The Felix Fund successful for 2022

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I am very proud to announce that the pilot program (Help a Farmer • Help a Cat) of The Felix Fund has met its goal! Caring people donated enough funds to allow us to spay or neuter all reproductively active cats on Cathy’s farm. Eleven (including kittens) were fostered and found new homes, two are newly in my home as foster kitties (see Lovie and Jester), and four were fixed, (two of whom were treated for injuries), and released back on Cathy’s farm. We had anticipated helping more, but, sadly, there were fewer kitties because some had already been killed by coyotes. We hope to continue the program in 2023, as there are more cats in need of help.

Thank you so much to all who donated! Dumped cats are a community problem, and this community stepped up. Thank you!

We hope to continue The Felix Fund and possibly expand it. There is a great need to help both dumped cats and the farmers who have this problem literally dumped on them. If you’d like to support our efforts for 2023, the GoFundMe account is still active.

Donate to “Help a Farmer • Help a Cat” on GoFundMe

From all these cats and kittens helped by The Felix Fund this year, Thank You!

Flora and Fauna officially available for adoption

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Fauna, a 2–3 year old female “torbie,” is so beautiful, with tortoise-shell markings under the classic tabby stripes.

The sweet girls Flora and Fauna are now officially listed on the 9 Lives Rescue site for adoption. They are still both shy, Flora more than Fauna, and slow to warm up to strangers, but they’re ready to start learning to trust a loving person in a new home. It’s so exciting, because they have come so far!

Flora, a beautiful orange tabby, with muted orange highlighted with white.

Flora and Fauna, as reported in earlier posts, were found in an empty house, “left behind” with no food or water. They are likely sisters. Flora had three kittens, who sadly did not survive. After being found, they were spayed and ear-tipped, and moved around from place to place, before landing with 9 Lives Rescue. Not surprisingly, they had developed a distrust of humans. I’ve had them in foster care since June, and it has been delightful to watch them come out of their shells.

Fauna is much more brave. She loves pets, and greets me at the door with trilling requests for playtime. She is passionate about playtime. Flora is also very playful, but hasn’t warmed up to pets yet. Fauna is confident, and Flora would rather play it safe. Both have come a long way in the time they’ve been here.

They have been through a lot together, and deserve a soft landing with someone patient and kind, in a quiet home. Please click here if you are interested, and submit an application form to 9 Lives Rescue. You can also contact me if you are interested in meeting these two girls.

Welcome Lovie and Jester!

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We have fostered several kittens from Cathy’s farm* this summer, all of whom have been adopted to wonderful homes! Our newest ones are Lovie and Jester. They arrived here in early November.

Lovie

Lovie is an 8- or 9-month old female cat who is the most spectacular floof I have ever seen. She is not a big cat, 6 or 7 pounds, but she has Maine Coon in her pedigree, and she looks it. She is sweet and very playful, still shy, but learning to be more trusting. She won’t be available for adoption for a while yet, but she will be worth the wait!

Jester

Jester is probably about 6 months old, a male classic tuxedo with cool face markings. He is very cute and quite shy. His mom kept her kittens hidden, so he has had less interaction with people. Toys will probably win him over!

*Cathy’s was the featured farm for our pilot program, The Felix Fund, which I started this year under the 9 Lives Rescue umbrella. The goal is to help cats who are dumped in the country, and the farmers who end up feeding and caring for them. Cathy’s farm experienced a population explosion in the last two years, because of dumped cats that were or became pregnant. 9 Lives stepped in to get all the reproductively active cats fixed, some of them adopted, and the rest returned to the farm. In all, 19 cats were given better lives because of 9 Lives Rescue and The Felix Fund. If you’d like to see The Felix Fund continue, and help other dumped cats and local farms, please consider making a donation here on GoFundMe.

Woolly Bear adopted!

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Woolly Bear with Liz.

Floofy little Woolly Bear has been only half a week in his new home, and he’s so excited to have a new big brother! Woolly Bear is an extremely social little kitty, and he is so happy to be Liz’s kitten, and Linus’s little brother. We’re very happy with the reports and pictures Liz has sent, and wish all three of them a very happy life together!

Woolly Bear with his new big brother, Linus. “They chased each other around for hours and ended up on the couch together!”

Woolly Bear available

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Woolly Bear

Woolly Bear is an extremely cute kitten born August 8. He was the first of his family to be adopted, but it turns out he’s not happy at all being an only cat. Woolly Bear is looking for a home with another kitty to be friends with. He gets along fine with adult cats and other kittens, but would probably most appreciate someone young enough to be playful!

Woolly Bear is very playful, snuggly with people, and adorable! He is part Maine Coon, and will be magnificent as an adult.

We are pleased to say that Woolly Bear is available for adoption. He can go home next week, but is open to visits this week! If you are interested in adopting Woolly Bear, and have another cat for him to be besties with, contact me, and submit an adoption application to 9 Lives Rescue.

Below is a gallery with more Woolly Bear pics.

Petting Nalia!

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Of the three sisters I have from Cathy’s farm, Nalia is the shiest – but the past couple of days she has let me pet her!

It says a lot for her sweet and friendly personality that she has built trust in humans to this point. As a shy farm kitty, she didn’t have much experience of people. Cathy fed the cats and was a positive and familiar person, but closer interactions didn’t happen with the cats that stayed in the background. Nalia also had kittens, and was very protective of them.

She was specifically chosen for 9 Lives Rescue to take, to give the kittens a better chance at life. She was taken, put in a carrier, and brought to a strange house (my house is certainly not what she was used to!) along with her kittens. She had no idea that it was a good thing, and she found it extremely scary.

Now her kittens have gone to great new homes, Nalia has been reunited with her sister Lady Felix, and she is starting to understand that life can be good. They play with toys, wrestle with each other, run up and down the hall, and have discovered that treats are really great. Lady Felix loves attention, and Nalia has started to believe she might like it too. At treat time, she accepts pets – and yesterday she purred! I’m so happy she’s feeling more and more comfortable and trusting!

Earlier in October, Nalia starting to trust me enough to step on me to get the treats offered. Lady Felix in the foreground, helping with her confidence. I don’t have a pic of me petting her, because it’s hard to do both at once!

These two sisters are available for adoption. They’re a great pair, and super fun to play with. Lady Felix is sweet, energetic, loves attention, and is very outgoing. Nalia is shy and cautious, but very sweet and affectionate, and getting more confident every day. Like many sisters, they look very different and have different personalities, but they have a strong bond and understand each other. It’s really heartwarming to see! Contact me if you might be interested.

Fauna and Olympia

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Flora and Fauna, who are unrelated to the rest of my foster kitties, have been with Foxfire and her kittens for a few weeks now. Flora mostly stays out of the kittens’ way, but Fauna has always found them entertaining. Lately she has picked a favorite: Olympia.

Fauna and her favorite kitten, Olympia

Flora and Fauna are sisters who are gradually recovering from whatever abuse they suffered from in the past. (for more about their history, click here.) Fauna is getting quite friendly and accepts pets now. Flora is still very shy but is making progress towards trust. They are quite beautiful, probably about 2 years old, and very playful. They are not technically available for adoption yet, but if anyone is interested in this pair of sisters, be sure to contact me. Support can be provided (techniques, method) to anyone interested in continuing to work with these kitties to regain their trust. It will be worth it.

The playful Flora, Fauna’s sister. The photo doesn’t do her color justice – she is a light butterscotch tabby with gold eyes.

Floofs in a bathtub

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When our foster kittens get old enough, we often let them into the bathroom down the hall to play in the bathtub. You wouldn’t necessarily think it was a great playground for kittens, but every group we’ve had have loved it. For one thing, the toy can’t escape!

Four of Foxfire’s five kittens enjoying their bathtub playground

TECHNICAL NOTE: For some reason the videos don’t play in my laptop browser (I get sound but no picture), but they do on my phone. I’m curious if they play for you. Contact me to let me know.

Felix and Nalia Gallery October 8, 2022

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The likely dad of Felix, Nalia, and Foxfire – incredible tail!

Lady Felix and Nalia, year-old sisters, have been reunited! Lady Felix is out of quarantine, and Nalia’s kittens have all been adopted, so they are now together again, and loving it! Nalia is shy, but gaining confidence from Lady Felix, who loves people and is very affectionate. They are so playful! They are now available for adoption; to continue their progress and their bond, they should be adopted together, or possibly with their third sister, Foxfire.

We know they are sisters, unlikely as it seems from looks! Their dad has Felix’s black and white markings, but is long-haired like Nalia, and part Maine Coon.

For more photos of Lady Felix, check out her page. For Nalia with her kittens, click here.