It’s Petside’s Annual Pet Net Day! This year, a group of bloggers have come together to write about pet adoption and rescue. Today, I’m letting the staff take the reins to talk about breed specific rescues. But first, a few housekeeping issues.

MOST IMPORTANT, please visit Petside’s page and VOTE for this post as your favorite! If we win, we will get $500 to donate to the organization of our choice. I say “our” choice because, we’re in this together. You guys cast the votes and you guys get to choose the rescue if we win. I will ask YOU to submit your fave rescue and then do a drawing! Wheeeee!

There are other ways you can help raise food for shelter and rescue pets. You can see how right here.

Okay, staff. Go:

On Facebook recently, a friend posted her desire to find a good breeder because she wanted a black lab. Her family had always had labs and her sweet old baby had recently gone to the bridge. I love this friend but I was near hysteria. Trying not to sound like a crazy zealot (because that never works, my friends) I emailed her privately and said, “OMG go to your local shelter or find a lab rescue!” She was skeptical at first. “There are lab rescues??” Uh, yah.

Here was this smart, fabulous, kind and caring woman who didn’t know that, according to the ASPCA, 25 percent of dogs in shelters are purebred. And, with the many breed-specific rescues out there, the number of adoptable pure breds is quite a bit higher.

It’s okay to be obsessed with a specific breed of dog or cat. I’m not quite sure how it happens but for some of us humans, a certain breed creeps into our hearts, lays down and stays put.

This woman loves her labs. I love my persians. My friend Bev loves her bichons. My brother and sister in law love their bostons. And there are plenty of people out there who couldn’t live without a series of wonderful loyal mutts (a breed of their own, in my opinion!) in their lives. It’s okay to have a preference. You can find almost any breed in a shelter or breed-specific rescue. And we need to spread the word to help these breed-specific rescues help more pets in need.

Neither of my persian babies would have survived without a breed-specific rescue.

Romeo was two-years-old when he was brought into a shelter in Kentucky for the second time. He was covered in scabs and deaf in both ears. He had litter box issues. He was a mess. And probably would be hard to adopt out. But a shelter worker who knew of a persian rescue in Ohio called them and asked if they wanted him. Of course they did! So Renee drove several hours to pick up this little matted, flea ridden ball of misbehaving fluff that would completely change our lives.

Sweet Pugsley was an 11th hour rescue. In a shelter in Indiana, he was (incorrectly) diagnosed with a life-threatening and contagious disease and slated for you-know-what. The eve before, one of the workers who wasn’t entirely sure he had the disease in question, called the persian rescue. Within hours, he was in a carrier, headed to Ohio and, several months later, into our home.

What if these shelter workers had not known about The Forgotten Persian Rescue & Friends? The more people who know about breed-specific rescues, the better. Most organizations out there are wonderful and do everything they can to save the dogs and cats in their care. But often a breed specific rescue can take it just one step further, as in Romeo and Pugsley’s cases.

So tell me, do you have a specific breed of cat or dog that you love? Do you have a story you want to share? Please do!

Yes, that’s right! There are still more rescue cats to showcase. I’m thinking I should do a weekly Rescue Cat feature, what do you think? Leave a comment below and let me know. How about every Friday?

Email my staff your cat’s photo (name the file with the cat’s name) and rescue story and I’ll include you! Email caroline (at) romeothecat (dot) com.

Woo hoo!

This is my “airhead” Ferah. I saw Ferah’s picture on the Persian Cat website 3 years ago this November. She was taken from a breeder that had approx. 75 cats, all kept in cages. I like to call her my Sasquatch, as during the winter months her hair gets so long & pretty. She is still skittish, but every night she is in bed with me & that is when we get our snuggle time. Ferah is “furkid” sister to Sophie & Monkey (R.I.P.)

In October 2009, I went in to the shelter thinking "Kitten!" but that lasted two minutes when I saw all the great slightly older cats who needed homes. I wanted a confident, easy-going cat and it was clear that Dexter (called Tuffy at the shelter) was for me. Not even a little "tuff," he was a year-old stray who loved to play and loved attention. When I brought him home a few days later, he strolled out of the carrier like he owned the place and started begging for treats. Confident and easy-going he was, but he was also often wide awake and demanding attention at 4 AM and not a lapcat. Six months later, I went looking for a playmate for Dex and a kitty who liked to snuggle for me. Enter Lucy. She was approximately four years old. Her elderly owner died and the family did not want to care for her. She climbed into my lap, headbutted me and settled in, purring. Sold! We didn't know her history (or Dexter's history, for that matter) with other cats, but she seemed unperturbed by the other cats at the shelter, so I took a chance and brought her home. Lucy is the boss, but they got along immediately. They enjoy wrestling, then "make up" by grooming and snuggling. Both love naps, food and meowing pitifully in an effort to acquire more food. A bird-lover, Dexter chases feather toys all over my condo and Lucy's favorite game is fetch with a pom-pom. Their love and antics helped me through a really rough few months earlier this year and I always look forward to them greeting me at my door, acting like they've never been fed. (And by the way, Dexter now sleeps 'til a respectable 5:30… Everybody wins!) - Kim PS - In the picture, Dexter is on the left, Lucy is on the right. I guess I have a thing for tuxedos.

Persians are particularly doglike in terms of attachment and often suffer deeply over their abandonment... Here are two of my rescues: Copper (of Tortie Week fame) and Lobo (short for Lobotomy), who likes to party with "Dad." Both came to us as seniors from local shelters.

Don’t want to miss any of my posts? Subscribe by email today!

Hi everyone, and welcome to day two of GLOBAL RESCUE CAT WEEK! This week, we’re celebrating rescue cats of all shapes, sizes and stripes. Although, truth be told, we’re really celebrating cats who rescue humans but I think we’re all pretty clear on that anyway. It’s all semantics.

If you want to get in on the fun, send my staff an email with your rescue cat’s story and a photo. Please name your photo files with the cat’s name. Send to: caroline (at) romeothecat (dot) com.

Here are today’s cool cats….

This is Sophie.. She is 5yrs old & I am the 4th person that she has lived with. My blind boy Monkey passed away (his heart stopped after being given anesthesia for surgery) a week before Christmas. I had called Carolyn Waggoner (I brought Monkey home from the Persian Cat Rescue) to let her know that he had passed… 2 weeks to the day to him passing, I met Carolyn in Davis & ended up bringing tiny Sophie home with me. She weighed a smidge over 5lbs when I brought her home & she is now a full figured 6lbs… I am also able to bring Sophie to work with me (as you will see in the 3rd picture)… She has the run of the showroom, but for the most part she hops onto my desk, sips from her red water cup & sleeps on my desk. Stay tuned, as I have to more rescues to share with you…..

Wilfy here, reporting on the new kid on the house, my baby brother Sammy (his full name is Samuel John Reid Winchester). As you know, we lost Angelus very suddenly and unexpectedly last month, and we were all crushed by his passing. We were very sad, I was actually moping a lot and Mama decided maybe she'd try and rescue a new furkid so I could have someone to play with. Well, she went to the Petco in Norridge because she called and they had kittens there. She said she was only "going to look," but she wasn't expecting the kid to downright steal her heart. Sammy (then Grover) was there with his siblings Elmo and Zoe (since adopted too!). Mama ask to see the boys, and the Kid, well, let's just say he dug Mama... So of course Mama took him home the very day. He'd been rescued from another shelter with all his siblings by the wonderful people at Wright-Way Rescue here in Chicago. She brought him home and...well, let's just say the days have been very interesting since. I dug him right away (I even let him play with my tail!) And I'm very grateful that Mama got him. He's helped us all ease the pain of Angelus' passing a little and I'm quite certain he had a paw on Mama meeting the Kid. Turkey out! Wilfy

Zoey showed up one summer day as a little kitten at my husband's business, a garden center. We don't know if she had just gotten lost or was dumped there. At first, the workers tried to ignore the kitten, hoping it would go away. When it didn't, they began feeding it. But if they tried to pet it or pick it up, the kitten would run away and hide. It was a real scaredy cat!! The kitten had been coming around the store off and on for about 6 months. It was now January, and it had gotten very, very cold. We trapped her because it was so cold (sub-zero temps) and before it got pregnant or got some other cat pregnant. We tried to find someone to adopt her but had no luck. She was still pretty wild. The only person she seemed to warm up to was my husband...and he, likewise, was becoming very attached to her. "Can we keep her?" he asked me. I said it wasn't my decision...it was Wally and Ernie's (my other 2 cats). But I told him I was willing to give it a try. So, we brought "Zoey" home to the Island (yes, at this point, we figured she couldn't remain nameless). We initially kept her in our basement so that we could work on socializing her (all she wanted to do was run and hide from us). Eventually we moved her to the guest bedroom. Introducing Zoey to Wally and Ernie was challenging and, after 3 years, Zoey and Wally still don't see eye to eye, but she is now an Island Cat and part of our family. She sure has come a long way from the scared kitten she once was.

Don’t want to miss any of my posts? Subscribe by email today!

I think GLOBAL RESCUE CAT WEEK is a perfect time to share a new initiative I’m working on.

As you all know, my staff and I are dedicated to helping pets in need. Since we started this blog, we’ve worked with dozens of organizations and have seen a consistent trend – many organizations wish they had the tools to create a more effective web site and social media presence.

But most organizations are short on time and budget to do all the things they want to do. And I want to help.

First of all, I’ve discovered something very cool that will be a great help to organizations who want to improve their web presence: MyShelterSite.com.

Sample from MyShelterSite.com

MyShelterSite.com is a program offered by Rachael Ray’s Nutrish Dog Food to provide professional, social media and SEO ready website templates to rescues and shelters…FOR FREE. The template is built on a WordPress blogging platform so is super easy to update and navigate. They also provide free hosting as well. This is a no-strings attached program!

I’ve been helping MyShelterSite.com spread the word about their generous offer and it’s inspired me to team up with a small group of other bloggers who are also passionate about animal welfare. They’ve agreed to join me in helping rescues and shelters with creating a better web presence and outreach. The team is:

Jaime from Thoughts fur Paws
Jessica from Pawcurious
Paris and John from Dogtipper and Cattipper
And, of course, my female staff and moi.

These generous bloggers and I invite rescues and shelters to submit their questions about social media, web sites and online marketing to my staff: caroline (at) romeothecat (dot) com.

Each week this amazing little team will put their big brains against one submitted problem and publish their recommendation every Monday.

How cool is that?

So tell your favorite rescues and shelters to submit their questions and we will help. We hope this can help more organizations gather ideas, tools and solutions to help them help more pets.

Thanks for helping me spread the word about this program! Email staff with questions. I’m off for a nap.

xo

Don’t want to miss any of my posts? Subscribe by email today!

MEOW.

Hi everyone, and welcome to GLOBAL RESCUE CAT WEEK! This week, we’re celebrating rescue cats of all shapes, sizes and stripes. Although, truth be told, we’re really celebrating cats who rescue humans but I think we’re all pretty clear on that anyway. It’s all semantics.

If you want to get in on the fun, send my staff an email with your rescue cat’s story and a photo. Please name your photo files with the cat’s name. Send to: caroline (at) romeothecat (dot) com.

OKAY HERE WE GO!

Earl Gray was found on my doorstep 14 years ago. We believe he is 18 years old. I had a cat for 21 years (also a rescue) who I found as a kitten. A week after she died, Earl Gray appeared on my door step with a badly broken leg. We had to take him to a specialist because the break was so bad my regular vet didn't want to attempt to fix it. Earl stunk from eating garbage. Otherwise, he looked fine. The break was internal--no blood. He was just patiently waiting for us to come home. It was one in the morning on a Saturday. We just came home from a wedding. Earl saw us get out of our car. When I opened the front door, Earl hobbled inside with his tail upright with a slight curve to it. He proudly looked like he belonged here. We fed him, and found a vet who put his leg in a cast the next day. He's been with us ever since.

We would like to offer the story of Tim & Tom. They were brought to a local shelter at the age of 2 (they are brothers) due to family allergies. They spent a few months there - Tim was much shyer and needed his brother to get by. They were adopted but brought back 2 days later saying they wouldn't come out from under the bed. A couple of weeks after that, they weren't on the floor again. However, it seems that there was a cat fight in the room where they were living (community cat room) and Tommy was being blamed. So they were in medical - Tim's nose was scratched pretty badly and staff was trying to determine what to do with them. Our mom suggested maybe fostering them. She however didn't mean by us. Yet, a few days later they moved in and we spent the weekend getting used to each other. Mom would take them to adoption events and they were listed on the website and Petfinder. However, after 4 months there was no interest and mom realized that she wouldn't be able to give them up even if someone WAS interested. That was 6 years ago and Tim is now our foster "manny" and Tommy is the head-alpha-mancat. Jeanne & the Random Felines http://randomfelines.blogspot.com/

Cody and I were brought together on July 28, 2007, 26 days after my beloved Bobo had passed. I never thought I would get another cat that quickly after losing Bobo but after having been "owned" by Bobo for 18 wonderful years my heart ached with the absence of a furry feline. I went to an adoption drive at Petco (I don't remember the name of the shelter), I actually had been there 2 wks prior and had seen Cody but wasn't emotionally ready to adopt at that time. When I was there on the 28th, I actually had my eyes on his litter mates. A tabby girl that looked like my Bobo looked and Cody's brother who I honestly have no recollection of what his coloring was. Neither of them cared for me AT ALL! Then there was Cody! He was a sturdy built ball of energy. I remembered him from having seen him 2 weeks earlier and asked if I could hold him. The rest is history. Cody acted as if he never wanted to be removed from my arms. I had never had a cat that content to be held for such a long period of time. I knew he was THE ONE. I called my husband to tell him I had found "the most amazing cat" and I was getting him no matter what. At that time his name was "Prince" and Shawna (the woman who handled my adoption of Cody) told me he had been her favorite and that he was a complete lover. He was and continues to be. I also refer to him as "Cody, the cat formerly known as "Prince" When I brought him home, Cody had no fear, no hesitation. He literally strutted through our condo as if he owned the place. He still does, as well as my heart.

A few years ago, while walking my dog Merci, I heard one of those birds that drive me crazy because it sounds like a tiny kitten crying. Merci ran to the old mill fence and used her I-found-a-cat whine. The more I tried to move her on, the more frantic Merci's whining became. And then from under a bush crawled a wee kitten. Merci was excited - a new kitten. I raced her to the mill office to let them know I needed help, rushed home to grab a carrier in case the kitten was afraid of Merci and arrived, panting, back at the fence before two maintenance workers arrived. One scooped up the kitten, searched the area for possible other kittens, unlocked the gate and placed him in the carrier. Merci was ecstatic. Passersby grinned at her, as head high, eyes glued on the kitten, and plumed tail waving at warp speed, she walked home on invisible clouds. . Percy's name is actually Perseverance because if he hadn't persevered, I would have made Merci continue our walk and Percy would most likely have died. He was too young to survive on his own.

After two years of living in Paris, I was finally in a position to be able to adopt a cat. Wanting a kitten, I went to the city’s only shelter, located an hour train ride away from my flat, only to learn that kittens are rare and adopted quickly. So I had a look at the other cats but none of them seemed to be right for me, and went home determined to wait. For weeks I called the shelter every morning to see if any kittens had been dropped off until the happy day when a batch had just come in. So I grabbed the new carrier and went as fast as possible out to the shelter. By the time I arrived there were only two kittens left, both very sweet but somehow not for me. Disappointed, I prepared to leave. Seeing me go, the very kind French woman in charge of the cattery persuaded me to have another look at the adult cats by saying there was a new one just arrived that I might like. When entering the room chock full of cats hanging out on various perches and ledges, a little fluffball with golden highlights emerged from the mass, ran straight over to me, looked up with big green eyes and meowed very softly, as if to say “Here I am mom, take me home”. Almost full grown, she was still a teeny delicate, graceful thing and I knew straight away she was the one for me. Eight years and many adventures later, Kitty Bitty is my closest companion and the best cat I have ever come across. She is pure love and brings much joy and laughter to my life. Everyone who has met her can’t help but love her too. I am the luckiest cat mom in the world and grateful for every day we have together. Rescue pets are the best!

Kitty Bitty’s staff is correct – rescue pets are the best! I can’t wait to read more of your stories!

Don’t want to miss any of my posts? Subscribe by email today!

The masses have spoken. You all want to celebrate rescue cats and I can’t think of a better type of cat to celebrate, so each day next week, I’ll feature your rescue cats!

Just send my assistant an email, caroline (at) romeothecat (dot) com, with a photo (please name photo files with the name of the cat!) and a short description of how you found each other. We can’t wait to read all your stories!

In honor of GLOBAL RESCUE CAT WEEK I am happy to share a slightly altered cat version of a story that my friends at Thoughts Fur Paws posted last week…..love this.

Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor
peering apprehensively into the cages.

I rescued a human today.

Don’t want to miss any of my posts? Subscribe by email today!

Wow, you guys really, really love your rescues and shelters! That’s clear due to the number of entries you generated. I wish, wish, WISH that everyone could be a winner. That would mean every one of your organizations would receive these awesome donations!

But, alas, this time we could only draw three. And they are…..

Caren G. of Cat Chat with Caren and Cody is our first prize winner! She won a $1,000 cash donation to her favorite organization, Almost Home, in Southfield, Michigan.

Caren says, “I would donate to Almost Home whose founders Gail and Lauren Montgomery, work tirelessly in their quest to find the cats (and dogs) at their rescue a furever home.”

Our second prize winners are:

Joyce J., who won 1/2 pallet of food….that’s 3,696 cans…..for her favorite organization, Gimme Shelter.

And…

Connie, whose organization of choice is the Animal Welfare Society in West Kennubunk, ME. Connie fosters a lot of cats from AWS and blogs about her experiences at Kitty Blog. Sigh. I love foster moms. AWS will also receive 1/2 pallet of food!

So, some truly amazing organizations will be receiving a much needed boost. THANK YOU, ROYAL CANIN AND PETCO! And thanks to all of you.

I’ve received lots of emails from you all, requesting more contests like this so I will work on bringing you more opportunities to help your local organizations.

Until then, in the words of my old buddy, Angelus Kitty:

TUNA OUT!

Do you know that it’s Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat month? That’s right, June is dedicated to encouraging people across the nation – the world – the universe – to adopt. Of course, this should be every month…..

Before Pugsley and I were “persian rescue cats” we were “persian shelter cats.” I was in a shelter in Kentucky, and Pugsley in one in Indiana. Both of us had medical conditions that might have made us unadoptable….which means, well, you know.

But some fantastic shelter worker in each of our cases recognized something special in us and contacted the Persian Rescue in Marysville, Ohio to see if they wanted to take us on. Luckily they did. But what about the shelter cats with medical conditions who aren’t so lucky? Shudder.

The Morris Animal Foundation, an organization dedicated to advancing veterinary research that protects, treats and cures animals on every continent, is celebrating Adopt-a-Shelter-Cat month by showcasing shelter cat stories on their Happy Healthy Cat Facebook page. All you need to do is go and “like” their page and upload your story and photo for a chance to win a fun array of prizes.

Their Happy Healthy Cat initiative is aimed at “unlocking the mysteries of feline health.” That makes my staff giggle a little bit. She says, “EVERYTHING about you little rascals is a mystery!”

An especially interesting aspect of this initiative is the Helping Shelters Help Cats program, aimed at the specific issues many shelter cats face: upper respiratory disease, diarrhea and ringworm. These are common, treatable, reasons shelter cats may be put to sleep before they even have a chance to be adopted!

The research is funded through grants made possible through an anonymous donor who has pledged to match every dollar donated to this program, up to $500K. The gift is to honor all of the wonderful people – vets, shelter staff, rescuers and more – who give their time and talents to help pets in need.

We love that. If you feel moved to contribute to this research, you can make a donation here.

You can also show your non-monetary support for their initiative by checking out their Facebook page, where you can upload your awesome adoption story and win some fun stuff!

Meow on, Shelter Cats!

Courtesy: H.I.P. for Pets

Now this is a great idea!

My pal Michele over at Pet News and Views told me about a really terrific organization called Hospitality Industry Partnership for Pets, or H.I.P. for Pets.

Here’s the poop about H.I.P. – hotels and people in the hospitality industry donate unwanted linens, cleaning supplies and other items to animal shelters and rescues. How genius! Think of all of the “worn out” towels and bedding that would be perfect to keep pets in need comfy and warm. And we all know happy pets are more likely to be adopted.

H.I.P. for Pets was founded by a cool dude named Scott Chapman. Scott works in Learning and Development for PetSmart now but before this gig he spent 20 years in the hospitality industry. He took his experiences in these two industries and combined them into this one terrific idea that benefits all of us – the hotels, our beautiful little earth and especially pets in need.

Shelters and rescues register online and then are vetted to ensure humane, safe practices before they are approved for participation. Donors can also register online.

The board of directors of H.I.P. for Pets includes hospitality, animal behavior, shelter advocacy, and veterinary experts.

I love when someone takes their knowledge and resources and puts them together to create good for pets. Way to go, Scott!

I am super happy to announce our June FURPOWER recipient – United Paws of Tillamook!

United Paws was nominated by Lori who is staff to a slew of kitties and even a dog. Lori assists Cory who writes Cory Cat Blog, a fun blog all about “Nine cats and a dog figuring out love a second time around.” This is my FAVORITE blog tagline of all time, by the way. Cory and her siblings came from United Paws so Lori works hard to help give back. Hopefully we can help that cause!

United Paws is dedicated to spaying and neutering the cats and dogs of low-income residents of Tillamook County, and preventing and alleviating animal suffering by humanely addressing overpopulation and homelessness through spay/neuter, foster-to-adopt, and education programs. In addition, UP is pledged to TNR (trap/neuter/return) feral cat colonies with longterm caregivers.

Please consider making a small donation to help them in their very important work! You can make a donation here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT! xoxo.