Blessings in disguise? Fred and CC

Do you believe in fate? Have you ever been in the right place at the right time, to change the life of another? I'm finally starting to believe that somethings are just "meant to be", and that many of my hardships are just blessings in disguise...

It all started when I responded to a Facebook post about a cat who needed a foster ASAP or he would die. I received a phone call soon after I offered to help and was told that the cat was safe, another rescue had pulled him. I was super excited and relived, because I really had no business trying to pull cats from another county when my own county was in such desperate need. The lady I spoke to took it upon herself to tell me that there were 2 other cats that needed commitment with in the next hour, or that they would be killed, she even texted me their photos... I was pretty upset that she put me on the spot like that and I told her that the only reason why I offered to take the other cat was because my mother agreed to foster him for me...  and there was no way that I could take 2 cats. I told her that I usually just deal with feral cats who need to be TNR'd (Trap-Neuter-Return) or relocated, or kittens born to feral moms. She told me that the 2 cats were feral cats, and relocation was what they needed. I agreed to take them, but I made it VERY clear that I could ONLY do so if they were feral cats, because I didn't have a place for 2 friendly indoor cats to go.

When I met her to pick up the cats, she told me how they were both super friendly, and how I shouldn't have a problem adopting them out... I was stunned, and told her that I couldn't take them... they were supposed to be ferals... that was our agreement. She played dumb and acted like she forgot, and told me that if I could just keep them through the weekend, she would take them back, she had another lady that could foster them.

Well, I think you know where I'm going with this... She stuck me with the cats!!! Not only that but the poor female cat (CC) was a bag of bones, full of fleas and ticks, and had diarrhea so bad that she couldn't control it, which meant lots of money out of my pocket and multiple trips to the vet. The male cat (Fred) had a severe yeast infection in his ears and was FIV positive, so it took allot of extra time to find him a home with a person that understood that FIV is not a death sentence, and that he deserves to live just as much as any other kitty out there.

Long story short... another rescue took CC, but even though Fred is a major love muffin and a super awesome cat, it still took me 5 months to get him adopted out because of his FIV. Do I regret saving the lives of these 2 precious souls? No! Absolutely not! I love them to pieces and I'm very grateful to have met them.

Some things are just meant to be! :-)

Fred making "air biscuits" :)

Fred the lover boy!

Loukas and Fred

My favorite pic!

Fred goes up for adoption! :)

He's making biscuits as usual.

CC

Poor baby was so skinny. :(

CC is a sweet girl.

Who could resist that face?

Apparently not me...

Catnip Toy GIVEAWAY Winners!

I should have known that it was going to be hard to pick only 1 winner a day for my Catnip Toy Giveaway in honor of National Feral Cat Day. I put all of the names in a bowl and tried to pick a daily winner, but I started to feel bad for all of the others who entered my giveaway and didn't win. ALL kitties deserve fun toys to play with, don't you think?!?

So guess what...

If you entered my giveaway... you are a WINNER!!!

I will be sending out emails today to all of the winners, requesting mailing addresses and color preferences of toys. If you entered my giveaway, but for some reason do not get a message from me, it is because I can't find a way to contact you. If this happens please message me on here, or email me at asimp333@yahoo.com with your mailing address. I will be shipping all toys out this week, but bare with me because I have allot of toys to make and ship, which is a good thing. :)

I would love to see pictures of your feline friends playing with their new toys, so please send some to me and I'll post them on my blog and link to your sites.

If you didn't get a chance to enter my giveaway but would still like a catnip toy of your own, you can find them in my etsy store here.

~amber

Catnip Toy GIVEAWAY!

National Feral Cat Day 2011 is only days away, on Sunday, October 16th, and people all across the nation are gearing up for it by hosting events to help raise awareness of feral cat issues. As most of you already know, I'm a huge TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) advocate and active volunteer, so have I decided to celebrate National Feral Cat Week by giving away a Handmade (by me) Halloween themed catnip filled cat toy EVERY DAY until Sunday, October 16th... National Feral Cat Day!

I have been making catnip toys for a few years now as a way to raise money to help cover the medical expenses, including spay/neuter surgeries for feral and homeless cats. I also donate these toys to local rescues and shelters.

Each catnip toy is approximately 6 inches in diameter, (keep in mind they are handmade so sizes may vary slightly), they are made out of polyester fleece, stuffed FULL of 1/4 cup of certified organic catnip grown in the USA, and polyester fluff. The colors I will be giving away will vary from orange/black, purple/black, and green/black. All toys are made in my smoke-free, animal friendly, vegan household. :)

Catnip Toy Give Away Entry Rules:

You can enter the contest once a day by following my blog and leaving me a comment telling me that you want a catnip toy, the names of your feline friends, and which of the below things you have done for your additional entries. Make sure I have a way to contact you if you are a winner. You can enter by commenting on any of this weeks posts.

You will receive (1) entry for each of the following things that you do:

• Follow my blog!

• Post this link on your Facebook Page!

• Post this link on Twitter!
• Had a Feral cat Spayed or Neutered!

Winners will be announced daily and cat toys will ship on Monday, October 17th, provided I have the winners addresses at that time.

Molly having fun with her Halloween catnip toy!

Don't be sad if you don't win, these toys and more are always available in my Etsy store.

I'm also always willing to donate to animal rescues and giveaways.

Find more cat toys here:

AmberMakesArt.etsy.com

Custom orders available!

It's so hard to say good bye to Kit-tays

A couple of weeks ago while trapping feral cats for TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return), my friends and I found a sweet young little female kitty just hanging out in the breezeway of an apartment building. She definitely wasn't feral, but she wasn't spayed either and acted like she was in heat, so we grabbed her up and took her into the clinic with the rest of the kitties for a spay, rabies shot, etc.

After all the kitties recovered from their surgeries and were ready to be released back out to live their little feral kitty lives, without the ability to reproduce of course, I began to wonder what this friendly kittys story was, did she have a home?, was anyone looking for her?, etc... so I brought her up to the building where I found her and started talking to all the neighbors. They all knew about the sweet kitty and told me that she lived in the down stairs apartment until a few days ago when her family put her outside with a bowl of food and water and then they moved away, leaving her there alone and homeless.

I began to get really stressed out not knowing what to do, I couldn't just toss her back out, she wasn't feral, she was a inside kitty until a few days ago and she likely wouldn't make it out there now that her food bowl was empty, and she has no street smarts. But the last thing I needed was to bring home another cat that may be hard to adopt out since she isn't a kitten. Because I'm sure you know how people like adopting brand new shiny kittens and puppies. All while the shelters are busting at the seems with sweet loving adult cats that are meeting their early undeserved deaths due to the billions of excuses people make for dumping them... don't get me started on that. I wasn't going to let her die in vain, so she came home with me.

Luckily a friend of mine decided that it was time for him to adopt a cat, and he inquired about her. Yay! So he is coming over today to meet her and hopefully he loves her as much as I do, and decides to become her new Daddy. Then comes the hard part... saying good bye... :( I've really become attached to her in the last few weeks, and it's going to be hard to see her go. I'm going to miss her running around and playing like a silly kitty, laying with me, purring, and making some good old kitty biscuits on the soft blankets. It's been allot of fun and I'm glad I met her. I know she is going to a good home where she will be loved greatly, but I will still miss her very much.

I love you silly kitty!

 hehe. This is my BF, Loukas sleeping with her. <3

I'm going to really miss you silly kitty. I hope you have the best new life ever, and I hope to be able to visit you. Until we meet again... <3

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale - Tampa 2011

I'm not one for "tooting my own horn" or "patting myself on the back", but I've learned that sometimes it's good for the soul when you let yourself admit that you've done a good job, and that is definitely the case with my first Vegan Bake Sale of the year, benefiting TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) for feral and stray cats. Of course I couldn't have done it without the help and support of some very hard working friends, volunteers from Florida Voices for Animals, and Mojo Books & Music. Thank you for helping me turn my vision into a reality, I couldn't have done it without you...THANK YOU!!! And thanks to all who came out to support this worthy cause by making donations and eating yummy baked goods.

We raised over $600 to benefit Spay/Neuter surgeries for feral cats as part of the TNR (Trap-Neuter-Return) Program. This will provide spay/neuter surgeries for up to 60 cats with the use of programs such as the monthly Spay Day at the Animal Coalition of Tampa (ACT) and Feral Cat Mondays at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay. We also raised awareness for ALL animals, and proved that vegan baked goods are even better tasting than the traditional dairy and egg filled ones.

I also want to give a BIG shout out and thank you to Danny and his crew over at Mojo Books & Music for allowing us to have a Vegan Bake Sale at their store for their Annual Record Store Day Celebration. Without Danny and all the awesome people at Mojo Books & Music, this bake sale wouldn't have been nearly as successful. They allowed us to setup inside, which is a big plus for Florida bake sales, they helped advertise it on their Facebook event page, as well as shouting cupcake inspired reminders throughout the day as the bands played. They even put the left over baked goods up at their new coffee bar, and continued to collect donations for us well into the night long after we were gone.

So the next time you are in the Tampa area, don't forget to stop in at Mojo Books & Music, located at 2558 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33612. You can find everything from new and used CD's, records, books, DVD's, posters, t-shirts, and more. And coming soon, their new location, just a few doors down, which is bigger, better (if that's even possible), and has a coffee bar that will be stocked with vegan friendly selections. Mojo Books & Music has something for everyone, so stop in today and tell them that I sent you. :)

Now get ready to drool... here are the pictures! =D

Thanks for stopping by!