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.

The Open House

The Open House is next weekend, so I hope you are all set to be there. The staff is working furiously to ready the grounds. Next week the volunteers will begin arriving, and the pace gets frantic as the big day approaches. Don’t forget to buy raffle tickets for the spectacular quilt. We are also raffling off a gorgeous donated ring appraised at $1.300! The 18k white gold ring (size 7) is a large oval citrine surrounded by 40 round amethysts. Credit card purchases can be made by calling The Cat House office, (559) 638-0030. You will be able to purchases tickets at the open house right up till shortly before the winner is drawn.

Now while you are at the Open House please be sure to check out the new shirts and hats. Sure you can also shop online but nothing beats seeing the merchandise in person. We also now have the much-requested tank tops. Not only is Cat House apparel stylish fashion must-haves, but it also serves as a means to spread the word about The Cat House! Cat House on the Kings shirts and hats make great conversations starters thus opening the opportunity to extoll the good works being done at The Cat House every single day.

Auction ring

When you arrive at The Cat house on Saturday, May 6 (10 a.m. – 2 p.m.), you are certain to notice a new addition to The Cat House Family. A very large “Trojan Cat” was donated to us by southern California cat rescue. We would like to thank Mirian Hasani for transporting all the pieces and to Cat House employees Chris and Homer for re-assembling the cat.

Trojan Cat

After The Storm…Clean Up

The recent storms have taken their toll at The Cat House with downed trees and tree limbs throughout the property. Cleaning up the mess will be quite expensive. Donations will be greatly appreciated to offset the costs. OR if you happen to be in the tree removal business and would like to donate your time, that would be good too. That would also be a tax-deductible expense! The good thing is that no cats were harmed by the falling debris.

Good News!

Rescued pup

Cats and Kittens Galore

The past month has been a flurry of phone calls about kittens, getting cats fixed, and cats finding homes. I got a call from an acquaintance that her dog had found a newborn kitten in her yard. I picked up the tiny ball of fur. It was so tiny I immediately took it to The Cat House where a nursing mom cat accepted the wee one. A few days later came three more kittens who were placed with another rescuer who had a nursing mom. Five kittens brought to a Selma shelter were brought to me not in the best of shape. They were cold and hungry with umbilical cords still attached. I began bottle-feeding and was lucky enough to find yet another fellow rescuer with a nursing mom. We rubbed the new kittens against the current ones and also over the mom. She readily accepted them. However, sadly three didn’t make it. As I write this column, I’m bottle-feeding four kittens from Selma, and as soon as they can eat solid food, they will go to The Cat House.

The Cat House sent me out to a rural Reedley home that turned out to be one of my neighbors. I picked up a cat that had been dumped there and took it home. I was to deliver the cat to a Fresno foster home later, so I put him in my bathroom to wait. The silly cat jumped onto my towels shelf, knocking two of the towels into the toilet. He then somehow managed to jump down and close the lid. Later when I went in and lifted the lid, I just stood there staring, wondering how in the world two towels had got into the toilet!

Good Month for Placing Cats

I placed two special needs (deformed legs), at a no kill shelter on the coast. They have a good record of finding homes for special needs cats. With help from a fellow rescuer, two friendly cats were adopted into forever homes. I took possession of four very feral cats who were facing certain death at their current location. I was able to find a one pair a “job” at a million dollar home in So California. The elite neighborhood has a severe rodent problem, so the other pair may also go there. But if not, they will be going to a large horse ranch to live as stable cats. This past week has also seen two unwanted kitties finding a home together, a mother-daughter pair being re-homed in So Cal, and two more cats being hired as barn cats in Westlake.

See you at the Open House!

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.