FFRC BLOG

FFRC Blog Week Ending April 4, 2026

Just in time for spring!!!! Brought to you by Fountain City Veterinary Hospital.

Adoptions:

There were no adoptions this week.

Intakes:

We had a new intake of a female gray/beige tiger this week. And guess what? She's a polydactyl baby. She has been named LYLA. Her name came from the Name a Cat Program and was submitted by Dianne E. Here are the results of the vote. 220 votes were cast:

Lyla 74%
Lemon 21%
Larlene 5%

LYLA was found on the property on Monday, March 30th, by Kim. She is approximately 7-8 months old and was very hungry! She is doing great. We look forward to having her in the main room as soon as all of her initial intake is complete.

Polydactyl cats are cats born with extra toes due to a genetic mutation, often called "mitten cats" or "Hemingway cats." Normally, cats have 18 toes--five on each front paw and four on each back paw--but polydactyl cats have at least 19, with some rare individuals having up to 28 toes. The extra toes are most commonly found on the front paws, though they can appear on the back paws, as well. Taken from Wikipedia.

Health Updates:

WILLOW is doing great. She is receiving her kitty food via a bottle and is very LOUD and demanding! Debbie is taking a break from baby care and has handed the baton to Megan. She is being fed Breeders Edge Foster Care Feline, which is working great. She is having perfect solid Poos! Be prepared for cuteness overload!

Megan did a few surprise weigh-ins during Q & A:

WIBBLES was 3 lbs. 8 oz. Now, 5 lbs. 1 oz.
RAISIN was 5 lbs. Now, 6 lbs. 3 oz.
BUTTERBEAN 6 lbs. 3 oz.
POPSICLE 8 lbs. 1 oz.
SPIKER 14 lbs. 3 oz.

CHANDLER, BOWIE and LUCKY have graduated to Paddy's Place and the Main Room.

Holds:

MR. ROGERS is doing great and is officially on hold! Our Mod Terri is getting a new kitty! Details to follow as we get closer to the adoption day!

MARY LOU is also still on hold, but we are awaiting word back from her family on when this will occur.

Center Kitties:

BUEHLER is our "go to" man on the cam!

STEVEN wondering what will happen if he pulls this?

Lovely LEIBCHEN needs a quiet home!

RUMPELSTILTSKIN has caught his prey, now what?

Adopted Kitties:

Remember Macaroni and Pickles, now MAC and PICCOLO? These are the RV kitties on their way to Florida.

STARLIGHT is making herself at home. Her personality is coming out more and is adjusting well.

Events:

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.

Other:

Humane Ohio day was Tuesday, March 31st. We sent up 52 cats, 24 females and 28 males. None were FFRC kitties. LYLA will go up next time.

We have a new Farmyard/Handyman named Cody. Let's all welcome him! He will first be working on rebuilding the fire pit and general maintenance. He has also been power-washing the buildings. Taking care of a downed tree is also in the plans. Looking good!

Laura (Pooh Bear's Mom) has left FFRC. Wishing her the best. We are interviewing for part-time help to help Cindy with the outside & Cove kitties, plus the other farmyard animals.

Mrs. Yacks visited most of the week and brought some letters and artwork from her 5th grade class. Magic made quite an impact on her class.

Storms have hit Defiance, Ohio again! This time, an actual funnel cloud was spotted (EF1). Wind damage and flooding occurred throughout town, especially the downtown area. FFRC is located across from the Auglaize River but is high enough to avoid flooding issues around the center and farmyard.

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. I've received mine, how about you?

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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"Spring is nature's way of saying 'Let's party'."

Robin Williams

"Spring is when you feel like whistling even with a shoe full of slush"

Doug Larson

FFRC Blog Week Ending March 28, 2026

We don't say this often enough, but we have the most wonderful group that help support our Rescue. Your kind words and generous gifts help us fulfill our mission to help as many kitties as possible. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.

Adoptions:

DONOVAN was adopted on Friday, March 27th. This shy inky boy is just under 6 months old. He arrived at FFRC with his mom, Kahu and will be keeping his name. He had to travel about 2 hours with his new family, so he had a pretty long day. Best wishes, DONOVAN!

Intakes:

As of Friday, we have a new little girl baby, dob 3/16/26!! The first kitten of the 2026 kitten season is WILLOW!! She was found by a family in their yard. They waited a day to see if her mommy would return, but she did not. FFRC was contacted to see if they would be her new surrogate family. She now is warm and has a full belly, thanks to Debbie and the rest of the team. We are now using the bottle to feed her, instead of the syringe. It seems to be working just fine. Her name was from the Name a Cat List and was submitted by "ANONY". Here are the results of the vote: Willow 52%, EmiRose 34% and Lemon 14%. There were 145 votes cast.

Here, Megan is showing WILLOW to the camera.

Health Updates:

MR. ROGERS is doing great! He looks completely different now. He is up to 9 lbs. 6 oz. He is a big boy!

CHANDLER is just about ready to "graduate" to Paddy's Place, with his sister, LUCKY. He is no longer on FIP medication and his meds for Toxoplasmosis seem to have done the trick. By last Sunday, he was bouncing around playing with LUCKY. We got an "all clear" from our vet, so look out world, these kitties have things to do!

BOWIE will most likely move to Paddy's Place with CHANDLER and LUCKY very soon. His mouth ulcers are better, but we are extending his treatment a little bit longer. BOWIE has been accused of being a messy pen mate, but we think that it is probably a gremlin that comes in and tosses litter around--it couldn't be BOWIE!!

On Friday, Dr. Bryan, our goat veterinarian visited us. He made sure that all goats were up to date on their vaccines. He worked with Megan on de-worming and gave tips on how to determine if another de-worming was needed. The girls all got a clean bill of health.

All kitties will soon be getting their semi-annual de-worming, too. This will be done by Megan and team.

Holds:

MARY LOU is currently on hold, but we are awaiting word back from her family on when this will occur.

Center Kitties:

SINOPA came to us with "Babies on Board". Here she is sticking her tongue out and saying, "No more babies for me! Also, Hey, I'm now 3 years old. My birthday was 3/28!"

BEBOP and BIRCH love Box Day. The like to think of it as their "Paper Play Day"!

Have you ever seen a more peaceful cuddle puddle? MARILYN, SPIKER and DERECHO resting after a long day's work of running FFRC.

Beautiful MYA looking a bit perplexed on what all the ruckus is about.

Adopted Kitties:

We have heard from the family of HIRO (Cavendish). It has been 3 years since this big boy was adopted. He is very sweet.

Here's another blast from the past: RORY is now 4 years old and stars in his own TV show.

Events:

We had a flash sale on Wednesday, 3/25. A total of $1,428 was raised!!! Special thanks to:

Linda & Friend for the knitted hat and scarves.
Jan T for the cat measuring cups and spoons
Sew Fun Cat Mom for the table runner and tote bags
Cindy W for the Got Uppies T-Shirts
Karen Twokeets for the original wall hangings
Katzkratch for the quilted bookmark/eyeglass holders, potato baker, trivet/potholder, tissue/Chapstick holder, and the wall hanging
Hatmaker for the Small Polly blankets
Polly & Peanut for the Big Polly blankets
All of the others that donated and purchased items

Also, back by popular demand will be CatStock. 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. The September date will be announced soon.

Current Needs:

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

Other:

We have a new Farmyard/Handyman named Cody. Let's all welcome him! He will first be working on rebuilding the fire pit and general maintenance.

Speaking of maintenance, this last week was a doozy! The dryer went out on Monday and was fixed on Thursday. Thank you WonderWoman for covering this expense. The farm water pump has had on and off again issues, we are working on a permanent fix. We also had an electrician out to re-wire the barn. It is now bright and any safety concerns have been corrected.

We also had the farrier out to do nail trims on all of our goats. They are now ready for the prom. No polish, please!

We received very touching letters from Scotland (the country, not the cat) regarding Magic, the cat that stole all of our hearts. The letters were read during Box Day, 3/24.

How many cats are too many??? FFRC would like to keep their numbers between 80 and 110 cats----BUT---- we now have 123.

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 looking for 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.

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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"Among the things that you can give and still keep are your word, a smile and a grateful heart."

Zig Ziglar

"We don't need more to be thankful for, we just need to be more thankful."

Carlos Castaneda

FFRC Blog Week Ending March 21, 2026

It's SPRING!!! WOOHOO!!!

Last week we celebrated St. Patrick's Day and the First Day of Spring---What I missed was Saint Gertrude of Nivelles' Feast Day also celebrated on 3/17.

Saint Gertrude is known as the patron saint of cats, travelers, and those in need of comfort. It’s said that she watched over both people and animals, offering kindness where it was needed most—especially to the small, the unwanted, and the forgotten.

If she were here today, I think she’d be sitting beside the scared feral, the sick kitten, the ones the world looks past… reminding them they matter.

And maybe that’s what rescue really is—being a little bit like Gertrude.

Showing up.

Loving anyway.

Caring for the ones no one else will.

So tonight, hug your kitties a little closer—especially the shy ones, the broken ones, the ones still learning to trust. They are so worthy of love.

And if you’re out there feeding a feral colony, trapping to help, or opening your home to one who needed a chance… know this: you are doing sacred work.

Taken from "For the Love of a Feral's Post.

Adoptions:

We had an adoption this last week!! Our beautiful girl, STARLIGHT, was adopted on Friday! Starlight has the softest bunny-like fur. She appeared one day in our parking lot and is now about 11 months old. Her new daddy looked at a lot of cats on Friday, but Starlight picked him. She said, "You are taking me home! No need to look at any other kitties!" At this time, Starlight will be keeping her name.

Holds:

Our beautiful floofy girl MARY LOU is on hold. More details to follow.

Intakes:

No intakes this week.

Health Updates:

BOWIE is doing much better. His mouth ulcers and swelling have improved. He will make a great addition to someone's home.

MR. ROGERS has gained some more weight! He is up to 9 lbs. 2 ozs. He no longer is a boney boy.

We noticed that CHANDLER was not feeling all that great this last week. We started treating him for toxoplasmosis which is an infection caused by a parasite which can be transmitted by undercooked meat or contact with cat feces. Chander is one of the kitties that came from the Humane Case House. He got a bit better, but not as quickly as we would like, so he visited Dr. Darcy who is not really sure what the issue is. Because Toxoplasmosis and FIP have similar symptoms, we started him on FIP treatment. He was pretty down because we had isolated him from his sister, LUCKY. Because he was so sad, we opened up his and Lucky's condo and put them back together. There was an immediate change! They are both playing and are much happier. Now, we wait and see how they both are. FFRC records have been changed, and these two kitties are now listed as a Bonded Pair. They will live together for the rest of their lives.

CHANDLER is the black and white boy and LUCKY is his calico sister. (Not really sure if they are siblings, but based on their age, it is very likely).

All other kitties are doing great!

Center Kitties & Others:

Ever wonder what happens in the Kabana on a warm, sunny day? Wonder no more!

We have equipped the GOATS with their colored collars and now can easily identify them:

JOLENE, light green collar - mom to Spade and sister to Charlene.

PEANUT, dark green collar.

LUCKY, blue collar - mom to Peanut.

SPADE, pink collar.

CHARLENE, purple collar - mom to Lucky, grandma to Peanut and sister to Jolene.

We also still have LUCY and SUNSHINE, our full-size goats (mom and daughter).

Adopted Kitties:

Do you all remember EILEEN?? She was a kitty that was returned February 10, 2025, and returned to us in a terrible state. Severe flea infestation and very dehydrated and underweight.

She was again adopted on July 3, 2025, by a wonderful family who love her very much. Here she is today!

Events:

Our next Fash Sale will be held at 11am on 3/25. Exciting Spring Items!

Results of our Easter Fundraiser:

Sold 54 tickets for $270

Winner: Darla W
Consolation Prize of two kitchen towels

Winner: Mojha MC

Sold 140 tickets for $700

Winner: Susan SMO
Consolation Prize of three kitchen towels

Winner: Christine P

Sold 69 tickets for $345

Winner: Tamara S
Consolation Prize of Easter flag and sign

Winner: Richard R for Kim

Sold 94 tickets for $470

Winner: Robin and Kirsty
Consolation Prize of bunny and sign

Winner: Gillian H

Sold 100 tickets for $500

Winner: Darla W
Consolation Prize of two bunnies

Winner: Jessie PAR

Sold 54 tickets for $270

Winner: Jeff B (Ron)
Consolation Prize of two bunnies

Winner: Christine FA

Sold 71 tickets for $355

Winner: Taylor R
Consolation Prize of an Easter bag with bunnies

Winner: Kerry WOO

Sold 63 tickets for $315

Winner: Michelle HO
Consolation Prize of 3 wooden bunnies

Winner: Greg RE

An additional consolation prize of a fuzzy blanket was won by Sophia SD

The total raised from the sale of 645 tickets was $3,225. Additional bump ups brought the total up to $5,500. This included a donation from Eagle Watcher (Beth). She volunteered to pick up FIP medication and also paid for it.

Thanks so much to:

Donators, Mike & Lola

Participants

Bumper Uppers

FFRC Staff and Volunteers

AND a special thanks to the Kitties that keep us all watching!

Current Needs:

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

Other:

We continue to receive very touching memorial tributes for ALMA and MAGIC. Thank you for providing these and showing the depth of your love for these two residents.

The Valentine's Day videos are still being worked on. We will get them sent out soon.

FFRC has applied for their first grant. It is for $2,000. Some of the conditions of the grant are that there has to be a match of the $2,000 and that the money be used for Community Spay/Neuter. More details to follow.

Megan, Debbie, Gem and Dawn all were able to visit with the Kitten Lady in Ft. Wayne on 3/19. They learned some new ideas about kitten care and shared their experiences with CH kitties. They may try a new formula and also try bottle feeding, as opposed to syringe feeding.

On a sad note, Megan lost her dog, HAGRID, on Friday 3/13. "He was just the bestest boy. Always smiling and just happy napping in all his dog beds. We didn't have him long but will love him a lifetime's worth." Gizmo is now an only child.

Do you live in the Defiance, OH area? Are you handy?

We are looking for a reliable, hands-on part-time farm helper to assist with daily animal care, maintenance, and general property upkeep.
Responsibilities include:
Caring for goats and fowl (feeding, watering, basic care), General maintenance and repairs, Yard work and property upkeep, Painting and small repair projects
Operating equipment such as:
Riding mower, Weedwacker, Chainsaw
Requirements:
-Ability to lift up to 50 lbs
-Comfortable working outdoors in varying weather
-Experience using basic farm and lawn equipment
-Willingness to get dirty and tackle hands-on tasks
-Love for animals is a must
-Dependable, self-motivated, and safety-minded
Schedule:
Monday to Friday - Part-time hours
Flexible scheduling (details discussed during interview)
If you enjoy physical work, being outdoors, and working around animals, this could be a great fit!

FFRC is also looking for kitty 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 providing other care for cats. Please contact Megan if you would like to help.

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.

2026 Calendars are still 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. I've received mine, how about you?

Photos by Dawn and friends.

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"Nothing is so beautiful as Spring."

Gerard Manley Hopkins

"Spring adds new life and new beauty to all that is."

Jessica Harrelson