Rescue Work of Theresa Foley's Venice Cat Coalition

Meet Willow, my newly adopted rescue kitten. When the time came to adopt a new kitten, I met with Theresa Foley, the director of the Venice Cat Coalition, to discuss my concern about how another cat in the family would be received by Diana, my 4-year old orange tabby.

Diana had been rescued by the Venice Cat Coalition as a little kitten with a broken tail, left to fend for herself outdoors. She is still a little timid and fearful, so I wanted to be sure whichever new little kitten joined our family, it would not intimidate her further.

Theresa suggested I do a long-term foster to give us all time to see if the kitten I selected was a good fit in our home. I picked Willow, a female tabby with beautiful spotted markings.

Within a week it was clear to me that things were going well between the two cats. Willow has a brave heart and playful spirit. She enrolls Diana in games from time to time, yet respects her space and finds her own. After a few months I am certain she is a perfect addition to our family. I believe Diana agrees. - Raphaella Vaisseau

Kitty Palm Cat Tree

Mary Riley posted this link on our Sarasota Kitten Club Facebook page. What an awesome new product. The Kitty Palm Company is in Sarasota. Here's what she said:

"Want to benefit the SRQ Kitten-Club? Check out this NEW cat climbing palm tree made in SRQ. Kitty Palm won 3rd place at the Global Pet Expo. It is kitten and cat tested, personally, and it curbs boredom, believe me! www.kittypalm.com You can sell them and make donations to the Kitten-Club too!"

It looks like they range from  $122 for 36" to $310 for 80" - the company is in Sarasota, FL so the locals wouldn't need to pay shipping. They're also looking to hire a few retired or semi-retired wood working types for full and part time and light manufacturing. Call 941-925-7737.

Cats of Key West Cat Society - May 2010

Click here to see new pictures of KWCS kitties taken yesterday, May 28, 2010 by Raphaella. Enjoy!!!

CatsPlay.com - the ultimate shopping experience for Cat Lovers

Even before I saw the documentary about Bob Walker and Frances Mooney's "Cats' House" and bought the book, I've wanted to create similar fairy land environments for my fur family. Last night I did a google search for cat furniture and found it all at CatsPlay.com. In addition to cat trees and scratching posts, they have wall climbing systems and outdoor pet houses. My imagination went wild. If you're in the market for cat furniture for your kitties, browse this site to your heart's delight. Enjoy!

Shamrock Preschool Wins $500 grant for Venice Cat Coalition/Key West Cat Society

Deborah Whitham had a great idea to have her schoolchildren at the Shamrock Preschool in Venice learn about what we do to take care of rescued and homeless cats in Sarasota County. They adopted Frankie, our little kitten who came to us last spring with his leg broken in two places. Theresa and Raphaella brought Frankie to the preschool in September so the kids could meet him. They had made a fund-raising jar to collect donations and had a table set up where they would bring things to buy and sell. The children met Frankie and learned about his pending surgery to remove the injured leg. They all wanted to help Frankie get adopted to a family that would care for this special boy kitty. After Theresa taught them about the Key West Cat Society and how we find and help the cats, the kids went to their craft area and drew pictures of Frankie.

Wonderful things came of the dedicated work of Deborah and the children of Shamrock Preschool. First of all a miracle: when Frankie when to the vet for his pre-surgery check-up, the vet said Frankie didn't need an amputation after all. Apparently he had "done his own physical therapy" while trying to keep up with all the other foster kittens at Raphaella's. Second, he found his family!!! Frankie was adopted by a Russian lady from North Port who wanted this very special kitty for a companion. Frankie is now learning Russian!

The third wonderful thing that happened is Deborah submitted her story about Frankie and the Shamrock Preschool to the Community Foundation of Sarasota and this week won a $500 grant for community service for the cats! We are thrilled and so proud of Deborah for coming up with the idea to help, taking action, holding the vision, following through and ... winning! Her devotion to making a difference has already helped Frankie, and now will help a lot more cats in Sarasota County through our work as the Key West Cat Society/Venice Cat Coalition. One person can make a difference.

Click here to make a donation to KWCS/VCC.
Click here to see more pictures on Flickr.

Order Now!!! T-Shirts with new KWCS - VCC logo (featuring art by Raphaella Vaisseau)

The new Key West Cat Society / Venice Cat Coalition T-shirt samples arrived. Shirts are $17 each (donate more if you can) - or better yet, become a member of KWCS.

T-shirt orders are now being taken for delivery before Thanksgiving. Call Raphaella 941-993-7001 for size, style, color choices. See samples at the KWCS booth at the Venice Farmers Market or Raphaella's Heartful Art booth everywhere.

Prints of Raphaella's cat painting are available at www.RescueCatClub.etsy.com

Help find Frankie a Home

Click here for downloadable flyer to post for Frankie.

Help us find his forever home.

Frankie wants a home - Now

Frankie is six months old today. The children at Shamrock Preschool in Venice, FL adopted him as a project to help him get through the next few months of surgery and recovery, help him find his forever home and raise money for his medical expenses. Click here to see a slideshow of his visit with the children.

Please call Theresa (941-445-4322) or Raphaella (941-993-7001) to foster or adopt. Please visit our website to make a donation to help with Frankie's medical expenses. Thank you for your support of Frankie and all the cats helped by Key West Cat Society and the Venice Cat Coalition.

KWCS magnets with Theresa Foley's Cat Art are now on ETSY

Our Rescue Cat Club's latest creations are little floppy magnets for a $1.50 donation - available at the Venice Saturday morning Farmer's Market (8am - noon) and our KWCS Etsy store online.

Look for new T-shirts coming soon.

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.

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.

Twins Adopt Twin Kittens

A week ago when Gus (fka Zeus) and Elsa (fka Grace) were adopted by a family, the father said one of the reasons they selected Gus and Elsa was because Eros and Anteros looked like twins. He felt they should be adopted by a family with twins. I started calling the little boy kittens twins, and in my mind I started envisioning a family with twins finding them. Three days later a woman called Theresa looking for kittens. No mention was made of twins, but the woman and her two 6 yr old children came right over to the Venice Cat Coalition booth at the Farmer's Market in downtown Venice to meet the kittens. All three of them immediately fell in love with Eros and Anteros. When I said they were twins, the mom exclaimed, "My children are twins!" Voila. It felt like destiny to me. So perfect.

I invited the family to visit the kittens at my home so they could meet them and play together outside of the confines of the adoption cage at the market. Julia loved little Eros and named him Spot. Gianluca fell in love with Anteros and named him George. All agreed, the kittens had found their family and the family had found their kittens. The adoption was made June 1, 2009.

Personal Responsibility

This little kitten was anonymously left after hours at the door of A Pet's Life a few days ago by a complete coward of a human being. Regardless of the personal circumstances he, she or they may be faced with, he, she or they (at the very least) could have brought the kitten in during business hours to protect it from the traffic on US 41 nearby, and who knows what else. Were there more kittens left at the door? No one knows.

This incomprehensible lack of personal responsiblity is topped only by the person or persons who left two beautiful cats in downtown Venice a few weeks ago when they presumably left their winter paradise for parts up North. Grrrrr.

Foster Kittens and Mama Cat

Mama Cat arrived at my home on Sunday evening, April 5th. Her four kittens were born during the night and early in the morning on April 6th. This little family was one of 50 cats Theresa, the Key West Cat Society and friends trapped in a colony in Punta Gorda that weekend. ALL of the female cats captured were pregnant.

The size of this colony underlines the need for swift and continual SNR (spay-neuter-return) programs world wide to control the overpopulation of cats everywhere. It starts with personal responsibility for pet owners everywhere to spay and neuter their pets, even when the intention is that they live indoors. Stop the breeding. Save the cats.

All the 50 cats and their kittens trapped in this Punta Gorda colony will be spayed and neutered and have all their shots and tests before adopted or returned to the place they were found. Please support our work with a generous donation to KWCS/VCC.

Click HERE to see more photos. Once at the Flickr photosite, click on "view as slideshow" if desired.

Kitty Drama

Princess Diana stalked this squirrel for about 1/2 hr. as it made it's way around the yard. When it decided to crawl up the screen of my lanai, she decided to act and lunged at it, crashing into the screen head on - scared us all. The little hunter probably found edible things in the dirt around plants when she was living in the wild outdoors because I notice she's been digging in my fern a couple of times. Hummm. The adventure continues. Today I rearranged all the furniture in the main bedroom so Apache and Diana could have a fresh new look at who gets what for territory. Apache ventured out of her closet apartment in the night last night to climb up on the bed. She stayed for about 15 minutes - on full alert for Diana, ready to hiss at anything that moved. I'm hopeful that we can all get used to the new arrangement within a few weeks and Apache will accept Diana into the family.

Eyes Open - Day 8 for Foster Kittens

I'm so excited to witness the lives of the mother cat and her four little kittens born in my house on Monday April 6th. Today, on day eight, they are opening their eyes. Here's a picture of the wonderful event.

Plus ... it's my birthday today. This is a thrilling birthday present from the cats :)

Three Tabby Kittens Up For Adoption

Three month old brothers with all their shots (& neutered) are looking for their family. They are playful, adorable and would be great for any family, even with children. Raphaella has been fostering them for five weeks and wants them to be adopted soon so their new family can get to know them as kittens. Click here to see a slideshow of their journey with her. Call me at 941.445.4322 for more information. Prescreening required. Adoption fee $50-$75 if approved.