Milan and Felix
Posted: June 9, 2011 Filed under: adopting a cat, cat photographs, cats, cats I know, great rescues calendar and gift book, great rescues families, june is adopt-a-cat month, rescue cats | Tags: cats, cats on deck, pets, shelter cats, tabby cats, two cats 7 Comments
Milan and Felix enjoy the afternoon.
Meet Milan and Felix, two very lovely kitties I’ve recently had the pleasure to meet, though in a way I’ve known them for years. I spent a while with them and their mom and their doggie sister the other day while working on a special project. Both were rescues, one literally from the streets of the neighborhood. You just never know where you’ll find a good cat!
You’ll be hearing more about them soon.
Left Behind in an Apartment?! and Ferals…
Posted: June 29, 2010 Filed under: adopting a cat, adopting a kitten, agway cats, june is adopt-a-cat month | Tags: black kittens, cats at agway, cats for adoption, june is adopt-a-cat month, kittens for adoption, long haired tabby cat, orange kittens, tuxedo cats 2 Comments
Tabby Kitten
Who could do that to a kitty as pretty as this? She looks to be about four months old, a sweet long-haired tabby who’s very skittish, a little confused, but very affectionate underneath it all.

She's wary but affectionate.
She’d just been there about an hour when I arrived, and I’m sure it will take her a few days to calm down after that experience. It had only been a day or two, but that’s long enough to make a kitty wonder a little bit about humans. She’s ready to be spayed, and no one knows her health history but if someone would abandon her it may also be that they wouldn’t have bothered with veterinary care, so likely she’ll need all her shots.
If you are interested, please let me know!

Four kittens, two from each litter.
And then there’s the stray mama with five babies! Apparently someone had been trying to trap this mama from the time she showed up, but not until someone gave the advice to just put the trap out with food in it but tie it open so she’d get used to it did the wary momcat finally lose her distrust of the trap. It was apparently easy after that to capture her kittens since some were in the cage with mom and the rest were right around.
As a bonus, there are also two orange kittens from another litter, also born to a stray mother, not yet caught.

The third black kitten is behind the litterbox.
I stopped at my local Agway farm store yesterday afternoon to pick up my cat food. I shop there frequently for cat food and litter, bird seed, suet and other outdoor things, gardening implements, plants and so on. They also carry my greeting cards and note cards and even some gift items around the holidays, and are my best seller—many of their customers are cat owners, and almost everyone who visits there owns a pet of some sort.
A few years ago after they lost their older kitty Pussy Willow one of their customers brought a handful of kittens from their barn. This was fine until she brought more later, then others who saw kittens for adoption began bringing kittens too. Like many good-hearted establishments they had a “kitten” problem for a year or two until they convinced everyone they weren’t taking kittens to be adopted, but they’ll still take in a cat or litter of kittens in an emergency, especially feral kittens, taming them and getting them veterinary care at their own expense and finding a good home among customers.

I'm a little shy.
They haven’t had any kittens at all this spring until now, and I was glad to see that. They pay for the kitties’ care out of their own pockets. Farm supply stores don’t make a very good living in this area any more since most farms are gone, and it’s impossible to compete with the megastores that can offer more goods. Several years ago when they were in the midst of the overflow of kittens I had told them about the spay/neuter clinic as well as all the other options for low-cost spay/neuter in the city which has made things a little more affordable for them.

Mama kitty.
But here we are with that nice tuxedo mama and her five babies: three black kittens, a black and white and a gray and white. The two orange kittens, as mentioned, are from a second litter. The kittens are seven or eight weeks old, taming down from living outdoors. Mom needs to be spayed, all need veterinary care, all are up for adoption, or if you can’t adopt, a donation for their care would be very welcome.

Four kittens from the back of the cage.
The person who brought these cats in was another customer who’d been trying to catch the mother, then the mother and kittens, since April. Another mother kitty with more kittens is still out there, but they are even more wary than this group. They’d been living in a wooded area on the edge of a neighborhood, either escaped from someone or tossed out. The orange kittens are quite friendly, so they may have been born in a home and dumped somewhere when they started running around, as is common. The other litter was likely born outside since the kittens and their mom are closely bonded and the kittens have needed some taming.

Don handles the kitten.
Don, who you see in some of these photos, is the owner of the place and store manager, and is very successful in taming wild little kittens, spending as much time as possible handling them in between work around the store. Sloane, the other woman who works there, dotes on them, and is the one who tosses all the toys in the cages. All the beds and food and toys and litter for the kittens come from store stock, which Don and Sloane pay for out of their pockets along with spay/neuter and veterinary care. This can get expensive after a while! They are a small operation and pay a higher wholesale cost for materials than larger stores.

Tabby rests in her cage.
If you’re local, please shop there—it’s a neat store anyway, especially if you like to just hang out once in a while and spend an hour talking about the weather and the birds in your yard and how your tomatoes are doing this year. If you still like to help, just “buy” a bed or a bag of food.
If you might be interested in these kitties, please contact me!
Unless another opportunity opens up at a shelter, they’ll stay at the Agway until they are adopted.
Let’s Find a Home for Matador
Posted: June 17, 2010 Filed under: adopting a cat, cats, fostercat, fostering pets, inc., june is adopt-a-cat month, rescue cats | Tags: cats for adoption, fostercat inc. 4 Comments
Matador, ready to sit on your lap and purr.
Hello! My name is Matador and I originally came from a local shelter, but now I am trying to find a home of my own. You see, I was a stray in McKees Rocks and very, very sick but my foster mom rescued me. I am on a special diet for the rest of my life as a result, but don’t let that worry you.
I don’t run around and cause trouble like kittens do, I am quiet and pretty laid-back. I am not beautiful or thin, but boy am I a loving cat. I’m a sweet, affectionate 4-year-old (or so) shorthaired tuxedo male cat who loves to be brushed.
I am happy just to lay around and be petted. I am no trouble at all. I get along with other cats and even dogs because I mostly just mind my own business.
Won’t you give me a chance at a new life?
If you’re the one for me, please call FosterCat at 412-481-9144 or just go to the adoption page on the website and fill out a form with my name on it! I’ll be waiting to hear from you.
Who wouldn’t love Matador?! But if a quiet black and white kitty isn’t what you are looking for FosterCat has all flavors of kitties in foster homes right now! Please visit the Adopt Me! page and browse the kitties who are looking for homes right now.
If you can’t adopt, consider being a foster home
If you live in the Pittsburgh area, FosterCat is also looking for foster homes in the south hills. FosterCat, Inc. is seeking responsible, cat loving caregivers to provide temporary love and care for homeless cats until permanent homes are found.
Our foster parents provide daily care for cats or kittens in their homes until they are ready to be placed for permanent adoption. FosterCat will provide food, litter, medications, as needed, and will absorb all veterinary expenses associated with our kitties.
FosterCat, Inc. is a local 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Contact FosterCat, Inc. at 412-481-9144 or click here to learn more about becoming a FosterCat foster parent and to submit a foster application.
Meet Cleo, the Perfect Tabby, and Perfect for You!
Posted: June 5, 2010 Filed under: adopting a cat, cats, fostercat, fostering pets, june is adopt-a-cat month, rescue cats | Tags: cats for adoption, fostercat inc. 1 Comment
Cleo is waiting for a home through FosterCat!
What says “kitty” more than a lot of perfectly organized stripes?
I’m Cleo, and I’m FosterCat’s featured kitty this month. I hope that increases my chances of finding my forever home! My foster family has been wonderful, but I can’t wait to unpack my little kitty bags for the last time.
I’m a young lady covered with lovely stripes—several necklaces and rows of bracelets around my legs, stripes all over my face that define my lovely high cheekbones and classic brows, then stripes all the way down my back to my lovely striped tail.
I have been tested for everything and passed all my tests, I’ve been spayed and vaccinated so everything is already done. I’m ready to go!
I once had a forever home, but my people decided to adopt a dog and I just didn’t care for that. Apparently they didn’t like my attitude and before I knew it I ended up in a shelter.
I’m so glad someone from FosterCat came along and recognized that I wasn’t meant for shelter life! They brought me home from the shelter so that I could keep my sweet disposition living in a home instead of a cage, and have a better chance of meeting new people that way.
I am friendly and dignified, but I don’t necessarily get along with dogs, apparently, and not really with other cats, either, which is why I wasn’t doing well in the shelter. I’d be best in an only-cat household, but you won’t be sorry that I’m your only cat because I’m just waiting for a person to love.
If you’re the one for me, please call FosterCat at 412-481-9144 or just go to the adoption page on the website and fill out a form with my name on it! I’ll be waiting to hear from you.
We know Cleo is perfect, but if stripes aren’t what you are looking for FosterCat has all flavors of kitties in foster homes right now! Please visit the Adopt Me! page and browse the kitties who are looking for homes right now.
If you can’t adopt, consider being a foster home
If you live in the Pittsburgh area, FosterCat is also looking for foster homes in the south hills. FosterCat, Inc. is seeking responsible, cat loving caregivers to provide temporary love and care for homeless cats until permanent homes are found.
Our foster parents provide daily care for cats or kittens in their homes until they are ready to be placed for permanent adoption. FosterCat will provide food, litter, medications, as needed, and will absorb all veterinary expenses associated with our kitties.
FosterCat, Inc. is a local 501 (c)(3) non-profit organization. Contact FosterCat, Inc. at 412-481-9144 or click here to learn more about becoming a FosterCat foster parent and to submit a foster application.
Meet Three Little Kittens for Adopt-a-Cat Month
Posted: June 1, 2010 Filed under: adopting a cat, adopting a kitten, cats, june is adopt-a-cat month, kittens | Tags: june is adopt-a-cat month, kittens for adoption, rescue kittens 2 CommentsJune is Adopt-a-Cat Month and I’ll be featuring several cats and kittens who need homes.

Hi! My Name is Dumplin’ and I’m a little girl.
Today, meet Dumplin, Snowball and Max! Who could resist?! Help a generous family who rescued three kittens, nurtured and cared for them at their own expense though they already have six cats.

My name is Snowball and I’m also a little girl.
The kittens say, “We are seven weeks old. One male and two females. We have been coddled since the day we were found under a bush on a hillside. The Doc has checked us over and declared us healthy. We love to be fussed over and would like to stay together if at all possible. The nice people who found us already have six indoor cats and are hoping that we can find a home as loving as the one that we are visiting now.”

And my name is Maxwell or Max and I’m the little brother.
I can tell by what “the kittens” had to say that these three have been well-loved and are very well-socialized, and no doubt their rescuers will be very careful about who will adopt these kittens.
I was just saying I haven’t lived with an orange kitty in a while and here’s a little Dumplin’, and I still miss my white kitty, and there’s a little tabby who’s going to be very clearly striped when he grows into his fur.
So even though there are so many cats and kittens in shelters during this time of the year, sometimes it’s nice to reward an individual who went out of their way and helped to take the burden off of the shelter system both physically and financially.
Anyone interested can either email them at jfoertsch1@verizon.net or call Mimi or John Foertsch at 412-854-5632.
I can relate to this—I’ve found and rescued plenty of kittens and adult cats, caring for them at home to keep the burden from the shelters and covering the expenses myself. What did we do before the internet helped us find homes for the cats we’d rescued?!