Literary Koshkas

One of our volunteers travelled to Russia this summer, and photographed these literary koshkas (cats) on Tolstoy's estate. Alas, Russia does not have ( yet?) any TNR movement so none of the cats pictured are eartipped. The countryside is also full of stray cats and cute doggies scrounging for food.

Whimsey

This gorgeous and shiny man is Whimsey, who came from the nursing home site around 62nd and Dorcester. He looks like this in the photograph because of the loving and tender care his fosterparents Linxci and Darren lavished on him. He used to be a skinny and dull-furred tomcat. When we first placed him in his fosterhome, he would only hide in the carrier or behind the toilet. Now he is a a fat lovable mushpot.

Here he is when he was trapped:


And ... here he is in his furrever home!



Furrever mom Erica came along before I got to post Whimsey on the blog. Mazel tov WHIMSEY!

Starter cat available: Tasha

Tasha is what we call a great "starter cat" -- a perfect cat for someone who has never had a cat before. This adorable young girl was found by a caring person (thanks Tasha W.!) around 83rd and Drexel, pregnant and seeking food. Tasha spoke to Barbara A., who has been TNRing on her block with our help, and now Tasha is in fostermom Sarah's loving home. Fostermom says that "she has a very sweet, outgoing personality. She loves to be the center of attention and isn’t afraid to meow or butt her head right up against your hand to make sure you know she wants pets. She also loves lap time. She'll come up to my lap and plop down for pets." She's very energetic and loves batting around her toys; very chatty and will gladly converse with you. She’s easy to approach, friendly, outgoing, independent, sometimes silly, and sweet. She's spayed, neg/neg, and ready for her furrever home!

p.s. The shoes are available at Target.

Happy Birthday, Tractor Grace Rosetta

bebeh tractor

Happy birthday Tractor! It's so nice to wish a happy birthday to one of our alums! The tiny orange "Rosetta" we took in last year, lovingly reared and bottlefed by fostermom, then furrever mom, Eudora. Tractor was renamed thus for her amazing purr. Eudora says "she makes things happier and more entertaining for me every day."


grown-up tractor

***

Thanks Amelia B. for the litterbox donation! Thanks James M. for your regular donation. I look foward to that printed envelope! Thanks Nicole T. for the PetSmart gift card!

Persephone

Persephone is a tiny little kitty, only about seven pounds although she's probably a year old. She was found during the heatwave (remember that?) wandering around a parking lot at 61st and Drexel. Persephone came running out from under a car growling with hunger and determination when her savior, Nancy, opened a can of catfood, and tried to gulp it all down instantaneously. But then she was overcome with heat and had to be cooled down by Nancy and Paula for half an hour before she had the energy to get up again and finish her meal. She was pregnant. Thank you Nancy and Paula for caring for this little girl and getting her inside.

She's recovered now and is very spunky--she loves to run around and play and jump. She is very sweet and even a bit timid towards her foster catsibling. Look at those gorgeous green eyes and white stockings and bib! She's been spayed, tested neg/neg for viruses, is vaxed and microchipped, and ready for her furrever home.

2012 Calendar Submissions Sought

Readers! Do you have a Hyde Park Cats cat in your home? Are you feeding outdoor cats? Did you participate in a trap, rescue, or other cat event in or around Hyde Park? I am currently taking submission for the 2012 Hyde Park Cats calendar.

Adopters, I'd love to see wonderful photos of your adopted cat.

Calendar themes depend on the submissions I get, but right now I am seeking:

cats who make us laugh

cats on or in stuff they don't belong on or in

unusual views of cats

catloaf

cats 'enjoying' holidays

photos illustrating the plight of outdoor cats

Email your submission to hydeparkcats@gmail.com.

Taylor

Taylor is a gorgeous long-haired, front-declawed, adult female beauty. She was named Taylor after Elizabeth Taylor, another glamorous lady. Fostermom Louise says "Taylor is a great companion for studying or working at home-she likes to curl up next to you while you work at the computer or read. She's a sweet cat who can be talkative, but doesn't persist if you're not interested. She likes being brushed and tunafish treats. Within an hour of settling in to her new digs, she had tried out every windowsill in the place. She would be happy to be someone's study companion, maybe occasionally broken by a visit from the supervillain on the premises, Mr Laser Pointer." Taylor was turned into AWL, and we decided to bring her to Hyde Park. Now she's spayed, vaccinated, and ready for her furrever home!

Thanks to Veronica W. for the scratcher and pan liners.

Susanna and Ophelia

Susanna (right, more orangey)and Ophelia (left, more browny) are sweet and adorable stripey kittens! They can be adopted separately or together. Both are originally "alley cats" -- we caught Susanna outside in the Liliana colony (where we also found Evan, Frida, Shayna and Roger). She was her mom's only kitten, and then one day her mom disappeared. Susanna and Ophelia are being fostered in Kyle's loving fosterhome with other cats and dogs.

Please write in if you live around 53rd and Michigan and would be able to help us with a TNR project: hydeparkcats@gmail.com. Specifically we need people who could talk to residents and landlords of the area; we need to trap (we can train you); we seek overnight space in garages, bathrooms, mudrooms, etc.: hydeparkcats@gmail.com.

cats where they don't belong

HPC alum Marlo is on the cats where they don't belong Tumblr!

Furrever home: Shayna

Shayna was discovered in the Liliana colony, pregnant and tiny and scared. I saw her myself, hunkered down under an overflowing dumpster while numerous tomcats helped themselves to the food we had brought for trapping Shayna. MJK got her the next time though! Darling Shayna was fostered with Alice Y., a new fosterer. Alice, thank you for ushering this gorgeous girl from the street to ... this couch in her furrever home. Shayna was just adopted by Stephen G. and is now Misty. MAZEL TOV Shayna!

Thanks to Amelia B. for the litterbox donation.

Furrever home: Buckley

Beautiful Buckley lounging in his forever home. Buckley showed up outside in the Parkview Katz colony last year. Caretaker Aimee recognized as a friendly and brought him inside but he took the transition to inside life hard. He spent three weeks in his fosterer's bathroom before he decided inside life was worth it. He then waited nine months in his foster home (the ever-patient Sarah) until his forever mom, Laura, came along and chose him as her forever cat. Buckley's new name is Purrkinje, named after furrever mom's favorite kind of neuron, the Purkinje cell (she admits she is a nerd, BTW). Mostly she calls him Kinje. Mazel tov KINJE!

Trio

Thanks to Sue Naiden/TRIO Animal Foundation for their recent donation, which covered three cats to be checked out by the vet, vaccinated, and spayed.

The Trio Animal Foundation is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that assists shelters, rescues and individuals by paying the medical bills of homeless pets. TAF also promotes adoption and responsible pet ownership, including spay and neuter.

Read more about Trio and Trio the dog at the TAF website.

Gretchen

Gretchen is a beautiful long-haired tabby, who was found living under a car in Woodlawn. She is a young adult, microchipped, spayed, and up-to-date on vaccinations and neg/neg. She is an elegant and lovely lass with possibly some Norwegian Forest Cat ancestry since she has the short legs and long low body typical of that breed. She also has tufts of fur between her very furry toes! She is affectionate and vocal and loves attention and to be petted. She gets along with other cats after an introductory period. She is a bit nervous from her time outside and flinches in fear when she is startled, so she would to be fostered or adopted in a calm household. Can you please offer this beautiful lady a home?

Furrever home: Zoe

Zoe, a stripey lass we pulled from Animal Welfare League, was adopted back in May. Here she was in her cage at Animal Welfare League. She was fostered in Andrea and Neil's loving fosterhome.



And now, here she is in her furrever home pondering her past and present.



Tired out after all that pondering.



Playing with her little boy (she has two!).

Thank you to Andrea and Neil and her lovely adoptive family--we heard your shout-out at the 4th of July parade! Zoe is a true rags to riches story and we're so pleased to have played our part.

Round up

We have many wonderful cats available for adoption!

Sitwell is cool with other cats and is still available!

Roger loves olives and is still available!

We've also had some great adoptions recently. We'll post about some of those next week. It's always wonderful to send our furry friends to their furrever homes. Adopters, we thank you.

And donors, we thank you too! Thanks Mike H., who waited patiently for us to fix the Paypal button! Thanks Olivia H. and Blair D.! Thanks Michael G. for the towels! We can use old towels to cover ferals in traps; it really calms them down. We also use old towels to line carriers for cats being transported for surgery and for cat beds (and to protect our carseats, etc.)

Also a special belated thank you to Ginny L. for her generous donation via Treehouse. You can make tax-deductible donations to our group via Treehouse.

Charlotte

Charlotte is a "sweet and dainty" cat from the Champagne-Furbana colony. Candace, one of the Champagne caretakers, has taken her inside. She says "Charlotte likes people very much although she is initially shy. She would make an excellent lap cat once she gets to know and trust you." Charlotte spent the last winter outside--wouldn't you like to adopt her and watch her enjoying the snowfall from a nice warm home?

Dog day: Galgos

Most of us are familiar with the plight of pitbulls in the US--their sad fate as victims of dogfighting and the overpopulation of this breed, (once known as "America's Nanny Dog") which flood animal shelters. One of our volunteer's travels took her Spain where she learned about the Spanish Greyhound or Galgo. These dogs hold a similar status in Spanish society. Used for hunting, Galgos are overbred to the point of saturation and then dumped or killed when they are no longer useful, often by hanging.


Read more about galgos at Galgo Rescue

A big thanks to Mary Clare for the big food donation and to Elissa for the litterbox! Donations go to fosterers, alley feeders, and to people who reach out to us for a little help in tough times.

Kady

Kady is a lovely and mild-mannered young adult lady. She was rescued from a strange fate by a caring community member, who found her outside with a flea collar around her neck which had ended up roped under her right leg! It had probably been that way for weeks, because the rubbing caused a terrible abscess. Barbara J. picked her up, and had her patched up at her own expense. Now Kady is completely healed, spayed, and vaccinated, and tested neg/neg for viruses. Kady enjoys petting, and even the vet said she is "definitely a lover." We'll never know why she lost the home she surely once had, but wouldn't you like to give her a forever home?

Rajah

Rajah is an adult black male (with a little white thrown in). He was found wandering around an apartment building and, since he was already neutered, we suspect he was abandoned by his owners. He is a very friendly cat and absolutely loves attention. He loves to cuddle and get pets ... and he's very happy indoors. He likes to sit on the windowsill, "hunting" squirrels and birds. He has impeccable litterbox habits. He is a little afraid of thunderstorms and vacuums, so he would like a human companion who is willing to protect him from those.

He can be very playful, but only when he's in the mood... sometimes when fostermom try to play with him, he just looks bored and walks off. In other words -- he's a cat!

Zane

I'm sorry to have to report another kitten death. Zane died over the weekend of Feline panleukopenia. Panleuk, as it is often called, is an extremely contagious virus of the parvovirus group, with a very high mortality rate, which often targets kittens. Although there is a vaccine for this (which your vet can administer)most street cats are of course unvaccinated and it is not diagnosable until the cat is sick.

Zane was brought to our attention by a resident at 52nd Street off Cottage Grove, an area that has a number of unfixed/unowned cats. The finder couldn't take Zane in, even though he wanted to, and we didn't have a foster space.

Here is Zane outside--underweight and wet or otherwise not properly groomed.


The finder did the responsible thing and took Zane in to the Animal Welfare League rather than leave him out on the street. We went to retrieve him a few days later when a space opened up--you can see him here from our album of cats at AWL on July 25, looking rather floofy.

Over the weekend Zane became quite lethargic and ill and was brought to the emergency vet, who determined he was too sick to be saved. We're thankful to Kedar, for not letting this little guy fend for himself on the street, to fostermom Inna and family for giving Zane probably the only home he ever had, and to Laura S., who was with him in his last hour. Zane, find our other Hyde Park Cats kitties at the Rainbow Bridge.

Jane

Not-at-all-plain Jane is an adorable 5-6 month old calico girl who rescued herself from the streets by following a cat-loving couple (thanks Kalisha!) home. What a smarty pants! She's extremely friendly, maybe even clingy, and likes to be near people. She especially likes to sleep on your chest and loves being tickled. She's spayed, tested neg/neg for viruses, vaccinated and ready for her furrever home.

Afikomen update

Afikomen update! Furrever dad says "Afi (now Marmosette, as she's quite a little monkey) is doing great, and she and Mandelbrot (the resident cat) are getting on famously."

Afikomen is pictured and written about in my guest blogging spot on at Beasts and Beauty.

Thanks Nan S. for the donation!