There's Still Time to Help the Senior Cats

Good morning! Just a quick reminder that we're still collecting for the Senior Cat Fund -- but not for much longer!  You've got until 7:00 AM (Pacific Time) to do it, so if you're passionate about helping
the Senior Cats, please don't delay! Now is the time!

Currently, we've raised $11,345 for the Seniors and last year we raised $11,750. I think there's time to beat last year's total if we hurry over there!

To make your tax-deductible donation, please visit our fundraising page! Thank you!!


I'll be back in the little bit with more, so don't stray too far!

THANK YOU !

A Day Devoted to Our Beloved Senior Cats

Good morning! I thought we would get an early start because it's everyone's favorite day of the FUNdraiser --- Senior Cat Day!  I'll share more on that in a bit, first, let's do a quick recap of yesterday's events!

The big news --- you can now donate anonymously!  Just click on the "donate" button on our fundraising page, then you'll see a box to check that allows you to continue as an anonymous donor. It's all very easy. I'm so glad it's now an option for us!

We had a good run yesterday but sadly didn't max out a late afternoon match.  We were only $200 shy of completing it.  It's OK,  this happens every now and again, and it was still an awesome day thanks to so many generous folks. We doubled many dollars, and we're currently at $13,200! It feels pretty good to have so many squillions behind us in the first couple days. Nice work, Team!

Seriously. Thank you. It's a tremendous accomplishment and reason to be proud. Thank you for giving so much!

Whenever I talk about the IBKC, I always share what an incredible community you are. People are always amazed by your generosity.  No surprise there --it's pretty amazing!  Thank you for giant, giving hearts.

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Throughout the FUNdraiser, we always have days designated for specific causes or programs. It gives you a chance to give and have your donation go towards something you are passionate about.  Today will be the first of our "designated donation days" and all the money raised in the next 24 hours will go specifically to help the Senior Cats.  I know there are many Senior Cat lovers in this crowd, so I'm hoping it will be huge, just like it has been in previous years.



Here's our old girl, Drewey, who was my very first cat.  She passed away in 2010 at the age of 18.  She had many fans around here,  and whenever she made an appearance on the blog, everyone was always so happy to see her.

She was a sweet, loving gal who "embraced her inner crank" as she aged.  She was full of personality, an excellent communicator, and I am so grateful that we had so many good years with her.

After she had passed, the whole community felt this loss, and many of you made a donation to the shelter in her honor. So began the Senior Cat Fund.



WE all know how special Senior Cats are, but often people are shy to adopt them because Seniors can be at greater risk for medical issues and adopters may worry about potentially high vet bills and the woes that come with owning a cat with health problems. If the vet staff has the resources to get the Senior Cats healthier first, this ultimately makes the Seniors more "adoptable" and shortens their stay at the shelter.  And the sooner they get settled into their new homes and started on their new lives, the better.

Our donations today will help our vet staff do testing, procedures, blood work, dental work - whatever it takes to get this special population in top form! It will allow our doctors to go above and beyond and give the Seniors many more happy and healthy years!

Seniors often take a little longer to place, so the expenses for their care during their stay can accumulate. Our donations will help cover these costs, too.

Claudia, who is the Annual Fund Manager at the shelter,  has some Senior Cat stats and stories to share with us today.  We will share one tale now, and you'll meet a couple more sweet Seniors later today.

From Claudia:

In 2016 the IBKC raised $12,331 for Senior Cats.  

We are happy to report that in 2016 we successfully homed 267 senior cats (8 years and older)! Our oldest this year was 19 years old. 143 were 10+ years, and 15 that were 15+ years old. We estimate it costs about $35 per day to house a senior cat and the average stay is about 8 days. That means that with the IBKC funds you have helped 44 senior cats get the food and medical care they need while they waited for adoption!

 Abby – 8 years 

After one of her humans passed away and the other needing to move in with family Abby was feeling a little anxious when she came to the shelter. Having lived her whole life with her owners and three other cats, the sights, sounds, and smells of a busy shelter Cattery were a little overwhelming for the beautiful 8 year old Tortie.

Fortunately for Abby the shelter staff and volunteers know how to help those shy senior cats purr with satisfaction. Having passed all her health exams she just needed a little TLC to coax her out of her shell and show off what a loving girl she still is.

Purr-time volunteers work individually with shelter cats like Abby, providing behavior assessments, lap time, special treats and some play time in the visitation rooms. Everyone fell in love with this sweetheart and knew she was going to find a new home soon.

When her new owner came into the shelter for a visit, it was love at first sight. Abby quickly jumped up into his lap and lay peacefully while getting pets and chin scratches. Staff instantly knew it was a purr-fect match.

Abby was with the shelter 16 days before finding a new home. With an average cost of $35 per day, for a healthy senior cat, the estimated cost of her care was $560. To help senior cats get adopted the shelter frequently waives their adoption fees, so all funds raised are greatly appreciated.

Thank you for sharing her story, Claudia. Abby is such a lovely girl and I'm so happy that she found her human! Thank you to the dedicated staff and volunteers who coaxed that tortie out of her shell and gave her the care and extra attention she needed while she waited for her adopter to walk through the shelter doors.

I'm so excited that our donations today will help a whole lot of Senior Cats like Abby!

Our dear friend Cynthia has a huge heart for all critters, but especially the precious Senior Cats, and today she is offering up an awesome $5000 matching donation challenge to help them out!

For every dollar we donate, Cynthia will do the same until we reach the $5000 cap.  I have a feeling it won't be any trouble at all meeting this generous match -- we love our Seniors!

The matching donation challenge will end at 6:00 PM Pacific Time, but we're giving you a full 24 hours to donate to the Senior Cat fund.  So, every dollar that comes in before 7:00 AM tomorrow will help our Seniors!

To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit our FUNdraising page.

Thank you so much for offering up this generous match, Cynthia. And thanks in advance to all who help us meet it!


There's lots to share today! I've got a couple sweet Senior Cat stories coming your way, and, of course, our adorable Fellows. Stay tuned!




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The Top Ten!

Today we have the final installment of our fifty most popular IBKC posts.

Wylla kind of dominates our top ten. I suppose of all the kitten stories we've told, she's had one of the more interesting tales.  I think we all just got pretty invested in the girl, so her posts always got lots of comments, questions, and concerns.

And you'll see a lot of our sadder moments, too.  I was hoping they wouldn't all fall towards the top, but they did.  Even though they do stir up some tears, it's not a bad thing to read those again. It's good to see the nice, comforting words, and I like seeing our community coming together.

I had a great time revisiting some of these most memorable of our memories. I hope you enjoyed our top fifty, too!



#10 Queen of the Couch
This video of our bouncy little Bibi Winkler was a huge hit and it had many views and shares.  It bounced around the internet, too, and brought us lot of new fans.



 

#9  It's Official 
Three cheers for Wylla Stout! Here's the day she officially became "ours". We were all filled with joy that day! I still am!



#8 What's Up With Wylla
It was such a huge relief when we finally had a diagnosis for Wylla.  It wasn't the greatest diagnosis to hear, but her condition wasn't life-threatening,  and we were grateful when we learned that we could manage it.  Step one was teaching her to eat vertically. Thankfully, she took to that right away.

 Oh, and that wee belly of hers!!




#7 Oh, Christmas Tree

The reason why this video has some many views may be because of me! There's nothing I love more than Christmas and kittens and I'm sure I've watched it a squillion times.
 

#6  I'm calling sixth place a tie. The introduction of Tressa Lovejoy got two more comments than Wylla's introduction, but Wylla's got many more views and shares.   Both are ridiculously adorable kittens and worthy of their ranking!

OK, Are You Ready? 



  The Floofiest Friday Ever! 



 #5 What's Happened and What's to Come
I think this was the hardest post I've ever had to write. It was most definitely the hardest day in all these years of fostering. But we got through it, and everything worked out.



 #4 One Tear-Filled Tuesday
Oh, Jerry Lee. Seeing your little face sill makes my eyes well-up, and I know I'm not alone. This was a hard day for all who were following the IBKC at the time.



#3 Sadness, Hopefulness

Sad, indeed. His passing was so unexpected. We're so, so very thankful that his sisters survived.



#2 A Very Sad Day
We were lucky to have so many amazing years with our dear Little Drewey Junebug. When we said goodbye, you said some very lovely things.



#1 Wee Wylla Won Our Hearts
Our most popular post was one of the happiest days of my life -- the day we decided to keep our dear Wylla.  It's funny to think about what we thought we were getting ourselves into at the time. We were a little worried and we anticipated a life of challenges. Our path started off rocky, and it was hard and confusing to navigate at first, but a couple of years down the road, it all smoothed out and we ended up with our healthy girl.

Throw Back Thursday

I thought I would throw it back today, and share a few photos from the days before Wylla, when dear Drewey ruled the roost.

 Drewey was around 13 and very used to being an only cat when wee Bean moved in.  Bean tried very hard to be her friend, but Drewey had very little patience for her kitten antics and did her best to ignore the situation.

As Bean became less kittenish, a mutual respect developed,  they learned to coexist, and we lived without tension.  At times they even seemed to bond a bit - usually over a shared meal.

Charlene and Drewey didn't have a friendship quite like Charlene and Wylla have, but they were sisters, and on some level, there was love there.

Vintage Drewey

I've been doing a little home organization lately and I stumbled across this photo of Drewey. It's from 1994, when she first moved in us.

She was such a little lady then - just a couple of years old. I thought of her as an adult when we met her, but she still does look pretty kitten-ish in the photo.

Such a cute little bug, she was.

It's ALL About the Senior Cats Today!

All the money we raise during this year's Dog-A-Thon fundraiser will be going directly to the adoption program for the cats and kitties.  Beneath this umbrella, there are lots of projects and programs in need of funding.   One area of need, is the senior cats.

When Drewey passed away back in April,  several of you made donations in memory of our dear girl.    The "Drewey Fund" was born, and this money was made available to the vet staff to use for procedures and tests, such as teeth cleanings and blood work,  exclusively for the senior cats.

I think everyone  knows how special senior cats are, but often people are shy to adopt them  because they worry about  potentially high vet bills.    If the vet staff has the resources to get the senior cats healthier first,  this will reduce the chance of a financial burden for the adopter, and will make the seniors  more "adoptable".

I'm excited to announce that ALL the money we raise today goes right to the Drewey Fund - every single penny of it.    So if you donate today, it all goes directly to the senior cats!    

I know were all about the kitties over here, but truth be told, it's the senior cats that tug on my heart strings.

If you have a soft spot for the seniors too,  or have a special senior cat you would like to honor, please make a donation to our campaign today.  

Thanks so much, everyone.    I can hardly wait to see what our total is!  

Click HERE to help the senior cats! 

Friends, You Did it Again....

I got word from Marguerite, the developmental director over at our Humane Society, that quite a few donations were made in honor of our dear Drewey. : )

We both agreed that this money needed to be earmarked for something special, and decided that the senior cats should benefit from it some how.

Often the senior cats are in need of a little extra something... dental work, a procedure, etc to get them to a more "adoptable" state. We thought these funds should be made available to the vet staff to use for seniors in need of a little something.

So thanks to your thoughtfulness and generosity,, you are making a difference in the lives of several seniors! If I get wind of how the money is used, I'll be sure to share the stories with you.

How wonderful is that?? !! It makes my heart swell. And I know Drewey would approve.

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

xx oo xx oo xx oo

Days with Drew - A Slide Show for You

Good morning, friends. I can't even begin to thank you for all the kindness and love that you've showered upon us. We've read every single word you've sent our way and we're touched by all of them.

Thank you for being there for us. I hope you know what a special bunch you are.

I put together a slide show of Drewey pictures. They're not in chronological order, but the last pictures of her are from the last days. Of course her early days are pre-digital camera, so this really only represents the past 8 years or so. It will take some time to go through boxes of photos and scan them too, but eventually I will do that and share those with you.

Thank you again. We love you.
xo xo xo xo

A Very Sad Day

Well friends, I've got some sad news to share with you. This morning, we said goodbye to our sweet little Drewey.

She had been really low for the past couple of weeks. After many visits to the vet; xrays, ultrasounds and blood work revealed many not-so-good things going on inside of her.

Considering her age (18+) we decided that treatment for all that ailed her wasn't the best route to take, so we put her on a comfort plan instead. Drugs, herbs, sub Q fluids, and a steady diet of anything she wanted to eat worked at first, but his morning it was painfully clear that her time had come.

We took her to the vet, and at 9:45, she slipped away.

We're horribly sad and heart-broken of course, but are so thankful for the many good years we had with her. She was an amazing cat, and it was a privilege to know her.

I'm sorry to have to deliver this news to you. I know whenever we have to talk about the subject of death here, it stirs up lots of painful memories of pets loved and lost for everyone. I'm sorry for bringing sadness into your day.

I do have a remedy, though. I'm pretty sure there's nothing on earth a basket of kittens can't fix... let's say we all give it a try.

Twenty Things You Probably Don't Know About Drewey

1. Drewey is originally from Martha's Vineyard.

2. She belonged to a former landlord, and as a young lady, rode across the country with him in a pick-up truck. They stayed with us for a summer while he renovated our house in Seattle and eventually, she became our cat.

3. She was originally named Milo, then our landlord changed it the Drouet, then Drewey. Now, her full name is Little Drewey Junebug. Her nicknames: Drewski, Drewster, Rooster, Roost, Rooster Bean. I think we call her Rooster most of all.

4. She had a litter of kittens at a very young age, and wasn't a very good mother. (according to the landlord) Somewhere I have a photo of one of her kittens. If I can find it, I'll share it with you.

5. In her younger days, she was quite the mouser and birder and was constantly leaving her prizes on the doorstep.

6. When we lived in our old house in Seattle, she would climb up on the roof and plant her booty on the skylight. It was quite a view from below.

7. She disappeared once and returned a week later looking quite skinny. Lord only knows where she was.

8. She's an excellent communicator.

9. She's both stubborn and patient.

10. She's an excellent judge of character.

11. If she wants to wake you up, she'll walk across the alarm clock to turn on the music. If that doesn't work, she'll lick your eyelids.

12. She's happiest while napping in the sun on the deck.

13. As a young lady, her favorite toy was the cellophane from a cigarette pack. (our landlord was a smoker).

14. As an adult, her favorite toy is her "Ratnip Lovedoll" made by my friend Monika. She doesn't play with it much, but every once in awhile she'll take a roll with it and give it a few bunny kicks to it's belly.

15. She does not like the sound of (human) babies crying. Not even on TV.

16. She would never admit that she likes Charlene, but I believe a part of her does. I think Charlene keeps her young, or at the least, on her toes.

17. Drewey was my first cat. She TOTALLY converted me from "dog person" to "cat person".

18. She likes to lick salt off of tortilla chips.

19. She likes to lick the salt off of Craig (post soccer game).

20. She's not as grumpy as she looks. She really is a sweet, lovely girl who doesn't like getting her picture taken.

A Senior Moment

As promised, Drewey gets a little blog time. Here are a few pics of our resident little-old-lady-cat.

Box Seats

Drewey's got the best view of the game.

Now That I Think About It...

This sort of behavior has been going on for QUITE awhile..

MOM! She's Doing it Again!

BEAN! Let her BE!

Leave Her Be, Bean.

Charlene can be a bit of a pest. She gets that way when she's bored. Just ask her big sister, Drewey.

She likes to position herself so it's impossible for Drewey to walk past her without coming within her paw's reach. She'll trap her under tables, on the stairs, or in a doorway.

One of her favorite spots to trap her sister is in the bathroom. Drewey likes to drink from the tap, and Charlene will lurk beneath the sink or in the doorway and wait for her sister to jump down.

Drewey is annoyed by this behavior, but she's the most patient cat in the world and will sit it out until Charlene grows bored and moves on.


I'm in no hurry. Whatever. Sit there as long as you like. I'm perfectly happy up here on the sink.


Coast is clear, I'm out of here.




What....? I was just thirsty.

Yes, Walter. There is a Santa Claus

This year I want a furry mouse... a purple mylar ball... bunk beds for me an my brother, Ira ...mittens... a feather wand.... and a...


What? Shut up, Ira. That's not funny. He does too exist.



There really is a Santa, isn't there?

Yes, Walter. There is a Santa Claus

Drewey, It's Cold Outside

Ever since this cold snap started, Drewey's been camped out over the heater vent upstairs. It's next to the chimney, so the bricks warm up, and keep the spot toasty. The nook is surrounded by a collection of vintage suitcases and boxes, so she has a little fortress to protect from a bored little Butterbean. It really is the perfect spot to nap and dream of warmer days and sunny patios.

Who's that Cute Little Pumpkin on My Porch?

It's Drewey, of course.

No Tricks, Just Treats, Please.

Here's a little sneak peek at Drewey and Charlene's kitten wrangler costumes. It took a little encouraging to get them both dressed, but I have to say, in the end, they were both very good sports about it.

Don't worry girls , Halloween comes just once a year. And you will be rewarded with treats!




Now, Get along little kitties. Yeee haaaaaaw!


Wanna see Charlen's she-devil costume from last year.. click here.