Like a walk through the country side living on a small farm is full of daily surprises, sometimes wonderful and amazing, and other times puzzling and sad. I hope you will walk with me as I live out my dream of living on this tiny farm. You will come to know the dogs, cats, Shetland sheep and chickens that make up this farm and what goes into keeping them happy and healthy. Come and join the journey with me.

Saturday, July 24, 2010

C-c-calendar Cat Contest!

Noah says---"hurry and leave a comment! even if you have to dip into your nap time!"

August 5th, 2010 will mark the first birthday of the Kittens...who are fast becoming Cats. In honor of the day that instituted my gradual and unknowing slide into 'crazy cat lady' status, there will be a giveaway on the blog.

The 'rules' such as they are as follows:

You must comment to be eligible to win. Your name will be entered in the drawing only one time (but if you want to comment more than once, you certainly can!). The prize winner's name will be randomly drawn from all entrants. You can enter until midnight August 4th. Contest is open to USA citizens only, unless you live in another country and want to help with postage costs (if they are extremely high), then you are welcome to enter as well.

Please gear the subject of your comments to the following: Ways you have helped an individual animal in need; ways you help an organization; favorite animal adoption, rescue/success story; etc--I'm sure you all will have some good stuff to share. I would love to hear about how you help our little furry friends--inspire us and share what you do, or have done in the past. The need is great, and I'd like for this post to encourage us all to find avenues to help out!

The prize will be a 12 Month 2011 custom calendar from Shutterfly. The subject of the calendar will be (I'm sure you've guessed it) the little six pack of kittens, with some of my favorite pictures taken of them over the past year. This will be nice professionally put together calendar. If you enjoy cats, I think you'll enjoy this calendar.

Winner will be announced either on August 5th or as soon after as I can get it done.

Looking forward to reading your comments! Let the contest begin....


Clockwise from the top: Meshach, Noah, Chaco, Gabe & Verity in the middle--definitely need a bigger bed....

14 comments:

Vicki Lane said...

All of our dogs and cats are rescues or adoptions from owners no longer able to keep them. Plus we are diligent about spaying/neutering.

AJ-OAKS said...

With all those kitties you never have to worry about getting cold in the winter!!!

Every animal here except for two horses and one dog, has been a rescue from a bad situation, dumped off, found or adopted. Ranging from severe neglect to dumped off pregnant cats any just about everything in between.

Every cat that has been dumped off has been fixed and vaccinated. I donate food to the local shelters. And have bought spay/neauter certificates and donated them.

Each animal has their own story. But what matters is that they are happy, healthy and safe now.

My motto is, " One at a time does make a differance. We can all make a differance".

From one crazy cat lady to another!! Hugs to you. :)

Louise said...

I'm the lead volunteer for the Finger Lakes Thoroughbred Adoption Program's Trainer's Listings. Every Saturday during the racing season, we are on the backside of Finger Lakes Race Track, taking listings for horses who are ready to transition into second careers. Last year we placed 92 horses.
http://fltrainerlist.proboards.com/index.cgi?

Besides that, all of my cats except Becky are adopted from 501(C)(3) programs. Becky was a barn kitten, who belonged to a friend of mine and just had to come home with me.

Working for animals who really need help is one of the most rewarding things you can do.

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Donna said...

I'm afraid my "rescuing" of animals began when I was 6 years old waiting for the school bus and I was approached with a box full of kittens and encouraged to "take one home...they need a new home." Well, the kitten shared my recess milk, stayed in the girls rest room until school was over, and came home with me on the school bus. I thought the only reason that we didn't have a cat was because no one ever gave one to us...little did I know of my mothers great aversion to cats having grown up one of eleven children who shared a bed with a sister who LOVED cats. Mom explained how cats would suck my breath when I was sleeping and would lie on my legs so I couldn't turn over....back the kitten went. Fast forward about 13 years....I got my first dog.....then a cat from the Humane Society...another dog...and I have yet to stop!!! We have a rescue BC, a rescue Pyrenees, a Pyr pup, 6 cats (all but two were rescues) and I'm afraid I could challenge your "crazy cat lady" status! We lost a rescue Brittany this past winter who was a sweetheart. It was an honor to have her share her last years with us after being a brood bitch in a kennel (and obviously being mistreated). I think I am suseptible to ANYTHING that is cute and fuzzy and in need....just my nature.
"All creatures Great and Small...the Lord God made them all...."

Kim said...

During one of my latest dog rescues I learned that several rescue groups were willing to help me out by posting the dog on Petfinder. As an individual this is not possible, but it is for the rescue groups; so long as the pet is spayed/neutered already, you can send them pics and adoption info. to post. Wish I had known this sooner!

Sabrina Wille Erickson said...

I don't consider myself to be a person who has done great things for animals. But I admire animals where ever I go. :)

My own three (sadly, now 2) dogs came from stray/rescue situations, and all were promptly spayed. Our kitty came to us 14 years ago when I read about her being a 'found' animal in the paper. The folks couldn't keep her...so I told them if the owners didn't show up I would take her. Enter a gorgeous Torti that got spayed and taught us that some cats REEEEAAAALLY don't like visits to the vet. :)

I'm one of those people that has always WANTED to make a difference to animals, and this year I finally got my chance to volunteer as a foster home for our local humane society. I took care of a pug, and two doxis that were rescued as breeding girls from a puppy mill. It was a huge gift for me to see these girls come out of their shells and learn to love freedom and attention. I may not be able to give of my time like that very often, but it felt so special to get that chance at least once.

Happy Birthday to the Six-Pack! :)

Shula said...

LOL about the crazy cat lady comment.

Many of our animals are rescues from our two barn cats, 2 house cats and 3 of the 4 dogs, to my wonderful horse who was a PMU colt rescued from a meat auction in Canada. Last year we even took my son to the MSPCA to rescue 2 guinea pigs for his birthday and somehow ended up recuing a hamster too lol. I also try and help TBFriends.com who rescue off the track TB's from going to slaughter in Mexico by sending surplus tack and blankets to them.

I can't believe those kittens are almost a year old!

Tina T-P said...

Our Neelix was a humane society kitty - but Sinda came from a friend's home -

I was giving to our local NPR station and realized that NPR has so many options for donations from big corporations, etc. but our local Humane Society doesn't have those options. That's when I decided to send them $25 or $30 a month - & I don't regret it a bit.

Happy B-day to the Six-Pack - they are a lucky bunch, that's for sure! T.

Angie said...

I have always had a soft place in my heart for the kitties! Growing up I took it upon myself to take in any stray that people literally dumped out by the road (not a nice thing to do at all!). Always doctoring them, loving on them, and they were such a huge part of my life I can't recall a moment when they weren't.
One time even one of our cats, she was way too young to be pregnant but had a small "bump" so we knew she was with expecting. Well that cat was so attached to me that when it literally was her time...she came meowing loudly up to my bedroom window and would not leave until I came out and followed her back to where she planned to have it. Mom called me back in for bed time, and when I went back she followed me meowing loudly until I followed her back again. Not kidding! Ha. I watched her have her kitten...she only had one. Carla (sister) thought that the cat must of thought that I was her mommy and wanted me there for moral support (Ha)!

Kathy said...

You know, Tammy...as I thought about how all the cats have come into our house (Pixel and Europa were Kelly's cats and she left them with us rather than have them endure 6 months of quarantine into NZ), all of them except those two were street urchins - someone else's cast-offs. I thought of how I have given them homes, blah, blah, blah.
But I have to be honest here. Our cats have given me much more than I have ever done for them. They have added a richness to my life and are always there for me - each and every day.
So, you see...they aren't the rescues....I am the rescued.
And, if you so choose to add my name in the pot, I should win, please don't spend the money on me (although I would love to have a calender of the Mob) - but please buy all your animals some goodies as well as something for yourself. YOU deserve a prize, m'lady. YOU are reason those cats have a wonderful home. Crazy, or not. heeheehee
You're not alone...we Crazy Cat Ladies should have t-shirts and membership cards, shouldn't we?
Hugs to you and your Mob (the kittens and Mesach and Sage) - including Honorary Cats, Boone and Ashley.

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xx said...

Howdy!

I just had to write and commend you on the job you did for Butterfly. I worked as a veterinary technician for many years so understand the pressure of "just one more............."

Which is how I ended up with 6 cats. Okay, you officially win the "crazy cat lady" contest, can we stop playing now???

My first rescue was Minnie Pearl, dropped off to be euthanized because she was pregnant. Okay, these things happen when you don't spay...........

I can't tell you the number of kittens I bottle raised which were then placed into new homes.

We had a PLST (poor little stray thing) fund at the hospital which covered rehab costs for cats that would have been euthanized if they were brought to the shelter (such as; young and presumably healthy but hit by a car and had a broken leg). The animal control office knew to just bring those to our hosptial. We fixed them up and found new homes for them.

I have a thing for calico cats, especially ones with a lot of white, I can't tell you how much I wanted Trinity........when will her story come up??? Can't wait!

In the (unlikely) event I win, I'll be out of touch next week.

Thanks!

Diane

tiptoethruphylsgarden.blogspot.com said...

Our sheltie,Hunter,was a rescue.The owner,a teen,couldn`t give him his meds for his thyroid-either couldn`t afford to,or didn`t take the time to,& he would be also left alone 12 hours or more all alone in the house,sometimes the weekend too.When we got him,you would pet him & his hair would come out in handfuls.I would pluck him like you would a chicken.That was 2 years ago.He went from hairless to having a show-dog type coat.I will have to post before & after pics on my blog of him.He certainly is a very happy dog now,has never peed on the floor{they said they had to get rid of him too because he did that,I`d pee on the floor too if no one took care of me!}
Of course,you know Simba,the farm kitten I took indoors.He had a brain infection & had some bad seizures.With medical care,he seems to be "normal"now.
Max was my fav rescue.I paid cash for him from the breeder,who had all of his 4 month old collie pups in a small fenced in 6/8 kennel with a cement floor.When he got them out on the grass for me to look at,they would not go anywhere.I said,aren`t you afraid they will run off.He said no.I understood why when we got him home.He was filthy,covered with feces,& I brought him in for several baths.That`s when I realized he had never been out of his kennel.He was afraid for his paws to touch the grass,I had to carry him in & out of the house to potty him.He wouldn`t walk on the hardwood floor,wouldn`t go from the wood floor to the carpet.I litterly cried my eyes out when he wouldn`t socialize,he would cower in the bedroom.He was hard to house train & never saw a vet,& he was pooping worms & blood.Our vet couldn`t believe it.He had every worm that there is but heartworm.He had the whipworm,hookworm,I forget what else.The vet was mortified & wanted to know where we got him.I know this breeder doesn`t sell collies anymore.Thank God.It took alot of time to get him straightened out.I almost gave up on him.I`m glad I didn`t.He was so loyal,would not leave my side,& I loved him dearly.Two stories about him.Max actually "thought"things out.I was in bed one night,& I heard this pitterpatter of feet upstairs.We don`t use the upstairs,some day I will make it my sewing room.I remember thinking as I went back to sleep about Max,why would he be upstairs? Several days later I went up to check.He had pooped up there,knowing I wouldn`t find it right away.I couldn`t be angry or anything as he must`ve thought long & hard at where he could go.
Another time we were getting new furniture.I shut him in the spare bedroom where you use the steps to go back upstairs.I heard him barking.He was upstairs looking out the window to bark at the men with the furniture.How the heck did he know to look out up there?He was just such a clever dog.I spent alot of money getting him healthy too.He had to get a steroid shot every time he got a vaccine to prevent a bad reaction he had to shots,he`d drool & just be unlike himself,so we found out that too.He had to have his tail removed as he had a cyst on it,2 years later he died of lung cancer.The vet said the cyst wasn`t cancer,but I wonder.He died almost 3 years ago,but he was a very happy dog & so was I!Now that I`ve almost wrote a book,please enter me in your giveaway,phylliso