A Day in the Life...: 2008

'Kisses' asks you to vote for Nine Lives... especially during Thanksgiving Week!

**purrrrrrrrr**
My name is Kisses, and I would be in kitty heaven if not for Dr. Thompson and the Nine Lives Foundation. I owe my life to them!

My tail was badly injured and the shelter I was in planned to put me to sleep. But Dr. Thompson rescued me, amputated my tail, and gave me all the medical care and support that I needed to get better. And now I have been adopted and am going have a new home with people to love me! **purrrrrrrrr**

There are so many other kitties like me that need help, and it costs a lot of money to rescue and rehabilitate all of us. But YOU CAN HELP - and it won't cost you anything!

The Shelter Challenge is an online voting contest giving away money to the rescue shelters that get the most votes from people like you!

Here's what you need to do… just go here:

http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3

--Type in "Nine Lives", select "California", and then click "Search"

--When the page reloads, you then click the "VOTE"

--It will then ask you to Confirm your vote by identifying an animal photo. Just type in what it is (in all lower case letters) click the button and your vote will be confirmed!!

*KEEP VOTING DAILY* on each of your internet browsers - especially during the week of Thanksgiving because we think we could win the weekly prize if we all focus there… then keep on voting until the last day, which is December 14th!

Nine Lives is currently ranked #11 in the national votes and we are up to #2 in the state of California!

Only *YOUR VOTES* can push us to the top to win the money which can save the lives of other kittens like me, give us the care we need, and help us to find 'forever homes' with loving families.

Remember that Kisses says: "PLEASE DON'T FORGET TO VOTE!"
**purrrrrrrrr**

Just one click a day can help our kitties!

Dear Friends of Nine Lives,
Thank you so much for your continued voting support for the Nine Lives Foundation in the online shelter challenge to win up to $25k in grant money!
To let you know how spectacularly we got off the mark: we started out ranked only #1575 - but in just five days we moved up to #46 nationwide and #6 in California!
BUT we need to keep voting!! Over the weekend we dropped two spots and we've got to push ourselves to keep up the daily voting for the next 60 days (voting ends December 14th). We need EVERY VOTE... so don't forget us and please ask family, friends, coworkers, email buddies, and everyone you know to add their support. You will be helping to save the lives of many needy cats & kittens and giving them a second chance for a happy & healthy life in a loving home.
Here’s where you go to vote: http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3
--Just type in ‘Nine Lives Foundation’, select California, and then click "search" --When the page reloads, you then click the "VOTE"--It will then ask you to confirm your vote by identifying an animal photo. Just type in what it is (in all lower case letters) , click the button and your vote will be confirmed!!
Simple, easy, and fast... takes only seconds!
*KEEP VOTING DAILY* with each of your separate email addresses - you can vote on each internet service provider on your computer... just make sure you do it every day til December 14th!
It takes only a few seconds to vote: Just make it a habit to cast your votes when you check your email each day... and you'll never forget! Every vote matters... every day!
The cats & kittens of Nine Lives thank you for your support!

Success Story - Bailey a.k.a Tabitha

Dear Dr Thompson & staff:

I just wanted to report that Bailey a.k.a Tabitha is thriving. She is such a joy to be around. I can’t even tell you how much she saved Larry & I from our grief of loosing our kitty at 17 years old. Bailey just loves life and supervised visits on the patio. Thanks to all of you for giving us our Bailey baby. It has only been two years but we feel she has been in our hearts forever. Thank you Dr. Thompson for telling me the benefits of adopting a 8 mo.old kitty versus a kitten. The decision was purfect for us.

Help NINE LIVES FOUNDATION Win $25,000!

All we have to do to get big grant $$$$$ for Dr. Thompson and the Nine Lives Foundation is to vote once daily on this specific website. All the details are below. I’ve included the direct link to the voting page, and you can send an email message to anyone you like to ask them to vote and KEEP VOTING DAILY with each of your separate email addresses!
Update: Nine Lives Is ranked only #1575 on the list of shelters. We need to move it up-up-UP the list! Please help by voting daily and getting all your family members and friends to join in! Send out weekly reminders, because this voting period runs daily until December 14th. Help out the needy cats & kittens of Northern California!
Here’s where you go to vote: just type in ‘Nine Lives Foundation’ and 'search' - then click the VOTE button when it comes up:http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/shelterchallenge.faces?siteId=3
PLEASE VOTE EVERY DAY! Let's get NLF to the top of the rankings!
When you vote for Nine Lives on the website, it then asks you to 'confirm your vote' by identifying a photo of an animal (cat, dog, lion, etc.).
Just type in the answer in all lower case and click. It will then say it has confirmed your vote.

[If your friends and loved ones want to know more about what Nine Lives does and just how successful it is, I have copied that information at the bottom of this email so they can see worthwhile this cat rescue & hospital is!]

August, success story!

Hello Everyone!
We don't have enough words to describe how much we are enjoying August - he has every good quality we had hoped for and many more. We wanted to share a few images with you. We think you'll agree that August seems as happy as we are (and after only three days)!

Thanks for everything - we already can't imagine our home without him.

-Jennifer and Doug

Share your story and help NLF to win cash & prizes!

Just a note to let you know about a great opportunity to make a difference for homeless pets. All you have to do is share your favorite pet adoption story in the Hill’s Second Chance for Love Contest. Your story could inspire more adoptions and help all of us reach this year’s goal of saving 1 million pets. Plus, you could win up to $10,000 in prizes for our shelter! Enter the Second Chance Contest now at this website: www.HillsPet.com/SecondChance

Meet Giget!

Gidget was rescued in Kern County from a kill shelter. She and her three kittens were brought back to the Nine Lives Foundation in Redwood City. She nursed her kittens, and when they were weaned, she began to foster four abandoned kittens when they were only 5-days old. She has since finished weaning her foster kittens and is ready to find her forever home.

Gidget is a cow cat (meaning she has Holstein cow-like black spots on her white coat), and has already been spayed. She is sweet, pretty, graceful, gentle, and weighs 9 pounds. She is mellow, loves to be picked up, and melts in your arms when you carry her. She enjoys talking and will welcome you home the moment you walk through the door. She will make a great companion for your single cat of any age.

Gidget’s personality is unique. She’s docile enough to be around children and won’t run away when they approach to pet her; she doesn’t use her claws when playing with people (never scratches people—she’s amazingly careful about not using her claws!); and she doesn’t scratch the furniture, only her scratching post. She won’t hide when guests arrive; instead she will find a spot in the room where everyone has gathered and quietly observe the conversation. When you lift her to your lap, she won’t sit for long, but will be happy sitting above you on your easy chair so she can be near you. Gidget would do well as an indoor/outdoor cat, with most of her time spent indoors. She loves exploring closely around the home, won’t dart away when approached, and will meow at the door when ready to come in for a nap or human attention. She has been “walked” daily around her foster owner’s condo complex; she even runs when the pace is picked up. Having a second cat in the home will give Gidget the playful companion she needs at 4:30 AM when she happily talks and runs around the play area with her favorite toy.

Thor a.k.a Phoenix a.k.a "the cat who wouldn't die"

Thor aka Phoenix or "the cat who wouldn't die" is a handsome adult boy who came to us from the Los Banos Animal Shelter on August 1st. Thor's time had run out in the Los Banos Shelter. No rescues had stepped forward and he had been sent to the euthanasia room where he was to be humanely PTS. Following standard procedures Thor was given an injection of Ketamine to sedate him prior to his Euthanasia. After several minutes it became clear that the Ketamine had no apparent effect. Two more doses of Ketamine later, after they'd given him enough to be a lethal dosage of Ketamine, Thor spiked a fever of 107°F but he didn't die, nor did he become even slightly sedated. At this point the shelter staff, at a loss as to how to put him to sleep humanely, sent him to the rescue coordinator to find an alternate solution for getting him out of the shelter.

That's when Dr. Thompson was called and the Nine Live Foundation rescued Thor. Our staff and volunteers here at the Nine Lives Foundation have fallen irrevocably in love with this sweet boy, but none of us can seem to agree on the right name for him. Is he like the Phoenix who rose from the ashes or is he like the mighty Thor, immortal? We suggest that you adopt him and come up with a perfect name of your very own.

Written by: LH

Teddy says, vote Dr. T for Hero of the Year!

I have just nominated Dr. T for Hero of the Year on Animal Planet. I was surfing the Internet... OK, I'm lying... Mom was surfing and decided to nominate Dr. T.

However, my Mom is a smart one and I agree completely with her! I chose her after all since she is a smart one. I wouldn't choose no dummy! :) We gave a heartfelt message as well and we really, really hope Dr. T wins so she can continue to help my friends. I surfed...ok, mom did...and we saw that some of my friends are adopted too! Go TRISH and NEMO!!!! The rest of you are going to get new homes really, really soon, I just know it! Hang in there at Nine Lives where they are so good to you!

My mom and I spent all day today hanging out and she told me how special I am. I know that but I humor her and let her think she's telling me something I don't already know. I let her "zoom groom" me too and rub my belly. Everyone at Nine Lives knows exactly how much I like my belly rubbed! I'm rolling over, side to side, much easier now since I've shed the "shelter"weight and am eating a fine diet. I'm so cool that I don't even eat table food. Can you believe that? I don't even eat tuna or turkey or chicken. Dry food, thank you very much, is just fine by me!
So, Dr. T, thank you so much for saving me from the Martinez Shelter where my first "family" dumped me, claiming they couldn't keep me and named me a HORRIBLE name! (Who would name a kitty after a cop car? Duh.) Also, thank you for finding me a really great family. I am the happiest cat ever with a GREAT name! Yeah! Although I'm stubborn and ignore my name. I prefer when Mom calls me Kit Kat and Daddy doesn't like that. Oh well. Poor Daddy.
I'm also a frugal cat. When mom mentioned buying a "kitty condo" I said, "No way! I have the whole condo here for my kitty condo. Don't go spending the money on a smaller one for me!" That's just the kind of guy I am. Mom will send you more pictures of me loving my new digs.
We all love you! Mommy, Daddy & Me!
Go, Dr. T! Win Hero of the Year! YYYYEEEAAAHHHH!
Love,
Teddy

Cinnamon a Success Story

Dear Monica and all of the Nine Lives Staff,

We want to give you an update on the newest member to our family! We adopted one year old "Cinnamon" (we renamed her "Suki" because my children could not pronounce "Cinnamon") during that heat wave in June. She has been a wonderful addition to our home. She brings spunk and energy. She is also affectionate and patient with the children.

We thank you so much for taking care of Suki and all of the other cats that are waiting for permanent homes. We are so touched by your dedication and the sacrifices you have made.

Sincerely,
The Thomas Family (Micah and Kirsten, Abbie age 6, Andrew age 4, and Luke age 1)

Support Dr. Thompson for Animal Hero of the Year!

Dr. Monica Thompson, the founder of the Nine Lives Foundation and resident veterinarian, has been nominated for the Animal Planet Hero Awards! These awards, offered by the Animal Planet Channel, honor individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary service in time, effort and results for a cause that contributes to the welfare of animals. And there’s no doubt that our Dr. T deserves to be on that list! The grand prize winner will receive a $10,000 grant for their designated program and the Cat Hero of the Year wins $5,000. The biggest prize, of course, would be the publicity that the shelter could receive which would hopefully increase donations and adoptions. Dr. T is currently in the running to become one of the ten finalists. If she makes the cut, her nomination entry will be posted on the Animal Planet website for the first phase: the People’s Vote. We will need everyone - and their cat! - to vote for her to win!

Go to the Nine Lives website on the date of September 29th to see if she has been named a finalist and needs your vote. We will also place a sign on the front desk at the shelter. The People's Vote will run from Sept. 29th through October 13th. And if Dr. Thompson does become a finalist, please spread the word so we can get as many votes for her as possible... the People’s Vote will count for 25% of the total judging criteria.

To give you an idea of how much Dr. Thompson & the Nine Lives Foundation accomplish in our community, here are a few amazing statistics:

Dr. T established the Nine Lives Foundation in 2004 and since then the shelter has found homes for over 2,000 cats! Each month, approximately 50 cats & kittens find loving homes through Nine Lives.
60% of the cats Nine Lives takes in have injuries or severe medical issues. Most animal shelters will reject these needy cats and not spend the time & money necessary to rehabilitate then, choosing instead to send them to ‘death row’ even though they would make good pets.
Dr. T performs 1000+ spay/neuter surgeries a year, and also provides medical services to other local cat rescue organizations. She participates in the Trap-Neuter-Release program to help reduce the number of feral cats in our community.
It costs $40,000+ a month to run the Nine Lives Foundation, with medical costs, food, utilities, rent, salaries, etc. Approximately 60% of the financial support comes from Dr. T’s private veterinary practice, 20% comes from adoption fees, and 10% from donations. But more is always needed!

So watch the Nine Lives website and the shelter’s front desk for more information regarding Dr. T’s nomination for Animal Hero of the Year - we will keep you posted! http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/
Please Note: The Nine Lives shelter building currently has no insulation for winter warmth or ventilation/air conditioning to battle the sweltering summer temperatures. The recent heatwaves have been devasting and make it desperately uncomfortable for the cats and for the staff to work.
If you would like to donate toward this extreme need, or you know of a heating/cooling company that would consider doing the work as a tax write-off or for a reduced fee... please contact Nine Lives at http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/ or 650-368-1365.

-Shannon Walker

Natalie at home

Hello everyone who helped me at Nine Lives!
I was originally brought to the shelter in Jan-08 with lice that was itching me to insanity! I was really scared of people and felt so itchy 24/7 that I think that I might have accidentally taken that out on the nice people who were just trying to help me – I’m sorry about that! They were all so understanding though, and they took really good care of me. Dr. Thompson shaved me naked and all of the bugs were gone overnight! I was kept at the shelter and some volunteers pet me and eventually coaxed me out of my little tent that I would hide in all the time. One of the volunteers called me “naked little kitty” which eventually was changed to “Natalie” when they wanted to name me. I’m still somewhat naked, but my fur coat is starting to come back and my new mom tells me that it’s so soft, like baby fuss.
Eventually, one of the volunteers adopted me and brought me home 6 weeks ago. I live in her kitchen and there are 2 other cats who live in the rest of the apartment, but they don’t seem to mind me being in their kitchen (according to my new mom, they didn’t use the kitchen, anyway). We can hear each other moving around in the different rooms and see each other through the screen, but we haven’t actually met each other yet. One of my new sisters started letting me walk around the rest of the apartment today (my other new sister was outside, so she didn’t know:).
I have lot s of toys here and the staff of Nine Lives even let me bring my teddy-bear with me for the first week from the shelter to my new home…but I don’t feel the need for this “security” item anymore, so my new mom returned it to Nine Lives. My new mom is really nice and I just love it when she pets me, (she says that I’m a little attention piggy, but I don’t really understand that since I’m a kitty, not a piggy). She doesn’t seem to mind it when I walk on her legs or feet so I started sprawling across her lap to get more rubdowns.
She seems to like it when I play with her, so I’ve decided to humor her. Besides, it’s worth it, with all the kisses that she gives to me afterwards, so I let her wave a string in front of me that I pretend to try to grab. Sometimes I actually do grab it with my fingernails or teeth and pull out of her hand, just to keep her entertained. I was going to send you all pictures of my new home, but apparently, mom’s camera is broken from one of her other furry roommates, so I can’t use it right now. She told me that she’ll get her camera fixed soon, so I’ll send you pictures of all of us then. In the meantime, her computer’s still working so I wanted to let you know that I’ve unpacked and I have decided to stay here. She even bought me a necklace…it’s pink with white polka-dots and it even has a little gold heart with my name and phone number on it!
Thank you again for all your help and I’m glad that I’m not living on the streets anymore. She opens the window for me, and the fresh air smells good, but I have it TOO easy here to want to leave :)
Best regards always,
Natalie
(also known as “naked little kitty”)

April & May (to date) update

It's been a while since I've posted an update on how things are going at Nine Lives. It's been a very busy couple of months. April saw the reopening of the Dr. Thompson's Feline Well-Care Clinic with the proceeds going to support the cats and kittens of the Nine Lives Foundation.

April was busy, busy, busy as we adopted out 35 cats and kittens, kind of a small number given our more recent totals, but pretty good. The real work came as kitten season hit us hard. The Kern County Animal Shelter in Bakersfield was (and still is) getting in 4 to 5 moms with litters in daily and numerous pregnant cats. We pulled 16 nursing mothers from them alone during the month of April, I know, that sounds like a huge number but it would break your heart to hear how many beautiful cats and litters of kittens we were unable to stop from being PTS. We did all we could though and to our astonishment, we rescued an astounding 131 cats, 34 adult and 97 kittens, during the month of April (most of the kittens have been adopted or are still out in foster care).

We started the month of May with a huge Adopt-a-Thon, weekend long event that drew in a record number of people and found homes for 37 cats and kittens. We're so thrilled that we were able to get the help of so many wonderful volunteers to help us with this event! It is only because of their help that so many kitties find their forever homes.

The great news is that the May adoptions keep on coming! So far this month we've found homes for 48 cats and kittens with more each day!

Written by: LH

An update on cat formerly known as Got Milk

Can there be a success story in 1 night? Oh, yes I suppose there can if it's Teddy the Bear.
30 minutes with his new family in the "safe" room and he was ready to explore more of the condo. He's done a thorough job!

As I predicted, our ample windows are his favorite hang out and he loves a chair in the living room. He's king of the condo already and as soon as we allow him to be in the entire condo he'll officially become the emperor of the condo! :)

He's such a sweet guy. He's given his belly to mommy and daddy for rubs already. Actually he allowed belly rubs within the first 30 minutes at home.He's so precious flat out on his back with his head thrown back! And he has lots of belly to rub, as you know! I knew he was our cat the very first time I saw him. I thank goodness I put him on hold immediately! He fits in perfectly!

I felt so sad watching all of the volunteers and Dr. T hug him good-bye today. Almost guilty to take him. However, we're so fortunate to have gained this fine soul into our family! We selfishly accept him as one of our family. Thanks so much!

Cordially,
Dawn & Rich

Ginger and Pesto, a success story

Hi Dr. Thompson and the great staff,

I just wanted to write and let you know that Ginger and Pesto are both doing well in their new home.

You wouldn’t recognize them from the shy, scared little kittens they were when they were in the shelter, they have really relaxed and have become really affectionate and outgoing. They now rush over from wherever they are in the apartment when I come home from work and won’t stop meowing and chirping till they get lots of attention and tummy rubs.

They even come and fall asleep on me when watching tv, such a big change from avoiding people at all costs when I first picked them up. I’m so glad I came to the open house and gave these two little angels a chance.

Thanks!

Justin

A letter from the kitties formerly known as Sonny & Chet

Dear Nine Lives Foundation,
We are sorry we have not written sooner but my brother and I have been very busy making ourselves at home with our new people Ron and Mel. We want to thank you for taking very good care of us while we were waiting for them to come and adopt us last July. You knew us as Sonny and Chet, but Ron and Mel call is Ix (icks) and Pu (poo) after the Mayan Gods Ixbalanque and Hunahpu.

Since moving to Pacifica we have been exploring the house, garage, backyard, neighbor's yards and the hillside behind the house. We have made several new friends, but Ron and Mel don't much like it when we bring our friend-mouse or friend-bird into the house to play with us.. they really didn't like the gopher.

We have our own perch where we can nap in front of the window when we are not sleeping on the bunkbeds in the guest room or with our people. Having our own door to the backyard is great since we can go outside and play all day when Ron and Mel are gone. They don't let us go out late at night ever since Ix got in a scuffle with the "furry thing that bites" and he had to go to the doctor... so now we have a curfew at dark. That's ok, we also love sitting on the couch with Ron and Mel on our blue blanket. It is very snugly and so are they.

We have to go, Ron doesn't like it when we play on the computer especially when he is trying to use it at the same time. We did want you to know we are happy and healthy and Pu has become quite the fluff ball since you last saw us. Thank you again for giving us a place to stay until Ron and Mel could come and get us.

Attached are some before and after photos - look how much fluffier Pu got!

Drying My Tears

I’ll never forget a conversation I had over the phone one day at work – “It’s cancer.”

As the veterinarian gave me the test results, I don’t remember anything except for one repeating thought – NO! PLEASE NO! But no matter how much my brain was screaming, it was true…my sweet little girl kitty, only 12 years old, was diagnosed with cancer. The doctor said more, but I didn’t hear the words.

I remember hanging up the phone and going to the restroom for a good cry. After work, I went home to hug her and kiss her…and cry some more. Tears for her, because I didn’t want her to go through the painful decline and death that’s associated with cancer. Tears for her twin sister who would miss her. And some selfish tears because I would also miss her when she was gone. Many, many tears.

I remember crying in the doctor’s office when I asked the most difficult question I would ever ask in my entire life…“What’s her prognosis if she doesn’t have the cancer medication?” The pain and side-effects of the cancer taking over her little body sounded so much worse than the treatment, so I decided on the treatment.

Then, double whammy – her twin sister was diagnosed with diabetes just a short three months later.

My sweet little girls have four paws, whiskers and sharp pointy teeth. They both retract their nails when mommy holds them and they growl, hiss and one of them even screams when mommy’s not the one holding her at the vet. For this reason, they have their entire vet’s office scared of them…they have all the techs SO fooled (One of my kitties – just to look at her face, I swear she’s laughing the whole way home after each visit.) But for mommy, they are such marshmallows, so I hold them for blood draws, shots and cysto's.
During this past year, I learned how to give pills (sometimes four pills in one sitting), B-Vitamin shots, insulin shots and test for glucose levels (you test a cat by pricking their ear, in case you were wondering). I had to change their food, watch their water intake and monitor their meds. (Although, during all of this time, I still didn’t learn the ‘cat-neck hold’ as I call it. After all, I’m mommy…I don’t need to hold them, they just stay for me until their medications are done.)

Eventually, my little diabetic patient went into remission (actually, twice so far) and my cancer patient’s weight is up, she’s feeling good and she’s a happy kitty lazing on the couch. I spent so many months taking care of my little girls, now I need to take better care of myself and my soul.

So, this past Thanksgiving, inspired by my father who volunteered at a soup kitchen for several years, I decided that’s what I’d do with my holiday time off from work. Now…what kind of volunteer work? Well, some people have told me that I’m the only one their felines would let pet, so I had an idea to see if there was an animal shelter around who needed some help. After all, I’ve had my cats for 13 years now and I feel that I understand cats well. Also, they seem to like me. After everything that my vet’s done for my kitties this past year, I wanted to do something to give back or pay forward on an animal level. I vaguely remembered someone telling me about a cat-only shelter, so I hopped online and did a search.

Then I found it…the place I’d quickly get hooked on… http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/ I called them and asked if they needed volunteers. A cheerful and very thankful woman told me that they always need volunteers to help with a multitude of things…cleaning cages, swabbing the deck, doing dishes, donating supplies, or even just ‘holding’ some of the babies (to the doctors, it’s called socializing…to me, it’s called cuddling.) I made an appointment to go in for a visit before volunteering, so I’d have a general idea of what to expect.

I remember my first volunteer day, the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I spent the day moving recuperated cats from the ICU cages to the front for adoption day and moving other cats from their cages to the visiting room for prospective parents to meet. Talk about my favorite job ever…actually this wasn’t a job – I just spent the day holding and cuddling cute little felines – one of my favorite pastimes.

Then, we took a field-trip to rescue some cats and kittens from the breakwater in Moss Beach, California before the winter high-tide came in (we’ve rescued and found homes for 5 of them so far). Later that night, when I got home, I hugged and kissed my own kitties (who’d been sleeping all day, no doubt, and didn’t even realize that I’d been gone).

Since that first day, I now clean cages, dishes, ears and wounds. I have brushed hair, detangled fur and clipped kitty-nails. I have fed, watered and successfully trapped ferals. One morning, I even took someone home with me to see if he would eat better than he was at the shelter (the shelter calls it foster care…my cats called it an intruder.) I also introduced my neighbor, who adopted two kitties from the shelter.

Now, I go in each Saturday and spend the day helping where I can. I recently told the vet in charge, Dr. Monica Thompson, DVM, that I’m a bookkeeper for my day job and I offered to update their records…looks like I’ll be able to help in a few different areas, although the cuddling, I mean, the socializing is my favorite.

If you want to adopt a furry little feline, volunteer, donate or foster, please call (650-368-1365) or visit their website, http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/ Personally, I’m very happy with the friends that I’m making (both feline and of the human variety). It feels so good to help cats find homes and giving some much needed TLC to the ones who live there. It’s ironic though…these remarkable little felines give me much more TLC in return, and I look forward to going back there each week. And because Nine Lives Foundation is a no-kill shelter, I know that when I leave each day, either (a) everyone will still be there when I return, or (b) they went to a good home, either permanently or for foster care.

I’ve found something here that I love and plan on doing for a long time to come (even if my cats won’t tolerate any more house-guests :)

Sonya Dow
Writer of Romantic-Suspense and a Happy Volunteer for Nine Lives

57 March adoptions suprise us all!

March was a busy month around the Nine Lives Foundation. We were still settling into our new shelter. Doors and windows were still missing and the washing machine setup still left a lot to be desired. But all of those thing were minor and the folks coming in to meet and adopt our kitties seemed to take the chaos of our ongoing construction in stride as they met and fell in love with new furry family members. As of Monday, March 31st, fifty cats and kittens had been adopted from our shelter. Many of them special needs or hard to place kitties.

On top of our in house adoptions, Humanimal Connection, a sister rescue, has taken 17 cats from us this year, 7 of which were adopted out in the month of March (15 this year so far). Leaving us with more space to save more shelter cats from death's door.

Just in case you start to think that we're short on kitties now, I'll let you know that March also saw the arrival of 61 new cats and kittens (3 moms with 14 babies) make this number look a lot higher than it should. Also, eleven of our new March arrivals were adopted out before the end of the month, which just goes to show that shelters around the area are euthanizing some amazingly adoptable kitties.

Over all, March was a great month for the Nine Lives Foundation. Yes, we're still struggling to make ends meet because of the recent move and we very much need monetary donations to keep doing what we do, but we're pretty happy with the way things are going.

Written by: LH

Tia Adopted at Last!

Tia has spent more than a year as a Nine Lives Foundation kitty. Although, only a few weeks of that time was actually spent living in the shelter. We first posted about little Tia back in early September of 2007. With a follow up post in October of 2007. Tia won over the hearts of her foster Momma's from the start and although she's likely been healthy enough to go up for adoption for some time, they've held off, "Just to be sure she's healthy." Eh, yeah. That's why she's never at adoption events.

We were all a bit surprised then on Saturday when Tia showed up for her very first adoption event. We were even more surprised when they allowed to to stay over night to meet a prospective couple on Sunday. But the real shocker was Sunday night, telling her foster mommas that she'd been adopted on her 2nd day of being up for adoption. It's easy to see why so many people love this little girl. She's a wee little thing for a 1 year old. If we didn't know her birthday to be in Mid-March of 2007, we'd say she was only 6-7 months old by looking at her. She's spunky, super soft and thinks dogs are pretty cool buddies to hang out with.

We're so happy for you little Tia cat! May you only have happy and healthy days for now on. We'll sure miss you around here.

Story by: LH

Nine Lives wish list

Food for the Kitties
Dry Science Diet adult and kitten
Dry Pro Plan Chicken/Rice or Salmon/Rice
Canned tuna in water
Canned Friskies any flavor
Canned Fancy Feast any pate' flavor
Canned ProPlan, Nutro and/or Natural Choice kitten
Baby food (any MEAT flavor like turkey and turkey gravy, beef and beef gravy, etc.) -- please make sure it does not contain onion powder
Chicken broth
KMR (Kitten Milk Replacer) powder (for our bottle babies)
We also use the following varieties of Prescription Diets that can only be purchased through a vet:
Purina UR canned
Purina NF canned
Hills A/D canned
Hills C/D canned and dry
Hills K/D canned and dry
Hills W/D canned and dry
Medical and Grooming Supplies

Slicker brushes, Zoom Groom and flea combs
Oster grooming clippers and blades (#10 and #40)
Cat friendly pet shampoo
Master Grooming Tools cat nail trimmers
Heating pads
Hydrogen peroxide
Isopropyl alcohol
Betadine solution
Disposable exam gloves (small, medium and large sizes)
Cotton balls
Q-tips
Wooden tongue depressors
3" X 3" gauze squares
Adhesive tape
Neosporin
Bandaids
3" X 4" ouchless Telfa pads
Baby wipes
3M Coban Self Adherent Wrap (Vet Wrap), 1" x 5 yds
Gift Cards for Large Purchases (washers, dryers, tools, office equipment, etc.)
PetSmart, Pet Club, Pet Food Express and PetCo
WalMart
Lowe's and Home Depot
Best Buy
Target
Ace Hardware
Office Max and Office Depot
Office Supplies
Stamps
Standard business size envelopes
Manila envelopes
Copy paper
Post it notes
8" X 11" manila file folders
Photo quality copy paper
Clear plastic sheet protectors for 3 hole punch binders
Other Supplies
Clorox bleach (only Clorox brand please)
Paper towels
Kleenex
Toilet paper
Liquid dish soap
Hand sanitizer
Powder laundry detergent
Cat Country Organic Wheatgrass Litter for Cats
Manual can openers
"AA" and "AAA" batteries
Large lawn size trash bags
Kitchen size trash bags
6 inch paper plates
10 inch paper or foam plates
Bottled water and soda (for our volunteers)
Scratching posts
Towels, blankets, pet bedding
Cat toys
Rubbermaid 72-Inch Five-Shelf Shelving Units
Consider underwriting a portion of our monthly utility, staffing and rent expenses. Our utility bills are $1,200/month and staff are paid $6000/month and rent is $4,500/month. Every dollar helps.

All donations to the Nine Lives Foundation are tax deductible and payable in person at the shelter, on the website through Groundspring.org or by check or credit card by mail.

March Open House and Grand Reopening!

Thank you for joining us at our March 1st Friday event and open house in our new building! Check out a few photos of the event!

Our new shelter from the start...

When we first visited the building that is now our new shelter, it was still in use as a wood working shop so it was a bit hard to envision how it would look as a cat shelter. We took some photos and got the blueprints and got to work on floor plans. Here it is the day we first saw it.

Then, when the building was completely empty we got started on making it our own. We prepped it for paint and taped out the locations where we would soon have structures built.

Once everything was taped out, we had to paint primer over the red line around the building.

Then we were ready and the paint went on.

Once the painting of the overall building was done the real work began. First the get acquainted, isolation, quarantine exam and laundry/wash rooms were built.