Yesterday I promised you a ton of cute kitties, and here they are! Right now we have 22 adorable kittens and a sweet momma cat tucked away safely, soundly and loved in foster homes all over South Florida... waiting for our next transport!
That's a lot of kitties! They aren't leaving town for a few more weeks, but I couldn't wait for you to meet them!
I'll post more about them and updates as we go along, but here's a bunch of cute pictures of cute kitties to finish our your week the best way ever!
The Mafia Kittens: Catnip Capone, Kitty Kelly and Tabby Genovese!
Venus and her four newborn babies. They were born in the shelter overnight and we busted them all out the very next day. Safe! They are just starting to open their eyes now. It's been about a week.
The first half of the Blue Kittens: Periwinkle and Sky!
The other Blue Kittens: Powder and Indigo!
Thomas and Belle!
First half of the Dream Basketball kittens: Lebron and James! These four were rescued from a "free kittens" listing we saw on Craiglist. Never list pets for free on Craiglist. There are bad people out there!
Jordana and Pippa! These four were gorgeous and fluffy in their Craiglist picture. When we got them, it was a whole different story. Crusty and sick with eye infections, parasites and dehydrated. :( We're fixing them up!
Cutie bunch of kitties rescued from a horse ranch!
Lee, rescued from a rental property.
So there's that! We will probably add one more baby to the bunch -- Lee needs a buddy! All of these adorable babies will be heading up north on April 26, so we have a few more weeks to enjoy them down here and watch them grow up a little!
Huge thanks to all our fosters and Good Karma Pet Rescue (the best!) for rescuing them all down here and making sure they get everything they need before they travel!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! I am so proud of my boys this week. They are always good boys, of course, but this week they decided to do something super big-hearted and generous: They decided to donate most of their toys to our local animal shelter!
The truth is Pimp and Moo have way too many toys for two kitties. They have way too many toys for 22 kitties probably, honestly, and so we're going to make some less fortunate cats happy.
This is our pile BEFORE. It's a mountain!
What makes this even more special is that we are donating them to our local animal control in Pompano Beach, FL -- which is the place where we are always trying to rescue the kitties from and transport them all over! They are very sad there, and I know some toys in their cages is a luxury they are not used to having... so we are going to make that happen!
This is the mountain of toys we're DONATING!
This will help make these kitties a little happier while they are waiting and hoping for their forever family to come along and adopt them. They deserve it!
Animal control is not a no-kill shelter, so it is always urgent that these kitties get adopted. We are hoping that happier kitties will get adopted more, and if every one doesn't make it out, then at least we can give them a little something to be happy about while they are there.
Pimp and Moo made sure to keep all their favorites!
Do you have a pile of toys at home like Pimp and Moo that your kitties don't play with? Don't throw them away or just keep them in a basket where they aren't getting used... Donate them to your local shelter! Trust me, they'll appreciate it!
My toy basket AFTER! It still looks full! Yippee!
And we even kept a little pile of toys for the most super special wonderful awesome amazing luckiest kitties from animal control -- the ones we find homes for and transport!
These toys are for all the kitties we save, so they can play with toys while they're waiting for their ride to get figured out and take them with them to their new homes!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today we have two exciting things.
First, we set up our Christmas tree last night and you-know-who couldn't wait to get under there. So far all the ornaments are intact, but we normally do a bet each year on when the first one will go down.
Anyone have any guesses?
Do I look like I'd knock ornaments off the tree?!
Today is also one of the best "shopping" days of the year. It's Giving Tuesday! Have you ever heard of it?
Apparently it's new this year, but I'm all for it (and Santa Paws Drive is an official partner!). It's the day when you're encouraged to give to charity and to others who are less fortunate, instead of normal shopping for ourselves for the holidays.
So today for Giving Tuesday, we decided to have our Kickoff Pawty for Santa Paws Drive on Twitter! We're going to be tweeting from 8-10 p.m. EST -- and we'll have lots of great prizes, tons of fun, bunches of good friends... and I'll be tweeting as Santa! (@SantaPawsDrive, that is!)
Please stop by if you can by searching hashtag #santapawsdrive during that time. The goal is to hang out with and meet new friends, spread the word about Santa Paws Drive and help boost donations so we can send shelter animals tons of holiday cheer!
If you do want to give for Giving Tuesday, I'd really appreciate if you gave a little to Santa Paws Drive. Our goal is $1,000 for each of our six shelters and enough toys to send each of the 750 cats and 450 dogs a gift. I know we can do it!
For more info and to donate, please visit SantaPawsDrive.com. Thank you all!
Oh, do I have a story for you today! Remember how last week I said I wanted to save all the cats? Well, I meant it and we're off to a good start this week!
A couple days ago I posted about a sweet cat named Marlin who (thank goodness!) got rescued just in the nick of time. His story moved me to tears (and a bunch of you all, I hear - sorry about that!) and made realize how much I want to do more to help save more cats.
On that post, I featured a picture of a tabby named Chalse. Chalse came into Animal Control here in Broward County with his four litter mates... but he was the only one left and his time was running out.
A couple days later, I shared a video on Facebook of him in his cage there, purring away, begging for loving and making biscuits like the happiest cat in the world -- oblivious to the fact that he was in a place where he could get sick any day and his time would be up. That video led to a miracle...
Marsha H., a friend of Cute commented on that thread. She had fallen in love with him and been calling animal control all day but wasn't getting through. She asked if I knew anyone who could help her get to him. She wanted to adopt him! Only thing was, she is in St. Louis, MO -- 1,200 miles away!
"Do you know anyone near there who could help me? It's hard to do long distance, but I know it can be done," she wrote. "Praying for Chalse - he has my heart."
Of course, I said! So I put her in touch with the woman who took the video and pictures of Chalse (she runs Good Karma Pet Rescue) and many phone calls, emails and texts later, Chalse is rescued and SAFE! A miracle! Now all we needed to do is figure out transport.
BUT WAIT, IT GETS BETTER!
On Wednesday, I shared a picture of Wendy, a gorgeous girl kitty at Clayton County Animal Control in Jonesboro, Georgia, who's time was going to be up Friday morning. She had outlived all her babies in the shelter and now it was her turn to be on the list... and they heartstick. Horrible. The original poster described her as a "velcro kitty", a sweet lapcat who just wanted to love. Plus, she has a heart-shaped nose like Pimp!
Wendy. This loving face had to be saved!
After I got back from watching fireworks Wednesday night, I turned on my computer to find this comment from Marsha: "Dorian - any chance I could get both of them? I just don't know what to do now. I wanted a lap cat lover, but Chalse stole my heart too? Oh for gosh sakes - I've got to stay off FB!!"
And I totally melted. These cats may have stolen her heart, but she stole mine! What an amazing person.
My response? First I wanted to make sure she didn't feel pressured to take every cat I post... but then it was a big yes! Of course we can figure it out! If she'll save them, I will find a way to get them to her even if I have to drive them there myself!
And so Thursday was spent back and forth on the phone with the fabulous Winging Cat Rescue in Georgia and more texts and messages with Marsha. Since Chalse was going to have to travel north, he might as well go through Georgia and pick up Wendy along the way... then they could ride together, right?
And now Wendy is SAFE, too!
Now that the cats are safe, this is where I hope you all can come in. Marsha has done the hardest part, opening her home to them. Now we need to get them vetted and funded and transported to her in St. Louis!
She will pay their adoption fees, but I told her no one would expect her to pay for everything. She is already doing so much to take them in! So I decided to open up a Chipin to cover some of the cost to help save these two beautiful kitties.
It kind of added up pretty fast, but it's all a small price to pay considering we're saving two lives, right? If you can spare a few dollars, you can donate at this link or using the widget on the right. Please, only if you can.
Here is how I figure the costs will break down. If there is any extra, I will use it for the next kitty we rescue. There WILL be more!
CHALSE:
Rescue fee/neuter/vetting 50
Health certificate 25
Boarding (14 days x $8/day) 112
Transport to GA 50
WENDY:
Spay/vetting/health certificate 100
Boarding (14 days x $5/day) 75
Transport with Chalse to STL 150
TOTAL 2 KITTIES TO FOREVER HOME = $562
I am setting the Chipin at $500 because my transport numbers are truly just estimates and $100-$150 will be covered by Marsha as adoption fees, I believe. I'm waiting to hear back from a couple transport people, but I hope this covers it. It's 10 hours to Jonesboro from Fort Lauderdale and nine hours from Georgia (Atlanta-ish area) to St. Louis. I'm assuming I'll drive part of the Florida part (for free, of course).
The money from this Chipin will go to me and I will divvy it up to each group and pay their costs, since there are so many people and steps involved. Georgia law says animals need to be quarantine for 10-14 days before traveling across state lines, so that's why so many boarding days. It may end up needing to be a few more if they are waiting on rides.
If I find out we have enough or it's less, I'll close the Chipin as soon as I hear. A bargain to save two lives!
Here's one more thing we might need...
Does anyone know anyone in Atlanta or Nashville who might be willing to help drive these kitties for a few hours? This is the route I think they'll take. I can get Chalse to Georgia (where Wendy is), but we need to figure out the Georgia to St. Louis route. I'm thinking Atlanta to Nashville to St. Louis?
You can click to biggify.
Please leave a comment with contact info or email me at dorian (at) yourdailycute.com if you think you can help! We are thinking this will likely be sometime around July 20th.
I've said this so many times, but you all are a truly amazing bunch. I have met the most wonderful people through this blog. I am reminded over and over again. Just look at the miracles we can make happen!
Ooooh! These are my favorite kind of posts! Cuteheads to the rescue AGAIN! This time we're busting not one, but twocats out of a kill shelter!
It all started when I posted about Kain a couple weeks ago. Remember him? A big black boy that I fell in love with and was hoping someone would save? Well, a high school friend's mom came out of the woodwork and said she had a rescue in Georgia, and that she'd take him -- as long as he tested negative for kitty cooties. Well, as luck would have it, the poor big guy tested positive so she couldn't take him. (She couldn't keep separate from her other cats.)
Don't worry, happy ending for Kain! We found him another rescue and he is SAFE!
Now, this woman did a very sweet thing. Since she had made the space for Kain, she said she'd save another kitty instead. So now we were going to have two kitties saved! Kain plus one more!
And then she did an even sweeter thing... She started looking at all the cats on the the list to be "unavailable" after Friday and her heart just melted. She found it in her heart and her home -- and she decided she would save two of them! She even said she'd take two older adult females, since they'd probably have less of a chance for someone else to bust them out of there.
So these two beautiful Southern belles are safe because of her!
The gray and white girl is a bobtail, and Debbie (their rescue person!) decided her name would be Bobbie. The orange and white girl still needs a name, and she said we could help her pick! I put a poll on Facebook last night. What a whirlwind way to start the new year, Cuteheads! Together we have helped save three cat's lives already -- and it's only January 5! I have a feeling this is going to be a really, really good year.
So here's where we can all help these two lucky kitties out. Debbie has the space and the love, but her rescue is a little low on funds. We've set up a Chipin to raise the money to get these pretty girls spayed and vetted. They are going TODAY for that! What a week for them, huh? :)
So if you have a few dollars (I know we just raised money for Kain, but I just can't say no to helping more kitties!), please think about helping these girls. They got the second chance at life they deserve and she is going to do her best to find them the best forever homes!
I'll keep everyone updated on them and how they're doing. And Debbie will send us pictures! She said they are two of the sweetest cats ever. So happy we could help them!
P.S. The Chipin page (when you click to it) says 3 urgent kitties because she had even said she'd take 3 at one point! But one little girl tested FIV+, so she couldn't since she has no was to separate them. Two kitties saved is still amazing! :)
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! Today Pimp and Moo are doing a very important job... Quality control for the Santa Paws Drive toys!
We got a huge shipment in and I was inventorying everything to make sure it was there -- and having the hardest time telling Pimp and Moo these toys aren't theirs! We have plenty of toys (way more than two boys need, actually) and these are for the Santa Paws Drive shelters!
By the way, these aren't even all the toys. There were a TON of cat toys that didn't make it in the picture that I have here -- and we're still taking donations! Don't forget we have six shelters full of doggies and kitties that we're splitting this between. So the more the merrier!
There were four huge boxes like this stuffed with toys! This is what happened right when I opened them... Pimp waltzed right over, hopped on and sat like he was making claim!
And then I had to tell him they weren't his. He is not a needy kitty, our Santa Paws Drive shelter kitties are! But that didn't stop him from trying to make off with a catnip felt cube...
Then it was Moo's turn to inspect. Have you ever seen so many plush doggie bones?! Moo hasn't either. In fact, I don't think he's ever seen a doggie bone of any kind...
He was better about not trying to steal any. He just kind of sniffed around and gave his paw of approval.
So I started counting, and as I was taking everything out of the boxes and piling up what I'd counted, this is what I ended up with:
I'm king of the toy mountain!
Have you ever seen so many toys in one place? It was so awesome! The picture does it no justice. THANK YOU to everyone who has donated already!
(If you haven't checked out the raffle yet, you should! We have over $1,000 of amazingly fabulous pet products you could win. Tickets are only $1 and all proceeds go to the shelters as cash donations!)
Let's make the mountain of toys even bigger and send these special animals the best holiday ever!
Most of you know I feed the parking lot kitties at my office. They get vet care, too, if they need it. But up until now, it's never been anything major.
We've pulled teeth, given them Revolution, antibiotics for bites... Little easy-to-handle things. But this week, for the first time, I had to make a real life-or-death, expensive decision, and it really made me think.
I have always said that cost is not a factor when it comes to my kitties. If Pimp or Moo ever needed ANYTHING, I'd sell my car, max out credit cards, whatever it took. They are that precious and important to me.
But a cat in a parking lot? Where do you draw the line?
Last week, we noticed Bully, my favorite cat in the parking lot, wasn't eating. Actually he was slowly eating less and less, and we were getting concerned. So we decided to take him to the vet.
On Thursday, the day we were going to take him, he was nowhere to be found. Not normal. He is a fixture, and always there. We looked, we searched and finally found him late in the day, looking sad and miserable in a bush. He looked like a person looks when they have the worst flu ever. Just miserable.
So off to the vet he went. He had a fever... and something in his stomach. The vet could feel it and it seemed big, but needed an x-ray to see what it was.
Hi. I'm Bully and I'm anything but a Bully.
Turns out Bully had eaten something with a claw. (We think it was an iguana foot.) It was inches long, stuck high up in him, clogging him up and causing his intestines to become very inflamed. He got antibiotics and doctor's orders to watch him and see if he starting eating in the next few days. Sometimes it can take a couple weeks for cats to pass things like this, he said.
And Bully had to pass this... or else it would mean surgery that could cost thousands of dollars.
He went to our friend's house (who also has Stubbie still). He didn't eat Friday. He didn't eat Saturday. He wasn't going to do this on his own. Sunday morning his other parking lot mom, Kelly, talked to the vet.
We had to make a decision: Either put him to sleep or pay for expensive surgery.
Now, if this were Pimp or Moo, it would not even be a question. But for a cat from a parking lot... who is going back to the parking lot after the surgery? The decision wasn't so clear.
But I couldn't just let a cat die because he ate something. A great cat. A friendly, loving, perfect cat who I am pretty sure is Daddy Meow's brother. (They both have big heads and similar dispositions. I have always thought that.)
If we can save him, should we try? He doesn't have to die. After the surgery, he should bounce right back -- the vet said it's usually very successful and cats go right back to normal. The surgery would cost between $1,500 and $2,000, depending on what he sees when he actually goes in there to get the claw thing out.
In the end, we decided that we don't have thousands of dollars, but we do have huge hearts and we owe it to Bully to do what we can to help him. He's having surgery today.
I know some people will think it's crazy, but it's the only decision I could live with. And I know most of you aren't the people who would think I'm crazy. You guys get it.
I don't usually like to ask for money, and I struggled with even putting this up, but if anyone would like to chip in to help out with the costs of Bully's surgery, I've set up a Chipin where you can contribute. I know times are tough for many, so please only give if you can spare it.
We made this decision, and we'll find a way to pay for it.
And Bully is going to make it. And every single time I look at him, I'm going to know we made the right decision, because he'll still be around giving me that look and rubbing my legs and being the first one in line for the pile of food.
Here's a video of him I took Sunday when I visited. I told him we were going to fix him all up.
Please think of him today. I don't know what time the surgery will be, but I'll update as soon as I know when it is and how it goes.
P.S. I'm posting this on both of my blogs today, because it's the only important thing to me right now. If you've already read it over there, thanks for visiting both. I'll tell Bully you said hi. :)
Update 9:30 a.m.: Bully is at the vet. He's going to get blood work done and another x-ray to see exactly where the claw thing is now. As long as the blood work checks out, he'll have surgery early afternoon. The vet did warn us that he is an anesthesia risk (Bully is probably 10-ish years old), but that's normal for older cats. Once he goes in, he'll call us if he sees anything that he thinks he can't fix (it is a claw, and sharp, so hopefully it hasn't injured him inside). Everything crossed that surgery goes well for our little man! I'll update as soon as I hear anything else. Also, you all are amazing. I am so touched. I don't even know what to say. Thank you. :)
Update 10:10 a.m.: Well, the vet called. He did another x-ray and saw something that was obstructed by the claw and bones before. Turns out the claw thing has moved down a little, but the vet is seeing something else there and he thinks it might be an abdominal tumor. Please no cancer! :( He is going to try and get some of the cells and check it out so he can know for sure. High white blood count is high, which is not a good sign. I'll keep you posted. This isn't good. :(
Update 10:41 a.m.:The doctor says the tumor is inoperable and he thinks that it is that, not the claw thing, that is causing him to not eat and feel bad. The claw is actually moving along in him. His white blood cell count is really high and his red really low. I'm so sad. I'm heading over to be with him now and we're going to help him to the Bridge so he can go peacefully. :(
I'm going to close the Chipin. He does have expenses from his two trips to the vet and all this testing. I'll see what that is and get back to you all. Thank you.
Update 11:50 a.m: Bully passed peacefully to the Bridge surrounded by love from his three parking lot mommies petting him, talking to him and kissing him. He loved us, and we truly loved him, too. We asked to have a private cremation and we're going to spread his ashes back home, here in the parking lot. We lost a very special cat today.
Hi Cuteheads! Those of you following along for the past years know I started Santa Paws Drive, an online toy and treat drive to help send shelter pets a little holiday cheer each year. This is our third year!
It's my favorite thing in the world. Our pets at home get presents, and the sweet kitties and doggies still waiting for their forever homes deserve a merry Christmas, too!
Each year we choose six shelters all around the world, and everyone can donate toys and treats (or cash!) all online at SantaPawsDrive.com. We wanted to make it easy for everyone to donate, so all you do is buy the toys or treats or send a donation, we total everything up, split is six ways and send off HUGE gift packages to the lucky shelters pets!
These are just A FEW of the toys each shelter got last year!
Hearing back from the shelters and getting pictures of the animals enjoying their presents is highlight of my year. It makes all the hard work worth it!
This year, we want to make Santa Paws Drive extra special, so we're going to focus on shelters and rescues that make an extra effort to help special needs pets. Think FIV+ kitties, black dogs, senior pets, handicapped cuties, those that need a little extra medical attention... any animal that might have a little bit of a harder time finding a forever home. They deserve the most special Christmas ever!
If you have a favorite special needs shelter you'd like to nominate to be one of our six shelters this year, we are currently taking nominations. Up until October 21, you can fill out the nomination form and tell us why we should pick your special shelter! We'll officially launch the drive and start taking donations on November 1.
We know there are some great organizations out there, and we're counting on you all to tell us all about them!
Please share the word with all your animal-loving friends. We know there are many special needs shelters out there that we don't even know about, and many doggies and kitties that would love Santa Paws to visit them! The more people who know, the more Christmas cheer we can send their way!
Yesterday morning I got to work and had barely settled in when an email popped up with the subject line "Kitten alert!!!" A friend had just pulled into work and discovered a tiny kitten in the bushes, meowing and crying for help. Help! she said.
And so we did. I knew that kitten couldn't stay in the parking lot, and while I had no idea what to do with the kitten if we caught it, I just figured we'd deal with that when we get to it.
If you were watching Cute's Facebook page yesterday, I was posting pictures and updates as it was happening! So me, Marsha and Kelly (both are fellow parking lot mommies - we all feed them!) sprang into action. By the time I'd gotten to where Marsha parks (she sent the email), Kelly has already figured out where the kitten was... in the engine of a pickup truck.
We didn't know whose truck it was, but the building's property manager was able to track the man down and he came and popped the hood. There was the kitten! Kelly grabbed it, I was ready with a copy paper box (all we had on such short notice) and we were going to put him in and this would be easy.
Except the kitten had other ideas and scrambled right out just as we were closing the lid. Darn it!
Kitty's next hiding spot was up under the engine on the wheel axle of Marsha's Mustang, which, if he has to be in a car, one of ours is the safest place I guess. (That picture on the left is the poor thing hiding under there.)
By now we were all gross. Both me and Kelly had been kneeling in puddles, peering under cars with our hair flopping in puddles and getting rained on, but that didn't matter -- this kitten needed our help!
So we talked sweetly to the poor, scared thing. (What a talker! Meow meow meow meow MEOW the whole time.) We tried to coax it out with treats and stinky wet food. We had a towel ready to grab it in case it came out again. We weren't letting it get away twice!
By now I had decided the kitten's name was Sally since she was in a Mustang!
Once again, though, Sally had other ideas. She was not going to come out. We crouched with our faces under and around that car for another hour before Kelly decided to call a fellow cat-loving friend to bring some humane traps. We figured we'd put one on each side of the car, so as soon as Sally got brave enough to come out... GOTCHA!
That was the plan, anyway.
When Kelly's friend, Debbie, came with the traps and saw where Sally was under the car, she decided she thought she could just grab her. There was no way I could have reached her where she was, but somehow she did it!
Sweet baby SAFE in the carrier!
Sally was quickly grabbed and put in a cat carrier she brought! Three hours after we started, the kitten was safe!
(We also found out that Sally was actually Sal. It's a boy!)
But now what? None of us could take him in and he couldn't stay in the parking lot... We needed an angel to step up and take care of him!
That's when I thought of Cats Exclusive, my favorite local shelter ever. I made a couple calls and sent an email begging and pleading to see if they could take Sal in. And after holding my breath for an hour or so, I got the email I was hoping for -- YES! They would help and take Sal into a foster home!
Sal didn't know it, but today was his lucky day. And what a great, fulfilling day for me! So happy I could help save this baby. Big, bad parking lots are no place for scared, dumped kitties. I will NEVER understand how anyone could just dump a kitten somewhere and leave it helpless to fend for itself.
Sal is spending the night with Debbie. This is him sleeping with her in bed! What a lucky kitty!
So Sal is going over to Cats Exclusive tomorrow to weigh in (He needs to be less than 3 pounds to be able to go to a foster. I'm sure he is!) get all his tests and start his little process of becoming the perfect pet for someone. He'll need to be neutered, have all his tests, shots and important vet care and everything any kitten needs. We think he's about 7 or 8 weeks old.
I would love to show my appreciation to Cats Exclusive by making sure all of Sal's vet care is covered. I know it's not much, and they'll still have to make sure he's fed and all of that, but I would like to at least do this as thanks.
I've set up a Chipin, and if any of you can spare a dollar or two, me and Sal would be most grateful. I WISH I could afford to pay for it all myself! I set the goal at $200, which I'm not sure is the exact amount of all he'll need. I figure if we raise any extra or if that is extra anyway, it can just go to feeding him and toys and things to help support Cats Exclusive helping him.
Let's hope all of Sal's test come back negative and he finds the best forever home at the end of all of this!
UPDATE 9:45 a.m.: Oh my goodness, you guys! I'm SO incredibly touched! Just wow. Sal's Chipin is already almost at the $200 goal I set, so I'm going to leave it open. Cats Exclusive is the best place and if we raise more than Sal needs, the money can go to helping other needy kitties they help just like him! Thank you all for being so nice!
UPDATE 12:00 p.m.: Debbie just dropped him off at Cats Exclusive! He weighed in at 2.01 pounds, so since he's under the 3-pounds limit, they can take him in for sure! YAY!
UPDATE 12:20 p.m.: Sal has just a touch of a temperature (Only 0.1 over, but they are going to retemp him in an hour before giving him his kitten booster shots.) and they gave him Revolution for fleas just in case and a dewormer. He is a little shy, so it's good he's going to a foster home for a few weeks, they said!
P.S. I'll try and keep this post update as his day goes along today, but it'll probably be easier to follow along on Cute's Facebook page. Much easier to update and I'll add pictures and stuff as I get them!
Conan does not like to be left alone. Not even for two minutes. Those are two minutes you could have spent petting him, hugging him, playing with him!
Not only that, but when you finally come back, this is what you have to deal with... You're back! You're back! Hurry, hurry, I need attention!
NOTE FROM CUTE: We're super excited to share that freekibble.com and freekibblekat.com are generously donating ALL kibble raised today to the animal victims of the Joplin, MO tornado. And ,if they get 1 million pieces, Halo, Purely for Pets, will match it!
All the kibble raised will be going directly to Joplin Humane Society, which is caring for over 800 displaced pets as of now. They need all the help they can get. And by doing this, you can help for FREE!
All you have to do is go to the sites (you can visit both!) and answer a fun trivia question. Whether you get it right or not, they still donate kibble! Go go go! And share all over. What a great thing this is their doing, huh?
Today is Paws for Japan. Please read and see how you can help...
Imagine losing everything. Your home, your things, your life as you know it. It's unthinkable. But at least you'd be able to act, to find a way to make it through...
The animal victims aren't necessarily so lucky.
Pets abandoned or lost. Stories of reunions between people in Japan with their dogs and cats are trickling through to us, and I'm clinging to each and every one. I can only imagine how incredibly, ridiciculous, unfathomably happy I would be if I had lost everything... but my cats. If you found my cats, if you brought them to me, if you cared for them -- I wouldn't care about my house or my things. My PETS are what's important.
The video above lists several organizations that could use our help. Backed by BlogPaws Be the Change for Pets, Paws for Japan is also supporting World Vets, a group who is closely tied to BlogPaws and is deploying to Japan and support their animal aid efforts.
Our goal is huge -- save them all -- but every single dollar helps. If you can spare just a few, I know it will make a difference. They need food, medical care, shelter, love. They need everything right now.
As pet lovers, let's rally together to make a difference.
I know we don't need encouraging, but as a special thank you for your donation, every single person who donates, please forward me your receipt or receipt ID from your ChipIn payment and attached a picture of your pet.
EVERY SINGLE PERSON WHO DONATES WILL GET A DAY AS THE FACE OF CUTE.
Just let me know that you did by emailing dorian (at) yourdailycute.com -- and don't forget to include your pet's picture. I'll post a calendar as soon as I can so you'll know what day yours is.
I wish I could give enough to save them all. I can't. But I can thank you for helping. Please help us spread the word.
If you are looking to donate and the ChipIn widget is not working, you can try again later or donate directly to World Vets. It all goes to help the animals either way!
Happy Two Cats Tuesday, Cuteheads! We have some super big, super huge, super humongous news for you today! It's so exciting, in fact, that Pimp and Moo wanted to wait until their day on the blog to share it with you. (Cats... hmph. Always taking over.)
Are you ready?
Really ready??
OK, here goes... Cute has teamed up with three fantastic friends again this year to put together Santa Paws Drive again! And it officially started yesterday!
In case you don't remember from last year, or weren't a friend yet, here's a little bit about Santa Paws Drive:
Cute had the idea to do something like "Toys 4 Tots" (they collect toy donations and spread them to needy children) -- but for shelter animals! I know that pets with homes are showered with gifts and love during the holidays, and I wanted shelter animals to feel the same love, too.
How to do it though? I wanted to do more than just drop off some toys at a local shelter. I wanted to make a BIG difference. And it seemed like the most obvious way to do this would be to create a "virtual toy drive" all online since Cute's friends come from all parts of the world!
But how? And where to start?
So I reached out to some Twitter and bloggie buddies -- @BabyPatches mom who runs NipandBones.com (we need toys, so we needed a shop!) and @frugaldougal's mom (who better to raise funds then the #pawpawty people themselves?!) -- and together we built a site, had events and raised a ton of toys, treats and cash donations last year.
The Animal Rescue League in Australia enjoying their Santa Paws Drive gifts last year!
This year, we wanted to make Santa Paws Drive even bigger and even better! So we brought in a friend from @TheKittenCrew who, along with her husband, are web design experts and created a whole new, easier to use site for SantaPawsDrive.com!
And now, after many, many hours of work, we're officially ready to collect donations! We made it SUPER easy (and fun!) to donate: All you do is go to our site, choose which toys, treats, bundles of both or just cash you'd like to donate and purchase them right there! Every single dollar helps.
Then, at the end of the drive in about a month, we'll add up all the gifts and cash, divide them between six shelters all around the world... and send them each a HUGE holiday gift package full of presents and a check! And we'll even pay the shipping so that every cent everyone donates goes right to the shelters.
A pretty kitty at Eleven Eleven Animal Rescue in Canada enjoying gifts from last year!
Are you ready to help shelter animals have a happy holiday and get toys and treats and presents like they deserve? Me, too!
I can't even tell you how excited I am about this year's drive. Santa Paws Drive is basically my baby. It is easily one of the things I'm most proud of doing in my life. Just thinking about all the shelter animals we can bring Christmas to is enough to keep me (and the rest of the Santa Paws Drive elves) working these long hours. It's truly a labor of love!
P.S. Please join us on Twitter for our kickoff party tonight from 7-8 p.m. ET by searching hashtag #santapawsdrive. We're going to have a fun Power Hour full of prizes, quizzes, fun and games -- with a special goal of spreading the word about Santa Paws Drive. If you can come, please RSVP here and spread the word!
P.P.S. Pimp and Moo will be back next Tuesday. They hope you don't mind that I took over their day to share this exciting news! Let's make Santa Paws Drive awesome for our furry shelter friends!
I've been waiting for today for almost a month now, Cuteheads. Really and truly looking forward to it.
Today is the day when tons of pet blogs are working together and dedicating their posts to making a difference in animals' lives, to being the change they want to see in the world.
"Be the Change" was born at BlogPaws last weekend, and I hope it grows big and strong! At a session led by myself, Lynn Haigh (@frugaldougal's mom) and Dr. V or pawcurious.com and moderated by Jane Harrell of Petfinder, we put everyone in attendance's name in a basket. We drew one, and that person got to choose the rescue that everyone would work to help today. The winner chose Pets Without Parents, and I can't think of a more deserving cause.
So How Will CUTE be the Change? I thought for a while what I would do for my post. I didn't want to just post the fundraising widget and beg and plead for money. I wanted to actually do something. Something to be a better person and do more for a cause I so strongly believe in.
Those of you who know me and the Cute know I feed a ton of parking lot kitties. There are 13 of them! The Meows are the two that hang out by my car in the office parking lot, but there are also three other bunches of cats who I know by name, personality and favorite food. Little Meow, Daddy Meow, Westin, Orange Guy, Bully, Petunia, Sweet Pea, Daisy, Cry Baby... They are all a part of my life, and I look forward to serving breakfast, lunch and dinner with the cat food that the trunk of my car is always stocked with.
But I don't even look at that as something I'm doing above and beyond -- it's something that has just become so much a part of my life that I even visit the office parking lot kitties on the weekends. And so I need to do something more to be the change I want to see...
And so I decided I'm going to finally do something I've always wanted to and talked about doing. I'm going to take some of my free time and volunteer and my favorite local animal shelter. I'm going to give them some of my free time (it's not much I have, but what better way to use it, right?), and do whatever they need.
If they need poop scooped, bring me the scooper!
If they need mouths fed, cages cleaned, kitties brushed or floors swept, I'm there!
If the cats need a little extra love (and we all know they do), well then, I'll give them every little bit of love I have to give. Because they deserve it. Because it's not their fault they don't have forever homes. Because they should be surrounded by people who care for them, and show them just how special they are.
So, for every $100 we raise for Pets Without Parents in our "Be the Change" challenge, I'm going to donate a weekend day to the special kitties at Cats Exclusive in Margate, Florida. They don't know it yet... but I have a feeling they're going to be seeing a lot of Cute! :)
And now this is where you all come in: Help me help them! We'll be helping two rescue shelters at once! Pets Without Parents will get the much-needed donations and Cats Exclusive will get some much-needed volunteer time from me. (I'll go anyway, you know, but this just makes it fun...)
Any little amount you can spare to donate to Pets Without Parents would mean a lot. Let's Be the Change together -- and let's be the biggest change we can be for these animals!
And if you can't donate, please help us spread the word! The more people who do, the better! Never underestimate what a big difference even the smallest gestures can make.
Now go, go, go! Let's make Be the Change the talk of the Web today! (List of blogs participating below the video!)
P.S. If you haven't seen the amazingly inspiring and touching video from @frugaldougal about what a difference just a few caring people can make, please don't miss it!
Where were these guys when it was time to decorate my place? I love it!
Also, just want to take a quick second to say THANK YOU to all of you who donated to and supported Santa Paws Drive. We met (and exceeded!) our goal! We have already shipped out all the toys and treats to the shelter animals -- pictures to come, we hope... we asked for some! -- and will be sending the cash donations shortly.
Santa Paws Drive was the huge success that it was because of all of our great friends and furriends. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. This has been one of the greatest projects I've ever, ever been a part of. And now on to the festivities...
As one of the team members behind Santa Paws Drive,Your Daily Cute is donating 5 cents for every person who follows@SantaPawsDriveon Twitter-- up to 4,000 followers!
Santa Paws Drive's mission is to bring holiday cheer and presents to shelter animals who are often overlooked during the holidays. Pets who are lucky enough to have forever homes are showered with gifts and love, while our furry friends in shelters miss out...
Through Santa Paws Drive, six shelters worldwide will get great holiday care packages full of toys and treats, plus an additional cash donation for each! Our goal is to put some big smiles on the faces of as many shelter cats and dogs as we can!
See the counter widget on the Cute's sidebar to see how much we've raised so far!
How can you help? It's easy to donate toys or money! Simply visit http://www.santapawsdrive.com and click either "Cash" or "Gifts." Simply choose the toys, treats or dollar amount you'd like to give!
There are no shipping charges for any of the items purchased for Santa Paws Drive!
