FFRC BLOG

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending August 24, 2024

Adoptions:

We had 4 adoptions this week!

Sanford was adopted! Our sweet boy gets to go home with a catio to relax in during the day while he watches birds and squirrels play. He’ll have a 20 year old sister to chill out with and best of all, no kittens to drive him crazy! He’ll have peace and quiet!

The long wait for a home for MightKat finally came to an end as she was adopted! She’ll have a kitty brother and a human sister to grow old with.

Radar was adopted. This boy was quite overwhelmed here after all the changes his life has gone thru and now he gets to go to a quiet home that knows of his weight goals and will work with him to reach a healthy weight, while living in a happy home surrounded by love. His new name is Michael.

And finally, Bellamy got her wish, to stay with her best friend forever as she was adopted by Carmine. She and her new dad were meant for each other and rumor has it, she may already have her own special place to sleep close by him at night. It was meant to be.

Health Updates:

Roo continues to do very well. She is getting more and more walkabouts and is getting around very well. She has a very positive attitude.

Checkers had the degloved tail and was going to have surgery in the future but his tail fell off. He’s fine and Dr. Darcy said that’s not unusual. He doesn’t mind and is just being a happy, playful kitty.

Ridley and Maverick have officially finished their ringworm treatment.

Other Updates:

The two boy kittens (4 month olds) that came in a few weeks ago finally have names: Hooper and Hoppy. Both are orange/white but Hooper is more buff (color not abs).

Bella, Luna and Checkers are doing great and all becoming good play friends. They are all happy and healthy.

We have a new staff member. His name is Ray and he is a great help in keeping up with the farmland. He’s been doing a lot of landscaping and helping Cindy with a lot of the outside stuff.

The Covies got a television this week! They wanted it for the start of the college football season. They are all pretty exciting but we’ve decided not to give into their demands for individual IPhone’s.

Holds

Bodie is on hold and getting adopted around September 8th. He is going to go with Dark Cat! The two friends will officially become siblings and grow up together. The family that adopted Acorn is adopting them.

We do have a number of adoptions coming but they’ll wait until Megan’s vacation is over.

FYI: We are a few days away from our 25th anniversary! September 1, 1999 is our official 25th anniversary. We encourage everyone who has ever adopted from FFRC to share a picture or story of their kitty (past or present) on our FaceBook page. We look forward to the next 25 years.

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending August 17, 2024

Adoptions:

None this week.

New Cats:
None this week.

Health Updates:

Checkers, Bella and Luna have all passed their tests for FIP and Leukemia and they are now out of their cages and down on the floor with each other.

Roo continues to do well and we are now letting her in the main Center for supervised visits for short periods of time. We will slowly build up the time depending on her progression.

Thumbelina is also out in the main center for short periods of time. She was in the Kabana and discovered that Peacocks walk by the window.

Both Maverick and Ridley continue to do well. Their ringworm is almost cleared up with about a week or so of meds before they will be completely ringworm free.

They are the funnest two boys who love to play and are eagerly waiting for a world without ringworms!

Several of the cats have been experiencing some stool issues (loose) and we’ve decided for a week to cut down on one of the wet food feedings. Cats still have access to dry food, 24 hours a day. Wet food is very rich and we hope to calm down the stomachs of all the cats. We are still doing wet food feedings, just cutting back on one for the next week. They get five wet food feedings a day, we are cutting it down to four. If any cat comes to the cam and tells you they are starving, don’t believe them. They are liars, lovable, but still liars.

Other Updates:

Our longtime Friend and volunteer, Dee, passed away. Dee was 87 and such a joy when she came to visit. For years she has come and brushed the cats. Certain cats would come running when they saw her as she had a gentle way with them all. We will all miss Dee but are so blessed to have known her for so many years.

Porchie and Jefferson are also doing well. They are very quiet cats. Remember, they were returned after spending many years in a family. The family had some medical issues and could no longer care for them. They are bonded and we would love to have them adopted together. Porchie is 5 and Jefferson is 6. If you want two cats that are sweet as can be and cause no trouble, these two are for you.

Mitzy may be blind but no one told her. She goes here, there and everywhere. She has actually snuck in the office to be spoiled. It is truly amazing how physical challenges do not slow down cats. Mitzy is 3 months old and so loving.

Radar has lost a little weight. He is able to come into the Main Center, but he chooses not to. It appears to be a little overwhelming to him. He is happy, looking out the window at the birds.

Financial Updates:

If any of you pledged $$ for Cat-A-Thon and have not yet paid, please remember to send your pledged money sometime this week. We appreciate this so very much.

We had a flash sale this week and raised $1,800. That will help us with bills, especially with getting vaccines as we did 50 vaccines this week. Vaccines are so very important for the long term health of our cats.

Holds

Mightycat will be going home this coming Friday (time, yet to be determined).

Bodie is officially on hold! While we will all be sad to see him go, he gets his very own home! He will also be going to a home that already has an FFRC cat.

FYI:

Your cat is part of your family. You love them. You care for them. You take them to the Vet when they are sick. Love doesn’t end with your passing. Make a plan, let your family or close friends know what that plan is for your cat. Don’t assume someone will take them. Talk to the person you want to care for them if you are no longer able to care for them, for whatever reason. Some of you may remember Twinkle from many years ago. Twinkle was the sweetest old soul whose mom passed away. Her family didn’t know what to do with Twinkle so let her outside to fend for herself. Twinkle hid under the house for many weeks before a kind neighbor found her and brought her to FFRC. By then, Twinkle was bone thin, dehydrated and in terrible shape. Make a plan. Love your cat forever and a day. Plan for them. They are counting on you.

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending August 10, 2024

Adoptions:

None this week.

New Cats:
Two four month old male kittens (both orange) came in this week. They are safe now. We aren’t going to dwell on how they came here, but will focus on them being here, starting a new chapter in their lives surrounded by love and good people who will do no harm to them.

Health Updates:

Thumbelina: she will need surgery on her paw at some point. She has one ‘mitten’ that is deformed.

Cheerios ear looks better and at this point doesn’t need surgery but may have a little head tilt permanently.

Alma -- little bit of bowel issue, lost a little weight and lost some hair. She does have a little thyroid issue which she needs some meds to treat. She is 12 so much of her issues are age related.

Rumpelstiltskin continues to feel much better as he continues his rehab from his latest 'tweaking’ of his leg.

Roo continues to do well. She is still in a Dodger’s Pen as she needs to be in a more contained environment as she heals from her surgery.

Checkers is doing well also. He is such a happy boy.

Other Updates:
Nyota has new roommates. Piet, Victoria and Chia have all joined her to form a special girls club where quiet rules. So far they are all loving their new tranquil environment. They are all comfortable and Nyota is enjoying having friends (but not too many!)

Percy and Xavi are now in the main Center. They are fitting in quite well with the other kittens running around. They do like to stick together, which is so sweet.

The two gray babies found by the Waste Management hero now have names (courtesy of him!):

They are both females. The light gray is Bella and the dark gray is Luna. They are now both eating solid food. They are progressing very well.

Bellamy has been a little down in the dumps the past few days as her Carmine has taken a few days off. He’ll be back this week and we predict he will have a certain brown haired beauty waiting at the door for him. Just as people have favorite cats, cats have favorite people!

The AC in the office was fixed this week, then a few hours later it stopped again and apparently it keeps ‘freezing’ so a new part has been ordered and due in sometime this week.

Financial Updates:

We had a flash sale this week which raised over $900. The whole amount is going to our vet’s office as we’ve had quite a few cats visit there the past month with some serious issues Roo, Cheerio, Alma to name just a few). We thank everyone who helped and cheered for the flash sale.

Holds

MightyKat is officially on hold! MightyKat was found with her 6 siblings from a stray cat who couldn’t care for them. Each of the kittens were adopted except MightyKat. She’s been waiting over 2 years for someone to give her a furrever home. Her soon to be mom was mom to Ming who was adopted several years ago and remains in our hearts always.

MightyKat is a sweet girl who is extremely shy and really needs a home where there aren’t so many cats around making so much noise! She picked them and they fell in love with her at the same time. TBD when she will be going home

FYI:
Kindness is giving hope to those who think they are all alone in this world. You are never alone.

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending August 3, 2024

Adoptions:

None this week.

New Cats:

Thumbelina = Female Inky, found by a staff member at Dr. Darcy’s office with a wound on the back of her leg and was injured on one toe on the front paw. The toe had to be removed. Staff member couldn’t take her. She is 9 weeks old.

Sahara = All white female kitty with extra toes on each paw. She’s about 7 months old. Sweet all four polydactyly, found as a stray. Her eyes are mesmerizing. If she complains about having so many toes, she can go talk to Thumbeline.

Ridley = Male, Buff/ginger orange (3 months old) (he and brother were brought in with the Humane Ohio transport to be neutered and they were not well enough to be fixed). Surrendered to FFRC and are doing much better.

Maverick = male, darker orange with white (Ridley’s brother).

Checkers = Male (brown tiger and white). Woman found a kitten about 5 weeks old, in the road, scared and cars traveling over him (not hitting him, just over). Cat has injuries. She brought him to FFRC and demanded we take her so he’s now ours. Treatment has already started. He has a wound on face, a degloved tail. He’ll be brought to Dr. Darcy soon.

Health Updates:

Roo went to Dr. Darcy’s this week and her ‘mittens’ were removed. She’s bandaged up pretty well but no longer with the mittens. Her fever is lowering and she is feeling much more ‘perky’.
Rumpelstiltskin is doing well but as a precaution we are keeping him in a cage to limit his activity.

Many of the kittens have a ‘goopy’ eye thing going on. This is very normal and we’re dealing with it so not to worry.

Other Updates:

Both of the gray cats saved by the compactor man are confirmed as female and we are going to let the man who saved their lives name them. Both of the baby cats are doing wonderful and have a great appetite.

Debbie’s Rathbone passed this week. He was a gentle older cat who brought smiles to all of our faces. It was his time to rest.

Piet and Victoria are doing great in Nyota’s room. Nyota has welcomed them and the three girls are enjoying being part of their own little room.

We have a new moderator on the youtube chat: say hi to Terri P. when you get a chance! Terri’s been a friend of FFRC for 12 or so years! Welcome to Terri.

Lynnette will be on vacation for the week. She’ll be relaxing and having a stress free week.

Holds

None.

FYI:

“I want to spend all nine lives with you.”

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending July 27, 2024

Adoptions:

Odie was adopted this week. He had only been here about a month after being found as a stray in a cat colony. He had some health issues and when brought to the vet was so loving that it was decided he would be a great candidate to be adopted when healthy.

He has cryptorchidism (testicles that don’t descend). He also had flea dirt and an eye infection that may need long term or lifetime care. He and his new mom will face each tomorrow, together. He’s about 1 and half years old and will be an only cat. Still not sure on what his name will be (maybe Odie).

New Cats:

None this week!

Health Updates:

Roo went back to the Vet to have her bandages changed. She is doing very well and is even playing in her cage as she recovers from her amputations. Such a love bug. She did decide to take off one of her bandage ‘mittens’. She thinks they are toys. She actually was getting around well. She is in a smaller cage for her own safety and healing.

Rumpelstiltskin went to the Vet for a follow-up and Dr. Darcy believes he doesn’t need a pin removed. She thinks his recent limping may be a bone spur or how he might have twisted his leg. He’s still on bed rest for a few days before he goes back to his apartment with the girls, Nyota and Piet.

Percy, Donny, Allan and DarkCat (the kitten) went up with Humane, Ohio this week and were ‘fixed’. Snooks will probably go next time.

Cheerio’s deep inner ear infection is causing his head to droop a little She’s being treated with meds and she’s improved a lot but we do still have tentative surgery scheduled for August 2 She’s being let out of her cage a little bit to stretch her legs but for her safety, she’s being put safely in a cage overnight.or when no human is around to closely watch her.

Percy’s ringworm is almost totally gone, so he should be off meds soon.

The two new orange babies that didn’t make weight for Humane, Ohio last week are doing much better. Remember both were very sick and one was very, very sick and we were scared for him but he is doing much better. So paws crossed that they both continue progressing.

Other Updates:

Piet is doing well with her new roommate, Nyota. The two are getting along quite nicely.

Jefferson and Porchie are doing much better acclimating to their new world. They are coming down from high up and feeling more confident.

Holds

None at this time.

FYI:

A cat’s purr is the ultimate lullabye”

FFRC Weekly Blog Week ending July 20, 2024

Adoptions:

Sweet little Fries got adopted. She showed up at FFRC on June 17, 2024. She was probably a drop off and run. She is going to a home with two young boys (human) and an older sister (kitty). Her grandfather will become her Vet, as he is a Veterinarian. Her new name will be Sappy!

New Cats:

This week we had Humane Ohio come to take cats up for spay and neutering. A woman brought two kittens who did not make the weight required for surgery. They were sent up in the truck to have a Vet look at them. The sickest of the two, was dehydrated, and needed meds. Because the woman who brought them in only handles outside cats, she agreed to surrender the kittens to FFRC.

Both kittens were covered in fleas, both have significant ear mites

Littlest one is black and white and in need of fluids so he was given subq fluids. Both are being treated and when healthy will go up for adoption.

We also had a return of a cat and his sibling. Jefferson was here as a kitten 7 years ago and they have a cat named Porchie (Not a FFRC former kitty). Porchie is 5 or 6 years old. The family situation changed and they could no longer keep them. The two are bonded so they are together but very scared. Both cats are brown/black tigers and somewhat ‘hefty’. They are in June’s room now and comforting one another.

All four of the new arrivals have been tested and are fine.

On Wednesday we took in a kitten (2 month old female) who was found by the police on the sidewalk and appeared to be involved in some kind of construction accident. One leg was severely damaged and the other leg was hoped to be saved but in surgery, Dr. Darcy determined that both front legs needed to be amputated from the ankle’s down, so he has ‘stubs’. We used to have a cat, “Barron” who had no front paws and did well getting around. Because she is so young, she should do well handling no front paws. We are calling her “Roo” as she sits like a Kangaroo and the staff at Dr. Darcy’s office was calling her Roo.

She’ll go back to the Vet on Tuesday for a follow up.

Health Updates:
Rumpelstiltskin will go to Vet’s this week to check on his leg that is giving him a bit of trouble. His spirits are good but he does have a noticeable limp, so he is being given pain meds.

Other Updates:

This was a very difficult week for FFRC. We lost three cats:

Our beloved Covie, Jersey passed. He has been failing for a while now and this week it was time for him to rest, no more pain, no more challenges.

Jersey was 16 and has been at FFRC since 2013 when he was rescued with his friend Merri (who was later adopted.)

Jersey had CH but was just like any other cat, but with physical challenges. He never let them slow him down. He will be missed and remembered fondly in all our hearts.

The white faced gray kitten that was one of the four infants found in a trash bag by the trash removal company, sadly passed. He simply couldn’t overcome his terrible start to life.

Courage passed this week. He seemed fine but when the staff came in on Thursday, he started having seizures and he passed while being held. It was quick and there was no time to do much to save him.

Not really FFRC related but part of the FFRC family, Megan’s beloved dog Tucker passed away this week.

A tough week and a reminder that loving animals, rescuing animals, is rewarding but also can be heartbreaking at times. Sometimes the losses seem overwhelming but then we are reminded that there are so many animals that need us and would never have a chance without us.

We lost three cats this week, but there are five cats that arrived that needed us, need us and need you. The cycle never ends, but every life saved makes us remember why we do what we do.

Holds

None at this time.

FYI:

“Life involves heartbreaking endings and endless beginnings filled with hope, perseverance and glorious triumphs.”