22 Mar 2021

Things to Consider When Adopting

by | posted in: Adoptions, Education | 0

We want all of our cats and kittens to go to safe, loving, forever homes. Adopting a cat or kitten is a lifetime commitment, and indoor cats can live up to 20 years! Adoption should not be an impulsive decision. You’re adding a family member to your home who will require not just food and litter but also regular vet visits and probably medical care at some point as well. It is not a decision to make lightly! Cats are living, feeling beings and are not “things” to be discarded when they no longer fit into a lifestyle.

Some questions to ask yourself:

*If you’re renting, will you make sure you always seek out cat-friendly places if you have to move?

*If you’re a student, do you have a plan for your cat(s) when you go on vacation or find yourself moving often?

*If your household has never had a cat, do you know if anyone has allergies?

*Are you prepared to change their diet if required to support their medical needs?

*If you’re planning on starting a family, have you done some reading to learn how to appropriately introduce cats and babies and how to help toddlers learn to treat cats gently?

*If you’re elderly (and even if you’re not), do you have a plan in place for where your cat(s) will go in the event you can no longer care for them?

*If you have another cat or kitten at home (or a dog) have you read about properly (and slowly!) introducing a new cat or kitten?

*Have you read about the benefits of keeping cats indoors, and how to keep them happy and stimulated?

*Have you read about why declawing is barbaric?

There is quite a lot to think about and we want to be sure that every cat and kitten we adopt out finds the purrfect home for the rest of their lives!

This article at PetFinder has excellent tips for safely bringing a new cat home.

2 Mar 2021

Introducing a New Cat

by | posted in: Education | 0

Slowly.

That’s how you introduce a new cat or kitten to your other pets.

Everyone needs time to adjust. You cannot bring a new cat or kitten home and expect everyone to be friends right away. There are many articles written on the subject. We advise keeping the new kitty in one room at first. Let everyone smell each other through the door. You can even feed on either side of the door. Then trade spaces for a bit so the current pets can go sniff around while the new kitty checks out more of your residence. Be sure to give everyone lots of love and attention!

With a slow introduction you have a much higher chance of everyone getting along more quickly than just tossing someone new into the mix.

https://resources.bestfriends.org/article/introducing-new-cat

https://www.jacksongalaxy.com/blog/the-dos-and-donts-of-introducing-cats/

1 Mar 2021

March Updates

by | posted in: Education, Fundraising | 0

On March 16, 2020, Cassie’s Cats received its official determination letter stating nonprofit approval. We’re nearly a year out from there and feel proud of what we’ve accomplished and the groundwork we’ve laid in the midst of a global pandemic. We are ready to secure a lease and start moving things ever closer to the dream of opening a lounge and adoption center for rescued cats in Ventura! I (Jennifer) will be running the lounge and have had my first covid vaccination. Things are moving in the right direction, finally.

To date, Cassie’s Cats has raised over $12,700 in financial donations and has had over $1000 in in-kind donations. We have another $6500 promised to us as well. To have this kind of support before we even open our doors shows us that our community supports what we are trying to do and wants to see this dream come to life so more cats can have better lives.

We are up to about 512 followers on Facebook and nearly 500 on Instagram. We encourage our supporters to share our social media posts and accounts so that more people who love cats can find us and follow us.

We (Jennifer) recently had a chance to visit Purrmaid Cafe and Adoption Center in Camarillo and talk with the owner there. If you haven’t had a chance to visit, please do! They are also a nonprofit with the same core mission: to help rescued cats find safe, loving, permanent homes. Their generosity of both spirit and time is so appreciated!

Our fundraising through our online shop continues in earnest. In 2021 we’ve already sold 176 masks! We’ve also begun selling small and medium zipper pouches and we’re adding new prints as we can. We even have cute new oval logo stickers that you can add to any order for just $2.

We’re currently without fosters at Jennifer’s house, and things seem much quieter. We’ll see how long that lasts. =^..^=

17 Feb 2021

Musing…

by | posted in: Education | 0

We are so ready to sign a lease and get this show moving. As of today, about 4% of Ventura County has had both doses of the covid vaccine. The 7-day case rate is 26.2 per 100,000; to move from the purple tier to the red tier it needs to drop to 7 or lower. Hospitalizations have been dropping significantly which is great to see.

We’ve found one potential place to lease and are waiting to hear back on a couple of questions. It looks like a good location with a good lease rate, so fingers and paws crossed that this might be the one! It’ll need some work – new flooring (or at least see what’s under that carpet), fresh paint, creating a front desk area, creating a private space for cats and volunteers, and so on – but we figure any place is going to need most of that.

We have a gift registry ready to go so people can donate toys, food, litter, and other goodies to the future cats – can’t wait to share that with everyone, too! =^..^=

Looking forward to this being a reality!

6 Feb 2021

February Updates

by | posted in: Education, Fostering, Fundraising | 0

Things seem to be off to a good start for 2021. Storm and Cloud have been adopted, and we’re working to get Hurricane and Rain into their forever homes. Maybe even together, if we can! We’ve toured four retail spaces with feelers out for a couple more. One in particular would be great as long as the money is there month in and month out to pay the bills. It’s spacious and light and purrfect for a cat lounge. Wish we had a crystal ball to tell us what our future holds! We have faith that we’ll get the right place at the right time, that visitors and adopters will come, and that the support we need will be there! Once we’ve been open we should be able to pursue grants, too.

We set a goal to raise $1000/month through in-kind and financial donations and so far things are going well there. We’ve had fabric donated which has been terrific. A fat quarter usually makes 4 masks. Depending on the print, we can get upwards of 16 masks from a full yard of fabric. We’re looking at new fabrics to line the masks with and the possibility of adding a filter pocket.

We’ve sold a few pouches already and have a pattern we like now for a smaller pouch. Just need to get some sewn up! If the weather continues to be sunny, and if COVID-19 cases continue to drop, we may hold another pop-up shop in the next month or so.

In the near future we will be adding some education pages to the website, things like what to expect when you bring a new cat home, how to introduce animals, what’s normal for kitten behavior, etc. if you have suggestions for other topics we’d love to hear them!

As always, thank you for your support. Without supporters we wouldn’t be able to pursue this dream of helping more cats find safe, loving, permanent homes. 💗