Stonehouse Photography

Photo Courtesy of Stonehouse Photography

In mid January, Hannah Hudson of Stonehouse Photography was kind enough to donate her time to come down and photograph the adoptable animals at Catkins! Hannah spent over two hours helping our adoptable animals put their best face forward to meet the public, the wonderful photos that Hannah shot will be making their way onto our Petfinder.com page shortly! If that weren't enough Hannah is starting the Comments for Canines (and Cats) Campaign! She will donate $1 to Catkins for everyone who comments on her blog, up to $750 per year!! We are asking all of our great supporters who want to get involved in this program to please make sure you're comments are legitimate and relative the content of the blog post. To visit the blog for Stonehouse Photography, and see a sneak peak of some of the great photos Hannah took, visit: http://www.stonehousephoto.blogspot.com.

Happiness and Delight --The Miracles That Animals Bring to Their Adoptive Parents!

To doubt a miracle is very simple for us as human beings to do.  However when you hear of the following stories your heart may be touched with love and understanding for the immense love and care that animals provide to us. And through these stories you will find that the animals’ stories are miraculous and that what they have brought to this world and to the owners that love them can only be described as magnificent. If you are thinking of adoption you may want to read these wonderful stories of the courage and strength that these animals have brought to this world.

This is Wumpus who was brought to Catkins by Social Services.  Wumpus is a Shepperd/English bulldog mix.  He was found chained outside on ice.  The puppy was malnourished as he wasn’t given food or water.  Because he was malnourished Wumpus was full of parasites which bloated his stomach to the extent where his hind legs were pushed outwards.
Wumpus was also found with frostbite on his feet and knees.  It was hard to convince the family to surrender Wumpus but fortunately they did.  Our veterinarian gave the puppy a lot of medical attention and after some time in foster care, Wumpus is in a great home.

Cricket's Happy Ending

The connection was perfect for a kitten named Cricket and her new owner Bonnie. Her previous owner was going to get rid of her and her entire family. A woman at a store nearby graciously offered to take Cricket’s family and gave each one of them to us. After unexpectedly losing her beloved cat, Bonnie talked with the veterinarian who told her about a woman who had adopted a cat through Catkins. After visiting our website. Bonnie called Laura to arrange for a meeting. “I talked to Laura and I was so impressed with the fact that the animals aren’t caged,” said Bonnie. “As Laura told me about the animals I realized that she knew each one just like a person. She knew their personalities, their histories, all of their names, and what their medical needs were. I was so impressed.” Bonnie saw how devoted Laura is to each animal. “It’s like your adopting a child,” said Bonnie. “What a bunch of happy cats. She knows them all like she was related to them. She made sure that she gave me the veterinary records and the whole works.” Bonnie felt that she didn’t have to worry at all about the wellness of the animal that she was adopting upon visiting.

She told Laura about what she was looking for in her new feline companion. She primarily was looking for a cuddly and talkative kitten. Bonnie narrowed it down to about seven cats that she wanted to meet prior to coming to Laura. She brought her miniature Dachshund named Dutch with her to make sure that he would get along with the cat that she choose. Although Cricket wasn’t on her list the cat made quite an impression on Bonnie. “Cricket is the one who made the decision for us,” said Bonnie. “This little black and white one came up between my legs and lept up.” Bonnie said that Cricket made a cute little noise and she said, “Well you’re just a little Cricket.” “For me she’s a talker and I had wanted a talker because I live alone,” said Bonnie.

Bonnie was very impressed with Catkins and when asked about what she would say to other’s thinking of adopting from Catkins Bonnie stated, “That’s an easy question. I’m one of their best champions. I’d walk around with a sandwich board if I could I’ve never seen anything like it.” Bonnie was so impressed with Catkins that she even wrote a letter to the Lakeland Times entitled “Big hearts, great service.”

Upon arrival to her new home, Cricket has been exploring and having a wonderful time.  “Within a half an hour Cricket walked through the house with Dutch,” said Bonnie.  The cuddly cat soon found a bench on her porch overlooking birds outside and she just went to sleep. She knew she was home.

Overall, Cricket the “talkative” kitty that Bonnie was looking for has brought great joy to her life. “She fills a great void and when I don’t feel good or I’m sad, she’s so perky and it’s hard to look at Cricket without smiling because she has this little expression permanently on her face of “So what’s up?”





This beautiful Dalmatian was taken to a veterinary clinic to be put to sleep by her prior owners.  Thankfully the veterinarian refused to put a perfectly healthy Dalmatian to sleep.  Shirley’s new adoptive mom Tam feels the same way.  “I’m very happy that she was saved.  Thankful that the vet gave her a second chance,” said Tam.

Tam is no stranger when it comes to adopting Dalmatians.  She found Catkins while looking through Dalmatian rescue websites. Shirley is now the sixth rescue Dalmatian that Tam has adopted through the years. “I have a soft spot in my heart for Dalmatians so that is why I was I was on Dalmatian rescue, said Tam.”  She saw  Shirley’s bio and was interested to see if she was still up for adoption.  Finding that Shirley was, Tam set up an  appointment with Laura to meet the dog. Laura had Tam bring her other two Dalmatians to introduce everyone to each other. Tam said, “It was love at first sight. I just wanted to give her a home. I was surprised someone would give her up.”

Unfortunately, two of Tam’s Dalmatians passed away last winter.  With the loss of her friends she felt she needed to fill a void in her heart.  “She’s on my lap right now. She wants love and that’s all she wants,” said Tam.  “She’s just a neat little girl.” Shirley is now 13 she was 12 when Tam adopted her into the family.  Shirley has adapted well with her new Dalmatian brother and sister as well.  Shirley loves to run and take walks. “Even at thirteen she loves to run, said Tam. She insists upon going.  When she wants something she tells you.  When she wants a treat she lets you know it,” Tam said with a chuckle.


Overall, Tam was impressed with Catkins and stated, “You guys are great to deal with.” She was happy that she was given Shirley‘s paperwork which was unique to her as she had not experienced that before.
When asked how Shirley has changed Tam’s life it was easy for her to answer.  “She has filled the void from my other two that had passed away last year and her love. That’s all she is. She brought an awful lot of joy and love to my family.” 

This brown tabby kitty’s name is Sasha.  She was abandoned in a house when her previous owners moved.  Sasha was around nine months old before she was matched with her new mom.  Forty-eight hours after adoption, Sasha’s mom fell.  The kitty stayed close by her senior mom for fifteen hours before someone found them. While in the hospital, Sasha’s mom had pictures of her brought in so that she could show all of the nurses her cat. Sasha is very loved by her family.

This is Luumpa who is a pug/beagle mix.  Luumpa was taken into a bar along with his mother and brother.  The man that took him into the bar had planned to drown them if he couldn’t find a home for them.  Luckily a gentlemen took the dogs and called us.  Now Luumpa is living in a wonderful home with his new dad who had adopted from us previously. 

One Minute

He had been picked up skinny, matted and dirty. Everytime he went to the bathroom, it got stuck in his fur and the staff cleaned him up. He been there a little while and wasn't getting any better.

I had to stop by the facility to drop something off, so I called ahead to make sure someone would be there. No problem, they were just collecting a cat for a euthanasia appointment, but someone would be there for a few more minutes.

"Which cat?"

He was already in a crate in the back of a running vehicle when I arrived. It took me one minute to decide that this cat was coming with me, sign the paperwork and have him in my car.

It took us 15 minutes to run his FIV/FeLV/FHW test and let him eat.

It took 3 minutes to bath him and clean off his back end. His skin was red and raw so we covered the wounds with ointment.

It took about 3 seconds to realize he was going to kill me for bathing him.

It took less than 3 seconds for him to forgive me and decide towels were good.

It took one vet visit to determine that his leg had been broken and gone untreated. It took a few minutes for our vet to fully examine him and it took me just a moment to hand her my notes. I mentioned how more than food, he liked his probiotics. She went and got him a tube so he could snack while we talked. She told me she thought that he had literally given up and stopped eating and grooming. He was horribly underweight and the previous build-up of feces in his coat had actually started to burn his skin. The baths and ointment had already started to help, his appetite had started to come back and he was purring while he ate his snack. The vet petted him and told him how wonderful he is. He had given up, past tense, now she expects to see him back in one month.

Now he eats a whole can of cat food everyday. He is great about his antibiotics and he loves his dietary supplements and probiotics. He is slowly putting on weight and exploring his new environment. He is patient and affectionate and will make a wonderful pet for a lucky family.

You'll all see him on our website when he is ready for adoption. His name is Minute.

2009

Wow! It's been months since I've been able to post an update about Catkins, but we've been working hard and have lots of wonderful news to report!

In 2009:

• we sent home 69 cats and 28 dogs
• we sterilized and returned over 3 dozen farm/feral cats
• we provided transport to over one dozen dogs
• we swapped over two dozen cats
• we provided 8 specialized eye surgeries, 2 specialized ear surgeries, 2 highly specialized diets, 2 oral surgeries and dozens of treatments for illnesses ranging from lyme and anaplasmosis to stomach ulcers and diabetes.

So what does all that mean?

When I think back to how hard we've worked this past year to bring hope to so many homeless animals, 97 animals doesn't seem like a lot. So many organizations place hundreds of animals every year and our efforts seem like a tiny drop in the bucket. BUT, then I remind myself why Catkins exists. We take in the special needs cases, the "hard to place" cases and we care for them no matter what. Being volunteer run and donation based only limits us as much as we let it, we might not be able to directly place hundreds of animals, but we still find ways to impact hundreds of lives!

Two sterilized feral cats being returned to their caretaker. They have been ear-tipped for future identification.

Every summer we are inundated with calls from people who have found kittens or been blessed with kittens from a stray cat. Unfortunately, we simply can't take kittens from every person who calls us. During the summer of 2009, we received more calls about homeless kittens than ever before. We began working with the caretakers of local strays to get as many "kitten producing" animals sterilized as possible. These measures will help us in the coming years, but we needed to help the homeless kittens created this summer.

Gypsy and her new born litter arrived to us in need of specialized care, they were swapped for a litter of six kittens and their mother.

In an effort to broaden our impact, we arranged swaps with other shelters. When an organization contacted us asking us to take an animal requiring specialized surgery or care, we said sure... but we'll trade you. We exchanged litters of healthy adoptable kittens that we didn't have room for, for an animal in need of surgery or special maintenance. In this way, we were able to work with surrounding organizations to save more lives than in any previous year. We swapped four litters of kittens and five adults this year for four eye surgery cases (one which came with her own litter of kittens). That is over two dozen animals saved simply by working together and thinking outside the box.

One of the 12 dogs transported to safety this year.

Networking with other organizations saved many feline lives this summer, and we were lucky enough to establish some wonderful connections on behalf of our local canines as well. In August, we began transporting local dogs in need to a wonderful adoption facility in Duluth. We transported one dozen dogs North this summer, where they were given the necessary medical attention and evaluated for adoption. All of those dogs went up for adoption and only one is still waiting for a home. We are looking at enhancing our transport program and have already purchased flats of vaccines necessary to make dogs ready for transport in 2010.

Cupid arrived with Comet in 12/09 from the county pound, they were adopted together

Of course, when no one else has room, we make room. This summer we expanded our dog program. In the past we have only been able to accommodate 2 or 3 dogs, but thanks to some wonderful foster homes, we now regularly accommodate 6 dogs! All of our dogs are spayed/neutered, microchipped, tested for tick and mosquito born diseases, dewormed and thoroughly checked over by our veterinarian. If during the course of a veterinary exam a medical condition is discovered, broken bones, damaged teeth or infection, we make sure our furry friends get treatment right away.

In 2009, Catkins faced a lot of new challenges and new situations. When it came to working for the animals, we didn't back down from any of those challenges. We worked with surrounding humane societies, veterinarians, holding facilities, health departments and rescue groups to save as many lives as possible. Of course, our goal is always to improve and achieve more.

In 2009 we set the bar pretty high, so 2010 should be a great year!