Little Grace is surfin' the web!

My Guy leaves the computer in the table so I can write my blog.  He leaves it on the blogger site just for me.  A couple of weeks ago, Wendell (he is a total goober!) walked across the keyboard and the screen changed!  

Wendell

Hmmmmmm.  It seems the Wendell has rather big feet.  We did quite a bit of investigation and we now can use Wendell to move around the internet.  
(I will be honest, my discovery has slowed down my blog writing.  Hey, it happens.)  So now, I spend hours trolling around the internet.  I have a set path...

First, I check the weather.  It is very important to know when the sun will be out.  I like to stake my window claim early.  My Suzanne has made it quite clear to the other cats that no one is allowed to pick on me so I pretty much get what I want.

Second, I check for Pet Food recalls.  This is very important.  I do not want to be sick and my Guy needs to know when something is bad, bad, bad.   I go straight to the source, the 
FDA.

Third, I check for new cute cat videos.  Like the new one with Mystery!  So cute!  Chance and I practice doing cute things in hopes that one day my Suzanne will take a video of us.  I was in the Playtime video but I wasn't the star.  There needs to be one starring me and maybe Chance (certainly not Wendell).

Fourth, I check for funny dog videos.  (Yes, I do.)  Dogs are funny.  Do not misunderstand.... there is no room for a dog at my house.  I mean, really!!!

Fifth, I go to PetFinders and vote for the Tyra picture.  My Suzanne says that Orange Street Cats could get lots of money of Tyra wins!  And then I check the YouCaring site!  Right now, there is a fundraiser for Mystery.  I can't donate though.....Suzanne keeps her credit cards under lock and key after the last donation incident.

Sixth, I check Orange Street Cats website.  I like to see the cats that are available for adoption, who is available to foster, and if there any other upcoming events like PetApalooza! I wonder...what is PetApalooza anyway?  Is there going to be a band there? The Mouse Chasers or Milkbone featuring Barky Von Schnauser, maybe?

Lastly, I check my Suzanne's Facebook page.  One day, I saw a post shared by Dog House Adoptions  (who shared it from Maddie's Corner) that explained fostering really, really well.  Remember when Radley posted the Scoop Issue 1 and he reported on the 12 cats in one week?  Remember when Chance posted about fostering?  (We seem to talk about fostering quite a bit here.  I guess it is that important!) This Facebook post that I saw is probably the best, most understandable description I have seen and I would like to share it.

"What does being a pet foster parent mean? Think of it as having a furry house guest who may be around for just a few weeks or several months. It may be a house guest who is like a foreign exchange student- he needs to learn the ropes a little, be educated about the culture and the rules. He may need a little extra TLC. Or this guest might be a fun-loving kid who fits right into your family and never misses a beat. 

Fostering is not adopting. It is not forever. You may fall in love with your guest and decide to adopt. "Foster failures", as they are called, do happen, but no one is going to pressure you to adopt.

Fostering is being a guardian angel. It is giving love and safety to an animal who may never have known these things. It is giving them confidence and joy and helping them get ready for their forever home.

The day your foster joins his new forever family will be like graduation day. Yes, there might be tears but like good teachers who give their students wings to fly, you will have given an animal a chance for a wonderful, happy life. Your heart will smile and swell with pride. You will have touched a life. You will have saved a life. The feelings you'll feel will flood your soul and fill you up. You will have made a difference! Isn't that what life is all about?"

See?  Doesn't that make a whole lot of sense?

So anyway....as followers of my blog and Orange Street Cats, you know that OSC is bursting at the seams....we have some cats that need foster homes.  Some are listed on our website and one was listed in a new featured on Facebook called "Featured Foster of the week"  (I already told my Suzanne that the name is a little blase and needs some spicing up.  She said she would work on that...although an eye roll was involved).  The first cat featured is Mia!  I have never met Mia but I hear that she is very nice and maybe a little shy.  Hey, I get it.  I was the same way and look at me now!  I am a famous blogger.  (What Mom?  I am not famous?  We will see about that!)

Here is Mia's picture and some information on her.  

Mia ready for a foster home!

Mia is a beautiful little tortie. She is one of the 7 apartment cats. She has made some strides however needs some extra time to adjust to living in a house. She plays and allows petting sometimes. She needs a patient foster home who is willing to work with her. She can definitely come around in a new environment. She does like other cats and would be best with pal to help her along in her journey.


Email cats@orangestreetcats.org if you are interested in learning more about Mia or if you have questions about fostering in general.

Well folks...gotta go!  I hear there are some new dog videos that require my attention.  

Chance talks Fostering

Hi!  Little Grace here!  Chance wants to talk to everyone about fostering.  She is my best friend so I will happily let her take over the blog.  As you will read, I had to intervene a couple of times.  You don't know who Chance is?  See this post and this one and this one.
Blinks and Purrs!
Little Grace

Hi!  I am Chance!  My Suzanne calls me Chanty or Chant Chant.  My Guy calls me Chickety Chant.   I am an original Orange Street Cat.  I am only one of the 88 cats that Orange Street Cats rescued.  It was tough at that "other place".  That is all I want to say about that.  You know why?  I don't have to live there anymore!  This place....my new home is....there aren't any words really to describe it.  It is a new world!  It is warm and safe and happy and calm.  We have fun.  We talk and play and nap.  My Suzanne and My Guy just get me, ya know?  They know my favorite toys.

My favorite toys!

They know how I like to play.  They know what makes me purr and what makes me mad.  They let me be me, ya know?  Just me.  They get me.  AND they let me be clean-up crew....

Sometimes, my Suzanne comes home from somewhere with a new toy for me!   She greets me every morning and makes a point to have special time with just me.  Sometimes she picks me up and says "I know you hate this but I love it!"  I struggle a little bit just for effect but I actually do like it.  Don't tell her!!!!  She tells me that she is proud of me and that I am brave.  She thanks me for helping and protecting Little Grace.  What she doesn't know is that Little Grace helps and protects me too.  My favorite things to do in this order: Eating, Sleeping, playing.  My least favorite things: Getting my nails clipped, someone touching my belly, and empty food bowls.  Ok, I am done now.

Little Grace: Chance you are supposed to talk about fostering, remember?

Oh!  Right!  I got carried away.  Did you see my toy picture?  In case anyone is wondering, I like soft toys that I can carry around.  You can mail them to me at...

Little Grace: Chance!  We are here to discuss Orange Street Cats, not your toy addiction.   Focus......today's topic please?

Yes!  Yes!  Of course!  Fostering.

I am an expert on fostering because I was a foster cat.  So was Little Grace and Cleo and Wendell.  I know a lot of others too.  Fiona, Gypsy (twice, now that is a story!), Friday, Mavis, AW.  All foster cats.  You see, being a foster cat means that I have a safe and "normal" place to be where I can learn how to be a cat in a regular household.  Being in a cage (or crate as my Mom is telling me to write) is not where I learned about warm beds, toys, and loving hands.  I learned these things as a foster cat.  In a cage (I mean crate) I was a rescue cat.  As a rescue cat, I was mostly safe but kinda scared.  I saw some regular faces and they were always nice to me but they came to take care of many of us.  They did care about us but they had a job to do, keep us safe, fed, and clean while they tried so hard to figure out the next steps.  Please do not 
misunderstand, the volunteers saved me as a rescue cat.  My Suzanne and My Guy saved me as a foster cat.

As a foster cat, I learned how to trust the humans.  I mean really trust them.  I learned about different house noises like the vacuum, the dryer, the dishwasher, doors opening and closing, the shower, the furnace, stuff like that.  I also learned about light time and dark time (Mom said day time and night time, I don't understand the reference).  Humans go to work at certain times and come home at certain times.  I learned how to eat properly in a safe environment and not to "help myself" to someone else's food.  I also learned what my Mom calls "manners".  My Suzanne taught me that it was not ok to use my nails to scratch on stuff.  I was given a cardboard scratching thing that I destroy  (I mean love!)  All these things and much, much more, I learned as a foster cat, not a rescue cat.  So you see....I am an expert!

I am sure my Mom can tell you about the experience from a human perspective.  So ...Suzanne....tell us in just a few sentences because I am in the spotlight here!

Suzanne:  Thank you Chance.  Fostering for me has been very rewarding and special.  Knowing that you have helped a cat become more of who she (or he) was destined to be is special.  The daily "wins" are tremendous.  This has been a learning experience for me too.  Each cat is so different!  I have learned patience and to really "listen" to the needs of each cat.  All my fosters have been a joy.  Yes, there are some that you keep.  I don't consider that a foster failure.  I consider it another step in my journey as a human.  Ok Chance?

Yes. Great. Where is the part where you tell everyone that I am your favorite?  Never mind, I will tell them.  I am her favorite!

So here is the deal....remember Radley's post "The Scoop"?  Well, Orange Street Cats has several cats in the pipeline that need foster families.  There are at least 8 that are ready or very soon to be ready.  Most are teenagers or adult cats.  Some are well on their way and may need only a couple of weeks.  There are a couple that will need more work.  Foster timing varies....every cat is different!  I have seen ones that were in foster for 2 weeks and some for 5 months (ehhh hemmm, that was me and little Grace).  All you need to do is commit to helping
a cat or two!  You will need a safe space like an office, extra bedroom, or playroom (Orange Street Cats cats are not allowed outside!).  You will need to care for the cat and bring him/her to adoption day events.  Orange Street Cats pays for food, litter, and vet care.  See this for more information. So.....what do you think?  Do you have room in your house and in your heart?  Maybe you can be the turning point in a cats life.  Foster! Foster! Foster!

Until next time, my new friends (take another look at the toy picture...soft toys....)
-Chance

Me!

"The Scoop"...Trappin' and Savin'

We have had such wonderful feedback on our blog that some of the other cats want in on the action.  Radley has been nominated by the cats in the Blue room to be a regular guest blogger and author of the soon to be feature called "The Scoop".  He will bring all of the Orange Street Cats news to the world!   Ehh hemmm, got a bit carried away.  Please welcome Radley with open paws!  
Blinks and Purrs-
Little Grace

Original Orange Street Cat Radley here reporting from the Blue Room with The SCOOP!


Facebook friends from across the globe ask, “So just how many cats did you people pull from peril last week?” Good questions friends!  Let me give you the run down by day:

Monday, April 1, (no-April-fooling!) 
The day began when trusty trappers Debra and Cathy teamed up with Diane (Foster Mom ....hugs! ) to coordinate a day long campaign to go and get seven cats that were left in a condemned apartment after their mom was hospitalized, never to return.  Scotty, Sissie, Don, Dominic, Mia, GiGi and Sarafina were trapped (with some pretty clever maneuvers by Cathy and Debra) and transported to a safe house where they are now being cared for and await vet appointments for shots and likely spay/neuter surgeries.

(Sound of a siren in the back ground) 
Calling all fosters and all kind cat people with an extra room in their house and extra love in their heart – this is a fine time to let us know that you will take in a foster cat.  It has done wonders for me!  Email the humans at cats@orangestreetcats.org for more information!

Swept out with the furniture.
The next call came mid-afternoon from a local animal control officer about kittens that were left behind an apartment complex! OSC cat guy Erik grabbed a few carriers and sped off to the scene. (Go Erik, Go!) What he found when he got there was a grumpy building manager who finally let him through to the back court yard.  Erik was able to find a momma cat and her kitten – just one kitten. After frantically searching through the discarded rubble he confirmed that there were no other kittens.  He got momma and baby out of the cold, into the carriers and brought them to safety.  They were able to slowly get warm and have a small snack.  Erik was watching "The Bible" when he got the call, so he decided to name the boy kitten Samson and mom, Delilah.  They are doing well so far and will need full vet care. (Oh and that Samson...just a furry grey fuzzball!)

Moving on to Tuesday, April 2!  
A recently rescued OSC cat, named Black Kitty (BK), and Pippin, a buff colored 8 month old kitten, came our way in need of a new home. The story is sad because they were loved but there was a serious adjustment issue for BK. OSC always makes it clear that if there is an unforeseen issue, post adoption, that we will happily take the cat back. (Foster Mom Chris said it is in the contract!)  Their person made a courageous and difficult decision and entrusted OSC with finding them a forever home. (Which....hello...we are really good at!) They are fully vetted.  (Phew!)

OK – that’s eleven cats and kittens.  Nothing happened Wednesday, but on Thursday April 4…
Street cat was found with one paw swollen three times the size of the others! OSC got the call about Elliot and dug deep in their collective reserve because this street cat was in so much pain he had a hard time getting out of the way of the cars.  So the OSC crew got him and brought him directly to the wonderful Dr. Jenny Gavin at the Capitol District Emergency Veterinary Clinic where the report was that he had an abscess and terribly infected paw.  Dr. Gavin and her top notch team wasted no time, got that paw clipped and cleaned, did some routine medical care and gave this stinky, rather filthy fellow a tubby. He’s healing up well and is on antibiotics.  He still needs his shots and neuter surgery.

So there you have it, four days and twelve cats!  I will keep you posted on how they are doing.  
In the meantime, please consider supporting us by coming to the Bowl-A-Thon this Sunday – it’s going to be a hoot  and the OSC folks sure could use your help to make this event a huge success.  Biggie, Elvis, and I are all ready to cheer the bowlers on!

Signing off for now, I’m Radley and that’s The Scoop.