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.

Can You Spare A Dime?

As the year comes to a close, The Cat House on the Kings would like to ask you to please consider us when making your end of the year charitable giving. Your tax-deductible donations enable us to keep helping injured, abandoned and homeless cats (and dogs) all year long. We are a non-profit charity that receives no government funding or tax dollars of any kind. We rely solely on the generosity of our supporters to remain up and running. We even accept donations of all kind of vehicles, cars, boats, RV’s, etc. They don’t even have to be running. Remember, your donations are the lifeblood of The Cat House on the Kings. Thank You!

Your donations help kitties like these cuties

Yay! Another Raffle!! – Buy Tickets Now!
We have another raffle going on right now, this time for a stunning 40″ x 60″ afghan that was made and donated by “Gramma” of 4MyMeow. Titled “Kitties in a Row” this washable afghan throw will be raffled off on December 16. Tickets are only $1 and as usual, for every 20 raffle tickets you purchase, you will get one ticket for free!

You need not be present to win. We will ship the afghan within the U.S. If you live in another country, you will need to cover shipping costs.

To enter the “Afghan” raffle:

(1) Send a check or money order payable in U.S. funds to The Cat House on the Kings and marked “RAFFLE TICKETS” in the memo section. Please include a phone number in case you win!

Mailing address:
The Cat House on the Kings
7120 S. Kings River Rd.
Parlier, CA 93648

(2) To use a credit card, you may call our California office at (559) 638-0030, Monday through Friday. There is a $20 minimum. Your ticket numbers will be recorded for the drawing, but we are saving on postage and not mailing ticket stubs. Sorry, we are not permitted to accept raffle ticket payments online.

Raffle questions? Send an email to info@cathouseonthekings[dot]com

Please take a moment to visit 4MyMeow on Facebook or 4MyMeow Website. They make the most wonderful beaded cat zipper pulls and kitty earrings. Many are Christmas themed in time for the holidays. They donate 10% of your purchase to charity, and hopefully you will choose The Cat House as your charity of choice.

Afghan to be raffled off

The Coloring Books Are Here!

Just in time for Christmas we have released a limited edition Cat House on the Kings adult coloring book that will thrill the cat lover on your holiday list. Created by artist Jenny Swartzbaugh, the coloring book takes you on a whimsical pictorial tour of The Cat House grounds. Only 500 copies of the book were printed so hurry and order yours now before they are all sold out. Price is $15, additional copies only $10 and free shipping with the U.S. (Shipping to Mexico & Canada is $6, Int’l orders cost $12, but the cost drops to $9 if you order multiple copies.)

Pictures with Santa

It’s that wonderful time of the year when we get to dress our fur-kids up and drag them down to the Petco for a picture with Santa. On Saturdays, December 10 and 17, Santa will be at the Petco on Blackstone at Ashlan in Fresno from 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (only $8.95!) Bring the family and get everyone in on the action! All the proceeds will benefit The Cat House on the Kings. Last year I took one of my foster dogs and my own dog Paco to see Santa. Poor Paco got nervous and took a little wee-wee on Santa. Santa was a very good sport.

Paco with Santa

Open House Was Awesome!

The Cat House on the Kings open house fundraiser on November 5 was a roaring success! The weather couldn’t be more perfect and tons of people came out to support the kitties. Tammy Barker did her usual bang up job and the event went off without a hitch. The open house is a lot like planning a wedding. There are endless details to attend to and there is the constant anxiety of wondering if all will go as planned. Now imagine planning that wedding twice a year! Thanks Tammy, you did it again! We are very grateful to all who attended, to all who donated to the silent auction, and to all the people who labored behind the scenes to make the open house come to fruition. We would also like to thank the Jus’ 4 Kix Line Dance Club of Squaw Valley for providing the entertainment.

Updates in TNR & Rescues

One of many cats rescued recently

10-17 Trapped two of the four kittens that suddenly appeared at the feeding station behind the local CVS. Fixed them and one has already gone to rescue. The other needs a bit more socialization but is on track to go to rescue too.
10-19 Located a nursing mom cat with a fellow rescuer who readily accepted two teeny kittens to nurse thus saving their tiny lives.
10-20 Trapped three feral siblings and transported them to Bakersfield where they will be joining the school agriculture program as rodent control specialists. I suggested that this would be a good project for the ag program, to document how well the natural rodent control works versus using less desirable methods such as poison.
10-22 Accepted and relocated a feral cat from a young woman, a traveling nurse, who was moving. She had rescued two brothers but one never lost his feralness. It was literally the day of the move when she called me, crying and desperate. She gave a nice donation to pay for his care. She was heartbroken.
10-24 Trapped and fixed three girls and one boy feral for a local family
10-30 Accepted a female Maine Coon kitten that subsequently went to a rescue.
11-2 Lin, my partner in kitten rescue, took twelve kittens to a rescue near the coast. The rescue also accepted my sweet Archie as they said they have a very good track record of finding homes for special needs cats. I miss him.
11-2 Found a kitten with one eye at the Best Western in Selma. It is currently at The Cat House for a minor issue and will eventually be sent to the coastal rescue.
11-3 Local woman had eight kittens from failure to fix her cat. She did get her cat fixed, a condition of my help. Seven of the eight kittens were socialized over the next two weeks and were sent to southern California. The eighth one was simply too wild. The woman will keep it.
11-8 Received six, six-week old kittens form Selma Second Chance Dog Rescue. They are currently in foster care.
11-9 Another from Second Chance, a black kitten, weak and frail. He is currently at The Cat House receiving treatment.
11-12 We sent eleven kittens to southern California
11-13 Two sweet, five-month old sisters were dumped at the river. We fixed them and they went to a very nice home that needed some mouse control.
11-14 TNRed what I hope is, the final four cats at the Selma Best Western.
11-16 Helped a Selma woman trap and fix three of four community cats at her apartment building. She had to do it behind her husband’s back as he was not on board with the TNR thing.

I also had a few cancellations by people who don’t value my time and efforts. I received a few donations, thank you. It all goes to help the kitties. Some people give me gifts. This week I was given a case of beer and a bottle of wine. Perhaps people think that all this trapping cats is going to drive me to drink. Seriously, I appreciate whatever people choose to give. Till next time…

Learn more about the Cat House on their website.

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 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.