by Jackie Dale
Jackie is a part of Cat House On The Kings in Parlier and does a monthly column on the Cat House here at KRL.
Congratulations to Lynea and The Cat House on the Kings on their 26th anniversary! Twenty-six years of saving both canine and feline lives is an amazing life accomplishment. Many thanks to everyone who has and continues to support The Cat House because without you, we would not exist.
Open House is Coming!
Hopefully by now you have saved the date of May 5 for the Cat House Spring Open House. Right on Cinco do Meow Day, too! We will be drawing the lucky winner of the sporty red VW bug. It could be you. I had a friend that once won a Ford Mustang. It’s possible!! It’s only $5 a ticket!
To buy a ticket(s), you can purchase them at The Cat House, at the adoption center at the Fresno Petco, or send a check or money order payable in U.S. funds to the Cat House on the Kings, with VW Raffle noted in the memo line. Mailing address: 7120 S. Kings River Road, Parlier, CA 93648. Please include your phone number in case you win. To use a credit card, simply call our office at (559) 638-0030, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Sorry, but we aren’t allowed to accept raffle ticket payments online. Questions? Send an email to: info@cathouseonthekings[dot]com
We Need Auction Donations
Please remember to get started working on a donation for the silent auction. The list of possible items is virtually limitless. You can ask businesses for donations of goods or services. Maybe you, yourself, make/sell something that you can donate. Gift cards are always an excellent choice. If you can’t think of anything, you could purchase an awesome cat bed or some other cat related item of your choosing, donate it, and take the tax deduction. Truthfully, doesn’t have to be cat related. All it has to do is be something that people want to have. Themed gift baskets are really fun to assemble and very popular among the bidders. And don’t forget that re-gifting in the name of charity is okay. Use your imagination and get cracking because the Open House will be here before you know it. If you have a donation question or you, or your group, would like to volunteer that day, email Tammy@cathouseonthekings[dot]com
Poker for Paws Was a Success
Although family obligations precluded me from attending, I heard that Poker for Paws was a smashing success. Everybody had a good time, I mean, how could you not? There was the poker, of course, as well as food, prizes, and lots of cat-loving attendees. We thank Club One Casino for their over-the-top generosity in matching the proceeds dollar for dollar. Club One and Kyle Kirkland support The Cat House on the Kings throughout the year, and for that, we are eternally grateful. There will be more complete coverage of this event in our next newsletter.
Speaking of the newsletter, our spring newsletter is out. On the off-chance you missed it, here is the link so that you can catch up on what’s happening at The Cat House.
One little recent happening at The Cat House was a visit by Mrs. Anthony Hopkins. I think everyone was hoping Sir Hopkins would be coming too, but alas, it was not to be. Mrs. Hopkins and a friend toured the grounds and were kind enough to pose for a picture. Sir Hopkins is an artist, and he has a Facebook page if you want to check it out. He mentioned The Cat House on his page and posted a picture that his wife took.
R-L Stella Hopkins, Lynea and un-named friend
We have a lovely couple from Australia that came to visit, and they fell in love with one of our special needs cats, James Bond. They applied to adopt the cat which requires several months of paperwork. Until then he is hanging out in the Kitten Quarters where he insists on accompanying people to the restroom. Kitty is pictured here along with the Kitten Quarters supervisor, Karla, the incredible shrinking woman. Doesn’t she look amazing?
Karla and James bond
The Cat Trapper Tails
When I left off last month, I had just started a huge TNR project of approximately thirty cats of various ages. The property owners wisely decided that a little money spent now would be better than lots and lots more cats later. And it turned out to be a very timely decision. Thus far I have trapped and fixed sixteen cats. Of the sixteen, eleven were girls and five were boys. Of the eleven girls, seven of them turned out to be pregnant. Doing the math, the owners were horrified to realize that had they not chosen to have me come in, there would have been about, (figuring four kittens each cat), twenty-eight more cats in a matter of weeks. I’m taking a short break and have scheduled twelve more appointments for the month of April.
I received a call from a friend about a post on Facebook. Someone in Reedley had posted about a cat that had just had kittens. The mother cat was refusing to feed the kittens and the owner didn’t know what to do. Mother cat appeared to be ill. The owners had no money to take to cat to the vet. Quick action was needed. A friend picked up the kittens and brought them to me. I made arrangements for the cat to be seen at the vet the next day. Turns out the cat developed post-birth pyometra, a uterine infection that is fatal when left untreated.
At this point I must say that even if you never intend to breed your dog or cat, pyometra is a very compelling argument to spay and neuter your pets as this serious disease is common in unfixed cats and dogs. Treatment will also put a serious dent in your bank account. Spay and neuter is better for them, better for you, and certainly better for your wallet.
I got a call from a lady who adopted a beautiful Maine Coon through me last November. She was almost in tears as she asked if it would be possible to return the cat. Jackie, yeah they named it Jackie, wasn’t working out. The lady, who is quite ill, had requested a calm cat that would sit on her lap and watch TV with her. In a first-of-its-kind quirk for me, Jackie was completely freaked out by the television itself. It seems that Jackie had never seen a television. The lady tried to play soothing music and that didn’t work either, Jackie didn’t like noise. The cat also wasn’t getting along with the younger resident cat. I understood and thanked her for the courage to admit it just wasn’t working for either of them. I called Jackie’s former owners, and they agreed to take her back. When I explained about the noise issue, they were very surprised. I suggested that they perhaps play a radio for their cats, so they get acclimated to noise/voices, and they thought that was a great idea.
So anyway, with my fingers crossed I asked the lady if she would consider a different cat. Remember, last month, the cats who were tossed over the fence into the feral refuge? Well, the one that didn’t run away was one sweetheart of a cat. Peaches was so friendly I knew she would be just perfect. The lady agreed, and I drove Peaches to the home. Peaches calmly walked in started rubbing against the lady’s ankles and purring. It was instant love. Peaches is doing well and enjoys lap sitting and watching television.
One of the cats in my TNR project
Rescue 911: Another Facebook post. I was out running errands when I saw the post. An injured ginger cat crouched on the side of the road. No one was able to go help the cat. Sigh. I was in my car already, but it was a 30-minute drive to the cat. Sigh. Yeah, we all know I was going. I was available and already in my car. So when I found the cat, it was seemingly frozen in place as it was in the exact spot as pictured in the posted photo. It had a severe eye injury. Turns out I had forgotten my net, so I snuck up behind it and threw a towel over it, scruffed it, and put it in the carrier. It was late so I took it to The Cat House vet first thing in the morning. It turns out the cat had not been hit by a car, or as I had thought, shot in the eye. GRAPHIC WARNING: The diagnosis is not for the faint of heart. The cat, named Nebraska for the street he was found on, had a massive cancerous tumor on its eye that had somehow burst. The poor little baby didn’t make it, but his last hours were spent safe, warm, and comfy.
My Facebook friends, Dennis and Debbie King of Indiana, donated $200 to pay for Nebraska’s vet bill with the leftover funds going to my TNR projects. As it happens, the feral refuge caretaker captured two sisters at a local gas station, and we used the leftover funds to spay the ladies. Both of them turned out to be pregnant. Chloe and Zoe are currently awaiting someone who would like a couple of barn cats. They are friendly enough, just not lap-cat friendly. Contact me if you are interested in Chloe and Zoe, must go together.
Chloe and Zoe
Learn more about the Cat House on their website and you can donate here.
Check out more animal rescue & pet related articles, including more Cat House columns, in our Pet Perspective section and remember that if you buy an ad in KRL you can designate 10% of the ad price to go to the Cat House.
Jackie – we are having lots of trouble with coyotes where I live. Do you not have that problem? You mentioned barn cats but rescue groups here no longer adopt out barn cats because of the coyotes.
Coyotes are always an issue in the rural areas. We have a fenced in property or else they would no doubt be here looking for snacks. Have you seen those coyote vests on the internet? The look wild, like a vest with tiny spikes all over it.
Thank you for your reply. I have not seen the vests but will look.
If I may I’d like to contribute a comment: In this post, it was noted that Anthony Hopkins’ wife had visited CHOTK – but that “Sir Hopkins” did not accompany his wife. Protocol says that when referring to a person who has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, the correct way to convey that is: “Sir Anthony” did not attend – i.e., Sir Hopkins is incorrect. My apologies for this intrusion, but I’d like to let people know the ‘proper’ way to phrase the information. Thanks for your forbearance! Respectfully, April Hutchings [ a long-time CHOTK fan and supporter.. ]