Craig Street Cats

It’s been a crazy month.  So far we’ve had 24 kittens come through, taken 4 cats in for TNR, rescued another 4, and had 1 cat take up residence in a wall in the back porch.  We have also added a feeding station on Valour Road.  Quite a month — and it’s only half over

The cat in the wall did, eventually, come out.  It was coming out to eat at night, and finally succumbed to the yummy salmon in the trap.  The poor fella was mighty scared after his ordeal, so I couldn’t transfer him to a kennel to wait for the next round of TNR.  He was released, and I hope he’ll wander back into the trap when it’s set in July.

The kittens are doing very well.  Another 8 have gone up to Pet Traders for adoption, leaving 7 here.  It’s very nice to be working with only one kitten pen.  For the last couple of weeks there have been 3 pens FULL of babies, and it was taking 6 hours per day just to feed and clean up after them.  We won’t be taking in any more kittens until the first week of July, but there are quite a few waiting to come in.

Next week (June 22 to 28) we’ll be at St. Vital Centre, in the community booth by Appelt’s.  We’ll be taking some of the adoptable cats there, for a few hours per day, and hope to find lots of adoptive or foster families for our amazing cats.  Of course, we’ll have lots of kitten cards, catnip toys and cat beds for sale, and we’ll be accepting donations, as well.  This is a major fundraising opportunity for us, and we’re hoping to do well.

life jumps up and smacks you upside the head.  After the success of our rummage sale, I was feeling as though, maybe, we had moved into the black, and things could get back to what passes for normal around here.  No such luck.

9 cats and kittens have come into care over the past week.  All of them are at least partly social, which means that they cannot go through the Humane Society TNR program, and must be taken to private vets for sterilization.  Another 5 kittens and 2 queens will probably be coming in over the next few days.  These are also social.

The money we raised at our rummage sale and at the Forks last week (a total of just over $4,000 for the two events) will run out long before the last of the current crop has been adopted.  Another major fundraiser is going to be necessary in order to make it through the summer. 

I’m thinking music, summer breezes, fruity drinks with little parasols in them.  Hmmmm.  Stay tuned.

February was much quieter than January.  Only one cat came into care during the month, thank goodness.  Juliet and her kitten, Velvet, moved into a wonderful foster home, and are doing very well according to their new ‘mom’, Jennifer.

Plans are well under way for our first annual rummage and bake sale.  We have rented R.A. Steen C.C., at 980 Palmerston, for the weekend of May 9 and 10.  Many volunteers are needed in order to make the weekend a success.  If you can help, even for a few hours, please email cats@wolseleygirl.com or call 223-6652.  Local businesses are starting to pitch in with sponsorship for the sale and silent auction prizes.  I will post a complete list soon.

You may have noticed our donation cans in several Wolseley area stores.  Please consider dropping your change into the cans.  Every penny helps a homeless Wolseley area cat.

Our weekly visits to Health Sciences Center continued throughout February.  Many thanks to Meaghan and Linda, who come out, week after week, to help man the booth.

In February Flo came to visit, and the cats are still talking about it.  This dynamo spent almost 3 hours keeping 9 cats fully entertained and active.  When she was done with them, they slept for hours!  Thanks Flo!  We’re all looking forward to your next visit!

Lucky is getting younger every day!

It seems that Lucky may be younger than we originally thought.  Now that he’s indoors, neutered, has no more parasites, and is getting lots of good food, Lucky is getting spryer and more active every day.  This photo shows him on top of the wardrobe in the front hall.  It’s 7 feet tall.  To get up there, Lucky had to make a VERY long leap from the bannister at the foot of the stairs.  It’s a leap that many of the young cats won’t make, but Lucky is now doing it regularly.  He’s getting more playful, too.  Some days he seems almost kittenish!

This week Craig Street Cats moved to a new webserver, and the journey has been a tad traumatic.  I think everything is in its proper place now, but if you find any whoopsies, please be sure to let me know.

It’s a very good thing that this move was completely virtual.  The poor cats have been trying to figure out why things are topsy turvey around here — schedules all out of whack, mom up all night working on the computer, less cuddle time (oh horrors).

We have some new additions around here.  While I’ve been working away on this site, some very caring people have been finding cats and kittens that needed rescuing.  Kathy brought in the 2 kittens that needed vet care, as well as a big, black tom cat that we’re calling Kettle.  The youngest kitten has been adopted already (Kathy couldn’t resist ).  Kettle and the other kitten have appointments for neutering coming up soon.

June called just before Christmas about some kittens she had been feeding for quite awhile.  She was concerned about how they would survive the winter, so we went out and rescued them on Boxing Day.  June was obviously doing a very good job of feeding the babies, because they are incredibly sturdy — tending toward pudgy.  They have appointments with the vet, as well.

Things are starting to get back to normal around here, so I should have some photos of the new arrivals by the end of the week.  I hope.