Thank you Cheryl @ Pet Essentials

Cheryl, the owner of Paw Print Essentials www.pawprintessentials.com behind Kinko's in Venice, hosted our kitten adoption yesterday. The kitties were displayed in the pristine, white holding cages that lucky dogs are held in during their organic grooming. It's an exquisite cat and dog food and grooming shop, + the accessories are divine. It is business people like Cheryl that help the animals in our community. Not only did she open her store on her day off, she promoted the event and even provided exquisite refreshments. Please support Paw Print Essentials and feed your feline and canine the best foods ever! Prevention of health problems begins with healthy food. Mary Riley

Frankie Needs a Special Home

Here's Frankie ... a special needs kitty rescued from a backyard in Sarasota. A family found the mama kitty and three kittens and could see Frankie was stuck in the bottom of the pile. This may be the reason his leg did not form properly or perhaps the hip didn't form properly. We don't know if it's a birth defect or an early injury or break. He gets along really well despite the handicap. He's a very loving, friendly kitten who will make a wonderful addition to a family looking for a special needs indoor kitty. Long term fostering is an option. Call Raphaella 941-993-7001 or Theresa 941-445-4322 for more information.

How FreeCycle Made Me Sick This Morning - Cat Abuse!!

I am forwarding to you a string of emails I bounced back and forth with this morning regarding Freecyle and kitten giveaways. I was appalled to see that some user gave 3 week old kittens away "to homes" in no time.

Read it if you are interested, circulate if you desire, and let's try to find some way to stop Freecycle and other websites from perpetuating animal abuse.

Thanks,
Theresa





Anonymous Freecycler's Post:
4.
TAKEN: 3 week old kittens
Posted by: "arreed98" arreed98@yahoo.com arreed98
Sat Jul 4, 2009 4:06 pm (PDT)
They all have new homes..thank you!!
Back to top Reply to sender Reply to group Reply via web post Messages in this topic (1)

Theresa's Post:


Iam with a cat rescue/spay neuter group.
I hope you didn't give 3 week old kittens away to individual homes.
They are far too small to be apart from their mother, need feeding by bottle of special milk, medical treatments, etc. They will be sick or die if you just give them away.

Also, I certainly hope you are spaying the mother. I can assist you in doing that asap if need be at no cost to you.

There are thousands of kittens and cats put to death in our local shelters here in this county each year and we have to get the birth rate down. I don't know if you are aware of that but it's imperative to stop the breeding.

Also pit bull owners have been known to take "free kittens" and use them to train their dogs, i.e. the dogs kill the babies. Are you aware of that?

Please contact me if I can help you make sure these kittens and their mother get spayed and are safe and healthy.

Theresa Foley
Venice Cat Coalition
info@keywestcatsociety.com

Freecycle Site Monitor's Reprimand to Theresa:

**While your concern is appreciated, we do not allow conversational posts to the group. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but the post said that the mommy cat died.**>


What Theresa tried to post on Freecycle but was rejected by monitors:

Please DO NOT give away kittens on this website.> > Here is why, as I posted to the person who gave 3 tiny babies away today:> > I am with a cat rescue/spay neuter group.> I hope you didn't give 3 week old kittens away to individual homes. > They are far too small to be apart from their mother, need feeding by bottle of special milk, medical treatments, etc. They will be sick or die if you just give them away.> > Also, I certainly hope you are spaying the mother. I can assist you in doing that asap if need be at no cost to you.> > There are thousands of kittens and cats put to death in our local shelters here in this county each year and we have to get the birth rate down. I don't know if you are aware of that but it's imperative to stop the breeding.> > Also pit bull owners have been known to take "free kittens" and use them to train their dogs, i.e. the dogs kill the babies. Are you aware of that?> > Please contact me if I can help you make sure these kittens and their mother get spayed and are safe and healthy.> > Theresa Foley> Venice Cat Coalition> info@keywestcatsociety.com> > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]


Theresa's response to Freecycle site monitor:

Okay, but I never saw the original post, only "all are taken".Something tells me they were taken for dog fight bait, because they just got snatched up so fast. These poor kittens may have a very nasty fate.I would recommend no more pet giveaways on this site. The rescue groups have increasing concerns about this practice. i am going to post this to the rescues, to increase awareness of Freecycle's policy on this.I also do not 100% believe the mother cat died. This is what people repeatedly say in pet dumping situations. Then they keep breeding and breeding and think it's okay for the shelter euthanasia of hundreds each month. I hope you understand how this is perpetuating animal cruelty and that Freecycle could become part of the solution instead of part of the problem.With all due respect.Theresa Foley


----- Original Message ----- From: "julieandgeoff" <julieandgeoff@yahoo.com>To: "Theresa Foley" <tfoley1131@comcast.net>Sent: Sunday, July 05, 2009 10:46 AMSubject: Message not approved: Re:TAKEN: 3 week old kittens**While your concern is appreciated, we do not allow conversational posts to the group. Also, I don't know if you noticed, but the post said that the mommy cat died.**> Please DO NOT give away kittens on this website.>> Here is why, as I posted to the person who gave 3 tiny babies away today:>> I am with a cat rescue/spay neuter group.> I hope you didn't give 3 week old kittens away to individual homes.> They are far too small to be apart from their mother, need feeding by > bottle of special milk, medical treatments, etc. They will be sick or die > if you just give them away.>> Also, I certainly hope you are spaying the mother. I can assist you in > doing that asap if need be at no cost to you.>> There are thousands of kittens and cats put to death in our local shelters > here in this county each year and we have to get the birth rate down. I > don't know if you are aware of that but it's imperative to stop the > breeding.>> Also pit bull owners have been known to take "free kittens" and use them > to train their dogs, i.e. the dogs kill the babies. Are you aware of that?>> Please contact me if I can help you make sure these kittens and their > mother get spayed and are safe and healthy.>> Theresa Foley> Venice Cat Coalition> info@keywestcatsociety.com>> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Luna and Sterling at Pet Supermarket in Venice

Luna and Sterling are spending a few days at the Pet Supermarket, 470 US Highway 41 Byp, Venice. If you're in the neighborhood, stop in to say hello. Hours are 9-9 M-Sat & 10-5 Sun.

They are looking for their families, so keep your eyes and ears open for their forever homes. Call Raphaella 993-7001 for more information about these two little darlings.

They aren't biological brother and sister but they seem to have adopted each other. Calling all cat lovers: Luna and Sterling need their forever homes. Tell everyone.

Adoption Event Finds Homes for 3 Kittens!

The Venice Cat Coalition thanks Serenity Eyewear and A Pet's Life for hosting its second adoption event on Friday, June 26. Three lucky and beautiful kittens were adopted into 2 homes today.

Thanks also to Brandt Vet Clinic in Nokomis, which has helped with some of prior kitten adoptions!

We still have approximately 30 kittens in foster needing homes. These include several tuxedo kittens, pure black sleek kittens, several tabbies and tabicos, one medium hair 3-color calico, a long hair tortioseshell calico, an orange and white kitten, and two angora long hair kittens. Additionally we have approximately 6 adult cats needing homes, including Yin and Yang, who are rescue cats from downtown Venice, and a people-shy Siamese female with blue eyes.

We soon will send out a special newsletter with photos of all our precious babies. Please consider taking one or two into your life.

Our next adoption event is Sunday July 19 at Pet Essentials pet store in S. Venice, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. It will be lots of fun. Details to follow. Come pick out your favorite kitten, or just come and learn about what the Venice Cat Coalition does.

All the Bast to you and your animal family!

Theresa

Summer Solstice Cat Update

As summer officially begins, we are nearing (we hope) the end of kitten season, so the trappers (like me) have a tiny bit of breathing room in our lives for a change. So I can now write a bit about what's going on with the Venice Cat Coalition-Key West Cat Society.

I have to say -- We are growing! Much more than I would have imagined in our first "active" year. The non-profit was registered in 2006 but we did not collect $ or organize much until last fall. The IRS gave us our official recognition just a few months ago.

Our progress is measurable! In the last 45 days or so, our group has taken upwards of 80 cats or kittens to spay-neuter surgery, either via the free clinics, or using our own funds or donated vouchers. This is great news, and put a big dent in the waiting list of 100 cats plus needing to be TNR'd about 2 months ago.

We also have been doing adoptions as a steady pace, despite the economy and the other blues that many people are singing. I am still adding up the numbers but we have done at least a dozen adoptions in the last month or so. Not bad for a nonprofit that has no facility or shelter: just volunteer homes!

And we continue our practice of working with the "end of the road" cats, taking in and placing even the bad luck cats that the other rescue groups have rejected or condemned to die for some reason. We will tell more of their stories soon, but they have included a blind kitten, a broken-legged kitten, a male tom that was badly mauled by an animal and mangy, a declawed cat that was declared "vicious" and "unadoptable" by another group, another badly mauled six-toed cat, and at least one cat that tested positive for a blood disease but appears to be in perfect health.

So all is well here. You can help by volunteering or sending in a financial donations. Helping so many cats does cost money, and we regularly buy medicines, flea treatments, food, litter and other supplies, in addition to paying for the vet bills. Mary Riley is becoming our volunteer coordinator and she has a nice list of jobs that could be done by willing helpers.

With the slight slow-down in kittens and trapping now that we are in the heat of the season, we are going to turn some of our attention to education and community awareness, and building more community partnerships -- all to help the cats, all cats, not just the "fluffies" but the ones out on the streets who have no one to speak for them (except you and me!).

Thanks to all who have helped this season, and all the best of Bast to you!

Theresa

Venice Cat Coalition Dinner at Ophelia's Honored Sarasota County Cat Trappers

Our photo (left) appeared in the Venice Gondolier's Weekend Edition on June 20, 2009. It shows the party we held at Ophelia's in Nokomis on May 8th. Living proof of inter-agency cooperation, trappers come from far and wide and work together to help the feral and free-roaming cats in Sarasota County.

Theresa Foley and the Venice Cat Coalition (VCC) / Key West Cat Society (KWCS) honored the trappers' selfless service with this dinner party, generously supported by Nancy, owner of Ophelia's, who also is a big supporter of our work.

Donations to help the Trap Neuter Return (TNR) work of the VCC / KWCS can be made online at www.keywestcatsociety.com or may be mailed to KWCS, 1131 Columbine Road, Venice, FL 34293.

The smaller photo to the right is Caroline Resnick holding an adorable puppy rescued and being cared for by one of the trappers. The puppy was the star of the ballroom, even among cat lovers!

Once again, thank you to the trappers!