FFRC BLOG

FFRC Blog Week Ending May 2, 2026

It's MAY!!!! Each year, we celebrate May Day on May 1st. May Day is a traditional spring festival and International Worker's Day honoring seasonal renewal and labor rights. Did anyone dance around a maypole, crown a May Queen or give baskets for flowers or sweets? At FFRC, we danced (in the aisles--or was that dodged cats while trying to walk?), we have multiple May Queens, but they don't like to wear their crowns and we gave bowls of kitty and baby food, as well as snackers! I'd say that counts as a super May Day celebration!

Found on Pinterest.com

Adoptions:

We had a wonderful double adoption this week. ANGELIQUE and BEBOP found their furever home TOGETHER! This sweet momma and daughter are very closely bonded, so we are very happy that they get to live together. They will have a 4-year-old BIG brother (22 pounds of orange fluffiness). His name is Garfield! As many remember, Angelique and babies arrived at FFRC on 11/25/25. Did we have room--we hardly ever do--but we were faced with a "Take them or something bad will happen to them" decision. AND we are so happy that we did find room in the center and in our hearts. Angelique was born on 2/14/25 and BeBop on 9/25/25. They will be living only a short ride from FFRC. Thank you to their new family for keeping them together!

Intakes:

We have a new kitty named KAYLEE. She is a returned kitty. She was returned because she was having peeing issues. However, we believe that the issue is more due to the young children and other animals in the home. We have not seen any issues since her new time at FFRC. She will need a quiet home with very few, if any, animal siblings. Kaylee was adopted in 2020. She is a long-hair Lynx Siamese and is very sweet, but shy. She is about 6-years-old.

AND.......more kitties!

On Saturday 5/2/26, a mommy cat and her five babies were dropped off at FFRC. SURPRISE!!! The young momma cat is a dark grey

and her babies are:

grey with white face, chest and feet

grey and with lots of white

all grey (maybe inky)

inky (maybe dark grey)

and lastly grey tiger with white.

The momma is taking care of her babies and loves to be petted! We will wait a bit before naming them.

Health Updates:

Our two bitty babies that Debbie is taking care of now have names. The boy is now named FOZZIE. His name was submitted by SonJa from the Name a Cat Program. There were 169 votes cast. The results of the vote were:

Fozzie 64%

Benton 18%

Callahan 18%

The girl is now named SMIDGEN. Her name was also submitted by SonJa from the Name a Cat Program. There were 168 votes cast. The results of the vote were:

Smidgen 48%

Hiccup 41%

LG 11%

If you haven't seen Megan's Monthly Update, please take a look in Facebook Chatters, it summed up April very well. This was taken from her post.

These two were found in someone's barn. When they were brought to FFRC one was very sick and has since been feeling better. They've had good gains and healthy appetites! They don't know it but their best lives have just begun! They'll get a nice stay at our little feline resort until their Forever Humans come and find them.

DERECHO had a bit of runny stool, so he is one real meds. He is doing fine. Megan took him in the back the other day just to get his weight. He has not gained or lost any weight in quite some time, which is a wonderful sign.

ZOOKY gave us a bit of a scare during her spay. A mass was found on her bladder. Some of the mass was removed during the spay. We don't think the remainder will cause her any issues, but we are keeping an eye on her. It may be a hormonal thing that will resolve itself. She is doing fine.

Holds:

There may be a very special hold in the making. RAISIN and WIBBLES are most likely becoming Vegas Babies! That's right, JUDE'S mommy is looking for some more friends for him. Stay tuned for more updates!

Center Kitties:

RAMSAY is now able to drive in all 50 states. Thanks for making it legal! I bet that was a fun driver's test!

We have many kitties that don't appear on the main room camera. They are in Nyota's Nest, Front & Back Thumper's Room, the Cove, the Barn, the Kitty Kastle and roaming the grounds keeping it safe for everyone.

Here's another snippet from Megan's monthly update post:

FFRC is so much more than just the Main Room and the Kabana! As you see here (and possibly more!), we have quite a few kitties that do not appear on cam. It's important for people to know this for several reasons:

1. When you donate, it goes to these guys and gals, too! You can see we provide the best care possible in the Main Room and the other areas are no exception. We even have several outdoor kitties that are aged in the double digits as living proof! These are all some pretty amazing cats, they deserve the very best and we make sure they get it. (We're only able to do this through your generous donations, so thank you!)

2. Some are Adoptable!! Nyota's Nest and Back Thumper's are two areas where we keep several Adoptable kitties. We'll go into more detail on those soon!

3. They're incredible cats! All of them! While they may not share the spotlight with the others they're all so special and wonderful. They're also all very loved. From silly Mitzi in the Office, to gentle Juniper in Back Thumper's, to sweet Chia in Nyota's Nest, to crazy Walter in the Cove, to personable JJ on the Porch, to handsome Blackie in the Barn, they all deserve to be appreciated. 

Events:

The first Roadside Cleanup of Powerdam Road was held on 4/29/26. Denise, Cindy, Sheyanne, Lynnette, Megan and visitor, Eric M., all helped. Sorry, if I left anyone out. It was a beautiful day and was fun for all. Technically, we need to have a cleanup every 6 months, but plan on doing it more often. Powerdam Road is the road in front of the Center. Keeping the area clean enhances the Center and all of its neighbors' properties.

All money has been received from last week's Flash Sale. Thank you so much for taking care of this so quickly.

Tuesday, April 28th was Humane Ohio Day. We sent a total of 53 cats: 25 males and 28 females, including Cazmin, Vivian, Zooky, Mimble and Chica. We have sent nearly 400 cats for their spay or neuter so far this year.

Believe it or not, it is time to start planning for this year's Cat-a-thon! This year, the event will be held from June 15-19. This is the biggest financial Fundraiser of the year. We will using the same type of board as we have in the past. The boxes will be numbered 1 through 400. We ask for a purchase of one of more boxes. The number on the box is the amount that you pledge to FFRC. Many fun activities will be held during the week. More to follow.

Also, back by popular demand will be CatStock. This event will be renamed soon. We have received a number of suggestions. This will be a scaled down version of past year's events, so that staff can enjoy themselves. It will be a great time for a picnic and visit with your FFRC family. There may also be a small work party put together during the weekend. Mark your calendars for 9/12 & 9/13. Megan is working on contacting local hotels to see if she can get a group rate for those wanting overnight accommodations.

Current Needs:

A list is kept up to date on the Amazon Wish List found on the FFRC website. We are a bit low on Snackers according to Dagda!

Other:

We have a new volunteer named JACK. Welcome and thanks for helping!

We had a quick visit from GIZMO during Box Day. What a cutie!

We also had a quick visit from CARMINE!!! It was great to see him!

Megan will be on vacation 5/13-5/23. Look out England and France!

The Valentine's Day Date videos are nearly ready to be sent.

If you haven't looked at our Instagram page, please do!! There are great pictures of our center's kitties. Thanks so much!

FFRC is always looking for Center volunteers. Candidates need to be at least 18 years old and have transportation to get here. Volunteers work set shifts and have assigned tasks, which include cleaning, feeding and other caring for cats. Please contact Megan if you would like to help.

Please make sure that you have a plan for your pets in the event that you are no longer able to take care of them. The best plan is to have both a primary and a secondary backup.

2026 Calendars are now available and are being offered in two sizes: 8 1/2 x 12 or 8 1/2 x 14. Orders for calendars will be through the FFRC Store and also on the FFRC website. We are unable to take orders via the phone or e-mail.

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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"The world's favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May."

Edwin Way Teale

"May is the month of expectation, the month of wishes, the month of hope."

Emily Bronte'

"As full of spirit as the month of May, and as gorgeous as the sun in midsummer."

William Shakespeare

FFRC Blog Week Ending April 25, 2026

On April 22nd, we celebrated Earth Day in the US. This day is celebrated to raise awareness of environmental issues. It is the time that many communities join together to pick up litter (not the kitty kind), plant trees and reflect on the wonder of nature. Did you do your part? FFRC is now part of the Adopt a Highway Program and what better place to sponsor, but Powerdam Road? If you are able to help, folks will be meeting on Wednesday to pick up trash from the dam to Link Rd.

Found on Amazon

Adoptions:

There were no adoptions this week.

Intakes:

From the Humane Event, FFRC now has 6 new kitties-all female! We are extremely proud of all of our staff and volunteers that helped with the Humane Case on 4/18. We had said that we were only taking 4 cats, but 2 of the fosters were returned. Here are some of the cats lined up waiting for initial vaccinations.

1. Our orange and white lady has been named CHICA which was submitted by Magdelena from the Name a Cat Program.
There were 197 votes.
Chica received 48%
Larlene received 24%
Rumor received 28%

2. Our black calico with the pretty nose has been named SCHMOOKIE which was submitted by SonJa from the Name a Cat Program. SCHMOOKIE has a wound on her side. We are unsure how she was injured. The wound is looking much better.
There were 198 votes.
Schmookie received 52%
Philomena received 35%
Dana Scully received 13%

3. Our mostly white calico with two different colored eyes (one blue and one green) has been named VIVIAN which was submitted by Tracy G from the Name a Cat Program.

There were 204 votes.
Vivian received 58%
Tay received 21%
Sonia received 21%

4. The oldest kitty, a brown and white medium hair girl has been named ZOOKY which was submitted by SonJa from the Name a Cat Program.
There were 210 votes.
Zooky received 36%
Tayla received 32%
Wynn received 32%

5. Our grey girl with one bad eye has been named MIMBLE which was submitted by David and Emma from the Name a Cat Program.
There were 225 votes.
Mimble received 39%
Michelle received 36%
Grayson II received 25%

6. Our most chatty girl is a dark tortie and has been named CAZMIN which was submitted by Cindy W from the Name a Cat Program. CAZMIN has a wound on her neck, most likely from scratching at ear mites. She is healing well.
There were 243 votes.
Cazmin received 38%
Felorah received 32%
Aliki received 30%

AND>>>>>if getting 6 new full-grown cats wasn't enough, we also have 2 new babies. They have not yet been named, and we are not sure of the sex of each kitten. These babies were found in a barn. Originally there were 3, but before the 2 were brought to FFRC, 1 had passed. The person that found the kitties was trying her best to save them by feeding the kittens Karo syrup, please don't do that, it is not healthy for animals. The larger and healthier of the two is believed to be a boy and is doing great. He currently weighs 12.7 oz. The smaller and weaker one came in at 7 oz and is now at 7.5 oz. These kittens are approximately the same age as LEMON (about a month old). Debbie has taken over the care of these two. Both babies are enjoying planting themselves in wet kitten food. They are extremely crispy crunchie. We are concentrating on getting them healthy before bathing them. Once their sex is determined, we will name the babies.

We will be providing updates regularly on these two new kittens.

Health Updates:

HECTOR unfortunately did pass during the early am of 4/19. He was just so little. He was loved for the short time of four days that we had him. He was warm and not alone. For such a little guy, he made a big impact on our hearts.

WILLOW and LEMON are doing great and are now staying full-time at FFRC. No more middle of the night feedings.

Holds:

There are no kitties currently on hold.

Center Kitties:

EGYPT likes a custom-designed cat box.

MARILYN snoozes in her kitty bed. She is joined by DERECHO and SPIKER. RAMSAY is waiting for there to be a little room for him.

The Great Huntress, BETTY, is dreaming of being outside

CRACKERS is checking everything out.

ROCKET is building up his upper body for the next Olympics.

Like Mother, like Daughter. ANGELIQUE posing with her girl, BEBOP.

Adopted Kitties:

BUCKEYE is watching his former Momma and is thankful he now has a furever home. Buckeye had his first vet visit since his adoption. All good. He sleeps on his new families' heads at night.

JACCI and HEINZ are now both out and about. JACCI, the shy one, used to hide in the closet, now she meows for attention. HEINZ doesn't know what shy is.

JACCI

HEINZ

Events:

A flash sale was held on Wednesday, April 22 at 11 am. The sale raised $1,603. Thanks to all that participated, whether by donating, purchasing, or liking and subscribing. Many donated items and handmade items were sold. Stacy E, Cheryl T and Dee & Chris were among the talented and handy folks that provided handmade items. A few things, including 2026 FFRC calendars, are still available. Please reach out to FFRC if interested.

Current Needs:

A list is kept up to date on the Amazon Wish List found on the FFRC website.

Other:

Lynnette was off on Friday, 4/24 and may take off a few days next week. She will be pulling double duty while Megan's on vacation in the UK and France from 5/13 to 5/23.

The impromptu fundraiser that was held on 4/16 to 4/17 raised $18,271.80. Thanks so much. This was a great relief!

Cody is no longer with FFRC. We are currently looking for a replacement. Please let Megan know if you know someone that would be interested in Handyman/Farm work.

During Box Day, AlleyKat brought in some handmade pillows and t-shirts with Center kitties' pictures. Watch for these items in future fundraisers.

The Valentine's Day Date videos are nearly ready to be sent.

If you haven't looked at our Instagram page, please do!! There are great pictures of our center's kitties. Thanks so much!

Please make sure that you have a plan for your pets in the event that you are no longer able to take care of them. The best plan is to have both a primary and a secondary backup.

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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In honor of Earth Day:

"Trees are poems that the Earth writes upon the sky."

Khalil Gibran

"We don't own the planet earth: we belong to it. And we must share it with our wildlife"

Steve Irwin

"Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better."

Albert Einstein

"Nature is painting for us, day after day, pictures of infinite beauty"

John Ruskin

FFRC Blog Week Ending April 18, 2026

We started the week with National Pet Day (April 11th). National Pet Day is an annual observance dedicated to celebrating the joys pets bring to our lives and raising awareness about the millions of animals in shelters awaiting adoption. From Nationaltoday.com

Adoptions:

We had a surprise adoption on Thursday. BUCKEYE went to his furever home with our volunteer Stephanie. Buckeye was found locally and brought to FFRC on 7/13/23. His date of birth is 7/12/22. When found, Buckey had a large open wound on his back. We tried multiple things to get it to stay closed and finally contacted an emergency center in Ft. Wayne. They were able to vacuum close the wound. He is our $10K kitty!!! He will be keeping his name and will have a chill cat brother that is about 3 1/2 years old and 2 little old doggies.

Buckeye is doing great in his new home.

Another adoption was on 4/18. It was our sweet orangie, ALLEN. He will be keeping his name. On 5/26/24, Allen came to us after being found in a box. He is almost 2 years old. and will join a large group of siblings, which include a pit mastiff, a mini aussie, a bird, a ferret, a grey tabby cat, a boa, a bearded dragon and 15 fish. Wow, he will be having a great time!

Intakes:

We have another new baby kitty. This one is a little boy. He was found by our local trash company in a bag inside a box. It's a good thing this one has a healthy set of lungs, because his cry is what was heard by the rescuer. This baby was brought to FFRC at only 1 day old and still had his ambilocal cord attached. The cord detaches after about 3 days. He is another grey tiger but has white paws and other white markings, plus a very pink nose. This is a very serious time for a baby to be without its mother. Please keep him in your prayers. He is not eating well and seems to be declining. He is getting lots of love and we are still hopeful. We have named this little guy, HECTOR. His name came from the Name a Cat program and was submitted by Auntie Anita. Here are the results of the 287 votes:

Hector 40%

Baby Wiskerson 30%
Little Guy 30%

Health Updates:

WILLOW and LEMON are doing great. They are both eating and "all that goes with it" well. In fact, on 4/18, Debbie gave them wet food. They loved wallowing in it and also getting quite a bit in their tummies. They are very loud and demanding at feeding time. They are both gaining weight and are on track to being healthy kitties.

POPSICLE has had the sniffles but is doing much better after being on meds. You really can't keep this guy down long.

We lost SCOTLAND on Thursday, April 16th. Last Saturday, it appeared that he was straining to urinate. Meds were administered and when he was able to pass urine it was determined that he did not have crystals. On Sunday night to Monday morning, he appeared worse and was taken to Dr. Darcy's office. She did x-rays and found that a mass (encapsulated abscess) was blocking his urinary tract. On Thursday, exploratory surgery was performed to see if anything could be done for him. It was discovered that the mass was cancerous. He was not in any pain, due to the medications that he was on. The decision to let SCOTLAND pass peacefully was difficult but was the best that we could do for him. If you all can recall, Scotland came to FFRC about two years ago with a prolapsed rectum. He was skinny and had very little fur.

FFRC and Dr. Darcy worked their magic on him. He turned into a beautiful floofy boy. He was in the cove, so was not at the camera. We were able to give him two more years of love, food and warmth. We are wishing him the best but understand that it was his time.

We will miss our SCOTTY BOY!

Holds:

MARY LOU is also no longer on hold. We have been unable to reach the potential adopters. She's a beauty and ready to find her furever home.

Center Kitties:

JIMMY JAMES (JJ) has the most unusual and beautiful eyes. They look like marbles. He usually doesn't stand still long enough to get a good picture of them, but here is a pretty good one. JJ is one of the Porchies that greet you when you arrive at FFRC.

BUTTERBEAN taking a stroll on the wheel. She's crying because she wants your attention.

JEFFERSON is a chunka chunka burnin' love.

BEBOP is a big girl now!

Adopted Kitties:

JUDE (black cat) and his brother JAX checking out the desert.

KARL and WILL POWER playing. Aren't they cute?

RENEE (Wonder) and BRYNN are so photogenic, aren't they?

Road Trip Updates:

Artwork by Christine P

The trip started out pretty smoothly on Wednesday, 4/8. MR. ROGERS is a great traveling companion. He only meowed for a short time and then settled in to watch the world pass by. There was a lot of traffic and a few accidents that made the already long trip even longer. Megan decided that the best way to get there as quickly as possible, was to eat "Gas Station Food". This turned out to be NOT the best idea. Not to worry, Megan was fine....Lynnette decided to get some chicken nuggets to eat on the way--which she shared with Mr. Rogers. A couple of hours later, Lynnette wasn't feeling very good and Mr. Rogers wasn't either. Megan let Mr. Rogers out of his cage to walk around and use his litter box. PU!!!! Not the most pleasant smell!! It was time to get back on the road, but about a half hour later, Lynnette told Megan that it was time to pull over NOW! After Lynnette relieved herself of the poison chicken, she felt much better. Of course, Megan telling the story was much funnier than this post!

After the traffic and other delays, Mr. Rogers was at this new home with Terri, our wonderful Mod. We can only imagine the Hi Jinx that ensued until Megan and Lynnette left to continue on their journey. The ladies arrived at their hotel between 2:30 and 3:00am and then crashed!

The next morning, the trip was to the beach! BUT it was really cold and windy. The ocean was very angry, but the ladies stuck it out and even tried to find some shells.

The next stop was to see our former director, Jacci. Since no shells had been found on the beach, Lynnette bought some from a local shop. The plan was to stay a couple of hours and then start heading back. At around midnight (much later than planned), the travel home had started.

About 3:30am, it was time to stop for the "night". Again, they crashed until it was time to leave the hotel and get back on the road. They did stop at a rest area, and each got massages in a chair. The weather wasn't the greatest; there was rain and maybe even sleet.

Lynnette drove for a couple of hours while Megan snoozed. She somehow managed to get on the wrong side of some construction barrels. She had to weave in and out of them to get to her exit. I guess she needed her own express lane. In fairness, it was pouring and very foggy--not to mention dark! Lynnette is a trailblazer! LOL

The ladies made it back late Friday and now it is all memories of the good times, the not so good times and the knowledge that Mr. Rogers is at home where he belongs!

Humane Event:

Cindy sorted and cleaned Kitty City in preparation for another Humane event that was on Saturday, 4/18. She made the area as clean and sterile as possible, so that we could triage the 29 kitties that were in desperate need of help. Thank you for all of your hard work, Cindy! FFRC, the Humane Society and our local Humane Agent met at the house at 8 am and were able to capture all of the kitties. They all appear to be friendly.

All 29 cats were tested and unfortunately, 3 of the cats (which were outside shed cats) were found to have FIV. Because of this and their other health issues, these 3 were euthanized. All cats were extremely thin, had fleas, worms and some of the worst infected ears that FFRC has experienced. All cats were given three separate vaccines: distemper, Bordetella and leukemia. They were also given flea meds, Capstar and dewormers.

FFRC has kept 4 of these cats (names and pictures to follow in next week's blog). Our local Humane Society took 14. The remaining 8 cats were taken by foster/adopters. We are so grateful that these individuals stepped up to help!!!!

More thanks to:

Lynnette that held all of the cats during their intake.

Edna who documented everything.
Dawn that handled the after processing and test results.
Mary "Braid" who ran all over helping where needed.
Michael C. who thought he was there for a nice vacation and who was put to work.
Lisa, the Humane Society director, who worked with the foster and adoptive parents.
Stacey, our Humane Agent.

Sunday, Megan will work on completing the intake process for the FFRC kitties and will be working with the Humane Society on dispensing meds based on health protocol and with vet approval.

Events:

A flash sale will be held on Wednesday, April 22 at 11 am.

Humane Ohio was on Tuesday, 4/14. We sent up 25 males and 24 females. Included was our new kitty, Lyla.

Current Needs:

A list is kept up to date on the Amazon Wish List found on the FFRC website. The biggest need that we have now is financial. After Megan mentioned this need on an impromptu update on Thursday, over $10K was raised before Q & A was held on Friday. We are so overwhelmed and thankful for having you as part of our Nation!

Other:

Miss Hailey's Middle School Special Needs class sent letters, a poster, DIY projects and other kitty items during Box Day, 4/14. The class watches the YouTube channel regularly.

Megan was able to get a number of adoption requests approved. Here's hoping for some kitties finding their new homes soon.

The Valentine's Day Date videos are nearly ready to be sent.

If you haven't looked at our Instagram page, please do!! There are great pictures of our center's kitties. Thanks so much!

Please make sure that you have a plan for your pets in the event that you are no longer able to take care of them. The best plan is to have both a primary and a secondary backup.

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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In honor of Megan and Lynnette's Road Trip:

"It's not the destination, it's the journey."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

"People don't take trips, trips take people"

John Steinbeck

"Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter."

Izaak Walton

"No more gas station food!"

Lynnette Begley