Meow ....

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!

ATTENTION! ATTENTION!


This news bulletin is for all Cirque du Soleil artists and enthusiasts!

We have what we believe to be a misplaced member of your group. Little George, although you may know him under another alias, is a stunningly handsome young fellow with a top of the line acrobatic routine.

We do believe that he has been practising full time in order to be ready for his next performance once someone steps forward to claim him. The reason he hasn't returned your calls is that he is deaf. So sign language may be something for you to learn.

He is a very active young fellow, very handsome and very sweet. Sweet lovable George, that's what we say.....as the vase hits the floor from the 6 ft china cabinet. So, only the brave need apply for this exceptionally talented youth.

If you are that special once in a life-time family, as a family would be perfect for playing him out and enjoying his antics, then b e sure to "George-proof" your home and stop on by. Oh, and we'll tell Cirque du Soleil that he's found his new gig.

SCAT General Meeting

The next SCAT General Meeting is to be on Friday, Feb 19, 2010.  Location:  SCAT Adoption Centre on Faithfull (50th & Faithfull) and it will be at 7 pm.

Please consider popping by even for a few minutes to meet some of the members and/or to give us your thoughts and suggestions to help us help the cats.  We love new members.  It's only $25 regular membership and that allows you to vote on important issues.  Or, if you are a student or senior, it is only $15.  We would love to see your smiling face there.

So pull up a chair, or whatever you can find, and join us.  Please come.

Online Survey Questions

Howdy, everyone.  I hope ot put some online quick quizzes onto our site.  Here's our first question:  Do you donate online?  It will be interesting to see what are the results.  And if you have ideas of stuff to put onto the quizzes...by all means, let Linda know by emailing catbuddy@sasktel.net or the Centre at street.cat@sasktel.net Attention:  Linda

You will have until February 20 to vote.

Literature to teach children

I am looking for books or any kind of pamphlets etc that are for humane education.  We get calls from schools to go and talk about cats, cat care etc. and I would love to have some kind of resources to take with me.  The ages vary that we speak to, but in general, it's usually the young ones and of course these youngsters need something that will keep their interest focused for....well, let's face it....however long we can.  So I am looking at some books.  If anyone has suggestions, but also if anyone can donate these books, or buy them for us to use, that would be awesome.  Please send a message to Linda.

One book that I spotted, which unfortunately McNally said is not available through Canadian publishers, at least not yet, is "Pet's Playground - Playing Safe in a Dog-and-Cat World".  It is put out by the AAHA and it looks quite good.  Anyone game to see if they can get us a copy?  It would be much appreciated.

The Beach Boys helps the Cats!

Howdy everyone! 

I am very excited to announce the "2010 Spay and Neuter Saves Lives Campaign" contest. It is sponsored by the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, I Love My Pet Classifieds, Chianti's Cafe, Comfort Cab, Early's Farm and Garden Centre and TCU Place and the Beach Boys. Isn't that awesome!

As we all know every year there are some very sweet kittens who find themselves in very unfortunate circumstances. Let's pull together and show how compassionate Saskatoonians are for the animals.

Spay and Neuter does Saves Lives! But it takes a whole community working together to make it happen!

Please spread the word.  Check it out on my blog at the Star Phoenix online "Pawsitive Thinking".

Let's make this a very successful campaign and bring luck to the cats in 2010!! 

Animals help us to live healthy and happy lives. Let's do the same for them.

Linda Jean Gubbe
Be Pawsitive!

Reaching the Children

Laura is a preschool teacher who is planning a Pet Week with her preschoolers.  She has asked if we would be able to bring in a cat or some cats to her class and talk about cats and their care.  Looking to have this done sometime during the week of Feb 22-26.  We hope that we can coordinate something.  It's very important to reach out to the children.  She said that lots of the kids do not have pets and she is wanting to educate them on pet care and about rescuing animals.

Something new at the Center

Just before Christmas, I noticed a commercial on TV for "EmeryCat" and thought that this would be great at the Center as we have a few felines residing there that don't like getting their nails trimmed.When the Emery Cats arrived, I set them up and following instructions that said to sprinkle catnip on the board and watch the cats . Well, first of all there were a couple of the residents, that went up to the new scratch board and sniffed, smelled the catnip and laid down on the board - no scratching. The emery cats have been at the Center for about 2 weeks and today one cat went onto the board and scratched,stopped, then jumped off - this is nothing like the commercial where they were all over the boards and scratching. Time will tell-its something new.

Donation to Street Cat Rescue

Street Cat Rescue wishes to thank the Veterinarians and staff at All West Veterinary Clinic for the fundraiser they had before Christmas raising $342.80. This donation is greatly appreciated.

Wallace Soleil

My second name is French for "sun" because I have the reddest orange coat that you will ever see. You will feel warm in the winter just looking at me. I am very gentle and a little timid.


Wallace has had a loving home for over three years, but had to return to SCAT because of family allergies. Though skittish with strangers, he totally loved his home and people, hung out with them and cuddled all the time. Former guardian says: "I know he would warm up to people, but they have to be around all the time. It is with heavy sadness that I reluctantly must find him a new spot."

Estimated date of birth of Wallace is August 15, 2004. Wallace Soleil is up-to-date with routine shots, house trained, neutered and now lives at the SCAT Adoption Centre on Faithfull.

====================================================================

Note from Brianna at the Centre:  Wallace who I have been affectionately calling Wally made great progress today. He enjoyed not only some good pets but has been enjoying roaming around the back room. I kept the front room closed off for now which allowed me to keep tabs on him and made sure some of the more intense cats couldn't intimidate him just yet. Sprite and Butch however did a great job with him. He seemed to enjoy it when I stayed near him and reached down to assure him he was ok. His back legs must have been stiff as he had a great time sprawling out in the middle of the floor and often stretched his back legs out while he was walking.

He is such a nice cat. Hopefully he continues to progress quickly.

Kittens?

The Adoption Centre on Faithfull is already starting to receive calls from people wanting the youngsters.  Fortunately, or unfortunately, however you want to look at it, we don't have any young ones at this time of year, although the 4 to 8 month old ones aren't really into old age pension area yet.  We do have these wonderful kids who are still looking for homes.  Adoptions have been slow and we are starting to worry that we won't have room for the many calls to help mothers and kittens in the spring, which is right around the corner.

Please help by spreading the word to Adopt or Become a Foster Home today!

PETS IN THE PARK

Count down has begun to the 5th Annual Pets in the Park!  July 11, 2010 = Mark those shiny new calendars that you got for Christmas!

Why am I mentioning this now?  Because we always look for things to sell to raise funds for the cats.  Cat toys are particularly popular at these type of events.  So if you can make some, we would love it.  Mind you, we also use these type of things to sell at the Adoption Centre on Faithful as well.

Another thing to keep in mind is baking.  We sell a lot of baking at the Concession, so if you happen to be baking some items for something during the year, how about marking it for Pets in the Park and throwing it into your freezer.  That way there's no panic when the event is suddenly a day away and you forgot to bake those awesome brownies for us. 

Cats say hi and thank you!

Monthly Donations made easy!

Monthly Giving:  Set it and forget it.  One of the best and easiest ways to give is to set up a monthly donation.

Monthly giving lets you:
•Spread your giving out throughout the year
•Easily budget for charitable giving
•Make an ongoing commitment to your favourite charities
•Feel good!

Through CanadaHelps, you can set up automatic monthly donations by credit card. You choose the charity,  (SCAT Street Cat Rescue would be a great choice, of course) the amount and which day of the month to be charged.

1.Set up or log in to your CanadaHelps MyCanadaHelps account
              ◦Remember that you need to save a credit card on file for monthly donations

2.Click the Monthly Giving tab

3.Search for your charity.

4.Click DONATE MONTHLY

5.Enter the details of your monthly donation.

It's as easy as that, then the SCAT cats will benefit all year long and you will know you were helping with each rescue.

Start 2010 off with a great resolution to help the kitties!

Donations and Adoptions

All West Veterinary Clinic called today and they had done a fundraiser by doing pet pictures and raised about $340 which they are donating to our organization. They will be in on Saturday to deliver the donation. I thanked them very much for thinking of our group.  It is so wonderful when we get unexpected donations like this.  Fantastic!

Inkling and Ikea were adopted.  Yeah!  Adoptions are good!

Donation Donations Donations

Thank you all for the lots of Donations coming in.  It's a great way to start the New Year as we head into our 13th year.  Let's make it a very luck number 13!  Canned food is always welcome (friskies, fancy feast for example).  Litter is always welcome.  Stamps and paper help and even things like paper towels help with operational costs.  Money, of course, is always welcome.  Make sure to check out our online donation button = it's quick and easy.

SCAT Street Cat Rescue

The single most important item on our 2010 Wish List is YOU!

SCAT help hundreds of cats every year because of volunteers.  Whatever time you have to donate to SCAT is priceless!  Volunteers are so important.  Please consider making a commitment of time towards helping SCAT help these many wonderful cats, such as little Eva Knieva.  She was sitting in the middle of the highway near where her mother had just got killed when a car literally drove over her (over top of her without hurting her).  They stopped and picked her up.  She suffered frostbite and will lose part of her one ear, and a few minor scrapes, and was treated for earmites.  Other than that, she was a very lucky little lady and lady she is.  So much so that anyone who meets her falls madly in love, so of course, it didn't take long to find her a permanent home.  But there are so many others with similar stories who still need your help in finding homes. 

I know that you are already helping, just by reading our blogs and news, you are keeping connected with us and spreading the word whenever you can and we really appreciate that.  Thank you for all that you do for SCAT and all the furry critters in your life.

Happy New Year!  We look forward to seeing you soon.

Adoptions

Gilligan McNab was adopted today.   Our kitties are in PetSmart Adoption Centre for another week.

A kitten rescue:  A lady and her father were driving down the highway where they came across a dead cat and a kitten just sitting in the middle of the road.  The cat must have been the kitten's mother and the kitten was scraped up a little but otherwise in good condition.  They called SCAT and the kitten is now resting comfortably at All About Cats & Dogs and will be transferred to a foster home on Monday.  We call her "Eva Knieva" (a female version of Evel Knievel - with a car going right over her without hurting her...a little dare devil...but very very sweet little orange tabby.

Charley's new family dropped by today. They bought her lots of toys, a big bed and a blanket. She is very spoiled and sleeps with their daughter. Charley is their first ever cat and they couldn't be happier with her. She is a big part of their family. They take her to see Teresa every three weeks to get her nails trimmed so she is very pampered indeed.

Happy beginnings are always what we love to hear!  A great way to start the New Year.

Another Visit to the Children's Discovery Museum

Star, Mike and Brenda paid a visit to the Children's museum in Market Mall this morning with Hope. She made out well. She was a bit nervous but all in all was good. There were not many children there so it was quiet. Maybe next time will busier. It was good for Hope to ineract with other people and a different surrounding.

Happy New Year!

I am writing to ask you to take a moment to think about how the animals in your life effect you and make you a better person. I know that you do everything that you can to love them and care for them. We at SCAT Street Cat Rescue do everything that we can to help the homeless and displaced animals too. Will you help us by making a tax-deductible monetary donation? 

SCAT Street Cat Rescue is dedicated to helping homeless and displaced animals to find permanent homes and healthier living environments. Our programs offer assistance to the public which results in more adoptions, more lost pets being found, and better education of the needs of pets in our lives.

Please use our secure online donation page at the link just below or send a check to the address below.

http://www.canadahelps.org/CharityProfilePage.aspx?CharityID=s57153

SCAT Street Cat Rescue Program Inc.
PO Box 31041
Saskatoon, SK S7H 5S8

Animals touch our lives every day in a way that cannot be adequately described. They change us for the better and do it without reason or condition. We need to help them at each and every turn of their lives too. Please show your support and help us help them. Make a tax-deductible donation today.

Best wishes to you and yours and we sincerely hope we will see you again in the New Year,

Take care.

Santa Photos 2009 First Weekend

A BIG thank you to all volunteers who helped with this weekend's Santa Photos. It was busy despite the cold. Lots of help from New Hope volunteers (some of which who also volunteer for SCAT). Maxine helped keep the volunteer level up and Kim helped keep the enthusiasm up. Lindsay and Leslie had a great idea and stood by the front door to remind people that Santa was in the building ready to take photos, so that was a very good idea. Janelle and Todd did a great job with the photos.

We get a lot of compliments on our Santa. As always, John did a super job of being Santa. He loves doing it and it shows. And under the guidance of Mrs Santa - Anne, and assistant - Vinnie - they make a great team every year. We thank them for doing such a wonderful job.

Don't forget - we have one more weekend to get your Santa Photos. Dec 19 and 20 at Preston Crossing PetSmart - 11 am to 4 pm. John, Anne, Vinnie, Kim, Todd and Maxine will be there for sure and we thank any others who are scheduled to help with the front "desk" job and who can help walk the store to "drum" up business for Santa - or stand by the front door.

Jessie, one of PetSmart managers, said that we should have them dancing out front with balloons....but we opted not to try that - brrrrrrrrrrr....way too cold for that.

Hope to see you soon. There are some great photos of wonderful pets. It is so much fun to meet all these great little critters and their proud pet parents.

Have a great Christmas.

December Events - Santa Photos

SANTA PHOTOS - Sat & Sun 11 am to 4 pm - Preston Crossing PetSmart


Both weekends: Dec 12 - 13 and Dec 19 - 20


SCAT volunteers work together both weekends with New Hope volunteers to benefit both charities.


We really enjoy seeing all the furry kids, so bring them on down!

8 Reasons to Foster Even If You Think You Can't

SCAT is always on the lookout for more dedicated foster homes. I recently came across this article below on the Petfinder website that has a few answers. Please rethink whether you can foster. Each little life SCAT takes in off the street needs a wonderful, warm and caring place to start it's second chance. You could be that Guardian Angel for that one little life. Share your home and your heart to help the little ones through this special time of year. Season's Greetings are for the cats too! Best Wishes to you and yours (human and animal) this Christmas!

Linda Jean Gubbe

_________________________________________________________________

By Emily, Petfinder

I encourage everyone I know to foster -- even if they're dead set on adopting. Not only does fostering provide an invaluable service to rescue groups and the shelters who depend on them (not to mention the pets themselves), it's a great way to learn about your own needs as a pet owner. (You can't know if you've got what it takes to walk a young puppy at 1, 3 and 6 a.m. until you've done it!)But I've heard a lot of excuses -- er, reasons -- why people can't or don't want to foster. So I was delighted to get the article below in a newsletter from the Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society, which answers just about every possible excuse. (It was written by Liz Pease, the shelter's director of operations.)With shelters overflowing and many people needing temporary care for their pets while they find new housing or weather a crisis, fostering is even more important these days. So print out this list and give it to everyone you know who thinks they just "can't" foster.


"I DON'T HAVE THE SPACE" -- I used to think this too. Then a cat came along that really, really needed me ... and I made the space! All it takes is a small spare bedroom or office, a bathroom, or even a corner where you can set up a playpen cage, which you can borrow from us! While we do need foster cats to stay separate from your own cats, it doesn't take much space to do that. And remember, whatever space you have at home is probably more than the kitty has here at the shelter now! [Editor's note: This is also what I tell people who think they can't adopt a big dog because they live in an apartment--Emily]


"I MIGHT GET ATTACHED" -- OK, yes, you might. But no matter how difficult it is to bring your kitty back to the shelter, just knowing that you're helping to save a life should ease any short-term pain. When you take in a foster cat, it gives us room to help other cats that might otherwise be brought to shelters that euthanize for time and space. It also lets us learn more about a cat's personality than we ever could in a shelter environment, which, in turn, makes the cat much easier to adopt out. Yes, some cats are harder to bring back than others, but be strong! You can do it! (And yes, I've kept one foster cat, but not the 60 that followed that first one!)


"MY OWN CATS WON'T TOLERATE A FOSTER CAT, ESPECIALLY AN ADULT" -- If you have a separate room, this shouldn't be much of a problem. Yes, your cat(s) will know there is another cat in the house, and they may be a little upset about it at first. But chances are they'll get over it pretty quickly, especially if you make sure you wash your hands after visiting with the foster cat and keep the cats from seeing each other if possible. Feliway Comfort Zone diffusers or Rescue Remedy flower essence can also help. Tell your cats they need to help do their part too! Eventually, they will be totally nonchalant about the whole idea of fostering. My cats no longer even bat an eyelash when a foster cat comes into the house.


"I CAN'T AFFORD TO TAKE ANOTHER CAT" -- This one is easy! You can get all your food and litter from MRFRS if you like, and MRFRS covers all medical expenses associated with foster cats! If you buy your own supplies for fosters, save the receipts so you can take a tax deduction!"


A SHELTER CAT MIGHT GET MY OWN CATS SICK" -- If you follow basic health protocols, such as washing your hands between handling cats and wearing an over-shirt when handling the foster cat, you shouldn't have any problems. A sick cat should be kept in a separate room, and bedding/clothing should be washed with bleach after use. We are also happy to provide you with a bottle of heavy-duty kennel disinfectant for cleaning if you like!


"SOMEONE ELSE WILL SAY YES. THERE ARE PLENTY OF OTHER FOSTER HOMES" -- They won't and there aren't. It's that simple. e have lots of folks who will take kittens, but very few who will take adults, and even fewer who will take sick, feral, and/or rabies-quarantine cats. lease help us! Kittens are easy for us to place. but our poor adults need help too.


"I ALREADY HAVE A FOSTER CAT" -- All right. Well, this gets you partly off the hook. But wouldn't your foster kitty like a friend?While this article is specific to cats and, in some places, to MRFRS, its message applies to most other animals and rescue groups. Of course, every rescue group has different expectations of fosters, but it's true across the board that fosters are desperately needed and fostering is immensely rewarding.Want to find a group to foster for? Look on Petfinder to find a rescue group near you and then give 'em a call. You'll be glad you did -- and so will they.

http://www.petfinder.com/blog/2008/12/02/8-reasons-you-can-foster-a-cat/

I wish they could all be lucky ...

Just a little slideshow with some of the centre residences.

I am sure all our volunteers agree when I say I wish they would all be so lucky to find a best friend to take them into their home and love them just like the song says ....

Videos & Photos Wanted....

As you all may have noticed, not only have we taken the Blogging world by storm but we have also been taking advantange of some video technology which has allowed us to post some videos of our sweethearts at the center on this blog spot... and it could not be better timing :)

Why?

Because the website that we use to post our cats, Petfinder.com, now allows you to post Videos as well along with the Photos on their site !

I dont know about you guys but I personally think this is a great way for people to really get to know the pets when they are in their foster homes or at the centre. Many of our shy cats often get overlooked during visits because they take a little time to warm up and are barely seen. I think this will really help them find their forever homes as people will get to see many of them in their calm, comfortable state instead of heading for the hills as soon as a stranger walks in :)

So I am attempting to get the ball rolling. The following video is a video of our newest centre visitor Scotty. A real sweetheart thats still a little shell shocked from the transport. Its just me giving him some lovin. I am posting this video on Petfinder.com as well for you all to see what a difference more than a photo makes to really see their personality.

So now that you have seen the impact ;) it would be great if the foster homes would be able to take a few minutes and take a video of the cats just being themselves; playing, chatting; cuddling, anything and send it to us and we can post it on the web. street.cat@sasktel.net. Try and keep the videos to only a minute or two but I can always do some video editing.

While you're at it, some updated photos would be great to,

Thanks in advance :)
-Kristine

p.s. I know some of you do not have access to cameras for photos or videos and I appologise, maybe some day when we have some extra volunteers we can send them our to get some updates for us... eep I might get in trouble for jumping the gun here ha ha but its on my wishlist :)"

A Small Price to Pay…

…for a new Best Friend !

In the spirit of the holidays, we are lowering our adoption prices! J

From now until the December 31, 2009 Adoption Prices are as follows:

• Seniors 8+ - $50.00
• Adults 1 – 7 - $75.00
• Kittens – under 1 year - $95.00

Why do you ask? Among many other reasons,

It would be great to find forever homes for some of the cats for the holidays so they can take in the festivites with their new families.

Also, it is only going to get colder from here on so we need to make more room for newcomers looking for warmth and shelter.

Happy Adopting! J

Street Cat Strut ....

Meet Sir Edward Horton...

this handsome cat is our 'ladies cat' that loves to strut around the centre. He gives us many reasons to love him :) Don't be fooled by his size, he can still muster up some energy to take a round or two out of our cat toys .....

This guy is in need of a loving forever home where he can get lots play times as well as a steady diet haha ;) I think he could spare a few pounds.

Thanks for watching!

-Kristine S.

SCAT General Meeting

Come one! Come all!

The next general monthly meeting will be on Tuesday, November 24,2009 at 7 P.M. at the Adoption Centre on Faithfull (corner of 50th & Faithfull).

Everyone is welcome. Please join us.

Adoptions Adoptions Adoptions

It's been great for adoptions this week:
Sanders
Kirsten
London
Truffles
Kullen
Rhett
Sahara
Seymour
Raine
River
Irish
Rylee

That makes twelve.....so far.....Wonderful! Twelve more kitties will be with permanent families for Christmas this year! Yeh!

Media: Star Phoenix

Photo in Star Phoenix, Monday, October 26, 2009


"Kids at the Children's Discovery Museum in Market Mall Saturday couldn't wait to get their paws on Diamond, who didn't seem to mind the attention. The Street Cat Rescue Program (SCAT) is looking to find more than 140 cats a permanent home for the holidays. From now until Dec. 31, the group has lowered the rates for adoption. To adopt kittens and cats under one year of age, the cost is $95, $75 for cats one to seven years and $50 for senior cats. SCAT has partnered with the Iams Homes 4 the Holidays Campaign, so all cats adopted during the campaign will go home with an Iam adoption kit, which includes tips to help the pet owner adjust to their new cat. To view cats available for adoption go to streetcat.petfinder.com or call the SCAT Adoption Centre at 955-7228. (SP Photo by Gord Waldner)

Market Mall Display Oct 24

Thank you to all that helped at Market Mall and to all who brought their cats/kittens in for show. We were very busy, attracted lots of attention, and hopefully, found some permanent homes for some of our fosters, plus acquired some potential volunteers. Donations totaled $122.96.

We are scheduled to be at Market Mall again on Nov.20. If you can lend a hand on that date, let me know. We will be there from 9:00-set up till 8:00take down at night. It is a Friday, so, those of you who are working, may like to come after that, after supper and/or for take down. It would be much appreciated.

The good thing about kittens is that when they get tired, they just sleep, no matter what else is going on.

News bits from Laurel

Mention the meeting? (Tuesday, 7 pm at the Adoption Centre on Faithfull - all are welcome.)
Mention that we will be at Market Mall this Saturday. (Oct 24)
Mention to look at our felines in The Sun this weekend.

Good news! Ono is tame and part of the household now.
Bad news! Rascal got out of his room and is hiding somewhere downstairs.
Good news! Onita is eating out of my hand, but, very cautiously.
Bad news! More kittens found.