by Harvie Schreiber
Harvie has been with the Cat House for nine years. She coordinates Facebook and Fundraising for The Cat House on the Kings, fosters kittens, and serves as an Adoption Coordinator and on our Board of Directors.
Crackers
Creek fire cats
Our Autumn Quilt Raffle was so popular that we’ve decided to have a Holiday Quilt Raffle! This beautiful and colorful 66” x 64” throw/lap quilt, called “The Cat’s Meow,” (being cat-tested by our office cat, Amelia) was generously created and donated by Anna Koelwyn. The drawing for this quilt will take place at The Cat House on the Kings on December 3, 2020. Raffle tickets are just $1 each. For every 20 tickets you purchase in advance, you will get one free. To enter send a check/money order payable to The Cat House on the Kings and marked “RAFFLE TICKETS” in the memo section to The Cat House on the Kings, 7120 S. Kings River Rd., Parlier, CA 93648-9720 and MAKE SURE TO INCLUDE YOUR PHONE NUMBER AND E-MAIL ADDRESS ON YOUR CHECK! If you prefer, you may call our California office at (559) 638-0030 to purchase tickets with a credit card ($20 minimum). You need not be present to win.
New quilt
This sweet Siamese kitten was brought to us badly injured after being hit by a car. He’s suffering from splayed legs caused by broken bones, and while x-rays show that the breaks are healing, he is now in specialized foster care receiving physical therapy to see how much mobility can be restored. “He gets around and can still function, but he just needs some extra help,” explained Christine Cordova, the Cat House registered vet tech who has been overseeing his care. “He’s not giving up, and neither are we!” This precious fighter is just one of many kittens rescued by The Cat House on the Kings who needs extra vet care and some extra love, and, with your help and support, we’re glad to provide it. Can you help? www.cathouseonthekings.com/donate.
Kitten with splayed legs
Lynea Lattanzio has asked us to update everyone on Dr. Loomis, the fluffy orange and white kitten who played so rambunctiously that he broke his own leg. Well, Dr. Loomis has now had his leg pin removed and he’s once again bouncing around like a Tigger cartoon, and his spunky personality makes the entire staff smile. This six-month-old Maine Coon mix recently visited The Cat House office and made instant friends with Assistant Shelter Director Tammy Barker’s standard poodle, Chip, so we know that this very energetic boy does great with dogs.
Dr. Loomis and Chip
It’s October and we’re still up to our elbows in hungry kittens. We recently had a pregnant mom cat dumped at The Cat House on the Kings, and she’s given birth to a healthy litter, who are growing daily, joining the dozens of other kittens we’re rescuing on a near-constant basis. Kitten food (canned and dry) is almost always our greatest need (other than cash donations, of course!) You can shop our Amazon Wishlist (we keep it updated with items we really need) and Amazon will send your gifts of food and supplies directly to us: www.cathouseonthekings.com/wishlist. If you haven’t already done so, please make sure that we’re your chosen AmazonSmile charity of choice! Simply shop at smile.amazon.com/ch/27-0015288, or with AmazonSmile ON in the Amazon Shopping app and AmazonSmile will donate to The Cat House On The Kings.
Cute tabby kitten
In an effort to save as many cats and kittens as possible, we partner with out-of-state and out-of-area rescues whenever we can. Once again, we recently sent 16 adoptable cats and kittens to a partner rescue where they actually had a waiting list of people ready to adopt. As always, this emphasizes the need for widespread low-cost spay and neutering in the central valley, and The Cat House on the Kings works tirelessly to raise much-needed funds for this important effort.
Cat House 2021 Calendars are now on sale! We’ve only ordered 2,500 of these limited-edition fundraising calendars, and we urge people to shop early before they sell out. Not only will one look great hanging in your home and office, but they also make wonderful holiday gifts. You could even frame the individual photos. $20 for the first one, $15 for each additional. Free shipping in the USA. $6 shipping to Canada/Mexico. Worldwide shipping available.
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. Join our Pets Facebook group to keep up with all of our pet articles.
My husband and I are eternally grateful for the hospitality and wonderful facility and care given to our colony cats from the Cat House on the Kings. We will never be able to repay this kindness.
On Sept. 7 we were phoned in the middle of the night and given a mandatory evacuation notice. We had to move 34 cats, 2 dogs, 1 horse and one African Grey Parrot. Before the police demanded we leave shortly after that, we had gotten 31 cats, leaving behind three we couldn’t catch.
Those 31 cats went to Clovis North, and were set up in cages by Humane Services and the Central Valley Animal Disaster Team. They lost their facility and then arranged for all these kitties to move to the Cat House on the Kings. We were given Kennel 12, which has a very large “three story” TuffShed, and a huge fenced catio. The cats were very happy.
Humane Services were able to catch two of the remaining three cats we left behind, and they also came to Cat House on the Kings, making a grand total of 33 cats being housed there.
Our colony cats were happy and well looked after by the wonderful staff. They always had great food and clean water, clean beds, sunshine, exercise, many wonderful cat trees and gyms to play on. They were all very happy there. It was quite a relief for us all to get them out of the cages and back to some form of healthy lifestyle.
The eldest of the kitties hosted by the Cat House on the Kings is Arrow, who is almost 18 years old, the youngest was Ringo who is 4. Many of the kitties are 14 and up.
Two of the kitties, Tish and Tash, were adopted as “failed” fosters From the Cat House on the Kings 14 years ago. When I say “failed” foster, I mean we volunteered to assist with bottle feeding orphaned kittens, and we decided to keep them. So after 14 years, Tish and Tash actually came back to the Cat House on the Kings. Lynea therefore saved them twice, once from being abandoned without a mother, and secondly, from the Creek Fire.
We don’t know what we would have done without Lynea’s wonderful hospitality and all the help we got from their professional and courteous staff. These were truly the worst of days for our little colony. My husband John has COPD and the air was literally killing him, and Lynea and the staff made accommodations so that we could use a golf cart to help us visit our kitties. Really, if there are angels on earth, they are working at the Cat House on the Kings right now.
The fire came within a couple of miles of our home, and unlike many of those who were evacuated in our community, we were able to go back and start over.
Thank you so much, everyone, for all you did to help us. There are not enough thanks in the world. But at least 33 cats and two humans were given the best of care during the evacuation which was quite a trauma for us all, and that’s a lot of thanks to give!
(The cats in the picture are Bogie and Tin Tin, both ferals. They are very thankful too.)