Happy Tail: Stella (The Cat Formerly Known as Bailey)

Lisa recently reached out to us with an update on Black Cat Rescue alum, Stella. Stella is an adorable, loving cuddlebug with an adventurous spirit! She hit the jackpot when she went to her forever home two years ago and has been living the good life ever since. From squeaky toys and little bow ties to exploring the snowy landscape from the safety of a harness, Stella is truly a lucky kitty!

Lisa writes, “After two years with her, I don’t know how we lived without her. She is the sweetest, most adorable cat I’ve ever known… I want to thank your organization for giving us the chance to adopt her and for giving other families a chance to meet cats (almost!) as sweet and cute as our Stella.”

Thanks so much for the update, Lisa! We love hearing about Stella’s adventures with you.

Consider adopting a black cat and creating your own Happy Tail today! Get to know Black Cat Rescue’s cats available for adoption!

Help Xena, Warrior Kitty!

 

Xena is an incredibly sweet 13 year old black cat living with diabetes. She was abandoned in her carrier outside of a shelter with a copy of her medical record.

 

Xena is a very loving cat and deserves some extra TLC during her senior years.

 

Xena is presently safe and warm in a Black Cat Foster home, getting lots of love from our compassionate Foster Care Coordinator, Daisy. However, the insulin that she requires is very expensive and the cost of her care is mounting rapidly. We have spent over $1,500 so far, and she will require this type of care for the rest of her life.

 

Xena is a cat that many organizations would have turned away.

 

She is not “adoptable” by most common standards. However, we believe that Xena has lots more love to give! Please consider helping out a senior black cat with special needs by donating toward the cost of her medical care.

 

2012: Black Cat Rescue Blog in Review

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog. You all made 2012 quite an amazing year, so we wanted to share the love (and fireworks). Now let’s blow 2013 out of the water!

Here’s an excerpt:

4,329 films were submitted to the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. This blog had 51,000 views in 2012. If each view were a film, this blog would power 12 Film Festivals

Click here to see the complete report.

My sweetest friend died today.

We get to participate in a lot of happy tails and shining moments at Black Cat Rescue. At times, we are also honored by those who share heart warming stories of friendship and loss with our volunteers. This is one of those stories.

My sweetest friend died today.

I found him in a dumpster in 2002 when he was 6-8 weeks old.  Outside a convenience store in Montgomery, TX.  He was the only one alive in a box with 3 dead siblings.  A jet black cat with no hope for any future.

I named him Emanon, which is “No name” backwards, because I had no clue what to call him.

He developed diabetes.  I was told I should just put him to sleep, but I could no more do that to him than I could my own child.

We have these … these cats, you know?

They’re stubborn and independent.  They don’t care if we call them unless there’s food involved.  They will never protect us.  We’re not part of their “pack”.  They understand only a basic level of territoriality.  They know where they can be, won’t be, shouldn’t be, and will never be.

They know who we are.  They recognize us, our faces, our voices, our smells, our mannerisms.  They know who to turn to for ear rubs and belly scratches, should the mood present itself.

We sit in utter exasperation at their litter box smells and constant whining and they live in constant frustration at us for limiting their perching space and closing off their roaming territories.  We chastise them for tearing up our furniture while they exist in a state of utter terror that we might, at any time, vacuum the rug.

We equally hate and love each other, but we need each other.  They accept who we are, no matter how drunk or poor or old; and we accept them for the occasional humor and purrs and quiet moments in the early morning over coffee.

They are like us.  Their loyalty is fleeting, their trust easily destroyed, their forgiveness not easily earned; but their friendship lasts beyond death.

When you lose a cat you don’t lose a pet.  You lose a piece of yourself.

I just wanted to share that.

This is Emanon. His family sent us the last picture they took of him. We have never met Emanon. We have never met his family. However, we are very touched that Emanon’s family shared this story with us recently. It reminds us about the greatness of simple things, things are truly monumental in all of our lives. Rest in peace, friend.

Happy Tail Anniversary: Beatrice

Beatrice was once a playful little 5 months old kitten looking for her forever home with Black Cat Rescue. She even spent a day teaching first graders about kindness to animals, and allowed all 25 kids to snuggle her! She is now celebrating a happy tail anniversary before the holidays!

“It’s been a while, and since it’s so close to her adoption anniversary, I thought you might like a couple recent pictures of Beatrice. She’s still awesome!” ~ Beatrice’s Mom

Yelp Really Does Help!

When we originally heard about Yelp Helps: Hop to It! through the Young Non-profit Professionals, we had no idea what to expect. The concept sounded epic. Yelp and One Brick Boston pairing Boston’s best craft beer with some of Boston’s best volunteer-driven nonprofits? Benefiting Arts at the Armory in Somerville? Free?! Yes, please.

We just had a few challenges…

1. Black Cat Rescue is supported by a very small team of volunteers. VERY small. Plus, we all have full-time jobs, rely heavily on public transportation and have cats to save! Staffing a table for up to eight hours would be quite a task.

1. We don’t have a shelter. We don’t have a main office. People cannot come and visit our kitties for socializing play time. Our primary volunteer opportunity is fostering, which is a (completely worthwhile) commitment for people. Recruiting at a tabling event wouldn’t be easy.

1. The table had to be interactive. But, we couldn’t bring cats. How do you get people to visit a table instead of a beer tap without kittens?!

Still, we decided to take the plunge…

The best thing about a boot strap group of volunteers is that we’re always up for a challenge…or two….or three. Luckily, we were partnered with rock star Rori  from Baxter Brewing and she kicked butt. Seriously, we couldn’t have asked for a better table buddy. Check out the signs they posted!

And since we couldn’t bring the kittens to the people, we decided to bring the people to the kittens! An amazing fellow animal advocate created the cutest video ever earlier this year promoting the adoption of black cats. Yelp Helps: Hop to It! hooked us up with an outlet, Chris sent us the video file and we ran the kitten cuteness on loop throughout the event. It was a hit! People where mesmerized from across the room by these ninja cuddlers.

The event was a HUGE success!

20 local beers + 20 local volunteering opportunities + 800 Yelpers = A tasting/expo hybrid the world has never seen.  Several attendees filled out Black Cat Rescue foster applications on the spot. We spoke with a few people who are itching to volunteer for marketing campaigns. And best of all, we won the $435 door prize with all of our supporters blowing up the Yelp Boston twitter feed! That’s right. There was a popularity contest and our kitties won. A BIG thank you goes out to Yelp Boston, OneBrick, Baxter Brewing and our network of supporters.

Oh yeah, and we gave away black cat Webkinz. It was pretty awesome.

Reviews | Photos | More

Special Guest Post: Parker’s Story; Moving!

After spending the first day in his new home hiding under the bed and crying, Parker quickly adjusted to life in our apartment of four young women and another cat. His new kitty roommate took a little while to warm up to him, but when you have a kitten insisting that you’re going to snuggle together, it’s tough to argue for long.

But as is often the case when you have a group of young professionals living together, things started to change. Some roommates left, new roommates moved in, and every few months Parker was learning to adjust to new people. Then the roommate who owned the other cat moved out, and her replacement was the last straw.

They tell new mothers that the best thing they can do for their babies is to be well themselves – a mom who’s feeling good leads to a baby who’s feeling good. The same has always rung true for me with pets. So when a rather grumpy young woman prone to snapping unexpectedly moved in, it came as no surprise that her cat behaved similarly. And so, we moved.

We moved in with a good friend of mine who, although allergic to him, thought Parker made a better roommate than some of the folks she’d been recently living with. They came to a mutual understanding quickly that if he stayed out of her chair she would give him intense belly scratches, even if she had to run and wash her hands afterward. The extra attention, cozy new couch perfect for cat naps, and absence of another cat constantly swiping at his nose made Parker’s transition to his new home fairly easy, and it wasn’t long at all before he was settled in happily.

Growing up, I moved many times and almost every time with a cat. Here are a few things I learned that helped me move Parker to his new home:

1. Take something familiar, a blanket or a shirt of yours, into the carrier with the cat, and put it on the floor in the new house so there’s something the cat can identify as his.
2. Set up the litter box right away, and bring the cat to where it is so he can find it. It sounds silly (I’m going to just show him and he’ll know?) but it’s true.
3. If he hides, let him. This is all pretty overwhelming. Cats will come out in their own time and sniff around. Let them explore on their own time and in their own way.
4. Try to change as little as possible at once. If your cat is used to having his toys, his dishes, his litter box, don’t buy all new ones when you move unless you have to. Anything you can bring to the new place that he still identifies as his will help him learn that this home is as much his as the last one.
5. Move your cat last. Let him experience all the newness at once so he can take it in as he decides to.

Check Jennifer Spencer out at  jennalyns.wordpress.com.