it is likely she will never grow very large (according to my vet) but her heart is larger than the moon at its fullest! She is now 6 months old and the size of a 3 month old and she got spayed today. She is so small they couldn’t even give me the pain pills to take home and give her—she got a half a shot instead. I have turned down 5 homes for her so far because she is so special. She chases our 114 pound German Shepherd around the house!”

Mary Anne has been rescuing stray cats and taming feral cats for years—in fact, the town is so small and she is so experienced that local animal control, animal rescues and shelters and even her veterinarian often call her to take in the stray and injured cats they have no place for, and the orphaned neo-natal kittens who need to be bottle fed by an experienced hand.

Read more about Mary Anne’s remarkable cage-free rescue, Cats, Inc., in “Help CATS in Oregon Through Shelter+ Challenge”

Browse other rescued cats and kittens!

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