Sunday, June 26, 2011

Week Ending 6/27/2011

Subjects today: Relocations plus Totals for Year-To-Date
Update: MANY KITTENS from Valley View

I have returned from vacation. I took a trip to El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize to visit Mayan ruins. It was a wonderful trip but strenuous…lots of hikes and climbing. I may have to wait for the Disney tram to come by next time!

RELOCATIONS: We placed a total of 28 this week:
4 kittens to the SPCA for adoption
15 to SPCA from Siamese Rescue via Barn Cats
4 moved from Desoto to Ft. Worth
3 to McKinney
2 to Melissa

We picked up equipment in Weatherford where all 3 cats are hanging around, Krum where she has been 3 out of 6 cats….but several were black, and Ponder where 3 out of 4 cats are still there. One has become friendly and will let the barn owner pick him up and hold him in her lap. You never know!

MANY KITTENS: While I was out of town, we lost one kitten and another passed away Friday of this week. That leaves 18 still in house. The grandmother of all these cats is scheduled to be spayed this week on Tuesday. She had 2 abscessed teeth while I was gone.

I still have 2 nursing moms and one has gone into heat! The good news is that there are no un-neutered males in the house. She waves here “rear end” in the air and tries to entice one of my many neutered males to “get it on”. “Hey big boy – how about a good time?” At least she is not a SCREAMER!

I received an email from the guy that gave us the kittens. There are still 3 moms, 2 unneutered males and some kittens at his house. He is trying to trap them!

I hope to get 3 to Wills Point, 3 to Waxahachie, and 5 to McKinney this week. There are still 4 places to pick up equipment, as well…Oak Cliff, Waxahachie, Sachse, and Plano.

Thanks to Nancy for keeping up with the emails and phone calls plus Linny, Julie, Peggy H, and Chris for taking such good care of the kittens and the cat rooms while I was out of town.

~Peg

Saturday, June 25, 2011

Week Ending 6/5 - No more until end of June!!!

Relocations plus Totals for Year-To-Date
Barn Cat Bash
MANY KITTENS from Valley View

RELOCATIONS: We relocated a total of 21 this week:
4 to Ponder
3 to Weatherford
4 in a Trade to two adoption groups
3 to Sachse
7 to Krum

The Spring has been good for relocations but it has now gotten so hot. In 2011 we have placed:
January 31
February 6
March 64
April 65
May 65
…for a Grand Total of 231 for this year. For the same period in 2010, we placed 163 but in 2009 we had placed 331. I guess this is a pretty good year after all.

Barn Cat Bash: IT IS OVER! We had 62 attendees and I just made a deposit of over $4,000 from the auction. Many thanks to our friends Cathy and Morris Salerno, owners of Grotto in Highland Village for the great food and great service. Special thanks to Barn Cat Volunteers, Nancy, Linny, Julie, Peg, and Chris for their help with set up, check in, and check out.

MANY KITTENS: Well the 19 kittens are still here…none are 2 lbs yet but we are working on it. All are eating well and drinking formula from a bowl. We will take the babies away from the 3 moms this week so they can eventually get spayed. One mom (a feral) was spayed this week and GUESS WHAT? She was already pregnant. YES – nursing moms can get “knocked up”. I am soooooo scared that the three others are also pregnant. We should know in about 2 weeks after their milk dries up.

I have 4 barns waiting but I am about to leave town on June 8th for two weeks. There will be no blog until June 26th. EVERYBODY STAY COOL!

Peg

Week Ending 5/29/2011

Relocations
MANY KITTENS from Valley View
2 Funny Stories

RELOCATIONS: It was a rather slow week for relocations due to the Memorial Holiday weekend, graduations, vacation planning, etc., etc., etc. We did place:
2 in Allen
3 in Dallas
2 in Farmersville
1 in Plano (backyard)
4 in Ponder
…for a total of 12 – but – any week in double digits is good!
We also got lots of equipment picked up….Lindale, Copper Canyon, Waxahachie, and Red Oak.

MANY KITTENS: I know: Barn Cats, Inc. does not take kittens. They can be carried off by a hawk or an owl. BUT – we got a call from Valley View just south of Gainesville with a “guy” with 6 or 7 litters…OUCH! We went to his house with the Chief of Police and the Animal Control Officer .. and SURE ENOUGH….26 kittens! We also got 4 nursing moms, one of which is feral. GEEZ! So, what causes this? NO SPAY NEUTER! This is unnecessary. There are 4 ferals in the house that he is going to have to trap. We left carriers and traps with the promise that we will get them sterilized and either barned or returned to his property. We have a TCAP appointment on Tuesday…but…if the babies are still nursing, we cannot get the moms spayed yet. The SPCA in McKinney will take them once they are 2 lbs….so….we feed, watch and weigh. Two of the moms are adoptable as well. He wants one friendlier female back after she is spayed. I am encouraging him to keep some of the ferals because there is bound to be a rodent problem in there. We did not go in! He took in carriers and brought them out. Some of the kittens had goopy eyes but we now have that cleared up, we think. So – hope a bunch of these get placed this week….we shall see.

#1 Funny Story: Right at the start of Barn Cats in 2003, we got a call to help move a group of cats from an apartment complex to a house with property attached in Oak Cliff. This is when I first met Bob. He had offered to purchase a tent to house the caging to the cats would have a successful relocation. YES – BUT – neither he or Diane had any idea how to put this tent together. I was no help, either! This was the Three Stooges go Camping! But, eventually the tent was up and the cages could be put inside. It actually worked well but was very amusing! The relocation discussed above in Dallas is with the same care giver, Diane, and she now is moving 3 cats to the same property.

#2 Funny Story: I put Jasper and Squealer in a workshop in Aubrey. This was the location where the kids came home from school and their LARGE trampoline was GONE! They found it about a mile away, over 2 fences, and holding down 2 cows! (no cows were harmed in this story) Last weekend, Squealer killed a LARGE RAT and then dropped it over the fence in the backyard for the dogs to “play with”. GROSS! The husband had to chase the dogs around to get the dead rat. Wish I had seen that one! BUT – Squealer is DOING HIS JOB!

Peg

Week Ending 5/22/2011

Not many cats were placed this week. We had too many other activities that distracted us from the relocations.

Monday and Tuesday I worked with the City of Lewisville on reviewing and evaluating the grant applications for 7 arts groups. The process has been run by GLAA (Greater Lewisville Arts Alliance) for about 10 years. Now, with the new MCL Grand arts complex, there is an Arts Board. This year is the transition year to get this activity completely run by the Arts Board by the next grant season, Spring of 2012. The formal review and recommendation will be made on Saturday, June 4th. There is about $154,000 to distribute between the 7 applicants. We will make a recommendation and then the City Council will accept, reject, or amend our recommendation. I will be glad when June 4th is over!

We had a death of one of our cats this week….Millie. She came from East Dallas on that cold Monday night when we picked up the cat that had been hit by the car. We got her later that week. Her 3 kittens went to the McKinney SPCA for adoption. When Dr. Clawson at All Care opened her up for the spay, she was “yellow” inside…not good. This was probably liver failure. BUT – the last 2 weeks of her life were in a safe environment rather than living on dirt under a shed in a backyard. She was just a young black mom but our hearts went out to here. Bye-Bye, Millie! Your kittens will get safe, in-door homes.

Wednesday and Thursday were spent picking up broken bags of cat litter from the WalMart Return Center in Waco. Each time we rent a cargo van from Enterprise and drive to Waco. They load it on pallets using a forklift and then we drive back and unload it. I am always glad we have that litter – it saves us a bunch of money….but….it is a real headache to get it done about once each quarter. Many Thanks to Kim with Animal Allies for getting us “in” on this opportunity at WalMart. Now we have the GREAT WALL OF LITTER in my garage.

Both Rhonda and I were in Anna on Sunday. She placed 3 cats and I placed 1. I had a “grand plan” to place 2 additional in Blue Ridge but that got postponed until the next Thursday. Dudley had come from Texas Cares and he does not “play well with others”. So, off to a barn in Anna went Dudley. It has a loft and he should be safe. So – only a total of 5 were placed this week counting Millie. I hope next week is more cat-productive.

Stay tuned
Peg

Week Ending 5/15/2011

Topics: Barn Cat Dog
Silent Auction Tips and Tricks
Placement Update

BARN CAT DOG

Sorry – this is not a happy ending! While at Dallas Animal Services waiting for the mom and kittens from last week’s blog, a young lady came in with an injured dog. It was a young dog (6 months old approximately – mixed breed). It was laying in a yard in south Dallas with ants crawling over it. She wiped off the ants and put the poor animal in her vehicle. She spoke to a neighbor who thought the dog belonged to the home owner where the dog was found. However, the home owner (despite bowls for food and water in the house) denied ownership. She called the SPCA who told her to take it to DAS. Well, we have all heard the stories of injured animals languishing in a cage at DAS for 5 days waiting for their “time to run out”. Well – OVER MY DEAD BODY! We took the dog to our vet who scanned for a chip (none – of course) and then began treatment. She had no movement in her rear end….no tail movement, could not stand, could not control pee or poop. She stayed there overnight while we consulted with an orthopedists and a neurologist. The prognosis was nerve damage. The decision was made to put her to sleep. We all cried…but she was no longer suffering. During the entire 2 day ordeal, she never snapped, barked, or whimpered. Just a perfect lady! We named her Molly – the first Barn Cat Dog!

SILENT AUCTION HINTS AND TIPS

1. If you ever set up an auction or even attend an auction, the value of an item is not what it cost – but what the bidder is willing to pay for the item. If you list a “Buy It Now” price, that amount should be well above the cost of the item…like $100 or $200 over. If someone wants it that bad – good news for your auction! If they don’t, then the bidding continues and may get well over the actual cost of the item. REMEMBER: “Buy It Now” removed that item from other bidders and not you have one less item to keep everyone interested.
2. The goal of an auction event is to raise money for the organization. Be careful of having too many “distractions” that take attendees away from the biding. An occasional door prize is okay because it gets everyone’s attention for a FREE something but it also gives you their attention to steer them to unique items or no-bid items. Lengthy announcements, presentations, and other vendors take away from valuable bidding time. FOCUS – FOCUS -- FOCUS
3. Displaying is always a problem. Make sure all the items are at eye level or a little higher. Putting items in chairs is loose/loose….nobody can see them! We have a problem at our auction location – Grotto – in the spring because we only use the front room. The auction then takes away sitting area for attendees and puts it in a corner of the restaurant. Grotto is dark even on a sunny day but at least we are by the windows. All we need to resolve this problem is about 30 or 40 additional attendees so we can reserve the entire restaurant…HA HA!
4. All the fundraising books say to mail out invitations 3 weeks ahead of the event. In today’s environment, that is not enough lead time. I send them out 6 weeks ahead. This year we are giving out a door prize to the person who sent back the invitation FIRST just as an incentive for attendees at future events.
5. Door Prizes: Usually you pick a ticket and give a prize. Well, what if it is something that person does not want or need….hummmm! This year we are putting together a BIG BASKET with wine, boxes of Russell Stover candy, and nuts from the Texas Pecan Factory. If your number is selected, you get to PICK your prize. I think folks will like that much better.
6. WINE: YES! The more wine the better. As folks get more and more tipsy, the bids go higher and higher. Giving a limited number of drink tickets sounds cost effective but can cut down on your total profit from the auction. So, pour, pour, pour and bid, bid, bid!

PLACEMENT UPDATE

It was another weird week:
6 to SPCA Downtown – mom and 5 kittens
1 “dog” – PTS unfortunately with nerve damage to her spine
1 declawed cat to a home in Plano
2 to Lindale in East Texas
4 to a garage in Prosper
7 to a polo pony barn in Denison
2 to Waxahachie
TOTAL 23

Week ending 5/8/2011 (this is a big one!)

I am glad this week is over. There were so many “out of the ordinary” things going on that it was exhausting.

Monday – I received a call about 6 pm from an elderly lady that there were 3 kittens out in the cold and the rain and that another cat was injured (probably hit by a car) in East Dallas. The 3 kittens she could get into a dog crate. The injured cat (this sent me over the edge) she put in a dog crate with no door, put a black plastic bag around it and left it by the side of her house. I wanted to reach through the phone and strangle her. I rounded up Nancy from across the alleyway and we started out in rush hour traffic to rescue these cats. The injured cat was in bad shape. I contacted Dr. Patty Weber on her cell and she advised euthanasia at the Carrollton Animal Emergency Clinic. The 3 kittens were about 5 weeks old and could eat solid food. The mom was around but could not be caught – we needed a trap but did not think to take one. We took the poor injured cat to the clinic and then delivered the 3 kittens to a cage in my cat room. They ate well and quickly fell asleep. I was surprised the next morning when they “had” used the litter box!

Tuesday – I took the 3 tiny kittens and 3 adults from Barn Cats to the McKinney SPCA. Our 3 friendlier cats had come 2 from an apartment complex and 1 from Dallas Animal Services. THEN – I drove from McKinney to East Dallas to take the elderly couple a trap. (We are in desperate need of a Barn Cats helicopter). That evening the mama cat was caught and now I will need to go back to East Dallas on Wednesday.

Wednesday – I took one cat to All Care to be spayed early in the morning and then started AGAIN for East Dallas. I picked her up and returned to All Care to get her spayed, as well. When I returned home, Nancy and I went to lunch then I settled in to return phone calls. There were 2 calls from a guy in North Dallas who has a mom and 5 kittens. Last Monday evening during the severe weather, this mom came in through his doggie door carrying her kittens one by one and left them in his house. He rounded them up into a dog carrier and started calling folks. I advised him to contact the McKinney SPCA but they could not take any more kittens. SO – he leaves me two phone messages (I am not home) and then at a little after 11 am, he takes mama and the 5 to Dallas Animal Services! He does not even give me time to call him back…because…the downtown SPCA now has a “trade”….so we can get his cats in there and Barn Cats gets the un-adoptable cat. I would have been so smooth – but now we have to wait until next Tuesday to get the mom and babies out of “jail“. Update next week…

Thursday – Today we provided caging for 3 cats to be moved from Love Field to a backyard in Rockwall. Also, at a recommendation from Barn Cats, Little Elm Animal Services got 2 cats placed with the downtown SPCA and Ken with Hickory Creek Animal Services placed 5 with the McKinney SPCA. I think we have invented a new task – CAT BROKERING!

Friday – We picked up equipment in Garland from a warehouse. Both cats are doing well. Took in 4 from Ft. Worth to be relo’ed on Saturday and then picked up equipment in Northlake. Ileana is doing well in Northlake, as well. She originally came from Kitty Save as un-adoptable.

Saturday – Our new volunteer, Julie, went with me to Red Oak for the relocation of 4 cats to a barn. It was her first trip with Barn Cats. It went well – the barn – not the best and not the worst. The people are nice and the house is right next to the barn. We then proceeded further south to Waxahachie/Midlothian area to pick up some equipment from a completed relo of Casper and Abby. They are both sticking around. Julie and I got back in time to meet Nancy and Chris at Applebee’s for lunch.
I need to speak briefly about people who release cats to Barn Cats but cannot seem to “let go”. They call and text wanting to talk to the barn owners and/or go “visit” the cats. NOPE – That is a privacy issue. We will do the best we can for them.

Sunday – I am meeting Brenda from East Texas at 12:30 today to get a cat from Myra in Mineola. It is a friendly cat and should be easily traded if it tests negative. Keep your paws crossed!

More next week, if I survive!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Peg

Week ending 5/1/2011

We are starting May now.

That makes 64 saved in March and 65 saved in April. I have high hopes for May as well.

This week was busy but in a very different way. We did relocations in Northlake, Waxahachie and Copper Canyon but also dealt with a hoarder in East Dallas, an elderly couple also in East Dallas and Little Elm Animal Services…so…

Monday -- 1 to Northlake to live in the backyard

Tuesday – 10 from hoarder(all friendly) taken to the McKinney SPCA
1 to the McKinney SPCA from Barn Cats, Inc….friendly
5 kittens to McKinney SPCA from Grayson County

Wednesday – 6 (mom and 5 kittens) to McKinney SPCA
1 (Daisy) from Little Elm AS to McKinney SPCA

Friday – 2 to a barn in Waxahachie and picked up equipment

Saturday – 4 to a barn in Copper Canyon
1 to Kitty Save (friendly)

…for a Grand Total of 31 for the week…that is almost ½ of the entire month just last week. No wonder I was pooped on Sunday.

I did get the Barn Cat taxes filed on Sunday. The deadline for non-profits is May 15th. They have changed the ceiling for e-postcard filing from $25,000 to $50,000 so I just went online to the IRS.gov and got that accomplished.

Listen – the drive from East Dallas around I-30 to the McKinney SPCA is no picnic. Now our van can do it on auto pilot.

We went to Little Elm Animal Services on Wednesday to pick up two ferals. The shelter only had one additional cat…Daisy. After looking at her (long hair all matted, eyes matted as well) I could not just leave her there. She was so badly matted that she could barely walk! I got her out of “jail” and took her to the SPCA. But – here is the bad news – Daisy had oral cancer and they euthanized her. Geez! At least she did not suffer any longer in Little Elm. The other two cats are now waiting for their barn opportunity to surface. I hope it will be soon for them.

I hope the next week is more calm – but who knows! Stay tuned…. Peg

PS: We are working with a company to find a new van for us. Keep your paws crossed they find one soon.

Week Ending 4/24/2001

Greetings, Bloggers:

We placed a total of 13 this week:
2 at a warehouse in Garland
2 with an adoption group
3 at a barn in Sachse
4 in Ector at a GIANT RANCH
2 in Dodd City at a family farm

We also picked up a cat in Whitewright that a guy needed to place. He is a young orange guy, semi-feral that was born on the property. “Scotty” was the only kitten that survived….don’t get me started about kittens on a farm or a ranch! Anyway, the mom is still there. We just need to get her spayed and returned because the land owner probably never will and she will continue to have litter after litter.

We still have the upper respiratory going on the in cat rooms. It is like a kid in a kindergarten who sneezes and they all catch it. It is interesting because I put the sick ones in cages in my personal living space where they only have access to my cats. My guys have had their shots every year and do not ever catch this stuff.

Well it is now the Easter weekend. That means everyone is concentrating on family get-togethers and not on cats. Holiday times are always slow for us and for adoption groups, too.

I will be working with a couple of locations to get cats removed this week. I am told they are “tame”. I hope to quickly get them into an adoption group. More on this next week.

Take care and always remember to get your animals their yearly shots and an exam by a veterinarian. It really is very important. Oh – some people say “my animals never go outside or out of our yard so they don’t need shots every year”. But, what happens if you become ill or are injured and need to either board your animals or get them adopted outright? They will be around lots of other animals then and could catch any disease that happens to be around. GET THOSE SHOTS DONE!

Peg with Barn Cats, Inc.

Update on Blog

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