New Year last year

....we had the pom pom drop and introduced the cats to champagne.

I've afraid I'm not ambitious enough this year to post every ten minutes up until midnight. This year, after a wonderful dinner out with my friends, I'm going to curl up by the fire with my feline associates, and ring in a quiet and happy 2010.

I wish you all a wonderful evening, and a bright and hopeful New Year's Day.

Oh heck. It's not New Year's without a little kitty participation!









Now! Have a wonderful 2010, and thank you for all your kindness in 2009.

(Thanks, Maxies, for the beads. Thanks, girls, for keeping me alive this year!)

Longfellow should perhaps be renamed...

Fireheart.

Geesh. It's not THAT cold in here.



Okay, this should be literally painful! However, I don't smell burning fur...



Longfellow is available for adoption to a VERY warm home!

Little kitty fetishes

They are about 1.5 inches high. Cute, huh? I still have to find the right string to use to tie the beads on. I'm making scads of them. I'm not quite sure why, yet. Pinching them out of FIMO clay is a pretty good stress reliever.

Post-note: From the comments, it sounds like people would like them. I don't mind sending them out into the world. Once I get the rest of them baked up, I'll put them on here so you can see the colors, and you can send a padded envelope, a return label, $2 bucks postage, and whatever you'd like to toss in there (but $2 is fine for my regular readers!). These are more friendship fetishes than money-raisers.

For the Cheeto fan base...

After a few days of spits, airsmacks, and scared growls, Cheeto and Phillip are now buddies.

Merry Christmas, Cheeto and Phillip! You have one of the best homes in the world.

(Post-note: Cheeto's new name is "Julian")

Toys are great, yet Bounty and babyfood make us VERY happy too!

Mike and Teresa, visiting from California, walked up the path today carrying a wealth of kitty supplies. Tons of paper towels, paper plates, and baby food. I then took a break from work and we went over to The Bishop Inn for lunch and did a little bit of catching up.

Squeak has taken a shine to the stuffed peacock Mary brought last night.



It's turning into quite the kitty Christmas.

Southern Pines Animal Shelter Fire

(photo from Southern Pines website. Please follow the link below)

Southern Pines Animal Shelter in MS was robbed and a fire was intentionally set that killed their disabled office cats. The rest of the animals are safe. Please consider a donation to them, and a matching donation to your own local shelter in honor of Southern Pines, and help turn tragedy into hope this holiday season. Please spread the word. As we write out Christmas cards, send one more to Mississippi.

Kitty Santa comes to Wildrun

Wildrun has a couple of very special people who are Santas throughout the year. Mary, who adopted Jack and The Leewit, and the founding donor for our Lewitt Fund for spay/neuter and surgical funds, came over tonight bearing boxes and boxes of gifts!

Beds! (Bug in the cat facility will appreciate this one, since she is always getting in and under the blankets, although Wiggles is testing it out here).



Towels...and not just towels, but new towels, and low-nap (the cats won't be making ugly snags on these), and beautiful enough to make an off-site adoption set up look extra special.



Little towels...lots and lots.



Presents for the well-being of the pampered cat lady. Good reading, good wine, chocolate, and bubble bath. A stuffed toy (for the silly side) and a more delicate gift(as a reminder of good friends who care).

'

We left a few toys in the house for the cats and hauled the rest out to the cat facility. The light is poor in the evening for photos, however Plushy did permit herself to be photographed trying to figure out what the den was for. "Do I get IN it...?"



"...or JUMP on it?"



All those presents, and you can guess what the kittens liked the best...



Kids and cats. It's all about the box.

More photos tomorrow!

Thank you, Mary! There were so many people who were right there for me when I needed them, and who dedicate themselves to being there for the cats, as well. There is really no way to thank them adequately. The cats love their new toys, and it's important for Christmas to bring surprises and newness to them too.

It definitely feels like Christmas!

Updates on kittens

Apologies to my faithful clickers who arrive here each day for news of the cats only to see the same old post!

Four kittens found homes this past week or so: Ferdinand, Bugsy, Cheeto, and Cheddar. Of the young cats and kittens, remaining in the fold are Wiggles, Longfellow, Brie, Fergie and Venus. Venus has an adopter who is seriously interested in her once her abrasions on her neck (from her littermates using her as a baby bottle to suck on!) are healed, and we've received many inquiries for calicos, so Brie will probably be adopted soon as well.

Little Fergie, who is the cutest of the bunch in my opinion, has no inquiries, so this weekend I'll have a photo session to "cute up" everyone's photos on Petfinder.

Wiggles, Longfellow, and Fergie were off to the vet this week to be fixed. The phone rang shortly after I dropped them off. It appears Wiggles also had a hernia, so we had that repaired. She has two incisions this evening instead of just one.



She's pretty tuckered out.



My pet cats or thoroughly fed up with kittens and tend to look at them with disgust if they curl up too close, and give them a smack if they cuddle. But Wiggles still manages to sneak in to sleep with the big guys.



I finally managed to get a chimney sweep in for the new fireplace insert I put in last year. I watched like a hawk so I could clean it myself later this winter and next fall. I believe in professional cleanings, but sometimes $160 just doesn't fit into the budget. Although I find it a bargain when I look up at the snow and ice on the roof!

Once the fire is burning, this room becomes a magnet for cats. This is probably a good thing, as it provides me with incentive to get kitties into homes just so I can have some room to myself. There would only be two cats in this photo if Cheeto were delivered to his new home and Longfellow and Wiggles were adopted.



Brie is scheduled for a spay next week, and Venus will be fixed the week after that.

We also had a couple of "big" surgeries in the past two weeks. Fluffy had a major dental, and Fiona's luxating patella was repaired. I'll get photos of those two as well tomorrow.

Thanks for hanging in there!

Ferdinand is doing great!

"I just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know how well things are going with Ferdinand - who now goes by the name of Foo or Foo Foo. He is such a sweetheart and the most unflappable feline I've ever seen. Loud noises don't seem to bother him at all - hair dryer, hand vacuum, boisterous four year old boy. Our adult cats are slowly coming around and seem to be more able to tolerate his presence now. There's still a little hissing and growling from the nine year old, but our senior kitty has become pretty accepting. Thanks for taking such good care of him and allowing us to bring this delightful kitten into our lives. He has brought us a lot of joy in just a few days.

Warmest regards,
Mary Beth"

Don't forget your local shelter! Local Open Houses

It's that time of year! Wildrun partied on last weekend, and now our local humane societies are opening their doors to their communities.

TODAY!

Stray Haven and SPCA Open House and Bake Sale
Saturday, 12/12/09
Time: 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Location: Stray Haven Humane Society & S.P.C.A.
194 Shepard Rd
Waverly, NY
Contact: 607-565-2859

Bradford County Humane Society (PA)
Annual Christmas Party and Open House
Saturday, 12/12/09
Time: 11:00 am - 2:00 pm
"We are located in Bradford County, Pennsylvania, on Route 220, just north of Ulster."

Humane Society of Schuyler County
Pictures with Santa!
December 12 at the Horseheads PETsMART store from 11 - 4


SPCA of Luzerne County (PA)
Photos with Santa!
524 east Main Street Wilkes Barre PA.
From 10am to 2pm
"We will also be at the shelter with photos on the 19th from 10am to 2pm and then PetsMart from 11am to 4pm...PetsMart at the Arena Hub Plaza next to Barnes and Noble, Wilkes Barre"

Pedigree Dogs Exposed - BBC

There is only one word for this full-length video. Wow.

The weather outside is frightful...

Winter has finally struck central New York, and it's time to break out the winter clothes. Does your cat have hers? If not, you should visit the Christinelandry.com blog.

Cheeto wishes you a warm and wonderful holiday

I was thinking that this was the very first year we had our holiday gathering without snow...and then the first visitor arrived and it began to snow!

Little Cheddar got a home with a young reader of the Warrior Cats series, and Cheddar's new name is Fireheart! She will need to be a Fireheart to stand up to the energy of two great young boys!

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, and for the presents! It warmed the lives of both the kitties and myself.

Now we are gearing up for Day Two from noon to 4:00. If you have time on this beautiful snowy day, please stop by!

Busy, busy, busy

I could really use Phillip's jetpack right now! But I'm having fun.

This weekend is our Coffee, Cookies and Kittens event. We have at least one confirmed adopter coming, and lots of friends and neighbors! We are open Saturday from 11:00 to 4:30 pm and Sunday noon to 4:00, so it will be less crowded than previous years, to give me time to spend with adopters.

I had a great time shopping for ingredients for some seriously decadent cookies this morning, after dropping Fiona off for her surgery (keep your fingers crossed!). Dr. Shakespeare was going to do another radiograph to feel more certain that she could repair the luxating patella. My phone hasn't rung, so it appears she decided to go for it.

Fluffy had his dental the day before yesterday, and he's doing great, even though all he has left is one canine tooth and his front incisors. He seems much happier now, even after having had all those roots from broken teeth removed. The $320 fee was a fraction of full cost.

$600 in one week for a vet bill may seem high, but given that it would have been up to $3000 at another veterinarian or the university, we know how lucky we are!

Last night I did some painting in the cat facility. Today I cleaned and decorated downstairs, and began baking.

If you think you may make it, drop me a line at info@americancat.net!

Start the cocoa now and get ready to curl up on the couch

A Dog Named Christmas (9pm, CBS) - A developmentally challenged young man who cares for homeless animals tries to get every family in a Kansas town to adopt a dog for Christmas, even though is dad is against the idea.

From Huntingtonnew.net:

New Christmas Dog Story Debuts Sunday on Hallmark Hall of Fame

Special to Huntingtonnews.net

Hollywood, CA (HNN) - In honor of the Hallmark Hall of Fame world premiere of A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS, we're helping Petfinder.com give every dog adoption story a happy ending.

This holiday season, Petfinder.com is kicking off the first ever “Foster A Lonely Pet For the Holidays” program in conjunction with the movie A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS. Based on Greg Kincaid's popular novel, it's a touching story about a developmentally challenged young man who names his adopted dog Christmas and sets out to convince the whole town to participate in a local animal shelter's inaugural “Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program.”

Similarly, Petfinder.com is working with more than 2,000 shelters and rescue groups across North America to give families a chance to adopt a pet this holiday season.

Potential dog and cat owners can visit petfinder.com/foster-a-lonely-pet to learn if their local shelter is participating in the program.

All are encouraged to tune in to the Hallmark Hall of Fame world premiere of A DOG NAMED CHRISTMAS on Sunday, November 29 at 9/8c only on CBS. Learn more about this pet fostering program at the Hallmark Hall of Fame.

Friends of Wildrun Santa Paws!

Do you like to give kitties toys? Do your kitties like to get toys?

Sign up for the first annual Friends of Wildrun Santa Paws! You send me your mailing address and email address, and I'll send you the address of another Friend of Wildrun who wants to participate. You buy (or make!) kitty toys, box them up, and send them to your Santa Paws friend. Feel free to be fun and creative. You can pad the box with homemade human gifts as well (cookies and whatnot) but the $$ gift must be entirely for cats. Another Friend of Wildrun will send your kitty a Santa Paws gift as well.

You take photos of your kitties opening their Santa Paws box, and I'll post them all on my blog! Or if you have a blog, post them there, and send me a link.

If you read this blog regularly, you are a Friend of Wildrun.

Send your address to info at americancat dot net! The gift limit is $20. If you are a US reader willing to pay extra postage to send your Santa Paws to an international Friend, please indicate that in your email, as we do have many friends from Singapore and other countries. International readers, keep in mind your Santa Paws gift will cost you increased postage to send to the US or another country. But internationally traded gifts are likely to be really fun and new to the recipients. You will want to check with your post office before posting off anything organic to another country.

Happy Holidays!

(I've stolen this from other blogs from last year. I can't find it online, so I thought we'd do our own!)

Call for cookie recipes for Coffee, Cookies, and Kittens!

I have decided to replace this year's Holiday Thank-You party with a great big adoption event during my vacation. I have TOO MANY kittens and cats who want homes, and not enough money to justify the wine-and-food bash I normally hold this year at this time.

All I could imagine was friends swirling wine in the cat room thinking "Hmmmm...hasn't Tiger Tom been here for the last three times I've visited?"

My goal is to get a home for big fat Wings before he gets any bigger and fatter. How about Arthur and Morgan and Faith? Not to mention these little cuties tumbling around.

So this year I'm going to have a true open house to get my kids adopted. Instead of wine and dinner, there will be wonderful coffee, wonderful cookies, mulled cider, tea, lots of places to relax, and lots of cats. People who would like to adopt a kitten, or just want to visit, or any Friends Of Wildrun are welcome!

So I could use some help!

If you have a truly decadent cookie recipe, please send it my way. I need to be able to make them at least one-two days in advance, so anything with cream centers or that won't survive being boxed aren't an option.

Mundane cookies need not apply!

I also will need to borrow a 30 cup coffee maker if anyone has one (or two, or three). I have my large coffee carafes, but I'm expecting more coffee and cider drinkers than in previous years, and I also want to make sure there is coffee and cider on both the first and second floors of the cat facility, and in the house.

If any readers love the kitchen and would like to make cookies themselves, that would be wonderful.

At the shortest, this will be December 5th and 6th. However, I have the 2nd through the 8th off, so I have the option of starting early, and extending later.

So go dust off your recipe box. You need to do it before the holidays anyway!

You can post the recipes in comments or email them to info at americancat dot net.

Thanks! Wouldn't it be nice to get every single cat a home?

Great Communities - Cat Writers Association

Chance, luck, and work can throw me into meeting exceptional communities. Those special groups of people who make you realize there is real pride and fun in life. The Cat Writers Association is one of these.

Each year they have a conference, and the past two years I have been lucky enough to go. It is always great to go to a conference that is about your life's passion (animals) but with a twist (writing, rather than just sheltering and rescue, although rescue is often a topic of the writing).

This community is incredibly welcoming. Every new "kitten" -- a first time attendee -- received a sincere round of applause, and a reminder that "someday, YOU will be leading this organization."

I hope to blog more on actual topics, but in this post I want to point out that inclusiveness has its rewards. This association is rewarded not just with a wonderful, engaged membership, but sponsors (and members) who participate with financial sponsorship, products to share, and gifts.

Therefore, the Wildrun kitties made out like little bandits:



I don't think I've ever encountered such a heavy swag bag! Not only that, I arrived early enough the night before to help stuff the bags, along with 17 other attendees. I discovered two women from Ithaca (!!!!) and at least one Petfinder member. Sometimes you have to drive a long way to meet your own neighbors.

And there were so many raffle donations I actually won something. Or rather, the cats have won this beautiful kitty sleeping bag from Wool and Kashmir Couture.



I'm headed out to visit some animals shelters on the way home. After great conferences, I'm always in a hurry to get home and use what I've learned.

If you are a blogger, you are a writer. There are publication requirements for becoming an actual member of the Association, but I believe you can attend the conference as a guest even if you aren't a member. The conference *may be* held in the same location next year, so mark next fall on your calendar if this is a community you might like to get to meet!

"Luxating patella." It's Google time!

I'll have to fill in the blanks for you later, but you can Google it if you want more information. Basically, Fiona has a dislocated knee, and it pops back out after being popped back in again. Which means she's scheduled for surgery December 3rd. I owe my excellent vet a huge "thank you" as I'm sure this is yet another surgery she is doing for me that would normally be referred to the university. And the fee she has quoted me is a fraction of what I would be charged elsewhere. So Fiona is a (relatively) lucky kitty.

She's one dopey kitty, too, after radiographs and a manipulation session. Little does she know that tomorrow a.m. she going into a cage until her surgery. She's not going to like that at all.

Her buddy Cheeto isn't going to know what to do without her.

Taco adopted!

A family came to visit with Cheeto, and ended up falling in love with Taco instead. He was off to the vet today, and somehow I've got to spirit him off to his new home tomorrow. One down (from this litter) and three to go!