Yogie and FriendsSpecial Needs Cats

Jul 1st July 2017 Newsletter

Greetings Yogie Fans!

It is officially summer! As far as we are concerned it always feels like summer here in Louisiana. With the summer comes more issues for our animals. We had a very warm winter here, which means bugs. We don’t usually have the kind of cold weather here we need to kill pests such as fleas, ticks, and mosquitos. These are bad for both humans and animals. For some reason people seem to think they can stop using heartworm or flea preventions in the colder months. That’s not true. Fleas, for instance, have a life cycle of egg, larvae, and adult flea. What you need to make sure you are doing is stopping the cycle. You need to prevent the egg from becoming a flea.

Fleas can bring on many different issues in our cats. One of the more common issues is tapeworm. You may see a wiggly white flat worm coming out of your cat’s backend. It only takes them ingesting one flea with it. It’s easily treatable, but prevention is key.

Another very serious issue with fleas and ticks is a parasite that causes Mycoplasma (formerly called Hemobartonellis). This is a very good article regarding this issue.

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2133&aid=292

Kristoff

Kristoff: Kristoff is one of our cats that is NOT FIV or FeLV positive. He is living in another location with us separate from the Special Needs house. Our cats are treated with Revolution monthly and yet Kristoff DID get Mycoplasma. We were really surprised by this diagnosis due to the fact we DO use a very good prevention and our indoor and outdoor catio enclosures and the houses are also treated monthly. Again, it only takes one bug. Kristoff received two blood transfusions and is on a three week, twice a day, Doxycycline liquid. He is improving daily. He is eating well and gaining weight. It was touch and go for a while. Even with the best prevention in place he still managed to get this. We are trying to figure out what else we can do to, to make it even less possible to happen again. Now, for the vet bill!

Logo Tee Shirt: We currently have a Yogie and Friends logo tee shirt campaign going on until July 12^th. Please go to the link and help us make this a successful campaign. We really need your help.

https://www.customink.com/fundraising/yogieandfriends

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): The rules to participate in CFC have changed so drastically and to a point we cannot now participate. They have changed it to where, on top of the already large fees they take, you now must PAY to participate. The amount was far too much for us to be able to participate and this is another huge hit for us financially because it brought in much needed funds donated by Federal and Military donors. We hope this changes back in the next campaign so we can once again participate. Until then we hope our former CFC contributors will still donate directly to Yogie and Friends. We miss and need you.

Our Needs: We always need cat litter. We use Scoopable cat litter, preferably unscented or very little scent, cat food (Purina Cat Chow Complete dry), and canned (usually Friskies pate’ or shreds, and Fancy Feast pate’).

Since we have the normal operational costs of electric, water, gas, and of course, Veterinary care, we need cash. Cash is very important to our caring for the cats and none of us get paid at Yogie and Friends. 100% of your tax-deductible donations go to the animal’s care.

Donations of cash can be done in several ways, online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal. Or you can mail a check or money order to: Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Facebook: Please like and follow us on Facebook at Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We need sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals.

Sadly, we have lost two sponsors. This was a loss of $600 a month. They were special people to us and we will miss them dearly. They loved these cats and one of them even brought three cats to us to save. This was a big hit to us emotionally, we loved these people, and financially.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:                               Non-Positive Cats:

Petey                                                                                      Hope                          Elsa

Gatsby                                                                                    Kristoff                       Barney

Paisley                                                                                   Anna                          Duncan

Sunny                                                                                      Casper                       Muff

VooDoo                                                                                 Blackie                       Penelope

Frazier                                                                                    Luna                           Duckie

Bubba                                                                                      Lucy                           Smudge

King                                                                                        Squeak                      Smokey

Dotsey                                                                                    Bandit                        Snowball

Bruno                                                                                     Natasha                     Boo

Alex                                                                                        Miss Kitty                   Blacky

Ursula                                                                                      Max

Sam

Nimitz

Sarah

You can mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends

128 Fob Lane

Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

23 Sept 2017                 11am – 4 pm       11am – 4 pm Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                       Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Jun 13th June 2017 Newsletter

Hello Yogie Fans!

The weather has not been very cooperative with us at the sanctuary, so that has literally put a damper on the breakdown of the old habitats on the property. It’s not unexpected here in Louisiana since spring is typically rainy, but we were hoping to get more of the habitats torn down so we could start clearing the land more in preparation for a larger, better, building to house ALL the cats in one building. It’s okay though. The houses we have now are still very good houses and all the cats are doing well. We just want to make it a more consolidated setup.

Our two remaining African Servals are Speedy (born January 5^th, 2001), and Noodles (born May 23^rd, 2001). Speedy came to us from Washington State and Noodles arrived at Yogie from south Louisiana with her mate, Mongo. Both of our Servals are now 16 years old. They can live as long as 19+ years. Speedy isn’t as playful as he once was, as is expected, and Noodles is also starting to show her age. They still enjoy an enriched life with us, but we know they will eventually cross the rainbow bridge. For now, they are still doing well at the sanctuary.

Taz, our bobcat, is also still doing well, for an 18-year-old bobcat. He remains a little bit grumpy, but he has earned that right.

These are the three remaining exotic cats at our Frierson property.

Our Needs: We usually purchase our cat food and cat litter on the local Air Force base since both our vice president and me, are retired from the Air Force. We have lifetime access to the base commissary and they often have amazing sales on these items. In the recent past, we could purchase the 35 pound pails of Tidy Cat for $5 – $7 a pail during their case lot sales. Well, there has been a change of hands for the pet supplies and they are no longer offering the huge discounts we’ve had in the past. We are going to try and contact companies directly to see if we can work out a deal with them to purchase as a greatly discounted price. In the meantime, we still need your help with Scoopable cat litter, canned and dry cat food. If you can help us with these items we would certainly appreciate it. And cash is still always the best way to donate so we can still purchase some items as a reduced rate.

Donations of cash can be done in several ways, online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal. Or you can mail a check or money order to: Yogie and Friends, 128 Fob Lane, Frierson, LA 71027

Combined Federal Campaign (CFC): CFC has made some major changes that has impacted Yogie and Friends, and many other charities. They are now making it somewhat of a “pay to play” type program. What we mean by this is we now must PAY to PARTICIPATE in the program. The shame of this is that we already had fees taken out of the donations, but the cost of being part of the program is not cost effective. We are hoping this changes back in the future. It just makes no sense to have to pay to receive the donations from our Federal employee fans. We hope they will choose to donate directly now.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get soe to you.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:

Petey             Gatsby
Paisley          Sunny 
VooDoo        Frazier   
Bubba           King  
Dotsey           Bruno
Alex                Ursula
Sam                Nimitz

Non-Positive Cats:

Hope                          Elsa
Kristoff                       Barney
Anna                          Duncan
Sarah                         Muff
Blackie                       Penelope
Luna                           Duckie
Lucy                           Smudge
Squeak                      Smokey
Bandit                        Snowball
Natasha                     Boo
Miss Kitty                 Blackie (2)
Max

You can mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends
128 Fob Lane
Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

17 June 2017           3 – 6 pm                   

Olive Oil & Vinegar Tasting and Mini Bake Sale
Bella Nonna’s Olive Oil & Vinegar – Tasting Bar

1409 E. 70^th St., Suite 107  Shreveport, LA

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Mar 5th March 2017 Newsletter

Boo Boo 1999 – 2017

Greetings!

We found out some sad news a little late to add to our last newsletter, but one of our lionesses, Boo Boo, died in mid-January. Tim had gone to Oklahoma to visit our big cats and found out while he was there. Boo Boo was one of the first group of lions that arrived Yogie and Friends. She was born 4 December 1999 and lived a good life with us. She was also Moses’ mother. She left a beautiful legacy behind. We will miss her dearly, but we are glad for the long life she had.

Bert’s leg cast

Our sweet boy, Bert, is healing well. He has another week in his splint, but he is doing very, very well.

We have two new intakes coming in soon that will put us back at capacity for animals. We do not believe in taking more animals than we can afford to take care of. It’s sad that we cannot save them all, but we can’t. These cats have special needs and when they do get sick they sometimes take more time to recover. Right now, we are dealing with upper respiratory infections, which is not an unusual problem at any animal facility, but we are waiting for this to clear up before we bring the two new cats in. They are in the care of a vet clinic right now, so they are safe.

Remodeling: We are working hard on taking down the 16 foot fences and all the materials that housed our big cats and working on building one larger, two story, building for the little guys. This will be a multi-functional building that will have a quarantine section for new intakes, as well as a quarantine section for sick or recovering cats. At this time, we are working on a 5000-square foot building, but we cannot get it started until we get the property cleared of the older materials. We will be donating the cell phone tower buildings to a pig rescue in Ida and are just waiting until transportation can be arranged to do so. This is a huge, but not impossible, task. Once this is behind us we will be able to move forward in a big way with the building. We are excited about this. We will have an artist’s rendition of the building to show our fans soon.

Booster Fundraiser: Thank you to everyone who helped with our Booster tote bag fundraiser. We appreciate your help and hope you enjoy the tote bags.

Financial Needs: Our bank account is a bit low right now due to recent vet bills and the obvious food and cat litter, and we could really use our donors help. Your donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law, so please, if you c

Boo Boo 1999 – 2017

an find it in your heart to help us, please do. These animals are so worth it.

We still have four remaining big cats in boarding in Oklahoma and they are doing amazing as always. They love seeing us when we visit them.

Donate Cash:

Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

Cat Food and Cat Litter: We always need cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control, we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age.  Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately, there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and therefore we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:                        Non-Positive Cats:

Petey                                                                                      Hope                          Elsa

Gatsby                                                                                    Kristoff                       Barney

Paisley                                                                                    Anna                          Duncan

Sunny                                                                                     Sarah                         Muff  

VooDoo                                                                                 Blackie                       Penelope  

Frazier                                                                                    Luna                           Duckie     

Bubba                                                                                     Lucy                           Smudge

King                                                                                        Squeak                      Smokey

Dotsey                                                                                    Bandit                        Snowball

Bruno                                                                                     Natasha                     Boo

Alex                                                                                        Miss Kitty                   Blackie (2)

Splotchie                                                                               Max    

You can mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends

128 Fob Lane

Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

Our bake sale has been rescheduled!!

Our bake sale has been rescheduled!!

.

25 March 2017  NOTE: Our bake sale has been rescheduled!
8 April 8 2017       11am – 4 pm Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                 Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

23/23 Apr 2017        10am – 6 pm SBC Louisiana Comic Con

                                                                        Hirsch Coliseum, Shreveport, LA

17 June 2017           3 – 6 pm                    Olive Oil & Vinegar Tasting and Mini Bake Sale

Bella Nonna’s Olive Oil & Vinegar – Tasting Bar

1409 E. 70^th St., Suite 107

Shreveport, LA

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Feb 7th February 2017 Newsletter

Greetings Yogie Fans!

I hate starting off our newsletter with sad news, but sadly, I must.

We received devastating news that one of our volunteers, Karen Ludke, sadly died on January 22^nd. This was such a shock to us since we were just visiting with her after a recent stay in the hospital because of pneumonia. Karen called me several years ago, and told me she had, had heart surgery, a stroke, and suffered with Lupus. All by the young age of 37. She loved big cats and wanted to somehow volunteer her time to be around them. Since her health was so precarious she worked indoors in our gift shop. That was a big help to us and we never took her for granted. She had been with us for about seven years. In fact, she had just come over to my house to meet one of the Six Pack kittens because she wanted to adopt one. Karen fought the good fight. She was only 42 years old. She leaves behind her mother, her step-dad, her older brother and sister, and her beloved baby girl, her dog, Bailey, and of course, her Yogie and Friends family. We will miss Karen dearly.

My sweet chocolate lab, Riley, died unexpectedly from a splenic rupture on January 19^th. To say I was shocked is an understatement. She was the best dog I’ve had and she was somewhat of a Yogie dog. So many of the team loved her. We have found out this is more common and when it happens, it is often sudden and unexpected. She is in good company with many who loved her.

One of the Six Pack kittens, Bert, was injured when a volunteer accidentally knocked over a 35-pound pail of Tidy Cat litter and it hit Bert, breaking his right, rear, leg. He is being splinted now and will make a full recovery. Accidents happen, but this was a freak one. Believe me, we know that we will take extra care to avoid something like this ever happening again.

Booster Fundraiser: We currently have a fundraiser using Booster, but instead of the usual tee shirts we decided to go with tote bags. We hope you will support these great animals by buying a tote, or two, or more.

https://www.booster.com/special-needs-cats-need-us

Sarah Surgery Update: Sarah, the long haired-black cat that needed surgery has made a great recovery. The large lump on his abdomen ended up being a hernia and Dr. Wise repaired it and he is doing wonderful now. The surgery was $700, but it was worth it.

Financial Needs: Our bank account is a bit low right now due to recent vet bills and the obvious food and cat litter, and we could really use our donors help. Your donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law, so please, if you can find it in your heart to help us, please do. These animals are so worth it.

We still have five remaining big cats in boarding in Oklahoma and they are doing amazing as always. They love seeing us when we visit them.

Donate Cash:

Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Volunteers: We need dedicated volunteers. Volunteering at Yogie and Friends does have its rewards. You get to cuddle with some great cats. You get to meet great people with a similar love for cats and for what we are doing. And we will feed you! Lol! But really, it’s a good feeling and the work is not that difficult. Yes, we will have some very labor intensive jobs as we repurpose the property to safely accommodate domestic cats and yes, there is lawn work, but that’s not all that is needed. We need volunteers who will scoop litter boxes, sweep and mop floors, clean counter tops and work spaces, poop scoop the outdoor cat play areas, and other basic cleaning needs. We also have cats need to be loved and socialized. We hope you will consider helping us make our mission a successful one. Please volunteer with us and help us make life a little nicer for these special cats. You can contact us via email at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com and our volunteer coordinator will call you as soon as possible.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

Cat Food and Cat Litter: We always need cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control, we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age.  Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately, there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and therefore we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:                               Non-Positive Cats:

Petey                                                                                      Hope                          Elsa

Gatsby                                                                                    Kristoff                       Barney

Paisley                                                                                    Anna                          Duncan

Sunny                                                                                      Sarah                         Muff            

VooDoo                                                                                 Blackie                       Penelope      

Frazier                                                                                    Luna                           Duckie          

Bubba                                                                                       Lucy                           Smudge

King                                                                                        Squeak                      Smokey

Dotsey                                                                                    Bandit                        Snowball

Bruno                                                                                     Natasha                     Boo

Alex                                                                                        Miss Kitty                   Blackie (2)

Splotchie                                                                               Max    

You can mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends
128 Fob Lane
Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

25 March 2017         11am – 4 pm             Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                             Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

23/23 Apr 2017        10am – 6 pm             SBC Louisiana Comic Con

                                                                             Hirsch Coliseum, Shreveport, LA

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Jan 17th January 2017 Newsletter

Happy New Year!

We hope that this year brings new hope and joy to you all. We hope and pray for a miracle for the sanctuary as well to continue and help these amazing animals we have rescued and care for. A task that is not easy, nor possible, without the help of the Yogie and Friends fans and supporters. We thank you for this.

2016 had its blessings and difficulties for us. As is expected there will be loss of animal life. Our goal has always been to give them the best life possible for the time they have left, which we always hope is years, but we also realize that these cats have special needs and some don’t always live as long as we would like them too. But, we take comfort in knowing we give them a quality life when we cannot always give them the quantity of life.

We haven’t done a “year in review highlights” style newsletter in a while, so we decided to do a modified style this time.

First is Thank You! A special thank you goes to our webmasters Paige and Damon Bass for all they do to keep our website up and running. I know I often throw things at them and that it is a lot of work, but they do a great job for us and we know we could never do this without them. Believe us when we say how much we love and appreciate all they do for us. They are even working on updates and modifications to the site now to improve an already awesome site. Know that the work they do for us has not gone unnoticed or appreciated. Thank you both again!

Thank you to ALL our volunteer staff. Everyone at Yogie and Friends is a volunteer. Myself included. None of us receives any compensation for the work we do at the sanctuary because we want 100% of the proceeds to go to taking care of the animals. What your donation pays for is: Cat food, cat litter, veterinarian care, boarding of our big cats in Oklahoma, electric, water, and insurance. Our overhead is not huge, but we make sure our bills are paid and the animals are safe. So, thanks to our volunteers:

Damon and Paige Bass

Vicki Volk – Board Member

Andrea Labor

Tim Mills – Founder and Board Member

Jaret Snow – Board Member

Kathy Cherry – Board Member

Alan Golden – Board Member

Celeste Alexander – Board Member

It takes a team to make it work! Thank you so much!

And a special thank you to those who donated to us financially. This is most important for the care and support of the animals. Thank you!

We still have five remaining big cats in boarding in Oklahoma and they are doing amazing as always. They love seeing us when we visit them.

Thank you to everyone who came out and supported our Christmas Bake Sale. It was an amazing fundraiser and we had a great time meeting new people and visiting with our regulars. We are grateful to those who remain loyal to our cause. Thank you again!

In Memoria:

2016 was a difficult year for us.

January 2016:

We sadly lost our beautiful cougar, Boudreaux, on 23 January 2016. It was a difficult beginning to the New Year, but he was 20 years old and he was much loved and had wonderful love and care with us.

July 2016:

Our beloved tiger, Putty Tat, died on 9 July 2016. He had gone into kidney failure, which is not an uncommon thing in older, domestic cats as well. He was one of our first tigers at Yogie and Friends and he held a special place in so many of our hearts. It’s always difficult when we lose any animal. We are just grateful for the time we could give him. Putty Tat loved swimming in the pool and was one of the most playful tigers. We are so happy Tim had been with him just a couple of weeks before he died. R.I.P. dear Putty. We loved you so.  Putty Tat 17 September 1998 – 9 July 2016.

September 2016:

Our sweet and loving boy, Pippin, has died on September 20th.We were asked by Paws4Life, a volunteer group that works with Caddo Animal Control, if we could take this young kitten since he tested positive for feline leukemia. He arrived at Yogie and Friends in July, but he never thrived physically. He never got above 5.1 pounds and his young body just could not fight this virus. It is a devastating virus for young cats and kittens and they often don’t make it past 2 years old. We always dread the diagnosis of FeLV much more so than FIV. The vet also suspected he had another deadly illness called Feline Infectious Peritonitis (FIP) and he was slightly jaundiced showing he had liver issues. Pippin was especially hard on me personally since I did everything I could to help him gain weight and feel better. He fought the good fight and we will miss him. R.I.P. Pippin.

We also sadly announce the loss of one of our big cats, Batman. Batman was a beautiful lion who arrived with his littermate brother, Robin. They were used as roadside photo shoots and when they became too large to legally use them for this, the owner asked us to take them. We did. Batman is Moses’ father. It breaks our hearts to lose another amazing animal. The dynamic due is back together again at the Rainbow bridge. R.I.P. Batman. We will miss you so.

November 2016:

Mongo, one of our beautiful African Servals has sadly died. He was born 20 November 1999 and died 24 November 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep from natural causes. As sad as we are for this loss, we are happy that Mongo died from old age and there was no illness or injury or any need to have to make a painful medical decision. He was 17 years old and he died on his own terms. We couldn’t ask for anything more, well, except maybe more time, but the average life span of a Serval ranges anywhere from 15-20 years. He was a beautiful cat that will be sorely missed.

December 2016:

On 24 December, we sadly had an otherwise healthy cat throw a blood clot and he sadly died at the ER vet. This was a sad and horrible holiday season for us. Sebastian was a sweet and gentle cat that we truly never expected anything like this, but like humans, strokes, blood clots, and heart attacks are truly unexpected events that can often lead to death. We were all devastated by this event. Sebastian was only seven years old.

We have a geriatric population of exotics and we know that we are facing more losses. It’s the most difficult part of what we do in rescue. We take comfort in knowing that we give these animals the best, outside of what nature may have offered, but they are safer with us in many ways because they are given a quality diet, great veterinary care, and are not at risk from any predators, human or animal.

The “Six Pack” Kittens: The kittens that we pulled from the local animal pound because they were sickly and being horribly cared for, are now healthy and driving and are now available for adoption. It’s a little good news from a sad year for us.

We have a few medical needs with a couple of the cats, which is expected, but they are all doing amazingly well. One cat, Sarah, goes into surgery tomorrow for what we are hoping is just a fatty tumor, but it will cost over $600 and we can use your help with bills like this and hope you will consider helping us. You can help us in many ways.

 Donate Cash:

Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Volunteers: We need dedicated volunteers. Volunteering at Yogie and Friends does have its rewards. You get to cuddle with some great cats. You get to meet great people with a similar love for cats and for what we are doing. And we will feed you! Lol! But really, it’s a good feeling and the work is not that difficult. Yes, we will have some very labor intensive jobs as we repurpose the property to safely accommodate domestic cats and yes, there is lawn work, but that’s not all that is needed. We need volunteers who will scoop litter boxes, sweep and mop floors, clean counter tops and work spaces, poop scoop the outdoor cat play areas, and other basic cleaning needs. We also have cats need to be loved and socialized. We hope you will consider helping us make our mission a successful one. Please volunteer with us and help us make life a little nicer for these special cats. You can contact us via email at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com and our volunteer coordinator will call you as soon as possible.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

Cat Food and Cat Litter: We always need cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control, we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age.  Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately, there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and therefore we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:                               Non-Positive Cats:

Petey                                                                                      Hope                          Elsa

Gatsby                                                                                    Kristoff                       Barney

Paisley                                                                                   Anna                          Duncan

Sunny                                                                                                Sarah                         Muff

VooDoo                                                                                 Blackie                       Penelope

Frazier                                                                                    Luna                           Duckie

Bubba                                                                                                Lucy                           Smudge

King                                                                                        Squeak                      Smokey

Dotsey                                                                                    Bandit                        Snowball

Bruno                                                                                     Natasha                     Boo

Alex                                                                                        Miss Kitty                   Blackie (2)

Splotchie                                                                               Max

We hope and pray that 2017 is a more positive and happier year for us. Yes, loss will happen, especially since we have a population of cats with unique needs.

We are hoping to clear the property of the larger habitats we used for our big cats and start building smaller buildings for our domestic cats. Our goal is to have a small vet clinic on site so our vet can do exams and minor procedures on site to prevent added stress from transporting cats to Shreveport. We also want to build a separate quarantine building versus a quarantine room. It’s all possible for not a huge amount of money. We tend to use Gemco metal buildings and do the work to insulate and drywall ourselves to be more cost effective. It’s all possible.

We are also making materials available to other rescues that may want or need it such as fence materials, but you must do the work to take it down. We are tired. Lol!

You can mail your donations to us at:

 Yogie and Friends

128 Fob Lane

Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

 18 March 2017                     11am – 4 pm Spring Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                                  Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

23/23 Apr 2017        10am – 6 pm             SBC Louisiana Comic Con

                                                                              Hirsch Coliseum, Shreveport, LA

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Dec 2nd December 2016 Newsletter

Hello Yogie Fans!

We hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday.

Mongo

Sadly, we have yet another loss to announce. Mongo, one of our beautiful African Servals has sadly died. He was born 20 November 1999 and died 24 November 2016. He died peacefully in his sleep from natural causes. As sad as we are for this loss, we are happy that Mongo died from old age and there was no illness or injury or any need to have to make a painful medical decision. He was 17 years old and he died on his own terms. We couldn’t ask for anything more, well, except maybe more time, but the average life span of a Serval ranges anywhere from 15-20 years. He was a beautiful cat that will be sorely missed.

We have a geriatric population of exotics and we know that we are facing more losses. It’s the most difficult part of what we do in rescue. We take comfort in knowing that we give these animals the best, outside of what nature may have offered, but they are safer with us in many ways because they are given a quality diet, great veterinary care, and are not at risk from any predators, human or animal.

The “Six Pack” Kittens: The kittens that we pulled from the local animal pound have “graduated” their vaccination series and are just waiting a little longer to spay/neuter them. We realize that there are groups who do this when the kittens are two pounds or two months old, but we are not comfortable with doing it this young. We don’t feel it is necessary to do it this young. But they are almost there.

We’ve had a few medical needs with a couple of the cats, which is expected, but they are all doing amazingly well. It does hurt the purse strings and we can use your help with donations. As you know we have always been, and remain, a 100% volunteer driven organization. Everything goes to the care of the animals. We use the money only to support them. That includes: cat/kitten food, cat litter, veterinary care, flea meds, utilities (water, electric), and rent. We don’t have a huge overhead, but we do need your continued support and appreciate it. Your donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. There are several ways you can help:

Donate Cash:

Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program.  Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Volunteers: We need dedicated volunteers. Volunteering at Yogie and Friends does have its rewards. You get to cuddle with some great cats. You get to meet great people with a similar love for cats and for what we are doing. And we will feed you! Lol! But really, it’s a good feeling and the work is not that difficult. Yes, we will have some very labor intensive jobs as we repurpose the property to safely accommodate domestic cats and yes, there is lawn work, but that’s not all that is needed. We need volunteers who will scoop litter boxes, sweep and mop floors, clean counter tops and work spaces, poop scoop the outdoor cat play areas, and other basic cleaning needs. We also have cats need to be loved and socialized. We hope you will consider helping us make our mission a successful one. Please volunteer with us and help us make life a little nicer for these special cats. You can contact us via email at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com and our volunteer coordinator will call you as soon as possible.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

Cat Food and Cat Litter: We always need cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control, we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT:  We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age.  Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately, there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and therefore we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that more than one person may sponsor some cats, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:

Petey
Gatsby
Paisley
Sunny
VooDoo
Frazier
Bubba
King
Dotsey
Bruno
Alex
Splotchie
Little Billy

Non-Positive Cats:

You can mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends
128 Fob Lane
Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to donate on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

17 Dec 2016             11am – 4 pm Holiday Bake Sale and Fundraiser
Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

22 Dec 2016             2pm – 6 pm       Coffee, Cats, and Christmas
Dunkin Donuts, 5705, Youree Drive, Shreveport

23/23 Apr 2017        10am – 6 pm SBC Louisiana Comic Con
Hirsch Coliseum, Shreveport, LA

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!

Sep 8th September 2016 Newsletter

Greetings!

It certainly seems that this year is moving past us quickly!

We have been having a great deal of rain here in Louisiana and we have seen many people lose homes, and sadly, lives. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all of those heavily impacted by this extreme weather. We have not been impacted by the flooding this time in Northwest, Louisiana. Yes, we have been really wet here, but all is well and other than trying to keep up with the mowing we are fine here.

Taz: Taz, our 17 year old bobcat, had his vet visit on the 31^st and he is in excellent health! Our veterinarian said he has some beautiful teeth. Taz receives a natural diet with the bones he needs to keep those teeth healthy. His excellent health report is a testament to the great care he receives at Yogie and Friends.

T.B.Yopp Jr. Animal Facility: Grand Cane, Louisiana is home to a very small animal control facility called the T.B.Yopp Jr. Animal Facility. It is currently run under the Desoto Parish Animal Control. It was built as a no-kill facility, but sadly it is high kill. We are trying to help them change this. There is a Facebook page under Friends of Desoto Parish Animal Control. Right now one person, Cora Gardner, has taken it upon herself to take some amazing photos and promote this shelter. As a result they have had more adoptions. Sadly though, still far too many are being euthanized. They are being euthanized for space or other things that should NOT be happening. You can help make a difference with this very small, but nice, shelter and help save more animals. Cats and kittens are at extremely high risk here. Please check them out and volunteer if you can so we can help save more lives. Yogie and Friends is focusing on the cats and kittens since we have the experience to offer.

Louisiana and Texas Kroger Shoppers: If you have not already done so, it’s time to relink your Kroger Community Rewards to your Kroger Plus Card. Every time you shop at a Texas or Louisiana Kroger and use your Plus Card, Kroger will donate a portion of the sale to Yogie and Friends to help the FIV and other special needs cats we have at the sanctuary. Every little bit helps! Here is the link to enroll or sign in (if you are already enrolled). Choose us as your charity of choice. NPO #80724, Yogie and Friends Exotic Cat Sanctuary (we will be fixing the name later, but it’s still all good). https://www.kroger.com/communityrewards

New Buildings: We really need a couple of new buildings to be more self-supportive on site. In other words if we can do all of our non-emergency vet visits on site it would be less stressful to our animals needing vet care. We already purchased hold kennels and an exam table from a veterinarian who retired and closed her practice. Now we would like to set up a small clinic on the premises. Also, we are looking to purchase at least one, if not two, larger buildings to give our current residents more room and plan for the future needs of the sanctuary. Right now the buildings we are looking at purchasing from Gemco will cost approximately $8000 total. Then there will be installing electric, water, insulation, drywall, and the typical things to make it what it needs to be. It’s really not as difficult to do and that’s the beauty of the Gemco buildings. We considered getting them already finished, but that doubles the cost when we have the skills to do so ourselves. Our military discounts help with the materials at places such as Lowe’s or Home Depot. We are very good stewards of our donations.

Volunteers: We really need dedicated volunteers. Volunteering at Yogie and Friends does have its rewards. You get to cuddle with some great cats. You get to meet great people with a similar love for cats and for what we are doing. And we will feed you! Lol! But really, it’s a good feeling and the work is not that difficult. Yes, we will have some very labor intensive jobs as we repurpose the property to safely accommodate domestic cats and yes, there is lawn work, but that’s not all that is needed. We need volunteers who will scoop litter boxes, sweep and mop floors, clean counter tops and work spaces, poop scoop the outdoor cat play areas, and other basic cleaning needs. We also have cats need to be loved and socialized. We hope you will consider helping us make our mission a successful one. Please volunteer with us and help us make life a little nicer for these special cats. Now that we are not housing big cats, our volunteers do not have to be 18 or older. However, we do need you to have dependable transportation to get yourself to the sanctuary to work if you volunteer. Since we currently do not have a landline at the facility (this saves us a great deal of money) you can contact us via email at yogieandfriends@hotmail.com and our volunteer coordinator will call you as soon as possible.

Recycle Ink Cartridges: New labels have arrived and are available for you to ship cartridges out for recycling. Please consider helping us with our recycling program. Don’t throw those old ink jet/laser jet cartridges in the trash. Give them to us or let us mail you the labels so you can send them out directly and save us a step. We recycle them and get cash for the cats. You can box up the cartridges; put a prepaid label on it that we will provide you, and then drop it off at any UPS shipping facility or they can pick it up at your business. If you need labels, then just contact us and we will get some to you.

Facebook: We have a new Facebook page now. It is called, Yogie and Friends Special Needs Cats. It is a strictly controlled page so that nobody is every bullied or threatened on our page by others. It’s a safe page to share educational information and news about our wonderful cats. Please like on the page and share with your friends.

WISH LIST: We are in desperate need of cat litter and canned cat food. We are currently using Purina Complete and Purina Indoor Formula for dry food, and Friskies canned (all types). As far as cat litter we use Tidy Cat Scoopable without any scents in it such as Glade. Cats don’t like scented cat litter. We use no harsh chemical products for cleaning. For pest control we use food grade diatomaceous earth that we spread on the grounds. This is available at most feed stores. Also, washable blankets and throws are greatly appreciated. Please email us if you have any questions about helping with supplies.

SPONSOR A SPECIAL NEEDS CAT: We are looking for sponsors for our cats. We hope that is you. FIV (Feline Immunodeficiency Virus) is a feline only, slow-acting virus. It is so slow to progress that most FIV+ cats die of old age. Once thought to be deadly and highly contagious, it has since been found to be neither. Just as HIV was once believed to be a death sentence for those afflicted, so it is still with FIV. Only in the case of cats, the mere diagnosis produces that death sentence. Fortunately there are many veterinarians who don’t believe that this is the case and this is why we got four FIV cats. We got them from veterinarians who did not want to kill them. We do NOT want these cats to die just because of this diagnosis either. They deserve the chance to live. And live they will with us. Now that we have our first FIV positive cats living comfortably in their new home at Yogie and Friends, they will need your support. By sponsoring one of the FIV cats you will be providing food, medical care, and their basic care and support. 100% of the sponsorship goes to the care of these animals. None of the Yogie volunteer staff receives ANY compensation for the work we do.

Donate Cash:

Donations of cash are what we need most. You can donate online via PayPal. You do not need a PayPal account to use a credit card to make a one-time donation via PayPal.

Sponsors Needed:

Please note that some cats may be sponsored by more than one person, but rest assured that all sponsor funds are used for the ongoing care of our cats.

You can sponsor a cat for just $15 a month, $45 a quarter, or $180 a year.

Cats in need of Sponsoring:

FIV/Feline Leukemia Positive Cats:

Petey
Gatsby
Paisley
Sunny
VooDoo
Frazier
Bubba
King
Dotsey
Bruno
Pippin

Non-Positive Cats:

We are currently fostering eight cats for two people who lost their homes due to circumstances beyond their control. We hope they get to be reunited soon with their owners.

You can also mail your donations to us at:

Yogie and Friends
128 Fob Lane
Frierson, LA 71027

If you wish to make a donation on a regular basis and do not wish to use PayPal, your bank can set up automatic payments for you.

AMAZON WISH LIST: If you shop via Amazon.com you select Yogie and Friends as your charity of choice. They will donate a percentage of the sales to us. It’s a very easy way to help.

https://smile.amazon.com/

We also have an Amazon wish list to help with the feeding and caring of our feral cat colonies as well as the adoptable cats and kittens we are fostering. Please help if you can.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/?ie=UTF8&cid=A2LGJPU9KN7C2N

We still need your financial help with the nine big cats we are boarding and any and all donations are appreciated as we continue to care for them. They are safe and well.

Money we raise during any of our fundraisers goes to the boarding of our big cats and for TNR. We have always been, and will continue to be, a 100% volunteer driven organization.

Upcoming Events:

10 Sept 2016            11am – 4 pm          Fall Bake Sale and Fundraiser

                                                                        Petco, 6596 Youree Drive, Shreveport

2 Oct 2016                2 – 6pm                   2^nd Annual Paws in Paradise

                                                                        Margaritaville Casino

                                                                        Bossier City, Louisiana

29 Oct 2016              11am – 4pm          Eat a (Hot) Dog, Save a Cat

                                                                        Dunkin Donuts

                                                                        Corner of Youree Drive and Southfield, Shreveport

PLEASE spay and neuter your pets. Adopt! Don’t Shop! Also, please continue heartworm prevention all year round and not just in the summer months. Heartworm disease can be transmitted all year.

Jenny and the Yogie and Friends Gang!