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.

Diamond Valentine’s Day Raffle
The first order of business is the Valentine’s Day raffle. A generous donor has given The Cat House on the Kings a set of pink sapphire/diamond pierced earrings and a 7” matching tennis bracelet. This stunning jewelry set is valued at over $3,000! The raffle will be held at 3 p.m. (PST) on, of course, Valentine’s Day. We will ship to the winner anywhere in the USA. (However, if you live outside the USA, you will need to pay the shipping costs.)

Raffle tickets are just $1! For every 20 tickets bought in advance, you get one free ticket. TO BUY: send a check or money order payable in U.S. funds to The Cat House on the Kings. Please note “RAFFLE TICKETS” in the memo section. Mail to The Cat House on the Kings, 7120 S. Kings River Rd., Parlier, CA 93648. (Please include a phone number in case you win!) To use a credit/debit card to buy raffle tickets, call our office at (559) 638-0030 Monday through Friday (PST) ($20 minimum) Your ticket numbers will be recorded for the drawing.

We apologize, but we are not permitted to accept raffle ticket payments online. Email questions to info@Cathouseonthekings[dot]com

We Need Kitten Food!

The mild winter has meant that the stream of kittens flowing in through The Cat House doors has not seen any significant decrease. The little babies keep arriving and they eat a ton of food. We are running dangerously low on dry and canned kitten food. If you could see your way clear to send us some kitten food, it would be a tremendous relief. Oh sure, we could feed them adult cat food. But little kittens need the food specially designed for their tiny, growing bodies. Kittens need proper nutrition to grow into beautiful, healthy cats.

I know it’s a tough time of the year for lots of people. The holidays always put a strain on the budget. Donations slow to a crawl after everyone has spent their money on gifts and end of the year donations. But, even a small donation matters and if we get a bunch of small donations, it adds up quickly. Allow me to thank you in advance for any donation and remember if you would like a receipt, please send an email with your information, alerting us to the donation. info@cathouseonthekings[dot]com

H & R Block Helps Us Help Cats

H & R Block will make a donation to The Cat House on the Kings for each new client at participating offices. So if you’d like some help doing your taxes, simply print out this referral form and confirm the office is participating in the referral program when you make your appointment. Referral form link: www.cathouseonthekings.com/docs/fundraisers/NP_2018_Referral_EN.pdf

Poker for Paws is Coming in March

Club One of Fresno is hosting another Poker for Paws fundraiser to benefit The Cat House on the Kings. Please be sure to mark the date, March 10th, on your calendar. This is such a fun and exciting event. Don’t miss this opportunity for a night on the town complete with fun, food, and prizes! Proceeds are matched dollar for dollar by Club One! Be there, or you will most certainly, be square.

Order A Calendar

We still have calendars left. People, these are really nice calendars. Nice paper stock, big squares to write your appointments in and an adorable kitty to look at every single month! It’s not too late to get one and we really need to get them all sold. I would consider it a personal favor if you would consider purchasing one of our quality calendars full of adorable cat photos. You may think, “Why should I do you a favor?” And I would answer; “Because the kitties need the money!” Seriously, please buy a calendar. Just do it. www.cathouseonthekings.com/calendar

Tails of the Cat Trapper

I left off my last column with the homeless 12-week-old kitten with the broken tail in Kingsburg. He was taken in to be neutered and his tail had to be amputated, but he has a cute little stub. We named him Ricky Bobby. I also took in a 10-week-old kitten found crouching in fear in the middle of a busy Visalia intersection. She was also fixed and my friend Jack helped me find them homes in time for Christmas. In addition Jack found a wonderful home for Yang, (now called “Joker”), the kitten abandoned in a grocery cart at the supermarket. His new girl cried tears of joy when she saw him.

January has started off to be a good year and I am hoping that this trend continues. Last year was a difficult one. It was a relentless year filled with many ups and a few more downs than normal. I started keeping a log book of sorts because I simply could not remember everything about so many cats. I have yet to go through the book and add up the numbers, but I will hopefully have those numbers in my next column. I’m anxious to see the results of my super busy year.

My cat trapping year started (along with a new log book) on New Year’s Day at the Kingsburg Public Library. I intentionally chose that day because I knew it would be quiet. Several Kingsburg residents contributed funds to help pay for the cats rescue. I quickly caught two adults and one cute ginger kitten. The kitten surprised me by being quite friendly. I called him Walter. Walter got really lucky because a spot opened up at The Cat House and he went to stay at Lynea’s house for his standard quarantine time before being put up for adoption. Walter is now up for adoption and frolicking with the other kittens in the Kitten Quarters. He is one sweet, playful kitten!

On January 4 a post on Facebook caught my attention. A neighborhood stray was spotted in Kingsburg dragging his hind legs behind him. Residents corralled the cat and but no one was in a position at that time to help the cat. I asked for someone to volunteer to drive him to my house. A volunteer brought the cat to my home. I took him to my vet who confirmed that he had been run over. Most likely scenario; he was probably lying under the car and it rolled over his back half. Named Soldier, he was put on steroids to bring down any inflammation and attempt to restore some normal function. There was some improvement in hind quarters, he started to sit up and move around. However, he was not urinating normally and that was the issue I was most concerned about. Despite my best efforts, Soldier took a turn for the worse. He was rushed to the vet but I had to come home with an empty carrier. He felt love and comfort in his final days. Run free (and pee freely) handsome man. I tried my best. I think he knew that.

A few days later I received a call from a man for whom I had provided two barn cats. He has referred several people to me and the result has been several formerly homeless cats being placed as barn cats. (All barn cats receive daily dry food.) This particular family wanted an adult female cat to keep the lady of the house company. She has cancer and didn’t want a kitten but a calm adult cat. I placed the most kick-back Maine Coon with this family and they were THRILLED!

Then a friend called me looking for a couple of barn cats for her son’s girlfriend. (I’m on a roll!) She was moving into a home that had a barn with lots of mice in it. From the same group of cats as the Maine Coon, I found a pair of nearly identical brothers to take on the job of vermin elimination.

Then the call I was waiting for came. The rescue needed cats and kittens! I shipped out 15 cats and kittens ranging in age from 12 weeks to eight months plus one young adult, a gorgeous white female. We kept two of the kittens.

Roweena is my teeny sweetheart. Sole survivor of a litter of five, I bottle fed her from seven days old. She is petite and sweet. My husband fell in love with Stevie and his half ‘stache and refused to let him go. We decided that “foster failure” was too negative for such a positive outcome. Therefore we have changed the term to “foster keeper.”

My calendar is quickly filling up with TNR projects. One such project consists of about 30 cats. These cats are feral/semi-feral and will need to be trapped. That will require some coordinating. I actually did a project of 35 cats last year but the cats were friendly so no trapping required. In fact the same lady recently called me saying a cat showed up and had kittens. So I just this past week rounded up seven, eight-month-olds and got them fixed. Yes, she waited too long before calling me. She is elderly and on Social Security so I had to pay the bill. And they were all girls!

Stayed tuned for next month’s adventures in the life of Jackie Dale, Cat Trapper.

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 Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 25 years, Frank, and their 2 children. Jackie currently writes for The Cat House on the Kings Feline Rescue. A former ballerina, Jackie now teaches yoga and fitness classes privately and at local area gyms.