There's a New Sheriff in Town

It's been interesting to watch Wylla's role as Deputy Kitten Wrangler take shape. With the first few batches she met,  the kittens were just curiosities, then playmates, but with the past couple of litters, her role is much more nurturing.

 The last batch was the first I saw her bathe.  With the Hollis Girls, she cleans them all the time and seems to monitor them more. She is definitely more "motherly".   If there's ever a cry of distress, she runs to find them.  At mealtime, when everyone is screaming, she thinks they're ALL in a state of distress and she moves from kitten to kitten, pulls them close, and licks them feverishly as if she's saying "Girls, girls, relax! It's ok!"   She'll chirp and trill at them, too - she's always talking to the kittens.

Here's a little clip of her in action the other day. It's very brief so I repeated it a few times for you. It's kind of quiet, so turn up the volume a bit.

And please make note of Bean's paws in action.  "Back off, kitten. I'm waiting for breakfast, too."



Bean's role has changed, as well. She still interacts with the little ones, but in a different way. You'll see her give an occasional bath, but mostly she likes to just hang back and watch and let them entertain her.

I think it might be time to promote Wylla to Lead Kitten Wrangler. I think she's qualified for the position, and I think Bean might be ready to step down.

Whatever their role, I'm grateful they are both a part of the process. I do think they help prepare the kittens for their lives ahead.

No Coffee for Kittens

Dearest Evelyn, I'm sorry but you can't have a sip of my coffee. I know it's resting on top of a piece of kitty furniture, and it may appear as though it's for you, but I assure you, it's not.  The last thing in the world that you kittens need is caffeine.

So please, step away from the cup.

Seriously Kittens, That's All You Got?

Because we're done with our FUNdraiser, I put the Hollis Girls on the set and gave them the chance to go wild and break the whole thing down.

I expected them to swing from the lanterns, knock things over and tear things apart. Instead, they just sat there purring.  I guess we'll have to try it again when they're in a rowdier mood. 

I never thought I would ever say this, but Hollis Girls, you're not crazy enough.

$159,096!! Woot, Woot and Thank YOU!

It took a long time to count up all those squillions, and I am beyond thrilled to announce that this awesome, big-hearted, cat-loving community of ours raised a remarkable $159,096 for the homeless cats and kittens this year! We still might have a little more trickling in, so it could rise a wee bit more. The whole event raised $300,155 and it makes me very proud that over half of that came from the IBKC Community!

 We received over a thousand donations from all corners of the world. These donations came from 11 different country and 46 states.  We saw many familiar names in our lengthy list of donors and many new ones, too.

I have to tell you, I was a little nervous going into it this year. Our goal was pretty big and we only had 17 days to meet it, which is half the normal length of our fundraiser.  I asked a tremendous amount of  you, scheduled some really huge matches for us to meet, and you got us there!  And then some!  I honestly don't know why I wasted a single second worrying -  you all never disappoint. I should know this by now.

Thank you for every single penny, dollar and squillion you gave. With this huge sum we brought in, we are providing the Humane Society with the resources to fund many wonderful programs and projects. I am so happy for the cats and kittens that will benefit from this. I'm happy for the shelter staff and volunteers who will put these funds to action and because of their devotion and hard work, will be able to witness many positive changes happen for the kittens and cats.  I am happy for us knowing we played a part in all of it.

Thank you for caring and giving so much. $159,096 is huge and I am mighty proud of our community.  Your kindness and generosity is inspiring!  I know there are many organizations out there doing incredible work for cats and kittens - we appreciate the fact that you selected ours to support. Thank you for believing in us and the mission of the shelter.

 And thank you to everyone for tolerating this long two weeks of me asking for support.  I know it's got to get a bit exhausting at times seeing all of those pleas in your Facebook and Twitter feeds,  and in my blog posts, too. I tried to provide some entertainment in the mix,  but still, there were times when I know I saturated your feed with maybe too many requests for donations - especially when we were getting close to meeting a match. Thank you for understanding and not "unfollowing" us during this time.

I would like to take a moment to thank some very special folks who contributed in big ways to the success of our fundraiser.  

Craig: Thank you for tolerating the madness once again.  I know I get distracted by this annual event and let many things in life slide during this stretch. Thank you for not complaining and always being supportive. Thank you for listening to me talk about it all the dang time. Thank you, too, for making the beautiful painting of Charlene for our auction.

Marguerite: Thank for always being available and so willing to help. I appreciate the many photos, stories and stats you shared with me. You made my work easier, and all you contributed to this fundraiser helped bring in many donations.

Team Members Shana and Sarah:
Thanks for working hard and bring in lots!  You both raised your goals and exceeding them, too! Way to go!

Opal, Ellis and Lola:
Thank you for working hard to raise money for the kitties. Seeing such young people giving so much is inspiring to many. Keep it up, kiddos. You're special and we love you and your big hearts.


All our human, feline, and canine friends who walked the walk: Craig, Shana, Jim, Blixa, Sarah,  Bob, Allie, Lynn, Alex,  Ruth, Stephenee, Kathleen, Hannah, Lisa, and Wylla.

Christy of Libertine Tacoma and Mackenzie of Pepper Pot Polish:
Thank you for generously donating a portion of your sales of your awesome products to support the kitties!


Our auction winners: Thank you for your generous winning bids!

Lynn and Alex, Rosemary, Gerard,  Beth and Michael, Lisa and Stuart: Thank you for offering up wonderful matches and inspiring folks to give!

Mary H: Thank you for offering up the kitty bed match and stitching up all the beds for the shelter cats!

iPop; Thank you for donating the magnet sets for us to give away!

Awesome Anonymous Donors and Anonymous Lover of Kittens: Thank you for the many huge matches. I will do the rest of my thanking of you in private, because I respect your wish to remain anonymous, but I will say publicly, that you are truly awesome and we wouldn't have met our crazy goal if not for your generous matches.

And last, but certainly not least, dear Cynthia:
We appreciate you and your huge heart so much. The way you give is beautiful, generous and inspiring in so many ways. Thank you for the many matches you offered. Without your support, we would have fallen far, far, far from our goal. You're our patron saint, and we love you.

It is impossible to adequately thank all of you because what you've given is so  huge. Please know that I appreciate you more than I could ever express.  This community is amazing and unlike any other.  You are good, good people and I hope your hearts feel as full as mine does right now.

Now, let's take a look at the numbers:

We had days designated to fund some of our favorite programs and projects. These are the amounts we raised for each:
Foster Program - $15,455
Senior Cats - $15,545
Special Needs Cats - $14,121
Barn Cats and Backyard Buddies - $17,942
Kitty Meals-On-Wheels and Pet Food Bank - $14,103
Ring Worm Room - $15,679

Here's how we raised that huge amount: 

Team IBKC Firstgiving donations:
Laurie -  $148,930
Sarah -  $2,300
Shana -  $1,670

Auctions: $6206
Paypal Donations: $25

For a total of $159,096


And here are our totals over the years: 

2009 = $23,000
2010 = $48,000
2011 = $66,000
2012 = $87,000
2013 = $117,190
2014 = $131,890
2015 = $159,096

For a very grand total of
$632,176

And our prize winners: 
Signed copy of the IBKC Book -  Lori Miller of VT
IBKC POSTERS -  Emily-Mary Brown and Cheryl Krum
Magnet Sets -
Lise Hedegaard
Mari Gadberry
Amy Vreeland
Michael Unser

To our winners, please email us and let us know where we should ship your prizes!

That's it for today, friends. I'll be back tomorrow with more adorable Hollis Girls and we'll see what happens when we set them loose to breakdown the set!

Out and About

The Hollis Girls were set free from their room this weekend and they couldn't possibly be happier. They've been running wild all over the main floor of the house and entraining us all.  They have great stamina and will play hard for hours on end.

Quiet moments are rare, but yesterday they did slow down and started getting sleepy. They're pretty adorable running amok, but even cuter when calm.

























I'll be back in a bit with the big fundraising wrap-up post, so do stay tuned!

Also, I'll be randomly selecting some names from our LONG list of donors and giving away a few prizes. We'll be giving away a signed copy of the IBKC book, IBKC posters, and thanks to a generous donation from our friends at iPop,  several sets of IBKC magnets!  If you didn't make a donation but would like be a part of the raffle, leave a comment on this post and we will throw your hat in the ring.

We've got our last auction ending in just about an hour. If you want to bid on the teeny tiny magazines from our set, please visit HERE.

Thanks! We'll be back soon!

Itty Bitty Auction!

The auction for the teeny tiny magazines used on the fundraising set just went live. It runs for 24 hours, and will end at 10:20 AM Pac Time, tomorrow.




To bid on the set, please visit here.  

Thanks!   Good luck!!

Walking the Walk!

If your ears were burning Saturday morning, it was because we were talking about you and how fabulous you are.  Everyone was pretty impressed with this community of ours and all that money we raised together! Shelter staff was absolutely GIDDY about it. I still am too, and kind of can't believe that given the number of days we had to make it happen, we hit that goal and then some!

We still have some money trickling in too, and a small auction that will start today. Also, I usually put up a button so you can donate via Paypal, which some of you prefer, but I totally forgot to do that earlier.  I just put it up this morning and it will be up there for a couple of days, if you would like to make a donation this way.  When you make a donation through Paypal, it won't be reflected in the Firstgivng total, but it will counted when I tally everything up.



The weather was slightly overcast and not too hot, which was pretty perfect weather for the event. The turnout was great. There were thousands of humans and dogs, and two cats.

Wylla got a little fussy in the car on the way to the park, which made worry that she would do the same at Dog-A-Thon, but really, she did really great.

When we first got there, we got out of the car and gave her a moment to soak it all in before entering Dog Central.



We walked around with Wylla riding on Craig's shoulders, and checked out the vendors first. Wylla remained calm as we navigated through the sea of dogs. We heard "Is that a cat?" many, many times.

This cute little guy stopped to take her photo.






 We stopped at the Pet Doctor's booth and Wylla charmed the staff. They were trimming nails and collecting donations for the shelter, so we took advantage of this.  They were impressed with how calm she was - I was too! There she was in a booth in the middle of all this madness, with giant dogs just a few feet away,  getting her nails trimmed by strangers.  That cat is unflappable!



We stopped by the Northwest Spay and Neuter Center booth to say hello to our friends Cora and Ninja Bob.

Bob was too busy to say hello.



But when we stopped by later,  he was available for his fans.



He had just finished winning the costume contest and wanted everyone to see his medal.  We didn't want to burst his bubble, but he WAS the only cat that entered.  He dressed as a shark.



Cora had made some cute cat crafts and was selling them to raise funds for the center.



I love her kitty cozies!



We walked with a pretty large group this year. We were joined by several staff members, volunteers, friends, and the IBKC FUNdraising team.  I think there were at least a dozen in our pack.





Blixa joined us again this year with her humans, Jim and Shana.



And Zelda (Zoubi) Lamm's mom and dad joined us too!  Here's mama Lynn carrying Wylla.  She LOVES Wylla and gets so happy she gets teary when she has a chance  to hold her.  Wylla is always comfortable in her arms.








And of course there were dogs of all shapes, sizes, colors, patterns and breeds  on the walk.






We stayed for a few hours, and when Wylla was ready to go, we left.

 "I have had my fill of dogs for the day, let's move on."




We walked proud because of you!  Thank you for contributing to this special day!


I'll be back to let you know when our last little auction goes up today.  Tomorrow, I'll be revealing our totals, giving away prizes and sharing a big, gushing thank you note to you and some very special people.  

The Victory Lap

Today's the big day! We'll be meeting up at Dog-A-Thon at 10:30 this morning to walk the big walk. If you're in the area, please come and join us!

We'll be walking proud as we take this victory lap because this community of ours worked hard and raised a TON for our homeless cats and kittens. I've been crunching numbers and looking at stats and I'm excited to share this information with you on Monday.

Did you happen to notice where we are with our online donations? Did you see how close we are to $150,000?  If you want to see us roll past that, the Firstgiving page remains active a while.

As fun as all this has been, we're kind of looking forward to getting back to normal around here. It's been an exhausting couple of weeks!



 I feel like I haven't been giving the big cats as much attention as I normally do. Outings on the deck and play sessions have been getting cut short.  I'm feeling guilty about this, but they seem to understand. Usually they act out and start doing naughty things when I get distracted with projects.  They've been very patient and good - they must have realized this was important and worthy of my attention.

It's time for me to get myself ready to go, and pack Wylla's travel bag, too.  We hope we'll see you out there! And if you're not there, I know you are ALL walking with us n spirit!

Thank you for contributing to this big victory of ours!  

Party Cat in Her Party Hat

What a crazy afternoon! I had intended to post a few more posts and start one wee auction, but once we hit our goal, everything haywire!

Just before we rolled it over, I had released the Hollis Girls from quarantine and they were roaming everywhere, climbing baby gates, and getting into everything. They were having their own little kitten party.

The phone was ringing off the hook! Emails and texts were flooding in! And Marguerite and Helen from the shelter came over with a really sweet basket of goodies and gift cards with a balloon bouquet attached!  My head is still swirling from it all!

Honestly, even though I watched it creep up there, I'm still kind of in shock where we are - just a hair under $150,000!  I can't believe we did all that in 15 days of FUNdraising. That is HUGE! Thank you for making that magical number happen!

Dog-A-Thon starts tomorrow at 9:00 AM. We're heading over there at 9:30 and plan to gather at the registration table at 10:30 and walk from there.  Please join us if you can! You won't be able to miss us - just look for the large group of  people with the adorable cat.

Though I'm done soliciting donations, the Firstgiving page will be there and accepting donations for a few more weeks. If you still like to support us, feel free to!

There's still a little more FUNdraising business to take care of. I've got that one tiny auction, which I think will start Monday. Also I have prizes to give away, people to thank, and totals to share.  

But now, it's time to feed the cats and feed the humans!  And do some more celebrating, of course. Evelyn's already started.

Good night!
xoxo

Feeling the Love

Because I have such faith in this community of ours, I  know it's always going to happen,  Whatever the goal may be, we will reach it, and then some.

And even though I'm expecting this moment, I am never prepared for it, and it always knocks me off my feet.  It's an overwhelming wave of all sorts of emotions. Some emotions are familiar - like gratefulness and happiness - but some I can't quite identify because I don't even know that there are names from them.  It's a feeling of love and support, but it's a squillion times bigger. And it's odd because all this love and support comes from a whole lot of people you've never ever met.

Do you know how incredible you are? Do you understand the depths of your compassion. Do you know that it's not the norm to a give so much to a shelter that is not in your geographical neighborhood - for some, not even your country? Some of you live in Tacoma, but most of you don't.

Do you know you're the kindest people in the world? I know we all come here for the kittens, but I feel what keeps us here is the incredible community of good people who are thoughtful, positive, gentle and treat each other with respect and never say an unkind word. It's amazing being surrounded by all of you.

I know this every day, but this is the time of year when there is  even more evidence of your goodness. Part of it is your generous donations - it's easy to see those rolling in, but it's more that that. It's the sweet, supportive comments, it's the spreading the word,  it's the cheering, and it's your willingness to still come back every and listen to my pleas.

Thank you for being such special people.  Thank you for your generous gifts. Thank you of making me feel the way I do in this moment. And thank you for caring so much about our shelter and all the cats and kittens that pass through the doors.

You are amazing and I love you.

Thank you for being a part of my world.


We've met the goal, but I'm not done for the day.  I'll be back soon. I've got to make some calls and we're out of kitty litter!

I'm far from done thanking you, by the way.  This is just the start. There are many of you that played a huge part in our success, and I will thank all of these special people individually in a post to come.

oxoxoxxoxo

Laurie

How Close Are We?

How close are we? Because I'm on the edge of my seat. 

I mean like literally, on the edge of my seat.




VERY close, Henrietta. Very close.

Only $1290 and the match is met, and once we put the matching money in the kitty, BAM, we're there!

Here's Who Your Helping

This little teeeeeny thing was brought in a couple of days ago, covered from head to toe with muck. He had to have a bath, and then was put into our special neonate cage, where he warmed up quickly. Ruth, who is one of the heads of the Foster Program,  said she is so grateful for the cages because they keep the kittens at an even temperature and are safe. No bars to get stuck in, and she doesn’t have to keep worrying about the little guy.

He took the bottle right away, and went home with one of the staff who will foster him until he's adoptable. So many of the HS employees foster animals,  too.  I love their devotion.

I know it's always nice see the faces of the cats and kittens you help with your donations, especially when they are as adorable as this, so here you go, take a look at this cutie!

Thank you providing a nice warm cubby for this kitten and all the other things he needs to get started in life.

Thank you, Marguerite, for sharing this kitten's story with us and the adorable photographs, too!


To support the shelter that give wee kittens like this a great chance at a very bright future, please visit our Firtstgiving Page and make a tax-deductible donation. Thank you!  

Our donations are currently being matched by a very generous donor, Cynthia,  so for every dollar you give, she will double it until we reach the $5000 cap, or until 5:00 PM Pacific Time, which ever happens first.  

It's our last day of fundraising, so I hope you take a moment to give today.  Thank you!

The Last Match! The Final Five!

 OK, my friends! This is it! Our very last match is on the table - and it's a awesome and huge $5000 match from our dear friend Cynthia.  You know how this works - for every dollar we give, she will do the same. And once we meet this match and we throw the money in the kitty, we will roll past our goal!  The challenge ends at  5:00 PM Pacific Time.

I can hardly wait to see it happen, and I hope you feel exactly the same way, and donate soon, so it happens sooner rather than later today.

And don't forget:

If you missed out on the opportunity to give on those "designated donation days" and help fund a passion or favorite project of yours, today, you can earmark your donation for a fund of your choice.

When you make your donation on the Firsgiving page, you'll see a field to leave a comment. In that field, designate where you would like to see that donation go - you can pick from any of these projects or programs:

The Senior Cats, The Special Needs Cats, The Foster Program, The Kitty Meals-on-Wheels/Emergency Pet Food bank, The Ringworm Room or The Barn Cat/ Backyard Buddy program.

And if you donate during our matching donation challenge, your donation will be doubled!

If you don't have a preference in where the money should go, that's fine. We'll let the shelter decide, and they can put it to good use.

Please take a moment to take advantage of this match and make a tax-deductible donation on our Firstgiving page.  We've got until 5:00 PM (Pacific Time) to make it happen!

 $125,000!! HERE WE COME!!!!

Thank you to all the generous, huge-hearted, kitty-loving community members who have made this FUNdraiser so great. Especially dear Cynthia, who offered up this wonderful challenge today (and all those other days, too).

A Zelda (Zoubi) Lamm Update

Lynn, mother to Zelda (now knows as Zoubi),  is always so great about staying in touch and keeping us updated on her girl, and she sent over a lovely batch of photos for me to share with you today.


Zoubi was a pretty adorable baby. Here she is on the day we met her.




And here she is today!

She certainly has grown to be quite a stunning young lady!

Here's what Lynn had to say:

It was hard to find some pictures of her without India- and the only one I put with her with India was one where she is washing India’s face. Zoubi is very attentive to India’s face and very tuned in to India in general. Yes, she still imitates India. They are inseparable and pretty funny and very kind to one another.

 Zoubi has finally gotten a real “cat shape”- the long willowy legs are now looking more filled out, and she took this past year to gain some weight! She has become a very social cat, and she doesn’t leave my side unless India’s chirps lure her away. She is a great kitty and we don’t know what we’d do without her!

If you talk to Lynn or Alex about Zoubi, they gush about their girl. It's pretty sweet how much they love Zoubi, and India, too, of course! They are both lucky kittens to have such loving parents. And the parents are pretty lucky having two such dear kitties to love!

Lynn and Alex will be joining us to walk at Dog-A-Thon tomorrow and we look forward to seeing them both.   Lynn always helps carry Wylla, and this year, we're really going to need the help. Now that Wylla weighs 9 pounds, she's a lot more kitten to carry, and it gets a little exhausting. I think we'll all have to take turns.

Don't forget,  Zoubi and her family have offered up a matching donation challenge  for us this morning and will be doubling our donations until we reach their generous $1500 cap!  The match runs until 10:30 AM (Pacific Time).

Thank you so much for your generosity, Lynn, Alex and Zoubi. We appreciate this challenge and also the many donations you made during the FUNdrasier.  Thank you for the sweet update, too! It's very nice seeing your lovely girl again!

Live From the IBKC FUNdraising Headquarters: This FUNdraiser is Off the Hook!

WOW! What an afternoon! Things sure went crazy 'round here in those last couple hours of the match.  I think I must have taken a squillion calls.  I may have sprained a whisker answering all those phones.



I've got just a couple of hours left in my shift, and it's quieted down.  I think I'll just relax on the couch. I can get up when the phone rings. 



Yes, this is much better. 



I'll just move the phone over here, too.  That way, I'll be able to pick it up faster if it rings. 



Or maybe... 



Maybe I could just take the phone off the hook.  People will just think the line is busy and call back a little later, right?  Evelyn's up next. She will be happy to have a few calls during her shift. 




Oh dear, if you're having trouble getting through, maybe you should try making your donations online!  To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our Firstgiving Page.   Until midnight tonight, all the donations that come in will go towards the Barn Cat and Backyard Buddy program.  If you're just tuning in, scroll down the page and you can learn all about this program in previous posts.

Thanks for the great day! So far, we've raised a ton for our Barn Cat and Backyard Buddy program. I honestly didn't think we were going to meet the match today. It was slow going in the morning and early afternoon, too.  There was a point when it didn't feel possible, but of course, you all never disappoint!  Thanks to you generous, caring folks, we had a big surge at the end and we made it happen!

Thank you to our Awesome Anonymous Donor for offering up this great big match for us to meet!

We've got just one day left and it's going to be a busy one! We'll have a morning match followed by a big one in the afternoon, and hopefully we will roll past our goal at a reasonable hour!

I'll be back bright and early tomorrow,  so we can get a good jump on the day. We'll see you then! Get plenty of rest, it's going to be a busy day!