First Auction of 2015 is Underway!

Romeo and Juliet - Just in time for Valentine's Day!

Sunday February 1st at 9pm CST, our first auction will begin.   I have approx 60 items listed for bidding and hope that many will join the fun of a lighthearted auction!

Super Bowl Sunday has nothing on us!   We are looking for the best auction total ever, to start our spring TNR off on the right foot.

Our actions are found on Ebay.    It's easy to register as an ebay buyer and if you dont want to pay online, let me know and you can send a check or drop off your payment!    Once the auction is live, all you have to do is type WIFCaP in ebay's search box and all our items will list for you!

We offer all kinds of items...mostly I try to use things that are easy to ship and protect from breakage...

There are cat themed items and not...

We hope everyone will find something they like enough to make a generous bid.

Remember, this is not a bargain basement or a thrift shop.  We are trying to offer quality items with lots of appeal so that the bids will go high and the funds will mount up.

All of our items are donated.  Some are used, some new, some are hand made.

Our auction will run for 7 days, so you have lots of time to bid away!!!  Ends February 7th at 9pm CST.

Have fun.  Remember every $40 gets a full spa treatment for one kitty!

Snicker Gets His New Home...

Snicker looking gorgeous - pic courtesy of Kim Adams

I am so happy to announce that Snicker, the big yellow tomcat that was brought to us in April has found a home!

As any of you who work with animals know that  after helping hundreds of them, they kind of start to blend together and without a picture or some strong assistance, the names and faces are hard to distinguish in your memory.  Not so with Snicker.   He became my favorite at "hello" and I will never forget him.

A big, burly guy who needed some good meals, the hand of a good doctor lots of love.

Snicker had apparently been involved with some kind of confrontation that left him with a wound on his neck.  Untreated, it became a massive infection site that opened his neck nearly ear to ear.   Thankfully Nata G. found him and got him to us so that we could get him the help he needed.

Everyone, and I do mean everyone fell instantly for this gentle giant.


Our wonderful Dr. Schultz repaired his wound as best he could...stitching part of it together and allowing the remaining area to heal on its own.  This meant daily cleanings and treatment with medicine.  Snicker was a trooper and endured it all like the hero he is.

Snicker at the clinic - you can see his wound.

After many weeks, I (Kathy) brought him home so that he could have a rest from the kennel at the clinic and to see how he would do with other cats.   He was a purrfect gentleman as far as interacting with humans and using his litter box etc.   BUT with my two girl cats, he was aggressive.   After two fur-flying incidents, I decided he needed to be an only pet and back to the clinic he went.

One of of friends on our fb page came to see him at the clinic and decided to attempt to foster him herself.  She has other cats and at least one dog...Like a miracle, Snicker has settled in with  their family like a charm.  He sleeps with the humans and the other pets.

I have to admit that I secretly (OK, not so secret) wanted Snicker to meld into my family.   I love him so much and I am so very happy he has found a new home....one where he is taken care of and loved like he deserves!

Thank you Nata, for calling us about him.  Thank you AVCheryl, Doc S and Mallory for caring so for him while he was at the clinic and thank you Amy for giving him a try.  There was no doubt in my mind. the day you picked him up, that he was "home".

AVCheryl provided LOTS of love at the clinic!

Some think working with animals like we do, that we will either be an emotional wreck all the time, faced with decisions and the choices we have to make in the best interest of the animal, or we will be come calloused and hardened by these same issues and our hearts will become stone.  I think we are a balance...we make the hard choices with a tear in our eye and a pain shooting through our hearts,  and each pain that shoots through, keeps it soft and pliable so that when we see the GOOD that comes along, like the success of Snicker, we notice and we celebrate.

I will always Love my Snicker-Boy! Pic courtesy of Kim Adams

It is only because of the kind and generous donations of our wonderful supporters that we have the funds to care for sweet kitties like Snick.  Thank YOU to all who help us buy donating or participating in our sales and auctions!  We are a great team!

As Our Year Comes to a Close and a New One Begins!

The final 2011 edition of The Walnut Bureau came out last week!  On the front page, 2011 in Review included our very own Amber and Einstein!!!  

 Also chosen as a top story, was the creation of Western Iowa Feral Cat Program!

Here's a bit of a close-up of what the Bureau had to say about our program.

"Feral Cat Program Started"
Western Iowa Feral Cat Program was started in Walnut this year to provide a humane way of reducing the homeless cat population.  Best of all, it's all done with contributions.  The program receives no funding from the city, state or federal government."

  I'm so happy they included us as one of the highlights of the year.  Love how they emphasized that no funding comes from the city, state or federal government.  Like that's something to be proud of.  

This week I will be working on a year end review of our accomplishments!  I cant wait to report on all we've done!

A huge thank you to everyone that has been involved with WIFCaP in any way.  Whether it be an donation, adopting one of our lonely felines, time spent helping or even an encouraging comment on  face book.  We need you ALL.  We are hoping that you will stick with us through 2012 and beyond!  Just wait to see what we can do as we all pull together!

It's About to be...

It's about to be Christmas, and no matter your background or belief system, Christmas is a time of joy, reflection, and hopefully peace.   We gather together with friends and family, we eat way too much and buy and receive way too many "things"  and we wonder what the year ahead will bring.

We send and receive Christmas Cards, some with the annual Christmas letters. I don't do Christmas letters.  I never have and I don't like them. I mostly don't care where everyone vacationed or who got what promotion or how the house sale went.   I hope that doesn't sound like Scrooge, I want it to sound honest.  What I care about I will already know about my friends and family.  I will know how they felt about getting that promotion because I would have been there to help celebrate.  I will have seen the vacation pictures while we sipped coffee or tea.   I will have helped with the moving after the big sale of the house or sent a housewarming gift that would arrived their first day in their new home.  I wont need to read it in a letter.

But this year, I actually considered sending a Christmas letter.  It wouldn't have been about my new garage, or the fact that my son is finally home from a 5 year stint in the US Navy.  It would been about my furry friends in and around Walnut.

I would tell them about Gibbs, who came to my porch after being left alone by his owner.  I would tell of his beauty and his gentleness.  I would whine about how the four cats don't get along, but we are working things out and he will stay.

And then I would tell them about Western Iowas Feral Cat Program.  How we have worked to spay or neuter, vaccinate and give medical care to 25 cats since August.   How we have set up six feeding stations to keep them well fed.  How they now have shelter and are living happy, healthy lives outside.

I'd tell them about Spider Mansion, which has become famous because of a feral cat who sunned himself in the window last winter...The soon to be demolished house will now live on.


I would tell them that each kitty has a name and there is a reason for that name.  I would tell them that while most have forgotten about these little creatures, we have not. 

I would tell them that through WIFCaP, we have met people all over the country that care as much as we do.  That we have friends out there that understand and support us.

I would tell them to do something for someone less fortunate.  I would tell them if we all did that, our world would change.

And I would say " Merry Christmas".

Luke 2:14

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Our Huge Saturday Surprise!!

Pennies-4-Paws Inc is a wonderful organization that fund raises for groups like us.  Unknown to us, they decided to focus on The Walnut Iowa Feral Cat Program today.  What this means is that ALL donations made to their spay and neuter fund today, will come to Walnut.  We are ecstatic!  We have been working all morning to get the word out.  Facebook status updates on our kitty page and our own personal pages are nothing but donation calls today.  PLEASE, make a donation to Pennies-4-Paws before 9pm central time tonight.  This is be a huge jump start to our endeavor and the kitties will be so appreciative!  Thank you and thank you to P-4-P inc!!!

Little catnip mouse is finished!

Wow..I made two posts in a day!  Of course I have no idea if anyone in this vast world really reads anything I write (please comment if you do!).  So I may well be talking to myself...but here is my little catnip mouse, all done and waiting for a home.  Donate a minimum of $10 to Take Pitty on the Kitties...and this little guy can belong to your favorite kitty.  Right now this little toy is living in the freezer.  The aroma of catnip and the allure of the red wool was just too much for Ricky.  He went berserk!  So I have to make him his own toy today!  Each little mouse will be different, and I will also be making other shapes; hearts, stars, heads and even a little "person".    These are perfect for your pet and purrfectly cute!

Catnip Toys and Inquiring Letters!

Attack with a vengance!

What do you mean it isnt "done" ?

Free with $10/$15  donation to Take Pitty on the Kitties!

Ok, this little catnip toy isnt done, but as you can see, Ricky cant leave it alone already.  I had several other pics, but the cats were a blurrrrrrr of movement trying to play with this already.  I think it will be popular!  It is made of recyled wool, some embroidery and filled with fabric scraps and catnip from my own garden!  Even cat toys 'Go Green' !

My idea is to offer one to anyone in the US who donates at least $10.00 (includes shipping).  If you are out of the US..minimum donation is $15.  Every one will be a little different and I have an idea to make "heads"....cats always leave the heads for last.  Watch for more pics.

Help us help our out door friends.

Our weather has been really cold, sub zero and I worry so much about the kitties I see outside.  Its really hard to find a place in the snow and cold to put the live trap, where they will go to it and where I can moniter it.  With wind chills at 40 below, Im having a hard time getting what I want to do done.  

So for now, I am just feeding them.  I purchased two big bags of food, one from Aldi.  As the cashier was lifting it to skan it, the bottom broke open and cat food splayed everywhere.  Of course I bought a different bag....BUT I asked the manager if I could purchase the broken bag for a lesser cost and she said NO.  The company will not allow broken pet food to be sold or given away.  I explained our project to no avail....the same thing happened at Target and Petco.  Now, that seems totally stupid to me.  They will throw away good food that could go to a good use.  Dumb!  I will be writing inquiring letters to these companies and more.

A Little Did Ya Know About Cats!

We all know the appeal of catnip to our feline family members!  Catnip is a perennial herb belonging to the mint family.  Catnip contains a naturally occurring compound found in fragrant plants and essential oils.  It is neither toxic or addictive, and its greatest effect is on cats of reproductive age, rather than the very young or the very old.  Catnip is easy to grow, but be careful, it can be quite invasive!  MEOW!

Our First Donation!

"There are few things in life more heartwarming than to be welcomed by a cat!"
Tay Hohoff

HEY! We got our first real monetary donation to "Take Pity on the Kitties"! We are so excited. MamaKat received a really cool picture frame that we are just sure that she will fill with our pictures...her daughter and family gave it to her for Christmas. It has the cute quote above and also a hand drawn picture of me, Possum! Aren't I pretty???? Anyway, it came with a real check for real money! MamaKat is real excited. She is waiting for a call from the county animal shelter to see if they will help her with our TNR program. So things are moving along!



See how pretty our frame is? Isn't mamaKat's little girl talented? Isn't the check awesome!!!

A Little Did ya Know about Cats

Did you know that in 1936 the first feline racetrack was opened in Dorset, England? Cats chasing electric mice failed to attract large audiences and the last track closed in 1949. Cats chasing an electric mouse??? What dignified cat would follow an electric mouse?...oh wait! I love my laser light, is that the same thing? I hope not!