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.

Victory is Mine!

Well I start this column with the happy news that I finally trapped the one remaining kitten from the bushes at a WalMart parking lot. I successfully caught the three siblings but the one black kitten remained elusive. He seemed tame but would not come all the way to me. I spent two months going to the lot several times a week with no luck. I would spend a couple of hours waiting. Once I had to have the police come and remove a man who was drunk and annoying me. (It was 9 in the morning!) I finally chained the trap to a pole and started leaving it overnight. Three times I came back to find the kitten sitting next to the trap and a feral cat in the trap. So we did some TNR’s (trap-neuter-release) I took them to the Cat House where they were neutered, vaccinated and one was treated for an ear infection. Then I took them back and released them. They met the TNR criteria; too feral to ever have a chance at adoption, the area they are living is relatively safe and they have a constant source of food.

By now, to be honest, I was getting frustrated and a bit fed up. This site was 25 minutes each way from my house. I was thinking I was never going to catch this kitten. So I waited four days before I went back to set the trap. My thinking was to make him hungry enough to go in the trap. I pull up and he is sitting there in the bushes. Although I felt like I was wasting my time, I went ahead and set the trap. I did not even bother to cover it, I just plopped it on the ground in front of the kitten and walked behind my car to wait. Well, I think he just had enough of playing hard to get and viola, he walked right in the trap. I held my breath and when he stepped on that trip plate, I literally jumped up and down! Of course after all that trouble and the fact that black cats are very under-adopted, I decided to keep the little bugger, now named Yoshi. With barely even a hiss from my other nine cats, he settled right in like he had always lived here. Yoshi just happens to be the exact same age and size of the two fosters I adopted so now I have three black kittens. It is very hard to tell who is who and they create a lot of havoc. They are so loving and playful it is hard to fathom how people can just ‘throw them away”.

Rip Tucker

One of the Cat House’s oldest original residents recently passed away peacefully at the ripe old age of 19 years. Tucker was found in 1993 behind the bathroom wall of a home under construction. The workers had to remove the tub to rescue the tiny kitten. Only 2 weeks old when he arrived at the Cat House, Lynea bottle-fed him and he grew into a handsome cat. We will miss you Tucker, see you over the rainbow bridge!

The Divine Miss M

Marmalady is getting along fantastically at her new home in Canada. She has adjusted quickly to her new family. Her Facebook page continues to draw friends and ‘likes’ from all over the world. Photos and stories of cats rescued are posted and some of the tales (no pun intended) are both heart warming and gut wrenching. Thankfully, most of the stories have happy endings.

Be sure to sign up to receive the Cat House on the Kings newsletter on our website. Our December issue will be featuring an exclusive interview with the two young ladies who actually rescued Marmalady on that fateful summer day.

Flying Cats and Dogs

On a warm September morning, Bonnie Schumaker, of On Wings of Care, landed her airplane at the Reedley, CA airport. There we loaded up 50 cats and seven dogs to be flown to shelters in Oregon and Idaho. These animals went to areas where cats and small dogs are in short supply but in high demand. In return we accepted five cats considered unadoptable due to age or illness. We paid for the fuel and On Wings of Care donated the other expenses. It was a pretty good trade for the Cat House.

We are Winners!

Thanks to all of you, our loyal fans and supporters, the Cat House on the Kings was the winner of the “100 Celebrations” Petco Foundations Facebook voting contest. As a top “100” winner we had already won a $1,000 prize and automatic entry into the contest for the $10,000 grand prize. Well, you came through for us again. It was a tight race but we won! Thanks to everyone who voted from the bottom of our kitty loving hearts. Thanks also to Petco for sponsoring the contest. If you think that $10,000 sounds like a lot of money, I should point out that one very cold month last winter the Cat House had a PG&E bill for $5,000.

We Have a Favor to Ask..

Jack Perez is the filmmaker who created our infamous YouTube video. Lynea wishes for everyone to support Jack’s new endeavor as a way of thanking him for bringing the Cat House on the Kings to the attention of the world. There are no cats but it is nonetheless, quite funny and entertaining.

After flying under the radar for years, Jack was instrumental in informing the world about Lynea and the Cat House, or as Jack termed it “Planet of the Cats”. This meant that people began to donate money. Lynea claims that without this video, the Cat House on the Kings would have closed long ago. Here is a direct request from Lynea herself;
“Jack Perez, who created the video which helped pull us back from the brink of financial disaster, has a new animated series on YouTube. It airs every Tuesday on the new Youtube Channel CINEFIX and features Jack and Uncle Al debating the value of movie trailers. Do you think you’ve seen the whole thing after watching a trailer?”

Please support Jack by clicking here to watch the video on YouTube. And please click the SUBSCRIBE button in the upper left corner of the video. It’s FREE and you’ll be notified of each new episode when it comes out! I enjoyed it and I’m sure you will too.

Don’t forget, if you advertise with Kings River Life Magazine, you can denote to the Cat House on the Kings to receive 10% of the ad fee. There is a special going on right now too, buy 3 months and get one month free!

Learn more about The Cat House On The Kings in this past article in KRL and check out their website.

Jackie Dale is a freelance writer who lives in Reedley with her husband of 21 years, Frank, and their 2 children. Jackie currently writes for Traffic Magazine and 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.