Feral Angel Update

 

Hi everyone!

Seeing as it is Kitty Wednesday I have decided to do an update on the Pavilion Feral Angels for you.

For those of you who don't know; Kitty Wednesday is an initiative started up by the admin ladies on the South African Animal Supporters Unite Facebook page. This initiative aims to help the “underdogs” of the welfare world – kitties.

So without further ado, here is a little update.

Many emails and BBM’s transfer between Lisa - who heads up our station at the Pav, Mandy from Kitten Action (the “founder” of the entire scheme and I.

So far we are working on getting a head count of the kitties at our particular station.

We are feeding two litters of kittens.
In the older litter we have two grey and white kittens; which my children called Puff Two and Three after our cat Puff who passed a few years back. They certainly look like family of his.

 

There is also a little ging, Kitt Two; a black and white kitten, Stig Two; and two tabby and white kittens.
The younger litter used to have 6 kittens 2 black kittens and 4 tabbies. There are now 5…. I’ll get back to that story in a bit….
We have a tabby mommy and 3 tabby kittens that are a few months old.
Yesterday when i went to feed the angels I saw that we also have two calico cats, which I call The Callies.

So far one of the tabbies, who was trapped has been sterilised and released as well as one of the mommy cats. Mandy is planning a trapping evening soon to trap more of the kitties for their sterilisations.

During the school holiday, we got our first glimpse of the new litter of kittens. My heart sank seeing how little these babies were. They are just absolutely adorable. Like Mandy said to me on the phone the other day “when are cats NOT adorable?” ~
My answer: “ Big or small, young or old they are all ADORABLE!”

Gotta CATS!

Last Thursday, just before the Easter Weekend my children and I toddled off to the Pav a little earlier than usual. Dark clouds were brewing so our intention was getting dry food to the feral angels before any down pour occurred.

When we got there the tiny angels were out sunning themselves. when they saw us they moved to sit in between the trolleys.

My daughter who is an honest to goodness cat person went to sit near by while i was talking to the kitties. two of the tabbies were listening intently when Fairy stuck her hand under the trolley and yelled “I’ve got one!”

My son grabbed the towel we carry with us and within seconds this little girl was “saved” from living a life as a feral.

Her first day passed with much love and cuddles for reassurance. On Sunday she was already PLAYING!

 
                                       

Monday, a rather chilly day here in Durbs, we woke to a purring kitten.

She really has been such an easy baby to take care of. She only mews when she wants something, she plays with everything that she can possibly get her paws around and to top things off she is eating well and has already learned to use the litter box! Isn't that AWESOME?!

Its times like these that I am so happy that I chose to get involved with animal welfare.

I couldn't be more grateful that I animals.

 

For those of you who haven't read my original feral post you can read it here

We are hoping to have another lady on the team from today…. but we still do need food donations. Ice cream tubs and the like are very handy to swop over for cleaning, so please consider collecting some for us. We use them as water bowls.

We are still looking for some wood offcuts to make boxes to house the kitties food better in the rainy weather.

Please email me on stuffdidoodles@gmail.com if you would like to help.

Lastly a HUMONGOUS thank you to Kiley, who donated some food and kitten bowls for our station! *STANDING OVATION*

Are You FOR the Animals?

 

Hi again.

There is a lot I’d like to share with you this week, so there have been many posts.

I am going to get straight to it then.

Over the past week or so Irwins Animal Rescue Centre has been in the news. i don’t particularly want to get into the arguments going on between those in welfare as i believe that what people feel and think is irrelevant, unless what they are saying is shed in a positive light for the animals concerned.

That being said i would like to get you informed on the task at hand.

I received this email last night from someone who had been to the centre herself.

Please read it with an open heart with the animals in mind, and then I will tell you a little bit more about how you can help.

Dear All,
There has been a lot of publicity lately regarding the Irwins Animal Rescue Centre.  I was there yesterday, after receiving an email advising that the centre was opening their gates to the public as part of a rehoming campaign undertaken by a group of volunteers.

 

As I understand the situation, they have a deadline pending the outcome of a court case against the owner, to drastically reduce the number of animals at the shelter by 10 March 2012.  Should the case be finalised, the relevant authorities will decide on the fate of the remaining animals which is unlikely to be positive.

The volunteers that I met are a wonderful group of dedicated people, with the animals' best interests at heart.  I know there has been much negativity, but I would like to appeal to all animal lovers not to criticise what may have happened in the past - whatever has taken place, no matter whether we agree or disagree - it is the PAST.  We need to focus now on trying to get as many animals rehomed as possible by the deadline.
It is not all doom and gloom when you visit the centre - I would say comfortably that around 95% of all the dogs were interested in the people who came to see them and freely came up to the cages to be petted and enjoy the attention.

Although the enclosures are not fancy, they were neat and clean with shade cloth and kennels in each of them providing good shelter.  There was food in the bowls (I was there at feeding time), and as can be seen from the pictures, the water bowls were clean and full.  None of the dogs were thin, in fact some were a bit chubby!  There is such a variety of dogs available that there would be a dog to suit anyone's needs and lifestyle.

Please open your heart and send this appeal to anyone whom you know will not mind receiving this email.  Strict adoption procedures will be followed with home checks being carried out by people with relevant experience.  All animals leaving the shelter will be sterilised, vaccinated, dewormed and treated for ticks and fleas.  An adoption fee will also apply to cover these costs.  If you or someone you trust, can offer a loving, forever home to these very special dogs, please contact Allison on 083 269 9102 for further information. 

They will be hosting adoption days every Sunday from 10h00 to around 16h00 - come and visit the animals, and offer your support.  They are also in need of additional shadecloth, and labour to clear some stony areas.  Any other donations whether food, cash, collars, etc. would be greatly appreciated.

Regards,
Helen Taylor

As you can see in Helen’s letter, there is an open day every Sunday at the rescue centre.

Besides that there is a Facebook page set up called “Irwins Angels”. The main function of this page is to show case the adoptable animals at the centre. Adoption forms will be available at the centre on Sunday open days. The amazing Emma O Brien has been round to the centre and has taken some photos of the doggies which are now posted on the page.
A group of volunteers have organised some shampoo and sponges to be collected and they will be bathing and dipping the doggies on Sunday. This will all be happening on Sunday 26 February from 10h00-16h00.

NOTE: The Address for Irwins is Plot 25,... 7th road, Walkers Fruit Farms, Walkerville. There aren't any signs except for a rock with IRWINS painted on it in white. Turn left into South and then take the second dirt road on your right - which is 7th road. Irwins is right at the top of the road, on the left! 

There is also a food drive on the go, organised by Linsey. This drive has been organised to keep the flow of food for the doggies coming in.
it is unfortunate but sponsors usually pull out when negative publicity surrounds a centre and the ones who end up suffering are the animals.
If you would like to contribute to helping the Irwins animals this is how you can do it:

You can either donate to linsey’s food drive:

please put the ref as IRWINS
L Rautenbach, FNB, ACC NO: 62066091556 BRANCH: SELCOURT

or you can take some food and treats, toys, collars, hoofs etc through to the centre on Sunday.

If you have any bright ideas on how to help this Rescue centre or help one in your area, comment here.
(the simplest way of commenting is by clicking anonymous but you can use one of the various profiles suggested)

I would love to hear from you.

Have a super day further.

Di

xx

Must Love Cats

When GOD created the World, He chose to put animals in it, and
decided to give each whatever it wanted.  All the animals formed
a long line before His throne, and the Cat quietly went to the end
of the line. To the elephant and the bear He gave strength; to the
rabbit and the deer, swiftness; to the owl, the ability to see at night;
to the birds and the butterflies, great beauty; to the fox, cunning;
to the monkey, intelligence; to the dog, loyalty; to the lion, courage;
to the otter, playfulness. And all these were things the animals
begged of GOD. At last he came to the end of the line, and there sat
the little cat, waiting patiently. "What will YOU have?" GOD asked
the Cat.

The Cat shrugged modestly. "Oh, whatever scraps you have left over.
I don't mind."
"But I'm GOD. I have everything left over. You can ask for anything!"

"Then I'll have a little of everything, please" said the Cat.










And GOD gave a great shout of laughter at the cleverness of this small
animal, and gave the Cat everything she asked for, adding grace and
elegance and . . ..  only for her, a gentle purr that would always attract
humans and assure her a warm and comfortable home.

Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run

 

This one is for cat people.

Thanks Cherece for the email.

lol

xx Di

 

CHAIRS AND RUGS: If you have to throw up, get into a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug.

If no Oriental rug is available, shag is good.

DOORS: Do not allow closed doors in any room. To get a door opened, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an outside door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, and mosquito season.

GUESTS: Quickly determine which guest hates cats the most. Sit on that human's lap. If you can, arrange to have "Friskies Fish ‘n Glop" on your breath. For sitting on laps or rubbing against clothing, select fabric color which contrasts well with your fur. For example: white furred cats go to black wool clothing. For the guest who claims, "I love kitties," be ready with aloof disdain; apply claws to stockings or use a quick nip on the ankle. When walking among the dishes on the dinner table, be prepared to look surprised and hurt when scolded. The idea is to convey, "But you always allow me on the table when company isn't here." Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It isn't necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

WORK: If one of your humans is sewing or writing and another is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called helping, otherwise known as hampering. Following are the rules for hampering: A. When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You can't be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on, picked up and consoled. For book readers, get in close under the chin, between the human's eyes and the book, unless you can lie across the book itself. If it is a news paper, claw at it until shredded.

EATING HABITS AT NIGHT: Remember when you come in during the early hours of the morning after a nice romp in the neighbourhood to make as much noise as possible in order to wake your human slave quick and abrupt. It is most unsettling to be starvingly hungry only to find an empty bowl and a snoring human. If that does not help, climb on top of his/her pillow and start working your way through the hair to get as much nail leverage into the scalp as possible. Never mind the screams. If all else fails, sit on the human’s face, especially after a good, healthy shit, and prepare for a lift off!

Just 1 litter

 

Hi Everyone,

This is a very long email I received this week but it is VITAL that you read every word written and understand it.

I will not say more than that as I understand every word and see the value of sharing it far and wide.

Please share this! Put it on your social network profiles, email it. Do what you can to spread the word.

Please don’t copy and paste as the person reading may be educated by another article posted here. It is VITAL that we educate so people understand the issue at hand.

if you don't believe it, go to my facebook page and see how many animals are placed daily for adoption… and that isnt ALL of them!!! it is only the tip of the ice berg!

“You want your dog or cat to have just one litter for your children to witness the miracle of birth? Then you should be prepared to complete their education by allowing them to witness the miracle of death in the backroom of a shelter” ~ BAT

IN A PERFECT WORLD EVERY DOG WOULD HAVE A HOME AND EVERY HOME WOULD HAVE A DOG"~unknown"

This means that there are 45 cats and dogs born for every person"

Did you know... :

• 1 out of 10 dogs born ever get a home

• 1 out of 12 cats born ever find a home

• 2-3 millions pets are euthansed in the United States alone because people won't stop breeding

When you get yourself that cute puppy or kitten and decide to have just 1 litter - do u actually realize that you are bringing an estimated 67 000 puppies and 420 000 kittens into this world?

Apart from that for every puppy or kitten that you sell you are responsible for a shelter animal loosing it's life just because you chose to breed!

People need to start understanding how serious this problem is and how out of hand it is getting! People need a SERIOUS wake up call and need to start realizing that this is not about offending anyone, this is about educating people who are breeding until it sinks in, because quite plain and simply, you have absolutely no idea what a complete stuff up you are causing by breeding with your animals!!

I work in animal welfare myself, in fact I have even been told by my family that my life revolves around it! I get to see and deal with 100-200 emails a day and none of them are pretty! Every single one is cats and dogs needing loving homes, and its always the same old thing, Unwanted, breeding, immigration, moving into non pet friendly houses, you name it. All my fosters that I have hand reared and brought up were innocent puppies that had been born from people who couldn't be bothered to spay their female dogs.

Chiquita - you all know my dog

Chiquita - she was a foster - abdandoned in a township, another lot of puppies that I fostered were literally dumped on my doorstep to become my problem and my very recent foster dog Angel was wired to a tree and beaten, kicked and starved!!!

So forgive me if a person comes to tell me they are going to breed and I get a bit ratty about it!

Those of you who don't work in this field have absolutely no idea what it is like for us who do and you have no idea how difficult you make our job sometimes just because of your greed and irresponsibility

The bottom line is you are being selfish if you are breeding, and before you come and wave a finger in my face, I have been doing this a LONG time and think I may just know a little about what I am going to talk about here!!! If you want to breed, come with me, for just one day to one of the animal shelters and I promise you, your mind will be changed in 2 seconds flat!! I will say this again, if you are breeding, you have no idea what damage you are causing!

Some of the most ridiculous excuses for breeding that I have heard was "I wanted my child to witness an animals birth" Well guess what? I never witnessed one and I turned out pretty okay!!! Another favourite of mine is "they just so cute, we had to breed" PATHETIC!!!! but my most favourite and most used excuse of all time is "It wasn't supposed to happen" PEOPLE!!!!!! What the hell did you expect to happen? They are animals for goodness sake!! When a female goes into heat, the male will be attracted!!!!!!!!!

STOP WITH THE EXCUSES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you want pets, you need to start understanding that they have certain needs and requirements and if they breed, it is YOUR FAULT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In my experience with working in the animal industry, I have found that most of the time, people who choose to breed have absolutely no clue what they are doing and think they will find good homes for the puppies or kittens they have bred with, but in short, what is a good home? In many of these cases, because people that are having just "1 litter" have no experience when it comes to choosing the correct family and think that any old home where food, water and shelter are provided is more than enough for qualifying as a 'good' home

Well I have news for all of you who want to have just 1 litter!!!! First of all, breeding is not profitable and quite honestly it is just disgusting that you want to sell innocent animals for money. Most of the time, females have to be rushed in for emergency caesarians because the inexperienced twit of an owner who has bred with them have no clue what they are even doing! I know someone who bred a huge male with a tiny female and then wonders why the female nearly died during birth!!

What these backyard 'breeders' cannot get through their heads is that their idea of a 'good' home is not enough!!! You have to interveiw the puppy or kitten buyer's, you have to do homechecks, you have to put sterilization contracts in place, you have to ensure that the animal will be made part of the family - the list goes on......

In short - you are bound to those babies for life!!!! I am still in contact with people who adopted some puppies that I hand reared and I have had the pleasure of seeing them all big and grown up now! I warn all people that adopt my fosters - you are stuck to me for life!!! And if you don't like it - tough!!!!

AND THIS IS WHY WE IN ANIMAL WELFARE GET SO ANGRY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Because this is not being done!!!!!!!!!!

 

When I just out of interest called a breeder pretending that I wanted to buy one of her puppies, I actually asked her if she would need to come and evaluate my home and if I must spay the puppy - her reply was " when you have paid me, it is your puppy to do with what you want" I was speechless to say the least - Does this woman have any idea how irresponsible she is being?? Actually when I look back now, I think she does know, but couldn't give a damn!! In my line of work, I get to see a lot of people who buy puppies from breeders and I always ask them about the breeder that they bought from. Do you know that I have come across exactly 1 breeder that actually follows correct protocol?
1 breeder - that is shocking and scary! It is plain and simply sick and revolting! What I'm trying to say is that when you have your 1 litter and sell your 5 puppies or kittens, I can guarentee that with 1 of those babies that you sell, the supposed 'good' home will also decide that they want to have just 1 litter. Then they sell that litter of babies, and then those people who buy them also decide to have just 1 litter.

Do u see where I'm going with this? It's never just 1 litter!!!!! The vicious breeding cycle just continues and continues!

Please read this and think about what I am saying to you! It is not worth it!!!!

Please stop leaving us (animal welfare) to clean up your mess!!! Just stop - please.

Enjoy your pets as companions and furry children. Please stop exploiting them for money.

Stop using them as breeding machines - Please stop!!!!!!

Please be part of the solution, not the problem

Help us to educate/ convince others to neuter and spay. It is the biggest present you can give a pet!

Thank you all for taking the time to read this and my biggest hope for this email is that I manage to change just one persons mind with breeding!!!

Bath Time

 

A few thoughts on cat baths....

by The Cat:

 

'But You Said You Loved Me!'

 

'You will pay, you will pay.'

 

'Holy crap, you call this water warm???'

 

'I don't think I like you anymore.'

 

'You Lied !!!!!!'

 

'E.T. Phone home.......quick!'

 

'No, I'm not your Good Little Kitty anymore.'

 

'Traction... .I'm losing Traction!'

 

'I want my Mommmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!'

 

Oh Hell No !!!!