advoCATS News

Good "Mews" For Hawaii's Cats

Winter 2007

It’s all about Love

Heart Warming Stories from advoCATS Volunteers

And the Cats They Rescued and Love

advoCATS Feeder and Trapper Gen Griffin: Last October I was putting out a couple of traps at one of my colonies when I noticed an orange cat walking around. I had never seen him before and don't have any orange cats at that colony. Sure enough, I caught him. He was an unneutered male and wearing a flea collar who probably got dumped that day. I had him neutered and named him Leon. He was so sweet that I couldn't put him back out with the colony even though I know a lot of my colonies contain dumped cats. I kept Leon in a big dog crate while I tried to find a home for him. I listed him on the advoCATS' website, put flyers at the vet clinics, sent photos to anyone I knew who loved cats and ran an ad in the newspaper. As time passed I became more and more attached to Leon. He never lost his lovable personality through the days of confinement. I visited him twice a day and let him out to play in the kennel while I was in there. I was also medicating a couple of cats from my other colonies for one reason or another and Leon became my assistant. He would follow me around and looked into their crates in a concerned way. The happy ending to this cat love story is that Leon did not become a member of one of my downtown colonies or get a new home because he still lives with me as a member of our menagerie. I should have realized from the beginning that he and I had a special connection.

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advoCATS Treasurer Roberta Agre: The Humane Society called advoCATS to pick up an ear tipped "advoCAT". By the time I got there, everyone at the Humane Society was madly in love with “Emily Post" (named so because she was trapped at the Post Office). She turned out to be from a feral cat colony at the Buns in the Sun restaurant. She had been out there for a year and a half and had five kittens before an advoCATS volunteer finally managed to trap and spay her. While I was trying to find out where she belonged or find a new home for her we realized that she is the most loving, affectionate and sweet cat who loves to be with us in the house and rarely goes outside. It was love at first sight for my husband and myself so we decided to keep her, even though our other cat was not as thrilled as we are.

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advoCATS Foster Mom, Jan Abbott: Billy Boy started out in a feral cat colony where his feeder noticed his infected eyes and poor health condition. I have had my share of sickly kittens so I knew that at eleven ounces with health problems his mere survival was questionable. He was scrawny, sickly and infested with fleas, but the thing that one noticed first about him was his bulging eyes. His immediate needs were antibiotics, fluids, and nourishment. It turned out he had glaucoma. and there was no chance that his vision would improve. The best thing to do was to remove his eyes and relieve him of the pain. After the surgery he’s doing remarkably well as limited sight was all he had known. He’s the first one to the food bowl at mealtime and has made it into the litter box every time. It’s a marvel to see how he adapts and accepts his situation. He’s an adventurous climber and I especially admire his loving nature. It would be almost impossible to get him adopted so I decided to keep him. Billy Boy is a lesson to us all; I have lost the gift of sight but it’s turned out all right; I’ve got a home and I’m a cat like no other.

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advoCATS Supporter Yvette McClain: I first met Orangey when I found him sitting on my picnic table, eating our dog’s food. He has moved with me eight times from California to Hawaii and is 14 years old now. He’s been my rock; supportive, nurturing and caring. There's calmness about him and whenever I need him, he's there. During several serious illnesses, Orangey never left my side. Once I was hospitalized for a week and Orangey stayed out in the snow, refusing to come in until I came home. Over the years new kitties came into our lives, and each time Orangey welcomes them with a good cleaning and love. He is a true blessing to me and my family; when each of my daughters were babies, Orangey would lay in the crib with them. When it comes to meal time, he always lets everyone eat first. I love him with all of my heart and soul and I know he feels the same.

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Mark Twain Loved His Cats Too! At Mark twains home in Connecticut he made sure that families of cats and kittens were always on hand. It was a fondness he inherited from his mother. His favorite cat was a gray mother named Tammany. From boyhood to old age he loved having cats around, especially kittens, whose curiosity and playfulness were a constant source of joy to him. He would write that he was an expert in cats: “Of all God’s creatures there is only one that cannot be made a slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” His daughter, Susy Clemens wrote of him: “The difference between papa and mama is that mama loves morals and papa loves cats.” From his book "Roughing It" (1872).

Mahalo! Mahalo!, Mahalo!

Our treasurer’s report for 2006 showed that we collected $51,077. from donations and fundraisers. Our expenses were $43,760. to spay and neuter 922 cats. The 2006 totals doubled what we accomplished in 2005 and more so in all our previous years since 1999. This was the first year we did not have to stop our spay and neuter program due to lack of funds. Many thanks to all our supporters; without you this would not have been possible. Our Kitties love you!

A special Mahalo to Carolyn Witcher at Witcher Engineering for printing our brochures and newsletters.

Good News From Hawaii Island Humane Society

It seems to volunteers of advoCATS that there’s reason to celebrate; the number of homeless and abandoned cats being brought into the Hawaii Island Humane Society is dropping! We are sure this is the direct result of our TNR (Trap- Neuter–Release) program. Many of our feeders are also seeing a decrease in the number of cats and kittens in their colonies which is due to more spay and neuters being done by advoCATS volunteers than ever before.

We have also been given exciting news that Hawaii Island Humane Society is going to have a veterinarian working for them who may also do some of our spay and neuters. This is an answer to our prayers, as we need more veterinarian appointments to do the work that needs to be done.

AdvoCATS Welcomes New Volunteers

Mahalo to all our new volunteers, the kitties Love you. Sonia Villalba who became a feeder and trapper at one of our beaches, William Furumoto who started feeding and trapping at the Old Airport, and Matraya Homans, a West Hawaii Exploratory high school student, for becoming a new "foster mom". She is doing this for her love of kitties and as part of her community service "Helping Hands" school program. Matraya currently has 3 orange kittens just about ready for adoption!

Do You Love Cats?

If you can spare a few hours a week you could really make a difference. We could use help with feeding, trapping, taking cats to veterinary appointments, fostering kittens, or answering our advoCATS phone. The rewards are infinite and the Kitties will thank you. Call us at 327-3724 or email advocatshawaii@aol.com

Fat Boys; Lambert and Cougar

Poki from Kauai

Fuzzy, Strawberry, Mama, Blackie and the other 2 cats from the Old Airport.

Fundraising News

Our November 25th and 26th Garage Sale made a whopping $1,685.00 to help our spay and neuter program. A huge Mahalo to our Kitty Helpers: Katherine Florer, Laurel Gregory, Sharain Herrick, Nancy Hitzemann, Dustin Jones, Karen Klein, Judy Kocon, Ferol Kolons, Mike May, Pica Mertvago, Linda Welker, Margie Wolfe and Sonia Villalba. Another Mahalo to Torun and David Almer and Lori Paddock for the use of their tables, Linda Welker for the water and Kathy Villander for the wonderful food she provided to helpers and for allowing us to have sale at her great location in Kailua.

Another fundraiser was the Upcountry Pet Grand Opening on Lunapule Road on December 3rd which made $370.00 that included a silent auction. Mahalo to our helpers: Roberta Agre, Judy Kocon, and Carolyn Eberhard. Mahalo to Donna Russo and Paulette Thomas for their continued support and to LAVA radio for allowing us time to talk about advoCATS.

Local Realtor Wants to Help advoCATS

From Waikoloa on the Big Island; Tom Mulkerin, a realtor with Century 21, will donate a minimum of $1,000 to advoCATS for any home closings that result from an advoCATS referral. A referral would be anyone who comes to Tom and either buys a house here, or asks him to list their house for sale and tells them they heard of him via advoCATS. If someone on the mainland decides to buy a home on the Big Island and asks Tom to help them find one and it closes, then the donation will go to advoCATS. So, whether he sells someone's house here or helps someone buy a house advoCATS can benefit from that. Tom can be reached at 808-217-0953 or TomBigIsland@aol.com

Notes from the advoCATS Sanctuary

We have successfully relocated 20 cats from all over the island with more to come soon. In October we brought the first group of cats to the sanctuary and by the end of 2006 we had released four different colonies of cats. It’s interesting to see how the cats have become one colony and get along quite well. There are all types of cats of various ages and all are spayed and neutered. There are 4 different feeding stations with high protein food and fresh water. With food available 24/7 the cats have all put on weight and even the skinniest of them is starting to look plump. Since the sanctuary is peaceful and quiet even the most timid cats have become calmer and unafraid to venture out into the more open areas where the feeding stations are set up. Shelters were constructed from 5 gallon buckets and packed with straw inside and out. The cats have definitely used all of them from the crushed look of the hay inside. They are all thriving and seem very well adjusted to their new life and we can say with honesty it has been a wonderful success for advoCATS and the kitties.

advoCATS Wins 1st Place at Mauna Lani Christmas Tree Fundraiser

It was a Mele Kalikimaka indeed for our island kitties after winning first place in the annual Mauna Lani Charity trees program. Volunteers gathered early on tree setup day to procure our "lucky" spot, between the hotel entrance, front desk and the elevators. Branch by branch, lights, garlands and ornaments, topped by our "sassy lady", (a kitty in feathered hat and elegant dress) garnered attention from children dragging their parents over to admire the "kitty cat tree!" A collage highlighting the building of the sanctuary graced the display, along with brochures and our mission statement. The check for $3,000. will go a long way towards boosting our spay and neuter fund. Most of all our wholehearted thanks on behalf of advoCATS to Mauna Lani for hosting this wonderful event, all of the volunteers, financial supporters and the artists who have donated their beautiful ornaments which gave our tree the winning look! Please keep this annual entry in mind for next year, as there may be potential for a second tree contest at the new International Market place in Kona and more ornaments will be needed. Our island kitties thank you from the bottom of their hearts.

YOU CAN HELP HAWAII’S CATS

$120. donation: the cost to spay 2 female cats.

$80. donation: the cost to neuter 2 male cats.

$60. donation: the cost to spay 1 female cat.

$40. donation: the cost to neuter 1 male cat.

Please make checks payable to: advoCATS, Inc.

Mail to:

advoCATS, Inc. P.O. Box 4415 Kailua Kona Hawaii 96745 (808) 327-3724

advoCATS, Inc. is a 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization. Donations are tax deductible.

Or you may print it up from our Web Page: Give a Donation or Gift

As of January 2007 we have spayed or neutered

3982

Mahalo To All Our Veterinarians and Staff!

Read our newsletter archives:

Spring 2010 / Winter 2010

Autumn 2009 / Summer 2009 / Spring 2009 / Winter 2009

Autumn 2008 / Summer 2008 / Spring 2008 / Winter 2008

Autumn-2007 / Summer-2007  /  Spring 2007  / Winter 2007

Autumn 2006 /  Summer 2006 / Spring 2006