2019 Season of Giving Newsletter
A Message from the President
It is not hard forget that the holidays are coming, you just have turn on the TV or visit a store. It is wall to wall festivity and good cheer.
In this season of giving, I am thinking of joy and peace on Earth, but am also reminded of those who have nothing. I think of all the unwanted and vulnerable cats who would love a caring pet on the head, a nice bowl of food, and of course, a warm home to live in forever.
I ask you to remember Stray Cat Blues while contributing to your favorite charity this year. We recently celebrated 10 years of offering adoption services in Collegeville and we have been doing the same in Montgomeryville for 20 years. We have come so far, but we can do more. Any amount can help a cat in need so please, during this season of giving, put Stray Cat Blues on your NICE list.
All of us at Stray Cat Blues wish you and yours the very best during this joyous holiday season.
Fondly,
Stacy Borans
Board President Stray Cat Blues Inc.
“Adult Cats Shine in Winter”
Jake, Pancha, Bianca, Lucy, Murphy, Spencer and others have been waiting, waiting and waiting. Our adult kitties in foster care lose out every spring, summer and fall due to the onslaught of kitten season when hundreds of baby furballs dominate adoptions with their irresistible cuteness.
However, as winter blows in our adult kitties get to shine. That’s when kitten competition lessens and when potential adopters take a second look at our fabulous adult cats – many of whom are still young – ages 2, 3, 4, 7. They are healthy, loving, calm and ready to blend in beautifully with most households.
Who should consider an adult kitty? Really ANYONE. However, there are some special adopters who are purrfect matches for adult kitties.
Single people – old or young – who live alone and who want a friendly companion kitty or two to keep them company. (Read More)
Working adults who spend a lot of time at work – an adult cat copes better with alone time more than a baby kitten.
Senior folks who want a calm, easy going companion pet to watch TV with and that sleeps through the night rather than frolicking at midnight with noisy toys or knocking over lamps.
Families with toddlers still learning to be gentle with kitties. A friendly, affectionate adult kitty knows when petting is OK and when to get out of the way.
People with gentle dogs used to cats. Some of our adult kitties have lost their dog companions and long for that connection again.
Baby kittens are adorable but they grow into cats faster than people realize. All our adult cats were babies too not long ago. Now that they are older and mellower – they still need love and caring. Please give them a chance.
“Gratitude for Catitude”
As another year draws to a close, let’s step back for a moment to get a glimpse of what it takes to run Stray Cat Blues, Inc., a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We all love the “happy ending” stories and photos of our adopted cats. They are the reason we exist and they are just the icing on a very big cake. Behind the scenes there is a cast of characters who work night and day to make it happen.
First, of course, are our volunteers. This crazy band of highly functioning and inspired cat lovers fund raise, foster, cage clean, staff adoption centers, serve on our Board, run Whiskers Way Station, reply to emails, answer phone messages, trap and transport stray cats, socialize shy and feral kitties, colony feed, run our barn cat program….need we go on?
(Read More)
There are so many jobs within a rescue that need the helping hands of so many people who do it all for Love! No one gets paid in Stray Cat Blues – all the money we raise from adoption fees and your generous donations goes for the care and feeding of our cats and kittens. Our payment is the satisfaction of knowing we are making a difference in the lives of thousands of cats and kittens every year and we are helping people in our communities who share our love of these fabulous felines.
We are extremely grateful to our participating veterinarians who provide us reduced rates so that we can provide the best possible care for our foster cats and kittens. Thank you to these vets (in alphabetical order): Dr. Laura Holland, Circle of Life Veterinary Clinic, Dr. Lynn Platt, Colmar Veterinary Hospital, Dr. Ravi Murarka, Compassion Vet Clinic,Dr. Julie Neff and Dr. Brooke Foret, Green Lane Vet Hospital, and Dr Sharon Minninger, Telford Veterinary Hospital. Our clinic partners include No Nonsense Neutering and the SPCA Perkiomenville.
We could not close this year without giving a mega shout out to our PetSmart business partners in the Montgomeryville and Collegeville stores. Through the generous support of their adoption centers we have grown our volunteer base to over a 100 and increased our annual adoptions to over 900 cats and kittens. The public exposure we receive in these stores is priceless.
2020 marks our 23rd year as an incorporated Pennsylvania Stray Cat Blues Inc.,a 501(c)3 non-profit rescue. Incorporated in 1997, Stray Cat Blues was even a foundling rescue a couple of years before that. We are grateful for our success, we are driven to keep going, and we will never stop asking for your help. We’re in this together – all of us who bask in the Gratitude for Catitude!
A great time was had by all at Whiskers Way Station (WWS) on November 9, 2019! We had "High Tea", yes we did! We had porcelain plates & saucers, hot tea out of porcelain tea pots, fresh hot off the rack, homemade scones! We had fruit, homemade cookies, tea sandwiches and so much more!!! But best of all we made all of the ornaments shown here and much much more to use as decorations on our Christmas trees showing, in all their loving handmade glory, at the Pearl S. Buck House !!!RIGHT NOW!!! Until December 30, 2019!
Maybe next year you'll join the fun when we host our 2nd Annual Tea and Crafts at WWS?
P.S. You never know who you'll see at the Festival of Trees, we saw Miss Pennsylvania while we were there! The possibilities are endless...
They say every cat has a story and at Stray Cat Blues we are no different, we have heard a million of them. Some are sad or tragic, others uplifting and hopeful. This one began with a snippet of info on social media, following up and asking questions. The next thing you know a sweet kitten is rescued from a shelter and brought into the warm and loving home of a Stray Cat Blues volunteer.
The short version is this: sweet little Juju was found in the middle of the road, narrowly avoiding being hit by a car. A quick footed man ran out and saved him and not knowing what else to do, brought him to a shelter. (Read More)
This bit of info was posted on a neighborhood message board where, luckily, a Stray Cat Blues volunteer read about JuJu’s fate. Meanwhile, another reader offered to pick up JuJu and take him to a foster home. This selfless person drove into the city and plucked this sweet boy from a cage and brought him to a Stray Cat Blues volunteer. Next step was driving JuJu to the home of another Stray Cat Blues volunteer. This network of caring people used social media to save a life.
As you can see, little JuJu is sweet as can be. He had a broken hip socket, which has since healed, and has been neutered. The love and care he receives from Stray Cat Blues will also teach him important kitten rules that his missing mother is unable to teach him. One day very soon, he will make an amazing pet and will start a wonderful new chapter in his little furry life.
