A Day in the Life...

A Day in the Life - 37 Cats from Los Banos Animal Shelter are Spay/Neutered at Nine Lives

2012-02-01T22:18:00.000-08:00

By: Deanna Graham, Member of the Nine Lives Foundation Board of Directors
Date: February 2, 2012

February is Spay Day U.S.A.... here's the story of 37 cats from Los Banos who traveled 106 miles to be spay/neutered at Nine Lives!

Last month, Laurel and Melinda, two dedicated volunteers at Los Banos Animal Shelter, carefully loaded 37 frightened, bewildered and I'm sure cranky cats into their cars for the 2-hour road trip from Los Banos to Nine Lives in Redwood City to be spayed/neutered by Dr. Monica Rudiger.

Dr. Rudiger volunteers her time each month to spay/neuter Los Banos cats and only charges the animal shelter for the materials she uses.

Dr. Rudiger has everything laid out, the cats are waiting, let the spay/neutering begin.

The halls are full of cats in carriers waiting for their turn on the operating table. Each carrier has a number and each cat has a paper collar with that number on it.

This cat is #37 and is ready for surgery.

Each cat is put in the anaesthesia chamber where they fall asleep waiting for surgery.

This cat is unconscious, receiving oxygen and fluids.

The area is disinfected and shaved.

Dr. Rudiger is spaying #37.

The spay or Ovariohysterectomy procedure takes about 8-10 minutes, Dr. Rudiger removes the ovaries and uterus on cat #37.

Once the ovaries and uterus are removed, Dr. Rudiger closes up the incision.

Laurel and Melinda give the cat their vaccinations. It's a lot easier when they're groggy or asleep.

Now it's time to get the claws clipped.

Finally, it's time to rest before the long ride home to Los Banos.

SPAY DAY U.S.A.

For several years, the last Tuesday in February has been designated as Spay Day U.S.A., and February has been chosen as Spay and Neuter Month by countless humane societies and animal advocacy groups. Dr. Rudiger and Nine Lives Foundation will offer a special price from February 6th through February 28th...Spaying $35 and Neutering $25. All surgeries will be done at 3016 Rolison Road, Redwood City, CA 94063 (650)368-1365. Appointments recommended, but not required.

"Home for the Holidays" at Nine Lives Foundation

2011-12-21T09:37:00.000-08:00

Posted on: 12/20/11

By: Deanna Graham

Nine Lives Foundation Board Member

'Tis the season...and Nine Lives celebrated the holidays with a cat adoption and holiday party for our many friends on Saturday and Sunday. There was food, drinks, an auction and a raffle, plus lots of good friends..and of course, our adorable cats, plus Christopher the Cat joined us. The celebration was a huge success with 23 of our cats and kittens adopted to their forever homes.

Leanne, a Nine Lives volunteer and our Nine Lives webmaster, made an incredible gingerbread house and is helping Ernesto decorate gingerbread men. Great job, Leanne!

You can help our cats and Nine Lives foundation by a contribution of $100 for a 4x4" or $500 for an 8x8" ceramic tile, with a photo of your pet(s) on the tile (like the examples). Your tile will be placed, in your honor, in the lobby of the Nine Lives lobby of our remodeled facility. Your generosity will be on display and will inspire everyone who enters our new shelter facility to give to Nine Lives Foundation.

Whiskers is enjoying herself on Michelle's lap with a lot of puurs and snuggling while Michelle's husband, Adam, watches. The people interested in adopting our cats sat in the cubical's while the cats ran over for pets and scratches.

Whiskers is content getting pets and scratches from Michelle, while Morris looks on.

Sparkle, a beautiful little calico, was rescued from a "High-Kill" shelter in Bakersfield and fostered in a home with three cats. Sparkle spent a lot of time being held and loved by folks looking for a kitten to take home. Later that day, Sparkle met a couple who fell in love with her. They adopted her and she'll join there wonderful family.

Sparkle is the hit of the day..such a great kitten.

Christopher the Cat is getting a lot of love and cuddling from Elizabeth and Wayne, the couple who found him hurt and alone. Elizabeth tells Joanna, a Nine Live Foundation board member, who was videotaping Christopher's story for the Nine Lives Foundation Facebook, that while going for a bike ride on Polhemus Road in Redwood City, they saw an injured cat lying in a ditch. He had a fractured hip and was in a lot of pain. They took him to a local shelter, but after thinking about Christopher's fate at the shelter, they picked him up and took him to Adobe Animal Hospital for evaluation and care. The vet at Adobe told Elizabeth, "Take him to Dr. Monica Thompson at Nine Lives, she'll help Christopher...and she did. Now Christoper is completely healed and has become the Nine Lives "Miracle Cat." You can learn all about Christopher's story if you go to the Nine Lives website, or join Christopher the Cat's 3,000+ friends on Facebook.

TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return): Trapping Day at the South San Francisco Feral Cat Colony

2011-12-08T15:57:00.000-08:00

Posted on 12/8/11
By: Deanna Graham
Nine Lives Foundation Board Member

A few weeks ago, three Homeless Cat Network volunteers, Wendy, Gina and Cookie met at the South San Francisco feral colony to trap cats. They used the drop trap because it's been difficult to trap Bushy Tail. They set up the drop trap in an open area and set two traps by the feeding station in hopes of trapping a new cat, Midnight.

"Traps are set..."

"Here Kitty, Kitty..."

"The Waiting Game..."

"Teamwork..."

Many of the neutered/spayed colony cats went into the trap to nibble on the dry food on the ground, but finally the hours of waiting paid off. Bushy Tail and Thumper went in the trap together and started nibbling on the food, Wendy pulled the string and they had them. Two trapped cats can move the trap, but they were ready. It took three of them, working as a team, to hold the trap down. Gina put her body across the trap while Wendy was ready to open the trap and transfer the cats to another trap for transport. Cookie spoke quietly and gently to the two terrified cats to calm them.

When Bushy Tail and Thumper were safely in the transport trap, Cookie went to the feeding station to check on the traps there. Happily, they got Midnight. Cookie says, "Luck was on our side."

"We got Midnight!..."

The cats were transported to Dr. Monica Thompson Rudiger at Nine Lives Foundation. Thumper was already fixed, but needed to have his left ear tipped. Now the feeders at the South San Francisco colony will know that Thumper is fixed and he'll never go through that again. Sadly, Dr. Rudiger found out that Bushy Tail was FeLV+ and could not be returned to the colony. The volunteers were afraid he would have to be euthanized, but Dr. Rudiger told them Bushy Tail could join the other FeLV+ cats in Room 9 at the Nine Lives shelter at 3016 Rolison Road, Redwood City, CA. Dr. Rudiger neutered Bushy Tail, gave him his vaccinations and had to do extensive dental work on him. She told me that Bushy will only let her pet him, and she told me, "He's my buddy."

As for Midnight, Gina is fostering him because she feels he is a friendly, loving cat who was probably dumped by his owners or maybe he got lost and found his way to the colony. She feels he definitely was a house cat at one time. Gina will find him his forever home, and as Cookie says, "Another blessing for our South San Francisco Colony."

Cookie, Wendy, and Gina are deeply thankful for all the care and love Dr. Rudiger has showered on their colony cats. Dr. Rudiger kept Poppy, another SSF colony cat that was trapped, but not returned to the colony because the pads on his paws wouldn't heal properly and the outdoors was not the place for him. Now Poppy makes his home at the Nine Lives shelter and spends a lot of his time roaming around. Rose, another HCN Feeder, saw him at NLF a few weeks ago and was able to pet him.

"Wendy, Gina and Cookie"

The majority of the colony cats at South San Francisco will live out their lives in the colony, but some have been trapped, fostered and found loving homes. Thanks to Cookie, Wendy, Gina, Rose and the other volunteers at HCN for working closely with Dr. Rudiger to make sure these abandoned, lost or throw-away cats are given the best life possible.

Another HCN success story.....Wendy, a long time trapper at HCN, trapped three kittens at the SSF colony some time ago, and Gina fostered them because they were ill. With TLC and a lot of love, the kittens are healthy and going to kitten fairs, just waiting to go to their forever homes. Both HCN and NLF have these wonderful success stories of lost kittens and cats finding loving homes. To read more, you can go to www.ninelivesfoundation.org and www.homelesscatnetwork.org and read about the incredible job they're doing. You can also follow NLF by going to our Nine Lives Foundation Facebook page.

Nine Lives Fat Farm...the Ladies of Room 1

2011-11-26T22:48:00.000-08:00

The four cats who live in Room 1 at the Nine Lives shelter, Amber, Gladys, Ilsa and Marise, are beautiful, well-behaved young ladies, but unfortunately, they're a bit on the plump side. Whiskers lives in Room 8 and is one of our FIV+ kitties and she too is a bit on the plump side.

These cats are not alone because it's estimated that 53% of cats in the U.S. are either over-weight or obese. A cat's ideal weight depends on age, breed, lifestyle, bone structure and gender, but the average adult cat generally tips the scales at 7 to 11 pounds, with females a little less.

Dr. Monica Rudiger puts the over-weight cats on a high protein, low carbohydrate wet food diet, and feeds them twice a day. Room 1 cats live in a condo with cat trees and enough room to move around. Whiskers lives in Room 8 with the other FIV+ kitties and has lots of cat trees to play on. So let's meet them...

Meet AMBER, a sweet little girl who was rescued from FAS (Fremont Animal Shelter) where she lived for a year with out being adopted. It's FAS policy that if a cat isn't adopted within a year, the cat will be euthanized to make room for other cats. Nine Lives learned about Amber and brought her to live at the Nine Lives shelter where she joined Room 1. Amber's approximate birthday is June 2006 and she is an inquisitive, curious and lovely girl who greets everyone that enters the condo. Amber would love to find a loving home where she can maintain her weight, exercise more and spend lots of lap time.

This is GLADYS, a beautiful girl who gets along with the other cats of Room 1 and is the second greeter, along with Amber, to welcome you to their condo. Gladys was born around May 2006 and lived with a family as their indoor/outdoor cat. When the family moved away, they didn't take Gladys with them. That's when she joined the Nine Lives family. Sometimes, Gladys looks a little sad, but she'll perk up when you come in and pet her and scratch her ears. Gladys would make a wonderful companion for a family who wants a lap cat who loves belly rubs.

This beauty is ILSA, a tortoiseshell manx mix with stunning torti markings. She was born around 2006 and her front claws have been removed, but that doesn't stop her from jumping on things and climbing the cat tree. Ilsa is a very sweet, gentle cat who gets along with the other girls. Ilsa is a little shy when you enter the condo, so she might prefer being an only cat in your home. Ilsa came to the Nine Lives shelter from Martinez Animal Shelter on 4/5/08 with four other kitties.

Meet WHISKERS, a black and white, long hair Maine Coon mix. She came to Nine Lives from FAS (Fremont Animal Shelter) and is one of our FIV+ kitties. Whiskers is a real love bug and loves to be held and cuddled, she'll wrap her paws around your neck for a great big hug. Whiskers gets along with all the other cats in Room 8, and loves to hang out with her BFF Morris (shown in the picture with her). Whiskers can live a long and happy life with FIV+, but needs to live in a home as an only cat.

And last, but certainly not least, meet MARISE, a beautiful gray and white girl who loves to be pet. Marise is a quiet, but loving cat who is gentle and purrs loudly while you scratch her neck and ears. The Nine Lives volunteers call her their little bunny because her fur is so soft you just want to pet her for hours. Marise would love to be an only kitty in your home, or a loving companion for another cat.

The next time you visit the Nine Lives shelter at 3016 Rolison Road in Redwood City, stop by Room 1 and visit with the girls. Also, don't forget about Whiskers in Room 8.

Nine Lives Foundation Shelter, Room 8 ...

2011-11-03T14:22:00.000-07:00

Posted on 11/2/11
By: Deanna Graham
Nine Lives Board Member

Room 8 is a large space with sofas, chairs, tables, cat trees and lots of residents, 22 in fact. The cats are either walking around, eating from two different feeding stations or asleep. Some days, you'll see volunteers sitting on the sofa or on the floor with several of the Room 8 residents on their laps, giving them head-butts or just sitting near them waiting for pets.

The cats are all happy and very active, they look like all the cats in various condo's in the Nine Lives Shelter on Rolison Road in Redwood City, California, but they're not. These 22 lovable cats are all FIV+. Even though I've heard about the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus (FIV), I didn't know that much about it. Talking with Joe and Georgia, two Nine Lives volunteers, they told me that FIV+ cats have contracted the virus from cat fights and serious bites. It is estimated that most infections come from feral, free-roaming, aggressive cats that attack and bite other cats. Cats kept indoors are much less likely to be infected. Sadly, a FIV+ mother can pass the virus on to her kittens as they pass through the birth canal or by the milk they drink after birth.

Joe told us that he and his wife adopted a FIV+ cat and she lived to be 19 years old. Joe told me, "She died of old age, not FIV."

Georgia also told us she wouldn't hesitate adopting one of our FIV+ cats. In fact, she said that if the FIV+ cat is not a fighter and enjoys the company of other cats in the household, she feels comfortable bringing one of these guys into her home. On the other hand, Dr. Monica Rudiger will advise adopters that these cats should be only cats, or their house-mates should also be FIV+.

I asked them if humans could become infected with FIV if they were bit by their cat? They both told me that FIV is a lentivirus similar to HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus causing AIDS), but is a highly species-specific virus that infects only felines. A number of studies, according to Cornell University, School of Veterinary Medicine, have failed to show any evidence that FIV can infect or cause diseases in people.

Joe and Georgia told me that a FIV+ cat normally doesn't take medications, but they do need to be watched carefully throughout their lives and taken to their vet once a year for their annual checkup.

As I walked around the room to visit with all the cats in Room 8, I decided to spotlight four of them for this blog post. The other cats of Room 8 will be spotlighted on our Nine Lives Foundation Facebook page in the near future.

MORRIS is a big bundle of love, and is the first one to come over for petting. He is friendly, outgoing and gets along with all the residents of Room 8. He likes to hang out with the other orange tabby's. Morris loves to cuddle and will make someone a great lap cat, with lots of purrs. Morris is an American short hair orange tabby. He's had all his shots, is neutered and in good health, even though he's FIV+.

Morris was rescued from Fremont Animal Shelter and was on their PTS list for euthanasia. That's one thing he doesn't have to worry about, he is well cared for and loved at the shelter and waiting for his forever home.

Morris and two of his orange tabby bud's.

SIGONA is a beautiful black cat with more love than he knows what to do with. He loves to be held and will wrap his paws around your neck and cuddle for hours. He also loves to purr and will sit on your shoulder and be carried around. He loves all the other cats and just wants a soft couch to sleep on and the loving attention of the people around him.

Sigona was rescued from the Sigona Market parking lot in Redwood City, California, and was appropriately named after the place where he was rescued. He is an American short hair, all black neutered male who is up-to-date on all his shots. Even though he's FIV+, he's a strong handsome guy who will make a wonderful addition to your household. Sigona should be an only cat or share your home with another FIV+ housemate.

LUTHER is a beautiful cat with swirly brown, black and white fur. As I walked over to the table where he was sleeping, he got up and came right over to me and began chatting. I started petting him and scratching his ears and chin while the dialog continued. I fell in love with this big guy. The volunteers told me he is the sweetheart of Room 8, so sweet and affectionate and outgoing too. They said he is quite the little leg rubber who loves to have his chin and bum scratched. He is goofy at times, friendly all the time, and always playful.

Luther would be a wonderful only kitty as he is definitely the boss in Room 8, and will become your constant companion who will chat with you daily. If he disappears for a while, just check your bed and there he will be, belly up and purring. He'd love to help you while you're on your computer working.

LINDA (shown with Loyd) is a sweet, beautiful girl. She is snuggly and an affectionate love bug. When I picked her up for petting and scratches, she was light as a feather, and her shiny black coat was soft like a bunny's. Linda is loved by all the cats in Room 8, especially Loyd, Toby and Edison. They see how special she is and she can always be found snuggling with them on the sofa. Linda would make a perfect only cat or a loving companion for another FIV+ cat, probably a male, Linda loves the boys!

Come and visit the residents of Room 8, they'd love to meet you. We're located at the Nine Lives Foundation Shelter, 3016 Rolison Road, Redwood City, CA 94063. Phone: (650) 368-1365.

Nine Lives Foundation is a no-kill cat rescue nonprofit 501(c)3 corporation that works to address the over-population of homeless cats in Northern California. Our mission is to provide low-cost spay/neuter services, vaccinations, medical care, shelter and adoptions for stray, feral, and at-risk cats, and to offer affordable medical care to local TNR (trap/neuter/release) and rescue groups through our on-site veterinary clinic. Nine Lives provides all necessary medical treatments for our rescued cats and seeks loving, permanent homes for them, including those with physical, medical or behavioral disabilities.

TNR (Trap, Neuter, Release): A Visit to a Feral Cat Colony in South San Francisco

2011-10-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

Posted on 10/17/2011
By: Deanna Graham
Nine Lives Board Member

It was a warm morning in South San Francisco, and Cookie, a volunteer at The Homeless Cat Network, was directing my daughter Becky and I to the feral colony she helps manage with six other volunteers. Their colony is located in South San Francisco and has 23 feline residents.

When we pulled up and parked on a dirt road, we followed Cookie to the colony. I saw a lot of over-grown grass, weeds, tree's, piles of wood, and several eyes watching us carefully. Cookie called out to the greeter, a handsome white and grey cat named Thurston. Cookie told us Thurston was the colony's alpha male. Recently, another male named Tail showed up and tried to take over the role as alpha. Tail is one of two cats that have not been trapped and neutered yet. Wendy, their super trapper tries each week, but Tail is a very smart cat. She has been trying for months and will continue. The other twenty one cats are spayed/neutered, and live and get along so well in the colony. Cookie told us that Thurston is now back in charge again and has regained the alpha male slot. Tail is still a member too.

There are seven feeders that feed seven days a week. Volunteers know each of the 23 cats and each one has a special name, Bootsie has white paws, Curly has a tail that curls, Buttons is as cute as a button and Tail has a big bushy tail. She also photographs them and knows instantly when a new member joins the colony. When that happens, she and the other six feeders communicate, via email, to discuss the new cat who has joined the colony. Wendy is called to begin the trapping process. I asked Cookie, "How do new cats join the colony?" and she told me, "People dump them, some cats wander by and smell cats and food, while others just happen upon the colony and decide to stay." She told me a calico female came to the colony two weeks ago. She noticed how thin and scared she was. The colony let her eat with them, drink water and rest. She was gone the next day when a volunteer came to feed. I asked if some cats come and are not welcomed by the colony and she said, "Definitely." A few males have shown up and if the colony doesn't want them there they chase them away. That doesn't happen often. It's a very friendly group of felines, but if a stranger comes in and causes trouble, they're gone.

Depending on the newest addition to the colony, Wendy will bring either an adult trap or a kitten trap. She will put the trap in an area to attract the cat with a bit of food inside. At this point, they do not put food out for the other cats, hoping the newest member will be hungrier than the others and venture inside the trap to eat. She will go back to her car and wait. Sometimes members of the colony are hungry and hurry in to eat and get trapped, that cat is released. If the new cat does not go near the trap for hours,Wendy calls it a day and puts the trap in her car and finishes feeding all the cats in the colony. Cookie told us this process could take several days or months, but the one thing they never do is leave the trap unattended. A trapped cat, left inside the trap for hours or days, is unacceptable to TNR volunteers. Once the cat is trapped, it is very frightened, so a cover is placed over the crate and the volunteer quietly reassures the cat with soothing words that they will be okay.

Cookie and Becky start washing out water and food dishes and pick up and straighten bedding. I can see the cats beginning to gather, but a good distance away, waiting patiently for the plates to fill up with food. Thurston and Buttons seem to trust us not to run over and try to pet them, so they stick around watching carefully what Cookie and Becky are doing. Cookie fills up several bowls with dry cat food and tops it off with a can of wet food. Becky fills the water bowls and I can see more and more little faces gathering in the background.

After the food and water bowls are put down and the cats are carefully coming up to eat, I asked Cookie if she can pet any of the cats. Cookie explained that if one of the cats are really friendly and can easily be picked up and cuddled, it becomes too dangerous for them to remain in the colony, they need to be taken from the colony and fostered, if possible. She tells us there are people out there who would do unimaginable things to cats, so their very survival depends on how fast they can run from danger. Sadly, Cookie and Rose, the overseer of the colony, have seen some very sad times when the colony cats have died and they have found them. They always show the cats as much respect when they've passed as they do when they were alive.

Cookie also shared the times they found mama cat with her kittens hiding under a pile of wood or in overgrown bushes. Volunteers make sure mom gets her own bowl of food and water so she can nurse her little ones. Once the kittens are old enough, around 8 - 10 weeks, and eating on their own, they will trap them first, sometimes they can just pick them up and put them in a carrier. Mom is trapped last. They're taken to Dr. Monica Rudiger to be spay/neutered. After surgery, they are picked up and taken to a home to recuperate. The females are kept for three days, but males may be released earlier, as they are sometimes so upset and frightened. They are returned back to their colony and will head for shelter to rest. The kittens are never returned to the colony. They are put in foster care where they will be cared for and adopted into their forever homes.

The picture of the three kittens in the trap were spay/neutered by Dr. Rudiger and then fostered. Happily, they've all found their forever homes. After three days, mom is returned to the colony.

As we drove away, I realized how much I had learned about feral cats and how these incredible volunteers care for them. The SSF colony was a very positive place where the cats can live together in harmony for the rest of their lives. I asked her, "What's the secret of maintaining a feral cat colony?" and she told me, "Team work and communication."

Thank you, Cookie, for sharing all the hard work you guys do each day.

A few of the cats enjoy their dinner, the others will join them once Cookie, Becky and I are gone. Bon Appetit, guys!

Cookie is a volunteer with the Homeless Cat Network, and each time a trapped cat or kitten is brought into the Nine Lives Feline Well-Clinic, Homeless Cat Network pays Dr. Monica Rudiger's expenses for spay/neuter, vaccinations and chipping, plus HCN reimburses the feral cat volunteers for dry food. Both Nine Lives Foundation and the Homeless Cat Network depend on donations to allow them to do this life saving work. Please feel free to visit their websites, donations are always appreciated.

Animal welfare spotlight: Nine Lives Foundation

2011-10-12T13:23:00.000-07:00

Animal welfare spotlight: Nine Lives Foundation

Nine Lives Foundation Launches "Nine Lives...Not Nine Litters" Campaign to Tackle Bay Area Rising Homeless Cat Populations

2011-10-11T12:33:00.000-07:00

Two-Week Low-Cost Feline S/N Program Kicks off October 17 in Support of National Feral Cat Day

Redwood City, CA - October 10, 2011 - Nine Lives Foundation, a community based feral and stray cats non-profit organization, is launching the "Nine Lives...Not Nine Litters" campaign to deal with the rising homeless cat population in the Bay Area. The campaign provides Bay Area residents with feline spay surgeries for $45.00 and neuters for $25.00 from October 17 through October 31 at the Feline Well-Care Clinic, the newly established low-cost feline spay/neuter clinic in Redwood City. The rates represent a reduction of approximately 35 percent off the already low-cost surgeries the Clinic provides on an ongoing basis.

Nine Lives...Not Nine Litters is available to feral , stray and homeless cats, and, no appointments are necessary for the surgeries, which will be provided on a walk in basis Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The first five surgeries on Monday the 17th will be free!

Campaign supports National Feral Cat Day

Nine Lives...Not Nine Litters campaign represents Nine Lives Foundation's support for National Feral Cat Day, this year celebrated on October 16. The goal of annual day is to raise awareness for the plight of feral cats and gain support to improve their lives through Trap/Neuter/Return and ongoing care. "The Bay Area is becoming overrun with stray and feral cats just trying to survive by dumpster diving and joining other feral colonies," said Dr. Monica Thompson-Rudiger DVM and founder of Nine Lives Foundation and the Feline Wellness Clinic. "With some families barely able to feed their families due to the economic downturn, money for pet spay/neuter is not a priority. As a consequence, thousand of cats are being born each year to terribly uncertain lives, and cat rescue groups and compassionate individuals are unable to keep up with the crisis. Affordable spay and neuter is the only way we can begin to contain this problem and Nine Lives and the Feline Well-Care Clinic are dedicated to providing the needed assistance."

The Feline Well-Care Clinic is located at 1683 Broadway Street, Redwood City, CA 94063. You can call 650-368-1365 for more information about Nine Lives...Not Nine Litters or spay/neuter surgeries the clinic provides for cat guardians and cat rescue organizations on an ongoing basis.

Dr. Monica Thompson Rudiger has recently changed her Feline Wellness Clinic in Redwood City from a conventional feline veterinarian practice to a full time low-cost Spay/Neuter, low-cost Dental and a low-cost walk-in Vaccination Clinic (Wednesday evenings 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. and the first Saturday of the month).

In response to the news release dated October 10, 2011, the following email is circulating to local cat rescue shelters in the Bay Area........"Dr. Thompson desperately wants to help reduce the homeless cat population. We need more vets like her. Please share this news. I will post on my SF Cat Rescue column later today so you can share the link on Facebook.

Also, if you have close relationships with any local press, let them know. I'm sending this release to Bay Area media as well but some of you or your groups have great media contacts and the more folks who know about this the better. I'm sure we'd all love to see a line for Spay/Neuter out the door at the Feline Wellness Clinic with this promotion."

Our next Nine Lives Blog post will be an in-depth interview with a volunteer at the Homeless Cat Network who cares for a large feral colony in SSF, and brings her feral cats to Dr. Rudiger for Spay/Neuter.

Good News...the Nine Lives Foundation will consolidate the Feline Well-Care Clinic with the Shelter on Rolison Road in Redwood City, CA

2011-10-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

From Dr. Monica Thompson Rudiger...

The newly formed working Nine Lives Foundation Board of Directors, consisting of nine members, voted unanimously to upgrade and rebuild the Rolison Road shelter to ensure our long term success as a no-kill shelter. A fund raising campaign has begun to ensure that our shelter is upgraded with new flooring, improved ventilation, additional cages and a separate area for the newly created low cost spay/neuter clinic now located on Broadway, currently the Feline Well-Care Clinic. Our plan is to make the necessary improvements to the shelter building by Christmas, allowing us to consolidate our resources back into one building.

The Feline Well-Care Clinic redefined its services to be limited to low cost spay/neuter, low cost dentistry and a low cost walk-in vaccination clinic. We are no longer providing routine medical care to the general public. This new plan will allow us to return to our original mission of spay/neuter in order to help reduce the population of stray and feral kittens and cats in the community and those surrendered to shelters.

We are also targeting low income families, who might otherwise not spay and neuter their kittens due to financial limitations. We'll also work with rescue groups to support their efforts to save cats and kittens. Spaying and neutering is the key to saving lives and the nine Lives Foundation will continue to promote this essential message and provide services that are affordable to all.

As always, we thank everyone for their support of Nine Lives Foundation, and for your patience as we strive to make our shelter the most comfortable place for our cats to call home until they are adopted.

Nine lives, sixth sense: Cat at veterinary clinic seeks out ailing cats

2010-08-19T14:30:00.000-07:00

By Diana Samuels

Daily News Staff Writer

Posted: 08/18/2010 08:04:38 PM PDT

All cats may have nine lives, but Christopher, an orange and white tabby who lives at a Redwood City veterinary clinic, also has a sixth sense.

Dubbing him a "guardian angel," "wonder cat" and "miracle kitty," the staff and volunteers at the Nine Lives Foundation's Feline Well-Care Clinic say Christopher can tell when other cats need help. He will sit outside the cages of sick felines until someone lets him in, and last month, the clinic says, he saved the life of a kitten in need of a blood transfusion.

"It's weird, it's really true that he seems to understand things," said Monica Thompson, Nine Lives' chief veterinarian and founder. "He knows when he can help. He alerts us when things aren't right about a cat."

Christopher, who is about 3 or 4 years old, was found on the side of a road by a group of bicyclists in March. He arrived at the clinic unable to stand, his pelvis fractured.

He recuperated, and one day simply jumped out of his cage while it was being cleaned.

Since then, Christopher has lived at the clinic. On Wednesday morning he snoozed in his favorite cat bed on a desk, ignoring the hustle and bustle around him. As is typical for Christopher, he was napping next to a terminally ill cat.

"He'll often paw at a cage door to be let in so he can clean and comfort a cat in there," said Robert Lowery, a San Ramon resident and volunteer at Nine Lives.
He even became known as the "feral kitten tamer" last month, when he asked to be let into a cage with two feral kittens that were "untouchable, just hissing and growling," Thompson said.

Christopher taught the kittens all about being a cat, and within a couple of weeks they were tame. One has since been adopted, and the other is still available.

"The kittens were so excited to see (Christopher) that when he left the cage they would sit and cry," Thompson said.
But Christopher's biggest claim to fame is likely saving the life of a tiny black kitten that came to the clinic July 11 with severe anemia. She needed a blood transfusion immediately, and Thompson couldn't draw enough to even determine her blood type.
"I didn't know what I was going to do," Thompson said.

Christopher kept jumping up on the operating table, rubbing on Thompson and nuzzling the kitten. So Thompson grabbed Christopher and used his blood for the transfusion.

Thompson didn't know it at the time, but the kitten had an uncommon "B" blood type found in about 20 to 25 percent of the cat population. It's also a blood type usually found in purebred cats, Thompson said, so she wouldn't have expected to find it in the black shorthaired kitten.

As it turned out, Christopher also has Type B blood. The kitten was standing up within about four hours of the transfusion, Thompson said, and has since gone back to Humanimal Connection, the rescue foundation that was caring for her.

"If I hadn't paid attention to (Christopher), I probably would have lost the cat," Thompson said.

Though many people have inquired about adopting Christopher, Thompson said, he "serves a purpose" at the clinic.

"Who knows how many cats he'll save in the years ahead," Lowery said.

E-mail Diana Samuels at dsamuels@dailynewsgroup.com.

The Nine Lives Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the welfare of cats and kittens. It operates a veterinary clinic and shelter, providing low cost spay/neuter, rescue, medical and adoption services. Its shelter welcomes all cats and kittens regardless of their physical, medical or behavioral conditions.

The Nine Lives Foundation shelter: 3016 Rolison Road, Redwood City, 650-368-1365

The Feline Well-Care Clinic: 1683 Broadway, Redwood City, 650-368-1365

For more information on how to donate, and to see cats available for adoption, visit http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/

Photo comments: "Miracle kitty Christopher sleeps in his bed at the Nine Lives Foundations Feline Well-Care Clinic on Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2010. The feline seems to know when other cats are in distress and he recently provided blood to a seriously ill kitten that needed a transfusion. (Kirstina Sangsahachart/ Daily News) "

http://www.mercurynews.com/peninsula/ci_15821656?source=email&nclick_check=1

News on Nala

2010-07-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

For those who don't know her, Nala is a pretty cream colored cat our volunteer, Robert, rescued from the Dublin Animal Shelter. Nala's family had overfed her to the point of morbid obesity and then left her at the Dublin shelter where she faced certain death.

Robert saved her and brought her into our shelter on July 11, 2010. He and another volunteer, Laurel, set up a newly donated, tall cat condo for her so she would need to move around to get her food and litter and bed.

Upon her arrival Nala weighed 21.9.0. That's right 21 pounds 9 oz. We started her on a wet food only diet and she has daily weigh-ins. As of yesterday, 7/25 Nala weighed 19.12.5. She was playing with a toy in the get acquainted room and is looking and feeling much better. Dolores, one of our kennel staff, is going to start work on a new room for her so she can get more exercise.

If you haven't met her, stop by the shelter and say hello to her. She is a really nice cat who loves pets and playing with a wand toy. She is starting to get attention from potential adopters. We love her here and are so happy that Robert saved her life.
-LH

CA Spay and Neuter License Plates

2010-06-15T13:50:00.000-07:00

Spay & Neuter Saves Lives!

Help reduce pet overpopulation with the CA Spay & Neuter License Plate!

The California Spay & Neuter license plate, sponsored by the California Veterinary Medical Board, provides a fun and easy way for pet lovers to help reduce pet overpopulation. Proceeds from the plate provide funding for free or low-cost spay & neuter surgeries across California, and also help to raise awareness about the importance of spaying and neutering.

By pre-ordering the California Spay & Neuter License Plate today, you can be among the first to display the new plate on your vehicle. You can pre order your new plates beginning today.

A sequentially numbered plate is just $50. A personalized plate, whether a new request or a transfer for an existing personalized plate, is $98. These fees are additional above your normal registration fee. After 7,500 pre-orders are received, the DMV will begin the official program, and will start issuing actual plates after the implementation process is complete.

Find out more about the plates and pre order them at: http://www.caspayplate.com/

Success story! - Thank for you for Tom (formerly Klondike)!

2010-06-08T12:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you so much for rescuing Tom (formerly Klondike) and helping us to meet him. It is sad to think that the little guy was found in a wood pile as a kitten, but is so wonderful that through your organization, he has been matched with a loving family. It is hard not to spoil him, he is absolutely adorable and has a sweet personality to match his handsome looks.

He loves to cuddle and be brushed, and his latest interest is laying on my head and cleaning my hair. Whenever he is locked out of a room and craves attention from us, rather than hysterically meowing at the door, he patiently sits there and waits for us to let him in. He almost always follows me wherever I go in the house, and the few times that he doesn’t, he will quickly be by my side if I call out his name.

He has a new little Siamese-mix sister (Jerry), who was found at an autobody shop, and the two have bonded well together and become partners in crime, though Jerry is the one who commits most of the crimes. It is so cute hearing them charge around the house together and then eventually falling asleep on top of each other. In just a few months, Tom and Jerry have already brought a lifetime of joy into our home and we are looking forward to spending many many many more years with them.

Success story - Bella, now named Irie!

2010-06-07T12:23:00.000-07:00

Hello Nine Lives.

I want to let you know that Bella, now named Irie, is a wonderful addition to our family. She has come a long way since we brought her home on May 27th and is starting to get some meat on her bones. We named her Irie as she has a wonderful kicked back personality and is just happy and easy going. Irie means - everyting is cool, no worries, feelin' good, everyting is everyting (everyting = everything in Jamaican Patois). We are absolutely in-love with Irie. I had a mobile pet groomer come to the house and bath and groom her and she looks and I'm sure feels fantastic. She loves to eat, sleep and roll around in dried cat nip many times a day (which she has successfully distributed every where in the house). She has found many favorite sleeping spots. She is also very playful, when she is not eating or sleeping. We finally have a lap cat (something I've always wanted) and she loves to go from my lap to my husband's, Mario, lap and back and forth if we are on the couch watching TV. She is adorable. She also likes to sit on Mario's lap when he is working on the computer. Irie has fit in to our household with no problems at all and gets along great with the other 3 household cats.

Thank you so very much for saving this beautiful girl (we keep thinking she is a kitten as she is new to us, but she is really a 12 year old that has had some very hard knocks, which shows in that adorable little face). She is thriving in our home and is now absolutely showered with all kinds of love and we think she loves us too and feels safe.

I've attached some photos of our sweet girl, Irie.

Thank you so very much!
Julia

Huggie Bear, we LOVE you!

2010-06-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

Huggie Bear is a kind of goofy, DMH, black kitty with a white spot on his chest. Huggie came to us on 4/16/09 from Oakland Animal Shelter where he was being held on medical reasons for extreme hair loss and scabs all over his body, poor muffin had a extreme flea allergies. We treat him with flea treatment and steroids monthly to keep his allergies in check and Huggie is a happy cat.

He's pretty loving and like his name implies, he gives frantic hugs. Huggie can be very vocal about being put down when he wants to hug though and would be best in a very cat savvy home without children. Mostly he's a wonderful, grumpy old man who wants lots of attention his way on his terms. We consider him a resident cat but wouldn't mind adopting him out to a savvy, loving home who sees him as the scruffy love muffin we know him to be.

Huggie had a senior screen upon arrival and was found to be healthy except for his flea allergies. This past week Huggie had a dental and another Senior Screen, blood panel and he's still fit as a fiddle. We're so glad our special boy is healthy and going to be around for a while, we just wanted to shout it out!

Olivia - Foster home needed!

2010-05-27T10:15:00.000-07:00

Just putting a call out to see if anyone would be willing to foster Olivia. Olivia is a super sweet girl but she's very introverted and shy. She's a brown tabby and white tuxedo girl, under a year old (est. DOB 6/09). She came to us as a momma kitty and has been out in foster care since her arrival. You can pet her and she purrs but she won't come to you. We're afraid that going to the shelter will traumatize her and set her back.

Our foster coordinator Debbie says, "I had her and her two babies the first few days and she'd rub on my leg and such and now she is so scared to go near people. I'd really like to get her in a place where someone would focus on her. Her kittens are more than old enough to be without her."

Please, if you're interested in fostering this sweet little girl, call or email Debbie Mueller at debra66@sbcglobal.net are 650-670-7056.

Success Story - Taylor

2010-02-16T22:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Dr. Thompson & Staff:

In February 2009 we adopted Taylor. She has been a wonderful addition to our family, being known as the crazy one. Some of her favorite things to do are burst out the back door and roll around outside, steal our lunch - she seems to have a bread addiction, and run up and down the stairs. She's quite the little ball of energy. We especially like that after a long day of playing, she sleeps under the covers with us. Thank you so much for Taylor and all the good work you do.

~Laurette & Mike

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-16T21:22:00.000-08:00

Help raise money with igive.com

2009-12-16T20:53:00.000-08:00

iGive.com is going to attempt to donate $5,000 in just 24 hours to Nine Lives Foundation and other causes.

For each person who joins iGive using the special link below and does just one web search on our site between now and noon Thursday, we'll give Nine Lives Foundation a dollar.

5,000 new members, $5,000. No purchase necessary.

Of course, if they search more (or buy something) they'll earn even more money for Nine Lives Foundation. Right now, they're donating $.02 per search and a bonus $5 for that first purchase plus their usual percentage.

Here's where you come in. The only way Nine Lives Foundation will get new supporters and that free $1 (or more) is if you invite them. Send your friends, family, and colleagues the following link in an e-mail, tweet it, do a Facebook posting, put up posters, shout from mountain tops (you know the drill) and let them know you think Nine Lives Foundation is pretty cool and deserves their support, especially since it's free! You can even just forward this via e-mail.

This is the link:
http://www.igive.com/welcome/warm_reg_promo.cfm?m=506173

iGive is really proud of their new search capability, powered by Yahoo! They've made tons of improvements over the past four months, so they want lots of people to try it out and put it to the test. If they you or your friends keep on searching or shopping after testing us out, so much the better for Nine Lives Foundation and iGive.com.

The details:
- Offer active between now and 11:59 a.m., December 17, 2009 (Chicago time).
- New members only (never have been an iGive member previously). All the normal rules of membership, searching, and
purchasing apply, our site has the details.
- Once we've given away $5,000, the offer ends.

That's it. Don't forget to try our search yourself (http://isearch.igive.com). You may need to login first.

From our families to yours, we hope you have a great holiday season.

“If Pets Made New Year’s Resolutions”

2009-12-16T20:47:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Contest for Pets (cats & dogs!)
You could win prizes for your pet AND a donation for your favorite animal rescue!
Here are the details:
“If Pets Made New Year’s Resolutions”
--Send in your pet’s New Year’s resolutions: include a photo of you with your pet.
--Five winners will be selected
--Winners will receive a fun Wellness Natural Food for Pets gift basket for either a cat or dog!
--IN ADDITION... if you win, Wellness will donate $300 AND a generous food donation to the animal shelter/rescue of your choice! Please consider naming the Nine Lives Foundation cat rescue/shelter: http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org

To enter: send an email to: romeo@romeothecat.com with the following information:

** Pet’s Name
** Owner’s name, contact information, city and state
** Pet’s New Year’s resolution(s)
** The name & address of your favorite Animal Rescue/Shelter (U.S. only please)
** The Animal Rescue/Shelter’s Web site
** Either a photo of you and a photo of your pet, or a photo of you together with your pet!

Deadline for entries: December 31, 2009 at 6 p.m. EST. One winner will be announced each day from January 4 – January 8, 2010

This contest is being presented and sponsored by:
http://www.Wellnesspetfood.com
http://www.Peoplepets.com
http://www.Romeothecat.com

RomeoTheCat wants to thank those who helped Nine Lives!

2009-12-09T11:28:00.000-08:00

Success!
I am so, SO happy to share the success of our November FURPOWER fundraising efforts for Nine Lives Foundation. We raised a little more than $2,000 through individual and corporate donations! Woo hoo!

I just want to give a special thanks to you all for your great support, to everyone who donated and to my sponsors, Clean+Green pet products, Wellness Pet Food, Feline Pine all-natural Cat Litter, and Big Paw Designs for their generous donations as well.

Don’t be strangers, everyone! Come visit my blog for my daily wake up tactics and fun contests and giveaways. 2010 is sure to bring a lot of new features and fun.

Happy Holidays!
xo, Romeo the Cat (and staff)
http://www.romeothecat.com/

Thank you!

2009-12-08T22:20:00.001-08:00

Nine Lives Foundation Open House
The Nine Lives family would like to thank everyone for their support this past year! Thank you to all who came to help with our open house event. So far we made $5,193.00 from donations, silent auction items, and other retail items. We had about 200+ visitors and a good many volunteers came to help during the event. Once all those who were the winners of the silent auction items pick up their items and pay for them, we will have another couple of hundred dollars. Thank you all so much!

Nine Lives Foundation Open House

2009-11-29T17:12:00.000-08:00

Sunday, December 6 at 11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m.

The Nine Lives family would like to celebrate the holidays and thank everyone for their support this past year! Stop by the shelter and enjoy a toasty holiday drink and sweet treats, and visit with our precious cats and kittens! Meet our volunteers and people who support the Shelter. Shop for holiday gifts and bid for unique one-of-a-kind items at our Silent Auction.

Holiday See's Candy -

2009-11-27T11:48:00.001-08:00

Great Holiday gifts for friends and co-workers while raising money for our cats!
Come down and buy a 1 pound boxes of assorted chocolates for $15.70 and/or one of the Mini-Holiday Fancy Boxes for $6.00.
These are available after Nov. 23 at the Feline Well-Care Clinic, 1683 Broadway Street, Redwood City.

2009-11-16T17:13:00.000-08:00

Nine Lives Foundation chosen as

"Romeo the Cat’s" November FURPOWER beneficiary

thanks to all of you!

Support the fund drive & spread the word around the world...

If you don’t know 'Romeo the Cat', you should. This fundraising cat has raised more than $25K for animal shelters and rescues across the United States. This month, Nine Lives is the beneficiary of his efforts - we received more votes than any other rescue in the history of Romeo's website!

Way to go, all you supporters of Nine Lives!

Romeo raises money through his blog at http://www.romeothecat.com, through Twitter (@romeothecat), and through his corporate sponsors: Wellness Pet Food, Feline Pine cat litter, FURminator deShedding Tools, Sea-Yu Enterprises, makers of Clean + Green pet products, Big Paw Designs, and Petwebdesigner.com

Romeo is also offers “Rescue Mom” and “Rescue Dad” cat magnets & stickers ranging from $6 to $9.50. The proceeds from the sale of each item range from $2.50 to $4.00 and it will all go to Nine Lives this month. You can see the magnets & stickers at: http://www.romeothecat.com/products-page/

There will also be some other incentives for those who donate, including: for every $1 you donate to Nine Lives through Romeo’s website, you’ll get one chance to win one of four $25 Petco gift cards. So if you donate $5 you’ll get 5 chances and so forth.

This is where you go

to make your donation:

http://www.romeothecat.com/donate/

Come and support Nine Lives through Romeo the Cat's website. This effort will pull together funds from across the country - and even the globe - and ALL the November monies will come to us.

Spread the word!

Fraidy Cat Friday party photos...

2009-11-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

Donors keep doors open at Redwood City cat shelter

2009-11-03T17:25:00.000-08:00

By Shaun Bishop
Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 10/31/2009 12:26:49 AM PDT
Updated: 10/31/2009 12:26:49 AM PDT

A struggling cat shelter in Redwood City got another life and will remain open at least six more months after receiving a flood of donations since September, its founder said Friday.

"I've been actually amazed at the response," said veterinarian Monica Thompson.

Faced with having to close or downsize just a couple months ago, the 5-year-old Nine Lives Foundation shelter has pulled in thousands of dollars since Thompson sent 1,500 letters to past donors, clinic customers and adoptive families asking for help.

Thompson realized that the cost of running the shelter — which rescues and finds homes for cats that would otherwise be euthanized at other shelters — had become too much for her to support with money from her separate low-cost veterinary clinic. Declining donations in the recession compounded the problem.

But Thompson's direct appeal to supporters and a Daily News article about the shelter's troubles drew enough donations for the shelter to continue providing a haven for almost 200 cats.

"I think the article reached people that had never heard of us," Thompson said. "We got letters from people all over the Bay Area. I got flowers from somebody I didn't know. It was great."

While the exact figures are still being tallied, Thompson said the shelter has received more than $20,000 in individual donations since September. More significantly, revenue from monthly pledges has gone up from about $1,600 per month to around $6,000, which helps cover the shelter's operating costs, she said.

She also organized a "Coins for Cats" fundraiser during this month in which kids designed their own containers to collect donations for the shelter. Thompson held a fundraising party at the shelter Friday night to collect the coin containers and to celebrate the generosity of the donors.

With the influx of cash, Thompson said the shelter should remain solvent for at least another six months. Thompson said the shelter — a warehouse on a frontage road along Highway 101 — currently costs about $30,000 per month to operate, including salaries for four full-time staff members, $5,000 monthly rent, and $1,000 monthly for utilities, food and kitty litter.

In September, the shelter temporarily stopped rescuing cats in an effort to shrink the population in case it was forced to close, but has since resumed taking in new "death row kitties" from other shelters.

"We are still reaching out to shelters and doing our best to help the most desperate cats," Thompson said, "but we're still trying to work on the population that we have."

She's trying to cut costs by using fewer paid workers and relying more on donations of food and kitty litter. She says she hopes the generosity of her supporters will continue.

"We still need monthly donations, we still need volunteers," she said. "We still need all the same things."

For information, call 650-368-1365 or visit www.ninelivesfoundation.org.

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_13684256?nclick_check=1

Dear Friends...

2009-10-07T16:48:00.001-07:00

Can you spare 3 minutes to help needy cats & kittens? I promise this will be easy & quick...

There is a website run by a woman (and her cats!) which raises money for animal organizations by holding Twitter ‘paw’-parties and other online events to raise awareness & encourage donations.

Each month only one animal organization is chosen to be the recipient of all donations through the web site. Most of them earn about $1,000 dollars!

I am campaigning to get Nine Lives Foundation to be the one recipient for the month of November. This is vital because the recession has led to a big decrease in donations and Nine Lives is in danger of having to scale back or close their doors. This fundraising effort is urgently needed, and YOUR one-time vote could make difference.

So I am asking you to take those 3 minutes of your time after you read this email and nominate for Nine Lives. You can cast one vote per each email address that you have.

Here’s what you need to do... go to this page:
http://www.romeothecat.com/contact/

You’ll see a form with 4 empty spaces to be filled.

1) Your Name
2) Your Email Address
3) Your web site -this is not required and you can leave it blank

4) Your message:
This is the place to type that you are nominating the Nine Lives Foundation (www.NineLivesFoundation.org) to be the donation recipient for November. If you want to say more about Nine Lives or anything else to support the nomination, please do! Any personal experiences would help. But you can keep it short and simple if you like. Just make sure to say the rescue name and web address!

After that, press submit, and if you have any other email addresses that you use, then please reload the page after your first vote has been processed and fill it out again.

And if you can encourage other cat-loving friends and family to vote, we would appreciate it!
~ THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING NINE LIVES & THE NEEDY CATS & KITTENS IN OUR COMMUNITY! ~

If you want to read more about this animal fundraising web site, you can check out a news story here:
"Animal friends have 'pawpawties' for charity"
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jz_7RzZvPT8Mx-bGS72xyMjuaP0AD9B1OO382

And you can learn more about Nine Lives at their website.

Veruca - A success story

2009-09-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Dear Nine Lives Staff & Volunteers,

We adopted Veruca (now Juno) a few weeks ago and we feel exceptionally
lucky to have her as part of our family.

She is a joy, snuggling and playing with equal abandon. Our dog is in love with her too! They are constant companions... playing like fools, eating, and sleeping together.
Thank you so much for helping us find her, and for providing such excellent care. We have special thanks for the foster family who sheltered her while she was still nursing kittens, as well.

Sincerely,
The Avis-Reece family

Nine Lives article in the Mercury News.

2009-09-14T16:28:00.000-07:00

http://www.mercurynews.com/twitter/ci_13321682?source=email

Redwood City cat shelter may be forced to close
By Shaun Bishop
Daily News Staff Writer
Posted: 09/11/2009 10:50:14 PM PDT

On a recent summer day, Monica Thompson walked up to a nondescript warehouse in Redwood City and pushed past the screen door into a large room filled with nearly 200 cats.

Some were sleeping in cages, others crawling around a large enclosure with climbing posts toward the back of the building. Dozens were roaming freely around the room, rubbing against the legs of visitors. One was sprawled out on an overhead beam, napping.

"Every cat in here," the veterinarian says as she looks around, "was supposed to be killed."

Instead, Thompson takes them and finds them new adoptive owners through the Nine Lives Foundation, which she founded in 2004. Thompson calls them "death row kitties" — cats that were scheduled to be euthanized at other shelters because of behavior problems or health issues.

Sometime this fall, though, all those cats in the foundation's shelter may need to find another place to go.

With donations to the foundation dropping during the recession, Thompson says she can no longer afford the shelter's $40,000-per-month cost, 80 percent of which comes out of her own pockets.

She also runs a veterinary practice offering low-cost care for cats in a separate Redwood City building, and gives about $20,000 per month from her practice to the shelter. But she says that's not enough and the shelter may have to close or downsize significantly.

"There's only so much I can do by myself," she said.

For now, the shelter has stopped taking new "death row" cats as it tries to find homes for all the current residents in case it has to shut down.

Determined to save as many cats as she could, Thompson, 43, founded the foundation five years ago and moved into the warehouse on a frontage road along Highway 101. She says shelters all over Northern California now regularly e-mail or call her with offers to take cats.

She acknowledges shelters have to euthanize some cats because the cats are gravely injured or because the shelter runs out of space. But she believes shelters too often put down cats that have adoption potential.

"It's not (the shelter's) fault, but I still think there's so much that could be done that isn't," she said.

The accountants say she's crazy trying to run a low-cost veterinary clinic and an expensive rescue shelter at the same time. "I was an economics major and I know better," she said, "but somebody has to do this."

Besides the "death row" cats, Thompson has been giving her clinic patients another chance at life.

A couple months ago, a woman brought in a black cat that had been struck near a freeway onramp in Tracy. The cat's front left leg was crushed and her abdomenal cavity had been split open.

Thompson took the cat, waived the $100 surrender fee, then sewed up her stomach and amputated the leg for free.

"Cats with these kinds of injuries don't make it past the shelter," Thompson said as the recovering cat pawed at her. "And you can see she definitely wants to live."

The cat was adopted and named "Mimsy" by its new owners, who posted a grateful message on the Nine Lives Foundation's blog.

"Mimsy is becoming more playful and curious, too, and likes to be up on her hind legs to scratch her tower or swat at the Cat Dancer," the family wrote.

Rescue groups like Thompson's aren't a panacea for the thousands of unwanted cats that come into Bay Area shelters.

The Peninsula Humane Society is required to take all of the 10,000 dogs and cats per year that come through its door, said vice president Scott Delucchi. The humane society treats many of the cats but also has to euthanize some.

The organization put down 196 "treatable" cats last year, meaning "they had some issue that, given endless resources, they could possibly be treated and then placed into a home," Delucchi said. Another 1,265 "untreatable" cats, those that were simply suffering, were also euthanized.

"The ones we can't treat are often the real difficult cases that would be hard for any rescue groups to take on as well," Delucchi said.

Thompson says she has until the end of October to make a decision on the shelter's future. She's planning to run a "Coins for Cats" fundraising drive encouraging donors to collect coins through the end of the month.

She has also sent letters to donors and adoptive families asking for $20 per month to keep the foundation going.

"If they can just help us with $20 a month, that makes a huge difference," she said.

For more information or to donate, visit www.ninelivesfoundation.org.

E-mail Shaun Bishop at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.

Avis & Mimsy (a.k.a. Corral) - a success story

2009-09-04T07:26:00.000-07:00

Hello Nine Lives!

My husband and I adopted little Avis about a month ago, after we fell in love with her at the shelter. She had lost her left hind leg last to a devastating tumor, which Dr. Thompson removed as soon as Avis arrived at Nine Lives. I'll admit that we were worried that we wouldn't know what to do for a tripod cat, but the volunteers assured us that she could pretty much do everything any other cat could do.
She is sweet as sugar, so it's hard to believe she was completely feral when she arrived at the shelter, even though the volunteers to assure us that she was. Before we brought Avis home, we wanted to have a buddy for her, and found a very outgoing, snuggly Karl in the playcage.
Once we brought Avis and Karl home, we discovered that they were super sweet and adorable individually, but Karl just had a little too much energy for Avis and their personalities just weren't well-matched. We tried everything we could think of, but we ultimately brought him back to his more playful buddies at Nine Lives.

We were so sad, and felt we weren't ready to bring another kitty home, but we should've known better. Avis was an only cat for just less than 36 hours, because Dr. Thompson sneakily introduced us to an adorable all-black Wonder Cat named Corral (now named Mimsy). Mimsy was hit by a car three weeks ago, after which a good samaritan brought her to Nine Lives. Dr. Thompson saved her life, although she couldn't save Mim's front left leg.
We chuckled at the idea of having two tripod kitties at home, but we were already hooked - Mimsy was such a doll! We brought her home to Avis, and since their introduction two weeks ago, they've gone from soft hissing to rumbling purrs, and are even allowing close-proximity
napping now!
Avis is settling in more and more each day to her new home. She has started to "hunt" her little toys, and is so proud when she subdues her "prey." She struts up to us with the toy hanging out of her mouth and vocalizes loudly to announce her victory. Mimsy is becoming more playful and curious, too, and likes to be up on her hind legs to scratch her tower or swat at the Cat Dancer.

We couldn't be happier with these two beautiful little girls, and we're thrilled that they're a part of our family. We want to say thank you to Dr. Thompson and all of the wonderful volunteers at Nine Lives, and to those two individuals, whoever you are, for rescuing these precious cats from the streets, so that they could eventually find their way into our home.

Sincerely,
Amanda, Jesse, Avis and Mimsy

Corral found in the middle of nowhere

2009-09-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

Hello Doctor Thompson,

Attached are the pictures of where I found Corral (the black kitty with 3 legs now). So glad she has already found nice people to adopt her. She is such a sweet kitty, I'm so glad I found her in time. Thank you for everything you have done for her! Take Care, and if I can help is some way one day, I would love to help your foundation in some way.

This photo shows the exit I found her off of .
This photo shows that by turning left you cross over the freeway, I found her against that railing.
Picture 3 - shows you there is nothing ahead but hills and coyotes, etc. She was in the middle of nowhere!
Thank you,
Stacey Anderson

Keeping Pets' Prevents Allergies

2009-09-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday, 27 May, 2001, 00:10 GMT 01:10 UK
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/1352145.stm

Keeping cats in the first year of life can help children

Parents are sometimes wary of keeping pets when they have a new baby.
But a study suggests that children who are exposed to two or more cats and dogs in their first year of life have a reduced risk of allergy.

The research also indicates it could lead to boys having a better lung function.

The research, carried out by scientists at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta and the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit, Michigan looked at 473 children - 241 girls and 232 boys - some of whom had pets up to about seven-years-old.

Families can feel safe keeping dogs

It tested atopy - allergic reaction, lung function, and bronchial function each year.
A questionnaire when the children were one-year-old detailed whether or not they had pets.

Concentrations of dust mite allergens in bedrooms were measured at two years of age.

The children received skin tests to common allergens including cat, dog and dust when they were between six and seven years old.

They were also tested for lung and chest functions.

Exposure

It was found those children who had been exposed to pets had half the number of positive skin tests to all the allergens compared to those who had not.

The researchers said that the link was still true when results were adjusted for gender, birth order, parental asthma and smoking and dust mite allergen levels.

In boys only, it was found that having two or more pets was linked to lower levels of immunoglobulin E, which is linked to hypersensitivity reactions, and better lung function.

The research was presented to the American Thoracic Society.

Dr Warren Lenney, a consultant respiratory paediatrician at North Staffordshire Royal Infirmary, and a member of the British Thoracic Society's external relations board, told BBC News Online the thinking in the past had been to get rid of cats and dogs because they could be a health hazard.

He said: "It very much depends on whether dogs and cats have been there for years or whether it's a new acquisition.

"But they are still very bad news if you are an asthmatic to acquire a dog not having had one before."

But he said he found it "difficult to understand" why boys had different results than girls.

A spokeswoman for the Cats Protection League said: "These findings are good news for cats who are all too often seen as the cause of allergic reactions in children rather than a risk reduction factor."

It's getting hot in here...

2009-08-31T15:13:00.000-07:00

So this weekend the shelter reached and surpassed 100°F. It was pretty miserable but we had wonderful volunteers passing our frozen water bottles to the kitties, wetting them down and putting ice in their water bowls. We all survived and it provided the added bonus of making the cats much easier to photograph as you can see...

Trixie and her water bottle.

Vincent, the feral, having a lay about.

Viggo, rudely woken from his nap.

Vanity finding the flashing camera disturbing.
Toby, sleeping though his photo debut.

Bastion, the feral, sound asleep in the rafters.

Roxy, helping out at the front desk.

Rocky sleeping the heat away.
Oreo stretching out.
Mister posing and getting as much cold concrete contact as he can.
Maya draped on a small table.
Luther spending his last Saturday in the shelter before going to his new forever home!
Karl, he just looks perplexed, doesn't he?
Jet trying to be a flat cat, but too darn furry to manage it.
Fannin in perhaps the only photo ever taken that isn't blurred by his constant motion.
Dasha hanging out.
Bobcat, probably wishing we'd refresh his Lion cut.
BJ stretched out....
Big Ben, most likely hoping I won't come any closer.
Baylor just chillin'
Whiskers making sure no one touches her toy and basking in her fancy Lion cut.
Stay cool out there...

Einstein - A success story!

2009-08-19T13:12:00.000-07:00

We just wanted to write to you to say thank you for Einstein (who we adopted about a month ago). When we came to the shelter, we thought that adopting a rescue cat who would be happy with two preschoolers and a dog might be a bit of a tall order. However, your great volunteers were absolutely fantastic is knowing each cat's personality and guiding us towards cats who would be happy being carried, pulled, dressed in dolls' clothing, wheeled around like a baby, and chased up and down the hallway. The ladies who helped us on the day will remember that, in the end, Einstein chose our son (rather than the other way around) and as you can see from the photos attached, its been that way ever since. Even after three weeks when we let Einstein out into the garden, he walked out of the door and promptly curled up underneath the apple tree. He seems to have no interest in going anywhere other than where our children are, and does seem "happy" to be here.

Thank you so much - he is a wonderful addition to our family.
The Taylor Family

Darby - A success story

2009-08-18T13:16:00.000-07:00

Hi,
I wanted you to know that "Darby", now known as Zoey the Diva, has settled into her new home. We are developing the love bond of the year. She is fabulous and has definitely found a good home where she is well loved.
Thank you for the work you do and for ZoeyD.
Paula

Update on Pooh Bear a.k.a. Butterfinger

2009-08-18T11:21:00.000-07:00

Dear Dr. Thompson and Nine Lives Volunteers,

It's been about 4-5 months since I adopted Butterfinger and I thought you might like to know how he's doing. First of all, I decided to rename him Pooh Bear, not only to relieve him of the name that was associated with so much of his pain and emotional trauma but also because he is such a cuddle bug and lap cat. The minute I sit down to watch TV, he loves to come right over and plop down in my lap. He's like a ragdoll who just kinda goes limp when you pick him up or move him around. This cat would not harm a flea let alone bite someone out of aggression. I can only imagine that he thought someone was trying to kill him when his previous owner sat on him and I'm sure he acted on pure adrenaline when he bit her. I'd love to do more than just bite his previous owner for putting his through the trauma of giving him up can considering euthanizing him. I just don't understand how anyone could EVER consider doing this to such a sweet, sweet kitty.

Pooh Bear had absolutely no problem adjusting to living with my two other kitties. They also accepted him with no problems.
He gets extremely anxious whenever he has to go to the vet or if strangers come to the house and kinda freaks out (and sometimes poops on the spot) but we are working on that.

All in all, he is an absolute DOLL and I am so happy that he is part of my kitty family now. Thank you for rescuing this wonderful boy from a certain death.
We just moved to San Diego about 6 weeks ago and here are a few pics of Pooh in his new home.

Best Regards,
Nancy and Pooh Bear

Jimmy! (Sucess Story)

2009-08-11T13:28:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

I just wanted to give an update on everybody's favorite cat, Jimmy ;) He's doing absolutely beautifully here in our home. He's still jumping high, and training for the olympics. He has also taken up playing fetch, possibly his new favorite sport. He's definitely going to be a gold medalist!
My husband and I are absolutely delighted to have him with us everyday. He really is a joy, like having a mischievous little boy whom you can't help but adore. Full of energy and love, he really is the most special cat, a little ray of sunshine. And oh that ridiculous sleep position which seems to be the mark of his afternoon naps!!

Love,
Marta, Vincent, and Jimmy

Pixel - A success Story

2009-08-07T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hello,

We adopted Pixel almost 5 months ago. He was about a year old at the time. Pixel was his Nine Lives name and we decided to let him keep it. We were grateful to have a 2-week trial adoption period but we knew right away that we were going to keep him. We could not have wished for a better cat and he has been such a great addition to our family. He follows us around the house and he is just the most affectionate, playful and fun little cat. He brings smiles to our faces every day. We spoil him with lots of love, toys and treats in return. A big THANK YOU to Nine Lives for helping place Pixel in our life!

From Pixel's Family

Tandy and Yuki - A success story

2009-07-24T13:54:00.000-07:00

Dear Monica and staff:

Moses and I just wanted to tell you how happy, safe, and loved we are with our new parents. We both are FeLV positive but Mom is giving us such good stuff to help our immune systems be strong. She also burns lavender and puts on soothing music for us.

I was formerly named Yuki and was adopted about 2 years ago. My brother Moses, formerly Tandy, was adopted 6 months ago. Even though we miss our Monica and our foster mom, we are so happy to have a safe place to call home.

We'll be in touch and send more pictures later.

Thank you Dr. Thompson for loving us and for finding us our mom and dad.

Love Maya and Moses
Maya
Moses
Maya and Moses on their favorite chair

Zander - A success story

2009-07-22T13:35:00.000-07:00

Hello,

My family adopted Zander from you on July 11. We've had a great time welcoming him into our family -- he is such a love. He has adjusted beautifully to our home and has become a great companion to our 3yr old daughter. He's even slowly making friends with our very crabby older cat. She still occasionally hisses at him but she will at least be in the same room with him without causing a ruckus.

He's also turned into a major couch potato and spends much of his day there. In the evenings when we're home, he'll scoot over to let us join him, but he's reluctant to give up his prime snoozing spot. Must be a guy thing!

Thank you to everyone at the shelter for helping us find the perfect cat. Everyone's knowledge of his personality made a huge difference, so we knew what to expect from him. We're so happy with him.

Just wanted to update you on how he's doing. Thanks again,
Lisa, Jim, and Zelly

Update on Queenie & The Duchess

2009-07-15T13:44:00.000-07:00

Hi,

Just a note to let you know that Queenie and The Duchess have settled in already at our home and in our hearts.

Thanks again for all the great work that you do and for helping us find the right two kitties for us.

Cynthia

Who would throw this little kitty out of a car window?

2009-07-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Friday, July 10th at 4:45 p.m. during RUSH HOUR on bay area freeway, 92 entrance from the 880 freeway, a 3 month old grey and white baby kitten was THROWN out the window by a person in a white cream small pickup with a shell. The kitten was hit by the person in the car in back of him. He was brought in by a woman that saw him being thrown from the truck window and get hit by the car in back of the truck.
She rushed the kitten to the Nine Lives Foundation's vet, the Feline Well-Care Clinic in Redwood City...where the kitten is doing well, no broken bones but of course, the kitten must be in shock from all this kitten has been through.

If anyone knows who this coward is that threw the kitten out of his truck to face an awful and violent death and fled, please email us so we can add it to the report.

We cannot express our horror. To throw a live kitten on the freeway to somehow fend for itself. How could anyone have so little compassion and such RAGE, that they would do this terrible thing. This poor 3 month old grey and white kitten could have been someones beloved new kitten. In this case, something went very wrong. What would motivate a person to do this?

These photos show the kitten at safety at Nine Lives Foundation Vet Hospital. This sweet kitten is so happy to be warm, secure, wounds healing and on the mend. Contributions to help pay for his care, no matter how small the donation would be much appreciated. Call Nine Lives Foundation / Feline Well-Care Clinic at (650) 368-1365 and ask for Marcella and say you want to donate to the FREEWAY KITTY FUND!!

This sweet kitty still needs a permanent home where the kitten will never have to face this type of terror again.

Success Story- Gino and Tito

2009-07-13T13:48:00.000-07:00

Dear Nine Lives,

We just wanted to write and give you an update on our kitties, Cash and Koa (formerly known as Gino and Tito), who we adopted about 5 months ago. They are doing great and getting big! We couldn't be happier! They have the best personalities-- everyone who meets them says so. They love to play and wrestle, and then curl up on the chair and sleep. They are truly the sweetest kitties and we are so happy to have found them!! Now we couldn't imagine life without them. Thank you for helping us find them and for the wonderful work you do for cats!

David and Renee

[Picture attached-- taken July 12, 2009]

12 Cats adopted this weekend!

2009-07-13T12:29:00.000-07:00

Friday
1 - Smokey
Saturday
2 - Paisley

3 & 4 - Dutchess & Queenie together

5 - Milo 6 - Zander
7 - Chai
8 & 9 - Molly & Croc together Sunday
10 - Audrey 11 & 12 - Gracie & Uggs together

Jerico - A success story

2009-07-07T13:51:00.000-07:00

Dear Nine Lives Foundation,

We adopted Jerico last September from you and we are so happy to have him as part of our family.

Jerico was quiet at first but he became a lot more outgoing and vocal. He loves his scratching pole and anything stringy (as you can see in the photo). He is a sweet kitty and it has been a joy to have him in our life. I am a little bit jealous though because he seems to love my husband more. Jerico follows my husband everywhere he goes but of course it's very sweet and it's all good.
Jerico has brought so much love and laughter into our home and we look forward to spend all the upcoming years with him.

Delicia and Logan

Vote for Nine Lives Foundation!

2009-04-13T12:10:00.000-07:00

Teddy is here again to remind everyone to vote for Nine Lives Foundation!
Go to http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/ daily starting April 13th to vote. Click on the purple button "Click here to give-it's free".
Then when the next page pops up, click on the box that says "vote" at the top of the page.
Search for Nine Lives Foundation in CA and click the box next to their name to vote for them!
A picture of an animal will appear. Type the name of the animal when it prompts you to do so and that will confirm your vote!
There are many monetary prizes so we have to get moving fast to help our favorite shelter!
Thanks!
Love & Meows From,
Teddy

2009 adoptions thus far...

2009-03-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

This year has been a record breaking year so far with 194 adoptions by 3/30/09. An average of 64 adoptions per month. We're really hoping that we can keep this going and even increase our monthly numbers as we go. Some of the kitties we've adopted out this year are:

Owen
Pixel
Coco
Chanel
Garfield

Update on Conrad - A success story

2009-03-29T16:29:00.000-07:00

Hi Nine Lives,

We adopted the cat you called "Conrad" after a false start with a different cat, (who has since been adopted, which makes us very happy). We STILL don't have a name for him because no one in our household can agree. I wanted to call him "Darwin", but no one else likes the name. So he has since been Andre, Snoodles, P.K., (for Psycho Kitty), Augie, Rufus, and a myriad of other names. My latest is "Malarky", which fits his goofy personality.

He is quite the little maniac. He's pulled the table cloth off the table, broken flower pots, torn up a roll of TP, dug up plants in the garden, and generally dominates this household with his antics. He tries to bury his food which means that he bats his dishes all over the kitchen. And just when I'm ready to get really mad at him he gives me that, "Look at this beautiful mess I made for you. Aren't you proud of me?" look, which cracks me up. I always thought that cats were graceful. Not this guy. He plays so hard he runs into walls and falls off tables. Chasing the laser light he flies off the top step and clunks down the stairs, then comes back for more. Often when I go into the bathroom I find his paw prints in the sink. Presumably he is admiring his handsome face and beautiful whiskers. As you can probably tell I am totally in love with him. Izzy, a cat we adopted from you a few years ago, and he are slowly making friends. They'll play with 2 ends of a ribbon, and pretend they are just trying to catch the warmth of the sun when they lie near each other for naps on the rug. Our poor toothless kitty, Orlando, is still having a tough time with this interloper, but eventually, if Malarky ever slows down, he should come to accept that this is also Orlando's home. We are SO grateful you rescued this kitty, and wish we could take all your kitties home. May they all find happy homes.

Thank you for all the wonderful work you do.

Update on Amelia - sucess story

2009-03-23T16:05:00.000-07:00

On February 17th we recieved an email from Oakland Animal Shelter that a flame point Persian had been was placed in the night drop box at the OaklandAnimal Shelter. She was very sweet, probably around 3 years old per the vet but she had an ulcerated eye that will needed surgery (eye removal) and a dental. We were told later that evidently the owner's mother kicked/hit her which is how they think she ended up w/the eye trauma. Here she is after her surgery.

After her surgery Amelia blossomed and it wasn't long before she was adopted and went off to her forever home. See below for the update from her new family. - LH

Hello Pat, Georgia, Dr. Monica and the Staff at Nine Lives:

I wanted to give you an update on Amelia's progress. She went to her new vet Dr. Mark Zimmerman of the Crosstown Veterinary Hospital (http://www.crosstownvet.com/). When I arrived for my appointment to remove her stitches they were very interested to hear her story and I made sure to tell them all about the work that Nine Lives and Persial Rescue do. They said they would add you both to their website as a link for people looking to adopt. Amelia was of course the most relaxed patient of the day. Even though I had brought in her paperwork from Nine Lives, Dr. Mark still gave her a full exam. He put her on the scale and in the first two weeks I had her in my care she gained 1.5 lbs. (I'm sure by now she's gain at least a total of 3). I even held her as the vet removed her stitches...she was her usual calm self and held very still in my arms. Dr. Mark was amazed at how mellow she was. Her eye has healed beautifully and I've included a couple of recent pictures.
I know that Dr. Monica mentioned that she was worried about the amount of skin that she had to clip off during surgery - Dr. Mark said you did a great job and the surgery was a complete success with no post surgery complications at all. As the hair around the eye grows in it will even be less noticable. Each day she continues to amaze me with her personality. Although she's still the most laid back kitty I've ever had the pleasure to know. She also has a "wild & whacky side". She loves to play and zip around the house and leaves behind a pile of rumpled throw rugs in her wake. She's picked up on my daily routine and now wakes me up 20 minutes before my alarm clock to start the day off with her wet food. Then it's brush time followed by play time and treats.

Once I head out the door from work it's nap time until I return and the play session kicks in for round two. Rounds three and sometimes four can happen before bedtime too. Sadly I've also discovered that whomever had her originally put a collar on her. At somepoint that collar became too small and it's left a scar all the way around her neck. I can even see the imprint of the collar buckel on the back of her neck. No worries anymore as I don't like collars on cats, but at least it explains why sometimes she sleeps with her head up. I'm sure with a collar that tight it was the most comfortable position. Thank you again for directing me to Amelia. As she has healed from her surgeries, I too have healed from the loss of my cat Molly. We've been good for each other and I look forward to a long and happy friendship.

Best Regards,

Henrietta

Update on Marcus - success story

2009-03-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Hello Nine Lives,

I wanted to send you some pictures of our new friend Marcus. He is SPOILED rotten. Well, not rotten... we LOVE LOVE LOVE him, I can't even tell you!! He is so happy, he gets to go outside whenever he wants, loves playing with our mastiff doggie, is eating well, and LOVES our kids.

He gets so much love. He is the perfect addition to our family, we could not be happier. He is really special, and goofy, loves to play with toys, and is very happy to be with us. We are so lucky to have him! He loves to ride in the car.... so strange. but I love it! Our daughter rides horses up in Woodside, and he loves to ride in the car and sleep while we watch her lesson.

Thank you for giving us the gift of Marcus... please please let Laurel know that he has a really good home, and he is extremely well-loved and cared for... and let the others at Nine Lives know how happy we are with our new addition!

Thanks again, and take care.
Jenny, Craig, Lily and Eddie

Cats adopted out in the month of January

2009-01-30T11:07:00.000-08:00

The kitties adopted out in Jaurary are as follows:

1/1 Ringo 1/1 Dee Dee
1/2 Snowy
1/3 Violet
1/3 May
1/3 Yuki 1/3 Martha
1/3 Bear 1/3 Abby
1/3 Cleo
1/5 Trinity
1/5 Taylor
1/5 Tipirus 1/5 Autum 1/5 Paris 1/5 Orange male
1/5 Delilah
1/5 Merlin
1/5 Lotus
1/6 Lenny 1/6 Lovey
1/6 Dovey
1/6 Vivienne
1/6 Phoenix 1/6 Froggy
1/6 George
1/6 Mararoni
1/6 Geno
1/7 Ken
1/10 Venus
1/10 Lion
1/10 Ashley 1/10 Lacey
1/10 Sonny
1/13 Lindsay
1/13 Trudy
1/13 Annie
1/13 Coco
1/16 Stoli
1/17 Marty
1/17 Purrbucket
1/17 Cinder
1/19 Midnight
1/19 Tanner
1/19 LB -main coon male
1/24 Leo
1/24 Rogue 1/24 Zandria
1/24 Veronica
1/24 Annie
1/24 April
1/24 Willie
1/24 Zima
1/24 Audrey
1/24 Gatsby 1/24 Lianna
1/24 Vana 1/24 Lia
1/24 Yang
1/24 Ying
1/24 OJ
1/24 Tangerine
1/27 Hermione
1/27 Ron
1/27 Pheobe
1/28 Missy 1/28 Monroe 1/30 Ellen
1/30 Tara

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

2008-11-21T17:37:00.000-08:00

**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!

2008-10-13T08:59:00.000-07:00

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

2008-10-03T09:24:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-09-09T17:19:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-08-30T18:57:00.000-07:00

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"

2008-08-28T14:22:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-21T13:23:00.000-07:00

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

2008-07-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-07-09T09:58:00.000-07:00

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

2008-06-18T12:17:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-14T12:53:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-14T11:31:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-08T09:34:00.000-07:00

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

2008-04-04T14:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-04-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-30T17:44:00.000-07:00

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

2008-03-12T19:16:00.000-07:00

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!

2008-03-09T11:27:00.000-07:00

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...

2008-02-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

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.

Then yet more painting...

After the painting was done, it was time to build the big play enclosure for the kitties...Meanwhile, the carpet was pulled and tiles were put down in what will be the sugery suite and the prep room.Once all of that was done, the kitties came over...

For the new Shelter -

2008-02-08T15:13:00.000-08:00

Update - A big thank you to all that showed up and put forth the effort to help get the Nine Lives Foundation moved. We see the light at the end of the tunnel yet more still to go. In order to complete the move we need to clean up the old place (gotta be out of there by the 20th) and open up for business at 3016 on the 15th. I'm sure there are a lot of tried and sore bodies out there with all the lifting, pulling, bending, scrubbing, on-your-feet, knees, and butt kind of activity that moving demands. To all the bearers of food to nourish us, the gifts of supplies (from absorbent pads, cat trees, doors, paint supplies, etc) and the transport services (the moving truck/drivers/personal vehicles) to help move items, including the expertise, commitment and creativity to accomplish what needs to be done and the willingness to do it or anything or anyone else that I have forgotten - THANK YOU!

Supplies needed:

Card board boxes and packing material would be helpful.
We're still in need of the paper food cups or boats that we use for wet food to feed the cats. They are found at Smart & Final, and are the smallest size (I think 0.5 lbs.) that they make. They come in a pack of ~250, blue on the outside, a pack of six would be great.
Extra large Under Pads. They are a flat rectangular sheet of plastic covered in a thin layer of absorbent material. Their used for conveyancing cats. I find them at Longs in the adult diaper section. A couple of packs would work well.
Trash bags
Paper towels
Bleach
Laundry Detergent
Baby food: chicken, turkey, beef, ham, lamb (Food Co. has the best price on Delmonte baby food.)
Towels, bedding
Cat beds from indivilual that will accompildate more than one cat; med dog size works well
Cat trees-Cat tubes-Foam
Little tikes play structures - easy to sanitize
Cat Country litter large sized bags
Small area rugs (machine washable please) are a favorite for feline lounging.
Ferret hammocks, large size works best. The kittens pile into them and take long naps

Written by: Trish

NINE LIVES FOUNDATION MOVE February 2008

2008-02-07T20:33:00.000-08:00

It's time to pack the old and prep the new for our move to the new location at 3016 Rolison Avenue. We’re in dire need of volunteers now if you’re interested please contact Trish 714-5457 or Dr. Monica Thompson at 814-6696 for information. See our website: ninelivesfoundation.org for more updates on the blog.

We are in need of people with electrician, plumbing, handy man skills to install: lighting fixtures, outlets, treatment sinks, shelving, drying racks, drivers for fork lift to move banks of cages and moving truck, unclogging of drains, etc. There are already eight working 220 outlets available in the warehouse.

TIME LINE FOR MOVE – TENTATIVE SCHEDULE – THIS WILL CHANGE AS NEEDED

2-4 Mon Prep work for painting the inside of warehouse – FINISHED!
2-5 Tues Paint inside of warehouse and newly constructed rooms.
2-5 to 2-8 construct cat runs, kitten nursery, quarantine, ICU, get acquainted rooms, etc.
Tues- Fri Install flooring and install lighting
2-8 Friday Set up of sanitization equipment and supplies for Friday morning. Need floor plan
2-9 Saturday Cats: ID and collars, deflea, mini physicals, nails
ID holding cages at 1255, sanitize (location TBA), move them to 3016.
Sort, toss, defer. box up, label & move what is ready to go. Dump runs.

2-10 Sunday Moving truck arrives. Sanitize/wash (location to TBA) equipment and supplies via pressure sprayer and/or hand washing before items go into the new shelter. Bring your scrub brushes and rubber gloves. Here’s a sampling of what’s on the sanitation wash list: banks of cat cages including doors, brick cage supports, stainless steel sinks, treatment tables, service carts, trash containers, and miscellaneous equipment like refrigerators, washers, dryer, freezer, office equipment, furnishings and supplies (brooms, brushes, dust pans, shoes, door knobs etc.). Remember the under side of items; tables, carts, rolling equipment.

Move cages and install skirting.
Move surgery and prep
Move washer, dryer, freezer, refrigerator(s
Evening may move cats depending of progress of the move

2-11 Monday Install banisters. Move furnishings, office, supplies.
2-10 to 2-17 Clean 1255 Annette and replace cabinetSun – Mon
2-16 Saturday Volunteer training TBA and adoption event 10 am - 4 pm at 3016 Rolison
2-17 to 21 Dr. Thompson at veterinary conference out of town
Sun – Thur After initial move Clear drains, check heating & electrical

Deferred
Plumbing: washer, clean sink, groom sink, install sign, rear window ventilation, room installation

March 3rd - March First Friday - Grand Opening!

There is limited parking in front of 3016 Rolison (NLF) use 2nd Avenue as an alterative.

Harlequin - why we Microchip our cats.

2008-01-25T09:35:00.001-08:00

Harlequin came from the Peninsula Humane Society as a 12 week old feral kitten in July of 2005. We neutered him, notched his ear and sent him up to a feral colony so he'd have a some space to be feral. He moved into the house of the colony's caretaker in the winter of 2006 and decided that petting was okay. Soon he was downright outgoing and affectionate. He loved attention, scratches, tummy rubs and snuggles, but still startled easily. Amazingly, Harlequin seemed quite content to be indoor only and showed no interested in going outside again. Harlequin, now an adoptable kitty, came back to the Nine Lives Foundation in November of 2006 to search for his own forever home. While he remained in foster care, he became one of the most amazing feline companions his foster family had ever met. From his goofy little chirps to his silly little circular dance when begging for pets.

We thought we'd found the perfect home for him when Harlequin was adopted out on April 12, 2007 to a couple from Pleasanton. They seemed very nice and it seemed like a perfect match, which makes the rest of the story so much more tragic and hard to understand.

On Friday, January 11, 2008 we received a call from the Washoe County Regional Animal Services in Reno, Nevada. They had gotten in a black and white cat on January 8th as a stray surrender that had a microchip they were able to trace back to us as Harlequin. He was very sick and they wanted to track down his owner so they could stop him from being PTS when his stray hold was up on January 14, 2008. While we called his "owners" and left messages on their voicemail and email, with no response, we pulled him immediately with the help of some gracious volunteers who lived in the Reno Area. They described his condition as deplorable. He had a nasty Upper Respiratory Infection, severe gingivitis and looked, "starved, beat up, scared and desperately in need of a bath." We can only guess how long he had been living on the frozen winter streets of Reno, but we hope it was not long. A week after being contacted by the Reno shelter, our volunteers had helped us to transport Harlequin home and back into foster care with his original foster family for rehabilitation.

While we wish we could find out what happened to him and discover how an indoor only cat from Pleasanton ended up homeless, walking the streets of Reno, we've come to terms with the fact that we'll never know. We're just so happy to have him home and safe.

We have high hopes that Harlequin will return to the wonderful, affectionate boy that we knew before he left us in April. We are not anxious to place him again, but would love for him to find a loving home where he will be safe and cared for as he so desperately deserves. We're pleased to hear his inquisitive chirps and see him running to us for lap time and petting. We're hoping that one day soon he'll allow us to pick him up again without fear.

Written by: LH

29 cats rescued from Lake County Animal Shelter

2008-01-21T19:49:00.000-08:00

Tina and I, made the 3.5 hour drive up to Lake County this morning to pull some kitties from their overcrowded shelter. We had a limit of how many we were to take, but that went out the door when we saw all of these wonderful kitties who were due to die today. Today they had 21 cats scheduled to be PTS mostly orange tabbies, calico's and Siamese kitties. Last night, when we heard, we begged them to hold off putting any to sleep until we could get there at noon.

An elderly lake county woman recently died who had had fifty plus cats in her care, well actually in a garage. I'm sure to begin with, she had a plan to help the cats, she got many spayed and neutered and somehow things went very wrong over time. While once the cats got altered, soon there were kittens being born. What probably seemed like a temporary shelter, the garage became their permanent home. Care of the cats suffered too as some got sick and weren't able to get the medical care, they needed or maybe the number of cats made them keep passing colds around. Whatever happened is hard to say except to say that it all got very out of control for the lady who had them. As of a week ago, 29 of these fifty plus cats came into the very small, underfunded, Lake County Shelter. This number of cats needing help really strained the resources of the shelter.

It was a rainy day and there was even some snow on the mountain highway 175 on our way to and from Lake County but that didn't stop us from our mission. We had permission to pull 10 cats, up from the original 5 cats we'd discussed pulling but it only took a few moments of being in that damp, loud and overcrowded shelter for us to call and discuss pulling more. In the end we were told to "pull as many as we could fit in our car." It's amazing how many cats you can fit in a CRV when you have the motivation to try. We left the Lake County Shelter at 2pm today with 29 amazingly sweet and adoptable cats and kittens. The return drive home had more snow, so we took it slowly.After the 3.5 hour return drive it took nearly another hour to tuck the cats and kittens from Lake County into their cages and beds at the Nine Lives Foundation. We found the softest, warmest beds we could and set them each up with heaping bowls of wet food. The sight of some of these cats gulping down the first wet food they'd ever seen was enough to bring tears to our eyes. Once each of the cats and kittens were eating from their big bowls of food and their little feet were making "biscuits." We began to go through and treat each with Revolution for the fleas and ear mites that nearly all of them had.

Finally, names were given to each and every one of these deserving cats and kittens and their photos taken (We will take better photos when they've settled in). The best part of the day was knowing that these cats and kittens that at the beginning of the day had no hope, now have nothing but happy days and loving forever homes to look forward to. Our 29 new residents are below, please let us know if you're interested in giving any of these wonderful kitties a chance at a happily ever after.

Antony, a gregarious and playful 2 year old orange tabby and white tuxedo boy.

Bunsen and Petri are adorable 8 week old litter mates. They also came from the hoarder and are recovering from a URI and ear mites. Bunsen is a handsome Flame Point Siamese boy,While Petri is a very pretty Calico tuxedo girl. Cagney is a handsome, neutered, Senior Maine Coon boy. Cairo is a stunningly handsome, 3 year old, Chocolate Point Siamese boy. Laid back and friendly, he would be a great addition to any home. Curacao is a very handsome, 5-6 month old, Lilac Point Siamese boy. Diamond is the momma to Ruby and a funny little girl with a silly looking overbite. One of the most obvious cases of neglect that we saw in the cats rescued from the hoarder, Diamond and Ruby will need a lot of TLC before they are 100% recovered.
Julep is a pretty, soft and cuddly little 4.5 month old calico girl and sister to Martini and Rossi.

Kimmie is a very pretty and playful young black and white tuxedo girl.
Licorice is a darling, DMH all black, 5-6 month old boy.
Lemur is a scrawny little 9 week old girl who was adopted out but returned for having diarrhea.

Lita, a 5-6 month old Chocolate Point Siamese love bug of a girl.

Marshall is one of the 4 orange tabby boys pulled from the hoarder. And while he seems less than enthused around other cats, he's quite the lover of people. Melina, a 1 year old grey tabby and white girl.

Miriam, a darling black and white, Polydactyl tuxedo girl. Another of the kitties from the hoarder. She's being treated for her ear mites and malnutrition.

Opie, a 2-3 year old orange tabby boy. Very sweet and fond of his buddy Antony.

Orion is a very handsome and outgoing buff tabby boy.

Pansy was another one of the refugees of the Hoarder. With ringworm, ear mites a long term lack of adequate food she has a long way to go before she'll be 100% again.
Piggy is a darling, Snowshoe mix boy. Probably once very handsome, Piggy has had a tough life and it shows. He's several years old, but still intact and has clearly had ear mites for a very long time. His ears are malformed from years old healed injuries caused by him scratching them until they bled. He's currently got a giant scab behind his right ear from the most recent irritation. We've treated him for ear mites and are hopeful that he'll open up once he's no longer suffering.

Poesy and her buddy Pansy were both refugees of the Hoarder as well. Both have ringworm, ear mites and were near starved, even after more than a week in the Lake County Shelter, where their slim budget was not capable of taking care of so many ill kitties all at once.

Rossi, the boy on the left and Martini, the girl on the right, came in with their sister Julep. All very sweet but they were very overwhelmed in the loud, dog bark echoing, Lake County Shelter. Ruby, one of the more ill cared for of the hoarder's girl kitties. She came in with her momma Diamond. Both were half starved and covered in scabs and ear mites. Stacey, a pretty petite black and white Tuxedo girl.

Theodore, a brown tabby lover boy, who was on hold for biting a person who tried to get between him and the dog he was fighting with. We think he's be amazing in a non-dog home. He loves to give head butts and to get tummy rubs. He's the least aggressive kittie I've yet to meet.

Waldo, a stunning and friendly orange tabby, Manx boy.

Webster, a handsome DMH orange tabby boy. He's a little shy but purrs like crazy once you start petting him.

Willow, a pretty young calico girl. She loves to chat at you and rub against the bars of her cage.

Can you believe we forgot to mention Jacqueline? Jacqueline is a beautiful and very talkative (I mean really, she loves to talk! Maybe she's part Siamese.) one year old dilute torti girl.

That means we pulled 29 cats, not 28!

Written by: LH

Adoptions for 1-17/08 to 1/19/08

2008-01-19T17:30:00.000-08:00

We had 7 adoptions on Saturday, Including Penelope and Gabrial who I don't have handy photos of and the rest of the kitties below.

Evie who came to us as a feral with her mom and sister (who still need some more socializing).

Teddy an awesome boy who came to us on 1/11/08 from Los Banos.

Leslie a wonderfully sweet girl who came to us from Tehama County AS on 10/25/07

Mixer who came to us from Fremont AS on 1/12/08, Mac and Cheese arrivals from Cat house on the Kings on 1/13/08. We knew these two cuties wouldn't last long at all.
And on Thursday Isis, a very long term foster girl from Tehama County AS, went out on a trial adoption. Fingers crossed, this will be her happily ever after.

Written by: LH

2008 adoptions so far...

2008-01-16T14:47:00.000-08:00

Would you be suprised to hear that we've adopted out 22 cats so far this month? I was! But look for yourself. We were stuned that folks would drive from all over the Bay Area to adopt from us, but they do. We've had adoptions from as far north as Santa Rosa and as far south as Morgan Hill.

Blender's Mom says he was well worth the drive up from Morgan Hill!

Looking at this face, wouldn't you?

Written by: LH

Charlie and Willy - a success story!

2008-01-16T14:29:00.000-08:00

Hello,

I can’t believe that we’ve had our two kittens for over a month now, but seeing as we got them from you just before Thanksgiving, it’s got to be true! We adopted Trixie’s two remaining kittens, whom you had called Charlie and Rusty. (We’ve kept the name Charlie, but renamed the orange one Willy.) They have been absolutely wonderful, and have gotten along famously with the 6 month-old whom we already had.

I’m attaching a photo taken a few weeks ago. Feel free to post it on your website if you’d like. Thanks again for the wonderful new members of our family!

Marcia

Penny

2008-01-07T16:07:00.000-08:00

An intact male, black and white tuxedo was found in the bushes of a client's driveway in Oakland on 12/22/07, starved and injured. Assuming the very friendly cat, who was wearing a harness and torn leash, had been hit by a car they wanted to ensure that he would recover. Anne and Jenn, who found him, called Animal Control who would not come and pick him up as it was a Saturday. They were told to call the Police Department to come down and "take care of him."

Anne and Jenn, nixed that idea and instead called us to see if Dr. Thompson could help. Within two hours the kitty now named "Penny" for the street he was found on, was in at Nine Lives for treatment. He had not been hit by a car. Our best guess based on his wounds and the signs of old wounds was that Penny had been tortured. We suspect he'd been starved and had scalding liquid of some kind poured on him while he was tied to something with his leash.

Below are some photos taken within minutes of his arrival. Clearly these injuries had happened several days before he was found as the wounds are beginning to heal. I've reduced the size of the images to minimize the gore. Needless to say, it was a horrific sight to see. Dr. Thompson spent nearly an hour debriding his wounds and cleaning Penny up.

Two weeks later Penny is an entirely new cat. He's gained nearly 3lbs and is quickly becoming a very handsome kitty. His injuries are healing and despite his shaved look, he's quite a looker. Penny purrs the moment you open his cage, especially if you come bearing food. ;) Penny is proof once again, that animals are amazingly resilient creatures. After all he's been through he still trusts humans to care for and love him. We promise, we won't let him down. He's got nothing but good things to look forward to. He's one penny who deserves some good luck.

Tragic news for Penny.

Penny was doing very well until Wednesday of last week when he developed unusual facial swelling similar to anaphylactic shock. He stopped eating and took a turn for the worse. Dr. T treated and monitored him and took him home each night but at 3am on Friday morning he went into cardiac arrest and was not able to be resuscitated. It's possible, although the necropsy was inconclusive, that he went into septic shock from the burns. We'll never know for sure what happened. We're focusing instead on the fact that he was warm, had food and love and wasn't afraid when he left us.

Rest in Peace sweet boy.

Written by: LH

Magic & Mathew

2008-01-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

A success story from our early days.

We got Magic & Mathew in May of 05, what wonderful little "Grey Guys" they are!
I guess it was Magic that was the start of 9 Lives, Monica saved him as a kitten...but had to amputated his right hind leg, something that has not slowed him down a bit! he runs the house that includes 2 dogs (200# between them). We needed to get Mathew some minor medical attention, so a call to Palo Alto to see Dr. Monica, who was VERY pleased to see them both.

Miriam & Guy....& Magic, Mathew, Maxwell & Spooner too!

Alice now, Becker, a success story!

2007-12-19T14:29:00.001-08:00

Hello,
My wife and I adopted “Alice” about a week and a half ago. It is pretty safe to say that you can take her off the trial adoption page. We have changed her name to Becker and are completely happy with her.

She is enjoying her new home and is a very lovable kitty. We have absolutely no complaints, or regrets about adopting her. My wife and I are going to look for things to buy and donate to the Nine Lives Foundation as our cat is the best Xmas present we could have both received.

Thank you Nine Lives!!! We will send you some pictures of Becker so you can all see how happy she is in her new home.

Jorge and Liz

Written by: LH

Bug & Beetle found a home!

2007-12-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

The last of Sherry's kittens, Bug and Beetle are the most amazingly dynamic duo. Totally bonded, we couldn't bear to part them when a gentleman inquired about adopting them. After some consideration, he decided to take the both of them. We feel sure it's a decision he'll be forever happy with. After all, how could life be sad or boring with these two goof balls around.

Written by: LH

December adoptions keep on coming...

2007-12-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

Since my last post, we've had a number of adoptions.

Xavier was adopted by a fabulous couple who adopted Zelda from us a little over a year ago. They've already updated us on how the two are doing.

"Hi Friends,

Well Zeke (formerly Xavier) seems to be settling in. Lots of hissing from Zelda, but she always leaves the scene after making her point. She is now able to sleep comfortably in her basket while he is in the same room--so does not appear to feel threatened.

Dr. T was totally right (of course)--he is Mr. Mellow.

Mary Ann & Rod"

Helena, is out in long term foster care. We're hoping that this will end up being her forever home eventually.
Petunia left for her forever home! We can't say enough good things about this sweet, funny girl. It made a good many of us weepy to see her off to a home of her very own. No kitty deserves it more. Hopefully her new family will provide a kitty bed on their desk so she can continue to keep busy by watching them doing their office work.

We've also adopted out 3 pairs of kittens.

Bunny was adopted out with Pia. Cricket was adopted out with Toffee.
Grasshopper and Toad were adopted together. All of these adoptions (and the fosters, because I'm doing the counting) bring us up to 34 adoptions thus far for the month of December. Our goal is 50 cats and kittens and we keep pulling from high kill shelters to make sure we have new kitties available. If you're looking for a cat or kitten, now is the time!

Written by: LH

Buster and Armand - A success story

2007-12-11T09:24:00.000-08:00

Nine Lives Folk:

My wife Renee adopted Buster and Armand from your place at the start of October. [check out our blog entry about their adoption!] We thought you might like to know that we are enjoying them immensely. They were a bit timid at first but have now thawed out to the point that they join us on the couch in the evening. Armand in particular is the most social cat I have ever seen in my life.

I was in the act of describing this phenomenon to a friend who was visiting in our living room, and in mid-story Armand animated the narrative by jumping up onto the cabinet shelf I was leaning against, chirping solicitously at me, putting his paws on my shoulder, and then licking my beard while purring at maximum volume. Attached is a photo of the two of them lounging on some hay bales in the front yard.

Thanks for bringing these fellows to us.
Brad

Wonderful Adoptions News!

2007-12-10T11:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend saw us clear 20 adoptions in 3 days! We can't thank enough, all of you who attended our First Friday Adoption fair and fund raiser. We raised several hundred dollars and found wonderful homes for all of the following cats and kittens...

Simba - a 4 year old front and back de-clawed boy who was surrendered 3 weeks ago.
Poukipsie - a 5 year old girl who came to us from HSSV on 6-17-05.

Garrett - a 5 year old Maine Coon mix from HSSV this past October.

3 of the Jetsons - Jane, Judy and George were adopted out together as a threesome!

Several of the cookies were adopted, including Sugar

Snickerdoodle

Macaroon

And their momma, Gingerbread

Miss Paige, a new arrival from Los Banos was also adopted

As was Gwen, a striking black and white tuxedo girl

And Lashley - a handsome 6 month old black and white tuxedo boy

And Jessica, a 4 month old Torti princess

and Lady Monique, who started life on the streets of San Jose and will now live a fine life in Burlingame.

Little Sheba was also adopted. She now has a much better life than the one she had when found in Redwood City by a Whole Foods employee.

Even Miss Alice was finally adopted! She came to us from Martinez as a kitten in 2006. We're thrilled she finally found a family of her own!

As if all of these adoptions weren't enough, we also placed 2 more kittens Smudgie and Patches.

Maine Coon Adoptions found Cowboy a forever home this weekend as well! This holiday season seems to be starting off on the right foot.

Written by: LH

A wonderful update for Joey the "feral"

2007-12-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

Dear Dr. T and all of your wonderful staff:

I wanted to thank you SOOOO very much for your help and encouragement last spring with the beautiful Maine Coon feral I called Joey, who was wounded and very miserable. After you sewed him up, you found that he was FIV+ and needed to become a house cat. You kept him so long even in the midst of your move from Spring Street and all of the chaos that caused you, because I simply did not think I could keep him. I was absolutely unsure that he could come inside, but you begged me to try and that was all it took. Within 2 weeks, Joey was a converted housecat. He settled in as family with 7 year old Smokey and Jilli, just 6 months old at the time. Now they are inseparable, as you see by their sleeping arrangement! Joey is the sweetest, most cuddly lap-cat I have ever had. Wherever I am, there he is. Joey knew that he was home when he came to me for help. And with your help, I realized it too!

With love and eternal appreciation,

Diana

First Friday - December 7th

2007-12-05T10:21:00.000-08:00

Please join us for our December First Friday event:

Friday the 7th from 6pm to 9pm!

Open House Event and Adoption Faire:

$5.00 all you can holiday cookies, hot chocolate and apple cider.

You can even meet the cookie family!

Gingersnap

And her kittens: Macaroon Sandie
Snickerdoodle SugarToffee

Happy Holiday Season!

2007-12-05T09:48:00.000-08:00

December has started off with a bang. We've seen several adoptions since Thanksgiving, including Zora,

Highlander and Randy.

Wendy and Bradly

And a cute black, girl kitten who'd been fostered by Kate T and hadn't yet been named.

We also have about 4 adoptions pending that we're excited about.

Sadly Magic has returned to the shelter. Much to his family's regret, he wasn't happy in their home (we suspect he was missing Bosco terribly as he's happy as a clam now that the two of them can snuggle together again.) Instead of Magic, the family now has Tommy on trial. Hopefully he'll get on well with the queen of their household, Tabitha.
We have had many new arrivals from Los Banos recently, so if you're looking to bring a new family member into your home now is the time! I'll have their photos up soon so keep checking our website!

A letter from Boynton.

2007-11-28T09:14:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

My name is Boynton and I’ve lived at the Nine Lives Foundation for 2 years. My friends have asked me to tell you my story.

I was found at the side of the road, in a litter box with my legs cut up in late January 2006. I was taken to a city shelter, and housed for 10 days. Because of my injuries, they were going to put me to sleep. A volunteer at the shelter had heard about Nine Lives Foundation and how they take in injured cats that are due to be euthanized. She took a chance and brought me to Dr Thompson.

My legs were so badly damaged that I needed multiple operations, which left me without my rear legs. However I am very glad to tell you that life is good, I’m healthy and happy. Generous donations from people like you made this possible. My medical care alone exceeded $4000 in 2006.

We are now in another new location in Redwood City. Our dream is for a permanent home with lots of room for us to play in the sunshine, receive the medical treatment necessary for us to heal and find the right person or family to adopt us. It is not easy on us when we have to move.

Let me introduce you to my friend Ramses (photo to the right). In October, he too was in critical condition and rescued from a city shelter. Ramses was run over by a car leaving his hind legs paralyzed. I’m happy to report that staff and volunteers are caring for him here at Nine Lives Foundation. Although his future is not certain, I know every effort will be made to make his life as healthy and happy as mine.

Ramses and I are only two of the many special needs cats that are helped by generous people like you. Over 400 cats have been rescued, received medical care and adopted in 2007. Isn’t that wonderful? At the shelter we hold weekly adoption events, monthly First Friday open houses, participate in off-site adoptions, all in an effort to have our stay at the shelter as short as possible. Wouldn’t you like to become a volunteer at the shelter so you can play with us and make our homes clean and comfortable? We think it is a great idea.

The best news is that many of my other special needs friends have been adopted like Magic, KiKi, Lefty, Tangerine, Glimmer, and Catherine. Yet on-going medical care is required of other cats with physical needs like Brioche, Elizabeth, Tuna, and Fiona, and this costs a lot of money for medicines and special food. How about adopting one of my many other special needs friends or one of my other buddies? They are available for adoption right now so please come meet them and see how really special they are. We have kittens, adults, special needs and geriatric cats to choose from. To learn more about these friends of mine, visit our web site at http://www.ninelivesfoundation.org/.

Please join us at our First Friday event on December 7th and meet my friends. I am also hoping that you will open your hearts to cats just like Ramses and me by sending a holiday gift to the Nine Lives Foundation. Your contribution will help us save and change lives.

My friends and the volunteers here want to wish you, your family and pets a very happy holiday season.

In loving memory of “Got Milk” one of the first cats rescued by NLF in 2004 at age 12 years old.

Thank you again for your generosity and support.

Boynton

Volunteers Needed!

2007-11-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone,

RE: Volunteers welcome and needed to assemble donation letter packages for mailing

Tonight, Nov 20th at 7 pm volunteers will be meet to assemble (labeling, sorting, stuffing etc) at SRI International, 333 Ravenswood Ave, Menlo Park, 94025 in the Administration building in Conference Room B. SRI policy requires visitors to wear a Visitors badge and be escorted by a SRI employee (me). Please tell me that you are planning to attend and that you are a USA citizen or not and I can pre-register you with security, or it's no big deal if you just show up. Call me at 714-5457 so I can meet you at the front door to let you in the building.

We have left over pizza but bring your own drinks or there are vending machines to purchase items as well. We also have a paper cutter - so no need to bring one.

Southbound Directions to SRI's Menlo Park Headquarters
SRI International is located at 333 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park CA 94025-3493.
Hwy 101 from San Francisco (southbound)
Take Marsh Road - Atherton exit (West)
Go approximately 1 mile
Turn left at traffic signal onto Middlefield Road
Go 1 mile
Turn right at traffic signal onto Ravenswood Avenue
SRI's campus will be on your left as you travel on Ravenswood Avenue. Turn left at the entrance to the semi-circular drive, the main visitor's entrance at 333 Ravenswood Avenue, a brick building set back from the street.
Go up the brick stairs in front of the building and into the reception area; sign-in at the desk. You'll have to sign out when you leave. I will have your visitor's badge.

Hwy 280 from San Francisco (southbound)
Take Hwy 280 SOUTH to Menlo Park.
Exit at Sand Hill Road EAST, proceed past Stanford Medical Center.
Stay on Sand Hill Road (veer left at Stanford Shopping Center).
Proceed to EL CAMINO REAL and turn left.
Take El Camino Real (stay in right lane) to Ravenswood Ave. and turn right.
Proceed past first traffic light (Laurel Ave.)
SRI's main entrance is the 2nd entrance on the right.
Go up the brick stairs in front of the building and into the reception area; sign-in at the desk. You'll have to sign out when you leave. I will have your visitor's badge.
Northbound Directions to SRI's Menlo Park Headquarters
Hwy 101 from San Jose (northbound)

Take Willow Road - Menlo Park exit (West)
Go approximately 1 mile
Turn right at traffic signal onto Middlefield Road
Go approximately 1/2 mile
Turn left at traffic signal onto Ravenswood Avenue
SRI's campus will be on your left as you travel on Ravenswood Avenue. Turn left at the entrance to the semi-circular drive, the main visitor's entrance at 333 Ravenswood Avenue, a brick building set back from the street.
Go up the brick stairs in front of the building and into the reception area; sign-in at the desk. You'll have to sign out when you leave. I will have your visitor's badge.
Hwy 280 from San Jose (northbound)

Take Hwy 280 NORTH to Menlo Park.
Exit at Sand Hill Road EAST, proceed past Stanford Medical Center.
Stay on Sand Hill Road (veer left at Stanford Shopping Center).
Proceed to EL CAMINO REAL and turn left.
Take El Camino Real (stay in right lane) to Ravenswood Ave. and turn right.
Proceed past first traffic light (Laurel Ave.)
SRI's main entrance is the 2nd entrance on the right.
Go up the brick stairs in front of the building and into the reception area; sign-in at the desk. You'll have to sign out when you leave. I will have your visitor's badge.

Until Later, sincerely,
--Trish c) 714-5457 w) 859-4084

Finally an update!

2007-11-17T15:24:00.000-08:00

It's been ages since my last update, but it's been a busy and productive time here at the Nine Lives Foundation. We've had several adoptions and we've planned our next First Friday Event for December.

Luther's adoption sadly fell through when he tested positive for FIV (feline Aids) but instead they took Tyson and have already finalized his adoption.
Jack and Gus, the two sweet, de-clawed, orange tabby brothers went into a foster to adopt home and had their adoption finalized this past week. Yay boys!

Hazel, a lovely all black girl, went to her forever home the first week of November.

Aster and Starlight were adopted today, 11/17/07, and went to their forever home together, fingers crossed they settle in quickly.
Cassie was adopted by a fabulous family who fell in love with her playful nature.

Ophelia, one of our longest term kitties, went out into a foster to adopt home this morning. We hope this time she'll find the peace and happiness that she deserves.

Isabeau and Mirabel were adopted first thing this morning by the niece of a lady who has adopted 3 cats from us in the past two years. We love when the Nine Lives Foundation becomes a family tradition. Finally, Ione, a lovely DLH grey kitty who came to us on the day she gave birth, 3/25/07, went out on a trial adoption today. Hopefully she'll settle in and make an elderly lady and her 5 year old kitty the happiest folks ever.

UPDATE!!! Ione's adoption has been finalized! She and her new kitty companion are very much in love and happy to have each other! Who could ask for more?

Written by: LH

11/2/07

2007-11-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

Thank you to all who attended our First Friday event last night. The Chilli and cornbread night was a huge success. We had 3 adoptions with 3 more possible coming from that night and we raised $1,200.

Max and Monty were adopted together and went home on Saturday morning. Great news for these two sweet SJACC rescues who bonded so quickly.

Spider went home with a couple who adopted from us last year.Written by: LH

10/30/07

2007-10-30T09:41:00.000-07:00

An amazing photographer came in on Saturday, 10/27/07 to take some photos of our resident cats. Lora of http://www.loradavidphotography.com/, is retired but her talent is easy for anyone to see. We'll have her photos up on the website in the coming days to replace those currently on each cat's bio. The hardest part will be picking which photo to use. For a complete slideshow of all of the photos she took check out her album here.

Here are a few of my favorites:

Amelia

StarlightAster
Nemo

Cleopatra

Written by: LH

10/29/07

2007-10-29T14:44:00.000-07:00

This weekend was very successful. We had 7 adoptions from Friday to Sunday. Gryffindor was adopted again, we're hoping he found the right home this time. He's out on trial with a man who adopted a kitty from us last year. We're hopeful that the two will get along well.
Apollo was adopted by a wonderful family who have renamed him Shadow. Remy with the bright yellow eyes found a great family where he'll have an 8 year old Chocolate Lab as a big brother.

Tinkerbell and her sister Tanya each found their own forever homes this weekend. Tanya was adopted by a wonderful lady with another kitty Tanya's age for her to play with. Tinkerbell was adopted by the same woman who adopted Felicity last week. She's going to love having a buddy her own age to play with. Little Jackie boy, our recent arrival from SJACC went home for a trial adoption, but we've got our fingers crossed that it'll work out alright for him. Sweet, laid back Luther also found a forever home.

Jesse, our sweet boy, found a new forever home. We hope he settles in and has the peace and happiness he didn't get in his previous home.

Written by: LH

10/25/07

2007-10-25T17:11:00.000-07:00

Felicity was adopted yesterday, and left for her forever home. It's hard to believe that this sweet girl was actually in the shelter for 11 days. I was betting that she'd be adopted in moments. She's going to make her new family very happy, I think.

Maine Coon Adoptions is taking another kitty from us. This one is Cowboy a large, 11 lb, 3-5 year old, orange and white tabby, long haired cat. Handsome as can be and very outgoing, this boy was found as an unaltered stray wandering loose in San Jose. He ended up in San Jose Animal Care and Control where he was due to be PTS for having a chipped tooth. We fell in love the moment we met this amazing boy and had to save him.

More happy endings came from Maine Coon Adoptions today, when we heard that they placed two of our kitties in a home together. Martina and Ellie were adopted and are doing very well. See below for the story of their first night in their new home.

Written by: LH

Martina immediately hid behind the water heater in the kitchen. I came in and sat down on the floor and started reading magazines, and after half an hour she starting darting out, running around, then dashing back in. Soon she was coming up for pets and scratches, and then she started exploring. Around 2 am I heard a crash -- she had jumped onto the stove and knocked down a couple of pans, and was back behind the water heater. So I did a quick put-away of everything that might fall off the counters and went back to bed. By morning, she had eaten all of her food and shredded a catnip stalk.

Ellie curled up on a dresser in my bedroom and eventually hid in the closet. I figured she'd come out and be friendly when she was ready, which happened at exactly 3 am. She was all over the bed, crawling over me, lying on my chest, diving under the covers, etc. She had some poop on the end of her tail so I got up to clean it off, and determined that 'Ellie' is short for 'Elevator Butt', because every time I grabbed her tail to wipe it, she purred, raised her butt, turned around in a circle and headbutted me. It took a while. When I woke up she was back in the closet.

So they are adjusting nicely. I'll send you a picture of me and Martina in a week or two.

Thanks again for two great kitties!
Joanne